Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death/Rise of the Necromancer

Sandro must fight his way past his old master and several other lords who want the artifacts he carries. Once in Deyja he will make allies and rise to the top of the Deyja hierarchy.

Target

• Map size: medium
• Enemies: 5
• Difficulty: Normal
• Start bonus: a scroll of Lightning Bolt OR 8 Walking Dead OR +2 Attack Skill (choose +2 Attack)
• Level cap: 5
• Loss condition: Sandro is defeated in combat.
• Win condition: Defeat all enemies.
• Starting town: Coldreign (Necropolis; has Cursed Temple) in the middle of southern edge of map

There is a road passing by the town, east-west oriented. Restart until Sandro has few Wights, few Walking Dead and pack of Skeletons. Assemble Armor of the Damned and Cloak of the Undead King on Sandro (in the beginning all components are in his backpack).

First week

Recruit two secondary heroes and give all their troops plus all available Skeletons in Coldreign to Sandro. Said road has at its western end an Ore Pit and at its eastern end an Sawmill; flag them. The secondary heroes uncover land and pick loose resources (from Treasure Chests take always gold). Sandro goes roughly north of Coldreign, flags a Sulfur Dune, two Gold Mines, a Graveyard. There is also a Cursed Temple to be flagged.

• toward northeast there is exit to another minizone where Tan movements can be seen.
• toward southwest passage to swamp is blocked by White Border Guard.
• toward northwest there are two seers, Lynwood (asks for Sentinel's Shield) and Carsten (asks for Quiet Eye of the Dragon), and a Subterranean Gate (see image).
• toward east there is a desert where Blue player base should be located (an Blue-flagged Ore Pit is visible); passage to desert is blocked by lots of Marksmen who are also guarding a Crystal Cavern.

At week's end:

• Sandro, stationed in Coldreign (Castle, Town Hall, Mage Guild level 1, Necromancy Amplifier, Cursed Temple, Graveyard, Estate), has horde of Skeletons, lots of Walking Dead and lots/pack of other level 1 creatures.

Second week

Build Upgraded Estate, then recruit all Skeletons, Vampire Lords and put them in Sandro's army, who then goes eastward, kills those lots of Marksmen, flags the Crystal Cavern, then marches toward south until arrives at Castigare (Dungeon, Citadel, City Hall, level 1-4 dwellings) and conquers it, vanquishing the Blue player.

The secondary hero who stayed back in Coldreign defends it against siege by one, possible two, Tan hero(es).

Recruit a secondary hero to defend Castigare and flag surrounding mines; some Tan hero could attempt to retake it, by land or disembarking.

At week's end:

• Sandro, somewhere between Castigare and Coldreign (level 5, Expert Necromancy; if Wisdom is offered, take it) has 10 Liches, horde of Walking Dead, 12 Vampire Lords.
• Castigare - Castle
• Coldreign - City Hall, level 1-6 dwellings
• The secondary hero garrisoned in Coldreign has reached level 3.

Third week

Sandro gets from Coldreign all available Liches, Skeletons, Vampire Lords and Wights, giving all Walking Dead to level 3 secondary hero. Then he goes north until arrives at a Garrison, breaks through and conquers Fortune Keep (Rampart; Fort, level 1-3 and 5 dwellings), vanquishing Tan. East of Fortune Keep there is a Shipyard guarded by pack of Griffins.

At week's end:

• Sandro - about 40 Liches, 25 Wights, 20 Vampire Lords, horde of Skeletons.
• Secondary hero - level 3, horde of Walking Dead, lots/pack of level creatures.
• Another two secondary heroes.
• Coldreign - Capitol; all creature dwellings
• Castigare - Castle
• Fortune Keep - Treasury

Weeks 4-6

Sandro gets some more army from Coldreign, then goes from Lynwood the Seer northward alongside sea, clears Medusa Stores and arrives near a neutral Garrison guarded by lots of Pikemen, lots of Archers, pack of Griffins, several Swordsmen, several Monks and several Cavaliers. Instead of attacking it, he goes northward, passing through a pass to a desert, then marches to northeast until arrives at Rockwarren (Stronghold; Castle, level 1-5 dwellings; City Hall; Resource Silo) belonging to Green player, conquering it.

