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64-403: Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia (commonly referred to as Heroes of Might & Magic 3 , or Heroes 3 , or abbreviated HoMM 3 ) is a turn-based strategy game developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Computing originally released for Microsoft Windows by The 3DO Company in 1999. Its ports to several computer and console systems followed in 1999–2000. It

128-402: A choice of skills to upgrade upon leveling up , as well as becoming better at combat or using magic. The skills must be chosen carefully, since they are permanent and only a limited number of skills can be learned. The player's towns serve many functions, but most importantly they allow recruitment of creatures to form armies. Towns also provide funds, new spells and a fortified location to make

192-479: A different goal, with maps generated by placing tiles in a dynamic way. The Kickstarter campaign received more than US$ 2 (equivalent to $ 2.08 in 2023) million in its first week, and reached 2.6 million pounds in its final week, or 6000% of its £43,000 funding goal. Turn-based strategy Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

256-405: A direct effect or the result of a miscast spell wreaking terrible havoc. In other works, developing magic is difficult. In Rick Cook 's Wizardry series, the extreme danger presented by magic and the difficulty of analyzing the magic have stymied magic and left humanity at the mercy of the dangerous elves until a wizard summons a computer programmer from a parallel world — ours — to apply

320-665: A fantasy magician's hat shape may mean that it is ultimately derived from them. Golden Hat of Schifferstadt , circa 1,400-1,300 BC, Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Speyer , Germany. Terry Pratchett described robes as a magician's way of establishing to those they meet that they are capable of practicing magic. In the Dragonlance campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, wizards show their moral alignment by

384-410: A graphical random map generator template editor, among other improvements and features. Its most recent major version update was on January 1, 2024, which added a new town and a number of maps. VCMI is an open source implementation of the engine for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS. It offers higher resolutions and extensive mod support. The original game received favorable reviews according to

448-454: A last stand against an invading enemy hero. To build new structures within a town requires gold and usually one or more type of resource. Wood and ore are needed for most structures, but more expensive buildings also require rarer resources (mercury, crystal, gems or sulfur). All factions require a disproportionate quantity of just one of these special resources, making the acquisition of a corresponding mine essential to victory. This same resource

512-428: A living finding lost items and people, performing exorcisms , and providing protection against the supernatural. In the series Sorcerous Stabber Orphen , human forms of life should have only been capable of acquiring divine magic powers through individual spiritual development, whereas the race of human magicians with inborn magical ability ended in conflict with pureblood human society, because this race appeared as

576-464: A particular magical item is common, and necessary to limit the magician's power for the story's sake – without it, the magician's powers may be weakened or absent entirely. In the Harry Potter universe, a wizard must expend much greater effort and concentration to use magic without a wand, and only a few can control magic without one; taking away a wizard's wand in battle essentially disarms them. In

640-565: A person or object to have a changed shape or appearance, creating illusions intended to deceive the observer, compelling a person to perform an action they might not normally do, or attempting to charm or seduce someone. For instance, the Lady of the Green Kirtle in C. S. Lewis 's The Silver Chair can transform herself into a large green serpent. She also enchants Rilian , compelling him to forget his father and Narnia. And when that enchantment

704-401: A resource, or finding the grail artifact. If a player loses all of their towns they will have seven game days to capture a new town. If they fail to do so they lose and the game ends. If a player loses all their heroes and towns, they will lose the game. There are two "layers" to the world map: the aboveground and the underground. There are typically subterranean gateways that lead to and from

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768-482: A unified product. On January 29, 2015, about 15 years after the original release of Heroes of Might & Magic III , Ubisoft released a new high-definition version of the game compatible with PCs as well as Android and iOS tablets . The expansion packs were not included because the source code for those releases was lost. The fan-made expansion In the Wake of Gods  [ ru ] (also titled Heroes 3.5 )

