Copyright: Copyright 1996, New World Computing
Citation: Copyright 1996, New World Computing


Introduction
Heroes of Might and Magic II

Introduction

Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars combines fantasy and strategy in a battle for territory and resources.  Players must fight between one and five enemy warlords to conquer new lands, collect resources and artifacts, and capture towns.  These towns need to be fortified and upgraded to produce and supply new armies.  Strategic planning and tactical cunning need to be combined and balanced for victory.


What's New
Heroes of Might and Magic II

What’s New

Heroes of Might and Magic II,  the sequel to the first Heroes of Might and Magic, has many new features and improvements.  If you have played the first Heroes, here is a list of the major changes in Heroes II.  You can find more detailed information on each item in the appropriate section of the manual.

Spells:  The spell system now uses spell points instead of spell memorization.  You permanently learn spells from the Mage Guilds, but have a finite number of spell points to cast those spells.  Many new spells have been added, and the spells are now categorized in five levels, as opposed to four.

Combat:  The battlefield has been enlarged, and new creatures have been added.  Creatures can now be affected by more than one non-contradictory spell at the same time (Curse, Slow, and Protection can all be affecting a single creature).

Heroes:  Two new hero types are available, the Wizard and the Necromancer.  The Wizard is a powerful spellcaster with an army of magical creatures, and the Necromancer is a spellcaster that commands the undead.

Heroes now learn secondary skills, such as Archery and Leadership.  Some of these skills duplicate the innate abilities of the hero types in the first Heroes (Pathfinding for the Barbarian, Navigation for the Sorceress).  Heroes can know a maximum of eight secondary skills, and there are 14 skills to choose from. These skills are learned when a hero advances in level.

Towns:  Towns have new defensive improvements, and some completely brand new buildings, like the statue and the marketplace.  Some creature dwellings can be upgraded to produce new, upgraded creatures.

Creatures:  Certain creatures can be upgraded, generally becoming faster and tougher, though some creatures acquire special abilities when upgraded. Two new groups of creatures have been added, one for the Wizard and one for the Necromancer.

Adventure:  The size of the maps can be smaller or larger than before (up to 1/4 the area to 4 times the area).  Many scenarios will now have different victory or loss conditions instead of the standard ‘Kill ‘em all.’  These special circumstances will be explained when you start the scenario.  Two new terrain types, cracked wasteland and beach, and many new adventure objects have been added.

Campaign:  The primary campaign of Heroes II allows you to choose which of Lord Ironfist’s sons you will aid in succeeding to the throne, Roland or Archibald.  Each side has a different set of elaborate and interesting scenarios, so be sure to try them both.

If you are not sure what something does, R-clicking on it will give quick information. This works on buttons, skills, artifacts, creatures, spells, buildings, heroes, objects on the map– almost anything you can find.

Have fun, and watch out for the Black Dragons!


Basic Operations

Mouse

When you are instructed to click on something, point to the object and click with the left mouse button (or the only button on a Macintosh mouse).  ‘R-click’ means click with the right mouse button (Macintosh users need to hold down the open-apple key and click with the mouse button).

You can get information on most things in the game by R-clicking on them.  Most R-click information requires that you hold down the mouse key to read the information.

File Selector

When loading or saving games, you will be presented with a standard File Selector window.  To select a file, click on the name to highlight it.  The name will now appear in the red bar at the bottom of the list.  Click on OKAY.  Click on the CANCEL to exit the menu without making a selection, or press the ESC key.

If the list is longer than the display, you can scroll through the list in two ways.  Along the right side of the list is the slider bar and two arrow buttons.  Click on either arrow button to scroll in the direction indicated by the arrow.  To get to a selection quickly on a long list, drag the slider bar in the direction you want.


Tutorial Part 1
Tutorial

Getting Acquainted

Don't have the patience to explore rulebooks? Want to learn the basics quickly so you can dive into the game? This is where you want to start. This tutorial will walk you through a few turns of the Tutorial scenario.

From the Main Menu, click on Load. Then click on Standard Game from the next menu. That menu will be replaced by the File Selector. Click on the file name, Tutorial, to highlight it. The name of the file will also appear in the dark brown bar just above the two buttons at the bottom of the File Selector. Click on Okay.

After the game loads, you will find yourself on the Adventure Screen.  The big window on the left is the Adventure Window. That's your castle in the middle with your starting hero sitting astride a horse at its entrance. On the right are a variety of controls and indicators. Let's explore these for a moment.

In the upper right is the World Map. There's a pink box around the area of the map that is displayed in the Adventure Window. You start off only knowing a short distance beyond your own castle. As you move your heroes about, more of the map becomes visible. You can scroll the Adventure Window  in a number of ways. Move the cursor to the extreme edge of the screen and the Adventure Window will scroll in that direction. Give it a try. If you scroll too far and can no longer tell where you are, look up in the World Map. Place the cursor over the green blob that represents known terrain and click. The castle and the surrounding environs are displayed again in the Adventure Window.

Below the World Map is a display showing your heroes and castles. This is the hero and castle locator. The blue-eyed woman is the hero you happened to start with. There is a light blue outline around her box, indicating she is the "active" hero. Place the cursor over her picture and R-click and hold the button down. A window will come up displaying her name, stats, and the type and number of troops that are accompanying her. Release the mouse button and the display disappears (you can R-click on many things in the game to get this kind of quick information). The blank boxes below Gwenneth (your hero) and your castle are for future heroes and castles.

Beneath the hero and castle selectors are eight buttons that will aid in playing the game. We'll discuss these as we go through the tutorial.

The bottom display is the Information Box. It currently shows the active hero’s army. Place the cursor over this window and click. It now shows the amount of resources, towns, and castles you control. It will automatically return to the army display after a few seconds. Click on it again a couple of times. It will now show you the month, week, and day. New recruits become available at the start of each week, so it's wise to keep track of the time. This tutorial begins a few days into the week so that several buildings could be added to your castle to get you into the thick of things faster.


Tutorial Part 2
Tutorial

Units and Buildings…continued from Getting Acquainted

Place the cursor over the castle next to your hero's icon in the castle selector and click (but not on the monochromatic castle in the group of eight buttons). The castle now has the blue box around it, indicating it is active. The Information Box also changes to display your resources, since your hero is no longer active. Click on the castle a second time to bring up the castle display.

Along the top of the castle window are the dwelling places of your potential recruits and the exterior of the castle. Place the cursor over any of the structures and R-click (holding the button down) to see a description of it. Three of the structures are dwellings where you can recruit troops. The troop type, cost per unit, and the number available are listed. You will notice that nobody seems to be home at the moment (we already hired them into your army).

Along the bottom of the screen is your hero's portrait, indicating she is in the castle. Her accompanying troops are displayed in the row of boxes to her right. You can have up to five different troop types in any hero's army. Note that there are two spaces available in Gwenneth's army, indicated by the horse's head. Let's fill those up.

Click on the castle near the top of the screen. The entire display now shows the various dwellings that can be purchased. You already have the Thatched Hut, Archery Range, Blacksmith, Tavern and Well structures (marked by the yellow check). The Archery Range and Blacksmith each have a red X. Though you have the dwellings, you have not as yet purchased the upgrades, nor can you until specific prerequisites are met. Upgrades improve the quality of troops these dwellings normally provide. The Shipyard, Jousting Arena, and Cathedral  have prerequisites you don't currently have and are also marked with a red X. The two portraits near the right side of the screen are the heroes that are available for hire this week. You can only have one hero in a castle at a time, so these heroes are also marked with an X. You can R-click on any on the buildings to get more information about them. For now, place the cursor over the Armory and click.

A window comes up telling you that the Armory produces Swordsmen. It also requires the Tavern and Thatched Hut to be present in the town (which we built for you already). It will take 10 ore, 10 wood, and 2000 gold to build. A quick glance to the resources  that are displayed on the lower right of the screen reveals you have the necessities. Click on Okay.

The display shows the castle exterior again, and the Armory is the red-roofed building near the middle of your screen. Let's recruit some Swordsmen to fill out our army. Click on the Armory and a window entitled Recruit Swordsman comes up. There are four available at 250 gold each. You can click on the up and down arrows to select the number of troops you want to recruit, but in this case, it is easier to just click on the Max button. The Max button automatically chooses the maximum that you can afford, up the limits of how many are available. Click on Max if you haven't already done so, and then click on Okay.

Four Swordsmen have been added to your castle garrison. The garrison occupies the five boxes above the hero's army. They will defend your castle if a hero isn't there, but might not be involved if a hero and accompanying army is in the castle. To transfer the troops from the garrison to your army, first click on the Swordsmen. This highlights them with a red outline. Now place the cursor over the empty space of the hero's army at the lower right and click. The Swordsmen are now part of Gwenneth's army. You can transfer troops from box to box by clicking on one troop, and then clicking on the troop that you want them to exchange places with. You may also do partial troop transfers if the need should arise by holding down the Shift key when transferring troops.

There are no more troops available for now, and you can only make one improvement in your castle per turn– it's time for Gwenneth to go adventuring. Click on the Exit button on the lower right.


Tutorial Part 3
Tutorial

Exploration and Discovery…continued from Units and Buildings

We are back to the Adventure Window. Note that Gwenneth has the blue border around her box indicating she is the active hero. Move the cursor around a bit in the Adventure Window. The cursor will change depending on what it is over. Move the cursor over the treasure chest that is sparkling just below and to the left of the castle entrance. As you move the cursor it will change from either a spear or a horse to a rearing horse as it is placed over the chest. The rearing horse indicates that there is an event there that the hero can interact with. Once the horse is in the rearing position, click. A green path of arrows is now displayed. This indicates the path the hero will take. She'll avoid all events, encounters and obstacles to get to the destination you clicked on, now marked by a green X. Your hero can reach anywhere along the path this turn where it is green. When the path or destination turns red, the hero won't reach there until subsequent turns. Once the path is set, click on the destination a second time and the hero will move along the path towards the destination. Do that now.

You found some gold! You can either keep the gold or distribute it to the peasants for experience. At the start of each turn, you accumulate 1000 gold for each castle you own, 250 for each town, and 1000 for each gold mine. Building up your castle and army is an expensive proposition, so the gold is needed there. At the same time, if you take the experience, your hero's stats will eventually improve, becoming better in combat or spellcasting, and will also gain new skills. For the purposes of this tutorial, click on Yes, but learning when to choose one or the other is something your own experience and style will dictate.

Look next to your hero's portrait and you'll see a yellow bar indicating the amount of movement she has left this turn. Be aware that it doesn't start at the top of the bar– there are items that can improve her movement beyond the normal. Gwenneth still has some movement left, so let's set a new destination. Click on the sparkling fountain below and slightly to the right of your castle, making sure you have the rearing horse symbol. Note the numeral 2 on the right of the horse. That means it will take all of Gwenneth's movement this turn, and at least part of her movement next turn to reach there. Click to set the path. The destination is marked with a red X this time, indicating you can't reach there this turn. Move the cursor over to the button with the horse icon near the right side of the screen and click. This is the Move button, an alternate command that tells your hero to move along the path once it is set.

That's all for this turn. Click on the hourglass button. The Information Box will show the computer players thinking and the cursor will become a sundial. Once the cursor changes back and the Information Box reverts to Gwenneth's army, you can continue.

