Vikings: Fields of Conquest
Brought to you by Belgarath


Introduction

Eric gripped tightly to the long dragon’s neck that stretched out from the
bow of his galley. The campfires that burned on the distant shore burned
even brighter in his eyes. Behind him, twenty oars churned, the sea in
unison, pushing them onward.

“The other ships have signaled, Eric. They are following us in.”

Eric turned to his Swordmaster. Bjorn and asked “Have you seen Olaf’s
ship yet?”

“Not yet, Winterson”. The aging swordmaster had always called him that
because of his bright white hair. Recently the name had been catching on.
“But he’ll be joining us soon. His ship was the strongest of all of ours, no
storm could have sunk it.”

Bjorn joined Eric at the bow and stared at the lights that they fast
approached.

“It’s a village, a good sized one at that” Eric said.

“Norman or Saxon?”

“Norman. They are the conquerors. Should be a good fight!”

Eric laughed. It didn’t matter to him who they fought. The Norman Lords
have spilled the blood of a hundred sons to keep what they’ve taken. And
the Saxon Lords have spilt even more blood trying to take back what
they’ve lost. Neither would lay down their swords easily.

This was the perfect time for the Norseman to strike! With William dead
and gone, the Norman’s were without a leader. They fought among
themselves almost as much as with the Saxons. And the Saxons had been.
without a leader since the Pendragon line was lost. Nothing could stand
against the Norseman now. The longships of a dozen Viking Clans were
following Winterson to finally take the islands that their father and
forefathers had been raiding for so long.

“Fetch me the spear, Bjorn” Eric commanded. But the ceremonial spear
was in his hand before he even finished the order. Bjorn was smiling as
Eric turned to him in surprise. Bjorn had thrown many spears in his
earlier days, but this was Eric’s first. It was lighter and much to slender to
be used in combat, but that wasn’t it’s purpose. Runes covered every
square inch of it’s surface, dedicating the souls of all whom it passed over
to the pleasure of Odin.

Eric could hear the waves braking against the shore now;

“Alert the men Bjorn, Ran will claim our souls if we don’t take the beach
quickly!”

Eric thought about taking down their small mainsail, but the mast could
be replaced if it broke. And Eric wanted to take full advantage of the wind
that Frigg had graciously given them.

Suddenly, drifting in the wind, came the sound of a horn, The alert was
given. They had been spotted, but Eric laughed. the note cracked and
then fell silent. Slowly, Eric rose his own horn. breathed in a deep breath,
and blew a piercing, perfectly clear tone that seemed to hang in the air,
forever.

A fierce warcry erupted from his men and fifty swords were raised high as
the longship rode up on the shore. With a massive heave, Eric let loose
the ceremonial spear to fly above the defenders and into the village
beyond.

“BY ODIN, THE LAND WILL BE OURS!” He cried.

And this time they wouldn’t leave.

Background

Kingdoms of England II: Vikings: Fields of Conquest is a
strategy/simulation game for up to 6 human/computer opponents. Each
‘player assumes the role of a lord in control of a kingdom with up to 20
armies to command in an attempt to become sole ruler and King of
England and its surrounding lands.

Vikings is based in part on the history of medieval England with a slight.
modification . . . the Vikings were victorious in their conquest of Scotland
and the northern isles and are slowly conquering all of England and
Ireland!

Game Objectives and Setup

The main objective is to use strategy and strength to take over the
required number of territories or eliminate all other kingdoms and be
proclaimed the King of England. This is accomplished by raising armies,
training men for armies, patrols and garrisons, building castles and ports
in strategically important areas, gaining raw materials for all of the above,
and seizing land at opportune moments.

Campaign Armies

Campaign Armies are used to invade neighboring territories and do battle
with its peasant or enemy kingdom defenders in an attempt to expand the
domain of each kingdom. When a new game is started, each kingdom
begins with three armies (except for the historical game). The Three armies
are sufficient to defend the small domain of each kingdom, but as new
lands are added, the need for raising new armies to defend them becomes
more important. Each home and large castle has the ability to raise one
new army per turn. This is only possible of course, if 30 gold, 1 iron unit
and 11 hireable men are available. If a new army is raised, it will be
available on the same kingdom's next turn.

Troop Types

SWORDSMAN: Swordsmen are the normal everyday grunts. They
usually make up the majority of an army and are the easiest to hire and
train at only 1 gold each.

ARCHER: Archers are a major force to be dealt with not only in a field
battle, but also in the siege of a castle. By staying in the rear of a battle
archers are not attacked by enemy ground troops in a field battle until all
of their ground forces are eliminated. In defending a castle, archers are
used up high on the battlements to protect the walls from attack and are
not easily hit by enemy missile shots in this position. Archers get two
arrow shots per attack.

CROSSBOWMEN: Crossbowmen get a single per attack but the
chance of hitting is better than archers. They also are not attacked in a
field battle until all of their ground forces are eliminated. They are the 
only other troop type along with archers that defend castle walls against
enemy attack.

PIKEMEN: Pikemen are 50% better than swordsmen in defense situations
but poor in offensive ones, therefore they are primarily used in defending
castles and in armies that defend critical positions.

FOOT KNIGHTS: Foot Knights are good in both offsensive and defensive
situations. They get two attacks per turn and require two hits to be taken
out of action.

MOUNTED KNIGHTS:  Mounted knights are also good in   both 
offensive and defensive situations, but fight about 50% better than  
foot knights. Mounted knights do not fight well in dense forest and   
mountains. They require two hits to be taken out of action and attack   
at two attacks per turn. 

CHAMPIONS: Champions are the elite knights of a kingdom and take a  
large sum of gold and iron to train and equip them in the art of medieval
warfare. They wear the best of the light armor available and fight very
well in all situations except for open grassland. They fight roughly 100%
better than foot or mounted knights and have the same benefits as them. 

