Question about Horrors...

[earwicker7]

If you're wanting your enemy to be attacked by horrors, do you have to both horror mark them AND summon horrors, or do you just horror mark them and the horrors show up kind of like "random monsters" in D&D? The manual is a bit confusing to a newbie, as it says that "a horror mark will result in a small chance each month that a unit will be attacked by a horror", which makes it sound like random monsters, but it also mentions ritual spells that allow you to summon a horror, which makes it sound like the horrors have to be summoned before they can attack someone.

Is there an easy way to explain this to someone who is very confused? Thanks!

[Kobal2]

Both are true.

Any character which has been Horror Marked by any mean has a chance to get randomly attacked by a random Horror out of the blue at the start of every turn. The more marked they are, the higher the chance and the beefier the Horror. There's no stopping them from coming, or cleansing the mark. That guy is a dead man walking.

Most Horror attacks also mark their targets, so even if they survive, they're eventually boned - but this is not the only way to catch a Mark, which is perhaps what is confusing you. You can also get marked by some regular battle spells, and by carrying certain items (such as Lightless Lantern)

You can *also* summon Horrors in battle or through rituals at which point they'll proceed to destroy both sides, but this is a separate mechanic. Those summoned Horrors will still home in on any marked character present first, so you can do a round of marking before summoning them to get better odds that the summoning won't go too pear shaped for you. Or you could just send a small, unsupported mage squad to spawn a bunch of Horrors on an invading army before retreating to watch the fireworks from a safe distance.

[Hrum]

It works both ways.

Horror Marks:

The manual is correct about horror marks, which is an attribute that a unit can be tagged with (certain items cause horror marks to the wielder, there's a battlefield spell that you can cast to mark your enemies, and anyone who has ever been hit by a horror will be marked).

Horror Marks never go away. You can re-summon a dead pretender who was marked and he's still marked. Someone can send your Ice Demon to Kokytos and he finds his way out of there and back into your service - he's still marked. You can have affliction removing effects making all your dudes really healthy - doesn't change horror marks.

Horror Marks (like Horrors) come in levels of severity. Higher level marks call nastier horrors, and call them more often (?).

Horrors:

Horrors are monsters that have a chance every turn of attacking anyone who has a horror mark (depends on the mark I think).

Horrors are always independent units (I don't think you can enslave them - has anyone ever taken control of a horror?). They attack anyone and everyone present when summoned, but they are more interested in those with horror marks than they are other units.

Horrors can also be summoned as a battlefield spell by mages - also mages with the correct paths (both astral and blood) can remote send horrors at any province as a ritual.

When a horror shows up in battle (because someone summoned him) he will attack people with marks first. Then he'll just attack closest (though he may seek out mages with astral paths after killing everyone who is marked but before switching to attack closest).

When a horror shows up because of a horror mark, the event works like a commander assassination. The horror faces off against the marked unit in a 1 on 1 fight and usually whoever faces the horror dies. If a really buff unit was horror marked (a kitted out thug or SC), that unit might kill the horror and survive, but usually gets hit once or twice (horrors have armor negating attacks - your protection won't help you) increasing the level of the mark. Horrors will now be summoned to assassinate that unit more frequently and they will be nastier horrors. This keeps happening until the unit dies. The horrors will never stop coming, they'll only come bigger, badder and more frequently.

==========
Mashup of Terminator series and Horrors from Dom3:

-Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 [Lesser Horror]: Sarah Conner?
-Sarah Conner: Yes
-CSM 101 [LH]: *stab*

(Sarah Conner survives somehow.)

-CSM T-1000 (Horror): Sarah Conner?
-Sarah Conner: Not again!
-CSM T-1000 (H): *stab* *stab*

(Sarah Conner survives somehow - it's good to be the lead.)

-CSM T-X (Dream Horror): Graaaahh!
-Sarah Conner: Oh sh**!!
-CSM T-X (DH): *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* *STAB*
*Sarah Conner dies*

Sarah Conner: Time! I call time out! What the?! I mean, didn't we alter the timeline so these guys aren't going to keep coming or whatever? Is my script up to date?

-Director: Uh, no, you've got the correct re-write. The horrors don't actually care about timelines - they can exist in all timelines simultaneously, past, present and future. They come from this other dimension and - uh, basically, once you're marked you're terminated. You know, they can't be bargained with, or reasoned with. They don't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And they absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are - you get where I'm going with this, right?

[earwicker7]

So when they are summoned by ritual, they immediately turn independent? So, basically, you tell them where to go the first turn, but after that, you have no control? Also, as an independent, that would mean they just stay in the province where summoned?

Lots to learn lol.

[thejeff]

No. They vanish after the battle.

You can take a province by casting Send (Lesser) Horror and attacking with a scout the same turn. Unless the enemy is moving troops to the province as well.

Make sure the scout is coming from another province, not unhiding in the same one.

[earwicker7]

Originally Posted by thejeff

No. They vanish after the battle.

You can take a province by casting Send (Lesser) Horror and attacking with a scout the same turn. Unless the enemy is moving troops to the province as well.

Make sure the scout is coming from another province, not unhiding in the same one.

What is the reason for not unhiding?

[thejeff]

A stealthy unit that attacks from within a province will join in a ritual phase battle, if you have others teleporting in. I'm not 100% sure that applies to remote attacks, but I'd be worried about it.

[Jarkko]

In one EA MP game I as Abysia sent Lesser Horrors to five or six hostile provinces and then moved in with the flying scouts, only one such attack failed (one Lesser Horror sent to a province failed to kill the pretender there (I wasn't aware he was there), so my scout flew in to meet the full PD boosted by a pretender; however the Lesser Horror still managed to mark the pretender, so I was happy ). At the same time the armies moved over the border (and a flying army of demonbreds hit their capital). As it was still pretty early in the game (second year, around turn 15 or so if I remember correctly), the war was over immediatly. Too bad my other neighbours didn't appreciate the masterful (if I may say so ) coup, and I got stampeded by them