Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII FAQ/Strategy Guide (PS2)
Version 1.2
January 19, 2003
By Brian Nii (bnii@hawaii.edu)
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Version History
III. Officer Information
IV. Officer Skills
V. City Information
VI. Character Types
VII. Life as a Ronin
VIII. Life as an Officer
IX. Life as a Prefect
X. Life as a Warlord
XI. Life as a Liege
XII. Military Strategy
XIII. The Art of War
XIV. Items
XV. Sites
XVI. Poetry of the Three Kingdoms
XVII. Tournaments
XVIII. Scenarios: Observations of a Ronin
XIV. Endings
XX. Secret Characters
XXI. Dynasty Warriors
XXII. Frequently Asked Questions
XXIII. Strangeness in the Three Kingdoms
XXIV. Special Events
XXV. Acknowledgements
---------------
I. Introduction
---------------
"Domains under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after
a long period of union, tends to divide."
Having played ROTTK7 for the Playstation, I can say that this version is
leaps and bounds above its predecessor. The game is much more pleasing to the
eyes and ears, and features many improvements and new features overall.
However, like all ROTTK games from Koei, this game is still quite complex and
can overwhelm most people with the plethora of options available to you.
Unfortunately, the instruction manual is just that. It tells you about the
commands you can use in the game, but is rather incomplete in how to actually
play the game. On the other hand, due to the open nature of the game it can
be said that there isn't really any particular way to play the game. You can
choose to just stand to the side and watch history pass you by. Or you can
take matters into your own hand and personally conquer China yourself. It's
all up to you. This FAQ will hopefully shed some light on some aspects of the
game that aren't covered in the manual, or vaguely touched on by the in game
help files.
-------------------
II. Version History
-------------------
"And he bade them make a note on the overlap of their robes so that they
should remember."
Version 1.2 (1/19/03) - Added minor corrections to various sections. Minor
updates to various sections.
Version 1.1 (8/8/02) - Added information on Titles and Rank in the Officer
Information section. Added more tips to the "Life as a Liege" section. Added
ratings for the Tactics and Ploys. Added more tips and corrections to various
sections.
Version 1.0 (8/6/02) - First completed version of this FAQ. Finished all ten
scenarios. Added a whole lot of information in the City Information section.
Redid the Endings section. Adjusted Dynasty Warriors section to take into
consideration Item adjustments to abilities.
Version 0.9 (8/5/02) - Finished 9 out of the 10 scenarios. Major update to
Officer Skills and Character Types sections. Updated Poetry, Scenario, FAQ,
and Special Events sections. Minor updates and corrections to various
sections. Reformatted some sections.
Version 0.8 (7/26/02) - Added a new officer (George_ Patton) to the secret
characters section. Added Strangeness in the Three Kingdoms and Special
Events section. Updated and reformatted all sections.
Version 0.7 (7/19/02) - Completed Items and Sites section. Updated Poetry
section. Fixed some information in the Dynasty Warriors section. Revising
Scenarios section.
Version 0.6 (7/18/02) - Updated Items, Sites, Poetry, and Tournament
sections. Added revisions and corrections to all other sections. Restarting
the Scenarios section.
Version 0.5 (7/13/02) - Added "Life as a Liege". Revised the Military
Strategy and The Art of War sections. Updated Sites, Scenario, and Endings
sections.
Version 0.4 (7/12/02) - Added "Life as a Prefect", "Life as a Warlord", and
Dynasty Warriors section. Updated "Life as a Ronin", Items, Sites, Poetry,
and Scenario sections. Added quotes from the novel to each section. =)
Corrected information in some sections.
Version 0.3 (7/10/02) - Added "Life as an Officer". Created a FAQ section. =)
Updated Officer Information, Military Strategy, The Art of War, Items, Sites,
Poetry, and Endings Sections. Revisions of everything else.
Version 0.2 (7/8/02) - Added "Life as a Ronin", Military Strategy, and The
Art of War. Started on the scenario section. Updated items, sites, poetry,
and various sections.
Version 0.1 (7/5/02) - First version of this FAQ.
------------------------
III. Officer Information
------------------------
"In peace you are an able subject; in chaos you are a crafty hero!"
- Xu Shao to Cao Cao
Status: Indicates the current status of the character. They are Ronin, Common
(Officer), Prefect, and Liege. This also determines the commands available to
that character as well as the amount of AP they receive each turn.
LOY: Indicates the current loyalty of the officer to his or her Liege. Ronin
and Lieges do not have this. Officers with low loyalty may choose to defect
to other Lieges or participate in revolutions or coup attempts. Ranges from 0
(no loyalty) to 100 (absolute loyalty). This value is not shown in advanced
difficulty.
Wage: The amount of money the Officer receives. Officers are paid this amount
every January, April, July, and October. If a Liege cannot pay his officers
their loyalty will decrease. Wages are increased when Class is increased,
from winning poetry contests or tournaments, or as a reward from a Liege. The
maximum Wage for an Officer is 250. Lieges do not have wages.
Deeds: The measure of an officer's service with their Liege. High amount of
Deeds leads to an increase of Class with that Liege. Deeds only apply to the
current Liege the Officer is serving.
Fame: The measure of the officer's fame throughout the land. A high level of
Fame increases the chance of Lieges hiring you. It also determines the Rank
assigned to an Officer by his Liege.
Title: Indicates the current Title of the Liege. A Liege can gain higher
Titles by increasing his Imperial Favor via audiences with the Emperor. The
Liege's Title determines the ranks that Liege can bestow upon his Officers.
Title Imperial Favor
----- --------------
Emperor 250 Minimum
King 230 Minimum
Archduke 200 Minimum
Prime Minister 220
Lord Grand Marshal 210
Grand Commander 200
Minister of Interior 190
Minister of Exterior 180
Palace Minister 160
Capitol Minster 150
Defense Minister 140
Marquis 140
Earl of the Left 130
Earl of the Right 120
Earl of the South 110
Earl of the North 100
Tiger Escort Captain 90
Royal Guard Captain 80
Governor 70
Lieutenant Governor 50
Class: Indicates an officer's status within society. A higher Class allows
for an increase in the maximum number of Troops and minimum Wage for the
Officer. Officers increase in Class by accumulating Deeds.
- 1st Class: 20,000 Troops Wage 150
- 2nd Class: 17,000 Troops Wage 100
- 3rd Class: 15,000 Troops Wage 60
- 4th Class: 12,000 Troops Wage 30
- 5th Class: 10,000 Troops Wage 10
Rank: Indicates an officer's position within the country. Higher Rank
increases effectiveness in battle by increasing Tactic Points. Ranks apply
only to the current Liege the Officer is serving. Officers with high WAR and
INT are most likely to increase in Rank quickly.
Rank TP Bonus Rank TP Bonus Rank TP Bonus
---- -------- ---- -------- ---- --------
Supreme +100 Conquest +40 Horse +10
Cavalier +100 Pacifier +40 Foot +10
Brigadier +100 Border +40
Phalanx +100 Relief +40
Dragon +90 3rd East +35
Tiger +90 3rd South +35
Peacock +90 3rd West +35
Tortoise +90 3rd North +35
Fire +80 4th East +30
Water +80 4th South +30
Wind +80 4th West +30
Earth +80 4th North +30
1st East +70 Vanguard +25
1st South +70 Warrior +25
1st West +70 Scribe +25
1st North +70 Campaign +25
2nd East +60 Kingdom +20
2nd South +60 River +20
2nd West +60 Defense +20
2nd North +60 Tactical +20
Left +50 Catapult +15
Right +50 Tower +15
Front +50 Armor +15
Rear +50 Crossbow +15
Special thanks to Ratzalot for the names of the top four ranks.
Bond: Indicates the level of trust and friendship between this officer and
yourself. Ranges from 0 (officer doesn't know you) to 100 (officer trusts you
completely).
WAR: War ability. Determines effectiveness in combat. Officers with high WAR
deal and receive less damage in battle both on the field and in duels. They
are also skilled in fortifying city defenses.
INT: Intelligence. Determines effectiveness in using Ploys. Officers with
high INT can use Ploys and Tactics more effectively, and have a higher
resistance to enemy Ploys and Tactics used against them. They are also
skilled in increasing the technology level of cities.
POL: Politics. Determines effectiveness in domestics. Officers with high POL
are very effective in increasing a city's Safety, Commerce, and Land levels.
CHAR: Charisma. Determines effectiveness in dealing with others. Officers
with high CHA can conscript a high number of Troops and are good at
diplomatic functions.
IP: Influence points. Required by a Warlord in order to influence others.
Warlords use IP whenever they request any Personnel, Military, Domestic, or
Plot command. IP is also used to influence decisions made by their Liege. IP
is regained by accumulating more Deeds.
Age: Current age of the officer. When an Officer reaches a certain age there
is a chance that they will die. Officers near death can be revealed by
visiting an Officer with the Oracle skill. Players that die of old age can
continue playing with an Officer that has a high Bond with them under their
Liege.
Health: Current health of the character. Injured characters have penalties to
abilities until healed. Health ranges from Good, Fair, and Poor. Officers are
injured as the result of the Assassin Ploy, a pursuit after a battle, or a
plague. Health can be returned to Good in a single month if the Officer has
the Doctor skill or visits someone that has it. Otherwise, the Officer will
recover slowly over time.
Years: Current number of years serving current Liege. Rewards are given to
Officers from the Liege for every 5 years of service for loyalty.
Unit: Type of military unit assigned to the officer. Types are Foot,
Crossbow, Teng Jia, Catapult, Horse, Calvary, Tower, and Elephant. Each unit
has different levels of effectiveness against each other, as well as varying
movement ranges depending on the terrain.
Troops: Number of troops in the officer's unit. As Troops are lost in battle
the amount of damage the unit can deal will decrease.
Drill: Measure of the unit's training and effectiveness in battle. Ranges
from 50 (untrained) to 100 (elite). Drill level reduces when troops are
conscripted to the unit. Drill determines the amount of damage the unit deals
and receives, as well as how far the unit can move in battle.
Injured: The number of injured soldiers in the Officer's unit. Indicates the
maximum number of Troops that can be revived using the Heal Tactic.
Glory: Measure of deeds performed when winning a battle. The top three
Officers with the most Glory on the victorious side in battle gain a portion
of Deeds based on the Glory won. Glory is gained primarily by defeating enemy
soldiers.
------------------
IV. Officer Skills
------------------
"I have no great talent but I have had to do with humans of no ordinary gifts
from whom I have received certain magical books called 'Concealing Method'. I
can call the winds and summon the rains."
- Zhuge Liang to Zhou Yu
* - Not very useful. A situational skill.
** - Somewhat useful. A nice skill to have.
*** - Useful. A helpful skill if you can get it.
**** - Very useful. Get this skill if at all possible.
***** - Extremely useful. A must have skill.
Spy (**)
---
Increases the effectiveness of the Spy command. Information on cities near
the target city can sometimes be obtained.
Comments: As Sun Tzu said, know the enemy and know yourself and you can win
any battle. This will at least help with the former. The information on
additional cities is an added bonus. This is a good skill to have if you want
to expand your Officer contacts in other cities.
Invent (****)
------
Allows the officer to create advanced weapons when using the Forge command.
This skill is required to create the Arbalest, Fireball, Tower, Catapult, and
Wood Ox Arms. The city must have the required Tech level and access to the
materials needed in order to invent new Arms.
Comments: In the later battles of the game, the enemy will have Arbalests
available to them, along with Officers with the Missile and Volley skills.
This means that a unit with an Arbalest can use an arrow attack up to ten
times in a single turn with a lucky shot (I've done it myself once or twice).
The best way to counter that is to have Arbalests of your own (and the
Counter skill, he he he). If you have this skill, you are going to be very
popular with your Prefect when Arbalests, Towers, and Catapults become
available.
Tame (**)
----
Allows the creation of Elephant units (Only available in Yong Chang).
Comments: While Elephant units are indeed powerful, the fact that you can
only obtain them in one city somewhat limits the usefulness of this skill.
Trade (***)
-----
Gives discounts when buying items or food from the merchant.
Comments: Items can be incredibly helpful when you're starting out, and are
essential in the later stages of the game. Depending on the scenario you can
obtain +10 Items fairly early in the game from the merchants. Having this
skill makes your shopping sprees a bit easier on your funds.
Counter (***)
-------
Enables an Officer to counterattack against certain attacks that normally
cannot be countered such as Arrow, Missile, and Volley. Officer must have a
missile weapon to counter attack.
Comments: The value of this skill depends on how frequently you are assigned
a Crossbow unit (or Foot with Bow) and how frequently the enemy uses archers
in battle. Late in the game most countries produce Crossbow units en masse.
This skill makes you a formidable opponent against enemy archers on the field
of battle, especially if you have an Arbalest.
