When creating a pretender, a number of options are available for bless effects. These can be applied to sacred units, and are an important part of pretender design. Each magic path on the pretender above 4 confers a number of bless points equal to the corresponding path level. Having 3 in all elemental or sorcery paths also enables bless points for those paths. Bless points can then be spent on the effects listed below. Some effects require certain scale choices in addition to consumin bless points. Various options can be taken multiple times, which causes their effects to stack.
Additionally, the more powerful effects are incarnate only, activating only when the pretender god is present on the tactical map. These effects will be inactive both before the pretender awakens, and while the pretender is dead.
Sacred units can become blessed by a priest, by certain items, or when in a battle with a pretender or disciple in friendly dominion.
Not all priests are created equal.
1 priests can bless small groups of sacreds (AOE 5) (+1 for every extra level of the caster).
2 priests can bless small groups of sacreds (AOE 6, since they get the +1 bonus).
3+ priests can cast divine blessing, which blesses all sacred units on the battlefield.
Any pretender or commander that has magic paths will gain passive bonuses from those paths, provided they meet the criteria for the path outlined in the following table.
Air | Shock Resistance +3 at ![]() |
Fire | Magic Leadership +10, Reduced Max Age |
Earth | Protection +3 at ![]() |
Water | Cold Resistance +3 at ![]() |
Astral | Magic Leadership +10 |
Death | Undead Leadership +30, +1 to existing fear (pretender gains fear 5 if they have ![]() |
Nature | Supply Bonus +10, Magic Leadership +5, Poison Resistance +3 at ![]() |
Blood | Undead Leadership +5, Magic Leadership +5 |
For example, a pretender with 4
5 will gain +4 Protection, +20 Magic Leadership, +5 Fear, and +150 Undead Leadership (in addition to whatever bless effects they have).
Some of these matter more than others. Of particular note, the undead provided by death magic is a key component of undead armies, and the protection provided by earth magic can be used to create an awake expander.
Max age changes are done in 50% increments of the default max age, and depend on the type of creature: undead are affected by Death magic, inanimate creatures by Earth magic, demons by Blood magic and all others by Nature magic, in that order of priority. If your age is affected by Nature magic, every point in fire magic reduces your max age by 5%.
Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Superior Morale | +1 Morale | Yes | ||||
![]() | ![]() | Wasteland Survival | Wastland survival trait | ||||
![]() | Minor Fire Resistance | FR+5 | |||||
![]() | Major Fire Resistance | Fr+10 | |||||
![]() | Attack Skill | +2 attack skill | Yes | ||||
![]() | Inspirational Presence | +1 Inspirational, +30 leadership | Yes | ||||
![]() | Death Explosion | On death 10AP fire damage, 5Aoe | Yes | ||||
![]() | Heat Aura | Heat3, FR+10 | Yes | ||||
![]() | Fire Shield | Fire shield (6AP damage) | Yes | ||||
![]() | Flaming Weapons | 6AP fire damage on all weapons except natural ranged weapons | Yes | 1 | |||
![]() | Awe | Awe+1 | Yes |
Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Minor Shock Resistance | SR+5 | |||||
![]() | Precision | Precision+1 | Yes | ||||
![]() | Farshot | Weapon Range +30% (not for spells or natural weapons) | Yes | ||||
![]() | Swiftness | Swiftness trait (+30% combat speed, +1 defence) | Yes | ||||
![]() | Major Shock Resistance | SR+10 | |||||
![]() | Charged Bodies | 10AN shock damage on first hit (also hits the charged guy) | |||||
![]() | Wind Walker | Map Movement +6 | Yes | ||||
![]() | Air Shield | Air shield 80 trait (Blocks 80% of all projectiles) | Yes | ||||
![]() | Thunder Weapons | 1AN capped shock damage + 3AN fatigue damage on all weapons except natural ranged weapons. | Yes | 1 |
Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Minor Cold Resistance | CR+5 | |||||
![]() | ![]() | Winter's Gift | Snow Move trait (No movement penalties from cold climate) | ||||
![]() | ![]() | Swamp Survival | Swamp Survival trait | 1 | |||
![]() | Water Walking | Swimming trait (Can cross rivers in heat dominion) | |||||
![]() | Major Cold Resistance | CR+10 | |||||
![]() | Defence Skill | Defence +2 | Yes | ||||
![]() | ![]() | Frost Weapons | 8 cold damage on all weapons except natural ranged weapons. | 1, 2 | |||
![]() | Chill Aura | Chill aura 3, CR +10 | Yes | ||||
![]() | Water Breathing | Water breathing trait | Yes | ||||
![]() | ![]() | Quickness | Quickness trait (2 attacks per combat turn, double combat speed, attack+2, defence+2) | Yes |
Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Mountain Survival | Mountain Survival trait | |||||
![]() | Reinvigoration | Reinvigoration+1 | Yes | ||||
![]() | Reconstruction | Inanimates don't have 'Never heals' trait | |||||
