                               Interplay's

                                 Castles

                       Complete Game Documentation



  -= STARTING THE GAME =-

  When the Main Menu appears, choose the desired Options. Press and release
 the right mouse button (or press the Z key if using the keyboard) to trigger
 the menu. Move the cursor to and select Labour from the menu list and then
 press hire until it no longer increases the number of workers. This will give
 you enough labour to start.
  Go to the Design menu and plot your castle pieces.

 


  KEYBOARD COMMANDS

 F - Flip view of castle (Front/Back)
 J - Toggle Joystick Off/On
 M - Toggle Music Off/On
 Q - Quit
 R - Repeat Message (messenger screen only)
 T - Show Trasury and Infantry (this works only
     when the messenger screen is active)
 [ - Slow Message
 ] - Speed Message
 1 - 9 - Move Cursor (Numeric Pad Only)
 X - Left Mouse Button
 Z - Right Mouse Button
 SPACE BAR - Left Mouse Button
 ESC - Pause Game


  -= A Brief History of Medieval Castles =-

 Of all of the works created from human hands, few are as evocative as the great
 castles of Europe. Built during a time when the great civilizations of the
 Westem World were strugling to recover from the Dark Ages, the earliest modern
 castles (the motte and bailey castles) were built to defend against Viking
 attacks. The Vikings were very good at raiding sparsely defended coastal
 villages, but had great difficulty attacking these early fortresses; the decline
 in Viking successes after the year 1100 can be attributed in large part to the
 castles that were being built throughout Europe. After the Vikings ceased to
 be a major threat, castles entered the age of Chivalry. Europe began to be
 consolidated into countries and empires, each owing allegiance to a duke, or a
 king or an emperor. In order to consolidate their power, the great lords of
 Europe built castles over the tenritories they conquered. To defend themselves
 against the great lords of Europe, local lords also built castles. As one might
 expect from such a situation, the art of castle building progressed at a rapid
 rate, and the cost of building these huge fortresses bankrupted many noble
 families and nations.

  The era of castles came to a close by the late 15th Century, when castle walls
 proved to be no defense against gunpowder weapons such as cannons. For
 centuries these relics of medieval Europe lay in ruins, ignored by the
 inhabitants whose land they once defended. In the 18th Century, however,
 romantic poets and musicians drew upon the Middle Ages for inspiration, and
 castles once again became important, a symbol of romance, chivalry, and
 strength. Today, few symbols of the medieval period are as enduring or as
 powerful as castles.

  The purpose of this program, CASTLES, is to allow you to experience both the
 romance and the reality of medieval castle-building. At the zenith of
 castle-building, between 1280 and 1305 A.D., King Edward I consolidated his
 Welsh conquests by building some of the greatest fortresses ever constructed,
 in the hopes that the security of these castles would attract English settlers
 into Wales and assimilate the population. We have fictionalized the characters
 and changed the names of the nations involved, and added a fantasy world for
 those who enjoy medieval fantasy, but the castles you can build are based on
 the actual Welsh castles of Edward I. In this game you are placed on the
 throne of the kingdom of Albion, and must build your castle amidst political
 unrest, unfriendly neighbors, and war on two of your borders. You will make
 the hard decisions and face treachery, ambitious nobles, military disasters,
 and other things that we don't always associate with the romance of the period.
 You may wonder why people remember this period with any fondness whatsoever,
 but hopefully you will have a greater appreciation for the challenges involved
 in both castle-building and being a king during the medieval period. Perhaps
 it might even make you appreciate the complexities of engineering and politics
 in today's world.

  -= OF BASIC MATTERS =-

 FOR THE BEGINNER
 Once you have learned our interface, CASTLES is an easy game to play. However,
 if you are a newcomer, especially if you have never played computer games, here
 is some advice.

  A) The first screen will ask you about difficulty level. The Peasant
  difficulty level is designed to make the ganie Is easy as possible to play.
  There is virtually unlimited money, labour, food and military is already
  purchased, and the castle lay-out is partially done.

  B) There is a tutorial in this manual entitied "Sir Richard's guide to
  Castle-Building". Read through this tutorial carefully, and practise laying
  out pieces on the computer screen.

 KEYBOARD and MOUSE
 It is possible to play this game from either the keyboard or the mouse. This
 game is considerably easier to play on a mouse, but the keyboard is not
 difficult to use, with a little practise. The same letter keys "F" for flip,
 "M" to toggle off music, etc. will work if you are playing from the keyboard,
 or if you are using a mouse or a joystick.

  To bring up the menu when playing from the keyboard, use the "Z' key Pressing
 the "Z" key again will restore the screen to a full view.

