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send a mage to search any given province for magical sites once you've captured it. Most

nations specialize in maybe 1 or 2 fields of magic and can thus expect to have a

reasonable gem income in only those two unless aided by 2+ levels of random magic or by

pretender. Pangaea sucks in this respect as they get no random mages. You should thus

choose your pretender magic paths that complement the existing ones. I'd say that you need

someone with decent skill in earth (3 is enough) with Air, Astral and Fire coming right

behind. You should not have astral magic with your pretender unless you're ready to go all

the way to 9 due to magic duel. Acashic record is an excellent spell because of the fact

that it reveals all the magic sites in the given province no matter how rare or what path

they belong to. Nations with strong astral income might consider using it in midgame.

Magic sites have certain level requirements for finding them. Level 1 mage can expect to

find only the most basic sites (Mineral Cave and Earth Blood Seepage being good examples

from Earth Magic) while level 3 mage can be expected to find nearly all. Four levels of

power is needed to find the rarest of sites. Blood slaves also require a little work to

obtain but the process has been explained earlier at the Blood magic chapter so I won't

describe it again here.
6.5.1.5.1.4: Supplies

Supplies are needed to feed your troops and thus play a part (not as big as it should,

though) in warfare. Your average troop eats 1 supply point (with the exception of Jotunheim

giants who eat triple amount of supplies). The amount of supplies is dependent on province

population, fort admin and Growth scale. Big provinces can have supply ratings way over 500

while the typical Ermorian province has a rating of maybe 5 at best. Forts provide armies

with extra supplies equal of 4x admin for the same province, 2x admin 1 province away etc.

Use food items, fortifications and Nature mages to prevent your troops from starving as it

reduces their morale and can get then diseased. Supply issues will be discussed more

thoroughly in the following chapters.

Attacking with Pangaea is always a very risky prospect. Your basic heavy infantry and heavy

cavalry are good, but they're not a match for the best enemy stuff (Pythium Emerald

Guard, Man Wardens, Ulm Infantry, Knights of any type) one on one. You should have a slight

advantage in numbers against these troops, but it never hurts to get some extra advantage

when going into combat. We'll now go through some prospects that must be taken into account

before engaging in combat with an enemy.
6.5.1.5.2.1: Mobility, Morale & Magic Support

This might sound like a cliché, but this rule of three Ms is good to remember. Pangaea's

strength lies in these. Every single Pangaean unit has high AP even when armored. This allows

you to flank your enemy effectively and run down routing enemy troops. Your troops have only

average morale with the exception of War Minotaurs and Maenads so you're the side likely to

rout unless helped. All your mages automatically know the spell 'Panic' allowing you to rout

your opponent faster. Your troops aren't very well protected so you should avoid prolonged

battles and instead try to pick smaller conflicts where you have both the advantage of

numbers and quality. In large battles the usually superior magical of your opponent might

will start to show and you're likely to be in the receiving end of it. Your Panii have no

offensive spells (bar the nearly useless Flying Shard) so they have to affect the battle

in other ways. Spells like Relief and Mass Regeneration prolong the life span of your troops

considerably. After all, fatigue can, and will, kill even the hardiest War Minotaur. The

global enchantment 'Gift of Health' is also crucial as it provides your troops with increased

hit points and again increasing their survivability. The enchantment works only inside your

dominion but is still great to have even if it stays around only for a while.

facing), but here's one generally working idea. Put some fodder troops with good morale in

the middle (Maenads, Crossbreed stuff, Seasonal Spirits, Lamias) and put your more expensive

troops like War minotaurs slightly behind in the flanks on 'Attack Commanders'-orders. Have

your commanders spread out in the back (to prevent a single spell from killing them all) and

have a strong bodyguard of Satyr Hoplites with your mages at all times (Dryads are expendable

and Minotaur Lords are surrounded by their kind). Put your Harpies on 'Hold and Attack Enemy

Magic Users'-orders and hide them in the back corner. Your missile troops should be aiming at

enemy missile troops or commanders and should be situated slightly behind your middle screen

or in the flanks. The flanking strategy won't always work since the enemy usually also tries

to flank you. War Minotaurs can walk through a size 2 flanking force though. The flanking

force should generally be very fast and have enough armor to withstand fire from archers on

'Fire at Closest'-orders. Also beware of having your flanking force mulched by the retreating

enemy. Also, when you're certainly about to face some archery, put a squad of few heavily

armored troops in front of your army to take the first salvo of enemy fire (this squad should

be totally expendable). In case of crossbows this can save the life of countless troops as

your troops will already be in melee by the time they're ready to fire again (thus causing

some friendly casualties too).

