GAME PLAY Combat Mechanics
Combat results are represented by kills and wounds on living units and damage to Mech units. Kills can only be recovered during a battle by using the Recruit button while adjacent to a friendly town, castle, or tower hex. Wounds can be recovered at any time by left-clicking on the Rest button. Repairing damage to Mech units requires rescuing a particular specialist named Niels the Engineer from the clutches of the Shadowlord. Once Niels hasjoined your staff he does not fight , Mech units are...
Missile Units
Archers and Bombardiers use their missile rating when attacking. These units stand at long range and fire bows, rifles, or in the case of Bombardiers, drop rocks, or burning oil. Like Skirmishers, Light Cavalry, and Spellcasters, these units avoid hand-to-hand combat. Their Melee and Missile ratings are reflective of this. When a Archer or Bombardier unit attacks it can only be attacked in return if the defending unit has a Missile rating. If an Archer unit is attacked then it is forced to the...
Bombardiers 1
Buy Bombardiers from the beginning, but be aware that they are only marginally effective until they get a shield or two of experience. Be careful with your Bombardiers, they are only good against some kinds of units. Don't bomb an Archer unit unless it is severely damaged. Stay over friendly Archers as much as possible, and stay over other ground units if there are enemy Archer units in the area. Bombardiers are good at knocking down Heavy Infantry and other tough units,just enough to give your...
Sky Hunters 1
You are going to need Sky Hunters. Start buying them on the first continent. It doesn't much matter what kind you buy, although mortal units are recommended because they upgrade, and the most important thing with Sky Hunters is experience. You don't need a lot of flyers unless you can't keep them alive. Two level 3 experience flyers are better than four 0-level flyers. Use Sky Hunters to finish off any badly damaged enemy troops that might otherwise escape. They are good against Siege Engines...
Fire Iste and the Dragonscate Archipelago
Fire Isle and its surrounding islands in the Dragonscale Archipelago were created during the Shadowlord's rising, and are as desolate and inhospitable as his heart. Rivers of lava flow from the angry and ever present volcanoes to form vast fields of molten pools, and the few twisted clumps of forest which do grow are doomed to an early and fiery end. This wasteland is inhabited only by slaves culled from conquered lands and the minions of darkness devoted to the Shadowlord. Little else is known...
Skirmisher
Skirmishers are the light armoured and loose formation troops. These units know the land around them and have a high search range. These units do well in all terrain and have a high movement rate. When attacking, the unit doesn't engage in melee, but instead, uses short range missile weapons for a skirmish attack. If the Skirmisher is defending and the attacking unit is slower, then 1 2 of the casualties it takes will be converted into a larger morale loss. These units are very effective in bad...
Heavy Infantry 1
Several Heavy Infantry Hero units, such as Sergeants and Lieutenants, are bound to join your army. Keep them, and any other single entity units healed up. They are easy to rest and will gain experience quickly. Mortal Heavy Infantry are easily killed at lower grades and experience. Protect them with Archers and don't throw them up against other Heavy Infantry until they have gained some experience. Giving Heavy Infantry a magical sword or ax is an effective use of the item. Try moving the item...
Abilities
This line lists any special abilities or vulnerabilities that this type of unit possesses. Experience Actions on the battlefield, such as attacking and defending, generate experience. As a unit gains experience, the shields at the bottom of the Unit Name panel fill in. In other words, an inexperienced unit will show five empty shield spaces, until it has enough experience to advance to level one, when this line will show one shield filled in. Replacements taken during a battle, and...
Setting Up a PBM Arena Game
At the Startup Screen, left-click the Play In The Arena button, then set Player 1 and Player 2 to Human. Once this is done left-click on the Start Game button. The next screen offers game options to be set prior to beginning play. It is important that you first left-click the Turn PBM On button. Next, choose what map to play the PBM game on or have the computer randomly create a map. Once you have set PBM to on and have chosen a map, left-click on Done. The Army Creation screen of the Arena...
Heroes
Heroes are single, powerful units that can be found but not purchased. Heroes are all individuals which means that they never suffer kills from spells or combat and always use their total number of attacks in combat. Some heroes will have the ability to cast spells on themselves or on other units. Heroes also have the effect of bolstering morale for units next to them units adjacent to a hero gain a 10 morale bonus for each hero nearby. Following is a list of the good heroes the player may find...
Mechanical Units
During a campaign game, your character must rescue Ferras the Mechmaster from the Shadowlord in order to gain access to units of the Mech race. If this occurs, an additional column appears to the right of existing columns which displays Mech unit icons. Mech units are much less expensive than the other three races, but until Niels the Engineer is rescued, damage they sustain is not repairable. Mech unit attack values are better than Mortal, and their armour ratings are much better than those of...
Allocating Rewards to Research Units
The next step is to decide how to allocate any gold rewards. This is done by left-clicking As your character's forces capture towns, search points of interest, and liberate regions, their army receives rewards of gold. This gold is distributed to research more powerful units of the different classes based on what percentage has been lt set. Changes are made by clicking the mouse pointer over the arrows next to each percentage of that class. For now, allocate the following percentages Heavy...
Finishing the Battle
The battle ends when most of the enemy units are destroyed by then, Fellstan and the Shrine of Hespae should both be in friendly hands. The enemy will offer to surrender when only one unit is left. The decision to accept or refuse is up to you however, your units gain experience for every combat they undertake. Experience can become very important in a Campaign game and is described in detail in the Experience section starting on page 50. If the offer of surrender is declined, the battle may...
