Dark Legions
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(Dedicated to Silicon Knights and SSI)
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¦ This walkthrough is copyrighted to Mister Sinister (2004) ¦
¦ I don't mind it being lifted in its entirity, but if you do so, ¦
¦ please make sure you give credit to the author (me) and DON'T pass it ¦
¦ off as your own. Thanks ! ¦
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction (Quoted from the Manual)
2. Overview of the Game
3. Getting started
4. Basic Controls
5. The Options Screen
6. Day and Night
7. Combat
8. The Units
9. Items
10. Traps
11. Choosing your Orb Holder
12. Hints and Tips
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¦ SECTION ONE ¦
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INTRODUCTION (QUOTED FROM THE MANUAL)
As time creeps slowly over the mist-worn crags of Tahr Carog, another cycle
begins. A cycle which has been in motion for undying ages. For a time that
only an immortal can sense, should he be so bored as to keep record of it.
The cycle of time undulates, almost rhythmically. Destiny repeats itself;
empires rise and fall, power shifts from one side to another, but there is
always a balance.
Now, the balance of power is broken.
The old man stoops over painfully, wheezing as he adjusts his position, easing
himself into his crumbling throne. He looks up with a pained expression, at
the visitor who stands in the shadows.
This man is as the old man was in another age. A power unto himself - a fierce
warrior, ruthless leader, skillful adversary ...
The old man draws a deep breath in preparation for his story.
"One of the Two is about to fall and it is I."
"My fate will remain unknown amongst the immortals. They care not for what
happens to me, only for what happens to that which I possess. For I am only
one step away from immortality, one step away from the Ultimate Power. And
so is my rival. Alas, though, I have had my chance, and failed ..."
"There are others who would relish the chance to experience my power - to have
a chance to grasp what I cannot. They are just as muscle-bound as you, just as
agile and cunning ... what makes you think you are any different ? Ahh,
ambition ..."
"A truly dangerous thing, ambition. It gave you power and the determination
to beat the others. To demonstrate that you were worthy of something,
anything."
"The Orb that I possess has power beyond any mortal's understanding, and the
potential for much more. There is a twin to this artifact and if the Two are
possessed by One, unlimited power is granted !"
"Ah, I see that I have piqued your interest. Yes, you may be arrogant, but
you have potential. You will go far - if you are wise enough."
"I know the bearer of that other Orb and I will tell you now that he is loathe
to give it up. He lusts after the Orb that I possess, and I must pass on to
you. You must take it and defend it against him ! He won't give up easily;
after all, omnipotent power is a rather hard thing to deny ..."
"Yes, it is. Very hard." says the voice in shadow.
A shape forms in the darkness, bringing with it the pungent stench of
malevolence. Its immense bulk towers over the body of the man, who cowers in
fear, as twin pairs of arms unfold. Hot breath uncoils from some colossal
orifice best defined as a mouth, lined with jagged shards of steel. Eyes
flicker open, burning with the searing heat of seething hatred.
"Your time has come, old one", whispers the multitude of voices, trapped
within the demon's soul. It growls, and sings melodiously, spitting and
rasping juxtaposed with a lilting fragility that belies the power behind them.
"Your flesh is mine."
The action is quick, the sound choked into silence by vice-gripped hands. A
muffled sound of snapping bone, followed by the dull rip of rent flesh. The
old man's body crumples to the floor, lifeless.
From beneath the man's robes, a glass sphere rolls across the tiled floor,
instantly catching the demon's attention. Its eyes flare brilliantly, scarring
the darkness with their intense heat. An immense, cruelly-clawed hand reaches
out, its structure changing, bones liquefying, skin texture flattening ..."
The orb is lifted from the stone floor, held by a hand that is now featureless
and gray. The bearer of the Orb is now tall and slight, insignificant in
contrast to its previous form. Its head cocks slightly to one side,
quizzically inspecting its prize, almost like an insect.
Power. That is what is contained in the sphere. The power to control the
minds of mortals. Many a war had been fought over this precious trinket.
Indeed, many more would be fought. This Orb has passed through many hands over
the thousands of millennia.
A moment's contemplation and the transparent sphere is absorbed into the
creature's hands. Within a trice, and gray humanoid melts into a bat-like
creature, wings spreaing wide, as it leaps from the open window into the cold
air outside.
As it exits, something is taken along with it. A shadow extricates itself
from the buttresses outside the window, and attaches itself, unnoticed, to
the thing with twisted wings. The shadow twists about the shape shifter's
rat-like body - a cold caress of the ribs sends shivers through its lukewarm
flesh. The shadowy enchantment forms a vestigial claw, tipped with a silver
hooked barb.
The barb is sunk deep into the shifter's flesh, quickly followed by another,
and another ..... The shifter squeals in pain, the sounds alien to its newly-
formed mouth. As barb after barb is plunged into the meat of its body, the
shifter feels the acidic venom being driven into its veins; eating, dissolving,
putrefying its body ...
Within seconds, the fleshy mass plummets toward the ground, screeching as its
agony is drowned in torrents of gnawing pain.
Its precious cargo is given up to the winds, and obscurity.
The balance of power is broken, but not lost ...
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¦ SECTION TWO ¦
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OVERVIEW OF THE GAME
Dark Legions is a turn-based strategy warfare and combat game, that can be
alikened in its playing style to battle chess, but where the outcome of any
given combat is decided by the skill of the PLAYERS, not the quality and
pre-combat position of the PIECES.
Very simply put, you compile your army, and go head-to-head against either the
computer or another human player (in person or via a modem-linkup), to find
and kill their "orb holder" (the King, in chess), and retrieve their orb, thus
winning the game.
That is a VERY simplified view of the game ... there is far greater depth and
replay value to it, believe me ;)
The game takes place on two main screens - the world map screen, where you can
view your troops and move them about, seeking out the orb holder and getting
them into (predominantly) ranged combat, and then there is the close-quarters
combat screen, which comes up when you have decided to go head-to-head and
take another piece (to again aliken the game to chess) before moving on. THIS
mode is a top-down view of the combat arena, in which you can control your
piece and battle it out against your opponent, until only one remains.
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¦ SECTION THREE ¦
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GETTING STARTED
The main title screen has FOUR options :-
1) START
2) LOAD
3) LINK
4) QUIT
Assuming this is your first time playing the game, you won't have any saved
games to load, so just press the START button to get cracking.
When you press START you are presented with two options :-
1) QUICK START
2) SETUP
QUICK START enables you to pick from a series of pre-defined missions that come
with the game ... use these if you are new to the game and/or just want to
have a quick fling at the computer, without the highbrow considerations of how
to compile your own army.
I am going to spend the majority of MY time discussing the SETUP option, as it
is the one you will be spending a lot MORE of your time using, as you become
more comfortable with the game.
So ... if you click the SETUP option you are taken to the main army options
screen, from which you have to choose the following :-
1) The composition of the players (i.e. are you both human / is one of
you going to be a computer-player);
2) The amount of credits you are going to have from which to buy your
army (this starts at 1,000, but can be increased to 10,000);
3) Moves per turn (default is all - this will allow you to move all your
units up to their maximum number of moves per turn).
4) Computer Level (i.e. computer difficulty)
5) Battle Ground (i.e. the map you are going to fight on).
Click the button next to Battle Ground to be taken to a map-selection screen,
from which you can choose the terrain you wish to fight on.
Once you are happy with your options, click the TICK button in the top corner.
