Games PC HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC II-GOLD User Manual

The enclosed manual and program are copyrighted. All rights are reserved. This manual may not be copied, photographed, reproduced, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of The 3DO Company. Portions of the program accompanying this book may be copied, by the original purchaser only, as necessary for use on the computer for which it was purchased.

Special Thanks

Thanks to the following for their contributions to Heroes of Might and Magic II Gold.

Clouds of Xeen Great War II Wizard’s Land 1 Wizard’s Land 2 Wizard’s Land 3 Ghost Planet Colossal Cavern Betrayal Gates of Hell Plains of Aekon Slayer Legacy The Road Home Grim Reaper Dead Dragons Alteris 1 Alteris 2 Roc ‘Round the Clock Leopoldville Merry Men Dungeon Below Go Ask Alice Mire Straights Riddle Me This Sudden Siege Black Forest Last Hope Ludicrosity Quadruplets Threedom Thunk Family Reunion

Aleksei Andrievski Aleksei Andrievski Aleksei Andrievski Aleksei Andrievski Aleksei Andrievski Charles Watkins Charles Watkins Grayson Towler Grayson Towler Grayson Towler Grayson Towler Grayson Towler Greg Schneider Greg Schneider Jonathan Watters Jonathan Watters Julia Skipper Lance Wood Peter Mayewski Phil McCrum Phil McCrum Phil McCrum Phil McCrum Phil McCrum Rich West Timothy Duncan Timothy Duncan Timothy Duncan Timothy Duncan Timothy Duncan WongSui Jau

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Table of Contents

Introduction What’s New Basic Operations Tutorial Main Menu

Standard Game Campaign Game Multiplayer Game

Adventure Screen

Adventure Window Adventure Buttons Options

Game Play Town Screen

Castle Screen

Hero Screen

Movement Secondary Skills Skill Advancement Hero Trading

Kingdom Overview Combat

General Options Combat Options Siege Combat

Spells Creatures Structures Editor Keyboard Shortcuts Technical Support Hints on the New Maps

v vi 8 9 18

18 21 21

25 27 28

32 36

47 48 50 52

53 54

55 58

61 74 95 118 122 124 125

Introduction

Heroes of Might and Magic II Gold combines fantasy and strategy in a battle for territory and resources. Players must fight between one and five enemy warlords to conquer new lands, collect resources and artifacts, and capture towns. These towns need to be fortified and upgraded to produce and supply new armies. Strategic planning and tactical cunning need to be combined and balanced for victory.

What’s New

Heroes of Might and Magic II, the sequel to the first Heroes of Might and Magic, has many new features and improvements. If you have played the first Heroes, here is a list of the major changes in Heroes II. Elements in the manual that refer to changes in Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Price of Loyalty are labeled (PoL). You can find more detailed information on each item in the appropriate section of the manual.

Spells: The spell system now uses a spell points instead of spell memorization. You permanently learn spells from the Mage Guilds, but have a finite number of spell points to cast those spells. Many new spells have been added, and the spells are now categorized in five levels, as opposed to four.

Combat: The battlefield has been enlarged, and new creatures have been added. Creatures can now be affected by more than one non-contradictory spell at the same time (Curse, Slow, and Protection can all be affecting a single creature).

Heroes: Two new hero types are available, the Wizard and the Necromancer. The Wizard is a powerful spellcaster with an army of magical creatures, and the Necromancer is a spellcaster that commands the undead.

Heroes now learn secondary skills, such as Archery and Leadership. Some of these skills duplicate the innate abilities of the hero types in the first Heroes (Pathfinding for the Barbarian, Navigation for the Sorceress). Heroes can know a maximum of eight secondary skills, and there are 14 skills to choose from. These skills are learned when a hero advances in level.

Towns: Towns have new defensive improvements, and some completely brand new buildings, like the statue and the marketplace. Some creature dwellings can be upgraded to produce new, upgraded creatures.

Creatures: Certain creatures can be upgraded, generally becoming faster and tougher, though some creatures aquire special abilities when upgraded. Two new groups of crea-

tures have been added, one for the Wizard and one for the Necromancer. Adventure: The size of the maps can be smaller or larger than before (up to 1/4 the

area to 4 times the area). Many scenarios will now have different victory or loss conditions instead of the standard ‘Kill ‘em all.’ These special circumstances will be explained when you start the scenario. Two new terrain types, cracked wasteland and beach, and many new adventure objects have been added.

Campaign: The primary campaign of Heroes II allows you to choose which of Lord Ironfist’s sons you will aid in succeeding to the throne, Roland or Archibald. Each side has a different set of elaborate and interesting scenarios, so be sure to try them both.

If you are not sure what something does, R-clicking on it will give quick information. This works on buttons, skills, artifacts, creatures, spells, buildings, heroes, objects on the map– almost anything you can find.

Have fun, and watch out for the Black Dragons!

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Basic Operations

Mouse

When you are instructed to click on something, point to the object and click with the left mouse button. ‘R-click’ means click with the right mouse button.

You can get information on most things in the game by R-clicking on them. Most Rclick information requires that you hold down the mouse key to read the information.

File Selector

When loading or saving a games, you will be presented with a standard File Selector window. To select a file, click on the name to highlight it. The name will now appear in the red bar at the botton of the list. Click on OKAY. Click on the CANCEL to exit the menu without making a selection, or press the ESC key.

If the list is longer than the display, you can scroll through the list in two ways. Along the right side of the list is the slider bar and two arrow buttons. Click on either arrow button to scroll in the direction indicated by the arrow. To get to a selection quickly on a long list, drag the slider bar in the direction you want.

Tutorial

Don't have the patience to explore rulebooks? Want to learn the basics quickly so you can dive into the game? This is where you want to start. This tutorial will walk you through a few turns of the Tutorial scenario.

From the Main Menu, click on Load. Then click on Standard Game from the next menu. That menu will be replaced by the File Selector. Click on the file name, Tutorial, to highlight it. The name of the file will also appear in the dark brown bar just above the two buttons at the bottom of the File Selector. Click on Okay.

After the game loads, you will find yourself on the Adventure Screen. The big window on the left is the Adventure Map. That's your castle in the middle with your starting hero sitting astride a horse at its entrance. On the right are a variety of controls and indicators. Let's explore these for a moment.

In the upper right is the World Map. There's a pink box around the area of the map that is displayed in the Adventure Map window. You start off only knowing a short distance beyond your own castle. As you move your heroes about, more of the map becomes visible. Yo u can scroll the Adventure Map in a number of ways. Move the cursor to the extreme edge of the screen and the Adventure Map will

scroll in that direction. Give it a try. If you scroll too far and can no longer tell where you are, look up in the World Map. Place the cursor over the green blob that represents known terrain and click. The castle and the surrounding environs are displayed again in the Adventure Map window.

Below the World Map is a display showing your heroes and castles. This is the hero and castle locator. The blue-eyed woman is the hero you happened to start with. There is a light blue outline around her box, indicating she is the "active" hero. Place the cursor over her picture and R-click and hold the button down. A window will come up displaying her name, stats, and the type and number of troops that are accompanying her. Release the mouse button and the display disappears (you can R-click on many things in the game to get this kind of quick information). The blank boxes below Gwenneth (your hero) and your castle are for future heroes and castles.

Beneath the hero and castle selectors are eight buttons that will aid in playing the game. We'll discuss these as we go through the tutorial.

The bottom display is the Information Window. It currently shows the active hero’s army. Place the cursor over this window and click. It now shows the amount of resources, towns, and castles you control. It will automatically return to the army display after a few seconds. Click on it again a couple of times. It will now show you the month, week, and day. New recruits become available at the start of each week, so it's wise to keep track of the time. This tutorial begins a few days into the week so that several buildings could be added to your castle to get you into the thick of things faster.

Place the cursor over the castle next to your hero's icon in the castle selector and click (but not on the monochromatic castle in the group of eight buttons). The castle now has the blue box around it, indicating it is active. The Status Window also changes to display your resources, since your hero is no longer active. Click on the castle a second time to bring up the castle display.

Along the top of the castle window are the dwelling places of your potential recruits and the exterior of the castle. Place the cursor over any of the structures and R-click (holding

the button down) to see a description of it. Three of the s t r u c t u res are dwellings where you can recruit troops. The troop type, cost per unit, and the number available are listed. You will notice that nobody seems to be home at the moment (we already hired them into your army).

Along the bottom of the screen is your hero's portrait, indicating she is in the castle. Her accompanying tro o p s are displayed in the row of boxes to her right. You can have up to five different troop types in any hero's army. Note that there are two spaces available in Gwenneth's army, indicated by the horse's head. Let's fill those up.

Click on the castle near the top of the screen. The entire display now shows the various dwellings that can be purchased. You already have the Thatched Hut, Archery Range, Blacksmith, Tavern and Well structures (marked by the yellow check). The Archery Range and Blacksmith each have a red X. Though you have the dwellings, you have not as yet purchased the upgrades, nor can you until specific prerequisites are met. Upgrades improve the quality of troops these dwellings normally provide. The Shipyard, Jousting Arena, and Cathedral have prerequisites you don't currently have and are also marked with a red X. The two portraits near the right side of the screen are the heroes that are available for hire this week. You can only have one hero in a castle at a time, so these heroes are also marked with an X. You can R-click on any on the buildings to get more information about them. For now, place the cursor over the Armory and click.

A window comes up telling you that the Armory produces Swordsmen. It also re q u i res the Tavern and Thatched Hut to be present in the town (which we built for you already). It will take 10 ore, 10 wood, and 2000 gold to build. A quick glance to the re s o u rc e s that are displayed on the lower right of the screen reveals you have the necessities. Click on Okay.

The display shows the castle exterior again, and the Armory is the red-roofed building near the middle of your screen. Let's recruit some Swordsmen to fill out our army. Click on the Armory and a window entitled Recruit Swordsman comes up. There are four available at 250 gold each. You can click on the up and down arrows to select the number of troops you want to recruit, but in this case, it is easier to just click on the Max button. That will automatically choose the maximum that you can afford, up the limits of how many are available. Click on Max if you haven't already done so, and then click on Okay.

Four Swordsmen have been added to your castle garrison. The garrison occupies the five boxes above the hero's army. They will defend your castle if a hero isn't there, but might not be involved if a hero and accompanying army is in the castle. To transfer the troops from the garrison to your army, first click on the Swordsmen. This highlights them with a red outline. Now place the cursor over the empty space of the hero's army at the lower right and click. The Swordsmen are now part of Gwenneth's army. You can transfer troops from box to box by clicking on one troop, and then clicking on the troop that you want them to exchange places with. You may also do partial troop transfers if the need should

arise by holding down the Shift key when transferring troops. There are no more troops available for now, and you can only make one improvement in

your castle per turn– it's time for Gwenneth to go adventuring. Click on the Exit button on the lower right.

We are back to the Adventure Window. Note that Gwenneth has the blue border around her box indicating she is the active hero. Move the cursor around a bit in the Adventure Map. The cursor will change depending on what it is over. Move the cursor over the treasure chest that is sparkling just below and to the left of the castle entrance. As you move the cursor it will change from either a spear or a horse to a rearing horse as it is placed over the chest. The rearing horse indicates that there is an event there that the hero can interact with. Once the horse is in the rearing position, click. A green path of arrows is now displayed. This indicates the path the hero will take. She'll avoid all events, encounters and obstacles to get to the destination you clicked on, now marked by a green X. Your hero can reach anywhere along the path this turn where it is green. When the path or destination turns red, the hero won't reach there until subsequent turns. Once the path is set, click on the destination a second time and the hero will move along the path towards the destination. Do that now.

