The Rulebook of
Hyborian War
A Play-By-Mail Game of Imperial Conquest in the Age of Conan
Table of Contents
A Play-By-Mail Game of Imperial Conquest in the Age of Conan
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Setting
Player Interaction and Diplomacy
ELEMENTS OF PLAY
Elements of Play
Troops
Characters
Provinces
GENERAL RULES
Game Actions
Imperial Goals
Victory Conditions
Peace Years
National Integrity
Non-Player Kingdoms
Economics
The Royal Treasury
Trade Routes
Income
Expenses
Troop Maintenance Costs
Budgeting
Errata
WARFARE
Armies
Provincial Armies
Imperial Armies
Navies
Battle Types
Strategems
Terrain
Battle Lines
Characters in Defense of Provinces
Province Defense
Raids
Invasions
Sequence of Battle
Simulated Reality
THE COMMAND SHEET
Sample Command Sheet
E-Mailing Your Command Sheet
The Command Sheet
Command Orders
Rulership
Heroism
Intrigue
Diplomatic Missions
Spell Casting
Personal Combat Magic
General Assignments and Movement Commands
DECLARATION ORDERS
Rulership
General Assignments and Movement
Diplomacy
Transfers of Wealth
War Preparations
Strategic Magic
WAR ORDERS
Province Defense Orders
Raid Orders
Invasion Orders
Battle Orders
Battle Magic
EXAMPLE ORDERS
Example Battle Intelligence Summary
Example Battle Orders Sheet
An Invasion Sequence Illustration
Ending the Game
CHARTS
Troops/Terrain
Terrain Types and Abbreviations
Spell Limitations Chart
Troop Type Abbreviations
Battle Configurations
The Kingdoms of Hyboria
Order Codes
Conan Connections
Credits
Hyborian War is a game of imperial conquest in the age of Conan. You will wield the power of command over the destiny of the kingdom you have chosen, charting a course of battle, intrigue and diplomacy over the centuries of the Age. Virtually every tool of statecraft is at your disposal. These rules will give you an idea of the many options available. How you use them--even how many of them you use--is up to you.
For greater enjoyment and comprehension of Hyborian War, it is suggested you first imagine all of the things you would like to do in this game--aggressive and cautious alike--then refer to the rules to learn the best way of accomplishing those goals.
Each Hyborian War game represents in essence an "alternate history" of the Hyborian Age. In each game the history of the world will be different--the events which make up history will be decided by the actions of the players. As the game begins, Conan the Barbarian is but a youth. As the game progresses, the legend of the warrior grows. The conditions of the Hyborian Age as described by author Robert E. Howard in his Conan novels have been re- created in exacting detail to provide the stage setting from which play begins. The overall design of the game adheres closely to the world created by Robert E. Howard and and other authors. (Players unfamilar with the Conan novels are encouraged to read them for valuable insight into the game as well as sheer enjoyment. Even players conversant with the Hyborian World might well wish to bone up before battle begins--you can't know too much about Conan and his adventures.)
Conan exists in Hyborian War as a wandering hero unmatched in strength and power. He is certainly not one to be trifled with. Many times Conan will travel through one kingdom or another, keeping an eye out for an adventure worthy of his vast abilities. If he shows up at your court, thank the gods and assign him to a task you might give to any other of your characters. Accordingly, expect great things--but remember that Conan is no tame courtier. He never remains in one small portion of the Hyborian world or in the service of a single king for very long. As each alternate history of the Hyborian world is "written" during play, you may see other characters from various Conan novels appear. Which of them will cross your path (they may even be your own characters) depends upon the circumstances created by each history. Hyborian War is played in turns run approximately every 16 days. You will have one week in which to plot your strategies. There are two types of turns: peace years and war seasons. Approximately one turn in seven is a peace years turn. Such turns represent a span of time between 2 and 30 game years (average 22) where a state of relative peace exists in the Hyborian world. Peace years are a time of economic recovery during which major battles are virtually nonexistent, although raiding can and does occur. Diplomacy and political intrigue play an important role during these periods as the various kingdoms lay plans for future conquests.
Most turns in the game will be war season turns -- roughly 6 of every 7. However, the number of war seasons between peace years is variable. A single war season represents a 3-month season in Hyboria (e.g. winter, spring, summer, or fall). Activity is virtually unlimited. Major invasions, raids, intrigue, diplomacy and all but a few arcane magic spells will come into full play during a war season.
Whether you're in peace years or a war season, each turn will follow the same format. Your setup package contains your first Kingdom Report, sent to you by way of your councillors, the Chancellor and Adjutant-General. The Chancellor is responsible for informing you of the state of your kingdom at large; the Adjutant-General's duties are to relay information on the condition and progress of your military affairs. Using the Game Rules, Kingdom Report and a good dose of imperial imagination, you will fill out a command sheet, issuing your first commands and declarations. After each turn is run, you will receive an updated Kingdom Report detailing the results of your actions and the current status of your kingdom. Use this intelligence to make further decisions. It is a good idea to keep these reports with your rulebook, as you should refer often to the Rules and the original Kingdom Report as the game progresses.
The Kingdom Report contains the initial report from your Chancellor. It summarizes the history of your kingdom to the present and explains your imperial goals; provides you with troop descriptions and divulges the status of your armies; describes the characters in your kingdom (key individuals of extraordinary skill and talent); evaluates the provinces under your control, your current political and economic standings; emphasizes the unique victory conditions for your kingdom, and passes on a few hints concerning development of your own strategy.
The role of the player in the game is that of an "immortal power behind the scenes." The player is a personality which alternately inhabits various members of a ruling dynasty--those who wield the true power of Hyboria over the passage of centuries. Monarchs may live and die. Thou, however, art ageless and eternal, a spirit of war, determined to mix thy passions with those of the age until the cup of glory hath been drunk to the lees. In summary, Hyborian War allows you a wide range of specific commands and declarations. RSI's staff and computer systems act as your ministers and accountants, keeping track of facts and figures for you, allowing you to execute complex missions with simple commands. (You will wage war without being responsible for counting arrows.) Use the best of your common sense and intuition, learn from your experiences, and guard your back always!
In many games (especially PBM games), a lot of diplomacy between players is required, to meet the game's objectives successfully. Typically, this player- to-player diplomacy is carried on by mail and telephone in between game turns: alliances brewing, plots hatching, plans for mutual co-operation agreed to (and later broken) etc. While all this can be a great deal of fun, it is not what all players are looking for in a game. A player who does not wish to get involved in player diplomacy may be at a disadvantage in games of this type. Hyborian War is designed with all essential diplomatic functions built into the game. If you do not wish to, there is absolutely no reason why you should ever have to personally contact another player in your game. Your characters can do your diplomacy for you, and you'll never have to set pen to paper. Not to exclude those players who do enjoy meeting new friends and worthy opponents by playing games of this type (who was it that said a good enemy is worth as much as a good friend?), we have provided an avenue whereby you can make contact with other players in your game, who also enjoy player interaction.
For all Hyborian War games we have the following policy regarding player interaction and diplomacy: Each turn of the game you may request the name and address of up to two players in your game. You make this request by filling in the name of the kingdom(s) whose player/rulers you would like to contact in the space provided on the bottom of your command sheet. On your first turn's command sheet, You will also see a box labeled PRIVACY. If you do not wish to interact with other players in your game, you may check the Privacy Option box and no requests for your address from other players in the game will be processed. Diplomacy, however, is a two-way street. Those players requesting the Privacy option may not themselves request other addresses. Reality Simulations, Inc. will not forward diplomatic messages from one player to another. If you desire diplomacy outside the structure of the game, that will be your own responsibility. Example:
__
ADDRESS REQUESTS 1) KHAU 2) AQUI |__| PRIVACY OPTION
There are three main elements of play in Hyborian War: troops, characters, and provinces. Your armies will consist of combinations of various types of troops led by certain characters as they occupy provinces. Troops are army or naval units consisting of three to five thousand warriors. Characters are unique individuals who may lead armies or perform missions of great consequence to your kingdom by means of heroism, intrigue, diplomacy, and magic. Provinces are areas in the Hyborian World capable of providing economic resources and troops. Your kingdom starts with a given number of provinces. Much of your effort will be directed to gaining control over additional provinces. Your kingdom enters the Hyborian Age with particular strengths and weaknesses, derived from the nature of the troops, characters, and provinces you open play with. Your challenge will be to make the most of your strengths, while discovering and exploiting the weaknesses of your opponents.
Much of your kingdom's power resides in the might of your military forces. Troops are organized into four categories: Imperial armies, provincial armies, imperial navies, and seazone navies. (Seapower is relatively underdeveloped in most kingdoms of Hyboria, therefore seazones are included in the term provinces.)
Provincial armies (including seazone navies) are the most limited military forces. They may not move outside the areas to which they are assigned or invade neighboring areas. However, provincial armies may carry out raids and can be conscripted into the service of an imperial army that is engaged in an invasion.
Imperial armies are under the direct control of the central government at the capital--these are the least limited and most powerful of your military forces. Imperial armies must always be on either defensive or active status. Defensive imperial armies may not move, raid, or invade. However, they can respond quickly to enemy attacks over a broad range of territory. Active imperial armies may move freely within friendly areas as well as raid or invade foreign provinces. Active imperial armies do not automatically respond to attacks which occur anywhere other than their immediate location. There are literally hundreds of troop types. Each kingdom possesses its own unique units. There are a number of classifications that are used to define them. The broadest and most obvious distinction is made between land and naval forces. Land troops may not engage in conflict in seazones, and only naval troops may raid or invade seazones. Coastland provinces (those bordering a seazone) are accessible to both types of units. Land troops may not move through seazones. Naval units may only move through seazones or coastland provinces.
Troops are further broken down into a number of more distinct classifications, ranging from the mundane to the exotic. For example, there are light, medium, and heavy units of infantry and cavalry; archers, both on foot and horseback; mammoths; war chariots; pikemen; Undead infantry; riders mounted on winged reptiles, and several classes of naval troop units. For a complete listing of troop classifications, see Troop Categories.
Each class of troop has special advantages and disadvantages, depending upon a number of variables. These include the abilities of the troops themselves, the identity of the enemy, the given terrain, a specific combat situation, and others. These conditions are designed to accurately reflect the nature of ancient warfare and imbue the game with almost limitless strategic possibilities. For example, heavy armor offers more protection at a cost of reduced mobility.
Each troop type is rated in four different areas according to their competence. These are: MISSILE ABILITY, MELEE ABILITY, MORALE, and MOVEMENT ABILITY. Missile ability is a troop's relative strength using weapons such as bow and arrow, throwing spears, and other armaments. Melee ability is a rating of the troop's strength in hand to hand combat. Morale is a measure of a troop's overall discipline, self-confidence, and ability to continue fighting in the face of adversity. Movement is a measure of a troop's ability to travel distances as well as its maneuverability. The first three of these abilities are ranked on the following scale: NONE, POOR, ADEQUATE, GOOD, EXCELLENT and SUPERIOR (this is the "STANDARD RATING SCALE" used frequently throughout the game). Movement is given a numeric value between 2 and 12 which represents both the distance in provinces that a given troop can move as well as its relative maneuverability in combat.
In all times and places of Hyborian history there arose great men and women who stood out from among the common mass of humanity by virtue of exceptional capabilities and/or knowledge. These people are represented in the game as characters. Characters will perform tasks that you assign them and carry out orders to the best of their ability. There are six types of characters: Nobles, generals, heroes, priests, wizards, and agents. While a wizard may use magic very well, it by no means keeps him from possessing other qualities that would make him well-suited to command an army. This is determined by each character's rating (using the Standard Rating Scale) in each of seven ability categories. Some ratings are critical for some character types, but each character has a rating in every category.
Personal Combat - Specifically, prowess in personal combat of characters versus a wide range of opponents. They could be other characters, monsters, or just some guards that stand in the way of some goal. Combat is a primary ability for heroes.
Diplomacy - The ability to engage in negotiations, whether subtle or overt. Priests, and the nobility, by virtue of culture and education, will be more likely to possess this ability.
Rulership - The ability to govern, and administrate provinces and their local populations. Primary ability for nobles.
Military Command - Military command is the ability to lead in large scale combat situations. This includes a grasp of strategy, and the ability to carry out successful troop maneuvers. Generals require a mastery of military command.
Heroism - The courage and ability to inspire and rally troops and improve their melee ability. Heroism is important for not only heroes, but generals and all front-line battle commanders.
Intrigue - A very important ability for anyone dealing in the subtler side of international relations; this includes such things as spying, theft and assassinations. Intrigue is a primary ability for agents.
Magic - Whether by means of divine grace or through delving into the arcane arts of sorcery, the ability to use magic is primary for--but not limited to-- wizards. Priests use magic equally in conjunction with diplomacy. Other characters may occasionally come to possess magical abilities through either knowledge of spells or magical artifacts.
In addition to a rating in each of the above abilities, each character is given a name, a game ID number, province of birth, gender, and age. Characters with magical ability will have a list of spells and magical artifacts they may utilize. Since play will span the course of centuries, characters will age, die of natural causes or be slain, replaced by new generations. While succeeding generations will not be exact copies of those who came and went before them, they will generally be able to fulfill the tasks you assign them. A nation of warriors will tend to raise youths who glory in war; a nation that relies on other abilities for its survival will instruct its youths accordingly.
Characters are lost and gained independently from one another. New characters are gained based solely upon the passage of game time. A kingdom which begins the game with 6 characters may, during the course of the game be reduced to having as few as two characters (you will always have a Chancellor and an Adjutant-General). There is no limit to the number of characters a kingdom may increase to.
While the time scale of the game spans centuries, the lives of individual characters are relatively short. Characters do not increase or decrease in ability from their original starting values. There is only one exception. Those characters who undertake to go on an adventure may during the course of their adventure increase in ability in one or more areas. Note, however, that adventure is highly dangerous for characters lacking in ability.
It is a good idea to keep in mind that the outcome of any character mission will depend in part upon a character's abilities. Every mission will benefit by high ratings in at least one primary ability and one secondary ability. Most missions are also influenced by a third or fourth character ability. For example, If a character is sent on a military spying mission, the success of the mission will depend most heavily on the character's Intrigue, but any military command ability that the character has will also be useful. If the character were to become involved in combat, personal combat ability would be in demand. Just one more example of this consideration. A character sent to assassinate a wizard would need primarily intrigue, but would also benefit from any magical ability. The rule to follow when assigning any character to an action is to ask first, "What abilities might this mission demand of my character?" The obvious second question is, "Does the character I am assigning to the mission have the necessary abilities?" Dangerous missions should be reserved for characters with Excellent or higher ability. Characters with Good ability should usually be given assignments that do not automatically place the character in a life threatening situation. For example, Good characters should be used to perform world spying, cast spells (if have magic ability), avoid diplomatic influence, actively rule etc. Characters who have even just a small amount of heroism and/or military command can prove useful in battles.
There are two special characters in your kingdom: the Chancellor and the Adjutant-General. The abilities of these two characters are intentionally NOT listed in your original kingdom reports. While these characters are responsible for reporting to you their judgments as to the abilities of the rest of your characters, they do not report their own abilities. The Chancellor and Adjutant-General may be commanded upon various assignments just as you may command any of your other characters. It is quite possible to find out exactly what the abilities of these two characters are. However, we leave it to you devious and clever rulers of Hyboria to determine the best method of going about this. All kingdoms will always have a Chancellor and Adjutant-General at all times. If either of these characters ever dies they are automatically replaced with a new character. If either of these two characters is ever captured, they are automatically ransomed for the minimum amount of wealth. Thus at a minimum, a kingdom will have two characters, the Chancellor, who always doubles as the provincial ruler of the capital province and the Adjutant-General who will become the monarch if no other characters exist to fill that position. The Adjutant-General may be assigned as a provincial ruler in keeping with the normal rules governing the assignment of provincial rulers. The Chancellor may never be assigned to be the monarch.
Each kingdom starts the game with a certain number of provinces. To gain more provinces you must conquer them. Your armies may not pass through any province which you do not control, except in the case of those controlled by formal allies. Each province in your empire will fund your royal treasury through tax revenues based on the productivity of that province. Additional harvest revenue is collected in the fall of each warseason and during peace years. Province productivity varies based on a number of factors, which we leave to you to discover. Peace years turns are longer and more productive, providing more revenue. The productivity of a province over a given time is summarized on the Standard Rating Scale and reported to you with each Kingdom Report.
In addition to providing wealth, home provinces also levy troops for their provincial armies. The type and number of troops levied varies with each province. The number of troops is influenced by factors which we leave to your wisdom to discover and use to your benefit. Seazones that you control will bring in varying degrees of wealth, but do not provide troops. Newly conquered provinces do not levy troops for the kingdom which captures them. Levies only come from a kingdom's original provinces. However, conquered provinces are taxed at a higher rate to make up for their lack of levies. The only way for a kingdom to gain troop types in addition to those listed in the initial Kingdom Report is to become an imperial power, i.e achieve its imperial goals. Imperial status simulates the gain of new troop types as a result of conquest and expansion. Remember that the benefits gained from imperial status are lost as quickly as they are gained. If any of the conditions required for having imperial status are lost, imperial troops are immediately eliminated from play.
There are six main areas of action in which each kingdom may strive to attain its imperial ambition. These areas are Diplomacy, Rulership, Warfare, Heroics, Intrigue, and Magic. All actions which can be performed in these areas are carried out at your command by the characters and forces under your control. You can order them to attempt a great many things within these general areas, ranging from overt and fairly harmless actions such as peace treaty negotiations with a neighboring kingdom to very underhanded and malicious actions such as attempting to assassinate another kingdom's most important wizard. Because of the great number of the actions that you may attempt, each is discussed separately. You will also be given an example of the specific order you will use to command any of your resources to perform a given action.
Diplomacy - Diplomatic character actions focus on the relationship between different kingdoms. A primary example of a diplomatic action would be to order one of your characters to attempt to break up a formal alliance between two kingdoms who might possibly be planning to attack you. Much of what can be done in real world politics can be accomplished through a diplomatic character action.
Rulership - With this type of character action you will attempt to improve your kingdom by focusing internally on the good of your subjects and your provinces. A primary example would be to order one of your characters to do nothing other than actively rule one of your provinces, looking after the productivity of that province and the well-being of its people.
Warfare - In warfare, you will spend most of your time dealing with your armies. You will command them to see to the defense of your provinces, conduct raids, and carry out invasions.
Heroics - Heroic actions are the stuff of which the Conan Legend is made. The primary example of Heroics is a character who sets off to seek adventure in the Hyborian World. An adventuring character can become embroiled in almost any kind of situation, be it robbing a temple or fighting a sea monster.
Intrigue - Intrigue actions are those intended to subtly act against a foreign kingdom (quite possibly without them ever knowing your kingdom did anything). An example of an Intrigue action is to send one of your characters out to spread rumors and lies in a foreign province about their ruler in order to create political unrest and potential rebellion against the kingdom which controls the province.
Magic - There are twenty-seven spells of magic available to the users of arcane power in the Hyborian World. Characters with Magic Ability of at least POOR will have one or more spells which they are able to use. There are spells which affect every action in Hyborian War: Combat Magic, Strategic Magic, Battle Magic, province Magic, Life Magic, Information Magic, Diplomacy Magic, and Anti-Magic.
Every player kingdom in the game has a set of imperial goals. The goal is to capture two or three specific provinces and have a clear line of movement between the provinces and their home kingdom. If a kingdom achieves its imperial goals, that kingdom's military power is significantly enhanced. Imperial goals are not victory conditions. You do not win the game if you achieve them. Achievement of your imperial goals simply benchmarks your passage from a kingdom to a true empire (let the rest of the world beware!) and provides you with a reward for your progress. Once you have attained your imperial goals you must protect your interests. Loss of even one condition will cause your kingdom to revert to its old status. The specific imperial goals for your kingdom are listed in your Kingdom Report.
Each kingdom has unique victory conditions. These conditions are listed in your Kingdom Report. Each turn you will receive a rating as to your relative progress towords victory. The player with the highest rating on the last turn of the game is the winner. Remember, the game is a long one; your rating is based on what you are expected to achieve by the last turn, so you will probably spend a lot of turns with only average ratings. Do what you feel is right for your kingdom first. You'll have plenty of time to work on your rating later on.
The winner of the game is not necessarily the kingdom with the largest empire and may in fact be a kingdom which is quite small. The winner will be the player who has done the best over the course of the game with the initial resources placed at his disposal.
Your characters may be commanded with any of the orders listed in the rules during both peace years and war seasons with the following exception. The spells "Prophecy" and "Longlife" may only be cast during a peace years turn. The effects of various actions may be dramatically increased during peace years, due to the difference in time scale for the two types of turns. For example, a "Bless" spell cast during peace years may have a much greater effect than one cast during war seasons.
On a peace years turn all invasion preparations are automatically brought to a halt by the computer. This means that all existing intents to invade are scrapped, although they may immediately be re-declared during the peace years turn since the turn following will again be a war season. On a peace years turn all forces engaging in strategic movement or about to engage in set-piece battle are returned to friendly provinces.
Remember that all existing peace treaties with other kingdoms are nullified when the peace years begin. Each kingdom's ability to avoid the diplomatic influence of all other kingdoms returns to its original starting value on a peace years turn. The combination of these two factors generally make peace years turns a time of great diplomatic activity as each kingdom seeks to negotiate new peace treaties or conversely, build up diplomatic immunity against the kingdoms they are planning to invade.
