While sending my lieutenants out to rain destruction down upon the unsuspecting lands of Terrinoth, I was struck by how vulnerable they really are. While Sir Alric Farrow had no trouble razing that Orcish hellhole of Dawnsmoor, he was soon after fleeing back to my lair after the heroes effortlessly ganged up on the poor lug. My favorite lieutenant (and first purchased upgrade) Krieg the Relentless was even less fortunate! His army of skeletal snipers were completely ignored, as those meddlesome heroes re-killed my reprehensible reanimation of relentless disposition.

My question is, how is one to win using these so-called elite agents of the overlords? If the heroes could take out two of my lieutenants so early in the game (this was just after one dungeon and one encounter), how could they possibly fare when they are outfitted with such one-sided baubles as (gasp!) the Staff of the Grave or the Star of Kellos?

Should I have let the lieutenants hang back more? Spent threat on rolling extra dice instead of getting reinforcements? What have your experiences been in battles with lieutenants, and what has proven most effective? I would hate to see my shiny new Krieg the Relentless miniature tarnished before its time!

The Sorcerer King said:

Treachery.
It makes all the difference. A hand full of selected cards and the heroes are in deep trouble. A single Trap treachery and the heroes must disarm themselves each turn (so spending 2 MP/turn on reequipping) or they face the threat of Dark Charm. A single Event treachery and Crushing blow destroys an item of equipment. A Single Monster treachery will reinforce some powerful monsters. Multiple treacheries just get nasty!

Kreig should have returned to the OL's keep right?

In general, during Lt fights there is no real reason to have the Lts anywhere near the front line. They should be at the back 'directing traffic'. Good hero parties will make every effort to get through to them and kill them in a single round though.

Corbon said:

Agreed. The lieutenants may look powerful, but give the heroes one round to beat him up and you will soon find how fragile they really are, especially if the heroes have feats at their disposal. Don't be afraid to just flee with the lieutenant, letting him return to your keep, and use your minions to rough up the heroes. And buying a few points of treachery can make a huge difference, there are some real mean, nasty cards you can use to make the fight go your way (dark charm, animate weapons, and danger to be able to play them soon enough)

Hmm... I see... if only my lieutenants weren't so... melee perhaps I could have gotten a few good hits in. Treachery seemed like an expensive alternative to overlord and monster upgrades to me, but I suppose in reality that the 'phylactery' and other OL upgrades aren't going to be of any use until the end of the game anyway...

Thanks for the advice. Perhaps now the battles will go more in my favor once I use the cards to my advantage. At least Krieg came back to my keep with little more than wounded pride and the knowledge he just handed 4 XP to the heroes on a silver platter! I will have to plan better in the future.

Have there been any instances of lieutenants simply dominating a battle, though? As my name would suggest, my first and only loyalties are to The Sorcerer King, but the other lieutenants seem to be brimming with all the power that Krieg apparently lacks (but with my record of lieutenant use, I could use one that never truly dies). Do they do any better in battles, or is it more a matter of treachery use and generic monsters?

LT battles in my first campaign when I was Beastman Lord generally went in my favor. In fact, the game ended due to Tamalir being razed in the 2nd week of Silver. Once Alric hits silver he's actually quite tough... treachery to get some cards... Beastman War Party- Doom is in play.
Danger and rage or charge are a good cards to get with treachery for LT encounters. Don't forget the LT can advance/battle. In our game, Tamalir was about to roll for seiges and they had no choice but to try and kill all the LTs there. I had many TPKs during the last 2 weeks of the game.

Feats make LT encounters even easier on the heroes, and I just don't think they should be used outside of the Dungeon. But that's just my own opinion.

It's all about damaging the heroes... if you can kill one or two before fleeing that's great. Use terrain to your benefit. Have the LT stay in the trees for shadowcloak and make them come to you and call for reinfocements every turn. Unlike spawning, you can call multiple reinforcements at the end of each turn. Try besieging two or three towns at the same time and make the heroes choose which one to save- anything to distract/delay them from their goals.

Good luck!