- This article is about beneficial Unit Enchantments that the caster can place on their own units. For spells that hinder an opposing unit, see Unit Curse.
Unit Enchantment is a Spell Type and category of spells in Master of Magic. Like all other enchantments, Unit Enchantments are meant to have a persistent positive effect - lasting as long as the enchantment remains in play. The spells in this group are intended to be used on the caster's own units, either to improve their combat performance, or to protect them from harm. As such, they must always be targeted at a single friendly unit.
Most Unit Enchantments have two "versions" - an overland, and a combat version. The overland casting is more costly, but can continuously affect the unit for a long period of time, albeit at a cost of Mana that has to be paid every turn as Upkeep. The combat casting on the other hand, while cheaper, bestows the spell's benefits only for the duration of a single battle.
There are a total of 33 different Unit Enchantments in Master of Magic. The Life Realm specializes in these, having no less than 10 different spells of this type. This is followed closely by Nature and Sorcery, with 8 each; while the Death and Chaos Realms lean more towards destructive spells and Unit Curses, having only 4 and 3 Unit Enchantments respectively.
Rival wizards can attempt to strip all Unit Enchantments from a target unit using dispel type magic, although these spells have to succeed with separate dispelling attempts against each individual enchantment in turn. Unit Enchantments may also be cancelled manually by their caster during their turn, while not in combat, to conserve Mana when necessary. If a unit is destroyed, in combat or otherwise, all Unit Enchantments affecting it will also dissipate instantly.
Usage[]
With a few exceptions, Unit Enchantments typically have two "versions". That is, they can be cast both on the overland map, and in combat. Both versions have the same exact effect on the target unit, but differ in their Casting Cost, Upkeep Cost and the duration of the enchantment. They are thus used differently and for different purposes.
In either case however, the spell must be targeted at a single friendly unit. Immediately after a successful casting, the target unit receives all the benefits associated with the spell, and these will last as long as the enchantment remains in place. A glowing outline also surrounds the unit, with a color matching that of the spell's Realm, although only one such aura can be visible at a time, corresponding to the most powerful enchantment affecting the unit.
Overland Unit Enchantments[]
With the exception of Berserk and Haste, all Unit Enchantments can be cast on the overland map. If the desired target is grouped with other units, clicking on the stack will bring up a list view of the entire group, allowing the player to select the individual unit. The game will not allow casting the same enchantment on a unit more than once: attempting this will result in an immediate error message, although a different target may still be chosen afterward.
The Casting Cost of Unit Enchantments is relatively low compared to other overland spells. However, to keep these spells in play, a Wizard must also pay an Upkeep Cost, typically proportionate to the usefulness of the effect, at the beginning of every overland turn. The game will automatically deduct this from the player's Mana pool or income, but if it fails to do so, the enchantment will be discarded, immediately removing all of its benefits from the unit.
Otherwise, Overland Unit Enchantments will last until cancelled, dispelled by an enemy, or until the enchanted unit is destroyed, in combat, or otherwise. Unit Enchantments can only be removed manually by their caster during their own turn, while not in combat. This requires opening the unit statistics window of the unit, and left-clicking on the spell's name or icon in the unit's list of abilities and effects.
While an Overland Unit Enchantment is affecting a unit, its benefits will carry over from the campaign map into every battle the unit participates in; and the spell will also continue to exist afterward, as long as it isn't actively removed. Therefore, the unit will start each battle already enjoying the effects of the enchantment, and will continue to do so battle after battle.
This is the primary reason for casting a Unit Enchantment overland: it removes the need to spend additional time and Mana putting the same effects on the unit each time it goes into battle. This is very useful when a unit is going to need those same bonuses to survive, or to make it truly effective; but not when faced with a single, atypical threat, that requires but a temporary adjustment to the unit's abilities.