Reversal (****)
--------
Enables an Officer to redirect certain ploys used against his or her unit in
battle such as Fire, Confusion, Stop, and Taunt back to the enemy Officer.
Comments: This skill doesn't work all the time, but when it does it can be a
real lifesaver. It seems to work well against fire attacks.
Aid (***)
---
Allows the Officer to use the Aid Tactic in battle. Aid removes status
effects from units that have been affected by ploys such as Confuse, Taunt,
and Stop.
Comments: Many of your fellow Officers in battle will have high WAR but low
INT. As a result, they are easy targets for Tactics such as Confuse and
Taunt. If you're not in a position to attack the enemy, you might as well
help out where you can. Aid is invaluable in such situations. Remember that
you can use this Tactic on yourself as well. Aid is great for recovering from
the Chain Ploy.
Scout (***)
-----
Officers with this skill have a field on view in battle unaffected by
weather. During Probe movement traps are discovered 100% of the time.
Comments: Running into the enemy due to bad weather not only ends your
movement for the turn, but gives them a free attack as well. Having an
increased sight radius is very helpful in poor field conditions.
Automatically discovering traps during Probe movement is an added bonus.
Valor (*****)
-----
Officers with this skill do not take additional damage from being surrounded
by enemy units in battle.
Comments: One of the best skills in the game. Enemy units love to surround
you in battle often. If you don't have this skill you can be cut to pieces in
one or two turns, especially if you're facing strong opponents. Enemy units
with this skill are true nightmares, usually tying up your advance single
handedly while you try to whittle their Troops down with repeated attacks.
Charge (****)
------
Allows Officer to make a charge attack against an enemy in battle. Charge
attacks may hit an enemy multiple times, and may push the target unit back
one square as well.
Comments: This is a great skill to have, especially when you have an enemy
surrounded, or if you want to knock a unit out of their outpost. Just
remember that sometimes it is better to use a direct attack rather than a
charge. Otherwise you may end up knocking an enemy away from being
surrounded, or allow a unit to slip past through to your outpost. Note that
Officers that are using Horse, Calvary, or Elephant units can use charge
attacks even without this skill.
Duel (* or *****)
----
Allows Officer to challenge opposing officers to a duel in battle. Officers
without this ability are at a serious disadvantage in a duel.
Comments: The value of this skill depends on the combat abilities of your
Officer. If your Officer doesn't go hunting often or is never invited to
tournaments, this skill is only average in value since most Officers will
refuse to duel with you, and if you're not the fighting type you won't be
dueling Officers anyway. If you're an Officer with high WAR, odds are you
will encounter many tigers during your hunting trips, and will often be
invited to tournaments. If this is the case, then this skill is invaluable.
If you don't have this skill you are going to be beaten fairly badly even if
your WAR is fairly high.
Dash (****)
----
Allows an Officer to use the Dash ability in battle. Dash movement allows for
a much longer range of movement for the turn, but reduces the Officer's Troop
level.
Comments: This skill can be incredibly helpful in many situations. Just don't
abuse it or you will face the consequences. The movement advantage gained in
a single turn can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Remember
that when you dash you cannot probe for traps.
Repair (*)
------
Allows an Officer to repair the city wall during a siege battle.
Comments: You're usually better off attacking the enemy at your gates rather
than trying to repair the walls. Could be useful if you just need to buy just
a little more time.
Navy (***)
----
Officers with this skill are at an advantage when fighting on water.
Comments: Warriors should learn this skill if they can, as it gives them an
advantage in naval conflicts. Note that this skill helps when fighting on
rivers and lakes as well. This does not affect movement rates on water
however.
Missile (***)
-------
Allows an Officer to make a fire arrow attack. Fire arrow attacks are
stronger than regular arrow attacks, and may set a fire in the target square.
This attack cannot be used during Rain, Storm, or Snow weather.
Comments: This skill is great if you are assigned archery units regularly. If
you have an Arbalest it gets even better.
Volley (***)
------
Allows an officer to make a volley attack in battle hitting multiple targets
at long range. All squares adjacent to the target square are hit. Friendly
units within range are hit as well. The firing Officer's unit will not be hit
if it is within range.
Comments: Once again the value of this skill is dependent on how often you
are assigned archery units. Just remember that if one of your own units is in
the line of fire, be sure to weigh the advantages of making a volley attack.
It goes without saying that you should try to hit as many of the enemy as
possible without hitting your own units.
Riot (*)
----
Allows the officer to use the Riot Ploy.
Comments: Riot isn't a very effective Ploy, so you can pass on this one.
Wile (*)
----
Allows the officer to use the Chain, Discord, and Lure Ploys.
Comments: Chain is very useful in battles where there are large bodies of
water. Other than that the rest of the Ploys are only marginally useful.
Rumor (****)
-----
Allows the officer to use the Rumor and Falsify Ploys.
Comments: While Rumor is very powerful, there are some things you should
remember. Officers that leave the field are still available to defend the
city during a siege battle. And Rumor can drive off an Officer with 1,000
Foot that was about to be defeated anyway, instead of driving off an Officer
with 20,000 Calvary. But even despite of this, Rumor is an excellent Ploy to
even out the battlefield.
Chart (*)
-----
Allows the officer to use the Wind, Weather, and Lightning Ploys.
Comments: None of these Ploys are very effective so you can pass on this one.
Flood (*)
-----
Allows the officer to use the Flood Ploy.
Comments: Good for siege battles and not much else.
Rally (**)
-----
Allows the officer to use the Rally Ploy.
Comments: Remember that Rally not only increases your Morale, but also
removes all status effects from your units. If you are losing badly though
this won't help very much.
Jeer (**)
----
Allows the officer to use the Jeer Ploy.
Comments: Jeer isn't too effective unless the enemy Morale was low to begin
with. It can be useful in some close battles though.
Sap (*)
---
Allows the officer to use the Sap Ploy.
Comments: Good for siege battles and not much else.
Mystic (***)
------
Allows the officer to use the Haste, Lightning, Revive, Illusion, Lure, and
Falsify Ploys. This skill cannot be learned.
Comments: This is a very useful skill to have for the Haste and Revive Ploys.
If you're not a Tactician this skill can be useful when patrolling and the
peasants want you to pray for rain. If you have this skill you will be
successful 100% of the time.
Bless (***)
-----
Allows the use of Creatures in battle. The Officer must have the Creature
Item in order to use this. This skill is only given to those chosen by the
Southern and Northern Mystics. The Officer must be in the top ten of the
Heroes Ranking and have at least four units available.
Comments: This skill is more for show than anything else. While having the
ability to use Creatures can definitely turn the tide of battle, you do have
to hunt for them again each time you use them.
Zeal (*****)
----
Increases the amount of AP recovered each month.
Comments: This one is a no-brainer. Get this skill as soon as humanly
possible.
Study (*****)
-----
Increases the effectiveness of the Train and Tutor commands.
Comments: This one is also a no-brainer. Get this skill as soon as humanly
possible.
Doctor (***)
------
Officers with this skill fully recover health when injured in the next month.
They can also heal injured visiting Officers and use the Revive Ploy. This
skill cannot be learned.
Comments: This is a useful skill to have when the plague runs rampant. The
ability to use the Revive Ploy is also invaluable.
Oracle (*)
------
This skill has random effects when invoked on the battlefield. Officers with
this skill can also foresee other Officers who are nearing the end of their
lifespan. This skill cannot be learned.
Comments: It's fun to visit Officers with this skill, but other than that
this skill is definitely more for amusement than anything else.
Critic (*)
------
Officers with this skill will occasionally evaluate visitors, sometimes
increasing their Fame. This skill cannot be learned.
Comments: This skill does nothing for you personally, but it's fun to visit
other Officers with this skill.
Wealth (***)
------
Increases the amount an officer receives for his wages each month. This
officer will also give money to visitors occasionally. This skill cannot be
learned.
Comments: More money is always good. If you have this and the Trade skill you
can rack up an impressive Item collection in record time.
-------------------
V. City Information
-------------------
"Zhuge Liang is always most careful and runs no risks. Those open gates
undoubtedly mean an ambush. If our force enters the city, they will fall
victims to his guile. How can you know? No, our course is to retire."
- Sima Yi to Sima Zhao
Type: There are five types of cities: Academy, City, Metropolis, Port, and
Ranch. Determines availability of skills learnable in the city.
Land: Measure of food production in the city. Determines how much food is
harvested in July.
Comm: Measure of commerce in the city. Determines how much money is collected
for the city in January, April, July, and October. High commerce also
increases the chances of having a merchant visit the city.
Sfty: Measure of city safety. Cities with high safety increase population at
a higher rate. Also attracts merchants to the city. Low safety increases the
success rate of Plots against the city.
Tech: Measure of technical achievement in the city. Determines if certain
Arms can be forged.
Defense: Measure of the city's defensive wall strength. If the Defense of the
city wall is reduced to 0 in a siege, the attackers win the battle.
Merchant: Determines if a merchant is available to purchase food and items in
the city. Otherwise, the Buy command is not available. Some cities always
have a merchant available. You can see merchant activity on the map screen.
Gold: Amount of gold available to the city. Increases every January, April,
July, and October based on the city's Commerce level.
Food: Amount of food available to the city. Increases every July based on the
city's Land level. Troops in the city are also compensated with Food in July.
Pop: The population of the city. Increases based on the city's Safety level.
Troops: The number of troops stationed in the city.
Reserve: The number of conscripts available to draft into units.
Trust: The city's level of trust in the officer. A high Trust makes Domestic
commands more effective. A low trust increases the chances of riot or revolt
in the city.
Product: Each city usually has a product available to manufacture Arms.
Products available are Lumber, Rattan, Leather, Ore, Horse, Sulfur, and
Nitrate. You can check the products of each city on the map screen using the
square button and selecting the Product option.
---------
City List
---------
City Type Product Merchant Land Max Comm Max
---- ---- ------- -------- -------- --------
1. An Ding City Horse x 600 500
2. Bei Hai Academy Nitrate x 600 800
3. Bei Ping Ranch Horse x 700 500
4. Chai Sang Port x x 600 600
5. Chang An Metropolis Ore Always 900 900
6. Chang Sha City x x 700 500
7. Chen Liu City Leather x 800 600
8. Cheng Du Metropolis Nitrate Always 900 800
9. Cheng Yang City Ore x 600 700
10. Gui Yang City Ore x 600 300
11. Han Zhong City Lumber x 600 500
12. He Nei City Lumber x 700 600
13. Hong Nong City Lumber x 400 600
14. Hui Ji Port x x 800 500
15. Ji Academy Horse x 700 700
16. Jian An City Lumber x 500 400
17. Jian Ning City Ore x 600 400
18. Jian Ye Port Ore Always 1000 800
19. Jiang Ling Port Lumber x 800 600
20. Jiang Xia City Ore x 600 600
21. Jiang Zhou City x x 700 500
22. Jiao Zhi City Lumber Always 600 300
23. Jin Yang City Horse x 400 600
24. Ling Ling City Sulfur x 600 300
25. Lu Jiang Port Ore x 600 600
26. Luo Yang Metropolis x Always 800 1000
27. Nan Hai Port Ore x 600 400
28. Nan Pi City Ore Always 700 800
29. Ping Yuan City Leather x 600 500
30. Pu Yang City Lumber x 800 600
31. Qiao Academy Leather x 600 700
32. Ru Nan City Leather x 700 700
33. Shang Dang Ranch Nitrate x 500 600
34. Shang Yong City x x 400 400
35. Shou Chun City x x 800 800
36. Tian Shui Ranch Horse x 500 500
37. Wan City Ore x 700 800
38. Wu Port x x 700 500
39. Wu Du City Ore x 500 500
40. Wu Ling City Lumber x 600 300
41. Wu Wei Ranch Horse x 500 500
42. Xi Ping City Leather x 500 500
43. Xia Pi City Ore Always 900 700
44. Xiang Ping Ranch Ore x 600 800
45. Xiang Yang Academy Leather Always 800 800
46. Xiao Pei City x x 800 600
47. Xin Ye City x x 400 500
48. Xu Chang Metropolis Ore Always 1000 800
49. Ye Metropolis Lumber x 900 800
50. Yong An City Lumber x 500 500
51. Yong Chang City Sulfur x 500 400
52. Yue Ling City Lumber x 500 400
53. Yun Nan City Rattan x 500 400
54. Zi Tong Academy Leather x 600 500
----------
City Types
----------
The following is a list of the types of cities in the game as well as the
skills available to learn in each. Special thanks to gr1mm for posting this
information on the GameFAQs ROTTK7 message board.
The following skills can be learned at any city regardless of type:
WAR - Volley
INT - Rally, Jeer, Sap
POL - Zeal, Study
CHA - Study
Training at cities is more effective if your level of Trust is high.
