Sacrifice
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** 1. - FAQ Information **
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Game: Sacrifice
Platform: DOS/Windows (PC)
Genre: Strategy
Author: TimmyTheRabidTurtle
Last Updated: Monday, 22nd March 2004
Date Created: Saturday, 31st June 2003
Current Version: Version 0.82
FAQ Size (.txt format): 127kb
Guide Type: FAQ/Walkthrough
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** 2. - Table of Contents **
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1. - FAQ Information
2. - FAQ Contents
3. - Sacrifice--The Basics
4. - Gods
5. - Units*
6. - Spells
7. - Walkthrough*
8. - Outro
* - Incomplete
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** 3. - Sacrifice--The Basics **
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Sacrifice is a game where you are a wizard, one of the most highly ranked
servants of each of the gods. Eldred is the wizard you take the place of.
Anyway, you are given control of an army, so you may reap the benefits of
serving a god. You are assigned souls at the beginning of a mission. With these
souls you can summon creatures in conjunction with how much mana you already
possess. Mana is a magical substance which allows wizards to cast spells,
summon creatures, and summon buildings and basically do any magical work. Mana
is not rare, and is, in fact for the most part, quite plentiful. You will see
it in the atmosphere, gushing out of the ground at a point called a mana
fountain. As a wizard assigned to one god, you may build a Manalith to control
the mana so that only units who serve your god may find it a mana source. Long-
ranged units such as the Earthfling or Ranger need mana to be able to fire
their weapons. The other main mana source is the creature, the Manahoar.
Manahoars are small, defenceless units with no purpose other than to fallow its
wizard around to regenerate its mana levels.
The different types of creature you can summon depends on what god you are
assigned to. For example, if you chose to serve Persephone for the entire game,
yet chose James for level two, then you would receive the Basilisk instead of
the Scarab. For the storyline's sake, however, for the most part, you should
stick with one god only. After level five you cannot change gods anyway.
Wizards can also cast spells, which the type of also depends on what god
you serve. For example, Persephone's spells are mainly healing, though she does
have two damage spells, Wrath and Rain of Frogs, the former being my preferred,
if you want to know. Spells are to boost your creatures during battle, healing
them, saving them from death's edge, etc.
When encountering other wizards, the only way to defeat them for an extended
period of time is to banish them via the ritual known as Desecration.
Desecration is a ritual preformed by Sac-Doctors and involves sacrificing one
of your units to destroy the opposing wizard's alter. The more souls assigned
to a unit used, the quicker and more effective the desecration will be. You can
only desecrate an alter when within touching distance of it, but be wary -- you
can be desecrated too. If you kill a wizard without desecrating his alter, he
can retreat as a soul to a mana source and regenerate health and mana before
continuing on in a new body. Desecration of an Alter usually means victory for
your side in battle, though on some missions you have other objectives to
complete too.
When you kill another creature, its soul(s) are abandoned, ready for collection
by any other wizard. The souls of your very own creatures appear blue-white on
the battlefield, and they are not needed to convert to add them to your total,
seeing as how they are pure. Any other souls have to be converted using that
specific spell. Sacrifice Doctors then spring out of nowhere, and carry that
soul to the nearest Shrine or Alter (in your possession), where it will be
sacrificed to your god overlord and can be then added to your soul total and be
used for your own cause.
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** 4. - Gods **
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"Being an excerpt from the Book of the Fyllid"
"In the beginning there was the Creator. Where there was naught but the old
void, the Creator gave of his flesh, and thus was all matter born. Where all
was dark, the Creator spread his arms and gave light, thus was born the stars,
the moon and the sun. Where there was naught but silence and loneliness, the
Creator did spill his blood, causing the very beginnings of life.
This life manifested in a multitude of forms, from the ancient behemoths of
Thrythring to our own people, the Fyllid. In those times we were chosen of the
Creator, the keepers of the lesser beasts and defenders of all the realms. As
befit our role as his primary servants, the Creator gifted us with power. The
power to shape the world, the very trees, the land, the beasts, even the
untouchable essence of the elements was granted us. Our people grew heady with
the gift of power, and some of us turned our face from the Creator. The gift
became corrupted, used for forbidden experimentation and malicious purpose.
It was then that the Fallen One, he whose name must not be spoken, tore asunder
the Earth. In the land of Golgotha, profaning and defying the very laws of
nature, the Fallen One opened a permanent gateway from this world to the
demonic realms of nether. The strain of opening this unnatural portal took its
toll upon the world and the earth began to shatter. The Fyllid and all of
creation watched in stunned silence as the benevolent Creator warred with the
Demons of the nether, but the forces of hell proved too much for even he. A cry
of unspeakable anguish broke the silence and echoed in the minds of his
children as the creator was forever banished from this existence. None of his
children heard the fry so loudly as the Fyllid, for it was one of our own that
had ultimately betrayed and murdered our master. What was discovered was the
stuff of nightmares. The creatures of the land began to warp and twist, the
very land was changing. The home realm of the Fyllid, known as Elysium, grew
lush and green, seeming to welcome us, even after the horrible betrayal of the
Creator. So too did the other lands twist, the high reaches of Empyria grew
cold and desolate; the lush sweltering lands of Helios erupted with liquid hot
magma while the arid Glebe grew even more rocky and barren. Most terrible of
all were the blasted lands of Dys, which lay near Golgotha. These lands grew
pestilent and the very earth rotted.
Five new Gods appeared to take the place of the Creator. Of the five, it was
our Lady Persephone who took us in. Grateful were we that any God would accept
us into their fold and ever since we have served our Lady faithfully. We stand
guard against the enemies of our Lady. We are ever vigilant, for it is the
Filled who know intimately the price of failure."
-Athelas
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* Persephone *
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"We are the essence of life. Throughout the ages, We have been known by many
names and in many forms. In this time and this place, it must suffice that we
are Persephone. And in that name shall you find the Great Healer, who mends the
ills of the flesh and cleanses the blemishes of the soul. And you shall come to
know We have always stood beside you, in forms more familiar. The beauty and
purity of the maiden is Our reflection. The comforting bosom of the mother
flows from Us. The wisdom of the matriarch is but a shadow of Our own. Yeah, We
are the very essence of life.
Our vision is one of peace. Our path, of mercy. We see--as you must also--how
those who do not follow Us have been deceived of corrupted by the forces of
wickedness. Thus, in their weakness, have they been lured into an existence of
treachery and debasement. We weep for them, knowing there is no greater sin
against oneself than the failure to believe in one's own worth. And there is no
greater sin against Us than the failure to stand by Our side in righteousness.
Learn from their failure and do not fear to seek the greatness within yourself.
For even as We are justice, you, as Our servant, must strive to be justice
incarnate. So shall you find within yourself a greater good and greater might
than would even have touched your dreams ere now. We promise that in the
pursuit of justice shall you find peace within yourself.
Lo, and behold, even as Our teachings grant inner harmony, Our realms are a
paragon of outer tranquillity. Our lands are the rolling, verdant plains and
sweet, sheltering forests of Elysium. These are the most resplendent and
glorious realms in all the world, and Our creatures the most joyous and
content. For all who follow Us, whether of mean birth or noble stature, share
in the blessings of Our grace, and thus are the mighty instructed in Our love
of humility. Indeed the devout Fyllid, who provide Druids and Rangers to tend
to our sacred groves, hold themselves not above the beasts of the field or the
simple peasants who each day glory in Our divine mercy.
What, then, shall be your role, in Our grand design? Dare you choose to be a
hero, to be an agent of justice? Or shall you fade into the obscurity, self-
loathing and emptiness of a life unfulfilled? 'Tis common enough, if you seek
an excuse for mediocrity. Innumerable are the souls who shrink from the call of
destiny and shirk the mantle of greatness. Can you not see how meagre and lowly
are the forces which drive them astray? Fear, doubt, sloth, temerity. Are any
of these a worthy match for that which you strive to be... that which you can
and should be? We shall guide you down the true path if you so desire, and you
shall possess power overwhelming, and Our covenant with you shall be as simple
and strong as it is pure:
Love Us and We shall requite your love a hundred-fold.
Defy Us and that day you shall surely die.
The choice is yours."
Persephone is the God of Life. She seeks justice in all affairs, and so is
often at war. She is a kind of "join or die"-type gods, only this one is
supposed to be on the good side. Personally, I think she's a little TOO into
the good side.
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* James *
*********
"I am James, God of Earth. You know, rocks and soil and stuff. Some nice gems
too. It's not all brown and grey you know. Just... mostly. I would never claim
to be the most exciting of gods, but I ain't here to entertain folks. I'm here
to protect 'em and guide 'em. I'll tell you straight up, if it's peace and
quiet you want, I'm your deity. Why should folks be questing for anything? Or
go looking for trouble? Or stick their noses in other folks business? Or always
much about trying to change the world? This is the world. Feel is sold beneath
your feet. I don't see as there's much need for change at all.
That's the attitude folks' take in the Glebe. They look after themselves and
don't much get in each other's business. A fellow's farm is his castle, if you
take my meaning. It's a place of tranquillity and prosperity. I see to both of
'em, and the people are glad for it. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying
there's no room in the Glebe for someone to be great or to stand out or to do
amazing things. What I'm saying is that nobody's gonna tell you what it means
to be great. You get to decide that for yourself. I, for one, think this
attitude is more likely than not to bring the best out in folks... and it
causes a whole rock-load less headaches in the meantime.
Tramping about with some other god, you'll never be as safe as you would be in
the Glebe, with the earth to shield you and provide for all your needs. The
truth of it is, if you want to reach great heights, my granite's the best
foundation to build on. It don't matter what you bring or where you want to go.
I got more room for it here, and I'll do my best to see that you get everything
what's coming to you. That's a simple promise from a simple god. It's even
written in stone, if you like."
James, the God of Earth, is the only god without a cool name (no offence to any
James that might be reading this ^_^). Actually, now that I think about it, he
looks a bit like a giant tongue. Less caring about purity and justice than
Persephone, he is still on the side of good through and through. James is the
most humble and least arrogant of all the gods. James' land is the Glebe to the
South East of the world, which is a pretty barren place. His followers are
extremely loyal.
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* Stratos *
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"I am Stratos, God of Air and Supreme Lord of the Heavens. I am the bringer of
storms. The mover or the firmament. Ah let's do be honest, shall me? In any
halfway-civilised world, I would be the only god.
My true form is too divine for mortal eyes to bear, but I find that lacking
physical representation, I am too abstract for mortal comprehension. Some even
have the temerity to believe me to be an unthinking elemental force. Au
contraire. I am as cerebral as I am celestial. All of which I present as a
simple explanation for the form in which you now observe me. Sleek, refined and
dignified. A form nearly worthy of my perfection.
Speaking of which: It is not merely mastery of the heavens and all things
godlike that lead me to this claim of superior divinity. (Although, if I may
momentarily digress, I am master of the celestial and the elemental, the
transcendental and the temporal, the meteorological and the epistemological, to
name but a few of my areas of expertise.) No, such simple braggadocio does not
speak to the quintessential nature of me. It is merely the plainest of facts
that I am smarter, cleverer, and more insightful than all the other gods
combined.
