Questions for those more knowledgable than me(so almost anyone)..

[RAF]

First, I am getting whipped badly by the EASY AI...I can seem to handle the independents ok, but when I run up against another AI player, WHUMP!

I've played mostly Marignon, used gems, but have not given my heros alot of orders...is that the key? Any general suggestions?

Secondly, I've seen some cases where enemy troops will just appear next to my province, and them not control any other territory around...usually Caleum...also when I tried Ermor, suddenly at the beginning of a turn, I see there was a battle half way across the map from my nearest unit...go take a look, and I have many undead, and 4 commanders! Have no idea where they came from, but appears similar to the Caleum scenario...

Third and Lastly, Ermor...I played with the Soul Gate option...I sort of understand Ermor kills off the non-undead population of the territory, and I see a quantity of corpses appear...
How exactly does this work? Does killing off the population create the corpses, or battles in that or other provences? I know I need "priests" to raise dispossed spirits, shadows and apparitions, but how many corpses do each of these take? What if I run out in a province, can they return? Since I can't recruit like normal, what are fortresses good for, other than extra prodection in a province? Can I get any other non-hero undead units thru priests, or do I get these only thru spell casting?

Sorry this is so long, but so many questions....

Thanks for the help...

[Norfleet]

Originally posted by RAF:
Secondly, I've seen some cases where enemy troops will just appear next to my province, and them not control any other territory around...usually Caleum

Caelum is a noteworthy offender for using "Call of the Winds", a remote summoning spell that magically summons a flock of Black Hawks. The Black Hawks are weak and can easily be killed by a modest level of PD, but they can strike anywhere, at any time.

...also when I tried Ermor, suddenly at the beginning of a turn, I see there was a battle half way across the map from my nearest unit...go take a look, and I have many undead, and 4 commanders! Have no idea where they came from, but appears similar to the Caleum scenario...

Ashen Empire and Soul Gate Ermor automatically spawns commanders and undead for your use. They simply grow out of the woodwork at random places. Also, provincial defense generates units on a temporary basis to defend the province, but even a level of 20 should only have produced 2 free commanders. Your two additional commanders, probably Mound Kings for AE, or Shadow Tributes for SG, probably just spawned there that turn.

Third and Lastly, Ermor...I played with the Soul Gate option...I sort of understand Ermor kills off the non-undead population of the territory, and I see a quantity of corpses appear...

Dead Ermor(Ashen Empire/Soul Gate) is blessed(or cursed, depending on how you look at it) with something called "killer dominion": The Dominion, independently of the death/growth scale of the province, will slaughter a percentage of the affected population every turn. Many of them will become unburied corpses, until some are buried by the surviving population, or eaten by buzzards.

How exactly does this work? Does killing off the population create the corpses, or battles in that or other provences? I know I need "priests" to raise dispossed spirits, shadows and apparitions, but how many corpses do each of these take?

Soul Gate does not require any unburied corpses. Ashen Empire uses unburied corpses to raise Soulless, but Soul Gate does not need them. Unburied corpses are produced by death of population(from your dominion, or by you pillaging the province), or from battle casualties.

What if I run out in a province, can they return?

No. The population killed by pillaging, and your dominion, once entirely eliminated, will never return, not even if the province falls into the hands of somebody who replaces your dominion with a growth scale. The people you kill will stay dead....forever!

Since I can't recruit like normal, what are fortresses good for, other than extra prodection in a province?

They provide defense and serve as obstacles to any invasion: They'll defend against evaporating summons like Ghost Riders, which do not stick around to siege the province. They also cause your national Undead, the Legionnaires and Velites, to spawn there.

Can I get any other non-hero undead units thru priests, or do I get these only thru spell casting?

No. Your priests do not provide you with anything other than undead. You can, if you conquer independent provinces, recruit their troops, but an Ermorian fortress provides no admin percentage, and you will quickly kill all of your population, leaving you with no resources or gold to produce much other than mages, which demand very low resources to produce.

