Boris K
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I'm playing for the first time, version 1.5
Heh! And I got the Staff of the Underworld on the island; it was guarded by bone dragons, who happily joined my black parade. But how do I turn an academy (I captured the first one in the west) into a Necropolis? Right now, I'm facing a considerable army of mages, and I don't have time to run away; I urgently need a Necropolis.
Who can't repel an invasion on their home island? I let a mage capture Haven, then he went to Necropolis, leaving the garrison empty (for some reason). Isabel captures Haven and waits for the mage, with his army tired from two sieges, to return; it's easy to repel the siege.
I had Isabel running around with Markel, collecting loot so that she wouldn't be overwhelmed. Then I put her in the monastery. I gave her the dragons that joined. I also had mages capturing my cities. This isn't very scary, although it's not desirable. After reaching the development limit and learning all the necessary spells, I took the dragons from Isabel and went on my way, not paying attention to the mages.