[secretperson]

This is an old thread I know, but I was actually looking for a guide on Machaka and found this thread linked. I'd like to point out a few nice things I've noticed about Machaka.

Yes Black Sorcerers are quite old. The interesting thing about them though is that they cannot die from disease. Their hp goes down from 9 to 0 then the next turn they are back to 9. The nice thing about this is that they even will heal afflictions they had before sometimes. I suspect this is tied to the fact that when they die they go to spider form, but switch back to normal form as the new turn begins. This would account for the afflictions disappearing as I recall reading that certain form switching has a chance to remove afflictions.

Obviously this means that while the old age can be annoying (ie poor precision) It really isnt much of a problem other than reducing hp in battles, aside from the occasional feebleminded/mute. But then again, 9 isn't much in the first place. Interestingly enough Black Sorcerers will never die with a fever fetish on them. This goes along nicely with the fact that most of them can cast Flame Arrows in conjunction with Phoenix power.