| Werewolves | ||
|---|---|---|
| Realm |
 Death | |
| ||
| Upkeep Cost |
 5 | |
| ||
| # of Figures |
 6 | |
| Moves |
 2 | |
| Melee Attack per figure |
 5 | |
| Defense per figure |
 1 | |
| Resistance |
 6 | |
| Hit Points per figure |
 5 | |
| ||
|
 Death Immunity | ||
Werewolves are a type of Fantastic Unit featured in Master of Magic. Werewolves belong to the Death Realm, but are not actually called forth with a Summoning Spell. Instead, they are created from friendly Normal Units via the Uncommon Lycanthropy spell. Werewolves are fairly good compared to Normal Units, possessing a strong Melee Attack, though severely lacking in Defense.
However, they have the innate ability to Regenerate – healing automatically both during and after battles, are protected from Normal Weapons and, like most other creatures from the Death Realm, are also immune to many different Unit Curses and Special Attacks.
The Fantastic Unit[]
Physical Description[]
Werewolves are humanoid, bipedal creatures with most of the external characteristics of wolves. They have elongated, dog-like heads, sharp teeth and claws, and are covered from head to toe with fur. They also have a very feral disposition, going into wild frenzies fueled most likely by hunger.
Werewolves are a Multi-Figure Unit containing up to 6 of these creatures.
Attack Properties[]
The Werewolves' Melee Attack is on par with an average mid-tier Normal Unit – at 5. With their inherent 
+10% To Hit bonus, each Werewolf will inflict an average of 
2 points of "raw" damage per attack. At 6 figures, the combined attack is quite fierce. While it might struggle to penetrate heavier armor, it is still likely to deliver at least some damage to most other units – and may devastate low-tier Normal Units with ease.
Defensive Properties[]
The Werewolves' Defense, on the other hand, is quite paltry, at only 1. This exposes the unit to severe damage in combat, especially from enemy Ranged Attacks. However, Werewolves do possess 
Weapon Immunity, which will raise this to 10 against most attacks made by Normal Units with Normal Weapons. This typically works against Melee-, 
Ranged Missile-, and 
Ranged Boulder Attacks, but not 
Ranged Magical-, 
Thrown-, or 
Breath Attacks. It is also ignored by all Heroes, Fantastic Units and, in the latest official game version, "generic" units (Catapults, Triremes, Galleys and Warships); as well as any unit with enchanted or enhanced quality weapons, such as those provided by a 
Flame Blade spell or an Alchemists' Guild.
Fortunately, the Werewolves also have 5 Hit Points each, which can allow the unit to keep fighting despite serious damage. On top of this, Werewolves possess 
Regeneration, a trait that will heal 1 point of damage done to the Werewolves at the end of each combat turn. This can even restore slain Werewolf 
figures mid-combat as the unit heals! It also removes all Damage Points from the unit every time its army wins any battle, including reviving any completely-destroyed Werewolves unit, although this last effect may fail to trigger if they fell to "Create Undead-" or Irreversible Damage.
Like most other creatures from the Death Realm, Werewolves also possess a wide variety of other immunities: 
Poison Immunity, 
Illusions Immunity, 
Cold Immunity and 
Death Immunity. These render them completely invulnerable to a wide array of Unit Curses and Special Damage attacks. However, in situations where they do not apply, the Werewolves have a Resistance score of only 6, which is fairly low, and will not protect the unit very well from ill effects.
Other Properties[]
Werewolves move at a rate of 2, both on the overland map and during battle. This makes them mediocre scouts, but is more important during battles – where they need to close the distance with their enemies rapidly to avoid being mowed down by enemy Ranged Attacks on the way. Faster movement also allows the Werewolves to pick their battles more often, and aim to target Normal Units possessing only Normal Weapons – against which the Werewolves are stronger.
