Jadamean Politics:
You can find more about the MM8 races and politics elsewhere, so all I will say here is that there are basically:
Necromancers, lead by a Vampire called Thant and a lich called Sandro.
Clerics, enemies of the above, which are mainly found at the Temple of the Sun in Murmurwoods and are headed by Oskar Tyre.
Lizardmen, who, contrary to their role in MM6 are harmless enough now, just minding their own -trading- business in Dagger Wound Islands.
Regnan Pirates, a rumour in previous M&M games, now finally making their appearance.
Dragons, a lot more brainy than their predecessors in the series, now organised in a bloodthirsty but noble society (might even join you!).
Dragon Slayers, also known as Charles Quixote’s Dragon Hunting Party, who obviously will get insulted if you make friends among the previous group. Frankly, I've had enough of mr. Quixote's nagging in the last game...
"The Pack", a barbarian tribe of Ogres lead by Zog the Jackal. Found in Ravage Roamings (that's the name of the place).
The Ravage Roaming Minotaurs, now please do not approach them based on your experience with my flautist brother DaveO. These are not the friendly ol' minotaur roamers you might expect, though you can also hire some (and probably will).
What are the gameplay changes from MM6 and MM7?
Many. The most revolutionary development in comparison to the previous two games in the series is that this time round you start with one character, and recruit up to four more (total of 5). I personally love this one, btw.
So where do I find these guys?
You meet these "hirelings" in various places and can fire/hire characters throughout the game, except your original hero, which is always with you (a leader). There are 36 such characters to choose from and when dismissed they go back to the closest "Adventurer's Inn", so you can re-hire them. Some characters might need to stay with you for specific quests. And since you actually MEET them (as with NPCs) you don't choose their race or abilities, or customise them, even though you assign skill points, buy spells and equipment, and so on.
Note that if you meet a possible PC but do not hire him/her, they will again go to the Adventurer's Inn where you can then decide on party changes.
Player Character Levels:
Unlike other RPG games, the level of the heroes you meet along the way is standard, but naturally the best ones will not join an inexperienced trade-route guard such as yourself.
All of your characters are of course able to train and raise their level, and share food and experience equally among themselves :)
btw, no NPCs boosting up your stats this time!
So what are these character classes?
For starters, there are no "classes" and "races" like before, but more like a combination of class/races.
The full list, straight from the horse's (or should I say "Dark Elf's"?) mouth:
"...in no particular order
Dark Elf (Ok I like playing this class so it's first. :)
Minotaur
Cleric
Knight
Vampire
Necromancer
Troll
&
Dragon but you can't start with that one" (will meet one later)
btw, I also like playing the Dark Elf. Highly recommended as the leader of any party!
Class promotions can be completed anytime (whether you have the particular class in your party or not) and members joining the party later will just need to visit the pormoter to get them, without the party needing to go through the quest all over again.
eg you have a Minotaur, a Vampire and a Cleric. You complete the Troll promotion quest, given to you by Lord Silly. Then you hire a Troll and take him to Lord Silly, who automatically promotes the Troll to "Silly Troll".
Class promotions are awarded only once per character (ie there is only one promotional quest, not two as in MM7) and would promote the races to:
Dark Elf to Patriarch
Necromancer to Lich
Cleric to Priest Of Light
Knight to Champion
Minotaur to Minotaur Lord
Troll to War Troll
Vampire to Nosferatu
Dragon to Great Wyrm
Coming Soon: A full list of all 36 characters and where to find them!