Combat Unit Enchantments[]
The majority of Unit Enchantments can also be cast during a battle, and the two mentioned previously can only be cast this way. While the beneficial effects of the enchantments are exactly the same regardless of this circumstance, there are three main casting attributes that are different. First of these is the spell's duration: Unit Enchantments cast in combat are predetermined to always end when the battle does.
This means that a Combat Unit Enchantment will never carry over back onto the overland map. Consequently, there are no Upkeep Costs associated with enchantments cast this way, although as a side effect, this also means that the caster is unable to cancel them manually, as this action is not available during combat. However, the spell will dissipate when the battle ends anyway, so this is rarely an issue.
To offset the preset duration, combat casting of Unit Enchantments is much cheaper. The Casting Costs of the combat "versions" are always exactly 1/5th of the overland costs, and the spells are treated as having these base Casting Costs for all intents and purposes. This makes them possible to cast with a much lower Spell Casting Skill, although in terms of Mana, this may not be the equivalent, unless the spell is cast by a unit. This is because Wizards are subject to Casting Distance Multipliers, which can affect the amount of Mana they need to channel while casting spells in combat.
Either way, Unit Enchantments cast in combat must be targeted the same way as their overland counterparts, and will always only affect a single friendly unit. Again, units that already have the same enchantment are invalid targets, regardless of whether the first spell was also cast in combat or on the overland map. The enchantments are also subject to dispelling attempts by enemies, and will dissipate automatically if the affected unit perishes in the battle.
Combat Unit Enchantments are generally useful either for providing impromptu benefits to a unit based on a specific situation encountered in battle (e.g. True Sight when facing unexpected Invisible units); or for utilizing units with the Caster ability to provide the enchantments instead of the Wizard. Because of the Casting Distance Multipliers mentioned above, units fighting on distant lands (or on the other Plane) are often better off with an overland-cast Unit Enchantment if the same bonus is required in more than a single battle.
The Enchantment Icon[]
Once a unit is affected by a Unit Enchantment, an icon representing this spell appears in the unit statistics window whenever the unit is inspected (by right-clicking on it). Unit Enchantments can be easily distinguished from other icons by their purple background, although there are also four such icons that do not, in fact, represent a true enchantment (i.e. they can't be removed). On occasion, a Unit Enchantment may add two icons instead of one, indicating a further set of abilities granted to the unit.
Getting Rid of Unit Enchantments[]
There are 4 different ways for a Unit Enchantment to dissipate, although one of these is slightly different depending on whether the spell was cast overland or in combat. Regardless of how an enchantment is removed though, any benefits that it granted will also be immediately lost along with it.
Cancelling Manually[]
As noted above, the owner of a Unit Enchantment can voluntarily cancel it, by opening the target's unit statistics window, finding the icon representing the Unit Enchantment, and then left-clicking on it. However, this is only possible while on the overland map, and thus can only remove the overland version of a Unit Enchantment. During combat, it is not possible to cancel any Unit Enchantment regardless of how it was cast.
Duration Ends / Lack of Mana[]
Unit Enchantments cast on the overland map require an Upkeep Cost to be paid in Mana at the start of each turn. If this is not possible, the spell will end, much the same way that the combat-cast version dissipates automatically at the end of the battle.
Dispel Magic[]
Rival wizards can use any one of four different dispel type spells to try and remove Unit Enchantments from a unit. Dispel Magic and Dispel Magic True are both single-target Combat Instants; while Disenchant Area and Disenchant True can be cast either overland, to target all units on a map tile, or in combat, to affect every unit on the battlefield (in addition to opposing Combat-, and possibly Town Enchantments).
In either case, the game will make a separate dispelling attempt against each individual Unit Enchantment on the target or, for the disenchants, every target. For each success, that particular spell is removed, without affecting any of the ones for which the attempt has failed. It may be worth noting that Unit Abilities, such as Magic Immunity, offer no protection against this. On the other hand, Spell Lock is designed for exactly this purpose, although the spell does unfortunately have some bugs in the latest official game version.
