Causes moderate magical damage Effective at all range Good against armour Can cause damage to friendly combatants Requires line of sight to the target
The Curse of Anraheir[]
At the spellcaster's command, nebulous nature spirits assail the foe, clawing with hands not nearly as insubstantial as they first appear.
Spell
Lore of Beasts
Cost
11 Winds 14 Winds (Overcast)
Type
Hex
Target
Enemies
Melee Defence
-24
Melee Attack
-24
Accuracy
-30
Speed
-25%
Range
200 metres
Effect range
35 metres 55 metres (Overcast)
Duration
21 seconds
Cooldown
47 seconds
Miscast chance
50% (Overcast)
Affected units
Affects enemies in range(all)
Increased effect area
Transformation of Kadon[]
Kadon was able to shift his shape to that of any monster, even a Manticore. One day he found he could not change back...
Spell
Lore of Beasts
Cost
20 Winds
Type
Summon Unit
Uses
2
Target
Ground
Range
50 metres
Duration
1 seconds
Cooldown
45 seconds
Affected units
Affects allies in range(max: 1)
Summons a Manticore Powerful unit ideal for combat Summoned units degrade over time Spawned unit fights in this battle only
Variations[]
Transformation of Kadon[]
Kadon, a master of forms, was able to shift his shape into anything he chose. Here, his magic is used to summon a Varghulf, as if Kadon himself fights for you.
The lore attribute is notable for adding magic to the reserve as well as increasing recharge rate, simultaneously giving you more magic as well as improving the rate at which you get it. The recharge rate is only half as effective as the attributes from the Lore of Death and Lore of the Big Waaagh! However, the increase to reserves helps maintain your pool of magic. While this is not exploitable for Infinite magic, the additional casting it provides is useful.
Flock of Doom is a solid direct damage spell in an area of effect. It can do good damage against clumps of enemies or units vulnerable to magic. It does not do the most damage, however the fact that it is guaranteed magic ensures its value.
Pann's Impenetrable Pelt is good for protecting a unit from incoming damage as well as giving them the movement to engage with foes or disengage. Generally best used for damage resistance rather than speed.
The Amber Spear is a cheap and useful missile spell that penetrates deep into unit formations so if lined up correctly can go through multiple models of elite infantry, killing them instantly.
The Curse of Anraheir has a number of different effects, but is generally good for lowering melee stats and speed of enemies in an engagement.
Transformation of Kadon is very valuable for the ability to manifest a terror causing flying unit. Notably, the manticore rampages quite easily, so you really get one chance to target it onto a foe before you lose control.
Wyssan's Wildform is a good hybrid spell that boosts damage and armour of a unit. This can be valuable, but be aware of the armour piercing of your enemy and how much armour your units are wearing as both can mitigate the spell's effectiveness.
Overall, a diverse lore of magic that can accomplish a variety of tasks. Its spells generally cover a variety of roles, but makes it harder for them to excel at one role in particular. For example, you can boost the armour and weapon damage of a unit, but neither to absurd heights. Or you can boost the movement speed and physical resistance of a unit, but neither super well.
In Multiplayer, many people bring the Lore of Beasts purely to summon Manticores. However, it is a good idea to bring an additional spell as well. Only two manticores can be summoned per game and it is easy to have winds of magic left over. If the battle does not end quickly, there is a good chance you will have unused magic left over which can be spent on a cheap second spell like Wyssan's Wildform or the Amber Spear.
The Wild Heart improve to recharge rate boosts regen by .075. This is half of Life Leeching (Lore of Death) and Power of Da Waaagh! (Lore of Big Waaagh!) which improve regen by .15. This makes sense as Wild Heart also improves power reserves by 10 winds. What is also interesting is that Sneaky Stealin' (Lore of Little Waagh!) reduced recharge rates also does .075. This means that if Wild Heart and Sneaky Stealin' were active at the same time they would cancel each other out. Whereas Sneaky Stealin would only halve the effectiveness of the other two mentioned above.
With the Shadow and the Blade DLC, CA introduced a transformation ability for Malus and Tz'arkan. As the flavor text for Transformation of Kadon suggests, it is supposed to turn your caster into a manticore rather than summon one. Upon release of the dlc, CA made a statement that they considered changing the spell to a transformation rather than a summon. However, they thought that players would usually opt to keep their caster rather than turn it into a manticore (Having a spellcaster is much more useful than having a single manticore usually). As such, they decided not to change the spell.
The Lore of Beasts is the third-most-widespread lore in the game, being available in full to generic casters of seven races, and in part to eight thanks to the Vampire Count's Von Carstein Vampire Lord. The first most common is Death, which is available to ten races, while the second, Shadows, is available to nine.