What exactly counts as an animal & humanoid? And other questions.
 

For the sake of the blue dragon pets ability, the Voice of the Dragon skill and perhaps other "animal" things what exactly counts as an animal? At first I thought bears, wolves and hyenas etc. (traditional animals) only, but then I realized that whole race field is called animals, so does a Demonologist count as an animal for the sake of any spell/skill/talent etc.?
Are all instances where "animal" is the target for a skill/talent etc. the same, that is: are the same set of "animal" units affected any time the designation "animal" is used?

For the Demoness talent Charm what exactly counts as a humanoid (is a demonologist an animal & a humanoid)? I've been unable to use the talent on some units that were to me clearly humanoid (can't remember the specifics). I assume the Dryads Charm affects the exact same unit set as the Demoness Charm? Also assume the Demoness & Dryad Beautiful ability affects the same unit set?

For any future KBAP patch/mods I'd recommend listing each and every affected unit in the talent/skill description for all talent/skills etc.

Would also like to know things such as the exact % chance of successfully paralyzing each target level with Beholders/Evil Beholders. Also is it the same for both, I assumed the Evil Beholder got a better chance to paralyze than the regular Beholder?

Exactly what spells are Demons, Undead and Plants immune to? I've noticed I can't use heal on Demons and Heal damages Undead (can be frustrating but a good challenge variable). A specific list would be nice (should be listed in game under each units details imo).
Is there any way to heal Undead units, or is the idea that they are doomed to go towards decay?

Some items and spells affect "archers". For all the items/spells that affect archers is the affected unit set the same for all? Are those affected units the ones that have the designation "archer" listed under their abilities?
I seem to remember finding some discrepancy here, I think some unit was listed as archer but wasn't affected by some item or spell, or perhaps some unit that didn't have archer listed was affected. My memory could be mistaken.

How much % defense against physical attacks is provided in the 1st round for level 1 Caution? It reads 15% for level 2 but nothing for level 1. Is it that the 1st round %def bonus only starts to appear when upgraded to level 2 and at level 1 you only get +1 def. ?

A final word on these matters would be nice if anyone knows for sure the exact specific details.

Looking at the russian guide, here's what I found:

1) These units are Animals in KBAP: Fire Dragonfly, Lake Dragonfly, Werewolf (in wolf form), Unicorn, Black Unicorn, Hyena, Wolf, Bear, Ancient Bear, Polar Bear, Snake, Swamp Snake, Royal Snake, Griffin, Royal Griffin.
2) Humanoid is every male unit in this game with the exception of all undead units, ArchDemons and Shamans. These are affected by Charm and Beauty traits/abilities.
- On the side note, the persistence of mind trait should affect hypnosis and charming, but I'm not entirely sure.
3) The Undead are not affected by these spells: Bless, Resurrection, God Armor, Sacrifice, Weakness. Demons have immunity to the following spells: Healing, Plague, Hell breath, Necro Call and Light of Life.
4) Evlin can heal/resurrect undead units, and is an extremely overpowered spell, as it raises a % of the entire troop.
5) Archer are: Archers, Skeleton Archers, Elves, Hunters. In general, every unit that wields a bow and arrow.
6) Plants are: Thorn Warrior, Thorn Hunter, Royal Thorn, Ent, Ancient Ent. They have the persistence of mind trait (cannot be affected by mind spells) and cannot be affected by the following spells: Healing, Resurrection, Plague, Weakness, Necro call.
7) As for caution, lvl 1 doesn't have a def boost. The bonus starts at lvl 2.

Your question are very valid, because most of those abilities are considered "hidden" - meaning there is no clear explanation of them in-game.

Wow that's great, thanks a lot DGDobrev!

That doesn't seem complete. Cyclops and Beholders can receive the spell Precision, so it would seem they are archers under some circumstances. Even the graphic shows an arrow going through an apple. Maybe the only way to have a certain list is to try every spell and every item on every range unit and keep a list.

On a side note: Evil Beholders loaded with Bless and Precision are pretty sweet. From a potential 9dmg. to a certain 20. I've been able to keep huge potentially lethal stacks of low level units totally paralyzed till dead through the whole battle.

Cyclops also benefit from the Might skill that boosts Archers. (I forget the name, the one that gives +3 Attack and +1 Initiative.) So they do seem to count.

Also, if you choose the blue pet dragon, which gives a speed boost to "animals", dragons get the boost!

All very puzzling ... but then, these little details do enable one to develop that feeling of arcane mastery. ;)

I don't think dragons count as animals. Doesn't that pet's ability say +1 initiative to animals and dragons?

Dragons are not animals, otherwise third point in Voice of the Dragon wouldn't be helpful.

Oh, and we determined that the term 'archer' refers to different units depending on the context. In many cases it is 'guy with a bow', but in some it is 'anyone with the Archer trait' and there were one or two that were even different than that!

Exactly. Thats why I insist that the blue dragon is the only one worth choosing: all other offer bonuses that will be irrelevant later on (+1 attack, for example, is very little when you are at level 50 with 30 attack). That speed boost is useful till the end of the game, if you plan to use dragons.

And it's damn hard to resist the temptation, too. Has been for me, at least. :grin:

You make a good point about +1 initiative probably being much better in the long run. The 2% critical attack is another solid one. However, I will rarely choose the same dragon, regardless of the bonus they provide, for the sake of diversity.

Quick question - you have not listed Spiders as Animals... If they are not animals, and they are certainly not humanoids, what the heck are they?

Also, Dragonflies are (for some artifacts and spells) affected as dragons, guess they are related.