My Pretender: Elmer Fudd

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

So, I pick a comatose sage rainbow mage as my pretender. 1 growth, 1 luck, 1 order, 1 magic. He's comatose for 3 years as I expand into the nearby independants and grow up a cadre of research mages preparing for his return.

Then he awakens!! I'm ready to start making items and doing rituals. Except: no fire gems whatsoever. I have had a level 3 fire mage dedicated to this, but no good. No big deal. Just a little bad luck.

Then, turn 2 of his awakening my pretender is cursed. No message about it, no idea how it happened. Maybe a spell from far away.... No big deal, he won't go into battle anyways, so it shouldn't affect him. Just a little bad luck.

So, 2 turns later he has a battle affliction!! Never been in a battle. Just stays at home making items, whistling, and minding his own business. What the heck! Now he is diseased and losing a hit point every turn, and with only 24 to start with he is not looking at a rosy future. In addition, he is going to start getting other afflictions it says. I bring in my prophet and two priestesses (Oreides) and over the next few turns I cure his affliction. Ok, bad fate averted. Just a little more bad luck.

Then I notice that he is horror marked. WTH!! When did that happen??? This is ok, I think, since he is not a battle mage, just a sit-at-home kind've a mage. Enough is enough though. This can't just be bad luck. I put up Dome of Air. No new trouble since.

Moral: Dome of Air.

(note--didn't mention the hurricane, plague, nor the wretched events, all in my home province. the ai really had my number.)

[Endoperez]

Spells should always have an accompanying message. These effects include Hurricane, plague, raining toads, etc.I think the only way to Horror Mark someone from distance would be Horror Seed, at high-level Blood, but you might also have equipped your pretender with some item that has strange side-effects.

The plague event, possibly from Thaum 7 spell Plague, could've caused disease. Some events can cause curse, but IME they mostly hit the units, and commanders are affected only once in a great while. I think my pretender was targeted the turn she awakened, once, but it's been a while.

[Twan]

The combo of two research items seem to often trigger an horror mark (I have lots of sages with lightless lantern+ skull mentor marked in some games). Perhaps it's based on total research capacity (not cool for a great sage if it's the case).

[Nerfix]

Lightless Lantern has a chance to give a horror mark.

[Fate]

That is certainly aggravating (good idea with the dome).

I some friends come opver for hotseat. One of them went for full scales with a dormant pretender. They were getting all these good events, and then they got the witch's curse event. It said 1 troop had been cursed. I told him it was probably a normal one and not worth the worry. We go to look at his army and his commander was the only troop cursed ( ).

this game always keeps you on your toes

[Shovah32]

As nerfix said, lightless lantern can horror mark. I dont know how he got cursed but perhaps old age could have caused some of the other problems?