Another noob question - What does Unholy do?

[Sly Frog]

Okay, I've done a quick look through the manual, a search of this site, and a look at Liga's addendum. Could someone please confirm that the only thing unholy priest powers does it allow reanimation and unholy site searching (this is for standard Ulm by the way, so I'm not concerned right now with raising Pangaean carrion dragons and such). Is there anything else?

Liga's addendum makes a reference to priests with unholy giving special benefits to undead in battle, but when I look at the scripted spells, there is nothing there with respect to unholy like there is with holy (e.g. no sermon of courage, etc.).

[Cainehill]

Nations with unholy priests have ... Unholy national spells to use in battle. Also some have unholy summoning rituals.

I'm not sure if you can get unholy priests with non-unholy themes (perhaps some of the blood summonings have unholy), but possibly they might not have any unholy spells in such circumstances.

[PvK]

Yes, the unholy spells are pre-researched national spells, but unholy priests controlled by nations without any unholy spells (there are a few rare ways to get them) can still reanimate (a unit command, not a spell) and find unholy sites.

PvK

[Sly Frog]

PvK said:
Yes, the unholy spells are pre-researched national spells, but unholy priests controlled by nations without any unholy spells (there are a few rare ways to get them) can still reanimate (a unit command, not a spell) and find unholy sites.

PvK

O.K., that's how I got mine. Summoned the mound king, which has unholy 3, and was just hoping it would do a little more (of course it has its other strengths besides just the unholy 3). Makes sense though, now I'll just know to downgrade the value of that summon a tick or two if playing a nation without unholy spells.

[Duncanish]

Unholy also adds to a units undead leadership, so they're not entirely worthless. Plus a few sites allow unholy priests to enter and get units. But without the Unholy spells, they do drop in value a bit.

[Taqwus]

As a side note, aside from Mound Fiends (D3/U3 for 28 death gems, Conj 7 IIRC), there's at least an ice devil with unholy.

U3 is enough to raise either longdead or ghouls; the latter might be handy for supply-free siege defense, while the former are supply-free amphibious troopers with some gear. If you reach U4 (possible through the Sword of Injustice, and Last I checked a Ring of Wizardry also boosted unholy), you can reanimate longdead cavalry; could be useful if you can't be bothered to pay the gems to summon them.

But yeah, you don't get to cast Apostasy unless you're Broken Empire Ermor.

[Agrajag]

Hmmmmm...
Here's a stupid question:
AE and SG Ermor have different troops available for reanimation, so if you have an unholy priest with a no-unholy-spells nation (or even just any nation who isn't Ermor) which units will he be able to reanimate?

[Edi]

Ermor is a special case. SG Ermor unholy units can only animate dispossessed spirits, shadows, shades or apparitions.

Pangaean CW reanimations are manikins and carrion creatures (I suppose they could get a Sagittarian Carcass with high enough U level), and C'tis DT has Tomb Wyrms as special animates (they also get longdead of C'tis).

Everyone else reanimates according to AE Ermor scale, i.e. soulless, ghouls, longdead, ld horsemen and lictors (at Unholy 5 and above).

Edi

[Cainehill]

I'm pretty sure CW Pangaea's reanimations are random - the unholy level affects the quantity reanimated, but even an unholy 1 has a chance at a carrion elephant or sagitarean carcass.

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Cainehill said:

I'm pretty sure CW Pangaea's reanimations are random - the unholy level affects the quantity reanimated, but even an unholy 1 has a chance at a carrion elephant or sagitarean carcass.

It's not limited to CW. The other Pangaean themes also get carrion stuff when they reanimate.