Opponents in STRONGHOLD are ranked by intelligence. The higher intelligence the opponent, the more aggressive it is. High intelligence opponents are the most likely to launch campaigns against your stronghold.
Humanoid opponents (kobolds, hobgoblins, evil mages, etc.) build strongholds of their own. When you attack their castles, you may also claim ownership of their buildings to reap the benefits without the building cost.
A list of all possible opponents you may encounter in STRONGHOLD follows.
| BLAST SPORE | Low intelligence. A blast spore is an aggressive fungus that shoots spores at enemies, sometimes causing Blast Spore Disease. A diseased unit must find its way to a level six (or higher) cleric or any block with a temple to be cured. If the unit is not cured, it will die and new blast spores appear. Blast spores explode when killed, damaging all nearby creatures. |
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| BLUE DRAGON | High intelligence. Blue dragons are very dangerous, intelligent, huge-winged lizards. Blue dragons have lightning breath. Only very high-level units should attempt attacking a blue dragon lair. |
| CARRION CRAWLER | Low intelligence. The carrion crawler is a 9' long worm capable of inflicting paralysis with its touch. The paralysis wears off after a few turns. |
| COCKATRICE | Low intelligence. The cockatrice is a monster with the tail of a snake and the head and wings of a rooster. Its touch turns characters into stone. A stoned character separates from the rest of its unit and is frozen in place forever. |
| DIRE WOLF | Low intelligence. Dire wolves are larger and more ferocious than normal wolves, and hunt in large packs. |
| EVIL CLERIC, THIEF, FIGHTER, MAGE | High intelligence. Evil clerics, thieves, fighters, and mages are hostile groups of humans out to claim land as their own. |
| FIRE GIANT | High intelligence. Fire giants are huge humanoids with red skin. They are immune to all forms of fire. |
| GIANT ANT | Low intelligence. Giant black ants are extremely protective of their territory. |
| GIANT BAT | Low intelligence. Giant bats are large, flying mammals. They generally only attack if attacked first. |
| GIANT SCORPION | Low intelligence. The giant scorpion looks like a regular scorpion but it is the size of a full-grown man. It is capable of inflicting a deadly poison, and only very fortunate characters escape instant death when poisoned by a giant scorpion. |
| GIANT TOAD | Low intelligence. Giant toads are capable of pulling halflings, elves and dwarves into their mouths with their tongues. |
| GOBLIN | High intelligence. Goblins are small, ugly humanoids. |
| GRIFFIN | Low intelligence. The Griffin is a monster with the body and hindquarters of a lion; and the head, wings, and front claws of an eagle. It is a dangerous flying monster. |
| HOBGOBLIN | High intelligence. Hobgoblins are larger, tougher relatives of goblins. They attack with long spears. |
| HARPY | Medium Intelligence. Harpies have the lower body of an eagle and the upper body of a wild woman. Their enchanted songs can charm a character during combat. Charmed characters turn against their fellows, fighting on the side of the monsters until the spell wears off or they are damaged. |
| KOBOLD | High intelligence. Kobolds are small, dog-like humanoids. |
| LESSER PHOENIX | Medium intelligence. The lesser phoenix is a magical creature that appears as a large, red eagle surrounded by flames. It can only be hit with +2 weapons. They are immune to "charm", "hold", and all fire-based spells. |
| MAN SCORPION | Medium intelligence. As the name states, this creature is a combination of man and (giant) scorpion. It uses a longbow for ranged combat. Like the giant scorpion, the man scorpion is capable of inflicting a deadly poison. Only very fortunate characters escape instant death when poisoned. |
| MEDUSA | High intelligence. Medusae look like human females but have green snakes instead of hair. The gaze of a Medusa can turn characters into stone. A stoned character separates from the rest of its unit and is frozen in place forever. |
| MINDARK | Very high intelligence. Your nemesis, an evil mage named Mindark, is obsessed with your destruction. Mindark only appears in Hostile or Aggressive worlds. |
| MINOTAUR | Medium intelligence. A minotaur is a large, humanoid creature with the head of a bull. It is extremely tough, and does extra damage with every hit. |
| OBSIDIAN STATUE | Medium intelligence. This creature is an enchanted animated statue made of obsidian. It is immune to non-magical weapons and "sleep", "charm" and "hold" spells. |
| ORC | Medium intelligence. Orcs are humanoids that look like a combination of animal and man. |
| PURPLE WORM | Low intelligence. Purple worms are huge, slimy worms that live beneath the ground. They only surface to attack. Combat with purple worms is extremely dangerous because you never know where they will attack from next. |
| RED DRAGON | High intelligence. The red dragon is a very dangerous, intelligent, huge-winged lizard. Red dragons have flame breath. Only very high-level units should attempt attacking a red dragon lair. |
| SKELETON | Low intelligence. Skeletons are animated undead humans. They are immune to "sleep", "charm" and "hold" spells. |
| STONE GIANT | High intelligence. Stone giants are huge humanoids with rock-like skin. They throw boulders as missile weapons, and use stalactites as clubs. |
| TROLL | Medium intelligence. Trolls are tall, carnivorous humanoids. They have the power of regeneration, meaning they can heal themselves even as combat progresses. |
| VAMPIRE | High intelligence. Vampires are powerful undead creatures immune to non-magical weapons, and "sleep", "charm" and "hold" spells. They have the power of regeneration, so they too can heal themselves in small amounts as combat progresses. Their attack can drain two levels from their victim, and they can also cast "charm" spells. |
| WIGHT | Medium intelligence. Wights are undead spirits immune to non-magical weapons and "sleep", "charm", and "hold" spells. Their attack can drain one level from their victim. |
| WOOD GOLEM | Low intelligence. Wood golems are wooden constructs animated by magic. They are immune to all missiles, "magic missiles", non-magical weapons, and "sleep", "charm", and "hold" spells. They are especially vulnerable to "fireballs". |