I rarely use more than 1-2 Pans in my armies (they're durable so I rarely lose any). I often

got the big blood summons but they usually cast the appropriate ward and lay the rest of the

battle unconscious. Your Pans should be casting spells like Howl, Relief and Wild Growth

(if available) to support your own troops and hamper your enemy so that your troops can do

their job. Good starting spells for Pans are probably Strength of Gaia (nature magic bonus,

strength bonus, protection 10, regen) and Ironskin (prot 20, bye bye missile fire). I also

employ quite a hefty amount of Dryads. They're usually situated right behind the middle screen

so that they can cast Tangle Vines at the enemy. Barkskin is a good starter spell for them

before you research Mass Protection. Prot 10 isn't much but every bit counts. Their Awe

aura also does a nice job keeping them alive when your opponent got a -5 morale penalty.
6.5.1.5.2.2: Dominion & Supply

Armies don't fight (well) with empty stomachs. All your troops suffer a -4 penalty to morale

when starving. Fighting in a negative dominion also affects your troops' morale. The penalty

is only -1 in this case, but the net amount is +-2 as you would get a +1 bonus when fighting

on your own dominion. As you can probably guess, this will often mean the difference between

victory and defeat. Causing your enemies' troops to fight with empty stomachs and on your

domain gives you a net advantage of 6 in morale. Needless to say, your opponent will most

likely flee before you in these conditions. You should naturally ensure, that you will not

be the one suffering the morale penalty.
First you should understand how the supply system works. Your troops can be supplied in five

different ways. Defending troops are generally easier to supply due to reasons discussed

later. Forts provide lots of supply points and can even supply armies several provinces away.

There must be a chain leading from the fort to the army. The amount of supplies sent decreases

with distance, though. The province your troops happen to be in also provides a variable amount

of supplies, generally ranging from 50 to 200. The more people in the province, the more

supplies it produces. Provinces on Ermorian domain are usually almost dead thus causing trouble

for advancing armies. Large armies can't generally be supplied by forts and provinces alone.

This is where supply items come into aid. Nature mages can create supply items (Enormous

Cauldron of Broth, Summer Sword and Endless Bag of Wine) which provide 25-50 supply points.

By having couple of these items with your armies (preferably with stealthy troops so that you

won't lose the items when some commanders die), you can travel even the barren lands of Ermor

with little worry. You should also remember, that each level of nature magic provides 5 supply

points. Some magical troops are excellent in this respect as they don't consume any supplies.

project some effects of your dominion against your opponent (like fighting Caelum or C'tis in

a temperate province). You usually have to fight in hostile domain when attacking so your

opponent has a certain advantage there. You should try to weaken your enemy's domain with

stealthy priests, prophet and pretender before attacking. Also, if you've managed to trap all

your enemies inside forts, you can try to finish them all off at once by reducing the hostile

dominion to zero through building temples of your own and preaching actively. You can save

yourself from many costly fortress battles this way. This strategy is hard to pull off, but

can save you plenty of troops if successful.
6.5.1.5.2.3: Guerilla Warfare

Pangaea is the only army with stealthy troops beside Man and Vanheim. You don't have anything

matching Wardens or Vans, but you can bring in stealthy troops in numbers unlike them. You

get stealthy Satyrs in the beginning, but as you can notice, aren't good for much. Your

stealth armies should instead consist of Centaur Archers. They've got lots of hp, good morale,

longbows and are better melee fighters than your Satyrs. Harpies are also excellent stealth

troops. They are good at taking out enemy commanders and mages. If you got an access to blood

magic you should use Fiends of Darkness instead of Harpies as they are more durable and more

than a match for most commanders.
Ten Centaur Archers with a Dryad can usually defeat a province defence of 10. Generally, as a

rule of thumb, you should include one Centaur Archer for every point of defence you think you're

going to encounter. When enemy militia has tough commanders (like Abysia), aim for the troops.

When the actual troops are tough but the commander soft (Ulm), target the commanders.

Try to have about enough troops for the job (squads of 10 Centaurs with a Dryad have been found

as decent) - the chance of detection increases dramatically if you include too many troops.