You found some gold! You can either keep the gold or distribute it to the peasants for experience. At the start of each turn, you accumulate 1000 gold for each castle you own, 250 for each town, and 1000 for each gold mine. Building up your castle and army is an expensive proposition, so the gold is needed there. At the same time, if you take the experience, your hero's stats will eventually improve, becoming better in combat or spellcasting, and will also gain new skills. For the purposes of this tutorial, click on Yes, but learning when to choose one or the other is something your own experience and style will dictate.

Look next to your hero's portrait and you'll see a yellow bar indicating the amount of movement she has left this turn. Be aware that it doesn't start at the top of the bar– there are items that can improve her movement beyond the normal. Gwenneth still has some movement left, so let's set a new destination. Click on the sparkling fountain below and

slightly to the right of your castle, making sure you have the rearing horse symbol. Note the numeral 2 on the right of the horse. That means it will take all of Gwenneth's movement this turn, and at least part of her movement next turn to reach there. Click to set the path. The destination is marked with a red X this time, indicating you can't reach there this turn. Move the cursor over to the button with the horse icon near the right side of the screen and click. This is the Move button, an alternate command that tells your hero to move along the path once it is set.

That's all for this turn. Click on the hourglass button. The Status Window will show the computer players thinking and the cursor will become a sundial. Once the cursor changes back and the Status Window reverts to Gwenneth's army, you can continue.

The red X is now green. Click on the Move button and Gwenneth continues along the path you set last turn. A message box pops up and informs you that by drinking from the fountain you will gain luck for your next battle. Good luck allows your troops to do double damage for an attack in combat– watch the rainbow arch towards your warriors when it happens.

Click on the pile of wood neatly stacked to the left of the road leading towards the bottom of the screen and move your hero there. Roads are easier to move along than other types of terrain. Don't worry about trying to precisely move along the road; your hero will do that automatically if it is to your advantage. A message will appear briefly in the Status Window saying that you have found a small amount of wood and will give the exact amount.

As you moved towards the woodpile, more of the Adventure Map was revealed to you. The hero unveils the map a set distance away as she moves about. Just to the left of where the woodpile used to be is a wooden shack and wagon. R-click on it and you can see that it is a sawmill. The sawmill produces two units of wood each turn as long as you own it. Place the cursor over the front of the sawmill (be sure you have the rearing horse cursor icon) and click twice. Read the text then click on Okay. Note that there is now a blue flag flying over the sawmill, indicating that you own it. It will continue to add two units of wood

to your resources at the start of each turn until some other faction's hero captures it. Below the sawmill and to the right there's a wooden signpost. Move to that. You'll run out

of movement before you get there. Click on the hour glass and when it is your turn again, click on the move icon. Read the message and than click on Okay. Messages may give important clues and it might be wise to stop and read them along the way.

The putrid green zombies on the right side of the map are guarding a small treasure cache, daring Gwenneth to try and defeat them. No self-respecting hero can pass up the challenge like that, so place the cursor over the zombies. Note that the cursor becomes a sword. This indicates if you move there, a battle will take place. Go ahead and move to the zombies.

The combat screen shows terrain similar to the type the combat started on in the Adventure Map. On the left side of the screen is the moving player's troops (the Attacker), and on the right is the encountered group (the Defender). Thus, your troops will be lined up on the left in any combat during your turn, and on the right in any combat during another player's turn. Your troops are lined up from top to bottom in the same order that they were lined up from left to right in your hero's display back at the castle.

Combat is fought in a series of rounds, with each unit getting to move and possibly attack once each round. The faster the unit's Speed, the sooner it moves in the combat round. The computer will determine which unit gets to move first. Your Pikemen are your fastest unit and will have a glowing yellow outline when they are ready to be moved. R-click on them to see their statistics. Now move the cursor around the field. You can move the Pikemen to any position on the field where you see the Running Man icon. All you need to do is click on the spot you want them to move to. An X with a circle behind it indicates a spot they can't move to. Some terrain may be impassable (usually marked by a tree, pit, bush, the odd flow of lava, etc.).

On the extreme left is your hero, mounted on a horse with your banner waving in the breeze. Place the cursor over the hero– when the cursor changes to a helmet, click. A window will pop up with Gwenneth's picture, her stats, and a group of four buttons.

These are the General's Options. Starting on the left is the Cast Spell button (the gesturing hand). The Cast Spell button is darkened and can't be selected because Gwenneth doesn't have any spells. The next button to the right is the Retreat button (the running knight). Retreating loses all of your hero's troops, but she'll make her way back to any of your castles with her experience and artifacts intact and can be recruited again. The next button is the Surrender option (the white flag). This is similar to the Retreat option except all your troops stay with your hero , but you must pay a penalty to the opposing General. The more troops, the bigger the payment. To surrender, there must be an opposing player's General to surrender to, and these zombies don't have one. Heroes are your commanders: they direct your units (through you) on the battlefield, add their offensive and defensive bonuses, and cast spells, but do not move about like their troops. Click on the last button (four arrows) to exit the General's Options.

Your Pikemen are still waiting patiently for orders. Move the cursor straight to the right of the Pikemen until you get the X symbol. Now back it up just a little until you get the Running Man back. That's the limit of how far they can move. Go ahead and click. One of the zombie groups will come charging forward, but won't be able to reach you. Your Swordsmen's turn is next– move them forward the same as you did the Pikemen (you might have to move the cursor up or down a bit to get around a big rock). Time to soften them up a bit. After some more zombies shamble up, your archers should be glowing. They are armed with arrows that can strike at a distance. Place the cursor

over the nearest zombie. The cursor becomes an arrow, indicating you can fire at the group without moving. Go ahead and click. The arrow is fired (R-click on the archer to see how many shots she has left) and the zombie group is greatly diminished or wiped out. Troops with distance weapons have their attack damage halved if an enemy group is next to them, so it is best to guard them and not advance. Your Peasant group is the slowest, and can't get close enough to attack. Have them timidly creep forward as best they can.

Just to throw a monkey wrench into this tutorial some of your troops may, due to high morale, get another move (it'll be obvious: a big golden bird appears above the inspired troop's head). Just click the Skip button in the lower right for now, but normally this is a great time to sneak in an extra attack.

All the units have moved and a new round starts. Your Pikemen will move first. There should be one or more zombie groups within range of your Pikemen. Place the cursor near the closest zombie pack. It should change to a sword. The direction the sword is pointing from indicates where the Pikemen will be when they attack. There's definite tactical considerations, but for the purposes of this tutorial, it doesn't matter which direction. Choose one and click. Your Pikemen will lower their weapon and attack. Any zombies that survive will then strike back.

Be aware that a group only gets a strike back against a unit next to them, and will only do so against the first unit to attack them that round. Ganging up on one target can save wear and tear on your army.

With the basics of combat under your belt, this tutorial now abandons you to your fate (no whining- you should be able to obliterate those zombies with Gwenneth's army). Feel free to continue on with the scenario, referring to the manual as questions arise. New recruits will be available at your castle next turn. It might be wise to recruit a second hero, build up another army (while staying put to guard the castle), while Gwenneth explores the countryside. Don't forget to build up the structures in your castle to get new types of units. Happy adventuring!

Main Menu

Five options are presented in the Main Menu, each of these in detail are:

New Game

This option begins a new game of Heroes II. After selecting New Game, a second window will appear offering three different types of game to play:

Standard Game: A single scenario played by a single player. Campaign Game: Multiple scenarios played by a single player. Multiplayer Game: A single scenario played by multiple players.

Standard Game: After selecting Standard Game, you must choose which scenario you wish to play. Clicking on the red bar labeled Scenario opens the scenario selection window. The buttons at the top of the scenario selection window will show only the scenarios of the size you select e.g. Clicking the S button shows only the small maps.

Each scenario is labeled by:

Size: The dimensions of the map: Small, Medium, Large, and Extra-Large. Number of Players: From two through six. Win Conditions: How you win the scenario.

Standard: Capture all opposing castles and defeat all opposing heroes. Capture Castle: Capture a specific castle. Defeat Hero: Defeat a particular enemy hero. Find Artifact: Find a particular artifact. Wealth: Accumulate a specific amount of gold in your treasury.

Team: Your team must defeat the opposing team (1 to 5 other players).

Loss Conditions: How you lose the scenario.

Standard: Lose all your heroes and castles. Lose Castle: Lose a particular castle. Lose Hero: Lose a particular hero. Time Limit: Fail to complete objectives before time runs out.

Each scenario has a small description displayed at the bottom of the scenario selection window. Included in this section is the difficulty rating of the map, harder difficulties generally indicate the human player is penalized– either by fewer resources, tougher creatures near the starting castle, or the computer players starting with a distinct advantage.

Size Selector

Scenario Name

# Players and

Map Size

Selected

Scenario

Description

Victory & Loss

Conditions

Map Difficulty

Scenario

Name

Game

Difficulty

Players

Starting

Hero

Chat

(multplayer)

After selecting the scenario, you must choose which game difficulty level to play at. The difficulty is changed by selecting from the ratings at the top of the screen– Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert, or Impossible. Game difficulty affects the resources you begin with, the resources the computer players begin with, and the intelligence of the computer opponents.

Next, you need to determine which color you will be. The color you select determines where you start on the map– if you select the same color on the same scenario, you will always begin in the same place. To change colors, click on the color you wish to be. If the color you wish to switch to is grayed out, then that color cannot be chosen by a human player.

Handicap

(multiplayer)

Rating

If the hero picture below your color has a blue background, then you are able to select which hero type you wish to begin the scenario with. Click on the picture to cycle through the hero types. If the background is gray, then that color is always that hero type– it can never change. If the picture is a silhouette of multiple people, then that position begins with different types of heroes and towns.

Campaign Game: Selecting this option begins the Campaign Game. After the introduction, you must choose which lord to serve– the noble Roland or the treacherous Archibald. This is the only option you have in the Campaign Game.

Multiplayer Game: This option allows you to play Heroes II with other humans. Selecting this option brings up a second window which allows you to determine which communications device you will use to play multiplayer. In each multiplayer mode, you must select a Player Name, which is used to identify you throughout the game.

Hotseat: In the Hotseat Window you need to select the number of players and whether you wish to enter the players’ names.

Network: In the Network Window you select the type of network you will be playing over. You can play over IPX and NetBios networks, or over the Internet using TCP/IP. IPX and TCP/IP are only available in the Windows 95 version. After selecting the type of network, you need to select whether you are the host or the guest. Each game has only one Host, and the Host sets up the game. All other players are Guests in the game. If the game was set up using TCP/IP, then each Guest must input the Host’s IP address to connect.

Note: To use TCP/IP you must have Internet access, usually through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). All guests must know the host’s IP address. For some ISP’s, your IP address is always the same, otherwise it changes each time you access the Internet. To determine your IP address, type WINIPCFG at a DOS prompt.

Modem: In the Modem Window, you select whether you are the Host (Dials) or Guest (Answers). Both players must then select the Modem Config button (only the first time you play a modem game) to select the COM port their modem is located at and the desired speed of the connection. The Host then inputs the phone number of the Guest.

Direct Connect: In the Direct Connect Window, you select whether you are Host

or Guest. Select the COM port you are connecting from, and the desired speed of the connection.

Multiplayer Scenario Select Window: From this window, the Host of the game selects the scenario that will be played. Each player selects what color they will play, and which hero type they will be (if that option is available). The game Difficulty for all players is set by the Host, but any player may opt to take a mild or severe handicap. Severe handicap, represented by the chained hands, means that you start with 30% fewer resources and you generate 30% less gold and resources per turn. Mild handicap, represented by roped hands, is 15% fewer resources. The area at the bottom is a chat window, just type in your message and hit the enter key.

Load Game

This option loads a previously saved game, either Standard, Campaign, or Multiplayer. Select the type of saved game you wish to load. All options will bring up a standard File Select window. Simply click on the name of the scenario you wish to load, then click Okay to load the game.

Credits

This option brings up the names of all the people who contributed to the creation of Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars.

