What happened after the Kreegan Invasion?

[Deadguy118]

I have to say, I read all of this topic and find it pretty hilarious, and I encourage you guys to keep on debating it.

In any case, I have a solution to your problem: The lore itself is contradictory.

[Secret_Holder]

Of course the lore is contradictory. MM has the sci-fi/fantasy element, where we see a relatively high-tech hive, whereas HoMM has the Inferno towns. While I consider those towns more gameplay elenents. So I'll side with the MM lore in this case

[GreatEmerald]

Yes, the MM side should be held in higher regard than HoMM, since it's the main branch of the series. It's not that hard to explain infernos not being high-tech, too: HoMM1 was basically a King's Bounty+. Since KB is only in a Fantasy setting, HoMM1 was also only that. Then they revised a lot of things and released HoMM2. But it was still based on HoMM1. Plus, since it was a branch, nobody knew that it could become even more popular than the original. But HoMM2 was a huge success and formed quite a fan base. Then NWC realised that it was going to overshadow the main MM branch, so they wanted to get the MM part back in HoMM, but at the same time not to alienate the HoMM2 fans. So they were forced to only add hints to the sci-fi side in HoMM3, and when in AB they tried to do a bolder move, they met heavy resistance from all the fans of HoMM2 and 3 that had never played MM games and always thought that the MM universe is strictly in the Fantasy setting. So they had to abandon that idea and instead create the half-baked Conflux towns.

[Corlagon]

In any case, I have a solution to your problem: The lore itself is contradictory.

Perhaps it is a little, in a few rare circumstances, but that's a cop-out answer, not a solution
Believe me, there's absolutely no clash in all of MM's lore to date that can't be explained or reconciled satisfactorily just by playing all the games and reading the interviews.

[Slayer of Cliffracers]

This is taken from MM7's Monsters.txt. The first "Imm" means immunity to fire. The second "Imm" is immunity to mind. So there you have it. All Kreegans are completely immune to fire.

Ice Demons are summoned by devils, they don't live there, thus are not relevant.

That is not good enough evidence. If there is a simpler explanation that makes sense, then it's accepted unless proven otherwise. I don't see any proof that your conjecture there is anything close to canon.

They have spacefaring technology, and we see that they have the "flushing" technology, plus special alloys. But they don't have blasters. Plus they have sheer numbers. And magic is a good countermeasure against their equipment.

No, they did not "decided otherwise for quite sensible reasons". They decided that because they got death threats!

Gauldoth is a magic user. While Kreegans should also be capable of using magic, they're not so involved in it since they have the technology. Gauldoth teleported there by finding a one-of-a-kind artifact and performing a one-of-a-kind ritual in a one-of-a-kind place using magic. Kreegans, however, would just fly there instead! Or possibly use the Web, if they have the technology for that.

Like I've said, there's no proof that it's the whole world, or that the Kreegans are not living underground or even in the lava, since they're completely immune to fire.

No, Kreegans don't use magic as extensively as wizards. And, more importantly, why would they want to break the sword anyway? Besides, they don't have Gauldoth's "nature" side for seeing the lines.

Inferno cities ARE hives of high-tech aliens with queens and all that stuff. It's just hidden.

Yes it is the final objective, because it makes sense. Destroying everything does not.

I fail to see Imm 100 to anything there. The basic worker Kreegan is 20% fire resistant, Devil Warrior is 30% fire resistant, the Devil Captain 40%.

Regardless assuming that fire immunity is a Hive-Kreegan trait, then it still needs to be explained why the Heroes III and Heroes IV Kreegans burn so well if there are the same creature.

Ice Demons don't live there? Explain why I fought a group about 300 of the creatures right within the Fiery Realm itself? Explain why there there were entire dwellings of Ice Demons. Yes it was on deliberately icy cold islands, but the point is still the same, they are there.

The Kreegans are living underground, underground on a few tiny islands. Those Kreegans there are however 'configured' to Axeoth, they are there to invade when the Hive-Kreegans or existing Portal-Kreegans have set up a portal, emerge and establish a new inferno. There is no way out for them, except through the lava, which they are not immune to.

