Re: A newbie asks...
 

No, Yes and Yes.

Both spells have ranges and AoE. The AI won't cast the spells once everyone within range has the effect. The AoE spreads out randomly and will overlap, so some targets will be covered more than once, but the intent is always to cast on someone who doesn't have the effect already.

If your troops are spread out and you want them all affected, you should spread the priests out as well.

Re: A newbie asks...
 

If they're priests but they don't have any magic skill, then one reason why they're pounding on those "spells" so much is that they don't know what else to do. Heck, a non-mage, non-priest commander will do even less, unless you specifically order it to attack or flee or something. Standing around is a commander's job, sometimes. But priests like to talk a lot while they're standing around. :)

Re: A newbie asks...
 

Actually if they're just priests, you'll notice that they will eventually bless/sermon everyone who can be blessed and will head up to the front lines to be killed. (Actually to "stay behind troops")

This can be useful. When I'm blessing sacreds with an H1, if he's missed some when they go charging off to the front, he'll chase and try to bless them once he's in range.

Re: A newbie asks...
 

In my experience, the best way to take care of a Pretender holed up in his capital is to domkill him. Park a medium army to trap him, take all his other territories, then pile on priests to preach. When he runs out of dominion, he vanishes, and you can take the empty castle.

Domkill takes a while, but if you have the time... and sitting on his capital gives you a lot of breathing room :)

Re: A newbie asks...
 

That's really only necessary for the toughest of Pretenders. Just get a look at what he's got - send in a scout or commander set to retreat, then figure out how to take him.
In this case it sounds like magic weapons were enough.

Otherwise see what elemental resistances he's missing and script single target long range spells against those. Or spam MR spells at him, the AI rarely boosts MR enough. Enough Soul Slays will kill even a 20+ god.

Re: A newbie asks...
 

Just to say, you guys are brilliant, this stuff makes sense, ty ...

Re: A newbie asks...
 

OK, so let me get this right. Spells have a maximum distance, plus within that they are likely to be less accurate the farther the distance, right? (Based on precision, except 100% precision never misses(?)) So if distance matters, I can either order mages forward, or I can wait and eventually he might go forward anyway.

Re: A newbie asks...
 

Yes. The ranges are different for different spells, listed in their description, as is their precision modifier.

Mages set to cast spells will only move forward - more accurately default to "Stay Behind Troops" - when they have no valid spells to cast. Once you've got a bit of research done, they'll usually find something to cast: buffs, chaff summons, useless attack spells, something. Only in the very early game when their spellbook is vary limited do they run out. H1 & H2 priests run out of options pretty quickly. Blood mages without slaves can do so as well.

So relying on them to advance is not very useful. Ordering them to move forward is also risky. You don't want them ahead of their blockers or advancing into melee. Probably more important, you've only got 5 script slots. Wasting one on movement means you're one spell closer to the AI wasting fatigue on useless spells. You really want to position your mages at the start where they'll be most effective.

Besides, the ideal situation much of the time is to let them come to you. If you can arrange it so the front lines are clashing within range of your mages and out of range of his, that's perfect. In SP, if I'm not relying on fast elites, sacred cavalry or the like, I'll often position everyone at the back on hold and attack and let the mages buff for a couple rounds before switching to offense.

Re: A newbie asks...
 

Perfectly understood, thank you!

Let's try another one. I'm a very lazy newb, so all that setting orders is tedious (even with keys). Mages aside, which/are there any troop/priest types I can afford to leave on "no orders" (playing against AI), and the computer will do something pretty reasonable for me? E.g. you might say archers or melees are OK left to auto-ordering? Or do they just sit on their butts?

Re: A newbie asks...
 

By default, archers will "fire closest", pure melee infantry will "attack closest" and hybrid infantry (like Ermor infantry which carry a couple javelins) will "shoot closest" then switch to "attack closest" when the javelins are gone.

H1 and H2 priests will Bless any sacred in range first (including themselves, and even if your God doesn't have magic paths to bless with), then Sermon the rest, then Stay Behind Troops. H3+ will throw Divine Vengeance on themselves first, and Smite instead of SBT. All priests will automatically Banish undead and demons if they get the opportunity. Commanders without any magic will Stay Behind Troops by default I think.

Mages are a complete crapshoot. You can rely on them to cast buff on troops who don't need them, get in a coma from buffing themselves with miscellaneous crap, throwing AoE spells at chaff your own troops would kill without effort (with the friendly fire that comes with that), or to use single-target spells at the closest chaff rather than the big hulking SCs further back.

So, even without you setting orders or shifting positions around, no, your troops won't just sit on their asses with a puzzled look in their eyes. They'll just perform as well as PD and most AI armies, which is not very well at all.