Creature Bank

Creature Bank is a collective term for the Adventure Map locations where a hero may fight against guards in order to receive a reward. The reward typically consists of gold and resources, but may also contain creatures or artifacts. The combat against the guards is a unique arrangement, where the hero's troops are located in the middle of the battlefield surrounded by enemies and war machines are not present on the battlefield (though they still provide passive bonuses). Tactics also does not work in creature banks. As with other battles, slain enemies do not respawn (should the hero retreat or be defeated). Visiting crypts or shipwrecks whose guards have already been defeated, decreases morale by -1 until the next battle.

Note the shown experience is based on the total HP of guards to be defeated, not as a separate reward.

Naga Bank gives sulfur, which may be considered as illogical as there are three other creature banks that are coherent with the magical resource they hold and the town they represent. These three are:

• Dwarven Treasury guarded by dwarves from Rampart and holding crystal
• Imp Cache guarded by imps from Inferno and holding mercury
• Medusa Stores guarded by medusas from Dungeon and holding sulfur

The Heroes 3 HD mod addresses this by changing the Naga Bank reward from sulfur to gems. This behavior can be toggled off by unchecking the HD+ checkbox.

Trivia

• Greg Fulton mentions Creature Banks in Fanstratics Newsletter #8 as him settling for not implementing full boss battles in HoMM 3.