The Kreegans can't eat lava can they? The Heroes IV and III Kreegan creatures do not enjoy protection from fire of any sort, except for the Efreet. If it is just biological motives that drives the Kreegans, Kreegan worlds would be endless crop-fields to grow food for the every hungry and ever-multiplying Kreegan host.
Not seas of lava, even if improbably a biological lifeform can swim in lava, it still takes up space that could be assigned to growing food.

Kreegans are not born in the Inferno cities from 'Queens' GreatEmerald, they are summoned through the portals. That's why the dwellings have names like Demon Gate. Install the Heroes III game and have a look, I grow tired of making screen-shots.

The points where the ritual can be performed are all over the planet and there are actually 2 Angel Blades in that area alone. He destroyed the magic item at the proper point and then the portal opened to another planet, where mysteriously Kreegans are waiting on specially constructed (cold for the Ice Demons) seemingly to at some point invade.

He didn't case a spell or use magic. All you need is a suitable item, say a special bomb, have already programmed your Hive-Kreegan servants to use the bomb and given them the inherent ability to see the right places to use it.

Gauldoth could see the ley lines because he studied nature magic, not because of any inherent ability.



The fort in question is an 'Inferno' and the Kreegans have the power to create volcanoes. But why would biological creatures destroy the entire area around their fort with a volcano with all the food therein, it's not the volcano they want remember, it's the fort?

That's easy enough, the volcano is a byproduct of the creation of the Inferno city, because the means by which the Kreegans create a portal to the Fiery Realm involved ripping a huge hole deep into the magma of earth.

On your final point, it doesn't make sense. Well it only makes sense if you are imagining that the well-being of the Kreegan is the ultimate objective of the Kreegans. The Kreegans aren't just hungry nomads, they are living weapons whose real purpose is to turn every world into an uninhabitable ball of magma, their biological nature is merely a means to that end.

Of course the lore is contradictory. MM has the sci-fi/fantasy element, where we see a relatively high-tech hive, whereas HoMM has the Inferno towns. While I consider those towns more gameplay elenents. So I'll side with the MM lore in this case

Why does there have to be this choice made? It is quite possible to reconcile the two worlds Kreegans and yet so many insist on haughtily insisting MM lore is 'right' even when I am not saying it is wrong and HoMM lore is 'right' in a similar fashion.

I am saying that both games Kreegans are different and that they were both created by a greater destructive force called the 'Fiery Realm' (which is what every world that succumbs to the Kreegans ultimately becomes).

That force will ultimately see both forms of Kreegans destroyed once it has no more use for them. The Kreegan creature doesn't know this however (else they would rebel), it carries out it's stage of the 'world-melting' plan believing that the resolution of that stage is the end but is programmed to unwittingly unleash the next stage upon the planet.

[GreatEmerald]

"Imm" MEANS 100%. There is no "100" setting, it's represented by "Imm". The 20, 30 and 40 are Air resistance.

I'd say the fact that magic spells affect them in HoMM games is also gameplay mechanics. If one faction was completely immune to fire spells (thus 1/4 of all spells), they would become overpowered.

They were summoned! I'm not sure about the dwellings, though, but doesn't the dwelling itself look like a portal? Then again, I only vaguely remember something about that...

They are immune to lava. They are immune to hot things, so they can swim out. And again, that was not the whole world you saw.

You don't know what Kreegans eat.

Yes they are born from queens. Do you have anything that says otherwise? Because in MM6 you can clearly see the Kreegan queen. The fact that the towns have portals is not relevant to that, those are probably a part of a miniweb that spans owned towns instead of planets. And that's pure technology.

The Kreegans have never just "appeared" out of nowhere, they went to Enroth by an asteroid-ship. There is nothing that states that they used the magic lines in any way. Plus they don't know nature magic! And the fact that there are many of them is that they live there. There is nothing to suggest that they are thinking about an attack or anything.

Again, they don't know nature magic.

Yes they would. Again, Kreegans like being where it's hot. Furthermore, lava creates a good moat around their castle. And it's used by Gogs and Efreeti. And again, you don't know what they eat.

The Fiery Realm is a planet, not a plane. You don't have anything that would prove otherwise.

Again, where's proof? We know that they want well-being, we don't know if there is anything beyond that.

I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm saying that there is a lot better explanation about that than wild imagination about shapeshifting, magic portals, expanding planes and a 'purpose'.

