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It's good that people still play the classic game. It's a shame that no one present gave anyone a sensible answer to any of the questions. (except for the post about the chess algorithm with monks in the 1st campaign, 2nd mission).
Therefore, I would like to share what I know and what many people are interested in.
How to reach the garrison in the 2nd mission of the 1st campaign.
1. Take the first chest, in which you choose negative experience - this is important.
2. Solve the chess puzzle, take the Grail. Goronok builds a castle.
3. Enter the castle, take the Nightmares, build a forge. If there is no ballista, buy one.
4. Be sure to destroy the city in the middle of the week (in no case on the 1st or 7th day). To do this, right-click on the prefecture. (If the city is destroyed on the 7th or 1st day, then, according to the script, you will only have 1 turn to reach the garrison, which is impossible under any circumstances).
5. The forest burns down. Enter the city, hire Specters in the forge, leave the Spearman - he is useless anyway.
6. Next, you can go in two ways. If you have negative experience, simply rebuild the city. Now you will have a stable income of gold and no restrictions on the turn - the city is available.
If, however, the experience is positive, the hero will not be able to rebuild the city. Then run to the garrison. If you fired the Spearman and destroyed the city not on the 1st or 7th day, then you will have a week in reserve (sleep for a couple of days at the statue). There is no need to visit any flags or fountains, I always had enough turns to reach the garrison. But it is obviously better to use the first option and rebuild the city.
Now, further. Usually, everyone advises "to breed Specters on peasants." Most people are confused by such an answer. I even saw a worse piece of advice here - "use the troops from the garrison to take the elven city"... In my opinion, it is better not to write anything at all.
So, what is the point of breeding Specters, because without them it will be unrealistically long and difficult to complete the map. First, attack the peasants who are near the huts (start with those on the right) and try to defeat them only with Specters - this is why it is better to exchange the ballista for a Unicorn Helm, it will only interfere in this matter. After defeating the peasants, start attacking other mobs, choosing, of course, those that are weaker and in larger numbers. It is better to kill 100 Centaurs than 50 Dragons. And don't forget to recruit peasants from the huts - they will also be useful, their main role is to be cannon fodder, distracting the enemy archers. (Goronok's gift - a vial of life is a very valuable gift, just move it from the backpack to the desired slot, it's a pity that it will be taken away when storming the elven castle). The main thing to remember is that mobs grow over time, so first you need to defeat the Centaurs and archers approaching the elven castle, and the same guards near the Necropolis and the Fortress. Then continue to destroy mobs to kill Ufretin and capture the castle, you need about 600 Specters, and the more peasants, the better. Again, don't wait until Dragons appear in the elven castle.
When developing the hero, try to become an expert in one of the schools of magic. The general air shield helped me a lot in the battle with the elves (in the 1st mission, I chose the book of air, but other schools should also have useful spells). Tactics will be useful - there are not many troops in the campaign, there is no stable increase as such, enemies cast slow, it is important to kill the enemy faster or not let him take a turn at all. Attack and defense will not hurt. Wisdom is the most important skill for any hero. The rest depends on your preferences.
The other castles are also captured and then destroyed - first the swamp, then the Necropolis. (don't forget to build mage guilds - there are spells there). I didn't figure out the snipers. More precisely, I recruited them, but there is not much point in them - there are too few of them. The red hero amused me - according to the monk, Goronok scared him, I don't know if there is a quest related to him. By the way, the castles can then be rebuilt, but there is no need for it.
In general, if you save more often and choose opponents wisely, the number of your Specters will be in the range of 1500-2000, which is quite enough.
Added after 9 hours 47 minutes
Now, some tips for the 3rd mission. First, it would be good to understand what you need to do - Goronok was offended and left. First, go to the well, and then DO NOT go to the "building", but go around it - to the right, straight ahead and to the left there will be a mushroom. By visiting them, we will free the other three heroes, although our characteristics will drop to the lowest level, but what can you do. To complete the map, you need all 4.
The freed heroes are offered to be trained, persistently offering luck, eagle eye and other literacy. Try to teach them normal skills. But keep in mind that we will have to capture castles (siege machines), there are not so many troops - you can also heal (first aid), it is better to attack first (tactics). Well, and magic, magic, magic - wisdom and air / earth are highly recommended.
Now, with peace of mind, dive into the dungeon. The Knights are easily defeated with the help of slow (I was an expert) and magic arrow. In general, magic will play a key role in the early stages of the mission.
What about our freed heroes? They ended up in a clearing with a "stonehenge" in the center. Scientists stand on the edges of the clearing, who, strangely enough, teach - secondary skills. Save and find out who teaches what - there is no point in a sorcerer knowing necromancy - it is needed by a necromancer. In general, pick up what they lacked during their release - the necessary skills are the key to victory. Then we all dive into the "stonehenge".
Then a normal map for 3 heroes will begin. I will only give a few tips:
1. Stock up on tents - you basically have only one warrior, if you heal him, he is capable of a lot.
2. You can use teleporters (but don't jump into those that look like simple arches from Erathia - choose those that were introduced in Breath of Fire) to visit each other. This is useful because you can dump all the level 7 mobs on one hero (this will help the necromancer - he will share skeletons), then it will be easier to capture cities and mines. And it is better to visit all the improvements with all the heroes.
3. On the snowy area near the castle lies a magic wand - with its help, all the heroes can be dressed in the best artifacts.
4. In the chests, take only money - there is enough experience anyway, but you cannot build anything above the council (+500 gold) in the cities.