This will take you to the army selection screen, but before we get to that bit,
I am going to give you a break-down of the basic controls and combat routines
for the game, just in case you've opted for a quick start instead ;)
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¦ SECTION FOUR ¦
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BASIC CONTROLS
The majority of the controls on the world map are mouse-based, and very simple
to get to grips with at that.
To MOVE a unit :-
Left-click on the unit you want, and then left click again to where you want
them to move to. Their available movement squares will be shown in yellow.
To have a unit use its special world map ability :-
Right-click to change the icon from the sword (the regular pointer) to the
lightning bolt (the special skill command) and then left-click on the unit you
want to have use its special skill, and then (depending on which unit you are
talking about) left-click again where you want them to use it.
When looking at units on the world map, the colour of the tile at the base of
the unit denotes one of the following :-
BROWN = Character has additional movement points left.
GLOWING BLUE = This character is your orb holder.
RED = This is a conjured character.
PURPLE = This is an illusion.
GREEN = This character has been poisoned.
FLASHING RED = This character is near death, and should be
healed or withdrawn.
Note that you can only see your OWN army's squares - not your opponents ...
this is very helpful, because failing that your enemy would be able to see your
orb-holder right from the outset, and this would cause OBVIOUS problems ;)
==============================================================================
BEWARE !! On newer PC's (i.e. practically any PC that was built AFTER the
game's release), the mouse has a tendency to scroll V-E-R-Y very fast indeed.
This is about the game's only real let-down, as it can make it VERY frustrating
playing the game at times.
To get around this, you can download and run a program called DOSBox from
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net. DOSBox is a FANTASTIC little program that gets
your computer to emulate an older PC, to enable you to run old MS-DOS games
slower, and thereby get the most enjoyment out of them. I TOTALLY recommend
it !!
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In addition to your view of the characters on the standard 3d world-view map ?
You can also click on the map icon from the options screen to switch from the
3d world map, to an overhead 2d version of the same map, which is easier to
use to move your units around. This offers a TEMPORARY fix to the "runaway
mouse" problem I described earlier, but it has its drawbacks in that you can't
see all the cool animations and things from the 2d perspective.
Conversely, close-quarters combat, is handled with the keyboard (the keys can
all be customised in the main options screen). Your character can move in any
of the eight normal directions (n/ne/e/se/s/sw/w/nw), and each character has
TWO attack buttons, which give rise to THREE attacks :-
Button 1 = Attack 1
Button 2 = Attack 2
Buttons 1+2 = Attack 3
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¦ SECTION FIVE ¦
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THE OPTIONS SCREEN
Click on one of the gargoyle's on the left/right hand side of the map, to call
up the options screen, which looks like this :-
--- --- -------- ---- ---
¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ /¦ / / / /
¦ .¦. ¦ ¦ ---- ¦ ¦ / ¦ ¦ --
¦ ¦ ¦ ======== / / -- /
--- --- ---- / /
¦ ¦ ¦ // ¦¦
----- ¦ ¦ ---- ¦¦¦¦
/ / --- ¦ / ¦¦¦¦
/ / ¦ --- ¦ ¦ ¦
----- ¦ ¦ / /
---- ---
- -
------- --- / /
¦ ¦ ¦ / ¦ / ¦
------- / ¦ - ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ --- / ¦
------- / ¦ ¦
/ ¦
I shall work my way across the options in three rows
TOP ROW :-
--- ---
¦ ¦ ¦ END GAME
¦ .¦. ¦ Click this button to return to the game's main menu.
¦ ¦ ¦
--- ---
--------
¦ /¦ CHAT
¦ ---- ¦ Use this option to chat with a modem opponent.
========
----
/ / CANCEL ORDER
¦ / ¦ Click on any unit that currently has orders, to cancel them.
/ /
----
---
/ / PERFORM SPECIAL POWER
¦ -- This has the same effect as right-clicking whilst on the main
-- / map screen. You can use it to call on a character to use
/ / their special power on the map screen.
//
MIDDLE ROW :-
¦ ¦ ¦
----- VIEW ARMY
/ / Click to view the characters in your army.
/ /
-----
¦ ¦
--- ¦ OPTIONS SCREEN
¦ --- Call up the main options screen (to calibrate keys, etc.).
¦ ¦
----
/ GO TO ORB HOLDER
¦ ¦ Order a unit to head straight for your orb holder.
/
----
¦¦
¦¦¦¦ GO TO TEMPLAR
¦¦¦¦ Order a unit to head straight for your nearest templar.
¦
/
---
BOTTOM ROW :-
-------
¦ ¦ ¦ CHANGE VIEW
------- Change the map from 3d to 2d
¦ ¦ ¦
-------
---
/ VIEW CHARACTER
/ Click on a unit to view his/her statistics.
---
/
/
-
/ SET UP ESCORT
¦ Click first on the character you want to BE the escort, and
¦ - then on the character that you want escorted. The escort will
/ move towards his/her designated character after you end your
¦ turn, but BEFORE your opponent gets to make his/her moves.
¦
-
/ MOVE TO MAP LOCATION
/ ¦ Click first on the character you want to move, and then on the
¦ map location you want them to move to. Any square that IS NOT
¦ occupied by an enemy unit can be designated in this fashion.
¦
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¦ SECTION SIX ¦
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DAY AND NIGHT
The game is played through FOUR times of day on a repeating cycle :-
1) DAWN
2) DAY
3) DUSK
4) NIGHT
During the DAWN and DUSK phases, all units are at their normal strength levels.
During the DAY phase, all normal characters receive a +15% bonus to their
strength, and all undead units suffer a 15% penalty to their strength.
During the NIGHT phase, all undead characters (e.g. zombies and wraiths) gain
+15% to their strength, and all normal characters suffer a 15% penalty to their
strength.
Elementals ignore these shifts in day and night, and remain constant throughout.
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¦ SECTION SEVEN ¦
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COMBAT
Combat takes place in two ways :-
1) On the world map screen
2) In close-quarters.
COMBAT ON THE WORLD MAP SCREEN
Combat can only take place on the world map through the use of your character's
"Special Strategic Power" - this means that only CERTAIN characters have the
ability to attack on the world map - e.g. the Fire Elemental and Wizard.
To activate a special strategic power (as has already been advised), you need
to switch the mouse icon to the lightning bolt, and then left click on the unit
you want to use his/her special power, and then again (depending on the unit)
on the location where you want to use the power.
COMBAT IN CLOSE-QUARTERS
Moving onto the same square as another unit calls up the close-quarters
combat screen.
Combat on this screen is in REAL TIME. You move using the keys you have chosen,
and attack using the two buttons (and three button combinations) you have picked
Combat is to the DEATH.
When you look at the close-quarters combat screen, the top part depicts the two
units moving around and fighting, and the surrounding terrain (which CAN be
used to your advantage - hiding behind rocks and in trees is perfectly
legitimate technique), and at the BOTTOM of the screen you will see the
following bits (from left to right):-
YOUR CHARACTER'S PORTRAIT
YOUR CHARACTER'S LIFE FORCE (THE GREEN BAR)
YOUR CHARACTER'S STAMINA (THE RED BAR)
YOUR ENEMY'S PORTRAIT
YOUR ENEMY'S LIFE FORCE (THE GREEN BAR)
YOUR ENEMY'S STAMINA (THE RED BAR)
Using special attacks drains stamina, but your stamina will recharge.
