Conquering the known world: My HOMM3 Dynasty

[Honolulu Blue]

I've spent much of the last month tinkering around with Heroes of Might & Magic 3 (aka HOMM3). Now that I feel I have all the right pieces in place for a dynasty, why don't I try one? This one shouldn't take too long, and won't have many posts, but I'll try to make it interesting for you any way I know how.

For those of you that don't know, Heroes of Might & Magic is a strategy game with some RPG and war game elements. You control one or more heroes who each have armies that are used to battle monsters and other heroes to take resources and cities, which are used to build more monsters. Each hero has four ratings - attack, defense, (spell) power, and knowledge (which controls the amount of spell points available). Like many games, it's simple to play, but can get complicated in a hurry if you let it. I'll try to explain the important stuff as I go along, but feel free to ask any questions you may have about the game.

NUTS & BOLTS: This will be a single map scenario on a random map of medium size. It will have two players - myself vs. the computer. The map is all land and monsters are of normal difficulty. I have chosen the 130% player difficulty (this controls the amount of resources the player and computer get - the higher the percentage, the less I get, the more the computer gets, and the more difficult the game is for me).

There are 9 different types of towns available in the game, and hopefully I will get a chance to tell you about most of them. For my starting town, I choose the Fortress because I haven't had a chance to play with it a lot, and I could use the practice. I choose Korbac as my starting hero, because she's good with Serpent Flies and I'll surely use a lot of them in this game.

[Honolulu Blue]

MONTH 1, WEEK 1, DAY 1

HOMM3 divides each turns into days. 7 days make up a week and 4 weeks make up a month. This is the first day, and there is much to do. But first let me tell you about Korbac:

Korbac, Level 1 Beastmaster
Experience - 52
Attack - 0
Defense - 4
Power - 1
Knowledge - 1 (10 spell points)
Specialty: Serpent Flies
Skills: Basic Armorer (reduces damage by 5%), Basic Pathfinding (reduces penalty for travel on rough terrain by 25%)

He's carrying 18 Gnolls and 3 Serpent Flies with him.

I start with 15 wood & ore, and 7 each of mercury, sulfur, crystal, and gems. I also get 15,600 gold to start. Those will all go fast unless I find replacements. This looks like a fairly rich map, as I can see some goodies outside my door.

The first order of business is to head into the tavern to buy another hero. I get a choice of two, and the better one is Verdish, a Witch. Let's summarize her skills:

Verdish, Level 1 Witch
Experience - 76
Attack - 0
Defense - 1
Power - 2
Knowledge - 2 (20 spell points)
Specialty: First Aid (bonus to skill)
Skills: Basic Wisdom (allows the learning of 3rd level spells), Basic First Aid (more healing)

She has 20 Gnolls with her and also starts with a first aid tent.

What I do is give Verdish's Gnolls to Korbac and give one of Korbac's flies to Verdish. This will allow Verdish to go faster to pick up stuff, and give Korbac a decent force to kill some of the lesser creatures.

In town, there are 12 Gnolls available for recruitment at 50 gold each. I buy them for Korbac, giving her an even 50 to work with.

Verdish picks up 3 stacks of gold that add up to about 2500 gold.
Nearby, Korbac spots a horde of Pixies guarding some treasure. "Horde" has a very specific meaning in this game; it means a group of 50-99 creatures. So there are 50-99 Pixies over yonder. With my forces, it should be easy pickings.

Since I'll be referring to them a lot, I'd better give you the descriptions and what they mean:

Few - 1-4
Several - 5-9
Pack - 10-19
Lots - 20-49
Horde - 50-99
Throng - 100-249

Beyond that is Swarm, Zounds, and Legion, which I hope not to see.

The battle:

Korbac has 50 Gnolls, separated into two groups of 25; and 2 Serpent Flies.
There are 51 Pixies in four even groups.

I lost 10 Gnolls, which was higher than I expected, but not crippling. I take the treasure, which includes some gold, crystal, and mercury.

My first city, Silt, builds a Town Hall, which spins off 1000 gold in income - 500 more than the Village Hall it replaces. This costs me 2500 of my gold.

There is a limit of one build per city per turn, and a limit on moveement, so I end my turn.

The computer then takes its turn, which it does quickly. I can't see any movement from those guys - no surprise since 90% of the map is still black.

NEXT: The rest of the first week

[Honolulu Blue]

Day 2

Verdish picks up a Protection from Fire scroll. She heads along the road to the west and sees a pack of Orcs. No way she can win with just one fly, so I steer her away. Unlike most other RPGs, the monsters don't follow, so she's safe.

Korbac finds a Gnoll hut where she picks up 12 Gnolls for free. I can do this once a week. He follows the road and finds it blocked by a horde of Pikemen. Pikemen are very tough, and I'd probably win this battle only with heavy losses, so I move elsewhere.

Silt builds a Lizard Den, which allows the recruitment of Lizardmen. These are arrow shooters that are better than Gnolls, but not much. The building costs 5 wood and 1000 gold.

Day 3

Korbac finds a horde of Goblins blocking the way. Goblins are much easier pickings than Pikemen, so there seems no choice but to fight.

The battle:

Korbac has 52 Gnolls, separated into two groups of 26; and 2 Serpent Flies.
There are 51 Goblins in four even groups.

I lose 12 Gnolls and the Serpent Flies, but win the battle. This is worth 255 experience points.

Korbac visits an obelisk, which revals a small piece of a map to the Grail, which offers huge benefits to the player that can find it. I don't expect to find it, so I won't describe it too much. She also grabs some nearby iron.

Verdish moves but doesn't discover anything interesting.

Silt builds a Serpent Fly Hive. This allows recruitment of Serpent Flies and costs 5 wood, 2 mercury, 2 sulfur and 1000 gold.

Day 4

Verdish finds another Protection from Fire scroll. She kisses an idol of fortune and gets a morale bonus. I don't expect her to be in any battles soon, but it's good to have, just in case.