Destruction of the Target[]
If a unit perishes, either in- or outside of combat, any and all Unit Enchantments it carries are immediately lost with it. One notable exception are Regenerating units, who are not actually considered destroyed until the battle ends with their side suffering defeat. In this case, if they have any Overland Unit Enchantments cast on them, they will retain them if resurrected by Regeneration.
Effects[]
Unit Enchantments can serve a multitude of functions, but will generally cause one or more of the following effects:
- Increase the unit's combat attributes, such as Attack Strength, Defense, or Resistance;
- Duplicate one of the game's Unit Abilities, such as Immolation or Invisibility;
- Protect the unit from Damage, or otherwise increase its survivability.
In all cases, a Unit Enchantment applies its benefits only to the specific targeted unit. For spells that affect more the one unit simultaneously, see Combat Enchantment and Global Enchantment.
Combat Attributes[]
Every combat attribute has at least one Unit Enchantment that grants some magnitude of bonus to it. These are listed in the following sections, with enchantments granting more than one distinctive effect included under multiple headings.
Movement[]
- Endurance
- Grants +1 / +1 / +1 (whichever is applicable).
- Flight
- Grants Flying and at least 3.
- Haste
- Doubles Movement Allowance.
- Water Walking
- Grants Swimming (Water Movement).
- These are the only effects that matter in combat. There are also a few other Unit Enchantments that affect overland movement. However, they also all mimic Unit Abilities, and are thus listed among those instead.
Melee Strength[]
- Berserk
- Doubles the score after all other modifiers.
- Black Channels
- Grants +2 to an Undead unit (converts Normal Units and Heroes).
- Flame Blade
- Grants +2 to a Normal Unit or Hero.
- Giant Strength
- Grants +1.
- Lionheart
- Grants +3.
- Units with a base Melee Strength of 0 (such as Settlers and Catapults) do not gain these benefits.
Ranged Attack Strength[]
- Black Channels
- Grants +1 to the strength of any available Ranged Attack of an Undead unit.
- Flame Blade
- Grants +2 or +2 to a Normal Unit or Hero, if they have either.
- Giant Strength
- Grants +1 if the unit has such an attack.
- Lionheart
- Grants +3, +3, or +3, if the target has either.
To Hit Chance[]
- Holy Weapon
- Grants +10% to Melee, Missile, or Boulder attacks made by a Normal Unit or Hero target (also affects Thrown from the unofficial v1.40 onward).
Defense Score[]
- Black Channels
- Grants +1 to an Undead unit (converts Normal Units and Heroes).
- Bless
- Conditionally grants +3 against attacks associated with Chaos or Death (including unit attacks).
- Elemental Armor
- Conditionally grants +10 against Magical attacks associated with Chaos or Nature (including spell damage, but not regular attacks from Fantastic Units).
- Holy Armor
- Grants +2 to a Normal Unit of Hero.
- Iron Skin
- Grants +5.
- Resist Elements
- Conditionally grants +3 against Magical attacks associated with Chaos or Nature, that is not cumulative with Elemental Armor.
- Righteousness
- Conditionally raises to 50 against Magical Ranged attacks associated with Chaos or Death.
- Stone Skin
- Grants +1 that is not cumulative with Iron Skin.
- Some enchantments also indirectly bestow a conditional Defense increase by duplicating one of the Immunity type Unit Abilities. They are listed separately below.
Resistance Score[]
- Black Channels
- Grants +1 to an Undead unit (converts Normal Units and Heroes).
- Bless
- Conditionally grants +3 against spells and Special Attacks associated with Chaos or Death.
- Elemental Armor
- Conditionally grants +10 against spells and Special Attacks associated with Chaos or Nature.
- Lionheart
- Grants +3.
- Resist Elements
- Conditionally grants +3 against spells and Special Attacks associated with Chaos or Nature, that is not cumulative with Elemental Armor.
- Resist Magic
- Conditionally grants +5 against attacks associated with any of the magical Realms (essentially everything except Poison Touch).