832-452: A variety of new artifacts, including Combination Artifacts. Combination Artifacts were extremely powerful items assembled by collecting a specific set of lesser artifacts. In 2000, a bundle containing Heroes III and both expansion packs was released as Heroes of Might and Magic III: Complete . More than just bundling the original game discs, however, this release reworked the game's installation process as well as its in-game menus to reflect

896-737: A witch may be depicted more neutrally, such as the female witches (comparable to the male wizards) in the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling . In medieval chivalric romance, the wizard often appears as a wise old man and acts as a mentor , with Merlin from the King Arthur stories being a prime example. Wizards such as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter are also featured as mentors, and Merlin remains prominent as both an educative force and mentor in

960-400: A wizard as well. Magicians in role-playing games often use names borrowed from fiction, myth and legend. They are typically delineated and named so that the game's players and game masters can know which rules apply. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson introduced the term " magic-user " in the original Dungeons & Dragons as a generic term for a practitioner of magic (in order to avoid

1024-458: Is also needed when hiring the most powerful creatures available to that faction. Each faction also has a handful of unique structures available only to them. If a player finds the Grail artifact, they can deliver it to a town to make that town the Grail's permanent home by creating a special structure. The Grail bestows greatly increased creature growth and weekly income, in addition to a bonus unique to

1088-538: Is assassinated. Without their beloved king, the kingdom of Erathia falls to the dark forces of Nighon and Eeofol. Queen Catherine returns home to Antagarich seeking to rally the people of her homeland and lead them against the evil that has ravaged their nation. Erathia's capital of Steadwick is sacked by the Dungeon Overlords of Nighon and the Kreegans of Eeofol. Meanwhile, the nations of Tatalia and Krewlod skirmish at

1152-649: Is broken, she attempts further enchantments with a sweet-smelling smoke and a thrumming musical instrument to attempt to baffle him and his rescuers into forgetting them again. The term sorcerer has moved from meaning a fortune-teller , or "one who alters fate ", to meaning a practitioner of magic who can alter reality. They are also sometimes shown as able to conjure supernatural beings or spirits, such as in The Sorcerer's Apprentice . Due to this perception of their powers, this character may be depicted as feared, or even seen as evil. In sword and sorcery works, typically

1216-506: Is captive within their territories. AvLee invades Eeofol, but fails to rescue Roland, who is transported to their northern holdings . Afterwards, Catherine invades the tunnels of Nighon, pushing the Dungeon armies back to their island home. In the meantime, the necromancers of Deyja, having been responsible for the assassination of King Gryphonheart, plot to revive his corpse as a lich . They plan to use his wisdom in leading their own armies of

1280-406: Is divided into two parts, tactical overland exploration and a turn-based combat system. The player creates an army by spending resources at one of the eight town types in the game. The hero progresses in experience by engaging in combat with enemy heroes and monsters. The conditions for victory vary depending on the map, including conquest of all enemies and towns, collection of a certain amount of

1344-419: Is not put to practical use in society; they may serve as mentors, act as quest companions, or even go on a quest themselves, but their magic does not build roads or buildings, provide immunizations, construct indoor plumbing, or do any of the other functions served by machinery; their worlds remain at a medieval level of technology. Sometimes this is justified by having the negative effects of magic outweigh

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1408-578: Is that a wizard can only cast a specific number of spells in a day. In Larry Niven 's The Magic Goes Away , once an area's mana is exhausted, no one can use magic. The extent of a magician's knowledge is limited to which spells a wizard knows and can cast. Magic may also be limited by its danger; if a powerful spell can cause grave harm if miscast, magicians are likely to be wary of using it. Other forms of magic are limited by consequences that, while not inherently dangerous, are at least undesirable. In A Wizard of Earthsea , every act of magic distorts

1472-712: Is that the ability to use magic is innate and often rare, or gained through a large amount of study and practice. In J. R. R. Tolkien 's Middle-earth , it is mostly limited to non-humans, such as the Istari (more commonly known as wizards), or elves crafting magical items. In many writers' works, it is reserved for a select group of humans, such as in Katherine Kurtz 's Deryni novels, JK Rowling 's Harry Potter novels or Randall Garrett 's Lord Darcy universe. A common limit invented by Jack Vance in his The Dying Earth series, and later popularized in role-playing games

