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Resistance is one of the basic unit attributes. It describes the unit's ability to withstand malicious magical manipulation, poison, disease, and other ill effects. It is denoted in the unit statistics window as a row of Icon Resist golden cross icons.

Resistance is tested against using 10-sided dice, in what are called Resistance Checks, Resistance Rolls, or sometimes "saving throws". If the die comes up equal to, or lower, than the attribute, then the roll is successful. Otherwise, it is a failure. Thus, each cross can be said to symbolize a 10% chance to avoid an ill effect. However, many such effects temporarily lower their target's Icon Resist Resistance score, to make it easier for them to hurt the target.

Resistance increases gradually with Icon Experience Level Experience Levels for units that can acquire them. Several spells can also increase or decrease a unit's Resistance score. There are a few units in the game that already possess extremely high Resistance upon creation, while others may be exceptionally vulnerable to enemy magic until such bonuses can be acquired for them. Magical Items can also improve Resistance by a significant amount. Furthermore, certain items can actually help to reduce a target's Resistance through the Icon SpellSave -Spell Save enchantment, although this typically only works with spells that target a single unit.

Concept[]

Although there are many magical spells and effects in Master of Magic that are meant to deal direct damage to the target, much like a sword strike would; other spells attack the target in indirect or complex ways. In particular, this includes attacks on a target's mind, soul, or connection to the primary Planes. Though they cause intangible damage to the target, these magical effects might severely impair or even kill it nonetheless.

In order to avoid being affected by such magic, the target may attempt to "resist" the effect. Often, this is a matter of applying one's force of will to negate the malicious effect - essentially not giving in to it and "wishing" it away. In other cases, such as poison for example, it is instead the target's physical durability that works to counter the effect, simply as a product of its stamina or hardiness.

The concept of using Resistance checks against these effects most likely originates from the system of "saving throws" used in Dungeons & Dragons, although the separation of success from failure works the opposite way here. Master of Magic also uses 10-sided dice, rather than a d20, and the amount of different types of saves is consolidated into a single statistic. Granted, one of the most common uses of saving throws in D&D is against direct damage magical effects, which this game handles as physical damage instead. 10-sided dice also have the advantage of success probabilities being easily expressed as percentages, which are easier to understand.

Resistance Rolls[]

Certain spells and magical effects force their targets to make one or more Icon Resist Resistance Rolls, the results of which will determine whether they suffer an ill effect, part of an ill effect, or no harm at all. These are also often called "Resistance Checks", and sometimes "saving throws", or simply "saves".

A Resistance Roll involves rolling a random number between 1 and 10 - a figurative 10-sided die. This number is then compared to the target's Icon Resist Resistance. If it is equal to, or lower than the score, then the check is considered "successful". This means that the ill effect has failed against this target. Conversely, if the rolled number is higher than the Icon Resist Resistance score, then the save is considered "failed", and the target will suffer the intended effect. In some particular cases, the game has to consider the compound result of several subsequent rolls to determine an overall effect on a target unit.

With this system, it is easy to see how Resistance can be referred to as a percentage chance to avoid an ill effect:

  • A unit with Icon Resist 0 Resistance cannot possibly roll a number that is lower than, or equal to its Resistance score. It can be said to have a 0% chance of successfully resisting. In other words, it will always suffer the ill effect that targets it.
  • A unit with Icon Resist 1 will succeed only if it rolls 1 (out of 10), meaning a 10% chance.
  • A unit with Icon Resist 2 will succeed only if it rolls 1 or 2 (out of 10), giving it a 20% chance.
[...]
  • A unit with Icon Resist 5 will succeed on a roll of 1-5, and fail on a roll of 6-10. It has an equal chance of succeeding or failing, thus 50%.
[...]
  • A unit with Icon Resist 9 will only fail if it rolls exactly 10. On 1-9, it will succeed - a 90% chance. This is the highest Resistance score that still has a chance of failure (10%).
  • A unit with Icon Resist 10 cannot possibly roll a number that is higher than its Resistance score. It can be said to have a 100% chance of successfully resisting. In other words, it will never suffer the ill effect that targets it.