The red X is now green. Click on the Move button and Gwenneth continues along the path you set last turn. A message box pops up and informs you that by drinking from the fountain you will gain luck for your next battle. Good luck allows your troops to do double damage for an attack in combat– watch the rainbow arch towards your warriors when it happens.

Click on the pile of wood neatly stacked to the left of the road leading towards the bottom of the screen and move your hero there. Roads are easier to move along than other types of terrain. Don't worry about trying to precisely move along the road; your hero will do that automatically if it is to your advantage. A message will appear briefly in the Information Box saying that you have found a small amount of wood and will give the exact amount.

As you moved towards the woodpile, more area of the Adventure Window  was revealed to you. The hero unveils the map a set distance away as she moves about. Just to the left of where the woodpile used to be is a wooden shack and wagon. R-click on it and you can see that it is a sawmill. The sawmill produces two units of wood each turn as long as you own it. Place the cursor over the front of the sawmill (be sure you have the rearing horse cursor icon) and click twice. Read the text then click on Okay. Note that there is now a blue flag flying over the sawmill, indicating that you own it. It will continue to add two units of wood to your resources at the start of each turn until some other faction's hero captures it.

Below the sawmill and to the right there's a wooden signpost. Move to that. You'll run out of movement before you get there. Click on the hour glass and when it is your turn again, click on the move icon. Read the message and than click on Okay.  Messages may give important clues and it might be wise to stop and read them along the way.


Tutorial Part 4
Tutorial

Combat Basics…continued from Exploration and Discovery

The putrid green zombies on the right side of the map are guarding a small treasure cache, daring Gwenneth to try and defeat them.  No self-respecting hero can pass up the challenge like that, so place the cursor over the zombies.  Note that the cursor becomes a sword.  This indicates if you move there, a battle will take place. Go ahead and move to the zombies.

The combat screen shows terrain similar to the type the combat started on in the Adventure Window. On the left side of the screen is the moving player's troops (the Attacker), and on the right is the encountered group (the Defender). Thus, your troops will be lined up on the left in any combat during your turn, and on the right in any combat during another player's turn. Your troops are lined up from top to bottom in the same order that they were lined up from left to right in your hero's display back at the castle.

Combat is fought in a series of rounds, with each unit getting to move and possibly attack once each round. The faster the unit's Speed, the sooner it moves in the combat round. The computer will determine which unit gets to move first. Your Pikemen are your fastest unit and will have a glowing yellow outline when they are ready to be moved. R-click on them to see their statistics. Now move the cursor around the field. You can move the Pikemen to any position on the field where you see the Running Man icon. All you need to do is click on the spot you want them to move to. An X with a circle behind it indicates a spot they can't move to. Some terrain may be impassable (usually marked by a tree, pit, bush, the odd flow of lava, etc.).

On the extreme left is your hero, mounted on a horse with your banner waving in the breeze. Place the cursor over the hero– when the cursor changes to a helmet, click. A window will pop up with Gwenneth's picture, her stats, and a group of four buttons. These are the General's Options. Starting on the left is the Cast Spell button (the gesturing hand). The Cast Spell button is darkened and can't be selected because Gwenneth doesn't have any spells.  The next button to the right is the Retreat button (the running knight). Retreating loses all of your hero's troops, but she'll make her way back to any of your castles with her experience and artifacts intact and can be recruited again. The next button is the Surrender option (the white flag). This is similar to the Retreat option except all your troops stay with your hero, but you must pay a penalty to the opposing General. The more troops, the bigger the payment. To surrender, there must be an opposing player's General to surrender to, and these zombies don't have one. Heroes are your commanders: they direct your units (through you) on the battlefield, add their offensive and defensive bonuses, and cast spells, but do not move about like their troops. Click on the last button (four arrows) to exit the General's Options.

Your Pikemen are still waiting patiently for orders. Move the cursor straight to the right of the Pikemen until you get the X symbol. Now back it up just a little until you get the Running Man back. That's the limit of how far they can move. Go ahead and click. One of the zombie groups will come charging forward, but won't be able to reach you. Your Swordsmen's turn is next– move them forward the same as you did the Pikemen (you might have to move the cursor up or down a bit to get around a big rock). Time to soften them up a bit. After some more zombies shamble up, your archers should be glowing. They are armed with arrows that can strike at a distance. Place the cursor over the nearest zombie. The cursor becomes an arrow, indicating you can fire at the group without moving. Go ahead and click. The arrow is fired (R-click on the archer to see how many shots she has left) and the zombie group is greatly diminished or wiped out. Troops with distance weapons have their attack damage halved if an enemy group is next to them, so it is best to guard them and not advance. Your Peasant group is the slowest, and can't get close enough to attack. Have them timidly creep forward as best they can.

Just to throw a monkey wrench into this tutorial some of your troops may, due to high morale, get another move (it'll be obvious: a big golden bird appears above the inspired troop's head). Just click the Skip button in the lower right for now, but normally this is a great time to sneak in an extra attack.

All the units have moved and a new round starts. Your Pikemen will move first. There should be one or more zombie groups within range of your Pikemen. Place the cursor near the closest zombie pack. It should change to a sword. The direction the sword is pointing from indicates where the Pikemen will be when they attack. There's definite tactical considerations, but for the purposes of this tutorial, it doesn't matter which direction. Choose one and click. Your Pikemen will lower their weapon and attack. Any zombies that survive will then strike back.

Be aware that a group only gets a strike back against a unit next to them, and will only do so against the first unit to attack them that round. Ganging up on one target can save wear and tear on your army.

With the basics of combat under your belt, this tutorial now abandons you to your fate (no whining- you should be able to obliterate those zombies with Gwenneth's army). Feel free to continue on with the scenario, referring to the manual as questions arise. New recruits will be available at your castle next turn. It might be wise to recruit a second hero, build up another army (while staying put to guard the castle), while Gwenneth explores the countryside.  Don't forget to build up the structures in your castle to get new types of units. Happy adventuring!


Main Menu

Five options are presented in the Main Menu, each of these in detail are:

New Game

This option begins a new game of Heroes II.  After selecting New Game, a second window will appear offering three different types of games to play:

Standard Game:  A single scenario played by a single player.

Campaign Game:  Multiple scenarios played by a single player.

Multiplayer Game:  A single scenario played by multiple players.

Load Game

This option loads a previously saved game, either Standard, Campaign, or Multiplayer.  Select the type of saved game you wish to load.  All options will bring up a standard File Select window.  Simply click on the name of the scenario you wish to load, then click Okay to load the game.

Credits

This option brings up the names of all the people who contributed to the creation of Heroes of Might and Magic II:  The Succession Wars.

High Scores

This option brings up the list of the High Scores achieved in Heroes II.  The Campaign button displays the best Campaign scores.

Quit

This option closes the program and returns you to your operating system.


Standard Game
Main Menu

Standard Game

After selecting Standard Game, you must choose which scenario you wish to play.  Clicking on the red bar labeled Scenario opens the scenario selection window. The buttons at the top of the scenario selection window will show only the scenarios of the size you select  e.g. Clicking the S button shows only the small maps.

Each scenario is labeled by:

Size:  The dimensions of the map:  Small, Medium, Large, and Extra-Large.

Number of Players:  From two through six.

Win Conditions:  How you win the scenario.

Standard:  Capture all opposing castles and defeat all opposing heroes.

Capture Castle:  Capture a specific castle.

Defeat Hero:  Defeat a particular enemy hero.

Find Artifact:  Find a particular artifact.

Wealth:  Accumulate a specific amount of gold in your treasury.

Team:  Your team must defeat the opposing team (1 to 5 other players).

Loss Conditions:  How you lose the scenario.

Standard:  Lose all your heroes and castles.

Lose Castle:  Lose a particular castle.

Lose Hero:  Lose a particular hero.

Time Limit:  Fail to complete objectives before time runs out.

Each scenario has a small description displayed at the bottom of the scenario selection window.  Included in this section is the difficulty rating of the map, harder difficulties generally indicate the human player is penalized– either by fewer resources, tougher creatures near the starting castle, or the computer players starting with a distinct advantage.

After selecting the scenario, you must choose which game difficulty level to play at.  The difficulty is changed by selecting from the ratings at the top of the screen–  Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert, or Impossible.  Game difficulty affects the resources you begin with, the resources the computer players begin with, and the intelligence of the computer opponents.

Next, you need to determine which color you will be.  The color you select determines where you start on the map– if you select the same color on the same scenario, you will always begin in the same place.  To change colors, click on the color you wish to be.  If the color you wish to switch to is grayed out, then that color cannot be chosen by a human player.

If the hero picture below your color has a blue background, then you are able to select which hero type you wish to begin the scenario with.  Click on the picture to cycle through the hero types.  If the background is gray, then that color is always that hero type– it can never change.  If the picture is a silhouette of multiple people, then that position begins with different types of heroes and towns.


Campaign Game
Main Menu

Campaign Game

Selecting this option begins the Campaign Game.  After the introduction, you must choose which lord to serve–  the noble Roland or the treacherous Archibald.  This is the only option you have in the Campaign Game.


Multiplayer Game
Main Menu

Multiplayer Game

This option allows you to play Heroes II with other humans.  Selecting this option brings up a second window which allows you to determine which communications device you will use to play multiplayer.  In each multiplayer mode, you must select a Player Name, which is used to identify you throughout the game.

Hotseat:  In the Hotseat Window you need to select the number of players and whether you wish to enter the players’ names.

Network:  In the Network Window you select the type of network you will be playing over.  You can play over IPX and NetBios networks, or over the Internet using TCP/IP.  IPX and TCP/IP are only available in the Windows 95 version.  After selecting the type of network, you need to select whether you are the host or the guest.  Each game has only one Host, and the Host sets up the game.  All other players are Guests in the game.  If the game was set up using TCP/IP, then each Guest must input the Host’s IP address to connect.

Note:  To use TCP/IP you must have Internet access, usually through an Internet Service Provider (ISP).  All guests must know the host’s IP address.  For some ISP’s, your IP address is always the same, otherwise it changes each time you access the Internet.  To determine your IP address, type WINIPCFG at a DOS prompt.

Modem:  In the Modem Window, you select whether you are the Host (Dials) or Guest (Answers).  Both players must then select the Modem Config button (only the first time you play a modem game) to select the COM port their modem is located at and the desired speed of the connection.  The Host then inputs the phone number of the Guest.

Direct Connect:   In the Direct Connect Window, you select whether you are Host or Guest. Select the COM port you are connecting from, and the desired speed of the connection.

Multiplayer Scenario Select Window:  From this window, the Host of the game selects the scenario that will be played.  Each player selects what color they will play, and which hero type they will be (if that option is available).  The game Difficulty for all players is set by the Host, but any player may opt to take a mild or severe handicap. Severe handicap, represented by the chained hands, means that you start with 30% fewer resources and you generate 30% less gold and resources per turn. Mild handicap, represented by roped hands, is 15% fewer resources.  The area at the bottom is a chat window, just type in your message and hit the enter key.


Adventure Window
Adventure Screen

Adventure Window

All game actions take place on the Adventure Window.  From here you can examine the surrounding countryside and move your heroes.  The black areas on the Adventure Window are the areas that you have not explored.  Each town and hero you control will “light up” the black areas of the map around them.  To scroll the Adventure Window, move the cursor to an edge of the screen– the cursor will change to an arrow, indicating the direction of the scrolling.