High Scores

This option brings up the list of the High Scores achieved in Heroes II. The Campaign button displays the best Campaign scores.

Quit

This option closes the program and returns you to your operating system.

Campaign Games

The Price of Loyalty includes four entirely separate campaigns. These are accessed by selecting the existing campaign button from the main menu, and then selecting the Expansion button. If you would like to play the original Archibald vs. Roland conflict, select the Original button.

After selecting the Expansion button, a screen will come up prompting a choice of which of the new campaigns you desire to play:

The Price of Loyalty (Long Campaign) On orders from your Emperor, you attempt to claim an ancient artifact of great power.

Unfortunately, an old friend has become a powerful rival, and is attempting to claim the artifact before you. The fate of the empire balances on who retrieves the artifact first.

Descendants (Long Campaign) You must guide a royal family as it passes from generation to generation. Your kingdom

develops over time, gaining allies and enemies. Defend against internal and external threats to preserve your kingdom and grow in power. You must defeat the nearby rival kingdom!

The Wizard’s Isle (Short Campaign) A mysterious chain of islands has risen from the sea, and are rich with powerful magic.

You, as well as many other eager mages, seek to control this mighty force. Whomever can control these islands will shape the destiny of the next age.

The Voyage Home (Short Campaign) After voyaging to the outer islands of the kingdom, your ship has been wrecked by a mas-

sive storm. You must find a way to journey back to the mainland. On your return, you find a civil war has started, and you must choose which side to join.

Adventure Screen

World Map

Locator

Adventure

Screen

Adventure Window

All game actions take place on the Adventure Window. From here you can examine the surrounding countryside and move your heroes. The black areas on the Adventure Window are the areas that you have not explored. Each town and hero you control will “light up” the black areas of the map around them. To scroll the Adventure Window, move the cursor to an edge of the screen– the cursor will change to an arrow, indicating the direction of the scrolling.

Buttons

Adventure

Buttons

Information

Window

World Map

The upper right section of the Adventure Screen is the World Map, which shows the world as you know it. Explored sections are lit up, and unexplored areas are blacked out.

The pink rectangle within this map shows the portion of the world currently visible in the Adventure Window. Clicking within this rectangle and dragging it around the World Map will scroll the view in the Adventure Window. Clicking in the World Map, but outside the pink rectangle, will instantly reposition the view in the Adventure Window to correspond to the point clicked in the World Map.

Locator Buttons

These buttons represent the heroes and castles you own. The left section is reserved for heroes, and the right section is reserved for castles and towns. Both sections display only four heroes or castles at a time, but have scroll bars to scroll through all the heroes or castles you own.

Hero Locators: Portraits of your heroes are located in the left column. On either side of the portrait are two vertical bars. The yellow bar on the left of the portrait represents how much movement your hero has remaining. The green bar on the right represents how many spell points your hero has remaining. One or more “+” symbols appear on the bar if you have a large number of spell points or movement.

Clicking on the portrait will make that hero active and center the Adventure Window on that hero. A light blue border surrounds the portrait of the active hero. By R-clicking on the hero’s portrait you receive quick information on that hero. By double-clicking on the portrait, or pressing the ENTER key, you receive more detailed information on the hero (see also- Hero Screen). You can change the active hero and scroll through the hero locators by pressing the “H” key.

Town Locators: Towns and castles you own are represented in the right column of buttons. The activated town is highlighted by a light blue border. Clicking on a town locator button will activate that town and center the Adventure Window on that town. R-clicking on a town locator you receive quick information on the town. By double clicking on a town button or pressing the ENTER key, you enter the Town Screen. After building a structure in a town, a symbol will appear in the upper right corner of that town’s button. You can scroll through the town locators by pressing the “T” key.

Adventure Buttons

Move

Next Hero

End Turn

Adventure Options

Next Hero: Activates the next hero you have with movement points remaining, centering the Adventure Window on that hero.

Move: Moves the active hero if that hero has a movement path plotted (represented by green arrows on the Adventure Window).

Kingdom Overview: Displays the Kingdom Overview Screen. This screen lists everything you own, towns, heroes, mines, and resources as well as showing your income per day (see also– Kingdom Overview Screen).

Cast Spell: Brings up the active hero’s spellbook (if he has one) and displays the Adventure spells known by that hero. The number below each spell is the cost in spell points to cast the spell. Clicking on the upper right and left corners of the spellbook turn the pages in the book. Clicking on a spell icon casts that spell and R-clicking on a spell icon gives quick information about that spell. The bookmark on the lower left shows how many spell points the hero has remaining, and the EXIT bookmark exits the spellbook without casting any spells

Kingdom Overview

Cast Spell

System Options

Disk Options

End Turn: Ends your current turn and allows the next player to begin his turn.

Adventure Options: Brings up a menu of actions for the Adventure Window.

View World: Shows the world as you know it, with only explored areas visible. This view shows all towns, mines, and heroes (color coded to indicate which player owns them), as well as showing visible resources and artifacts still unclaimed.

View Puzzle: Displays the puzzle map that leads your hero to the Ultimate Artifact. As you uncover pieces of the puzzle, more of the map is represented on this screen. When you have uncovered enough pieces, the exact location of the Ultimate Artifact is shown by an “X.” To uncover pieces of the puzzle, you must find obelisks. Click on the EXIT in the upper right corner to return to the Adventure Screen.

Dig/Search: The active hero spends his entire movement to search the position he is at for the Ultimate Artifact. This action requires all the hero’s movement, so he cannot move prior to attempting this.

Info: Shows the scenario information window. In Standard and Multiplayer games, this gives the scenario’s name, description, difficulty, and victory and loss conditions.

Disk Options: Brings up menu options for saving and loading games.

New Game: Exits your current game and returns you to the New Game menu. Load Game: Allows you to load a previously saved game. Click on the name of

the game you wish to load, then click OKAY. Save Game: Allows you to save your current game. Click on the colored bar to

enter in a name of your choice for the saved game, or click on a previously saved game and click OKAY.

Quit: Ends your game and returns you to your operating system. All previously unsaved actions are lost.

System Options: Brings up the System Options menu.

Music: Adjusts the music volume level. Effects: Adjusts the effects volume level. Sound Type: Changes the quality of the sound from MIDI to CD Stereo (Redbook). Speed: Allows you to set your hero’s movement speed to Walk, Trot, Canter,

Gallop, or Jump.

Enemy Speed: Allows you to set the movement speed of the enemy heroes. Show Path: Toggles the Show Path feature on and off. When Show Path is

turned off, your hero’s path is not shown. Clicking on an area of the Adventure Window immediately moves the hero to that location. If the hero does not have enough points to get there he will move as far as possible, leaving a path shown in red for the following turn’s movement. If the Show Path feature is turned off,

you can still see the path a hero will take by holding down the CTRL key and clicking on a location. If you like the path shown, release the CTRL key and click again, or use the Move Button.

Borders: Toggles the interface borders between Good, Evil, and Dynamic (good border when you start with a good hero, evil border when you start with an evil hero).

Cursors: Toggles black and white or color mouse cursors. On some systems, black and white cursors can speed up game play.

Information Box

The Information Box is located in the lower right corner. Clicking on this will toggle between the active hero’s army, your resource summary, and the date.

Game Play

Hero Movement

Clicking on any area of the Adventure Window causes a path to appear for the active hero. Green arrows show the path the hero will take with longer arrows representing terrain that requires more movement points (snow, desert, swamp, etc.). A green “X” shows a location that can be reached this turn. Red arrows indicate destinations that will be reached in subsequent turns, with a red “X” appearing at the final destination, but not necessarily meaning that the hero will have used all his movement points when he reaches the end of his path.

Once a path has been marked, click on the destination again, or click the Move button, to cause the hero to begin moving along the path. If the destination is not reached that turn, then on subsequent turns the hero’s path will be shown. To clear a hero’s path, click on the hero. The hero will automatically take the most direct route to the destination you select, bypassing all obstacles and monsters during movement. If you want to capture a mine, visit a location, fight an enemy, or anything else, you need to make that your destination.

As your hero moves about, the cursor can change to any one of ten different icons on the Adventure Window. If a number appears next to any of these icons, that is how many turns it will take to reach the location.

Horse: This icon appears when the cursor is over terrain that the active hero can move to. Clicking causes a movement path to be plotted to the location of the click.

Rearing Horse: This icon appears when the cursor is over an event location that the active hero can move to. Clicking will cause a path to be plotted to the location of the click. Moving the hero to this location will activate the event.

Sword: This icon appears when the cursor is over an enemy hero or army camp that the active hero can move to. Clicking causes a path to be plotted to the location of the click. Moving the hero to this location will cause him to battle the hero or army.

Arrows: This icon appears when the cursor is over a friendly hero that the active hero can move to. Clicking plots a path to the friendly hero. Moving the hero will allow the heroes to trade (see also– Hero Trading Screen).

Castle: This icon appears over castles and towns. Clicking selects the castle as the active castle, or bring up the Town Screen if that castle was already active. R-clicking will bring up quick information on the castle.

Helm: This icon appears when placed over the active hero, or when placed over any of your heroes when a castle is active. Clicking selects the hero as the active hero, or bring up the Hero Screen if that hero was already active.

Ship: This icon appears when the cursor is placed over an unoccupied ship that is adjacent to land that the active hero can move to. Clicking plots a path to the ship. Moving the hero will have him board the ship- boarding a ship takes the rest of the hero’s movement for that turn. His horse icon will disappear, and the ship icon will represent the hero. This icon also appears for ship movement when the destination is a water space.

Anchor: This icon appears when the cursor is placed over land adjacent to water when the active hero is aboard a ship. Clicking moves the hero to the point clicked, and the hero will disembark from the ship. The horse icon will reappear on the space clicked. Disembarking takes the rest of the hero’s movement for that turn.

Arrow: This icon appears when the cursor is moved to the edges of the screen. The direction of the arrow indicates the direction that the Adventure Window is scrolling.

Pointer: This icon appears when the cursor is anywhere on the map that the active hero cannot reach by normal movement. Clicking will not do anything.

Information on almost anything in the Adventure Screen can be obtained by R-clicking on it. When a hero comes into contact with something, he initiates an event. These may be fights, rewards, information, or nuisances. Mines and towns are events that can be taken over. When a mine or town is captured, a flag of the player’s color appears above the mine or in front of the town.

Army camps are represented on the combat screen by creatures. All army camps have a one space zone-of-control, which means that you interact with them if you move next to them. Your movements will frequently be blocked by army camps.

Heroes move at the speed of the slowest unit in their army. Certain terrain types, such as desert or snow, will penalize your heroes’ movement, though the pathfinding skill will reduce that penalty.

Objects and Locations

As you explore, you will find a number of objects to collect. These disappear when a hero takes them, so you want to get to them as fast as possible. Some of the most common objects are:

Resources: Various resources are strewn across the land: gold, ore, wood, crystal, sulfur, gems, and mercury. Each supplies a small, random amount of the appropriate resource.

Chests: Gold or a minor artifact can be found in treasure chests. You can keep the gold you get, or convert the gold to experience points. Using chests to get experience is a quick way to raise a hero in levels.

Artifacts: Lucky heroes will find artifacts to claim. Some artifacts are guarded by creatures, some you must pay for, and others may require special talents to retrieve.

Adventurous heroes will find many special locations to visit. Locations stay on the map, offering their benefits to whomever reaches them.

Terrain Objects: These objects cannot be interacted with, instead they serve to impede your progress (mountains and trees, for example).

Single Visit Sites: These sites can be visited once. Depending on the site, that means one visit per hero (gazebo), one visit per player (obelisk), or one visit per game.

Multiple Visit Sites: These sites can be visited multiple times, and never go away. Some of these sites can be visited only once per week (windmill), some offer creatures which replenish after the first day of the week (huts), and some can be visited multiple times with no restrictions.

