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About monsters.
As a rule, each type of monster has three varieties: lesser, medium, and higher. For example, goblins can be simple ones, sorcerers, or kings. All same-type monsters look similar to one another, differing only in design details. Nevertheless, the difference in strength between them can be very large, and the higher a monster stands in the hierarchy, the more dangerous it is. Some monsters also possess the ability to break items, and the more dangerous the monster, the more often this ability triggers. Sometimes a fourth tier is added to the hierarchy for additional monsters. Usually, these monsters are analogs of the third-tier monster, only they have different names and sometimes a different number of hits. An exception to this rule is a monster appearing as either a monk or a peasant named Q, who is unique in the game and unlike any other. All monsters of a given type are generally sensitive to certain (the same) spells and insensitive to others, although there are exceptions (for example, djinns are immune to Air, while ifrits—their older brothers—are immune to Fire).
Despite some monsters being more dangerous than others, you should not rush headlong into the thick of even weak creatures. Firstly, in turn-based mode, every enemy move will take a huge amount of time. Secondly, even two or three hits of damage per turn, multiplied by two or three dozen enemies, add up to significant damage. A crowd of medium-level monsters is capable of picking apart even a very advanced party.
About monster attacks. There are two types of attacks: melee and ranged. Monsters possessing only a melee attack charge directly at you (in zigzags in real-time mode—to avoid your shots). Monsters with a ranged attack, upon spotting you, begin to move in a circle in one direction or another, trying to maintain distance whenever possible. The most dangerous are monsters with combined attacks. They happily run straight toward you, firing on the go, and once they make direct contact, they switch to melee weapons. Usually, these are high-level monsters possessing other unpleasant traits. Therefore, upon noticing such a behavior pattern and not being confident in your strength, it is better to get out of there quickly.
And a bit about looting. When searching corpses, keep one simple rule in mind: the stronger the enemy, the more money they have. Additionally, some fifth-level monsters (for example, cusinarts and dragons) may carry an artifact or even a relic (generated randomly at the moment of searching). Sometimes it happens that the same corpse can be searched more than once. As I understand it, this depends on the character's perception level and their luck. Some unwitting players bragged that by using the save-load method, they took an immeasurable amount of money and artifacts from dragon corpses. But in my opinion, that is already cheating.
Let's consider the varieties of Enroth's monsters. They can be conventionally divided into six category-levels according to their degree of danger.
Level Zero.
Peaceful citizens. Strictly speaking, these are not monsters since they do not attack first. However, if you happen to hit them in battle, all the townspeople who see you will start rushing at you shouting "Banzai!", waving penknives. To stop this outrage, you must leave the area. The surviving residents will forget about your misconduct. To avoid trouble, it is not recommended to fight real monsters in the middle of a crowd of grateful spectators.
Goblins (melee attack). Small multicolored creatures. Intended for training the party at the very beginning of the game. Shamans shoot something like a Fire Arrow; kings are quite tough for level zero. Overall—nothing special.
Pursecutters (melee attack). Rarely encountered girls who look like turkeys—in saris and with a spot on their foreheads. They wave knives belligerently and die in bunches.
Bats (melee attack). Usually stay in small flocks. Vampires may accidentally infect you with a disease. They pose no particular danger even at level zero.
Spiders (melee attack). Weak creatures. The only danger is that they can poison.
Cobras (melee attack). Same problem as with spiders—they can poison, and with a much higher probability than spiders. Often in their habitats, you can find their eggs, which a man in New Sorpigal buys for three hundred coins each, I think.
Skeletons (melee attack). Armed with sabers. Lords may cast a curse upon hitting. Found in the Temple of Baa and Corlogon's estate in Ironfist and on the Marshes of the Damned.
Followers of Baa (melee attack). Funny old men with staffs. Some know how to shoot a weak spell.
Lisardmen (ranged attack). Pose a certain danger to a starting party since they are all archers across the board. Higher lisardmen shoot fire arrows. It is not recommended to engage them in bow duels in the early stages—they will prick you with arrows like needles in porcupines. This benefits porcupines, but as for you...
Wandering mages (combined attack). They lounge fully on the beaches and lawns of New Sorpigal and Free Haven and do not like strangers. Dangerous because they shoot various spells and possess a combined attack.
Ghosts (melee attack, flying). Inhabit gloomy abandoned places like Corlogon's estate in Ironfist. Spreading fear, specters have the ability to knock out a character regardless of hits and armor. When searching their remains, you can sometimes find something like a ring. They cluck when attacking.
Savages (melee attack). Inhabit only one place—the Smugglers' Cove. There are females and males. Among them are shamans who shoot something like a Death Swarm.