Besides, if you happen to flee deep in enemy territory, your troops are gone anyway so better

make sure you can afford the loss. If you're not sure whether you can take the province with your

centaurs you can always cast a Call of the Wild or two to help them. Different nations have got

different kinds of militia. Jotun generally has the hardest of the bunch, but it can be defeated

with concentrated fire. Some nations also employ unarmored commanders with their militia which

makes your centaurs' job quite easy. You should always sneak for one turn after the attack to

increase the life span of your guerilla forces because the enemy will often try to take out your

troops by moving his troops into adjacent provinces and patrolling them heavily. The best way to

stay alive is to stay sneaky in the current province as there's no defence to detect you and your

enemy can only start patrolling the province the following turn (he will sure as hell capture back

the province as soon as possible). If he for some reason can't bring in troops to capture the

province right away you should pillage the province for extra cash and set the taxes to 200% to

make the province useless to your opponent for a while. Another nasty trick is to bring a solid

regiment of mercenaries into your captured province (heavy infantry or knights are perfect for

protecting your archers) which might cause some pain for your opponent.
Taking provinces isn't the only thing you should use your stealthy troops for. They should

generally deny your enemy escape routes, preach in enemy dominion and assassinate important enemy

commanders. Battles are rarely so decisive that the whole losing army is destroyed. The losers

just retreat into an adjacent friendly province and are ready to clash with the winning army in

a couple of turns. On the other hand, if there's no friendly province to retreat into, the whole

army is destroyed. Your stealthy troops can cause your opponent unimaginable losses by cutting

off the only retreat path of a huge enemy army. You should also make sure that advancing enemy

armies have no supply routes to their castles. This might cause some starving and every bit

counts. Fiends led by Heliophagii/Pandemoniacs are good at cutting down enemy paths of retreat and

supply as they're powerful, flying and stealthy. Harpies and Fiends, when used correctly, can be

extremely effective. You can really ruin your opponent's research by making a surgical strike to

an important sage province (50 harpies in groups of 10 set to attack magic users should get you at l

east five of the bastards before your troops are forced to retreat). This is generally a suicide

mission so it should be entrusted to your lowly harpies.

Your armies live and die by their commanders. Troops are unable to move without commanders and

will automatically rout unless there's a commander present on the battlefield. Your enemy is

equally dependent on commanders as you are. It would thus make sense to get rid of his and

protect yours. Commanders aren't generally any more durable than basic troops. It also isn't

very cost effective to protect all your commanders with magic items. The only way to have any

commanders left in the end is to have bucketloads of them in first place. Most nations have

commanders that mimic the equipment of the troops they lead. Pangaea isn't an exception here.

Thus, when going to cheap and well-armored commanders you can choose between the Centaur

Commander and Minotaur Lord. I'd personally go with Minotaur Lord every time.

Your armies should have many Minotaur Lords as they're generally hard to get rid of as they

got high hp, nice protection and are surrounded by probably the most powerful of heavy

infantry at all times. I've had all my mages/priests killed off but still won the battle due

to single Minotaur Lord surviving in the middle of his squad.

(and Mammoths, don't even ask) will make short work of most commanders unless you do something

about it. Your Panii are relatively safe from missile fire with their high hp, prot of 20 (Iron

Skin) and regeneration (Strength of Gaia) but your other commanders bar the Firbolg will suffer

badly from missile fire. If faced with heavy missile fire, you will lose scores of Dryads.

If you can bear the losses, then fine. If not, you should take care of the missile troops. Harpies

are good for distracting enemy missile troops (they lack the staying power, though) for couple of

turns. Your own missile troops are too expensive for removing the threat altogether so the only sure

choice is using the Staff of Storms. This will stop missile fire altogether and prevent most units

from flying altogether. Sadly, this means you can't employ your own missile troops or Harpies when

the Staff is present. You should always consider whether this tradeoff is worth it or not. This is

where the Ethereal Crossbow really shines through. It can fire normally during storms (heck, it

can even fire underwater) and only costs 5 astral gems. Couple of White Centaurs with these can

get quite a many enemy commanders during a battle - and no amount of armor is going to save them.

Add in an Eye of Aiming for double the fun (precision 20+ White Centaurs can be nasty!).
Fliers are an entirely another ballgame though. They range from the humble Black Hawks and Harpies

to the massive Iron Dragons. The former can be handled by even light infantry (or even by Satyrs

for god sakes) while dealing with the latter requires unbelievably heavy artillery to be even

worth trying. There are no foolproof ways of dealing with fliers (Storm Guard and Storm Daemons can fly during a storm) but your best bet would be surrounding your Panii with Satyr Hoplites and/or Maenads. The Maenads won't run, can deal with most fliers and will force Iron Dragons to land far away from your commanders (yup, they can't land on troops) which will get them Tangle Vined and eventually munched by spells like Petrification (or hordes of frenzied Maenads, it has happened).