Furthermore, there are units in the game with a Resistance score higher than Icon Resist 10, whether innately or through external buffs. A unit like that still has a 100% chance of succeeding its roll. The extra points above Icon Resist 10, however, serve as a buffer: the enemy would need to reduce the unit's Resistance to Icon Resist 9 or less if they wish to have any chance of affecting it at all. Therefore, the higher a unit's score above Icon Resist 10, the safer it is against enemy magic that might try to reduce its Resistance score somehow.

Ad-Hoc Resistance Modifiers During a Roll[]

The majority of spells that force the target to make a Resistance Roll will simultaneously alter its Resistance score by a certain amount, in order to make it easier to affect that target. These modifiers only remain in effect while the unit completes the necessary roll(s), and are then removed. That is, they are strictly "ad-hoc", unlike the more permanent modifiers applied by Unit Enchantments and other effects described later in this article.

Some of these can be quite severe penalties. For example, a Icon LifeHoly Word spell targeting an UnitEnchantment Undead Undead unit will reduce its Resistance score by Icon SpellSave -7. Thus, if the target has Icon Resist 7 or less to begin with, it will have no chance of resisting the spell at all. The Icon DeathLife Drain and Icon SorceryBanish spells, in particular, even have adjustable Icon Resist Resistance penalties that can be increased by paying more Icon Mana Mana for their casting. They can both go as far as Icon SpellSave -8, which is one of the highest possible ad-hoc penalties.

When attempting to target particularly resistant units, only effects that apply a serious penalty will have any chance of affecting them at all. For example, a target with a Resistance score of Icon Resist 15 cannot possibly fail any Resistance Roll, unless targeted by effects that inflict Icon SpellSave -6 or greater. All other resistable spells and abilities will fail against this target.

Spell Save Penalties[]

Heroes have an additional way to boost the ad-hoc penalties applied by their spells: by using Magical Items containing the Icon SpellSave -Spell Save attribute. When a Hero is wearing such an item, their targets' Resistance penalties are increased by the appropriate amount against certain spells cast by the Hero. This enchantment is cumulative with whatever penalty the spell normally inflicts, allowing the Hero to cast spells that are incredibly hard to resist, and can thus potentially affect even the most resilient targets.

Naturally, to be able to utilize Icon SpellSave -Spell Save, the Hero holding the item must have the Ability Caster Caster ability, and needs to be able to cast one of the relevant spells. Heroes without either of these properties have no use for this particular bonus. Not every spell benefits from Icon SpellSave -Spell Save either. Below is the full list of those that do, categorized by magical Realm:

Spells benefitting from Icon SpellSave -Spell Save
Icon NaturePetrify Icon SorceryBanish Icon ChaosDisintegrate Icon LifeDispel Evil Icon DeathBlack Sleep
Icon SorceryConfusion Icon ChaosShatter Icon DeathPossession
Icon SorceryCreature Binding Icon ChaosWarp Creature Icon DeathWeakness
Icon SorceryVertigo Icon DeathWord of Death

As a general rule of thumb, Icon SpellSave -Spell Save works with all spells that target a single unit. It does not affect Special Attacks and other abilities, even if they do normally call for a Resistance Roll. It also won't work with Icon DeathLife Drain in the official game, as this spell is classed as "variable damage" by the developers, instead of simply a resistable effect. However, from the unofficial Insecticide patch onwards, this behaviour is changed. Icon SpellSave -Spell Save will now affect Icon DeathLife Drain, in addition to applying to the battlefield spells Icon LifeHoly Word and Icon DeathDeath Spell. This makes this Item Power incredibly useful for the spellcasting Heroes of Icon DeathDeath Wizards.

The Icon SpellSave -Spell Save attribute may be only be imbued into Wands, Staves, and Jewelry. Of these, Wands are limited to an enchantment of up to Icon SpellSave -2. Staves and Jewelry can both hold the highest attribute, at Icon SpellSave -4, although this greatly increases the item's value (and thus, the cost to purchase or create it). All of these are cumulative with each other however, yielding a maximum possible combination of Icon SpellSave -12 for pure caster Heroes, who can equip two Accessories in lieu of an armor piece.

Per-Figure Resistance[]

Many effects that test a unit's Resistance will actually force it to make one roll per standing Icon Figure figure in that unit. This is typically the case for Icon Figure figure-based Special Damage attacks initiated by spells and Gaze Attacks. Here, if a unit has Icon MultiFigureUnit 4 figures remaining, it will have to make 4 separate Resistance Rolls simultaneously. Depending on the effect being tested, the implications of one or more Icon Figure figures failing their rolls may differ. Most often, a Icon Figure figure that fails its roll will be killed off, but other effects are possible as well.

