There are a number of monsters with a series of behaviors that are randomized.  The AI is fearless in placing cities and outposts next to them, but I've come upon a few of these monsters while they were destroying opponent armies and outpost buildings.

Tuidjy, I can understand your skepticism.  But just in my last game, I watched the AI stupidly plant a city and an outpost near two groups of monsters, and I watched later on while two of the AI's armies were destroyed.  In any earlier game (admittedly about three or four betas ago), the AI planted a city between two of mine, right near a dragon. As one of my units ran on by, the city became an ex-city.

In that last game, I also had a dragon show up suddenly on one of my cities' doorsteps.  (Got a message about legends and horrible things happening.  This was the only one I could see.)  It took me a few turns to get enough mana to cloud walk over, but the dragon patiently waited around.  I suspect that's the random behavior.  I don't want to test it, but like the warden building that protects against "some" monster attacks, I'd really like to see how the code operates.

Tudjy plays on the hardest levels only as far as I see in his posts (that are usually very good)

The monsters are more aggressive on higher levels (especially against cities). They also prefer player cities sligthly to AI cities on higher levels so says the frog. 

I must say that I rarely have these problems myself (on Hard).

Easy, but I swear this same situation happened my first game which was on normal. (Where I got killed pretty good, so I decided to get used to the game on easy first)

If you want to see if the AI is attacked, you can open the game with -cheat. "C:\Program Files\Stardock Games\FallenEnchantress\FallenEnchantress.exe" -cheat, and then Press Ctrl-U to see entire map, and ctrl-Z to have the AI play turns automatically.

In this way you can see that sometimes AI pioneers are attacked, and sometimes they aren't.

Well, I do play on ridiculous/ridiculous... that would explain why I get attacked all the time.  But does it explain why the slag uses the AI's roads (in AI dominion) as if it's a friendly?  Or are you saying that on ridiculous, the monsters and AIs are allied.

Frankly, I'm OK with it if it happens only at higher difficulties, because I do not start a game without a way to deal with BBs. (Big beasties - the stuff troops can't handle on their own)

But I keep seeing posts by people who do not touch ridiculous who complain about dragons.

I hope you do realize that this stuff needs to be documented in game. When you select a difficulty, for example easy, it has to tell the player what changes from normal. Why are we left to guess what the difference is with each difficulty setting?

Likewise if on ridiculous the monsters are allied with AI, that has to be displayed as well. And clearly, as a list when you choose a difficulty level.

I cannot believe my eyes about this "crying" because a monster attacked your cities. We get enough games where the AI is passive. We get enough games where the AI eliminates "itself". It's about time we got a game where the AI is randomized and we don't know what it's going to do to us or the other AI. Bravo for well coding a decent AI. Quit the dang complaining about the AI when it's challenging and hard. Go find something else to cry about but not the hard AI.

Did you even read the OP ? Or any post in this thread ? Seriously ?

No no no no no no no no n.........o

The AI at least in this respect is a fing ahole!

LOL I can accept sucking at a new game etc. 

Anyways let me explain.. 

I started off by playing on challenging.. Got my ass handed to me. Happens..

But amongst getting my ass handed I saw that the AI's armies were walking through hordes of wild armies without a scratch 

(I play with the highest settings for wild armies as in the more the better. Why? because I was hoping it would curb the city spam..) 

So Now I'm playing on normal.. 

Still getting my ass handed to me! Awesome! (I guinuwanly enjoy that because it means the game is challanging for me at least )

But the AI is NEVER attacked by the monsters.. NEVERRRRRR.

Example? I started a ggame around me was like 1 tile I could build a city. What ever built it.

Played played played bam I notice 6 tiles away from my main first city is a dragon! Game over I think to myself.

But maybe not maybe the dragon can be a buffer between me and the AI... NO.

The fing AI (as if to tunt me) build a god damin outpost on the tile rght next to it! (there was a metal ore? mine there)

later on I tried to attack the outpost dragon eat my men up.. Just great

Please fix the AI bs.. PLZZZZ

Otherwise great game! real fun! 

I am in a game right now where Gilden has a drake in their ZOC and it has not moved.  With the choke points, it is almost guarding his city.  I still think their is something with the FOG of war.  It is almost like the AI is still in the FOG for monsters.

That being said, my first game, on turn two an AI faction was killed.  I assume it was by a monster before they even settled a city.  However in my current game my capital city has been attacked by wolves three or four times (played for about two hours last) and they have destroyed different resources several times.  Mean while I haven't even seen that stupid drake move.