A couple of Magic related questions

[OG_Gleep]

1. I have looked all over for info on short ranged spells, but can't find any discussions about them. There are a lot of PBAE (point blank area effect) and PB spells, and I can't figure out how to use them. Any tips...specific spells, practical application of said spells, scripting etc. I would be most grateful.

2. A couple of the magic items have a warning that the user better have high magic resistance or risk becoming a victem of the effects. Can someone replace the word "High" with a number?

3. Quick question about blood hunting: I have read conflicting reports about using SDR with scouts. Some say it makes no difference, some say it turns them into blood 1 hunters (but only for hunting). Has anyone tested this?

4. A lot of spells are low Prec, one person spells. Spells like Lightning Bolt...you can tie up a mage for 5 rounds of combat casting this spell, and even with Aim, miss all 5 rounds. And even if you do hit all 5 rounds, you just killed 5 troops. In all but small battles, this isn't a huge deal. In mass though.....those One person effect spells when fired by multiple mages are very effective. Do you guys tend to script these spells when you don't have the numbers? Or take your chances on AE spells?

5. In multi-player games, I see a lot of races entering the water well before its possible to get items that grant water breathing abilities to troops. How is this typically done?