I hate horrors

[SlipperyJim]

The main source of horror marks is certain items. Don't give any of these items to your pretender. Problem solved!

Oh, wait ... you can also get horror-marked by a handful of spells (or a very rare magic item) in combat. Okay, so don't take your pretender into combat. Honestly, a pretender who stays in the lab -- researching/forging/casting -- will not get a horror mark unless you equip a Very Evil item.

However, you might want to take your pretender into combat. Fair enough. Demigods on the battlefield can be pretty cool. Actually, combat isn't very dangerous when it comes to horror marks. As stated earlier, horror marks in combat are only inflicted by a couple of rare spells and magical items. Frankly, taking your pretender into combat is much more likely to get a curse, an affliction, or just-plain-dead. To further minimize the chances of getting horror-marked, choose your opponents carefully.

...

Summary: Yes, getting horror-marked is No Fun. However, it's also very avoidable. Learn what causes horror marks, then avoid those things. Once you get the hang of it, your pretender will be safe from those nasty horrors!

Of course, other bad things can (and will) happen. The world of Dominions 3 is not Disneyland.

[Taqwus]

There's also at least one way of remotely inflicting horror marks on people -- Horror Seed -- although the odds of nailing a pretender with that are probably fairly low assuming a decent escort, and this can be made more difficult via dome spells.

Stumbling onto and getting unlucky with a Vale of Infinite Horror, or getting unlucky after killing somebody who's B9-blessed, might also be problematic.

But yes, if you're in battle, being smacked by a dozen Seithkonas casting Nether Darts or fending off F9W9 Helhirdings might be a more serious concern...

[SlipperyJim]

Stupid Lizard Shamans always Curse my pretender....

[Wish]

yeah i never send pretenders in against lizards, without a bunch of chaff to draw the curses.

I think adding the functionality of horror marks being removed from pretenders upon a successful call god wouldn't hurt the balance of the game at all and would ease the frustration of losing gods to doom horrors over and over.

[PvK]

Yep. I've played hundreds of hours (at least) of Dominions 3 and just recently experience what was I think my first horror attack due to a horror-mark. A Lesser Horror showed up to punish one of my necromancers for using wicked magic items. The necromancer raised over a dozen undead, who took care of the horror before it reached the necromancer.

Of course, there is the point that human players can use various horror magics to evil effect... but there are lots of other very evil uses of magic in Dominions, too. Nature of the beast.

If one really wants to play without worrying about horror marks, though, just mod the horrors into something that's just a nuisance (like a black hawk or something), as was done when the Hunter of Heroes bug was active.

PvK

[Xietor]

I think most SC's with good items can beat Horror. If you are horror marked keep 5 elite body guards. I think staff of storms will prevent horror from flying up to you.

If that premise is correct(it stops most things from flying)
then your sc has time to buff with spells and your body guards may be able to slow it down a good bit, if not kill it.

[Taqwus]

SoS isn't all that helpful, except to do lightning damage (to which, if memory serves, they're generally not resistant). And if you're interested in doing elemental damage, Phoenix Rod might be a better pick as incinerate is 100-prec.

[Edi]

Cheaper to make too and air gems have a wider variety of uses than fire to boot.

[Xietor]

staff of storms prevents flying units from flying. that keeps them from flying up to you in 1 turn.

[Graeme Dice]

Horrors, storm demons, elemental air queens, and Caelum Storm Guard and Storm Generals can all fly in storms. I might have missed someone else that can fly during a storm.