While there are only 36 player kingdoms in the game of Hyborian War, the world of Hyboria is divided into a total of 87 areas. Of these, 70 have national integrity, which means the area in question is in some way cohesive and bound together by a feeling of unity between the populations inhabiting those areas. A simple example of this is that the province of Tarantia (#1) has national integrity for the kingdom of Aquilonia. Areas which are unified by a feeling of national integrity can be considered kingdoms; thus, in addition to the 36 player kingdoms in the game, there are 34 non-player kingdoms which are controlled by the game computer. A group of 17 areas which have no national integrity are called non-unified areas and complete the total (See The Kingdoms of Hyboria chart).
The importance of national integrity comes into play with the subject of GOVERNMENTS IN EXILE and REBELLION. Provinces and seazones which you conquer may rebel against your rule and raise rebel armies against you. In general rebellions occur throughout a region unified by national integrity. If all of a kingdom's provinces have been conquered, that kingdom is considered to be a government in exile. Only the computer can run an exiled kingdom. A government in exile will always have one army of militia and rebels, along with any remaining characters. It will attempt to established a new home province in either 1) any province which that kingdom has controlled at any point in the game for at least one turn, or 2) any province controlled by a formal ally.
If at any time the forces of a government in exile manage to reconquer one of their original provinces, there is a good chance that a general uprising will occur across the entire area of national integrity originally owned by that kingdom, in favor of the exiled government. While rebel troops are not the best in the world (mostly peasants) they are fanatically loyal.
Non-player kingdoms are in every respect exactly like player kingdoms, they have characters, they have armies, they may order their characters to do various missions, their armies to raid and invade, etc. It is possible for a player kingdom to begin the game as the formal ally of a non-player kingdom. For the most part non-player kingdoms are weaker than player kingdoms. Certainly they are not as smart as player kingdoms. It is a good idea not to devote too much of your kingdom's energy towards dealing with non-player kingdoms. Worry about player kingdoms first!
There are two sections which appear in your kingdom report beginning on turn two which are intended to be your primary guides to wise economics. The first of these sections is the revenue and expense breakdown listed under "Affairs of State" in your kingdom report. This listing expresses all expenditures as a percentage of the total wealth spent as well as all Revenues as a percentage of total revenue. Use this section to balance your spending by examining the revenues and expenses of each turn in relation to the overall condition of your treasury as reported in the "Royal Treasury" section of your kingdom report.
Most headings in the revenue and expense breakdown should be self explanatory. However, two expense headings deserve a special mention. Basic troop maintenance cost denotes the basic (unalterable minimum) cost to maintain all troops in your kingdom. Encampment cost per province denotes the extra amount of wealth spent on troop maintenance (above and beyond the basic cost) for quartering large numbers of troops in the same province. Encampment cost rises dramatically as more troops are stationed within a particular province.
Example of play - Kingdom X discovers that after a very short peace years turn (only 2 years of game time) and much military expenditure, the level of the royal treasury was reduced from a Superior rating to Excellent. Kingdom X is satisfied that at present expenditures it can survive 4 war seasons without significant hardship. However, noticing that 90% of all expenses were for troop maintenance and that two large armies are located in the same province, Kingdom X decides to move one army out of the province by invading a neighboring province. Kingdom X believes that by dispersing its troops it should reduce troop maintenance costs significantly and therefore provide for the treasury to last even longer than 4 war seasons. Calculations of this kind are generally made Peace Years to Peace Years since at the next peace years the treasury should be replenished. Kingdom X's next kingdom report will give it an even better idea of how its economic plans are proceeding through further examination of the troop maintenance percentage and treasury level.
Each turn you will receive a summary of the balance in your royal treasury. Wealth produced in provinces under your control as well as wealth obtained by other means, such as raiding and trade will automatically be added to your balance each turn. Likewise, all expenses incurred while maintaining armies and commanding various actions will automatically be subtracted. The assets in your treasury are rated according to the Standard Scale. This rating is defined by comparison to the average wealth for a kingdom of similar size.
* SUPERIOR - contains more than 160% of the amount of wealth average for your kingdom's size.
* EXCELLENT - wealth equalling between 121% and 160% of the average.
* GOOD - wealth between 81% and 120% of the kingdom's average.
* ADEQUATE - wealth between 41% and 80% of the average.
* POOR - wealth between 1% and 40% of the treasury's average capacity.
* NONE - no wealth; potential for being in debt.
As an aid to rulers in overseeing the economic destiny of their kingdoms we have added two economic breakdown graphs to the "Affairs of State" section of each Kingdom Report. The first graph displays the current treasury level as of the end of the current turn versus the treasury level as of the end of the previous turn. This graph is to give players a handle on the proportional change of their treasury over the course of the most recent turn. The second graph displays the revenues versus expenses of your kingdom over the course of the previous turn. This graph, in combination with the itemized listings of revenues and expenses below the display, is intended to provide players with an accounting for the proportional change in their treasury as displayed by the treasury graph. The treasury graph and the revenue vs. expense graph are displayed in different units from one another, so a small drop in treasury will show up as a large column of expenses.
When interpreting these graphs it is important to keep in mind that during war seasons your kingdom expenses will always be much greater than your revenues. Provinces provide no revenue except tax during winter, summer, and spring war seasons. During fall war seasons each province also provides the kingdom with a harvest. Even during fall war seasons, however, kingdom expenses will usually far outstrip revenues. Peace Years are the real time of treasury replenishment.
A network of trade routes criss-crosses Hyboria, carrying an enormous stream of wealth to and from the four corners of the world. Trade routes are not shown on the Hyborian War wallmap. However, their pattern may be gleaned from readings of the Conan novels, spying, and from other information in your kingdom reports. Trade routes pass through seazones as well as land provinces. It is not possible to either create or abolish trade routes, and they remain unchanged throughout the entire course of the game.
Trade routes are a major source of income and therefore contention between kingdoms of the Hyborian Age. Each trade route which is established with your kingdom will automatically bring in trade revenues so long as the trade route is not successfully raided in the province where it originates. Additional income is gained from tariffs upon trade routes running through provinces under a kingdom's direct control. Tariff revenues from a province are revenues in addition to the wealth which a province normally produces and therefore enhance the overall value of controlling provinces which are centers of trade i.e. have trade routes passing through them. For example, the province of Zamboula, while not a rich province in terms of wealth production, normally provides income equal to two or three excellent provinces simply because it has so many trade routes passing directly through it.
Invasion, conquest, and battle have no effect upon the flow of wealth through trade routes. Only raids specifically directed upon trade routes have any effect upon the wealth they provide as income both to the kingdom controlling the province which the trade route passes through and the kingdom to which the trade route carries wealth.
Your kingdom may receive a small income each turn from any or all of the following (depending on your actions and their success):
1. Each troop successfully raiding a foreign province.
2. Wealth brought back by adventuring heroes.
3. Tariffs on foreign trade routes that run through provinces under your control.
Your kingdom may receive a large portion of income from:
1. Tax revenue from each province under your control.
2. Trade revenue from routes established with kingdoms abroad.
Your kingdom will spend most of its wealth on the following:
1. War preparations.
2. Raising new troops beyond those levied by your provinces.
3. Maintaining armies in the field.
Outside the categories of income and expense lie the subject of diplomatic payments. These are: tributes, ransoms, and gifts. All diplomatic payments are direct transfers of wealth from one kingdom to another. Some kingdoms will, as a matter of survival expend a substantial amount of their wealth through diplomatic payments to other kingdoms. Others may gain much of their wealth from these payments. Each kingdom will have to evaluate what impact diplomatic payments (paying and receiving) will have on its economic situation.
The cost of maintaining troops within a given province is based upon the total number of troops, both provincial and imperial, located within that province. The cost of maintaining provincial armies is NOT calculated separately from the cost of maintaining imperial armies. The presence of foreign troops within one of your kingdom's controlled provinces will also drive up troop maintenance costs, although not as much as if they were your troops stationed in the province.
A warning: The costs associated with "paying off" war leaders who have mustered their troops in preparation for a raid or invasion which never takes place can be very expensive. Troops who have mustered for a raid or invasion expect booty...and if that booty does not come from the pillage of enemy provinces it will come from the imperial coffers! It is almost always advisable to carry out all raids and invasions which you have declared on a previous turn. There will be cases when, for reasons of diplomacy, a mistake in planning, or necessity, you will not wish to carry out a raid or invasion you have previously prepared for. In these cases you will simply leave the particular raid or invasion order form blank. Doing this often, however, can quickly create a large drain on your kingdom's economy.
Budgeting
The final test of how your dreams of conquest will fill or drain your royal treasury is experience. In only a few turns the results of your actions will give you a better idea of how to budget. You will get an idea of how much wealth various activities bring in by looking at which of your actions were successful and which were not, as well as the overall gain or loss to your treasury. Remember that during war season turns you will spend more than you make. Each peace years turn you will make more than you spend. Deciding how much to spend may be more difficult your first turn, but becomes easier as you gain experience.
There some moves you can make that would be unwise at most any stage of the game, but would be disastrous at the start. These are:
1. DON'T concentrate your troops in too small an area. The cost of maintaining troops in a province increases exponentially with the number of troops you add. The quickest way to ruin the economy of your kingdom is to concentrate too many troops in the same province.
2. Never attempt to increase the size of your armies too rapidly. After all, somebody's got to stay and tend the fields. Your subjects will be unwilling to send off entire families to war in a distant land. At the outset of your conquest, a 10% increase per turn should be more than adequate, and, if you find in your first Kingdom Report that you will be levying large numbers of troops on a normal basis, you won't need to purchase many more.
3. Remember that different troop types vary in their expense. Depending on the amount of training, equipment, etc., they require, you may wish to balance your armies with some well equipped, expensive troops and some less expensive but more expendable troops.
4. If you want to pay attention to details, don't count every copper you spend. Rather, see how minor sources of income can keep your treasury from going dry. Cover your bets. Raiding, adventuring, and various acts of intrigue can bring in enough income to offset the possibility of a less than successful invasion.
Armies are collections of troop units. The number of units in any given army may range from one to as many as you can afford to maintain. Each kingdom is allowed to have one provincial army for each province in its empire, and a minimum of two imperial armies. Each kingdom has one imperial army for every three provinces it controls. (The computer will round up; if you control eleven provinces, you will have four imperial armies.) An army may hold up to 30 troop units at once under normal circumstances. Imperial and provincial armies operate differently in defense, raid, or invasion situations. These three situations are covered separately later in this section.
Provincial armies are groups of troop units which, once assigned to a province, will patrol that province. Provincial armies are the first line of defense against enemy raids and invasions. They are the only troops which are able to respond to enemy raids on their province. They may not respond to any attacks on provinces other than their own, nor may they move into other provinces as imperial armies may.
Raids: Provincial armies may be used to raid neighboring provinces and are better suited to do so than imperial armies. In peace years turns, a provincial army may raid with all its troops. During war season turns, however, no more than eight troops may raid. If an army with more than eight troop units is assigned to raid, only the first eight will be detached for the raid while the others remain to defend the province--the computer will do this for you automatically. Seazone navies may raid either other seazones or adjacent coastal provinces.
Invasions: Provincial armies may not invade another province unless an imperial army is leading the invasion. An imperial army may pick up those provincial armies that are BOTH adjacent to the province being invaded and adjacent to or belonging to the province the imperial army invades from. Seazone navies may participate in an invasion of a coastal province, but not in an invasion of another seazone.
Each kingdom has one imperial army for every three provinces it controls rounded to the nearest whole number. Each kingdom has a minimum of two imperial armies (exception--when the government is in exile). The number of imperial armies controlled by each kingdom is assessed at the end of each turn and armies are either lost or gained based on the number of provinces a kingdom controls at the end of the turn. Troops assigned to imperial armies which are eliminated due to a reduction in the number of provinces a kingdom controls are automatically sent to the capital province in order to await re- assignment. New imperial armies created due to an increase in the number of provinces a kingdom controls at the end of the turn are automatically created at the capital province with 0 troops initially assigned. This 0 troop or "bookkeeping army" can be moved up to 12 provinces per turn until such time as troops assigned to the army from the capital have arrived and are listed as on duty with the army in question. At such time the movement rate of the army is reduced to that of the slowest troop unit in the army.
Unlike provincial armies, imperial armies not only defend the province they are assigned to, but may also be placed on a special "defensive status" that allows them to respond to attacks on neighboring provinces. The status of an imperial army may be changed from active to defensive and visa versa. An army changing its status will undergo a one turn transition period during which, in addition to the standard limitations of its original status, it will only fight in battles occuring in the province where it is located, and may not itself initiate combat.
An imperial army on defensive status can respond to attacks on provinces several provinces away. Since different troop units have different movement capabilities, the response to such attacks is made by individual troop units. For instance, a light cavalry unit may be able to respond to a distant attack, but a heavier cavalry unit could not travel such distances as quickly. Also, that same light cavalry unit could respond to more than one attack in a given war season. The response movement ability of a defensive troop unit is its movement ability minus two. (A troop will always have a minimum response ability of 1.)
Even though troops from a defensive imperial army may respond to attacks outside their assigned province, the army as a whole does (and must) stay in one province, and may neither raid or invade until placed on active status. troops stationed with defensive imperial armies will only respond to enemy Invasions - they will never respond to an enemy raid. Only provincial armies respond to enemy raids. Defensive imperial armies are significantly less expensive to maintain than those on active status.
Raid: An imperial army on active status has two primary purposes. The first of these is the raid. Active imperial armies with eight or fewer troop units may raid; those larger than eight troop units in size may not. Troops may not detach from an imperial army to raid as they may from provincial armies. If you assign an imperial army with more than eight troops in it to raid, the raid will not take place.
Invasion: Active imperial armies may move freely through your provinces as well as those of your formal allies up to the maximum movement ability of their slowest troop unit. They are the primary forces of invasion and at least one active imperial army must participate in any invasion which takes place. During war seasons they may invade any province adjacent to them at the start of the turn, assuming that proper war preparations have been made.
Imperial navies may move freely into and through friendly coastland provinces i.e those controlled by their kingdom or those controlled by a formal ally. They may move freely through any seazone, both friendly and unfriendly. Movement into an unfriendly seazone is treated as an invasion. After entering the unfriendly seazone, an imperial navy will immediately halt its movement and engage all seazone defenders in an open field battle on the same turn. You will NOT need an intent to invade a seazone. It IS necessary for naval forces to declare an intent to invade prior to invading a non-friendly coastland province. It is also necessary for an imperial navy to begin the turn adjacent to a coastland province prior to entering and invading it. In all respects naval invasions of coastland provinces are conducted in exactly the same manner as are land invasions.
An imperial navy may combine with friendly imperial armies for an invasion. However, an imperial navy cannot combine with a provincial army. This ruling reflects the lesser development of naval forces during the Hyborian Era. When engaged in a land battle, each naval troop's compliment of warriors will automatically disembark from their transports to engage enemy forces on land. Naval troops in a land battle fight as light infantry or light infantry archers. Battles between land and naval forces are conducted in precisely the same manner as battles between purely land troops. There is nothing to restrict an imperial navy from remaining in a coastland province which it has recently invaded and captured. This measure is, in fact, the only means of defending such provinces until and unless a friendly land connection exists whereby land troops can be assigned to the province.
Seazone navies may combine with an imperial navy for the purpose of invading a coastal province. Seazone navies may NOT combine with imperial armies. Naval forces may not under any circumstances enter or move through purely land provinces. Naval troops on defensive status will respond to invasions upon coastland provinces within response range.
Each naval troop represents a single war vessel along with a contingent of lesser transport vessels. Each troop contains a full compliment of sailors and warriors aboard transport (the Hyborian equivalent of marines). As a full compliment of warriors is already attached to each naval troop, naval troops may not under any circumstances transport land troops.
Both seazone navies and imperial navies may raid adjacent provinces and seazones. To do this they must first declare an intent to raid and are under the same rules and restrictions which apply to raiding land armies.
Battles may occur either as the result of a raid or an invasion. There are three types of battles: dispersal, open field, and set piece.
Dispersal: Dispersal battles occur only as the result of a raid. This type of battle occurs when defending troops pursue and engage single troop units of a raiding party which has dispersed and is attempting to flee from the province it has raided.
Open Field: Open Field battles may occur in both raids and invasions. This type of battle represents unorganized fighting across a broad front. Such battles are a confused swirl of engagements stretching out over miles or perhaps even hundreds of miles of territory. Open field battles will involve entire opposing armies without permitting either side to draw up into classic battle formations. All sea battles are always considered open field.
Set Piece: Set piece battles are classic engagements between opposing armies arranged in battle formations. Such battles occur as the result of a raid or an invasion. In raid situations battle formations are arranged helter-skelter hours or perhaps moments before the onset of battle. As such, you will not personally decide the formation; the character who leads the raid will choose battle formations based upon the qualities and abilities he possesses (if you don't have a character in the raiding party, good luck).
In most set piece battles occuring as the result of invasion, the battle formations of the opposing armies will be laid out with care and, perhaps, days of preparation. This will involve an extensive period of maneuvering, and your last chance to assign an army commander. Following maneuvers, you will arrange the disposition of your troop units into battle formation. Such battles are prolonged and bloody affairs upon which the fate of empires may hang.
Stratagems are devices or "tricks" used to deceive opponents in the course of warfare. Differing stratagems come into play during invasions and in province defense.
Ambush: An ambush is a surprise attack launched from a concealed position. A successful ambush can inflict serious casualties upon opposing troops while your forces sustain minimum losses. A poor ambush (one that is not much of a surprise) can result in total annihilation of the ambushing force. An ambush may only be attempted by troops of a provincial army in defense of the province. An army attempting to ambush suffers a loss to its overall maneuverability.
Patrol: Patrols can gather useful information on the strength of opposing forces prior to a battle. An accurate estimation of the number and kind of troops which your army faces can be a decisive advantage in set piece battle. You may wish to command invasion forces to patrol, while provincial forces defending a province will dispatch patrols automatically. Troops on patrol may return late for any battle which occurs or be drawn into a lone skirmish with enemy troops. Late troops cannot be assigned in the following set piece battle.
Hidden Movement: The counter-strategem to patrolling is hidden movement. Both invasion forces and troops defending a province may attempt hidden movement. An army attempting hidden movement will employ any number of tactics designed to confuse and distort the information enemy patrols might gather. This may consist of moving through concealing terrain, marching only at night, or driving animals before them to raise dust and create the appearance of a larger army. An army attempting hidden movement sacrifices a great deal of its overall maneuverability. However, successful use of this strategem may equally impair the maneuverability of enemy forces.
Decline Battle: An army may attempt to avoid conflict with enemy forces altogether or decline battle using this order. The chance of successfully declining battle is exceedingly slim unless both commanders are attempting to do so at once. Even then, the possibility that the armies will not engage is no better than 50/50. An army attempting to decline battle sacrifices most of its offensive maneuverability to increase its chances of avoiding the enemy's offensive efforts.
A critical factor in determining the outcome of any battle is the terrain on which the battle is fought. Invasion forces and troops participating in the defense of a province will always attempt to maneuver to preferred terrain before engaging in battle. This means whatever type of terrain you consider the type and numbers of your troops to be well suited to (see Troop/Terrain chart). The capability of an army to successfully maneuver to preferred terrain is influenced by the relative ability of its commander, the scarcity or predominance of the terrain being sought, the use of strategems, magic, and a number of other factors.
Terrain affects the fighting ability of individual troops and determines the configuration of the battle formations which opposing armies will be able to use on the battle field. A wide variety of different terrains exist in the Hyborian World. For a complete listing of all terrains and their abbreviation codes see Terrain Types chart.
It is not possible within the context of the game to either build or destroy fortifications within provinces. Existing fortifications within provinces are captured whenever the province itself is captured. All major fortifications which existed at some point in the Hyborian Age have been included into the game.
Set piece battles are fought between formations of opposing troop units arrayed in orderly ranks called battle lines. Battle lines vary in length and in structure with the terrain upon which the battle is fought. A battle line may be from two to twelve troop units in length (that many troop units lines up abreast) and may be structurally divided into as many as five different sections - LEFT FLANK, LEFT LINE, CENTER, RIGHT LINE and RIGHT FLANK. Certain types of terrain may require a battle line wihtout flanks, or with a very wide center, etc. A diagram of the exact length and structure of the battle lines determined by a particular terrain is called a battle configuration. For a complete listing of all these, see the Battle Configuration chart.
Some quick notes about the structure of battle lines:
1. In the center of a battle line, fighting is hard and heavy. Heavier armor is a great asset. Heavy cavalry can be devastating during the charge, but it is at a disadvantage once the melee begins. Heavy infantry types are at their best here.
2. Conditions on the left line and right line are much less packed. Medium troop types with higher mobility do well here.
3. The flanks are the most mobile areas of a battle line. There, a lightly armored (and fast) troop unit may be equal to a more heavily armored unit. Cavalry and archer units do well on the flanks.
When a province is invaded, all characters currently located in that province will respond to the invasion and join with troops in the defense. Naturally all characters assigned to armies located within the province being invaded will also be available to join in the defense of the province. In addition all characters assigned to nearby defensive imperial armies will also arrive for the invasion battle. The term "provincial commander" used at various places in the rules and in your Kingdom Reports is an intentionally ambiguous term which simply means the most senior (oldest) ranking character available in the defense of a province from invasion. If no characters are available for the defense, the province commander is automatically assumed by the computer to be a minor commander within the ranks of your troops. It is the responsibility of the province commander (otherwise known as an "army commander") to take charge of the defending troops and carry out your standing province defense orders.
