Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen

Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen
Neutral Encounters Guide 1.0

Table o' Contents
I. Introduction
II. Version History
III. Daddy, What's a Neutral Encounter?
IV. The Neutral Encounter List
V. My Utterly Random and Bizarre Commentary
VI. Ending Pronunciation Arguments
VII. Acknowledgements
VIII. Legal Blah-di-blah
IX. Communication: The Key to a Healthy Relationship

I. Introduction
Someone on the message boards said it would be nice to know the location of
neutral characters. Well... here it is! I'm playing the SNES version, so all
you PlayStation fanatics might have some slight problems with this FAQ ("Hey!
Where's the A button on this controller?") I apologise, and I hope at some
point in the near future to remedy this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad
situation before it gets any worse and threatens to kill off a third of Europe.
Or something.

II. Version History
(Note: In case you couldn't tell, I have no idea how to number a version; just
be happy I made up a number, ok?)
v.1.0 (29/4/03)
I admit, I gathered this information from a couple locations, Ogre Battle:
Official Secrets and Solutions (Limited Edition) by Ian Osborne of Prima
Publishing and March On, Black Queen by Eric (I'm sure he has a last name
somewhere), plus the format is inspired by Osborne's guide. Of course, what
would the point of an FAQ be if I had simply pilfered everything from other
authors? I could trust my sources, but what's the fun in that? I'll be checking
them all on my own. If any of my information is outright wrong, slightly wrong,
or poorly worded, just send me a message... [email protected], screen name
Insanerest.

III. Daddy, What's a Neutral Encounter?
Anyone new to Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen will doubtlessly have no
idea what a neutral encounter is. It's such a massive game that some moderately
experienced players might have no idea what they are! Well, that's what I'm
here to do.
In every stage, when passing over certain types of terrain, there is a certain
chance a unit will encounter a neutral character. It's pretty hard to miss when
you hit a neutral character; the game will tell you so, and you'll enter a
battle against one fully healthy character. Instead of a red background on the
enemy unit window, you'll see a green one.
There are three main routes to go:
1. Flee. If you need your unit to be healthy and strong because you're in the
middle of a frickin' war, then by all means, just run! No use wasting time on a
random monster.
2. Fight It Out! Get a little experience boost. If your unit's fairly strong,
you'll probably be able to beat up the poor lone monster. Three/four/five on
one isn't a fair fight.
3. Befriend. At any time during the battle, you can press the A button to bring
up the usual battle menu. Tarot, Tactic, Animation, Flee... and what's this?
Why looky there! It's a new command! When selected, one of two possible
outcomes will occur:
a. Your little monster buddy will flee from your evil barbarians and go crying
to her/his/its mommy.
b. Join the Rebel Forces!
The higher your unit's levels (particularly in relation to the monster's
level), the more likely the monster will be to join your cause. Any monster
that joins will be put in the reserves of your army, ready to be placed into a
unit!
And that's pretty much all there is to be said about neutral encounters. Oh,
except for where they are!

IV. The Neutral Encounter List
I organised the list in such a manner so that you could easily, say, copy and
print it out for quick reference. Just the facts.

Stage Name Level Location

Warren's Castle Cockatris 8 ?
Dragon 8 ?
Wyrm 8 ?

Sharom Border Dragon 1 Mountains
Golem 3 Forest
Hawk Man 3 Ocean

Sharom District Gryphon 4 Mountains
Giant 4 Mountains
Octopus 4 Deep Sea

Pogrom Forest Imp 6 Mountains
Skeleton 9 Forest
Ghost 9 Forest

Lake Jansenia Were Wolf 5 Mountains
Raven Man 5 Deep Sea
Octopus 5 Deep Sea

Deneb's Garden Pumpkin 1 Mountains
Dragon 5 Mountains
Faerie 8 Forest

Slums of Zenobia Dragon 7 Forest
Hellhound 9 Mountains
Octopus 9 Deep Sea

Island Avalon Mermaid 10 Deep Sea
Octopus 10 Deep Sea
Angel 10 Deep Sea

Kastolatian Sea Octopus 9 Deep Sea
Fire Giant 10 Volcano
Devil 11 Devil

Diaspola Silver Dragon 9 Snow Mountain
Ice Giant 10 Snow
Angel 10 Deep Sea

Kalbi Peninsula Rock Golem 11 Forest
Silver Dragon 11 Snowy Mountain
Ice Giant 11 Snowy Mountain

