It is a bit too bad, though it does mean the NPCs were generally successful in deceiving humans, and that might not be a bad thing.
The Prophets said some things that got interpreted a variety of ways, which sounds about right. People tend to come up with lots of weird theories in the absence of clarity. Look at all the crazy speculations I've had about the 4th Inv on the BT boards, and multiply that by a bit to reflect the fact that there were many more interpretations floating around during the Invasion.
Those prophets were a bit too cryptic at times, and some of their sermons might have been twisted to reflect the strange motives of various humans. I especially liked the one about sacrificing honor, and the one about weaknesses in every fortress. Those got some pretty varied interpretations, I think.
However, as I reflect now with murky hindsight, I sometimes wonder if we had overlooked the roles of the commoners a bit too soon. As well, I wonder if we approached the initial invader factions too early, and instead should have had patience to await the arrival of the Light.
So, here's guess version...5 I think? Man, my guesses keep changing because I have no idea what's going on. Anyway, perhaps there was reason for the prophets preaching to the commonfolk, and the Light at first contacting commoners. Also, there must have been reason for those new books, although their true effects, I'm not sure. One adventurer has said that it appears fewer monsters/undead/daimons appear in a region after its use, and I wonder if that means it not only reduces the actual troops but also decreases the "hidden" resource value? With finite resources for the NPCs, the initial hordes would have been manageable if there were some serious concentrated effort...maybe? I don't know if the hunting would have been effective, but nothing suggests to me that the mechanics for gathering monsters and undead were different from the usual "resource" value for M/U that adventurers can estimate when investigating.
Still, that really doesn't solve the daimon problem, which is linked to a different value than the two distinct M/U values that already exist. Still, I feel strongly, and even went so far as to have Iksandros contact adventurers during the actual Invasion, that the adventurers were the key, not the nobles. Well, maybe not, but it would have been a most interesting twist in the irony of established human societal systems, that the ones who were considered the least could achieve the most while the ones who were considered the greatest could achieve the least.
As for the Light, they each "enchanted" three different faiths that were dedicated to combating the darkness. How they could have been activated for their great awesome effect, I have no clue, but it might have been hinted that such a method would have opened up the possibility of military resistance in earnest, much earlier than the arrival of archons.
But as with the Dream, those prophets to me are becoming a bit tricky to consider, because I am now having some doubts about their reliability. Just what visions were they seeing? What secret in the north could only be found in the south? Had it anything to do with the undead and monsters being two sides of the same coin? I guess they are kind of two sides in the adventurer's investigation, but now I'm just extending interpretation. Stretching hurts.