From Rockwarren Orange player movements can be seen toward northwest, beyond a mountain range (the only passage probably is through that neutral Garrison).

A secondary hero (not Necromancer, nor Death Knight) moves toward neutral Garrison with a strong army.

East of Rockwarren there is a Shipyard and an island with two Orc Towers. West of Rockwarren there is White Keymaster's Tent, blocked by Black Border Guard, and second Subterranean Gate (see image).

At end of sixth week:

• Sandro - around Coldreign; has 3 Bone Dragons, about 140 Liches (two stacks), 25 Vampire Lords, 100 Skeletons, lots of Wights, 10 Black Knights.
• that secondary hero near neutral Garrison - level 2, 5 Red Dragons, 50 Beholders, 30 Medus Queens, 60 Harpy Hags, 10 Manticores, 15 Minotaur Kings, 150+ Infernal Troglodytes
• Green player is vanquished.

Weeks 7-8

Secondary hero breaks through neutral Garrison with minimal losses, then passes through another one flagged by Orange player and marches west until arrives at Hoddar (Stronghold; Castle, level 1-5 and 7 dwellings; City Hall) and conquers it, reaching level 5.

If an Orange player (Jabarkas) tries to escape through the two Garrisons, the secondary hero must pursuit and defeat him. From Hoddar toward north there is Purple player zone, on Lava terrain; there is a pass to this zone, but is blocked by Purple Border Guard.

That secondary hero with Dungeon army goes to north until Marletto Tower, then eastward until arrives at Purple-flagged Garrison (unguarded) and Winston the Seer (asks for Titan's Gladius). See image for location.

Ninth week and beyond

In order to finish this scenario there are two possibilities:

• attack right away Purple player through that Purple-flagged Garrison and defeat it (should have only 3 Devils and 8 Efreets), thus ending the scenario in ninth week
• fulfill some quests to strengthen Sandro for the next scenarios

The following constitute a sketch of actions to be performed:

• Sandro goes underground through first Subterranean Gate, then marches north until Death Gate (Necropolis; completely built, including Soul Prison)
• flag Purple Keymaster's Tent located on an island east of Fortune Keep
• flag Black Keymaster's Tent located underground; to reach it, go through second Subterranean Gate and some winding tunnels
• Green Keymaster's Tent is located is southwest of map, behind White Border Guard
• seek Sentinel's Shield and Titan's Gladius; in return for these two artifacts, the visiting hero gets +13 Attack and +13 Defense

Master

• Win condition: defeat Ethric and all his allies
• Loss condition: Sandro is defeated in combat
• Level cap: 10
• Starting bonus: 3000 gold OR +2 Knowledge OR 3 Liches (choose the Liches)
• Map size: small (player must move quickly)
• Difficulty: Hard (changeable)
• Enemies: 3
• Sandro: level 5, Attack=20-25, Defense=20, Power=5, Knowledge=10, has pack of Skeletons, few Walking Dead, few Wights
• Vidomina: level 1, pack of Gremlins, few Stone Golems, few Stone Gargoyles
• Starting town: Cessacioun (Necropolis; Fort, Village Hall, Tavern) located in southeastern zone of map on lava terrain

From starting position can be seen:

• south of Cessacioun an unguarded Estate;
• a road flows from east to west;
• east of Cessacioun an unguarded Sawmill;
• north of town a two-way monolith, beyond a mountain range.

So it seems that the probable exits are east and west.

Days 1-4

Recruit two secondary heroes (both level 3). Put all available Necropolis troops on Sandro. A secondary hero with 1 Skeleton goes west, picking loose resources and flagging an Ore Pit. The other secondary hero remains in Cessacioun to guard it. Sandro flags Estate and recruits 4 Vampires, then goes east, flagging a Gold Mine and the Sawmill. Vidomina follows him. Next Sandro turns north and northwest, passing by a seemingly unguarded Sulfur Dune (do not try to flag it; there is an ambush of three Green Dragons) and that two-way monolith (blocked by Black Border Guard).