Valley of Kastro Red Dragon 12 Mountains
Black Dragon 13 Desert
Wyrm 14 Cliff

Balmorian Ruins Rock Golem 10 Desert
Black Dragon 12 Forest
Wraith 15 Swamp

Muspelm Red Dragon 15 Mountains
Fire Giant 15 Mountains
Raven Man 15 Mountains

Organa Demon 14 Mountains
Cerberus 14 Mountains
Iron Giant 15 Mountains

City of Malano Hawk Man 14 Deep Sea
Wyvern 15 Deep Sea
Fire Giant 15 Deep Sea

The Tundra Silver Dragon 14 Mountains
Ice Giant 15 Mountains
Angel 15 Mountains

Antalia Cerberus 16 Mountains
Phantom 21 Swamp
Wraith 21 Swamp

Antanjyl Werewolf 16 ?
Tiger Man 16 ?
Vampyre 16 ?

Temple Shangrila Eagle Man 18 High Sky
Cherubim 18 High Sky
Gryphon 18 High Sky

Fort Allamoot Kraken 17 Deep Sea
Tiamat 17 Desert
Red Dragon 18 Mountains

Ruined City (Shiguld) Tiamat 19 Mountains
Gold Dragon 19 Mountains
Red Dragon II 19 Mountains

Dalmuhd Desert Red Dragon II 17 Desert
Fire Giant 18 Desert
Wyrm 19 Everywhere!

Ryhan Sea Kraken 19 Deep Sea
Nixie 20 Shallows
Pixie 21 Mountains

Fort Shulamana Salamand 23 Mountains
Kraken 23 Deep Sea
Phantom 25 ?

Kulyn Shrine Pixie 23 ?
Kraken 23 Deep Sea
Cerberus 23 Mountains

City of Xanadu Cockatris 20 ?
Ice Giant 23 Snowy Mountains
Platinum Dragon 24 Snow

Zeteginia Raven Man 24 Deep Sea
Cerberus 24 Mountains
Tiamat 24 Plains

Temple Shalina Seraphim 25 ?
Ice Giant 25 Snow
Gold Dragon 25 Snow

Dragon's Haven Salamand 18 Mountains
Zombie Dragon 18 Shallows
Platinum Dragon 18 ?

V. My Utterly Random and Bizarre Commentary
Warren's Castle: These monsters are a bit fabled (i.e. someone found them, but
no one really knows who). On one hand, they're uber-powerful and terrific for
team building. On the other hand, THEY'RE FRICKIN' LEVEL 8! If you somehow met
them early, they would simply pummel you. Befriend? Ha! Why would a Level 8
Dragon befriend the guy who's best character is a Level 4 Wizard?

Sharom Border: The first REASONABLE place to get Dragons as well as the first
place to grab Hawk Men. Don't be fooled by the Level 1 status of the Dragons;
they're already pretty strong, and they'll only continue to grow! Hawk Men are
convenient for either good or evil fliers. Flying is good.

Sharom District: Some of the second class big beasties are here. Gryphons are
excellent fliers, Octopi are the rare seafaring creature, and Giants smash
stuff at various alignments.

Pogrom Forest: Your first chance to grab some undead or Imps (it's a long road
to Devil, but perhaps worth taking). Also note that killing off the undead is
good for alignment-boosting.

Lake Jansenia: Were Wolves! Free! Get them while supplies last! Raven Men can
also be a nice addition.

Deneb's Garden: If you want Pumpkins and aren't willing to sacrifice any
reputation to get one, this is your only chance. Good luck leveling up a Level
1 Pumpkin; there aren't many weaker enemies. Also good to get Dragons if you
need some or Faeries if you want to raise your own Sylph from scratch.

Slums of Zenobia: Yet another chance for Dragons and the first opportunity for
Hellhounds. Note that the Dragons are already at the right level to get a
promotion; fool around with the alignment a bit and you'll quickly get the
Dragon of your choice.

Island Avalon: Mermaids are great for leading sea units and Angels, while
terrible in the state you'll find them, quickly level up and, at Level 11, with
the proper charisma and alignment, become Cherubim! Much better, and eventually
grow into Seraphim!

Kastolatian Sea: DEVILS. 'Nuff said. Oh, and Fire Giants for your evil
bashing/burning types.

Diaspola: First time you get an already promoted Dragon, the Silver Dragon.
Pick up Angels if you missed them before or Ice Giants if you need some high
alignment bruisers and your religion forbids the use of Dragons.

Kalbi Peninsula: Better Silver Dragons and Ice Giants than before. Not much
else.