An effect that forces each Icon Figure figure to roll separately typically has a higher chance of inflicting at least some harm on the unit (provided its Resistance score is not too high to begin with), than a spell that forces only a single roll on the entire unit. However, with a single roll, the effect is often more likely to harm the entire unit - since it only needs one failure to receive the full effect.

Example[]

The Icon NaturePetrify spell will force each Icon Figure figure in a targeted unit to separately resist or be turned to stone. Icon SorceryVertigo, on the other hand, requires its target to make a single roll, or suffer some combat penalties. Neither of these spells inflict any ad-hoc Resistance penalties. For this example, take a target unit with Icon MultiFigureUnit 6 figures and a Resistance score of Icon Resist 5.
In this case, the Icon SorceryVertigo spell has a 50% chance of either affecting the entire unit, or failing to affect it altogether. Icon NaturePetrify, on the other hand, has a 50% chance of affecting each individual Icon Figure figure. Statistically, the Icon NaturePetrify spell has a much higher chance of affecting at least one Icon Figure figure in the unit (about 98.5%), but a terrible chance of turning all of them to stone (about 1.5%).

Unusual Resistance Rolls[]

There are three cases where a resistable effect works slightly differently than usual. The first of these is Poison Damage. When an attack with this Damage Type strikes a target, it must make a series of Resistance Rolls in rapid succession, instead of just one roll. The amount of rolls required is equal to the strength of the attacker's Ability PoisonTouch Poison Touch ability. Each failed roll results in the target suffering exactly Icon Damage 1 point of Icon Damage damage.

An even more unusual roll occurs when a target is struck with Life Stealing Damage. In this case, it is not enough to know whether the target has succeeded or failed in its Resistance Roll; if the roll fails, it is also important how badly. The game takes the difference between the rolled number and the unit's Icon Resist Resistance score, and uses that to determine how much Icon Damage damage it suffered, as well as how much of a benefit the attacker receives as a result. If the roll succeeds, however, then the exact value does not matter.

Finally, it is important to mention the role of Resistance in determining the effect of a Icon ChaosDisintegrate spell. When this spell is cast at a target, the game will simply inspect that target's overall Resistance score. If it is below Icon Resist 10, the target is destroyed. If it is equal to or higher than Icon Resist 10, the spell has no effect whatsoever. In other words, if the spell can succeed, it automatically does so, while otherwise it will naturally fail. No chance is involved - only the target's effective Resistance score in and of itself matters at all. However, conditional modifiers still can apply, including those of any Icon SpellSave -Spell Save Magical Items, which can make this spell even more powerful than it already is.

Resistable Spells[]

The following is a list of all the spells in the game which force their targets to make one or more Resistance Rolls. Each spell is listed with the ad-hoc modifier that it inflicts on the target, as well as a short description of the effect, should the target (or some of its Icon Figure figures) fail the roll.