1536-518: Is the third installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic series. The game's story is first referenced throughout Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven and serves as a prequel to Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor . The player can choose to play through seven different campaigns telling the story, or play in a scenario against computer or human opponents. Heroes III was released to universal acclaim by critics and players. The game received

1600-638: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles , Patricia Wrede depicts wizards who use magic based on their staves, and magicians who practice several kinds of magic, including wizard magic; in the Regency fantasies, she and Caroline Stevermer depict magicians as identical to wizards, though inferior in skill and training. Magicians normally learn spells by reading ancient tomes called grimoires , which may have magical properties of their own. Sorcerers in Conan

1664-531: The Odyssey , used by Circe to transform Odysseus 's men into animals. Italian fairy tales put wands into the hands of powerful fairies by the Late Middle Ages . Today, magical wands are widespread in literature and are used from Witch World to Harry Potter. In The Lord of the Rings , Gandalf refuses to surrender his own staff, breaking Saruman 's, which strips the latter of his power. This dependency on

1728-523: The HD " remastered " version of the game. The new version features updated graphics as well as widescreen compatibility and was released on January 29, 2015, for Microsoft Windows , iOS and Android . However, it included neither of the expansions because their source code was allegedly lost. The gameplay is very similar to its predecessors in that the player controls a number of heroes that command an army of creatures inspired by myth and legend . The gameplay

1792-518: The Harry Potter Universe; Severus Snape invented a variety of jinxes and hexes as well as substantial improvements in the process of making potions ; Albus Dumbledore, along with Nicolas Flamel, is credited with discovering the twelve uses of dragon 's blood. To introduce conflict, writers of fantasy fiction often place limits on the magical abilities of magicians to prevent them from solving problems too easily. A common motif in fiction

1856-619: The Hogwarts Express train . The powers ascribed to magicians often affect their roles in society. In practical terms, their powers may give them authority; magicians may advise kings, such as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Belgarath and Polgara the Sorceress in David Eddings 's The Belgariad . They may be rulers themselves, as in E.R. Eddison 's The Worm Ouroboros , where both

1920-502: The Marvel Universe continues to learn about magic even after being named Sorcerer Supreme. He often encounters creatures that have not been seen for centuries or more. In the same universe, Dr. Doom continues to pursue magical knowledge after mastering it by combining magic with science. Fred and George Weasley from Harry Potter invent new magical items and sell them as legitimate defense items, new spells and potions can be made in

1984-703: The Wicked Witch of the West , and other witches in the Land of Oz . Baum named Glinda the "Good Witch of the South" in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . In The Marvelous Land of Oz , he dubbed her "Glinda the Good," and from that point forward and in subsequent books, Baum referred to her as a sorceress rather than a witch to avoid the term that was more regarded as evil. In modern fiction,

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2048-450: The review aggregation website GameRankings . Computer Gaming World ' s Robert Coffey said that the game "expands upon the insanely addictive play of the previous edition, retaining the core gameplay while enhancing almost every facet of the game." He continued to say that the game is "mind-boggling in its depth", but criticized its uneven campaign pacing and "sluggish" connection speeds during online play. He concluded: "Ultimately,

2112-675: The Barbarian often gained powers from such books, which are demarcated by their strange bindings. In worlds where magic is not an innate trait, the scarcity of these strange books may be a facet of the story; in Poul Anderson 's A Midsummer Tempest , Prince Rupert seeks out the books of the magician Prospero to learn magic. The same occurs in the Dungeons and Dragons -based novel series Dragonlance Chronicles , wherein Raistlin Majere seeks out

2176-560: The February 28-March 6 period. It held the position for another two weeks, before exiting the weekly top 10 in its fourth week. It was the U.S.' second-best-selling computer game of March 1999. PC Data, which tracked sales in the U.S., reported that the game had sold 185,553 units in September 2000. The combined global sales of the Heroes series had reached 1.5 million units by December 1999. The game