Look at my creations if you are in need of further evidence: Empyrea is,
literally and figuratively, the loftiest of all realms. It's in habitants more
talented than any other's. The great libraries that hold the chronicles of our
time are to be found in Empyrea. (If I may be a candid, I am not certain many
of the other gods' followers even know how to read.) Sacrosanct peaks onto
which no mortal has tread: Also in Empyrea. (There are places in Dys where
mortals do not go, to be sure, but it is for lack of interest, not ability.)
From the fantastical to the fearsome, the elusive to the erudite, Empyrea--much
as her lord--reigns supreme."
Stratos is the God of Air. He is the wisest and most knowledgeable of all the
gods but also probably the most arrogant. His land is Empyrea, beautiful, yet
small. Stratos' form seen in Sacrifice is not his true form, but a form just to
be recognisable by mortals. It's a bit fragile, though.
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* Pyro *
********
"I am Pyro. God of Fire. They will tell you I am the god of Destruction of
Chaos, but that is not entirely true. Pyro is the spark of imagination and the
engine of industry. Pyro is the bringer of knowledge and the bearer of light.
Why do they slander me? Fear and jealousy, I expose their deficiencies.
Persephone demands order. What is wrong with order, you say? Nothing, except
when it really means fighting clinging to the past and never taking the steps
necessary to improve the world around you. Order cannot be allowed to stop
Progress. Charnel promises everyone strife. He glories in it, or so he
pretends. The truth is Charnel is afraid. He never builds anything because what
if it doesn't work? If he loses a battle, he says, "What does it matter? My
creatures were already dead." Cowardice! Then there is Stratos. Stratos is more
craven than Charnel--if that is possible. At least Charnel pretends to stand
for something. Stratos hides behind a veneer of neutrality and a supposedly
noble love of the truth. Pity him most of all, for his lies are innumerable and
he believes them all. And as for the god of earth... don't get me started on
him.
They are jealous of what Pyro has wrought: The great furnaces of Pyroborea burn
day and night, channelling the souls and life blood of my slaves into the
creation of ever more powerful machines. Machines to make machines. Machines to
fix machines. Machines to design machines. The slaves are only fuel, you see.
Oh, I make no denials about its brutality, but you will come to appreciate
brutality. Not the random mayhem of Charnel of the fake justice of Persephone.
No, the brutality of the crucible. Honest. Purifying. Inescapable.
There is an odour here, acrid and sulphurous. The medley of burning flesh and
metal. How sweet is that aroma! Some call it pain and chaos, but it is progress
plain and simple. I know you are not yet ready to appreciate it. I know it is
frightening. You must burn away those parts of yourself that cannot love the
smell of progress. Burn them utterly and savour the stench. All my followers
do. It makes them strong. It makes them make me strong. If Pyro did not bring
them progress, they would cast him aside and find a new god. That is at it
should be."
Pyro is the God of Fire. He brings progress to the world, something which none
of the other gods like or deploy. Industry is under his charge, though he has
defiled his land, Pyroborea, in the process. He is fat and ugly, though
surprisingly less arrogant than Stratos.
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* Charnel *
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"I am Charnel, God of Strife, Lord of Slaughter, Master of Death. Where there
is pain, I am there. Where there is suffering, I flourish. Where there is
joy... yes, well, one could hardly have joy without another's suffering, no?
I am called a villain, but mine is a doctrine reflected in the unspoken truths
behind all other philosophies. Recognise that truth, my child: Strife is the
single element most essential to meaning and existence. Without conflict,
without struggle, all of creation might as well be so many unmoving, unfeeling
stones. Without me to hate, who would have cause to call themselves holy or
just? Oh only a fool would seek contentment in peace and tranquillity.
Come see, come see. I hold dominion over the lands of Stygia, which coil with
serpentine grace, engulfing the holdings of my foes. Vile and putrid ground,
formed of the flesh of the dead, running with rivers of blood, plagued by
swarming vermin--ah, it gives me chills whenever I think of it. Here you will
find obsidian gateways to demonic realms, an especial treat for unwitting
guests. Witness also the cruel prisons wherein are tortured those rare souls
among my enemies who are worthy of such attention, and perhaps a random
assortment of others to keep the cells occupied. Oh, but do not overlook the
mockeries called villages, populated by mindless zombies--you really must
appreciate their simplicity--whose greatest ambition is to toil and die in my
service. Well now, those of low ambition deserve what they get, no?
But I believe you know this, and that is what has brought you to me. If you
possess both the hunger and the courage to embrace it, you may yet prove worthy
of greatness. And if not, to strive and to fail... to be cast down into an
eternal torment worthy of your failure. Ah. I almost envy your mortality.
Envision success. Envision only success. A morose attitude is most unbecoming
in a servant of death. Now then, allow me to share with you something of the
powers which will be yours to command, assuming you earn a place in my
hierarchy, and assuming Acheron or one of my other servants does not strike you
down out of jealously... or cruelty."
Charnel is the God of Conflict, Strife and Death. His land, to the southwest,
Stygia, is rotten and putrid with the burning flesh and smoke of his slaves. He
does not accept failure, as the Ragman knows, who was chained for hundreds of
years inside a cave on the island of Solis, inside James' territory. Charnel is
often the cause of the war between the gods.
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** 5. - Units **
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* Manahoar *
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Manahoars, costing only one point of Mana and one soul, transmit mana to your
wizard's mana total at all times while it is nearby. Extremely useful,
Manahoars are slain easily though, having no attack or defence. In a group of
three or four Manahoars around you, mana will be received very quickly when you
are not at the highest total. Manahoars also transmit mana to your units.
Ranged units need this especially, as they cannot fire shots without having
mana.
Unit Type: None
Passive Abilities: Transmits mana to wizards and ranged units.
Special Ability: None
Souls: One
Mana: One
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Persephone *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
Keep in mind that all of Persephone's units regenerate health naturally over
time.
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* Druid *
*********
"In time of peace, Druids perform many sacred roles in Fyllid society, from the
tending of sacred groves to the keeping of lore. In time of war, they form the
heart of Our fighting force. Druids wield no weapons other than their fists but
can use words of protection to create a shield around themselves, protecting
them from harm."
Druids are pretty crap, to be honest. They are hand-to-hand fighters of the
weakest kind and so are killed easily. I usually don't bother with them except
maybe in the first level.
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Lifeshield - Creates a full body shield that reduces damage
taken in battle.
Souls: One
Mana: Three Hundred
**********
* Ranger *
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"Recruited from among the Fyllid, the Ranger holds sway over the darker heart
of the forest. Using a bow skilfully crafted from the precious trees of the
Daven Forest, each Ranger strives to attain perfection as a hunter and as a
warrior, for they have taken as their creed the most martial aspects of Our
teaching, and do not shrink from the tireless pursuit of personal greatness.
Of their arts, none is more unique than their mastery of tracking. At your
direction, a Ranger will scry the location of the nearest enemy. Using a group
of Rangers you will find you can uncover the hiding place of all your rivals."
Rangers are much better than Druids, in my opinion. They fire arrows with
deadly accuracy from longbows at a distance, and so are classified as long-
range fighters. They cost one soul and three hundred mana points to create.
Very useful in the early stages, Rangers become obsolete later in the game.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Divine Sight - Shows where enemy units are located, even when
hidden or far in the distance.
Souls: One
Mana: Three Hundred
**********
* Shrike *
**********
"Among Our creatures, the most pure are the simple songbirds. The Shrike, 'tis
true, is one of these, but its gift is neither so simple nor so harmless as
would be expected of such a creature: The minions of darkness cannot pear the
purity of the Shrike's song, which wounds them as surely as a Ranger's arrow.
The druids, in seeing their fragile nature, have taught them the Lifeshield
ability, which they can use to protect themselves from ranged damage."
Shrikes, an aerial unit, aren't too important. Building some, however, is
important. Costing four hundred Mana and one soul to create, they are easily
bought, and easily slain. They, also become obsolete in the later stages of the
game also.
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: Sonic attacks knock down targets, stunning them. Good for
interrupting enemy spell casting.
Special Ability: Lifeshield - Creates a shield that reduces damage taken in
battle.
Souls: One
Mana: Four Hundred
**********
* Scarab *
**********
"In the depths of the forest are a great many creatures no outsider has ever
seen. A few of these, such as the Scarab, are called forth when the need for
them is great. Something like a spider but far larger, the mystical Scarab
spins a web, but hers is not a web for catching prey, but a web of healing.
Treat her well and she will serve you well."
Scarabs, small and spider-like, are healing units. They cost six hundred Mana
and two souls to complete, but are fairly useful. They cannot attack, but they
restore vital health to friendly units under your command. Having two behind
your troops is just about imperative, and will be a huge boost. They take a
good bit of damage for a healing unit. Useful, though.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Shoots a healing beam at your wounded creatures in order to
heal them. Scarabs are a supportive unit, not meant for attack.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Two
Mana: Six Hundred
*********
* Troll *
*********
"Feared for their destructive might and regenerative abilities--which render
them nearly impervious to harm and less capable of understanding the pain
others feel--Trolls can be both fearsome and savage. Indeed, of old, many of
Our other followers warred against the Trolls and suffered from their raids.
But one day, Athelas the Druid besought Us to grant them the gift of speech and
thereafter taught them of Our name and instructed them in our worship. Thus did
the Trolls come to live in harmony with all the Faithful and become for us the
bulwark of Our armies."
Trolls aren't THAT tough, though they are still tough. They would be killed
pretty easy if it wasn't for their passive ability. However, it's still a good
idea to build them. They are pretty slow, alas, but good creatures nonetheless.
They regenerate health quicker than other Persephone creatures too.
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: Trolls regenerate life extremely quickly.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Two
Mana: Seven hundred
*********
* Gnome *
*********
"It is clear to you, no doubt that We seek out righteous souls from other
worlds to serve us as Mystics. It is even so that you have been taken into Our
presence. Long ago, We brought an entire race-the Gnomes--from another world.
Such a thing is not often to be done, for the balances of nature must be
respected, and even now there are times the crafty tinkers do test the limits
of Our infinite mercy. Yet they are dear to Us, though not born of Us, and
serve well in Our armies. They wield mighty Hand Cannons of their own
invention, which, though slow at firing, are very powerful, and make these
otherwise timid creatures quite effective at defending Our justice."
The Gnomes, carrying their blaster cannons, are good ranged units. Two souls is
just about a good price for one to be summoned. They don't fire extremely
quickly, though.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Shots strike their target instantly when fired. Allows for a
greater chance of hitting moving targets.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Two
Mana: One Thousand
***********
* Gremlin *
***********
"In the first age, all of Our followers were simple creatures. Some of the
Fyllid from that age now serve Us as Druids and Rangers, and We would enhance
the abilities and intellect of a great many other creatures. The first
intelligent race We bore were the Gremlins. They were raised up to serve Us as
messengers, and as not all come willingly when called to Our judgment, the
Gremlins have learned to ensnare and draw to them those who resist Our summons.
They are not schooled in the ways of war, but you may find their talents useful
for dividing Our forces or holding them in check."
Gremlins are a little weak. The special ability that they have been assigned
isn't too important or useful. They die pretty easy, and so are classified as
pretty weak all around. In the first level they appear in they work pretty
well, though.