Korbac secures an iron ore mine, which will produce 2 ore per day. He also grabs a little spare ore near the mine. Moving along, he visits a water wheel, which gives her 500 gold. This can be visited once a week and always offers some benefit, though not the same one every week - sometimes it's gold, sometimes it's some goodies. Gold is good for now.

He visits a School of Magic, where the opportunity is there to add one to his power or knowledge scores. Knowledge is slightly more important at this stage, so he takes that option.

Korbac also sees a Sawmill nearby, which we desperately need. Wood is a resource we'll be using a lot of, trust me.

Silt upgrades the Serpent Fly Hive, which allows us to build Dragon Flies. Dragon Flies are faster, slightly better fighters, and also weaken the opponents with their attacks. They're more expensive, but worth it.

Day 5

Verdish grabs a few loose gems, and Korbac takes the Sawmill and the nearby wood.

Silt builds a Wyvern Nest, which not surprisingly allows us to recruit Wyverns. These are fairly powerful creatures that can fly. They hit hard and are tough to kill.

Day 6

Verdish snags some ore and heads toward a couple of treasure chests.

Korbac gets a little gold and finds lots of Lizard Warriors in a corner guarding some neat treasure. With only Gnolls in his current group, the risk is that that they will cut them to ribbons before they even get to fight, so she backs away.

Silt builds a Marketplace, which eats up 5 wood and 500 gold. This allows the trading of resources for gold. The more marketplaces I own, the better the rate.

Day 7

Verdish opens a chest and finds a magic item - the Helm of the Alabaster Unicorn. This adds 1 to her knowledge skill as long as she wears it. Nice, but pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. In the other chest is a choice - take the 1000 gold or give the money to the poor and get 500 experience. The experience won't even move her up a level, so it's an easy choice here to take the gold. We'll use it.

Korbac finds lots of Hobgoblins. This should be a fair but winnable fight.

The battle:

Korbac has 40 Gnolls, all in one group.
There are 29 Hobgoblins, split evenly (more or less) into 5 groups.

7 Gnolls perished, but we pulled through. 145 experience for this.

They were guarding another obelisk and I get another small piece. Not helpful. He uses the rest of his move to retreat to Silt to await further instructions.

The city itself builds a citadel, which adds to fort defenses and gives a 50% bonus to creature production. The price is reasonable at 5 ore and 2500 gold.

NEXT: Week 2

[WSUCougar]

Since HOMM3 is one of my favorite games EVER, I'll be following along. Good luck! :)

[SplitPersonality1]

A HOMM3 dynasty? Excellent!

[Honolulu Blue]

Thanks for the kind words.

MONTTH 1, WEEK 2, DAY 1

At the beginning of each week, the population in each creature generator renews, so there are new monsters available to be bought.

Verdish stops by the water wheel and picks up 1000 gold. She then heads toward the Gnoll hut.

I head to the marketplace and trade 10 crystal, 10 gems and 20 ore for 3 mercury. This is a ridiculously bad deal, but I had to make it because I wanted to upgrade my Wyverns. I upgrade the Wyvern Nest for 10 mercury, 10 wood and 3000 gold. Wyvern Monarchs are faster and cause more damage than plain Wyverns.

Korbac buys the 5 Wyverns for 1100 each and the 20 Dragonn Flies at 240 each. This activity drains the treasury but gives me a good fighting force. I leave the Gnolls in town.

I send them out to face the Orcs to the southwest.

The battle:

Korbac commands 20 Dragon Flies split into two groups of 10, along with 5 Wyvern Monarchs.
20 Orcs, all in one stack, face him.

His forces shouldn't take much damage here, because Orcs aren't that tough. The battle was won with a loss of 2 flies, gaining him 300 experience points.

Korbac continues down the road that is now cleared.

Day 2

Verdish reaches the Gnoll hut and heads back toward Silt.

Korback picks up some loose gold and sulfur and finds a horde of Imps guarding a sulfur dune. This should be a cakewalk.

The battle:

Korbac has 18 Dragon Flies in one stack and 5 Wyvern Monarch in the other.
Opposing him are 27 Imps and 26 Familiars. Familiars are tougher, faster versions of Imps, but not too tough.

No casualties this time and 212 XP. Korbac makes it to Level 2. 1 point is added to her defense skill, and she gets a choice of skills to learn - Advanced Pathfinding or Basic Archery. Archery isn't going to be that important since she won't be handling many shooters. So Advanced Pathfinding it is. This reduces the penalty for rough terrain by 50%.

Korbac takes control of the sulfur dune and heads back toward the road.

Due to a lack of wood, Silt doesn't build anything this turn.

Day 3

Verdish returns to Silt and buys 18 Lizardmen. She drops off her Serpent Fly to guard the town. We don't expect an attack yet, so it's very safe there.

Silt purchases a Level 1 mage guild. This offers 1st level spells.

After getting her spells, Verdish heads out looking for a fight.

Korbac finds some wood and a Redwood Observatory. The Observatory allows the hero to see a good distance around. In this case we see some goodies and a town that's poorly defended. We plan accordingly.

Day 4

Verdish prepares for her first fight against lots of Lizard Warriors. We expect to win this one.

The battle:

Verdish has one stack of 45 Gnolls and one stack of 18 Lizardmen.
The 24 Lizard Warriors separate into 5 stacks. Ouch.

We lost 27 Gnolls and 2 Lizardmen, but we prevail. Verdish gets 360 experience. Some ore, crystal, and mercury are lying around for the taking as our reward.

Verdish retreats toward Silt.

Korbac has a fight against a horde of Familiars. Shouldn't be too tough, though we may take some losses here.

But the familiars start to run away, and we decide not to pursue. No experience points for doing this, but we don't take any losses either. They were guarding a gem pond, which yields 1 gem per day. He renews his spell points at a magic well and heads for a treasure chest. He takes the 1500 gold as we're running a little short. Then he stops by the local seer, Pierce, who is looking for an artifact called the Legs of Legion. Seers offer nice rewards for bringing them items they look for, usually creatures or money. It's something to look out for.

