|
Buggy Feature |
| As of Master of Magic v1.31, Chaos Spawn is known to be malfunctioning in at least one way. Please read the Known Bugs section below. |
| Chaos Spawn | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Realm |
 Chaos | |
| ||
| Spell Rarity | Rare | |
| Casting Cost |
 500 | |
| Upkeep Cost |
12 per turn | |
| Research Cost |
 1,040 | |
| ||
| # of Figures |
 1 | |
| Moves |
 1 | |
| Melee Attack per figure |
 1 | |
| Defense per figure |
 6 | |
| Resistance |
 10 | |
| Hit Points per figure |
 15 | |
| ||
|
 Stoning Gaze -4 | ||
Chaos Spawn is a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. It belongs to the Chaos Realm, and may be summoned using a Summoning Spell of the same name. The Chaos Spawn's only method of inflicting damage to its enemies is through a wide array of Special Attacks, each capable of causing a tremendous amount of 
Damage, especially to units with low Resistance scores. Such units, when attacking or being attack by a Chaos Spawn, can be instantly wiped out even before they get to deal any damage!
The Fantastic Unit
Physical Description
The Chaos Spawn is Master of Magic's version of the "Beholder", a creature developed in the early days of Dungeons & Dragons and appearing in many forms in all sorts of fantasy fiction works. It is essentially a hovering orb of flesh with several stalks protruding from it. Each stalk ends in a single, massive eye. The Chaos Spawn's eyes control various types of powerful magics, which are unleashed as it gazes upon its prey.
The Chaos Spawn is a Single-Figure Unit.
Attack Properties
The Chaos Spawn's Melee Attack itself is pathetically weak, with a strength of only 1. This means that the creature will hardly ever deal any Melee Damage whatsoever.
On the other hand, whenever the Chaos Spawn attacks another unit or is attacked in Melee combat, its eyes will unleash a whole slew of Special Attacks which are potentially devastating in power.
Note: Several spells and/or effects may reduce the Chaos Spawn's Melee Attack Strength to 0. If this occurs, the creature's 
Poison Touch (and possibly 
Cause Fear) ability will stop working, and the AI will stop moving or initiating attacks with this unit. However, the Gaze Attacks do still work (unless 
Mind Stormed), the creature will still do damage on Counter Attacks, and the player can still initiate attacks with it.
Special Attacks
When the Chaos Spawn initiates a Melee Attack against an enemy unit, or an enemy unit initates a Melee Attack against the Chaos Spawn, the creature will first unleash a barrage of Special Attacks.
The Chaos Spawn's special attacks are as follows:
- A Doom Gaze, which delivers exactly
4 points of Damage, regardless of the target's statistics. - A Death Gaze, which can kill any enemy figure that fails to Resist it.
- A Stoning Gaze, which can kill any enemy figure that fails to Resist it.
- A Cause Fear attack, which will prevent any figure that fails to Resist it from dealing Melee Damage back at the Chaos Spawn. (bugged, see below)
- A Poison Touch attack, which will deal up to 4 points of Damage to the target unit based on how many Resistance rolls it fails.
As a result, units with low or even average Resistance scores will almost always be destroyed when engaging this creature in Melee combat. Even creatures with very high Resistance may end up being destroyed by at least one of the above Special Attacks, as most of these inflict a serious penalty to the target's Resistance score.
Doom Gaze
- The Chaos Spawn has a Doom Gaze attack with a strength of 4. As a result, before Melee Damage is dealt, the Chaos Spawn inflicts exactly 4 Damage Points on its target - regardless of anything! The target does not get the chance to make Defense rolls or block the incoming damage in any way.
- Since Doom Gaze is a Gaze Attack, it takes place just before Melee Damage is dealt by the target. Therefore, any enemy figure killed off by the Doom Gaze will not get to deliver any Melee Damage to the Chaos Spawn - though it may be able to deliver its own Special Attack, if it possesses any.
- Doom Gaze's strength increases to 6 when fighting in Chaos Nodes - in which case it will inflict 6 instead of 4. There may be other spells or effects that can also raise the potency of this Doom Gaze attack.
