Magic Realm

Monsters! …and How to Kill Them

Analysis by Jay Richardson
Counter Scans by Simon Hunt
When one reads the game reports of people learning to play Magic Realm, a
recurring theme is how much trouble they have in figuring out what monsters
their character can kill. This is important, because the key to survival in Magic
Realm is using your moves – and your ability to hide – to avoid the battles you
can't win. Experienced players understand how to survive, while beginners
often end up dying repeatedly.
To assist new players in learning the necessary survival skills, I have compiled
the following list showing exactly what it takes to kill each of the monsters in
the game, using the standard combat rules. The combat notes assume that
characters will always begin a battle hidden, giving them a "free" attack on
their target in the first round. (Blundering into a battle unhidden is a very bad
idea!)
This list also assumes that the monsters are being fought only with striking
weapons. I'll give a few notes on missile weapons at the end of this article.

In the listings that follow, the first line below the monster's name shows its
unalerted (light side) values, and the second line shows its alerted (dark side)
values, in the following format: [attack harm & speed]/[movement speed].

WOLF Vulnerability: Medium

L4/3 To Kill: any weapon
M4/4

WOLF
M5/3
L3/4

Wolves have good maneuver speeds and weak attacks. But you get six at once
and, just to make things interesting, there are two different variations. They
are quite capable of wounding to death any character who is unable to run
away from them. A workhorse (Heavy vulnerability) or warhorse (Tremendous
vulnerability) offers complete protection from them, making horseback wolf
hunting an easy way to score lots of notoriety points.

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 OGRE Vulnerability: Medium
T5/5 To Kill: any weapon
H5/4

Ogres are slow, but they hit hard. A lone Ogre is an easy kill, but there are two
of them, so a slow character will usually need some help from another
character or hired natives. A character with an attack time of "3" or less can
easily defeat them by undercutting and killing the first one while hidden.
Note that Ogres have a weapon length of "0" even though they are shown
carrying a club.

GHOST Vulnerability: Medium

H4/4 To Kill: any weapon
L2/2

The Ghosts are unpredictable. They can be powerful with average speed, or
weak and extremely fast. This unpredictability, combined with fighting two of
them at once, makes it difficult for a single character to defeat them.
(Remember that the monster you target always rolls for changing tactics, even
if it cannot attack you because you were hidden.) Ghosts cannot hurt a
warhorse.

VIPER Vulnerability: Medium + armored

M4**/4 To Kill: any weapon
L2/2 (L weapon must be played with a M, H,
or T Fight chit)

Vipers are nearly identical to Ghosts: they do an extra level of damage to

unarmored targets (Tremendous harm), and are slightly harder to kill because
of their armor (L weapons must be played with an overstrength Fight chit).
Some players wonder about the significance of the Viper's two sharpness
stars... but they have no special significance in the game. Their M4** attack is
identical in every respect to a H4* attack.

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 GOBLIN – AXE Vulnerability: Medium
L4*/3 To Kill: any weapon
M4*/4

The Axe-wielding Goblins are weak, but, just like the Wolves, getting six at
once means there's a very real chance of being wounded to death if you cannot
run away. They cannot hurt a warhorse... but a warhorse can't be used in cave
clearings, which is where Goblins are often found.

GOBLIN – GREAT SWORD Vulnerability: Medium

H6*/3 To Kill: any weapon
T5*/5

These six guys won't wound you to death: those powerful attacks will make
short work of any armor, and then the next hit kills you. Avoid! You will need
an army of hired natives to defeat them.

GOBLIN – SPEAR Vulnerability: Medium

–/3 To Kill: any weapon
H5*/5

The Spear Goblins are unique among monsters in that they do not attack at all
unless they change tactics to their dark sides. This might tempt you to try your
luck, but I would recommend that you avoid the temptation: there are six of
them, and they can do a lot of damage if they do attack. They cannot hurt a
warhorse.

IMP Vulnerability: Medium

V2/2 To Kill: any weapon
M4/3

The Imp is a weak monster, but most characters will avoid him if possible. Only
the fastest characters can run away from him (only if he changes tactics), and
some of those curses are really unpleasant. However, if you can safely reach
the Chapel from the Imp's location, you could fight him knowing that you can
easily get any curses you suffer removed at the Chapel.

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 HEAVY Vulnerability: Heavy
SPIDER To Kill: any M, H, or T weapon (except Mace),
L4/3 Mace played with H or T Fight chit,
L weapon (except Staff) played with M, H, or T
T6/4 Fight chit

The Heavy Spider, in spite of its T attack, is one of the easiest monsters to
defeat. They only come on one at a time, and the T6 attack cannot undercut a
character's maneuver... so you play your attack in the same direction as your
maneuver: if the Heavy Spider lines up to hit you, you will kill it first thanks to
having the longest weapon or the fastest attack. It is, however, very dangerous
for a single character to fight more than one of them at a time.