2240-418: The Rings or Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter , can appear as hostile villains. Ursula K. Le Guin 's A Wizard of Earthsea explored the question of how wizards learned their art, introducing to modern fantasy the role of the wizard as the protagonist. This theme has been further developed in modern fantasy, often leading to wizards as heroes on their own quests. Such heroes may have their own mentor,

2304-494: The books of the sorcerer Fistandantilus. In JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, wizards already have skills of magic but they need to practise magic in Wizarding Schools in order to be able to use it properly . Some magicians, even after training, continue their education by learning more spells, inventing new ones (and new magical objects), or rediscovering ancient spells, beings, or objects. For example, Dr. Strange from

2368-412: The colour of their robes. A magician's crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball commonly associated with clairvoyance , fortune-telling , or scrying . Wands and staves have long been used as requirements for the magician. Possibly derived from wand-like implements used in fertility rituals , such as apotropaic wands , the earliest known instance of the modern magical wand was featured in

2432-920: The connotations of terms such as wizard or warlock ); this lasted until the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons , where it was replaced with mage (later to become wizard ). The exact rules vary from game to game. The wizard or mage , as a character class , is distinguished by the ability to cast certain kinds of magic but being vulnerable in direct combat; sub-classes are distinguished by strengths in some areas of magic and weakness in others. Sorcerers are distinguished from wizards as having an innate gift with magic, as well as having mystical or magical ancestry. Warlocks are distinguished from wizards as creating forbidden "pacts" with powerful creatures to harness their innate magical gifts, similarly to clerics and paladins , who are empowered through divine and deific sources to perform thaumaturgical feats, while druids and rangers draw power from nature and

2496-530: The console running the game adequately. Two official expansion packs were released for Heroes III . The first of these expansions, Armageddon's Blade , introduced a ninth town alignment, the Conflux; a random scenario generator, a variety of new creatures, heroes, and structures; and six new playable campaigns. The second expansion, The Shadow of Death , was a stand-alone expansion that included Restoration of Erathia and added seven new playable campaigns and

2560-414: The continent of Antagarich. During the campaigns, the story is told from alternating points of view, giving players the opportunity to play as each of the town alignments. Following the disappearance of King Roland Ironfist of Enroth prior to Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven , his wife, Queen Catherine, is left to rule the realm. In the meantime, her father, King Nicholas Gryphonheart of Erathia,

2624-574: The details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 825555467 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 08:34:15 GMT Magician (fantasy) People who work magic are called by several names in fantasy works, and terminology differs widely from one fantasy world to another. While derived from real-world vocabulary, the terms: magician , mage , magus , enchanter/enchantress , sorcerer/sorceress , warlock , witch , and wizard , each have different meanings depending upon context and

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2688-404: The effort put into reaching the ends stays the same. For example, when the wizards of Unseen University are chasing the hapless wizard Rincewind in the forest of Skund, the wizards send out search teams to go and find him on foot. The Archchancellor beats them to it by using a powerful spell from his own office, and while he gets there first by clever use of his spell, he has used no less effort than

2752-519: The elements. Bards , on the other hand, are similar to wizards in learning magical abilities as scholarly practices, but differ in their power being tied to artistic expression rather than arcane knowledge. Due to their traditional image as a wise old man or wise old woman , magicians may be depicted as old , white-haired , and in some instances with their hair (and in the case of male wizards, beards ), being long and majestic enough to occasionally host lurking woodland creatures. This depiction predates

2816-486: The equilibrium of the world, which in turn has far-reaching consequences that can affect the entire world and everything in it. As a result, competent wizards do not use their magic frivolously. In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, the Law of Conservation of Reality is a principle imposed by forces wanting wizards to not destroy the world, and works to limit how much power it is humanly possible to wield. Whatever your means,