- Again, some Unit Enchantments grant a conditional Resistance boost in the form of an Immunity-type ability. In the latest official version of the game, these are not possible to penetrate with even the most extreme stacking of negative Spell Save modifiers, making the actual values irrelevant: the unit will always succeed in avoiding the related attacks.
Hit Points[]
- Black Channels
- Grants +1 per figure to an Undead unit (converts Normal Units and Heroes).
- Lionheart
- Grants +3 per figure.
There is no known upper limit to any of the above combat properties. 255 is the theoretical maximum for most of them, but it is impossible to reach without altering the game files.
Unit Abilities[]
Several Unit Enchantments work by adding a new ability to the unit that it did not previously have. Unit Abilities are listed in the bottom portion of the unit statistics window, and this is the same place where the Unit Enchantment's own icon will appear. On occasion, the actual ability added by the Unit Enchantment will also appear here. The color of the icon's background can typically (but not always) be used to distinguish between innate (which the unit possesses by default), and magical abilities (which it gained through Unit Enchantments): yellow indicates innate abilities, while purple indicates magical ones.
A complete list of the Unit Abilities available through a Unit Enchantment can be found below. However, a unit may never have two instances of the same ability. If it already possesses some ability, and then is affected by a Unit Enchantment that grants the same ability, then no new ability will be added. Occasionally, the game will not allow such a unit to be targeted with the enchantment, but this is usually not the case!
Abilities[]
- Cause Fear -- granted by Cloak of Fear.
- Invisibility -- granted by Invisibility.
- Immolation -- granted by Immolation.
- Non-Corporeal -- granted by Wraithform.
- Pathfinding -- granted by Path Finding.
- Plane Shift -- granted by Planar Travel.
- Regeneration -- granted by Regeneration.
- Wind Walking -- granted by Wind Walking.
Immunities[]
- Cold Immunity -- granted by Black Channels.
- Death Immunity -- granted by Black Channels.
- Illusions Immunity -- granted by Black Channels and True Sight.
- Magic Immunity -- granted by Magic Immunity.
- Missile Immunity -- granted by Guardian Wind.
- Poison Immunity -- granted by Black Channels.
- Weapon Immunity -- granted by Invulnerability and Wraithform.
Unique Effects[]
Some Unit Enchantments provide an effect that is unique to that enchantment. That is, they alter the basic game rules in one way or another, typically in a manner that is not available in the game outside of these specific Unit Enchantments.
Berserk[]
- Berserk is one of the two combat-only Unit Enchantments. It doubles the target's Melee Attack Strength, applied after all other calculations of the attribute; but at the same time, it also reduces the unit's Defense to 0, again applied after all other modifiers. However, it's worth noting that conditional effects, including Immunities, can override the latter effect.
Eldritch Weapon[]
- Eldritch Weapon is the only effect in the game capable of reducing the base 30% chance To Block. Whenever a unit affected by this spell performs a Melee Attack (including Counter Attacks), Thrown Attack, or Ranged Missile Attack, its target will suffer a temporary reduction of -10% for the duration of resolving the attack. In other words, each point of its Defense has only a base 20% chance of blocking a point of Damage.
Haste[]
- In addition to doubling Movement Allowance in combat, whenever a unit affected by this spell is ordered to attack, or is performing a Counter Attack, it will make 2 attacks in rapid succession instead of the normal 1. However, Ranged Magical Attacks are excluded from this, and other types of Ranged Attacks may still be subject to the limitations imposed by Ammunition (of which they will naturally use a double amount).
Heroism[]
- This spell raises the Experience Level of a Normal Unit or Hero to 3 for as long as it is in effect, and will automatically dissipate once the unit naturally acquires enough Experience Points to attain that level. It stacks with both Warlord and Crusade to grant even higher levels, although this quirk will not work if Heroism is cast in combat.