You fall ? You die. Your enemy falls ? You wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin :)
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¦ SECTION EIGHT ¦
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THE UNITS
There are sixteen (16) different playable units in Dark Legions, and your army
can number up to 100 units PER PLAYER It CANNOT exceed this number, so if you
buy 100 summoners ? You're screwed, because they won't be able to summon any
monsters, as this would tip the total to OVER 100 ... some of them will have to
die or be replaced to allow summoning to commence.
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NOTE : Since the manual that comes with the game does a VERY good job of
listing all the characters, their stats and so on, I am going to quote direct
from the manual, and then add my own comments on each unit at the bottom of
each description.
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Here are the units in order :-
001 - Berserker 009 - Shape Shifter
002 - Conjurer 010 - Templar
003 - Demon 011 - Thief
004 - Fire Elemental 012 - Troll
005 - Illusionist 013 - Vampire
006 - Orc 014 - Water Elemental
007 - Phantom 015 - Wizard
008 - Seer 016 - Wraith
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NUMBER : 001
CHARACTER NAME : BERSERKER
COST : 20
STRENGTH : 03
LIFE FORCE : 50
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 02
AGILITY : 05
MOVE RATE : 04
COST OF SPECIAL : None
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Overhead Swing
B BUTTON : Side Swings
A+B BUTTON : Killing Blow
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
None.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
The Berserker is a ground-pounder, with no special ability to call his own.
His killing blow attack can deal out a lot of damage if his opponent holds
still long enough for him to use it. Like the Orc, the Berserker is
inexpensive, and this may be his greatest advantage - a dozen Berserkers should
be able to wear any character down. The Berserker has a bit more stamina and
agility than an Orc which may just provide you with the edge you need in
combat. The positions of "trap-finder" and "bait" suit the Berserker just as
well as the Orc (sad but true).
SPECIAL NOTES
No special features.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
The Berserker is just as the manual says - bait. He is versatile insofar as
he doesn't cost much, and it is no great shakes if you allow him to waddle off
and get his booty munched by the occassional trap - in fact this is a perfectly
legitimate technique for better assessing where traps are on the map. He does
NOT make a good Orb Keeper in my experience, and his lack of special skills
doom him to a low position in my esteem. I use Berserkers as cannon fodder and
grunt troops, nothing more.
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 002
CHARACTER NAME : CONJURER
COST : 100
STRENGTH : 02
LIFE FORCE : 30
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 01
AGILITY : 04
MOVE RATE : 03
COST OF SPECIAL : Varies
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Phantom Attack
B BUTTON : Troll Attack
A+B BUTTON : Demon Attack
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Conjurer's power is to summon versions of the more monstrous character
types. The stronger the creature summoned, the greater the cost of the
conjuration. Creatures the Conjurer may summon are: Phantoms, Trolls, Water
Elementals, Fire Elementals, Vampires, Wraiths and Demons. Due to her
conjuring skill, her credit cost is extremely high.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
Stay out of hand to hand combat if possible; use your conjurations to fight on
your behalf.
Team up with a Templar and stay right next to him to gain a bonus to your
revitalization & he may also heal you on occasion. Conjurers work well with
Illusionists - a mixed horde of conjured creatures and illusions can keep your
enemy off balance (however, the game limits you to a maximum of one hundred
characters at any time, so this horde cannot be limitless).
Conjurers are good candidates for rings of Life and Rejuvination, which make
them much more exciting to use. Keep a bodyguard or two around just in case.
SPECIAL NOTES
A conjured creature will lose 10% of its starting life force per turn until it
dies. Conjured creatures retain all their special abilities and powers.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
VERY very handy is the Conjurer. Her ability to provide immediate and reliable
backup can help get you out of a jam, and I think that Conjurers actually make
very reasonable support for your Orb Keeper, as their skills can enable you to
bring in support troops of varying natures, tailoring them to whoever is en
route to your Orb Keeper.
Whilst they ARE costly to purchase, they are WELL worth it - their biggest
downfall is that they are GASH when it comes to hand-to-hand combat ... you
will spend most of your time running around like a pansy going "Don't HURT me
you BEASTLY beastly man" and so on ... therefore they should be thought of as
the Bishops of the Chess Board. Very handy to have around, but you have to
know how to USE them or you'll be stuffed.
Finally, bear in mind that as the Conjurer can only summon to ADJACENT squares,
putting her in the middle of a group of say ... Berserkers ? Is STUPID, as
she won't be able to use her special at ALL :( ;)
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 003
CHARACTER NAME : DEMON
COST : 80
STRENGTH : 10
LIFE FORCE : 100
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 06
AGILITY : 07
MOVE RATE : 04
COST OF SPECIAL : 20
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Left or Right Swing
B BUTTON : Breath Weapon
A+B BUTTON : None
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Demon has the power to emit a Scream of Terror, which does damage to the
life force of all opponents that are within sight (six squares). The closer
an enemy is to the Demon, the greater the damage. The Scream is a magical
attack that does not follow normal rules.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
Demons are lean, mean, fighting machines. Combat is where a Demon shines,
their Scream of Terror notwithstanding. The Demon's Breath Weapon is the
primary style of attack, unless fighting an opponent who is quick to dodge.
This is because the Breath Weapon does telegraph itself a little.
Demons are particularly good as vampire slayers. However, the Demon's nemesis
is the Fire Elemental, who can shoot and who resists the Demon's fire breath.
A Demon can use any ring, except the Ring of Power, since their strength score
is already at the maximum allowed. Rings of Speed are especially useful,
increasing the Demon's striking distance on the strategic map.
SPECIAL NOTES
No special features.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
YES ! BRING IT ON !! Forget the bleedin' Berserkers and Orcs, THIS is where
it's at baby YEAH. Demons ROCK as bodyguards and can hold their own in most
battles. HOWEVER, they do make BIG targets, and most savvy computer players
will pick them off at a distance, so in MY opinion they make less than ideal
Orb Holders.
The Demon's Scream of Terror is good, but not fantastic ... his REAL strength
lies in his close-quarters @ss-kicking power ;)
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 004
CHARACTER NAME : FIRE ELEMENTAL
COST : 65
STRENGTH : 05
LIFE FORCE : 60
STAMINA : 20
REVITALIZATION : 08
AGILITY : 06
MOVE RATE : 05
COST OF SPECIAL : Death
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Fire Ball
B BUTTON : Mini Nova
A+B BUTTON : None
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Fire Elemental has the power to explode into a Supernova, destroying
itself, and damaging or destroying any opponents nearby.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
One of the most powerful characters in combat, the Fire Elemental is quick and
dangerous. Dodging the attacks of slower opponents while delivering his own
strikes is his forte.
Fire Elementals team up well with Illusionists; Illusionary Fire Elementals
mixed in with the real thing can deceive and intimidate your opponent.
Remember to use your Supernova sparingly as it ensures your Fire Elemental's
destruction as well. But, if you "have credits to burn" this can be
devastating to your enemy's forces. A good target for the Supernova special
is that nice tight group of enemy Conjurers, Illusionists, Templars and
Wizards.
Fire Elementals are good candidates for any rings you have handy, although only
one Ring of Speed should be added, since they won't benefit from any more than
that.
SPECIAL NOTES
The Fire Elemental's Special Strategic Power is a suicide attack. Fire
Elementals are also immune to firetraps, resist the Demon's fire breath, and
are immune to the Supernovas of enemy Fire Elementals. They are also able to
fly over water and chasms.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
Well you're probably thinking Fire Elementals are the bomb (har har) and they
pretty much are ! They are fast, powerful and deliver a NASTY sting when they
go Supernova.