World Map
Adventure Screen

World Map

The upper right section of the Adventure Screen is the World Map, which shows the world as you know it.  Explored sections are lit up, and unexplored areas are blacked out.  The pink rectangle within this map shows the portion of the world currently visible in the Adventure Window.  Clicking within this rectangle and dragging it around the World Map will scroll the view in the Adventure Window.  Clicking in the World Map, but outside the pink rectangle, will instantly reposition the view in the Adventure Window to correspond to the point clicked in the World Map.


Locator Buttons
Adventure Screen

Locator Buttons

These buttons represent the heroes and castles you own.  The left section is reserved for heroes, and the right section is reserved for castles and towns.  Both sections display only four heroes or castles at a time, but have scroll bars to scroll through all the heroes or castles you own.

Hero Locators:  Portraits of your heroes are located in the left column.  On either side of the portrait are two vertical bars.  The yellow bar on the left of the portrait represents how much movement your hero has remaining.  The green bar on the right represents how many spell points your hero has  remaining.  One or more “+” symbols appear on the bar if you have a large number of spell points or movement.

Clicking on the portrait will make that hero active and center the Adventure Window on that hero.  A light blue border surrounds the portrait of the active hero. By R-clicking on the hero’s portrait you receive quick information on that hero.  By double-clicking on the portrait, or pressing the ENTER key, you receive more detailed information on the hero.  You can change the active hero and scroll through the hero locators by pressing the “H” key.

Town Locators:  Towns and castles you own are represented in the right column of buttons.  The activated town is highlighted by a light blue border.  Clicking on a town locator button will activate that town and center the Adventure Window on that town.  By R-clicking on a town locator you receive quick information on the town.  By double clicking on a town button or pressing the ENTER key, you enter the Town Screen.  After building a structure in a town, a symbol will appear in the upper right corner of that town’s button.  You can scroll through the town locators by pressing the “T” key.


Adventure Buttons
Adventure Screen

Adventure Buttons

Next Hero:  Activates the next hero you have with movement points remaining, centering the Adventure Window on that hero.

Move: Moves the active hero if that hero has a movement path plotted (represented by green arrows on the Adventure Window).

Kingdom Overview:  Displays the Kingdom Overview Screen.  This screen lists everything you own, towns, heroes, mines, and resources as well as showing your income per day.

Cast Spell:  Brings up the active hero’s spellbook (if he has one) and displays the Adventure spells known by that hero. The number below each spell is the cost in spell points to cast the spell.  Clicking on the upper right and left corners of the spellbook turn the pages in the book.  Clicking on a spell icon casts that spell and R-clicking on a spell icon gives quick information about that spell.  The bookmark on the lower left shows how many spell points the hero has remaining, and the EXIT bookmark exits the spellbook without casting any spells

End Turn:  Ends your current turn and allows the next player to begin his turn.

Adventure Options:  Brings up a menu of actions for the Adventure Window.

Disk Options:  Brings up a menu for loading and saving games.

System Options:  Brings up a menu for system customization.


Adventure Options
Adventure Screen

Adventure Options

Brings up a menu of actions for the Adventure Window.

View World:  Shows the world as you know it, with only explored areas visible. This view shows all towns, mines, and heroes (color coded to indicate which player owns them), as well as showing visible resources and artifacts still unclaimed.

View Puzzle:  Displays the puzzle map that leads your hero to the Ultimate Artifact.  As you uncover pieces of the puzzle, more of the map is represented on this screen.  When you have uncovered enough pieces, the exact location of the Ultimate Artifact is shown by an “X.”  To uncover pieces of the puzzle, you must find obelisks. Click on the EXIT in the upper right corner to return to the Adventure Screen.

Dig/Search: The active hero spends his entire movement to search the position he is at for the Ultimate Artifact.  This action requires all the hero’s movement, so he cannot move prior to attempting this.

Info:  Shows the scenario information window.  In Standard and Multiplayer games, this gives the scenario’s name, description, difficulty, and victory and loss conditions.


Disk Options
Adventure Screen

Disk Options

Brings up menu options for saving and loading games.

New Game:  Exits your current game and returns you to the New Game menu.

Load Game:  Allows you to load a previously saved game.  Click on the name of the game you wish to load, then click OKAY.

Save Game:  Allows you to save your current game.  Click on the colored bar to enter in a name of your choice for the saved game, or click on a previously saved game and click OKAY.

Quit:  Ends your game and returns you to your operating system.  All previously unsaved actions are lost.


System Options
Adventure Screen

System Options

Brings up the System Options menu.

Music:  Adjusts the music volume level.

Effects:  Adjusts the effects volume level.

Sound Type: Changes the quality of the sound from MIDI to  CD Stereo (Redbook).

Speed:  Allows you to set your hero’s movement speed to Walk, Trot, Canter, Gallop, or Jump.

Enemy Speed:  Allows you to set the movement speed of the enemy heroes.

Show Path:  Toggles the Show Path feature on and off.  When Show Path is turned off, your hero’s path is not shown.  Clicking on an area of the Adventure Window immediately moves the hero to that location.  If the hero does not have enough points to get there he will move as far as possible, leaving a path shown in red for the following turn’s movement. If the Show Path feature is turned off, you can still see the path a hero will take by holding down the CTRL key and clicking on a location.  If you like the path shown, release the CTRL key and click again, or use the Move Button.

Borders:  Toggles the interface borders between Good, Evil, and Dynamic (good border when you start with a good hero, evil border when you start with an evil hero).

Cursors:  Toggles black and white or color mouse cursors.  On some systems, black and white cursors can speed up game play.

Video:  Toggles between Interlaced and Non-Interlaced.  If you have difficulty viewing any of the video clips, switch this option to Interlaced.


Information Box
Adventure Screen

Information Box

The Information Box is located in the lower right corner.  Clicking on this will toggle between the active hero’s army, your resource summary, and the date.


Hero Movement
Game Play

Hero Movement

Clicking on any area of the Adventure Window causes a path to appear for the active hero.  Green arrows show the path the hero will take with longer arrows representing terrain that requires more movement points (snow, desert, swamp, etc.).  A green “X” shows a location that can be reached this turn.  Red arrows indicate destinations that will be reached in subsequent turns, with a red “X”  appearing at the final destination, but not necessarily meaning that the hero will have used all his movement points when he reaches the end of his path.

Once a path has been marked, click on the destination again, or click the Move button, to cause the hero to begin moving along the path.  If the destination is not reached that turn, then on subsequent turns the hero’s path will be shown.  To clear a hero’s path, click on the hero.  The hero will automatically take the most direct route to the destination you select, bypassing all obstacles and monsters during movement.  If you want to capture a mine, visit a location, fight an enemy, or anything else, you need to make that your destination.

Information on almost anything in the Adventure Screen can be obtained by R-clicking on it.  When a hero comes into contact with something, he initiates an event. These may be fights, rewards, information, or nuisances.  Mines and towns are events that can be taken over.  When a mine or town is captured, a flag of the player’s color appears above the mine or in front of the town.

Army camps are represented on the combat screen by creatures.  All army camps have a one space zone-of-control, which means that you interact with them if you move next to them.  Your movements will frequently be blocked by army camps.

Heroes move at the speed of the slowest unit in their army.  Certain terrain types, such as desert or snow, will penalize your heroes’ movement, though the pathfinding skill will reduce that penalty.


Movement Cursors
Game Play

Movement Cursors

As your hero moves about, the cursor can change to any one of ten different icons on the Adventure Window.  If a number appears next to any of these icons, that is how many turns it will take to reach the location.

Horse:  This icon appears when the cursor is over terrain that the active hero can move to.  Clicking causes a movement path to be plotted to the location of the click.

Rearing Horse:  This icon appears when the cursor is over an event location that the active hero can move to.  Clicking will cause a path to be plotted to the location of the click.  Moving the hero to this location will activate the event.

Sword:  This icon appears when the cursor is over an enemy hero or army camp that the active hero can move to.  Clicking causes a path to be plotted to the location of the click. Moving the hero to this location will cause him to battle the hero or army.

Arrows:  This icon appears when the cursor is over a friendly hero that the active hero can move to.  Clicking plots a path to the friendly hero.  Moving the hero will allow the heroes to trade.

Castle:  This icon appears over castles and towns.  Clicking selects the castle as the active castle, or bring up the Town Screen if that castle was already active.  R-clicking will bring up quick information on the castle.

Helm:  This icon appears when placed over the active hero, or when placed over any of your heroes when a castle is active.  Clicking selects the hero as the active hero, or bring up the Hero Screen if that hero was already active.

Ship:  This icon appears when the cursor is placed over an unoccupied ship that is adjacent to land that the active hero can move to.  Clicking plots a path to the ship.  Moving the hero will have him board the ship-  boarding a ship takes the rest of the hero’s movement for that turn.  His horse icon will disappear, and the ship icon will represent the hero.  This icon also appears for ship movement when the destination is a water space.

Anchor:  This icon appears when the cursor is placed over land adjacent to water when the active hero is aboard a ship.  Clicking moves the hero to the point clicked, and the hero will disembark from the ship.  The horse icon will reappear on the space clicked.  Disembarking takes the rest of the hero’s movement for that turn.

Arrow:  This icon appears when the cursor is moved to the edges of the screen.  The direction of the arrow indicates the direction that the Adventure Window is scrolling.

Pointer:  This icon appears when the cursor is anywhere on the map that the active hero cannot reach by normal movement.  Clicking will not do anything.


Objects and Locations
Game Play

Objects and Locations

As you explore, you will find a number of objects to collect. These disappear when a hero takes them, so you want to get to them as fast as possible.  Some of the most common objects are:

Resources:  Various resources are strewn across the land: gold, ore, wood, crystal, sulfur, gems, and mercury.  Each supplies a small, random amount of the appropriate resource.

Chests:  Gold or a minor artifact can be found in treasure chests.  You can keep the gold you get, or convert the gold to experience points.  Using chests to get experience is a quick way to raise a hero in levels.

Artifacts:  Lucky heroes will find artifacts to claim.  Some artifacts are guarded by creatures, some you must pay for, and others may require special talents to retrieve.

Adventurous heroes will find many special locations to visit.  Locations stay on the map, offering their benefits to whomever reaches them.

Terrain Objects:  These objects cannot be interacted with, instead they serve to impede your progress (mountains and trees, for example).

Single Visit Sites:  These sites can be visited once.  Depending on the site, that means one visit per hero (gazebo),  one visit per player (obelisk), or one visit per game.

Multiple Visit Sites:  These sites can be visited multiple times, and never go away.  Some of these sites can be visited only once per week (windmill), some offer creatures which replenish after the first day of the week (huts), and some can be visited multiple times with no restrictions.

Continual Sites:  These sites become flagged when you control them, and will offer their bonus to you continually.  Sawmills, mines, and the lighthouse are examples of continual sites.