Your Harpies can't kill well protected enemy commanders (even a couple of bodyguards will prevent

your Harpies from swarming their target) but you should be able to get some results by dividing your Harpies into smaller groups and telling them to attack enemy magic users. This will most likely result in some enemy priests and smaller mages getting killed but even if a group of ten harpies (at 70gp) gets only one low-level mage, they've more than paid for themselves. If you have access to earth magic, you'll also get your sticky hands on the dreaded Iron Dragons. They're pretty simple to use - point them at enemy commanders and fire away. No bodyguard (unless entirely composed of seasonal spirits and such) can prevent your Iron Dragons from reaching their destination.

As mentioned before, your troops aren't quite a match for the stuff your enemies have to offer

(maybe with the exception of C'tis which seems to have gotten the shaft and doesn't have very good basic troops). This means that you must use tactics and surprise to your advantage - seize the initiative and keep it. Defending is generally harder than attacking (because you can't commit your whole force to one place at a time like the attacker) so you generally want to be the one attacking. Knowledge is power, guard it well (or at least so they say). Hunt down enemy scouts to prevent them from observing your armies' movement and have your own scouts patrol the enemy territory at all times. You should never attack unless you're aware of any enemy armies around.

You should immediately commit your full force to the attack one you've decided to go that route.

Cut off enemy armies' supply and retreat paths with your stealthy troops. You should also delay

enemy reinforcements by capturing provinces next to them with your stealthy troops (as it means

they can't move the usually two provinces in friendly territory and have to attack your province

instead, costing them time). Assassinating important enemy commanders is also an excellent way

of slowing down enemy movement. Never leave an assassin in the same place for more than one turn,

though or the patrols will get them.

think you can't reach the set objectives with the troops you have at your disposal you shouldn't

retreat under any circumstances. This would only give your enemy the initiative and result in

your rapid downfall. Your armies should always keep moving to keep the enemy guessing.

Instead of attacking against hopeless odds you should divide your army and attack where your

enemy hasn't prepared any mentionable defence. It's true that you'll be attacking provinces of

questionable value, but it will still keep your opponent on the defence as he'll have to second

guess your movement which buys you enough time to send in reinforcements required to finish the

job. Faery Trod can be used in this job but it's a hard spell to use offensively.
You should avoid decisive battles unless the odds are heavily in your favor. Observe what the

defending army does. If he divides his force to defend a wider front, keep your force together

and punch through his line. If he keeps his army together and it's equal or superior to yours,

split your forces and try to cause as much damage to his economy as possible. This should

cause him to split his force. If he does this, combine your forces immediately and cause him

more casualties. These tactics should eventually wear him out and result in your victory. While

your troops might be expendable, your commanders often aren't. It might be wise to stealth some

of your more valuable commanders away if you're facing hopeless odds. Remember to leave at least

one expendable commander and try to cause as much damage as possible.
Taking fortresses is probably the hardest part of attacking. By sieging a fortress you're

leaving yourself open for a counterattack. Your enemy knows exactly where your troops are and

can act accordingly. You shouldn't commit yourself fully to the siege, though. It's always

better to save your troops even if it means your enemy can combine the relief force with the

castle garrison. You should never attack a fortress with less than 2:1 odds unless you're

absolutely sure you've got a solid advantage in quality over your opponent (like War Minotaurs

against quickly raised militia who can't really defend a fort with any credibility).
Call of the Wild should be mentioned here as it is a very powerful strategic weapon when

attacking. With enough nature gems you can siege nearly every single enemy castle and capture

provinces from his rear just as you're attacking. This will certainly give you the advantage

as he can't ignore the wolves nor can he deal lightly with your main army. It is important

to use the spell in great numbers, though, as single castings are rarely more than a minor

nuisance and certainly isn't enough to defeat a province defence of medium (10+) size.

Attacking is hard but defending is even harder. If you let your enemy attack you unprepared,

the only thing you can do is to try to second guess his movement and watch the events unfold.

Offense is your best defence, but if forced to defend there are some things that should be

remembered.
Defend in depth. Some nations like Caelum have incredible reach (even though their ground

troops still have the most punch) and can catch you your pants down if you don't watch it.

Keep at least 10 points of defence in each province (yes, Pangaean militia sucks, but 10

points is generally enough to fend off weak attacks) to ward off some attempts. Never keep an

army on your border since its position will be clear to your opponent and will aggravate him