Silt purchases a blacksmith for 5 wood and 1000 gold. Blacksmiths offer one of three war machines for sale, depending on the type of town. This one offers first aid tents.

Day 5

Korbac picks up some gold, then turns to face lots of pikemen. They may turn and run also, but shouldn't present a challenge if they don't. Yep, they run, and we let them. He finds a Disguise spell, some gold and crystal they were guarding. Then he turns toward more enemies.

Verdish retreats to Silt to renew her spell points. Points can be refreshed while traveling, but they can all be recovered in 1 turn if the hero ends his turn in a city with a mage guild.

NEXT: Some big battles ahead as we spread our influence.

[Honolulu Blue]

Day 6

Korbac faces lots of Magogs. Unfortunately, they don't run...

Battle #1:

Korbac has a stack of 18 Dragon Flies and one of 5 Wyvern Monarchs.
The 29 Magogs are split into three stacks.

Better than expected - we only lost 2 flies and gained 377 experience.

He next faces lots of Nomads. They're a little tougher creature than we're used to, but we should beat them.

Battle #2:

Korbac has 16 Dragon Files and 5 Wyvern Monarchs.
The 39 Nomads separate into 4 stacks.

We lost all but 1 fly, but just one Monarch. This yields us 1170 experience, good for another level. He adds one to his knowledge skill and chooses Expert Pathfinding. This reduces the penalty by 75%.

The "reward" is a Pandora's Box. I'm always afraid to open these... but it's empty.

Korbac now marches on the town of Dark Eternal, a foul Necropolis town haunted by the living dead. 15 Walking Dead are guarding this place. They should be no match for us.

Battle #3:

Korbac has 1 Dragon Fly and 4 Wyvern Monarchs.
The 15 Walking Dead are all in one stack.

No casualties and the town is mine! 725 experience points is the other part of my reward.

He's up to Level 4 now and gains a point on her defense rating. I'm offered an interesting choice - Advanced Armorer or Basic Water Magic. Water Magic reduces the point cost for spells from that school and eventually could increase their efficiency. I take that one.

Our new town, Dark Eternal, is pretty empty except for a village hall and two recruitment buildings (for Skeletons and Walking Dead). I start the building process by building a tavern here. Later, perhaps, we'll see some really nice (or really nasty :p ) creatures come from here. But that's still a few weeks away.

Korbac retreats from the town to investigate the immediate area.

Silt builds a town hall, which will help it produce 2000 gold per day starting next turn.

Verdish heads for the nearby temple.

Day 7

Verdish gets a +2 morale boost from visiting the temple.

Korbac finds some gold and a Protection from Water spell scroll. He also visits a Marletto Tower, which helps hone his defensive skills.

Dark Eternal builds a town hall.

Still no sign of the opposition, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere.

NEXT: Have I spread myself too thin?

[sachmo71]

Must play again!

There is a scenario in the first campaign that kicked my butt for weeks! I'll see if I can't figure out what it was called and see how you guys did against it. Basically I had to lure the enemy hero out of his castle to win! It was embarassing. :(


What do you guys think of HOMM4? I bought it, but it was missing something for me. I see it has a lot of patches. Does anyone still play?

[Honolulu Blue]

What do you guys think of HOMM4? I bought it, but it was missing something for me. I see it has a lot of patches. Does anyone still play?

I just bought HOMM3 a bit over a month ago, and I read the reviews for it and HOMM4 thoroughly - as many as I could. The reviews for HOMM3 were almost universally positive, but the ones for HOMM4 were mixed. I thought 3 was more of what I look for in a game, and so far I can't say I'm wrong.

I don't have 4, and will probably never get it.

Anyway, back to the action at hand...

MONTH 1, WEEK 3, DAY 1

Verdish stops by the water wheel to pick up our weekly entitlement of 1000 gold, then she heads toward Silt to pick up some more monsters. Since she has so little of her move left, she ends her move there.

Korbac refreshes his spell points at a well, then secures a nearby ore pit.

Day 2

Korbac finds some gold, wood, and a sawmill.

Verdish takes the 12 Dragon Flies (plus the one that was in the garrison) and the 3 Wyvern Monarchs and heads out to meet Korbac somewhere in the neighborhood of Dark Eternal. This will take about 3 days, so it's a good thing she has fast creatures with her.

My main goals for building this week are to build the Gorgon Lair in Silt and get Dark Eternal's meeting place up to a town hall. We start on Dark Eternal's journey by building a marketplace.

Day 3

The enemy has been sighted! They're in the southwest corner of the map. I think the way is blocked so far, so we won't meet just yet. But that seems to be where the future battleground will be.

Korbac and Verdish move toward each other.

Dark Eternal builds a Level 1 mage guild.

Day 4

Korbac and Verdish finally reach each other. Verdish hands over her spare spell scroll and the magic helm, along with all but one fly. Korbac gives... nothing, but that's the name of the game.

Verdish then retreats toward the tower, while Korbac spots a horde of Pikemen.

The battle:

Korbac has the 13 Dragon Flies in one stack and 7 Wyvern Monarchs in the other.
The 66 Pikemen are all in one stack.

We'll take some casualties here but should prevail despite inferior numbers. And we do - they carved through all our flies, but the Wyverns survived. He gains 660 experience.

Our reward is some wood (almost as valuable as gold at this point!) and a Collar of Conjuring. The CoC adds 1 to the duration of all spells - minor, but it'll come in handy.

In the area he also finds some gold anD a Bow of Elven Cherrywood. The bow increases the archery skill by 5%. Too bad there are no archers in the party.

Silt builds a Gorgon Lair. This eats up 10 ore & wood, along with 5 mercury & sulfur, and 2500 gold. Gorgons are nice and durable, but the goal here is Mighty Gorgons, for reasons I'll explain when I get there.

