Blood and Magic

                     Hints from the Net

Using true AD&D characters, you will probably wish to start your
adventures with the beginning-level scenario which takes you into
Doegan Capital. The following advice is for those who decide to
play Rathgar the Raiderand not Aelric the Avenger.

I highly recommend you concentrate on building your mana right
away by building Basal Golems.  These low-powered creatures create
the mana that can be transferred to your BloodForge for additional
mana power to create other elements. I maintained a constant flow
of Basal Golems to ensure the continuance of the mana buildup.
Send your Basal Golems out as soon as you can see your mana power
increasing fairly rapidly to protect your Keep. Keep piling them
up at that location (directly west of your BloodForge) to protect
it from destruction. Remember, if you lose your Keep, you lose
this scenario.

Once your Basal Golem buildup is to the point where you can start
sending your Army out into different directions, I highly
recommend sending at least three to your Barracks (northwest of
the Keep) and to protect against intrusion across two bridges to
the north of the Keep. Once your Basal Golems have reached the
Barracks, position them next to the walls and transform them into
warriors -- if you have enough mana.  Warriors have an attack
value of 5, a defense attribute of 1, movement allowance of 3 and
25 hit points. This makes them far more valuable as
offensive/defensive troops, for your Basal Golems have attributes
of 3, 1, 2 and 20, respectively. Always keep your warriors in at
least groups of two, and they should be able to dispatch the early
intrusions by Aelric's troops.

The enemy BloodForge resides in the extreme northwest portion of
the map, but you do not want to think about invading that area
until you have really built up your forces. Plus, there are
numerous mana orbs throughout the countryside, and these can
really empower your BloodForge quickly, enabling you to summon
more Basal Golems whenever you wish.

Additionally, there are items of value to be found within the city
itself. In some cases, all you have to do is to destroy a monument
to find mana orbs.  But buildings should also be tackled, for
there are special items there, as well. Not in all buildings,
mind you, but the promise of magic items and other treasures
should keep your troops actively searching for such while
defending against Aelric's initial assaults using zombies and
ghouls. Oh, barracks can create warriors. When you move on to
other scenarios, keep in mind that an Arbor Lodge can transform
your elements into Druids.








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