Immolation Damage

Immolation Damage is one of the many Damage Types in Master of Magic.

Immolation Damage is essentially Area Damage. This type of damage is unique in that it makes separate  To Hit rolls against each  Figure in the enemy unit, instead of attacking only the "lead" figure and applying "excess" damage to further  figures (as would happen with conventional Physical Damage). This generally means that the more  Figures there are in the target unit, the more damage it will suffer on average.

Immolation Damage is distinct from the other Area Damage type, called Blizzard Damage, in that it will trigger a target's Fire Immunity (if the target possesses this immunity), and will not trigger a target's Cold Immunity. Note that either of the two Area Damage types will trigger a target's Magic Immunity.

Immolation Damage is named after the Immolation ability (and the Spell of the same name). Several creatures and spells deliver this type of damage in various ways or circumstances. The Fireball spell is by far the strongest of these.

Effect

Main article: Area Damage

Immolation Damage is a type of Area Damage, and as such its purpose is to cause  Damage Points to the target. The results of this damage greatly depend on how many  Figures the target contains.

Against Single-Figure Units

Main article: Fire Damage

When Immolation Damage strikes a  Single-Figure Unit, it behaves in a manner identical to Fire Damage. This starts with a single set of  To Hit rolls against the target unit, equal to the strength of the Immolation Damage attack. This is followed by a set of Defense rolls, exactly as many as the target's  Defense score.

The number of successful hits and blocks are tallied up, then subtracted, to get the amount of  Damage Points caused to the target. Unlike Physical Damage, if this amount is higher than the  figure's remaining  Hit Points, it is reduced to this amount instead. This will still destroy the unit, but without any "overkill" damage, which may matter for some effects such as Regeneration or Create Undead.

Against Multi-Figure Units

Immolation Damage behaves very differently when it strikes a  Multi-Figure target. In this case, it acts as a separate Physical Damage attack initiated individually against each  Figure in the unit. All  Figures get to apply their  Defense to reduce their own damage.

Unlike in Physical Damage, however, there is no "excess"  Damage. That is, no  Figure can take more  Damage than its current  Hit Point total. Still, the result is usually massive damage to the  Multi-Figure unit.

For a full analysis of this process, please refer to the article on Area Damage, which explains this in much greater detail, including examples.

Immunities

Immolation Damage is completely blocked by the Magic Immunity and Righteousness effects. Units possessing either of these will not suffer any Immolation Damage under any circumstances.

Units possessing the Fire Immunity ability will instead get their Defense score temporarily raised to  50 for the purposes of blocking this damage type.

Immolation Damage is always considered to be Chaos damage, and thus also falls within the scope of the Bless, Resist Elements, and Elemental Armor protective Unit Enchantments, which means that units possessing these will have enhanced Defense against this type of damage. Furthermore, the Defense bonus granted by the Large Shield ability also applies against all forms of Immolation Damage regardless of their source.

Sources of Immolation Damage

There are many different sources of Immolation Damage in the game, all of which are associated with the Chaos Realm. Each of them delivers a different amount of Immolation Damage to its target.

Fireball

Main article: Fireball

Fireball is an Uncommon Combat Instant spell. For a base Casting Cost of  15, this spell will deliver Immolation Damage with an attack strength of  5 at a selected enemy target on the battlefield.

The Fireball spell can be infused with additional  Mana in order to make it stronger. With every extra  3 invested into the spell, its attack strength increases by  1. The spell can take up to  60 extra Mana, meaning that its strength can be increased up to a maximum of  25. This is the strongest available Area Damage attack in the game, and is highly likely to wipe out an entire enemy  Multi-Figure unit.

Fireball Spell

Main article: Fireball Spell

Fireball Spell is a Unit Ability possessed by all Magicians in the game. This ability allows a unit of Magicians to cast the Fireball spell (see above) once per battle, at no  Mana cost whatsoever. However, this spell can not be infused, and the resulting Fireball always has an attack strength of exactly  5.

Fire Storm

Main article: Fire Storm

Fire Storm is a Rare Instant Spell. For a base Casting Cost of  250, this spell will strike each and every enemy unit within a given overland map tile with a strength  8 Immolation Damage attack.