Every province that you control will have standing defense orders to be used in case of an enemy attack. A standing order remains in effect from turn to turn until you change it. Whenever you conquer a new province you will be given an easy means to issue a complete set of defense orders for it, which you may tailor for your troops and strategic goals.
Optional standing defense orders for a province are:
1. ATTEMPT TO AMBUSH
2. ATTEMPT HIDDEN MOVEMENT
3. ATTEMPT TO DECLINE BATTLE
You may issue some, none, or any combination of the above as standing orders for the defense of a province. No orders dispatching patrols are necessary as one half of the troops in each provincial army are automatically on patrol each turn. Also, if you attempt an ambush, one half of the troops in the provincial army will carry out that order.
Mandatory standing defense orders for each province are:
1. PREFERRED TERRAIN
2. BATTLE SELECTION
You must select one type of terrain as the preferred terrain for the defense of a province. In the event of an attack, your forces will attempt to maneuver to a battle field in terrain of the type called for in their standing orders. Troops defending a province will attempt to engage the enemy in a battle of the type called for in their standing orders. You may make a battle selection of either OPEN FIELD, SET PIECE, or COMMANDER'S DISCRETION. The Commander's Discretion order leaves battle selection up to the character commanding your forces at the scene. It allows your forces the most maneuverability and will make reaching preferred terrain their first priority.
Raids are fast moving attacks designed to devastate enemy provinces and to pillage loot for the coffers of your royal treasury. During war seasons as many as eight troops (approximately 30,000 warriors) may raid at one time, so raids are of more consequence than you might imagine. In addition to bringing in wealth for you, a highly successful raid can ravage a province from one end to the other, causing such havoc and destruction that it yields no wealth whatsoever to its controlling kingdom for that turn. Raids may be conducted on any turn and are especially lucrative during peace years. Preparations for a raid must be made one turn in advance.
For each raid you will make decisions as follows:
1. Assign one army to the raid. The army assigned must be located in a province adjacent to the one you are raiding. The army assigned may be a provincial army of any size or an active imperial army of eight troops or less. A raiding army will carry out its assignment and then return to the province where it was located at the start of the turn. If your provincial army contains more than eight troops, the eight most experienced will participate in the raid.
2. Decide whether to raid the whole province or simply its trade routes. Raids on trade routes are less risky but more damaging to the income of a far away kingdom than the one controlling the province. If you attempt to raid trade routes and none are present, you will instead raid the whole province.
3. You may assign one of your characters to command the raid. If you wish to place a character in command who is not presently assigned to the raiding army, then you must issue a command order on the same turn which assigns him to the raiding army.
4. Make a battle selection. You may choose DISPERSAL, OPEN FIELD, or SET PIECE battle. Disperal means dividing up and fleeing from engagements with defending troops. Raiders drawn into open field or set piece battle tend to loose any loot which they have gained unless victorious over the defenders.
All raiding armies will retreat from battle after sustaining LIGHT losses (25%) while defending troops will only retreat after taking HEAVY losses (75%).
Invasions are full-fledged military campaigns. A successful invasion will result in your kingdom gaining control of the province which you have invaded. The invasion and conquest of a province is in most cases a three step (three- turn) process. Example: On Turn 1 you declare intent to invade province XYZ. On turn 2 you will engage in the strategic movement phase of the invasion of XYZ province by filling out an invasion commands form. This form will allow you to designate an invasion commander, list the armies which will participate in the invasion, etc. On turn 3 you will receive the results of the strategic movement--whether your army was drawn into an open field battle, or whether it remained in ranks to fight a set piece battle. If the former, the results of the open field battle will be printed immediately after the description of the strategic movement. The winner of the open field battle on turn 2 will be in control of the province on turn 3.
If you are to fight a set piece battle against the troops currently in control of the province you have invaded, you will fill out a set piece battle form on turn 3, arraying your troops and characters in battle formation and casting fearsome battle magics. The winner of the set piece battle on turn 3 will be in control of the province on turn 4.
Preparation: Preparation for an invasion is accomplished by using the "Intent to Invade" declaration. On the turn following invasion preparations, you will issue commands for the strategic movement phase.
Strategic Movement: Strategic movement takes one turn and represents the marching of your armies into the province under attack and the consequent maneuvering of your forces prior to the onset of battle. In this phase you will make the following decisions:
1) Assign armies to the invasion. Any number of armies may participate in an invasion. At least one active imperial army or navy must invade. Imperial armies must have at least eight troops. All invading armies must be adjacent to the province under attack at the start of their turn. Provincial armies assigned must also be adjacent to, or in the same province as, and invading imperial army. Provincial armies assigned are disbanded and become part of the imperial army. Provincial troops which might put an imperial army over the 30 troop limit will detach and stay behind in their province of origin. Example: An imperial army of twenty-five troops and a provincial army of ten troops are assigned to an invasion. The provincial army disbands; five of its troops join the imperial army, bringing it up to its maximum capacity of thirty troops. The remaining five troop units return to reform as a new provincial army. You may wish to strengthen provincial armies depleted by an invading imperial army on the same turn by assigning troops to those provinces from your capital.
2) You may choose one character to be the invasion commander. The character you choose may not be engaged in battle elsewhere and if not presently with one of the invading armies, must be assigned to one of them with a separate order. Characters with strategic magic should prepare the spells on this turn.
3) Decide on stratagems. You will make a yes or no decision whether or not to attempt either HIDDEN MOVEMENT or DECLINE BATTLE.
4) Choose a terrain for your army to maneuver towards. You may list one preferred terrain.
5) Dispatch patrols. You will designate the category, type and number of troops (if any) you wish to send out on patrol.
6) Select a battle type. You may choose either OPEN FIELD, SET PIECE, or COMMANDER'S DISCRETION. Your army will attempt to engage the enemy in the type of battle you select or otherwise in the type of battle which your invasion commander decides is appropriate. The advantage of open field battle is that such battles actually take place immediately after the strategic movement phase and thus quickly resolve the campaign. Set piece battle has the advantage of maximizing your personal control over the outcome of any battle by placing troops and characters in the most advantageous position, and by allowing the use of battle magic. Commander's discretion places the primary emphasis of your maneuvers on reaching preferred terrain rather than a specific type of battle.
All other factors being equal (which is rarely the case) there is an even chance of getting an open field or a set piece battle.
Invasion Battle: On the turn in which a set piece battle is to take place, both sides will receive a report called the Battle Intelligence Summary. This report will contain numbered lists of all troops and characters which you have present on the battlefield, a notation of the terrain on which the battle will be fought, and an estimation of the number and type of troops in the army which opposes you.
Multiple Player Invasions: On any turn in which more than one player invades the same province on the same turn all non-allied armies present in the province will engage one another separately in order based upon the maneuvering effectiveness of each army until the forces of only one kingdom or group of allied kingdoms remains in the province. The kingdom whose forces are victorious in the final battle is granted control of the province. If the invading kingdoms are not formal allies, they will engage in battle with one another for control of the province. Note also that under no circumstance can the troops of one kingdom combine with the troops of another kingdom for battle. Formal allies do not battle each other; they also do not fight together. All kingdoms fight their own separate battles against individual separate opponents. If the same kingdom assigns more than one army to participate in an invasion, all of that kingdom's armies will combine to fight as a single force in the invasion battle.
For defending players: If you will be defending against more than one invasion on the same turn, your report may include a list of troops from a nearby defensive imperial army that may be able to reach more than one battle during that war season if they survive.
The special case noted above represents extreme circumstances in which a kingdom is hard-pressed to defend itself and fighting several defensive battles at once. For those battles where the defense is uncertain as to the actual troops which will be able to arrive, the defensive player will issue much abbreviated orders for the battle (loss acceptance and battle magic only). In these cases, the majority of battle decisions will be made by on- site characters, one of whom will assume responsibility as your army commander.
Aside from the special case noted above, both participants in a set piece invasion battle will make decisions for the battle as follows:
1) Troop and character dispositions. You will assign each of your individual troops and characters to positions in the battle lines. All characters must be placed with a troop unit. If you do not assign them to a unit the computer will place them in one randomly.
2) Loss Acceptance. You will decide how many routed and destroyed troops your army will accept before attempting to withdraw from the battle field. You may choose one of either LIGHT (25%), STANDARD (50%), HEAVY (75%), or TOTAL (100%) losses.
3) Commander assignments. If during strategic movement you did not assign an army commander, you will now have another opportunity to do so. You may also assign characters to any of the following command positions: Right Flank Commander, Left Flank Commander, Cavalry Commander, or Archery Commander. The Army Commander may hold a second command post (such as Cavalry Commander) if you desire.
Your army commander will use his abilities to oversee troop movements during the battle. He will order troops up from the back lines to fill gaps which appear in the front lines of the conflict. Your army commander may be assigned to any position in the battle lines. However, he will retain his effectiveness to oversee the entire battle only so long as he is not drawn into the front line.
A Flank Commander will enhance your armies' effectiveness in flanking maneuvers, (see flanking below). Flank Commanders must be placed with a troop unit on either the first or second battle line of the flank under their command.
An Archery Commander will use his abilities to enhance your army's ability to gain superiority in missile fire (see "MISSILE FIRE"). If you designate an Archery Commander, he must be placed with an archer troop unit in the second battle line.
A Cavalry Commander may only be assigned to the second battle line and must be placed with a cavalry, mammoth, or chariot troop unit. He will lead a counter-charge as the opportunity to do so arises. A Cavalry Commander greatly increases the charging ability of the troop unit he is placed with.
In addition to filling command positions, all characters will also have an inspirational effect on the troop unit which they are placed with. All characters increase the melee and morale abilities of the troop they are with in proportion to the character's heroism.
4) Select battle magic. All characters that are with your army at the site of a set piece battle will have the opportunity to use any battle magic that they posess. Characters with magic ability may cast spells in addition to any other battle assignments which you give them. You will select the spells which your characters will attempt to cast. Each character may cast a maximum of two spells. Some spells may not be cast in conjunction with other spells at the same battle by the same character. For a listing of all spell casting limitations see SPELL CHART.
5) You may, if you wish, order a special disengagement and advance. This simply means that you can order some or all of the troops in your front battle line to "trade places" with your second battle line at a specified point in the battle. An example of this is the army which places archers in their front battle line who, as the armies close on each other, fade back to the second battle line to be replaced with heavy infantry. This does NOT move your front line to the rear of the battle, nor is it an order to retreat.
The results of all battles in which you participate will be reported to you in blow-by-blow detail. You will read of the fanfare of trumpets, the shriek of sword against shield, the dust and thunder of horses charging upon an open plain; and taste for yourself the fruits of victory and defeat. All set piece battles can be divided into four critical stages: flanking maneuvers, missile fire, the charge, and close combat. As the two opposing armies close on one another from a distance they will each attempt to envelop the flanks of the other, and if successful, will gain a significant advantage. The speed of your troop units on the flanks will have the greatest impact on your ability to outflank your opponent.
At the same time that flanking maneuvers take place, the armies will engage in missile fire. Both sides will fire solid blasts of arrows, spears, darts, and other missile weapons to wreak as much havoc as possible among the enemy's ranks. As the armies close upon one another, all troop units in the first battle line and all archers in the second will fire missiles. After the armies close, missile fire will only occur between the front battle lines.
The charge is that stage of battle where the armies close, leading to the close combat stage. Those troop units better suited to the charge--cavalry, chariots, mammoths, and heavy infantry, will do the most damage here. The best defense against charging troops are troops armed with pikes. No troop may expect to have an advantage when charging against this type of weapon!
The final stage of battle is that of close combat. During close combat, battle takes place only between the front battle lines. Troops on the front line will engage each other with both melee, and missile fire. As troops are destroyed or routed from the front lines, troops from the ranks behind will endeavor to fill the gaps left by the retreating (or dead) troops. While it is up to you to ensure a strong initial troop formation, a good army commander can do much to make sure the front line stays strong and any holes are filled quickly. Troop units that are destroyed or routed during battle are counted against the loss acceptance level each army has previously selected. Routed units are those troops whose morale has been broken and have scattered or fled the battlefield. After the battle, some routed troops counted against your loss acceptance may return--others may not.
Combat is reported in a series of rounds, each representing one hour, except in fort battles, where each round represents a week of siege. Battles rarely proceed past nightfall, but if no decisive victor is determined on the first day, battle may continue the next day, or even longer. If the battle is broken off with no clear victor, the defending kingdom maintains control of the contested province. Most battles continue until one side is victorious.
Victory results when one army attempts to withdraw after having exceeded its loss acceptance level. An army whose loss acceptance level has been exceeded will attempt to make an orderly withdrawal to the nearest friendly province.
Unfortunately the realities for retreating armies are not pleasant, and in many instances a withdrawal may turn into a general rout of the entire army.
On the turn in which a set piece battle occurs the possibility exists for both sides to bring additional forces to bear on the outcome of the battle. Either side may assign additional troops from the capital to an army involved in the battle. Additionally, the defending player may at his option move an active imperial army to the province in which the battle is to take place. In either case the additional forces may or may not arrive in time to aid in the battle. Those forces which do arrive on time will be assigned to the reserves or may alternately become engaged in conflicts on the fringes of the main set piece battle. Remember the great costs which may be associated with stationing vast numbers of troops within the same province.
In everyday reality, the factors influencing the outcome of any particular event are numerous and sometimes unpredictable. The same can be said for Hyborian War. This rulebook contains all the orders possible in Hyborian War: it does not and cannot provide examples of the hundreds of possible outcomes of these orders. We hope the single following example will provide a helpful guide for thought as each player contemplates the potential influences and consequences of his or her actions in the game. As our illustration let us examine the affects of loss acceptance level on troop morale and retreat capability.
* An army which is ordered to retreat after light losses will suffer a reduction in morale. The warriors know that their commanders do not expect victory. At the same time, each troop's ability to retreat from the battlefield is increased. The troops are prepared in advance to make such a retreat. If during the strategic movement phase the army had attempted to decline battle, the effective ability of each troop to retreat would be even greater. After all, the army has already spent months attempting to minimize contact with the enemy. The sum affect of a light loss acceptance level is to greatly reduce an army's losses at the expense of battle effectiveness.
* At the other end of the spectrum, an army which is ordered to accept total losses will receive an improvement to morale. The warriors know that the upcoming battle will be fought to the death. Each troop's ability to retreat will be significantly reduced. The army is "committed" and, should the battle weigh against them, few troops will be able to extricate themselves. The sum effect of a total loss acceptance level is to increase battle effectiveness at the risk of losing most or all of the army if defeated.
* Loss acceptance may affect the morale of opposing troops. An enemy force prepared to stand to the last man can be a sobering sight. Conversely, a force prepared to retreat may seem easy prey.
* Loss acceptance levels in between light and total have the same effect but to a lesser degree.
* This listing has detailed only the effect of loss acceptance on morale and retreat capability. The presence of characters at the battle, terrain, troop type, success or failure in previous battles, magic, as well as other less significant factors, may all play a part in determining a particular troops' morale and retreat capability.
THE COMMAND SHEET
SAMPLE COMMAND SHEET
EXAMPLE COMMAND SHEET
THE HYBORIAN WAR COMMAND SHEET
Orders For Amazonia
Turn: 1 Date Due: A.S.A.P.
Account _1____ Player Name _Bob_Smith_______ Signature _Bob Smith_______
The last turn was a Winter Warseason, this turn is a time of Peace Years
Provinces owned: 11
I Command Bisal Mangwa AMAZ-CHA to (_A)ctively__(____R___)ule_____(________)________(________)
I Command Dambago Kazemba AMAZ-ADJ to (_J)oin______(_IA-1___)________(________)________(________)
I Command Tulari Nzinga AMAZ-1 to (_A)ctively__(____R___)ule_____(________)________(________)
I Command Lady Tuta Nzinga AMAZ-2 to (_P)rotect___(____P___)rovince_(___11___)________(________)
( Currently with IA-2 )
I Command Dajuri Kazemba AMAZ-3 to (_P)rovince__(___68___)________(____K___)idnap___(_JUMA-21)
( Currently with IA-2 )
I Command General Sutha Nzinga AMAZ-4 to (_A)ctively__(____R___)ule_____(________)________(________)
( Currently with IA-2 )
I Command Manamajaba Nzinga AMAZ-5 to (_S)py_______(____C___)ourt____(__TOMB__)alku____(________)
( Currently with IA-2 )
I Command Tambaza Nzinga AMAZ-6 to (_C)ounterspy(____K___)ingdom__(________)________(________)
I Command Nagori Nzinga AMAZ-7 to (_A)ctively__(____R___)ule_____(________)________(________)
( Currently with IA-2 )
I Command Sukuju Kulari AMAZ-8 to (_A)dventure_(________)________(________)________(________)
I Command 1st Imperial Army in province 11 to(M)ove to (P)rovince (_________)
Address Requests 1)_TOMB___ 2)_CORI___ or (__) Privacy Option
I Declare (____5____)_________(_T_)roops____(_____1____)__________(____R____)aised____
I Declare (____5____)_________(_T_)roops____(_____2____)__________(____R____)aised____
I Declare (____F____)ar_______(_S_)ight_____(_____S____)pell______(_AMAZ-ADJ)_________
I Declare (_AMAZ-5__)_________(_M_)ove______(_____P____)rovince___(___11____)_________
I Declare (____C____)hange____(_S_)tatus____(___IA-2___)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (____I____)ntent____(_I_)nvade____(____358___)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (____I____)ntent____(_R_)aid______(____358___)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (____T____)errain___(_OP)en_______(_____11___)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
Nation 2 Page 6 61524147
HYBORIAN WAR E-MAIL TURNS
A GUIDE
The two most important things to remember when e-mailing your Hyborian War turns are to send them to hw@reality.com and to include your authentication code.
What is an authentication code, why is it necessary, and, for that matter, where is the bloody thing? Well you may ask. An authentication code is a unique number associated with a specific game, kingdom, and turn number. It is used as a kind of electronic signature to verify that e-mail orders are coming from someone who actually has a copy of the turn in their possession. You will find you authentication code at the top of your turnsheet (the sheet you would send in if you were snail mailing your orders). It is an eleven digit number found directly under your game number, turn number, and date due. You must type this number exactly right! If you make a typo on your authentication code, the program that processes the turns will not recognize it and will notify you that your code is missing. If you have time, you can, of course, resend your orders with the corrected authentication code.
You will get two separate messages regarding your turn. The first is a computer generated message simply acknowledging reciept of your turn. You will later also receive a message listing all the orders we received from you. If your orders are incomplete, or if you wish to amend your orders, your can resend your orders. If you do have occasion to resend corrected orders, you must resend all of your orders.
1. Send your turn to hw@reality.com . Please don't send it to any other address.
2. It is best to submit your orders a few days early. Email turn entry is not yet automated, so if you send your orders at the last minute, you may miss the turn.
BE WARNED! If you don't get confirmation within 24 hours, please e-mail our Customer Service department to let us know there's a problem and resend your turn. We will always send you a confirmation when we've received your turn, so if you get no confirmation, make sure you resend it!
3. If you submit changes to previously submitted orders, please list your changes at the top of your email. This makes it much less error-prone if the first turn has already been input.
4. Make sure you include the following on the top of each e-mail:
Your name,
Your account number,
Your authentication code,
Your game number and kingdom name (e.g., "Vendhya, HW 603"),
-- and --
Your e-mail address (in case there are problems).
5. Type in your commands in the order they appear on the turnsheet. Please!
6. Do not skip any characters if they are listed in the character command section, even if you intend to give them no order (if you do, it is difficult to input). E-mail your turn as if you would be phoning it in. If they aren't listed in the character command section, however (if they are in set piece battle or are dead), please do not add them.
7. Same goes for armies: Do not skip any armies if they are listed in the army command section, even if you intend to give them no orders. But again, if they are not listed (if they are in set piece battle or are inactive), do not add them.
8. If you intend to cancel a raid or invasion order, write something like this "Raid #1 on Province 11: Cancel." Don't just skip it or the computer (when we do get this automated) will get confused. And it helps keep the humans from being confused, too.
9. Use spaces rather than tabs to move across the page. (This makes it print better.) Also, use only ASCII characters. Make sure your email program sends your email in Text mode, not HTML-encoded. In many mailers this means that you have to set the recipient to receive mail in plaintext (text/plain) and US-ASCII (NOT ISO-8859-1 or other wierd character sets). If you don't do this, we may not be able to read your orders, and thus would not be able to enter them.