Continual Sites: These sites become flagged when you control them, and will offer their bonus to you continually. Sawmills, mines, and the lighthouse are examples of continual sites.

Creature Interaction and Diplomacy

When your hero encounters an army camp, that camp will sometimes join the hero if the hero has a large enough army, and room for the creatures to join (an open space, or a group of the same creatures as the army camp). If the hero has the Diplomacy secondary skill, however, and his army is strong enough, then creatures will offer to join the hero’s army for an amount of gold based on the strength of the army camp. The level of diplomacy the hero has determines how many creatures in the army camp will join up with the hero– either 25%, 50%, or 100%– but the cost is always based on the total number of creatures in the army camp. If the hero is overwhelmingly powerful, the army camps will attempt to flee from the hero, and you have the option of fighting them before they run.

Town Screen

Towns and castles supply you with your armies, spells, and gold. Towns and castles provide the main objective in most scenarios, for if you lose all your castles and towns, you have only seven days to capture one, or you lose the scenario. Six types of towns and castles can be found, one to match each of the six hero types: Barbarian, Knight, Necromancer, Sorceress, Warlock, and Wizard. Towns provide you with 250 gold per day, and castles provide you with 1000 gold per day.

Castle

Crest

Hero

Portrait

Town Window: The Town Window displays your castle and all structures and upgrades built at the castle. Clicking on any structure will bring up that structure’s window. R-clicking on a structure will give information on that structure’s use. In a town, the castle is replaced by a tent. Clicking on the tent gives you the option of upgrading the town to a castle for 5000 gold and 20 wood and ore.

Garrison Resource

Summary

Crest: Brings up the Kingdom Overview screen. Arrow Buttons: These buttons will switch the Town Screen to another castle or town you

own, in the order they appear on the Town Locator Buttons. The Arrow Buttons allow you to quickly page through all of your towns without returning to the Adventure Screen.

Hero Portrait: This only appears if a hero is in the town. Clicking on the portrait brings up the Hero Screen.

Garrison Army: The row adjacent to the Crest is reserved for the town’s Garrison Army (the troops that guard the town). The town garrison can have a maximum of five different types of creatures. When a hero is in town, you can trade creatures between the town and the hero.

Moving units: To move a creature, click on it, then click where you want it to go. To swap creatures, click on a creature, then click on the creature you want to swap with. To split an army, click on the creature, then Shift-click on an empty space, then enter the number of creatures to split.

Resource Summary: The lower right corner is the Resource Summary, which displays the amount of gold and resources available to you to build structures and buy creatures.

Town Name: The name of the town is displayed centered above the Garrison Army.

Castle Picture

Captain of

Structures

the Guard

Recruit

Hero

Resource Summary

Castle Screen

Once you own a castle, you can expand the town by building structures. You may only build one structure or upgrade per turn in each castle. To build a structure, click on the castle to bring up the Castle Screen. The Castle Screen is broken into sections:

Structures: The left side of the Castle Screen is dedicated to the structures that can be built in each town. The backgrounds of the names of the structures in the town can have different colors: Green indicates a structure that can be built this turn, red for a structure that cannot be built this turn, and brown for a structure that has been previously built. Any structure with a red “X” in the lower right corner is currently unavailable for selection because a pre-requisite structure has not yet been built, or because you have built a structure in this castle already this turn. A red slash with coins underneath means that you do not currently have the required resources to build the structure. A yellow check mark indicates a structure that is present in the town. Every town can build the following structures:

Six Dwellings: These house the creatures that make up your heroes’ armies. Dwellings offer creatures to purchase when built, and replenish at the beginning

of each week (Day 1). The availability of creatures varies from creature to creature (more halflings will be available per week than titans).

Dwelling Upgrades: Certain dwellings in each castle can be upgraded, allowing the purchase of upgraded units. The upgrade must be purchased separately, and may require different resources or have different prerequisites than the structure it upgrades. When a structure is upgraded, all unpurchased creatures in the dwelling are automatically upgraded to the newer version, but creatures previously purchased remain the same. If you have non-upgraded units in a town with the upgraded dwelling for those units, you can upgrade your units by going into the creature screen and clicking the Upgrade button. The cost is double the difference in price between the upgraded and non-upgraded version, per creature to be upgraded.

Mage Guild: Building the Mage Guild will give your heroes the chance to purchase a spellbook for 500 gold if they do not currently possess one (Knight and Barbarian heroes). The Mage Guild can be upgraded four times, to a maximum of a fifth level Mage Guild. When a Mage Guild is purchased, you receive 3 first level spells. The first upgrade adds 3 second level spells, the second upgrade adds 2 third level spells, the third upgrade adds 2 fourth level spells, and the fourth and final upgrade adds 1 fifth level spell. Any hero that visits a castle with a Mage Guild automatically learns all the spells available at that Mage Guild (provided he has the required level of the Wisdom secondary skill). Clicking on the Guild will show which spells are available in the Guild. A hero beginning his turn in a town with a Mage Guild will regain all his spell points.

Tavern: Gives the defenders of the town a bonus to their morale when defending the town. The tavern is also a center for gossip and rumors– each week a rumor will be available in the Tavern. Occasionally valuable information can be learned from these rumors. The Tavern is not available in the Necromancer castle– undead don’t get thirsty.

Thieves’ Guild: Establishes contact with spies allowing you to gain information on

the other players and on the defending units of castles and towns. The more Thieves’ Guilds you own, the more information you receive. Clicking on the Thieves’ Guild structure from the Castle Screen brings up the Player Ranking Screen, which ranks the players in ten statistics. Each player is symbolized by a flag of their color. At the bottom of the screen are four statistics that shows the portrait of each players most powerful hero, the statistics of that best hero, the personality of the opponent, and the best creature being used by each opponent. Remember that the more Thieves’ Guilds you own, the more complete the information– five Thieves’ Guilds will give you complete information.

Shipyard: If the entrance of a town borders water, then you can build a Shipyard in that town. Building a ship costs 10 wood and 1000 gold. If a ship is adjacent to the entrance to town, then a ship will appear in the Town Screen, and you will be unable to build a ship.

Statue: The statue increases the income of a castle by 250 gold. Marketplace: Allows you to convert resources you have into other resources.

The more Marketplaces you own, the better the exchange rate. It is possible to convert any resource– wood, ore, crystal, mercury, sulfur, gems, and even gold– into another, but the exchange is never one for one, and the rate plateaus when you control nine Marketplaces.

Well: The Well adds two to the growth rate of all creatures produced in the dwellings in the town. Clicking on the well brings up a window displaying the growth per week of each creature in town, and the number currently available to purchase.

Horde Building: Each castle has a Horde Building associated with it. This structure increases the growth rate of the weakest creature by eight per week (goblins, peasants, skeletons, sprites, centaurs, and halflings).

Special Building: Each castle has a special building or effect that can be built in the town. The Knight adds Fortifications to his castle walls (strengthening the wall

against enemy catapult attacks), the Barbarian can build an Arena (giving the garrison troops higher morale), the Sorceress can create a Rainbow over the town (adding luck to the defenders), the Warlock builds a Dungeon (generates 500 gold more income in the castle), the Necromancer summons a powerful Storm over his castle (giving defending spell casters +2 spell power), and the Wizard constructs a Library to aid his research (adding an extra spell per level of the Mage Guild).

Right and Left Turrets: The Right and Left Turrets augment the firepower of the primary Ballista, allowing an extra shot per turret.

Moat: The Moat stops ground creatures’ movement, and makes them more vulnerable while they are crossing the Moat.

Castle Picture: The upper right corner of the Castle Screen contains a picture of the castle, indicating what defense upgrades have been purchased (left and right turrets and/or moat).

Captain of the Guard: Below the Castle Picture is the Captain of the Guard. You may hire a Captain to help defend the town. The Captain comes with a spellbook c o n t a i n i n g all the spells available in the town’s Mage Guild. The left box shows his portrait, the right box gives the Captain’s statistics. In the Captain’s information boxes you can choose whether the garrison troops are in spread (a space between each creature in combat) or group (no spaces between creatures) formation, this option is only available in towns with a Captain. The Captain swears his allegiance to the town he is stationed in, not to any lord. If the town is captured, he will function for the new owner of the town.

Recruit Hero: Below the Captain of the Guard are two portraits- these are the heroes available for hire. All heroes cost 2500 gold to hire. Clicking on a portrait brings up a window asking if you want to hire that hero. R-clicking on a portrait brings up that hero’s Hero Screen. If a hero is currently in the town, you will not be able to hire a hero at that town (until you move the hero out of the town).

Resource Summary: In the lower right is the Summary of all your resources and gold.

Hero Screen

Hero Window

This window is opened by clicking on the active hero on the Adventure Window, clicking on the active hero’s portrait on the Hero Locator Buttons, or by clicking on the hero’s portrait from the Town Screen or Kingdom Overview.

Hero

Portrait

Secondary

Skills

Hero Name: The hero’s name is centered at the top of the window. Hero Portrait: The hero’s portrait is displayed in the upper left of the window. Hero Statistics: To the right of the Hero’s Portrait are the Hero Statistics. These can

be modified by events and artifacts and increase as the hero advances in levels.

Hero

Statistics

Hero’s

Army

Artifacts

Attack: This ability effects how much damage your creatures inflict in combat. The hero’s attack skill is added to each of the creatures’ attack skills in his army. For more information on the Attack Skill, see Combat.

Defense: This ability effects how much damage your creatures take in combat. The hero’s defense skill is added to each of the creatures’ defense skills in his army. For more information on the Defense Skill, see Combat.

Spell Power: This ability represents the spell casting skill of a hero. Spell Power determines the duration and damage of spells cast by the hero.

Knowledge: This ability determines the hero’s maximum number of spell points. Each point of Knowledge gives the hero 10 spell points.

Morale Detail: Shows the total bonus or penalty to the armies’ morale. Clicking on this brings up the morale modifiers.

Luck Detail: Shows the total bonus or penalty to the armies’ luck. Clicking on this brings up the luck modifiers.

Experience Detail: Shows the experience earned by the hero. Clicking on this brings up what level the hero is, and the experience needed to advance to the next level. Each time the hero wins a battle, he is awarded experience based on the power of the creatures defeated.

Spell Points Detail: Shows maximum and remaining spell points. Open or Close Formation: These buttons determine whether your army will be

lined up adjacent to each other (Group) or lined up with a space between each creature (Spread) in combat.

Crest: Below the hero’s portrait is the hero’s Crest. Army: To the right of the Crest is the hero’s army. A hero can have a maximum of

five different types of creatures in his army at one time (one for each of the five boxes). The order that you place the creatures, from left to right, will be the order they appear in combat, from top to bottom.

Moving units: To move a creature, click on it, then click where you want it to go.

To swap creatures, click on a creature, then click on the creature you want to swap with. To split an army, click on the creature, then Shift-click on an empty space, then enter the number of creatures to split.

Double clicking on a creature brings up an information window showing that creature’s statistics. Creatures that are no longer needed can be dismissed by clicking the Dismiss button. Each creature has the following statistics:

Attack: The higher the Attack rating, the more damage the creature inflicts in combat. The number in parentheses is the Attack skill of the creature with the hero’s Defense skill added in. For more information on the Attack Skill, see Combat.

Defense: The higher the Defense skill, the less damage the creature takes in combat. The number in parentheses is the Defense skill of the creature with the hero’s Defense rating added in. For more information on the Defense Skill, see Combat.

Shots: The number of shots a unit with range strike ability has remaining. Damage: The base range of damage the creature inflicts in combat. Hit Points: The amount of damage each creature in that unit can take before

dying.

Speed: Refers to the order in which creatures move– faster creatures move before slower ones– and also how far a creature can move in combat.