Type: Academy
Cities: Bei Hai, Ji, Qiao, Xiang Yang, Zi Tong
Exclusive skills: Repair, Rumor, Chart, Invent
Skills available:
WAR - Repair, Volley
INT - Repair, Rumor, Chart, Rally, Jeer, Sap
POL - Invent, Repair, Zeal, Study
CHA - Chart, Study
Type: City
Cities: An Ding, Chang Sha, Chen Liu, Cheng Yang, Gui Yang, Han Zhong, He
Nei, Hong Nong, Jian An, Jian Ning, Jiang Xia, Jiang Zhou, Jiao Zhi, Jin
Yang, Ling Ling Nan Pi, Ping Yuan, Pu Yang, Ru Nan, Shang Yong, Shou Chun,
Wan, Wu Du, Wu Ling, Xi Ping, Xia Pi, Xiao Pei, Xin Ye, Yong An, Yong Chang,
Yue Ling, Yun Nan
Exclusive skills: None
Skills available:
WAR - Volley
INT - Rally, Jeer, Sap
POL - Zeal, Study
CHA - Study
Type: Metropolis
Cities: Chang An, Cheng Du, Luo Yang, Xu Chang, Ye
Exclusive skills: Counter, Reversal, Aid, Scout, Valor, Riot, Wile, Spy
Skills available:
WAR - Counter, Reversal, Aid, Scout, Valor, Volley
INT - Aid, Riot, Wile, Rally, Jeer, Sap
POL - Spy, Aid, Scout, Zeal, Study
CHA - Study
Type: Port
Cities: Chai Sang, Hui Ji, Jian Ye, Jiang Ling, Lu Jiang, Nan Hai, Wu
Exclusive skills: Navy, Missile, Flood
Skills available:
WAR - Navy, Missile, Volley
INT - Flood, Rally, Jeer, Sap
POL - Zeal, Study
CHA - Study
Type: Ranch
Cities: Bei Ping, Shang Dang, Tian Shui, Wu Wei, Xiang Ping
Exclusive skills: Charge, Duel, Dash
Skills available:
WAR - Charge, Duel, Dash, Volley
INT - Rally, Jeer, Sap
POL - Zeal, Study
CHA - Study
--------
Products
--------
Horse
-----
A large hoofed mammal having a shorthaired coat, a long mane, and a long
tail, domesticated since ancient times and used for riding and for carrying
loads. Horses are required to forge the Arm Horse, and are necessary to form
the Horse and Calvary units.
Available at: An Ding, Bei Ping, Ji, Jin Yang, Tian Shui, Wu Wei
Leather
-------
The dressed or tanned hide of an animal, usually with the hair removed.
Leather is required for to forge the Arms Armor, Catapult, and Tower.
Available at: Chen Liu, Ping Yuan, Qiao, Ru Nan, Xi Ping, Xiang Yang, Zi Tong
Lumber
------
Timber sawed into boards, planks, or other structural members of standard or
specified length. Lumber is required to forge the Arms Arbalest, Bow,
Catapult, Crossbow, Tower, and Wood Ox.
Available at: Han Zhong, He Nei, Hong Nong, Jian An, Jiang Ling, Jiao Zhi, Pu
Yang, Wu Ling, Ye, Yong An, Yue Ling
Nitrate
-------
Fertilizer consisting of sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate. Nitrate is
required to forge the Arms Fireball and Wood Ox.
Available at: Bei Hai, Cheng Du, Shang Dang
Ore
---
A mineral or an aggregate of minerals from which a valuable constituent,
especially a metal, can be profitably mined or extracted. Ore is required to
forge the Arms Armor, Elephant, Harness and Wood Ox.
Available at: Chang An, Cheng Yang, Gui Yang, Jian Ning, Jian Ye, Jiang Xia,
Lu Jiang, Nan Hai, Nan Pi, Wan, Wu Du, Xia Pi, Xiang Ping, Xu Chang
Rattan
------
Any of various climbing palms of the genera Calamus, Daemonorops, or
Plectomia of tropical Asia, having long, tough, slender stems. Rattan is
required to forge the Arms Elephant and Teng Jia.
Available at: Yun Nan
Sulfur
------
A pale yellow nonmetallic element occurring widely in nature in several free
and combined allotropic forms. It is used in black gunpowder. Sulfur is
required to form the Arms Fireball and Wood Ox.
Available at: Ling Ling, Yong Chang
---------
Disasters
---------
Occasionally one of several disasters can occur during the year to any number
of cities. Some of these disasters occur only once while others such as
Locusts and Plague can spread to other cities as time progresses. It's always
amusing when this happens to your enemies, but it's less amusing when it
happens only to your country.
Blizzard - Usually occurs in northern provinces in October. Reduces Commerce
and Land in affected cities. Roads are blocked for a period of time.
Bounty - Not really a disaster. Greatly increases Food harvest in affected
cities.
Flood - Usually occurs in April or after a typhoon. Reduces Commerce, Land,
and Defense in affected cities. Roads are flooded and become unusable for a
period of time.
Locusts - Reduces Land in affected cities. Can spread to other cities over
time.
Plague - Reduces Population in affected cities. All Officers in the city are
reduced in Health. Can spread to other cities over time.
Riot - Usually occurs in cities with low Safety. Reduces Safety in affected
cities.
Typhoon - Usually occurs in April. Reduces Commerce and Land in affected
cities.
-------------------
VI. Character Types
-------------------
"In these days of disorder a good soldier can make a name for himself."
- Guan Yu to Guo Chang
-----
Ronin
-----
Technically speaking Ronin are wandering samurai, but in the context of the
game they are wandering officers that are not serving any Liege. Ronins have
the least amount of options available to them of any class, and have very
little power as a result. On the other hand they are usually unaffected by
events around them and don't have to worry about administrative duties.
Unfortunately, this also limits their opportunities to obtain Fame as well.
Eventually you may decide to join a Liege, establish your own country, or
remain a wanderer for the rest of your life.
Strengths: Flexibility.
Weaknesses: Limited power. Little opportunities to increase Fame.
---------------------------
Tips for the aspiring Ronin
---------------------------
- Use letters and visits frequently to increase your Bond with powerful
Officers. Not only will this allow you to get tutorage from them, but you
will also become acquainted with a wide variety of other Officers in the
process.
- Learn the Study and Zeal skills as soon as possible.
- Remember that while being tutored increases your abilities faster, you will
rarely, if ever, learn new skills.
- Skills learned while training depends on the type of city you are in.
Training is also more effective if your Trust in that city is high.
- If some of your abilities are low, you may want to consider remaining a
Ronin until you can train those abilities to acceptable levels. Ronin don't
have to worry about being captured or executed like Officers do, nor do they
have to carry out tasks dictated by the Prefect each month. Unfortunately,
they also have the fewest Action Points available so they improve abilities
relatively slowly compared to Officers.
- WAR and INT are important if you enlist in a city near a heavily contested
border. If these abilities aren't very high, consider enlisting in a city
relatively far away from most of the action.
- While POL is important for Officers, Ronin don't have access to Domestic
commands and therefore don't really need it.
- Don't bother training CHA. Your CHA experience increases every time you
send a letter or visit someone. And because Ronin don't recruit or conscript,
there's really no point in having a high CHA. At least for now.
- If you don't have the Duel skill, don't bother fighting tigers you
encounter during hunts, even if you have high WAR. Even the weak tigers will
tear you to shreds. This goes for Officers as well.
For more details on being a Ronin please refer to the "Life as a Ronin"
section.
-------
Officer
-------
Officers are the foundation of the game, and are therefore the most common
character type. They are usually assigned domestic tasks by the Prefect in
times of peace, and are frequently sent to the front lines in times of war.
Depending on their abilities they can advance in Class and Rank rather
quickly. They may even be promoted to Prefect, Warlord, or as a successor to
a Liege himself if they are skilled enough. Some Officers change allegiances
on a whim. Others are faithful unto death. While an officer's life may be a
hard one, it can most certainly be rewarding in many ways.
Strengths: Great opportunities to advance in Class, Rank, and Fame.
Weaknesses: May be overruled by the Prefect during certain commands.
-----------------------------
Tips for the aspiring Officer
-----------------------------
- Get your Bond with your Liege to 100 as soon as possible.
- Get your Bond with your Prefect to 100 as soon as possible.
- Get your Trust with your base city up to 100 as soon as possible.
- Always follow the suggestions made by your Prefect, Warlord, or Liege,
unless doing so will be absolutely detrimental to the well being of the city.
Your superiors will usually know what the best course of action for the city
is for the current situation. Even if their suggestion is a bit silly
(searching a city for talent that has already been searched, or trying to
recruit an Officer that has repeatedly refused), agree to do it anyway. It's
best to stay on their good side whenever possible.
- Keep making acquaintances with other Officers, even enemy Officers.
- Always try to suggest a task to your Prefect if you haven't been assigned
one for the month. Not only will this increase your experience, but your
Deeds and Fame as well.
- Try to train rather than tutor as much as possible, unless a particular
ability is dismally low. As an Officer you'll need skills now more than ever
before. Study and Zeal are a must have. If you're in a heavily contested
region, it would be a good idea to get combat skills such as Valor, Charge,
and Dash.
- Try to increase your abilities evenly if possible. Remember that the higher
your abilities, the less amount of experience you gain from training. If you
concentrate on WAR, you will be formidable in combat, but will be very
susceptible to Plots and Tactics. If you concentrate on INT, the opposite
will be true.
- If you have high WAR, you will usually be mobilized in the event of an
invasion (of your city or another one) or as reinforcements. You will also
usually be invited to annual tournaments your Liege holds in July. Officers
with high WAR are excellent at fortifying city defenses.
- If you have high INT, you will be often assigned as a Tactician in the
event of an invasion (of your city or another one). You will also usually be
invited to annual poetry contests your Liege holds in July. Officers with
high INT are excellent at increasing a city's technology level. If your INT
is high enough, you may even be appointed as Warlord.
- If you have high POL, your Prefect will often assign you duties every
month. Officers with high POL are excellent at increasing Safety, Commerce
and Land levels in a city. If your POL is high enough, you may be appointed
as a Prefect when the opportunity presents itself.
- If you have high CHA, you will most likely be asked to gather conscripts or
serve as an envoy to another Liege. Officers with high CHA are excellent at
conscripting and diplomatic functions.
For more details on being an Officer please refer to the "Life as an Officer"
section.
-------
Prefect
-------
Prefects are assigned by the Liege to run a certain province in the country.
They are made up of the cream of the crop from the Officers under the Liege,
and are frequently assigned the position when new cities are claimed during
invasions. A Prefect has complete control of the city and the officers in it,
but must follow the city's policy set by the Liege. If the policy is set to
Auto, then the Prefect is allowed to pretty much do as he or she sees fit.
The Prefect is often asked by the Liege to do certain tasks for the month. If
the city policy is not being followed, the Liege will demote the Prefect to
an Officer, no matter how well they were running the city.
Strengths: Same as Officer, only greater.
Weaknesses: Must follow policy set by the Liege.
-----------------------------
Tips for the aspiring Prefect
-----------------------------
- Get your Bond with your Liege to 100 if it isn't there already.
- Get your Trust with your city to 100 as soon as possible.
- Follow your city's Policy as much as possible if it isn't Auto. Remember
that increasing Safety can always be done regardless of Policy.
- Your Liege and Warlord may request that you perform tasks for them during
the month. While this may seem inconvenient while you are managing your city,
you should accept when requested to do so.
- Keep your city's Safety as high as possible.
- Check the budget of your city in the information screen when you become
Prefect. If Gold or Food income is shown as a negative value, work to correct
the problem as soon as possible. If you are on good relations with your
Liege, he may decide to help you out by sending shipments of Gold or Food.
- Use all your Officers for tasks each month. You can check the relevant
ability used by your Officers for the task in the command menu. It goes
without saying that the Officers with the highest abilities should be used
for those tasks. Even if an Officer doesn't contribute much to the task he
should be assigned anyway. Every little bit helps when it comes to developing
your city. If you don't have enough Gold to maximize Officer use each month,
increase your city's Commerce levels until you do.
- If you are seriously low on Officers for your city, try to recruit Ronin.
Ronin who have not previously served any Liege and have high POL are worth
their weight in gold when it comes to developing a city. Be sure to have a
Bond of 100 before trying to recruit them. Officers serving other Lieges are
not likely to be persuaded to join your city unless their LOY is dismally low
(70 or less).
- If your Policy is Auto, assign tasks that match the situation. If your city
is bordering an aggressive country, and you are just starting out, conscript
until your Officers have their maximum number of Troops, and Drill them
constantly. If you have strong Officers (WAR 80+) you might want to Forge a
Crossbow or Horse Arms for them if possible. If your city is remote from any
conflict, work on maximizing Commerce and Land values. Such cities are
perfect for supplying your Liege with Gold and Food for his campaigns.