Invulnerability[]
- In addition to granting Weapon Immunity as noted above, Invulnerability also automatically blocks 2 points of Damage from any attack directed at the enchanted unit. That is, it acts as if the unit had an extra +2 with a 100% block chance; roughly equivalent to +7 with the base block chance of 30%, except without the uncertainty of random rolls. This effect only applies when Defense Rolls can or could otherwise be made though.
Righteousness[]
- This enchantment grants an effect that is nearly identical to that of Magic Immunity, except it only applies against spells and effects that are markedly associated with the Realms of Chaos or Death. The game typically checks for the presence of this enchantment right after checking for the immunity, and branches to the same resolution if either is present.
Spell Lock[]
- The main purpose of Spell Lock is to protect other enchantments cast on its target. In addition, if applied to a Fantastic Unit, it also provides immunity from the spells Banish, Great Unsummoning, Dispel Evil, and Holy Word.
Temporary and Permanent Effects[]
The majority of Unit Enchantments provide completely temporary effects. This means that whatever benefits are bestowed on a unit will only last as long as the Unit Enchantment remains in play. If the spell is ever removed, its effects will immediately disappear along with it. However, there are also four spells in the game that can permanently alter a unit, although only one of these is a true Unit Enchantment, and its permanent effect is almost completely separate from the real enchantment.
The first of these spells is Lycanthropy, an overland Instant Spell that is also commonly considered a Summoning Spell. This transforms a Normal Unit entirely into Werewolves, leaving behind no trace of the original unit. As such, it has no listed effect in the unit statistics window, and can not be removed or undone.
The next two spells are closely related to each other, and are often considered to be forms of Unit Enchantments. These are Chaos Channels, and its Global version Doom Mastery which, while in effect, will automatically apply the first spell to every Normal Unit that its caster creates. Chaos Channels confers one of three permanent benefits to its target, but is not a true Unit Enchantment, despite the fact that the icons of all of its effects have the purple backgrounds that typically indicate these. Once cast, this spell can not be removed short of destroying the unit, and has no Upkeep Cost either; instead marking the unit as a creature of Chaos with all the benefits and drawbacks that this entails (see the spell's description for more details).
Finally, Black Channels is the only true Unit Enchantment of this selection. However, this spell comes with a caveat: its bonuses will only affect the Undead. This is neither an ability, nor a true enchantment (despite the icon's purple background), but rather, an attribute that comes with multiple strings attached, and is entirely permanent. When Black Channels is cast on a unit without this trait (both Normal Units and Heroes are valid targets for the spell), it will grant it. Permanently. Should the enchantment itself be removed one way or another, the Undead attribute will remain, and continue to exert all of its effects until the unit is destroyed or the game ends.
List of Unit Enchantments[]
The list below details each of the 33 Unit Enchantments available in the game.
Name | Realm | Rarity | Cost | Combat Cost |
Upkeep | Research | Short Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bless | Life | Common | 25 | 5 | 1 | 20 | Target unit receives +3 and +3 against all attacks and effects associated with the Death and Chaos Realms. |
Endurance | Life | Common | 30 | -- | 1 | 60 | Target unit receives +1 Movement Allowance. |