Morale: High morale can enable a unit to take an extra action in combat, whereas poor morale can freeze the unit in a state of panic.

Luck: Good luck can grant a unit double damage for an attack in combat, where as bad luck can force a unit to do half damage for an attack in combat.

Secondary Skills: Below the Army are the secondary skills. Each hero can learn a maximum of eight secondary skills, with a maximum of three levels of expertise in each skill. Clicking on any skill brings up a window which informs you of the effects of the skill.

Artifacts: Fourteen slots are available for holding the artifacts you discover. All artifacts owned by a hero are displayed in this section. Clicking on any artifact will bring up a description of the artifact’s powers.

Dismiss: This button, located on the left side of the screen, allows you to dismiss the current hero. Because you have a maximum of eight heroes, you may wish to dismiss a weak, poorly placed hero to replace him with a stronger or better positioned hero.

Heroes who are dismissed or defeated go back to the hero pool and can be recruited again. Heroes keep their artifacts (unless defeated by another hero) and experience when they are defeated or dismissed. Be aware that heroes never die– they go back to the hero pool and can then be recruited by any warlord.

Arrow Buttons: These buttons will switch the Hero Screen to another hero you own, in the order they appear on the Hero Locator Buttons. The Arrow Buttons allow you to quickly page through all of your heroes without returning to the Adventure Screen.

Types

Each hero will have different attributes and skills. Heroes start with a few experience points, a small number of creatures, and the following statistics:

Barbarian: Attack skill of 3 and Defense skill of 1 Spell power of 1 and Knowledge of 1 Advanced Pathfinding skill

Knight: Attack skill of 2 and Defense skill of 2 Spell power of 1 and Knowledge of 1 Basic Ballistics skill and Basic Leadership skill ‘

Necromancer: Attack skill of 1 and Defense skill of 0 Spell power of 2 and Knowledge of 2 Basic Wisdom skill and Basic Necromancy skill Spellbook with the Haste spell

Sorceress: Attack skill of 0 and Defense skill of 0 Spell power of 2 and Knowledge of 3 Basic Wisdom skill and Advanced Navigation skill Spellbook with the Bless spell

Warlock: Attack skill of 0 and Defense skill of 0 Spell power of 3 and Knowledge of 2 Basic Wisdom skill and Advanced Scouting skill Spellbook with the Curse spell

Wizard: Attack skill of 0 and Defense skill of 1 Spell power of 2 and Knowledge of 2 Advanced Wisdom skill Spellbook with the Stoneskin spell

Movement

Heroes move at the speed of the slowest unit in their army unless they are in a ship, in which case they move at the same speed. The Logistics secondary skill increases the heroes’ land movement, and the Navigation secondary skill increases the heroes’ water movement. Heroes have a penalty to their movement when on rough terrains, but this penalty can be offset by having the Pathfinding secondary skill. The effects of terrain and Pathfinding are expressed in the chart below by percent of the penalties to normal movement (200% means you move at half speed).

Terrain

Desert

Swamp

Snow

Cracked

Beach

Lava

Water

Dirt

Grass

Road

Notice that you get a 25% bonus to movement while traveling on a road. Moving on a road is faster than moving on grass or dirt, and the roads make travel over rough terrains very easy. Pathfinding becomes one of the most useful skills on a map with large areas of rough terrain.

Pathfinding

200% 175% 175% 125% 125% 100% 100% 100% 100%

75%

Basic

Pathfinding

175% 150% 150% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

75%

Advanced

Pathfinding

150% 125% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

75%

Expert

Pathfinding

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

75%

Hero Secondary Skills

Archery

Increases the damage done by

the hero’s range strike units.

Diplomacy

Allows the hero to bribe army camps. The higher the skill, the more that join.

Ballistics

In a siege, the catapult’s shots, damage, and accuracy are increased.

Eagle Eye

Gives the hero a chance to learn a spell cast by an enemy spellcaster.

Estates

The hero begins to generate money as if he were a small town.

Leadership

Grant’s the hero a bonus to morale. Necromancers cannot learn Leadership.

Besides the four basic hero statistics, a hero can learn and advance in secondary skills. These skills give the hero abilities like farther movement over land or sea, learning high level spells, or improving his skill with the catapult in castle sieges. A hero can learn at maximum eight secondary skills and all skills are known at three levels– Basic (level 1), Advanced (level 2), and Expert (level 3).

Basic: +10% damage Advanced: +25% damage Expert: +50% damage

Basic: 1 shot + extra dam. Advanced: 2 shots + extra dam. Expert: 2 shots + max dam.

Basic: 25% join Advanced: 50% join Expert: 100% join

Basic: 20% 2nd level max Advanced: 30% 3rd level max Expert: 40% 4th level max

Basic: 100 gold/day Advanced: 250 gold/day Expert: 500 gold/day

Basic: +1 morale Advanced: +2 morale Expert: +3 morale

Logistics

Gives the hero extra land movement.

Basic: +10% movement Advanced: +20% movement Expert: +30% movement

Luck

Grants the hero’s army a bonus to luck in combat.

Mysticism

Increases the rate per turn that a hero regains spell points.

Navigation

Increases the hero’s movement on water.

Necromancy

Animates a portion of the units killed in battle into skeletons when you win.

Pathfinding

Reduces the movement penalty of the hero over rough terrain.

Scouting

Increases the visibilty radius of the hero in the Adventure Window.

Basic: +1 luck Advanced: +2 luck Expert: +3 luck

Basic: 2 spell point/turn Advanced: 3 spell points/turn Expert: 4 spell points/turn

Basic: +50% movement Advanced: +100% movement Expert: +150% movement

Basic: 10% of killed units Advanced: 20% of killed units Expert: 30% of killed units

Basic: Reduces penalty 25 Advanced: Reduces penalty 50 Expert: Reduces penalty 100

Basic: +1 square Advanced: +2 squares Expert: +3 squares

Wisdom

Allows the hero to learn higher than 2nd level spells.

Basic: 3rd level spells Advanced: 4th level spells Expert: 5th level spells

Skill Advancement

Type

Barbarian 2-9 Barbarian 10+

Knight 2-9 Knight 10+

Necromancer 2-9 Necromancer 10+

Sorceress 2-9 Sorceress 10+

Warlock 2-9 Warlock 10+

Wizard 2-9 Wizard 10+

Defense

35% 30%

45% 25%

15% 25%

10% 20%

Attack

55% 30%

35% 25%

15% 25%

10% 20%

Power

20% 10%

25% 35%

25% 30%

30% 50%

30% 40%

30%

Knowledge

20% 10%

25% 35%

25% 50%

30% 30%

30% 40%

30%

Skills are improved by advancing in levels. When a hero advances a level, a screen will appear giving the hero a bonus to a primary skill (Attack, Defense, Spell Power, or Knowledge), and the choice between two secondary skills. One or both may be skills already known by the hero which the hero can then advance in, otherwise the skill(s) are new to the hero and are learned at the Basic level. The skills a hero has to choose from are randomly selected, weighted by the class of hero.

Primary Skill Advancement: The table below gives the percentage chance of learning a primary skill when going up each level. For the first nine levels heroes tend to be specialized in one or two skills, but at tenth level and beyond they generalize much more.

Secondary Skill Advancement: Each secondary skill has a different chance to be learned by each hero type. The table below lists the secondary skills and the hero types with an indication of how often a skill will be learned. The higher the number, the higher the chance that the skill will be available to learn; the lower the number, the lower the chance that the skill will be available (a 0 means no chance)

Skill

Archery Ballistics Diplomacy Eagle Eye Estates Leadership Logistics Luck Mysticism Navigation Necromancy Pathfinding Scouting Wisdom

Barbarian

3 2 1 2 3

2 1 3 0

4 4

Knight

4 3

3 5 3

1 1 2 0 3 2 2

Necromancer

1 3 2

2 0 2 1 3 2

3 1 4

Sorceress

3 2 2 2 1 2

0 2 1 4

Warlock

1 3 2

2 1 2 1 3 2 1 2

4 5

Wizard

1 3 2

2 2 2 2

2 0 2 2

Hero Trading Screen

A hero can trade creatures and artifacts with another hero you control by plotting a path to the friendly hero. The Hero Trading Screen is broken into three areas.

Primary

Skills

Armies

Hero Information Area: The heroes’ portraits, names, statistics, and skills are located here. This information is provided for your convenience, these items cannot be swapped between heroes.

Armies: To swap creatures between heroes, click on the creature, then click on the creature’s destination. If the destination is occupied by a creature, the two creatures exchange places. Shift-click will move only the number of creatures you specify. Remember that a hero must have at least one creature in his army.

Portraits

Secondary

Skills

Artifacts

Artifacts: To trade artifacts between heroes, click on the artifact you wish to move, then click on its destination. If the destination is another artifact, then the artifacts are swapped. Spellbooks and cursed artifacts cannot be traded.

Kingdom Overview Screen

Hero/Town

Portraits

Garrison

Mine

Summary

The Kingdom Overview Screen can be reached by clicking the Kingdom Overview Adventure Button or clicking on the Crest in any town or castle you control. At the bottom of this screen is a listing of the types and quantities of mines you control. Below this is a resource summary showing the total amounts of each resource you possess. At the bottom of the screen is your daily income in gold. Also appearing at the bottom are any “global effects” you control, like the lighthouse.

Creatures

Available

Hero/Town

Buttons

Two buttons marked Hero and Town are to the right of the mines. Clicking on these buttons will show your heroes or towns, respectively. The Hero display shows each hero, their mini-portrait and crest, skills, artifacts, and creatures. The Town display shows each town, defensive upgrades (turrets/moat), mini-picture, garrison forces, and creatures available. If you have more than four heroes or towns, scroll through the list using the scroll bars. Clicking on the hero or town portrait will bring up that hero or town’s Hero or Town Screen (whichever applies).

Combat

When your hero encounters an enemy hero or town, or a hostile army camp, he enters combat. If your hero is attacking an enemy castle he enters siege combat, otherwise he engages in field combat. The screen will change to the Combat Screen, showing your hero and the enemy hero (if present) on horseback, your units in the order you have placed them, and the enemy units. The attacker is always on the left side, and the defender is always on the right.

Every hero is represented by a rider on horseback. No creature can attack the hero, nor can the hero directly attack any creature. Clicking on your hero will give information and options for the hero during the combat.

General Options Window: From this window your hero has the following options:

Cast Spell: This will open up the hero’s spellbook and display only the hero’s combat spells. The number below each spell is the cost in spell points to cast the spell. Click on a spell to cast it, R-click on a spell for quick information on the spell. Click on the upper right and left page corners to turn the pages of the book. The bookmark on the lower right shows the hero’s remaining spell points, and the book mark labeled EXIT allows you to leave the screen without casting a spell. Pressing “C” on the keyboard will also open the spellbook.

Retreat: This causes the hero to flee combat- he loses his army but retains his skills, experience, and artifacts. It is better to save a hero you have invested time and money in rather than let him be defeated. The hero disappears from the Adventure Window, but reappears for hire in your castles.

Surrender: This option is similar to retreat, but can only be performed in combat against an opposing hero. Surrender will allow you to keep your army by payi n g

a ransom to the opposing hero based on the power of your army. The hero again disappears from the Adventure Window and appears for hire in your castles, with his army intact. The payment will be reduced by 20% per level of the Diplomacy secondary skill.

Exit: This option returns you to the Combat Screen.

Heroes never die. If you defeat a hero, you claim any artifacts that hero had (except the enemy hero’s spellbook). The defeated hero goes back into the hero pool and can be recruited by anyone.

Creatures

In combat, the fastest creature present is allowed to act first, with a tie in speed going to the attacker, starting from the top unit and going to the bottom unit. If multiple creatures have the same speed, then the order alternates between attacker and defender– if the attacker and defender both have two speed four units, then the attacker’s top speed four unit moves, then the defender’s top speed four unit, then back to the attacker’s remaining unit, then the defender’s remaining unit.