- If your Policy is Offense, Conscript and Drill your Officers to maximum
levels. Give Crossbows and Horses to all your Officers if they don't already.
For your strong Officers you may want to consider giving them advanced arms
such as Armor and Harness for Calvary units, or even an Arbalest, Catapult,
or Tower if possible. This Policy is common in border cities.
- If your Policy is Defense, do the same tasks as you would if your Policy
was Offense. Don't bother fortifying your city until your Officers Troops and
Drill are all at maximum, and you've forged them the best weapons available.
- If your Policy is Tech, concentrate solely on increasing your Tech levels.
Increasing Tech doesn't drop Safety so you don't have to worry as you would
when conscripting Troops or working on domestics. Eventually your Liege will
change your city's policy once the city reaches a certain technology level.
This is a fairly rare Policy.
- If your Policy is Domestic, concentrate on increasing Commerce and Land. If
your city is experiencing a shortfall, work on correcting the problem area
first. Don't forget to increase Safety occasionally. This Policy is common in
cities deep within the Liege's territory.
For more details on being a Prefect please refer to the "Life as a Prefect"
section.
-------
Warlord
-------
Warlords are the personal advisors to the Liege himself, and as such they
have incredible powers of influence. By using this influence they can pretty
much do as they please, but constant use of their powers will reduce their
ability to influence others. A Warlord position is assigned only to the
greatest Officer or Prefect in the Liege's domain. Intelligence is a key
factor, but others are important as well. Because of their wisdom Warlords
are often asked for advice from their Liege as well as other Prefects. Giving
wise answers will increase a Warlord's influence, while giving bad advice
will reduce it.
Strengths: Ability to do as they please as long as they have Influence.
Weaknesses: Little power if their Influence runs out.
-----------------------------
Tips for the Aspiring Warlord
-----------------------------
- Don't request Personnel, Military, Domestic, or Plot commands unless you
really have to. Wait for your Liege or the Prefect to request them for you so
you don't have to use any IP.
- Always have IP available.
- Whenever your Liege receives a visit from an Imperial envoy, always agree
to their request no matter how outlandish it may be. In the long run having a
Liege with a high Title more than makes up for any inconveniences made by the
demands of the Emperor.
- Always support your Liege when the Officers request that he takes the title
of Archduke/King/Emperor.
- Agree to alliances with other countries often, particularly if the country
is a buffer between you and another large country, or if many aggressive
countries surround you. One allied country is one less country to worry about
for the time being.
- Remember that even if you send/receive Gold as a gift to/from another
Liege, that doesn't mean they will remain friendly. On the contrary, it seems
Lieges enjoy attacking the Liege that sent them the gift on the turn they
received it!
For more details on being a Warlord please refer to the "Life as a Warlord"
section.
-----
Liege
-----
Lieges control an entire an entire kingdom, whether made up of one province
or ten. Depending on their leadership they can be just and righteous rulers,
or bloodthirsty tyrants. Lieges have absolute control over every aspect of
their kingdom, but usually assign Prefects to manage the various provinces.
The life of a Liege is certainly the most rewarding, but also the most
challenging. Not only must you deal with challenges from outside of the
kingdom, but internal conflicts as well. The road to the unification of China
is not an easy one.
Strengths: Complete control of a kingdom.
Weaknesses: None
For more details on being a Liege please refer to the "Life as a Liege"
section.
--------------------
VII. Life as a Ronin
--------------------
"I shall pack up my few garments and my alms bowl and take to the road, vague
in my wanderings as the clouds in the sky."
- Transverse Peace to Guan Yu
Once you've decided your base of operations, one of the first steps you
should do is introduce yourself to the people around you. Chances are you've
started in a city with a Prefect or a Liege. If not, well, I guess you're
really not the social type and should skip to the part on improving yourself.
Send letters of introduction to the Prefect or Liege.
---------------
Social Commands
---------------
Social-Letter (10 AP)
-------------
Who can use: All
This social command sends a letter to another officer. If their Bond is 0, it
serves as an introduction between the two of you. If their Bond is 1 or
greater, it will increase their Bond. This command also increases the
Officer's CHA experience. If their bond is high enough, they may occasionally
send a reply back. Their Bond can only be increased to a maximum of 50 using
letters. The better the response the higher the Bond increase. Some possible
outcomes are as follows:
- Introduction: Officer learns about you for the first time.
- Interest 1: Officer shows some interest in you.
- Interest 2: Officer wants to share information if you come and visit.
- Remark: Officer remarks on your thinking.
- Reply 1: Officer writes a reply back thanking you.
- Reply 2: Officer writes a reply back saying he wants you to visit him.
Keep sending letters until they say something along the lines that it may be
worthwhile to meet with you. Then you should use the Social-Visit command. If
you are an Officer and want to visit an enemy Officer, you should wait until
they actually mention that they would like to meet you (Interest 2 or Reply
2).
Social-Visit (40 AP)
------------
Who can use: All
This social command lets you visit a person for a social call. This increases
their Bond more so than a letter. It also increases an Officer's CHA
experience. Occasionally they will introduce other Officers in their city to
you when you visit, increasing their Bond with you as well. If they have
expressed interest in you an event may occur among the following:
- Strategy: Officer shares a strategy for domestic affairs.
- Reconnaissance: Officer shares information on a city as if you had used the
Spy command on it.
- Hidden talent: Officer tells of a city that has hidden talent available.
- Officer information: Officer shares information on a certain officer.
- Hunting expedition: Officer offers to go hunting with you. Tiger encounter
may occur. Bond increases greatly after hunt.
- Visit site: Officer takes you to visit an exotic site. This is saved in the
Sites visited in the start menu. The city the Officer is in must have an
exotic site present.
- Healing: Officer heals you back to full health. Visited Officer must have
the Doctor skill.
- Critique: Officer critiques you, which raises your Fame. Visited Officer
must have the Critic skill.
- Donation: Officer gives you a gift of money. Visited Officer must have the
Wealth skill. Funds must be low
- Recruitment: Officer asks you to join his or her Liege.
- New skill: Officer teaches you a new skill.
- Tutoring: Officer tutors you as if you had requested them to.
- Life extension: Officer offers to extend your lifespan for gold. Visited
officer must have the Oracle skill.
- Party (non Ronin): Officer gets drunk. Occurs during January.
- Assassination (non Ronin): Officer lets his guard down, giving you a chance
to assassinate him. Note: This option occurs when your Bond with the Officer
is exactly at 42. This doesn't happen all the time, but it usually occurs.
Thanks to Ahjenta on the GameFAQs ROTTK7 message board for sharing that
information with us.
If your Bond is low you may be refused to visit the Officer. Also if an
Officer attempts to recruit you and you refuse, you will not be able to visit
the Officer again for a while. Note that Officers can visit other Officers
under their Liege anytime they wish, but it's a good idea to write a letter
to them first to introduce yourself, otherwise you will get a message saying
they are too busy to see you.
The main reason you want to increase your Bonds right now is to make as many
contacts as possible. If your abilities are high enough you may even be able
to join a Liege in the process. But most important is that the higher Bond
you have with an Officer, the more likely they will be willing to Tutor you.
If you want to get information about more people you can always try to find
them yourself.
-----------------
Personal Commands
-----------------
Personal-Spy (20 AP)
------------
Who can use: Ronin, Officer
This personal command allows you to obtain information about a city and its
current officers. The higher the character's INT the greater chance of
success. Characters with the Spy skill can learn about adjoining cities as
well. For countries not under your Liege, the information obtained on them
lasts for a period of months equal to the Spy Limit on that country.
Now that you've made some acquaintances, it's time to get to the business of
improving yourself. The higher your abilities, the more likely you are of
getting recruited by a Liege. Improving yourself can be done in many ways,
but as a Ronin your choices are limited. Using Social commands can raise your
CHA over time, but you're probably going to want to improve some other areas
as well.
Personal-Train (30 AP)
--------------
Who can use: All
This allows you to gain some experience in improving your abilities. When
experience reaches 100 in that ability, it is increased by 1. Having the
Study skill increases the effectiveness of this command. Occasionally you can
learn new skills using this command depending on the location of the city you
are at and which ability is being trained. The higher the ability value, the
lower the amount of experience gained using this command.
Training by yourself is good because it allows you to develop skills you
would normally not obtain from a tutor. However, there is the tradeoff that
raising abilities in this fashion is a rather lengthy process. A faster way
is to get tutoring from another Officer.
Personal-Tutor (30 AP)
--------------
Who can use: All
This allows you to gain experience in improving your abilities by studying
under an Officer. If the Officer's Bond is low you may be refused training.
The Officer must have a higher level of ability than you in the ability you
are training. Having the Study skill increases the effectiveness of this
command. The amount of experience gained is depended on the Officer's ability
level in the ability being trained.
The down side to tutoring is that you won't be able to learn new skills. But
at this point in your career improving your abilities should be the focus of
your attention. When you've trained hard enough you can try to join a Liege.
Personal-Enlist (20 AP)
---------------
Who can use: Ronin
This allows you to request to a Liege to join their service. The chance of
acceptance is dependent on the Liege's Bond level.
If you're successful, congratulations! You can move on to the "Life as an
Officer" section. If not, well, try to increase the Bond with that Liege. If
that still doesn't work then start building up your abilities.
If for some reason joining a Liege isn't in your foreseeable future, then you
might as well make yourself useful and patrol your city. The Patrol command
is hands down the most important command for the full time Ronin. Its
benefits are important for all characters, but since Ronin have very few
commands it's their bread and butter of their existence.
Personal-Patrol (30 AP)
---------------
Who can use: All
This allows you to patrol the city and talk to the people. During a patrol
several events can happen. Depending on your responses several things may
occur:
- People tell you of a rumor. Trust increases.
- People tell you information about another city. Trust increases.
- People request to be taught characters. If taught Trust increases.
- People request aid from bandits. If helped Trust and Fame increases. WAR
experience increases.
- People tell of a corrupt government official. If investigated Trust and
Fame increases.
- Peasant asks for money for food/medicine. If given Trust increases.
- People ask for your attendance at a festival. If attended Trust increases.
- People give you money as a reward. If accepted Money increases. If declined
Trust increases.
- People ask you for help from expensive shrine offerings. If shrines are
destroyed Trust increases.
- People ask you to pray for rain. If successful Trust increases as does
Fame. If failed Trust decreases. With Mystic skill is always successful.
- People present you with an item.
- People ask you to aid the sick. If successful, Trust increases.
- People ask to join your army (non Ronin). If accepted troops are added to
your unit. Trust increases.
Obviously the best outcomes for Ronin are getting money or items. Chances of
this occurring are highest when Trust is being increased. Trust in a city has
a maximum of 100, so when things are good in the city it's time to move on.
Wander-Move (50 AP)
-----------
Who can use: Ronin
This moves the Ronin to another city.
If you're really crazy you can try to take over the city you're currently in.
Personal-Coup (40 AP)
-------------
Who can use: Ronin, Officer, Warlord
This allows you to attempt a coup in the city you are in. If successful, you
become Liege of that city. If the city is where the Liege resides, you take
over his entire country. Officers with low loyalty and high Bond are likely
to join you. Officers not affected will attempt to suppress you. If Trust is
high and Safety is low, the people may support you. If you are unsuccessful
and are caught you will be executed. If you manage to flee, you become a
Ronin.
This is usually a bad idea unless the city itself is on the verge of
collapse. Even then it can be quite risky. A safer way to become a Liege
outright is to try to claim a free city.
Personal-Claim (40 AP)
--------------
Who can use: Ronin
This allows you to claim a free city and become its Liege. You can attempt to
enlist the Ronin of the city to become your officers. The success of
enlistment is based on the Liege's CHA ability and the Ronin's Bond level. If
the city's trust is high, the people may donate Food and Gold to you.
This is a much safer way to become a Liege. Unfortunately, your neighbors may
object to your presence and decide to make your rule woefully short. If this
is the case you had better start diplomatic relations with your nearest
neighbors as soon as possible. If you've taken a city away from a Liege, you
can expect some bad feelings from him and an army shortly thereafter (unless
you took over the Liege's own city). In either case, congratulations! You can
move on to the "Life as a Liege" section. Good luck!
------------------------
VIII. Life as an Officer
------------------------
"To serve one's chief with unswerving fidelity is a proof of the highest
principle of all."
