Lords of Magic
Encyclopedia
Lords of Magic is a turn-based strategy
PC
game designed for Windows 95/98 by Sierra Entertainment
. The game, which was distributed on CDs, includes a single-player mode and limited multiplayer features on LAN and the Internet as well. The game was intended to combine elements of Heroes of Might and Magic II and Lords of the Realm II
.
, loosely inspired by the works of Tolkien, as well as Dungeons and Dragons. The world is filled with wandering monsters and fixed buildings filled with monsters. Lords of Magic is notably different from other strategy games in that it has only one map, with each faith starting at a different location. This led to a somewhat repetitive nature, counteracted somewhat by a supplied map editor.
Lords are the avatar character used by the player. They are like champions, but colored differently and have higher stats. When a lord dies, the faith is removed from play, unless the player has obtained an "heir". Heirs are obtained by befriending another faith, then conquering their great temple from a marauding party, in which case the faith becomes yours and their lord in turn becomes the heir.
The Special Edition also contains the Legends of Urak quest pack. It's a set of five individual quests that revolve around stories unrelated to the main plot of the game.
Each faction represents their element with their own set of units, heroes and spells. Even though both Air and Earth appear to be on the side of good and both have good diplomatic relations with order and water they hate each other as much as they hate the death faction. The Heroes of the game consist of three different types which offer unique game play and tactics. They are Warrior, Thief and Mage. The Warrior acts as a Tank and leads armies into battle. The thief works best alone being able to steal money and sabotage, the thief can even kidnap other heroes ransoming them for money and artifacts. The Mage is very weak with low hit points, but can use spells which can change the entire battle in your favor, summoning great monsters or raining down fire and lightning from behind the lines. There are over 160 different spells and they are different for each faction. These spells are divided into four types - "offensive", "defensive", "overland" and "general knowledge". There are over 90 different artifacts as well to discover.
Life
Death
Order
Chaos
Air
Earth
Fire
Water
but involves many original battles and adventures Beowulf partakes in. The Fire quest revolves around a fire sorceress named Crispin who seeks out and slays a colossal ice drake in order to return the flow of lava to the fire capital. The Death adventure focuses on the necromancer's ability to raise the dead and employ them in battle. The adventure ends either by defeating a lich
in battle and retrieving his staff for the death lord, or by keeping the staff, taking control of the death capitol and defeating the eldren queen. The first Order adventure is loosely based on the legends of Merlin
and King Arthur
and ends with the retrieval of the Holy Grail
and death of Mordred
. The second Order adventure is only activated by clicking in the center of the circle of life in the quests menu and has a unique lord named Sigfried who transforms as the game progresses. He saves the valkyrie
Brunhilde and defeats Attila the Hun
.
gave the game a rating of 6.3 out of ten. The special edition was met with much better reception, with Gamespot giving it a 7.0 and Strategy Gaming Online a 7.8.
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
game designed for Windows 95/98 by Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
. The game, which was distributed on CDs, includes a single-player mode and limited multiplayer features on LAN and the Internet as well. The game was intended to combine elements of Heroes of Might and Magic II and Lords of the Realm II
Lords of the Realm II
Lords of the Realm II is a computer game published by Sierra Entertainment and developed by Impressions Games. It was first released for the PC on October 31, 1996, and is the second game in the Lords of the Realm series....
.
Setting
The game takes place in the land of Urak. The people of this world worship one of eight religions. Each religion has an opposite in the circle of life and the people of those faiths are bitter enemies. The atmosphere of the game is high fantasyHigh fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
, loosely inspired by the works of Tolkien, as well as Dungeons and Dragons. The world is filled with wandering monsters and fixed buildings filled with monsters. Lords of Magic is notably different from other strategy games in that it has only one map, with each faith starting at a different location. This led to a somewhat repetitive nature, counteracted somewhat by a supplied map editor.
Plot and characters
Balkoth, the lord of Death, has embarked on a campaign to destroy all other faiths in honor of the dark god Golgoth. The other lords scramble to expand their ranks to defend themselves against this dark threat but also to once and for all destroy their life long nemesis.Lords are the avatar character used by the player. They are like champions, but colored differently and have higher stats. When a lord dies, the faith is removed from play, unless the player has obtained an "heir". Heirs are obtained by befriending another faith, then conquering their great temple from a marauding party, in which case the faith becomes yours and their lord in turn becomes the heir.
The Special Edition also contains the Legends of Urak quest pack. It's a set of five individual quests that revolve around stories unrelated to the main plot of the game.
