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Spellcasting can be a fickle process. All heroes start battles with zero mana. Mana recharge is set such that a low level hero will only cast perhaps three or four spells low level spells, maximum, in each engagement. Because the mana recharge rate is so low, most battles will not have a heavy spellcasting component. Mana recharge rates can be upgraded through some buildings and spells can be researched in the Library structure, but these are temporary and disappear after the battle. Frequently used spells can be hotkeyed for convenience.

Heroes can perform quests to obtain items, resources, and allies. Quests can be simple resource exchanges ("Give me 400 gold and I'll give you 400 crystal"), or may involve some kind of real effort ("Convert 3 enemy buildings and you'll receive an Archon" or "Kill 10 enemy units and receive 4 shadows"). Some quests are riddles, which are relatively easy. They can be received at any of three structures, once every 300 seconds: shrines, pyramids, and mausoleums. Quests appear to be completely random, with no regard whatsoever on current game conditions. My favorite quests involve killing X number of Undead units, when there are no Undead units in the game!

Items can enhance (or diminish) a hero's skills. Like most RPGs, the hero has a limited number of equipment slots and a small inventory to store excess items. Items can be obtained from chests that are scattered around a map or are given as a reward for completing quests. Unfortunately, items cannot be traded between heroes. My minotaur fighter has no need for items that enhance spellcasting and can only leave these items behind.