They can be used as shock troops, detonating in close-quarters on the world
map and dealing HEFTY damage to troops in the area, or as lieutenants in your
forward-marching armies, clearing a path for lesser units to spill forth from
behind them.
They have more strengths than weaknesses, and I always make sure to include a
few in any army I am building ... they are NOT the be all and end all, however.
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 005
CHARACTER NAME : ILLUSIONIST
COST : 50
STRENGTH : 02
LIFE FORCE : 40
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 02
AGILITY : 04
MOVE RATE : 03
COST OF SPECIAL : Varies
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Psychic Blast
B BUTTON : Teleport
A+B BUTTON : None
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Illusionist has the power to create illusionary characters to confuse and
harass the enemy. The more powerful the character being copied, the greater
the cost to the illusionist's life force. Illusionists can create illusions
of any character except Zombies (see 013 - Vampire). Each illusion also has
a maintenance cost that must be paid by the illusionist each turn. The
maintenance fee is 10% of the creation cost.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
Stay out of hand to hand if possible. Take out enemy Seers whenever possible.
Making illusionary Seers to protect your real ones might be useful as well. A
real bodyguard nearby might not hurt either. Illusions of the characters who
have missile attacks in combat are good since they can get some licks in from
a distance without getting hit and going "poof."
Team up with a Templar and a Conjurer; the Templar should be right beside you
so that you can gain a modest bonus to your revitalization score, and the
Conjurer's real creatures enhance your illusionary ones when mixed together.
Illusionists are good candidates for Rings of Life and Rejuvenation.
SPECIAL NOTES
Illusions appear as normal creatures, but a single hit destroys them. Seers
automatically destroy enemy illusions on sight. If the Illusionist is slain
all of their illusions disappear. Illusionary characters cannot use any
special strategic powers associated with the real or conjured characters of
the same form.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
Whilst they may sound a bit dodgy, Illusionists CAN be very very powerful
members of your army - PARTICULARLY against human opponents. A single
illusionist can generate a small army of illusory troops to send forth across
the map and, as the manual has already pointed out, when placed next to a
Templar, they will revitalize themselves better as well, thus aiding in their
longevity.
The Seer poses the greatest threat to an Illusionist, as she can effectively
render the Illusionist TOTALLY powerless if she is within her line of sight.
Seers should therefore be the PRIME TARGET of an illusionist-heavy army.
Generating illusions that have ranged attacks in combat IS, again, as the
manual has said, a very handy skill as it enables the Illusion to stay OUT of
hand-to-hand combat, and hopefully do some serious damage before it is slain
or, ideally, WIN !! =)
Illusions are a HELL of a lot cheaper to create than Summons, as I am sure you
will already have guessed, and Illusionists are GREAT backline troops to keep
your enemy on their toes.
Finally, in close-quarters combat ? I favour Illusionists over Conjurers, as
they have a RANGED ATTACK ;)
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 006
CHARACTER NAME : ORC
COST : 30
STRENGTH : 03
LIFE FORCE : 50
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 02
AGILITY : 04
MOVE RATE : 04
COST OF SPECIAL : None
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Head Butt
B BUTTON : Side Swings with Metal Cestii
A+B BUTTON : Charge
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
None.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
The Orc is your heavy infantry. He's not very bright, but is tough and
tenacious. Compared to the Berserker, the Orc requires more skill from a
player, but has a little more power. The Orc's best feature is his Charge
attack. It does a lot of damage but consumes a lot of stamina. This attack
is particularly effective against human enemies that can be intimated or
flustered, or are poor at dodging. Orcs can come in especially handy as trap-
finders or bait to lure in their more powerful opponents, so that other
characters can in turn avenge their deaths. Orcs make fair bodyguards and
masses of them are great for wave attacks (i.e. - they're cheap cannon-fodder).
SPECIAL NOTES
No special features.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
I think Orcs are 1,000,000 times better than Berserkers personally. FINE the
Berserker's Death Blow is a KICK@SS combat move, but the Orc's charge is a
GREAT move for closing the gap between you and your opponent quickly and
efficiently.
Orcs are tough little cookies, and certainly in MY armies, I don't tend to let
them die easily. Berserkers make much better cannon fodder than Orcs ;)
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 007
CHARACTER NAME : PHANTOM
COST : 50
STRENGTH : 03
LIFE FORCE : 70
STAMINA : 15
REVITALIZATION : 02
AGILITY : 04
MOVE RATE : 03
COST OF SPECIAL : None
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Jabs
B BUTTON : Swipes
A+B BUTTON : Double Swipe
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Phantom is invisible to your opponent's characters, except for Seers. This
power costs nothing and is always in operation.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
The Phantom's invisibility is its greatest asset. Barring seers, no one knows
they're around until they strike. Make sure to eliminate enemy Seers whenever
you can because they can locate your Phantoms.
Since successful blows with your palps slow your opponent's stamina regeneration
you should be able to attack more often than your opponent once he's been
"tainted."
Phantoms are slow on the Strategic map so Rings of Speed would help; a Phantom
with a couple of Rings of Power is a frightening thought.
If you want to be tricky, give your Orb to your invisible Phantom who's been
enhanced with a few choice rings.
SPECIAL NOTES
The Phantom's hideous palps are tainted, and when they hit an opponent in
combat they permanently cut his ability to regenerate stamina. This effect
lasts for the rest of the game! Phantoms are also immune to both insanity and
poison traps.
The Phantom is invisible in combat until he strikes.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
Well the manual has AGAIN done a bang-up job of describing the Phantom to you,
hasn't it !
What can I say ... well ok ... here we go.
I ... DON'T ... like Phantoms. They are permanently invisible YES, and they
could theoretically make great Orb Keepers YES. But unless you give them a
fair few Rings (of Power, Speed and so on) to make them into little mini-Gods ?
THEY SUCK !! They are SLOW, SLUGGISH, their constant invisibility is GREAT,
but it is almost the ONLY thing they have going for them. Even in combat a
Phantom that HASN'T been upgraded with items is going to DIE, because he has to
be in close-quarters to use his attacks, and as soon as he hits you ? You will
know where he is and be able to retaliate with LOADS of strikes before he can
get away.
In short, if you're going to use a Phantom ? And ESPECIALLY if you're going to
make your Orb Keeper into a Phantom ? USE AS MANY RINGS AS YOU CAAAAAAAAAAN ;)
I always include a couple of Phantoms in my army - mainly as scouts - but I
NEVER make my Orb Keeper into one.
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 008
CHARACTER NAME : SEER
COST : 65
STRENGTH : 01
LIFE FORCE : 20
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 02
AGILITY : 04
MOVE RATE : 04
COST OF SPECIAL : None
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Left or Right Swing
B BUTTON : Befuddle
A+B BUTTON : None
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
Seers can sense invisible enemy characters and hidden traps. Additionally,
Seers destroy illusionary opponents as they come into view. These heightened
senses and ability operate continuously at no cost.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
While pitifully weak in combat, the Seer is invaluable on the strategic map.
Their ability to find your opponent's traps and Phantoms can mean the
difference between life and death for your other characters, while the ability
to destroy illusions can help you to keep the pressure on your real opponents.