Death Gaze
- When the Chaos Spawn engages an enemy unit in combat, it delivers a Death Gaze attack.
- The game rolls a number between 1 and 10 for each figure in the enemy unit. Any figure that rolls higher than its unit's Resistance score, at a penalty of -4, is immediately destroyed.
- This destruction occurs before Melee Damage is dealt by either unit, so any figures killed off by the Death Gaze do not get to inflict any Melee Damage on the Chaos Spawn. The enemy might be able to deliver its own Special Attacks though, if it has any.
- Units with Magic Immunity or Death Immunity are impervious to the Death Gaze, and do not need to make Resistance rolls to survive it. Furthermore, because the gaze inflicts a penalty of -4, units with 14 or higher will never fail their Resistance rolls against this attack.
Stoning Gaze
- When the Chaos Spawn engages an enemy unit in combat, it delivers a Stoning Gaze attack.
- The game rolls a number between 1 and 10 for each figure in the enemy unit. Any figure that rolls higher than its unit's Resistance score, at a penalty of -4, is immediately destroyed.
- This destruction occurs before Melee Damage is dealt by either unit, so any figures killed off by the Stoning Gaze do not get to inflict any Melee Damage on the Chaos Spawn. The enemy might be able to deliver its own Special Attacks though, if it has any.
- Units with Magic Immunity or Stoning Immunity are impervious to the Stoning Gaze, and do not need to make Resistance rolls to survive it. Furthermore, because the gaze inflicts a penalty of -4, units with 14 or higher will never fail their Resistance rolls against this attack.
Cause Fear
- When the Chaos Spawn engages an enemy unit in melee combat, it delivers a Fear-based Special Attack.
- The game rolls a number between 1 and 10 for each figure in the enemy unit. Any figure that rolls higher than its unit's Resistance score may not deliver any Melee Damage or Touch Attacks.
- Units with Magic Immunity or Death Immunity are impervious to Cause Fear, and do not need to make Resistance rolls to survive it. Furthermore, because the gaze inflicts no Resistance penalty, units with 10 or higher will never fail their Resistance rolls against this attack.
Poison Touch
- Finally, when it does get to the part where Melee Damage is exchanged with the target, the Chaos Spawn also delivers a strength 4 Touch Attack delivering Poison Damage.
- The target unit makes 4 separate Resistance rolls. For each roll that fails (i.e. rolls higher than the unit's Resistance score) the unit suffers 1 point of Damage, for a maximum possible 4 points of Damage from this Poison Attack.
- Units with Poison Immunity do not need to make these rolls as they never suffer from any Poison Damage. Also, because this attack inflicts no Resistance penalty, units with 10 or higher are immune to it, as they will never fail their rolls.
- Note again that Poison Damage is inflicted together with the exchange of Melee Damage between the target and the Chaos Spawn. Therefore, if the target has survived to this stage, it may deliver Melee damage to the Chaos Spawn. However, given the plethora of Special Attacks described above, few units will reach this stage alive.
Defensive Properties
The Chaos Spawn is not lacking in the defense department either. It has a Defense score of 6, allowing it to block about 1.8 points of Damage on average from any source. With 15 Hit Points, it can also absorb a good amount of damage before being destroyed.
Naturally, if the Chaos Spawn is used well, it should suffer no damage at all. This is because its Special Attacks (described above) are likely to kill the target before it has any chance to retaliate. However, Ranged Attacks pose a threat to the Chaos Spawn if they can get past its Defense.
Other Properties
The Chaos Spawn has a Resistance score of 10. This makes it immune to many Curses and other ill effects that allow the Chaos Spawn to make a Resistance roll but do not incur any Resistance penalty.
The Chaos Spawn has the ability to Fly, but unfortunately is one of the slowest fliers in the game, moving at only 1. It is therefore quite terrible as a scout, and may take some time reaching the enemy's lines during combat.
Tactics
The Chaos Spawn's myriad of Special Attacks make it one of the most dangerous and deadly Melee Attackers in the game. Enemy armies comprised only of Melee Attack units will have a difficult time bringing it down. Thanks to its Flying ability, it can also pick-and-choose its targets, eliminating them one-by-one.