BARON: A baron is the leader of each army and does not fight. He is not  
used in any way except for disbandment and reinstatement of an army 
that is being moved by a flotilla. 


Army Movement

Each army has 15 days per turn (l/2 month) to use as needed. To move an 
army from one controlled (friendly) territory to an enemy (Invasion)
takes a certain amount of time. This is shown on the table below: 


                  DAYS USED PER MOVEMENT* 
                     Controlled    Enemy  
Terrain Type         (Friendly)   (Invasion) 
Grassland            3            6
Light Woods          4            7
Dense Forest         4            7
Rolling Hills        5            8
Foothills            5            8
Mountains            6            9

* Note:   1 less day is used when an army is forcefully marched. 

The table above shows the terrain type and the number of days used for    
movement into a controlled (friendly) territory, and also shows the 
number of days for an invasion into that same type terrain if it were   
enemy controlled.           
   
Castles

Castles are the most important defense of your land. They require an
invader to use siege weapons against them to break holes in and bring:
down the massive ‘walls surrounding the castle. Only then may the
invaders ground forces enter and engage the garrison in combat. If your
kingdom does not have any castles, enemy kingdoms may just march
through your territories without having to spend valuable gold and
resources on siege weapons and extra troops that are needed to conquer
a territory with a castle. Another major benefit of castles is the influence
on the kingdoms forces that are defending in the castle, or enemy forces
that are invading or defending a neighboring territory.

Flotillas

Flotillas (a group of ships) are used to move armies across water. To gain
the use of flotillas, a port must be built (page 17). For the first five ports a
kingdoms builds. a flotilla is also constructed and appears in the new port.
The capacity of a flotilla is dependent on the number and type of ships in
that flotilla. Each man and/or item to be moved takes a certain amount of
space and weight to transport.

Income

When you begin a new game (historical or random), you start with a
small amount of tax income from your few territories (except the Vikings).
Income is increased by adding territories to your kingdoms domain. The
amount of tax income varies from land to land and the amount gained
each turn is half of the amount listed in the Territory Information
Scroll and Mini Pointer Scroll. So if the tax is seven gold, three gold is
gained at the start of the a turn and four gold is gained at the end of the
next turn. Income may also be gained by discovering ore deposits and by
selling excess raw materials.

Raw Materials

Raw materials are used in the construction of items and the training of
troops. If your kingdoms treasury is low on gold, raw materials may be
sold on the market to gain gold. Raw materials can also be bought if
needed, but for a higher price then sold for. The types of raw materials
used are:

Wood-used in building and repairing castles, siege weapons,
ports, ships and training troops.
Stone-used in constructing and repairing castles.
Iron-used for castles, siege weapons, knights and champions. .
Food-used for feeding the populace in each territory.

WHERE ARE RAW MATERIALS FOUND?
Wood, Stone, and Iron are all found in certain terrains. Wood is found in
light woods and dense forest terrain; Stone and Iron in roiling hills,
foothills and mountainous terrain. Food can only be gained by having a
surplus in a territory.

Territories

A territory is one of 199 areas of land on the map that is surrounded by a
light grey border. A territory may be owned by any kingdom that
conquers it. All territories have a peasant populace, tax income value,
crop fields that produce food, and the ability to have a castle and port
built in it. Ports may only be built in a territory if next to a sea space. Each
territory has a patrol if there is not a castle, or a garrison if there is a
castle. In addition, each territory might have wood, stone, and an ore
deposit depending on the terrain. Kingdom controlled territories can
hire and train men. This ability begins the turn after the territory is added
to a kingdom’s domain. The amount of men and type that can be hired
and trained for a territory depends on if a castle is present and the type of
that castle.

PATROLS & GARRISONS

Patrols and garrisons are the defense of a controlled territory when no
armies are present. If armies are present and in battle, they are added to
the troops defending. A Patrol or garrison may be added to or taken from
as needed, by its kingdom armies.

TERRAIN
There are six terrain types on the map; grassland, light woods, dense
forest, rolling hills, foothills, and mountainous. Each has an effect on the
amount wood, stone, and ore that is produced per turn, the capabilities of 
each troop type in battle, and the starting and growth rate of a territories 
population.

FOOD AND HARVEST 
The populace must be kept fed, otherwise no new trainable men will be  
born, and the populace will decrease from starvation.  Each territory has a 
population and is fed independently of each other. If enough food was
harvested for a territory in the previous turn, then no help is needed. If   
more food was harvested in the previous turn than needed, a surplus
exists and the excess goes in the food stocks of the kingdom. If less food 
was harvested in the previous turn than is needed, a shortage exists and
some of the population of a territory may die. To fix such shortages, the 
excess stocks from other territories must   be used.  If a population is 
capable of producing more food, but there are not enough fields cleared 
for farming, a shortage may also occur. Increasing the number of fields
available for farming will correct this situation.

Time

Game time is in turns. Each turn is a two week period. There are 24 turns 
in a full year. A turn is completed when all the players have completed 
their individual turn and the last player has clicked on the NEXT KINGDOM 
ICON on the Main Map.  A game lasts as long as there are enemy kingdoms 
to conquer or until one of the possible endings is reached. 

Raising New Armies

Raising a new army is only possible if 30 gold, 1 iron unit, and 11 hireable
men are available. Each home and large castle has the ability to raise one
new army per turn. If a new army is raised, it will be available on the
same kingdom’s next turn. To raise a new army, enter the Territory
Information Scroll of a territory with a home or large castle that is
controlled by your kingdom. Then, select the CREATE NEW ARMY ICON
which brings up a scroll that displays all army banners available for the
raising of a new army. Select the numbered icon that the new army will
be built for and the raising of that army will be started. If the castle is not
lost to another kingdom during the next turn, the army is then raised and
will appear in the territory selected with 10 swordsmen and 1 champion.
Note: If a home or large castle in which an army is being raised is lost to
an enemy kingdom, the army will NOT be raised.  

