Has anyone else been playing this game? Wow is all i have to say. Awesome game. I have had it since it came out last year, but just recently started playing it again....17 different nations (many of which has different themes), each nation has different units. There are more than 1,000 different units (national units, plus, the independent units in indy provinces you can use once you take over provinces). There are hundreds of spells (literally, like over 500). Over 300 magical items.
You create your own Pretender (a God who is trying to be the one true God of the world). You take your fight of faith to the other Pretenders, using magic, steel, and good 'ole battle tactics and grand strategy. This is a turn-based game, and it is HUGE.
There are 8 paths of magic (fire, water, earth, air, nature, death, astral, and blood). Each path gives your mage(s) inherant powers (indirect spells), like, for example: mages that has any skill in death magic, are able to lead 20 more undead troops. Likewise, a mage that has skill in water magic is able to breathe underwater and is able to lead 5 more magical beings. Blood magic is one of the most powerful paths in the game, BUT, you have to sacrifice Blood Slaves. Blood Slaves are virgins whose blood is pure, and when sacrificed, gives your mages more power in spell casting. Also, Blood Slaves must be captured, and going on a blood hunt really upsets the population.
Still, in magic, there are 7 Schools:
1. Conjuration - Summon powers and beings from other worlds
(spell examples: Summon Horned Serpents; Revive Bane; Contact Draconians)
2. Alteration - Changes in the physical world
(spell examples: Resist Lightening; Body Ethereal; Arouse Hunger; Army of Gold)
3. Evocation - Projections of arcane power
(spell examples: Lightening Bolt; Holy Pyre; Stellar Cascades; Flames from the Sky)
4. Construction - Make magical items and constructs
(spell examples: Legions of Steel; Iron Dragon; plus the many magical items available)
5. Enchantment - Gratn magical properties to man, items or the land
(spell examples: Raise Dead; Poison Ward; The Eyes of God; Pale Riders; Dome of Flaming Death)
6. Thaumaturgy - Manipulation of the arcana, minds and magical processes
(spell examples: Soul Slay; Burden of Time; Undead Mastery)
7. Blood Magic - All spells that use Blood Magic
(spell examples: Bind Spine Devil; Agony; Cross Breeding; Father Illearth; Infernal Crusade)
Another thing, your commanders, depending on how many enemy troops they kill, and how long they themselves survive, can become "Heroes". Heroes are the top 10 commanders in the game, and gain heroic abilities. They may have quicker speed, higher attack values, ect.
The magical items all have thier uses in some way or another.
This is the kind of game that no matter what strategy you use, or, whatever strategy you come up against, there is always a counter somewhere, somehow.
The game i am playing now, is on a huge 400+ provinces map, that someone made from the Forgotten Realms world.
There is also a map of Europe, Middle Earth, the World, and various other maps available for download.
This is possibly THE best turn-based strat game that has come out.....I know it is my absolute favorite at least.
You should check it out....It is a PC game