tactics
spell choice
These spells are worth considering:
totem of resurrection
totem of remote casting
summon minotaur
summon eagle
possess the PoPs
Summon an eagle
and after the cut scene, send it north by north-east to uncover the location of the 4 PoPs,
which are placed in an almost vertical line.
Summon two minotaurs
and send them to capture the southernmost PoP, followed by Aurax and Orgon.
Summon a
totem of resurrection
and
totem of remote casting
near the PoP.
As your mana builds, start building an attack force of minotaurs.
Have two minotaurs attack the three statues next to the POP
(they are totems of remote casting for the enemy wizards,
destruction of which will slow down the production of enemy troops).
The middle totem can only be destroyed once the palace door is open.
Use your forces (summoned creatures, and those resurrected) to take posession of the other PoPs.
kill melesius
If melisius show up early, grab 5 minotaurs and attack him.
Otherwise, keep building up your mana and your minotaur force.
When you reach your maximum number of creatures,
send them to the PoP near the bridge to the palace [1].
Your goal is to find the defending wizard melisius and take him out, which 5 or so minotaurs should have no trouble doing.
Have one of the creatures pick up the key that the enemy wizard drops wherever he dies.
opening the door
Move Orgon, Aurax and all your troops to the bridge when your mana is again full, and your creature count is maxed with minotaurs.
Destroy the two statues next to the POP (hold the 'A' key to force an attack).
Next thing to do is open the door to the Necromagus' palace.
This seems to have caused a bit of trouble for players.
A number of people have indicated that Orgon is required to do this,
but the door opening is triggered by Aurax's proximity AND the key having been previously collected.
IFF the key is in the inventory (collected from the corpse of melesius)
then when Aurax gets near enough to the door it will open.
A cut scene starts. Wait for it to end, and then pause the game hitting the pause key.
At this point, save your game.
Move Aurax and Orgon right out of the way, somewhere across the bridge to the right.
Next select a group of minotaurs and have them stand just inside the door to the palace [2].
If the Necromagus's face appears at the top of the screen, sic your minotaurs on him.
He gives up pretty quickly once surrounded by minotaurs.
don't kill him!
If the necromagus dies there will be nobody to show you the way to your sister,
and the game will be lost (revert to your save game if this happens).
Therefore when the cut scene starts (regarding his attempt to make a deal) be ready to hit the pause key when it ends.
While paused, stop the minotaurs from attacking by sending them far away.
finishing up
Grab a group of minotaurs and have them walk around the map picking up items.
There are quite a few goodies laying about
so be sure to grab whatever you can before stepping on the pentagram portal and leaving the level.