my friend (human cleric) and i (half-elf ranger) got respectively from levels 9 and 10 to 11 and 12 in two days at the chessboard, and we killed the King twice during that time. Effective gameplay time is around 8-10 hours. he conned red for both us, but we figured we could take him on.
the first time we got killed. the second time we got another guy with us, a lvl 12 shaman, and got him. That time he dropped a Words of Tyranny.
To kill him, best way is to just run up to him with the hardest hitter and start slashing away at him while casters heal you until the king runs out of mana and goes into melee, then its just to hack away until he dies.
We were both twinked, and stats around that time for me were 310-380 hp with and without buffs, ac 320-340. My axe of iron back hits up to 29.
hope this helps future campers!
/Newbie