A variety of icons replace the standard cursor in combat:

Running Man: Indicates that the location on the Combat Screen is a valid move for the active creature.

Flying Man: Indicates that the location on the Combat Screen is a valid move for the active flying creature.

Sword: Indicates that the active creature can move and attack the enemy creature from the direction indicated by the sword.

Arrow: Indicates that the active creature has a clear shot at the enemy the cursor is over. This symbol only appears for units with a range attack.

Broken Arrow: Indicates that the active range strike creature will do half damage to the enemy the cursor is over- this penalty is negated by having the Archery secondary skill. This cursor only appears on a creature behind castle walls.

Red “X” with Circle: Indicates that the location on the Combat Screen is an invalid move for the active creature.

Question Mark: Appears over any unit and shows the creature statistic window for that creature.

Helmet: Opens the General’s Options Window. If used over an enemy hero, it gives the statistics of the enemy hero.

The highlighted creature is the one currently taking action. Each creature may move and/or attack or SKIP its action for the turn (pressing the space bar will also SKIP the creature. To move a creature, place the running or flying man cursor over the location you wish to move the creature to and click. To attack an enemy, place the cursor over an enemy (it will become a sword or an arrow if you are capable of attacking this turn) and click. The direction of the sword defines from where you will attack the enemy. After a creature attacks, the defending creature retaliates against the attacker (provided the defender is still alive). A creature may only retaliate against one attack per turn.

The total damage a creature inflicts is the base damage of the creature multiplied by the number of creatures attacking. This is modified by the difference between the attacking creature’s Attack skill and the defending creature’s Defense skill. Each point of Attack over Defense gives an additional 10% extra damage (1 over 110%, 5 over 150%) to a maximum of three times the damage. Each point of Defense over Attack reduces the damage taken by 5% (1 over gives 95%, 5 over 75%) to a minimum of 30%. The final damage is subtracted from the defender’s hit points, resulting in the number of creatures killed. Damage carries over from turn to turn.

As an example, if 3 Rocs (Attack 7 / Defense 7 / Damage 4-8 / Hit Points 40) were attacking 5 Pikemen (Attack 5 / Defense 9 / Damage 3-4 / Hit Points 15), the Rocs do an aver-

age of 6 points of damage each (on average) multiplied by 3 (the number of Rocs attacking) for a total of 18 points. The Defense of the Pikemen, however, is two above the Attack of the Rocs (9 as compared to 7), so the damage is lessened 10% (2 difference in Defense favor) to a total of 16, which kills one Pikeman (Pikemen have 15 Hit Points), and damages a Pikeman for 1 point.

The Pikemen retaliate doing 3.5 points of damage each (on average) multiplied by 4 (the number of Pikemen retaliating) for a total of 14 points. Because the Attack of the Pikemen (5) is two less than the Defense of the Rocs (7) , the Pikemen do 14 to the Rocs, which is lessened by 10%, and becomes 12– not enough to kill one Roc (40 Hit Points).

Other effects and spells can modify the Attack and Defense skill of the creatures, or how much damage the creatures do.

Creatures that have high morale are sometimes able to make a second move and/or attack immediately after their first. Creatures that have poor morale are sometimes frozen, unable to perform any action for that round.

Creatures that receive good luck for an attack do double damage, and creatures that receive bad luck for an attack do half damage.

The AUTO button will have the computer take over fighting the battle for you. Remember that the computer does not necessarily fight battles the same way you do, but has the same desire to win. The computer will cast spells when on AUTO combat.

The OPTS button brings up a window of Combat System Options.

Animation Speed: Cycles between Normal, Fast, and Very Fast. View Grid: Displays the grid that determines exact creature and cursor locations. Mini Information Window: Gives information on your currently active stack, and

on any stack the cursor is over– useful if the number of creatures in a stack is partially hidden. This will show all spells affecting the creatures as well.

Shadow Mouse: Shadows the hex the cursor is over, giving finer control over creature movement and spell aiming.

Shadow Grid: Shadows any valid movement locations for the currently active units, and deepens the shadows for any enemy the active unit can attack this turn.

Auto Combat Spells: Prevents the computer from casting spells for you when you use the AUTO feature.

Siege Combat

Siege combat is identical to field combat with one major exception– the defender is inside a castle. To attack the defending units, the attacker needs to bypass the walls, either by knocking them down, by shooting over them with range attacks, or by flying over them with flying creatures.

The attacker has a special weapon to attack the castle– a catapult. The catapult fires once per turn before the first attacking creature moves. The catapult will damage a random section of the castle walls, and will eventually destroy the turrets. When all wall segments and turrets have been destroyed, the catapult will destroy the main ballista. If the attacking hero has the Ballistics skill, the catapult will be more accurate and can do more damage to the walls. It may take multiple shots to breach a wall segment of the castle. Until a wall segment is breached, ground creatures may not enter the castle.

The defender has quite a few special weapons during a siege. Most important are the castle walls, which partially shield the defending creatures from range attacks, and keep all enemy ground units out of the castle. The defender’s ground troops may exit the castle at any time through the drawbridge.

The defender is aided by the castle ballista which fires a shot at an enemy unit once per turn before the first defending unit moves. The damage of the ballista is determined by the number of structures built in the town, and the level of the Mage Guild. R-clicking on the ballista will give information on it. The ballista will cease firing when there are no defenders behind the castle walls. A defender’s castle may also be upgraded with two turrets that perform as the ballista in all respects, though each doing about half the damage as the ballista.

The defender’s castle may also have a moat, which stops ground movement and leaves any unit in the moat more vulnerable to attacks. The defending castle may also have a Captain, which acts as a hero in the town, adding his skills to the defending creatures and casting any spells available at the town’s Mage Guild.

Spells

Spells, and a particular hero’s ability to cast them, are a major part of Heroes II. Before you can cast any spell, your hero needs a spellbook and a Mage Guild to learn the spells from (he may need the Mage Guild to get a spellbook). To learn spells above 2nd level, the hero must also possess the Wisdom skill.

Casting spells costs spell points– the cost of each spell is listed below the spell in your spellbook. To cast a spell, click on the spell you wish to cast from the spellbook. R-clicking gives quick information on the spell. To turn the pages, click on the upper right and left corners of the book. The EXIT bookmark will exit you from the spellbook. The Horse and Sword bookmarks show you the Adventure and Combat spells you know, respectively.

Combat spells may only be cast in combat, and Adventure spells may only be cast from the Adventure Window. You can determine how many spell points a hero has remaining by looking at the green bar to the right of the hero’s portrait in the Hero Locator Buttons, from the Hero Screen, or by the bookmark on the lower left of the spellbook. Spell points are regained by starting a turn in a castle with a Mage Guild, or slowly over time (at the rate of one per day).

Level One Spells

Bless

Cost: 3 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Blessed creatures inflict maximum

damage.

Cure

Cost: 6 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: Instant

Removes all negative spells and heals

5x Power in hit points.

Dispel Magic

Cost: 5 Type: Combat Target: 1 creature Duration: Instant

Bloodlust

Cost: 3 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Adds +3 to the creature’s Attack

skill.

Curse

Cost: 3 Type: Combat Target: 1 enemy Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Cursed creatures inflict minimum

damage.

Haste

Cost: 3 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Removes all spells on a creature.

Adds +2 to the creature’s Speed.

Magic Arrow

Cost: 3 Type: Combat Target: 1 enemy Duration: Instant

Shield

Cost: 3 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Inflicts 10x Power in damage to a

single enemy creature.

Slow

Cost: 3 Type: Combat Target: 1 enemy Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Slowed creatures are reduced to half

their normal speeds.

View Mines

Cost: 1 Type: Adventure Target: na Duration: na

Shows the location of all mines, and

their controllers, on World View.

Shielded creatures take half damage

from range strike attacks.

Stoneskin

Cost: 3 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Adds +3 to the creature’s Defense

Skill.

View Resources

Cost: 1 Type: Adventure Target: na Duration: na

Shows the location of all remaining

resources on the map in World View.

Level Two Spells

Blind

Cost: 6 Type: Combat Target: 1 enemy Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Blind creatures cannot take action

until attacked and retaliate with half

strength.

Death Ripple

Cost: 6 Type: Combat Target: All living creatures Duration: Instant

Inflicts 5x Power in death magic to

all non-undead creatures.

Dragon Slayer

Cost: 6 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Cold Ray

Cost: 6 Type: Combat Target: 1 enemy Duration: Instant

Inflicts 20x Power in cold damage to

a single enemy creature.

Disrupting Ray

Cost: 7 Type: Combat Target: 1 enemy Duration: Combat

Reduces Defense of target by 3. A

creature can be affected multiple

times by this spell.

Haunt

Cost: 8 Type: Adventure Target: 1 mine Duration: Until defeated

Creature gains +5 to Attack skill

against Dragons.

Deflags a mine and sets 4x Power

ghosts to guard it.

Lightning Bolt

Cost: 7 Type: Combat Target: 1 enemy Duration: Instant

Inflicts 25x Power in electricity dam-

age to a single enemy creature.

Steelskin

Cost: 6 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Adds +5 to the creature’s Defense

Skill.

Summon Boat

Cost: 5 Type: Adventure Target: na Duration: na

Summons nearest friendly, empty

boat to caster’s location.

Visions

Cost: 6 Type: Adventure Target: 1 Army camp Duration: Instant

Gives relative strength of an army

camp, and whether that camp will

offer to join the hero.

View Artifacts

Cost: 2 Type: Adventure Target: na Duration: na

Shows the location of all remaining

artifacts on the World View.

Level Three Spells

Animate Dead

Cost: 10 Type: Combat Target: Killed undead Duration: Permanent

Regrows 50x Spell Power in hit

points of killed undead.

Cold Ring

Cost: 9 Type: Combat Target: 6 hexes Duration: Instant

Inflicts 10x Power in cold damage to

the adjacent hexes of the target hex.

Earthquake

Cost: 15 Type: Combat Target: na Duration: Instant

Anti-Magic

Cost: 7 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Creature gains immunity to all magic.

Death Wave

Cost: 10 Type: Combat Target: All living creatures Duration: Instant

Inflicts 10x Power in death magic to

all non-undead creatures.

Fireball

Cost: 9 Type: Combat Target: 7 hexes Duration: Instant

Damages all castle walls during siege

combat.

Inflicts 10x Power in fire damage to

the target hex and each adjacent hex.

Holy Word

Cost: 9 Type: Combat Target: All undead creatures Duration: Instant

Inflicts 10x Power in holy damage to

all undead creatures.

Identify Hero

Cost: 3 Type: Adventure Target: 1 enemy hero Duration: 1 day

Allows you to view an enemy hero’s

statistics and army size.

Mass Bless

Cost: 12 Type: Combat Target: All allies Duration: 1 rnd / Power

Blessed creatures inflict maximum

damage.

Mass Dispel

Cost: 12 Type: Combat Target: All creatures Duration: Instant

Removes all spells from all creatures.

Mass Curse

Cost: 12 Type: Combat Target: All enemies Duration: 1 rnd / Level

Cursed creatures inflict minimum

damage in combat.

Mass Haste

Cost: 10 Type: Combat Target: All allies Duration: 1 rnd / level

Adds +2 to creatures’ Speed.

Paralyze

Cost: 9 Type: Combat Target: 1 enemy Duration: 1 rnd / level

Teleport

Cost: 9 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: Instant

Paralyzed creatures cannot take

action until attacked, and cannot

retaliate.

View Heroes

Cost: 2 Type: Adventure Target: na Duration: na

Shows the location and color of all

heroes in the World View.

Instantly moves any friendly creature

to any unoccupied hex.

View Towns

Cost: 2 Type: Adventure Target: na Duration: na

Shows the location and color of all

towns in the World View.

