Age of Wonders III combines empire management, role-playing progression, and turn-based warfare in a fantasy setting. Players shape an empire through one of six leader classes, from Sorcerer and Theocrat to the technology-focused Dreadnought. Class-specific skills develop both the realm and its military options, while Humans, High Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Goblins, and Draconians offer distinct choices among the game's major races.
Exploration feeds into expansion: the world contains varied locations to raid, settlements to establish, resources to claim, and monstrous allies to recruit. Magic can reshape the terrain, while heroes can be equipped with magical weapons and placed at the head of armies. Battles use a 3D, turn-based tactical system, where players contend with city defenses and can use flanking alongside their armies' many abilities. This combination makes strategic preparation and battlefield decisions part of the same broader campaign.
The game supports a single-player story campaign told from two sides of a conflict, as well as randomly generated scenarios and online multiplayer wars for up to eight players. Random maps and standalone scenarios also support cooperative alliances against computer opponents, either online or in same-computer Hot Seat play.
