User Guide

16
The Field is the arena where the hero, the enemy, and any summoned creatures are situated. This is
where all combat takes place.
Creatures that die on the battlefield are sent to the Graveyard. Creatures may rise from the dead,
either by special spells or their own abilities; they may then return to the field or be summoned again
from the hand. Creatures are located in the graveyard in the order they enter, i.e. recent arrivals are at
the top, while the “older” ones are pushed down toward the bottom. There are also spells which can
permanently remove creatures from the graveyard and send them into the “out of the game” field.
The Out of the Game field is where dismissed spells and removed creatures go. All objects in this field
remain unavailable until the end of the combat.
You can’t see the spells in your enemy’s hand; you can only see the number of spells, the amount of
ether, the number of ether channels, and the number of creatures in his graveyard. The same information
about you is available to the other players in a multiplayer game.
Beginning of combat
Additional combat conditions occur randomly that apply to both sides. For instance, more ether quanta
may be required to summon a creature, or every few turns each side will receive an additional spell.
These conditions are connected to positions of the stars in the sky; you'll be informed in advance while
playing on the Territory map. These astronomical events may last for several days, affecting any combat
occurring during that time.
At the beginning of combat, both sides receive 5 spells in their hand. The defender gets an additional
spell on his first turn. After that, spells come in the usual manner before each side’s attack phase.
Your initial attack phase – summoning creatures
The attack phase starts with the arrival of randomly selected spells from the Book. If the hero possesses
a special ability or Concentration skill, he will get an additional spell every few turns. A certain amount
of ether quanta arrives through ether channels together with the spells. Whether or not you can cast a
given spell in your hand depends on the number of ether quanta you possess; each spell requires a
different amount of ether quanta. One additional limitation: you cannot summon more than 10
creatures to the field, even if you have enough ether. Further summoning spells in your hand
will be grayed out. Some races have spells that can increase the ether quanta they receive in a combat
round.
You can cast any spell in your hand in any order until you use up all your ether. If there is no ether left,
you will have to end your attack phase. All new creatures will be placed on the starting line behind your
hero. Most creatures will not be ready to act immediately once summoned and must rest until the end of
that attack phase. There are a few creatures that do not need initial rest and can be given orders
immediately.
When casting certain spells, you don't have to specify a target; these spells are pre-designed for specific
targets only, like your own or enemy hero or all summoned creatures on one or both sides. Other spells
require that you choose the target. Please note that many spells including “strength” and “hunger” can
affect both your own and enemy creatures, so be careful about choosing a target for them –
strengthening an enemy creature doesn’t exactly help your cause!
When the attack phase begins, you can order your creatures to attack the enemy spellcaster. Not all
creatures are capable of attacking. Bodyguard creatures (walls) and some others can’t attack enemies.
Furthermore, your creatures can’t attack enemy creatures; you can only affect them by casting spells.
Creatures will fight one another only when being used to block an attack on the spellcaster (see