Level Four Spells

Berserk

Cost: 12 Type: Combat Target: 1 enemy Duration: 1 attack

Berserk creatures will randomly

attack the nearest stack.

Fireblast

Cost: 15 Type: Combat Target: 19 hexes Duration: Instant

Inflicts 10x Power in fire damage to

the target hex, and to the 18 adjacent

hexes.

Mass Cure

Cost: 15 Type: Combat Target: All allies Duration: Instant

Chain Lightning

Cost: 15 Type: Combat Target: Special Duration: Instant

Inflicts 40x Power in electricity dam-

age, then half that damage to nearest

creature, until four creatures are hit.

Holy Shout

Cost: 12 Type: Combat Target: All undead creatures Duration: Instant

Inflicts 20x Power in holy damage to

all undead creatures.

Mass Shield

Cost: 7 Type: Combat Target: All allies Duration: 1 rnd / level

Removes all negative spells and heals

5x Power in hit points.

Shielded creatures take half damage

from range strike attacks.

Mass Slow

Cost: 15 Type: Combat Target: All enemies Duration: 1 rnd / level

Meteor Shower

Cost: 15 Type: Combat Target: 7 hexes Duration: Instant

Slowed creatures are reduced to half

their normal Speed.

Resurrection

Cost: 12 Type: Combat Target: Killed creature Duration: Combat

Regrows 50x Power in hit points of

killed units.

Set Earth Guardian

Cost: 15 Type: Adventure Target: 1 mine Duration: Until defeated

Sets 4x Power in Earth Elementals

to guard the mine.

Inflicts 25x power in damage to the

target hex, and each adjacent hex.

Set Air Guardian

Cost: 15 Type: Adventure Target: 1 mine Duration: Until defeated

Sets 4x Power in Air Elementals to

guard the mine.

Set Fire Guardian

Cost: 15 Type: Adventure Target: 1 mine Duration: Until defeated

Sets 4x Power in Fire Elementals to

guard the mine.

Set Water Guardian

Cost: 15 Type: Adventure Target: 1 mine Duration: Until defeated

Sets 4x Power in Water Elementals

to guard the mine.

Storm

Cost: 15 Type: Combat Target: All creatures Duration: Instant

Inflicts 25x Power in damage to all

creatures.

Town Gate

Cost: 10 Type: Adventure Target: Hero Duration: Instant

Teleports hero to nearest friendly

town.

View All

Cost: 3 Type: Adventure Target: na Duration: na

Combines all the previous View

spells, and shows the entire map in

the World View.

Level Five Spells

Armageddon

Cost: 20 Type: Combat Target: All creatures Duration: Instant

Inflicts 50x Power in damage to all

creatures.

Hypnotize

Cost: 15 Type: Combat Target: 1 enemy Duration: 1 rnd

Takes control of the creature if the

hit points of the stack are less than

25x Power.

Resurrection True

Cost: 15 Type: Combat Target: Killed creature Duration: Permanent

Dimension Door

Cost: 10 Type: Adventure Target: na Duration: na

Teleports the hero to an unoccupied,

visible location.

Mirror Image

Cost: 25 Type: Combat Target: 1 ally Duration: Combat

Duplicates one of your creature

stacks. The image is dispelled if it

takes any damage.

Summon Air Elemental

Cost: 30 Type: Combat Target: na Duration: Combat

Regrows 50x Power in hit points of

killed units.

Summons 3x Power in Air

Elementals.

Summon Earth Elemental

Cost: 30 Type: Combat Target: na Duration: Combat

Summons 3x Power in Earth

Elementals.

Summon Fire Elemental

Cost: 30 Type: Combat Target: na Duration: Combat

Summons 3x Power in Fire

Elementals.

Summon Water Elemental

Cost: 30 Type: Combat Target: na Duration: Combat

Summons 3x Power in Water

Elementals.

Town Portal

Cost: 20 Type: Adventure Target: Hero Duration: na

Teleports the hero to any friendly

town.

Creatures

Barbarian

Barbarian creatures are generally slow, but have high Attack skills and hit points. While excellent in the early and midgame, the Barbarian creatures begin to falter towards the endgame. The early game advantage is accented in small and medium maps.

Goblin

Attack: 3 Hits: 3 Defense: 1 Speed: Average Damage: 1-2 Shots: 0

A solid low level creature, packs of Goblins are a match for most level two creatures.

Orc

Attack: 3 Hits: 10 Defense: 4 Speed: Very Slow Damage: 2-3 Shots: 8

Though slow, Orcs provide range attack until Trolls can be recruited.

Orc Chieftan

Attack: 3 Hits: 15 Defense: 4 Speed: Slow Damage: 3-4 Shots: 16

40Cost:

140Cost:

175Cost:

The upgrade to the Orcs gives them longer durabilty in combat.

Wolf

Attack: 6 Hits: 20 Defense: 2 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 3-5 Shots: 0

2 Attacks. Wolves are incredible offensive units, but they need to be used carefully because they cannot take damage well.

200Cost:

Ogre

Attack: 9 Hits: 40 Defense: 5 Speed: Very Slow Damage: 4-6 Shots: 0

Ogres are the anchor of the Barbarian units. Though tough, Ogres are very slow on the battlefield, making it difficult for them to attack.

Ogre Lord

Attack: 9 Hits: 60 Defense: 5 Speed: Average Damage: 5-7 Shots: 0

The upgrade to the Ogre not only adds speed, but a sizeable increase in hit points.

Troll

Attack: 10 Hits: 40 Defense: 5 Speed: Average Damage: 5-7 Shots: 8

300Cost:

500Cost:

600Cost:

Regenerates. The ability to regenerate and strike at range makes trolls incredibly useful in castle sieges.

War Troll

Attack: 10 Hits: 40 Defense: 5 Speed: Fast Damage: 7-9 Shots: 16

Regenerates. The Troll upgrade increases in damage and speed, while keeping the ability to regenerate.

700Cost:

Cyclops

Attack: 12 Hits: 80 Defense: 9 Speed: Fast Damage: 12-24 Shots: 0

Attack affects 2 spaces, 20% chance to Paralyze creatures. Cyclopes are powerful ground combatants.

750 + 1Cost:

Knight

Knight creatures have high defense skills, and at the upper levels are fairly fast. Like the Barbarian, however, the Knight creatures are best in the early and midgame. In the endgame, the best success will be fighting against the Sorceress or Neromancer. Small and medium maps allow the Knight to press his early game advantage.

Peasant

Attack: 1 Hits: 1 Defense: 1 Speed: Very Slow Damage: 1-1 Shots: 0

The weakest creature, their only redeeming quality is numbers- they are cheap and plentiful.

Archer

Attack: 5 Hits: 10 Defense: 3 Speed: Very Slow Damage: 2-3 Shots: 12

The only range strike unit for the Knight, the slow speed of the Archers can be a setback.

Ranger

Attack: 5 Hits: 10 Defense: 3 Speed: Average Damage: 2-3 Shots: 24

20Cost:

150Cost:

200Cost:

Fires 2 shots per turn. The best low level upgrade available, the Ranger is almost twice as good as an Archer on offense.

Pikeman

Attack: 5 Hits: 15 Defense: 9 Speed: Average Damage: 3-4 Shots: 0

Pikemen compose half of the standard units of the Knight. Though weak on offense, the Pikemen’s Defense allows them to last in battle.

200Cost:

Veteran Pikeman

Attack: 5 Hits: 20 Defense: 9 Speed: Fast Damage: 3-4 Shots: 0

The upgrade of the Pikeman gives increased speed and hit points.

Swordsman

Attack: 7 Hits: 25 Defense: 9 Speed: Average Damage: 4-6 Shots: 0

The other half of the standard Knight units, Swordsmen are tougher than Pikemen, and do considerably more damage.

Master Swordsman

Attack: 7 Hits: 30 Defense: 9 Speed: Fast Damage: 4-6 Shots: 0

250Cost:

300Cost:

The Swordsman upgrade gives increased speed and hit points.

Cavalry

Attack: 10 Hits: 30 Defense: 9 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 5-10 Shots: 0

Cavalry deal considerable damage, and their high speed allows them to manuever easily around the battlefield.

300Cost:

Champion

Attack: 10 Hits: 40 Defense: 9 Speed: Ultra Fast Damage: 5-10 Shots: 0

One of the fastest units, the Cavalry upgrade can move around almost at will on the battlefield.

Paladin

Attack: 11 Hits: 50 Defense: 12 Speed: Fast Damage: 10-20 Shots: 0

2 attacks. Expert warriors, Paladins are best suited on offense, where their ability to strike twice gives them the biggest advantage.

Crusader

Attack: 11 Hits: 65 Defense: 12 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 10-20 Shots: 0

375Cost:

600Cost:

1000Cost:

2 attacks. Immune to curse. x2 damage vs. undead. The Paladin upgrade becomes a nightmare for the unwary Necromancer.

Necromancer

The Necromancer creatures, while weak at the low levels, become much more powerful at the high levels. The Necromancer is weak in the early game, but strong in the mid and endgame. Larger maps give the Necromancer time to develop the higher level creatures. All Necromancer units (and ghosts) are undead, and are therefore immune to mind affecting spells, Bless and Curse, and are always at neutral morale.

Skeleton

Attack: 4 Hits: 4 Defense: 3 Speed: Average Damage: 2-3 Shots: 0

The best level one creature, Skeletons should be hoarded by Necromancers, as they provide easily available power early on.

Zombie

Attack: 5 Hits: 15 Defense: 2 Speed: Very Slow Damage: 2-3 Shots: 0

Though having more hits than Skeletons, Zombies have a low Defense and speed.

Mutant Zombie

Attack: 5 Hits: 20 Defense: 2 Speed: Average Damage: 2-3 Shots: 0

75Cost:

150Cost:

200Cost:

The zombie upgrade increases the speed of the Zombies. Mutant Zombies are worthwhile additions to any fledgling undead army.

Mummy

Attack: 6 Hits: 25 Defense: 6 Speed: Average Damage: 3-4 Shots: 0

20% chance to curse enemy creatures. The best ground creature available for the Necromancer.

250Cost:

Royal Mummy

Attack: 6 Hits: 30 Defense: 6 Speed: Fast Damage: 3-4 Shots: 0

30% chance to Curse enemy creatures. The upgrade of the Mummy has improved speed and toughness.

Vampire

Attack: 8 Hits: 30 Defense: 6 Speed: Average Damage: 5-7 Shots: 0

Flies. Creatures attacked by Vampires cannot retaliate. Vampires are necessary for the success of the Necromancer.

Vampire Lord

Attack: 8 Hits: 40 Defense: 6 Speed: Fast Damage: 5-7 Shots: 0

300Cost:

500Cost:

650Cost:

Flies. Creatures attacked by Vampire Lords cannot retaliate. Vampire Lords gain some back some of the damage they do as hit points

Lich

Attack: 7 Hits: 25 Defense: 12 Speed: Fast Damage: 8-10 Shots: 12

Range attack affects adjacent hexes. Liches are the only range strike unit available to the Necromancer.

750Cost:

Power Lich

Attack: 7 Hits: 35 Defense: 13 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 8-10 Shots: 24

Range attack affects adjacent hexes. This upgrade of the Lich improves the durability of the Lich in combat.

Bone Dragon

Attack: 11 Hits: 150 Defense: 9 Speed: Average Damage: 25-45 Shots: 0

Flies. Lowers the morale of opposing creatures. Bone Dragons are fierce creatures, second only to the Warlock Dragons in raw damage.

900Cost:

1500Cost:

Sorceress

Sorceress creatures are generally very fast, but have low hit points. Weak in the early game, and moderate at best in the endgame, the Sorceress creatures are the best in the midgame. The combination of speed, flying, and range attack becomes incredibly potent. Medium maps are perfect for Sorceress creatures.