SELECTING AN ARMY OR FLOTILLA FOR ORDERS

All orders are given through the Army Orders Scroll (above). To order a
army or flotilla, select the ARMY ORDERS ICON (page 9) on the MAIN MAP,
then click in the territory or sea space with the army or flotilla you want
to move. The Select Campaign Army Scroll appears showing al1 armies
or flotillas currently in the territory or sea space and clicking on the icon
of an army or flotilla selects that army to give orders to.

When selecting armies for movement or exchanging, some marks may be
shown on an armies icon (as in army 3, above). The mark of a C
designates this army has at least one catapult. The yellow marks show the
number of days that army is fatigued. Resting that army will remedy army
fatigue. A small sword on an army icon indicates that this army is
invading a territory.

NEW TROOPS & STRENGTHENING ARMIES

To strengthen an army, new troops are trained from the kingdoms
populace. Of the total populace, only a fraction is capable of being
trained and used in armies. The fraction of the population that can be
trained and hired is shown in the Territory Information Scroll (page 2 1)
as the 2nd value of the Populace: 659/31 line. When new troops are hired
and trained, the total number available is shown in the upper left of the
Buy Items/Troops Scroll as New: #. This is the total number of new men
from all territories in your kingdom. Each new man hired starts out as
part of the Patrol or Garrison in the territory that he was trained in. To
add these new men to a campaign army, see Exchange Troops & Items
(page 25). When men are hired they are not all taken from the territory
that you are hiring/training in, but are evenly taken from al1 of your lands.
This is done to prevent a dramatic drop in population in a single territory.

HIRE TROOPS/BUILD ITEMS

To hire new men and build new items, select the territory to hire/build
them out of. This is done by selecting the TERRITORY INFORMATION ICON     
from the Main Map then selecting the NEW MENU/ITEMS ICON
This will bring up the Buy New Men/Items Scroll.  At the top 
of the scroll is shown the kingdoms gold in its treasury and the number
of NEW: men hireable for training. At the bottom is shown the maximum  
number of new men/items that can be produced from this territory. Listed    
down the center is each troop type and item in this territories patrol  
garrison, the cost in gold for each, and finally the number of   men/items  
bought along with the arrows for buying them. To hire or buy, click the 
LMB on the corresponding arrow in its row. This will hire or buy one:   
man or item at a time; clicking the RMB on the arrow will hire or     
buy five men or items at a time. Holding down either button allows   
continuous hiring or buying. Hiring/training   new men and items requires    
gold and raw materials for each new man and   item. The   gold and   
raw material requirements are on Table I.    

TABLE I

COST TO HIRE & TRAIN OR BUILD ITEMS

Troop Type     Gold    Wood    Iron 
Swordsman      1       -       -
Archer         3       1       -
Crossbowman    2       1       -
Pikeman        2       1       - 
Knight         6       1       1
Mounted Knight 7       1       1
Champion       12      1       1
Catapult       18      5       2

Remember: A kingdom may only hire/build in each territory up to
the maximum number of new men/items available for that territory. 
(See Table   II) 

Moving Armies

To move an army-it must first be selected. See SELECTING AN ARMY   
OR FLOTILLA FOR ORDERS. Selecting March Army from the 
Army Orders Scroll will show arrows across the borders of all adjacent  
territories that movement is possible into. The colors of the arrows show  
the differences in movement as follows:   

Green -friendly territory; movement   possible    
Red - enemy or peasant owned territory; 
       invasion only possible 
Yellow -friendly, enemy, or peasant owned territory; 
        there are not enough days remaining for 
        any kind of movement 
White Flashing-current territory the pointer is over 

Note: when the pointer is moved over a territory, a mini-scroll appears 
and shows the number of days it will take to move into that 
territory. When the number of days to move is white, then 
movement into that territory is possible, but if the number of days
to move is yellow, then no movement is possible. 

To move an army across territories quickly, select  Forced March.  This 
allows an army to move one day faster than normal rates (page 5). The
use of forced marching is not without drawbacks. Each forced march
raises the fatigue  level of the army which lowers its ability to fight. To 
lower the fatigue  level, click on the  Make Camp & Rest option. This rests 
the army for one day and lowers the fatigue level by one category each
time it is used. The Forced March option may be used up to four times 
before an army refuses to move, then the army MUST rest for four days 
without moving!

Building Castles

There are five types (levels) of   castles: tower   outposts, keeps,   small 
castles, large castles and home   castles. One castle can be built in each 
territory (except for home castles, you only get   one). Each level must be 
completed before the next may be built. (Ex: a tower outpost is being built
and  will take two turns; a keep may NOT be started until the tower   
outpost is completed.) Castles are   where new items are built   and new 
men are trained for the armies, patrols, and garrisons. As you  improve  a 
castle from one level to the next, new abilities are added. The CASTLE 
influence, number and type of new items produced, population growth
(which gives more trainable men),  and the size and thickness of the outer  
wall are all increased. In addition, if the completed castle is a LARGE   
castle. the ability to create a new army is added. Home and large castles  
are the only ones that can create a new army. The CASTLE influence and    
other advantages of a new level are gained only when the new level is
completed. For each castle level built in a territory, that territory’s tax   
income is increased by one gold.  
    
Before a castle can be built, land must be cleared to support it. To  create a 
castle in a territory, enter the   Territory Information   Scroll   of the.” 
territory you wish to build a castle in. Then, select the BUILD/IMPROVE  ICON  . 
which shows the  Build/Improve Scroll. Click on  IMPROVE option to 
clear the land. This takes one turn. On your next turn, you can start
building a castle in the newly cleared territory. Each castle needs a certain
amount of wood, stone, and iron to build it (page  16). 

Note:  When constructing a castle be careful where it is built. 
If a battle occurs in a territory where a castle is under
construction, no construction takes place during that turn. 