2880-508: The expansion packs Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade and Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Shadow of Death . Heroes Chronicles , a series of short introductory games based on the Heroes III engine, was also released. A special version of Heroes III titled Heroes III Complete , which included the original game and both expansion packs, was released in 2000. On December 10, 2014, Ubisoft announced what it described as

2944-576: The hero would be the sword-wielder, thus leaving the sorcery for his opponent. Villainous sorcerers were so crucial to pulp fantasy that the genre in which they appeared was dubbed " sword and sorcery ". Witch (an—often female—practitioner of witchcraft ) and wicked (an adjective meaning "bad, evil, false") are both derivative terms from the word, wicca (an Old English word with varied meanings, including soothsayer, astrologer, herbalist, poisoner, seductress, or devotee of supernatural beings or spirits). L. Frank Baum combined these terms in naming

3008-544: The heroes and the villains, although kings and lords, supplement their physical power with magical knowledge, or as in Jonathan Stroud 's Bartimaeus Trilogy , where magicians are the governing class. On the other hand, magicians often live like hermits , isolated in their towers and often in the wilderness, bringing no change to society. In some works, such as many of Barbara Hambly 's, they are despised and outcast specifically because of their knowledge and powers. In

3072-547: The magic-noir world of the Dresden Files , wizards generally keep a low profile, though there is no explicit prohibition against interacting openly with non-magical humanity. The protagonist of the series, Harry Dresden , openly advertises in the Yellow Pages under the heading "Wizard" and maintains a business office, though other wizards tend to resent him for practicing his craft openly. Dresden primarily uses his magic to make

3136-464: The main campaigns are complete, tells the story of separatists living in the Contested Lands, a war-torn border between Erathia and AvLee. Tired of the skirmishes that bring unrest to their homelands, they join to fight for independence from the two large kingdoms. It is later implied that this rising was orchestrated by Archibald Ironfist, the antagonist of Heroes of Might and Magic II . The game

3200-589: The modern fantasy genre, being derived from the traditional image of wizards such as Merlin. In fantasy, a magician may be shown wearing a pointed hat , robes , and/or a cloak . In more modern stories, a magician may be dressed similarly to a stage magician , wearing a top hat and tails , with an optional cape . Several golden hats adorned with astronomical sequences have been found in Europe. It has been speculated by archaeologists and historians that they were worn by ancient wizards. The similarities shared with

3264-514: The modern works of Arthuriana . Wizards can be cast similarly to the absent-minded professor : being foolish and prone to misconjuring. They can also be capable of great magic, both good and evil. Even comical magicians are often capable of great feats, such as those of Miracle Max in The Princess Bride ; although he is a washed-up wizard fired by the villain, he saves the dying hero. Other wizards, such as Saruman from The Lord of

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3328-739: The others. Magic may require rare and precious materials, such as rare herbs or flowers (often selected by prescribed rituals), minerals or metals such as mercury , parts of creatures such as the eye of a newt , or even fantastic ingredients like the cool of a soft breeze on a summer's day. Even if the magician lacks scruples, obtaining the materials in question may be difficult. This can vary by fantasy work. Many magicians require no materials at all; or those that do may require only simple and easily obtained materials. Role-playing games are more likely to require such materials for at least some spells for game balance reasons. Nevertheless, many magicians live in pseudo-medieval settings in which their magic

3392-408: The positive possibilities. In Barbara Hambley's Windrose Chronicles , wizards are precisely pledged not to interfere because of the terrible damage they can do. In Discworld , the importance of wizards is that they actively do not do magic, because when wizards have access to sufficient "thaumaturgic energy", they develop many psychotic attributes and may eventually destroy the world. This may be

3456-488: The rewards of Heroes of Might and Magic III far outweigh its few drawbacks. ... [This] is a game that strategy fans should absolutely be playing." Next Generation said, "While realtime strategy withers on the vine, with many recent releases lackluster at best, HoMM reminds us that turn-based play is alive and well. In fact, it's hard to remember why people said turn-based was dead in the first place." The game entered PC Data 's weekly computer game sales charts at #3 for