On the other hand, the Chaos Spawn has been described as a "Pin Cushion" for enemy Ranged Attack units. Do not expect it to survive a concentrated barrage of Ranged Attacks. If such a situation occurs, try to withdraw the Chaos Spawn to the far corner of the map until the enemy runs out of ammunition. Note of course that 
Magical Ranged Attacks do not suffer range penalties, so this tactic may not be useful against them.
Overall, the Chaos Spawn should be your primary unit for taking out enemy Normal Units - especially Neutral Town garrisons. If you use it properly, the Chaos Spawn should be able to decimate the enemy army. If you use it improperly, it'll be lost before it can even make contact with the enemy.
Enemy Chaos Spawns
Chaos Spawns are rather rare. They may be encountered in Chaos Nodes or Towers of Wizardry, and are rarely alone. They will usually be found in groups of 2 or 3 Chaos Spawns and accompanied by smaller Chaos creatures like Hell Hounds.
Bringing an army comprised only of Melee Attack units to fight a Chaos Spawn is tantamount to suicide - at least for some of those units. Units with very high Resistance scores and/or various immunities (esp. Magic Immunity) will have a somewhat better chance to survive its attacks. Units with powerful Breath Attacks and/or Thrown Attacks may kill the Chaos Spawn before it gets the chance to use its own attacks, but these would have to be very strong to succeed.
The best strategies for taking out Chaos Spawns would be to bring along plenty of Ranged Attack units, and/or use plenty of direct-damage spellcasting at the creature. It may have a lot of Hit Points, but not enough to withstand any concentrated barrage. Fortunately, the Chaos Spawn moves slowly, so you can maneuver to avoid it if necessary, and have plenty of time to bombard it from afar. In any case, take the creature out before it can reach your lines!
Ability Overview
Cause Fear
- When this unit makes a Melee Attack against an enemy target, it first makes a Cause Fear attack.
- Each figure in the enemy unit must Resist (with no penalty) or be unable to deliver any Melee Damage to the Chaos Spawn.
- This is a Special Attack, taking effect just before Melee Damage is dealt by either unit. However, it occurs after Breath Attacks, Thrown Attacks, and Gaze Attacks (if any).
- Cause Fear is also used when the unit is Counter Attacking against an enemy assailant.
- This effect does nothing against targets possessing the Magic Immunity or Death Immunity ability.
Poison Touch 4
- During this unit's Melee Attack, each figure will also make a Touch Attack against the target, delivering 4 points of Poison Damage per attack.
- The target unit must make 4 consecutive Resistance rolls against each Poison Attack. For each roll the target fails, it receives 1 point of Damage.
- The Poison Damage is dealt simultaneously with the exchange of Melee Damage between the two units.
- The Poisoning also occurs when this unit Counter Attacks against an enemy assailant.
- This effect does nothing against targets possessing the Poison Immunity ability.
Doom Gaze 4
- When this unit makes a Melee Attack against an enemy target, it first delivers a Gaze Attack with a strength of 4.
- The target unit receives exactly 4 Damage from this attack; no To Hit rolls are made to determine hits, and no Defense nor Resistance rolls may be made by the target in order to reduce this damage. No immunities will reduce or negate this damage either.
- This is a Gaze Attack, which means it takes place before Melee Damage is dealt by either unit. However, it occurs after Breath Attacks and Thrown Attacks (if any).
- Gaze Attacks allow non-flying units to make Melee attacks against Flying units.
- Doom Gaze is also used when the unit is Counter Attacking against an enemy assailant.
Death Gaze -4
- Whenever this unit makes a Melee Attack against an enemy target, it first makes a Gaze Attack delivering Death Damage.
- Each figure in the target unit must Resist at a penalty of -4 or be destroyed immediately.
- This is a Gaze Attack, which means it takes place before melee damage is dealt by either unit. However, it occurs after Breath Attacks and Thrown Attacks (if any).
- Gaze Attacks allow non-flying units to make Melee attacks against Flying units.