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Web Pull -- Ensnares an enemy in a sticky web, allowing it to
be dragged towards the Gremlin. A useful method for trapping enemy wizards and
pulling them away from the blue souls they desperately need on the battlefield.
Souls: Three
Mana: One Thousand
**********
* Mutant *
**********
"As Great Mother, We accept even the most bedraggled and undeserving under Our
wing, teaching them to find the greatness within themselves. In the Mutants you
shall doubtless find the most clear example of this principle. These are truly
wretched creatures, beset by a grievous malady, by which their own bodies seem
to war with themselves. Although this ill seems their greatest weakness, We
have turned it into their advantage. Under Our care, they have learned to
endure the pain of this loathsome affliction and rend from within their bodies
the sprouting polyps in which its agents are concentrated. The diseased and
hideous polyps may then be used as devastating projectile weapons which the
Mutants throw across distances, striking fear in the hearts of those who might
otherwise abuse these miserable creatures."
Mutants are probably your best creatures. The Passive Ability is extremely
useful, and the piles of burning flesh they lob at attackers are powerful.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: When dying, a Mutant's body will shower healing energy upon
all your forces in the surrounding area. Healing doesn't apply to enemy units
of course. Thrown Polyps have area damage.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Three
Mana: One thousand, one hundred
*******
* Ent *
*******
This is one of the creatures not mentioned in the manual. They are large four-
legged creatures. They are about 6 on the speed scale, which sucks, but once
they get to the battle, they're excellent. Expensive in terms of souls, but
Ents are still good. Even better when protector is activated.
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Protector
Souls: Four
Mana:
**********
* Dragon *
**********
The Dragon is by far Persephone's greatest and strongest creature. It's costly,
but it's just about the best creature in the game. They are worth it, in my
opinion. They are also fairly slow, but they are priceless when they arrive.
Breath of Life, the Dragon's special ability, gathers any blue souls and re-
summons the creatures that last used that soul, which is pretty useful and
doesn't cost you, Eldred, any mana or time by summoning creatures.
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities:
Special Ability: Breath of Life
Souls: Five
Mana:
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** James *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
*********
* Trogg *
*********
"It is common knowledge that the Troggs are simple, cave-dwelling folk. It is
also common knowledge that they don't talk much and aren't skilled at much but
thumping other folks upside the head. This is one of them cases when common
knowledge ain't all it's cracked up to be. It is true that the Troggs live
underground, and true they ain't much enamoured of the common tongue, sticking
when they can do their own babble. That means other folks don't know what they
say. That don't mean they've got nothing smart to say. Below the earth, they
build the most amazing alters and idols and such. They perform elaborate
rituals which much account for their near immunity to spells. Let other folks
think it's cause they're too dumb to know they oughta be hurt. You'll know
better. And so will they."
Troggs are the best of the basic melee fighters, a lot of that on the account
of the fact that they are immune to wizards' spells. However, they are too slow
to harm wizards but on occasion they can kill one.
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: Immune to Magical Damage
Special Ability: None
Souls: One
Mana: Three Hundred
**************
* Earthfling *
**************
"In the Elder Days, the Earthflings arose from the spirit of the soil. Rocky,
grainy, sandy, soft. A little bit of everything went into these fellows, and
they've haven't forgotten it. As the Earthflings say, "You've gotta know where
you come from to know where you're going." So they can draw soil up from the
ground they're standing on and send it a-flying outta their mouths, but that
ain't all. They can change their whole bodies into one big rock what's nigh
invulnerable. That's staying in touch with your roots, that is."
Earthflings give decent amounts of damage for a basic unit and they are very
accurate with it. The special ability is, in my opinion, not very useful.
Although, saying that, if you have some aerial units coming in on you, you
might want to try putting it on.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Turns an Earthfling into a large boulder, making it nearly
immune to damage.
Souls: One
Mana: Three hundred
************
* Gargoyle *
************
"If you've ever had a real good sculptor speak, he'll tell you the statue's
already in the stone. All he's gotta do is chop away the parts that aren't it.
That's pretty much how it is with the Gargoyles. Sometimes, a rock don't care
that it's made o' stone: it's just gotta fly. Well, as I said before, I'm not
one to judge a body's dream. More power to 'em I say. But it's hard work for a
rock to learn to fly, so if you meet one, don't be surprise if it's a bit of a
crusty curmudgeon, if you take my meaning. And once they've learned to go
flitting about regular like, they want to stay airborne as much as possible. So
even though they've got some mean-looking teeth, don't expect them to go biting
anybody. No, they prefer to stay aloft and spray down a shower of stones.
Whatever works, I say."
The shower of stones attack deals average damage, but it's still good due to
the fact that it does area damage. Due to the lack of a special ability,
however, it lacks compared to the other basic aerial units.
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: Rock attacks from the air do area damage.
Special Ability: None
Souls: One
Mana: Three hundred
************
* Basilisk *
************
"The fearsome legends you prolly heard about Basilisks are greatly exaggerated.
They are creatures of middling size and no great physical attributes or mental
acuities. But you can't blame folks for not checking 'em over too closely,
cause it is true that they can turn a body to stone with a single gaze. The
transformation is only temporary, mind you, but that don't bother the Basilisk.
He can always do it again."
Meh... These are pretty useless, in my opinion. Compared to the other
defensive-laden creatures that James has, this dies pretty quickly. When it
freezes an enemy, it does tiny bits of damage
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Attack turns enemy units to stone, rendering them immobile
and useless for a limited time. However, a side effect is that petrified enemy
units are harder to damage.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Two
Mana: Six hundred
***********
* Taurock *
***********
"Some folks will tell you that the Taurock is a big bull (or bear) of a
creature what's covered its hide with rocks. Others'll say it's a pile of rocks
that've learned to run about. Hardly matters which is the truth, doe sit? The
fact that the ole four-legger is tough as a rock and strong as a bear (or
bull). Just try getting in one's way if you want to see what I mean."
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: As it takes damage, its defences increase. Therefore the
more it takes damage the harder it is to kill.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Seven hundred
Mana: Two
***************
* Boulderdash *
***************
"In the badlands, prey is scarce, but rocks aren't too hard to come by. The
Boulderdash is one badlands predator what's learned to make the most of its
surroundings. As you might expect, it can shoot out those rocks, and the things
hit hard enough to kill lots of critters outright. Smack! Just like that. But
that ain't all. A Boulderdash shoot out three rocks at a time in a narrow
spread. Yeah, they've even got a little saying about it: "Two birds with one
stone is good fortune, but three stones with one shot is good tactics." Not
exactly poetry, but it gets the point across. Same goes for the Boulderdash."
Boulderdash shoots once and sends three rocks with that shot. It's pretty good,
IMO.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Boulderdash shot splits into three parts, making it possible
to hit multiple enemies at once. (Or to do triple damage to one large target.)
Special Ability: None
Souls: Two
Mana:
**********
* Ikarus *
**********
"You've heard me say that I like the world the way it is. That don't mean I got
a problem with folks what got the spirit of invention. Good ole honest
ingenuity is something to be used, if it's what comes natural to you. Just ask
the inventor of the Ikarus. He took some fellows, strapped wings onto their
arms and taught them to fly. Nowadays we got a whole society of fellows with
homemade wings. They gotta carry lots of glue on 'em in case them flappers
start coming apart, so they've gotten good at dropping this glue on enemies and
mucking up their movements. But when it gets down to a brawl, it ain't about
tricks up their wings. They like to get right in there with the fisticuffs,
where they put their upper body strength to good use. Yep, folks used to laugh
about my flying men. Not no more. Not one bit."
The Ikarus is a basic aerial unit. The special ability is ineffective, so some
is taken for that. Aside from that, it's decent. As usual, they work best in
groups. It isn't worth the souls and mana cost.
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Stickbomb--Slows down enemy units down with thick glue.
Souls: Three
Mana: One Thousand
***********
* Flummox *
***********
"Flummox, of course is just what we call a battle-trained lummox here in the
Glebe. I mean, I seen the usefulness of the mountain lummox, same as Stratos
and Pyro, but here's the difference: I didn't need to get all fancy like they
done. Not, I let mine stick to flinging rocks. It don't sound like much, but I
think it's often best just to let folks stick with that comes natural to 'em.
Believe me, they're a lot happier than their counterparts in Pyroborea and
Empyrea."
As James suggests, it's merely a Lummox tossing some rocks around. They do a
wealth of area damage, which is useful, considering that they aren't very
accurate.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Rock attacks cause earth tremors around the target. All
units in the area are temporarily stunned. Useful for interrupting spell
casting.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Four
Mana: One Thousand
**************
* Jabberocky *
**************
The Jabberocky is a three-legged bug of sorts. It is a melee fighter, and a
pretty good one. Its special ability is to shake the ground next to it, causing
area damage. Ergo, it's a decent fighter. Might want to watch the souls though,
they're costly.
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Earthquake
Souls: Four
Mana: ???
*********
* Rinok *
*********
Rinok's have absolutely massive defence. Their attack is to summon spikes of
rock from the earth beneath opponents, which does pretty good damage. They
aren't hugely fast, but they're still good. A good investment in five souls, if
you ask me. Its special ability is the equivalent of the Halo of Earth spell
that a wizard can cast. It summons a ring of rocks which will orbit in a
circle around you at a height. When you go near an enemy, one of the rocks will
be tossed at it.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Halo of Earth
Souls: Five
Mana: ???
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Stratos *** *
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
*************
* Frostwolf *
*************
"In the first days, the Frostwolves were slaves to Persephone's "circles of
life". They were simple predators, swift of foot and sharp of fang, travelling
in small packs. Always in a desperate search for substance. Always in fear of
the great mountain Yeti. Helplessly subject to the cruel vicissitudes of
ecological cycles.
Had it been up to the Goddess, they would never have arisen from this pitiful
state of barbarity, but I intervened. I taught them to use their minds and
free themselves of primitive superstitions. Their unmatched swiftness is still
their greatest asset, but--having learned the fashioning and wielding of
knives--they are quite deadly as well."
The Frostwolves aren't too deadly, even at the start of the game.
Unfortunately, they just HAVE to be summoned because there are no other Melee
creatures at that point in time. Don't even think about summoning them past the
fifth level. Sure, they're unfairly fast, but they take absolutely no damage.
Period. Actually, on second thought, they're not too bad. Useful for quick
attacks.
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Run Away--Not to be confused with retreating! This ability
speeds up your Frostwolves to an alarming rate. Utilise the extra speed to
strategic advantage!
Souls: One
Mana: Three Hundred
*********
* Sylph *
*********
"There have always been tales of the elusive mountain nymphs--mystical
creatures of immense beauty, finding comfort in the solitude of the high peaks
of Empyrea. Many are the men who have died atop the frozen heights when seeking
to catch a Sylph for a bride.
As you would expect, there is some truth behind the tales that inspire such
folly, but the secret of the Sylph is not where she hides, it is how she hides.
For you see, a Sylph can remain unseen in plain sight, so long as she does
nothing to harm you. In battle, they are invaluable, appearing suddenly to
loose a flight of arrows and then fading once more in to the mist."
