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