Artifacts

[GrudgeBringer]

I was reading the mauual and came across an artifact called Horror Harmonica.

It says it lets horrors loose on the battlefield and they kill eveything in sight (both sides).

Why would I want to invest in this item when I would lose it after using it one time.

Wouldn't Ghost riders ect be better use of gems?

Also, I have been reading on 2 other items.

Momolith armour and ring of sorcery.

I understand ring of sorcery and what ti can do for you but is it worth getting it over other valuable artifacts.

Monolith armour ( I come from the RPG background that says better armour longer life).

Would that Armour be good on a commander (say a Myrmidin) with boots of the messenger or would it need the amulet of resilance also because it s so heavy.

I don't think I have ever seen anyone use it before so I was wondering its actual value.

Thanks!!

[Tolkien]

Horror Harmonica gives the commander holding it the ability to call horrors, which is a great ability if you are an astral nation that can cast astral geyser or horror mark to direct them. It means you don't have to go through the difficulty of using blood slaves on the battlefield, and it turns an otherwise useless indy commander into a useful part of your magic. It's still a very hefty investment though: 40 astral and 25 death gems, without a hammer, but honestly, it's worth it (if you get all the other good artifacts first, like the Sickle Whose Crop is Pain[great for death gem income if you have a quickened SC/thug] or the Chalice or the Aegis). Having an infinite, no blood slave, cast Call Horror is more useful then the 40 or so longdead horsemen you could get with 20 death gems.

I find the armor goes well with encum-0 commanders, like undead or elemental royalty etc, since they don't accumulate fatigue. It also gives a nice regen boost. If you're going to give it to a Myrm, then I suggest making sure the net encumberance is lower then the net reinvigoration, however much they are.

EDIT: Though the thing about horrors is that if the enemy army is completely killed and you still have horrors on the field, they'll start hitting you. Unless you horror mark the horrors, which I do believe leads to them attacking each other.

Also, according to the manual, the harmonica lowers morale by 2 (not sure whose though, the wielders methinks) and also automatically casts the wailing winds battlefield enchantment, a Fear+0 attack on all enemies. That makes it doubly useful.

And don't put a harmonica on an important commander/mage/prophet/god. It horror marks, and horror marks are bad. Badbadbadbadbad. Especially on your god.

[lch]

The Horror Harmonica is great for carrying around in itself, because it lets the battle take place under the "Wailing Winds" effect, which will make your enemy rout much faster.

[esd29a]

Rings of sorcery/wizardry are good if you want to cast/forge something specific but none of your mages have enough skill. They are too expensive for general battlefield use, I think. Ring of sorcery in particular can be useful to get started in death/nature/blood as it boosts these paths but does not require them in forging.

Monolith armour (and other heavy armours) also reduces battlefield movement speed (AP) of its user. Flight might be a good idea.
I would not give it to a Myrmidon. The regeneration it grants scales with the users hitpoints - around 2-3 hp/turn on a human is not worth much. And in Dominions there are many, many spells/attacks (frozen heart, various lightnings, etc) that bypass or pierce armour. A high hp and 0 enc unit would make better use of it.

In general, expensive/unique items are rarely useful on human commanders as their hitpoints are too low.

[Psycho]

GB, do you remember that battle we had in Momentum, when I destroyed your army with horrors. Well, they came from horror harmonica. A bane lord held it. He had the armor of virtue as well, so he couldn't get killed. And I sent one sorceress as well to spam horror mark on your troops.

[Executor]

Yeah great item, especially combined with boots of quickness and oath rod of kurgi. Twin spear which calls horrors also workd pretty well on contrary to what other people say. With those two items I killed hundreds in one game, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[Ironhawk]

Another thing to remember about horrors (and other "nuetral" monsters) is that you dont have to stick around to find out how the battle resolves. So if you go into a battle, drop 5 horrors on your enemy, and then run away you will likely have inflicted very asymetric casualties on them.

[GrudgeBringer]

LOL, yes I DO remember losing that whole army to you Psycho.

Say I have Horror Harmaoica and put it on a mage (any mage) and cast Horrors but don't horror mark and then retreat.

What school is the spell Horror mark in?

If I cast Horrors and DON'T horror mark will it still attack the province and can I get out of there quick enough with cast and retreat?

ALSO, is it bad form to attack and retreat?

I thought I saw something about doing not doing that as a matter of honor.

Thanks guys....I am learning so much getting my A*** kicked that in about 30 more whoopins I should be about an average playr!!

[Psycho]

Horror mark is Thaumaturgy 1. It is not bad form to attack and retreat. You can attack, drop a horror or two and retreat.

But, bear in mind that horror harmonica horror marks the one carrying it, so he will be the first one to get attacked by horrors. That's why you want to bring a horror-marking mage along. It may be safe to use it on the first turn you equip it, before it horror marks the one carrying it.

And if you are not teleporting the one carrying it, it is better to put it on a regular commander and give him boots of quickness, so he'll cast two horrors per battle round. Even better to use a more durable commander like bane lord or firbolg. I've found out that a mage won't use horror harmonica after the third horror and will switch to casting spells.

[Fate]

I thought no Cast&Retreat was mostly in regards to the MoD bug (that the phantoms keep spawning after the caster has died/left the battlefield).

I know Lammashtas & retreat is a commonly used death magic trick.