| Valana The Bard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Type | Non-Champion | |||
| Hiring Cost |
 100 | |||
| Upkeep Cost |
2 | |||
| Prereq. | None | |||
| Moves |
 2 | |||
| Melee Attack |
 4 | |||
| Defense |
 5 | |||
| Resistance |
 6 | |||
| Hit Points |
 6 | |||
| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
 Caster ( 5) | ||||
| Random Abilities | None | |||
| ||||
Valana the Bard is one of the 35 Hero units featured in Master of Magic.
Valana is a non-Champion Hero. She may randomly appear for hire, in which case her Hiring Cost is 100 by default. Alternatively, Valana can be summoned using the Summon Hero spell (or through partial failure of the Summon Champion spell), and can occasionally be found as a Prisoner reward after a successful Encounter.
Valana is a classic and rather-simple support hero. She has a rather-weak Melee Attack, but makes up for this mainly thanks to her Leadership ability. This ability improves her own Melee Attack strength by a small amount as she gains Experience, but also improves the attack strength of each friendly Normal Unit and Hero on the battlefield by the same amount. Thus, Valana can accompany large armies to boost their overall strength.
Furthermore, Valana also has the ability to cast spells, for which she will pay from her own Mana pool. In addition to any spell known to her employer, Valana may also cast the Confusion and Vertigo - assuming she has sufficient Mana to do so.
Valana may be equipped with the basic fare of Magical Items. This is a problem, as it does not contribute very much to her performance as a Caster. Most importantly, Valana will need defensive bonuses to help her survive each battle she enters.
Valana's Upkeep Cost is 2 per turn.
General Description[]
Valana the Bard is a traveling musician and storyteller. She has studied ancient lore and has memorized many epic tales of the exploits of other Heroes of the past. Her enchanting voice can almost hypnotize anyone listening to her stories, drawing them to her side. She has gotten by with these skills for quite some time, and is now willing to put them to work for any employer.
Valana's appearance is part of her job - she seems innocuous and trustworthy, a young woman with a childish face whom no one would suspect to have any ulterior motives. She is red-haired, has large eyes, and dresses in a lively green shirt and blue boots. Valana rides a dark-blond horse.
Initial Properties[]
Note: All data below assumes Valana is at her lowest Experience Level, and without any Magical Items or Random Abilities - After all, any Hero can become devastatingly powerful after gaining several levels and powerful items. Please refer to the tables and chapters below for more information.
Attack Properties[]
Valana the Bard possesses only a Melee Attack. Its default strength is 4, which is quite low compared to other Melee-oriented Heroes. With a default To Hit chance of 
30%, she can be expected to deliver about 
1.2 points of Damage per attack. This is just enough to reliably defeat the weakest units in the game, but is highly unlikely to pierce any actual armor.
Note that thanks to her innate Leadership ability, Valana's Melee Attack will improve somewhat faster than normal as she gains Experience - but will at most make up for her initial deficiency in this field, rather than making her actually powerful. Note of course that the whole point in Leadership is that its bonuses also apply to other units on the battlefield (more on this below).
Defensive Properties[]
By default, Valana the Bard has a rather-average Defense score of 5. This enables her to block, on average, about 1.5 points of Damage from any damage source. This can protect Valana adequately from most low-tier Normal Units, but expect her to take damage often when fighting anything stronger, at least until she can gain plenty of Experience and/or acquire strong armor.
Valana possesses 6 Hit Points by default. This is a respectable amount for a low-level Hero, and should allow her to survive a few hits from low-tier Normal Units. She is not nearly healthy enough to take on any serious opposition though.
As with most Heroes, Valana possesses a default Resistance score of 6. This makes her somewhat vulnerable to Curses and other combat maledictions. It will take at least 
4 Experience Levels before she can become immune to some of these effects, assuming no Magical Items or Random Abilities augment it.
Other Properties[]
Valana the Bard has a basic Hero's Movement Allowance of 2. This is good for speeding up her movement on the overland map, through plain land tiles like Grassland and Deserts. During battle, Valana may need to use her speed to stay away from stronger enemies.
As mentioned earlier, Valana's Leadership ability not only improves her own Melee Attack strength, but also the strength of any friendly Normal Unit and Hero on the battlefield (but not friendly Fantastic Units). Each such friendly unit receives +1 Melee Attack for every 3 of Valana's Experience Levels. Units with a 
Ranged Missile Attack, 
Ranged Boulder Attack, Thrown Attack and/or Breath Attack receive a bonus of +1 to the strength of each of these attacks, as long as Valana is at Level 6 ("Lord") or higher. Note that all this applies only during combat, and only when Valana is present.
Spellcasting[]
Valana the Bard possesses the Caster ability by default, and initially has 5 Mana to spare. This Mana pool increases with Experience.
Valana may cast any combat spell known to her employer. In addition, regardless of whether they are available to the employer, Valana also has access to Confusion and Vertigo - two powerful Curses with good potential applications. Some spells, including these two, may be unavailable for casting until Valana can gain some Experience and increase her available Mana.