Have a bodyguard or two escort the Seer as you move her up. If you do end up
in combat use hit and run tactics, befuddle your opponent, then get one or
two hits in and run away before your enemy comes to its senses. Do this over
and over, and if you're really good, you might live to tell the tale.
Seers do not benefit from most rings, except for Rings of Speed, which are
highly recommended.
SPECIAL NOTES
The Seer's Befuddle attack in combat blinds her opponent. For a short period
of time your enemy's input from their keyboard or joystick is scrambled (i.e.,
pushing up on the joystick sends them right instead of up). Seers move by
floating above the ground so they can float over, but not land on, chasms and
stretches of water.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
Ok ... a few things about Seers. They are VERY very handy if you keep them on
the back line. Their "sight" enables you to be sure that no illusionary
characters come near you, and any Phantoms are detected LONG before they can
get to you. HOWEVER, conversely ? If you take them to the front line ? Then
I can practically guarantee that ANY enemy unit that sees one is going to try
and kill her ... and most likely succeed, because whilst the manual says she
is "pitifully weak" in combat ? I would say she's a f*cking liability !!!!!!
She's slow, weak, clumsy, and her befuddle attack only really works against
HUMAN opponents ... and even at THAT any SERIOUS player of the game will have
learned how his/her controls alternate when befuddled so it will only throw
them for a split second. Your Seer should not just be kept out of combat. She
should NEVER be allowed to get into combat.
Here endeth my little lecture. I always keep a Seer or two in my army, but I
look on them more as useful to oversee what's happening, rather than useful to
lead the way forward ;) Have a Seer SHADOW a unit to make sure he doesn't
have to fight illusions - GREAT ... have a unit SHADOW a Seer to make sure she
stays ok ? FOLLY ;)
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 009
CHARACTER NAME : SHAPE SHIFTER
COST : 65
STRENGTH : 03
LIFE FORCE : 50
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 02
AGILITY : 05
MOVE RATE : 04
COST OF SPECIAL : None
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : As for form assumed.
B BUTTON : As for form assumed.
A+B BUTTON : As for form assumed.
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Shape Shifter's special power is to assume the form and combat abilities of
any of the other characters. On the strategic map, statistics are shown as
above. In combat, their statistics are those of the form assumed. The cost of
using this power is zero. The Shape Shifter does not gain any special strategic
powers of the creature it is assuming, except for the Phantom.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
Deception is the name of the game for the Shape Shifter. Their favourite tactic
is to ambush opponents by appearing as one of the weaker characters, to lure
them close, then change into one of the more powerful characters and attack.
The Shape Shifter makes a good Orb Holder since it can be anything at any time.
The Shape Shifter allows you incredible versatility in play; your character
can be a meek Seer one second and an awesome Demon the next. Rings of Life,
Rejuvenation, and Speed are of the most use to the Shape Shifter.
SPECIAL NOTES
No special features.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
Shape Shifters are UNDOUBTEDLY my favourite characters in Dark Legions. They
are just TOO cool !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SOD the tactics the manual gives you, how
about some of THESE babies.
1) You make your Orb Keeper a Shape Shifter, and then as his enemies are
bearing down on him, you metamorph him into a Phantom and become instantly
invisible - therefore harder to track.
2) You do as the manual has suggested - waltz up to your opponent as some
POOP unit - say - a THIEF for example - and then morph into something MUCH
more dangerous - like a Fire Elemental or Demon and rush into combat.
3) You make your Orb Keeper a Shape Shifter, and then metamorph him into a
Water Elemental and move to the centre of a large lake on the map, remaining
pretty much untouchable to other units (you should then focus on attacking
Wizards, Conjurers, Illusionists and the like).
Your ability to use a Shape Shifter is limited largely by your imagination.
You could metamorph into a vampire to gain its huge movement advantage and fly
away the next turn ... or even ... say ... if you take damage by a Wizard's
Freeze Spell on the world map ? Metamorph into a vampire or wraith and enter
combat to drain the health from a weaker opponent and thus replenish yourself.
As you will probably have guessed, I ALWAYS make my Orb Keeper a Shape Shifter.
There is NOTHING like watching the look of horror on the face of an opponent
who THINKS they have you cornered, only to find out that you've been a smart
cookie and can now change your shape into something SPECIFICALLY TAILORED to
kick their incoming units' @sses.
As the manual suggests, however, I would invariably recommend giving them Rings,
just to make them even MORE powerful than they are ordinarily !! :)
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 010
CHARACTER NAME : TEMPLAR
COST : 40
STRENGTH : 02
LIFE FORCE : 25
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 02
AGILITY : 05
MOVE RATE : 04
COST OF SPECIAL : 10
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Left or Right Swing
B BUTTON : Destroy Life Force
A+B BUTTON : None
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Templar has the power to add to an adjacent allies' life force a cost to
his own. Thehy also provide a small automatic bonus to the revitalization
levels of adjacent friendly characters, at no cost to themselves.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
Any character low on life force will find the Templar to be their best friend.
Templars team up well with Conjurers, Illusionists, and Wizards since all of
their special strategic powers burn life force. As a general rule Templars
should be kept out of direct combat, and use their powers to influence the
outcomes of other confrontations. Groups of Templars can be very effective at
restoring the health of wounded characters.
Templars are good candidates for Rings of Rejuvenation and Life. A Templar with
heavy ring armament is perhaps the one victim the Wraith will think twice about
attacking in teleport mode, especially during the day.
SPECIAL NOTES
The Templars of Tralsk are minions of the forces of Justice and Life. Thus,
they gain a bonus to their damage when striking undead opponents such as
Vampires, Phantoms, Wraiths and Zombies.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
Templars should be thought of as batteries. They can provide rejuvination and
regeneration for your back-line spellcasters (but be careful not to put too
many Templars in adjacent squares to your spellcasters or you will invariably
hamper THEIR efficiency as well). They should N-E-V-E-R ever be used as front-
line troops as their hand-to-hand combat skills are only MARGINALLY better than
the Seers.
Having said that of course, their healing powers are VERY very useful, but again
I think it's best to have them as back-liners.
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 011
CHARACTER NAME : THIEF
COST : 35
STRENGTH : 02
LIFE FORCE : 25
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 02
AGILITY : 07
MOVE RATE : 04
COST OF SPECIAL : 10
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Knife Throw
B BUTTON : Somersault Attack
A+B BUTTON : Back-flip
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Thief has the ability to disarm your opponent's traps by moving next to the
trap on the strategic screen and using their special power. At that point a
special mini-game puzzle screen comes up (see Special Notes for a description
of how to use this puzzle screen to disarm the trap). You can either solve
the puzzle yourself or leave it to chance. Beware though, if the Thief fails
in his attempt to disarm the trap the results could be rather spectacular (and
possibly fatal, depending on the type of trap).
GAMEPLAY TIPS
Thieves should always work in tandem with Seers. The Seers spot the traps and
the Thieves disarm them if they are in the way. Don't disarm a trap just for
something to do, since, if you fail, the Thief suffers the consequences.
Bypassing located traps that do not hinder your advance works just as well as
disarming them, unless you have to pass that way again and you forget the trap's
location. Although Thieves can search for hidden traps on their own, doing so
does cost a significant amount of life force.