They were not created by the Fiery Realm. They evolved. In fact, the Firey Realm word is created in HoMM4 and there is nothing mentioned about that before.

No, the Kreegans will live happily on their conquered worlds unless something drives them off. And expand since they don't have any other means of limiting their population.

[Zenofex]

I really don't understand: what is the point in proving that the Kreegans' origin is magical and mystical? Will they become more charming, less frightening, more inspiring, less unconventional for "demons"... What? The evidences of the biological background of the race are so overwhelming that there is no point in assuming anything else, but still - magical portals, fiery realms, some bent-on-destruction goals... What is the big aim of this creative archeology?

[Secret_Holder]

It's time we put an end to this portal opening stuff.
Slayer, tell me what this looks like:

[Gaidal Cain]

I'd say the fact that magic spells affect them in HoMM games is also gameplay mechanics. If one faction was completely immune to fire spells (thus 1/4 of all spells), they would become overpowered.

You mean "Armageddon", not "Fire spells" (most of the rest is nothing to be afraid of). And speaking of immunity to it and being overpowered, I have a word for you: "Conflux".

[Tress]

You mean "Armageddon", not "Fire spells" (most of the rest is nothing to be afraid of). And speaking of immunity to it and being overpowered, I have a word for you: "Conflux".

Actually being immune to blind and berserk too is something quite valuable. I sometimes wish to punch into wall when necromancers blind my army and i cant do squat against them in return. Course there is destroy undead spell but so do they with death ripple(not as strong but still). But there is no effective crowd control against them.

Conflux is conflux.... they really should make Armageddon irresistible, and while I played most of homm1 with dragon/rain/armageddon tactic, it is rather cheap way to play. In homm5 for most part they try to balance it with giving "shoot in foot skill" to race that can use it most(warlock) to limit it, and make magnetic golems exception, but still dwarwes and some other things can effectively abuse it.
In homm 4 it too could be abused by creating fireguard(if I remember correctly) and stacking on efreets.

[Zenofex]

Well, Conflux had 4 contiguous creatures immune to Armageddon and they were actually lvl 4-7 (with their lvl 7 being the most imbalanced creature in the game with basic weekly growth of 2 on top of its quite significant abilities), so it couldn't get much worse in the next games. But if there is Armageddon with no means to at least make some part of one's army resistant or immune to it, it will be used only in very limited number of kamikaze scenarios.

[Slayer of Cliffracers]

"Imm" MEANS 100%. There is no "100" setting, it's represented by "Imm". The 20, 30 and 40 are Air resistance.

Ah so Imm represent 100% in that system. Ah.

It seems increasingly unlikely they are entirely biological in origin if they are immune to fire, but I guess some bacteria live on the rods of nuclear reactors.

I'd say the fact that magic spells affect them in HoMM games is also gameplay mechanics. If one faction was completely immune to fire spells (thus 1/4 of all spells), they would become overpowered.

Not if you make them particularly vulnerable to another sort of spell or make an anti-Kreegan spell.

As for the rest, the very fact that the Kreegans are immune to fire is ALSO a 'gameplay mechanic'. As is their resistance to magic. They are 'gameplay mechanics' of Might and Magic.

They were summoned! I'm not sure about the dwellings, though, but doesn't the dwelling itself look like a portal? Then again, I only vaguely remember something about that...

Yes, the whole Inferno town is full of portals, gates and things of a clearly supernatural magical nature "brimstone stormclouds" which increase Spellpower and so on.

They are immune to lava. They are immune to hot things, so they can swim out. And again, that was not the whole world you saw.

In Heroes IV I can summon entire armies of Kreegan creatures into the real world at my beck and call (if I know a combination of Death and Nature magic).

You don't know what Kreegans eat.

Clearly not lava otherwise why would bother to conquer worlds when they can just hop into the nearest volcano and never come out again? The hive-Kreegans would clash with the local inhabitants if they eat the same stuff as they do.

Yes they are born from queens. Do you have anything that says otherwise? Because in MM6 you can clearly see the Kreegan queen. The fact that the towns have portals is not relevant to that, those are probably a part of a miniweb that spans owned towns instead of planets. And that's pure technology.