- Cao Cao, on Guan Yu
The duty of an Officer is to serve the Prefect assigned to their city by
their Liege. Each month the Prefect (or Warlord/Liege were applicable) will
assign you a task based on the policy of the city. Accepting a request from a
Prefect will increase your Bond with him. While you can refuse to do a task,
doing so will decrease your Bond with the Prefect. If the Prefect does not
assign a task, you can suggest that you do one for him. If the task goes with
the policy of the city the Prefect will usually agree to it. If it does not,
or if your Bond with the Prefect is low, you will be refused. If this is the
case the Prefect will refuse all such requests of that type for the rest of
the month. An Officer can only perform one Military or Domestic command per
month. The primary reason to perform tasks each month is not only to follow
your Prefect's orders to improve the city, but to also increase your
abilities, Fame, and Deeds as well. One of the first things an Officer should
do in their city is use the Personal-Patrol command to build up their Trust
to 100. If the city has a high level of Trust for the Officer, the more
effective Domestic commands carried out by the officer will be.
If an Officer requests that a command be done, it will use up more AP than if
they were requested to do that action. The cost of requesting that action
increases by 10 AP for each Officer requested to participate in that action.
Officers can only be assigned to a request if they had not been previously
assigned a task for that turn, up to a maximum of ten Officers. Officers
assigned to the task will receive the benefits of the task as if they had
followed a request from the Prefect, and their Bond will increase. The cost
for a domestic task (except safety) is 10 Gold per Officer assigned to the
action. If you are assigned a task with an Officer who has a high Bond, the
effectiveness of the command is increased. Completing a task that you
requested increases your Fame and Deeds, as will completing one that was
requested of you. You do not receive Fame or Deeds if you request other
Officers to complete a task. The requests that can be made by an Officer are
as follows:
--------------------------
Military/Domestic Commands
--------------------------
Military-Drill (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
--------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
Note: Officers can only do this for their own Troops.
This raises the Drill level of the Officer's units. Units with high Drill do
more damage and move farther in battle. The higher the Officer's WAR and the
fewer Troops the unit has, the more effective this command will be. The
acting Officer's WAR experience will also increase.
Note: You can see your Troops training in the northwest corner of the city.
Domestic-Fortify (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
----------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
Note: Officers can only do this by themselves.
This raises the Defense of the city, increasing the strength of the city wall
during a siege. The higher the Officer's WAR and Trust, the more effective
this command will be. The acting Officer's WAR experience will also increase.
Note: You can see the workers fortifying the walls near the city gate. Also
as the Defense of the city increases, the walls will become larger.
Domestic-Tech (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
-------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This raises the Tech level of the city, allowing Officers to forge more types
of Arms. The higher the Officer's INT and Trust, the more effective this
command will be. The acting Officer's INT experience will also increase.
Domestic-Forge (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
--------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to forge a new Arm for an Officer, increasing the types of
units they can use in battle or increasing their effectiveness. The acting
Officer's INT experience will also increase.
Domestic-Safety (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
---------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This raises the Safety level of the city, which increases the city's
population each month, attracts merchants, and makes the city more resistant
to Plots such as Rumor or Destroy. The acting Officer's POL experience will
also increase.
Note: You can see the guards patrolling near the gate of the city.
Domestic-Commerce (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
-----------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
Note: Officers can only do this by themselves.
This raises the Commerce level of a city, increasing the amount of Gold
collected in January, April, July, and October, and increasing the chances of
merchants visiting the city. The city's Safety drops. The higher the
Officer's POL and Trust, the more effective this command will be. The acting
Officer's POL experience will also increase.
Note: You can see merchants at work west of the city.
Domestic-Cultivate (50 AP is commanding, 10 AP if acting)
------------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
Note: Officers can only do this by themselves.
This raises the Land level of a city, increasing the amount of Food harvested
in July. The city's Safety drops. The higher the Officer's POL and Trust, the
more effective this command will be. The acting Officer's POL experience will
also increase.
Note: You can see the farmers at work in the fields to the northwest of the
city.
After you have finished your task for the month, you can use your remaining
AP for Social or Personal commands. If you have established high Bonds with
other Officers, you may receive visits from them from time to time. In July
you may also be asked to participate in a poetry contest or martial arts
tournament, depending on your character's type. Your Prefect/Warlord/Liege
may also begin a march against a neighboring city, or your own city may be
invaded. For more details on these events see the "Military Strategy" and
"Art of War" sections below. As an Officer you will have little say in such
military matters, but you may be assigned to a Tactician position if you have
the highest INT of the Officers in the city.
There are some other commands an Officer can use during their turn.
-----------------------------------
Personnel/Finance/Personal Commands
-----------------------------------
Personnel-Move (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
--------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
Note: Officers can only move themselves. If a Prefect moves to another city,
they become an Officer.
This moves Officers to another city of your own country that is linked by
roads. Gold, Food, and Reserves can also be moved.
Personnel-Transport (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
-------------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This moves Gold, Food, and Reserves to another city of your own country that
is linked by roads. Occasionally goods will be stolen. The higher the acting
Officer's INT the less chance of goods being stolen. The higher the acting
Officer's WAR the smaller number of goods are stolen.
Plot-Defection
Plot-Rumor
Plot-Mole
Plot-Destroy
See "Military Strategy" for details on these war oriented activities.
Finance-Buy (20 AP)
-----------
Who can use: All
If a merchant is present in the city, you can buy Items from them. If the
Officer has the Trade skill, you receive discounts on Items.
Finance-Sell (20 AP)
------------
Who can use: All
If a merchant is present in the city, you can sell Items to them for money.
Finance-Donate (10 AP)
--------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This donates money from your funds to the city. Your Fame and Deeds will
increase based on the amount of money donated (except for Lieges). If you are
a Warlord your IP will increase.
Personal-Explore (40 AP)
----------------
Who can use: Ronin, Officer, Prefect, Warlord
This explores a city to search for undiscovered talent. The higher the acting
Officer's CHA, the more likely they are to find someone. Discovered Officers
are available to recruit using the Personal-Recruit command.
Personal-Recruit (40 AP)
----------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord
This suggests to your Liege that a Ronin or Officer of another country should
be hired. You can only recruit Officers you have a Bond of 1 or greater. The
lower the target's LOY, and the higher the acting Officer's CHA and Bond, the
greater chance of success.
Of these commands, your Prefect may ask you to transport goods, explore cites
for talent, or attempt to hire someone.
As you increase in Deeds, your Liege may decide to reward you by increasing
your Rank, Class, or Wages, or give you one of his personal Items. If you do
poorly or fail to follow your Prefect's orders you may be reduced in Rank or
even released from service. If your Class and Rank are high enough, you may
be promoted to a Prefect when a city is captured or an opening becomes
available. If that is the case, congratulations! You can now move to the
"Life as a Prefect" section. If you train hard enough and raise your INT to
high levels, you may even be promoted to Warlord if your ability exceeds that
of the current one. If that is the case, congratulations! You can now move on
to the "Life as a Warlord" section.
If by any chance you are dissatisfied with your Prefect/Warlord/Liege and
believe you can do better, but don't want to kowtow to your superiors and get
a position the old fashioned way, you can always try to pull off a coup as
described in the "Life as a Ronin" section. This will usually end up failing
unless your Liege owns only one or two countries in the first place, and his
domain is in total disarray to begin with. In which case you should seriously
question yourself for serving that Liege in the first place (unless you were
planning to take over all along, you sneaky devil you). If you're successful,
congratulations! You can move on to the "Life as a Liege" section. Otherwise
you can simply wait for your country to be overrun and join another Liege, or
just back your bags and get out while the going is good.
Personal-Resign (10 AP)
---------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This command allows you to leave your Liege's service and become a Ronin. You
will be stripped of your Class and Rank, and your Troops will enter the
city's reserves. If a Liege resigns, a successor will be chosen from the
remaining Officers. For Prefects and Lieges, the city's Trust drops.
Leaving a Liege before he is overrun has one major advantage: You keep
possession of all your Items. When the enemy captures you all of your Items
will be given to the enemy's Liege. If you have quite a bit of Items in your
possession and are in imminent danger of being captured when the enemy comes
a knocking on the capitol walls, it might be a good idea to skip town before
that happens. That might seem to be the dishonorable thing to do, especially
if all said Items were given to you by your Liege in the first place, but
all's fair in Items and war.
If you are captured as the result of a coup, well, sucks to be you. You can
expect to have your head removed from your neck shortly. If you are captured
as a result of battle or invasion, you will be most likely given an
opportunity to join the enemy Liege or die. If you accept, you will become an
Officer of that Liege at the lowest Class. If you refuse, you will either be
released or executed. If your Fame is low, the chances of being executed
increases. If your Fame is high the chances of release increases greatly. If
your Bond is high with that Liege, you will almost certainly be let go. Note
that the odds of an Officer joining a Liege when captured depends on their
Bond with that Liege and their LOY to their former Liege. If released, a
captured Officer becomes a Ronin and can attempt to reenlist with their
former Liege. A captured Liege with low Fame is most likely to be executed,
so keep that in mind if you try and take over a city.
---------------------
IX. Life as a Prefect
---------------------
"A very tiger of a leader! I must get him alive."
- Cao Cao, on Zhao Yun
Prefects are assigned to city by their Liege, and are responsible for
managing it and carrying out the city's policy. They have total command over
the Officers in the city, but are still under the direct command of the
Warlord and Liege. The Warlord/Liege can ask that a Prefect perform a task
for the month, but the Prefect can refuse the request if they choose to,
decreasing their Bond as a result. Prefects cannot refuse an order from the
Warlord/Liege to march on an enemy city, or to send reinforcements. A Prefect
can be relieved of duty and be demoted back to an Officer if they do not
follow the city policy. Other than that, Prefects are pretty much given
freedom to do as they see fit, as long as they do not go against their Liege.
The following are some policies that can be set by the Liege to a city.
-------------
City Policies
-------------
- Offense: The Prefect should prepare to march on another city. Troops should
be conscripted and units drilled. Arms should be forged for the Officers. If
necessary, technology should be researched.
- Defense: The Prefect should prepare for invasions from bordering cities.
Troops should be conscripted and units drilled. Arms should be forged for the
Officers. The walls should be fortified against attack. If necessary,
technology should be researched.
- Domestic: The Prefect should concentrate on domestic affairs in the city.
Commerce should be encouraged, as should cultivation of the land. Safety
should also be increased.
- Tech: Technology should be researched in the city. If possible, new Arms
should be forged for the Officers.
- Auto: The Prefect can act as they see fit.
Each month the Prefect must decide which Officers should do what duties as
dictated by the city's policy. Unlike Officer commands, Prefects can assign
as many Officers to a task as they want. An Officer can only perform one task
per month, and will be unavailable for other tasks until the next month.
When you first start out in your city, check the budget of the city in the
city menu. If either the Gold or Food output shows a negative value, start
working on Commerce or Cultivation as soon as possible to correct the
problem. Also just because a policy is set to Auto doesn't mean you should do
exactly what you feel like doing. If the city is in rather poor condition, it
would be a wise idea to concentrate on building up Commerce or Cultivation.
If you are bordering an enemy city, and that city's Liege is very aggressive,
you may want to Conscript and Drill a few times to discourage invasion.
Becoming a Prefect allows you to issue Diplomacy commands from the following:
------------------
Diplomacy Commands
------------------
Diplomacy-Envoy (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
---------------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to send an envoy to another Liege to increase their Relation
with your country by giving them a gift of Gold. A higher level of Relation
makes it difficult for other countries to attack you. It also increases the
chances of them accepting proposals for alliance and joint attacks. Over 1000
gold is required. The higher the envoy's POL and the greater the amount of
Gold given, the higher the increase in Relation.
Diplomacy-Treaty (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
----------------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to join in alliance with another country. Allied countries
cannot attack you, nor can you attack them. Over 1000 gold is required. If an
alliance is already in place, this will extend the period of the alliance.
The higher the envoy's POL, the Relation between the two countries, the Bond
between the Lieges, and the amount of Gold given, the greater chance of
success.
Diplomacy-Joint
---------------
See Military Strategy for details.
Diplomacy-Annex (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
---------------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to suggest to another country to surrender to you, adding
their cities and Officers to your own country. The higher the envoy's POL and
the Bond with the target country's Liege, and the greater the number of
cities, Officers, and Troops in your country, the higher the chance of
success. Countries with low Relations will refuse to be annexed.
Diplomacy-Annul (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
---------------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to annul a treaty with another country. Relations between the
two countries drop. The LOY of your Officers may drop as well.
Diplomacy-Audience (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
------------------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to donate Gold to the Imperial Court and raise your favor
with the Emperor. The higher the Liege's Imperial Favor, the more likely the
Emperor will raise the title of that Liege. Requires at least 1000 Gold. The
higher the envoy's POL and the more Gold donated, the higher the Favor
increases. This command has a greater effect if the Han Emperor is within
your territory.
Prefects also have access to new Military commands such as the following:
---------------------------------------
Prefect/Warlord/Liege Military Commands
---------------------------------------
Military-March (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
--------------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to attack another country's city or a free city. If the
Prefect or Liege goes on the march, they become the Commanding Officer. If at
least two Officers are in the army, a Tactician can be selected. Unit types
can be selected only from the Officer's available Arms. Food is taken from
the city for the army. If a country has a city connecting to the target city
you may ask for reinforcements. If the city does not have Prefect, they can
only send reinforcements if their city is connected to the city of their
Liege. A Liege or a Prefect cannot join reinforcements.