GIANT BAT Vulnerability: Heavy

M2/3 To Kill: any M, H, or T weapon (except Mace),
M3/2 Mace played with H or T Fight chit,
L weapon (except Staff) played with M, H, or T
Fight chit

The Giant Bat is a very fast monster that few characters can run away from. Its
weak attack is deceiving... the fast attack speed means that the Bat will
probably hit every round, and the M attack harm ensures that each hit does
some damage. Almost every experienced player can tell a story of how a
powerful character – like the White Knight – was wounded to death while
fighting a single Bat.
A single Bat can be defeated by a single character, but there is almost always
some risk involved. They cannot hurt a workhorse or a warhorse.

HEAVY Vulnerability: Heavy + armored

SERPENT To Kill: any H or T weapon,
M4/3 M weapon played with H or T Fight chit
H5/4

Heavy Serpents have good maneuver speed and average attacks. A single Heavy
Serpent would not be a problem for the Heavy characters; but they are
dangerous because you get two at once. A single character might be able to
defeat both serpents... if he was lucky... or if he was riding a warhorse, which
they cannot hurt.

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 HEAVY Vulnerability: Heavy + armored
TROLL To Kill: any H or T weapon,
M4/4 M weapon played with H or T Fight chit
H5/4

Heavy Trolls have both average speed and average attacks. They are dangerous
to a single character because you get two at once. They cannot hurt a
warhorse.

HEAVY Vulnerability: Heavy + armored

DRAGON To Kill: any H or T weapon,
H4/4 M weapon played with H or T Fight chit
M4/3

The Heavy Dragon has good maneuver speed and an average attack. Its attack
will undercut Heavy characters if they are unable to kill it before they fatigue
their last "Move 4" chit. It cannot hurt a warhorse.

HEAVY Vulnerability: Heavy + armored

FLYING To Kill: any H or T weapon,
DRAGON M weapon played with H or T Fight chit
H4/4
L4/3

Heavy Flying Dragons are slightly weaker than the Heavy Dragon: their dark
side attack is L4 instead of M4. The L4 attack will not cause a wound if it hits
armor, but it is still risky for a single character to take on the two Heavy Flying
Dragons... they start the battle with their H4 attacks, and there is no
guarantee that they will ever change tactics to the L4 attack. They cannot hurt
a warhorse.

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 TREMENDOUS Vulnerability: Tremendous
SPIDER To Kill: any H or T weapon
M4/3 (except Morning Star),
Morning Star played with T Fight chit,
(5)/4 M weapon (except Mace) played with H
or T Fight chit

The Tremendous Spider has good maneuver speed, so only the fastest
characters can run away from it, but its slow red-side-up attack speed of "5"
makes it easy for the Heavy characters to kill it: they use their attack to
protect their maneuver, killing the Spider if it lines up before it can kill them.
The Tremendous Spider is primarily a threat to those characters who are too
slow to run away and too weak to kill it.

TREMENDOUS Vulnerability: Tremendous + armored

SERPENT To Kill: any T weapon,
L4/4 H weapon played with T Fight chit
(4)/5

The Tremendous Serpent has average speed and a weak basic attack. Its red-
side-up attack speed of "4" would seem to make it a danger to Heavy characters
who can only move at speed "4" for a few rounds: once fatigue slows them
down to speed "5" they can be undercut and killed.
But the Tremendous Serpent is actually easy for a heavy character to kill: once
the Serpent hits the character and picks him up, flipping over to its red side, it
slows down to a speed of "5". An attack at speed "4" will then undercut the
Serpent, and resolve first due to being the longest weapon (when attack times
are equal): a guaranteed kill for the character.

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 OCTOPUS Vulnerability: Tremendous
L4/2 To Kill: any H or T weapon
(4)/3 (except Morning Star),
Morning Star played with T Fight chit,
M weapon (except Mace) played with H
or T Fight chit

The Octopus is a dangerous monster: no character can run away from it. The
red-side-up attack speed of "4" makes it a threat to the Heavy characters.
Here's an example of how experienced players increase their chances of surviving: When
preparing to enter an unexplored tile where the Pool might possibly appear, a good player will
avoid ending his turn in clearing 6 if it is at all possible. That way, IF the player fails his hides,
and IF the Pool appears in clearing 6, and IF the Octopus is prowling, the player's character will
not be caught and killed by a monster that he cannot run away from. That is a lot of "ifs" –
which makes it an unlikely occurrence – but good players never take any unnecessary risks.