Dark Eternal builds a blacksmith that sells first aid tents.

Day 5

Bad news - the enemy has broken through. The opposing hero, Voy the Witch, has:

A horde of Gonlls
Lots of Lizardmen
A pack of Basilisks
Several Goblins
A pack of Wolf Riders
Lots of Serpent Flies

Korbac's Wyvern Monarchs are better than anything Voy has, but are likely to get surrounded and defeated. I see little choice but to retreat. And Verdish is vulnerable also, so she needs to head for the hills.

Korbac stops at a nearby stable, where she gets some fresh horses that allows faster movement for the rest of the week. Her goal is to retreat to Dark Eternal.

Verdish visits the tower, then begins the long journey to Silt.

Dark Eternal builds a City Hall, so it's important for us to keep this city. I think we can.

NEXT: I lay out a plan.

[Honolulu Blue]

I find myself in a jam, but all is not loast as there are several ways out. What I do depends to a great extent on what my opponent does. I figure she has four options:

1) Head straight for Dark Eternal. This wouldn't be a good move for him as it will take him some time to get there and our defenses will be stronger when she does.

2) Retreat and come back later with stronger forces. I hope she doesn't do this because in a few days I should be able to smack her silly, which would be a big blow for them - perhaps even critical. For that reason I give her some chance of doing exactly this.

3) Bypass Dark Eternal and head directly for Silt. Not that my opponent knows this, but this is an even worse strategy than taking Dark Eternal. Verdish will outrun him there and by the time he gets to town our forces should be able to defeat him easily.

4) Take some time to grab some treasures immediately to her southwest. This is the most likely option, as there are some nice treasures here and I'm not QUITE sure she wants to be aggressive this early.

This assumes that Voy carries the bulk of the opposing force, which is probably valid at this stage. There's at least one other opposing hero, but I don't think it contains many troops.

My plan is to raise the defenses in Dark Eternal and Silt, buy out all the monsters I can, and perhaps purchase a third hero. This should be enough for us to tread water until we can beat them back.

[condors]

you played the fortress and didn't take Tazar ?

good luck homm3 is a great game (haven't played it for way too long)

[Godzilla Blitz]

HB: Enjoying this read. Nice job. You do a nice job of filling out the big picture without getting us lost in details. HOMM 3 is such a great game.

Sachmo: I've heard mostly awful things about HOMM4's AI, but that was well before they started patching it. Haven't heard much about it since a few months after release. Don't know if the patches have brought it up to par, but somehow I doubt it.

[Honolulu Blue]

GB: Thanks for the kind words.

you played the fortress and didn't take Tazar ?

Nah. I've played him already and I wanted to try someone else. He's a fine hero, of course.

Let's see, where were we? Oh yeah, something of a jam...

Day 6

The computer's other hero, Andra, comes out of hiding and goes toward the treasure area. He has a few Lizardmen. Voy meanders toward Dark Eternal.

Verdish stops by the Gnoll hut near Silt. She'll make it to the city next turn. That's soon enough.

Korbac reaches Dark Eternal. He buys a spell book and a first aid tent.

Also at Dark Eternal I purchase the services of Fafner. Let's describe him:

Fafner, Level 1 Alchemist
Experience - 82
Attack - 1
Defense - 1
Power - 2
Knowledge - 2 (20 spell points)
Specialty: Nagas
Skills: Basic Scholar (can teach & learn spells to other heroes through 2nd level), Basic Resistance (5% magic resistance)

He comes with 31 Gremlins, 4 Gargoyles, and 2 Stone Golems. Not much of a force, but they might come in handy. He runs out to the cursed temple nearby and grabs the 12 Skeletons. He also buys the 30 Skeletons that are already there.

Dark Eternal buys a citadel.

Day 7

Computer turn - Andra drifts off toward the treasure area. Voy is moving away. It looks like we're safe for now.

Verdish reaches Silt and stays there until the new week begins.

Dark Eternal buys a Skeleton Transformer for 1000 gold. The 31 useless Gremlins that Fafner had are converted into slightly less useless Skeletons. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ :D

Voy is out of reach of us and we're out of reach of him, so neither Fafner nor Korbac makes any moves.

NEXT: Has the danger really passed?

[Honolulu Blue]

MONTH 1, WEEK 4, DAY 1

Computer turn - Andra continues to pick up treasure. Voy moves back toward Dark Eternal. Sucker!

Verdish buys everything she can get her hands on, and we sell some resources to buy more. She proceeds posthaste toward Dark Eternal. Korbac comes out to take her creatures. He moves right next to Voy... but not enough move points to attack.

We watch and wait to see what the computer does.

Day 2

Computer turn - Andra still picking up treasure. Voy finds a little treasure nearby, but the monsters she faced has weakened her defenses considerably.

No pussyfootin' around - we strike now!!!!!!

The battle:

Korbac has 12 Dragon Flies in three stacks of 4, 7 Gorgons, 10 Wyverns, 30 Gnolls, and 29 Lizardmen.
Voy has 20 Lizardmen, 31 Gnolls, 9 Basilisks, 5 Goblins, 8 Wolf Riders, and 13 Serpent Flies. She also has a first aid tent.

Unless things go poorly for us, we should win this one - but not without losses.

Things were going well, but then Voy ran away! Coward! Fight like a woman!!!
We lost all our Dragon Flies, all the Gnolls, and 10 Lizardmen. But he gained 992 experience points for the monsters killed,
Korbac goes to Level 5, getting a point on her attack skill, and becoming an Advanced Armorer.

He visits the nearby armorer and heads in the general direction of Andra.

Verdish heads for the Gnoll hut near Silt. Fafner stays in the garrison.

Dark Eternal builds a Cover of Darkness for 1000 gold. This allegedly makes it harder for opponents to see the town. Who knows what else is out there?

Day 3

Andra runs away, out of our sight. Probably wise.

Korbac uses the well to refresh her spell points, stops by the stable and heads where Andra was heading. He's only a few squares away when he has to stop.