Creature banks

Creature banks
Object	Guards	Reward
Media:Ancient Altar.webp Ancient Altar	100 %:  x25		R								7500	Terrain: any dry land Value: 20000 The reward is always Horn of the Abyss. If the bank has been defeated, the Horn of the Abyss on the exterior disappears. Does not appear on random maps unless it is enabled in the template settings.
Media:Beholders' Sanctuary.webp Beholders' Sanctuary	30 %:  x50,		m	3000							1100	Terrain: water Value: 2500 50% probability for 1/5 of the guards to be  Evil Eyes.
	30 %:  x75,		m	5000							1650
	30 %:  x100,		M	6000							2200
	10 %:  x150,		M	9000							3300
Media:Black Tower.webp Black Tower	30 %:  x1,		m	2000							180	Terrain: any dry land Value: 1500 Note: Standard battle layout (war machines active)
	30 %:  x1,		m	2250							180
	30 %:  x1,		m	3500							250
	10 %:  x1,		m	3750							300
Media:Churchyard.webp Churchyard	100 %:  x90		m	2500							1800	Terrain: any dry land Value: 1500 When visited after the guards have been defeated decreases the hero's morale by 1 for the next battle.
Media:crypt.webp Crypt	30 %:  x30,  x20,			1500							480	Terrain: grass, dirt, snow, swamp, sand Value: 1000 When visited after the guards have been defeated decreases the hero's morale by 1 for the next battle.
	30 %:  x25,  x20,  x5,			2000							540
	30 %:  x20,  x20,  x10,  x5		t	2500							750
	10 %:  x20,  x20,  x10,  x10		t	5000							900
Media:Cyclops Stockpile.webp Cyclops Stockpile	30 %:  x20,				4	4	4	4	4	4	1400	Terrain: any dry land Value: 3000 50% probability for 1/5 of the guards to be  Cyclops Kings.
	30 %:  x30,				6	6	6	6	6	6	2100
	30 %:  x40,				8	8	8	8	8	8	2800
	10 %:  x50,				10	10	10	10	10	10	3500
Media:Derelict Ship.webp Derelict Ship	30 %:  x20,			3000							600	Terrain: water Value: 4000 When visited after the guards have been defeated decreases the hero's morale by 1 for the next battle.
	30 %:  x30,		t	3000							900
	30 %:  x40,		t	4000							1200
	10 %:  x60,		m	6000							1800
Media:Dragon Fly Hive.webp Dragon Fly Hive	30 %:  x30,	Media:creature portrait Wyvern small.webp x4									600	Terrain: any dry land Value: 9000
	30 %:  x45,	Media:creature portrait Wyvern small.webp x6									900
	30 %:  x60,	Media:creature portrait Wyvern small.webp x8									1200
	10 %:  x90,	Media:creature portrait Wyvern small.webp x12									1800
Media:Dragon Utopia.webp Dragon Utopia	30 %:  x8,  x5,  x2,  x1		t, m, M, R	20 000							3140	Terrain: any dry land Value: 10000
	30 %:  x8,  x6,  x3,  x2		m, M R x2	30 000							3870
	30 %:  x8,  x6,  x4,  x3		M R x3	40 000							4420
	10 %:  x8,  x7,  x6,  x5		R x4	50 000							5700
Media:Dwarven Treasury.webp Dwarven Treasury	30 %:  x50,			2500						2	1000	Terrain: any dry land Value: 2000 50% probability for 1/5 of the guards to be  Battle Dwarves.
	30 %:  x75,			4000						3	1500
	30 %:  x100,			5000						5	2000
	10 %:  x150,			7500						10	3000
Media:Experimental Shop.webp Experimental Shop	30 %:  x20,	Media:creature portrait Giant small.webp x1									900	Terrain: any dry land Value: 3500
	30 %:  x40,	Media:creature portrait Giant small.webp x2									1800
	30 %:  x60,	Media:creature portrait Giant small.webp x3									2700
	10 %:  x80,	Media:creature portrait Giant small.webp x4									3600
Media:Griffin Conservatory.webp Griffin Conservatory	30 %:  x50,	Media:creature portrait Angel small.webp x1									1250	Terrain: any dry land Value: 2000 50% probability for 1/5 of the guards to be  Royal Griffins.
	30 %:  x100,	Media:creature portrait Angel small.webp x2									2500
	30 %:  x150,	Media:creature portrait Angel small.webp x3									3750
	10 %:  x200,	Media:creature portrait Angel small.webp x4									5000
Media:Imp Cache.webp Imp Cache	30 %:  x100,			1000			2				400	Terrain: any dry land Value: 5000 50% probability for 1/5 of the guards to be  Familiars.
	30 %:  x150,			1500			3				600
	30 %:  x200,			2000			4				800