10. Be sure to type everything correctly. We're good, but we're not psychic!
11. See the example below.
Good luck in the game! -- RSI
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sample Hyborian War Email Turn
Orders for Shem in HW 123, turn 58
Authentication: 75083971097
Name: Joe Bob Higgledorf
Account: 43678
I command:
SHEM-CHA Actively Rule
SHEM-ADJ Counterspy Court
SHEM-1 Actively Rule
SHEM-3 (no orders--stay with army)
SHEM-4 Protect Province 138
SHEM-5 Join PA-136
SHEM-7 Adventure
SHEM-8 (no orders--stay with army)
SHEM-9 Actively Rule
SHEM-10 Far Sight 141
SHEM-12 Bless 140
Armies:
IA-1 (no orders)
IA-3 move to province 74
IA-4 (no orders)
Troops:
1-5 Join IA-3
6-13 Join PA-193
Rest Join IA-5
Address Requests: TURA HYPE
Set Ransom for Jodpuras Ninus: Superior
I declare:
SHEM-9 Rule Province 136
Good Ransom Shem-9
100 Troops type 2 Raised
10 Troops type 1 Raised
Shem-9 Move to Province 136
Intent to Invade 32
Intent to Invade 125
Force March Spell for AQUI-4
Intent to Ally AQUI
Province Defense Orders For Grasslands of Amazonia (Province #357)
Ambush
Preferred Terrain: OP
Battle selection: Set Piece
Province Defense Orders For Keshian Jungle (Province #76)
Hidden Movement
Preferred Terrain: FO
Battle selection: Commanders Descretion
Raid Orders for Raid #1 on Khemi (Province #142)
Province
Dispersal
Army: PA-136
Commander: SHEM-4
Raid Orders for Raid #2 on Luxur (Province #141)
Trade Routes
Dispersal
Army: PA-13
Commander: none
Raid Orders for Raid #3 on Luxur (Province #141)
Cancel Raid
Raid Orders for Raid #4 on Khemi (Province #142)
Province
Dispersal
Army: PA-137
Commander: none
Invasion Orders for Invasion #1 into Eastern Amazonia (Province #358)
Commander: SHEM-8
Armies: IA-1 IA-4
Battle type: Set Piece
Preferred terrain: OP
Patrols: none
Invasion Orders for Invasion #2 into Savannah (Province #353)
Cancel
Battle Orders For Battle #1 in Xachotl (Province #354)
[ 10 ] [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 13 ]
[ 11 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 15 ] [ 17 ] [ 18 ] [ 14 ]
[ 12 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] [ 23 ] [ 24 ] [ 25 ] [ 26 ] [ 27 ]
[ 28 ] [ 29 ] [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] [ 33 ] [ 34 ] [ 35 ]
[ - ] [ 37 ] [ 36 ] [ 19 ] [ 16 ] [ 20 ] [ 38 ] [ - ]
[ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ]
Disengage and advance: Left Flank & Right Flank
When: Closing
Assign SHEM-11 to troop 13
SHEM-2 to troop 10
SHEM-6 to troop 13
Army commander: 1
Archery commander: -
Cavalry commander: 1
Right flank commander: 3
Left flank commander: 2
SHEM-2 casts Firewall
SHEM-11 casts Missile Shield, Phantom Warriors
Loss acceptance: Total Loss
THE COMMAND SHEET
Each turn you will receive your Kingdom Report and a Command Sheet for issuing orders for the next turn. Your name, account number, the name of your kingdom, the game number, and the turn number of your game will appear at the top of each Command Sheet. Once you have decided upon what actions you wish to perform for the turn, fill out and sign the turn sheet, then return it to us for processing. We will use your and other turn sheets to determine the turn results.
There are two types of orders used in the game. These are commands and declarations. Only one command may be issued per turn for each troop, character or army. Declarations are additional instructions, several of which may be given each turn to any one of the above. However, no more than one of each type of declaration may be issued for each character, army etc. For instance, while you may only command a powerful wizard to cast one spell per turn, you may also declare that he move to a safer location and declare him the ruler of a province.
On the turn sheet, a command line will be provided for each troop, character or army that you may command. The command line will include for you the names of those you command; you simply fill in which command you want for each of them. After that, several lines will be provided for declarations. Unlike commands, where only one is issued for each recipient each turn, there may be some turns where you will run out of room for all the declarations you wish to make. Simply list the additional declarations (neatly, please) on a separate sheet of paper and include it with your Command Sheet. If such lists cannot be read, or are not written in the same format as Command Sheet declarations, there is no guarantee they will be processed with your other orders.
Characters and armies involved in set piece battle may not be issued a command order. All commands for characters or armies in set piece battle are issued on the battle orders form. Characters who are imprisoned may be issued orders. If the character is ransomed, or rescued that turn, the character will carry out your orders for that turn.
Hyboria can be a deadly place and characters assigned to dangerous missions who are lacking in ability will almost certainly suffer either death or capture. Dangerous missions are Adventure, Kidnapping, Assassination, Spying, Foment Unrest, Dispel Magic, and Rescue. It is not a good idea to send your wizard who has Superior magic but Poor personal combat and Poor heroism adventuring. Only one form of spying is non-dangerous and that is world spying. On all other types of spying missions your characters will definitely be risking life and limb!
On the other hand, realize that each of your characters is an important resource to be used to the best advantage of your kingdom. You should command ALL of your characters to do something every turn except for those characters who are stationed with an army. (If a character is assigned to an army and you wish that character to remain on assignment with that army, you should just leave that character's command line blank). You are not required to give any of your characters a command i.e. fill in that character's command line, however, it is usually in your best interest to do so.
Often you will see what we call "order prompts" on your command sheet. These are order lines halfway filled out for declarations that the computer thinks that you may which to issue. The order prompt is meant as a convenient reminder only. If, for example, you do not wish to move one of your active imperial armies on a given turn then you may simply leave the movement order prompt for that army blank.
Remember to make sure and use the exact format for whatever orders you are trying to issue when filling out your command sheet. The exact format for most orders can be found in the Order Codes section of the Hyborian War Rules. Check all your orders against this list before sending in your command sheet to be processed. Although we will do our best to process all your orders, if you leave a critical piece of information off of your turn sheet, the province number, the ID number of a character, etc., it may not be possible for us to process one of your orders. A little extra care on this point can go along way to making sure that your commands are always processed smoothly and as you desired. You may write out your orders in full, or use the abbrieviations from the Order Codes chart. All character and province identification numbers, however, must be written out completely in the appropriate box. Examples of orders in these rules will be given in the following format:
ALL CAPITALS = Pre-printed portion of the order.
(IN PARENTHESES, CAPITAL LETTER) = This is the first letter of the command, which you write inside the box. Since we only use the first letter, you need only fill that much out, unless you prefer writing the entire word.
(character ID) = fill in the identification number of the character who is either doing the action or is the target of the action.
(XYZ) = fill in the MAP NUMBER of the province that is targeted by the action.
(Army ID) = fill in the identification number of the army which is targeted by the action.
(Kingdom abrv) = fill in the abbreviation for the KINGDOM which is targeted by the action.
COMMAND ORDERS
There are various kinds of commands at your disposal. Rulership orders are those orders concerned with the general welfare of your Kingdom and its provinces. A prosperous and well-ruled Kingdom provides an excellent base from which to begin travelling the road to empire.
RULERSHIP
Active Rule: While a province Ruler or Monarch will help the welfare of your Kingdom regardless of what he may do otherwise (a character may be a ruler in name only and spend most of his time away doing other important tasks for the Kingdom), he may be especially good for the welfare of your provinces if concentrating solely on his duties to his subjects. To order a character to spend a turn actively ruling a province, you will use a command order. Example:
I COMMAND LORD HAN TO (A)ctively (R)ule
HEROISM
The Hyborian Age is an age of Heroism when a strong warrior with little more than a sword and his courage may travel the world over in search of glory, adventure and treasure. Although no greater hero exists in the world than the grim-faced slayer Conan the Barbarian, there are many heroes of the Hyborian Age who follow the often bloody path of fortune-seeking, ever willing to take on missions worthy of their calling. Heroic missions are those character actions which bring to life this aspect of the Hyborian Age. The entire world of Hyboria awaits them.
All Heroic Missions are ordered by using the command line for the character that you wish to assign to the mission. Heroic missions are, need we say, a specialty of all Heroes.
Adventure: Any character may set forth to adventure across the face of the Hyborian world. This includes characters who are province Rulers or Monarchs. All HEROES are imbued with wanderlust and a love of adventure so strong that they have a disturbing tendancy to go adventuring regardless of what you assign them to do. Adventuring can be dangerous and will undoubtedly lead to many life-and-death situations for the adventuring character. The rewards can also be great, both in terms of wealth for the Kingdom and in experience (increased ability) for the character. As in the Conan stories, just about anything can happen on an adventure! Example:
I COMMAND KARTH STRONGBLADE TO (A)dventure
Attempt Rescue: Was one of your characters captured or kidnapped by a foreign Kingdom? It may be time to call in one of your HEROES. You may order any of your characters to attempt to rescue any one of your characters who is in the grasp of a foreign power. Certainly blood will be spilled, but if the rescuer is successful there will be no need to pay a ransom and you will have shown clearly the ineptness of your character's former captors! A character may attempt to recue himself if he has been captured. Example:
I COMMAND KARTH STRONGBLADE TO (P)rovince (XYZ) to (R)escue (character ID)
Protection Duty: Powerful individuals the world over often have need of protectors. Hyboria can be a dangerous place to live, especially with all the would-be assassins and kidnappers who seem to infest every dark corner awaiting an opportune moment to make a name for themselves. You may assign any of your characters to protection duty in one of your provinces. A character so assigned will try to protect all of your other characters in that province from any kind of harm. Protecting your capitol province provides extra security against those annoying heroes who try to rescue your prisoners. You CANNOT protect your court or the kingdom as a whole, only individual provinces. Example:
I COMMAND KARTH STRONGBLADE TO (P)rotect (P)rovince (XYZ)
INTRIGUE
Intrigue orders are for those character actions concerned with the secret and less "official" means of dealing with other kingdoms. If you find your dreams of conquest are not being fulfilled merely by the sending invasion forces into other kingdoms, these orders can give you the extra edge you may need. Any character can be assigned to tasks of intrigue, but your agents are generally best suited for this type of activity. Spies are the eyes and ears of your kingdom. You may assign any of your characters to duty in either a world, kingdom, provincial, or court spying network. With kingdom and provincial spying, a character must be assigned to ferret out specific sorts of information. In a world or court spy network, your characters will simply provide you with information as it comes to them. At the end of that turn you will receive a report of the information gathered. Remember that all commands cover only one turn. To keep a spy spying, so to speak, you would have to issue that command for him each turn.
Spy Kingdom: Within a kingdom spy network, a character may be commanded to seek out information about either the royal treasury or military strength of another kingdom. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (S)py (K)ingdom, (M)ilitary of (Kingdom abrv)
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (S)py (K)ingdom, (T)reasury of (Kingdom abrv)
Spy Province: Within a provincial spy network, your character may be used to study and report on the terrain of a given province, or to evaluate the military forces that are there. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (S)py (XYZ) (T)errain
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (S)py (XYZ) (M)ilitary
World Spy: World spying can bring you a wealth of information. Through it you may learn of virtually everything taking place in Hyboria. While some of the information your world spying may bring in may not be useful directly to you, it may be worth something to others, and they may be willing to pay for it. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (W)orld (S)pying
Court Spying: Since each kingdom's court is little more than the sum of its characters, court spying will bring information about specific characters in other kingdoms. Knowing how capable your characters are is important, but knowing the capabilities of other players' characters may be equally important. Disciples of Sun Tzu, take heed! Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (S)py (C)ourt of (Kingdom abrv)
Counter-spy: Counter-spies are the guardians of your Kingdom's most important secrets and intentions. It is the job of a counter-spy to use both intrigue and combat ability to keep spies from other kingdoms from doing their jobs. You may assign any character to counter-spy for your kingdom at large, any province under you control, or the royal court itself. These areas of counter-spying are designed to protect against enemy spying in the same area. There is no protection against world spying. After all, who can stop the winds that carry the whisper of a caravan trader to the ear of a travelling stranger in a dark cloak? Although counter-spies will guard most closely the area they are assigned to, it is possible that a counter spy for a province may uncover a character sent on a kingdom or court spying mission, and so on. Examples:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (C)ounterspy the (K)ingdom
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (C)ounterspy (P)rovince (XYZ)
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (C)ounterspy the (C)ourt
Assassination: Have you considered that those infidels on your borders might be slower to invade you if a certain powerful wizard did not ride with them? An assassin might be just what you need. You may command any of your characters to attempt to assassinate any other character in the world. Naturally, however, your assassin will need to know the identity and whereabouts of his intended victim so some court spying may be a necessary prelude to the mission. Assassination orders are not allowed on turn one for reasons of game integrity. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (P)rovince (XYZ) to (A)ssassinate (character ID)
Kidnapping: A popular means of garnering wealth to fill the coffers of the royal treasury is through kidnapping. A kidnapped character may later be ransomed back to the kingdom he was taken from or simply be held to languish in your imperial dungeons. You may command any of your characters to attempt to kidnap any other character in the world, so long as you know the location and identity of your target. Kidnapping orders are not allowed on turn 1 for reasons of game integrity. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (P)rovince (XYZ) to (K)idnap (character ID)
Foment Unrest: One of the more subtle means of harming a neighboring kingdom while maintaining an outward appearance of friendly relations is through political subversion--specifically by attempting to foment unrest in one of a foreign kingdom's provinces. Unrest in a province can decrease its productivity, reduce its loyalty, and possibly cause its population to rebel against the kingdom which controls it. You may command any of your characters to attempt to foment unrest in any province in the world. The character you assign will attempt to keep his activities as secret as possible. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (F)oment (U)nrest in (XYZ)
DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS
Despite the continual war which rages across the face of Hyboria, the world is not without diplomacy. Diplomatic missions are concerned with preventing or breaking off war, or allying with another kingdom in preparation for a war. A good diplomat can be as useful as any army, as he may be able to turn aside the blades of your enemies before they cross your borders. All major forms of diplomacy can be performed by your characters within the context of the game itself, thus freeing you from any necessity to engage in outside "player-to-player" diplomacy.
Negotiate Peace: You may command any of your characters to act as emissaries between your kingdom and another kingdom to negotiate a peace treaty. If your character is successful, the kingdom that you send him to will sign a peace treaty forbidding an invasion of your kingdom. Such peace treaties last until the next peace years turn, after which all peace treaties expire. Nothing prevents your kingdom from invading a kingdom which has signed a treaty with you, though that effectively breaks the treaty. It is much more difficult to negotiate a peace treaty with a kingdom that already has an invasion force in one or more of your provinces. Note that peace treaties do not affect seazones. Example:
I COMMAND TERSAL REYUS TO (N)egotiate (P)eace with (Kingdom abrv)
Break Foreign Alliance: It is possible for a character using diplomacy to break a Formal Alliance between two outside Kingdoms. You may command any of your characters to spread lies and rumors between the two allied Kingdoms in an effort to disrupt their alliance. Even very good diplomats and Agents will find it very difficult to break up a foreign alliance. Example:
I COMMAND TERSAL REYUS TO (B)reak the (A)lliance between (Kingdom abrv) and (Kingdom abrv)
Disrupt War Pact: If more than one kingdom invades provinces under your control, they are automatically considered to be in a WARPACT. For purposes of the "Disrupt Warpact" command, all armies invading the same kingdom on the same turn are considered to be in a WARPACT. You may command any of your characters to attempt to disrupt relations between the separate members of the WARPACT, causing one or more of the invading kingdoms to recall its armies and return to its own land. A character may achieve this by using diplomacy and intrigue to play the suspicions and fears of the various kingdoms against one another. Example:
I COMMAND TERSAL REYUS TO (D)isrupt the (W)arpact.
Avoid Diplomatic Influence: You may command any of your characters to direct his attention towards avoiding diplomatic attempts from a specific foreign kingdom. Your character may do a variety of things, including stirring up local opinion against that kingdom and rebuffing emissaries and diplomatic delegations. Avoiding diplomatic influence is not as easy as it may appear. However, it is long-lasting once successfuly achieved (i.e. your subjects will develop and maintain a distaste for the silver-tongued diplomats of a foreign kingdom). On any turn following this command you will receive a report on how well your character did. Your level of success in avoiding the diplomatic influence of another kingdom will provide immunity against all future attempts from that kingdom until the next peace years turn. On the next peace years turn, your level of avoidance will return to its original level. Example:
I COMMAND TERSAL REYUS TO (A)void the (I)nfluence of (Kingdom abrv)
SPELL CASTING
Note that many of the spells available can be used differently in different situations, and thus may be used as either commands or declarations. A spell used as a command does not need to be declared as well.
Bless - The bless spell will increase the productivity (both wealth and troops) of any province on which it is cast. It will also increase satisfaction and the loyalty of the local population of that province to your kingdom. This spell may be cast upon any single province or seazone in the Hyborian world. A bless spell lasts for one turn and may be cast from any location. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (B)less (XYZ)
Curse - The curse spell is the opposite of the bless spell. A curse will decrease productivity as well as the satisfaction and loyalty of the people in the province being cursed. A character with this spell may, from any location, place a curse on any province in the Hyborian World. The curse will last for one turn. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)urse (XYZ)
Rains - This spell in addition to its use as a strategic spell may be used as province magic. The rains spell allows a character to summon great rain storms at will. When used as province magic, the rains spell will tend to be helpful to dry desert provinces and cause ruin to swampy or heavily rivered provinces. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)ast (R)ains on (XYZ)
Sunbane - This spell, in addition to its use as a strategic spell, may be used as province magic. The sunbane spell allows a character to summon burning heat from the sun, banishing the fiercest storms. When used as province magic, the sunbane spell will tend to be helpful to cold, snowy provinces and harmful to hot, desert provinces.
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)ast (S)unbane on (XYZ)
Long Life - The long life spell may only be cast during a peace years turn and may only be cast upon one of your own characters. Each time that a long life spell is cast upon any particular character, that character will begin to age less and may even become younger! The long life spell places a tremendous drain upon the life energy of the spellcaster and thus may only be cast a limited number of times by a character who knows the spell. A character may cast this spell on himself; indeed, an aged wizard may ignore other commands to use it to preserve his own life. Long life does not restore used-up spells. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)ast (L)ong (L)ife on (Character ID)
Reincarnation - The reincarnation spell is only usable on one of your characters who has died on the previous turn. If the spell is successfully cast, it will bring the dead character back to life at the same age as when he died. The reincarnation spell places a tremendous drain upon the spellcaster and a character may only cast it a limited number of times in his lifetime. A reincarnated character will not regain used-up spells. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)ast (R)eincarnation (S)pell on (Character ID)
Far Sight - Besides its use as a strategic spell, the far sight spell allows the spellcaster to see (and sometimes hear) events which are happening in any particular province. Information gathered in this manner is sometimes more detailed than that even the best of spies can collect. To cast the far sight spell to gather information on a province write:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (F)ar (S)ight into (XYZ)
Prophecy - With the prophecy spell, a character will be able foretell with great accuracy important events of the future. No one can say what the gods will reveal to a character in the midst of the trancelike state of prophecy, but it is certain the knowledge will be great. The prophecy spell may ONLY be cast on a peace years turn, never during war seasons. Prophecy may be directed either at an kingdom's future or at the Hyborian world at large. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (P)rophesy (K)ingdom (Kingdom abrv)
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (P)rophesy (W)orld
Diplomacy: This spell is used to enhance the appearance, speaking ability, tact, etc. of a character who is about to undertake a diplomatic mission. The diplomacy spell can be cast upon any of your characters to increase his/her diplomatic ability for the turn in which the spell is cast. A spellcaster may not cast diplomacy on himself. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)ast (D)iplomacy (Character ID)
Dispel Magic - Dispel magic may be cast upon any character from another kingdom who has magic ability. If dispel magic is successful cast, the character it is cast upon will be unable to use any of his magic for that same turn (useful against that foreign wizard who knows the incantation for black death!) You must know the location and ID# of any foreign character upon whom you wish to cast this spell. Note: Because this spell requires your wizard to travel into the stronghold of his enemy in order to cast it, it is considered as dangerous as a spying mission, and there is a chance that your wizard may be captured or killed in carrying it out. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (P)rovince (XYZ) to (D)ispel (Character ID)
PERSONAL COMBAT MAGIC
You will never need to write an order on your command sheet for personal combat magic. All characters with magic of this type will automatically use it when involved in personal combat with another character, monster, etc. Note that personal combat magic is an aid above and beyond a character's natural personal combat ability rating.
Arcane Blasts - With a flick of the hand, the holder of this spell can unleash a blast of power upon a foe!
Magic Armor - Magic Armor provides the character with special defenses in hand to hand combat, making him more difficult to strike.
Magic Weapon - The wielder of a magic weapon can be a deadly opponent in personal combat situations. A magic weapon may be any type of weapon, sword, axe etc.
Mesmerism - The gleaming eyes of a character with this spell may temporarily mesmerize a foe, leaving him helpless. Mesmerism can be a powerful tool in combat and especially useful to agents.
The Open Hand - Knowledge of this spell signifies membership in the dread Open Hand Society. A master of the Open Hand of power can break down strong doors and kill instantly.
Strength - This spell allows a character to draw upon energy resources in the realm of magic to provide him with unusual strength for short periods of time. It is useful in combat and in other situations where extra strength can help.