Meh, just your average basic ranged fighter. Takes very little damage, however,
so be careful. Stealth doesn't really work too well, considering you'd have to
make your entire army invisible because if you didn't, your Sylphs would just
get destroyed pretty quickly. It's novelty, though.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Stealth--Can make itself nearly invisible. When in this state,
it cannot be targeted by spells or missile attacks, even if seen by the enemy.
Must reappear when attacking.
Souls: One
Mana: Three hundred
************
* Brainiac *
************
"When unencumbered by the artificial constraints of the body, the power of the
mind is an amazing thing. Though the Brainiac does (technically speaking)
possess a body, it is of far less substance (if you will) than his mind.
Using his modest wings to keep him aloft and out of the fray, a Braniac focuses
his mental energies against an opponent in an irresistible physical attack. In
addition to traumatising the subject so thoroughly that it physically suffers
all the damage it imagines, this attack will often briefly debilitate the
subject, causing it to fall to the ground helpless. Sheer genius."
Brainiacs are surprisingly good assaulters. The damage they do isn't overly
huge, but it comes quickly and so is useful.
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: Knocks enemies down by the use of psychokenesis, causing a
target to be stunned as well as wounded. Perfect for interrupting an enemy
wizard's spell casting.
Special Ability: None
Souls: One
Mana: Three hundred
***********
* Vortick *
***********
"Not all of my creatures possess great intelligence. However, this is not a
problem because of the (many) qualities of my genius is the insight to make the
most of what natural abilities a creature does have. For the longest time, the
simple-minded "tick" was a hapless herbivore which rapidly sucked air through a
series of chambers in its carapace to make a frightful din and scare predators
away. Typical Persephone rot.
Calling it a "Vortick," I modified its thoraxial carapace to channel the air
into a swirling vortex--much more powerful and minus the unpleasant sounds.
(Allow me to digress briefly, for I believe you are wondering if this "vortex"
has influenced the name of the vortick. An excellent deduction. I would have
expected no less of you.) The vortex casts its victims into the air and
subverts and attempts they might make to attack."
Vortick isn't very useful, IMO. They shoot blasts of wind at attackers, which
send them back a bit and does little damage. Pretty crappy two-souled unit. It
doesn't get better with the next creature either.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Creates a vortex to lift enemy units into the air. This
causes some initial damage, followed up by the damage caused by the subsequent
dropping of the victims back to the ground.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Two
Mana: Six Hundred
**********
* Squall *
**********
"I was so pleased by the unmitigated success of the Vortick, I began immediate
work on the high mountain birds of prey called "squawks." (That's what the
Frostwolves called them, at any rate.) Again, rather than all that unpleasant
sonic drivel, I re-fashioned its body to project an immensely powerful (gale
force) blast of air. Initial experiments were disastrous, I do not mind telling
you, until I removed their wings. Anchored on the ground, they were much, much
more effective, knocking their subjects back instead of themselves. And thus
the Squall was born."
The Squalls look like giant purple-y blue-y blobs. Which they are, by the way.
The attacking ability they are assigned, sending blasts of wind at attackers,
can be accidentally used on friendly units as well, and seems to happen more
often than with other creatures' attacks. You should check the 'useless' box
for them.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Gale force knocks targets back when hit.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Two
Mana: Seven hundred
****************
* Storm Giants *
****************
"In the elder days, before the hegemony of the five gods, great titans ruled
the world. We obviously exterminated the great majority of them. It's very
difficult to get the undivided worship of a group of villagers when the Fire
Giant up the road demands offerings in exchange of not burned the village down.
Of these titans, only the Storm Giants survive in any great numbers. Ever the
diplomat, I was able to come to an accommodation with their leader, Lord
Surtur, and to this day they wear these very handsome masks in tribute to me.
In addition to being big and strong they are especially useful to an
Elementalist."
The Storm Giants are super cool. Lord Surtur is the most elite of them, though
don't expect all of them to be that powerful. They come close, though. Call
Lightning is a damned good ability, too. It blasts lightning into the spike on
their back and increases their attacking rate and their stats. They are
probably the best non-high-soul-needing melee fighter in the game.
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: A storm giant's passive abilities are activated via is
special ability, "Call Lightning." When struck by lightning, a Storm Giant gets
enhanced statistics, despite taking some initial electric damage this powering-
up also causes the giant to spew electricity in all directions.
Special Ability: Call Lightning--This ability calls down the lightning bolt
from the heavens to activate the Giants passive "power-up" ability.
Souls: Two
Mana: One Thousand
**********
* Seraph *
**********
"Persephone does not talk about this (because it shames her and she's got an
unhealthy preoccupation with meaningless concepts such as honour), but those
gremlins she uses as messengers are not really the complete species that she
represents them as.
You see, during the War of Purification (as the druid scholars call it--War of
Persephone's Tantrum might be more accurate), not all of her creatures bought
into the whole "wisdom and justice of our crusade" blather she was trying to
pawn off on them. A great number of her messengers used their embassies to
other lands as an opportunity to defect. These are ancestors of the Seraphim
who serve me now. Like their gremlin counterparts, they fly and are able to
ensnare a single victim pulling it toward them."
Seraph... Meh... They are just like Persephone's Gremlins. And just as useless.
They ensnare targets and real them in. Don't go for any decent attacker. Use
them to defeat zombies and farmers and such easy souls.
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Cage Pull--Causes the Seraph to snare an enemy in a cage of
pure energy. While ensnared, an enemy creature can be pulled towards the
Seraph.
Souls: Three
Mana:
**********
* Flurry *
**********
"It's a cruel world out there. Rarely does one see creatures of different
species in close cooperation. (I am not talking about those graft jobs Pyro
does, either.) But it is a beautiful thing when it happens. What we call a
Flurry is actually two creatures: a apprentice Elementalist riding atop a
cerulean lummox. The lummox, of course, is a lumbering but docile mountain
creature whose only defence is tossing things with its adept prehensile tail.
To give them something better to toss, the young Elementalist are taught the
transmutation of ice into Storm Crystals, which create a powerful vacuum upon
impact--a damaging implosion, instead of an explosion. Though not terribly
accurate, the Flurry can rain down a devastating barrage of storm crystals from
a great distance."
Flurries are... alright. They come in two parts. One of them is just like
James' Flummox, and the other is a rider. The base animal flings imploding ice
at creatures. Not very accurate though.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Vacuum shot sucks enemy units towards the point of impact.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Four
Mana:
********
* Yeti *
********
The Yeti is one of those creatures that didn't make it into the manual. Sorry
about that. Anyway, they are large creatures with talons for slicery, butchery
and such fun activities that I have don't have any words for. They have a
pretty good defence. Use wisely.
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: None
Souls: Four
Mana:
**************
* Silverback *
**************
The Silverbacks are an Elementalist's strongest creatures. They take huge
amounts of damage. Their attack is to breath ice on their opponents, which
turns them into ice cubes. It's useful for stopping large attacks. Send your
other units after its foes once they have been freezinated (yes, I just made it
up...). However, enjoy!
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: Send breaths of ice at enemies, turning them into ice
blocks.
Special Ability: Run Away
Souls: Five
Mana:
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Pyro *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
*******
* Cog *
*******
"The lowliest of my is the mindless Cog. Unfortunately, its heat energy used up
in powering its deadly spinning bludgeons; so it is one of few proles that does
not burn its victims. That is, up until it is destroyed. You use them as fodder
and then, whenever your enemies destroy one it erupts in a searing steam blast,
scalding anything near it."
Cogs are just mechanical pieces of crap that cause little damage and are just
annoying. Of course, that's just until they detonate. They cause a good bit of
area damage when they explode
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: Upon its death, it releases steam, causing area damage
(Careful, this will damage nearby friendly units!)
Special Ability: None
Souls: One
Mana:
****************
* Flame Minion *
****************
"Back when the God of Earth still had an inkling of where he might find a shred
of good sense, he sent me a tribe of Earthflings. Payment for favours I had
done for him. Flame Minions are the result. They are quick on their feet and
can shoot little fireballs out of their mouths. They're very good at taking
down enemy flying creatures, and they can give themselves a temporary speed
boost to escape more powerful enemies. Not that I approve of that kind of
thing."
Meh... Decent ranged units. They, as the passage above tells, just like James'
Earthflings only with the substitution of rocks for fire. Also, the Flame
Minions can increase their speed at will with their Special Ability.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Run Away--Don't confuse this ability with retreating. Run Away
charges your Flame Minions up to speeds greater than even your level one wizard
spell can bring about. The perfect ability for quick attacks or any other
strategy you can devise.
Souls: One
Mana:
************
* Spitfire *
************
"Spitfires talk big, but they aren't very tough. Don't let them fool you. They
can't take much damage, and the cone of fire they project strikes a wide area
but doesn't to that much damage. So used one at a time, they aren't all that
effective. No, you fly a group of them in. Then all that fiery breath adds up
and probably hits several enemies at once. Good stuff."
They're pretty powerful, despite Pyro running them down. Like he said, they
work best in groups, dealing average amounts of area damage. They are probably
the best aerial unit in the game. They, unlike other basic units, are still
effective later in the game.
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: Air
Special Ability: Area damage when breathing fire on targets.
Souls: One
Mana:
*************
* Tickferno *
*************
"My engineers tried several experiments trying to make a Tickferno that could
shoot out a stream of flame, but the weak, little things kept setting
themselves on fire. We had to settle for the current ones, which can blast a
line of targets with a powerful heat ray that saps strength and wipes out
energy. We've started a program of extermination, but they breed fast, so there
are still plenty available if you can find a use for them."
Tickfernos are a ranged creature which send blasts of heat at an enemy. The ray
drains the enemy of mana and does a decent amount of damage, so, all in all,
it's useful.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Attacks take away large amounts of mana but little health.
Perfect for draining magical targets.
Special Ability: None
Souls: Two
Mana:
************
* Firefist *
************
"What do you get when you take a big, savage brute, put burners on its
forearms, and attach fuel tanks around its body? Even distribution of weight is
one thing, but more importantly something you might call instant devastation.
Pyro calls it a Firefist. More than that, Pyro doesn't care to say."
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: As it takes damage, it deals out more damage.
Special Ability: None
Souls:
Mana:
**************
* Pyromaniac *
**************
"It is difficult to believe any self-respecting gnome would worship Persephone.
They claim to have an interest in building and inventing things, but there they
are making sacrifices to the Goddess of Antiquities. It can only be that they
are afraid. By staying loose in those rustic environs, they ensure that they
know more than everyone else about the only kinds of things that matter:
things. Well, don't despair. There are some who show more sense than that. They
are very devoted to my cause, even abandoning their old, trust hand-cannons to
arm themselves with rocket launchers. They are so enthusiastic about Pyro's
principles, they call themselves Pyromaniacs."
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Attack instantly hits enemies, setting them alight. While on
fire, enemy units lose health at a significant rate.
Special Ability: None
Souls:
Mana:
**************
* Pyrodactyl *
**************
"Don't think that the proles can do nothing but set the enemy on fire. As
important as this is, Pyro does recognise the need for diversity. Hence, the
Pyrodactyl, which can swoop in on your foes and spray them with a coat of oil.
This oil often blinds its victims temporarily, but, most importantly, it makes
them even more susceptible to being set on fire."
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Viscous Oil--This attack blinds enemy units and makes them
more flammable to fire attacks. They provide the old, you provide the match!