Pillage provinces for gold! Kill all the people! Jack up taxes to 200! Remember, the undead always pay their bills in full.

And above all else, remember my sig!

[ March 17, 2004, 23:29: Message edited by: Norfleet ]

[Spacepain]

Originally posted by RAF:
First, I am getting whipped badly by the EASY AI...I can seem to handle the independents ok, but when I run up against another AI player, WHUMP!

Well, your not alone in your AI trodden nightmare. Don't despair you'll fix your self up eventually, just practice.

[RAF]

OK, thanks for the info and encouragement!

So, for Ermor, my priests don't create the spirits/apparations, etc? There's a command to "call spirits", which give options for spirits, apparations, etc...this does not work?

If it does, does it take corpses, or dispossessed spirits to make apparations and shadows? How many per?

One thing I have not been doing is upping my province defense...you say the higher, the more commanders I will get (outside of a battle)? I know defense give you extra troops in a battle and helps detect spies....

[velk]

You get 1 commander for any province defense, with an increasing number of troops up to 20, when you get a second commander, and any points above 20 will give you some additional special troops. Which troops you get for which nation is in the manual near the front IIRC.

As a note - if you are playing Ermor, Marignon is your worst enemy. For beginner games you could try playing without them being in the game.

As far as I know, soul gate priests don't require any corpses to use their summoning abilities. Just set them to summon and they will happily remain cranking them out.

[Norfleet]

Originally posted by RAF:
OK, thanks for the info and encouragement!
So, for Ermor, my priests don't create the spirits/apparations, etc? There's a command to "call spirits", which give options for spirits, apparations, etc...this does not work?

They work in addition to the ones you get for free. Priests can create MORE, but you do not need ANY priests to get SOME, and this SOME can already be an awful lot.

If it does, does it take corpses, or dispossessed spirits to make apparations and shadows? How many per?

Neither. Soul Gate Ermor's troops appear out of nowhere. They have no prerequisites for summoning, beyond having a strong enough unholy priest: Unholy Priests can create them through "Call Spirits", and in areas where your dominion is strong, more will come for free.

One thing I have not been doing is upping my province defense...you say the higher, the more commanders I will get (outside of a battle)? I know defense give you extra troops in a battle and helps detect spies....

You receive a commander automatically when you purchase a single point of PD. You will get a SECOND commander at 20 points. At 10 points, stealthy units may be automatically detected by the PD. Above 20 points, only more units, generally of insuperior quality to the ones you got for the first 20, are gained. This is true for all nations.

Ermor, however, has crap for PD. I only purchase 1 point, to gain a free commander to lead whatever rabble has spawned there.

[ March 18, 2004, 00:09: Message edited by: Norfleet ]

[RAF]

OK, I'll fire it up and give it another whirl...

or hurl, depending upon how badly I play...

One additional question...defense reduces your income in the province, correct? Does it also reduce resources?

Also, any walkthroughs for specific nations? Ermor, etc? All the nations I have played play very differently, which is a GREAT thing!

Thanks a bunch guys, you are really helpful!!!

[Zurai]

One thing I'm surprised Norfleet fumbled the response for, considering he's an ermor fanatic:

Ermor will, at apparantly random times, have 3-4 Ermor Cultists appear in a random enemy controlled province along with a number of ghouls and attack that province. This is entirely out of your control, but if they win the fight you keep the province.

That's what you saw when you had the battle halfway across the world.

[Arryn]

Originally posted by Zurai:
One thing I'm surprised Norfleet fumbled the response for, considering he's an ermor fanatic

The condition that causes Norfleet to forget things at times is called "senility", to which he sometimes claims to have. Personally, I think he's more polite than he would have us believe and prefers not to play the role of being the ultimate Sage of Death.

[ March 18, 2004, 00:25: Message edited by: Arryn ]

[Kel]

Originally posted by Arryn:
The condition that causes Norfleet to forget things at times is called "senility"

AKA The Burden Of Time ?
And here I thought Ermor was immune.

- Kel