A few questions from a Newbie -- thanks for help

[onomastikon]

Hello,

I have downloaded the demo and the B.G. walkthrough and played around with DII for a few hours now and am still confused about a lot of things (which I hope I will understand at some point) but would really like help with this:

- what is the deal with magic and spells? Since I cannot see any list of spells or the schools from within the game (in the demo), I dont know which spells my Pretender or other magic Users can cast. How do I control which spells are cast during combat? Who exactly gets to cast which spells, and which units beside the Pretender benefit from magic research? Some cost no gems, but some require gems to work -- how does this work with tactically-cast spells (I mean those used during a batlle)?

- How do you assign bodyguards?

- Are there other single-person guides out there?

- I am only planning on playing single player for a while -- are there any patches which update the AI? I havent been able to find the game in Germany yet, still looking....

ok thanks. Other tips, especially on magic, appreciated!

[reverend]

I'm also still new to the game, but I think I can answer a few of your questions.

1) clicking on a school in the research screen (F5) brings up a list with all spells in it.

2) set a squad to "Guard Commander" five of them will then act as bodyguards during assassination attempts.

3) there was a pretty thourough AAR for Dom1 around, but I can't find the link right now. search the forum for a topic about AAR's and you'll find it.

4) No patch yet, but should be released soon.

I also live in Germany, you could either order it from Shrapnelgames (will be a bit expensive) or try something like www.okaysoft.de they have a section for imported games (mußt allerdings eine Nummer von deinem Personalausweis angeben damit die wissen daß du über 18 bist).

[Kristoffer O]

Originally posted by onomastikon:
Hello,

I have downloaded the demo and the B.G. walkthrough and played around with DII for a few hours now and am still confused about a lot of things (which I hope I will understand at some point) but would really like help with this:

- what is the deal with magic and spells? Since I cannot see any list of spells or the schools from within the game (in the demo), I dont know which spells my Pretender or other magic Users can cast. How do I control which spells are cast during combat? Who exactly gets to cast which spells, and which units beside the Pretender benefit from magic research? Some cost no gems, but some require gems to work -- how does this work with tactically-cast spells (I mean those used during a batlle)?

- How do you assign bodyguards?

- Are there other single-person guides out there?

- I am only planning on playing single player for a while -- are there any patches which update the AI? I havent been able to find the game in Germany yet, still looking....

ok thanks. Other tips, especially on magic, appreciated!

Hello.

1) The deal with magic and spells:
When you begin playing the game your mages know one or a few spells. All your mages know these spells.

When you researsh magic you research a school of magic. Conjuration is one such school. If you research 'conjuration' your mages will get access to spells that allows you to summon monsters. If you research 'evocations' your mages will get access to artillery like spells mainly used on the battlefield.

In each school there are spells of all paths (fire, water, death, etc) and your mages will learn them all, but only the ones skilled in fire may cast fire spells.

If you enter the laboratory and click on research you can find information on all spells in the game. Right-click on a school and you will find a list of all spells in that school. You will find hundreds of spells, so you will be at a loss at first.

I would recommend that you research either evocation, conjuration or construction. Evocation is mainly battle field spells. Conjuration is used to get magic monsters. Construction is used to make magic items.

If you want to understand how to tell your mages to cast spells in battle I would go for evocations (or perhaps alterations).

I'm not sure what nation you are playing, but Caelum can quickly get access to Lightning Bolt (research evocation lvl 2) so they might be useful as an example.

When choosing spells to cast:
- Enter Army Setup.
- 'Change orders' for the mage.
- 'Cast specific spell'. A list of all spells he can cast is now displayed. Right-click to get info on the spell. Mages may choose up to five spells to cast. After five turns the AI will choose what spells the mage uses. Generally the AI does a good job at this and you do not have to choose spells unless you have some special objective.

Some spells require gems to be cast. In order to cast these your mage must be equipped with magic gems. This can be done when your mage is in a province with a laboratory. Inspect a mage and click on the treasure chest besides his item slots. You can transfer between mages and the lab. All labs are connected (ie. there is one global lab and one gem pool, no bother with labs in different provinces).

If told to cast a spell that requires gems and equipped with the gems needed the mage will cast this spell, unless it is useless (casting undead destroying spells when there are no undead etc).

If you are still confused (you should be ) just ask some more. People here are friendly and helpful.