Blinded units will lose their given orders and will remain useless until the
blindness passes.
Souls:
Mana:
***********
* Bombard *
***********
"Maybe you've seen a lummox before? Big, slow, not too bright, but they can
carry a large load and are pretty good at throwing things with their tails.
Stratos has some throwing imploding "storm crystals" and calls them Flurries.
And he claims to be smart. Ha! I fixed mine to toss bombs. True, these
Bombards, as I call them, are none too accurate but that hardly matters when
the explosions start. Explosions beat implosions any day in my book."
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Sets targets alight over a wide area, causing burn damage as
long as they're aflame.
Special Ability: None
Souls:
Mana:
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Charnel *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
***********
* Scythes *
***********
"The bony Scythe, armed with razor sharp blades atop its head, is a masterpiece
of destruction. These swift, whirling, skull-faced horrors mercilessly rend the
flesh from their victims with such pure delight, well, one can hardly be
surprised by their incessant cackles of malignant joy. Scythes feed off the
creatures they butcher, regenerating health with every attack."
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: Replenishes life when attacking.
Special Ability: None
Souls: ??
Mana: ??
**********
* Fallen *
**********
"The Fallen are, how do you say, corrupted versions of beings first formed by
that simpleton James. They possess only a skeleton frame and rotting flesh, but
this in turn attracts swarms of insects, which they can then send forth to
attack their foes. Beautifully conceived efficiency, if I do say so myself.
Further, the Fallen may adopt the form of a corpse, and while in this guise,
restore lost health. Quite ironic, wouldn't you agree?"
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Replenishes life when attacking
Special Ability: Play Dead--While playing dead, its life will quickly
regenerate (The only Charnel unit to heal naturally without having to harm an
enemy creature).
Souls: ??
Mana: ??
**********
* Locust *
**********
"A bloated and far more insidious version of the sort of winged menace once
found in the fens of Abaddon, the Locust was the first of my creations. Though
the eons have passed and the fens are no more, the Locust lives on, relentless,
sucking the lifeblood and mana out of its victims. Of my minions, the Locust
most of all gains power through dealing damage."
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: Replenishes life and mana when attacking, drains life and
mana from targets.
Special Ability: None
Souls: ??
Mana: ??
**********
* Necryl *
**********
"If it were not so large, you might expect to find the Necryl creeping under a
rock. It is unctuous, scaly, oozing, many-legged, and generally disgusting, but
do not be deceived: its repulsive appearance is only a bonus. Its true value
lies in its ability to spread disease. A set of glands and bladders under its
pestilent little proboscis allows it to project a stream of infectious bile,
conferring a most ruinous and contagious disease on contact."
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Replenishes life when attacking, disease cloud poisons its
target and prevents it from healing and replenishing mana. This disease cloud
also makes victims susceptible to taking more damage. Be warned, as a diseased
creature passes on the affliction to anyone it comes into contact with your
troops including!
Special Ability: None
Souls: ??
Mana: ??
**********
* Blight *
**********
"Carrion beasts have always held a special place in my heart, the Blight most
of all. Its ragged little wings and numerous open sores are a testament to how
thoroughly injured to pain and hardship is this flying storehouse of parasitic
misery. In its jaws and belly, it carries a deadly cargo of Blightmites...
thousands of little parasites which feast on its flesh and on the flesh of its
victims. There are few sights more satisfying that watching Blightmites raining
down onto Druids or such other creatures who are incapable of attacking the
Blight while it's in the air."
Unit Type: Air
Passive Abilities: Regenerates life when attacking.
Special Ability: Blightmites--Slows down enemy units via parasitic infection.
Souls: ??
Mana: ??
***************
* Netherfiend *
***************
"Oh yes, the demonic Netherfiend. Since the Demon Gate of Golgotha has been
declared off-limits to any god, there are fewer of them around these days.
Those few who are in my service are delightful creatures capable of defeating
most foes quite easily in single combat. Netherfiends are mighty creatures
comprised of taut muscle and sinew, and their hunger for souls is even more
exquisite. Each soul that they devour adds to their strength, their ferocity
and... lethal beauty.
Unit Type: Melee
Passive Abilities: None
Special Ability: Devour--By activating this ability, a Netherfiend is able to
consume a blue soul of a fallen comrade on the battlefield. Doing so will
increase its attack power and resistance to damage.
Souls: ??
Mana: ??
***********
* Deadeye *
***********
"Ever since Persephone brought those pesky Gnomes, with their incessant
tinkering and generally meddlesome disposition, into this world, I have known
that with the proper inducement they would make fine servants of slaughter and
mayhem. Only recently have my efforts in this regard succeeded in producing the
Deadeyes. Like their cowardly, living cousins, Deadeyes prefer combat at a
distance. To this end, they developed an extremely accurate weapon capable of
firing highly lethal poisonous needle, which not only does damage but
debilitates its victim as well. These weapons are slow to fire and no
replacement for massed of the Fallen, but you will find the use of a few of
them highly efficacious."
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Replenishes life when attacking, poisons its victims, making
them less accurate. Also prevents the target's regeneration of life and mana.
Special Ability: None
Souls: ??
Mana: ??
***************
* Abomination *
***************
"Not even I can tell you the origin of Abominations, but it is clear they are a
perversion of nature far beyond for improvement by myself. Tall and gruesome,
the Abomination reaches into its own body, pulling forth a quivering mass of
corrosive blood and intestine (I think) for use in long-ranged bombardment. It
is no wonder they are not very accurate, but that is of little consequence.
Their projectiles splatter on impact, affecting a wide area and, while in the
air, trail deadly drippings of corrosive blood. It's poetry, I tell you.
Unit Type: Ranged
Passive Abilities: Regenerates life when attacking. Thrown blood and intestine
damages all enemies between itself and the assigned target. When its thrown
intestines strike the final target, all enemy units in the surrounding area
will take damage.
Special Ability: None
Souls:??
Mana:??
*******************************************************************************
**====================================***====================================**
** 6. - Spells **
**====================================***====================================**
*******************************************************************************
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Persephone *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
Wrath:
Wrath is the lowest level damage spell for Persephone's wizards, costing three
hundred Mana. Wrath is a blast of energy, which will track the enemy and strike
it with much force. Average spell, really.
Heal:
Heal sends a wave of healing energy to the unit at which it was aimed. It heals
a little more than about half of the unit's health and costs three hundred Mana
points per casting. It's useful, though it is easily outstripped by the Rainbow
spell, which sends a wave of heal towards all friendly units in the surrounding
area.
Speed-Up:
Speed-up sends a temporary boost of swiftness to the unit directed at it. This
is a great idea for using on Sac-Doctors so they will bring critical souls back
to your Alter or nearest Shrine quicker. It costs three hundred mana to cast.
Ethereal Form:
With Ethereal Form, you become a ghost, just like the form you become when you
loose all health, only slightly slower of foot. You cannot be harmed by spells
or physical attacks, but you can loose mana from mana-draining attacks. You can
still command your army, too. It costs four hundred mana to cast.
Unsurprisingly, you have limited time. But it's useful, and ensures that you
won't have to waste the time in getting back to a Manalith and regenerating.
Grasping Vines:
Costing five hundred mana, grasping vines shoots out vines to hold an enemy in
a specific place for a period of time. The time is limited, so be careful,
however. I don't really find this attack useful, except on enemy wizards.
Rainbow:
The Rainbow spell emits a healing force in the shape of a rainbow. It travels
from friendly unit to friendly unit as long as they are close by and costs the
same as a Heal spell (three hundred mana). And so, it is much more efficient
and worthwhile than the previous healing spell. It is especially useful mid-
battle when the tide seems set to turn.
Rain of Frogs:
Yup, you guessed what this spell does: a shower of frogs rain down on your
opponents, damaging them with their froggy goodness. Beware, however, as the
frogs can destroy your units too if they are in the area. The frogs chase down
any units and explode. This comes at a price of one thousand mana. It's a
little useless, in my opinion. I prefer not to use it.
Healing Aura:
Healing aura is a shield of healing power that you can cast around yourself or
any unit in your force. Any unit which comes in contact with this healing
energy, will have wounds mended and health restored. You may have this ability
cast with one thousand and two hundred mana.
Vinewall:
A more advanced attack than the Grasping Vines attack you already command,
vinewall throws forth a wall of vines to ensnare legions of your foes and
opponents for later ass-kickery. Fifteen hundred mana is needed to cast
vinewall.
Charm:
Charm converts an enemy to your own army permanently. "Great," I hear you say,
"What could possibly be wrong with this spell? Surely it's the most powerful
and useful in the game." *Looks in the book of videogame clichés* It takes a
long time to cast. However, just like Wrath, it will home on your target and
strike it down. It's a great spell, in fact.
Meanstalks:
Ugh, I hate this spell. I have no idea why, it's probably really useful and
powerful somewhere. I think I just never cast it strategically >_<. Basically,
it sends five beanstalks up from the ground, destroying any enemies that were
nearby. It works on your own creatures too, as you would expect, so be sure to
use it wisely. A good place to cast is when enemy creatures are coming in on an
attack from a place you can see.
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** James *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
Rock:
Just as you might guess, a large rock is conjured above your head and hurled at
directly at an enemy. It's James' basic physical attack, dealing average
damage. It costs three hundred Mana.
Heal:
Heal sends a wave of healing energy to the unit at which it was aimed. It heals
a little more than about half of the unit's health and costs three hundred Mana
points per casting.
Speed-Up:
Speed-up sends a temporary boost of swiftness to the unit directed at it. This
is a great idea for using on Sac-Doctors so they will bring critical souls back
to your Alter or nearest Shrine quicker. It costs three hundred mana to cast.
Skin of Stone:
As a defensive spell, Skin of Stone wraps you in a thick layer of rock. Nothing
is hindered as far as spell casting and swiftness, but your defence is
increased sizeably. For four hundred replenishable mana, this isn't bad offer.
Naturally, the spell has limited time. However, it's a good idea if you're
planning to cast some spells when you're close to a battle.
Soul Mole:
Soul Mole gathers blue souls from the battlefield for you. Cast it for a mere
fifty mana and it will burrow underground and collect the souls you sent it out
for and bring them back to you. It's useful if you're low on health and a four-
souled unit has just died, or something to that effect.
Erupt:
Erupt is practically just an earthquake. Cast it nearby on a unit and the
ground will explode and send shockwaves to surrounding creatures causing area
damage. Use it in a cluster of _enemies_ as it will hurt your forces too. It
costs eight hundred mana a turn.
Halo of Earth:
The name lies. While it MAY be a halo, it is certainly not of earth... But of
rocks! All the better, huh? This is a sort of protection spell, where you
summon rocks from the ground and have them hover in a circle above your head.
When an enemy is nearby, they automatically shoot themselves at the enemy. Once
it has attacked an enemy, however, it will not come back and rejoin your halo.
James' creature the Rinok can cast this, though less effectively.
Wall of Spikes:
Wall of spikes casts a barricade of pointed rock from the ground. This will
destroy any creatures which come near. It has a decent length, but it's not
entirely useful. If someone feels like mailing me a reason why this spell is
good, feel free to. Address at the top of the page.