Occupied Castles

A territory with a castle in it that is occupied by an enemy kingdom is 
limited in the amount of new items that can be built from it. It takes a few
turns for the castle to return to  its   full  number of new items that can be 
built from it. 

BUILDABLE OCCUPIED  CASTLE  ITEMS 
Structure Type          Number of   
Unimproved or           New Items 
Cleared Land             2 
Tower Outpost            1 
Keep                    -2 
Small Castle             4   
Large Castle             8 
Home Castle              14

Table II

CASTLE LEVEL COST AND ABILITIES

               CONSTRUCTION COSTS                        WHEN COMPLETED
                   Raw Materials        Turns to  # New    Create  # of Wall Damage to Additional
Structure      Gold  Wood  Stone  Iron  Finish    Items    Army    sections  Breach    New Items

NONE           -     -     -      -     -         2        No      -         -         -
CLEARED LANDS  10    -     -      -     1         2        No      -         -         -
TOWER OUTPOST  15    -     -      5     2         8        No      4         8         -
KEEP           20    -     12     5     2         15       No      8         12        Knights & Champions
SMALL CASTLE   20    12    12     8     2         25       No      12        16        Catapults
LARGE CASTLE   20    2     5      8     2         40       Yes     16        20        All
HOME CASTLE    -     -     -      -     -        Unlimited Yes     20        25        All

# New Items: If an enemy castle is selected. the maximum number of new items is lowered and over the next
few turns returns to its maximum amount.

Damage to Breach is per wall section

Notes: Home Castles are not buildable. Only one exists per kingdom and that is gained at the start of a game.
For each castle level built in a territory that territory's tax income is increased by one gold.

Seaports

A seaport is important   if  you  are to invade other islands or territories. 
Most islands contain   enemy flotillas and ships that are  unreachable  by 
normal territory movement and allow enemy troops to attack from any
angle. A port  costs  40  gold, 20 wood units.  15  stone units, and  10  iron 
units to construct. For each of the first five seaports constructed, a flotilla 
is also created. A seaport takes two turns to complete and at the end of 
this time, a port icon appears in the adjacent   Territory Information 
Scroll  and in the sea space it was created next to. You cannot build a 
seaport in a territory that is not next to a sea space. 

BUILDING A SEAPORT 
To build a seaport, click on the T ERRITORY INFORMATION ICON from the  Main 
Map; then select the territory you wish to build a seaport in. This shows
the  Territory Information Scroll.  Click on the  BUILD/IMPROVE  I CON  and 
click on the  Seaport option. After two turns the seaport will be created 
and will be shown on the Territory Information Scroll. 

Moving Armies Using Flotillas

To move an army using a flotilla, first select a sea space with a flotilla in it. 
Next. select the flotilla you will use and move the flotilla into a sea space
adjacent to the territory with the army in it. Then select that territory and
this shows the  Flotilla Orders Scroll.  Then select (Un)Load  Troops + 
Items  and then select the icon of the army to exchange with. This shows 
the  Exchange Scroll   and all that is needed be done is move the 
men/items onto the flotilla (up to the maximum weight allowable). After 
this is done, a  scroll  appears asking if the Baron should be  loaded on the 
flotilla. If the men/items loaded are intended to be added to another army 
when unloaded, do not load him. However, if the men/items are to be set 
up as a new army when unloaded, the baron MUST be loaded. The
remaining men/items from the flotilla will be placed in the territory patrol
or garrison. The baron is the leader of the army and leads the army  when 
Create Army + Unload at its  destination is chosen. 

INVADING OR CREATING AN ARMY FROM A SHIP w/BARON 

Setting up an army from a  flotilla  is  done by moving the flotilla   next to     
the territory the army  is  to be created  in. Note:    you can only create an 
army from  a flotilla  if  a  baron is on  the flotilla. Then select  the territory   
that the army is to be created  in and select the Create Army  + Unload  
option. The number  days to create  the new army depends on the terrain  
type (see  Days Used  Per Movement, page 5). Invading a territory is the  
same as creating an army from  a flotilla,  except that  the days  needed to   
invade depends on the terrain type plus  an  extra  six days.     

Note: A sea invasion is a risky venture as no retreat is possible once
the battle  has begun. If your invasion fails, the army and  all 
items with it are lost, but you still  have control of the flotilla 
that you invaded from. 
  
INCREASING/DECREASING FLOTILLA CAPACITY     

Increasing the capacity of a flotilla entails building new ships in a  port  and 
moving them into the flotilla. To build new ships, select the territory that.
the port is adjacent to and then select the S EAPORT I CON. Now new ships  : 
may be built. After they are built, an S will appear on the  SEAPORT  ICON, 
showing that at least one ship is in the seaport and ready for use.  All  that 
need to be done  is to add them to the flotilla. This is accomplished by 
selecting the flotilla to add to. then selecting the adjacent territory the
port is built next to and finally selecting the   Exchange Ships w/Port 
option from the Flotilla Orders Scroll. This takes one day. 

SHIP COST AND CAPACITY 
Type      Weight    Gold    Wood    Iron 
Galley    50        50      12      4 
Barque    100       100     20      8 
Man-O'War 200       150     30      12 

DAYS USED FOR  FLOTILLA   OPTIONS 

The amount of days for (un)loading, creating or creating and invading 
with an army varies depending on the terrain type and if there is a port 
built on the shore of the territory and sea space. If a port is built, only one
day is needed to unload; otherwise three days are needed.  Movement of
flotillas from sea space to sea space takes three days. 

Selling & Buying Raw Materials

The selling of raw materials is one of the ways in which to gain extra gold
for a kingdom. All  raw materials are sold on the open market. 

