Three questions regarding sacreds.

[Mind Elemental]

Are there any spells besides Mind Hunt that -do- work vs stealthy units/commanders? It would be interesting to know for sure.

Also, if you order units to sneak instead of hiding, is that still resolved before rituals?

[Meglobob]

Kuritza said:But does it make shadow vestals obsolete?... find a province with druids and you have got stealthy raiders.

I used this tactic but fires from afar was very effective in wiping the force out when I revealed myself. They did try to sneak away...perhaps its hide that gets resolved before ritual spells?

[Micah]

Most rituals do work on stealthed units with the exception of assassin spells and Seeking Arrow. There might be a few more, but leprosy, murdering winter, the 2 fire remotes, mind hunt (as mentioned) all work. Not sure on wind ride, though that would be quite an effective stealth-breaker.

And Bob, while fires from afar might be good at killing vestals I'd say trading 200g worth of sacreds for 10 fire gems worth of artillery isn't a terrible trade, either...

[Saint_Dude]

Just tested this, and Micah is correct (with a caveat).

Assassin spells, teleportation, and seeking arrow are all ineffective vs. stealth units.

Leprosy, murdering winter, and the 2 fire remotes do work with the following caveat. If the stealth unit is hiding in or sneaking out of a province that belongs to the stealth nation, then the stealth units are susceptible to the above spells. If the stealth units are hiding in or sneaking out of an independent prov or a prov owned by an opponent, they are immune to the above spells.

In other words. . . if you suspect a spy in one of your provs, the only spell that can take out the spy is Mind Hunt. However, if some stealthy raiders take one of your provs, you can use the above spells to retaliate.

It should be noted that Mind Hunt can take out an entire stealthy army (providing that it is in enemy/independent territory) for 2 gems, a much better investment in terms of both efficacy and cost than the other mentioned map spells.

Clear as mud?

[Folket]

Not really clear. Since you can sneak from your province into an enemy province. Then both of the conditions you state are true.

[Mind Elemental]

Yikes, that sounds pretty bad for the stealth units...

Are there any stealthy astral mages, as someone suggested upthread? Even then, your raiding squad would be vulnerable to e.g. fire spells, and it might just be worth pulling the trigger if the raiders were high-value units such as Vanir.

Back on the original topic, has anyone ever tried powerblessing with Tir na Nog? They resemble Vanheim enough that this might be viable.

[Saint_Dude]

Folket said:
Not really clear. Since you can sneak from your province into an enemy province. Then both of the conditions you state are true.

Spell effects are resolved prior to movement. So, if sneaking out from your own province, your stealthy units will be vulnerable to the previously discussed list of spells - regardless of destination. If sneaking around in enemy territory, stealthy squads are only vulnerable to Mind Hunt.