| Nature Awareness | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Realm |
 Nature | |
| Spell Rarity | Very Rare | |
| Spell Type | Global Enchantment | |
| Casting Cost |
 800 | |
| Upkeep Cost |
7 | |
| Research Cost |
 2,500 | |
| ||
|
Permanently reveals all unexplored tiles on the overland map (in both Arcanus and Myrror). Reveals all enemy Towns and units except Invisible ones. | ||
Nature Awareness is a Very Rare Global Enchantment belonging to the Nature Magic realm. For 800 it may be cast on the overland map to reveal all unexplored land tiles in Arcanus and Myrror as well as all Towns and all non-Invisible units. It also initiates contact with every rival Wizard who still in the game. The spell requires an Upkeep Cost of 7 per turn to remain in operation, though some of its effects are entirely permanent.
Effects[]
Nature Awareness permanently reveals nearly everything there is to see on both the planes of Arcanus and Myrror - and will keep tracking enemy units as long as it is active. It also initiates diplomatic contact with all other wizards.
Revealing Terrain[]
On the first casting of Nature Awareness by the wizard, all unexplored Terrain on both Arcanus and Myrror is immediately revealed. This includes Terrain Specials such as Minerals, Encounter Zones, Towers of Wizardry and so forth.
This effect is entirely permanent. Even if Nature Awareness is dispelled, all Terrain and Terrain Specials will remain visible for the casting wizard for the remaining duration of the game.
Revealing Towns[]
When Nature Awareness is first cast, it will also reveal the position of every Town on both planes, including both rival Wizard Towns as well as all Neutral Towns.
Furthermore, because the entire terrain has been revealed (see above), any new town created by any rival Wizard will also appear on the map - whether or not Nature Awareness is still in effect at the time.
Revealing Units[]
While Nature Awareness is in effect, all units and armies belonging to other wizards as well as all Neutral units will be shown on the map. If your settings allow seeing rival unit movement between turns, that movement will be shown too.
Lone Invisible units or stacks comprised entirely of Invisible units will not appear on the map. Armies comprised of both visible and invisible units will appear, but the Invisible units within these armies will not show up on the stack overview pop-up when such an army is right-clicked.
This is the only non-permanent effect of the Nature Awareness spell. If Nature Awareness is dispelled or canceled, all enemy units that are not directly observed by the casting wizard's assets will disappear off the map.
Initiating Contact[]
Upon the first casting of Nature Awareness, contact will immediately be made with any rival Wizard who is still in the game (i.e. not defeated).
Each of these Wizards' faces will appear in the Magic menu, allowing you to examine their personalities and contacting them for Diplomacy straight away. Any wizard who had not been contacted until the casting of the spell will contact you automatically before the start of the next turn, to announce his or her intentions.
Once contact with the other wizards is made, it is permanent - even if Nature Awareness is dispelled or canceled.
Usage[]
Nature Awareness may be cast only on the overland map, for the substantial Casting Cost of 800. As stated above, it will immediately apply several permanent effects, revealing all unexplored terrain on both Planes as well as any existing Towns. Contact with enemy Wizards is enabled immediately as well.
Upon casting all enemy non-Invisible units are also revealed on the map. They will remain revealed as long as this spell stays in effect. To keep it in effect, the casting wizard must pay an Upkeep Cost of 7 per turn. Failure to pay this cost due to lack of Mana will cause the spell to dissipate, in which case it will no longer display enemy units that are not spotted by other means. However, the terrain and towns will remain revealed, and contact with rival wizards is not broken.
After casting the spell, its name will appear on the "Overland Enchantments" list in the Magic menu. The color in which the name is printed indicates which wizard controls the spell. If the player controls the spell, he or she may cancel it manually by clicking the name of the spell. The primary reason to do this would be in order to remove the spell's Upkeep Cost, thus conserving Mana for other spells.
Acquisition[]
As a Very Rare Nature spell, Nature Awareness may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least 3 Spellbooks. However, its availability during the game is not guaranteed unless the Wizard acquires at least 10 Spellbooks.
Nature Awareness may not be acquired at the start of the campaign regardless of how many Spellbooks the wizard possesses. It must either be Researched during the game, or acquired through other means.
Wizards with 3 to 9 Spellbooks have a random chance of being able to Research Nature Awareness during the game. The chance for this spell to appear for research increases with the number of Nature Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. With 10 or 11 Spellbooks, the spell is guaranteed to appear for Research at some point, if it is not already available for casting.
Nature Awareness has a base Research Cost of 2,500.
With at least 3 Spellbooks, the Nature Awareness spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell.
Players may also cheat to "acquire" Nature Awareness. While on the "Magic" screen, hold down the ALT key and type "rvl" to cast the spell without researching it or expending mana. The effects of the spell are the same as if the wizard had cast it including the upkeep cost. However, the wizard does not learn the spell using this method.
Strategy[]
Nature Awareness is by far the best scouting/exploration spell available to any wizard. It basically reveals everything in the two Planes, and as long as it is active will also reveal all enemy unit movement. This renders further scouting of the terrain completely unnecessary.
The only drawback is that Diplomacy with all other wizards is immediately initiated. This may be useful for purposes of trading spells, but on higher difficulty levels simply casting this spell may rapidly lead to war with one or more rivals. If you do not wish to initiate contact, use Earth Lore instead.