Sorceress Mordra
The Sorceress Mordra was born to a small tribe of fisher folk who plied the berg strewn waters of the northern sea. Not content with that arduous but quiet life, Mordra made her way to the mainland, looking for excitement and someone to teach her the intricate arts of magic beyond the simple cantrips of the village hedge wizard. Those dreams were destroyed when one of the Shadowlord's raiding parties set fire to her boat and left her for dead in the hostilejungles of Avernion. Mordra's affinity...
Magic
Magic spells function by making magical attacks against units. Most damage-producing magic is likely to have a greater effect when used on large units because the spell makes an attack on each factor in the unit. A unit with fifteen factor takes fifteen attacks, while a unit with five factors only takes five attacks. Magical attacks from spells have different levels of effect and some are reduced if the unit resists the spell. For more information about how spells work, see Appendix 2 Spells...
Skirmish Units
Skirmisher, Light Cavalry, and Spellcaster units use their Skirmish rating when attacking. These types of troops try to move close to a unit and throw short range weapons, without engaging the defending unit. These units avoid hand-to-hand combat with units having a high Melee rating since they have a very low Melee rating and a high Skirmish rating. Their Melee rating is only used when they are attacked, and thus forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat. When two of the same types of units meet...
The Kingdom of Avernion
The Kingdom of Avernion is a treacherous land of primordial jungles and steaming swamps where fell beasts haunt the bush and skies alike. Even before the Shadowlord rose to power, Avernion was shrouded in mystery. Adventurers would return with fantastical tales of mystical creatures hiding in the mountain ranges and fabulous ruins where gold and ancient relics are found beneath every vine. No less treacherous than the harsh terrain, however, is Avernion's ruler, Ssazikar the Snake. Ssazikar is...
The Coming of the Shadowlord
It was not, however, the engines of war or the shadowy, arcane secrets which brought about the Rising, but the covetousness it engendered in weaker hearts. One heart in particular hungered for power beyond his grasp, for mastery over what he could not control, and for strength he did not possess. The name has been lost along with the very soul of the man who kindled the Rising. In its place, the evil seed he nurtured in his malevolent heart grew to choke out its host and became the entity known...
Choose Character
In the centre of the screen is the portrait of the currently selected character. To view more characters, left-click on the up or down arrows or the character portrait itself. To change the name of the character, left-click on the Change Name button, then type in the name you wish and press the Enter key on the keyboard. versions of the four main characters who have similar abilities. They are able to recruit units that are normally reserved for the evil side of the Campaign game, such as Orcs,...
Morale
All units have morale rating of 100 to begin a given battle. Unit morale can be modified by the type of character you are playing, by magical items carried by the units, or when units are adjacent to a Hero. Morale is reduced when a unit attacks, or has suffered a combat result. After every attack that scores a combat result, a unit's morale is checked. This can conceivably happen after all three types of attacks Ranged, Skirmish, and Melee. A unit becomes disordered or broken in combat if it...
Keldonia
Once a temperate land with fertile fields and a prosperous people, the continent of Keldonia is now a devastated wasteland. Keldonia was the last bastion of resistance against the Shadowlord and its people fought valiantly until the Shadowlord concentrated all his forces and magic on the continent. Unprepared for such an onslaught, the resistance crumpled. The Shadowlord, however, was not content with mere victory. Total domination was his goal, and to his twisted mind, an example must be made...
Advantages
The pre-generated characters represent selections of abilities that are used in the Campaign game. Each character has different abilities which are unique to the character and cannot be selected in the Advantages column. Selecting other advantages like Archmage, Beast Master, or Mech Master allow the character to use different abilities. Custom characters are possible by choosing from among the advantages possible rather than using just the pre-generated sets. Left-click on an advantage to...
Casting Character Spells
Archmage Krell can cast a character spell once per turn. Other characters also have spells, including the minions of the Shadowlord. You should see the 2nd Orc unit South of your army. Move the mouse pointer to the Cast Character Spell button a blue button with a star, on the left side and left-click. The menu switches to reveal four blue-star buttons representing the Archmage's arsenal of magic Fireball, Fear, Weakness, or Whirlwind. Left-click on Cast Fireball, the top button, and the pointer...
Knight Marshal Cads
When Calis came of age during the renaissance period of the Awakening, he was accepted into the Academy of Caerovia on the Isle of Four Winds. There he studied the art and discipline of the paladin, though it soon became clear to his instructors that Calis was blessed with a natural ability greater than any other candidate. So it was that Calis was knighted, sent into battle when the Shadowlord challenged the world, and captured in that first battle by Maloch of Blacklance. Though he does not...
Pothia
The continent of Pothia is the largest on Aer and covered with a thick sheet of snow for three-quarters of the year. The people of Pothia, long regarded as the hardiest of folk, eke out their livelihoods in the broad valleys between glacier-capped mountains with fierce independence and stubborn pride. Not surprisingly, it was the people of Pothia who made up the largest proportion of the Council of Five s army during the Shadowlord s conquest. Even today, Pothia is the one kingdom where open...
Investment
There are ten classes of unit, each of which may be researched separately in order to specialise in one or more unit classes. Across from each class, in the column under the legend of Income, are the percentages invested. The up and down arrows on either side of the investment percentage are used to adjust the amount of investment in each class. As each reward occurs, a percentage equal to what appears next to each class is applied to the research cost of the next grade of unit from any race...