Fafner heads out from Dark Eternal to get some treasure.

Verdish moves to the Gnoll hut and grabs the freebies. The next stop is the water wheel, next turn.

Silt builds a castle. This is the ultimate in city defense, adds to the recruitment total, and is also necessary for the capitol. The castle costs us 10 wood, 10 ore, and 5000 gold.

Day 4

Andra stays close by, intriguingly. Doesn't she know her life is forefeit?

Verdish visits the well and collects 1000 gold. She then retreats to Silt.

Korbac waves his sword and charges into battle against Andra and her followers.

The battle:

Korbac still has 7 Gorgons, 10 Wyverns, and 19 Lizardmen.
Andra, as expected, has 1 Lizardman.

It took less than 1 turn to win, and we get 514 experience for doing so - 500 for defeating the hero and 14 for the Lizardman.

I capture two scrolls from him - Protection from Fire (again?) and View Air. View Air is already in his spell book, so that's not of value either.

With no imminent threats, Korbac stops at the Redwood Observatory nearby. He sees a town called Hermit Cove, which is fairly lightly defended. Is this the computer's last town? If it is, they're in a world of hurt. On his way, he takes command of an ore pit and visits an obelisk.

Fafner continues his journey to the southwest.

NEXT: Continuing to apply pressure.

[sachmo71]

What color are the flags on the town gate? If they are brown, it's neutral.

[Honolulu Blue]

What color are the flags on the town gate? If they are brown, it's neutral.

They're blue, the computer's color (I'm red).

[Mr. Wednesday]

Dark Eternal builds a Cover of Darkness for 1000 gold. This allegedly makes it harder for opponents to see the town. Who knows what else is out there?If you've never seen the effect of it before, what it does is renew the fog of war in a pretty substantial area surrounding the town. The biggest benefit, I think, is that your opponent has to come inside to see what you have, so is vulnerable to an ambush.

[sachmo71]

They're blue, the computer's color (I'm red).

Kill them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Honolulu Blue]

Mr. Wednesday: Duly noted. I've seen the effects on me and my heroes, but I'm not quite sure the computer is affected the same way.

Kill them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, I'm a pacifist at heart, so I'll just leave them alone and sign a peace treaty with them.

Just kidding. Here's how the rest of the week goes:

Day 5

Korbac doesn't delay, heading right for Hermit Cove.

The battle:

Korbac has 7 Gorgons, 10 Wyverns, and 19 Lizardmen.
Our old friend Voy, defender of the castle, has 10 Lizardmen, 25 Gnolls, 8 Basilisks, and 16 Serpent Flies. In addition, there are three arrow towers.

This could be tough...

But we pulled through!!!!

The body count was 2 Gorgons, 5 Wyverns, and all our Lizardmen. But we win and grab 2002 experience, and a Pendant of Death off Voy's body (actually, heroes never die, but you do get their stuff if you beat them and they don't run away). This moves Korbac to Level 6. He gains another point of defense and has a decent choice of skills - Expert Armorer (15% damage) or Basic Wisdom (can learn level 3 spells). He chooses Basic Wisdom.

Now we can find out about our new town. The capitol is already built here, so we don't need to build it. We need to upgrade these buildings, but that shouldn't be a problem. There's a level 3 mage guild here, so that's nice. I build a Wyvern Nest here and give them to Korbac.

So... where is that other hero or town? There can't be too many left.

I buy another hero, Tiva, to do some exploring nearby. Here are her stats:

Tiva, Level 1 Witch
Experience - 67
Attack - 0
Defense - 1
Power - 2
Knowledge - 2 (20 spell points)
Specialty: Eagle Eye (bonus to skill)
Skills: Basic Wisdom (allows the learning of 3rd level spells), Basic Eagle Eye (can learn cast spells from enemy spellcasters)

Tiva takes the sawmill and heads for some obelisks.

Fafner visits the stable and takes on a horde of Hobgoblins.

The battle:

Fafner has 72 Skeletons in two stacks, 4 Stone Gargoyles, and 2 Stone Golems.
There are 78 Hobgoblins in 5 stacks.

We should prevail, but it won't be too easy.

Eh, easier than I expected. Just lost 2 skellies, 3 Gargoyles, and a Stone Golem.

Fafner grabs the Inexhaustable Cart of Ore they were guarding. This yields an extra ore per turn.

Verdish doesn't move.

Day 6

Korbac finds the computer's last town (I think). Again the defenses aren't too strong and he should be able to take it.

Tiva learns a new spell - Protection from Water.

Fafner takes on lots of Gnoll Marauders guarding a crystal cavern.

The battle:

Fafner has 71 Skeletons in two stacks, a Stone Gargoyle and a Stone Golem.
There are 34 Gnoll Marauders here in three stacks.

This was pretty easy, losing only 5 skeletons to the cause.

He secures the cavern (it produces 1 crystal per turn) and heads toward an alchemist's lab.

Hermit Cove upgrades the Serpent Fly Hive. Silt builds a resource silo. The silo produces an extra wood and ore per turn but it's costly - 5 ore and 5000 gold.

Day 7

Korbac leads the troops on what could be the final battle of the game.

The battle:

Korbac has 2 Wyverns, 5 Gorgons, and 5 Wyvern Monarchs.
Aislinn has 6 Walking Dead, 23 Skeletons, 30 Goblins, and 18 Wolf Riders.

We really ought to win this. And we do, with just one Wyvern Monarch falling. This yields us 1558 experiennce. Korbac advances to Level 7, gaining a point to his attack, and becoming an Expert Armorer.

And that's the end. My opponent has no more cities or heroes.

I'd like to thank everyone for reading this dynasty and would like to make a special announcement - I will be running another game in this thread in the next day or two. So I'll be back soon with the results of that.

[sachmo71]

Me want MOREEEE!!!! Try some of the scenarios!

[Honolulu Blue]

Me want MOREEEE!!!! Try some of the scenarios!