Military-Conscript (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
------------------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to conscript soldiers from the population and distribute them
to units in the city. You can also organize Troop distribution without
conscripting as well. Each 10 men you draft costs 1 Gold and 1 Food. You can
only draft once a month. The city's Population is reduced by the amount of
Troops conscripted. Safety also drops. The higher the acting Officer's CHA
and Trust, the more conscripts can be drafted. The Officer's Class determines
the number of maximum Troop size for a unit. Any excess Troops drafted are
added to the city's Reserves. The acting Officer's CHA experience will also
increase.
Military-Buy (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
------------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to purchase Food from a merchant if one is available. If you
have the Trade skill, you get a discount. The acting Officer's CHA experience
will also increase.
Military-Sell (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
-------------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to sell Food to a merchant if one is available. The acting
Officer's CHA experience will also increase.
Some exclusive Personal commands are available for Prefects, both of a
dishonorable nature:
-------------------------
Prefect Personal Commands
-------------------------
Personal-Revolt (40 AP)
---------------
Who can use: Prefect
This allows you to raise a rebellion in your city and form your own country.
You can invite Ronin to join you that have a Bond of 1 or higher. The higher
the Officer's CHA and Bond the greater the chances of Ronin joining you.
Officers with low LOY may also join you. The higher the acting Officer's CHA
and Bond with the Officer, the more likely they are to join you. Officers who
do not join you will move to another city in that country.
Personal-Betray (30 AP)
---------------
Who can use: Prefect
This allows you to betray your Liege and offer your city to another Liege. If
the Liege is allied with the Officer's Liege and their Relation is high, the
Liege may refuse. Other Officers may join the betraying Officer if their LOY
is low and the Officer's CHA and Bond is high. Officers that do not join you
will move to another city in that country.
If you mange to stage a revolt successfully, congratulations! You can move on
to the "Life as a Liege" section. If during your tenure as Prefect you manage
to train your INT to a level greater than the current Warlord's INT, you may
be asked by your Liege to take over his position. If so, congratulations! You
can now move on to the "Life as a Warlord" section.
--------------------
X. Life as a Warlord
--------------------
"Do you think Ma Su is clever?"
"He is one of the ablest people in the empire."
"I do not think so. I think his words exceed his deeds."
- Liu Bei to Zhuge Liang
---------------------
Influence Points (IP)
---------------------
The Warlord is the right hand man (or woman) of a Liege. They are selected
from only the most intelligent of the country's Officers and Prefects. Second
only to the Liege in power, the Warlord can issue orders to all of the
Officers and Prefects in the country and cannot be disobeyed. The Warlord can
even influence the Liege himself into taking certain courses of action. While
this gives the Warlord a great deal of power, it can over time lessen his
influence over a period of time. A clever Warlord must ensure that he has
enough influence so he can advise the Liege to the proper course of action at
all times. The amount of influence a Warlord has is indicated by his
Influence Points (IP), which is used in addition to AP whenever requests are
made to other Officers.
Whenever a Warlord makes a request, whether it is Personnel, Diplomatic,
Military, or Commerce in nature, IP is used. If a Warlord runs out of IP they
can no longer issue orders until they regain more IP. IP can also be used to
influence the Liege when making decisions such as whether to accept
enlistment from a Ronin, or accepting requests from envoys. IP is essential
to a Warlord's powers, and they should have adequate IP available to ensure
that their Liege makes the correct decisions in any situation. A Warlord
without IP is truly a viper without venom.
IP is regained primarily whenever the Warlord increases his Deeds. Warlords
gain Deeds by performing commands given to him by the Liege/Prefect, by
attaining large amounts of Glory in battle, or by winning contests. Donating
personal funds to the city also increases Deeds.
-----------------------
Advice On Giving Advice
-----------------------
The best way to gain IP is to give correct advice to the Prefect or Liege.
Occasionally the Prefect/Liege will ask a question of the Warlord pertaining
to the disposition of certain characters, or who is better suited for a task.
Answering the question to their satisfaction will gain you a large amount of
IP. If they disagree, you gain no IP. Your ability to answer these questions
depends on how well you know the Officers in your Liege's country. If there
is an Officer famous for a certain trait, the question certainly becomes
easier. If you have no idea about the personalities the Officers listed, then
it becomes a bit of a crapshoot. If you get an answer incorrect, try to
remember the Officer's name in case they ask the same question again a later
time. Some advice on giving advice follows:
- Officers who are loyal, brave, and reliable are usually the most famous
generals such as Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, Xiahou Dun, and the like. These Officers
are prime candidates for Prefect positions as well.
- Officers who should perform recruitment, conscripting, or diplomacy should
be wise and charismatic such as Zhuge Liang or Sima Yi. Note that characters
that are related to each other or have high Bonds should be used for
recruitment, such as Ma Dai for recruiting Ma Chao.
- Officers who are temperamental and easily riled by the enemy have famous
tempers such as Zhang Fei and Xu Zhu.
- Officers who are unreliable, greedy, or self-serving have low LOY or CHA.
Lu Bu comes to mind.
- Officers who should fortify should have high WAR.
- Officers who should improve technology should have high INT.
Because a Warlord's Turn precedes that of the Prefect, the Prefect cannot
request tasks for the Warlord unless the Warlord is available and has enough
AP available to do the task after his turn. A Warlord can request tasks for
himself during his turn, but the IP used to request the action will negate
the Deeds earned for the action. If a Warlord performs a task requested of
him by the Prefect/Liege, he will gain Deeds without having to expend IP
points for the action. If you are low on IP it may be wise to end your turn
without having made any requests and have some AP remaining, so that you can
be available if the Prefect/Liege needs your skills.
New Personnel commands are available to the Warlord. Note that a Warlord
cannot perform Personnel or Diplomacy commands if his city is cut off from
his Liege's city.
--------------------------------
Warlord/Liege Personnel Commands
--------------------------------
Personnel-Hire (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
--------------
Who can use: Warlord, Liege
This allows you to invite a Ronin or an Officer of another country to serve
you. You can hire Ronin in your base city, Officers in other cities you have
information on, or any Officer you have a Bond greater than 1 other than a
Liege. The higher the acting Officer's CHA and Bond, and the lower the target
Officer's LOY, the greater chance of them joining you.
Personnel-Search (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
----------------
Who can use: Warlord, Liege
This allows you to search for hidden Ronin in your base city. If any are
found a hire attempt will be made. The higher the acting Officer's CHA the
higher the chance of them joining you.
Personnel-Summon (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
----------------
Who can use: Warlord, Liege
This allows you to summon Officers from cities of your own country that are
linked. You can move Gold, Food, Reserves as well. Summoning a Prefect to a
city with a Liege or Prefect will change that Prefect's status to Officer.
-------------
Giving Advice
-------------
From time to time you will be asked for advice on certain matters, either by
the Prefect or the Liege himself. Some examples follow:
Opinion on Officers: The Prefect/Liege will ask about the disposition of
certain Officers.
Opinion on Tasks: The Prefect/Liege will ask who is best suited for a
particular task.
Opinion on Policy: The Liege will ask you what the policy of a certain city
should be. Offense is usually the correct answer.
Opinion of Prefect Candidates: The Liege will ask you which Officer is most
suited for a Prefect position.
Opinion on Attack: The Prefect/Liege will ask which city to attack next.
Evaluation of Enlisting Ronin: All Ronin who attempt to enlist with a Liege
are evaluated by the Warlord first. You can either accept or refuse a Ronin
(both costs 100 IP) or let the Liege decide personally. If a Ronin has great
abilities in one area (or many), or is well known (you know that person well
from the novel, or he is listed in the Dynasty Warriors section), it is a
good idea to accept. If the Ronin has dismal abilities (and I mean dismal) it
is a good idea to refuse. If the Ronin has average abilities and you can't
make up your mind, you should let the Liege decide. Unfortunately, some
rejected Ronins refuse to get the message and will pester you continuously to
accept them. If refusing them constantly is draining your IP it may be a good
idea to the Liege decide instead.
---------------
Attending Court
---------------
When attending the Liege's court you may be called upon for advice in special
situations. Some examples include the following:
Meeting Envoys: Whenever another country sends an envoy, you must attend your
Liege's court. The envoy will give a gift of Gold to your Liege, and the
Relation between your two countries will increase. Ad infinitum. This happens
quite frequently in the game, especially if your Liege controls a rather
large country. And no, you can't refuse to attend court. One of the few
annoying perks of being a Warlord.
Diplomatic Advice: If an envoy from another country requests an alliance with
your Liege, or joint attack on another country, you will be asked your
opinion on the matter. If you wish you can either accept or refuse the
proposal (both costs 100 IP). You should always refuse a joint attack against
an allied country.
Imperial Envoys: If your Liege's Imperial Relation is high enough, the
Emperor will send an envoy to your Liege, usually with a request in mind.
Such requests include donating Gold, Food, or Items to the Imperial treasury,
making alliances with another country, raising an Officer's wages, giving up
a Title, finding a shrubbery, constructing a Death Star, or whatever inane
fancy strikes the Emperor at the current moment. You can, of course,
influence your Liege to accept or decline (both costs 100 IP). Refusal gets
you nothing except the satisfaction of putting the Emperor in his place.
Accepting gets your Liege a higher Title from the Emperor himself. The higher
the Title of your Liege, the higher Ranks he can assign to your Officers
(including yourself). So no matter how outrageous the Emperor's requests, it
is in your best interest to accept, unless doing so will seriously put your
country in jeopardy.
----------------
Obtaining Titles
----------------
One of the most important tasks of the Warlord is to increase their Liege's
Title. If your Liege's Title is high enough (i.e. Prime Minister), and his
Fame great enough, the Officers under your Liege may request that he accept
an even higher Title such as Archduke, King, or even Emperor. Of course, you
can also influence his decision (costs 100 IP either way). As to why you
wouldn't support your Liege in this manner is beyond me, but if you do your
Liege will accept the new Title and become Archduke/King/Emperor of his
country. Having your Liege accept the Title of King/Emperor usually sets off
a wave of copycats from the other countries, and before you know it there are
Kings/Emperors everywhere. Note that if your Liege controls the Han Emperor
within his territory when he declares himself Emperor, the old Emperor will
abdicate his position. No more Imperial visits. Woo hoo! Note that there is a
glitch in the game here when you make your decision. The current amount of IP
listed for you is around over 6 million! Either that's a bug or you must have
the influence of the entire country behind you.
It is possible to obtain Titles up to Prime Minster simply by increasing your
Imperial Favor to certain levels. However, the Titles of Archduke and above
can only be obtained in certain situations. Here's a listing of the
requirements for obtaining the highest Titles. Note that if Emperor Xian
abdicates, control of the Emperor is no longer necessary for the Titles that
require it. A Liege must have a minimum of five Officers to obtain these
Titles.
Title: Archduke
Fame Required: 16,000
Title Required: Prime Minister
Control Emperor: Yes
Imp Favor Required: 200
Title: King (bestowed by Emperor Xian)
Fame Required: 18,000
Title Required: Archduke
Control Emperor: Yes
Imp Favor Required: 230
Title: King (self declared)
Fame Required: 18,000
Title Required: Prime Minister or lower
Control Emperor: Yes
Imp Favor Required: None
Note: Requires that another Liege is already a King or Emperor.
Title: Emperor (via abdication of Emperor Xian)
Fame Required: 20,000
Title Required: King
Control Emperor: Yes
Imp Favor Required: 250
Note: Obviously Emperor Xian cannot have previously abdicated for this to
occur.
Title: Emperor (self declared)
Fame Required: 20,000
Title Required: King
Control Emperor: No
Imp Favor Required: None
Note: Emperor Xian must have abdicated.
Title: Emperor (non Kings)
Fame Required: 20,000
Title Required: Archduke or lower
Control Emperor: No
Imp Favor Required: None
Note: Requires control of 35 cities (30 with the Imperial Seal). Emperor Xian
must have less than ten Lieges with Imperial Titles.
-----------------------
Determining a Successor
-----------------------
The other important task of the Warlord is to determine the successor of a
Liege when they die. Five of the greatest Officers under the former Liege
(including yourself) will cast one vote on who should be the next Liege. If a
relative of the former Liege is still alive, chances are good that they will
be nominated unanimously. If there are no relatives left, a capable successor
is selected from the ranks of the Officers available. This includes you. If
you receive at least two votes, you can automatically become the successor if
you place a vote for yourself. If this is the case, congratulations! Your
hard work has paid off and you are now the new Liege of the kingdom. You can
now move on to the "Life as a Liege" section.