This spell is particularly useful against large enemy armies, since the more units present the more Immolation Damage is delivered overall. It is even more powerful if the enemy army contains several  Multi-Figure units. However, the attack strength of only  8 is relatively weak against  Single-Figure units, and is unlikely to kill any of them. Fire Storm can be useful for weakening an enemy army prior to actual battle.

Flame Strike

Main article: Flame Strike

Flame Strike is a Rare Combat Instant spell. For a base Casting Cost of  60, it will simultaneously deliver a strength  15 Immolation Damage attack against each enemy unit on the battlefield.

Due to striking each enemy unit, this spell is more worthwhile the more enemy units are present. Each unit is struck with Immolation Damage that has an attack strength of  15, which is roughly on par with a mid-strength Fireball, and can be expected to cause serious damage to each of those units - particularly  Multi-Figure units. This both cuts down the time required to cast multiple Fireballs at the enemy, and saves a lot of  Mana if sufficient enemy units can be hit.

Immolation Ability

Main article: Immolation

Immolation is a Unit Ability unique to the Fantastic Unit Doom Bat.

Immolation affixes a quasi-Touch Attack to a unit's attacks. The strength of this Immolation Damage attack is always  4. In the case of the Doom Bat, it will trigger whenever the creature makes a Melee Attack or Counter Attack.

While a fairly weak attack, it can still dissuade weaker enemy  Multi-Figure units from attacking the Doom Bat, and can be used offensively to kill off such units. Remember, however, that as a Touch Attack, it does not offer any real protection to the Doom Bat itself, it only increases the damage that the Bat can do in melee combat.

Immolation Spell

Main article: Immolation (Spell)

Immolation is also the name of an Uncommon Unit Enchantment. When cast on a friendly unit, this enchantment adds the Immolation ability to that unit. Unlike the Doom Bat however, other units may not be limited to Melee Attacks in regards to what the Immolation attack can be affixed to (see the Touch Attack article for more information).

When cast on the overland map, Immolation has a base Casting Cost of  150, and will stay in effect on the target unit until dispelled or removed. It will, however, require an Upkeep Cost of  2 per turn to maintain.

Alternatively, Immolation may also be cast during combat as an impromptu Unit Enchantment, for a base cost of only  30. Though this behaves the same as the overland version, the combat version will fizzle immediately as soon as the battle is over (or the unit is destroyed).

This spell allows any unit to possess the Immolation ability, and thus make that unit much more dangerous to enemy  Multi-Figure units.

Meteor Storm

Main article: Meteor Storm

Meteor Storm is a Very Rare Global Enchantment. It can be cast on the overland map for a base cost of  900. As long as it is maintained, it rains down fiery destruction on the entirety of both Arcanus and Myrror. The effect is divided into two parts, based on whether a map tile contains a Town or not.

Every unit on the overland map that is not in a Town at the end of the turn will be subjected to a strength  4 Immolation Damage attack. Town garrisons are unaffected, as are the guardians of Encounter Zones (they don't actually exist on the overland map). However, every other unit in every army will be hit, including the caster's own armies.

Towns instead have a chance of getting buildings torn down, and Outposts are outright destroyed by this spell. Only the caster's Towns are exempt.

Wall of Fire

Main article: Wall of Fire

Wall of Fire is the name of a Common Town Enchantment spell. When cast on a friendly Town, it will surround that town with flames. Whenever siege combat erupts for this town, the "town proper" area will be surrounded by a flaming barrier which - although passable to all units - will inflict a strength  5 Immolation Damage attack on any Non-Flying unit that passes through it.

Furthermore, such a unit performing a Melee Attack through the Wall (against a unit inside) will suffer the same effect during the resolution of the attack.

Wall of Fire may be cast on the overland map for a Casting Cost of  150. It will remain active on the target town until removed or dispelled, but will also have an Upkeep Cost of  2 per turn to maintain. The flaming barrier will appear in every battle fought at that town while the spell is in effect.

Wall of Fire can also be cast as an impromptu Combat Instant, which will create the same flaming barrier around the town but will only remain until the end of the current battle. This version of the spell behaves the same as the overland version, but costs only  30. Also, since it lasts only until the end of the battle, it has no Upkeep Costs whatsoever.