Creature Interaction and Diplomacy
Game Play

Creature Interaction and Diplomacy

When your hero encounters an army camp, that camp will sometimes join the hero if the hero has a large enough army, and room for the creatures to join (an open space, or a group of the same creatures as the army camp).  If the hero has the Diplomacy secondary skill, however, and his army is strong enough, then creatures will offer to join the hero’s army for an amount of gold based on the strength of the army camp.  The level of diplomacy the hero has determines how many creatures in the army camp will join up with the hero–  either 25%, 50%, or 100%– but the cost is always based on the total number of creatures in the army camp.  If the hero is overwhelmingly powerful, the army camps will attempt to flee from the hero, and you have the option of fighting them before they run.


Town Screen
Towns

Town Screen

Towns and castles supply you with your armies, spells, and gold.  Towns and castles provide the main objective in most scenarios, for if you lose all your castles and towns, you have only seven days to capture one, or you lose the scenario.  Six types of towns and castles can be found, one to match each of the six hero types:  Barbarian, Knight, Necromancer, Sorceress, Warlock, and Wizard.  Towns provide you with 250 gold per day, and castles provide you with 1000 gold per day.

Town Window:  The Town Window displays your castle and all structures and upgrades built at the castle.  Clicking on any structure will bring up that structure’s window.  R-clicking on a structure will give information on that structure’s use.  In a town, the castle is replaced by a tent.  Clicking on the tent gives you the option of upgrading the town to a castle for 5000 gold and 20 wood and ore.

Arrow Buttons:  These buttons will switch the Town Screen to another castle or town you own, in the order they appear on the Town Locator Buttons.  The Arrow Buttons allow you to quickly page through all of your towns without returning to the Adventure Screen.

Hero Portrait:  This only appears if a hero is in the town.  Clicking on the portrait brings up the Hero Screen.

Garrison Army:  The row adjacent to the Crest is reserved for the town’s Garrison Army (the troops that guard the town).  The town garrison can have a maximum of five different types of creatures.  When a hero is in town, you can trade creatures between the town and the hero.

Moving units:  To move a creature, click on it, then click where you want it to go.  To swap creatures, click on a creature, then click on the creature you want to swap with.  To split an army, click on the creature, then Shift-click on an empty space, then enter the number of creatures to split.

Resource Summary:  The lower right corner is the Resource Summary, which displays the amount of gold and resources available to you to build structures and buy creatures.

Town Name:  The name of the town is displayed centered above the Garrison Army.


Structures
Towns

Structures

Once you own a castle, you can expand the town by building structures.  You may only build one structure or upgrade per turn in each castle.  To build a structure, click on the castle to bring up the Castle Screen.

The left side of the Castle Screen is dedicated to the structures that can be built in each town.  The backgrounds of the names of the structures in the town can have different colors:  Green indicates a structure that can be built this turn, red for a structure that cannot be built this turn, and brown for a structure that has been previously built.  Any structure with a red “X” in the lower right corner is currently unavailable for selection because a pre-requisite structure has not yet been built, or because you have built a structure in this castle already this turn.  A red slash with coins underneath means that you do not currently have the required resources to build the structure.  A yellow check mark indicates a structure that is present in the town.  Every town can build the following structures:

Six Dwellings:  These house the creatures that make up your heroes’ armies.  Dwellings offer creatures to purchase when built, and replenish at the beginning of each week (Day 1).  The availability of creatures varies from creature to creature (more halflings will be available per week than titans).

Dwelling Upgrades:  Certain dwellings in each castle can be upgraded, allowing the purchase of upgraded units.  The upgrade must be purchased separately, and may require different resources or have different prerequisites than the structure it upgrades.  When a structure is upgraded, all unpurchased creatures in the dwelling are automatically upgraded to the newer version, but creatures previously purchased remain the same.  If you have non-upgraded units in a town with the upgraded dwelling for those units, you can upgrade your units by going into the creature screen and clicking the Upgrade button.  The cost is double the difference in price between the upgraded and non-upgraded version, per creature to be upgraded.

Mage Guild:  Building the Mage Guild will give your heroes the chance to purchase a spellbook for 500 gold if they do not currently possess one (Knight and Barbarian heroes).  The Mage Guild can be upgraded four times, to a maximum of a fifth level Mage Guild.  When a Mage Guild is purchased, you receive 3 first level spells.  The first upgrade adds 3 second level spells, the second upgrade adds 2 third level spells, the third upgrade adds 2 fourth level spells, and the fourth and final upgrade adds 1 fifth level spell.  Any hero that visits a castle with a Mage Guild automatically learns all the spells available at that Mage Guild (provided he has the required level of the Wisdom secondary skill).  Clicking on the Guild will show which spells are available in the Guild.  A hero beginning his turn in a town with a Mage Guild will regain all his spell points.

Tavern:  Gives the defenders of the town a bonus to their morale when defending the town.  The tavern is also a center for gossip and rumors–  each week a rumor will be available in the Tavern.  Occasionally valuable information can be learned from these rumors.  The Tavern is not available in the Necromancer castle–  undead don’t get thirsty.

Thieves’ Guild:  Establishes contact with spies allowing you to gain information on the other players and on the defending units of castles and towns.  The more Thieves’ Guilds you own, the more information you receive.  Clicking on the Thieves’ Guild structure from the Castle Screen brings up the Player Ranking Screen, which ranks the players in ten statistics. Each player is symbolized by a flag of their color.  At the bottom of the screen are four statistics that shows the portrait of each players most powerful hero, the statistics of that best hero, the personality of the opponent, and the best creature being used by each opponent.  Remember that the more Thieves’ Guilds you own, the more complete the information– five Thieves’ Guilds will give you complete information.

Shipyard:  If the entrance of a town borders water, then you can build a Shipyard in that town.  Building a ship costs 10 wood and 1000 gold.  If a ship is adjacent to the entrance to town, then a ship will appear in the Town Screen, and you will be unable to build a ship.

Statue:  The statue increases the income of a castle by 250 gold.

Marketplace:  Allows you to convert resources you have into other resources. The more Marketplaces you own, the better the exchange rate.  It is possible to convert any resource– wood, ore, crystal, mercury, sulfur, gems, and even gold– into another, but the exchange is never one for one, and the rate plateaus when you control nine Marketplaces.

Well:  The Well adds two to the growth rate of all creatures produced in the dwellings in the town.  Clicking on the well brings up a window displaying the growth per week of each creature in town, and the number currently available to purchase.

Horde Building:  Each castle has a Horde Building associated with it.  This structure increases the growth rate of the weakest creature by eight per week (goblins, peasants, skeletons, sprites, centaurs, and halflings).

Special Building:  Each castle has a special building or effect that can be built in the town.  The Knight adds Fortifications to his castle walls (strengthening the wall against enemy catapult attacks), the Barbarian can build an Arena (giving the garrison troops higher morale), the Sorceress can create a Rainbow over the town (adding luck to the defenders), the Warlock builds a Dungeon (generates 500 gold more income in the castle), the Necromancer summons a powerful Storm over his castle (giving defending spell casters +2 spell power), and the Wizard constructs a Library to aid his research (adding an extra spell per level of the Mage Guild).

Right and Left Turrets:  The Right and Left Turrets augment the firepower of the primary Ballista, allowing an extra shot per turret.

Moat:  The Moat stops ground creatures’ movement, and makes them more vulnerable while they are crossing the Moat.

Castle Picture:  The upper right corner of the Castle Screen contains a picture of the castle, indicating what defense upgrades have been purchased (left and right turrets and/or moat).

Captain of the Guard:  Below the Castle Picture is the Captain of the Guard.  You may hire a Captain to help defend the town.  The Captain comes with a spellbook containing all the spells available in the town’s Mage Guild.  The left box shows his portrait, the right box gives the Captain’s statistics.  In the Captain’s information boxes you can choose whether the garrison troops are in spread (a space between each creature in combat) or group (no spaces between creatures) formation, this option is only available in towns with a Captain.  The Captain swears his allegiance to the town he is stationed in, not to any lord.  If the town is captured, he will function for the new owner of the town.

Recruit Hero:  Below the Captain of the Guard are two portraits- these are the heroes available for hire.  All heroes cost 2500 gold to hire.  Clicking on a portrait brings up a window asking if you want to hire that hero.  R-clicking on a portrait brings up that hero’s Hero Screen.  If a hero is currently in the town, you will not be able to hire a hero at that town (until you move the hero out of the town).

Resource Summary:  In the lower right is the Summary of all your resources and gold.


Hero Window
Heroes

Hero Window

This window is opened by clicking on the active hero on the Adventure Window, clicking on the active hero’s portrait on the Hero Locator Buttons, or by clicking on the hero’s portrait from the Town Screen or Kingdom Overview.

Hero Name:  The hero’s name is centered at the top of the window.

Hero Portrait:  The hero’s portrait is displayed in the upper left of the window.

Hero Statistics:  To the right of the Hero’s Portrait are the Hero Statistics.  These can be modified by events and artifacts and increase as the hero advances in levels.

Attack:  This ability effects how much damage your creatures inflict in combat. The hero’s attack skill is added to each of the creatures’ attack skills in his army.  For more information on the Attack Skill, see Combat.

Defense:  This ability effects how much damage your creatures take in combat. The hero’s defense skill is added to each of the creatures’ defense skills in his army.  For more information on the Defense Skill, see Combat.

Spell Power:  This ability represents the spell casting skill of a hero.  Spell Power determines the duration and damage of spells cast by the hero.

Knowledge:  This ability determines the hero’s maximum number of spell points. Each point of Knowledge gives the hero 10 spell points.

Morale Detail:  Shows the total bonus or penalty to the armies’ morale.  Clicking on this brings up the morale modifiers.

Luck Detail:  Shows the total bonus or penalty to the armies’ luck.  Clicking on this brings up the luck modifiers.

Experience Detail:  Shows the experience earned by the hero.  Clicking on this brings up what level the hero is,  and the experience needed to advance to the next level.  Each time the hero wins a battle, he is awarded experience based on the power of the creatures defeated.

Spell Points Detail:  Shows maximum and remaining spell points.

Open or Close Formation:  These buttons determine whether your army will be lined up adjacent to each other (Group) or lined up with a space between each creature (Spread) in combat.

Crest:  Below the hero’s portrait is the hero’s Crest.

Army:  To the right of the Crest is the hero’s army.  A hero can have a maximum of  five different types of creatures in his army at one time (one for each of the five boxes).  The order that you place the creatures, from left to right, will be the order they appear in combat, from top to bottom.

Moving units:  To move a creature, click on it, then click where you want it to go. To swap creatures, click on a creature, then click on the creature you want to swap with.  To split an army, click on the creature, then Shift-click on an empty space, then enter the number of creatures to split.

Secondary Skills:  Below the Army are the secondary skills.  Each hero can learn a maximum of eight secondary skills, with a maximum of three levels of expertise in each skill.  Clicking on any skill brings up a window which informs you of the effects of the skill.

Artifacts:  Fourteen slots are available for holding the artifacts you discover.  All artifacts owned by a hero are displayed in this section.  Clicking on any artifact will bring up a description of the artifact’s powers.

Dismiss:  This button, located on the left side of the screen, allows you to dismiss the current hero.  Because you have a maximum of eight heroes, you may wish to dismiss a weak, poorly placed hero to replace him with a stronger or better positioned hero.

Heroes who are dismissed or defeated go back to the hero pool and can be recruited again.  Heroes keep their artifacts (unless defeated by another hero) and experience when they are defeated or dismissed.  Be aware that heroes never die–  they go back to the hero pool and can then be recruited by any warlord.