Spell Type Icon SpellSave Modifier Effect Description
Icon LifeDispel Evil Combat Instant Icon SpellSave -4 / Icon SpellSave -9 Each Icon Figure figure in the target Icon DeathDeath or Icon ChaosChaos unit must resist or be destroyed. The modifier is Icon SpellSave -9 for UnitEnchantment Undead Undead.
Icon LifeHoly Word Combat Instant Icon SpellSave -2 / Icon SpellSave -7 Each Icon Figure figure in each enemy Fantastic Unit on the battlefield must resist or be destroyed. The modifier is Icon SpellSave -7 for UnitEnchantment Undead Undead.
Icon DeathWeakness Unit Curse Icon SpellSave -2 Target unit must resist or suffer Icon Melee Normal -2 and Icon Ranged Bow -2 until the end of combat. Icon Thrown Thrown is not affected due to a bug that is only fixed in v1.51
Icon DeathBlack Sleep Unit Curse Icon SpellSave -2 Target unit must resist or become unable to do anything (even Counter Attack) until the end of combat, taking maximum Icon Damage damage from all Conventional Damage attacks.
Icon DeathLife Drain Combat Instant Icon Resist 0 to Icon SpellSave -8 Target unit must resist or suffer Icon Damage damage equal to the rolled number minus its Icon Resist Resistance. Extra Icon Mana Mana invested into the spell increases the ad-hoc Resistance penalty, which increases potential Icon Damage damage.
Icon DeathTerror Combat Enchantment Icon Resist +1 Each turn, each enemy unit must resist or become incapable of performing any action for the duration of that turn.
Icon DeathPossession Unit Curse Icon SpellSave -1 Target Normal Unit or Hero must resist or change its allegiance until the end of combat. The documentation claims that Heroes should not be affected, but in fact they can be.
Icon DeathWrack Combat Enchantment Icon Resist +1 Each turn, each Icon Figure figure in every enemy unit must resist or suffer Icon Damage 1 point of Icon Damage damage. This spell is bugged in the official game, and will inflict much more (squared) Icon Damage damage than intended.
Icon DeathBlack Wind Instant Spell Icon SpellSave -1 Each Icon Figure figure in every unit on the targeted overland tile must resist or be destroyed.
Icon DeathWord of Death Combat Instant Icon SpellSave -5 Each Icon Figure figure in the target unit must resist or be destroyed.
Icon DeathDeath Spell Combat Instant Icon SpellSave -2 Each Icon Figure figure in every enemy unit must resist or die.
Icon DeathDeath Wish Instant Spell Icon Resist 0 Every enemy Normal Unit and Hero on the overland map must resist or die.
Icon SorceryConfusion Unit Curse Icon SpellSave -4 Target unit must resist or become confused, acting erratically from turn to turn until the end of combat.
Icon SorceryVertigo Unit Curse Icon Resist 0 Target unit must resist or suffer Icon Defense -1 and Icon ToHit -20% until the end of combat.
Icon SorceryBanish Combat Instant Icon SpellSave -3 to Icon SpellSave -8 Each Icon Figure figure in the target Fantastic Unit must resist or be destroyed. Extra Icon Mana Mana invested into the spell increases the ad-hoc Resistance penalty.
Icon SorceryStasis Instant Spell Icon SpellSave -5 Every unit on a target overland tile becomes immobile until it manages to successfully resist. Each affected unit gets one chance per turn.
Icon SorceryCreature Binding Combat Instant Icon SpellSave -2 Target Fantastic Unit must resist or change allegiance until the end of combat.
Icon SorceryGreat Unsummoning Instant Spell Icon SpellSave -3 Each Fantastic Unit on the overland map (including friendlies) must resist or be destroyed.
Icon ChaosShatter Unit Curse Icon Resist 0 Target Normal Unit or Hero must resist or have its Attack Strengths set to 1 until the end of combat.
Icon ChaosWarp Creature Unit Curse Icon SpellSave -1 Target unit must resist or suffer one of these effects at random until the end of combat: Icon Melee Normal Melee Strength halved, Icon Defense Defense halved, or Resistance set to Icon Resist 0.
Icon ChaosDisintegrate Combat Instant Icon Resist 0 If the target unit has less than an effective Icon Resist 10, it is destroyed. No roll is required.
Icon NaturePetrify Combat Instant Icon Resist 0 Each Icon Figure figure in the target unit must resist or be destroyed.

Resistible Unit Attacks[]

Some units in the game possess certain Unit Abilities which allow them to make Special Attacks against their opponent. The majority of these attacks deliver some kind of Special Damage. Rather than allowing the target to perform Icon ToBlock Defense Rolls, like conventional attacks do, these force it to make one or more Resistance Checks, as described above. The amount of rolls will vary depending on either the number of attacking Icon Figure figures, or the remaining Icon Figure figures in the target unit. Furthermore, in the case of Poison Damage, this also depends on the strength of the Ability PoisonTouch Poison Touch ability.

Ad-hoc Resistance penalties for Special Damage, if any, are determined by the strength of the Unit Ability that made the attack possible. For example, a unit with Ability DeathGaze Death Gaze -3 would deliver Death Damage with an ad-hoc Icon SpellSave -3 penalty. However, many Special Damage Types can be outright countered by certain immunities. If the target possesses the correct one, then it does not need to make any Resistance Rolls whatsoever - it simply shrugs off the Special Damage without suffering any harmful effect.