SELLING RAW MATERIALS 
To sell, simply click anywhere on the lower half of the  Raw  Material 
Bars on the  Main Map. This will bring up the  Sell Raw Materials Scroll 
allowing the sale of raw materials to take place. One word of caution, be
careful of the amount sold. If too much is sold, there may not be enough   
left to buy catapults, build castles. create ports. build ships, or hire and
train troops. Therefore, selling is not advisable until the end of  a 
kingdom’s turn when all items have been bought and/or built. 

BUYING RAW MATERIALS 
To buy raw materials, click anywhere on the top half of the  Raw Material 
Bars.  This will bring up the Buy Raw Materials Scroll.  Any amount 
needed may be bought, but the cost of each unit is twice the selling price! 
Obviously it is better to gain raw materials whenever possible from the
land itself. 

Hint:  Nurturing the populace to produce at maximum in each territory 
can bring quite a large excess amount of food, that can in turn bring  a 
sizeable  amount of gold to a kingdom’s treasury if sold. 

Food and Harvest

There are two  ways to see what the food and harvest status of a territory    
is. The  first is  to move the  pointer over the territory and check the food.  
status mini  scroll (shown below). The second and more detailed way is to 
click in  the territory and bring up the  Territory Information  Scroll. 
Check the   Current:  and  Harvest:  lines along with the  ------Notes------ 
line.  To fix a food shortage, select the territory to fix. Then check if more 
fields can  be farmed   and if so either increase them by selecting the 
INCREASE  CROP FIELDS  gadget or if the kingdom has an excess stock 
of food,, select the Send Food  option and send food to the populace. The 
increasing of crop fields may also be used to affect the current turns
harvest which will be used next turn. For example. if a territory currently
is  harvesting ENOUGH but under  ------Notes------ it says  Can farm  2 
more ‘fields  then by increasing the crop fields by  2,  the population will 
then create an excess of 2 food units! 

Current  is the amount harvested last turn that is being used now. 
Harvest is the amount that will be  harvested this turn for use next turn. 

EXPLANATION OF THE NOTES FOR FARMING 
Can farm  2  more fields-the populace may farm more fields if they are 
cleared. 

Harvesting at maximum-the populace is farming  all the fields cleared. 
? fields not in use  yet--the populace is not large enough to farm and 
harvest all the crop fields available for use. 


Mines & Ore Deposits

WHY SEARCH FOR ORE?
Finding a gold or silver deposit may bring a larger amount of income
than the tax income of the territory its located in! In addition, iron is
expensive if bought on the open market. So by finding an iron deposit, it
allows you to have your own source of iron which is needed for castles,
ports. ships, siege weapons, and some troop types.

HOW MUCH, WHAT TYPES AND WHERE CAN IT BE FOUND?
The amount. type, and length of time that the ore deposit will last varies.
Ore can only be found in rolling hill, foothill, and mountainous terrains.
The largest ore deposits are found in the mountains, while smaller
amounts are possible in foothill and rolling hill territories. The three types
of ore are SILVER, GOLD, and IRON. Gold is 1:l (1 ore gold = 1 tax gold)
and is added to income at the same time as the taxes are collected. Silver.
is 2: 1 (2 ore silver = 1 tax gold) and is also counted as income the same as
gold ore is. Iron is added 1:1 to the iron stores a kingdom has and may be
used at its own discretion. A single kingdom may have as many mines
producing ore as can be found.

HOW TO FIND ORE
Searching for ore involve’s selecting the ORE SEARCH ICON on the Main
Map. When this is done, a scroll is shown at the bottom of the screen and
a mini scroll is added below the pointer. Clicking on the CONTINUE will
end the ore search. All that need be done is click on a territory that ore
might be found in and select SEARCH from the Ore Deposit Search
Scroll and the results of the search will be shown. If ore is found, a mine
icon will appear in the territory and the Territory Information Scroll
The type of the mine is shown by color and the amount gained per month
is shown in the territory information scroll.

NUMBER AND COST OF AN ORE SEARCH
Up to four searches may be attempted in each territory that might hold
ore, with only one search of each territory per turn. The % chance of
discovering an ore deposit is the same for all three terrain types: Each
additional search in a territory increases the % chance of discovery. The %
increase varies from search 1 to 2, 2 to 3, and 3 to 4, and the increase is
the same for all terrain types. If the first three searches were unsuccessful,
on the fourth search ore will be found if it exists there. The cost of each
ore search depends on the difficulty of the terrain your miners will
encounter in their search. Mountain territories cost five gold, foothills
three gold, and rolling hills one gold.

EXPLANATION OF THE ORE SEARCH MINI SCROLL
When the pointer is over any territory, the mini scroll shows one of five
types: ENEMY, # SEARCHES, MINE TYPE. NO ORE XX, or NO ORE
YET. ENEMY means that nothing is known about this territory.
# SEARCHES means this terrain is the correct type for a mine and
shows the number of searches that have been attempted here so far.
MINE TYPE shows the ore type and amount that was mined LAST TURN.
If the amount mined was lower than the maximum, the amount is shown
in RED. NO ORE XX (RED XX) signifies that this is not the correct type of
land for a mine and no searching is possible. When the XX is green, this
shows that this territory is a newly conquered land and may not be
searched (if it is the correct type) until next turn. NO ORE YET shows up
when a territory has already been searched this turn and no ore was
found, but might still be found on a later ore search.

AN ORE DEPOSIT THAT RUNS OUT
When an ore deposit runs out, al1 that need be done is to search the
territory one more time and a new deposit will be discovered. However,
that deposit may not be the same type as the previous one, and the length
of, time the deposit lasts will also be different.