Valley of Kastro: First place to find Red and Black Dragons. Take note: Wyrms
are already the right size for promotion to Wyvern!

Balmorian Ruins: Ho-hum, though Wraiths are good for alignment growth.

Muspelm: A bunch of fire guys. Nothing you haven't seen before. The Red
Dragon's only a level away from becoming a Red Dragon II, though.

Organa: If you skipped the Devils or need some full-grown Hellhounds, you can
always recruit some Demons or Cerberi here.

City of Malano: Nothing to see here... move along.

The Tundra: More high-level Angels if you still haven't gotten your fill of
Cherubim.

Antalia: LOTS o' undead for alignment-building.

Antanjyl: I would like to note this is the only stage where you can recruit a
Fighter-class character with a leadership job. If you need some things that go
bump in the night, Antanjyl gives you quite a variety.

Temple Shangrila: Why weren't these Gryphons promoted to Cockatrises about 9
levels ago? Well, in case you need any Gryphon-class monsters...

Fort Allamoot: NOW we're talkin'! Krakens rule the seas; Tiamats are as good as
you're going to get from neutral encounters with evil dragons; and Red Dragons
are ready and able to become Red Dragons II.

Ruined City (Shiguld): In case you don't have any good dragons... here! Take
two! They're small.

Dalmuhd Desert: More Wyrms that should be Wyverns and Red Dragons II if you
missed them before.

Ryhan Sea: The ultimate swimmers are both here (Nixie and Kraken), and the
Pixies can be automatically promoted to Sylph! Very nice if you're in need of
some good ol' fashioned White whoopin'.

Fort Shulamana: Red Dragons II are good; Salamands are even better.

Kulyn Shrine: Nothing new, though you could get a few more Pixie-Sylphs if you
so desire.

City of Xanadu: PLATINUM DRAGONS! ::drool:: Nice.

Zeteginia: By this point, why would you be paying any attention to neutral
characters? You've got an imperial army to defeat, fool! Nothing interesting
here anyway.

Temple Shalina: Do you HONESTLY need to be recruiting on the last stage? Well,
OK, Seraphim are nice, ESPECIALLY against the dark forces trampling you.

Dragon's Haven: You'll probably have enough of a time defeating the 90 units
flying at you, but in case you absolutely MUST get a couple dragons, they're
here.

VI. Ending Pronunciation Arguments
I don't know about you and your friends, but I and mine have had a few heated
debates about how to pronounce the names of certain unusual enemies. And
neutral encounters are all about monsters... so here's the official word!

Kraken: KRAH-ken, not KRAY-ken or KRA-ken.
Cherubim: Exactly as it looks. Don't turn -im into -eem
Seraphim: See above

And our most hotly debated word...

Wyvern: WEYE-vern, not WI-vern or wi-VERN

VII. Acknowledgements
Enix: I love you!

Potomac Video: Thank you for selling me Ogre Battle for less than $10. That was
definitely an excellent moment in my life.

Some Person: Whoever it was in the message boards that suggested this kind of
guide, thanks. I'd gladly give you a name if you have one.

Ian Osborne: Thanks for giving me my basic neutral encounter information in a
pretty darned accurate guide (as far as printed guides go).

Eric: I really wish I knew your last name. March On, Black Queen is a beyond
amazing website. http://www.houseofwacks.org/ogre

God: Yeah, you seem to get thanked a lot. But thanks anyway.

You: I know, a terrible cliche, but what would this guide be without people to
read it?

VIII. Legal Blah-di-blah
You've seen it all before... but better to just get it all out than find out
later some ratfink stole my guide.

This guide is copyright M.W. Gribbin, 2003.

All trademarks and copyrights used within this guide are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.

If, for some bizarre reason, you actually like this guide and want to put it up
on your own website, please send me an e-mail first to ask for my permission.
As long as you send me an e-mail beforehand and give me my fair credit as
author, I'm perfectly fine with you posting my guide elsewhere. If you post it
without asking me first, I'll probably be more likely to tell you to take it
down (which I can by copyright law) and not let you use it, so just send me an
e-mail to check first, ok? Thanks.

IX. Communication: The Key to a Healthy Relationship

I'm not sending this guide out to an empty void lacking any humanity; I'm
putting this out in reality. Seriously, if you have any questions, comments,
concerns, flames, whatever, just send me an e-mail ([email protected]) or an
IM (Insanerest). I'm dedicated to making this little guide the best it can be,
so if anything's confusing or useless or just plain wrong, it's better for
everyone if I know. I'll still be updating, so this is far from the end; this
is just the beginning.