The following table shows all the of Unit Abilities which force their target to make Icon Resist Resistance rolls. This also includes Item Powers, which are bestowed to Heroes holding certain Magical Items. Each ability is listed along with the factors influencing the number of rolls, the ad-hoc penalties, any immunities that would counter it, and the effects should the target fail to resist.

Icon Ability Name Modifier # Rolls Immunity Effect Description
Ability CauseFear Cause Fear Icon Resist 0 F(t) Ability DeathImmunity For each failed roll, one Icon Figure figure in the target unit may not strike at the opponent during this specific engagement (this is bugged in the official game, and does not work as intended).
Ability PoisonTouch Poison Icon Resist 0 F(a) * S Ability PoisonImmunity For each failed roll, the target unit suffers Icon Damage 1 point of Icon Damage damage.
Ability LifeSteal Life Steal Icon SpellSave -S F(a) Ability DeathImmunity On a failed roll, the target suffers Icon Damage damage equal to the rolled number minus its Resistance; the attacker gains Icon Hits Health accordingly; and the target may become UnitEnchantment Undead Undead at the end of the battle.
Ability DispelEvil Dispel Evil Icon SpellSave -4 / Icon SpellSave -9 F(a)1 --- For each failed roll, the target unit loses a Icon Figure figure2. This ability only affects Icon DeathDeath and Icon ChaosChaos units, and the penalty is Icon SpellSave -9 against UnitEnchantment Undead Undead units alone.
Ability StoningTouch Stoning Touch Icon SpellSave -S F(a) Ability StoningImmunity For each failed roll, the target unit loses a Icon Figure figure2.
Ability StoningGaze Stoning Gaze Icon SpellSave -S F(t) Ability StoningImmunity For each failed roll, the target unit loses a Icon Figure figure2.
ItemPower DeathTouch Icon DeathDeath Icon SpellSave -3 F(a)1 Ability DeathImmunity For each failed roll, the target unit loses a Icon Figure figure2.
Ability DeathGaze Death Gaze Icon SpellSave -S F(t) Ability DeathImmunity For each failed roll, the target unit loses a Icon Figure figure2.
ItemPower Destruction Icon ChaosDestruction Icon Resist 0 F(a)1 --- For each failed roll, the target unit loses a Icon Figure figure2.
Key:
F(a) = The number of Icon Figure figures in the attacking unit.
F(t) = The number of Icon Figure figures in the target unit.
S = The strength of the Unit Ability itself.
1 - In practice, this will always be 1, as the ability or power is only available on Icon SingleFigureUnit Single-Figure units.
2 - These attacks deal Icon Figure figure-based Special Damage. That is, for each failed Resistance Roll, the unit suffers a number of Damage Points equal to its current Icon Hits Hits per Icon Figure figure value. This will always cause the unit's Icon Figure figure count to drop by Icon Figure 1.

Resistance Modifiers[]

The Resistance score of a unit can be permanently or semi-permanently modified through a variety of means, some naturally occurring, others magical in nature. First and foremost, as Normal Units and Heroes gain Icon Experience Level Experience Levels, their Resistance score will gradually increase. Heroes can become particularly resistant this way, since they have many levels to gain. These modifiers are also always universal, meaning that they will apply equally against all spells and attacks brought around by the enemy.

Furthermore, several long-term spells, such as Unit Enchantments, can be cast on friendly units to increase their Resistance. This can be very useful when fighting against Wizards who use many resistable assets. However, some of these grant only a conditional benefit. That is, they will work against certain attacks, but not against others (see below). Finally, there are a couple of Unit Abilities and Hero Abilities whose purpose is to improve Resistance. These are, again, nearly all universal.

It is also possible to reduce an enemy target's Resistance score by artificial means, although there are only a handful of spells that can accomplish this feat. One of these in particular, Icon ChaosWarp Creature, is a Unit Curse, and is itself resistable. If it succeeds however, and applies its Resistance reduction effect (which is unfortunately only one out of three randomly chosen possibilities), it effectively zeroes out the target's attribute score.