Battles and Sieges

To invade a territory, select the army to invade with and move it to an
adjacent enemy’s territory border that is to be invaded. Do this for as
many armies as needed for this invasion. More than one army may be
used for an invasion and they may attack from other directions that are
adjacent to an enemy’s territory. Armies may also invade by sea. (see 
INVADING OR CREATING AN ARMY FROM A SHIP w/BARON,  p. 18) 
Once all armies are in position on the border on the enemy’s territory,
click in the enemy territory to commence the battle. This can only be
accomplished by first having selected the   ARMY   ORDERS   ICON   from the 
Main Map, just as if orders were to be given to an army or flotilla.  A 
question scroll will appear asking if this conflict should be resolved or
not. Selecting  RESOLVE  will begin the battle. If an army is ready for 
invasion on an enemy’s border but a decision has been made to  invade 
another adjacent enemy territory or to not invade at all, simply select that
army for movement and click back in the center of the   territory  it is 
invading from. This will move the selected army back to the center of that
territory and regain the days that were taken for the original invasion 
movement. 

SIEGING A CASTLE 
To siege a territory with a castle in it, the castles walls must first be
breached to allow the invaders to enter and do battle with its inhabitants.
To accomplish this, at least one army that is invading a castle with no 
walls damaged must have at least one catapult, but preferably more! An 
army may attack a castle with previously damaged walls but they will
fight at the efficiency that the number of damaged castle walls allow. 
When a siege has begun, the  Castle Siege Scroll  (page 24)   is shown with 
the amount of catapults, archers and crossbowmen. The archers and
crossbowmen are used by both the invader and defender to reduce each
others forces. The defenders are used to damage the  attacking catapults 
and reduce the attacker’s missile fire men whom are shooting back at
them. The invader is trying to not only breach the wall sections but also
remove any defending missile fire men who are shooting at his men and
catapults. If all the defenders missile fire men are eliminated, all the walls
are automatically breached and the ground battle begins! If the invaders
catapults are all destroyed, the invader has the option of storming the
castle or retreating. The more wall sections that are breached, the better
the storming and battle effectiveness the men have in battle. 

The catapults are used in a reload/fire sequence against a castle’s outer 
wall sections. Each section has a certain amount of structure points of 
damage it can withstand before being reduced to rubble and allowing
access into the castle (see  Table   II).   As the catapults are firing 
against the walls, they may also be under attack from any defending
archers or crossbowmen. Each time a missile shot from a archer or
crossbowman hits a catapult, it takes damage causing its efficiency to
deteriorate, which slows the rate of fire, accuracy, and speed at which it 
can be moved into firing position against another wall section. If  a 
catapult’s efficiency is reduced to zero, it is destroyed and if there are any
other catapults remaining, one is brought up to takes its place. 

GROUND/FIELD BATTLE 
The  Battle Scroll  will appear if the territory being invaded has its castle 
walls breached or the territory does not have a castle built in it. The 
invaders forces are shown on the left side and the defenders on the right. 
At the top of the scroll is shown the name of the kingdom that is engaged
in battle. Each troop type in shown with the number of each type down
the middle of the scroll. Next to each troop amount is a button that shows 
troop types either  IN  battle (green with white center) or  OUT  of battle 
(solid red). Each troop type may be pulled  IN  or   OUT  of battle at any 
time. This is done for the invader by using the mouse to click on the left 
side buttons for the troop type to be moved in/out. For the defender (if a 
human is attacking another human), a joystick is used in the 2nd port and 
by pushing in the direction that corresponds to the arrows shown on the
right side of the scroll. When the arrow is white, clicking the joystick
button will change the status of that corresponding troop type to IN or
OUT of battle. In addition, pushing the joystick to the upper-left position
highlights the defenders RETREAT option and clicking the joystick
button while in this position will select RETREAT. If a human is attacking :
against a computer kingdom, use the mouse on the right side of the
screen; and the same if a human is attacking. The invader retreats by,
clicking on the left RETREAT gadget with the mouse. Two bars are also
shown for both invader and defender. The long bars on both edges show
the amount of men engaged in battle relative to the opponents (this is
also shown by the ratio in the center of the scroll). The smaller ones show
the strength of that sides men engaged in battle. The strength takes into
account the terrain, kingdom and homeland influence, fatigue, and any
other factors that effect the strength of the two armies in this territory. The
amount of men engaged in battle, which is the total of the troop types for
that side that have their corresponding buttons on, is also shown above
each sides strength bar. When all of either the invaders or defenders
troops are wounded or killed or either side selects their RETREAT
gadget, the battle is over and the Final Battle Results Scroll is shown.
Hint: To speed up the battle, hold down the RMB. The Final Battle
Results Scroll shows statistics of each kingdom’s battle results. It also
shows the battle’s winner by placing that kingdom’s crest in the center-top
of the scroll. Clicking anywhere will continue the game and allow armies
to retreat and/or move victorious armies to take control of the territory.

Exchanging Troops & Items

Exchanging is accomplished in the Army Orders Scroll by selecting the
Exchange Items/Troops Option which then brings up the Exchange
With Scroll. This shows all the possible army and patrol/garrison icons
(they must be in the same territory) that can exchange. Selecting an icon
will bring up the Exchange Scroll and allow you to exchange men and I
items. To move men and items, use the arrows by clicking on them. Using
the LMB moves one man/item while using the RMB moves five men or
items. The LMB and RMB may be held down for continuous movement of
men or items. Exchanging with a patrol, garrison or other armies in the
same territory can all be accomplished using only one day as long as you
do not exit the Exchange With Scroll and keep selecting armies to
exchange with that have the same or more days remaining as your
chosen army does.

FLOTILLA EXCHANGING 
Flotilla exchanging is the same except that a flotilla must be in a sea space
adjacent to the territory it wants to exchange with. First select the flotilla, 
then select the territory to exchange with, and finally select Exchange in 
the  Flotilla Orders Scroll.    