Basic Tactics[]
Werewolves are based entirely around a strong attack. They must charge at their enemies to deliver as much damage as possible. If the unit survives this, it can use its speed to withdraw briefly in order to regenerate, then fight again and again. Werewolves make excellent targets for the Berserk enchantment, which will boost their Melee Strength considerably while having a negligible adverse effect. In fact, since Weapon Immunity overrides the spell's Defense reduction, Berserk will actually have no negative effect when battling enemies against whom the immunity will trigger.
Their Regeneration makes Werewolves extremely powerful suicide units. Regardless of how many of them are lost in a battle, they will all be revived and fully restored as long as the battle is ultimatey won. The only way that an opponent can prevent this from happening is through "Create Undead-" or Irreversible Damage. As such, it may be worth trying to avoid situations where they may be subjected to these, especially 
Dispel Evil and petrification attacks, as the Werewolves' low Resistance makes them highly susceptible to them.
Enemy Werewolves[]
Werewolves are extremely rare as neutral units, owing largely to the design decision that made them cost the same amount of budget points as Night Stalkers when populating Encounter Zones. Because Werewolves also have a higher internal unit type index, they can only ever appear as secondary guardians accompanying said creatures – a combination with such a low practical chance that most players will never actually see it. However, Werewolves may show up somewhat more often as Rampaging Monsters, emerging from sites controlled by other Death creatures.
Werewolves are very dangerous to Normal Units, especially those that use Normal Weapons. It is usually better to engage them with Fantastic Units to prevent their Weapon Immunity from triggering. They are particularly vulnerable to Ranged Magical Attacks due to their pitiful Defense, although other Ranged Attacks should also work well if performed by units with 
Magical Weapons. Either way though, it will typically take several strong attacks to bring down the whole unit, as Werewolves have plenty of Hit Points and will also regenerate one every turn.
Ability Overview[]
+10% To Hit[]
- This unit has an extra 10% chance to hit its target with every die of its Attack Rolls. This improves its statistical chance to inflict more Damage with each attack it makes.
Regeneration[]
- At the end of its combat round, this unit regains 1 Hit Point, unless it is already at full health, or all of its recorded damage is Irreversible. This effect can also restore lost figures.
- If an army stack containing this unit wins a battle, the unit is restored to full health immediately at the end of the battle. This happens even if it was destroyed, although in this case, the regular damage suffered by the unit must surpass both any Irreversible- and any "Create Undead" damage, otherwise this effect will be disabled.
- If the unit is killed in battle, and its army retreats or is defeated, the unit is destroyed and will not regenerate.
Poison Immunity[]
- This unit cannot be hurt by Poison Damage. It will automatically pass any Resistance roll to avert such damage.
Weapon Immunity[]
- This unit is considered to have a Defense score of 10 against attacks made by Normal Units with Normal Weapons.
Illusions Immunity[]
- Illusion Damage inflicted on this unit does not bypass its Armor. The unit gets to make its Defense Rolls as normal.
- During combat, this unit will spot all enemy Invisible creatures regardless of how close they are. Those creatures become semi-visible on the screen, and may be targeted by spells like any other unit.
- This unit may not be targeted by Mind Storm, Confusion, Creature Binding, or Vertigo.
Cold Immunity[]
- This unit is considered to have a Defense score of 50 against Cold Damage. It will almost never be hurt by the Ice Bolt and Ice Storm spells.
Death Immunity[]
Creating Werewolves[]
- Main article: Lycanthropy
Werewolves are unique amongst all Fantastic Units in that they are not created by a Summoning Spell. Instead, a friendly Normal Unit must be targeted with the Uncommon Lycanthropy Instant Spell, turning that specific unit into one of Werewolves. The end result does not depend in any way on the type of unit targeted by the spell – it will always become a Werewolves unit containing a maximum of 6 figures and possessing all of the traits outlined above in this article, regardless of what stats the unit previously had.
However, likely as a result of a design oversight in the official game, the transformation does allow both Normal Unit Enchantments and enhanced weapon qualities to be carried over to the new unit, which can be exploited by the player to create even stronger Werewolves. In addition, any damage recorded on the original unit also carries over, which may become a problem as Death creatures do not heal naturally, and Regeneration does not actually provide overland healing either – another possible oversight.