I've tried some and will do more later, but not in the context of any dynasty. But if it's more you want, more you shall have...

This is my second try at writing a dynasty for HOMM3. This will be a medium map with normal water and underground. I'll be starting in the Dungeon town with Shakti as my hero. Shakti is good with Troglodytes - ordinarily a worthless creature, but he makes them a little better. More importantly, he starts with a whole bunch of them (77) - enough to do some damage. Here are the rest of his stats:

Shakti, Level 5 Overlord
Experience - 5000
Attack - 3
Defense - 4
Power - 1
Knowledge - 2 (20 spell points)
Specialty: Trogolodytes
Skills: Advanced Offense (+20% hand-to-hand damage), Expert Tactics (armies can be placed anywhere in the first 6 columns), Basic Ballistics (can control catapult)

He also comes with a cape of conjuring, which increases the duration of spells by 3. This guy is developed some already; I didn't expect that. Might make the game a little too easy, but oh well.

MONTH 1, WEEK 1, DAY 1

I hire Sephinroth at the local pub for the usual 2500 gold. Here's what she looks like:

Sephinroth, Level 1 Warlock
Experience - 52
Attack - 0
Defense - 0
Power - 3
Knowledge - 2 (25 spell points; see below for explanation)
Specialty: 1 crystal per turn
Skills: Basic Wisdom (can learn level 3 spells), Basic Intelligence (+25% to max spell points)

She comes with 39 trogs and 5 Harpies.

I give the trogs and all but 1 Harpy to Shakti, and in addition buy out what's available (14 trogs @ 50 each, 8 Harpies @ 130 each).

Our first town is called Deepshadow, and it buys an Upgraded Warren. This allows me to buy Infernal Troglodytes, which are a little better all around than the usual critters. The building costs 5 wood and 1000 gold. Upgrading the 130 troglodytes costs 1950 gold. They're worth it, I guess.

Sephinroth is our first explorer and she finds some gold, a stable, and some wood. She'll take the sawmill for our cause next turn.

Shakti also finds some gold and wood. He also spots the gate to the underworld, guarded by lots of dwarves. Not a real tough force, but we'll leave them alone until later.

Day 2

Sephinroth secures the mill and grabs more wood. She also visits Wendell the seer, who wants her to return the Ring of Vitality to him. We'll see if we can find it first. She also learns a new spell, Cure.

Shakti spots some ore, but doesn't have enough movement points to grab it. Next turn...

Deepshadow builds a Town Hall.

Day 3

Sephinroth visits another seer, Xanthe, who seeks the Clover of Fortune. Duly noted.

Shakti gathers the ore and visits a star axis, which adds 1 to his spell power.

Deepshadow builds the Pillar of Eyes, allowing the recruitment of Beholders. Beholders fire beams out of their eye, causing moderate damage to those they hit. They also have the advantage of causing the same damage when engaged hand-to-hand. This building takes one of each resource, plus 1000 gold.

Day 4

Sephinroth learns Bloodlust and Dispel from two shrines. In addition to some gems, she also finds the Badge of Courage hiding in a chest. This increases morale by 1.

Shakti gathers Bloodlust and View Earth spell scrolls, in addition to picking up a little loose ore and gold. He stopped by the hut of Rex the seer and finds out that he wants the Pendant of Life. We note this information in hopes that it will eventually be of some use to us.

Deepshadow builds the Chapel of Stilled Voices. This allows us to hire Medusae, who have big strong bows and can turn monsters to stone if they get too close. This building costs 5 wood, 10 ore, and 2000 gold.

Day 5

Sephinroth gathers some gems and visits yet another seer (Pierce). He's looking for the Mystic Orb of Mana. She spots an ore pit and will capture it next turn.

Shakti visits a school of magic. Here, for 1000 gold he can either add 1 to his power or his knowledge. He takes the knowledge course. After gathering some gold, he finally gets into his first fight - with lots of Pixies. They try to run away, but we intercept them. This should be a slaughter...

The battle:

Shakti had 130 Infernal Troglodytes in two stacks, along with 12 Harpies.
There are 31 Pixies here in three groups.

They fought gamely, killing 5 trogs and one Harpy, but eventually they went down. Shakti gathered 93 experience for this. They were guarding some sulfur and cash, which our hero takes.

Deepshadow builds the Labyrinth. As the name implies, this allows the recruitment of Minotaurs - tough beasts you don't really want to face in a fight. This eats up 10 ore, 10 gems, and 4000 gold. The treasury can handle it.

Day 6

Sephinroth gathers the ore and secures the pit. On the way back to Deepshadow, she learns another spell - Summon Boat.

Shakti continues moving toward some blocked areas.

Deepshadow builds Mushroom Rings, which increases Troglodyte production.

Day 7

Sephinroth learns a Bless spell and moves toward the stable.

Shakti detours to Deepshadow to pick up some critters, then battles lots of Gnolls. They try to run away, but we won't let them...

Battle #1:

Shakti has 125 Infernal Troglodytes (2 stacks), 4 Medusae, 3 Minotaurs, 11 Harpies, and 7 Beholders.
The 33 Gnolls are in two groups.

He lost 9 expendable trogs, but won the battle. 198 experience points for this one.

They were guarding a campfire (which held a little gold and some mercury) and a Crypt. Bad things lurk in crypts, but we're prepared. I think.

Battle #2:

In the crypt lurks 30 Skeletons and 20 Walking Dead, which surrounds Shakti's motley crew. But they're no match for him, as he only loses one trog. Shakti gathers 480 experience and 1500 gold.

Mission accomplished, he retreats toward the stable also.

Deepshadow builds the citadel.

NEXT: Cleaning out the bad guys, investigating the downstairs, and maybe finding the enemy.

[Honolulu Blue]

MONTH 1, WEEK 2, DAY 1

Sephinroth visits the nearby mystical garden (yielding 1000 gold) and stable before stopping in Deepshadow. She buys up most of the creatures available there.