At end of day 4:

• Sandro near center of map, around a Gem Pond (north of it there is a Green-flagged Ore Pit; some Green player passed by).
• the secondary hero who went west arrived where lava terrain gives way to grass; there Blue player movements could be seen.
• Cessacioun: Town Hall, Cursed Temple, Graveyard

Days 5-7

Sandro marches toward thar Ore Pit, flags it, then conquers Green Falls (Rampart, Citadel, level 1-3 dwellings, City Hall; belongs to Green player). Meanwhile movements of Orange player have been seen behind Black Border Guard. Afterwards Sandro goes north, passing by Purple Border Gate (blocks access to northwestern zone of map); also north of Green Falls there is a Subterranean Gate and further north Red Keymaster's Tent guarded by several Dread Knights. Build Citadel in Cessacioun if some Blue player approaches.

At end of week 1:

• Cessacioun - Citadel, level 1-2 and 4 dwellings, Mage Guild level 1, Necromancy Amplifier; a garrisoned level 3 hero with 15-20 Walking Dead and 10-15 Skeletons
• Sandro - near Subterranean Gate, level 7; 45-50 Liches in 2 stacks, 60 Skeletons, few Wights, few vampires
• Vidomina - somewhere in center of map

There are 5 two-way monolith of the same type as that blocked by Black Border Guard, one in northwest (Orange player zone), one near Green Falls, one in center of map, one in west of map (Blue player zone) and that blocked.

Days 8-13

Sandro goes north, visits Red Keymaster's Tent, passes by monolith one-way entrance (goes to northwest zone, right into Orange heartland) and then to northwest and west until arrives at Wendell the Seer (seeks Spyglass), discovering Orange base, Deepshadow (Dungeon; Fort); afterwards goes back to Subterranean Gate. Orange retakes mines near Green Falls and found Black Keymaster's Tent (passed by Black Border Guard). A Blue hero attacks Cessacioun and is defeated.

At end of day 13:

• Sandro - near Subterranean Gate
• Green Falls - Castle; level 1-3 and 5 dwellings, Miner's Guild, Resource Silo

Following is normal walkthrough (upping Sandro as much as possible). See below for speedy walkthrough.

Days 14-21

Sandro goes through center of map, then to west passing by a Dragon Vault behind Red Border Guard and conquers Wild Willow (Rampart; Citadel, level 1-5 dwellings), marches north, passes by Subterranean Gate and attacks several War Unicorns guarding a Marletto Tower, then goes underground, visiting Black Keymaster's Tent located near the Gate. Meanwhile Green Falls has been attacked and resisted successfully. Recruit a secondary hero te defend Wild Willow.

At end of third week:

• Sandro - near Black Tent; has 80-90 Liches
• Vidomina - level 2; few Elves, few Pegasi, few Dendroid Guards, 10-12 Dwarves, few Stone Golems
• Green Falls (level 1-6 dwellings)
• Cessacioun - Capitol; level 1-2 and 4-5 dwellings; garrisoned level 5 secondary hero (has 25 Vampire Lords)

Fourth week

North of Wild Willow there are a Crystal Cavern, a Gold Mine and Zaray the Seer (reach level 10). Under ground Sandro goes east until arrives at a Gem Pond; should find around Ethric; if yes, chase and defeat him.

At week's end:

• Wild Willow - Castle; level 1-6 dwellings

Fifth week and beyond

Vidomina with 20 Unicorns, 60 Grand Elves, 90 Centaurs and 35 Pegasi blocks entrance to Deepshadow (near town there is Purple Keymaster's Tent). Sandro goes everywhere under and above ground in order to reach level 10; also he visits all stat enhancers. While Sandro is busy, reinforce Vidomina's forces. After Sandro has no more to do, conquer Deepshadow, eliminating Orange, the last enemy standing. Two months are needed in this case.

Speedy walkthrough

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During third week Sandro goes through one-way monolith located in northeastern part of map (see image; the town is Green Falls), conquers Deepshadow, then through two-way monolith (see image; Sandro must exit where the cursor is) arrives in western part of map, goes south until arrives at Wild Willow and conquers it; other heroes defend Cessacioun and Green Falls; in this case scenario is finished in week 3 (but Sandro will reach only level 8).