I do not deny that the Hive-Kreegans (the one's we encounter in Might and Magic 6) are like ants with their Queen. Everything you say about them is true, their motives, their nature everything. They indeed arrived on asteroid ships.

The one's that live in the Infernos of Heroes III are a completely different kind of Kreegan to those that originally landed in the ships. These are the Kreegans that we fight in Heroes of Might and Magic. They are summoned magically from portals.

If you want in-game information to back up my theory, go to the Heroes VI and focus on what Valygar says.

"Since the arrival of the devils, foul creatures and evil spirits have appeared throughout the land".

The Kreegans have never just "appeared" out of nowhere, they went to Enroth by an asteroid-ship. There is nothing that states that they used the magic lines in any way. Plus they don't know nature magic! And the fact that there are many of them is that they live there. There is nothing to suggest that they are thinking about an attack or anything.

Again, they don't know nature magic.

Gauldoth didn't use Nature magic to open the portal, he destroyed a magical item. He only used Nature magic to find the right spot to destroy it.

Why did the Angel Blade work? Because as Gauldoth reasons, something that is so effective at destroying demons must be linked to the realm "from which the demons get their power". He was right.

Take a bloody great asteroid that COMES from the realm from which the "demons get their power" and slam it into the side of a planet. (this is depicted in the start scene). It's got to hit at least one of the 'key nodes in the magical nexus' and have a similar effect as Gauldoth's destroying an Angel Blade.

They 'accidentally' by landing as part of Stage 1 (eat and breed) trigger Stage 2 (expansion of the inferno network) which then 'accidentally' triggers Stage 3 (the complete reduction of the world to an extension of the 'Fiery Realm').

Yes they would. Again, Kreegans like being where it's hot. Furthermore, lava creates a good moat around their castle. And it's used by Gogs and Efreeti. And again, you don't know what they eat.

The Fiery Realm is a planet, not a plane. You don't have anything that would prove otherwise.

Again, where's proof? We know that they want well-being, we don't know if there is anything beyond that.

You have a point about Efreeti, but the point is still that Kreegans need to eat and they aren't going to be keen on destroying the habitability of the whole planet. If they just 'like it got', they would instead great a few geysers or something far more moderate and less destructive.

I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm saying that there is a lot better explanation about that than wild imagination about shapeshifting, magic portals, expanding planes and a 'purpose'.

They were not created by the Fiery Realm. They evolved. In fact, the Firey Realm word is created in HoMM4 and there is nothing mentioned about that before.

No, the Kreegans will live happily on their conquered worlds unless something drives them off. And expand since they don't have any other means of limiting their population.

That the Fiery Realm world is in Heroes IV and nothing is mentioned about it before doesn't mean anything. It was only in Heroes IV that we realized what the ultimate objective of the Kreegans is.

The Fiery Realm is an endless sea of lava, with a few islands in it connected by portals. The islands have dwellings of different Kreegan creatures, arranged in a rather neat fashion around the potential 'exit'. And to give it all away, the Ice Demons have special Icy islands for them to live on (in a sea of lava). It is clear that the Fiery Realm is intelligently creating islands for special purposes and if it can do that WHY CAN'T IT CREATE ASTEROID SHIPS AND HURL THEM INTO SPACE.

Sorry about that but it needs be written in red ink and capital letters just to highlight why there is no contradiction between the Kreegans in space-ships and the Kreegans from portals idea.

On the last point, do you have any actual evidence that the Kreegans live 'happily on their conquered worlds'. I always got the impression from earlier postings that the Kreegans multiply until they have consumed the resources of an entire world and then move on.

I really don't understand: what is the point in proving that the Kreegans' origin is magical and mystical? Will they become more charming, less frightening, more inspiring, less unconventional for "demons"... What? The evidences of the biological background of the race are so overwhelming that there is no point in assuming anything else, but still - magical portals, fiery realms, some bent-on-destruction goals... What is the big aim of this creative archeology?

You should really ask that about the Heroes IV death campaign creator, not me; I am merely interpreting his work here. They made the demons origins mystical and magical, finishing off the process that begun in Heroes III. But they actually connected it at the same time that to the Kreegans Sci-Fi roots with the 'Fiery Realm' being a 'world that has known the dominion of the Kreegans'.