Experience and Resistance[]

With each Icon Experience Level Experience Level gained by a Normal Unit or Hero, the unit's Resistance score goes up by Icon Resist +1. Although this does not include the first level, the increase is permanent, and cannot be undone by any means. Normal Units can usually go up to Icon ExpLevel 3 Elite, which is the 4th Experience Level. Thus, they can gain an overall Icon Resist +3 above their initial score - a good, but not too impressive bonus, given the low Resistance score they often start with. However, this can be extended by Wizards who possess the Warlord Retort or an active Icon LifeCrusade Global Enchantment, both of which enable Normal Units to gain an extra level above Icon ExpLevel 3 Elite, called Icon ExpLevel 4 Ultra-Elite. In fact, if a Wizard has both of these assets, their units can even reach the 6th, Icon ExpLevel 5 Champion level, which is not attainable otherwise, and grants a further Icon Resist +1, among other benefits.

Heroes, on the other hand, can all reach a 9th Experience Level, Icon ExpLevel 8 Demi-God, which provides a Icon Resist +8 bonus to their initial score. This is quite sufficient to surpass Icon Resist 10 and render Heroes hard, if not impossible, to affect with evil magic. For them, Warlord and Icon LifeCrusade do not enable any further levels, although they do raise the Heroes' initial level by one each, an effect that they also grant to Normal Units. It may be worth noting though, that freshly hired Heroes do not get the extra level(s) on the turn that they are recruited, but only on the next one.

The Icon LifeHeroism spell can also instantly increase a unit's Icon Experience Level Experience Level to Icon ExpLevel 3 4, if it has not already reached that level naturally. This provides the unit Icon Resist +3 above its initial score, but lasts only until the unit reaches that level on its own (or until the spell is removed by other means). In addition, a Town that possesses the right assets can produce units that start out at a higher level. The Fighters' Guild and War College Town Buildings, and the Icon LifeAltar of Battle Town Enchantment provide an additional +1, +2, or +3 levels respectively, with the spell thus allowing the recruitment of Icon ExpLevel 3 Elite units.

Spells Improving Resistance[]

The best method to improve a unit's Icon Resist Resistance score quickly is to cast a spell that will provide it a bonus. There are several different kinds of spells that do this, each providing a different bonus and affecting a different selection of units. Most of these are Unit Enchantments, which continue to affect the targeted unit until they are dispelled or, if cast in battle, will affect the unit until the end of combat. Several Combat Enchantments are also available, which will improve the Resistance score of some, or all friendly units on the battlefield.

The first list below shows the spells that grant a universal bonus. This means that the benefit they provide works against all effects that call for a Resistance Roll. The table includes the bonus they bestow, and any special notes on additional conditions.

Icon Spell Type Bonus Description
CombatEnchantment TrueLight Icon LifeTrue Light Combat Enchantment Icon Resist +1 Affects all Icon LifeLife units on the battlefield (including both friendly and enemy units).
CombatEnchantment Prayer Icon LifePrayer Combat Enchantment Icon Resist +1 Affects all friendly units on the battlefield.
UnitEnchantment Lionheart Icon LifeLionheart Unit Enchantment Icon Resist +3 --
CombatEnchantment HighPrayer Icon LifeHigh Prayer Combat Enchantment Icon Resist +3 Affects all friendly units on the battlefield, but overrides Icon LifePrayer.
CombatEnchantment Darkness Icon DeathDarkness Combat Enchantment Icon Resist +1 Affects all Icon DeathDeath units on the battlefield (including both friendly and enemy units).
UnitEnchantment BlackChannels Icon DeathBlack Channels Unit Enchantment Icon Resist +1 Only affects UnitEnchantment Undead Undead units. Can also be cast on Normal Units and Heroes, but turns them permanently into UnitEnchantment Undead Undead.

In addition, some Unit Enchantments will only increase a unit's Resistance score against certain types of effects. These are called conditional modifiers, and work similarly to the ad-hoc penalties described earlier. However, instead of lowering Resistance, they increase it for the duration of resolving the attack that triggered them. The spells listed below all have such an effect:

Icon Spell Bonus Works only against...
UnitEnchantment ResistMagic Icon SorceryResist Magic Icon Resist +5 Everything except Poison Damage
UnitEnchantment MagicImmunity Icon SorceryMagic Immunity Icon Resist +30 Everything except Poison Damage
UnitEnchantment ResistElements Icon NatureResist Elements Icon Resist +3 Icon NatureNature and Icon ChaosChaos related spells and attacks
UnitEnchantment ElementalArmor Icon NatureElemental Armor Icon Resist +10 Icon NatureNature and Icon ChaosChaos related spells and attacks
UnitEnchantment Bless Icon LifeBless Icon Resist +3 Icon DeathDeath and Icon ChaosChaos related spells and attacks
UnitEnchantment Righteousness Icon LifeRighteousness Icon Resist +30 Icon DeathDeath and Icon ChaosChaos related spells and attacks