GENERAL ASSIGNMENTS AND MOVEMENT COMMANDS
Assign Character to Army: You may assign any of your characters to duty with any of your armies. A character assigned to an army will stay with that army wherever it moves to (even on the same turn the character is assigned) and fig
Introduction
Setting
Player Interaction and Diplomacy
ELEMENTS OF PLAY
Elements of Play
Troops
Characters
Provinces
GENERAL RULES
Game Actions
Imperial Goals
Victory Conditions
Peace Years
National Integrity
Non-Player Kingdoms
Economics
The Royal Treasury
Trade Routes
Income
Expenses
Troop Maintenance Costs
Budgeting
Errata
WARFARE
Armies
Provincial Armies
Imperial Armies
Navies
Battle Types
Strategems
Terrain
Battle Lines
Characters in Defense of Provinces
Province Defense
Raids
Invasions
Sequence of Battle
Simulated Reality
THE COMMAND SHEET
Sample Command Sheet
E-Mailing Your Command Sheet
The Command Sheet
Command Orders
Rulership
Heroism
Intrigue
Diplomatic Missions
Spell Casting
Personal Combat Magic
General Assignments and Movement Commands
DECLARATION ORDERS
Rulership
General Assignments and Movement
Diplomacy
Transfers of Wealth
War Preparations
Strategic Magic
WAR ORDERS
Province Defense Orders
Raid Orders
Invasion Orders
Battle Orders
Battle Magic
EXAMPLE ORDERS
Example Battle Intelligence Summary
Example Battle Orders Sheet
An Invasion Sequence Illustration
Ending the Game
CHARTS
Troops/Terrain
Terrain Types and Abbreviations
Spell Limitations Chart
Troop Type Abbreviations
Battle Configurations
The Kingdoms of Hyboria
Order Codes
Conan Connections
Credits
Introduction
Hyborian War is a game of imperial conquest in the age of Conan. You will wield the power of command over the destiny of the kingdom you have chosen, charting a course of battle, intrigue and diplomacy over the centuries of the Age. Virtually every tool of statecraft is at your disposal. These rules will give you an idea of the many options available. How you use them--even how many of them you use--is up to you.
For greater enjoyment and comprehension of Hyborian War, it is suggested you first imagine all of the things you would like to do in this game--aggressive and cautious alike--then refer to the rules to learn the best way of accomplishing those goals.
Setting
Each Hyborian War game represents in essence an "alternate history" of the Hyborian Age. In each game the history of the world will be different--the events which make up history will be decided by the actions of the players. As the game begins, Conan the Barbarian is but a youth. As the game progresses, the legend of the warrior grows. The conditions of the Hyborian Age as described by author Robert E. Howard in his Conan novels have been re- created in exacting detail to provide the stage setting from which play begins. The overall design of the game adheres closely to the world created by Robert E. Howard and and other authors. (Players unfamilar with the Conan novels are encouraged to read them for valuable insight into the game as well as sheer enjoyment. Even players conversant with the Hyborian World might well wish to bone up before battle begins--you can't know too much about Conan and his adventures.)
Conan exists in Hyborian War as a wandering hero unmatched in strength and power. He is certainly not one to be trifled with. Many times Conan will travel through one kingdom or another, keeping an eye out for an adventure worthy of his vast abilities. If he shows up at your court, thank the gods and assign him to a task you might give to any other of your characters. Accordingly, expect great things--but remember that Conan is no tame courtier. He never remains in one small portion of the Hyborian world or in the service of a single king for very long. As each alternate history of the Hyborian world is "written" during play, you may see other characters from various Conan novels appear. Which of them will cross your path (they may even be your own characters) depends upon the circumstances created by each history. Hyborian War is played in turns run approximately every 16 days. You will have one week in which to plot your strategies. There are two types of turns: peace years and war seasons. Approximately one turn in seven is a peace years turn. Such turns represent a span of time between 2 and 30 game years (average 22) where a state of relative peace exists in the Hyborian world. Peace years are a time of economic recovery during which major battles are virtually nonexistent, although raiding can and does occur. Diplomacy and political intrigue play an important role during these periods as the various kingdoms lay plans for future conquests.
Most turns in the game will be war season turns -- roughly 6 of every 7. However, the number of war seasons between peace years is variable. A single war season represents a 3-month season in Hyboria (e.g. winter, spring, summer, or fall). Activity is virtually unlimited. Major invasions, raids, intrigue, diplomacy and all but a few arcane magic spells will come into full play during a war season.
Whether you're in peace years or a war season, each turn will follow the same format. Your setup package contains your first Kingdom Report, sent to you by way of your councillors, the Chancellor and Adjutant-General. The Chancellor is responsible for informing you of the state of your kingdom at large; the Adjutant-General's duties are to relay information on the condition and progress of your military affairs. Using the Game Rules, Kingdom Report and a good dose of imperial imagination, you will fill out a command sheet, issuing your first commands and declarations. After each turn is run, you will receive an updated Kingdom Report detailing the results of your actions and the current status of your kingdom. Use this intelligence to make further decisions. It is a good idea to keep these reports with your rulebook, as you should refer often to the Rules and the original Kingdom Report as the game progresses.
The Kingdom Report contains the initial report from your Chancellor. It summarizes the history of your kingdom to the present and explains your imperial goals; provides you with troop descriptions and divulges the status of your armies; describes the characters in your kingdom (key individuals of extraordinary skill and talent); evaluates the provinces under your control, your current political and economic standings; emphasizes the unique victory conditions for your kingdom, and passes on a few hints concerning development of your own strategy.
The role of the player in the game is that of an "immortal power behind the scenes." The player is a personality which alternately inhabits various members of a ruling dynasty--those who wield the true power of Hyboria over the passage of centuries. Monarchs may live and die. Thou, however, art ageless and eternal, a spirit of war, determined to mix thy passions with those of the age until the cup of glory hath been drunk to the lees. In summary, Hyborian War allows you a wide range of specific commands and declarations. RSI's staff and computer systems act as your ministers and accountants, keeping track of facts and figures for you, allowing you to execute complex missions with simple commands. (You will wage war without being responsible for counting arrows.) Use the best of your common sense and intuition, learn from your experiences, and guard your back always!
Player Interaction And Diplomacy
In many games (especially PBM games), a lot of diplomacy between players is required, to meet the game's objectives successfully. Typically, this player- to-player diplomacy is carried on by mail and telephone in between game turns: alliances brewing, plots hatching, plans for mutual co-operation agreed to (and later broken) etc. While all this can be a great deal of fun, it is not what all players are looking for in a game. A player who does not wish to get involved in player diplomacy may be at a disadvantage in games of this type. Hyborian War is designed with all essential diplomatic functions built into the game. If you do not wish to, there is absolutely no reason why you should ever have to personally contact another player in your game. Your characters can do your diplomacy for you, and you'll never have to set pen to paper. Not to exclude those players who do enjoy meeting new friends and worthy opponents by playing games of this type (who was it that said a good enemy is worth as much as a good friend?), we have provided an avenue whereby you can make contact with other players in your game, who also enjoy player interaction.
For all Hyborian War games we have the following policy regarding player interaction and diplomacy: Each turn of the game you may request the name and address of up to two players in your game. You make this request by filling in the name of the kingdom(s) whose player/rulers you would like to contact in the space provided on the bottom of your command sheet. On your first turn's command sheet, You will also see a box labeled PRIVACY. If you do not wish to interact with other players in your game, you may check the Privacy Option box and no requests for your address from other players in the game will be processed. Diplomacy, however, is a two-way street. Those players requesting the Privacy option may not themselves request other addresses. Reality Simulations, Inc. will not forward diplomatic messages from one player to another. If you desire diplomacy outside the structure of the game, that will be your own responsibility. Example:
__
ADDRESS REQUESTS 1) KHAU 2) AQUI |__| PRIVACY OPTION
Elements of Play
There are three main elements of play in Hyborian War: troops, characters, and provinces. Your armies will consist of combinations of various types of troops led by certain characters as they occupy provinces. Troops are army or naval units consisting of three to five thousand warriors. Characters are unique individuals who may lead armies or perform missions of great consequence to your kingdom by means of heroism, intrigue, diplomacy, and magic. Provinces are areas in the Hyborian World capable of providing economic resources and troops. Your kingdom starts with a given number of provinces. Much of your effort will be directed to gaining control over additional provinces. Your kingdom enters the Hyborian Age with particular strengths and weaknesses, derived from the nature of the troops, characters, and provinces you open play with. Your challenge will be to make the most of your strengths, while discovering and exploiting the weaknesses of your opponents.
Troops
Much of your kingdom's power resides in the might of your military forces. Troops are organized into four categories: Imperial armies, provincial armies, imperial navies, and seazone navies. (Seapower is relatively underdeveloped in most kingdoms of Hyboria, therefore seazones are included in the term provinces.)
Provincial armies (including seazone navies) are the most limited military forces. They may not move outside the areas to which they are assigned or invade neighboring areas. However, provincial armies may carry out raids and can be conscripted into the service of an imperial army that is engaged in an invasion.
Imperial armies are under the direct control of the central government at the capital--these are the least limited and most powerful of your military forces. Imperial armies must always be on either defensive or active status. Defensive imperial armies may not move, raid, or invade. However, they can respond quickly to enemy attacks over a broad range of territory. Active imperial armies may move freely within friendly areas as well as raid or invade foreign provinces. Active imperial armies do not automatically respond to attacks which occur anywhere other than their immediate location. There are literally hundreds of troop types. Each kingdom possesses its own unique units. There are a number of classifications that are used to define them. The broadest and most obvious distinction is made between land and naval forces. Land troops may not engage in conflict in seazones, and only naval troops may raid or invade seazones. Coastland provinces (those bordering a seazone) are accessible to both types of units. Land troops may not move through seazones. Naval units may only move through seazones or coastland provinces.
Troops are further broken down into a number of more distinct classifications, ranging from the mundane to the exotic. For example, there are light, medium, and heavy units of infantry and cavalry; archers, both on foot and horseback; mammoths; war chariots; pikemen; Undead infantry; riders mounted on winged reptiles, and several classes of naval troop units. For a complete listing of troop classifications, see Troop Categories.
Each class of troop has special advantages and disadvantages, depending upon a number of variables. These include the abilities of the troops themselves, the identity of the enemy, the given terrain, a specific combat situation, and others. These conditions are designed to accurately reflect the nature of ancient warfare and imbue the game with almost limitless strategic possibilities. For example, heavy armor offers more protection at a cost of reduced mobility.
Each troop type is rated in four different areas according to their competence. These are: MISSILE ABILITY, MELEE ABILITY, MORALE, and MOVEMENT ABILITY. Missile ability is a troop's relative strength using weapons such as bow and arrow, throwing spears, and other armaments. Melee ability is a rating of the troop's strength in hand to hand combat. Morale is a measure of a troop's overall discipline, self-confidence, and ability to continue fighting in the face of adversity. Movement is a measure of a troop's ability to travel distances as well as its maneuverability. The first three of these abilities are ranked on the following scale: NONE, POOR, ADEQUATE, GOOD, EXCELLENT and SUPERIOR (this is the "STANDARD RATING SCALE" used frequently throughout the game). Movement is given a numeric value between 2 and 12 which represents both the distance in provinces that a given troop can move as well as its relative maneuverability in combat.
Characters
In all times and places of Hyborian history there arose great men and women who stood out from among the common mass of humanity by virtue of exceptional capabilities and/or knowledge. These people are represented in the game as characters. Characters will perform tasks that you assign them and carry out orders to the best of their ability. There are six types of characters: Nobles, generals, heroes, priests, wizards, and agents. While a wizard may use magic very well, it by no means keeps him from possessing other qualities that would make him well-suited to command an army. This is determined by each character's rating (using the Standard Rating Scale) in each of seven ability categories. Some ratings are critical for some character types, but each character has a rating in every category.
Personal Combat - Specifically, prowess in personal combat of characters versus a wide range of opponents. They could be other characters, monsters, or just some guards that stand in the way of some goal. Combat is a primary ability for heroes.
Diplomacy - The ability to engage in negotiations, whether subtle or overt. Priests, and the nobility, by virtue of culture and education, will be more likely to possess this ability.
Rulership - The ability to govern, and administrate provinces and their local populations. Primary ability for nobles.
Military Command - Military command is the ability to lead in large scale combat situations. This includes a grasp of strategy, and the ability to carry out successful troop maneuvers. Generals require a mastery of military command.
Heroism - The courage and ability to inspire and rally troops and improve their melee ability. Heroism is important for not only heroes, but generals and all front-line battle commanders.
Intrigue - A very important ability for anyone dealing in the subtler side of international relations; this includes such things as spying, theft and assassinations. Intrigue is a primary ability for agents.
Magic - Whether by means of divine grace or through delving into the arcane arts of sorcery, the ability to use magic is primary for--but not limited to-- wizards. Priests use magic equally in conjunction with diplomacy. Other characters may occasionally come to possess magical abilities through either knowledge of spells or magical artifacts.
In addition to a rating in each of the above abilities, each character is given a name, a game ID number, province of birth, gender, and age. Characters with magical ability will have a list of spells and magical artifacts they may utilize. Since play will span the course of centuries, characters will age, die of natural causes or be slain, replaced by new generations. While succeeding generations will not be exact copies of those who came and went before them, they will generally be able to fulfill the tasks you assign them. A nation of warriors will tend to raise youths who glory in war; a nation that relies on other abilities for its survival will instruct its youths accordingly.
Characters are lost and gained independently from one another. New characters are gained based solely upon the passage of game time. A kingdom which begins the game with 6 characters may, during the course of the game be reduced to having as few as two characters (you will always have a Chancellor and an Adjutant-General). There is no limit to the number of characters a kingdom may increase to.
While the time scale of the game spans centuries, the lives of individual characters are relatively short. Characters do not increase or decrease in ability from their original starting values. There is only one exception. Those characters who undertake to go on an adventure may during the course of their adventure increase in ability in one or more areas. Note, however, that adventure is highly dangerous for characters lacking in ability.
It is a good idea to keep in mind that the outcome of any character mission will depend in part upon a character's abilities. Every mission will benefit by high ratings in at least one primary ability and one secondary ability. Most missions are also influenced by a third or fourth character ability. For example, If a character is sent on a military spying mission, the success of the mission will depend most heavily on the character's Intrigue, but any military command ability that the character has will also be useful. If the character were to become involved in combat, personal combat ability would be in demand. Just one more example of this consideration. A character sent to assassinate a wizard would need primarily intrigue, but would also benefit from any magical ability. The rule to follow when assigning any character to an action is to ask first, "What abilities might this mission demand of my character?" The obvious second question is, "Does the character I am assigning to the mission have the necessary abilities?" Dangerous missions should be reserved for characters with Excellent or higher ability. Characters with Good ability should usually be given assignments that do not automatically place the character in a life threatening situation. For example, Good characters should be used to perform world spying, cast spells (if have magic ability), avoid diplomatic influence, actively rule etc. Characters who have even just a small amount of heroism and/or military command can prove useful in battles.
There are two special characters in your kingdom: the Chancellor and the Adjutant-General. The abilities of these two characters are intentionally NOT listed in your original kingdom reports. While these characters are responsible for reporting to you their judgments as to the abilities of the rest of your characters, they do not report their own abilities. The Chancellor and Adjutant-General may be commanded upon various assignments just as you may command any of your other characters. It is quite possible to find out exactly what the abilities of these two characters are. However, we leave it to you devious and clever rulers of Hyboria to determine the best method of going about this. All kingdoms will always have a Chancellor and Adjutant-General at all times. If either of these characters ever dies they are automatically replaced with a new character. If either of these two characters is ever captured, they are automatically ransomed for the minimum amount of wealth. Thus at a minimum, a kingdom will have two characters, the Chancellor, who always doubles as the provincial ruler of the capital province and the Adjutant-General who will become the monarch if no other characters exist to fill that position. The Adjutant-General may be assigned as a provincial ruler in keeping with the normal rules governing the assignment of provincial rulers. The Chancellor may never be assigned to be the monarch.
Provinces
Each kingdom starts the game with a certain number of provinces. To gain more provinces you must conquer them. Your armies may not pass through any province which you do not control, except in the case of those controlled by formal allies. Each province in your empire will fund your royal treasury through tax revenues based on the productivity of that province. Additional harvest revenue is collected in the fall of each warseason and during peace years. Province productivity varies based on a number of factors, which we leave to you to discover. Peace years turns are longer and more productive, providing more revenue. The productivity of a province over a given time is summarized on the Standard Rating Scale and reported to you with each Kingdom Report.
In addition to providing wealth, home provinces also levy troops for their provincial armies. The type and number of troops levied varies with each province. The number of troops is influenced by factors which we leave to your wisdom to discover and use to your benefit. Seazones that you control will bring in varying degrees of wealth, but do not provide troops. Newly conquered provinces do not levy troops for the kingdom which captures them. Levies only come from a kingdom's original provinces. However, conquered provinces are taxed at a higher rate to make up for their lack of levies. The only way for a kingdom to gain troop types in addition to those listed in the initial Kingdom Report is to become an imperial power, i.e achieve its imperial goals. Imperial status simulates the gain of new troop types as a result of conquest and expansion. Remember that the benefits gained from imperial status are lost as quickly as they are gained. If any of the conditions required for having imperial status are lost, imperial troops are immediately eliminated from play.
Game Actions
There are six main areas of action in which each kingdom may strive to attain its imperial ambition. These areas are Diplomacy, Rulership, Warfare, Heroics, Intrigue, and Magic. All actions which can be performed in these areas are carried out at your command by the characters and forces under your control. You can order them to attempt a great many things within these general areas, ranging from overt and fairly harmless actions such as peace treaty negotiations with a neighboring kingdom to very underhanded and malicious actions such as attempting to assassinate another kingdom's most important wizard. Because of the great number of the actions that you may attempt, each is discussed separately. You will also be given an example of the specific order you will use to command any of your resources to perform a given action.
Diplomacy - Diplomatic character actions focus on the relationship between different kingdoms. A primary example of a diplomatic action would be to order one of your characters to attempt to break up a formal alliance between two kingdoms who might possibly be planning to attack you. Much of what can be done in real world politics can be accomplished through a diplomatic character action.
Rulership - With this type of character action you will attempt to improve your kingdom by focusing internally on the good of your subjects and your provinces. A primary example would be to order one of your characters to do nothing other than actively rule one of your provinces, looking after the productivity of that province and the well-being of its people.
Warfare - In warfare, you will spend most of your time dealing with your armies. You will command them to see to the defense of your provinces, conduct raids, and carry out invasions.
Heroics - Heroic actions are the stuff of which the Conan Legend is made. The primary example of Heroics is a character who sets off to seek adventure in the Hyborian World. An adventuring character can become embroiled in almost any kind of situation, be it robbing a temple or fighting a sea monster.
Intrigue - Intrigue actions are those intended to subtly act against a foreign kingdom (quite possibly without them ever knowing your kingdom did anything). An example of an Intrigue action is to send one of your characters out to spread rumors and lies in a foreign province about their ruler in order to create political unrest and potential rebellion against the kingdom which controls the province.
Magic - There are twenty-seven spells of magic available to the users of arcane power in the Hyborian World. Characters with Magic Ability of at least POOR will have one or more spells which they are able to use. There are spells which affect every action in Hyborian War: Combat Magic, Strategic Magic, Battle Magic, province Magic, Life Magic, Information Magic, Diplomacy Magic, and Anti-Magic.
Imperial Goals
Every player kingdom in the game has a set of imperial goals. The goal is to capture two or three specific provinces and have a clear line of movement between the provinces and their home kingdom. If a kingdom achieves its imperial goals, that kingdom's military power is significantly enhanced. Imperial goals are not victory conditions. You do not win the game if you achieve them. Achievement of your imperial goals simply benchmarks your passage from a kingdom to a true empire (let the rest of the world beware!) and provides you with a reward for your progress. Once you have attained your imperial goals you must protect your interests. Loss of even one condition will cause your kingdom to revert to its old status. The specific imperial goals for your kingdom are listed in your Kingdom Report.
Victory Goals
Each kingdom has unique victory conditions. These conditions are listed in your Kingdom Report. Each turn you will receive a rating as to your relative progress towords victory. The player with the highest rating on the last turn of the game is the winner. Remember, the game is a long one; your rating is based on what you are expected to achieve by the last turn, so you will probably spend a lot of turns with only average ratings. Do what you feel is right for your kingdom first. You'll have plenty of time to work on your rating later on.
The winner of the game is not necessarily the kingdom with the largest empire and may in fact be a kingdom which is quite small. The winner will be the player who has done the best over the course of the game with the initial resources placed at his disposal.
Peace Years
Your characters may be commanded with any of the orders listed in the rules during both peace years and war seasons with the following exception. The spells "Prophecy" and "Longlife" may only be cast during a peace years turn. The effects of various actions may be dramatically increased during peace years, due to the difference in time scale for the two types of turns. For example, a "Bless" spell cast during peace years may have a much greater effect than one cast during war seasons.
On a peace years turn all invasion preparations are automatically brought to a halt by the computer. This means that all existing intents to invade are scrapped, although they may immediately be re-declared during the peace years turn since the turn following will again be a war season. On a peace years turn all forces engaging in strategic movement or about to engage in set-piece battle are returned to friendly provinces.
Remember that all existing peace treaties with other kingdoms are nullified when the peace years begin. Each kingdom's ability to avoid the diplomatic influence of all other kingdoms returns to its original starting value on a peace years turn. The combination of these two factors generally make peace years turns a time of great diplomatic activity as each kingdom seeks to negotiate new peace treaties or conversely, build up diplomatic immunity against the kingdoms they are planning to invade.