	10 %:  x300,			3000			6				1200
Media:Ivory Tower.webp Ivory Tower	30 %:  x35,	Media:creature portrait Enchanter small.webp x3									1050	Terrain: sand, snow Value: 7000 Does not appear on random maps unless it is enabled in the template settings.
	30 %:  x50,	Media:creature portrait Enchanter small.webp x6									1500
	30 %:  x65,	Media:creature portrait Enchanter small.webp x9									1950
	10 %:  x80,	Media:creature portrait Enchanter small.webp x12									2400
Media:Mansion.webp Mansion	30 %:  x40,		M	2500			2	2	2	2	1600	Terrain: any dry land Value: 5000
	30 %:  x60,		M	5000			3	3	3	3	2400
	30 %:  x80,		M	7500			4	4	4	4	3200
	10 %:  x100,		M	10000			5	5	5	5	4000
Media:Medusa Stores.webp Medusa Stores	30 %:  x20,			2000				5			500 (520)	Terrain: any except subterranean and water Value: 1500 50% probability for 1/5 of the guards to be  Medusa Queens.
	30 %:  x30,			3000				6			750 (780)
	30 %:  x40,			4000				8			1000 (1040)
	10 %:  x50,			5000				10			1250 (1300)
Media:Naga Bank.webp Naga Bank	30 %:  x10,			4000				8 *			1100	Terrain: any dry land Value: 3000 *Sulfur is replaced by gems in HD Mod and HotA  50% probability for 1/5 of the guards to be  Naga Queens.
	30 %:  x15,			6000				12 *			1650
	30 %:  x20,			8000				16 *			2200
	10 %:  x30,			12000				24  *			3300
Media:Pirate Cavern.webp Pirate Cavern	30 %:  x20,  x20,	Media:creature portrait Sea Serpent small.webp x1									600	Terrain: rough Value: 3500 50% probability for 1/2 of Pirates to be Corsairs. Does not appear on random maps unless it is enabled in the template settings.
	30 %:  x40,  x40,	Media:creature portrait Sea Serpent small.webp x2									1200
	30 %:  x60,  x60,	Media:creature portrait Sea Serpent small.webp x3									1800
	10 %:  x80,  x80,	Media:creature portrait Sea Serpent small.webp x4									2400
Media:Red Tower.webp Red Tower	30 %:  x35,	Media:creature portrait Firebird small.webp x1									1225	Terrain: any dry land. Value: 4000 Limit per zone: 1 50% probability for 1/5 of the guards to be  Energy Elementals.
	30 %:  x70,	Media:creature portrait Firebird small.webp x2									2450
	30 %:  x105,	Media:creature portrait Firebird small.webp x3									3675
	10 %:  x140,	Media:creature portrait Firebird small.webp x4									4900
Media:Ruins.webp Ruins	30 %:  x20,  x3,  x3,  x10  1			1000							328	Terrain: highlands Value: 1000 After defeating the guards, the shroud is removed from all tiles within 12 tiles from Ruins.
	30 %:  x30,  x5,  x5,  x10  1			2000							460
	30 %:  x40,  x7,  x7,  x20  2			3000							692
	10 %:  x50,  x9,  x9,  x20  3			4000							864
Media:shipwreck 1.webp Media:shipwreck 2.webp Shipwreck	30 %:  x10,			2000							180	Terrain: water Value: 2000 Can be visited without a boat if placed next to the dry land. When visited after the guards have been defeated decreases the hero's morale by 1 for the next battle.
	30 %:  x15,			3000							270
	30 %:  x25,		t	4000							450
	10 %:  x50,		m	5000							900
Media:Spit.webp Spit	30 %:  x16,			3000							560	Terrain: swamp Value: 1500 Does not appear on random maps unless it is enabled in the template settings.
	30 %:  x24,			4500							840
	30 %:  x32,			6000							1120
	10 %:  x48,			9000							1680
Media:Temple of the Sea.webp Temple of the Sea	30 %:  x8,  x6,  x3,  x2		t x2 m, R	10 000							3830	Terrain: water Value: 10000
	30 %:  x8,  x7,  x4,  x3		t, m, M, R	15 000							4560
	30 %:  x8,  x7,  x5,  x4		m M x2 R	20 000							5110
	10 %:  x10,  x9,  x6,  x5		M x2 R x2	30 000							6370
Media:Wolf Raider Picket.webp Wolf Raider Picket	30 %:  x50,	Media:creature portrait Cyclops small.webp x4									500	Terrain: any dry land Value: 9500
	30 %:  x75,	Media:creature portrait Cyclops small.webp x6									750
	30 %:  x100,	Media:creature portrait Cyclops small.webp x8									1000
	10 %:  x150,	Media:creature portrait Cyclops small.webp x12									1500