Spells Reducing Resistance[]

It is also possible to decrease an enemy unit's Resistance score using specialized magic. All such spells are either Unit Curses or Combat Enchantments, which means they will only affect the targeted unit(s) until the end of the battle. The reductions bestowed by these spells are cumulative with any ad-hoc penalties inflicted by the actual effects directed at the unit. Thus, it is usually best to cast these Resistance-reducing spells before attempting to use any resistable effects on the enemy. The list below shows all spells of this type, including the penalties they inflict, and any special notes on additional conditions.

Icon Spell Type Bonus Description
CombatEnchantment TrueLight Icon LifeTrue Light Combat Enchantment Icon SpellSave -1 Affects all Icon DeathDeath units on the battlefield.
CombatEnchantment Darkness Icon DeathDarkness Combat Enchantment Icon SpellSave -1 Affects all Icon LifeLife units on the battlefield.
CombatEnchantment BlackPrayer Icon DeathBlack Prayer Combat Enchantment Icon SpellSave -2 Affects all enemy units on the battlefield.
UnitEnchantment MindStorm Icon SorceryMind Storm Unit Curse Icon SpellSave -5 Can't target units with Ability IllusionsImmunity Illusions Immunity.
UnitEnchantment WarpCreature Resist Icon ChaosWarp Creature Unit Curse Special 1/3 chance of setting the target's Resistance score to Icon Resist 0. The target can make a Resistance Roll to try and avoid this effect entirely.

Abilities and Resistance[]

There are several Unit Abilities and Hero Abilities which increase Resistance by a certain amount. Each of these behaves in a different manner from the others, and they interact differently with one another as well. The size of the actual bonus may depend on the strength of the ability, where applicable which, in the case of Hero Abilities, may also be a function of the Hero's level. The list below details each ability, the bonuses they bestow, and the targets they affect.

Icon Ability Type Bonus Description
Ability ResistanceToAll Resistance to All Unit Icon Resist +1 or Icon Resist +2 Affects all friendly units in combat. Does not stack with other Resistance to All or Prayermaster bonuses - only the best one available at any given time is applied, others are ignored.
Ability HolyBonus Holy Bonus Unit Icon Resist +1 or Icon Resist +2 Affects all friendly units in combat. Does not stack with other Holy Bonuses - only the best bonus available at any given time is applied, others are ignored.
Ability Prayermaster Prayermaster Hero Icon Resist +1 to Icon Resist +9 Bonus is equal to Icon Resist +1 per each of the Hero's Icon Experience Level Experience Levels, including the first level. Affects all friendly units in combat. Does not stack with other Resistance to All or Prayermaster bonuses - only the best one available at any given time is applied, others are ignored.
Ability Prayermaster Super Prayermaster Hero Icon Resist +1 to Icon Resist +13 Bonus is equal to Icon Resist +1.5 per each of the Hero's Icon Experience Level Experience Levels, including the first level, rounded down. Affects all friendly units in combat. Does not stack with other Resistance to All or Prayermaster bonuses - only the best one available at any given time is applied, others are ignored.
Ability Lucky Lucky Both Icon Resist +1 Applies only to the unit itself.
Ability Charmed Charmed Hero Icon Resist +30 Applies only to the Hero with the ability.
Ability MagicImmunity Magic Immunity Unit Icon Resist +30 Applies only to the unit itself. Does not work against Poison Damage.

Node Auras[]

Magical Nodes emanate an aura strongly aligned with the Realm that the Node is connected to. These empower any Fantastic Unit associated with this Realm, should they engage in battle within the aura. Among other benefits, this increases their Resistance score by a universal Icon Resist +2 against all hostile effects. The size of these auras is the same as the Node's zone of influence. These are the Sparkles sparkling tiles that appear around the Node once it has been Ability Meld Melded with. Unfortunately, there is no straightforward way to scout these beforehand, but the auras do apply regardless of who or what occupies the Node. It may also be worth noting that Icon ChaosChaos Channeled units do benefit from Icon ChaosChaos Node auras, should they find themselves doing battle in one.

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