  To manipulate the pointer from the keyboard, use the arrow keys on the
 computer's number pad. When you wish to click on an object, use the space bar.

  To play the game with a mouse, simply point to the desired object and click
 on it with the left mouse button. To bring up the menu, use the right mouse
 button.

  For a full list of commands, refer to the Reference card.

 OPTIONS

 After you have successfully loaded CASTLES, the first screen that you will
 see is the Options screen.
 The Options include:

 MESSENGERS (Yea or Nay): This determines whether you will be visited by
 messengers. If the answer is "Yea" you will receive a new messenger every
 month. If the answer is "Nay", no messengers will appear.

 WORLD (Fantasy or Real World: If you are interested in playing in a world
 where the myths and folk beliefs of the people of the British Isles in the
 middle ages were true: the Sidhe, dragons, ogres, the Wild Hunt, and wizards,
 then use the Fantasy option. If you do not wish to play in a world with these
 fantastic creatures, employ the Real World option. The Fantasy world becomes
 most evident in the message sequences; playing in a Fantasy world without
 messengers is something of a waste of time.

 LEVEL (Peasant, Duke, Prince, or King): There are four difficulty levels in
 the game of CASTLES. The Peasant difficulty level is a practise level, with a
 partially laid out castle, workers, labourers, and food, and enough money to
 build any castle you want. Duke, Prince, and King levels are the real game
 levels. Duke and Prince levels give you a higher starting money value, higher
 tax values, better relations with the noble factions, the Church, and the
 people, and easier battles. The highest difficulty level (King) gives you
 less access to money, less popularity, and harder battles. No one said that
 being a King was easy.

 CAMPAIGN: In CASTLES, one of the objects is to subjugate the "savage lands of
 the Celts" by building castles in strategically important areas. If you don't
 want to engage in a major castle building campaign, then choose the Single
 Castle option. If you wish to play a short campaign, play a Three Castle
 campaign. The Eight Castle campaign is the longest and most intense of all of
 the campaigns. See the section ("Of the Conquest of the Celtic Lands" for
 further details.

 Note: you can build more than one castle on a level; the Single Castle
 campaign refers to the game ending after you have conquered a single playing
 area.

 NAME: The options screen allows you to insert your name, and whether you are a
 King or a Queen. To determine this, click on the King or Queen to change your
 character's gender.

 CASTIE NAME: Where the Options screen says: "Building the Castle", you may
 insert whatever name you desire.

 MAIN MENU

 When you begin the game, click on the right mouse button. This will bring up
 the main menu, which includes the following options:

 DESIGN: This allows access to the Design submenu. When you click on this
 option with the left mouse button, the design window will appear, with a
 number of castle pieces and a slashed red circle. Refer to "Of Castle Design"
 for more details.

 LABOUR: This allows access to the Labour submenu. When you click on this
 option with the left mouse button, the Labour menu will appear, allowing you
 to click on arrows to manipulate the number of labourers at work on your
 castle. Refer to "Of Labourers and their ilk" for more details.

 TAXES: This allows access to the Taxes sub-menu. When you click on this
 option with the left mouse button, the Taxes menu will appear, allowing you to
 set your tax rate and levy taxes. Refer to "Of Taxation and Personal Safety"
 for more details.

 MILITARY: This allows access to the Military submenu. When you click on this
 option with the left mouse button, the Military menu will appear, allowing
 you to hire or fire archers infantry and dig moats where it is allowed by the
 terrain. Refer to "Military Matters" for more details.

 FOOD: This allows access to the Food sub-menu. This option will allow you to
 purchase a reserve of food in case of siege. Refer to "Of Food and Its
 Advantages" for more details.

 OPTIONS: This allows access to a number of functions, including Save Game
 Load Game, and Quit Game, Speed, and Counsel.

 Speed: CASTLES has three speed levels, which governs the quickness of play,
 Laboured allows for slow building rate, and gives the player more time to
 consider his actions. Steady provides for a quicker paced game, while
 Swift is even quicker than Steady.

 Counsel: Pushing the Counsel button will cause one of your counsellors to
 appear and give you the state of your relations with important factions
 in the kingdom, and some helpful (well, sometimes helpful) hints
 to improve your relations.

  -= OF CASTLE DESIGN =-

 In all sub-menus, the command "Main" allows you to return to the Main menu.
 The heart of CASTLES is its ability to design a castle, which is done
 from the design window. When the design window has been trigered,
 you will see a top-down perspective of the castle grounds. This is
 referred to as the blueprint. Entering the design window will bring
 up the top-down view of the castle, and allow you to place pieces on the
 blueprint. The main pieces are:

 Towers

  There are two tower types: round, and square. Square towers are the earlier
 form of tower; they are easier and cheaper to build, but its exposed edges
 render it susceptible to attack. Round towers are more expensive and take
 longer to build, but are less vulnerable to attack.

