Is diplomacy necessary?

How many high-level creatures will you gather on the map? They won't necessarily join you, even with diplomacy, and the creatures you want might not even be on the map. You'll still end up buying more creatures than you can gather on the map, and there won't be any morale penalty.

Exactly, if you're going to recruit, choose "your own" monsters; otherwise, you'll just lower morale. But in general, everyone chooses the skills that suit their playstyle... There's a special map for diplomacy enthusiasts, but I don't remember where I found it. Its essence is: you have a fully built castle next to a Pandora's Box containing experience, minor items, and diplomacy bonuses, and around it are 8th-level monsters. The opponent is on the other side of the map. You both wander around, recruiting monsters, and then have a final battle...:smile13: Whew, it's not a map... but sometimes the computer would glitch on this map.