Bombardment:
Bombardment draws rocks from the ground nearby and launches them at your foes
for about a minute. It deals massive damage to all nearby creatures including
your own, so use it wisely. The area it aims for is compact, and so any
creature nearby will be utterly destroyed. It's good if you want to harvest
some souls. Get Soul Mole ready.
Bovine Intervention:
It sounds suspiciously like that Oh-So-Good Slayer album, and leaves an enemy
just as scarred. Basically, a cow flies through the air and crashes into the
target area, dealing HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE area damage. Unfortunately, the cow
takes a lot of time en route to the area, so it might not come in too useful.
It can be seem as it flies, so any players in multiplayer will be able to
escape its wrath of doom.
Bore:
Ugh... This spell is messy. But fun. Once cast, it cleaves through the surface
of the earth and any creatures on that area of land are made to fall through
the hole, along with the earth, into the fun space of nothing. It's useful if
you don't mind killing some of your army. The souls are lost as well as the
creatures. Should a wizard fall in to the Abyss, he/she/it will be transported
to their alter in payment for the foul deed of falling into a big fucking hole.
Damned useless wizards. Neutral structures do not fall in the abyss and the
ground they are on stays where it is.
Well, that's it for James. His spells are mainly area damaging. They're still
effective, however.
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Stratos *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
Lightning:
The spell Lightning sends a low-level blast of lightning-shaped energy at the
opponent. Be wary, however, that it will take the shortest route between A and
B (a straight line) and any units of yours in the way will get struck. Costing
about three hundred mana, this is your lowest level damage spell.
Heal:
Heal sends a wave of healing energy to the unit at which it was aimed. It heals
a little more than about half of the unit's health and costs three hundred Mana
points per casting.
Speed-Up:
Speed-up sends a temporary boost of swiftness to the unit directed at it. This
is a great idea for using on Sac-Doctors so they will bring critical souls back
to your Alter or nearest Shrine quicker. It costs three hundred mana to cast.
Air Shield:
Air Shield casts a guard of swirling winds around your body. It aims to send
some of the planned damage to be inflicted on you away. This only works on
damage caused by creatures, I believe, so you're still open to wizard attacks.
Freeze:
With Freeze, the enemy creature it is directed at is encased in a block of pure
ice for a moment or two. It's not as effective or length as Persephone's
Grasping Vines, however. This block of ice disappears when the creature is
damaged. It's not really that useful in my opinion, but... whatever.
Chain Lightning:
Chain Lightning sends a direct blast of lightning-shaped energy at your
opponent, but if/when it hits, it will transmit another blast of energy towards
another nearby enemy in stunning and horribly invasive speed. Extremely useful,
this is. Especially when cast in quick succession, it will obliterate an army
of creatures.
Soul Wind:
This spell will chase after a blue soul and bring it back to you, just like
it's counterpart, James' Soul Mole. If it encounters an enemy creature on its
route, it will send some lightning in that creature's general direction. It's
pretty useful, this.
Frozen Ground:
This spell is cast on the ground. Its effect is to freeze the ground (SHOCK!)
below any enemies' feet. It will freeze your foes briefly, allowing for some
swift ass-kicking if your mana allows it. As with the wussier of the Freeze
spells, it ends after about ten seconds or if any of the creatures suffer any
damage.
Fence:
Fence summons a wall of lightning, which comes from individual spheres. It will
fire upon an enemy if it should come to near, but it will also affect friendly
creatures. It lasts a great length of time to boot.
Cloudkill:
Cloudkill plays with the aerial elements by placing a cloud in the sky that
blasts anything nearby with massive blots of lightning. It has a great reach, a
great damage and lasts. The down side is that it takes a while between its ass-
kickery and that it harms your own creatures too. Expected, I guess.
Tornado:
This, Stratos's most powerful spell, you will wreak quite a bit of havoc.
Basically, it summons a massive tornado which will scoop up creatures nearby
and fling them around the surrounding area. Its main aim is to toss them in to
the chasms, so it works best around them. Your creatures can get in your way,
so you might want to be careful where you cast it. However, it's still a great
spell.
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Pyro *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
Heal:
Heal sends a wave of healing energy to the unit at which it was aimed. It heals
a little more than about half of the unit's health and costs three hundred Mana
points per casting.
Speed-Up:
Speed-up sends a temporary boost of swiftness to the unit directed at it. This
is a great idea for using on Sac-Doctors so they will bring critical souls back
to your Alter or nearest Shrine quicker. It costs three hundred mana to cast.
Fireball:
In its simplest terms, fireball shoots a blast of fire/rock at the enemy and
deals pretty good damage.
Fireform:
Fireform is Pyro's basic defence spell, one of his few. It is a shield of flame
that surrounds Pyro and sets fire to any aggressors that touch it. With this
cast, you can run through opponents and use Fireform as an attack.
Rings of Fire:
This is a sort of quick-burning spell. Once cast on an enemy, Rings of Fire
will burn them slowly until their demise. Of course, only the lesser creatures
will die, but this attack will still hurt a higher-souled enemy a lot.
Dragonfire:
This spell in summary is effective, but won't turn out to be too effective in
battle. This sends forth a dragon of pure flame which assaults an enemy three
times. If the creature dies before the third attack is complete, it will choose
a new target.
Explosion:
Explosion is another of those "I'll send your creatures in many directions"-
type spells. It doesn't do a whole lot of damage, but it scatters opponents and
is designed to have them fall off the edges of the land. It initiates six
explosions around a selected area and sends all creatures in that area flying.
Firewall:
Firewall will ignite a lengthy barrier of flame which can incinerate any
creatures which attempt to go through it. This, like Vinewall, Wall of Spikes
and such attacks, is designed to encircle enemies or to put a wall between
enemies and your own crearures, in effect, a retreat.
Rain of Fire:
This is the equivalent of Stratos's Cloudkill spell. While it does massive area
damage once cast, it takes a lengthy period of time to put in motion. Once
working, however, it will send a shower of fireballs down on all the creatures
in the area. It will be sure to produce for you some blue souls, so be sure to
gather those quickly.
Blind Rage:
While not exactly junctioned to the fire element, Blind Rage ensures a creature
will wreak havoc on the nearest one. Be wary that you don't have any friendly
creatures go near it, lest you want to re-capture some souls, ergo, waste time.
However, it is extremely effective if you cast it on a high-levelled creature.
Volcano:
This is basically the summary of Pyro's will and power: havoc. Once cast,
Volcano has a mound of earth grow from the ground. Once it finishes growing, it
erupts, destroying any creature in the vicinity. Be extremely wary of this
spell, however. You have little hope of getting through it unless you start
retreating as soon as it is cast. It is effective, yes, but costly. Make sure
to pick up those loose souls that you will undoubtedly free.
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Charnel *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
Heal:
Heal sends a wave of healing energy to the unit at which it was aimed. It heals
a little more than about half of the unit's health and costs three hundred Mana
points per casting.
Speed-Up:
Speed-up sends a temporary boost of swiftness to the unit directed at it. This
is a great idea for using on Sac-Doctors so they will bring critical souls back
to your Alter or nearest Shrine quicker. It costs three hundred mana to cast.
Insect Swarm:
Despite the fact that Charnel is the uber-cool GOD OF DEATH, his basic attack
spell really suck ass. Basically, it sends a swarm of annoying insects which
deal tiny amounts of damage and are therefore useless. However, any damage
dealt will be added to your health bar.
Protective Swarm:
This is random insect swarm part II. Fortunately, Charnel managed to make a
decent one this time. This is the wizard defence for Charnel's wizards. It
summons a swarm of insects to your aid which sap anything which comes near of
health and adds the health to your total.
Slime:
Slime, while unuseful when cast upon weaker creatures, can be useful later in
the game. It casts a ball of grime onto the target which slows them down and
lessens their ability to attack. Pretty useful on wizards.
Animate Dead:
Well, he IS the God of Death, of course he can raise the dead. This is cheap in
mana and makes sure you don't screw up and summon a crap creature. It skips the
part of re-summoning creatures and just has the FRIENDLY (blue-souled) creature
rise.
Demonic Rift:
Demonic Rift summons a rift between the demon and real worlds. It allows some
evil spirits to float through the rift and attack your enemies. It does great
amounts of damage and, usefully, attacks your enemies ONLY.
Wailing Wall:
The Wailing Wall spell summons a large red barricade of immanent destruction on
the target area. This wall will drain enemies of their mana and their health.
It's the same as any of the other barricade attacks such as Wall of Spikes and
such. Well, you know what to do: cast it in front of an enemy as it is charging
or cast it as they are retreating.
Plague:
Plague will unleash a disease upon the creatures of your enemy. This will cause
poisoning, which reduces enemies' health pretty steadily.
Intestinal Vaporization:
This is a better version of a basic attack spell. It hits a single enemy, but
deals greater damage. Don't bother casting it on the weaker foes. It takes too
long to charge.
Death:
This, aptly named, summons Death to all creatures nearby. Death is a huge
creature which will easily slaughter any opposition. Summon Death in a crowd as
he will destroy any enemies and then, when he's done, will attack yours. Watch
out. It will go away after about a minute, leaving a trail of blood and
destruction in his wake. Enjoy!
*******************************************************************************
**====================================***====================================**
** 7. - Walkthrough **
**====================================***====================================**
*******************************************************************************
************
* Prologue *
************
A scene from a battlefield emerges. All participants are dead, with souls
scattered everywhere. Eldred enters the area with Zyzyx, an adviser to the
wizard. Eldred starts to blame himself for the incident. Zyzyx soon finds an
old friend of Eldred, Mithras, a blind seer, alive. Eldred casts a healing
spell upon him and Eldred starts to tell the story of what happened to Mithras.
And thus the story of Sacrifice begins.
Eldred enters the ethereal world and speaks to the gods. All seem interested in
acquiring his talents, and Eldred discovers it is his choice to which god he
wishes to serve. You may choose any of the five, and each gods' walkthrough are
listed in the below sections.
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Persephone *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
*************
* Level One *
*************
You must go to Pellanon, where the Gnomes are situated and live. They have
gathered to vote upon a new leader, but one of the Gnomes' leaders has engaged
in fighting and whatnot. Eldred must insist upon the fighting to stop, though
you may have to bring forth your wrath if they listen not. Your main objective
is to save as many peasants as possible.
Build a Manalith and with the two free souls you have, create a Manahoar and a
Ranger. Go to the nearby village and have your units attack the Locusts,
occasionally shooting a Wrath spell or two at one the locust gathering. Build a
Manalith on the mana fountain once the Locusts have been slain. Gather all pure
souls. Convert all impure souls and, with the souls, build two more Manahoars
and the spread the remaining souls between summoning Druids, Shrikes and
Rangers. Make sure the peasants go to Eldred's alter once you free them. Go to
the next village. Along the way, you should see a gnome who will join your
cause. Some scythes will be attacking the peasants so take them out with your
units and a Wrath spell on occasion. Again, convert the impure souls and gather
the pure souls you may have lost, building whichever units you desire with
them. Have the peasants go to Eldred's alter and then continue to the next
village. Repeat the process of defeating the enemies and summoning additional
forces to your army.
