Combat

Moving onto an enemy's tile is an attack. If the attacker is strong enough they take hearts from the target and may kill it. Attacks can do other things too like poison the target or break fragile objects.

The damage formula

Attack − Shields = Damage

The target's Shields are first reduced by the attacker's Pierce. Damage is never below zero. Hearts and attack and Shields all come in halves so a 1.5 attack against 0.5 Shields does one heart of damage.

• Attack is how hard you hit. A hero's base attack is their attack with no weapon. A weapon replaces it with its own attack and some items add a bonus on top.
• Shields block some of the damage. Armor adds to it. Standing in a forest adds to it. Beware pierce attacks.
• Pierce lets an attack ignore that much Shields. It does not add to damage.

Every hero and creature page shows these numbers.

Who moves first

Most beasts take a turn to notice the hero so you can react first. Hostile beasts attack as soon as they can. Others only fight back when attacked. Many beasts do not like each other and fight among themselves instead.

High ground and cover

Enemies must struggle up a hill to attack you on top of it. Forests add to Shields and let some heroes hide. Lure beasts that take heat damage into the desert.

Special attacks

Some weapons do more than damage. Hammers stun on hit. Crossbows stun when fired. Whips and spears reach. Some weapons knock the enemy back or cleave several enemies in one swing. Each item page says what its weapon does.

Weapons are the worst thing to have stolen. Drop your weapon to protect it from thieves.

Taming instead of fighting

Give a beast food it likes and it becomes tame. Tame beasts follow you and fight for you. Once a beast has been attacked it will not take food. Each creature page lists what it can be tamed with.

Steeds in combat

A steed absorbs all damage from attacks and spells meant for the rider. If the steed dies you land on its tile. See Riding.

Spells

Scrolls cast a magic spell on the tiles around the hero and are used up. Fire burns and ice freezes and wind pushes. Some heroes cast weak spells and some cannot read at all. Scrolls that get wet are destroyed. See Scrolls.

Rage

Some things make the hero enraged. An enraged hero hits everything around them and can break doors.