Deepshadow upgrades the Harpy Loft. This allows us to recruit Harpy Hags, much better than those old Harpies we used to have. It costs us 2 sulfur, 2 crystal, and 1000 gold.

Shakti stops by the stable and meets up with Sephinroth to exchange goodies with her. She gets the spell scrolls, while he gets the monsters and Badge of Courage. Now Shakti is about ready to deal out some real punishment.

Day 2

Shakti sees lots of Goblins guarding an interesting building. This should be an easy fight. They try to surrender, but we're having none of it.

The battle:

Shakti controls 10 Medusae, 7 Minotaurs, 11 Harpies, 9 Harpy Hags, 115 Infernal Troglodytes, and 17 Beholders.
There are 20 Goblins and 19 Hobgoblins. They look scared.

We lost a Harpy but got through for 195 experience.

They were guarding a Chapel of Stilled Voices. Medusae live here. We recruit the four available.

Sephinroth heads for the trading post, where we exchange some wood for a little bit of money. She then heads for another mystical garden, where she's handed 500 gold.

Day 3

Sephinroth makes tracks for the third mystical garden, which gives us yet another 500 gold.

Deepshadow needs to make progress toward building a city hall, so they take the first step by building a level 1 mage guild.

Shakti spots lots of Gnoll Marauders guarding treasure, so CHARGE! They try to run, but we just laugh and cut 'em off.

The battle:

Shakti's force is 14 Medusae, 7 Minotaurs, 10 Harpies, 9 Harpy Hags, 115 Infernal Troglodytes, and 17 Beholders.
The 36 Gnoll Marauders have split into three even groups.

8 Infernal Troglodytes perish, but we prevail in the bigger picture. Shakti earns 216 experience for his trouble.

Day 4

Deepshadow builds a marketplace.

Shakti gathers some wood and gems from between the bodies of the dead Gnoll Maurauders. He then goes to fight lots of Hobgoblins. They also try to run, but we nix that plan.

Battle #1:

Shakti commands 14 Medusae, 7 Minotaurs, 10 Harpies, 9 Harpy Hags, 107 Infernal Troglodytes, and 17 Beholders.
The 36 Hobgoblins gather in two groups.

No casualties this time and Shakti takes home 180 experience. This takes him to Level 6, where he gains a point of defense. He chooses Basic Wisdom so he can learn 3rd level spells.

The Hobgoblins were guarding some loose wood and mercury, which are now ours.

But that's not quite all. Shakti spots some more Gnoll Maurauders in the distance and they too are guarding treasure. Perhaps they'd like to meet their maker also? They try to run, but they cannot hide.

Battle #2:

Shakti still has 14 Medusae, 7 Minotaurs, 10 Harpies, 9 Harpy Hags, 107 Infernal Troglodytes, and 17 Beholders.
The 28 Gnoll Maurauders are in two groups.

He lost 4 trogs, but that's an acceptable price for winning this battle. He earns 168 experience.

Shakti takes some loose sulfur in the area and heads toward the dwarven treasury. It's guarded, but we knew that going in.

Battle #3:

Shakti is in control of 14 Medusae, 7 Minotaurs, 10 Harpies, 9 Harpy Hags, 103 Infernal Troglodytes, and 17 Beholders.
Surrounding them are 40 Dwarves in four groups, and 10 Battle Dwarves.

In losing 3 Harpies, we gain control of the treasury. This is worth 1000 experience. Inside is 2 crystal and 2500 gold.

Sephinroth journeys back toward Deepshadow.

Day 5

Deepshadow builds a blacksmith. Dungeon town blacksmiths sell ballistas, which are quite useful in the right hands.

Sephinroth reaches Deepshadow and will wait for further orders.

Shakti stops by the swan pond and adds 2 to his luck for the next battle.

Day 6

Sephinroth stops by the trading post and trades some excess wood for cash. She then returns to Deepshadow, which builds a city hall.

Shakti continues toward Deepshadow.

Day 7

Shakti finally makes it to Deepshadow and buys a few of the loose creatures that were lying around. He also buys a spell book. He then heads for the stable, which he will reach next turn.

NEXT: More exciting days ahead!

[Honolulu Blue]

MONTH 1, WEEK 3, DAY 1

Shakti reaches the stable.

Sephinroth buys a few creatures and trades them to Shakti. She too visits the stable.

Shakti, with his newly renewed force, warms up on lots of Gnolls. They, not surprisingly, try to run away, but no way are we gonna allow that.

Battle #1:

Shakti has 20 Medusae, 11 Minotaurs, 19 Harpy Hags, 131 Troglodytes, and 17 Beholders.
The 44 Gnolls are split into two groups.

He loses 2 trogs but wins the battle and gains 264 experience.

They were guarding a shrine of magic thought, who gratefully teaches Shakti the spell Animate Dead.

He then heads toward the subterranean gate and battles the dwarves guarding the entrance. They run, but we don't agree to let them.

Battle #2:

Shakti's army contains 20 Medusae, 11 Minotaurs, 19 Harpy Hags, 129 Troglodytes, and 17 Beholders.
The 27 Dwarves are split into two groups.

One trog dies in this battle, but we gain 540 experience. Shakti is now Level 7 and gains a point to his attack score. We choose to make him an Expert Attacker, which increases hand-to-hand damage by 30%. Downstairs he goes... what he'll find, nobody knows.

He finds lots of Halberdiers, for one thing. This shouldn't be too tough. They do the yellow thing, but screw that.

Battle #3:

Shakti has 20 Medusae, 11 Minotaurs, 19 Harpy Hags, 128 Troglodytes, and 17 Beholders.
The 32 Halberdiers are in two groups.

They didn't get a chance to move before we flattened 'em. This gains us 320 experience.

Shakti picks up some loose gold and finds there are more treasures down here that he can see.

Day 2

Shakti follows the road and finds a View Earth scroll and some gold.

Sephinroth is handed a little gold at the mystical garden.