Soon enough, you should arrive at Thestor's village. Thestor is the gnome who
began the fighting. Destroy all enemies and Thestor will soon surrender. He
will say how Charnel forced him to fight, and he was indeed committed to
Persephone. The peasants will be saved, but they will then be attacked. A wise
centaur by the name of Jadugarr arrives on the scene to fend off the attackers.
VICTORY!
*************
* Level Two *
*************
Persephone wishes to reattach her severed ties with the god Stratos. She asks
Eldred to take Lord Surtur, a prisoner in Elysium for a long period of time, to
Surtur's Keep in Stratos' land of Empyrea. Eldred bears a message of peace to
Lady Abraxus, Lord Surtur's wife.
The new unit for this level is the Scarab. Costing two souls, their function is
to stay behind your units and restore health to friendly creatures during
battle.
Build a Manalith on the Mana fountain up ahead. Spend your souls on the Shrike
and Ranger units and head down the path. Soon enough, a cut-scene will appear.
Seerix, another wizard, is shown attacking a peasant. He soon notices Eldred
and then fleas. Destroy the Manalith nearby and build your own. Head down to
the plain and foes will appear from the ground and will start attacking your
units. Dispose of them before Seerix arrives. Then, convert all the impure
souls and cast Speed-Up on each of the Sac Doctors. Seerix will soon come to
try gathering some souls. It is vital you have the majority of them gathered
before she arrives. Fight her off when she does arrive. Spend four of the
gathered souls on Manahoars and one Scarab, and the rest on whatever you want.
Carry on down the path nearby. Seerix often attacks you in small spurts, so be
wary of that. Ward off these attacks and gather the impure souls her units
leave behind. Soon enough, a larger army of Seerix' units appears, and Zyzyx
tells you to get the high ground as a tactical asset. Destroy the enemies and
reinforce them with the Wrath spell. Destroy both Manaliths, making sure to
destroy the Guardians first. Spend the freed souls on whatever you please,
preferably Rangers. Carry on, and soon enough you will arrive at Seerix' Alter.
Desecrate a Scarab on it and the level will end pretty quickly.
VICTORY!
***************
* Level Three *
***************
****Coming Soon****
**************
* Level Four *
**************
Eldred must travel to Urghaz to search for the previously met centaur wizard
Jadugarr and find out what he has to say.
Run towards the mana fountain. A cut-scene starts, which, according to Eldred,
is horrifying. A mysterious figure, named as Marduk by Eldred, appears. He was
the destroyer of an old world, and is known to Eldred. He is, as discovered,
known as Ashur around this world and soon disappears though.
Once control is regained, build a Manalith on the fountain ahead. Spend
your souls to summon creatures, making use of the now-available Gnomes and
Trolls. Continue down the hill and you will soon come across Jadugarr supported
by two Storm Giants. Turn to the left and build a Manalith on the mana fountain
first. Then, head back to where Jadugarr is. Let the cut-scene develop.
Jadugarr is uncertain of Marduk's descent, and then declares war on Eldred. He
announces that he will bargain with the Angel of Death to do as he pleases. (If
you would like to be mean, you can cast a Wrath spell on Jadugarr before the
cut-scene starts to bypass that cut-scene and to help you get a head start in
the battle.)
I can't give you much help in this battle, I'm afraid. It's a bit different and
un-walkthrough-able. However, I will give you a tip that if you retreat to your
Manalith (the second one you made), Jadugarr's forces come at you in small
groups its easier to dispatch them. Also, during the battle Mutants will start
attacking you. Don't fight back. Go near them and you will find they don't know
why they attack your forces. Persephone appears and kindly offers to let them
join her army. They are excellent fighters, however, and extremely useful, even
though their attack is to pull morsels of flesh from them selves and toss it at
enemies. View the Units section for more information on them. Anywho, carry on.
Once a lot of Jadugarr's units have been destroyed, go to the alter and
desecrate your strongest unit on it for a quicker victory. The battle isn't
hard, but you can still be careful.
VICTORY!
**************
* Level Five *
**************
Persephone has engineered an attack on the Demon Gate of Golgotha, hoping to
bring it down. She believes this may weaken Marduk, as, according to her, it is
the base of his power. Lady Abraxus, an ally of Stratos, is to help in the
assault.
Pick up the two blue souls on the battlefield. Eldred will mention how he does
not feel Persephone's presence, and Zyzyx explains that the land of Golgotha is
probably too evil for her to enter. Using the souls you already have, summon
some creatures. Continue ahead and build another Manalith on the fountain you
should be able to see. Continue along this path, passing Stratos Manaliths and
Alters and you should soon come across the Demon Gate. Have your creatures
attack it relentlessly. It falls surprisingly easy. If you wish, you may add
your spells to the attack, but note that you must be close to have it be in
range.
Not long after destroying it, Abraxus approaches you. She tells you how she
cannot bother lying anymore and explains the folly of James and Persephone for
leaving Stratos in command of so many key positions. She then accepts that
Stratos has decided to serve Charnel, and remains one of Charnel's wizards.
Abraxus then leaves you to defend yourself from herself and Gangrel's
relentless assault and the fact that you're deep inside Charnel's territory.
Fight like hell and destroy all of Abraxus' Manaliths. When the cut-scene with
Abraxus appears, teleport to one of your Manaliths over where Acheron's Alter
was. Destroy any Manaliths around there and wait for the Stratos-servers to
come. Summon creatures from any souls you may have and heal your units if they
need it. Soon enough, you should be able to enter Abraxus' Alter. Desecrate it
with your largest creature.
Another way to get by this level, though it includes a little cheating, is
this:
Do the above until you are about to desecrate Acheron's Alter. Abraxus should
be nearby, so attack her just before you destroy the alter. The cut-scene will
continue as it did previously, only a little different at the start. You will
have a bit of an advantage over her as your Manaliths are around and the
majority of your creatures too. Once you destroy her creatures, travel to her
nearest Manalith and destroy it. Continue like this until you've destroyed all
of her Manaliths and replaced them with your own. Then, transport yourself to
your alter.
Continue up along the left side of the island destroying all of her 'Liths. At
the last mana fountain before her alter build a Shrine. This will come in
handy, as you will be acquiring a good few souls here. Bypass her alter and the
Manalith just beside it, and destroy the Manalith a little while after it.
Build your own Manalith, but be careful not to be messed up by Gangrel, whose
forces are surrounding the Demon Gate. Enter Abraxus' Alter and desecrate it
with your highest-ranked unit. With this done, return to the Demon Gate and
destroy it, making sure all your units are healed. You will probably loose a
few units here, just be sure to get the pure souls they drop. The Necryls will
drop two souls each, so be sure to convert those when the Demon Gate is downed.
Join in the attack with Wrath spells, as speed is needed before Gangrel slays
all your forces.
With the Demon Gate down, your last objective is to defeat Gangrel. His health
seems to regenerate, so you'll need all your units to destroy him, melee units
especially. Once he's defeated, the level will end. You will probably get a
boon after this level.
VICTORY!
*************
* Level Six *
*************
Persephone will mention how Stratos' treachery is a bad sign for the war. She
will also mention that she cannot afford to send you any help with getting out
of Stygia, so you must do it yourself. Approach her shrine and she will brief
you on the upcoming mission. You must go to Dys and request an audience with
Charnel. She is hoping that he will see his foolish ways and repent. How likely
is that?
****Coming Soon****
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** James *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
*************
* Level One *
*************
Build a Manalith and then create a Manahoar and Gargoyle. Leave your alter and
travel straight to the first hut, creating some Manaliths along the way on the
many free mana fountains if you choose. Some Farmers in the village will tell
you that Dragons have attacked the village. A lone dragon will soon come. It is
not difficult to defeat, so beat it and convert the dead to usable souls. This
is only a baby dragon, and thus it cannot fly. Go to the next village and sme
farmers will show you the five Dragon Caves littered around the area and your
map will note them. You must go to the cave and destroy all dragons that
protrude from it. Go to the one which is most separated from the rest on the
very left. Build a Manalith on the Mana Fountain before it and charge up both
health and mana there. Approach the cave and destroy the hatchling that
emerges. Then, destroy the cave itself by ordering your minions after it. Go to
the next cave and repeat the process and so on. Be wary that the Hatchlings
follow you, Eldred, when attacking, so keep moving. It might also be a good
idea to have some of your minions guard you, too. Each cave is the same as the
next, so you shouldn't have much bother. Once you have destroyed all the caves,
the Farmers will tell you how the attack came about.
*************
* Level Two *
*************
Eldred travels to Soils, an ancient dragon burial ground, to investigate
disturbances.
Firstly, spend the seven souls you have been given. Summon two Manahoars at any
rate. Go down the right side of the island and take over the Manalith you find
there. There will be some Fallens guardianed to it, so make sure to destroy
them first so as you don't waste your creatures health, mana and possibly their
lives. Once done, harvest the impure souls and spend them summoning creatures
of your choice. Run around the cutting of the island and you will find two
enemy Manaliths. Destroy the army which attacks you and then go for the kill on
The Ragman's Alter. Desecrate your Basilisk as it will destroy the alter
quicker. Fend off any attacks you may get by having your creatures guard the
Sac-Doctors.
Once The Ragman has been banished, Sirocco will be free of possession from
Charnel. Sirocco, as Zyzyx explains, is the mother of all dragons and is a
great fighter. You are lucky to have her on your side. Persephone will
congratulate you on your PWNing of The Ragman.
VICTORY!
***************
* Level Three *
***************
Eldred has been sent to find Jadugarr, a centuar wizards, and consult him on
matters. A new unit appears here for your using, Taurock.
Build a Manalith on the fountain up ahead. Spend your introductory souls you
have on some units and have your units follow you over the crest of the hill.
Jadugarr will be in the space beyond, and he will say that a necromancer is
nearby, and that Eldred must help defeat it. Go over the hill again and destroy
Seerix' Manalith and build your own in its place. Seerix will rush back to his
alter after you have destroyed the Manalith, so follow him. (Sometimes this may
not happen, but just follow the definite path which should be made) Take out
his next Manalith, but watch out for the creatures guardianed to it. Seerix'
alter should be just ahead. Desecrate it and fend off by your life and attacks
that may come in.
VICTORY!
**************
* Level Four *
**************
Build a Manalith up ahead on the fountain and spend your souls on whatever
creatures your desire. Just ahead are some of James' troops which were
originally defending the area from The Ragman. They will join your group, thus
making it stronger. Eldred 's worst nightmare returns here--Marduk, commonly
known as Ashur in the area. After the cut-scene, you will be returned to
battle. Defeat The Ragman's nearby army (not too hard) and convert the souls
that will be left behind with their slaughter. You should have already received
order of new objectives being to banish Scorcha too. Place a Manalith on the
mana fountain nearby. There should be a Plague Wart close by. Plague Warts emit
poison, ergo, harming your army. Destroy it. The opposing alter should be
nearby. Desecrate it quickly with the highest soul-taking creature in your
possession.
VICTORY!
**************
* Level Five *
**************
****Coming Soon****
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Stratos *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
*************
* Level One *
*************
Eldred is sent to Diallia, a cursed land. Sara Bella is one of the smartest
Brainiacs around, and has been dispatched with Eldred to investigate the
haunted land. There are four locations you must go to, to discover what has
happened, and to speak with the ghosts of the area.
