[center][b][h1][color=fff200]Robert/Claudia[/color][/h1][/b][/center]
[hr]

The tentacles that had sprouted from Claudia did their job as a defensive measure, batting the spiky quills shot at her away.

Judging from how the boss did not seem to receive any buff or perform special attacks after the minions died, it seemed that it would be safe to kill the minions. Rather, judging by how it buffed the minions instead, this boss might be more of a summoner type. Therefore, AoE would actually be preferable.

[color=fff200]"Clear out, I'm casting an area spell,"[/color] Claudia said, warning the party.

As soon as the party cleared out, a pillar of flame engulfed the creature and its minions. Flame Strike was a popular spell for Divine Spellcaster. With a 10-foot radius and height of 40 feet, not only was it a reliable AoE, hitting even fliers, but since half the damage was fire and the other half radiant, it required the target to have high resistance in both elements to truly nullify the damage. 

In this case, since the enemies were most likely undead, it was probably even more effective, given radiant and fire elements were common vulnerabilities of the undead. Furthermore, the fire damage having been boosted by Claudia's Ring of the Inferno Pact, at the very least this attack should determine whether the enemies were vulnerable to fire or not based on the damage they took. And just in case they were, Claudia cast the spell using Metamagic: Quickened, reducing the spell's cooldown so she could use it again in rapid succession.