Arrow Buttons:  These buttons will switch the Hero Screen to another hero you own, in the order they appear on the Hero Locator Buttons.  The Arrow Buttons allow you to quickly page through all of your heroes without returning to the Adventure Screen.


Creature Information Window
Heroes

Creature Information Window

Double clicking on a creature brings up an information window showing that creature’s statistics.  Creatures that are no longer needed can be dismissed by clicking the Dismiss button.  Each creature has the following statistics:

Attack:  The higher the Attack rating,  the more damage the creature inflicts in combat.  The  number in parentheses is the Attack skill of the creature with the hero’s Defense skill added in.  For more information on the Attack Skill, see Combat.

Defense:  The higher the Defense skill,  the less damage the creature takes in combat.  The number in parentheses is the Defense skill of the creature with the hero’s Defense rating added in.  For more information on the Defense Skill, see Combat.

Shots:  The number of shots a unit with range strike ability has remaining.

Damage:  The base range of damage the creature inflicts in combat.

Hit Points:  The amount of  damage each creature in that unit can take before dying.

Speed:  Refers to the order in which creatures move– faster creatures move before slower ones– and also how far a creature can move in combat.

Morale:  High morale can enable a unit to take an extra action in combat, whereas poor morale can freeze the unit in a state of panic.

Luck:  Good luck can grant a unit double damage for an attack in combat, whereas bad luck can force a unit to do half damage for an attack in combat.


Hero Types
Heroes

Types

Each hero will have different attributes and skills.  Heroes start with a few experience points, a small number of creatures, and the following statistics:

Barbarian:  Attack skill of 3 and Defense skill of 1

Spell power of 1 and Knowledge of 1

Advanced Pathfinding skill

Knight:  Attack skill of 2 and Defense skill of 2

Spell power of 1 and Knowledge of 1

Basic Ballistics skill and Basic Leadership skill

Necromancer:  Attack skill of 1 and Defense skill of 0

Spell power of 2 and Knowledge of 2

Basic Wisdom skill and Basic Necromancy skill

Spellbook with the Haste spell

Sorceress:  Attack skill of 0 and Defense skill of 0

Spell power of 2 and Knowledge of 3

Basic Wisdom skill and Advanced Navigation skill

Spellbook with the Bless spell

Warlock:  Attack skill of 0 and Defense skill of 0

Spell power of 3 and Knowledge of 2

Basic Wisdom skill and Advanced Scouting skill

Spellbook with the Curse spell

Wizard:  Attack skill of 0 and Defense skill of 1

Spell power of 2 and Knowledge of 2

Advanced Wisdom skill

Spellbook with the Stoneskin spell


Movement
Heroes

Movement

Heroes move at the speed of the slowest unit in their army unless they are in a ship, in which case they move at the same speed.  The Logistics secondary skill increases the heroes’ land movement, and the Navigation secondary skill increases the heroes’ water movement.  Heroes have a penalty to their movement when on rough terrains, but this penalty can be offset by having the Pathfinding secondary skill.  The effects of terrain and Pathfinding are expressed in the chart below by percent of the penalties to normal movement (200% means you move at half speed).

Terrain	No Pathfinding	Basic Pathfinding	Advanced Pathfinding	Expert Pathfinding
Desert	200%	175%	150%	100%
Swamp	175%	150%	125%	100%
Snow	175%	150%	125%	100%
Cracked	125%	100%	100%	100%
Beach	125%	100%	100%	100%
Lava	100%	100%	100%	100%
Water	100%	100%	100%	100%
Dirt	100%	100%	100%	100%
Grass	100%	100%	100%	100%
Road	75%	75%	75%	75%
Notice that you get a 25% bonus to movement while traveling on a road.  Moving on a road is faster than moving on grass or dirt, and the roads make travel over rough terrains very easy.  Pathfinding becomes one of the most useful skills on a map with large areas of rough terrain.


Hero Secondary Skills
Heroes

Hero Secondary Skills

Besides the four basic hero statistics, a hero can learn and advance in secondary skills.  These skills give the hero abilities like farther movement over land or sea, learning high level spells, or improving his skill with the catapult in castle sieges.  A hero can learn at maximum eight secondary skills and all skills are known at three levels– Basic (level 1), Advanced (level 2), and Expert (level 3).

Name	Description	Level	Effect
Archery	Increases the damage done by	Basic:	+10% damage
	the hero’s range strike units.	Advanced:	+25% damage
		Expert:	+50% damage
Ballistics	During siege, the catapult’s	Basic:	1 shot + extra damage
	shots, damage, and accuracy	Advanced:	2 shots + extra damage
	are increased.	Expert:	2 shots + max damage
Diplomacy	Allows the hero to bribe army	Basic:	25% join
	camps.  The higher the skill, the	Advanced:	50% join
	more that join.	Expert:	100% join
Eagle Eye	Gives the hero a chance to learn	Basic:	20% 2nd level max
	a spell cast by an enemy spell-	Advanced:	30% 3rd level max
	caster.	Expert:	40% 4th level max
Estates	The hero begins to generate	Basic:	100 gold/day
	income as if he were a small	Advanced:	250 gold/day
	town.	Expert:	500gold/day
Leadership	Grants the hero’s army a bonus	Basic:	+1 morale
	to morale.  Necromancers	Advanced:	+2 morale
	cannot learn Leadership.	Expert:	+3 morale
Logistics	Increases the hero’s land	Basic:	+10% movement
	movement.	Advanced:	+20% movement
		Expert:	+30% movement
Luck	Grants the hero’s army a bonus	Basic:	+1 luck
	to luck.	Advanced:	+2 luck
		Expert:	+3 luck
Mysticism	Increases the rate per turn that	Basic:	2 spell points/turn
	the hero regains spell points.	Advanced:	3 spell points/turn
		Expert:	4 spell points/turn
Navigation	Increases the hero’s water	Basic:	+50% movement
	movement.	Advanced:	+100% movement
		Expert:	+150% movement
Necromancy	Animates a portion of the units	Basic:	10% killed units
	killed in battle into skeletons	Advanced:	20% killed units
	when you win.	Expert:	30% killed units
Pathfinding	Reduces the movement penalty	Basic:	Reduces penalty by 25
	of the hero over rough terrain.	Advanced:	Reduces penalty by 50
		Expert:	Reduces penalty by 100
Scouting	Increases the visibility radius	Basic:	+1 square view
	of the hero on the Adventure	Advanced:	+2 square view
	Window.	Expert:	+3 square view
Wisdom	Allows the hero to learn higher	Basic:	3rd level spells allowed
	than second level spells.	Advanced:	4th level spells allowed
		Expert	5th level spells allowed


Skill Advancement
Heroes

Skill Advancement

Skills are improved by advancing in levels.  When a hero advances a level, a screen will appear giving the hero a bonus to a primary skill (Attack, Defense, Spell Power, or Knowledge), and the choice between two secondary skills.  One or both may be skills already known by the hero which the hero can then advance in, otherwise the skill(s) are new to the hero and are learned at the Basic level.  The skills a hero has to choose from are randomly selected, weighted by the class of hero.

Primary Skill Advancement

  The table below gives the percentage chance of learning a primary skill when going up each level.  For the first nine levels heroes tend to be specialized in one or two skills, but at tenth level and beyond they generalize much more.

Type	Attack	Defense	Spell Power	Knowledge
Barbarian 2-9	55%	35%	5%	5%
Barbarian 10+	30%	30%	20%	20%
Knight 2-9	35%	45%	10%	10%
Knight 10+	25%	25%	25%	25%
Necromancer 2-9	15%	15%	35%	35%
Necromancer 10+	25%	25%	25%	25%
Sorceress 2-9	10%	10%	30%	50%
Sorceress 10+	20%	20%	30%	30%
Warlock 2-9	10%	10%	50%	30%
Warlock 10+	20%	20%	30%	30%
Wizard 2-9	10%	10%	40%	40%
Wizard 10+	20%	20%	30%	30%

Secondary Skill Advancement

Each secondary skill has a different chance to be learned by each hero type.  The table below lists the secondary skills and the hero types with an indication of how often a skill will be learned.  The higher the number, the higher  the chance that the skill will be available to learn; the lower the number, the lower the chance that the skill will be available (a 0 means no chance)

Skill	Barbarian	Knight	Necromancer	Sorceress	Warlock	Wizard
Archery	3	2	1	3	1	1
Ballistics	3	4	3	3	3	3
Diplomacy	2	3	2	2	2	2
Eagle Eye	1	1	3	2	3	3
Estates	2	3	2	2	2	2
Leadership	3	5	0	1	1	2
Logistics	3	3	2	2	2	2
Luck	2	1	1	3	1	2
Mysticism	1	1	3	3	3	4
Navigation	3	2	2	4	2	2
Necromancy	0	0	5	0	1	0
Pathfinding	4	3	3	2	2	2
Scouting	4	2	1	1	4	2
Wisdom	1	2	4	4	5	5


Hero Trading Screen
Heroes

Hero Trading Screen

A hero can trade creatures and artifacts with another hero you control by plotting a path to the friendly hero.  The Hero Trading Screen is broken into three areas.

Hero Information Area:  The heroes’ portraits, names, statistics, and skills are located here.  This information is provided for your convenience, these items cannot be swapped between heroes.

Armies:  To swap creatures between heroes, click on the creature, then click on the creature’s destination.  If the destination is occupied by a creature, the two creatures exchange places.  Shift-click will move only the number of creatures you specify.  Remember that a hero must have at least one creature in his army.

Artifacts:  To trade artifacts between heroes, click on the artifact you wish to move, then click on its destination.  If the destination is another artifact, then the artifacts are swapped.  Spellbooks and cursed artifacts cannot be traded.


Kingdom Overview Screen

The Kingdom Overview Screen can be reached by clicking the Kingdom Overview Adventure Button or clicking on the Crest in any town or castle you control.  At the bottom of this screen is a listing of the types and quantities of mines you control.  Below this is a resource summary showing the total amounts of each resource you possess. At the bottom of the screen is your daily income in gold.  Also appearing at the bottom are any “global effects” you control, like the lighthouse.

Two buttons marked Hero and Town are to the right of the mines.  Clicking on these buttons will show your heroes or towns, respectively.  The Hero display shows each hero, their mini-portrait and crest, skills, artifacts, and creatures. The Town display shows each town, defensive upgrades (turrets/moat), mini-picture, garrison forces, and creatures available.  If you have more than four heroes or towns, scroll through the list using the scroll bars.  Clicking on the hero or town portrait will bring up that hero or town’s Hero or Town Screen (whichever applies).


Field Combat
Combat

Field Combat

When your hero encounters an enemy hero or town, or a hostile army camp, he enters combat.  If your hero is attacking an enemy castle he enters siege combat, otherwise he engages in field combat.  The screen will change to the Combat Screen, showing your hero and the enemy hero (if present) on horseback, your units in the order you have placed them, and the enemy units.  The attacker is always on the left side, and the defender is always on the right.

Every hero is represented by a rider on horseback.  No creature can attack the hero, nor can the hero directly attack any creature.  Clicking on your hero will give information and options for the hero during the combat.