You will receive two Braniacs, two Frostwolves, and one Sylph to begin with and
four souls. Build a Manalith on the nearby fountain and summon two Manahoars.
With the remaining souls, summon what you please. Follow the arrow to the
nearest haunting. Just before you arrive, four Scythes will attack you,
attempting to stunt your progress. You should be able to defeat them with ease.
Help out with some Lightning spells. Convert the souls and continue to the
haunting. Sara Bella will initiate her investigation. It is short, though.
Build a Manalith on the fountain and summon some creatures from the souls you
receive. Follow the path to the next haunting. Again, just before you arrive,
some enemy creatures will assault you. Only three however, so defeat them and
let Sara Bella do her thing.
Build a Manalith while waiting and convert the souls you defeated.
Travel to the next haunting and you will be assaulted close to arrival. Again,
nothing to difficult, just make sure to support your creatures with spells.
Convert the souls and have Sara Bella interact with the ghosts again. Build a
Manalith. The next haunting is a large temple, probably beautiful it its time.
You will be attacked by a larger cluster of units this time, though nothing to
warrant defeat. When Sara Bella has completed her interrogation of the ghosts,
she will tell you what she believes happened: a lack of faith. None of the gods
have been present in Diallia for so long, faith is absent.
VICTORY!
*************
* Level Two *
*************
This level takes place on Mt. Orichalchis. Acheron, another wizard, and his
forces have ambushed Lord Surtur, on his way home. You must save Lord Surtur.
Build a Manalith. You are given no souls to work with here, so just continue
towards the arrow on the map. When passing through a valley-like path, a Sylph
will encounter you and demand to join your forces. Continue. You will soon find
Acheron is sacrificing Lord Surtur. Kill Acheron. The escort of Surtur will
become yours to command for the moment. It includes some of Persephone's
Rangers, Druids and Scarabs. Surtur is thankful for being saved, and will also
become under your command for the time being. Convert Acheron's souls and
teleport back to your Alter when ready.
When looking at the direction you just came from, there are hills to the left.
Climb over them to find a Manalith, built my Acheron. There should be some
forces nearby, so defeat them and throw down the Manalith. There is another
Manalith in sight, so head towards it. Unfortunately, there are many, many
units under Acheron's command here, and so you will be in for a tough battle.
Make sure to pick up any pure souls that may litter the ground. Try your best
to convert any red souls, though Acheron will probably kill your Sac Doctors
before they can complete their task. Note that there are some forces Guardianed
to the Manalith (meaning, they are the Lith's lifeblood, thus you cannot
destroy the Manalith until the guardians are defeated). Once you win, gather
your troops quickly, summoning creatures from any spare souls you may have.
Acheron will rally his troops hastily to take form another attack from his
Alter. Just down the hill is his alter. Once you parry and attacks that may
come at you, quickly run down there with your troops and desecrate Acheron's
alter, preferably with a Vortick to increase the speed.
VICTORY!
***************
* Level Three *
***************
Stratos and Pyro have declared instant war on each other, and Stratos is
planning to take the first attack to Pyroborea. You must defend Surtur's Keep
from the retaliation from Pyro.
Pyro already has a head start, so you'll need to work quickly. There are some
Snowmen behind your alter, you can use them to get some extra souls if you need
them. You already have a large amount, at any rate. Build a Manalith on the
manafount ahead and summon a variety of creatures. Lord Surtur has joined you
again to lead your charge. Soon enough, troll-like creatures will attack your
Manalith, five of them, if my memory serves me correctly. They can be
dispatched easily. Convert the souls they leave behind and summon new creatures
with them. Once your army is ready, take the left side away from your alter.
You'll soon come to a Pyro Manalith with a small amount of troops guarding it.
Defeat the troops and destroy the Manalith. Sorcha's alter is nearby. There
should be few units guarding it, so quickly desecrate it. Fend off any
immediate attacks, but do everything in your power to kill Sorcha when she
comes while the desecration is in progress.
Once the desecration is complete, Abraxus will join you in an attempt to defeat
the other wizard nearby, Ambassador Buta. You have a choice of two strategies.
You decide which is best. Gather the souls nearby and build a shrine and a
Manalith on the two fountains nearby. Go through the valley. Depending on how
well Abraxus fared, some Manaliths may be still standing. I find she is
defeated often though. There's not much I can tell you here, as things change
vastly with each new game. Just strike the desolate Manaliths and rebuild your
own structures atop them. You should soon discover that Buta's alter is on a
different island. To get there, seek out the teleport which is somewhere on
your current island. Get your entire army ready and pass through it. You'll
know what it is once you see it. An arch with some vortex-like swirls in the
middle.
When you land on the other island, attack the two Manaliths just ahead. On one
space build a Shrine, and build a Manalith on the other. Fend off any attacks
and convert any souls you unearth. Many attacks take place while you wait. Fend
them off and continue along the land, destroying any Manaliths you see,
rebuilding your own in their place. At the end of the island, Buta's alter is
found. He will be slain a lot, reappearing often. Just re-slay him and
desecrate a Squall when you're ready.
VICTORY!
**************
* Level Four *
**************
Persephone and James are taking the offensive to Charnel and Pyro, and are
away, leaving Stratos to defend the three lands. Elmekia is one such place
where defence is needed. At the start of the level, Stratos will ask you to
place some souls in the beacon by the ruin. Remember, it is close to your
Alter. Shakti, one of Persephone's wizards, is fighting with you in this
battle. You can choose strategy with her if you want. Also, your new unit in
this level is the Storm Giant, the kin of Lord Surtur.
Build a Manalith on the fountain nearby and summon creatures using the souls
you have been given. After you go down the hill, a cut-scene will emerge.
Marduk appears on the hill, and you discover he is called Ashur in these parts.
He will speak to you for a while, but not about anything important. Afterwards,
Zyzyx will become afraid, and suggests running away. Eldred, however, remains
defiant to defeat Marduk this time. Go right and build a Manalith on the
fountain ahead. (Shakti will have already used the closest manafount. Nearby, a
Netherfiend and some Necryls are fucking with the peasant houses. Defeat them
with your super-1337 army, converting them when you're done. There are also
some peasants nearby, which you can use to your advantage by slaying them with
spells and converting their mere souls. They are more useful than usual as in
this, of all levels; souls are what you're mainly after. Continue down and
right, destroying the Charnel Manalith on arrival. Build a shrine of your own
here to lessen the distance your Sac-Doctors have to travel. Do this BEFORE you
convert the peasants' souls, if you wish, though you may need to have some of
the units those souls brought in to take over the Manalith.
There is another of those so-called "Manaliths" nearby, if you would care
to destroy it. Go up the path and you should be way laid by some of Charnel's
units. You can destroy then with ease and convert their pitiful souls. You
should have enough souls by now to fill the beacon by your alter. Teleport
there and put them in to complete the level.
VICTORY!
**************
* Level Five *
**************
Stratos has decided to attack Pyro's borderlands, the island of Ash, to be
specific. Ambassador Buta and a wizard by the name of Hachimen are defending.
James is engineering an attack with his wizard, Charlotte. Once one of them
feels that it has the ability to finish the battle with you, they will move to
defend Pyroborea from Charlotte's attack. You must contain Buta and Hachimen so
that Charlotte's attack can be successful. The simpletons believe, however,
that their strength is in how many Manaliths they have each. Four Manaliths in
this logic should be enough to have one of them move to Charlotte's attack. You
must keep either from reaching the amount of four Manaliths.
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Pyro *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
*************
* Level One *
*************
Pyro is seeking to take the Daven Forest, a sacred place of Persephone. You are
bidden to kill all resistors. A scout has been sent out, a Spitfire. He reports
that the village has two ways to reach it. A bridge, and a valley. There are
guards at the bridge, but nothing in the valley. He also saw a gnome in the
village.
Build a Manalith on the fountain ahead, and then summon two Manahoars. You
still have two more souls left, so summon any creatures you wish. Step a little
forward and kill the two peasants inside the village and convert their souls. A
gnome is just ahead, going by the name of Faestus. He decides he wants to serve
Pyro. Take the bridge just ahead to continue, and you will find some Druid
guards. Defeat them and destroy their Manalith, building your own in its place.
Convert their souls then. Continue, and suddenly some Shrikes will appear. They
can be killed easily however, so convert them once they fall. Enter the village
and one of the Druids will tell you how the Tree is sacred. Eldred did not know
this. You have now a chance to repent and join Persephone, or to continue and
serve Pyro, destroying the tree in the process. I take it you choose the
latter... If you do, just kill some of the peasants and then have your
creatures destroy the tree.
VICTORY!
*************
* Level Two *
*************
Pyro is doing the unexpected: he is invading Urghaz, the home of the trolls and
gnomes. Yugo is the opposing wizard here.
Build a Manalith on the space up ahead. Quickly summon some creatures, as a
troll and some druids will attack you soon. Destroy them and convert them. Head
down the slope straight ahead and launch an assault on the alter of Yugo. He is
often away, so you should be able to desecrate it in time. Now that Yugo is
gone, travel around the area destroying Manaliths and building new ones. Kill
any trolls you see. Ambassador Buta will arrive soon.
VICTORY!
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
** *** Charnel *** **
**------------------------------------***------------------------------------**
*************
* Level One *
*************
You must travel to Solis, an ancient dragon burial ground, to seek out The
Ragman. He once failed the God of Death and as penance he was chained to a rock
deep inside a cave. You must also drive away the dragons.
Zyzyx will explain the properties of Charnel's most basic units. Objectives
will tell you that you need twelve Fallen to be allowed enter the Ragman's
Cave. Build a Manalith on the mana fountain nearby. Summon a Manahoar and a
Fallen with the two souls you have been given as a starting gift. There is a
path leading away from your Manalith and Alter, leave via it. Soon, you should
come across some enemies. Slay them and Convert their souls. There is a James
Manalith also up ahead in the centre of a village. Destroy it and build one
yourself. Once all the souls have come into your possession, summon three
Fallen.
Return towards your alter, but turn left just before it and you will walk
around the rim of an island. There should be a James Manalith nearby. Go
towards it. Sirocco will then appear. She is the Mother of all Dragons, thus
very powerful. She issues a warning and then flies off in anger. Destroy the
Manalith and the two others nearby. There should be a little resistance, but
not too much. Convert all the souls and summon another Manahoar and then with
the remainder summon Fallen. Through one of the valleys, you should reach The
Ragman's cave. If you have enough Fallen, you should be able to enter it.
Eldred will mention the putrid smell and the befouling of the land by Ragman.
Once the twelve Fallen enter the cave and return out, Charnel will appear.
VICTORY!
*************
* Level Two *
*************
Charnel explains that he wishes to reopen the Demon Gate of Golgotha. Eldred
says how summoning demons from the Demon Gate was once a specialty of him.
Before you engage, however, Abraxus appears, telling how it is forbidden for
any servant of Charnel is forbidden to enter Golgotha.
****Coming Soon****
*******************************************************************************
**====================================***====================================**
** 8. - Credits **
**====================================***====================================**
*******************************************************************************
Thanks to everyone who helped in the making of this game and guide,
particularly to sfrey82, and thank you for reading my guide.
Amazing Games. Many Cheats. Such Wow.