2) Regarding Bodyguards:
- Enter army setup screen.
- 'Change orders' to get a list of orders to choose from.
- 'Guard Commander'.
Bodyguards do not attack enemies. They just hang around their commander and attacks anyone that tries to attack their protegee. Avoid having too large a bodyguard your chances of victory will be reduced if all your men stand idel in the back off the battle field.

3) Regarding SP guides. There are some, but I'm not sure where. Some dedicated fans might give you a clue. This forum is very good though. Ask on

4) Patches:
No patches available today, but there is one on the way and plans for the next one is already in the works.

[onomastikon]

Wow, thanks for these great replies, and so quickly too. Yes, I am still a bit overwhelmed. Kristoffer O, that was very helpful; I am still unsure on the magic thing, since I figured gems would only be for ritual spells you can "micromanage" outside the tactical battles; it just seems odd to me to have the AI choose which spells to cast in the tactical battles, especially if they cost gem resources. Since you asked, I am still trying Jotunheim, since that was the race in the walkthru I downloaded, but I would like to try others with more spellcasters.

- What does the Fatigue rating mean with the spells and how does that affect the casters? According to the in-game popups, fatigue is for melee only.
- do I see right that you need not research Priest spells (blessings)? Do the priests cast automatically too?
- Can I change the level of mageness of any of my casters (including Pretender) during gameplay?
- I thought you can only "give gems to commanders" -- can I give em to any spellcaster?

- On another level, does it make sense to have one of my commanders be a Prophet as fast as possible?
- What exactly is the difference between resources and supplies and upkeep?
- What exactly happens if you change those scales at the beginning during God creation? Is Unrest important? What about population?
- Does placing fortifications also deter your own taxation?

I have played like 6 games now, and I have never even become close to beating the Easy AI. Yikes. Is this the case in the Full game too?

@ reverend: thanks for the info. Dont know about Perso-Info, since 1. I am American, and 2. will so was sehr ungern preisgeben. Wird Shrapnel sonst wo vertrieben?

OK thanks so much, this really does seem like a friendly community.

[reverend]

@ reverend: thanks for the info. Dont know about Perso-Info, since 1. I am American, and 2. will so was sehr ungern preisgeben. Wird Shrapnel sonst wo vertrieben?

as far as I know, no. you could also try and call them (okaysoft). if you're lucky, you don't need any info to order it. or at least they'll tell you if they can import it or not.

[General Tacticus]

1) Castings spells cause fatigue too, depending on the spell. Being armored while doing so cause even more.


2) You don't need to research blessings. Left to their own devices, your priests will probably cast them, but you canf make sure of that by giving them appropriate orders.


3) Yes, this is called Empowerment. It works for any commander, even a non mage. It costs lots of magic gems.

4) As far as I know, all spellcasters are commanders. Commanders meaning that they lead their own unit, even if they are the only one in it.

5)
Yes, unless you are waiting until you can afford a particular one (which shouldn't take that long) or until a particular hero shows up (which could take some time). I usually make a prophet of my best priest, as the higher level of holy are really powerfull. But a prophet will be at least level 3, so if you have only level 2 priest you can make anyone your prophet.

6) Resources are used to build units. They are available on a per province basis, and are not stored. Basically, it is a limit on how much you can build in each province
Supplies is used to feed armies. They govern how many troops you can keep in each province. If you don't have enough, the unsupplied troops start first to starve (moral penalty) then get diseases (very bad). Starvation can be cured simply by having enough food. Disease is more difficult
Upkeep is the cost (in gold) of paying for your standing armies. It is taken (at the start of the turn) from your treasury, so basically it is deduced from your income.


7) The scales give various bonuses : Order increases gold, productivity production (and gold a bit), heat and cold decrease gold and supply, Growth increases supply, gold (a bit) and province growth, luck gives you more good events, and magic helps research but reduces magic resistance.

Unrest cuts your province income and production. Population (with province type) determine how big they are in the first place. They are both quite important. 100% unrest means you cannot build any army, and your income will dwindle to nothing

8)The admin value of your castle, divided by two, is added as a percentage to your province income, so fortifications are good for income. They also bring a lot more ressources.


9) I am sure you will get better. Particularly if you haven't being using the scales yet Try this : order +3, productivity +3, and fortified city. Take a armor heavy race (Ulm for example). Go crush everybody under the weight of that armor With Easy AIs, that should work fairly well without having to do fancy things...