EXCHANGING  WITH UNEQUAL  DAYS REMAINING       
(Read this section carefully, otherwise your armies might not   be being 
used to their fullest. )     
  
When exchanging, both the army or flotilla that is being exchanged  from 
and the army or flotilla being exchanged with must be on   the same 
number of days remaining in their turns. If they are   not,  an  Unequal 
Days Remaining Scroll  will appear asking if you want them to be equal. 
Selecting REST  &  EQUAL  will make both armies or flotillas have the 
same number of days remaining and allow exchanging. The reason   for 
this is to avoid using an army to pick up   all men/items from a castle, 
move a few territories, put all men/items into the patrol/garrison of the
new territory and finally having another army pick them up to continue a
few more territories or use them in battle. (Explanation: The movement of
the first army used up all of its days for its turn, which meant that the men
and items had also gone through a full turn and hence their turn would
be used up. But, if they were allowed to be picked up again by the 2nd 
army they would essentially have gotten  30  or so days in one   15  day 
turn!) The best advice to get the maximum amount of days usable from
all armies is to first use the armies that have the most days remaining.
That way, if they are not equal, only a few days will be lost from the
patrol/garrison when exchanging and the other armies in that territory
will not lose days from waiting because they will be lower than the 
remaining days of the patrol/garrison. Otherwise, if you used the army 
with the lowest amount of days remaining first, the patrol/garrison would 
then have to equal that low amount and any other armies that wish to 
exchange would also lose days by being forced to equal that low  amount. 
As you become familiar with the game you will understand better how
this rule works.
  
Influence

CASTLE INFLUENCE

This is the influence a  kingdom has  over its armies effectiveness in battle.  
The influence comes mainly from castles. For each castle level that is     
COMPLETED in a territory a corresponding increase in CASTLE influence
is added. (Ex: Defending a Tower Outpost has a FAIR influence, while a 
home  castle would  have a GREAT influence (a 5x increase)). The castle 
influence also extends into neighboring territories, but at a lesser degree. 
Also the influence may extend into a territory from multiple castles, 
which would increase the overall influence. This is true for both the 
invaders  and the  defenders. So; by careful placement of castles,  a 
kingdom  could have a very large influence over a few strategic territories 
or more!   

THE INFLUENCE LEVELS AND EFFECTS ARE:

                   Defending             Invading/Defending a 
Structure Built    with a Castle         neighboring territory 
Unimproved or 
Cleared Land       NONE                  NONE   
Tower Outpost      FAIR                  FAIR 
Keep               GOOD                  FAIR 
Small Castle       STRONG                ? 
Large Castle       VERY STRONG           ? 
Home Castle        GREAT                 ? 

HOMELAND INFLUENCE 
The one other type of kingdom influence is HOMELAND   influence. 
Homeland influence  is added to any castle influence  there may   be. A 
territory is categorized as either HOMELAND   OCCUPIED  or PEASANT.   

PEASANT land is just that. owned by  peasants and not by any  kingdom. A 
HOMELAND territory is a kingdoms land which was part of the original 
kingdom or land in which that kingdom was the FIRST to conquer it from
the peasants.           

OCCUPIED land is a territory that is currently  owned by another kingdom 
but which was originally a HOMELAND territory to another kingdom. An 
occupied territory that is then invaded by the original kingdom-which in
the minds of its people considers the land homeland, has an influence of 
FAIR on its armies when trying to retake it. (Ex: Kingdom A is defending
Gwynedd (a HOMELAND territory) against kingdom B. Kingdom B wins
the battle. The territory is now OCCUPIED by Kingdom B. Kingdom A
then tries to retake Gwynedd from Kingdom B, an influence of FAIR is
added to the invading armies. Note that if a Kingdom C were to invade
Kingdom B’s newly occupied land, there would not be any influence 
because it is not considered as HOMELAND to Kingdom C.) 

Game Features

Difficulty Level
The difficulty level only is active in the random game and indicates the
toughness of the computer kingdoms along with the starting gold and
number of armies for each human player. The higher the rating, the 
tougher the computer kings play and the more territories, gold, men, and
armies they start with.

COMPUTER KINGS     
                    
All  computer kings are ruthless and will stop at nothing to win., They force 
the peasants in each territory to fight before them and as such this makes 
them even tougher to win against since there  will  always be some amount 
of men to fight each human invader in every computer   territory they 
invade. The computer kings are also improved for each higher  difficulty  
level that is chosen. It is therefore recommended that the first time   
Vikings is played, the difficulty  level should be set to EASY, and   the 
RANDOM game tried. This will allow the player to get a feel for the game  
mechanics and the intricacies involved.               

SAVING AND LOADING  A GAME   
During any part of a players turn a game may be saved or  loaded. For 
saving a game hit the S key, to   load a previously saved game or the   
Viking Historical game hit the L key and use the requester that appears   
    
IMPORTANT:  WHEN SAVING A GAME ALWAYS USE A NEW FILE   NAME. 
DO NOT SAVE  OVER ANY OF THE FILES ON THE ORIGINAL DISK  AS 
THIS  WILL RENDER THE GAME INOPERABLE!     

CHANGING CONTROL OF PLAYERS 
For the times when a player wants  to leave or join in an  already started     
game, hit the C key and follow the scrolls that appear.   

A new random game may be started at any time by hitting the N key
selecting NEW GAME from the scroll that appears.

RANDOM GAME
The random game is just that, a random placement  of  all kingdoms on  
the map. Each kingdom starts with a Home Castle in the territory   
randomly chosen by either computer or if the kingdom is controlled by a 
human, his/her choice.
  
HISTORICAL  GAME 
The Historical game is  started by entering the game  as if a single  human is  
to play vs. any number of computer opponents and then hitting the L key
to load the file requester. Next select the VIKING_HISTORICAL  file and  
the game will  be loaded and play may begin. 

NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR 
If your interested, VIKINGS was under development for  18  months on a 
7MB,  32Mhz  68030 Amiga 2000 system and has been play-tested by a very 
dedicated group of strategists that deserve a large THANKS! for their   
constant testing, ideas for improvement and blunt comments. If you like 
VIKINGS and would like to see another VIKINGS-style game in the future 
(which we already have a working plan for if the amount of sales of this   ’ 
one allows), please send comments, game suggestions/improvements to: 

REALISM  ENTERTAINMENT   
6N522  Pine St. 
Bensenville,  IL  60 106   
USA 

BRIAN VODNIK 
  

Credits

Original Game Concept and Design
Brian Vodnik

Programming 
Brian Vodnik

Graphic Artists
Brian Vodnik
Henry Grosch

Music
George Carrillo

Quality Control
Dave Potter
Mark Thies
Mel Peterson
Steve Gunn

Cover Illustration
Luke Vanie

Tutorial

This tutorial will quickly demonstrate how to set up a game, start a kingdom,
attack a territory, raise an army, and other useful options.

The first thing to do is boot the game on your computer. Once started, the main 
setup screen will be shown. At this point all that need be done is click on the 
CONTINUE  at the bottom of the screen, as the initial setup is for one human 
player versus 5 computer players. 

After completing the copy protection question, the game will ask if you would 
like to randomize or select your starting  position on the map. Use the   SELECT 
OPTION  and pick a starting territory with surrounding ones that have a mix of 
mountainous and forested terrain. Once this is completed the computer players
will be randomly placed. the map will center on your Home Castle  territory, and 
a KINGDOM STATUS  scroll will appear which shows your kingdoms statistics. 
(This scroll may be brought up at any time while in the main part of your turn by
clicking on the kingdoms crest that is shown on the sidebar.) Clicking anywhere
will exit this scroll and start the food phase part of your turn. Just click on the 
CONTINUE in the scroll to skip the food phase. 

You are now in the main part of a kingdoms turn. This is where most of the 
gameplay is conducted and our tutorial really begins. The first thing we will do is 
select the 2nd icon from the top of the main map icons that has a mini-view of a 
territory with a question mark in it. This allows us to do things with a territory
and also shows the tax income for one month in a mini-scroll below the pointer 
when its moved over a territory.

Clicking in any territory will bring up its territory information scroll while in this
mode. Also appearing are icons for any options available for use in that territory.
Right now all we need to do is click in your Home Castle territory. Notice how
many men are in the Garrison here and try to remember it. At the bottom will be
shown the Improve/Repair.  Hire+Train/Build  and Raise Army icons. Click on the 
Hire+Train/Build  icon. Now showing is the scroll for hiring and training men and 
building catapults for your armies, patrols and garrisons. (Note: this option is
available in every territory you control, however the type and amount of
men/items that can be made from each varies. See page   13  and   16  in 
your manual) You may now hire and train men or buy catapults by clicking on 
the  c  +  arrows with the LMB (left mouse button) for one person at a time or 
with the RMB (right mouse button) for five people at a time. Buy 20 soldiers and 3 
knights. This will be sufficient for our demonstration. Click on the  CONTINUE  to 
exit and the territory information scroll will reappear. Notice that the amount of
men in the Garrison has increased by 23 . . . 20 soldiers and 3 knights. This is
where all newly trained men and built catapults are placed. They are added to an
army by an army picking them up from here. Click to exit the territory 
information scroll. 

To give army orders, click on the 1st icon on the main map. Notice that your
Home Castle territory has an army banner in it, there are actually a few of them
here. Click in that territory. A scroll will appear that shows  all  armies available in 
this territory. Click on any of them to bring up its orders scroll and click on the 
Exchange Troops+Items which will bring up a scroll that shows the other armies 
and castle garrison or patrol icons to exchange with. Select the castle garrison
icon. You now can exchange men/items with the garrison . . . i.e. the original
men you trained that were placed here can be moved into the army. Once
finished, click on the CONTINUE to exit and bring back the Exchange With scroll. 
To exit this scroll just click anywhere except on one of the icons. 

Now the Army Orders scroll should be showing. Select March. This will put 
arrows across the borders of the adjacent territories the army can move into.
Moving the mouse over one of these territories shows the number of days it will
take to move there in a mini-scroll below the pointer. Simply move into  a 
territory that has another adjacent territory you would like to attack. This is 
accomplished by clicking in the adjacent territory which will move the army
there. Then click in the territory you want to attack (make sure you have enough 
days) and the army will move up to the border. At this point in a larger and
further along game you may want to move other armies up to help in the
coming battle or do other game options, but for now our single army will do and 
we will resolve it now. To resolve a battle make sure that the 1st icon on the main 
map is selected, then click in the territory that the army is invading. A scroll will
ask you if you want to resolve it now. Click on RESOLVE. A scroll will show a
general rating of the peasant resistance that will be encountered. Click anywhere
to setup and begin the battle. (An explanation of the battle screen is shown in the 
manual on page 25) When one kingdom wins, click on the   CONTINUE  that 
appears and a results screen will be shown. To exit, click anywhere and if your
army won it will move into the territory and your kingdoms colored marker is
placed in the center of it. If your army lost. the army will move back from where 
it came. 

The other options that are explained here are  useable at any time during your 
turn just like the tutorial above. The first is Buying/Selling Raw Materials.  As  you 
may have noticed when training the knights the raw material bars on the map
scroll went down a little. This is  because training troop types along with building 
many other things require raw materials and hiring/training the knights was using
up some of the wood and iron. You may need more or want to  sell  an excess of a 
raw material. This is accomplished by clicking on the top half of the bars to buy
or the bottom half to sell. To raise an army enter your Home Castle  territory 
information scroll and select the icon with the word  NEW and the picture of an 
army banner on it. This shows a scroll with  all the unused army numbers. 
Selecting one will start the process of raising that army. This takes a turn, so the 
new army  will  be available on your next turn. These are the basics, please read 
your manual for more information on things such as building ports, castles and 
ships, sieging a castle, amounts and types of troops that can be trained  in a 
territory. attempting an ore search and many, many more details and intricacies 
of Vikings: Fields of Conquest.

Brought to you by Belgarath