Target is protected from offensive spells

Why couldn't I cast Wither or Freeze on an invading enemy army?

from Elemental Forums

In my latest game Lord Verga of the Yithril declared war shortly after meeting me.  When his army crossed into my borders I tried casting Wither, Freeze, and Tremor to either delay their advance or weaken it a bit.  I got the following message, "Target is protected from offensive spells."  Can anyone explain why that is?  I looked at all his equipment and traits and none of them said anything about magic immunity. There was an ophidian in that army which is immune to magic but I don't think its immunity should extend to the whole army when on the strategic map.  Do the enemy sovereigns get some kind of strategic spell immunity on higher levels (I was playing on Expert)?  Screen shot below.

"Target is protected from offensive spells"

17,089 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

The Ophidian provides magic immunity for the entire army. That is how the mechanics work at the moment.

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Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Interesting.  That makes a pet ophidian quite a valuable commodity.  Don't think the alchemist who gives you one for killing the sand golem knows it's true value.

I'm curious how Warlord Verga got his paws on an ophidian, I didn't think the AI sovs could do quests.  Is there some kind of ophidian egg you can get in a goodie hut?

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

The AI Sovereigns can go on certain quests (not all of them) The alchemists offer is one of the quests the AI can go on. Mind you failure for the AI on a quest means death of their sovereign, since they cannot accomplish the quest exactly the same way as the player.

In my current knowledge this is the only way to get an ophidian, and that wizard knows the value of his life from that quest. Apparently it is equivalent to an ophidian.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting parrottmath, reply 1

The Ophidian provides magic immunity for the entire army. That is how the mechanics work at the moment.

Thanks for this explanation. I also ran into this recently, and I had no idea why.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

For extra clarity, I believe it provides immunity for all targets on that particular tile, not just the army it is in.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

Wow, I didn't know this. it makes the Ophidian even more desirable. Funny, if LH had multiplayer, the Ophidian would've died in an onslaught of nerf-cries within days after release. It makes conquering cities 10x easier. And it is such an easy quest!