[das123]

I've had the game for about a year but still consider myself a beginner. I made the mistake of starting against a single enemy thinking that was going to be easiest. It's actually easier to play against two or three AI (I play on the small or medium random maps with the AI on Easy).

Some of the basic tips I picked up:

* Pick a couple of spells you want then research this strain of magic until you have them. Have a basic plan once you start the game.

* On the first turn or two, tax your home province at 140% and set your starting army to patrol. This will give you quick funds to build the army before attacking independents.

* Don't send mages out looking for magic sites. Use magic for the search.

* If you can't take an enemy castle, siege tax it at 200% until unrest is over 100. This way they can't make many troops. Then leave a small holding force and take-over the surrounding land. I think this also helps in starving the defenders.

* Before storming a castle, send in a loan scout or low-quality leader. Put him at the back of the screen set to retreat. Then when you watch the replay see what you are up against. You may need to specially equip a leader to counter what you find.

* Many of the strong battle spells require magic gems. Equip mages with a limited supply and hard-code the spells they are to perform keeping note of the fatigue cost. Let a scout carry the bulk of the gems to replenish the mages between battles.

* I never pick pretenders well so take this 'tip' with a grain of salt. I always pick a pretender very strong in magic and use him/her for research and constructing magic items. They are always dormant and I always pick 1 extra production with dominion of 6. I do this no matter what race I have because I haven't discovered a better use for my pretenders yet.