But yes, a 'pure' biological origin and nature for the Kreegans is completely lame. Devils are not supposed to be just 'hungry little creatures that just had too many babies'. That just inspires pity, not awe or horror. That's nature, not pure evilness.

But seeing their nature as living weapons created by a greater supernatural force of destruction, that gives them proper gravitas.

[Zenofex]

But yes, a 'pure' biological origin and nature for the Kreegans is completely lame. Devils are not supposed to be just 'hungry little creatures that just had too many babies'. That just inspires pity, not awe or horror. That's nature, not pure evilness.

A-ah, here's the key to the tent! You just don't like the way they are designed!
OK, I suppose you realize that you are acting like some dark figure with a cape and a helmet is standing before you, saying "No, Luke, I am your father!". I guess the world just isn't the same for you any more after this revelation... But denying the facts won't change them.
You have been explained multiple times already that the Kreegans are aliens, not demons/devils. You've been given proofs not only from the games (which are enough on their own), but from the statements of the people who actually created the original Might & Magic lore and still you are trying to prove that the race in question is not what it is, but what you want it to be. No offence, this is even worse than stubbornness.
Also, I don't know how a highly intelligent, technologically advanced species that managed to bring huge problems to the godlike race of the Ancients could inspire pity in anyone.

[Slayer of Cliffracers]

But yes, a 'pure' biological origin and nature for the Kreegans is completely lame. Devils are not supposed to be just 'hungry little creatures that just had too many babies'. That just inspires pity, not awe or horror. That's nature, not pure evilness.

A-ah, here's the key to the tent! You just don't like the way they are designed!
OK, I suppose you realize that you are acting like some dark figure with a cape and a helmet is standing before you, saying "No, Luke, I am your father!". I guess the world just isn't the same for you any more after this revelation... But denying the facts won't change them.
You have been explained multiple times already that the Kreegans are aliens, not demons/devils. You've been given proofs not only from the games (which are enough on their own), but from the statements of the people who actually created the original Might & Magic lore and still you are trying to prove that the race in question is not what it is, but what you want it to be. No offence, this is even worse than stubbornness.
Also, I don't know how a highly intelligent, technologically advanced species that managed to bring huge problems to the godlike race of the Ancients could inspire pity in anyone.

Zenofex, I rather think you are missing the basic fact that I have yet to deny a single line of the nature of the Kreegans in Might and Magic.

The Kreegans are as you say they are and as they are depicted in Might and Magic. It's just that they aren't the only kind of Kreegans in existence.

Venom Spawn and Ice Demons are Kreegans according to Heroes IV. Where do they fit in with your apparent insistence of there being only one race of Kreegan which is the one depicted in Might and Magic?

[GreatEmerald]

On the last point, do you have any actual evidence that the Kreegans live 'happily on their conquered worlds'. I always got the impression from earlier postings that the Kreegans multiply until they have consumed the resources of an entire world and then move on.

Hold it! Of course! That explains it. Yes, they do indeed multiply until they run out of resources; but, like I've said, it's natural. Remember rabbits in Australia. If there were no prey, they would have multiplied until they'd eaten the whole grass, turned the whole continent into a wasteland and then died off.

And that's exactly what happens with the Kreegan. They land, they destroy any opposition, they take all the resources, then they die since they don't have any more vital resources. And from the resources they do gather, they build a dozen of ships, then the queen and some of the elite members fly off to another planet. And the first planet just becomes a fiery wasteland. It could even be that the fire there is in fact magma - the crust itself became unstable enough to make everything look like at the beginning of the world. But that's just a theory, though.

And that very easily explains what the Fiery Realm really is.

There is simply no need for your "demon Kreegans" to exist. There is no proof about that, and there aren't real contradictions that couldn't be solved without them.

Yes, the whole Inferno town is full of portals, gates and things of a clearly supernatural magical nature "brimstone stormclouds" which increase Spellpower and so on.

In Heroes IV I can summon entire armies of Kreegan creatures into the real world at my beck and call (if I know a combination of Death and Nature magic).

I do not deny that the Hive-Kreegans (the one's we encounter in Might and Magic 6) are like ants with their Queen. Everything you say about them is true, their motives, their nature everything. They indeed arrived on asteroid ships.