TREMENDOUS Vulnerability: Tremendous + armored

TROLL To Kill: any T weapon,
H4/4 H weapon played with T Fight chit
(2)/6

The Tremendous Troll is widely considered the deadliest monster in the game.
If he hits you and picks you up, the red-side-up attack speed of "2" is
guaranteed death to most characters. Avoid him, unless you know you can kill
him (attack speed of "3" or less) or you can run away from him (move speed of
"3" or less).

DEMON Vulnerability: Tremendous

V2/4 To Kill: any H or T weapon
(4)/4 (except Morning Star),
Morning Star played with T Fight chit,
M weapon (except Mace) played with H or
T Fight chit

The Demons are usually avoided by most players. Their "Power of the Pit"
attack always has the possibility of killing a character. The Pilgrim is the
exception, because the Demons are not allowed to attack him.

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 WINGED Vulnerability: Tremendous
DEMON To Kill: any H or T weapon
V3/3 (except Morning Star),
Morning Star played with T Fight chit,
(5)/2 M weapon (except Mace) played with H or
T Fight chit

The Winged Demon, with a red-side-up attack speed of "5", is a little easier for
Heavy characters to fight than the regular Demon (red-side-up attack speed of
"4"). But few players will be brave enough to risk the "Power of the Pit" to take
him on.

GIANT Vulnerability: Tremendous

H5/5 To Kill: any H or T weapon
(4)/6 (except Morning Star),
Morning Star played with T Fight chit,
Club: H6-T4 M weapon (except Mace) played with H or
T Fight chit

The Giant is the easiest Tremendous monster to defeat. He is slow enough to

be undercut for a sure kill, and his club cannot hurt you if you attack while
hidden. Characters that are too weak to kill him can easily run away from him.

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 TREMENDOUS Vulnerability: Tremendous + armored
DRAGON To Kill: any T weapon,
H5/6 H weapon played with T Fight chit
(3)/6
Head: H4-T4

The Tremendous Dragons are a tremendous disappointment... how awful it is

that the deadliest monster in the game is a mere Troll, rather than the
legendary Dragons! The Tremendous Dragon is even slower than the Giant, and
thus even easier to run away from or undercut. His armor ensures that only
characters with T Fight chits can kill him, but as long as they are hidden they
can take him down with no risk whatsoever.
His red-side-up attack speed of "3" would seem to make him a real threat... but
the chances are you will never see him get an opportunity to use it.

TREMENDOUS Vulnerability: Tremendous + armored

FLYING To Kill: any T weapon,
DRAGON H weapon played with T Fight chit
M3/4
(6)/4
Head: M3-T3

The maneuver speed of "4" makes the Tremendous Flying Dragon difficult to
kill, and the chance that his head might change tactics to a T3 attack is also a
concern. But with his normal attacks only doing Medium harm, and a red-side-
up attack speed of "6", the Tremendous Flying Dragon is not as dangerous as
the Tremendous Troll... which is all the more unfortunate considering that he
guards the richest treasure location in the game.

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Observations
There are a couple of conclusions can be drawn from this review of the
monsters of Magic Realm.
First, always try to fight only one monster at a time. Multiple monsters greatly
increase the danger to a character, and should only be tackled if you have
assistance from other characters or natives. Beginners, in particular, would be
well-advised to play the game cooperatively, as a team. Two or three
characters working together can be far more effective than any single
character.
Also, the importance of the Heavy characters preserving their Move chits
cannot be over-emphasized. When they battle the large monsters, often the
only thing that keeps them alive is their "Move 4" chit... to slow down to "Move
5" is to invite a quick death. Heavy characters must make resting their Move
chits a top priority.

A Note on Missile Weapons and Attack Spells

Missile weapons and attack spells differ from the striking weapons in that you
must roll on the Missile Table to determine the harm inflicted. This means that
a missile attack can potentially kill any monster (exception: the Stones Fly
spell cannot kill a Tremendous armored monster). But it also means that there
is no guarantee that a missile attack will kill its target.
The two characters that start with bows, the Elf and the Woods Girl, are well-
suited to using them: they can take a free shot at a target while hidden, and
then use their speed to run away in the next round if they miss, or if other
monsters are present. Other, slower, characters should be wary of using bows,
because of this uncertainty of killing the target.
The Fiery Blast spell can attack any number of targets. It is wickedly effective
against Goblins and Wolves, having a 70% chance of killing each one it targets.
But the spellcaster will still need some protection from the targets that survive
the Fiery Blast, which means cooperating with other characters, or hiring
natives.