In combat, the fastest creature present is allowed to act first, with a tie in speed going to the attacker, starting from the top unit and going to the bottom unit.  If multiple creatures have the same speed, then the order alternates between attacker and defender– if the attacker and defender both have two speed four units, then the attacker’s top speed four unit moves, then the defender’s top speed four unit, then back to the attacker’s remaining unit, then the defender’s remaining unit.

The highlighted creature is the one currently taking action.  Each creature may move and/or attack or SKIP its action for the turn (pressing the space bar will also SKIP the creature.  To move a creature, place the running or flying man cursor over the location you wish to move the creature to and click.  To attack an enemy, place the cursor over an enemy (it will become a sword or an arrow if you are capable of attacking this turn) and click.  The direction of the sword defines from where you will attack the enemy.   After a creature attacks, the defending creature retaliates against the attacker (provided the defender is still alive).  A creature may only retaliate against one attack per turn.

The total damage a creature inflicts is the base damage of the creature multiplied by the number of creatures attacking.  This is modified by the difference between the attacking creature’s Attack skill and the defending creature’s Defense skill.  Each point of Attack over Defense gives an additional 10% extra damage (1 over 110%, 5 over 150%) to a maximum of three times the damage.  Each point of Defense over Attack reduces the damage taken by 5% (1 over gives 95%, 5 over 75%) to a minimum of 30%.  The final damage is subtracted from the defender’s hit points, resulting in the number of creatures killed.  Damage carries over from turn to turn.

As an example, if 3 Rocs (Attack 7 / Defense 7 / Damage 4-8 / Hit Points 40) were attacking 5 Pikemen (Attack 5 / Defense 9 / Damage 3-4 / Hit Points 15), the Rocs do an average of 6 points of damage each (on average) multiplied by 3 (the number of Rocs attacking) for a total of 18 points.  The Defense of the Pikemen, however, is two above the Attack of the Rocs (9 as compared to 7), so the damage is lessened 10% (2 difference in Defense favor) to a total of 16, which kills one Pikeman (Pikemen have 15 Hit Points), and damages a Pikeman for 1 point.

The Pikemen retaliate doing 3.5 points of damage each (on average) multiplied by 4 (the number of Pikemen retaliating) for a total of 14 points.  Because the Attack of the Pikemen (5) is two less than the Defense of the Rocs (7) , the Pikemen do 14 to the Rocs, which is lessened by 10%, and becomes 12– not enough to kill one Roc (40 Hit Points).

Other effects and spells can modify the Attack and Defense skill of the creatures, or how much damage the creatures do.

Creatures that have high morale are sometimes able to make a second move and/or attack immediately after their first.  Creatures that have poor morale are sometimes frozen, unable to perform any action for that round.

Creatures that receive good luck for an attack do double damage, and creatures that receive bad luck for an attack do half damage.


Siege Combat
Combat

Siege Combat

Siege combat is identical to field combat with one major exception– the defender is inside a castle.  To attack the defending units, the attacker needs to bypass the walls, either by knocking them down, by shooting over them with range attacks, or by flying over them with flying creatures.

The attacker has a special weapon to attack the castle– a catapult.  The catapult fires once per turn before the first attacking creature moves.  The catapult will damage a random section of the castle walls, and will eventually destroy the turrets.  When all wall segments and turrets have been destroyed, the catapult will destroy the main ballista.  If the attacking hero has the Ballistics skill, the catapult will be more accurate and can do more damage to the walls.  It may take multiple shots to breach a wall segment of the castle.  Until a wall segment is breached, ground creatures may not enter the castle.

The defender has quite a few special weapons during a siege.  Most important are the castle walls, which partially shield the defending creatures from range attacks, and keep all enemy ground units out of the castle.  The defender’s ground troops may exit the castle at any time through the drawbridge.

The defender is aided by the castle ballista which fires a shot at an enemy unit once per turn before the first defending unit moves.  The damage of the ballista is determined by the number of structures built in the town, and the level of the Mage Guild.  R-clicking on the ballista will give information on it.  The ballista will cease firing when there are no defenders behind the castle walls.  A defender’s castle may also be upgraded with two turrets that perform as the ballista in all respects, though each doing about half the damage as the ballista.

The defender’s castle may also have a moat, which stops ground movement and leaves any unit in the moat more vulnerable to attacks.  The defending castle may also have a Captain, which acts as a hero in the town, adding his skills to the defending creatures and casting any spells available at the town’s Mage Guild.


General's Options
Combat

General’s Options

Your hero has the following options:

Cast Spell:  This will open up the hero’s spellbook and display only the hero’s combat spells.  The number below each spell is the cost in spell points to cast the spell. Click on a spell to cast it, R-click on a spell for quick information on the spell.  Click on the upper right and left page corners to turn the pages of the book.  The bookmark on the lower right shows the hero’s remaining spell points, and the bookmark labeled EXIT allows you to leave the screen without casting a spell.  Pressing “C” on the keyboard will also open the spellbook.

Retreat:  This causes the hero to flee combat- he loses his army but retains his skills, experience, and artifacts.  It is better to save a hero you have invested time and money in rather than let him be defeated.  The hero disappears from the Adventure Window, but reappears for hire in your castles.

Surrender:  This option is similar to retreat, but can only be performed in combat against an opposing hero.  Surrender will allow you to keep your army by paying a ransom to the opposing hero based on the power of your army.  The hero again disappears from the Adventure Window and appears for hire in your castles, with his army intact.  The payment will be reduced by 20% per level of the Diplomacy secondary skill.

Exit:  This option returns you to the Combat Screen.

Heroes never die.  If you defeat a hero, you claim any artifacts that hero had (except the enemy hero’s spellbook).  The defeated hero goes back into the hero pool and can be recruited by anyone.


Combat Cursors
Combat

Combat Cursors

A variety of icons replace the standard cursor in combat:

Running Man:  Indicates that the location on the Combat Screen is a valid move for the active creature.

Flying Man:  Indicates that the location on the Combat Screen is a valid move for the active flying creature.

Sword:  Indicates that the active creature can move and attack the enemy creature from the direction indicated by the sword.

Arrow:  Indicates that the active creature has a clear shot at the enemy the cursor is over.  This symbol only appears for units with a range attack.

Broken Arrow:  Indicates that the active range strike creature will do half damage to the enemy the cursor is over- this penalty is negated by having the Archery secondary skill.   This cursor only appears on a creature behind castle walls.

Red “X” with Circle:  Indicates that the location on the Combat Screen is an invalid move for the active creature.

Question Mark:  Appears over any unit and shows the creature statistic window for that creature.

Helmet:  Opens the General’s Options Window.  If used over an enemy hero, it gives the statistics of the enemy hero.


Combat Options
Combat

Combat Options

The OPTS button brings up a window of Combat System Options.

Animation Speed:  Cycles between Normal, Fast, and Very Fast.

View Grid:  Displays the grid that determines exact creature and cursor locations.

Mini Information Window:  Gives information on your currently active stack, and on any stack the cursor is over– useful if the number of creatures in a stack is partially hidden.  This will show all spells affecting the creatures as well.

Shadow Mouse:  Shadows the hex the cursor is over, giving finer control over creature movement and spell aiming.

Shadow Grid:  Shadows any valid movement locations for the currently active units, and deepens the shadows for any enemy the active unit can attack this turn.

Auto Combat Spells:  Prevents the computer from casting spells for you when you use the AUTO feature.

The AUTO button will have the computer take over fighting the battle for you.  Remember that the computer does not necessarily fight battles the same way you do, but has the same desire to win.  The computer will cast spells when on AUTO combat.


Spell System

Spells, and a particular hero’s ability to cast them, are a major part of Heroes II.  Before you can cast any spell, your hero needs a spellbook and a Mage Guild to learn the spells from (he may need the Mage Guild to get a spellbook).  To learn spells above 2nd level, the hero must also possess the Wisdom skill.

Casting spells costs spell points– the cost of each spell is listed below the spell in your spellbook.  To cast a spell, click on the spell you wish to cast from the spellbook.  R-clicking gives quick information on the spell.  To turn the pages, click on the upper right and left corners of the book.  The EXIT bookmark will exit you from the spellbook.  The Horse and Sword bookmarks show you the Adventure and Combat spells you know, respectively.

Combat spells may only be cast in combat, and Adventure spells may only be cast from the Adventure Window.  You can determine how many spell points a hero has remaining by looking at the green bar to the right of the hero’s portrait in the Hero Locator Buttons, from the Hero Screen, or by the bookmark on the lower left of the spellbook. Spell points are regained by starting a turn in a castle with a Mage Guild, or slowly over time (at the rate of one per day).


Credits
Credits and Copyright Information

Credits

Designed and Directed:

Jon Van Caneghem

Programming and Design:

Phil Steinmeyer

Executive Producer:

Mark Caldwell

Producer:

Walt Hochbrueckner

Additional Design:

Paul Rattner

Debbie Van Caneghem

Additional Programming:

George Ruof

Todd Hendrix

Mark Caldwell

Writing:

Paul Rattner

Art Director:

Julia Ulano

Assistant Art Director:

Bonita Long-Hemsath

Artists:

Julie Bateman	Steve Jasper

Rebecca Christel	April Lee

Shelly Garcia	Lieu Pham

Sam Hasson	Phelan Sykes

Louis Henderson	Steve Wasaff

Tracy Iwata	Scott White

Musical Production:

Rob King

Music and Sound Design:

Rob King

Steve Baca

Town Themes Composed and Conducted by:

Paul Romero

Vocalists:

Grant Youngblood

Kareen Meshagan

Manual and Helpfile:

Bryan Farina

Rozita Tolouey

Bruce Shlickbernd

Scenarios:

Jon Van Caneghem	Bryan Farina

Debbie Van Caneghem	Eric Heffron

Clayton Retzer	Mark Palczynski

Christian Vanover	Walt Hochbrueckner

Paul Rattner	Bruce Shlickbernd

Benjamin Bent	Craig Konas

QA Manager:

Peter Ryu

QA:

David Botan	Kate McClelland

David Fernandez	Timothy Lang

Bill Nesemeier	Bryan Farina

Walter Johnson	Pavel Vesely

Frank Hoffmann

Packaging:

Scott McDaniel	Erik Biondo

Rozita Tolouey	AKA Studios

Eric Schumacher

Special Thanks to:

Scott McDaniel	Ted Chapman

Dean Frost	Deane Rettig


Legal Information
Credits and Copyright Information

Legal Information

Heroes of Might and Magic II

©1996 New World Computing

All Rights Reserved

First Edition

The enclosed manual and program are copyrighted.  All rights are reserved.  This manual may not be copied, photographed, reproduced, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of New World Computing.  Portions of the program accompanying this book may be copied, by the original purchaser only, as necessary for use on the computer for which it was purchased.

90-Day Limited Warranty

New World Computing warrants the original compact disc(s) on which this program is recorded to be free from defects in materials and worksmanship under normal use and service for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase.  If such a defect should occur within the 90-day period, you may return the compact disc(s) to New World Computing for a free replacement.  After 90 days, enclose $10.00 to cover costs  of media replacement and shipping charges.

This warranty is only effective if you have previously returned the Product Registration Card for this product or include a copy of your receipt of the product.

New World Computing makes no warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to this manual or with respect to the software described in this manual, its quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose.  New World Computing shall not be liable for loss or damage, direct or indirect (including but not limited to any interruption of service, loss of business and anticipatory profits, or consequential damages) resulting from the use or operation of this product (some states do not allow these exclusions, so they may not apply to you).