Guards preview table

The table shows how to pre-check the guard strength of an object without attacking it.
Guarding stacks accentuated with bold font should be considered in the first place.
Stacks insignificant for a preview are omitted.
The overall amount of creatures can be checked in the status bar (above the resource line at the bottom of the screen) by hovering over an object already visited (not attacked) by a hero.

Guards	Stacks	Guards preview	Upgraded stack
Beholders' Sanctuary
30 %:  x50	10 x5	horde (50-99) of Beholders	lots (20-49) of Beholders pack (10-19) of Evil Eyes
30 %:  x75	15 x5		horde (50-99) of Beholders pack (10-19) of Evil Eyes
30 %:  x100	20 x5	throng (100-249) of Beholders	horde (50-99) of Beholders lots (20-49) of Evil Eyes
10 %:  x150	30 x5		throng (100-249) of Beholders lots (20-49) of Evil Eyes
Crypt    (guards can be pre-checked in Horn of the Abyss only).
30 %:  x30,  x20		Skeletons and Walking Dead only	No
30 %:  x25,  x20,  x5		several (5-9) Wights
30 %:  x20,  x20,  x10,  x5		several (5-9) Vampires
10 %:  x20,  x20,  x10,  x10		pack (10-19) of Vampires
Cyclops Stockpile
30 %:  x20	4 x5	lots (20-49) of Cyclopses	pack (10-19) of Cyclopses few (1-4) Cyclops Kings
30 %:  x30	6 x5		lots (20-49) of Cyclopses several (5-9) Cyclops Kings
30 %:  x40	8 x5
10 %:  x50	10 x5	horde (50-99) of Cyclopses	lots (20-49) of Cyclopses pack (10-19) of Cyclops Kings
Dragon Fly Hive
30 %:  x30	6 x5	lots (20-49) of Dragon Flies	No
30 %:  x45	9 x5
30 %:  x60	12 x5	horde (50-99) of Dragon Flies
10 %:  x90	18 x5
Dragon Utopia
30 %:  x8,  x5,  x2,  x1		pack (10-19) of creatures	No
30 %:  x8,  x6,  x3,  x2
30 %:  x8,  x6,  x4,  x3		lots (20-49) of creatures few (1-4) Black Dragons
10 %:  x8,  x7,  x6,  x5		lots (20-49) of creatures several (5-9) Black Dragons
Dwarven Treasury
30 %:  x50	10 x5	horde (50-99) of Dwarves	lots (20-49) of Dwarves pack (10-19) of Battle Dwarves
30 %:  x75	15 x5		horde (50-99) of Dwarves pack (10-19) of Battle Dwarves
30 %:  x100	20 x5	throng (100-249) of Dwarves	horde (50-99) of Dwarves lots (20-49) of Battle Dwarves
10 %:  x150	30 x5		throng (100-249) of Dwarves lots (20-49) of Battle Dwarves
Derelict Ship    (guards can be pre-checked in Horn of the Abyss only).
30 %:  x20	4 x5	lots (20-49) of Water Elementals	No
30 %:  x30	6 x5
30 %:  x40	8 x5
10 %:  x60	12 x5	horde (50-99) of Water Elementals
Experimental Shop
30 %:  x20	4 x5	lots (20-49) of Steel Golems	No
30 %:  x40	8 x5
30 %:  x60	12 x5	horde (50-99) of Steel Golems
10 %:  x80	16 x5
Griffin Conservatory
30 %:  x50	10 x5	horde (50-99) of Griffins	lots (20-49) of Griffins pack (10-19) of Royal Griffins
30 %:  x100	20 x5	throng (100-249) of Griffins	horde (50-99) of Griffins lots (20-49) of Royal Griffins
30 %:  x150	30 x5		throng (100-249) of Griffins lots (20-49) of Royal Griffins
10 %:  x200	40 x5
Imp Cache
30 %:  x100	20 x5	throng (100-249) of Imps	horde (50-99) of Imps lots (20-49) of Familiars
30 %:  x150	30 x5		throng (100-249) of Imps lots (20-49) of Familiars
30 %:  x200	40 x5