 Walls

  There is a single wall type in the game, with three varying thicknesses.
 Thicker walls provide greater protection, but all take longer to build.

  Walls have two accessories, arrow slits and cauldrons. Arrow slits provide
 protection for the archers that are stationed on the castle walls.
 Cauldrons are filled with boiling oil, which is poured on enemy troops
 that attack the wall in battle.

 Gates

 The center of the castle defense is often the gatehouse. The door is the
 most vulnerable point of the castle structure, and one which the enemy
 will likely attack first. Gates take a long time to build, which is one
 of the reasons why castle builders typically waited until a castle neared
 completion before the gates were added.
 Other topics of concern in Castle design include:

 The Keep

 The most important part of the castle is the Keep. This is the
 central area of the castle, protected by thick walls, strong towers,
 and sturdy gates. The Keep must be built by the player, constructed
 from walls and towers. It might be considered a castle within a
 castle. If the enemy begins to destroy the keep, one's defeat cannot
 be far away.

 The Eraser

 If a player makes a mistake in the blueprint of the castle, the eraser
 will correct it. This eraser is a red circle with a line through it;
 place the eraser on a piece and click on the left mouse button to
 remove it.

  -= OF LABOURERS AND THEIR ILK =-

 When constructing a castle, there must be a suitable mix of workers
 for maximum efficiency. If a master builder does not have a sufficient
 amount of specialized labor, work on the castle will likely slow to a
 crawl.

  In CASTLES, we have divided the work force into seven categories: six
 specialists and one general labourer category. In reality, medieval castle
 building required other types of specialized labour. Records from the
 building of Flint Castle in Wales has recorded payments to Plumbers, Coalers,
 janitors, Watchmen, and Messengers. The records also indicate that the
 total payments of these workers were substantially less than other categories,
 which indicates that only a few of individuals filled these positions in
 comparison with other worker types, so it is safe to ignore them.
  In playing CASTLES, it is easy to overlook one of the most difficult
 problems facing Edward I in his castle-building, logistics. The resources that
 were needed to build these castles were immense. Thirty-five hundred
 workers were hired to build Edward I's masterwork, the unfinished Beaumaris
 castle. In less than six months, L6500 was spent. This amounted to one
 and a half million pennies, the principle unit of currency in England.
 Transporting the wages of the workers for Beaumaris must have been a
 nightmare. That these magnificent fortresses were built is a tribute to
 the abilities of Edward I, his master builder Sir James of Savoy, and to
 the thousands of craftsmen who laboured over a twenty year
 period to build them.
  The types of workers employed in the game are:

 DIGGERS: Anyone who has tried to dig a large hole with precision
 knows that a digger's task is not as easy as it may seem. In
 castle-building, diggers had to know how to dig the foundations
 of the castle with precision and quickness. Diggers are more
 important to the early stages of castle-building than they are in the
 latter portions, but anyone who wants to build a moat will need
 to have some skilled diggers directing the operation.

 CARPENTERS: These men know how to knock on wood, and nails, and
 hammers, and put together scaffolds, and braces, and many other
 important castle pieces. Castle-building requires an immense amount of
 materials; during a five month period in 1286, work on Harlech and
 Conway castles required the purchase of 125,000 nails for each
 castle. Carpenters are an important component of a castle's work force.

 MASONS: Masons were the backbone of the castle-building labour force. The
 person who designed and oversaw the building of a castle was known
 as the Master Mason (or Master Builder); masons received higher wages
 than the other workers on the castle. Despite this elite status, a mason's
 life was not an easy one, as they laid stones, mixed and carried mortar,
 and made certain that the castle walls would be able to withstand the
 test of battle.

 QUARRYMEN: Stones for castle-building did not come easily. ]n the Welsh
 castle-building campaign, the quarries were dug as close to the castle
 as possible, but there are records of stones being brought by oxcart from
 quarries as far away as twenty miles. At Flint Castle, quarrymen
 provided over 36,000 stones during the winter and spring of 1280 and
 1281. Quarrymen not only provided stones, but also valuable supplies
 of lime and sand.

 CARTERS: As mentioned above, supplies for castle-building did not magically
 appear on the castle site. Carters were needed to ferry supplies over
 both land and water; Harlech Castle did not have a nearby supply of
 lime or lime-sione, and these had to be ferried from Caernarvon, a
 voyage over water of nearly seventy miles around the Lleyn peninsula.
 Carters were in charge of safely delivering immense amounts of materials,
 travelling an estimated ten miles per day by oxcart during their journey.