3520-628: The skills he learned in our world to magic. At other times, magic and technology do develop in tandem; this is most common in the alternate history genre. Patricia Wrede's Regency fantasies include a Royal Society of Wizards and a technological level equivalent to the actual Regency; Randall Garrett 's Lord Darcy series, Robert A. Heinlein 's Magic, Incorporated , and Poul Anderson 's Operation Chaos all depict modern societies with magic equivalent to twentieth-century technology. In Harry Potter , wizards have magical equivalents to non-magical inventions; sometimes they duplicate them, as with

3584-447: The story in question. Archmage is used in fantasy works to indicate a powerful magician or a leader of magicians. Enchanters typically practice a type of imbued magic that produces no permanent effects on objects or people and are temporary, or of an indefinite duration, or which may require some item or act, to nullify or reverse. For example, this could include enchanting a weapon or tool to be more (or less) effective, enchanting

3648-443: The town. The eight different castles available in Heroes III are classified as good, evil, and neutral. Each town has seven basic creatures, each of which can be upgraded to a more powerful variant. Each town also features two associated hero types: one that leans more toward might (attack and defense), and one that leans more toward magic. The game's story unfolds primarily through a series of seven playable campaigns, all set upon

3712-415: The undead. However, King Gryphonheart's will proves too much for the necromancers even in his corrupted state, and he becomes a rogue lich who seizes rulership of Deyja. Having little other recourse, Queen Catherine is forced to ally herself with several of the necromancers and together they set out to destroy Lich King Gryphonheart before he becomes too powerful. A final bonus campaign, accessible only after

3776-493: The underground. Maps are filled with a huge variety of buildings, treasures, monsters, mines and so forth that reward extensive exploration. At the very least, a player must locate mines and flag them (whereupon they provide constant resources), since these resources are required to develop towns. The player must also develop their heroes' primary and secondary skills, both by battling creatures (and enemy heroes) and by acquiring artifacts or visiting special locations. Heroes are given

3840-519: The western border, seizing the chance to expand their territory. Catherine's first task is to establish a foothold in the conquered kingdom by enlisting the aid of allies. The wizards of Bracada and the elves of AvLee answer her call, and together they push towards Steadwick and eventually retake it, quickly quelling the border war in the west. Soon after, Lucifer Kreegan, a commander in the Eeofol armies, sends an envoy to Erathia claiming that Roland Ironfist

3904-580: Was a finalist for Computer Games Strategy Plus ' 1999 "Strategy Game of the Year" prize, although it lost to RollerCoaster Tycoon . The staff wrote that the game "keeps this series running on all cylinders. There's nothing radically different here, but what would you change?" It was also a finalist for the " Computer Strategy Game of the Year " award during the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences ' 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards , which ultimately

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3968-587: Was given to Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings . The game was a runner-up for "Best Music" at GameSpot ' s Best & Worst of 1999 Awards, which went to Homeworld . The PC and iOS versions of the HD Edition received "mixed or average reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . In 2022, Archon Games announced that they were creating a board game based on Heroes of Might and Magic III. The game involves deckbuilding , combat units, and economic management. Each play session will have

4032-431: Was originally released for PC Windows on March 3, 1999. An Apple Macintosh port was released by 3DO, and a Linux port was released by Loki Software , both in late December that year. In 2000, a Game Boy Color port entitled Heroes of Might and Magic 2 was released. A straight Dreamcast port retaining the original title was also developed and completed, but it wasn't released due to technical issues that prevented

4096-460: Was released in 2001. It adds new creatures, including eighth level creatures and "God's representatives", which give bonuses to heroes' primary skills. Heroes can also destroy and rebuild towns. Horn of the Abyss  [ ru ] , another fan-made expansion, was announced in 2008 and released on December 31, 2011. It adds two new town types, a large number of new map items, new playable campaigns,

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