Thieves are good candidates for Rings of Speed (for scouting) and Power (for
combat). Unless your Thief has been augmented with a couple of Rings of Power,
keep him out of combat. However, if they *have* been so endowed, they make
flashy and good combatants, especially sine your opponent thinks you are an
easy mark (surprise !). Speaking of flashy combat manoeuvres, here's one : get
your opponent to chase you, perform a Back-flip over their head to get behind
them, then follow up with a Somersault attack.
SPECIAL NOTES
When a Thief attempts to use his special ability on the strategic map to
disarm a trap, a grid appears around the character, similar to a movement grid.
The Thief then selects one of the available squares to use his ability on.
(NOTE: If there is no visible trap in the square selected, the thief will check
for a trap and if one is discovered, attempt to disarm it - in this manner a
Thief can check a suspicious location, "just in case".)
When the Thief finds a trap to disarm, the Disarm Trap Screen appears.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
¦ ¦
¦ ------------------------------------------------------------- ¦
¦ ¦ D I S A R M T R A P ¦ ¦
¦ ------------------------------------------------------------- ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ------------------------------------------------------------- ¦
¦ ¦ 4 3 6 ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ¦ ¦
¦ ------------------------------------------------------------- ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ¦
¦ ---- ¦
¦ / ¦
¦ / / ¦
¦ ¦ ----- / ----- ¦
¦ --. ¦ 1 ¦ .--------------------------------------------------- ¦ 2 ¦ ¦
¦ ----- ----- ¦
¦ . --. . ¦
¦ / -- / ¦/ ¦
¦ ¦ / / ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ / ¦/ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ --. . / .-- ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ----- / ----- ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ¦ 3 ¦ .-------------------------------. ¦ 4 ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ ----- / ----- ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ / .-- .-- ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ / ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦
¦ ¦ / ------------------- ¦ ¦
¦ / / ¦ / ¦
¦ . ¦/ -------------------.--. . ¦
¦ -----.-- ----- ¦
¦ /¦ 5 ¦ ---------------------------------------------------- .¦ 6 ¦ ¦
¦ / ----- / ----- ¦
¦ / . ¦
¦ / --- ¦
¦ ¦ / / ¦
¦ --/ ¦ --- ¦
¦ -- / ¦
¦ / / ¦
¦ // ¦
¦ ¦
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please forgive the crudeness of that diagram.
Hokay ... back to quoting for the manual for a moment.
There will be a "Map" to assist in determining the possible symbols for each
blank spot in the puzzle. The player tries to disarm the trap by guessing
which symbol goes in each successive slot, in order from left to right. The
player clicks on the symbol in the map which they think comes next.
The player is allowed ten incorrect guesses, and each symbol can be used more
than once. If all of the blanks are correctly filled the trap will be
disarmed. If they make too many errors, the Thief will be subjected to the
effects of the trap.
The difficulty of the trap is reflected in the number of slots already filled
in for the player: the more difficult the trap, the less slots which are filled
in (if any)! Devastating traps, such as the Void trap and the Fire trap, are
the most difficult to disarm.
If the player does not wish to work out the puzzle, he can simply click on a
special button provided on the Disarm Traps Screen. This allows the computer
to randomly decide if the Thief was successful or not, with a greater chance
of disarming the easier traps and a lesser chance for the difficult ones.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
Thieves are VERY cool characters, and quite underestimated in my humble opinion.
I recall one of my BEST games on this title had me using a Thief as my Orb
Keeper, surrounded by TELEPORTATION traps - i.e. he couldn't move. No foot
troops could get to him, because they were teleported randomly to other
locations on the map. As soon as my enemy (who did ultimately win I have to
say) started to bear down on my Orb Keeper with his winged and teleporting
units, I had the Thief "try" to disarm the teleportation trap directly in
front of him (because although it doesn't say it in the manual, you CAN attempt
to disarm your own traps), and DELIBERATELY fail. The result ?
My Orb Keeper was whisked away to a random location on the map, and
temporarily away from harm) :) :)
Thieves DO make good combatants if you are able to get into their mindset.
They are thieves ! They hit and run ... knife you in the back and then flip
away to safety. They are good at avoiding the attacks of undead units like
the Vampire's bite, which is QUITE slow compared to the whizzy little thief,
and they have a ranged attack (poor in dealing damage as it unfortunately is).
RESULT !! =)
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 012
CHARACTER NAME : TROLL
COST : 40
STRENGTH : 06
LIFE FORCE : 90
STAMINA : 20
REVITALIZATION : 10
AGILITY : 40
MOVE RATE : 02
COST OF SPECIAL : 10
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Swipe
B BUTTON : Backhand Swipe
A+B BUTTON : Overhead Smash
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Troll has the power to turn into stone. In essence, they can turn
themselves into another boulder on the strategic map.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
Although very strong, the Troll's favourite tactic is ambush. Using their
ability to turn into stone, the Troll awaits the approach of an unwary victim
before returning to its humanoid form to strike. Trolls move slowly, but if
they can catch an enemy and land a blow, they dish out a good deal of damage.
The Troll's Overhead Smash can devastate an opponent if they stand still long
enough for it to land, or if timing is perfect.
Trolls make excellent bodyguards for a group of immobile spellcasters,
particularly when in rock form. Rings of Speed are extremely useful for a
Troll - the more the better.
SPECIAL NOTES
Trolls ignore damage from a Stone Trap.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
You might THINK that it's a great idea to have a Troll as your Orb Keeper,
right ? After all, all he would need to do is polymorph into rock form, and
nobody would ever be able to kill him, non ?
WRONG.
Troll Orb Keepers CANNOT polymorph into rocks - therefore, NEVER EVER E-V-E-R
make a Troll into your Orb Keeper. EVER.
Having said that they DO make excellent bodyguards, as the manual has already
said - this is because they can (as you already know) encircle groups of your
units as rocks ... thereby not only cutting them off from foot troops, but
providing a GREAT surprise if anybody is stupid enough to draw too close to
them.
Of course ... a set of say ... six spellcasters right at the back of your
army surrounded by rocks looks DECIDEDLY suspicious - I would AUTOMATICALLY
assume all those boulders were Trolls - so a SMART player will take that into
account when placing his troops ;)
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 013
CHARACTER NAME : VAMPIRE
COST : 70
STRENGTH : 05
LIFE FORCE : 85 (150 Max.)
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : -5
AGILITY : 05
MOVE RATE : 05
COST OF SPECIAL : None
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Paralyze
B BUTTON : Life Force Extraction
A+B BUTTON : None
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Vampire has the power to change most opponents he defeats in combat into
Zombies under his control. The characters the Vampire can turn into Zombies
are: Wizards, Illusionists, Conjurers, Orcs, Berserkers, Trolls, Seers,
Templars, Demons and Thieves. undead and Elementals are immune. If the
Vampire is slain, all of their Zombies cease to exist as well. The Vampire
also receives one life force point each turn for each Zombie it has on the
strategy map; this allows their revitalization rate to become positive, if
they have enough Zombies to draw upon.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
The gruesome Vampires are tough in combat since they drain life force from
their opponents and add it to their own totals. Use your paralyzing eye beams
to "freeze" enemies in place before you use the Life Force Extraction attack
to siphon off their life force.
The nemesis of the Vampire is the Demon, because of its vast life force.
Beware of Demons at all costs, unless you are an expert or the Vampire is
loaded with Rings.
In combat, if you low on stamina or badly damaged, the Vampire can hover over
blocking terrain, "out of harm's way," until you are ready to resume the battle.