10 %:  x300	60 x5	swarm (250-499) of Imps	throng (100-249) of Imps horde (50-99) of Familiars
Ivory Tower
30 %:  x35	7 x5	lots (20-49) of Arch Magi	No
30 %:  x50	10 x5	horde (50-99) of Arch Magi
30 %:  x65	13 x5
10 %:  x80	16 x5
Mansion
30 %:  x40	8 x5	lots (20-49) of Vampire Lords	No
30 %:  x60	12 x5	horde (50-99) of Vampire Lords
30 %:  x80	16 x5
10 %:  x100	20 x5	throng (100-249) of Vampire Lords
Medusa Stores
30 %:  x20	4 x5	lots (20-49) of Medusas	pack (10-19) of Medusas few (1-4) Medusa Queens
30 %:  x30	6 x5		lots (20-49) of Medusas several (5-9) Medusa Queens
30 %:  x40	8 x5
10 %:  x50	10 x5	horde (50-99) of Medusas	lots (20-49) of Medusas pack (10-19) of Medusa Queens
Naga Bank
30 %:  x10	2 x5	pack (10-19) of Nagas	several (5-9) Nagas
30 %:  x15	3 x5		pack (10-19) of creatures pack (10-19) of Nagas
30 %:  x20	4 x5	lots (20-49) of Nagas	lots (50-99) of creatures few (1-4) Naga Queens
10 %:  x30	6 x5		several (5-9) Naga Queens
Pirate Cavern
30 %:  x20,  x20	10 x4	lots (20-49) of creatures lots (20-49) of Pirates	pack (10-19) of Pirates
30 %:  x40,  x40	20 x4	horde (50-99) of creatures lots (20-49) of Corsairs	horde (50-99) of creatures horde (50-99) of Corsairs
30 %:  x60,  x60	30 x4	throng (100-249) of creatures horde (50-99) of Pirates horde (50-99) of Corsairs	throng (100-249) of creatures lots (20-49) of Pirates horde (50-99) of Corsairs
10 %:  x80,  x80	40 x4		throng (100-249) of Corsairs
Red Tower
30 %:  x35	7 x5	lots (20-49) of Fire Elementals	lots (20-49) of Fire Elementals several (5-9) Energy Elementals
30 %:  x70	14 x5	horde (50-99) of Fire Elementals	horde (50-99) of Fire Elementals pack (10-19) of Energy Elementals
30 %:  x105	21 x5	throng (100-249) of Fire Elementals	horde (50-99) of Fire Elementals lots (20-49) of Energy Elementals
10 %:  x140	28 x5		throng (100-249) of Fire Elementals lots (20-49) of Energy Elementals
Ruins
30 %:  x20,  x3,  x3,  x10,  x1		lots (20-49) of creatures few (1-4) Wights/Wraiths pack (10-19) of Skeleton Warriors	No
30 %:  x30,  x5,  x5,  x10,  x1		horde (50-99) of creatures several (5-9) Wights/Wraiths pack (10-19) of Skeleton Warriors
30 %:  x40,  x7,  x7,  x20,  x2		lots (20-49) of Skeletons lots (20-49) of Skeleton Warriors
10 %:  x50,  x9,  x9,  x20,  x3		horde (50-99) of Skeletons
Shipwreck    (guards can be pre-checked in Horn of the Abyss only).
30 %:  x10	2 x5	pack (10-19) of Wights	No
30 %:  x15	3 x5
30 %:  x25	5 x5	lots (20-49) of Wights
10 %:  x50	10 x5	horde (50-99) of Wights
Spit
30 %:  x16	4 x4	pack (10-19) of Basilisks	No
30 %:  x24	6 x4	lots (20-49) of Basilisks
30 %:  x32	8 x4
10 %:  x48	12 x4
Temple of the Sea
30 %:  x8,  x6,  x3,  x2		pack (10-19) of creatures	No
30 %:  x8,  x7,  x4,  x3		lots (20-49) of creatures few (1-4) Chaos Hydras
30 %:  x8,  x7,  x5,  x4		several (5-9) Chaos Hydras few (1-4) Haspids
10 %:  x10,  x9,  x6,  x5		pack (10-19) of Hydras several (5-9) Haspids
Wolf Raider Picket
30 %:  x50	10 x5	horde (50-99) of Wolf Raiders	No
30 %:  x75	15 x5
30 %:  x100	20 x5	throng (100-249) of Wolf Raiders
10 %:  x150	30 x5