National Integrity
While there are only 36 player kingdoms in the game of Hyborian War, the world of Hyboria is divided into a total of 87 areas. Of these, 70 have national integrity, which means the area in question is in some way cohesive and bound together by a feeling of unity between the populations inhabiting those areas. A simple example of this is that the province of Tarantia (#1) has national integrity for the kingdom of Aquilonia. Areas which are unified by a feeling of national integrity can be considered kingdoms; thus, in addition to the 36 player kingdoms in the game, there are 34 non-player kingdoms which are controlled by the game computer. A group of 17 areas which have no national integrity are called non-unified areas and complete the total (See The Kingdoms of Hyboria chart).
The importance of national integrity comes into play with the subject of GOVERNMENTS IN EXILE and REBELLION. Provinces and seazones which you conquer may rebel against your rule and raise rebel armies against you. In general rebellions occur throughout a region unified by national integrity. If all of a kingdom's provinces have been conquered, that kingdom is considered to be a government in exile. Only the computer can run an exiled kingdom. A government in exile will always have one army of militia and rebels, along with any remaining characters. It will attempt to established a new home province in either 1) any province which that kingdom has controlled at any point in the game for at least one turn, or 2) any province controlled by a formal ally.
If at any time the forces of a government in exile manage to reconquer one of their original provinces, there is a good chance that a general uprising will occur across the entire area of national integrity originally owned by that kingdom, in favor of the exiled government. While rebel troops are not the best in the world (mostly peasants) they are fanatically loyal.
Non-Player Kingdoms
Non-player kingdoms are in every respect exactly like player kingdoms, they have characters, they have armies, they may order their characters to do various missions, their armies to raid and invade, etc. It is possible for a player kingdom to begin the game as the formal ally of a non-player kingdom. For the most part non-player kingdoms are weaker than player kingdoms. Certainly they are not as smart as player kingdoms. It is a good idea not to devote too much of your kingdom's energy towards dealing with non-player kingdoms. Worry about player kingdoms first!
Economics
There are two sections which appear in your kingdom report beginning on turn two which are intended to be your primary guides to wise economics. The first of these sections is the revenue and expense breakdown listed under "Affairs of State" in your kingdom report. This listing expresses all expenditures as a percentage of the total wealth spent as well as all Revenues as a percentage of total revenue. Use this section to balance your spending by examining the revenues and expenses of each turn in relation to the overall condition of your treasury as reported in the "Royal Treasury" section of your kingdom report.
Most headings in the revenue and expense breakdown should be self explanatory. However, two expense headings deserve a special mention. Basic troop maintenance cost denotes the basic (unalterable minimum) cost to maintain all troops in your kingdom. Encampment cost per province denotes the extra amount of wealth spent on troop maintenance (above and beyond the basic cost) for quartering large numbers of troops in the same province. Encampment cost rises dramatically as more troops are stationed within a particular province.
Example of play - Kingdom X discovers that after a very short peace years turn (only 2 years of game time) and much military expenditure, the level of the royal treasury was reduced from a Superior rating to Excellent. Kingdom X is satisfied that at present expenditures it can survive 4 war seasons without significant hardship. However, noticing that 90% of all expenses were for troop maintenance and that two large armies are located in the same province, Kingdom X decides to move one army out of the province by invading a neighboring province. Kingdom X believes that by dispersing its troops it should reduce troop maintenance costs significantly and therefore provide for the treasury to last even longer than 4 war seasons. Calculations of this kind are generally made Peace Years to Peace Years since at the next peace years the treasury should be replenished. Kingdom X's next kingdom report will give it an even better idea of how its economic plans are proceeding through further examination of the troop maintenance percentage and treasury level.
The Royal Treasury
Each turn you will receive a summary of the balance in your royal treasury. Wealth produced in provinces under your control as well as wealth obtained by other means, such as raiding and trade will automatically be added to your balance each turn. Likewise, all expenses incurred while maintaining armies and commanding various actions will automatically be subtracted. The assets in your treasury are rated according to the Standard Scale. This rating is defined by comparison to the average wealth for a kingdom of similar size.
* SUPERIOR - contains more than 160% of the amount of wealth average for your kingdom's size.
* EXCELLENT - wealth equalling between 121% and 160% of the average.
* GOOD - wealth between 81% and 120% of the kingdom's average.
* ADEQUATE - wealth between 41% and 80% of the average.
* POOR - wealth between 1% and 40% of the treasury's average capacity.
* NONE - no wealth; potential for being in debt.
As an aid to rulers in overseeing the economic destiny of their kingdoms we have added two economic breakdown graphs to the "Affairs of State" section of each Kingdom Report. The first graph displays the current treasury level as of the end of the current turn versus the treasury level as of the end of the previous turn. This graph is to give players a handle on the proportional change of their treasury over the course of the most recent turn. The second graph displays the revenues versus expenses of your kingdom over the course of the previous turn. This graph, in combination with the itemized listings of revenues and expenses below the display, is intended to provide players with an accounting for the proportional change in their treasury as displayed by the treasury graph. The treasury graph and the revenue vs. expense graph are displayed in different units from one another, so a small drop in treasury will show up as a large column of expenses.
When interpreting these graphs it is important to keep in mind that during war seasons your kingdom expenses will always be much greater than your revenues. Provinces provide no revenue except tax during winter, summer, and spring war seasons. During fall war seasons each province also provides the kingdom with a harvest. Even during fall war seasons, however, kingdom expenses will usually far outstrip revenues. Peace Years are the real time of treasury replenishment.
Trade Routes
A network of trade routes criss-crosses Hyboria, carrying an enormous stream of wealth to and from the four corners of the world. Trade routes are not shown on the Hyborian War wallmap. However, their pattern may be gleaned from readings of the Conan novels, spying, and from other information in your kingdom reports. Trade routes pass through seazones as well as land provinces. It is not possible to either create or abolish trade routes, and they remain unchanged throughout the entire course of the game.
Trade routes are a major source of income and therefore contention between kingdoms of the Hyborian Age. Each trade route which is established with your kingdom will automatically bring in trade revenues so long as the trade route is not successfully raided in the province where it originates. Additional income is gained from tariffs upon trade routes running through provinces under a kingdom's direct control. Tariff revenues from a province are revenues in addition to the wealth which a province normally produces and therefore enhance the overall value of controlling provinces which are centers of trade i.e. have trade routes passing through them. For example, the province of Zamboula, while not a rich province in terms of wealth production, normally provides income equal to two or three excellent provinces simply because it has so many trade routes passing directly through it.
Invasion, conquest, and battle have no effect upon the flow of wealth through trade routes. Only raids specifically directed upon trade routes have any effect upon the wealth they provide as income both to the kingdom controlling the province which the trade route passes through and the kingdom to which the trade route carries wealth.
Income
Your kingdom may receive a small income each turn from any or all of the following (depending on your actions and their success):
1. Each troop successfully raiding a foreign province.
2. Wealth brought back by adventuring heroes.
3. Tariffs on foreign trade routes that run through provinces under your control.
Your kingdom may receive a large portion of income from:
1. Tax revenue from each province under your control.
2. Trade revenue from routes established with kingdoms abroad.
Expenses
Your kingdom will spend most of its wealth on the following:
1. War preparations.
2. Raising new troops beyond those levied by your provinces.
3. Maintaining armies in the field.
Outside the categories of income and expense lie the subject of diplomatic payments. These are: tributes, ransoms, and gifts. All diplomatic payments are direct transfers of wealth from one kingdom to another. Some kingdoms will, as a matter of survival expend a substantial amount of their wealth through diplomatic payments to other kingdoms. Others may gain much of their wealth from these payments. Each kingdom will have to evaluate what impact diplomatic payments (paying and receiving) will have on its economic situation.
Troop Maintenance Costs
The cost of maintaining troops within a given province is based upon the total number of troops, both provincial and imperial, located within that province. The cost of maintaining provincial armies is NOT calculated separately from the cost of maintaining imperial armies. The presence of foreign troops within one of your kingdom's controlled provinces will also drive up troop maintenance costs, although not as much as if they were your troops stationed in the province.
A warning: The costs associated with "paying off" war leaders who have mustered their troops in preparation for a raid or invasion which never takes place can be very expensive. Troops who have mustered for a raid or invasion expect booty...and if that booty does not come from the pillage of enemy provinces it will come from the imperial coffers! It is almost always advisable to carry out all raids and invasions which you have declared on a previous turn. There will be cases when, for reasons of diplomacy, a mistake in planning, or necessity, you will not wish to carry out a raid or invasion you have previously prepared for. In these cases you will simply leave the particular raid or invasion order form blank. Doing this often, however, can quickly create a large drain on your kingdom's economy.
Budgeting
The final test of how your dreams of conquest will fill or drain your royal treasury is experience. In only a few turns the results of your actions will give you a better idea of how to budget. You will get an idea of how much wealth various activities bring in by looking at which of your actions were successful and which were not, as well as the overall gain or loss to your treasury. Remember that during war season turns you will spend more than you make. Each peace years turn you will make more than you spend. Deciding how much to spend may be more difficult your first turn, but becomes easier as you gain experience.
There some moves you can make that would be unwise at most any stage of the game, but would be disastrous at the start. These are:
1. DON'T concentrate your troops in too small an area. The cost of maintaining troops in a province increases exponentially with the number of troops you add. The quickest way to ruin the economy of your kingdom is to concentrate too many troops in the same province.
2. Never attempt to increase the size of your armies too rapidly. After all, somebody's got to stay and tend the fields. Your subjects will be unwilling to send off entire families to war in a distant land. At the outset of your conquest, a 10% increase per turn should be more than adequate, and, if you find in your first Kingdom Report that you will be levying large numbers of troops on a normal basis, you won't need to purchase many more.
3. Remember that different troop types vary in their expense. Depending on the amount of training, equipment, etc., they require, you may wish to balance your armies with some well equipped, expensive troops and some less expensive but more expendable troops.
4. If you want to pay attention to details, don't count every copper you spend. Rather, see how minor sources of income can keep your treasury from going dry. Cover your bets. Raiding, adventuring, and various acts of intrigue can bring in enough income to offset the possibility of a less than successful invasion.
Armies
Armies are collections of troop units. The number of units in any given army may range from one to as many as you can afford to maintain. Each kingdom is allowed to have one provincial army for each province in its empire, and a minimum of two imperial armies. Each kingdom has one imperial army for every three provinces it controls. (The computer will round up; if you control eleven provinces, you will have four imperial armies.) An army may hold up to 30 troop units at once under normal circumstances. Imperial and provincial armies operate differently in defense, raid, or invasion situations. These three situations are covered separately later in this section.
Provincial Armies
Provincial armies are groups of troop units which, once assigned to a province, will patrol that province. Provincial armies are the first line of defense against enemy raids and invasions. They are the only troops which are able to respond to enemy raids on their province. They may not respond to any attacks on provinces other than their own, nor may they move into other provinces as imperial armies may.
Raids: Provincial armies may be used to raid neighboring provinces and are better suited to do so than imperial armies. In peace years turns, a provincial army may raid with all its troops. During war season turns, however, no more than eight troops may raid. If an army with more than eight troop units is assigned to raid, only the first eight will be detached for the raid while the others remain to defend the province--the computer will do this for you automatically. Seazone navies may raid either other seazones or adjacent coastal provinces.
Invasions: Provincial armies may not invade another province unless an imperial army is leading the invasion. An imperial army may pick up those provincial armies that are BOTH adjacent to the province being invaded and adjacent to or belonging to the province the imperial army invades from. Seazone navies may participate in an invasion of a coastal province, but not in an invasion of another seazone.
Imperial Armies
Each kingdom has one imperial army for every three provinces it controls rounded to the nearest whole number. Each kingdom has a minimum of two imperial armies (exception--when the government is in exile). The number of imperial armies controlled by each kingdom is assessed at the end of each turn and armies are either lost or gained based on the number of provinces a kingdom controls at the end of the turn. Troops assigned to imperial armies which are eliminated due to a reduction in the number of provinces a kingdom controls are automatically sent to the capital province in order to await re- assignment. New imperial armies created due to an increase in the number of provinces a kingdom controls at the end of the turn are automatically created at the capital province with 0 troops initially assigned. This 0 troop or "bookkeeping army" can be moved up to 12 provinces per turn until such time as troops assigned to the army from the capital have arrived and are listed as on duty with the army in question. At such time the movement rate of the army is reduced to that of the slowest troop unit in the army.
Unlike provincial armies, imperial armies not only defend the province they are assigned to, but may also be placed on a special "defensive status" that allows them to respond to attacks on neighboring provinces. The status of an imperial army may be changed from active to defensive and visa versa. An army changing its status will undergo a one turn transition period during which, in addition to the standard limitations of its original status, it will only fight in battles occuring in the province where it is located, and may not itself initiate combat.
An imperial army on defensive status can respond to attacks on provinces several provinces away. Since different troop units have different movement capabilities, the response to such attacks is made by individual troop units. For instance, a light cavalry unit may be able to respond to a distant attack, but a heavier cavalry unit could not travel such distances as quickly. Also, that same light cavalry unit could respond to more than one attack in a given war season. The response movement ability of a defensive troop unit is its movement ability minus two. (A troop will always have a minimum response ability of 1.)
Even though troops from a defensive imperial army may respond to attacks outside their assigned province, the army as a whole does (and must) stay in one province, and may neither raid or invade until placed on active status. troops stationed with defensive imperial armies will only respond to enemy Invasions - they will never respond to an enemy raid. Only provincial armies respond to enemy raids. Defensive imperial armies are significantly less expensive to maintain than those on active status.
Raid: An imperial army on active status has two primary purposes. The first of these is the raid. Active imperial armies with eight or fewer troop units may raid; those larger than eight troop units in size may not. Troops may not detach from an imperial army to raid as they may from provincial armies. If you assign an imperial army with more than eight troops in it to raid, the raid will not take place.
Invasion: Active imperial armies may move freely through your provinces as well as those of your formal allies up to the maximum movement ability of their slowest troop unit. They are the primary forces of invasion and at least one active imperial army must participate in any invasion which takes place. During war seasons they may invade any province adjacent to them at the start of the turn, assuming that proper war preparations have been made.
Navies
Imperial navies may move freely into and through friendly coastland provinces i.e those controlled by their kingdom or those controlled by a formal ally. They may move freely through any seazone, both friendly and unfriendly. Movement into an unfriendly seazone is treated as an invasion. After entering the unfriendly seazone, an imperial navy will immediately halt its movement and engage all seazone defenders in an open field battle on the same turn. You will NOT need an intent to invade a seazone. It IS necessary for naval forces to declare an intent to invade prior to invading a non-friendly coastland province. It is also necessary for an imperial navy to begin the turn adjacent to a coastland province prior to entering and invading it. In all respects naval invasions of coastland provinces are conducted in exactly the same manner as are land invasions.
An imperial navy may combine with friendly imperial armies for an invasion. However, an imperial navy cannot combine with a provincial army. This ruling reflects the lesser development of naval forces during the Hyborian Era. When engaged in a land battle, each naval troop's compliment of warriors will automatically disembark from their transports to engage enemy forces on land. Naval troops in a land battle fight as light infantry or light infantry archers. Battles between land and naval forces are conducted in precisely the same manner as battles between purely land troops. There is nothing to restrict an imperial navy from remaining in a coastland province which it has recently invaded and captured. This measure is, in fact, the only means of defending such provinces until and unless a friendly land connection exists whereby land troops can be assigned to the province.
Seazone navies may combine with an imperial navy for the purpose of invading a coastal province. Seazone navies may NOT combine with imperial armies. Naval forces may not under any circumstances enter or move through purely land provinces. Naval troops on defensive status will respond to invasions upon coastland provinces within response range.
Each naval troop represents a single war vessel along with a contingent of lesser transport vessels. Each troop contains a full compliment of sailors and warriors aboard transport (the Hyborian equivalent of marines). As a full compliment of warriors is already attached to each naval troop, naval troops may not under any circumstances transport land troops.
Both seazone navies and imperial navies may raid adjacent provinces and seazones. To do this they must first declare an intent to raid and are under the same rules and restrictions which apply to raiding land armies.
Battle Types
Battles may occur either as the result of a raid or an invasion. There are three types of battles: dispersal, open field, and set piece.
Dispersal: Dispersal battles occur only as the result of a raid. This type of battle occurs when defending troops pursue and engage single troop units of a raiding party which has dispersed and is attempting to flee from the province it has raided.
Open Field: Open Field battles may occur in both raids and invasions. This type of battle represents unorganized fighting across a broad front. Such battles are a confused swirl of engagements stretching out over miles or perhaps even hundreds of miles of territory. Open field battles will involve entire opposing armies without permitting either side to draw up into classic battle formations. All sea battles are always considered open field.
Set Piece: Set piece battles are classic engagements between opposing armies arranged in battle formations. Such battles occur as the result of a raid or an invasion. In raid situations battle formations are arranged helter-skelter hours or perhaps moments before the onset of battle. As such, you will not personally decide the formation; the character who leads the raid will choose battle formations based upon the qualities and abilities he possesses (if you don't have a character in the raiding party, good luck).
In most set piece battles occuring as the result of invasion, the battle formations of the opposing armies will be laid out with care and, perhaps, days of preparation. This will involve an extensive period of maneuvering, and your last chance to assign an army commander. Following maneuvers, you will arrange the disposition of your troop units into battle formation. Such battles are prolonged and bloody affairs upon which the fate of empires may hang.
Stratagems
Stratagems are devices or "tricks" used to deceive opponents in the course of warfare. Differing stratagems come into play during invasions and in province defense.
Ambush: An ambush is a surprise attack launched from a concealed position. A successful ambush can inflict serious casualties upon opposing troops while your forces sustain minimum losses. A poor ambush (one that is not much of a surprise) can result in total annihilation of the ambushing force. An ambush may only be attempted by troops of a provincial army in defense of the province. An army attempting to ambush suffers a loss to its overall maneuverability.
Patrol: Patrols can gather useful information on the strength of opposing forces prior to a battle. An accurate estimation of the number and kind of troops which your army faces can be a decisive advantage in set piece battle. You may wish to command invasion forces to patrol, while provincial forces defending a province will dispatch patrols automatically. Troops on patrol may return late for any battle which occurs or be drawn into a lone skirmish with enemy troops. Late troops cannot be assigned in the following set piece battle.
Hidden Movement: The counter-strategem to patrolling is hidden movement. Both invasion forces and troops defending a province may attempt hidden movement. An army attempting hidden movement will employ any number of tactics designed to confuse and distort the information enemy patrols might gather. This may consist of moving through concealing terrain, marching only at night, or driving animals before them to raise dust and create the appearance of a larger army. An army attempting hidden movement sacrifices a great deal of its overall maneuverability. However, successful use of this strategem may equally impair the maneuverability of enemy forces.
Decline Battle: An army may attempt to avoid conflict with enemy forces altogether or decline battle using this order. The chance of successfully declining battle is exceedingly slim unless both commanders are attempting to do so at once. Even then, the possibility that the armies will not engage is no better than 50/50. An army attempting to decline battle sacrifices most of its offensive maneuverability to increase its chances of avoiding the enemy's offensive efforts.
Terrain
A critical factor in determining the outcome of any battle is the terrain on which the battle is fought. Invasion forces and troops participating in the defense of a province will always attempt to maneuver to preferred terrain before engaging in battle. This means whatever type of terrain you consider the type and numbers of your troops to be well suited to (see Troop/Terrain chart). The capability of an army to successfully maneuver to preferred terrain is influenced by the relative ability of its commander, the scarcity or predominance of the terrain being sought, the use of strategems, magic, and a number of other factors.
Terrain affects the fighting ability of individual troops and determines the configuration of the battle formations which opposing armies will be able to use on the battle field. A wide variety of different terrains exist in the Hyborian World. For a complete listing of all terrains and their abbreviation codes see Terrain Types chart.
It is not possible within the context of the game to either build or destroy fortifications within provinces. Existing fortifications within provinces are captured whenever the province itself is captured. All major fortifications which existed at some point in the Hyborian Age have been included into the game.
Battle Lines
Set piece battles are fought between formations of opposing troop units arrayed in orderly ranks called battle lines. Battle lines vary in length and in structure with the terrain upon which the battle is fought. A battle line may be from two to twelve troop units in length (that many troop units lines up abreast) and may be structurally divided into as many as five different sections - LEFT FLANK, LEFT LINE, CENTER, RIGHT LINE and RIGHT FLANK. Certain types of terrain may require a battle line wihtout flanks, or with a very wide center, etc. A diagram of the exact length and structure of the battle lines determined by a particular terrain is called a battle configuration. For a complete listing of all these, see the Battle Configuration chart.
Some quick notes about the structure of battle lines:
1. In the center of a battle line, fighting is hard and heavy. Heavier armor is a great asset. Heavy cavalry can be devastating during the charge, but it is at a disadvantage once the melee begins. Heavy infantry types are at their best here.
2. Conditions on the left line and right line are much less packed. Medium troop types with higher mobility do well here.
3. The flanks are the most mobile areas of a battle line. There, a lightly armored (and fast) troop unit may be equal to a more heavily armored unit. Cavalry and archer units do well on the flanks.
Characters in Defense of Provinces
When a province is invaded, all characters currently located in that province will respond to the invasion and join with troops in the defense. Naturally all characters assigned to armies located within the province being invaded will also be available to join in the defense of the province. In addition all characters assigned to nearby defensive imperial armies will also arrive for the invasion battle. The term "provincial commander" used at various places in the rules and in your Kingdom Reports is an intentionally ambiguous term which simply means the most senior (oldest) ranking character available in the defense of a province from invasion. If no characters are available for the defense, the province commander is automatically assumed by the computer to be a minor commander within the ranks of your troops. It is the responsibility of the province commander (otherwise known as an "army commander") to take charge of the defending troops and carry out your standing province defense orders.