Vampires shouldn't waste time jockeying around on the strategy map, since they
lose life force each turn. Instead Vampires should "go for the throat" by
attacking any weaker enemies. Not only does this give the Vampire extra life
force, but a Zombie minion as well. Turning an opponent's own characters
against him, in the form of Zombies, can be very nasty.
All rings can be of great use to the Vampire, particular multiple Rings of
Rejuvenation to offset their negative revitalization score.
SPECIAL NOTES
Victims killed by the Vampire become slave Zombies, and these Zombies can be
fairly effective in combat.
Vampires lose life force each turn due to their negative revitalization level.
The only way that they can gain life normally is by draining the life force of
enemy characters they defeat in combat, although their Zombie minions help
offset this weakness to some extent.
Vampires, as flying creatures, can fly over terrain obstacles that force other
characters to detour around them. This power also works in combat ! However,
they cannot fly over water in the strategy game.
Vampires are immune to both insanity and poison traps.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
WOOHAH WOOHAH the Vampire ROCKS in this game I'm tellin' ya. He can fly, and
has a HUGE movement rate when compared with most other units ... so he's a very
capable assassin, and scout, but as the manual has already commented, unless
he is properly equipped (with Rings of Rejuvenation) he's a prime target for
enemy attacks, PLUS he won't last long OUT of combat.
FORTUNATELY if you know what you're doing, you can dive him into combat, suck
your opponent/s DRY and start creating your own little horde of Zombies to
send forth.
In short, in the hands of a CAPABLE player ? The Vampire is like a Sherman
Battle Tank. He CAN be practically unstoppable.
In the hands of a WEAK player, he can be a bloody liability.
One of my favourite techniques in combat is to use the Vampire's ability to
fly to (as the manual has already told you) hover over unreachable terrain -
such as boulders/trees, and then use my Life Force Extraction Power to glob
onto my enemy (who is usually stuck in the foliage trying to get at me) to
drink my fill.
It's important to keep a sense of PACE when fighting as a Vampire in combat,
particularly early on ... try and remember that you should ALWAYS do your best
to finish combat on full health, because (unless you've got mega-rings or
loads of Zombies at your disposal) you'll start losing health again at the next
turn - therefore if you get the sh!t kicked out of you during a given combat
session, you might not survive the next turn on the Strategy Map ;)
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 014
CHARACTER NAME : WATER ELEMENTAL
COST : 60
STRENGTH : 06
LIFE FORCE : 65
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 06
AGILITY : 06
MOVE RATE : 04
COST OF SPECIAL : 20
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Water Ball
B BUTTON : Tidal Wave Attack
A+B BUTTON : None
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Water Elemental has the power to move from one body of water to another on
the strategic map.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
The Water Elemental is a good multi-purpose character, useful on the strategic
map and in combat. Due to their missile attack in combat, Water Elementals
make excellent choices as illusionary characters.
Water Elementals are the only beings feared by the mighty Fire Elementals,
since they are roughly equivalent in combat, although weaker strategically.
Water Elementals are one of the few characters who can move across water, and
they are the only ones who can stop on it. If there is a big stretch of water
on the strategic map their Special Power can be very useful for scouting or
getting them into the action quickly, but it does cost them life force, so use
it sparingly. Badly wounded Water Elementals can retreat into the middle of a
body of water to heal and avoid most opponents.
Water Elementals make good candidates for any Ring you wish to bestow upon
them. Life Rings are especially useful if you intend to use their Special
Strategic Power often during the course of the game.
SPECIAL NOTES
No special features.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
Water Elementals are VERY good troops to take into combat with you. Their
Water Ball attack costs VERY little stamina, and their Tidal Wave Attack is so
fast that it can quite often catch opponents unawares (PLUS it does a lot of
damage and pushes your enemy back).
Competent players can DECIMATE opponents using the Water Elemental - in my
humble opinion he is DEFINITELY the biffest character in the game ... but well
worth including in your armies :)
His ability to teleport from one body of water to another can be very useful,
or it CAN land him in a lot of trouble ... there is NOTHING worse than using
your special strategic power to teleport and appear right in front of a panel
of angry Wizards. It's bye-bye Mister Elemental if you do, for SURE :(
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 015
CHARACTER NAME : WIZARD
COST : 60
STRENGTH : 03
LIFE FORCE : 30
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 02
AGILITY : 04
MOVE RATE : 03
COST OF SPECIAL : 10
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Ice Ball
B BUTTON : Freeze Ball
A+B BUTTON : None
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Wizard is able to cast a spell that freezes opponents on the strategy map,
encasing them in a block of ice. Every snow blast freezes a character for
one turn and inflicts damage; cumulative snow blasts make the character
unavailable for longer periods. It is possible to kill a character by using
this special power if their life force is low, or if you use groups of Wizards.
GAMEPLAY TIPS
Keep your Wizards out of combat. Their value is on the Strategic map, freezing
enemy characters - but this wears down their life force so don't do it too
often in a turn.
Wizards work well in conjunction with Templars located next to them to help
them regain life force. Don't let opponents get too close as your Strategic
Power has a minimum range. Wizards are also better in groups than alone.
Wizards are excellent candidates for Rings of Speed, Rejuvenation, and Life.
With five rings, they become disturbingly powerful for such feeble beings.
SPECIAL NOTES
If he has enough life force, the Wizard may cast his strategic freeze power
more than once in a turn, at the same or at different targets. Once an enemy
has been frozen on the strategy map attacks other than Ice Ball or Freeze
Ball have no effect until the spell(s) wears off. The mass of ice created
also precludes anyone entering the target square. This Freeze spell has a
maximum range (the target must be in sight) and a *minimum* range (if the
enemy gets too close the Wizard cannot target it).
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
Sod not getting these boys into combat - they are the most powerful of the
spellcasters when forced into close-quarters, because they can freeze their
opponents in COMBAT as well ...
Ideally the manual IS correct - you shouldn't use Wizards as front-line troops
in ANY situation, but when push comes to shove I think you will be quite
pleasantly surprised at just how well they perform in hand-to-hand (having TWO
ranged attacks and all).
==============================================================================
NUMBER : 016
CHARACTER NAME : WRAITH
COST : 50
STRENGTH : 05
LIFE FORCE : 25 (100 Max.)
STAMINA : 30
REVITALIZATION : 00
AGILITY : 07
MOVE RATE : 04
COST OF SPECIAL : Varies
ATTACKS
A BUTTON : Left or Right Grope (REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY !!!!!)
B BUTTON : Double Grope (erm ... hello ?? PERV !! =O)
A+B BUTTON : None
SPECIAL STRATEGIC POWER
The Wraith has the power to teleport limited distances across the strategic
map instead of normal movement. The further the Wraith teleports, the greater
the cost in life force. Depending on starting life force, the Wraith may be
able to get all the way to the other side of a smaller map !
GAMEPLAY TIPS
While the Wraith's ability to teleport makes it a good infiltrator and scout,
it makes it an even better assassin. Enemy Wizards, Conjurers, Illusionists,
Templars, and especially Seers, make good targets for assassination. Once a
target has been located and is within your Teleport range, you can achieve
tactical surprise by bringing the elusive spellcasters to battle.
Wraiths are good candidates for Rings of Life and Rejuvenation. Even a Ring of
Power might not be amiss if you have one available.
SPECIAL NOTES
When a Wraith successfully strikes an opponent in combat he drains the
enemies' life force and adds it to his own.
The Wraith is immune to both insanity and poison traps.
