Stronghold Combat

   When dots on the overhead view flash red and white, combat is taking place. Combat occurs between your units and their enemies when they both occupy the same block of the map. Monsters do not fight each other. You may watch the combat take place in the postcard view, or ignore it and find out the results later as they are printed in the text area of the screen.
   To attack an enemy, go to it in the postcard view, then turn up the magnets. The readied units will be the first to attack, followed by the unassigned. To attack with a single, specific unit, ready the unit, then increase a magnet. The last unit readied is the first to be attracted.
   Combat continues in a block until one side is defeated. Units cannot be attracted away from combat with magnets.
Combat Thermometer: Near the bottom right corner of the large window is a narrow vertical bar. This is the "combat thermometer." It indicates how well the combat is going. White is for your forces; red is the enemy's color. If the white portion of the thermometer grows during the battle, your side is winning. If red starts to dominate, the enemy is defeating your forces. When not in combat, this thermometer is replaced by an hourglass indicating how far along you are in the current season.
Spellcasting: The mages, elves, and clerics control their own spellcasting. You may not tell them which spells to memorize or to cast. During combat, they will attempt to use the best spells they can, so higher level spellcasters will be more powerful. Elves are smart -- they'll either cast spells or use their bows depending on which will be the most effective in the situation.
Spells: Below are lists of spells your mages and clerics learn at each experience level. Note that low-level spells, such as magic missile, grow more powerful as the unit goes up in level. Elves cast from the mage spell list, but learn the spells at a slower rate.