Level One.
Bandits (melee attack). Sullen men in frock coats with bangs. They can deliver a nasty blow to the forehead with a mace.
Thieves (melee attack). Quite strong. Higher thieves know how not just to break, but completely destroy items in the inventory (do they steal them?).
Spearmen (melee attack). Untidy individuals in rusty chainmail. They don't stand out in any special way.
Harpies (melee attack, flying). Extremely unpleasant creatures since they have a high probability of casting a curse. Although their attack is exclusively melee, you can catch a curse from a distance.
Shooters (ranged attack). Girls in kaftans. Weak enough, but Fire-shooters launch fireballs. In various areas, there are traps that trigger the appearance of these very fire-shooters.
Druids (ranged attack). Also girls. They shoot various spells. Great Druids are unpleasant because they can drain a mage's entire mana reserve. However, they are easily taken out in melee.
Oozes (combined attack). There is little good in meeting them. Firstly, they break items in the inventory, primarily rings. Secondly, they are invulnerable to cold weapons. They can only be dealt with using magic (but not Water), as well as blasters. There is also a small probability of killing an ooze with enchanted cold weapons, but if a) the ooze is already seriously wounded, and b) the damage dealt exceeds its remaining hits. They are found, for example, in the Dragoon caves in Ironfist, in the iron mines of Darkmoor (where fighting them is not mandatory), as well as in the werewolf caves of Blackshire (where the encounter cannot be avoided).
Moon Monks (ranged attack). Not too strong guys, but master monks inflict Weakness.
Air Elementals (ranged attack, flying). Microscopic whirlwinds shooting electrical discharges. Most damage from their attacks is simply blocked by the Protection from Electricity spell.
Level Two.
Ogres (melee attack). Guys with square jaws and protruding tusks. Higher ogres fight with poisoned yataghans.
Swordbearers (melee attack). Noble-looking men in chainmail and multicolored cloaks like yours. Master swordbearers have a high probability of breaking weapons.
Dragoons (melee attack). Healthy guys in armor, horned pot-helmets à la German dog-knight, and with shields. Veterans in golden armor break weapons with terrible force.
Dwarves (melee attack). Armed with axes; lords love to break armor. Found only in two caves: Ironfist and Darkmoor.
Magyars (melee attack). Determined girls in bras and chainmail loincloths. Matrons (in golden bras) know how to shoot Lightning.
Water Elementals (melee attack). Guys who look like Neptune on top and a mermaid on the bottom. Found exclusively in water, even if shallow.
Level Three.
Werewolves (melee attack). Higher werewolves have a high probability of knocking out a character upon attacking regardless of armor and hits. They should be killed first.
Gargoyles (melee attack, flying). Flying creatures found exclusively in Silver Cove. Stone ones are not dangerous, marble ones paralyze upon attacking, but diamond ones are total disaster. Like oozes, they are absolutely invulnerable to cold weapons. Since they are only found outdoors, the Star Burst spell is very effective against them.
Agar's Monsters (combined attack). A cross between a hawk and a chicken. I still haven't figured out if they fly.
Giant Eels (ranged attack). Sea monsters found in some ocean areas. They gave their name to an entire location (Eel Waters). In profile, they look like giant question marks. Very slow; avoiding them is easy as pie.
Fire Elementals (ranged attack). Something like flying bonfires. The elementals themselves (higher in the line) know how to break things.
Medusas (ranged attack). Half-women, half-snakes. Found on Star Island in Blackshire, as well as in the Temple of the Moon in Free Haven. As legends dictate, they turn travelers to stone—fortunately, with a rather low probability.
Earth Elementals (combined attack). Encountered only in the Monolith in Silver Cove and in Kriegspire. They rattle their bones loudly when walking.
Flying Eyes (ranged attack, flying). Very dangerous creatures. Besides a powerful attack, they possess the ability to frighten, put to sleep, and drive characters insane. Additionally, it seems they can deactivate spells cast on the party. I couldn't fully clarify this issue because eyes are not encountered separately from liches who possess the same ability. Only Dragon Breath and Shrapnel are more or less effective against them. At the moment of encounter, it is recommended to have powerful bows and to have trained bow skill up to master. Fortunately, they are found only in Darkmoor castle and in Agar's laboratory in Kriegspire.
Demons (melee attack). There are two varieties of demons—walking and flying. Completely immune to fire. Medium demons of both varieties infect with disease; higher ones suck mana from mages in melee attacks. Outdoors, flying demons create a Meteor Shower. Since the Hive (Sweet Waters) has long narrow straight corridors, crowds of demons there are excellent targets for Dragon Breath.
