- LIBERATION: TUNNELS AND TROGLODYTES -

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Narrative: The Dungeon Overlords are clever. While the devils of Eeofol attacked Erathia's borders, the forces of Nighon tunneled nearly the entire distance to Steadwick, launching surprise attacks almost simutaneously across the nation. We should credit the Royal Erathian Military Command for holding the invasion to just the eastern half of Erathia. Regardless, we now have the Dungeon Overlords on the run. Your job is to pursue them back under the Nighon Straits and establish a foothold in THEIR home. Forces from AvLee and Bracada will assist us in this final push. No Nighon or Eeofol outposts can be permitted to survive in the tunnels. We must teach the Dungeon Overlords a lesson they will never forget.

Size: Large
Difficulty: Hard
Number of Players: 2
Your Color: Red
Starting Town: One Castle, One Rampart, and One Tower
Alliances: None
Win Conditions: Defeat all enemies.
Lose Conditions: Lose all your towns and heroes.
Special Rules:If you found either the Speculum or Spyglass in Neutral Affairs, it follows you to this scenario.
Scenario Description: To win, you must capture all enemy towns and castles and defeat all enemy heroes. Some border guards can be passed only if a Hero carries a quest artifact from the previous scenario, but the award is excellent.

Suggested Solution:

A. Starting bonus - three level 1 Mage Guilds

B. Approach - concentrate on upgrading one town to level 7 creatures and explore fast and extensively

C. Strategy - if you decide to go with your Castle (which would be my recomendation), don't neglect the other two towns completely. Getting up to Unicorns is pretty easy and the Cloud Temple is very cost effective too. Try to be that far up the creature tree by the end of week two. Send a minor hero out to patrol the seas, while your main hero explores the near by underground. It is important for you to beat the computer to the goodies which are scatterred just beneath your territory. Let the other two starting heroes take care of the overhead areas. Keep in mind that the enemy starts with five Dungeons, three of which are at least forts. You must not slack off or you'll be overwhelmed in a couple of months. Either Relic behind the Border Guards will help you throughout the game, so by all means take it and equip it on your best hero. Magic will probably be the deciding factor here. Don't be afraid to upgrade your Mage guilds (not at the expense of creature dwellings, of course). Town Portal is one of the most valuable spells you can learn. Be on the lookout for the Earth Magic secondary skill because with three guilds there's a pretty good chance the Town Portal spell will appear in one of them. Logistics is another excellent skill to have.

A hero with expert Logistics and expert TP can control a huge area without much problem. Be aware that this level may very well develop into a war of attrition, so don't be afraid to resort to hit-and-run tactics. Raiding an enemy base at the end of the week and running/jumping out at the beginning of the next one will slow the enemy down considerably and may even earn you some Black Dragons and a few extra spells in the process. Leadership is yet another skill you may find handy if you're forced to mix top creatures to match the enemy in army strength. All of the computer-controlled towns are underground. They are arranged in a spearhead fashion with the main base serving as the spear's point at the far eastern part of the tunnels. You can access the underground from any of the Subterranean Gates in your territory or you can sail across the sea to find another gate which will take you straight to the main enemy town. Some tips:

1. Take a cheap scout along with your main hero when you are venturing deep into enemy territory. That way you can reduce the chances of being ambushed by a superior force
2. Check your Thief Guilds often - if the hero who appears as their best on a consistent basis is of comparable stats, you'll probably have to deal with a super hero
3. Don't let the enemy near the white Keymaster's Tent - it protects the access to the one way monolith - leave the the golems guarding it alone if you have to (you can always purchase boats from the upper Shipyard, which is unguarded)
4. The Wizard's Hat is located near the middle Subterranean Gate - take it, it will give you command of some awesome spells that may not be otherwise available to you.