Sprite

Attack: 4 Hits: 2 Defense: 2 Speed: Average Damage: 1-2 Shots: 0

Flies. Creatures attacked by Sprites cannot retaliate. Sprites are powerful in large numbers.

Dwarf

Attack: 6 Hits: 20 Defense: 5 Speed: Very Slow Damage: 2-4 Shots: 0

25% Magic resistance. Dwarves make excellent garrison units because of their toughness and magic resistance.

Battle Dwarf

Attack: 6 Hits: 20 Defense: 6 Speed: Average Damage: 2-4 Shots: 0

50Cost:

200Cost:

250Cost:

25% Magic resistance. The upgrade of the Dwarf is faster and tougher.

Elf

Attack: 4 Hits: 15 Defense: 3 Speed: Average Damage: 2-3 Shots: 24

Fires 2 shots per turn. Elves are incredible offensive units, able to deal large amounts of damage at range.

250Cost:

Grand Elf

Attack: 5 Hits: 15 Defense: 5 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 2-3 Shots: 24

Fires 2 shots per turn. The Elf upgrade becomes faster and more skilled. Grand Elves are able to whittle down enemy forces quickly.

Druid

Attack: 7 Hits: 25 Defense: 5 Speed: Fast Damage: 5-8 Shots: 8

Druids are one of the best range strike units available. Though weak, few units can close to melee range on the Druid without dying.

Greater Druid

Attack: 7 Hits: 25 Defense: 7 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 5-8 Shots: 16

300Cost:

350Cost:

400Cost:

The Druid upgrade is faster and tougher. Greater Druids and Grand Elves complement each other well.

Unicorn

Attack: 10 Hits: 40 Defense: 9 Speed: Fast Damage: 7-14 Shots: 0

20% chance to Blind enemy creature. Unicorns are solid ground creatures. They are tough, fast, and deal good damage.

500Cost:

Phoenix

Attack: 12 Hits: 100 Defense: 10 Speed: Ultra Fast Damage: 20-40 Shots: 0

Flies. Attack affects two hexes. Immune to elemental spells. Extremely fast and powerful, Phoenixes can be formidable opponents.

1500 + 1Cost:

Warlock

The Warlock units are slow and expensive, but have high hit points and good Attack and Defense skills. Poor in the midgame, Warlock creaturesare effective in the early game, and show their true colors in the endgame, where Dragons rule the battlefield. Warlocks can have success on small maps, but generally do better on larger maps where they have time to develop Dragons.

Centaur

Attack: 3 Hits: 5 Defense: 1 Speed: Average Damage: 1-2 Shots: 8

Centaurs are the only range strike creature available to the Warlock, and are valuable for that reason.

Gargoyle

Attack: 4 Hits: 15 Defense: 7 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 2-3 Shots: 0

Flies. Due to their speed and toughness, Gargoyles are one of the most useful Warlock creatures.

Griffin

Attack: 6 Hits: 25 Defense: 6 Speed: Average Damage: 3-5 Shots: 0

60Cost:

200Cost:

300Cost:

Flies. May retaliate against any number of attackers. Griffins are able to fight large numbers of creatures and prove victorious.

Minotaur

Attack: 9 Hits: 35 Defense: 8 Speed: Average Damage: 5-10 Shots: 0

Minotaurs are good offensive creatures, but are slow compared to the earlier Warlock creatures.

400Cost:

Minotaur King

Attack: 9 Hits: 45 Defense: 8 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 5-10 Shots: 0

The Minotaur upgrade saves the Warlock in the midgame because of the increased speed and toughness.

Hydra

Attack: 8 Hits: 75 Defense: 9 Speed: Very Slow Damage: 6-12 Shots: 0

Attacks all adjacent enemies. Though powerful, their slow speed makes the Hydra most useful as a garrison creature.

Green Dragon

Attack: 12 Hits: 200 Defense: 12 Speed: Average Damage: 25-50 Shots: 0

500Cost:

800Cost:

3000 + 1Cost:

Flies. Attack affects two hexes. Immune to spells. The Dragon easily reigns as the best sixth level creature, and can fight small armies itself.

Red Dragon

Attack: 13 Hits: 250 Defense: 13 Speed: Fast Damage: 25-50 Shots: 0

Flies. Attack affects two hexes. Immune to spells. The first upgrade to the Dragon improves in speed, toughness, and skill.

3500 + 1Cost:

Black Dragon

Attack: 14 Hits: 300 Defense: 14 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 25-50 Shots: 0

Flies. Attack affects two hexes. Immune to spells. The second upgrade to the Dragon improves again in speed, toughness, and skill.

4000 + 2Cost:

Wizard

Wizard creatures have a little of everything, some toughness, some speed, some range strike ability. Like the Necromancer, the Wizard is weak in the early game, strong in the midgame, and challenges the Warlock for endgame power. Titans and Archmages are the best range strike creatures around, and Titans match up to Dragons in power.

Halfling

Attack: 2 Hits: 3 Defense: 1 Speed: Slow Damage: 1-3 Shots: 12

Halflings provide solid, early range strike ability for the Wizard.

Boar

Attack: 5 Hits: 15 Defense: 4 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 2-3 Shots: 0

Boars are fast and strong, and make excellent units for exploring.

Iron Golem

Attack: 5 Hits: 30 Defense: 10 Speed: Very Slow Damage: 4-5 Shots: 0

50Cost:

150Cost:

300Cost:

1/2 damage from elemental spells. The high defense, partial magic resistance, and slow speed make Golems excellent garrison creatures.

Steel Golem

Attack: 7 Hits: 35 Defense: 10 Speed: Slow Damage: 4-5 Shots: 0

1/2 damage from elemental spells. The Golem upgrade is faster, tougher, and stronger.

350Cost:

Roc

Attack: 7 Hits: 40 Defense: 7 Speed: Average Damage: 4-8 Shots: 0

Flies. The only flying creature available to the Wizard, the Roc offers solid offense and defense.

Mage

Attack: 11 Hits: 30 Defense: 7 Speed: Fast Damage: 7-9 Shots: 12

No penalty for attacking adjacent units. Though weak, Mages provide incredible offensive power.

Archmage

Attack: 12 Hits: 35 Defense: 8 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 7-9 Shots: 24

400Cost:

600Cost:

700Cost:

No adjacent penalty. 20% chance to dispel beneficial spells on their target. Archmages are second only to Titans in range strike ability.

Giant

Attack: 13 Hits: 150 Defense: 10 Speed: Average Damage: 20-30 Shots: 0

Immune to mind affecting spells. Giants do good damage and have enormous hit points, making them the scariest creature on the ground.

1250 + 1Cost:

Titan

Attack: 15 Hits: 300 Defense: 15 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 20-30 Shots: 16

Immune to mind affecting spells. No penalty for attacking adjacent units. Titans are capable of defeating Dragons in one on one combat.

5000 + 2Cost:

Neutral

These creatures do not belong under any hero type, and range from ghosts to rogues to elementals. Any of these creatures can end up in a heroes army (except ghosts), and using them can sometimes make the difference between victory and defeat. Recruiting these creatures becomes a necessity on higher game difficulties, where you need to fill your armies with whatever you can find, but on the lower difficulties they are more of a bonus.

Rogue

Attack: 6 Hits: 4 Defense: 1 Speed: Fast Damage: 1-2 Shots: 0

Creatures attacked by Rogues cannot retaliate. Rogues are useful early in the game, providing extra offense to any hero’s army.

Nomad

Attack: 7 Hits: 20 Defense: 6 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 2-5 Shots: 0

Nomads provide inexpensive fast creatures that can deal and take damage reasonably well.

50Cost:

200Cost:

Ghost

Attack: 8 Hits: 20 Defense: 7 Speed: Fast Damage: 4-6 Shots: 0

Flies. Undead. Creatures killed by ghosts become ghosts. Ghosts are fearsome opponents. Never attack ghosts with level one creatures!

Genie

Attack: 10 Hits: 50 Defense: 9 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 20-30 Shots: 0

Flies. 10% halve enemy unit. Between Paladin and Phoenix in power, the Genies low cost and awesome special ability are always useful.

650 + 1Cost:

Medusa

Attack: 8 Hits: 35 Defense: 9 Speed: Average Damage: 6-10 Shots: 0

20% chance to turn victim to stone for the combat. Medusas make a welcome addition to any army or garrison force.

500Cost:

Air Elemental

Attack: 7 Hits: 35 Defense: 7 Speed: Very Fast Damage: 2-8 Shots: 0

Neutral morale. Immune to mind spells and Meteor Swarm. Storm and Lightning Bolt do x2 damage.

Earth Elemental

Attack: 8 Hits: 50 Defense: 8 Speed: Slow Damage: 4-5 Shots: 0

Neutral morale. Immune to mind spells, Lightning Bolt, and Storm. Meteor Swarm does x2 damage.

Fire Elemental

Attack: 8 Hits: 40 Defense: 6 Speed: Fast Damage: 4-6 Shots: 0

Neutral morale. Immune to mind and fire spells. Cold spells do x2 damage.

Water Elemental

Attack: 6 Hits: 45 Defense: 8 Speed: Average Damage: 3-7 Shots: 0

Neutral morale. Immune to mind and cold spells. Fire spells do x2 damage.

Structures

All the structures available are listed below, arranged by town.

Common

The following structures are available in all towns. The Wizard town versions are shown– they may look different in the other towns.

Mage Guild

Tavern

Thieves’ Guild

2000 5 5+ +Cost:

Effect: Allows spellbook purchase and teaches spells.

Additional levels become increasingly more expensive.

500 5+Cost:

Effect: Gives defenders a bonus to morale and offers

rumors. Not available in Necromancer towns.

750 5+Cost:

Effect: Gives information comparing the players.

Additional Guilds give more information.

Shipyard

2000

20+Cost:

Statue

1250

Marketplace

500

Well

500

Effect: Allows construction of ships. Ships cost:

Effect: Increases income of town by 250

Effect: Allows trading of resources. Additional

Marketplaces give a better exchange rate.

1000 +

5+Cost:

Cost:

Effect: Increases creature production of each dwelling by two per week.

Horde Building

1000Cost:

Effect: Increases creature production of the lowest

dwelling by eight per week.

Left Turret

Right Turret

Moat

1500 5+Cost:

Effect: Adds a smaller ballista in the castle walls.

1500 5+Cost:

Effect: Adds a smaller ballista in the castle walls.

750Cost:

Effect: Entering moat stops ground movement, and

units have -3 Defense while in the moat.

Hut

300

Stick Hut

800

Stick Hut Upgrade

1200

Barbarian

The total cost for all the Barbarian structures is the least of all the hero types, but they require an enormous amount of ore. A small amount of wood is needed, and crystals only at the highest level.

Cost:

Requires: Nothing Effect: Generates 10 Goblins per week.

5+Cost:

Requires: Hut Effect: Generates 8 Orcs per week.

5+Cost:

Requires: Adobe, Den, Stick Hut Effect: Upgrades Orcs to Orc Chieftans.

Den

1000Cost:

Requires: Hut Effect: Generates 5 Wolves per week.

Adobe

Adobe Upgrade

Bridge

2000 10 10+ +Cost:

Requires: Hut Effect: Generates 4 Ogres per week.

3000 5 5+ +Cost:

Requires: Adobe, Den, Stick Hut Effect: Upgrades Ogres to Ogre Lords.

4000 20+Cost:

Requires: Adobe Effect: Generates 3 Trolls per week.

Bridge Upgrade

2000

10+Cost:

Pyramid

6000

Coliseum

2000

Requires: Bridge Effect: Upgrades Trolls to War Trolls.

20 20+ +Cost:

Requires: Bridge Effect: Generates 2 Cyclops per week.

10 10+ +Cost:

Requires: Nothing Effect: Gives defenders +2 Morale

100

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