- Death Gaze also occurs when the unit Counter Attacks against an enemy assailant.
- This effect does nothing against targets possessing the Death Immunity or Magic Immunity ability.
Stoning Gaze -4
- Whenever this unit makes a Melee Attack against an enemy target, it first delivers a Stoning Damage Gaze Attack.
- Each figure in the target unit must Resist at a penalty of -4 or be destroyed immediately.
- This is a Gaze Attack, which means it takes place before melee damage is dealt by either unit. However, it occurs after Breath Attacks and Thrown Attacks (if any).
- Gaze Attacks allow non-flying units to make Melee attacks against Flying units.
- The Stoning also occurs when the unit Counter Attacks against an enemy assailant.
- This effect does nothing against targets possessing the Stoning Immunity or Magic Immunity ability.
The Summoning Spell
Usage
Chaos Spawn may only be cast on the overland map, for the base Casting Cost of 500. Upon casting, the new Chaos Spawn unit will appear in the town currently containing the caster's Summoning Circle.
The new unit is created with full Movement Points, and may move and/or attack immediately as necessary.
To keep the Chaos Spawn in play, it is necessary to pay an Upkeep Cost of only 12 per turn. This is drawn automatically from the caster's Mana pool each turn. Failure to pay the required costs due to lack of Mana in the pool will lead to the Chaos Spawn being immediately destroyed, along with any Unit Enchantments currently affecting it.
If the unit is destroyed in combat, then it is gone from the world entirely, and there is no further need to pay its Upkeep Costs.
You can also dismiss the Chaos Spawn voluntarily. To do this, right-click the unit's icon and then press the red "Dismiss" button on the bottom right corner of the unit's details panel. A dismissed unit is gone forever, but of course you can always cast the Chaos Spawn spell again to get a fresh new one. The primary reason to dismiss a Fantastic Creature would be to remove its Upkeep Cost (conserving Mana as a result).
Acquisition
As a Rare Chaos spell, Chaos Spawn may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least 2 Spellbooks. However, its availability during the game is not guaranteed unless the Wizard acquires at least 10 Spellbooks.
Customized Wizards possessing 11 Spellbooks at creation time may choose this spell as one of their default spells before starting the game, in which case the spell will already be researched and available for casting immediately on the first turn.
Wizards with 2 to 9 Spellbooks have a random chance of being able to Research Chaos Spawn during the game. The chance for this spell to appear for research increases with the number of Chaos Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. With 10 or 11 Spellbooks, the spell is guaranteed to appear for Research at some point, if it is not already available for casting.
Chaos Spawn has a base Research Cost of 1,040.
With at least 2 Spellbooks, the Chaos Spawn spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell.
Known Bugs
Displaying Bug
As explained several times above, there appears to be a problem with the Chaos Spawn's abilities - or rather with the way they are displayed on its details panel.
The Death Gaze and Stoning Gaze abilities are each listed with a strength of "4". Given how these abilities are displayed for other units possessing them, this would indicate that when these abilities are used, the target gets a Resistance bonus of +4. This is not the case, consistent with the manual, both abilities actually inflict a penalty of -4 on their target.
No Gaze Attack Bug
It may happen that the Chaos Spawn loses the ability to use all its Gaze Attacks, if the opposing wizard uses the spell Mind Storm. In this case the Chaos Spawn becomes completely harmless.
More explicitly, the Chaos Spawn has a hidden variable set to 
4 which corresponds to its Doom Gaze strength and is otherwise used as the Ranged Attack strength of ranged units. This variable has no influence on the strength of the Stoning Gaze and Death Gaze, but if it is reduced to 0, then the Chaos Spawn's Gaze Attacks won't be executed.
Note, that this variable will be increased by +2 in Chaos Nodes. Thus Mind Storm won't stop the Gaze Attacks in this case.
Fear Bug
The ability Cause Fear is bugged in version 1.31 in the way that it will work against its owner, but only if the owner initiates the attack. As higher the number of opposing figures, and as lower the defender's Resistance, the higher the chances that the Chaos Spawn won't execute its Melee Attack and accompanying Poison Touch.