[Taqwus]

To elaborate, in the beginning of a game there's the (quite low, I suspect) probability that instead of a 'normal' set of independent units tied to poptype, there's a very different, possibly quite nasty set of defenders. These tend to be associated with a unique un-forgeable item (or, in the case of Solaris, a set of those four items) or a unique magic site.

So if you are scouting and see something like, say, independent pretender-types defending a province, or a horde of Mechanical Men, and you're not using a .map file that placed them -- hmmmmm, interesting.

Note -- you won't get the loot if the commanders flee instead of being killed on the battlefield. Ditto if you don't have appropriate slots free. So, for the unforgeable items, if you lose 'em that way -- you can't get them in that game except by Wish.

Even if they don't show up in a game, you can still wish for the items. Wish won't let you place the magic sites, 'tho.