Heroism | Life | Common | 100 | 20 | 2 | 250 | Target Normal Unit or Hero is temporarily considered to have 120 XP, gaining levels and corresponding benefits appropriately. |
Holy Armor | Life | Common | 90 | 18 | 2 | 130 | Target Normal Unit or Hero receives +2. |
Holy Weapon | Life | Common | 50 | 10 | 1 | 80 | Target Normal Unit or Hero receives +10% and can ignore Weapon Immunity. |
Invulnerability | Life | Rare | 200 | 40 | 5 | 1040 | The first two Damage points the enchanted unit suffers from most sources are automatically blocked. The unit also gains Weapon Immunity. |
Lionheart | Life | Rare | 200 | 40 | 4 | 880 | Target unit receives +3, +3 / +3 / +3, +3, +3, and +3. |
Planar Travel | Life | Uncommon | 150 | -- | 5 | 680 | Target unit receives the Plane Shift ability, and may now cross freely between the Planes. |
Righteousness | Life | Rare | 200 | 40 | 2 | 1120 | Target unit becomes nearly invulnerable to Death and Chaos spell effects and Special Attacks. |
True Sight | Life | Uncommon | 100 | 20 | 2 | 300 | Grants the Illusions Immunity ability. |
Elemental Armor | Nature | Rare | 175 | 35 | 5 | 880 | Grants +10 and +10 against Nature- and Chaos-related spell effects, Special-, and Ranged Magical Attacks. |
Giant Strength | Nature | Common | 40 | 8 | 1 | 80 | Target unit receives +1 and, if it has such an attack, also +1. |
Iron Skin | Nature | Rare | 200 | 40 | 5 | 1120 | Target unit receives +5. |
Path Finding | Nature | Uncommon | 50 | -- | 1 | 560 | Grants the Pathfinding ability. |
Regeneration | Nature | Very Rare | 300 | 60 | 10 | 1850 | Grants the Regeneration ability. |
Resist Elements | Nature | Common | 25 | 5 | 1 | 40 | Grants +3 and +3 against Nature- and Chaos-related spell effects, Special-, and Ranged Magical Attacks. |
Stone Skin | Nature | Common | 50 | 10 | 1 | 160 | Target unit receives +1. |
Water Walking | Nature | Common | 50 | -- | 1 | 190 | Grants the target the Swimming Movement Type. |
Flight | Sorcery | Uncommon | 125 | 25 | 3 | 560 | Grants the target the Flying Movement Type, possibly also increasing its Movement Allowance and scouting range. |
Guardian Wind | Sorcery | Common | 50 | 10 | 2 | 80 | Grants the Missile Immunity ability. |
Haste | Sorcery | Rare | -- | 50 | -- | 1700 | The target unit's Movement Allowance is doubled in combat. Most Attack Types are also executed twice on a single command. |
Invisibility | Sorcery | Rare | 175 | 35 | 10 | 960 | Grants the Invisibility ability. |
Magic Immunity | Sorcery | Rare | 250 | 50 | 5 | 1600 | Grants the Magic Immunity ability. |
Resist Magic | Sorcery | Common | 25 | 5 | 1 | 20 | Target unit receives +5 against everything except Poison Touch. |
Spell Lock | Sorcery | Uncommon | 100 | 20 | 1 | 450 | This enchantment must be removed from the unit before any other Unit Enchantments can be dispelled. |
Wind Walking | Sorcery | Rare | 250 | -- | 10 | 1040 | Grants the Wind Walking ability. |
Eldritch Weapon | Chaos | Common | 75 | 15 | 1 | 130 | Target Normal Unit or Hero inflicts a -10% penalty on their opponent when using Melee-, Thrown-, or Ranged Missile Attacks, and can ignore Weapon Immunity. |
Flame Blade | Chaos | Uncommon | 125 | 25 | 2 | 450 | Target Normal Unit or Hero receives +2, +2, and +2, and can ignore Weapon Immunity. |
Immolation | Chaos | Uncommon | 150 | 30 | 2 | 740 | Grants the Immolation ability. |
Berserk | Death | Uncommon | -- | 30 | -- | 740 | Doubles a unit's Melee Attack Strength, but sets its Defense to 0 for the duration of the battle. |
Black Channels | Death | Uncommon | 100 | -- | 1 | 500 | Target Undead unit receives +2, +1, +1, +1, and +1 to any available Ranged or Short Range Attack Strength. Targeting a Normal Unit or Hero will permanently turn them Undead as a side effect. |
Cloak of Fear | Death | Common | 60 | 12 | 1 | 80 | Grants the Cause Fear ability. |
Wraith Form | Death | Rare | 150 | 30 | 3 | 880 | Grants the Non-Corporeal and Weapon Immunity abilities. |