[Lyzra]

Mhhh, my approach in games usually is to play them at start without touching any manuals.

Bear with me, being older gamer and testign allmost every game I bother to try over time you become familiar with UI's and various ways things are allmost ALLWAYS set in games, thus manuals often aint all that important.

Yet, dominions does require some need for manual. For instance its bit hard to decipher how the actual sense for building forts/cities work. Its explained in the manual well but without it your kinda blind to that aspect. Another one is perhaps the little bonuses from various magic paths to an individual knowing them, aswell how the pretender bless works from paths.

Basics are pretty much just that, you create armies of varying forces and position them so you dont screw yourself up.

I do recall one of my 'ace' associates playing dominions and creating a pretender for abyssia, one that used blood magic. He went into battle with plenty of bloodslaves and all abyssian troops in a cluster around himself. Needless to say the heat aura of his troops killed all of the slaves.
Did I mention to raise the issue of him being 'ace' with games in general.

Manual is also very useful in determining WHICH paths of magic you need to have for certain intem construction, otherwise you never know until you have the appropriate paths.