![]() | Strength of the Earth | Strength +2 | Yes | 1 | |||
![]() | Unbreakable | 75% Affliction protection | |||||
![]() | ![]() | Larger | +1 Size, +30% HP, +3 Strength, -1 defence, +2 Map Movement | 1 | |||
![]() | Fire&Shock Resistance | FR+10, SR+10 | Yes | ||||
![]() | Hard Skin | Natural protection +5 | Yes | ||||
![]() | Fortitude | Pierce, slash and blunt resistant traits (50% damage reduction) | Yes |
Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Minor Magic Resistance | MR+1 | |||||
![]() | Arcane Command | +10 Magic Leadership | Yes | ||||
![]() | ![]() | Spirit Sight | Spirit Sight trait (can see in darkness, no penalty versus invisible) | ||||
![]() | Major Magic Resistance | MR+2 | |||||
![]() | ![]() | Solar Weapons | 3AP damage, triple versus undead/demons, except natural ranged attacks | 1 | |||
![]() | Magic Weapons | All weapons become magical except natural ranged weapons | |||||
![]() | Far Caster | +50% combat spell range | |||||
![]() | Arcane Finesse | +1 to magic resistance penetration, applies to spells and some magic natural attacks | |||||
![]() | Twist Fate | Twist Fate buff (First successful attack is negated) | Yes | ||||
![]() | ![]() | Fateweaving | MR Save or suffer Cursed Luck debuff on striking blessed unit | Yes | 1 | ||
![]() | ![]() | Luck | Luck trait | Yes | |||
![]() | ![]() | Etherealness | Ethereal trait | Yes |
Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Undying | Undying HP+2 (Additional HP Pool once HP falls below 0, non-undead that end a battle still on the field but with negative HP die after battle) | Yes | 1 | |||
![]() | Undead Command | Undead leadership +20 | Yes | ||||
![]() | ![]() | Half Dead | Sacred units don't need to eat and can resist disease | ||||
![]() | Withering Weapons | All weapons (except natural ranged ones) cause decay, MR resist | 1 | ||||
![]() | Stygian Flesh | +10 Invulnerability | Yes | ||||
![]() | Reforming Flesh | +10% regeneration for undead | Yes | ||||
![]() | Reanimators | 50% to revive a killed enemy as undead minion | Yes | ||||
![]() | Death Weapons | All weapons (except natural ranged ones) deal additional 2AN & disease, individually MR resisted | Yes | 1 | |||
![]() | Fear | Fear 5 | Yes |
Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Resilient | +1 HP | Yes | ||||
![]() | Low Light Vision | 50% Darkvision | |||||
![]() | Minor Poison Resistance | +5 PR | |||||
![]() | Major Poison Resistance | +10 PR | |||||
![]() | Forest Survival | Forest Survival trait | |||||
![]() | ![]() | Unaging | Sacreds age at 1/4th speed. Retroactive, except for certain commanders hard coded as Old | ||||
![]() | ![]() | Poison Weapons | +5 poison damage on attacks, except natural ranged attacks | 1 | |||
![]() | Recuperation | Recuperation trait (recover from afflictions) | Yes | ||||
![]() | Berserker | Berserker +2 | Yes | ||||
![]() | Barkskin | Barkskin buff (10 natural prot, -5 FR) | Yes | ||||
![]() | Regeneration | Regeneration +10% | Yes | 1 |
Main Cost | Secondary Cost | Required Scale | Name | Effect | Incarnate | Repeatable | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Strong Vitae | +1 HP | Yes | ||||
![]() | Strength of the Flesh | +2 Strength | Yes | 1 | |||
![]() | Blood Surge | Upon killing, sacred gains temporary buff for a few rounds (+3 Att, +3 Str, +1 Def, +1 Reinvig). Does not trigger upon killing inanimates | 1, 2 | ||||
![]() | Blood Bond | 50% of damage taken is transferred to other sacreds within 5 squares | Yes | 1 | |||
![]() | Unholy Weapons | +10 AP damage, only affecting enemy sacreds and gods, on all weapons except natural ranged attacks | Yes | ||||
![]() | Blood Vengeance | Attackers must make MR save or take equal damage | Yes | 1 |
Thunder weapons can stun for 1 round (-75% defense skill). Good vs size 3+ units and single units (giants & thugs), though larger units have an increased chance to resist based on their HP (stun chance = 5% + [(1 AN + DRN vs resistance) / target HP] %). Countered by any amount of shock resistance.
Frost weapon with it's 8 damage is usually not capable to getting through even the weakest of prot and generally not considered useful.
Strength booster are often better damage bless effects compared to specific weapon blesses.
Withering Weapons is usually not fast enough acting to help in troop engagements, but it can ruin thugs/SCs.
Blood Bond does not propagate 999 damage effects as they are considered special.
Swamp Survival protects agains MA C'tis disease dominion.
Blood Surge is not a once-per battle effect but activates anew after each kill.
See cursed-luck
Blood Vengeance damage is untyped and tagged as internal, meaning many special types of reduction such as twist fate or mistform don't apply to it.
This section lists general bless templates that my be useful for a variety of nations. It is intended as a general starting point, not as a specific guide. See also pretenders.