The one's that live in the Infernos of Heroes III are a completely different kind of Kreegan to those that originally landed in the ships. These are the Kreegans that we fight in Heroes of Might and Magic. They are summoned magically from portals.

If you want in-game information to back up my theory, go to the Heroes VI and focus on what Valygar says.

"Since the arrival of the devils, foul creatures and evil spirits have appeared throughout the land".

Gauldoth didn't use Nature magic to open the portal, he destroyed a magical item. He only used Nature magic to find the right spot to destroy it.

Why did the Angel Blade work? Because as Gauldoth reasons, something that is so effective at destroying demons must be linked to the realm "from which the demons get their power". He was right.

Take a bloody great asteroid that COMES from the realm from which the "demons get their power" and slam it into the side of a planet. (this is depicted in the start scene). It's got to hit at least one of the 'key nodes in the magical nexus' and have a similar effect as Gauldoth's destroying an Angel Blade.

That the Fiery Realm world is in Heroes IV and nothing is mentioned about it before doesn't mean anything. It was only in Heroes IV that we realized what the ultimate objective of the Kreegans is.

The Fiery Realm is an endless sea of lava, with a few islands in it connected by portals. The islands have dwellings of different Kreegan creatures, arranged in a rather neat fashion around the potential 'exit'. And to give it all away, the Ice Demons have special Icy islands for them to live on (in a sea of lava). It is clear that the Fiery Realm is intelligently creating islands for special purposes and if it can do that WHY CAN'T IT CREATE ASTEROID SHIPS AND HURL THEM INTO SPACE.

Sorry about that but it needs be written in red ink and capital letters just to highlight why there is no contradiction between the Kreegans in space-ships and the Kreegans from portals idea.

You should really ask that about the Heroes IV death campaign creator, not me; I am merely interpreting his work here. They made the demons origins mystical and magical, finishing off the process that begun in Heroes III. But they actually connected it at the same time that to the Kreegans Sci-Fi roots with the 'Fiery Realm' being a 'world that has known the dominion of the Kreegans'.

But yes, a 'pure' biological origin and nature for the Kreegans is completely lame. Devils are not supposed to be just 'hungry little creatures that just had too many babies'. That just inspires pity, not awe or horror. That's nature, not pure evilness.

But seeing their nature as living weapons created by a greater supernatural force of destruction, that gives them proper gravitas.

The fact that there are "supernatural" things doesn't mean anything by itself. There is plenty of magic on Enroth. And not all of the Inferno population is Kreegans. Remember the Gogs and the Efreeti, plus the human heroes. They are clearly magical. And Kreegans have the technology on their side, which can also be seen as a kind of magic.

You summon them through magic - that doesn't mean that you physically teleport them. You just create images of them, much like when you use Clone/Illusion. Hence why they don't leave corpses or stay in your army.

There is no reason for them to be of any different kind.

The quote is in fact from MM6, and it was said by Falagar. And it means since the Night of the Shooting Stars.

Still, that involved magic. Kreegans themselves have nothing to do with nature, and humans under their control would be foolish to even go near anti-demon artifacts. Plus there is no need for them to use any portals, they can just fly.

Those artifacts are special, enchanted. The ship is just a ship, it's a piece of rock and metal connected in special ways. That wouldn't have opened any portals at all. And like I've said, were the special points that common? I vaguely remember Gauldoth saying something like "Fortunately, all the lines meet in a place just near here", which means that they are not common at all.

Gauldoth never mentioned anything about any objective.

No, the planet is not sentient. Either the islands are random (created by seismic events or they are the tops of the mountains that were there earlier) or they have been created by the strongest of the remaining Kreegans themselves.

There are no contradictions, no; but it's just not needed and not proven. Like saying that one bottle was created from glass, and the other bottle that looks the same was created by God. Sure, that could be, but there is no reason why it would actually be like that.

It's the opposite - they proved what they said before, that they destroy planets by using up all the resources.

The reason why anything is fearsome is simply lack of knowledge. And they are very terrifying to Enrothians since they know nothing about them. But everything has a logical explanation. And yes, knowing it makes them less fearsome, it's just the way things work. But if you met one, you would see that they still are very much fearsome.