Factions and Heroes
There are eight different factions: life, death, order, chaos, air, earth, fire, water.Each faction represents their element with their own set of units, heroes and spells. Even though both Air and Earth appear to be on the side of good and both have good diplomatic relations with order and water they hate each other as much as they hate the death faction. The Heroes of the game consist of three different types which offer unique game play and tactics. They are Warrior, Thief and Mage. The Warrior acts as a Tank and leads armies into battle. The thief works best alone being able to steal money and sabotage, the thief can even kidnap other heroes ransoming them for money and artifacts. The Mage is very weak with low hit points, but can use spells which can change the entire battle in your favor, summoning great monsters or raining down fire and lightning from behind the lines. There are over 160 different spells and they are different for each faction. These spells are divided into four types - "offensive", "defensive", "overland" and "general knowledge". There are over 90 different artifacts as well to discover.
Life
| Barracks | Thieves Guild | Mage Tower | Great Temple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elven Warrior(Hero) | Elven Thief(Hero) | Enchantress(Hero) | Pegasus |
| Elven Staffmen | Elven Archers | Dryad | Phoenix |
| Elven Riders | Brownie | Unicorn | |
| Lightgalley |
Death
| Barracks | Thieves Guild | Mage Tower | Great Temple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Warrior(Hero) | Assassin(Hero) | Necromancer(Hero) | Vampire |
| Dark Halberdiers | Dark Javelins | Skeletons | Lich |
| Dark Horsemen | Bat | Death Shade | |
| Death Galley |
Order
| Barracks | Thieves Guild | Mage Tower | Great Temple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paladin(Hero) | Ranger(Hero) | Wizard(Hero) | Warrior Spirit |
| Footmen | Crossbowmen | White Stag | Sir Lancelot |
| Knights | Hound | Gargoyle | |
| Warship |
Chaos
| Barracks | Thieves Guild | Mage Tower | Great Temple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beast Rider(Hero) | Huntress(Hero) | Shaman(Hero) | Cyclops |
| Berserkers | Stick Throwers | Goblins | Hydra |
| Raiders | Wild Cat | Ogre | |
| Longboat |
Air
| Barracks | Thieves Guild | Mage Tower | Great Temple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storm Warrior(Hero) | Faerie Thief(Hero) | Storm Sorcerer(Hero) | Thunder Drake |
| Eagles | Faerie Slingers | Will O'Wisp | Ice Drake |
| Windriders | Dragonfly | Air Elemental | |
| Windjammer |
Earth
| Barracks | Thieves Guild | Mage Tower | Great Temple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dwarven Warrior(Hero) | Burglar(Hero) | Magician(Hero) | Stone Giant |
| Dwarf Infantry | Axe Throwers | Shambler | Great Wyrm |
| Riders | Mite | Golem | |
| Barge |
Fire
| Barracks | Thieves Guild | Mage Tower | Great Temple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Warrior(Hero) | Dwarven Thief(Hero) | Fire Sorceress(Hero) | Dragon |
| Flame Berserkers | Rockhurlers | Fire Elemental | Fafnir |
| Flame Riders | Imp | Demon | |
| Ferry |
Water
| Barracks | Thieves Guild | Mage Tower | Great Temple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Warrior(Hero) | Amazon Thief(Hero) | Priestess(Hero) | Serpent |
| Lizardmen | Slingers | Water Elemental | Giant Arachnids |
| Heavy Cavalry | Seagulls | Kraken | |
| Corsair |
Expansion
The content in the Legends of Urak expansion (included in the "Special Edition" of the game) revolves around various fables and stories. Earth, Fire, and Death each have a unique quest while Order has two quests. The Earth quest is based on the epic poem BeowulfBeowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
but involves many original battles and adventures Beowulf partakes in. The Fire quest revolves around a fire sorceress named Crispin who seeks out and slays a colossal ice drake in order to return the flow of lava to the fire capital. The Death adventure focuses on the necromancer's ability to raise the dead and employ them in battle. The adventure ends either by defeating a lich
Lich
In modern fantasy fiction, a lich is a type of undead creature. Often such a creature is the result of a transformation, as a powerful magician or king striving for eternal life uses spells or rituals to bind his intellect to his animated corpse and thereby achieve a form of immortality...
in battle and retrieving his staff for the death lord, or by keeping the staff, taking control of the death capitol and defeating the eldren queen. The first Order adventure is loosely based on the legends of Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
and King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
and ends with the retrieval of the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
and death of Mordred
Mordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
. The second Order adventure is only activated by clicking in the center of the circle of life in the quests menu and has a unique lord named Sigfried who transforms as the game progresses. He saves the valkyrie
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decides who dies in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle , the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin...
Brunhilde and defeats Attila the Hun
Attila the Hun
Attila , more frequently referred to as Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his reign he was one of the most feared...
.
Reception
The game was met with mixed reviews. GamespotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave the game a rating of 6.3 out of ten. The special edition was met with much better reception, with Gamespot giving it a 7.0 and Strategy Gaming Online a 7.8.
External links
- http://mantera.xorgate.com/ - Constantly updated Fansite with mods
- http://impz.proboards14.com/index.cgi?board=LOM - The most active site with new game updates
- http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/46090-lords-of-magic/data - Lords of Magic information at GameFAQsGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...