Blood & Magic Blood & Magic is a computer game released by Interplay in 1996 which uses the " Dungeons & Dragons " license . Gameplay . " Blood & Magic " is a real - time strategy game , where players take on the role of wizards , using blood magic to create monsters . The game is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting in an area called the Utter East . The basic units of the game are the " basal golems " , which are created at the Bloodforge . They provide for the production of new units and can be turned into buildings or monsters . When four are placed on a foundation , they may transform into a mystical site dedicated to the kind of magic the player ’ s choosing . Placing a basal golem adjacent to a friendly mystical site will allow them to change into a different creature , based on the type of mystical site . The player automatically is only able to use the weakest transformation , and can unlock more by researching . Researching costs , which is gained by creating or transforming basal golems , creating or destroying structures , casting spells and slaying enemies . While this approach is original compared to the usual - like system where the player had to harvest or mine resources , it brings its own set of problems . There are no limits on basal golem and almost no limits mana production ( the only one being that a player can not have more than 300 mana at one time ) and the stationary golems are much easier to protect than moving harvesting units meaning that unhindered can easily occur . Also , not having to protect supply routes means less opportunities for strategic thinking , as does the lack of any defensive structures ( with the exception of passive walls ) . The most egregious deviation from normal RTS gameplay is the extreme required for the collection of the game ' s resources . The golems charge mana individually , and collecting the mana requires a continuous cycle of selecting individual golems and clicking a " transfer " button ( or , alternatively , the right mouse button ) . Golems will eventually transfer mana on their own if they reach their maximum capacity and are left unattended for a long period of time , but this severely impacts their efficiency . The game ' s pacing is similar to that of vintage RTS games like " " and " " . By comparison , the gameplay is very slow compared to " " which came out the year prior . AI . The AI is on similar level as in most other games from the 1990s . It can assemble and send small strike forces quite well , can cast spells , find and use magic items , making it a dangerous opponent in the early game . However , it does not coordinate its defences very well , making the endgame an easy cleanup exercise once the player has managed to gain a foothold . Fortunately , the AI does not abuse the possibilities of exponential growth . Plot . The game single player game consists of five regular campaigns of increasing difficulty , followed by a world conquest ( a long campaign during which the player conquers all 15 maps and then challenges the gods themselves ) . In all regular campaigns the player can choose one of two sides of conflict . To unlock the next campaign , the player has to finish the current campaign at least once . The storylines of all campaigns are typical fantasy tales ( without any explicit AD & D references ) , although each campaign has its own take on the genre . The stories are told between battles by a narrator voice ( often in verse ) and illustrated by gradually uncovered pictures . A brief summary of the campaigns : Howl of Vengeance . The story begins with a barbarian leader Rathgar the Raider conquering the kingdom of Doegan . With his last breath , the realm ' s rightful king curse s the barbarian . The king ' s daughter flees and seeks the help of a young necromancer , Aelric the Avenger . Playing as either the usurper defending his new kingdom or as the avenger , the player seeks to either lift or fulfill the king ' s curse . Matchmaker Mayhem . When Roxana , princess of the kingdom of Edenvale , had come of age , she proclaimed a challenge : Any man that wants to take her hand in marriage must first defeat her . The player can choose whether to help Roxana flee from the hordes of suitors or take the lead of Bryan the Bold ' s armies and win the princess ' heart . Tartyron Unbound . A classic struggle between law and chaos , with similarities to many stories of and balance . Tartyron , the Lord of Chaos , broke free from his underground prison and wants to spread chaos in the surface world . His opponents are the two lords and a lady from the Circle of Order who have exiled Tartyron once and hope to do so again . Nuts and Bolts . A campaign with strong elements of comedy . Two brothers , Garrulos the Occasionally Good and Wormskull the Artificier have found a pearl of great magical powers . Unfortunately , the pearl is also cursed and causes strife between the brothers . Wormskull wants to use the pearl ' s magic to create inventions , while Garrulos seeks to stop his brother ' s insane plans and win the king ' s favors . Harvest of Horrors . The villagers living in the shadow the forbidden plateau fear the harvest time , as it is then that creatures hungering for human stew descend from the plateau , hunting the villagers . This year the tradition might end , however , as the mage Heradan the Hermit stands up to oppose the dark hordes of the Kingdom of Nix ( led by Redfang the Reaper ) . This campaign introduces new units on Nix ' s side ( Goblin , Harpy and Enchanter ) as well as magical cauldron that boils creatures back to mana . The new units are of above - average quality and present a great threat for Heradan . Arguably , the creatures ' side of this campaign is much easier to play . Critical reception . " " gave a mostly positive review of " Blood & Magic " , saying the variety of units and terrain were two of the game ' s strong points . It also called the game " habit - forming " . Weaknesses noted in the review included the enemy AI and the large number of clicks required for resource management via the basal golems . " " gave the game a C rating , calling the storyline " deep " . According to GameSpy , " It didn ' t take long before gamers started to realize that - - even as the RTS genre was exploding - - there was nothing here that should drag them away from " " or " " . "