-------------------
XI. Life as a Liege
-------------------
"The Hans are sinking: Designing ministers steal away their authority. I am
weak, yet I desire to restore the state to its right mind. But my ignorance
is too vast, my means are too slender, and I know not where to turn."
- Liu Bei to Zhuge Liang
Lieges are the rulers of a country, and as such have complete power over
their subjects. A Liege must have a wise Warlord to advice him, talented
Prefects to manage his cities, and loyal Officers to defend his kingdom. The
life of a Liege can be most difficult, but also the most rewarding. A Liege
can come to power violently either as a Ronin claiming a free city, an
Officer or Warlord staging a coup, or as a Prefect leading a revolt. Or they
can become one via natural means by being named successor to a previous one.
In either case, total control of the country lies in the hands of the Liege.
Being a Liege is similar to being a Prefect or Warlord, except that you can
issue orders to everyone and expect them to be followed to the letter. The
Warlord can refuse an order, but this rarely happens. A Liege has access to
several exclusive ruler commands. Using them effectively is the key to being
a successful Liege.
First off you need to decide on your Warlord and Prefects. A Warlord should
have the highest INT out of all your subjects, but other abilities are
important as well. Prefects should be assigned based on overall abilities,
with POL being the most important. Remember that coups are not unheard of so
LOY is also an important factor.
--------------
Ruler Commands
--------------
Ruler-Warlord (10 AP)
-------------
Who can use: Liege
This appoints an Officer to the position of Warlord. Warlords advise the
Liege concerning his commands. The selected Officer's LOY increases. If an
Officer is relieved of the Warlord position, his LOY decreases.
Warlords are usually selected for their INT and LOY values.
Ruler-Prefect (10 AP)
-------------
Who can use: Liege
This appoints an Officer to the position of Prefect. Prefects govern a city
on behalf of their Liege. Only one Prefect can be assigned to a city.
Prefects can only be selected from Officers that are able to move to the
city. If the Prefect moves to another city, or if his Liege moves to his
city, he becomes an Officer. If the Prefect is relieved of his position his
LOY drops. An Officer's LOY will not decrease if he loses this position as
the result of movement.
Prefects are usually selected for their POL and LOY values.
After assigning your Warlord and Prefects, you should assign policies to the
various cities under your control.
Ruler-Council (10 AP)
-------------
Who can use: Liege
This calls a council to determine the policy of each city. For all policies
except Idle, the Prefect will govern the city on behalf of the Liege. If the
city of the Prefect is linked to the city of the Liege, the Liege can still
issue orders directly to the city even if a policy has been assigned.
The type of policy to assign to a city should be based on the current
conditions. If you are unsure of which policy to set, use the Auto policy. If
you want your Prefects to aggressively attack neighboring cities, use the
Offense policy. If you want to secure a border with another city, use the
Defense policy. If you want to increase the productivity of a city, use the
domestic policy. You can assign policies to individual cities, to all border
cities, or to all cities with your border.
To ensure high LOY among his Officers, a Liege should use the following ruler
commands to reward exceptional service:
Ruler-Wages (10 AP)
-----------
Who can use: Liege
This allows you to raise the Wages of your Officers. This will also increase
their LOY. If a city does not have enough Gold to pay their Wages, the
Officer's LOY will decrease.
Ruler-Rank (10 AP)
----------
Who can use: Liege
This allows you to appoint an Officer to a Rank. Only a Liege with a Title
can appoint Ranks. The Ranks available to appoint depend on the Title of the
Liege. Officers who are appointed to a Rank or promoted have their LOY
increased, as well as additional TP to use in battle. Officers who are
stripped of Rank or demoted lose LOY and have less TP to use in battle.
Be sure to update the Ranks of your Officers when you obtain a new Title.
Most Lieges will want to give their Warlord the highest Rank available, and
assign the remaining Ranks on the basic of WAR and INT ability.
Ruler-Reward (10 AP)
------------
Who can use: Liege
This allows you to give one of your personal Items to an Officer as a reward.
The Officer's LOY increases, and they gain all benefits of the Item.
For those Officers whose words exceed their deeds, the following commands can
be used:
Ruler-Seize (10 AP)
-----------
Who can use: Liege
This allows you to take an Item away from an Officer. The Officer's LOY
decreases, and they lose all benefits of that Item.
Ruler-Release (10 AP)
-------------
Who can use: Liege
This allows you to release an Officer from service. The Officer becomes a
Ronin, and his Troops join the city's Reserves.
As a general rule of thumb, you should reward Officers that perform well
greater Rank and higher Wages. For those who perform exceptionally well you
may want to give them an Item. When a new city becomes available, assign a
new Prefect as soon as possible from your most capable Officers. Do not give
Officers high positions if their LOY are low, as they are most likely to
betray you and join your enemies.
------------
Liege Advice
------------
The following are additional advice for aspiring rulers:
- Unlike computer controlled Lieges, you can ignore advice that your Warlord
gives you during diplomatic meetings. You can also refuse any requests made
by the Warlord. If your Warlord gives advice you deem is bad, do not hesitate
to ignore him.
- Don't be a Yuan Shao. Listen to your Warlord and Prefects. Unless doing so
would seriously jeopardize your country, approve the requests of your Warlord
and Prefects when they ask to do certain tasks. The Prefects serve as your
eyes and ears and usually know what's going on in their cities better than
you do.
- Hire Ronin as much as possible.
- Hire Officers as much as possible.
- If you want to gain higher Titles, be sure to use the Diplomacy-Audience
command frequently and increase your Imperial Favor. Make sure the Officer
doing so has a high POL or your Imperial Favor will barely increase. The
maximum favor you can obtain from one visit (with POL 110 and a donation of
10,000 Gold) is 22.
- If a city is low on Gold or Food, be sure to use the Personnel-Transport
command to send goods there from more prosperous cities. Be sure the acting
Officer has high INT or you may lose quite a bit of goods. Most Prefects will
ask to transport goods for you.
- Cities on the borders of other countries should have their policies set
depending on how strong and aggressive they are. If the country is weak but
aggressive, Offense is a good choice to quell their attacks. If the country
is very strong and aggressive, Defense may be a better choice. If the country
is passive or allied, Auto is the best choice.
- Cities safely within your country should always be set to Domestic policy.
These cities will be the primary supply lines for your war effort.
- When planning to invade other cities, be sure to have a have an Officer
ready to appoint as Prefect when you take over. Also be sure to have strong
Officers available to station there in case the enemy decides to try to take
back the city in the following months. Do not rely on Officers that have
surrendered, as they will most likely defect shortly after your occupation.
- When facing a country with superior forces, make use of the Diplomacy-Envoy
with the other countries nearby. The last thing you need is to be fighting
each other while the mega kingdom crushes each of you one at a time. If
possible try to arrange a joint attack with another country. If you're going
up against impossible odds, you need all the help you can get.
- Keep an adequate garrison force in border cities when you invade an enemy
city. If you use too much Officers from your base city in the attack, you are
almost guaranteed a counter attack against that city when your forces are
away.
- Lieges get all the Items from Officers that are captured in battle. Don't
be a treasure hoarder and keep all of them to yourself. Give excess Items to
your Prefects or Officers that have considerable skill. Doing so increases
not only their abilities, but also their loyalty.
- Unless an Officer's LOY is 90+, there is always a chance that they will
defect to another Liege. If you want to ensure that Officers are loyal, make
sure their Bond with you is at 100 before you try to recruit them. Ronins are
much easier to recruit than Officers so start bonding with them early when
you find one with great talent.
- Remember that Lieges can no longer use the Explore command to search for
hidden Ronin.
- Lieges can only move Officers to other cities if they are present in their
current city. Use the Summon command to move an Officer to your city, and
then use the Move command on the next turn.
- Executing problematic enemy Officers may save you a lot of grief down the
road, but it will definitely affect your ending in a negative way if you are
constantly executing people.
- Hold Poetry contests or Tournaments whenever possible.
----------------------
XII. Military Strategy
----------------------
"This Guan Yu lacks neither cunning nor valor. You are to be most cautious in
engaging him. If you can conquer, then conquer; but if there be any doubt,
remain on the defensive."
- Cao Cao to Pang De
-----------------
Offensive Battles
-----------------
A Prefect, Warlord, or Liege can give an order to march on a nearby city to
attempt to occupy it in an offensive attack. An attack force is made up of
three parts: Commanding Officer, Tactician, and Officers.
Commanding Officer (CO)
This is the Officer who has ordered the march. The CO is responsible for
assigning the type of arms to be used by each unit in the attack. If the CO
is the Liege himself and is defeated or retreats, the battle immediately
ends. The CO should have high WAR and INT values, as they will be leading the
offensive and therefore be taking the brunt of the enemy's attacks. If you
are the CO, you will control all the units in the battle yourself unless you
use the Auto command, in which you can choose to have units controlled
automatically. I would highly recommend manually controlling your units if
the battle is an important one. The CO is the one who approves the Strategy
of the Tactician and his selection of Ploys. If the CO disagrees with the
Tactician he can make changes to them. If the Tactician is not available
certain Ploys cannot be used during sieges.
Tactician (TA)
The TA is responsible for determining the strategy to be used in the battle.
There are four types of strategy: Penetrate, Flank Left, Flank Right, and
Surround. The effectiveness of each strategy is dependent on the number of
troops in the battle and the geography of the battlefield.
- Penetrate: Attempt to occupy all enemy outposts en route towards the enemy
HQ. Morale effect: +/- 40
- Flank Left: Attempt to occupy all enemy outposts to the left en route to
the enemy HQ. Morale effect: +/- 60
- Flank Right: Attempt to occupy all enemy outposts to the right en route to
the enemy HQ. Morale effect: +/- 60
- Surround: Attempt to occupy all enemy outposts surrounding the enemy HQ.
Morale effect: +/- 80
For each strategy (other than surround) occupying the enemy HQ after
completing the other objectives will result in an increase of your army's
morale and a decrease in the enemy's morale. The exact gain/loss depends on
the Strategy completed. If the strategy is not completed in a certain amount
of days (indicated by Strategy on screen), the effects are reduced. If you're
having trouble remember which outposts you're supposed to occupy, they are
indicated with a gold mark on the flags. Note that you can complete a
strategy other than the one planned if you occupy the relevant outposts
during the battle.
The TA is also responsible for the use of Ploys during the battle. The TA
before the battle selects the Ploys that he will use. The TA will brief the
army on the reconnaissance gathered on the enemy. If the TA has a high enough
INT, the enemy army's CO and TA will be revealed, as will any possible
reinforcements they may have. The number of traps on the field may also be
revealed. If the TA is really good, the Strategy of the enemy army may be
revealed. The TA should have a high INT value, as this will increase the
amount of information gathered on the enemy as well as increasing the
effectiveness of Ploys. If you are the TA, you will be responsible for
determining the strategy for the battle, as well as the selection of Ploys to
be used.
My personal recommendations for the TA are as follows:
- If you have only a few units and no reinforcements, Penetrate is usually
the best option. Trying to maneuver around or surround the enemy will only
thin your forces out making them easy targets for attacks.
- If you have a large number of units and no reinforcements, Surround can be
more effective since you can hit the enemy from all sides. If the enemy is
large and/or expecting reinforcements, Penetrate may be a better option.
- If the enemy is defending a central area with limited approaches (such as a
mountain pass), a Flank strategy may be in order, as sending all your troops
through the center will only end up stalling your advance.
- If you have a large number of units and a large number of reinforcements,
and the reinforcements are arriving to the side of the enemy HQ, try to Flank
in their direction so you can meet up with them in a coordinated attack
against the enemy.
- If you are expecting reinforcements, always choose at least one Rush Ploy,
and use it as soon as the battle begins. Having your backup arrive one turn
sooner can make or break an attack. If your reinforcements are 4 or more days
away, or if you really need those reinforcements, having 2 or more Rush Ploys
is a good idea in case the first one fails. The only exception to this rule
is if the reinforcements are pitifully small, in which case having them come
on the first turn isn't going to do much except buy you some time. If the
reinforcements are large and coming from behind the enemy, you might want to
wait for them to arrive so that you can trap the enemy in a pincer movement.
- The most powerful Ploy in the game is Rumor. If your TA has an INT of 100
or higher, you can sometimes win battles without even fighting by making the
Commanding Officer retreat (Sun Tzu would be proud!). Sometimes you can end
the battle in the first round! If your TA has high INT I would wholeheartedly
recommend choosing one Rush (if you have reinforcements coming) and spending
all your remaining SP on Rumor. Rumor doesn't work all the time, but when it
does it can certainly make your life easier, if not turn the entire tide of
battle around. Even if a unit resists Rumor the first time, they may be
affected on another try. Most of the strongest Officers in the game (WAR 90+)
have low INT scores, making them very vulnerable to this Ploy. Just remember
that the enemy TA can use this Ploy as well. You will cackle with glee when
you send your enemies scurrying away, but will curse their name when they do
the same to you. Be aware though that units driven away by rumor can still
defend the city during a siege. Then again it may be much easier to destroy
the city's walls than to destroy each enemy unit one at a time.
