Horror mark question...how does it work...

[MythTrip]

What are these horrors, have never seen one. I mark units in battle (a high pitched wavering flute sound accompanies the spell) and can see that the enemy is horror marked. So do I now have to summon a horror to get him? Or will the horror appear on its own? Can the horror appear after the battle, in future turns - killing the enemy off the battlefield?

Is this spell really useful? Its a low level spell, and it seems like its possible to take out powerful enemies with it.

[meglobob1]

1 horror mark = a % chance every turn a horror / s will attack them. I reckon each horror mark gives 1% chance, so 5 horror marks = 5% chance.

You can send a lesser horror or greater horror vs another nation via the blood spells, just look them up on the blood research list.

Anything horror marked will sooner or later get attacked by a horror unless the game ends first of course. With horror mark you will likely never see your enemy die, it will be attacked during that nations turn (in special combat) and only that nation will see resulting battle.

Keep playing, you will soon hate horrors...especially the DOOM HORRORS...especially if your pretender gets horror marked.

[terve886]

Horrormarked units have chance to get assasinated by horror every turn. The more there is marks, the higher the assasination chance and the more powerful horror attacks. Horrors also tend to mark their target during the assasinations, so the horrormarked unit will just keep getting heavier and more frequent horror attacks as time goes on (if he can even survie the first encounter).

Single or just few marks does barely anything, but the more there is, the more effective they become.

There is also certain spells which summon horrors (in blood research tree) and those will prefer targetting horrormarked units, be they your own or enemy's. There is also a death assassin ritual that prefers targetting horrormarked commanders.

[zmo]

Your closing statement is correct, stacking horror marks on a powerful enemy (e.g., an awake expanding pretender that you couldn't otherwise counter) can be an effective, if slow, method of dealing with them.

[DasaKamov]

Originally posted by MythTrip:

(a high pitched wavering flute sound accompanies the spell)

As an aside, that's the theramin: one of the first electronic musical instruments ever invented (in 1928, in then-Soviet Russia) and go-to "spooky-music-maker" of cheesy, low-budget American horror movies from the 1950s-late 1970s. :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5qf9O6c20o

[Kid Icarus]

I just experienced my first horror mark tragedy. I foolishly used an already horror marked mage to cast a very expensive Wrath of God (200 pearls) in an attempt to override the previous ritual cast by my enemy and keep it in place until the game ended. I flew my commander to a 'safe' location only to have it be attacked by a Defiler of Dreams... Which indeed did defile my dreams of victory

[Anviniel]

There are also Blood battle spells to summon horrors on the spot (Call Lesser Horror/Call Horror). Will attack marked units first, but won't stop until killed, either them or everyone else.