Leader as Carrion-eater

[JimW]

Not precisely a complaint, more a search foir guidance. In all the campaigns and scenarios I've done so far, one sure way of being defeated is to put your leader out in the fighting.

Of course, if your leader never fights, he never gets any better.

But, if you put him anywhere where there's fighting, some mean sucker with a hundred and fifty-five hit-points comes up and bops him with a little finger, and the game's over.

The only realistic (in terms of how the game works) method is to march your leader down inside a circle of tough spearmen, and only allow him to fight at all when you have something with two or three hit-points left.

In other words, Gary the Spearman can advance to great heights while his head boss is a ninety-eught pound weakling.

Is there a way to bring your leader along to make a "hero" out of him without at the same time risking total defeat because the "other side" has the advantage?

JimW

[Ranger M]

Is there a way to bring your leader along to make a "hero" out of him without at the same time risking total defeat because the "other side" has the advantage?

there are two options here, either you are very careful with him, keeping him out of the enemies reach using Zones of Control, and then moving him in for the kill on seriously weakened units, or you can play a campaign where the leader is as strong if not stronger than normal units (SotBE, IoA, etc) and do the same but you can take more risks.

[Stilgar]

Well, let's take Konrad as an example. He is lawful and a lot of the enemies early on are chaotic, so the best time to use him is during the day. Make sure to put him on the best defensive terrain you can (forest and hill are good, mountain even better) and attack enemies that are on weak terrain. Don't have him pick a fight with something higher level than himself unless it's been weakened or cannot retaliate (L1 Konrad + L3 Troll = Dead Konrad). Supporting units are still important, but with the right tactics it is possible and maybe even desirable to use him aggressively.

For other uniques, check their stats and adjust the tactics accordingly, most of the advice will still hold true.

[Elestel]

most of the campaigns' leaders have leadership... something a lot interesting.
I try to make battle with them when the scenaries are near ending, and in some campaigns, the leader gets something special (what was about that fire stick...

[Viliam]

In other words, Gary the Spearman can advance to great heights while his head boss is a ninety-eught pound weakling.

Is there a way to bring your leader along to make a "hero" out of him without at the same time risking total defeat because the "other side" has the advantage?

Gary the Spearman will advance to a superhero, and then he will die in some scenario, just as many other ordinary units die. On the other hand, leader must survive the whole campaign... so even if he gains only a few XP in each one (when the scenario is close to end and your forces are overwhelming enemy, it is relatively safe to put your leader into fight), in later scenarios he will become a superhero too. His advancing is slower, because his lifespan is expected to be longer.

Multiplayer -- that's another topic...