Heroes II Map Editor Introduction
Welcome to the Heroes of Might and Magic II Map Editor

Introduction

The Map Editor allows you to create or modify maps for Heroes II.  Designing maps is easier after you are familiar with the game, so it is suggested that you play a number of the pre-designed maps before trying to design your own.

The Map Editor is a separate program from Heroes II.  To load the editor from Windows, select the Editor option from you Start Bar under the Heroes tag in Program Files.  In DOS, run EDITOR2.EXE from the HEROES2 directory.


Editor Main Screen
Main Screen

After loading the Editor, you are given three options:

New Map:  This allows you to generate a new map.  You must decide what size map you are creating- Small 36x36, Medium 72x72, Large 108x108, and Extra-Large 144x144.

Load Map:  This allows you to load a previously saved map.  Select the map you wish to load and click OKAY to load it.

Quit:  This option closes the program and returns you to your operating system.


Editor Window
Editor Screen

Editor Window

The left side of the screen is the Editor Window.  All editing work is done in this window and all terrain starts as water.  Coordinates are given at the top and left of the screen, and the screen can be scrolled by moving the mouse to the edge of the screen.


Editor World Map
Editor Screen

World Map

Shows the terrain for the entire map, the pick rectangle corresponds to the visible area in the Editor Window.  You can move the visible area by clicking anywhere in the World Map- the pink rectangle will center on the point of your click.  You can move the pink rectangle by clicking inside the rectangle and dragging to the desired location in the World Map.


Editor Mode Button Descriptions
Editor Screen

Mode Buttons

These buttons are located beneath the World Map, and select the major functions of the Editor.  The Mode Buttons are: Terrain, Overlays, Cell Details, Roads and Streams, and Erase.

Terrain

The Terrain button allows you to create terrain for your map.  To place terrain, first select the type you wish to create from the choices below the Mode Buttons.  Then click the size of the brush you wish to use to “paint” the terrain with.  The brush choices are 1x1, 2x2, 4x4, or area.  The area brush is useful for creating large terrains quickly and is used by clicking on the map and dragging, which creates a rectangle.  Releasing the mouse button fills the area with the terrain selected.

Overlays

This button allows you to select which overlays to place on the map.  Overlays are objects, events, and terrain objects that lie on the map.  To select the type of overlay to place, click on the appropriate button.  Each terrain type has a button, and heroes, towns, treasures, castles, artifacts, and creatures have a button as well.  After selecting the Overlay group to place, the screen changes to the to a series of boxes each containing a different overlay of the type selected.  Clicking on one closes the window and returns you to the Editor Screen with the selected overlay as your mouse cursor.  Place the overlay on the map by clicking where you want to place it.

Cell Details

Heroes, towns, army camps, events, and other overlays can be edited.  The cursor will turn green over any overlay that can be edited when the Cell Detail button is depressed.  Heroes can be edited to start with specific units, experience, artifacts, skills, name, and portrait.  Towns can be edited to start with specific garrisons, pre-built structures, name, and captains.  Army camps can be set to have a specific number of creatures, but if you edit an army camp, the camp will never offer to join a hero.  Events can be edited with a text message describing the event, if (and how many) resources are given or taken away, and if (and which) artifact is given.

Roads and Streams

These two buttons activate the line drawing tool to create roads and streams.  Click the mouse where you want the road or stream to begin, then drag along the path you want it to follow.  The road or stream will be drawn automatically.

Erase

While the eraser is selected, the cursor will erase overlays.  You may select the size of the “brush” as in terrain above- 1x1, 2x2, 4x4, or area.


Editor Buttons
Editor Screen

Editor Buttons

The Editor Buttons handle files, viewing, and general editing.

Zoom

The Zoom button toggles between three levels of zoom in the Editor Window.  The pink rectangle in the World View automatically resizes to represent the change in viewing area.

Undo

The Undo button will undo the last change you made to your map.

New

The New Button brings up the New Map Dialog.  You must select the size of the new map.

Specs

The Specs buttons allows you to set up specific details about your map.

Scenario Victory and Loss Conditions:  If you want your scenario to have different victory or loss conditions, they can be set here.  Click on the arrow to select a new victory or loss condition.  If you want the computer players to be able to win by the special condition, check the appropriate box.  If you want to allow a Standard victory as well (all enemy castles taken and all enemy heroes defeated), then check the box.  If additional information is needed on the victory or loss condition (which castle or hero needs to be taken, how much time in the time limit, etc.), that is adjusted in the Victory/Loss Conditions Extra bar.

Map Name:  Enter the name of the map, this is the name that will appear in the Scenario Select Window in Heroes II.

Map Description:  A five line description of your scenario which will be visible from the Scenario Select Window.

Difficulty:  Your decision on the map’s difficulty.  If the human player starts with a disadvantageous position, then the difficulty is usually raised to reflect this.

Players:  Assigns which colors can by played by human or computer players.  Click on the colored square to toggle the assignment between Human only, Computer only, or Human or Computer.

Start Hero in Castle:  Determines if a random hero begins the game at each player’s main castle.  If the option is clicked off, then only heroes placed in the Editor begin the game on the map.

Rumors:  Enter in rumors that will be displayed randomly in the Tavern during play.  These can be hints about the map, funny tidbits, or anything else you want to have.

Events:  Allows for timed events to occur in a scenario.  Enter the message of the event, and assign if any resources are given or taken away.  Then determine when the event occurs, how often the event reoccurs (if at all), which colors get the event, and if computer players get the event.

Disk Options

The Disk Options button brings up a menu of file options.

New:  Opens a new map.  All work done on the current map will be lost if you do not save.  You must select the size of the new map.

Load:  Loads a previously saved map.

Save:  Saves the current map to your HEROES2\MAPS directory.

Quit:  Exits the Editor and returns to your operating system.

System Options

The System Options button allows you to alter the way things look in the Editor Window.

Animations:  If on, then the overlays will animate (the windmill blades will turn, for example).  This option defaults to off.

Cycling:  If on, then the pixels that cycle on terrains and overlays will cycle (lava and water, for example).  This option defaults to off.

Grids:  If on, any overlay you are placing has a grid showing the shadow squares (black), the impassable squares (red), the passable squares (green), and the active squares (orange).

Cursor:  Toggles between black and white or color mouse cursors.


Hints and Tips
Editor

Hints and Tips

Designing a good map can be a lot of work, but there are a few simple tricks that can aid you in creating a map.  Being organized is the first step.  The fastest way to design a map is to break the process down into steps, and complete each step before going on to the next.  This ensures a quality, balanced map.

Step 1:  Sketch

Have some idea of what the map will look like before you get started.  Draw a rough sketch on paper if you have to, but knowing the look of the map before you start saves a lot of time in the Editor.  You might want to indicate where the starting castles and neutral towns are on the sketch, and anything else you think might be important (travel gates, Dragon City, etc.)

Step 2:  Terrain

Place all the terrain down on the map.  Ignore overlays until you have the terrain completely finished.  This step is easy if you have done a sketch.

Step 3:  Overlays

Most of the map is covered in overlays, so this step should be broken down even further.  Don’t place purely “beauty” objects in this step, that comes later.  Everything placed in this step should have a purpose.  Overlays can be placed on top of each other, but be careful, because each overlay will be drawn (even if you don’t see them) so if you place 500 trees down right on top of each other, the game will slow down when you play the map.  Also, placing the overlays from the upper left of the map to the lower right of the map is the easiest because of the way the Editor places them.

Starting  Castles:  Place the starting castles down first.  Knowing where the players begin on the map helps you in placing the rest of the overlays.

Mountains and Trees:  Place the mountains and trees to block off areas, to restrict passage, to create thoroughfares, or for purely aesthetic reasons.

Roads and Streams:  Place the roads where you want the heroes to move (remember that roads allow a hero to move quickly over rough terrain).  The Waterwheel object can be placed in this stage because it fits in well with the streams.

Mines:  Place mines (and the sawmill and alchemist) on the map.  Remember that every castle needs wood and ore to grow, so make sure these resources are available near each starting castle.  Remember that the map can be played on any difficulty level, so don’t make the mines very difficult to get to.

Special locations:  Place the Dragon City and the Lost City (if you are using them), the lighthouse, travel gates, obelisks, and mansions (Xanadu) on the map.

Terrain locations:  Each terrain has a set of overlays that are designed to go with that terrain (pyramids in the desert, snow covered buildings in the snow, bottles in the water, etc.), place these to add dimension to the map.

General objects:  These objects can be found anywhere and help all players.  Gazebos, foundries, observatories, witch’s huts, ancient trees, leprechauns, spell shrines, wells, and many more fit into this category.

Treasures:  Place resources, treasure chests, campfires,  and artifacts on the map.

Creatures:  Now you guard the things you have placed with creatures.  Place creatures adjacent to the object or location you wish to guard.  Remember that creatures only have a one space zone of control, so make sure that sneaky heroes cannot bypass the creatures to get to an artifact or similar treasure.  Creatures also grow over time, so if you put too powerful a monster near a player, it is possible that  the player will never be able to defeat the monster.

Step 4:  Editing

In this step you edit any overlays which can be edited.  Towns, heroes, bottles, signs, and anything else you have placed and wish to edit.  Events are placed and edited in this step.  Remember that you can punish and reward players with events- give them gold and/or resources, give them an artifact (even a cursed artifact), or take away gold and/or resources with events.   Events are invisible on the Adventure Window while playing Heroes II.  Signs and bottles can be placed and edited in this step as well.

Step 5:  Beautify

This step is reserved for making the map look pretty.  Many overlays are available to beautify a map, hedges, flowers, lakes, etc.  Place these to round out the map or to create scenic effects.    Some of these overlays restrict passage, so be careful when placing them near passages and locations.

Step 6:  Testing

Make sure that the map plays the way you want it too.  In this step you make sure that impassable areas are impassable, that events function the way you designed, and that the map is balanced and fun.  After testing you go back and change anything that was wrong and retest.

These six steps will aid you in generating quality maps.  You do not need to follow these steps to create a beautiful, quality map.  These steps were the steps used by the scenario designers at New World Computing to create the final maps for Heroes of Might and Magic II, they should work equally well for you.


Active Objects

Active objects are icons that will trigger some kind of event or interaction with the moving hero.  To aid you in creating maps (or simply for the curious), the following list matches the icon used in the map editor with a brief description.  Terrain that blocks movement or is simply used for beautification is not listed here.

Abandoned Mine

A gold mine guarded by ghosts.  If your hero defeats the ghosts, you gain control of a gold mine that adds 1000 gold every day as long as you control it.

Alchemist Lab

Produces one unit of mercury for the owner every day.

Ancient Lamp

You can buy genies to join your army.  The amount of genies is randomly set at the start of game.  The lamp disappears after all the genies are bought.

Archer’s House

Archers offer to join your hero’s army.

Artesian Spring

Sets spell points to double the hero’s normal maximum.  Once per week per hero.

Artifacts

A specific artifact can be placed.  The conditions for acquiring the artifact (guards, costs, etc.) are determined randomly at the start of the game and are based on the relative strength of the artifact.

Barbarian Castle

Select the appropriate color to assign the castle to a faction (gray is neutral).

