Master of Magic

I don't remember it being this Nintendo Hard, even on Easy.

You sure we're thinking of the same game? How did you set up the parameters? I can take on 4 Easy opponents with no major trouble.

Not I. I think I'm playing it a little too much like Civ, as if there's a time limit.

Master Of Magic really depends on how you play, and your luck in what you start near/spells that you can research. You start near mithril, play High Men, and get Flight, your flying paladins will mop the floor with everyone once you get them. That's just one example. Stack enough buffs on some Halfling slingers, you're also on easy street.

My personal favorite is Black Channeled War Trolls. Not as powerful, but a fun way to get by the drawback of Black Channels (the troll regeneration offsets the lack of traditional healing on an undead unit). Makes you feel like a real necromancer when your army of undead trolls charges in.

JAF: if you notice yourself getting bumrushed by monsters or raiders a lot, consider playing on a smaller land mass when you fire up a new game. Not only will it allow you some development time, it'll also open up ship to ship / ship to air battles. On such maps I play lizardmen, go Alchemy and Warlord, and put all my spellboks in Chaos, or perhaps Sorcery so that my heroes don't have to be carted around in a ship.

I'll manage. I just need to get into the mindset.

So, what configurations does everyone like? I think my personal favorite is All White Warlord Halflings. You get slingers quick, you get all kinds of unit buff spells, and you can max out every such unit as a champion once you learn Crusade. That, plus your economy goes through the roof between the buff enchantments and halfling productivity.

I like to go random.

I bought this game a couple of weeks ago on Good Old Games, and I've been playing it a lot, and I still don't understand how the game decides what spells you get. It seems like apart from the spells that everyone gets, it gives you access to a certain number of spells from each school based on how many ranks your wizard has in that school, but apart from the ones you start with, it's completely random which spells you get? And you can learn new spells from conquering monster lairs and enemy fortresses, but only spells you would have been able to learn anyway?

And not only that, but when you finish researching a new spell, the one that replaces it as one of your research options is also completely random, except that the Spell of Mastery always comes last?

edited 29th Apr '11 4:14:09 PM by SuperDimensionman

My understanding of how it works is as follows: when you create your character, and pick your spell books, you get a certain number of spells of each rarity for each color, based on the number of books. More books, more spells and more rare spells. These are random, yes; however, if you have enough books of a given color, you get to pick which spells you specifically are guaranteed to have. Usually this means picking a bunch of Common spells, mind.

When you find a spell in a dungeon, it can be *any* of the spells you'd be eligible to learn based on your available colors, not just ones available in your current spellbooks. So, if your playing White and the game didn't roll you as having the Crusade spell available, you could still find it in a dungeon.

Finding spellbooks recalculates your total number of "learnable" spells, adding new spells to your research list, presuming you don't already have access to all the spells of a certain color.

As for which ten spells are available to research at any time? Its not *totally* random, you generally have to know a bunch of Common spells before you'll get the chance to learn Rare spells. Beyond that, its random, yes.

There's some relationship between the spellbooks you have, the rarity of a spell, and how available it will be to you.

You can always find additional books in nodes, which have more spells.

I see. Thanks; there's more to it than I had thought. Is there any randomness in how many spells of a particular level you'll get, or will a character with n Life spellbooks always be able to learn the same number of Common spells, the same number of Uncommon spells, the same number of Rare spells and the same number of Very Rare spells as any other character with n Life spellbooks?

AFAIK, yep. The number of each type is fixed by your spellbook count. You can still add to that by trading or finding spells, though.

Buy the Prima Guide, which covers the final 1.3 version. It's an awesome read, even if you don't have the game.

edited 30th Apr '11 4:12:17 PM by JAF1970

Wait a Prima Guide which is actually useful and/or interesting? Ok, It wouldn't be the first, but it is still pretty rare

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Magic-Official-Strategy-Secrets/dp/1559587229/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1304265045&sr=8-1

It was written by Alan Emrich. What's he done? Master Of Orion and Cosmic Encounter, for starters.

As it turns out, the thing that I was asking about is covered in the manual's appendices. I suspect that some things changed in patches, but it gives me the general idea.

Huh. Are the undiscovered spells in your spellbook in the Apprentice screen written in an actual alternate alphabet? That's pretty cool.

Yep. And the game's original manual had the key. The Prima Guide does too.

It's a cipher, it's still English, but in a fantasy font.

Right, that's what I meant; it's English written in an alternate alphabet.

I figured that out without a guide. I even deciphered it (mostly) without waiting for more than two or three spells to be discovered.