MISTER SINISTER SAYS :-
Ok ... were it not for the sheer COOLNESS factor of the Shape Shifter ? The
WRAITH would definitely Definitely DEFINITELY be my favourite character in the
entire game.
Why ? BECAUSE THEY MAKE FANTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASTIC ASSASSINS !
They may have ZERO revitalization, but being able to drain the health of their
opponents in combat means that even if it DOES bring you near to death to
teleport into the fray and snipe your target, you SHOULD (if you're capable
enough) be able to win by bleeding them of their health during the combat
session.
Wraiths make the BEST shock troops in the game, without a doubt, and if you're
a Lord of the Rings fan ? Not only do they LOOK like the Nazghoul ? But they
elicit the same kind of response when they arrive ;)
E.g.
"Dammit ... another Phantom. Where do they keep coming from ? Send out two
Berserkers to take care of him"
-versus-
"HOLY SH!T !! IT'S A M*THERF*NKING WRAITH !!!!!!!!! FLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!"
You see ????? ;)
==============================================================================
Here endeth my presentation of the 16 unit types you can have in the game.
(17 if you count Zombies, which you will note I have not commented upon) ;)
==============================================================================
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¦ SECTION NINE ¦
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Items
So you've picked your units, and now you still have some dosh left over !!
I looooooooooooooooooooove shopping - how about you ?? ;)
You can bump up the respective powers of your character/s by giving them items
that you can buy pre-war, and equip pre-war too.
Here are the items that are available for your purchase (all Rings, I might
add) :-
1) Ring of Speed
2) Ring of Power
3) Ring of Stamina
4) Ring of Protection
5) Ring of Rejuvenation
6) Ring of Life
PLEASE NOTE that no character can carry more than FIVE Rings ;)
==============================================================================
Ring of Speed
This ring increases the character's movement rate in strategic movement only.
It is a metallic blue ring with the image of a hawk.
==============================================================================
Ring of Power
This ring increases the damage done by the character in combat. It is a
golden band, formed by two arms with clenched fists.
==============================================================================
Ring of Stamina
This ring increases the stamina of the character, improving combat performance
It has no effect on strategic game play. It is a silver ring mounted with a
ruby heart.
==============================================================================
Ring of Protection
This ring decreases damage taken by the character in both combat and on the
strategic screen. It is a silver ring around which is entwined a large dragon
head.
==============================================================================
Ring of Rejuvenation
This ring inreases the healing rate, or "Revitalization" of the character. It
is a gold and green ring with a twisted pattern around the band.
==============================================================================
Ring of Life
This ring increases the life force of the character, allowing greater use of
special powers; this also makes the character harder to kill. It is a copper
ring with the faces of lost souls around the edge.
==============================================================================
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
¦ SECTION TEN ¦
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Traps
If you have cash to burn, you might as well invest in traps as well ! Each
trap takes up one square on the map and, as with everything else, they must be
placed PRE-WAR.
BEWARE though, as your own units can fall prey to enemy traps just as easily.
Traps can be spotted by Seers and/or Thieves, and disarmed by Thieves.
Here are the traps available for purchase :-
1) Void Trap
2) Insanity Trap
3) Teleport Trap
4) Fire Trap
5) Poison Trap
6) Slow Trap
7) Stone Trap
==============================================================================
Void Trap
The most expensive trap, and the most difficult to disarm, the Void trap sucks
any character into another dimension.
==============================================================================
Insanity Trap
Makes the victim inaccessible to orders; however, the victim will act on its
own, possibly attacking its own side. This trap does not affect elementals or
undead.
==============================================================================
Teleport Trap
Teleports the victim to a random empty square.
==============================================================================
Fire Trap
Burns the victim, possibly to the point of death. Fire Elementals are immune.
==============================================================================
Poison Trap
Poisons the victim. This poison cannot be healed except by the Templar. The
poison does a burst of initial damage. If the victim survives, Revitalization
is ignored and the victim takes one point of damage per turn until death, or
until healed. Undead or Elementals are unaffected by Poison Traps.
==============================================================================
Slow Trap
Lowers the victim's movement.
==============================================================================
Stone Trap
Turns the victim to stone, causing damage. If their life force is low, they
will be killed. Trolls are affected by Stone Traps, but due to their nature,
take no damage.
==============================================================================
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¦ SECTION ELEVEN ¦
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Choosing your Orb Holder
Your Orb Holder (or Orb Keeper, if you prefer) is your KING on this chess
board. He (or she) MUST survive to keep the game going. If you lose your Orb
Keeper ? You lose the game, pure and simple.
It will NOT be apparent to your enemy who your Orb Keeper is (although he/she
will appear with a glowing blue box around their feet for YOU to see), but it
is a fair assumption that he/she will be at the BACK of your enemy's army.
When choosing your Orb Keeper, take into account your style of play. If you
are an aggressive go-getter, then you'll probably want your Orb Keeper to be
some kind of robust unit, like the Fire Elemental or Demon ... if you're a
sneaky b@stard (like me) you'll probably prefer either the Shape Shifter or
Wraith.
DON'T make your Orb Keeper into a Troll, OR a Vampire if you're just planning
on leaving him at the back ranks, because he will die.
Once selected, your Orb Keeper gains HEALTHY bonuses to his/her stats, BUT ...
... if he/she becomes the ONLY unit left in your army ? His/her revitalization
immediately drops to -5.
ALSO keep in mind that the Orb Keeper CANNOT be given Rings.
==============================================================================
¦ NEWSFLASH ¦
==============================================================================
Finally I have found another fan of this game !! Zach Leknar has made contact
with me to make the following suggestions :-
One thing I like to do is make my orb keeper a demon, put him in the corner,
and surround him with trolls. The trolls turn to stone, and now only fliers
(seers, wraiths, elementals and vampires) can attack him. Except for the fire
elemental, the demon should be able to easily clobber all of them. and if you
haven't noticed, the orb gives you 2 strength and can bypass the maximum of 10.
So your orb keeper has a 12 strength. Very asskickful.
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¦ SECTION TWELVE ¦
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Hints and Tips
Zach very kindly offered me two other tips which I shall share with you :-
Firstly :-
"I like to give my vampires 5 regeneration rings, and my wraiths at least 1
and then I just WAIT. I move my army up to my own traps and just let them
come. Usually my opponents take time to realize what is going on, and their
undead are dying. But all of mine have at least a zero regeneration. (oh yeah,
put your vampires next to templar, they also get the +2 regeneration a turn)
so when the battle is finally joined, all of my vampires have full health
hehehe."
and secondly :-
"I don't have my tables any more, but I remember that every attack's damage
in the game could be calculated by Character strength* attacks "multiplier"
- number of defense rings the defender has. I just remember that the thief's
"roll up and stab" has a really high multiplier, so when I give them 4 rings
of power.... :)"
Thank you Zach for those KICK@SS tips !! :)
==============================================================================
... and I think that's about your lot !! :) If you have any questions or
queries, or have something HELPFUL to say, you can contact me at :-
shadowpath@hotmail.com
Thanks for taking the time to read this - it's much appreciated :)
Special thanks go to Zach Leknar for his contributions to my guide :)
MANY many thanks must also go to my good friend Aggelon, who has patiently
and lovingly taken the time to translate my entire guide into French for use
on other sites. Thanks mon ami !! :)
==============================================================================
Copyright David Booth, 2003-5
==============================================================================
Amazing Games. Many Cheats. Such Wow.