I buy another hero at the tavern. Say hello to Arlach:

Arlach, Level 1 Overlord
Experience - 50
Attack - 2
Defense - 2
Power - 1
Knowledge - 1 (10 spell points)
Specialty: Ballista (starts with a ballista)
Skills: Basic Offense (+10% hand-to-hand damage), Basic Artillery (can control ballista, 50% chance of causing double damage with it)

He also comes with 30 Troglodytes. I upgrade those, and buy most of the monsters that were waiting to be purchased. I send him to the stable, then send him downstairs.

Day 3

Arlach gives all his creatures but one Harpy Hag to Shakti.

Arlach then goes around picking up loose treasure. Oh look, another View Earth scroll. Looky, a Protection from Water spell.

The last mystical garden gives Sephinroth some gems. She then turns back to Deepshadow.

Shakti finds a Dispel scroll and some gold. Lots of Iron Golems guard more treasure, and that's his next target.

The battle:

Shakti commands 21 Medusae, 11 Minotaurs, 19 Harpy Hags, 186 Infernal Troglodytes, and 23 Beholders. Quite a force.
The 26 Iron Golems split themselves into 2 even stacks.

8 trogs perish, but we win the battle, giving Shakti 910 experience.

Shakti picks up an Inexhaustable Cart of Lumber, which provides an extra lumber per turn. He also adds some gems to our stash.

Day 4

Shakti picks up some gold before sighting a horde of Pikemen. They try to run, but you know they can't hide from us.

The battle:

Shakti is large & in chare of 21 Medusae, 11 Minotaurs, 19 Harpy Hags, 178 Infernal Troglodytes, and 23 Beholders.
There are actually 48 Pikemen and 47 Halberdiers. Not that it matters much.

No casualties and 950 experience - that's what we like to hear. Shakti makes it to Level 8. He gains a point to his knowledge score and chooses Advanced Ballistics, allowing more and better control over the catapult. It will be useful in time.

Shakti grabs and Inexhaustable Cart of Ore, which you might guess would yield an extra ore per turn. You'd be right, of course. He also picks up a Summon Boat scroll. He then visits a school of magic, and chooses to increase his spell power by 1 for the low, low cost of 1000 gold.

Arlach picks up a little ore.

Sephinroth sells a few excess resources and returns to Deepshadow.

Deepshadow builds a castle.

NEXT: More of the same, only different

[Honolulu Blue]

Day 5

Arlach snags View Air and Bless scrolls, along with some gold and sulfur.

Shakti spots a throng of halberdiers and sallies forth boldly.

Battle #1:

Shakti has 21 Medusae, 11 Minotaurs, 19 Harpy Hags, 178 Infernal Troglodytes, and 23 Beholders.
The 106 Halberdiers are all in one stack.

25 trogs perish, but we get the W and the 1060 experience.

They were guarding a warrior's tomb. Shakti knows no fear, so he sends the gang inside. He finds a Spellbinder's Hat, which allows the casting of all 5th level spells. This is mighty. Alas, the act has killed our morale for the next battle.

Speaking of next battle, he sees a throng of Infernal Troglodytes...

Battle #2:

Shakti has 21 Medusae, 11 Minotaurs, 19 Harpy Hags, 153 Infernal Troglodytes, and 23 Beholders.
The 102 Infernal Troglodytes are divided into two stacks.

12 more trogs (of ours) perish, but the deed is done and it's worth 612 XP.

Shakti snags some gems and mercury before heading inside the underground branch of the dwarven treasury.

Battle #3:

Shakti has 21 Medusae, 11 Minotaurs, 19 Harpy Hags, 141 Infernal Troglodytes, and 23 Beholders.
His army is surrounded by 80 Dwarves (4 groups) and 20 Battle Dwarves (one).

One troglodyte dies as we carry through. This is worth an even 2000 experience. Shakti moves to level 9 and gains a point to his defensive skill. He goes for Advanced Wisdom, which allows the casting of 4th level spells.

Shakti loots the treasury for 5 crystal and 5000 gold.

Another fight? Why not?? There is a horde of Zombies waiting to be killed. They try to run (slowly), but this is not allowed.

Battle #4:

Shakti has 21 Medusae, 11 Minotaurs, 19 Harpy Hags, 140 Infernal Troglodytes, and 23 Beholders.
There are 64 Zombies in three groups.

4 more trogs lose their lives, but we raise the victory banner yet again and gain 1280 experience. This moves Shakti to Level 10, gaining a point of knowledge along the way. He chooses Expert Ballistics for maximium control over that catapult.

Those zombies were guarding Scales of the Greater Basilisk, a nice magical item that increases the power score of its wearer by 3.

Deepshadow builds s Manticore Lair. This allows the recruitment of Manticores. It costs 5 wood, 5 ore, 5 mercury, 5 sulfur, and 5000 gold. Painful, but must be done in order to get dragons.

Sephinroth heads downstairs.

Day 6

Shakti grabs some crystal, then sees lots of Archers guarding a crystal cavern. They run and we let them. He secures the mine and grabs a Haste scroll.

Arlach finds a Slow scroll and another View Air scroll. He also spots a town ahead which is ripe for the plucking. But he doesn't have the suitable forces, so he retreats.

Sephinroth picks up a little sulfur and heads in the general direction of Shakti.

Deepshadow builds a level 2 mage guild. This has some level 2 spells in it. It costs 5 wood & ore, 4 of the other resources, and 1000 gold.

Day 7

Shakti picks up some gold, lumber, and another scroll before spotting lots of Harpy Hags in the distance. Charge! They scatter and we obliginly let them. Aren't we nice?

Sephinroth stops near where Shatki will be heading next turn.

Arlach picks up some loose gold and crystal. He too picks up another scroll and finds a throng of Stone Gargoyles guarding another entrance to the upper world. Eventually we need to get through there, but not yet. He retreats.

NEXT: More goodie gathering and exploration.

[sachmo71]

I'll bet Shakti's army smells pretty bad.