To cast a spell with Valana during combat, you must select Valana, press the "Spell" button, and then select "Bard" from the pop-up list. If Valana is out of Mana, out of Movement Points, has been killed or is otherwise incapacitated, her name will not appear on this list.
Note that using Valana to cast spells does not reduce your own available Spell Casting Skill or Mana - she is completely independent and uses up her own skill and Mana.
Finally, the Caster ability also allows Valana to augment your wizard's own Spell Casting Skill. To perform this, place Valana in the same tile as your Fortress town. While she is inside this town, your Spell Casting Skill is increased by half the value of Valana's Caster skill, rounded down.
Experience[]
The following table illustrates how Valana's various skills and attributes increase as she gains Experience. Her innate Leadership bonuses are already taken into account in the values below. Attributes not appearing on this list do not improve with Experience.
| Icon | Level Name | EP | Melee | To Hit | Defense | Resist | Hits | Mana | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hero |  0 - 19
|
4
|
30%
|
5
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
0 |
|
Myrmidon | 20 - 59
|
5
|
30%
|
6
|
7
|
7
|
10
|
0 |
|
Captain | 60 - 119
|
7
|
40%
|
6
|
8
|
8
|
15
|
+1 |
|
Commander | 120 - 199
|
8
|
40%
|
7
|
9
|
9
|
20
|
+1 |
|
Champion | 200 - 299
|
9
|
40%
|
7
|
10
|
10
|
25
|
+1 |
|
Lord | 300 - 449
|
11
|
50%
|
8
|
11
|
11
|
30
|
+2 |
|
Grand Lord | 450 - 599
|
12
|
50%
|
8
|
12
|
12
|
35
|
+2 |
|
Super Hero | 600 - 999
|
13
|
50%
|
9
|
13
|
13
|
40
|
+2 |
|
Demi-God | 1,000
|
15
|
60%
|
9
|
14
|
14
|
45
|
+3 |
Average Damage Output[]
The following table shows Valana's average Damage output with each of her attacks, based on her current Experience Level. The effects of her innate Leadership ability have already been taken into account when calculating these values. Note that this table completely ignores bonuses from Magical Items, if any.
|
Improvement Overview[]
As with any other Hero, Valana can eventually become very powerful as she gains Experience. Nonetheless, she is quite weak at the lower levels.
Thanks to Leadership, Valana's Melee Attack score will improve a little more rapidly than normal. This isn't enough to make her a very powerful attacker, but will cover her initial deficiencies by the time she reaches high levels. Of course, Leadership also bestows bonuses to other friendly units on the battlefield, so its usefulness grows both with Experience and with the number of eligible units accompanying Valana into battle.
Valana's available Mana will also increase by +5 per every Experience Level. This gives her access to more spells in each battle (including the ability to cast her own Vertigo and Confusion).
Still, even with plenty of Experience, Valana cannot match the combat performance of other, more valuable Heroes. Magical Items are almost mandatory to ensure that she is not killed off when she enters combat.
Ability Overview[]
Leadership[]
- During combat, this Hero bestows a certain bonus to the attack strength of each friendly Normal Unit and Hero, including him/herself (but not including Fantastic Units).
- The bonus to Melee Attacks is +1 per every 3 Experience Levels this Hero possesses.
- Once this Hero reaches Level 6 ("Lord"), he/she gives a +1 to all friendly units' Ranged Missile Attacks, Ranged Boulder Attacks, Thrown Attacks and Breath Attacks.
- No bonus is given to friendly units' Ranged Magical Attacks.
Caster ( 5)[]
- This Hero may cast spells during combat, withdrawing Mana from his/her own personal Mana Pool to do so.
- The Hero may spend only 5 per battle. This Mana Pool is reset at the end of each battle - assuming the Hero survives at all.
- With each Experience Level gained, this Hero receives a permanent bonus of +5.
- Spellcasting takes up all of the Hero's remaining Movement Points for the turn.
- While this Hero is inside his/her employer's Fortress town, the owner's Spell Casting Skill is increased by half the value of the Hero's Caster ability.
Random Abilities[]
Valana the Bard has no Random Abilities. Therefore, her various attributes will be exactly the same each time you play the game. This makes Valana more predictable. She will never be any less or more useful than this article describes.
Equipment[]
Valana the Bard has the following item slots:
| Icon | Name | Items that fit here |
|---|---|---|
|
Sword Slot | Sword, Mace or Axe |
|
Shield Slot | Shield, Chainmail or Platemail |
|
Jewelry Slot | Any Jewelry |
This set-up contributes primarily to Melee combat. This can help Valana be more useful in direct combat, but is not too helpful for her spellcasting skills.
Recommended Items[]
Valana is a classic support-hero, lacking a powerful attack but making up for it with group-bonuses and spellcasting. While powerful items can help make her a strong Melee Attacker, it is often a better choice to improve her survivability and spellcasting instead. This is up to personal taste, and the selection of available items.
Weapon[]
- Valana is unlikely to develop a powerful Melee Attack of her own. If she is destined to become a stronger attacker, she requires a powerful weapon. A Sword is recommended for this purpose if it carries any Defense bonuses - which Valana will certainly need.