Barbarian Hero

Factions can be given specific heroes to begin the game with.  Choose the appropriate faction color.

Barbarian Town

Select the appropriate color to assign the town to a faction (gray is neutral).

Boat

A standard boat that any hero can use.

Bottle

This can be used as a sign post (fill in your own text), or draw from the general witticism pool.

Buoy

Adds one to your army’s morale for it’s next battle only.

Campfire

The first hero to visit gets a small amount of gold and a random resource.

Cave

Centaurs will offer to join your hero’s army.

City of the Dead

Your hero has the option of searching the city.  Nothing happens if you don’t.  If you do, you must combat 10 vampire lords, 40 zombies, and 5 power liches.  If you win, the site becomes a permanent power lich purchase point open to any hero.  Five are available initially, and then two per week after that.

Crystal Mine

Produces one unit of crystal for the owner every day.

Daemon Cave

Hero’s choice of fighting the cave demon or his servants.  Random reward (experience, gold, or artifact) if your hero defeats the demon (random chance) or death if your hero loses.  Fighting the servants (Minotaurs) is a standard combat with 2500 experience points for victory .

Derelict ship

Skeletons guard this site.

Desert Tent

You can buy nomads here.

Dragon City

If your hero defeats the five dragons guarding the city, you can purchase dragons here as if it were a building in your castle.

Dwarf Cabin

Dwarves offer to join your hero’s army.

Event

A message that can be set to appear under a variety of conditions.  You can also add resources to a faction when the event is triggered.

Excavation

Skeletons offer to join your hero’s army.

Faerie Ring

Adds one to your hero’s luck for the next battle only.

Flotsam

Small amount of wood, maybe some gold, maybe nothing.  First hero to visit only.

Fort

Adds one to your hero’s defense skill.

Foundry

Upgrades any pikemen, swordsmen, or golems in your hero’s army.

Fountain

Adds one to your hero’s luck for the next battle only.

Gazebo

Adds 1000 experience points to your hero, once per game per hero.

Gem Mine

Produces one unit of gems every day for the owner.

Goblin Hut

Goblins offer to join your hero’s army.

Gold Mine

Produces 1000 gold every day for the owner.

Graveyard

Defeat the zombie guards and you may find gold.  Your army’s morale is lowered for its next battle if it doesn’t find gold (random).

Habitat

Halflings offer to join your hero’s army.

Hill Fort

Upgrades any orcs, ogres, or dwarves in your hero’s army.

Idol

Adds one to your hero’s luck

Knight Castle

Select the appropriate color to assign the castle to a faction (gray is neutral).

Knight Hero

Factions can be given specific heroes to begin the game with.  Choose the appropriate faction color.

Knight Town

Select the appropriate color to assign the town to a faction (gray is neutral).

Lean-To

Small amount of a random resource, or nothing.  First hero to visit the site only.

Leprechaun

Your hero’s choice of 500 gold or a five of a random resource.  First hero to visit only.

Lighthouse

Adds a bonus to all your heroes’ sea movement as long as you control the lighthouse.

Magellan’s Maps

Reveals all sea spaces on the world map if your hero pays 1000 gold.

Magic Well

Restores your hero’s spell points to max

Mercenary Camp

Adds one to your hero’s attack skill.

Monsters

Some of the monsters that can be added to the map.

Necromancer Castle

Select the appropriate color to assign the castle to a faction (gray is neutral).

Necromancer Hero

Factions can be given specific heroes to begin the game with.  Choose the appropriate faction color.

Necromancer Town

Select the appropriate color to assign the town to a faction (gray is neutral).

Oasis

Gives your army plus one morale for their next battle and a movement bonus for the current turn only.

Obelisk

Adds one piece to the ultimate artifact puzzle.  When all obelisks are visited, the entire puzzle is revealed.

Observation Tower

Reveals all squares within 20 spaces.

Oracle

This gives the visiting hero information on all your opponents similar to the Thieves’ Guild.

Ore Mine

Produces two units of ore every day for the owner.

Peasant Hut

Peasants offer to join your hero’s army.

Pyramid

Option to fight killer mummies and vampire lords.  Possible random level 5 spell if your army is victorious (spell set at start of game).

Random Artifact

There are three levels of artifacts: weak artifacts often found in treasure chests (called treasure artifacts); minor artifacts; and major artifacts.  Fees, guards, and requirements are determined randomly and set at the start of the game.  The stronger the artifact level, the tougher the obstacle will be when it appears.

Random Castle

The castle type will be set at the start of the game, but will vary from game to game.  Select the appropriate faction color, gray is neutral (unowned).

Random Monster

There are five different options for random monsters.  Monster 1 gives a random group of easy, low level monsters, Monster 2 chooses a harder set, Monster 3 is harder still, and Monster 4  the hardest.  The unnumbered random monster has a very broad range of easy to difficult and is less precise.

Random Resource

A small amount of a random resource available to the first hero.

Random Hero

Choose the appropriate faction color.  The hero type will be determined at the start of the game.

Random Town

The town type will be set at the start of the game, but will vary from game to game.  Select the appropriate faction color, gray is neutral (unowned).

Resources

These add a small amount of the specified resource.

Ruins

Medusas will join your army for a fee.

Sawmill

Produces two units of wood every day for its owner.

Shipwreck Survivor

Gives your hero a random artifact.  First to visit the site only.

Shipwreck

Defeat the ghost guards and you may find gold.  Your army’s morale is lowered for its next battle if it defeats the ghosts and doesn’t find gold (random).

Shrine of the First Circle

Gives each hero that visits a random first level spell.  The spell is set at the start of the game.

Shrine of the Second Circle

Gives each hero that visits a random second level spell.  The spell is set at the start of the game.

Shrine of the Third Circle

Gives each hero that visits a random third level spell.  The spell is set at the start of the game.

Sign

This is simply a signpost that you can add text to.

Skeleton

Fight skeletons or find a random artifact.

Sorceress Castle

Select the appropriate color to assign the castle to a faction (gray is neutral).

Sorceress Hero

Factions can be given specific heroes to begin the game with.  Choose the appropriate faction color.

Sorceress Town

Select the appropriate color to assign the town to a faction (gray is neutral).

Sphinx

A riddle event.

Standing Stones

Adds one to your hero’s power.

Stone Liths

Heroes entering these will teleport to another Stone Lith of the same type.  Destination is random if there are more than two of a given type.  There are three different icons that denote the different types.  Heroes will not teleport to a different type than the one entered.

Sulfur Mine

Produces one unit of sulfur every day for its owner.

Temple

Your hero’s army gains one to its morale for its next battle.

Trading Post

Resources can be exchanged here once per week.

Travel Gate

See Stone Liths.

Treasure Chest

Contains gold or possibly an artifact.  Contents set at the start of the game.  Disappears after the first visit.

Tree City

Sprites will join your army for a fee.

Tree House

Sprites offer to join your army.

Tree of Knowledge

Your hero can get a random benefit once per game: plus one level, or plus one level for a cost of 2000 gold, or plus one level for a cost of 10 gems.  The effects are set at the start of the game.

Troll Bridge

Defeat the trolls guarding the bridge and you can recruit trolls here once per week.

Wagon Camp

Rogues can be purchased here.

Wagon

The first hero here can find a small amount of a random resource, possibly an artifact, or nothing.  All others will find nothing.

Warlock Castle

Select the appropriate color to assign the castle to a faction (gray is neutral).

Warlock Hero

Factions can be given specific heroes to begin the game with.  Choose the appropriate faction color.

Warlock Town

Select the appropriate color to assign the town to a faction (gray is neutral).

Watch Tower

Orcs offer to join your army.

Watering Hole

Gives your army plus one morale for their next battle and a small movement bonus for the current turn only.

Waterwheel

Gives the first hero to visit that week 1000 gold.  Renews each week.

Whirlpool

Teleports your ship to another whirlpool.  Some of your weakest troop type may be lost overboard.

Windmill

Two random resources per week to the first hero to visit that week.

Witch Doctor’s Hut

Adds one to your hero’s knowledge.

Witch’s Hut

The witch will teach your hero a random secondary skill.  The skill is set at the start of the game.

Wizard Castle

Select the appropriate color to assign the castle to a faction (gray is neutral).

Wizard Hero

Factions can be given specific heroes to begin the game with.  Choose the appropriate faction color.

Wizard Town

Select the appropriate color to assign the town to a faction (gray is neutral).

Xanadu

Adds one to all four of your hero’s statistics if the hero’s experience and/or  Diplomacy are high enough.


Troubleshooting

Memory (DOS)

If you are having trouble running Heroes of Might and Magic II:  The Succession Wars and you are running EMM386 or memmaker  try:

1. Typing EMM386 OFF at your command prompt

      If EMM386 reports Inactive then Heroes should run properly.

      Note: You will need to type EMM386 OFF every time you reboot your computer.

2. Try REMing out EMM386 in your CONFIG.SYS.  Type the following at your command prompt and hit ENTER.

         EDIT C:\CONFIG.SYS   (This will edit your system configuration)

         find the line:   DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE   or the like and add to the front of the line REM

            REM DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE

         Go to the File Menu and Select Exit and answer YES to save the changes.  If you need to re-install EMM386 for any reason you can remove the REM at the front of the line.  You will need to re-boot your computer for this change to take effect.

Hard Drive Space

If the install program says you do not have enough free space to Install Heroes of Might and Magic II:  The Succession Wars.

   1. If you are running DoubleSpace, DriveSpace, Stacker or any kind of disk compression:

a. DOS reports what the disk compressor tells it to report and not the TRUE value of Disk Space available. Your must free up space to install Properly. Failure to ensure enough REAL space is available will result in Heroes not functioning properly.

   2. If you are running from Windows or Windows 95:

         a. Windows tends to save the files even after they have been deleted or moved to the Recycle Bin.

b. Norton Utilities also will report more Disk Space then is available due to the Recycle Bin and protecting deleted files.

c. Even though DOS reports you have enough free Disk Space you can only use whatever space if really available.

      Fix:

         If you are running Windows 95 and Norton Utilities for Windows 95 you must select the Recycle Bin by clicking with the Right Mouse Button, then selecting Empty Norton Protected Files.  If you are using another version of a Utility that saves deleted files then you must discard those files as well.

Display and Mouse (Windows 95)

If you experience problems with your display or mouse, your system my have a conflict with the drivers installed by Direct X 3.  Consult your graphics card or mouse manufacturer for the latest drivers.

Some mouse problems can be fixed by changing the mouse cursor to Black and White or to Color (under System Options, Mouse Cursor).  Certain systems run better with Black and White cursors, others with Color cursors.

If your video is not displaying quickly enough, switch your video to Interlaced (System Options, Video).  Interlacing lowers the quality of the video slightly to speed performance.

CD Stereo

Older CD-ROMS can have problems running CD Stereo in Heroes II.  To correct this problem, simply change the music type setting in Heroes II to MIDI.

In Windows 95:  Start a game of Heroes II, open the System Options menu, and change the music type to MIDI.

In DOS:  Type Install from your Heroes2 directory, and change the music type to MIDI (select 1).

Network

In network play, IPX is the preferred protocol in all Win 95 to Win 95 games.  NetBIOS should be used in DOS to DOS and DOS to Win 95 network games.


Customer Support

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