[Slayer of Cliffracers]

This is the picture from the Might and Magic VI start screen when the Asteroid Ship of the Kreegans hits Enroth. Note the big fiery explosion (now we see why the Hive-Kreegans have to be immune to fire).

Gauldoth creates a portal to the 'Fiery Realm' by breaking an object that is 'connected' to it in some way. A big ship that is connected to the 'Fiery Realm' would fit that category.

[Secret_Holder]

Gauldoth creates a portal to the 'Fiery Realm' by breaking an object that is 'connected' to it in some way. A big ship that is connected to the 'Fiery Realm' would fit that category.

Now you're just spitballing. Stop this nonsense and play MM6.

[Slayer of Cliffracers]

Hold it! Of course! That explains it. Yes, they do indeed multiply until they run out of resources; but, like I've said, it's natural. Remember rabbits in Australia. If there were no prey, they would have multiplied until they'd eaten the whole grass, turned the whole continent into a wasteland and then died off.

I completely agree. They were created to do that, because once the planet's inhabits have been eaten, there is no opposition to prevent Stage 2. The Stages go like this.

Stage 1- The Hive-Kreegans (Might and Magic Kreegans) land intending the devour all inhabitants and resources. Their landing unwittingly triggers Stage 2 and serves the purpose of removing local opposition to it.
Stage 2- Portals to the 'Fiery Realm' open up through which emerge Gate-Kreegans (Heroes of Might and Magic Kreegans), intending to open up ever more Infernos. This ultimately triggers Stage 3.
Stage 3- Having opened up enough portals the Fiery Realm, the Fiery Realm emerges and swallows up yet another world.

And that's exactly what happens with the Kreegan. They land, they destroy any opposition, they take all the resources, then they die since they don't have any more vital resources. And from the resources they do gather, they build a dozen of ships, then the queen and some of the elite members fly off to another planet. And the first planet just becomes a fiery wasteland. It could even be that the fire there is in fact magma - the crust itself became unstable enough to make everything look like at the beginning of the world. But that's just a theory, though.

And that very easily explains what the Fiery Realm really is.

There is simply no need for your "demon Kreegans" to exist. There is no proof about that, and there aren't real contradictions that couldn't be solved without them.

The fire is definitely magma. But the thing is that it is impossible for a planet to become a ball of magma because the magma will continually cool until the crust restores itself. And this is a process that will happen in a short time. Volcanic activity can only sustain itself if there is continual motion in the lava caused by place tectonics, without a crust there is simply nothing to stop a uniform cooling of the planet. This would leads to a smooth black planet for a few million years at least.

What we see in the Fiery Realm is islands, seemingly adapted to specific functions and each form of Gate-Kreegans has it's own special island adapted to it. All the islands are around the central potential exit (leading to an unconquered planet) and most importantly there is no way out.

The fact that there are "supernatural" things doesn't mean anything by itself. There is plenty of magic on Enroth. And not all of the Inferno population is Kreegans. Remember the Gogs and the Efreeti, plus the human heroes. They are clearly magical. And Kreegans have the technology on their side, which can also be seen as a kind of magic.

You summon them through magic - that doesn't mean that you physically teleport them. You just create images of them, much like when you use Clone/Illusion. Hence why they don't leave corpses or stay in your army.

Except that there is a Nature ability also called Summoning which brings creatures into your army permanently. Summoning Spells are not called Illusion spells so most likely they do not function the same way.

But what is the case is that you need Nature Magic+Demonology to summon Demons. The study of demons is Demonology, which is a subset of death magic, but Nature magic is needed of an equivalent level.

Given that Gauldoth knows about key ley lines from Nature Magic, I assume the Demons are summoned from the Fiery Realm by punching a small and temporary hole in the network to pull through a few demons.

There is no reason for them to be of any different kind.

The quote is in fact from MM6, and it was said by Falagar. And it means since the Night of the Shooting Stars.

Still, that involved magic. Kreegans themselves have nothing to do with nature, and humans under their control would be foolish to even go near anti-demon artifacts. Plus there is no need for them to use any portals, they can just fly.

I know where it's from. There is no reason for them to be of a different kind, but it does lend weight to forces of a more supernatural kind in addition to the Kreegans (the devils) appearing.