- However, instead of trying to make Valana stronger, it is often better to concentrate on her spellcasting skills. A Sword giving both a Mana bonus and some Defense is probably the best weapon for her to wield.
Armor[]
- Valana is probably best not going into hand-to-hand combat, but will still need heavy defense in order to survive from battle to battle. This is very important so that she can continue giving her Leadership bonuses to other units on the battlefield. As a result, a heavy Shield or even a strong Platemail are recommended.
- Movement Allowance bonuses are probably the least valuable. High Defense scores are the primary attribute to look for in good armor for this Hero. Resistance may help, but gradually becomes less important as Valana gains more Experience.
Jewelry[]
- The choice of Jewelry is perhaps the most difficult one. It is often tempting to get a jewel with strong attack bonuses, but these are probably the least useful bonuses for Valana.
- Given Valana's ability to cast both Confusion and Vertigo, the best bonuses from Jewelry will be a Spell Save penalty - the higher the better. This increases the effectiveness of both these spells, allowing Valana to mess with her enemies very effectively. Extra Mana ("Spell Casting Skill") bonuses will allow Valana to cast these spells earlier in the game, and to cast them more often during combat (as well as any other spell, of course).
- Of secondary importance are probably the Defense and Resistance bonuses, which will help keep Valana alive.
Acquisition[]
Valana the Bard can be acquired in one of four different methods:
- By hiring her as she comes to visit your Fortress town,
- By casting the Summon Hero or Summon Champion spells,
- By rescuing her from an Encounter zone,
- By Resurrecting her after she has been killed in battle.
Hiring Valana[]
Every once in a while, a Hero will arrive at your Fortress town to ask for employment. The frequency of this event depends on your current 
Fame score, the number of Heroes already under your employ, and whether or not you have particular Retorts that affect this chance.
In order for Valana to appear for hire in this way, you must meet several requirements:
- You must have sufficient Gold in your treasury to hire Valana (more on this below).
- Valana must not have already been killed in battle.
Note that Valana does not care about your wizard's Fame score - she is not picky about whom she serves.
Since the game randomly chooses which Hero appears during this event, there's no guarantee that Valana will ever appear. The chance, however, increases if the number of other valid Heroes dwindles (such as when most other Heroes have died in battle).
The default Hiring Cost for Valana is 100. This is reduced to 50 if your wizard has the Charismatic Retort. If you do not have this much Gold at the start of a turn (after paying all Upkeep Costs), Valana will not appear for hire. In fact, if she is picked as the Hero who approaches you, and you lack the money to hire her, you are effectively forfeiting your chance to hire any Hero this turn.
After agreeing to hire Valana (you can always refuse), you may give her any name you choose - she will be known as "<name> the Bard". Her overland unit will appear at your Fortress town or, if that town's garrison is full, next to your Fortress town.
Summoning Valana[]
As a non-Champion hero, Valana the Bard can be summoned using either the Summon Hero or Summon Champion spells. However, Summon Champion only has a chance to bring Valana to you if all Champions are unavailable at the time.
Once the spell is completed, the game chooses a random Hero to bring to your Fortress from a list of all available and valid Heroes. Therefore, there is no guarantee that Valana will appear when these spells are cast, unless all other Heroes are unavailable.
Again, you get a chance to agree or refuse to hire Valana. If you agree, she will appear in your Fortress town and/or next to it.
If Valana is hired through the use of Summon Hero or Summon Champion, there is no need to pay any Hiring Cost. However, you may still need to pay an Upkeep Cost (see below).
Rescuing Valana[]
On defeating an Encounter of at least moderate difficulty, there is a small chance that your reward will include a Prisoner previously held captive in this Encounter zone.
The game can randomly pick any non-Champion Hero to be rescued in this way - except Heroes that have already died while in your service. Your Fame and Gold are disregarded, and there is no need to pay any Hiring Costs.
Note that if the army that beats that particular Encounter already contains 9 units, you will never be rewarded with a Prisoner.
Resurrecting Valana[]
For most wizards, losing Valana in battle removes her from the game permanently. She will never appear again.
For 
Life-wielding wizards, however, who have access to the Resurrection spell, it is possible to bring Valana back to life after she has died. In this case, Valana returns to your Fortress town, with no Magical Items, but keeping all Experience she had prior to her death.
You may repeatedly resurrect Valana each time she dies.
Upkeep Costs[]
Once Valana is in your employ, you must pay her an Upkeep Cost of 2 at the start of each and every turn. Failure to pay this price due to lack of Gold results in Valana leaving your employ. This is not permanent however: Valana may still be acquired in any of the above methods with no penalty.
Alternate Names[]
Other wizards can also have a Bard, but they are different characters (what happens to one has no effect on the others), and go by different names, as follows:
Bard |
Player | Alternate Name |
|---|---|---|
| Human (0) | Valana | |
| Wizard 1 | Lauren | |
| Wizard 2 | Lidia | |
| Wizard 3 | Veronica | |
| Wizard 4 | Adrianna |