Officers
The Officers compose the main offensive force. Their duty is to carry out the
strategy assigned by the TA. The Officers should have high WAR values, but
high INT values will prove just as valuable as this will increase their
resistance to enemy Ploys and Tactics. The most valuable skills for Officers
in battle are Charge, Valor, and Reversal. If you are an Officer, your main
duty is to carry out the strategy assigned by the TA, and backup your fellow
Officers by joining your attacks or supporting them with Tactics. Up to ten
Officers can be assigned to an attack force.
--------------------
Preparing for Attack
--------------------
It may be a good idea to use the Spy command on the target city in advance to
see how many officers are present, the arms used by their units, the number
of troops stationed there, and the strength of their defensive wall. If
you're outnumbered 2 to 1 you may want to increase the number of officers in
the attack. If they have heavy units such as Horses and Calvary and you have
Foot, it would be wise to forge better arms if at all possible. If their
Defense is high, you might consider trying to use the Destroy Plot a few
times. Planting a Mole in their army or attempting to get an Officer to
defect in battle are also some possible options.
-------------
Plot Commands
-------------
Plot-Spy (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
--------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
Like the Personal-Spy command, this allows you to obtain information on a
city and the Officers stationed there. Effectiveness is based on the acting
Officer's INT and Trust. If the Officer has the Spy skill, information on
adjacent cities may be obtained.
Plot-Defection (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
--------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
Note: Officers can only do this by themselves.
This allows you to convince an enemy Officer to defect to your side. If
successful, the Officer will defect to your side during a battle if you
attack their city within 6 months. Otherwise this effect is cancelled. The
chance of success increases if the acting Officer's INT is high, and the
target Officer's LOY is low and Bond is high. The Tactics-Defect command must
be used on the target Officer in battle.
Plot-Rumor (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
----------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
Note: Officers can only do this by themselves.
This allows you to spread a rumor in the target city, reducing its Safety
level. The LOY of the officers in the city may drop as well. The chance of
success increases if the acting Officer's INT and Trust of the target city
are high, and the Safety of the target city is low. Enemy Officers are
effected depending on their INT.
Plot-Mole (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
---------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
Note: Officers can only do this by themselves.
This allows you to send a mole to infiltrate an enemy Officer's unit. If
successful, the Officer's unit can be confused during battle. The battle must
occur within 6 months or the mole will return. The chance of success
increases if the acting Officer's INT is high and the target Officer's INT is
low. The Tactics-Mole command must be used on the target Officer in battle.
Plot-Destroy (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
------------
Who can use: Officer, Prefect, Warlord, Liege
Note: Officers can only do this by themselves.
This allows you to destroy the wall of an enemy city reducing its Defense.
The chance of success increases if the acting Officer's INT and Trust of the
target city is high, and the city's Safety is low.
If the enemy is really strong, you may want to request a joint attack with a
neighboring country.
Diplomacy-Joint (50 AP if commanding, 10 AP if acting)
---------------
Who can use: Prefect, Warlord, Liege
This allows you to propose a joint attack on a city with a nearby allied
country. If successful, the allied country will send reinforcements when you
attack that city. 1000+ Gold is required as a gift. The chance of success
increases if the envoy's POL is high, the relations between the two countries
are high, the Bond between the Liege and envoy are high, and the more Gold
offered. If the target country is allied to the allied country, they will
refuse the proposal.
Before you attack make sure your unit's troop numbers are at maximum, their
Drill levels are at maximum, and you have the best arms available. If another
one of your cities is adjacent to the target city, you may request that
reinforcements be sent from there. Cities with offensive policies make the
best staging grounds for offensive attacks so keep that in mind. When
deciding on a Tactician to bring along, make sure they have the highest INT
available. You can march on a city without a Tactician, but you won't be able
to use strategies or Ploys in the battle without one. Also the route taken to
the target city will affect your initial army morale, so be sure to take that
into consideration. Marching long distances over rough terrain will have an
adverse effect on your army.
-----------------
Defensive Battles
-----------------
When your city is attacked, you will automatically begin a defensive battle.
Defensive battles are similar to offensive battles. Before the battle begins
the Tactician will determine the strategy to be used for the battle. The
possible strategies are Field, Ambush, and Siege.
- Field: The defensive army will meet the attacking army on the field in
battle.
- Ambush: The defensive army will attempt to set up an ambush for the
attacking army. This strategy has a very low chance of success. If
successful, the attacking army will become surrounded by your units and
confused. If unsuccessful, the opposite will occur. Regardless of success,
this will cancel the attacking army's strategy. Ambush has a higher chance of
succeeding if the weather conditions are bad.
- Siege: The defensive army will stay in the city and prepare a defense
against a siege.
Field is usually the best option in most cases. Deploying units automatically
is usually the best choice as you will want your Troops close together where
they can support each other, as opposed to being spread out all over the map
and getting picked off one by one.
If you're short on units and troops, Siege is usually better option than
Ambush. Ambushes are wonderful if you can get them to work, but you are
usually guaranteed to lose if they don't, unless you have a large and
powerful army in which case you should have chosen Field instead. I've only
attempted Ambush twice and failed both times, which was more than enough to
convince me never to use them again. If your Tactician should by any chance
recommend Ambush, slap him on the head and choose either Field or Siege
instead. It's wonderful when the enemy tries to do it, since it usually fails
and you can attack them from all sides. If the enemy tries an ambush, it
cancels your own strategy, so forget about occupying outposts and go for the
enemy instead. Ambushes have a higher chance of succeeding if the weather is
bad (i.e. Rain, Storm, or Snow conditions), but the chances of success are
still dismally low. If you select Siege you choose to wait for the enemy in
your castle. This is good if your city's Defense is high, but if they have a
large army it may only delay the inevitable.
-----
Traps
-----
The Tactician is once again responsible for choosing Ploys, but also has the
option of setting Traps on the battlefield as well. You can set as many Traps
on the field as you have Strategy Points (SP), but remember that the more
Traps you set, the less Ploys you can use in the battle. Enemy units can only
trigger traps.
- Fire Trap (15 SP): When stepped on this trap ignites fire in the target
square and all adjacent squares, dealing damage to the enemy. If fire touches
another fire trap it will ignite causing a chain reaction. Can only be set on
plain, forest, mountain, and bridge terrain.
- Water Trap (20 SP): When sailed on this trap causes a whirlpool to appear,
damaging enemy units in that square. Can only be set on water terrain.
- Rockslide Trap (20 SP): When stepped on this trap causes a rockslide to
fall, damaging enemy units in the target square. Can only be used on mountain
terrain.
- Pit Trap (15 SP): When stepped on this trap opens up a pit, damaging enemy
units in the target square and all adjacent squares. Can only be used on
plain, flat, or road terrain.
- Poison Trap (15 SP): When stepped on this trap releases poison, damaging
enemy units in the target square and all adjacent squares. Can only be used
in marsh and bank terrain. If the poison trap hits another poison trap it
will go off causing a chain reaction.
Traps can be detected if the enemy uses the Probe Tactic while moving, but
there is still a chance a trap will go off unless they also have the Scout
skill. Using traps can be fun, but I personally would prefer to spend my SP
on Ploys. As for Ploy selection, once again I recommend at least one Rush (if
reinforcements are coming) and as much Rumors as you can afford. Rumor is as
effective in defensive battles as it is in offensive ones, even more so since
you don't have to go through a siege after the field battle once you win.
--------------------
XIII. The Art of War
--------------------
"I have written a book in twenty-four chapters, 104,112 words, treating the
Eight Needfuls, the Seven Cautions, the Six Fears, and the Five Dreads of
war."
- Zhuge Liang to Jiang Wei
At the start of field battles each force will be positioned according to the
Tactician's strategy. The attacking army's units are colored red, while the
defending army's units are colored blue. The order in which units act each
turn is dependent on the type of unit and their leading Officer's INT. Each
unit has a Drill value, Movement Points (MP), Tactic Points (TP), and Troops.
MP is determined by the unit's Drill and type. TP is determined by the
Officer's Rank. The attacking force's initial morale depends on the type of
route that was taken to the target city. The default is usually 80, but rough
terrain can drop morale to as low as 50. The defending force's initial morale
is always 100. The time allotted for a battle (both field and siege) is 30
days. If time runs out for the attacking side, the defenders automatically
win.
----------------
Wind and Weather
----------------
In the upper right hand corner of the screen is an indicator of the current
weather conditions and wind direction. The weather affects which Tactics or
Ploys can be used, as well as the sight range of units on the field. The wind
direction determines in which direction fire attacks can be used and the
direction fire will spread. The following are the types of weather in the
field. The weather can be changed using the Weather Ploy. Note that the
ambush strategy has a better chance of succeeding in Rain, Storm or Snow
conditions.
Clear - All units have their normal sight range.
Cloudy - Visibility is reduced.
Rainy - Fire attacks cannot be used. Poor visibility.
Storm - Fire attacks cannot be used. Very poor visibility.
Snow - Fire attacks cannot be used. Almost no visibility. Movement reduced.
-------
Terrain
-------
There are nine possible terrain types on the battlefield. Each terrain
determines the movement rate of units passing through it as well as the
possible types of traps that can be used.
Bridge/Flat/Road - Easy terrain to move in. Fire Traps are possible. Pit
traps are possible only on flat terrain.
Grassland - Easy terrain to move in. Fire and Pit Traps are possible.
Forest - Somewhat difficult terrain to move in. Ambush Tactic is possible.
Fire Trap is possible.
Lake/River - Difficult terrain to move in unless Officer has Ship. Water
traps are possible. Units attacked take heavy damage unless Officer has Navy
skill.
Mountains - Difficult terrain to move in. Ambush Tactic is possible. Fire and
Rockslide traps are possible. Horse and Calvary units have low
maneuverability.
Ocean - Difficult terrain to move in unless Officer has Barge. Units attacked
take heavy damage unless Officer has Navy skill.
Plains - Easy terrain to move in. Pit Traps are possible.
Shallow - Difficult terrain to move in unless Officer has Ship. Units
attacked take heavy damage unless Officer has Navy skill.
Swamp - Difficult terrain to move in. Poison Traps are possible.
---------------------
Conditions of Victory
---------------------
The attacking army wins if they destroy all of the defender's non-
reinforcement units, reduces their morale to 0, or captures the enemy's
Liege. If there are any other defenders left for the city, the battle will
proceed to a siege battle. Note that if the enemy Liege is captured the city
is automatically captured as well. The defending army wins if they destroy
all of the attacker's non-reinforcement units, reduces their morale to 0, if
the time allotted for the battle expires, or if they capture or cause the
enemy Liege to retreat.
Unit Defeated Morale Enemy Morale Effects
------------- ------ ------------ -------
Officer +2/+3 -5 -
Tactician +5 -10 Army cannot use Tactics.
Commanding Officer +10 -15 -
Action Result
------ ------
Main forces defeated. Battle ends immediately.
If defensive forces have troops and Officers
remaining, can proceed to siege battle.
Liege defeated. Battle ends immediately.
If defending Liege is captured and has troops
and Officers remaining, can proceed to siege
battle.
Strategic outpost occupied. Morale change based on outpost type.
Outpost occupied. No effect.
Strategy completed. Morale increases based on strategy.
Enemy morale decreases based on strategy.
Start on occupied outpost. -5 Enemy morale. +500 Troops.
-------------
Move Commands
-------------
The following movement commands are available during a unit's turn.
Move-Normal: Moves the unit to another position. Movement range depends on
unit type and Movement Points (MP).
Move-Probe (10 TP): Same as normal movement, but if a Trap is discovered it
will be disarmed instead of going off. The chances of this happening is
dependent on the Officer's INT. If the Officer has the Scout skill traps are
disarmed 100% of the time using this. If this is used no other Tactics can be
used for the remainder of the turn.
Move-Dash (10 TP): Requires Dash skill. Increases the unit's MP allowing for
extended movement for that turn. Reduces unit's Troop level. If this is used
no other Tactics can be used for the remainder of the turn.
Wait: The unit ends its turn. If no other command was given to the unit this
turn, MP increases by 1. Maximum MP is 15.
For most cases normal movement will suffice, as traps don't do too much
serious damage, and the odds are low that you will run into one on the field.
Traps will, however, end your unit's entire movement. Also if you run into an
enemy unit outside your field of view while moving, your movement will end
and the enemy unit can make a free attack without retaliation. Dash is a
wonderful skill to have, as it increases your movement range tremendously. It
can allow you to occupy an enemy structure or attack an enemy unit several
turns before you could normally do so. It is also very useful if one of your
allies is