Province Defense
Every province that you control will have standing defense orders to be used in case of an enemy attack. A standing order remains in effect from turn to turn until you change it. Whenever you conquer a new province you will be given an easy means to issue a complete set of defense orders for it, which you may tailor for your troops and strategic goals.
Optional standing defense orders for a province are:
1. ATTEMPT TO AMBUSH
2. ATTEMPT HIDDEN MOVEMENT
3. ATTEMPT TO DECLINE BATTLE
You may issue some, none, or any combination of the above as standing orders for the defense of a province. No orders dispatching patrols are necessary as one half of the troops in each provincial army are automatically on patrol each turn. Also, if you attempt an ambush, one half of the troops in the provincial army will carry out that order.
Mandatory standing defense orders for each province are:
1. PREFERRED TERRAIN
2. BATTLE SELECTION
You must select one type of terrain as the preferred terrain for the defense of a province. In the event of an attack, your forces will attempt to maneuver to a battle field in terrain of the type called for in their standing orders. Troops defending a province will attempt to engage the enemy in a battle of the type called for in their standing orders. You may make a battle selection of either OPEN FIELD, SET PIECE, or COMMANDER'S DISCRETION. The Commander's Discretion order leaves battle selection up to the character commanding your forces at the scene. It allows your forces the most maneuverability and will make reaching preferred terrain their first priority.
Raids
Raids are fast moving attacks designed to devastate enemy provinces and to pillage loot for the coffers of your royal treasury. During war seasons as many as eight troops (approximately 30,000 warriors) may raid at one time, so raids are of more consequence than you might imagine. In addition to bringing in wealth for you, a highly successful raid can ravage a province from one end to the other, causing such havoc and destruction that it yields no wealth whatsoever to its controlling kingdom for that turn. Raids may be conducted on any turn and are especially lucrative during peace years. Preparations for a raid must be made one turn in advance.
For each raid you will make decisions as follows:
1. Assign one army to the raid. The army assigned must be located in a province adjacent to the one you are raiding. The army assigned may be a provincial army of any size or an active imperial army of eight troops or less. A raiding army will carry out its assignment and then return to the province where it was located at the start of the turn. If your provincial army contains more than eight troops, the eight most experienced will participate in the raid.
2. Decide whether to raid the whole province or simply its trade routes. Raids on trade routes are less risky but more damaging to the income of a far away kingdom than the one controlling the province. If you attempt to raid trade routes and none are present, you will instead raid the whole province.
3. You may assign one of your characters to command the raid. If you wish to place a character in command who is not presently assigned to the raiding army, then you must issue a command order on the same turn which assigns him to the raiding army.
4. Make a battle selection. You may choose DISPERSAL, OPEN FIELD, or SET PIECE battle. Disperal means dividing up and fleeing from engagements with defending troops. Raiders drawn into open field or set piece battle tend to loose any loot which they have gained unless victorious over the defenders.
All raiding armies will retreat from battle after sustaining LIGHT losses (25%) while defending troops will only retreat after taking HEAVY losses (75%).
Invasions
Invasions are full-fledged military campaigns. A successful invasion will result in your kingdom gaining control of the province which you have invaded. The invasion and conquest of a province is in most cases a three step (three- turn) process. Example: On Turn 1 you declare intent to invade province XYZ. On turn 2 you will engage in the strategic movement phase of the invasion of XYZ province by filling out an invasion commands form. This form will allow you to designate an invasion commander, list the armies which will participate in the invasion, etc. On turn 3 you will receive the results of the strategic movement--whether your army was drawn into an open field battle, or whether it remained in ranks to fight a set piece battle. If the former, the results of the open field battle will be printed immediately after the description of the strategic movement. The winner of the open field battle on turn 2 will be in control of the province on turn 3.
If you are to fight a set piece battle against the troops currently in control of the province you have invaded, you will fill out a set piece battle form on turn 3, arraying your troops and characters in battle formation and casting fearsome battle magics. The winner of the set piece battle on turn 3 will be in control of the province on turn 4.
Preparation: Preparation for an invasion is accomplished by using the "Intent to Invade" declaration. On the turn following invasion preparations, you will issue commands for the strategic movement phase.
Strategic Movement: Strategic movement takes one turn and represents the marching of your armies into the province under attack and the consequent maneuvering of your forces prior to the onset of battle. In this phase you will make the following decisions:
1) Assign armies to the invasion. Any number of armies may participate in an invasion. At least one active imperial army or navy must invade. Imperial armies must have at least eight troops. All invading armies must be adjacent to the province under attack at the start of their turn. Provincial armies assigned must also be adjacent to, or in the same province as, and invading imperial army. Provincial armies assigned are disbanded and become part of the imperial army. Provincial troops which might put an imperial army over the 30 troop limit will detach and stay behind in their province of origin. Example: An imperial army of twenty-five troops and a provincial army of ten troops are assigned to an invasion. The provincial army disbands; five of its troops join the imperial army, bringing it up to its maximum capacity of thirty troops. The remaining five troop units return to reform as a new provincial army. You may wish to strengthen provincial armies depleted by an invading imperial army on the same turn by assigning troops to those provinces from your capital.
2) You may choose one character to be the invasion commander. The character you choose may not be engaged in battle elsewhere and if not presently with one of the invading armies, must be assigned to one of them with a separate order. Characters with strategic magic should prepare the spells on this turn.
3) Decide on stratagems. You will make a yes or no decision whether or not to attempt either HIDDEN MOVEMENT or DECLINE BATTLE.
4) Choose a terrain for your army to maneuver towards. You may list one preferred terrain.
5) Dispatch patrols. You will designate the category, type and number of troops (if any) you wish to send out on patrol.
6) Select a battle type. You may choose either OPEN FIELD, SET PIECE, or COMMANDER'S DISCRETION. Your army will attempt to engage the enemy in the type of battle you select or otherwise in the type of battle which your invasion commander decides is appropriate. The advantage of open field battle is that such battles actually take place immediately after the strategic movement phase and thus quickly resolve the campaign. Set piece battle has the advantage of maximizing your personal control over the outcome of any battle by placing troops and characters in the most advantageous position, and by allowing the use of battle magic. Commander's discretion places the primary emphasis of your maneuvers on reaching preferred terrain rather than a specific type of battle.
All other factors being equal (which is rarely the case) there is an even chance of getting an open field or a set piece battle.
Invasion Battle: On the turn in which a set piece battle is to take place, both sides will receive a report called the Battle Intelligence Summary. This report will contain numbered lists of all troops and characters which you have present on the battlefield, a notation of the terrain on which the battle will be fought, and an estimation of the number and type of troops in the army which opposes you.
Multiple Player Invasions: On any turn in which more than one player invades the same province on the same turn all non-allied armies present in the province will engage one another separately in order based upon the maneuvering effectiveness of each army until the forces of only one kingdom or group of allied kingdoms remains in the province. The kingdom whose forces are victorious in the final battle is granted control of the province. If the invading kingdoms are not formal allies, they will engage in battle with one another for control of the province. Note also that under no circumstance can the troops of one kingdom combine with the troops of another kingdom for battle. Formal allies do not battle each other; they also do not fight together. All kingdoms fight their own separate battles against individual separate opponents. If the same kingdom assigns more than one army to participate in an invasion, all of that kingdom's armies will combine to fight as a single force in the invasion battle.
For defending players: If you will be defending against more than one invasion on the same turn, your report may include a list of troops from a nearby defensive imperial army that may be able to reach more than one battle during that war season if they survive.
The special case noted above represents extreme circumstances in which a kingdom is hard-pressed to defend itself and fighting several defensive battles at once. For those battles where the defense is uncertain as to the actual troops which will be able to arrive, the defensive player will issue much abbreviated orders for the battle (loss acceptance and battle magic only). In these cases, the majority of battle decisions will be made by on- site characters, one of whom will assume responsibility as your army commander.
Aside from the special case noted above, both participants in a set piece invasion battle will make decisions for the battle as follows:
1) Troop and character dispositions. You will assign each of your individual troops and characters to positions in the battle lines. All characters must be placed with a troop unit. If you do not assign them to a unit the computer will place them in one randomly.
2) Loss Acceptance. You will decide how many routed and destroyed troops your army will accept before attempting to withdraw from the battle field. You may choose one of either LIGHT (25%), STANDARD (50%), HEAVY (75%), or TOTAL (100%) losses.
3) Commander assignments. If during strategic movement you did not assign an army commander, you will now have another opportunity to do so. You may also assign characters to any of the following command positions: Right Flank Commander, Left Flank Commander, Cavalry Commander, or Archery Commander. The Army Commander may hold a second command post (such as Cavalry Commander) if you desire.
Your army commander will use his abilities to oversee troop movements during the battle. He will order troops up from the back lines to fill gaps which appear in the front lines of the conflict. Your army commander may be assigned to any position in the battle lines. However, he will retain his effectiveness to oversee the entire battle only so long as he is not drawn into the front line.
A Flank Commander will enhance your armies' effectiveness in flanking maneuvers, (see flanking below). Flank Commanders must be placed with a troop unit on either the first or second battle line of the flank under their command.
An Archery Commander will use his abilities to enhance your army's ability to gain superiority in missile fire (see "MISSILE FIRE"). If you designate an Archery Commander, he must be placed with an archer troop unit in the second battle line.
A Cavalry Commander may only be assigned to the second battle line and must be placed with a cavalry, mammoth, or chariot troop unit. He will lead a counter-charge as the opportunity to do so arises. A Cavalry Commander greatly increases the charging ability of the troop unit he is placed with.
In addition to filling command positions, all characters will also have an inspirational effect on the troop unit which they are placed with. All characters increase the melee and morale abilities of the troop they are with in proportion to the character's heroism.
4) Select battle magic. All characters that are with your army at the site of a set piece battle will have the opportunity to use any battle magic that they posess. Characters with magic ability may cast spells in addition to any other battle assignments which you give them. You will select the spells which your characters will attempt to cast. Each character may cast a maximum of two spells. Some spells may not be cast in conjunction with other spells at the same battle by the same character. For a listing of all spell casting limitations see SPELL CHART.
5) You may, if you wish, order a special disengagement and advance. This simply means that you can order some or all of the troops in your front battle line to "trade places" with your second battle line at a specified point in the battle. An example of this is the army which places archers in their front battle line who, as the armies close on each other, fade back to the second battle line to be replaced with heavy infantry. This does NOT move your front line to the rear of the battle, nor is it an order to retreat.
Sequence of Battle
The results of all battles in which you participate will be reported to you in blow-by-blow detail. You will read of the fanfare of trumpets, the shriek of sword against shield, the dust and thunder of horses charging upon an open plain; and taste for yourself the fruits of victory and defeat. All set piece battles can be divided into four critical stages: flanking maneuvers, missile fire, the charge, and close combat. As the two opposing armies close on one another from a distance they will each attempt to envelop the flanks of the other, and if successful, will gain a significant advantage. The speed of your troop units on the flanks will have the greatest impact on your ability to outflank your opponent.
At the same time that flanking maneuvers take place, the armies will engage in missile fire. Both sides will fire solid blasts of arrows, spears, darts, and other missile weapons to wreak as much havoc as possible among the enemy's ranks. As the armies close upon one another, all troop units in the first battle line and all archers in the second will fire missiles. After the armies close, missile fire will only occur between the front battle lines.
The charge is that stage of battle where the armies close, leading to the close combat stage. Those troop units better suited to the charge--cavalry, chariots, mammoths, and heavy infantry, will do the most damage here. The best defense against charging troops are troops armed with pikes. No troop may expect to have an advantage when charging against this type of weapon!
The final stage of battle is that of close combat. During close combat, battle takes place only between the front battle lines. Troops on the front line will engage each other with both melee, and missile fire. As troops are destroyed or routed from the front lines, troops from the ranks behind will endeavor to fill the gaps left by the retreating (or dead) troops. While it is up to you to ensure a strong initial troop formation, a good army commander can do much to make sure the front line stays strong and any holes are filled quickly. Troop units that are destroyed or routed during battle are counted against the loss acceptance level each army has previously selected. Routed units are those troops whose morale has been broken and have scattered or fled the battlefield. After the battle, some routed troops counted against your loss acceptance may return--others may not.
Combat is reported in a series of rounds, each representing one hour, except in fort battles, where each round represents a week of siege. Battles rarely proceed past nightfall, but if no decisive victor is determined on the first day, battle may continue the next day, or even longer. If the battle is broken off with no clear victor, the defending kingdom maintains control of the contested province. Most battles continue until one side is victorious.
Victory results when one army attempts to withdraw after having exceeded its loss acceptance level. An army whose loss acceptance level has been exceeded will attempt to make an orderly withdrawal to the nearest friendly province.
Unfortunately the realities for retreating armies are not pleasant, and in many instances a withdrawal may turn into a general rout of the entire army.
On the turn in which a set piece battle occurs the possibility exists for both sides to bring additional forces to bear on the outcome of the battle. Either side may assign additional troops from the capital to an army involved in the battle. Additionally, the defending player may at his option move an active imperial army to the province in which the battle is to take place. In either case the additional forces may or may not arrive in time to aid in the battle. Those forces which do arrive on time will be assigned to the reserves or may alternately become engaged in conflicts on the fringes of the main set piece battle. Remember the great costs which may be associated with stationing vast numbers of troops within the same province.
Simulated Reality
In everyday reality, the factors influencing the outcome of any particular event are numerous and sometimes unpredictable. The same can be said for Hyborian War. This rulebook contains all the orders possible in Hyborian War: it does not and cannot provide examples of the hundreds of possible outcomes of these orders. We hope the single following example will provide a helpful guide for thought as each player contemplates the potential influences and consequences of his or her actions in the game. As our illustration let us examine the affects of loss acceptance level on troop morale and retreat capability.
* An army which is ordered to retreat after light losses will suffer a reduction in morale. The warriors know that their commanders do not expect victory. At the same time, each troop's ability to retreat from the battlefield is increased. The troops are prepared in advance to make such a retreat. If during the strategic movement phase the army had attempted to decline battle, the effective ability of each troop to retreat would be even greater. After all, the army has already spent months attempting to minimize contact with the enemy. The sum affect of a light loss acceptance level is to greatly reduce an army's losses at the expense of battle effectiveness.
* At the other end of the spectrum, an army which is ordered to accept total losses will receive an improvement to morale. The warriors know that the upcoming battle will be fought to the death. Each troop's ability to retreat will be significantly reduced. The army is "committed" and, should the battle weigh against them, few troops will be able to extricate themselves. The sum effect of a total loss acceptance level is to increase battle effectiveness at the risk of losing most or all of the army if defeated.
* Loss acceptance may affect the morale of opposing troops. An enemy force prepared to stand to the last man can be a sobering sight. Conversely, a force prepared to retreat may seem easy prey.
* Loss acceptance levels in between light and total have the same effect but to a lesser degree.
* This listing has detailed only the effect of loss acceptance on morale and retreat capability. The presence of characters at the battle, terrain, troop type, success or failure in previous battles, magic, as well as other less significant factors, may all play a part in determining a particular troops' morale and retreat capability.
THE COMMAND SHEET
SAMPLE COMMAND SHEET
EXAMPLE COMMAND SHEET
THE HYBORIAN WAR COMMAND SHEET
Orders For Amazonia
Turn: 1 Date Due: A.S.A.P.
Account _1____ Player Name _Bob_Smith_______ Signature _Bob Smith_______
The last turn was a Winter Warseason, this turn is a time of Peace Years
Provinces owned: 11
I Command Bisal Mangwa AMAZ-CHA to (_A)ctively__(____R___)ule_____(________)________(________)
I Command Dambago Kazemba AMAZ-ADJ to (_J)oin______(_IA-1___)________(________)________(________)
I Command Tulari Nzinga AMAZ-1 to (_A)ctively__(____R___)ule_____(________)________(________)
I Command Lady Tuta Nzinga AMAZ-2 to (_P)rotect___(____P___)rovince_(___11___)________(________)
( Currently with IA-2 )
I Command Dajuri Kazemba AMAZ-3 to (_P)rovince__(___68___)________(____K___)idnap___(_JUMA-21)
( Currently with IA-2 )
I Command General Sutha Nzinga AMAZ-4 to (_A)ctively__(____R___)ule_____(________)________(________)
( Currently with IA-2 )
I Command Manamajaba Nzinga AMAZ-5 to (_S)py_______(____C___)ourt____(__TOMB__)alku____(________)
( Currently with IA-2 )
I Command Tambaza Nzinga AMAZ-6 to (_C)ounterspy(____K___)ingdom__(________)________(________)
I Command Nagori Nzinga AMAZ-7 to (_A)ctively__(____R___)ule_____(________)________(________)
( Currently with IA-2 )
I Command Sukuju Kulari AMAZ-8 to (_A)dventure_(________)________(________)________(________)
I Command 1st Imperial Army in province 11 to(M)ove to (P)rovince (_________)
Address Requests 1)_TOMB___ 2)_CORI___ or (__) Privacy Option
I Declare (____5____)_________(_T_)roops____(_____1____)__________(____R____)aised____
I Declare (____5____)_________(_T_)roops____(_____2____)__________(____R____)aised____
I Declare (____F____)ar_______(_S_)ight_____(_____S____)pell______(_AMAZ-ADJ)_________
I Declare (_AMAZ-5__)_________(_M_)ove______(_____P____)rovince___(___11____)_________
I Declare (____C____)hange____(_S_)tatus____(___IA-2___)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (____I____)ntent____(_I_)nvade____(____358___)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (____I____)ntent____(_R_)aid______(____358___)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (____T____)errain___(_OP)en_______(_____11___)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
I Declare (_________)_________(___)_________(__________)__________(_________)_________
Nation 2 Page 6 61524147
HYBORIAN WAR E-MAIL TURNS
A GUIDE
The two most important things to remember when e-mailing your Hyborian War turns are to send them to hw@reality.com and to include your authentication code.
What is an authentication code, why is it necessary, and, for that matter, where is the bloody thing? Well you may ask. An authentication code is a unique number associated with a specific game, kingdom, and turn number. It is used as a kind of electronic signature to verify that e-mail orders are coming from someone who actually has a copy of the turn in their possession. You will find you authentication code at the top of your turnsheet (the sheet you would send in if you were snail mailing your orders). It is an eleven digit number found directly under your game number, turn number, and date due. You must type this number exactly right! If you make a typo on your authentication code, the program that processes the turns will not recognize it and will notify you that your code is missing. If you have time, you can, of course, resend your orders with the corrected authentication code.
You will get two separate messages regarding your turn. The first is a computer generated message simply acknowledging reciept of your turn. You will later also receive a message listing all the orders we received from you. If your orders are incomplete, or if you wish to amend your orders, your can resend your orders. If you do have occasion to resend corrected orders, you must resend all of your orders.
1. Send your turn to hw@reality.com . Please don't send it to any other address.
2. It is best to submit your orders a few days early. Email turn entry is not yet automated, so if you send your orders at the last minute, you may miss the turn.
BE WARNED! If you don't get confirmation within 24 hours, please e-mail our Customer Service department to let us know there's a problem and resend your turn. We will always send you a confirmation when we've received your turn, so if you get no confirmation, make sure you resend it!
3. If you submit changes to previously submitted orders, please list your changes at the top of your email. This makes it much less error-prone if the first turn has already been input.
4. Make sure you include the following on the top of each e-mail:
Your name,
Your account number,
Your authentication code,
Your game number and kingdom name (e.g., "Vendhya, HW 603"),
-- and --
Your e-mail address (in case there are problems).
5. Type in your commands in the order they appear on the turnsheet. Please!
6. Do not skip any characters if they are listed in the character command section, even if you intend to give them no order (if you do, it is difficult to input). E-mail your turn as if you would be phoning it in. If they aren't listed in the character command section, however (if they are in set piece battle or are dead), please do not add them.
7. Same goes for armies: Do not skip any armies if they are listed in the army command section, even if you intend to give them no orders. But again, if they are not listed (if they are in set piece battle or are inactive), do not add them.
8. If you intend to cancel a raid or invasion order, write something like this "Raid #1 on Province 11: Cancel." Don't just skip it or the computer (when we do get this automated) will get confused. And it helps keep the humans from being confused, too.
9. Use spaces rather than tabs to move across the page. (This makes it print better.) Also, use only ASCII characters. Make sure your email program sends your email in Text mode, not HTML-encoded. In many mailers this means that you have to set the recipient to receive mail in plaintext (text/plain) and US-ASCII (NOT ISO-8859-1 or other wierd character sets). If you don't do this, we may not be able to read your orders, and thus would not be able to enter them.