That fits with what I am saying.

Those artifacts are special, enchanted. The ship is just a ship, it's a piece of rock and metal connected in special ways. That wouldn't have opened any portals at all. And like I've said, were the special points that common? I vaguely remember Gauldoth saying something like "Fortunately, all the lines meet in a place just near here", which means that they are not common at all.

Every Preserve (Nature Town) capable of building the Sacred Garden (all I have encountered) is built on these special points. They are principally of interest to the Nature faction, which is the only reason Gauldoth knows about them.

If you look at the screenshot I posted, you can see the size of the explosion caused by the landing of the ship. What is special is that the object is "connected" to the realm of the demons NOT that it is magical.

What can be more connected to than coming FROM that realm?

Think of it like this way, all planets are connected to eachother by a kind of astrological network. This network flow across the planet as well, binding it together.

You still need to violently destroy the object to open up the portal, this was done by Gauldoth to the Angel's Blade and also happened to the Kreegan ship. Everything within 100s of miles would be part of the explosion, all key points would be turned into portals, hordes of gate-Kreegans would be waiting to emerge.

Gauldoth never mentioned anything about any objective.

No, the planet is not sentient. Either the islands are random (created by seismic events or they are the tops of the mountains that were there earlier) or they have been created by the strongest of the remaining Kreegans themselves.

And for what purpose were they created by the 'strongest of the remaining Kreegans'. To keep a few miserable demons in a perpetual prison?

I know it is sentient for five reasons.

1. The demons draw their evil power from it, which means it is some kind of god or spiritual entity.
2. The islands are connected by portals, who created the portals?
3. The islands are perfectly suited to house their inhabitants despite the nature of the location (Ice Demons live on Icy Islands in the middle of fiery lava).
4. Any planet with so much magma exposed would cease to have plate tectonics, causing uniform cooling throughout the planet.
5. The planet can be accessed from a far-away planet by a technologically primitive necromancer without him needing a space-ship, which means it is linked to some wider spiritual plane of existence as well.

There are no contradictions, no; but it's just not needed and not proven. Like saying that one bottle was created from glass, and the other bottle that looks the same was created by God. Sure, that could be, but there is no reason why it would actually be like that.

It's the opposite - they proved what they said before, that they destroy planets by using up all the resources.

The reason why anything is fearsome is simply lack of knowledge. And they are very terrifying to Enrothians since they know nothing about them. But everything has a logical explanation. And yes, knowing it makes them less fearsome, it's just the way things work. But if you met one, you would see that they still are very much fearsome.

You can't destroy a planet by using up all the resources, you can merely ruin it and render it lifeless. The Kreegans still live there and the whole planet is a lump of magma.

It is their purpose to render the planet life-less, but they have no motive to turn the planet into a ball of magma. That serves no (biological) purpose. They can't eat magma, if they could they would pop into the nearest volcano and swim around there for all eternity.

There is no logic in that.

[Slayer of Cliffracers]

Gauldoth creates a portal to the 'Fiery Realm' by breaking an object that is 'connected' to it in some way. A big ship that is connected to the 'Fiery Realm' would fit that category.

Now you're just spitballing. Stop this nonsense and play MM6.

I was playing Might and Magic VI yesterday Secret_Holder. Perhaps I will play it tomorrow again, perhaps I will play Heroes IV.

I know from Heroes IV how you set up portals to the Fiery Realm. It is to destroy an object that is 'connected' to the Fiery Realm in some way. It doesn't say magical object does it?

I don't consider figuring out what the Hive-Kreegans would unwittingly do to create portals to the Fiery Realm to be spitballing.

[Zenofex]

Venom Spawn and Ice Demons are Kreegans according to Heroes IV. Where do they fit in with your apparent insistence of there being only one race of Kreegan which is the one depicted in Might and Magic?

We don't know for sure that the Venom Spawns and the Ice Demons are Kreegans. They could be just artificially created species, serving as bodyguards or support troops during an invasion or whatever. You can apply the same reasoning to the Efreeti and the Cerberi from HoMM III and say that they are different types of Kreegans (three-headed barking Kreegans sounds especially interesting), which isn't true of course. Even if the Ice Demons and the Venom Spawns are Kreegans indeed, I can't see how this changes anything.