Djinns and Ifrits (ranged attack). Inhabit only the Temple of VARN. A unique type of monster: lesser and medium ones (djinns) are immune to Air, while higher ones (ifrits) are immune to Fire. They know how to frighten and put characters to sleep.
Liches (ranged attack). Skeletons in crowns and armor. They are reanimated necromancer mages. They possess the vile ability to deactivate spells cast on characters, as well as suck mana from mages in melee attacks. Because of this, completing Darkmoor castle is a total torment: you can't even light a Torch properly there. The only truly effective spell against them is Shrapnel (whereas they are immune to Dragon Breath). However, in Spirit magic, there is the "Turn Monsters" spell, which scares them to death. Though not for long.
Flying Lizards (ranged attack). Not to be confused with dragons. They have huge sizes, making it difficult to judge distance to them.
Lizards (specifically, what 7Wolf calls by this word) (ranged attack). Walking lizards that spit various filth. Found in deserts and easily avoided using Flight.
Level Five.
Minotaurs (melee attack). Bull-headed guys from Crete. Large number of hits (about 800), axes, and the ability of higher individuals to use the Finger of Death spell, after which only a temple in Free Haven can revive you, and even then only after its repair (cleric advancement quest). Found only in Kriegspire (though one more can be found in one of the temples of Smugglers' Cove).
Death Knights (combined attack). Guys in forged armor and creepy masks à la ram skull. They know how to frighten characters and are immune to Fire magic. The higher variety—the cusinart—is one of the most fearsome two-legged opponents (about 900 hits, heavy armor, and a powerful ranged attack). Cusinarts simply swarm in the Dragon Caves in Kriegspire. A few, however, are available in the General's Fortress in Silver Cove.
Wizards (ranged attack). Guys with Aramis-style beards, staffs, and robes. Higher ones—warlocks—know how to drive characters insane.
Temple of VARN Guards (combined attack). Copies of the ancient Egyptian god Anubis—men with jackal heads, in stylish Scottish kilts and with oars. Heavily armored and fast, Guardians of VARN, along with cusinarts, are among the most fearsome two-legged opponents and are absolutely immune to Dragon Breath. They can be fought on equal terms either with Shrapnel or with master-cast Day of Gods and Hour of Power spells. A handful of VARN guardians will deal with a level 50 party that doesn't possess the Shrapnel spell without much trouble.
Wyrms (ranged attack). Two-legged lizards. Strong animals, no doubt, but they don't reach the level of dragons.
Hydras (combined attack). Multi-headed desert snakes. I have never fought them in melee, so there is nothing more to say. However, I vaguely recall something about poisoning.
Security Robots (ranged attack, flying). Found only in the Ancients' Control Center behind the Oracle, armed with blasters (correspondingly, they don't care which way your cap is on—meaning, what your armor and magic protection are). Purple terminators have 1080 hits, good immunity to magic (except Lightning and Shrapnel), and powerful defense. Beyond ordinary damage, a terminator's shot has the ability to put a character into an eradicated state. Fighting them without blasters is hard, and with blasters it's pointless: if you found them, you have nothing more to do in this place.
Titans (combined attack). Desert giants immune to Air (and, correspondingly, to Star Burst). However, Meteor Shower works quite well on them. Noble titans also know how to eradicate a character. The main combat tactic against them is Flight and turn-based mode, which allows dodging their shots by moving vertically.
Dragons (combined attack, flying). The most powerful creatures in the game, possessing a natural ability to blast you with pleasant breath from their maw (now you know how those unfortunate Flying Eyes felt!). Completely immune to magic (except Shrapnel). In melee combat, however, they do not use Dragon Breath (or maybe they just don't live that long for me?). Usually found in small packs of three or four. Since they are only encountered in the Dragon Sands and adjacent areas, there is usually no need to fight them (unless experience is needed or money is lacking). You can quite easily escape from the same single dragon in Blackshire's Serpent Temple.
Q. A unique monster appearing as a priest or peasant. Inhabits the Serpent Temple of Blackshire together with medusas, in a secret room. Seven thousand (or thereabouts) hits, ability to throw some kind of explosive powder. Hitting him in melee is not that easy. The main attack, however, is the Finger of Death spell. Fighting him is a tedious series of reloads since the spell triggers every now and then. He possesses a unique artifact "Horn of Dragoness Rose," the presence of which in the party's inventory allows seeing the exact numerical value of an opponent's remaining hits (rather than just a colored bar). A very useful thing that makes fighting Q not entirely a pointless activity.