10. Be sure to type everything correctly. We're good, but we're not psychic!
11. See the example below.
Good luck in the game! -- RSI
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sample Hyborian War Email Turn
Orders for Shem in HW 123, turn 58
Authentication: 75083971097
Name: Joe Bob Higgledorf
Account: 43678
I command:
SHEM-CHA Actively Rule
SHEM-ADJ Counterspy Court
SHEM-1 Actively Rule
SHEM-3 (no orders--stay with army)
SHEM-4 Protect Province 138
SHEM-5 Join PA-136
SHEM-7 Adventure
SHEM-8 (no orders--stay with army)
SHEM-9 Actively Rule
SHEM-10 Far Sight 141
SHEM-12 Bless 140
Armies:
IA-1 (no orders)
IA-3 move to province 74
IA-4 (no orders)
Troops:
1-5 Join IA-3
6-13 Join PA-193
Rest Join IA-5
Address Requests: TURA HYPE
Set Ransom for Jodpuras Ninus: Superior
I declare:
SHEM-9 Rule Province 136
Good Ransom Shem-9
100 Troops type 2 Raised
10 Troops type 1 Raised
Shem-9 Move to Province 136
Intent to Invade 32
Intent to Invade 125
Force March Spell for AQUI-4
Intent to Ally AQUI
Province Defense Orders For Grasslands of Amazonia (Province #357)
Ambush
Preferred Terrain: OP
Battle selection: Set Piece
Province Defense Orders For Keshian Jungle (Province #76)
Hidden Movement
Preferred Terrain: FO
Battle selection: Commanders Descretion
Raid Orders for Raid #1 on Khemi (Province #142)
Province
Dispersal
Army: PA-136
Commander: SHEM-4
Raid Orders for Raid #2 on Luxur (Province #141)
Trade Routes
Dispersal
Army: PA-13
Commander: none
Raid Orders for Raid #3 on Luxur (Province #141)
Cancel Raid
Raid Orders for Raid #4 on Khemi (Province #142)
Province
Dispersal
Army: PA-137
Commander: none
Invasion Orders for Invasion #1 into Eastern Amazonia (Province #358)
Commander: SHEM-8
Armies: IA-1 IA-4
Battle type: Set Piece
Preferred terrain: OP
Patrols: none
Invasion Orders for Invasion #2 into Savannah (Province #353)
Cancel
Battle Orders For Battle #1 in Xachotl (Province #354)
[ 10 ] [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 13 ]
[ 11 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 15 ] [ 17 ] [ 18 ] [ 14 ]
[ 12 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] [ 23 ] [ 24 ] [ 25 ] [ 26 ] [ 27 ]
[ 28 ] [ 29 ] [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] [ 33 ] [ 34 ] [ 35 ]
[ - ] [ 37 ] [ 36 ] [ 19 ] [ 16 ] [ 20 ] [ 38 ] [ - ]
[ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ] [ - ]
Disengage and advance: Left Flank & Right Flank
When: Closing
Assign SHEM-11 to troop 13
SHEM-2 to troop 10
SHEM-6 to troop 13
Army commander: 1
Archery commander: -
Cavalry commander: 1
Right flank commander: 3
Left flank commander: 2
SHEM-2 casts Firewall
SHEM-11 casts Missile Shield, Phantom Warriors
Loss acceptance: Total Loss
THE COMMAND SHEET
Each turn you will receive your Kingdom Report and a Command Sheet for issuing orders for the next turn. Your name, account number, the name of your kingdom, the game number, and the turn number of your game will appear at the top of each Command Sheet. Once you have decided upon what actions you wish to perform for the turn, fill out and sign the turn sheet, then return it to us for processing. We will use your and other turn sheets to determine the turn results.
There are two types of orders used in the game. These are commands and declarations. Only one command may be issued per turn for each troop, character or army. Declarations are additional instructions, several of which may be given each turn to any one of the above. However, no more than one of each type of declaration may be issued for each character, army etc. For instance, while you may only command a powerful wizard to cast one spell per turn, you may also declare that he move to a safer location and declare him the ruler of a province.
On the turn sheet, a command line will be provided for each troop, character or army that you may command. The command line will include for you the names of those you command; you simply fill in which command you want for each of them. After that, several lines will be provided for declarations. Unlike commands, where only one is issued for each recipient each turn, there may be some turns where you will run out of room for all the declarations you wish to make. Simply list the additional declarations (neatly, please) on a separate sheet of paper and include it with your Command Sheet. If such lists cannot be read, or are not written in the same format as Command Sheet declarations, there is no guarantee they will be processed with your other orders.
Characters and armies involved in set piece battle may not be issued a command order. All commands for characters or armies in set piece battle are issued on the battle orders form. Characters who are imprisoned may be issued orders. If the character is ransomed, or rescued that turn, the character will carry out your orders for that turn.
Hyboria can be a deadly place and characters assigned to dangerous missions who are lacking in ability will almost certainly suffer either death or capture. Dangerous missions are Adventure, Kidnapping, Assassination, Spying, Foment Unrest, Dispel Magic, and Rescue. It is not a good idea to send your wizard who has Superior magic but Poor personal combat and Poor heroism adventuring. Only one form of spying is non-dangerous and that is world spying. On all other types of spying missions your characters will definitely be risking life and limb!
On the other hand, realize that each of your characters is an important resource to be used to the best advantage of your kingdom. You should command ALL of your characters to do something every turn except for those characters who are stationed with an army. (If a character is assigned to an army and you wish that character to remain on assignment with that army, you should just leave that character's command line blank). You are not required to give any of your characters a command i.e. fill in that character's command line, however, it is usually in your best interest to do so.
Often you will see what we call "order prompts" on your command sheet. These are order lines halfway filled out for declarations that the computer thinks that you may which to issue. The order prompt is meant as a convenient reminder only. If, for example, you do not wish to move one of your active imperial armies on a given turn then you may simply leave the movement order prompt for that army blank.
Remember to make sure and use the exact format for whatever orders you are trying to issue when filling out your command sheet. The exact format for most orders can be found in the Order Codes section of the Hyborian War Rules. Check all your orders against this list before sending in your command sheet to be processed. Although we will do our best to process all your orders, if you leave a critical piece of information off of your turn sheet, the province number, the ID number of a character, etc., it may not be possible for us to process one of your orders. A little extra care on this point can go along way to making sure that your commands are always processed smoothly and as you desired. You may write out your orders in full, or use the abbrieviations from the Order Codes chart. All character and province identification numbers, however, must be written out completely in the appropriate box. Examples of orders in these rules will be given in the following format:
ALL CAPITALS = Pre-printed portion of the order.
(IN PARENTHESES, CAPITAL LETTER) = This is the first letter of the command, which you write inside the box. Since we only use the first letter, you need only fill that much out, unless you prefer writing the entire word.
(character ID) = fill in the identification number of the character who is either doing the action or is the target of the action.
(XYZ) = fill in the MAP NUMBER of the province that is targeted by the action.
(Army ID) = fill in the identification number of the army which is targeted by the action.
(Kingdom abrv) = fill in the abbreviation for the KINGDOM which is targeted by the action.
COMMAND ORDERS
There are various kinds of commands at your disposal. Rulership orders are those orders concerned with the general welfare of your Kingdom and its provinces. A prosperous and well-ruled Kingdom provides an excellent base from which to begin travelling the road to empire.
RULERSHIP
Active Rule: While a province Ruler or Monarch will help the welfare of your Kingdom regardless of what he may do otherwise (a character may be a ruler in name only and spend most of his time away doing other important tasks for the Kingdom), he may be especially good for the welfare of your provinces if concentrating solely on his duties to his subjects. To order a character to spend a turn actively ruling a province, you will use a command order. Example:
I COMMAND LORD HAN TO (A)ctively (R)ule
HEROISM
The Hyborian Age is an age of Heroism when a strong warrior with little more than a sword and his courage may travel the world over in search of glory, adventure and treasure. Although no greater hero exists in the world than the grim-faced slayer Conan the Barbarian, there are many heroes of the Hyborian Age who follow the often bloody path of fortune-seeking, ever willing to take on missions worthy of their calling. Heroic missions are those character actions which bring to life this aspect of the Hyborian Age. The entire world of Hyboria awaits them.
All Heroic Missions are ordered by using the command line for the character that you wish to assign to the mission. Heroic missions are, need we say, a specialty of all Heroes.
Adventure: Any character may set forth to adventure across the face of the Hyborian world. This includes characters who are province Rulers or Monarchs. All HEROES are imbued with wanderlust and a love of adventure so strong that they have a disturbing tendancy to go adventuring regardless of what you assign them to do. Adventuring can be dangerous and will undoubtedly lead to many life-and-death situations for the adventuring character. The rewards can also be great, both in terms of wealth for the Kingdom and in experience (increased ability) for the character. As in the Conan stories, just about anything can happen on an adventure! Example:
I COMMAND KARTH STRONGBLADE TO (A)dventure
Attempt Rescue: Was one of your characters captured or kidnapped by a foreign Kingdom? It may be time to call in one of your HEROES. You may order any of your characters to attempt to rescue any one of your characters who is in the grasp of a foreign power. Certainly blood will be spilled, but if the rescuer is successful there will be no need to pay a ransom and you will have shown clearly the ineptness of your character's former captors! A character may attempt to recue himself if he has been captured. Example:
I COMMAND KARTH STRONGBLADE TO (P)rovince (XYZ) to (R)escue (character ID)
Protection Duty: Powerful individuals the world over often have need of protectors. Hyboria can be a dangerous place to live, especially with all the would-be assassins and kidnappers who seem to infest every dark corner awaiting an opportune moment to make a name for themselves. You may assign any of your characters to protection duty in one of your provinces. A character so assigned will try to protect all of your other characters in that province from any kind of harm. Protecting your capitol province provides extra security against those annoying heroes who try to rescue your prisoners. You CANNOT protect your court or the kingdom as a whole, only individual provinces. Example:
I COMMAND KARTH STRONGBLADE TO (P)rotect (P)rovince (XYZ)
INTRIGUE
Intrigue orders are for those character actions concerned with the secret and less "official" means of dealing with other kingdoms. If you find your dreams of conquest are not being fulfilled merely by the sending invasion forces into other kingdoms, these orders can give you the extra edge you may need. Any character can be assigned to tasks of intrigue, but your agents are generally best suited for this type of activity. Spies are the eyes and ears of your kingdom. You may assign any of your characters to duty in either a world, kingdom, provincial, or court spying network. With kingdom and provincial spying, a character must be assigned to ferret out specific sorts of information. In a world or court spy network, your characters will simply provide you with information as it comes to them. At the end of that turn you will receive a report of the information gathered. Remember that all commands cover only one turn. To keep a spy spying, so to speak, you would have to issue that command for him each turn.
Spy Kingdom: Within a kingdom spy network, a character may be commanded to seek out information about either the royal treasury or military strength of another kingdom. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (S)py (K)ingdom, (M)ilitary of (Kingdom abrv)
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (S)py (K)ingdom, (T)reasury of (Kingdom abrv)
Spy Province: Within a provincial spy network, your character may be used to study and report on the terrain of a given province, or to evaluate the military forces that are there. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (S)py (XYZ) (T)errain
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (S)py (XYZ) (M)ilitary
World Spy: World spying can bring you a wealth of information. Through it you may learn of virtually everything taking place in Hyboria. While some of the information your world spying may bring in may not be useful directly to you, it may be worth something to others, and they may be willing to pay for it. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (W)orld (S)pying
Court Spying: Since each kingdom's court is little more than the sum of its characters, court spying will bring information about specific characters in other kingdoms. Knowing how capable your characters are is important, but knowing the capabilities of other players' characters may be equally important. Disciples of Sun Tzu, take heed! Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (S)py (C)ourt of (Kingdom abrv)
Counter-spy: Counter-spies are the guardians of your Kingdom's most important secrets and intentions. It is the job of a counter-spy to use both intrigue and combat ability to keep spies from other kingdoms from doing their jobs. You may assign any character to counter-spy for your kingdom at large, any province under you control, or the royal court itself. These areas of counter-spying are designed to protect against enemy spying in the same area. There is no protection against world spying. After all, who can stop the winds that carry the whisper of a caravan trader to the ear of a travelling stranger in a dark cloak? Although counter-spies will guard most closely the area they are assigned to, it is possible that a counter spy for a province may uncover a character sent on a kingdom or court spying mission, and so on. Examples:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (C)ounterspy the (K)ingdom
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (C)ounterspy (P)rovince (XYZ)
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (C)ounterspy the (C)ourt
Assassination: Have you considered that those infidels on your borders might be slower to invade you if a certain powerful wizard did not ride with them? An assassin might be just what you need. You may command any of your characters to attempt to assassinate any other character in the world. Naturally, however, your assassin will need to know the identity and whereabouts of his intended victim so some court spying may be a necessary prelude to the mission. Assassination orders are not allowed on turn one for reasons of game integrity. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (P)rovince (XYZ) to (A)ssassinate (character ID)
Kidnapping: A popular means of garnering wealth to fill the coffers of the royal treasury is through kidnapping. A kidnapped character may later be ransomed back to the kingdom he was taken from or simply be held to languish in your imperial dungeons. You may command any of your characters to attempt to kidnap any other character in the world, so long as you know the location and identity of your target. Kidnapping orders are not allowed on turn 1 for reasons of game integrity. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (P)rovince (XYZ) to (K)idnap (character ID)
Foment Unrest: One of the more subtle means of harming a neighboring kingdom while maintaining an outward appearance of friendly relations is through political subversion--specifically by attempting to foment unrest in one of a foreign kingdom's provinces. Unrest in a province can decrease its productivity, reduce its loyalty, and possibly cause its population to rebel against the kingdom which controls it. You may command any of your characters to attempt to foment unrest in any province in the world. The character you assign will attempt to keep his activities as secret as possible. Example:
I COMMAND KUES TRALS TO (F)oment (U)nrest in (XYZ)
DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS
Despite the continual war which rages across the face of Hyboria, the world is not without diplomacy. Diplomatic missions are concerned with preventing or breaking off war, or allying with another kingdom in preparation for a war. A good diplomat can be as useful as any army, as he may be able to turn aside the blades of your enemies before they cross your borders. All major forms of diplomacy can be performed by your characters within the context of the game itself, thus freeing you from any necessity to engage in outside "player-to-player" diplomacy.
Negotiate Peace: You may command any of your characters to act as emissaries between your kingdom and another kingdom to negotiate a peace treaty. If your character is successful, the kingdom that you send him to will sign a peace treaty forbidding an invasion of your kingdom. Such peace treaties last until the next peace years turn, after which all peace treaties expire. Nothing prevents your kingdom from invading a kingdom which has signed a treaty with you, though that effectively breaks the treaty. It is much more difficult to negotiate a peace treaty with a kingdom that already has an invasion force in one or more of your provinces. Note that peace treaties do not affect seazones. Example:
I COMMAND TERSAL REYUS TO (N)egotiate (P)eace with (Kingdom abrv)
Break Foreign Alliance: It is possible for a character using diplomacy to break a Formal Alliance between two outside Kingdoms. You may command any of your characters to spread lies and rumors between the two allied Kingdoms in an effort to disrupt their alliance. Even very good diplomats and Agents will find it very difficult to break up a foreign alliance. Example:
I COMMAND TERSAL REYUS TO (B)reak the (A)lliance between (Kingdom abrv) and (Kingdom abrv)
Disrupt War Pact: If more than one kingdom invades provinces under your control, they are automatically considered to be in a WARPACT. For purposes of the "Disrupt Warpact" command, all armies invading the same kingdom on the same turn are considered to be in a WARPACT. You may command any of your characters to attempt to disrupt relations between the separate members of the WARPACT, causing one or more of the invading kingdoms to recall its armies and return to its own land. A character may achieve this by using diplomacy and intrigue to play the suspicions and fears of the various kingdoms against one another. Example:
I COMMAND TERSAL REYUS TO (D)isrupt the (W)arpact.
Avoid Diplomatic Influence: You may command any of your characters to direct his attention towards avoiding diplomatic attempts from a specific foreign kingdom. Your character may do a variety of things, including stirring up local opinion against that kingdom and rebuffing emissaries and diplomatic delegations. Avoiding diplomatic influence is not as easy as it may appear. However, it is long-lasting once successfuly achieved (i.e. your subjects will develop and maintain a distaste for the silver-tongued diplomats of a foreign kingdom). On any turn following this command you will receive a report on how well your character did. Your level of success in avoiding the diplomatic influence of another kingdom will provide immunity against all future attempts from that kingdom until the next peace years turn. On the next peace years turn, your level of avoidance will return to its original level. Example:
I COMMAND TERSAL REYUS TO (A)void the (I)nfluence of (Kingdom abrv)
SPELL CASTING
Note that many of the spells available can be used differently in different situations, and thus may be used as either commands or declarations. A spell used as a command does not need to be declared as well.
Bless - The bless spell will increase the productivity (both wealth and troops) of any province on which it is cast. It will also increase satisfaction and the loyalty of the local population of that province to your kingdom. This spell may be cast upon any single province or seazone in the Hyborian world. A bless spell lasts for one turn and may be cast from any location. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (B)less (XYZ)
Curse - The curse spell is the opposite of the bless spell. A curse will decrease productivity as well as the satisfaction and loyalty of the people in the province being cursed. A character with this spell may, from any location, place a curse on any province in the Hyborian World. The curse will last for one turn. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)urse (XYZ)
Rains - This spell in addition to its use as a strategic spell may be used as province magic. The rains spell allows a character to summon great rain storms at will. When used as province magic, the rains spell will tend to be helpful to dry desert provinces and cause ruin to swampy or heavily rivered provinces. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)ast (R)ains on (XYZ)
Sunbane - This spell, in addition to its use as a strategic spell, may be used as province magic. The sunbane spell allows a character to summon burning heat from the sun, banishing the fiercest storms. When used as province magic, the sunbane spell will tend to be helpful to cold, snowy provinces and harmful to hot, desert provinces.
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)ast (S)unbane on (XYZ)
Long Life - The long life spell may only be cast during a peace years turn and may only be cast upon one of your own characters. Each time that a long life spell is cast upon any particular character, that character will begin to age less and may even become younger! The long life spell places a tremendous drain upon the life energy of the spellcaster and thus may only be cast a limited number of times by a character who knows the spell. A character may cast this spell on himself; indeed, an aged wizard may ignore other commands to use it to preserve his own life. Long life does not restore used-up spells. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)ast (L)ong (L)ife on (Character ID)
Reincarnation - The reincarnation spell is only usable on one of your characters who has died on the previous turn. If the spell is successfully cast, it will bring the dead character back to life at the same age as when he died. The reincarnation spell places a tremendous drain upon the spellcaster and a character may only cast it a limited number of times in his lifetime. A reincarnated character will not regain used-up spells. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)ast (R)eincarnation (S)pell on (Character ID)
Far Sight - Besides its use as a strategic spell, the far sight spell allows the spellcaster to see (and sometimes hear) events which are happening in any particular province. Information gathered in this manner is sometimes more detailed than that even the best of spies can collect. To cast the far sight spell to gather information on a province write:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (F)ar (S)ight into (XYZ)
Prophecy - With the prophecy spell, a character will be able foretell with great accuracy important events of the future. No one can say what the gods will reveal to a character in the midst of the trancelike state of prophecy, but it is certain the knowledge will be great. The prophecy spell may ONLY be cast on a peace years turn, never during war seasons. Prophecy may be directed either at an kingdom's future or at the Hyborian world at large. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (P)rophesy (K)ingdom (Kingdom abrv)
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (P)rophesy (W)orld
Diplomacy: This spell is used to enhance the appearance, speaking ability, tact, etc. of a character who is about to undertake a diplomatic mission. The diplomacy spell can be cast upon any of your characters to increase his/her diplomatic ability for the turn in which the spell is cast. A spellcaster may not cast diplomacy on himself. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (C)ast (D)iplomacy (Character ID)
Dispel Magic - Dispel magic may be cast upon any character from another kingdom who has magic ability. If dispel magic is successful cast, the character it is cast upon will be unable to use any of his magic for that same turn (useful against that foreign wizard who knows the incantation for black death!) You must know the location and ID# of any foreign character upon whom you wish to cast this spell. Note: Because this spell requires your wizard to travel into the stronghold of his enemy in order to cast it, it is considered as dangerous as a spying mission, and there is a chance that your wizard may be captured or killed in carrying it out. Example:
I COMMAND ALKAR MAGEHAND TO (P)rovince (XYZ) to (D)ispel (Character ID)
PERSONAL COMBAT MAGIC
You will never need to write an order on your command sheet for personal combat magic. All characters with magic of this type will automatically use it when involved in personal combat with another character, monster, etc. Note that personal combat magic is an aid above and beyond a character's natural personal combat ability rating.
Arcane Blasts - With a flick of the hand, the holder of this spell can unleash a blast of power upon a foe!
Magic Armor - Magic Armor provides the character with special defenses in hand to hand combat, making him more difficult to strike.
Magic Weapon - The wielder of a magic weapon can be a deadly opponent in personal combat situations. A magic weapon may be any type of weapon, sword, axe etc.
Mesmerism - The gleaming eyes of a character with this spell may temporarily mesmerize a foe, leaving him helpless. Mesmerism can be a powerful tool in combat and especially useful to agents.
The Open Hand - Knowledge of this spell signifies membership in the dread Open Hand Society. A master of the Open Hand of power can break down strong doors and kill instantly.
Strength - This spell allows a character to draw upon energy resources in the realm of magic to provide him with unusual strength for short periods of time. It is useful in combat and in other situations where extra strength can help.
GENERAL ASSIGNMENTS AND MOVEMENT COMMANDS
Assign Character to Army: You may assign any of your characters to duty with any of your armies. A character assigned to an army will stay with that army wherever it moves to (even on the same turn the character is assigned) and fig