 SMITHS: Castles were not made solely of stone and wood; a substantial
 amount of metal was also used in the construction. Smiths were
 important to working the metal used in castle-building; smithing was one
 of the better paid occupations in castle building.

 LABOURERS: Common labourers made up the rest of the castle's work force.
 Many labourers were peasants making up feudal obligations, and as such
 were unpaid, others were pressed into service by
 force. Others were untrained workers looking for a pence a day.
 Labourers were cheaper than skilled workers, but not as efficient;
 an over-reliance on unskilled labourers tended to slow down construction.
 To hire labour, use the buttons to request the number of each labourer
 type. A good castle relies on a mix of labour types. The Master
 Builder's evaluation of the efficiency of the mix is printed at the
 bottom of the screen; he rates a mix as Poor, Inefficient,
 Satisfactory, Good, I and Excellent. A Poor mix will build a castle
 very slowly, while an Excellent mix will build a castle very quickly.
 The labour menu also allows you to alter the wages of your workers.
 The base wages for your workforce are:

 Diggers L1/month/20 digger
 Carpenters 15/month/20 carpent
 Masons 16/month per 20 masons
 Quarrymen L1/month per 20 quuarrymen
 Carters L1/month per 20 carters
 Smiths L5/month per 20 smiths
 Labourers L0/month per 20 labourers
 Archers L2/month per 20 archers
 Infantry L3/month per 20 infantry

 Higher wages will attract more workers, and encourage them to
 join your workforce more quickly. Lower wages will save
 money, but will cause you to recruit more slowly and limit the number
 of workers who will want to work on your castle.

  -= OF TAXATION AND PERSONAL SAFETY =-

 A monarch Who embarks on a program to build castles must have money
 to pay for the supplies and the labourers The money for castle-builing comes
 from taxation. The rate of taxation depends on two factors:
 the difficulty level of the game, and the level of taxation as set by
 the player. The player will receive less tax money when the game is
 set to King level than he would at Prince level, and he would receive
 less tax money at Prince level than he would when the game is at Duke level.

 The player can decrease or increase the amount of money he will get by
 setting the Level of Taxation. The levels are (in ascending order):
 Generous,
 Normal, Oppressive, and Tyrannical. A king who has set his funding at a
 Tyrannical level will receive more funds than one who is Generous.

  Taxes are collected at the beginning of every fiscal year (i.e.. March 15,
 when building on the Castle resumes.) If a king needs money in a hurry, then
 they must levy taxes.

 Levies are taxes which are collected every month. To collect a levy, simply
 go to the Collect Levy area on the Taxes screen, and adjust the amount to
 whatever you desire, then click on the box below. At the beginning of the next
 month, that amount will be added to the Treasury.

 The maximum amount that can be levied depends on the difficulty
 level of the game. At Duke level, it is L400. At Prince level, it is
 L300, and at King level it is L200.

 Excessive taxation not only makes peasants angry, it also
 upsets the Church and the noble families, as everyone is taxed
 by the King. Excessive taxation can have two drawbacks.
 First, no one likes a tyrant. If you tax people long enough and
 hard enough, you will have rebellions. Second, the well eventually
 runs dry. Eventually, you will find that high taxes will
 bring a point of diminishing returns. Imposing levies on your
 subjects will also make them angry; imposing frequent levies
 on your subjects can cause the people who loved you to
 despise you in only a few months.

 On the other hand, if a monarch realizes that he is running into
 a problem with his peasants, and tries to be Generous, he will
 rarely get the results he wants. Peasants will appreciate low
 taxes, but never as enthusiasfically as they despise high taxes.

 For an overview of your taxes, call the Treasurer. He will give a report on
 your finances, including revenues from other castles, and will also offer
 warnings when you are spending money too quickly. Running out of money
 will bring your operations to a halt.

 Let the taxer beware.


  -= OF MILITARY MATTERS =-

 If you can't defend a castle, there is no sense in building it.
 When you build a castle in hostile territory, expect to defend it against
 attack.

 MILITARY MENU

 To hire troops, you must enter the Military menu. In this menu, you
 will be able to hire the two types of troops most commonly
 used in sieges in the Middle Ages: Archers, and Infantry.

 Archers shoot arrows at opponents. They are very poorly armored,
 and no match in melee range for someone with armor or a melee
 weapon; they will disappear when their supply of arrows have been
 depleted, or when they are slain. Infantry also serve as castle
 guards; these are the men who will be used if someone asks you for
 troops. Infantry are tougher than archers, but can only attack at
 close range.

 The number of troops that you can have depends on the number of pieces
 you have built in the castle. Small castles cannot support as many troops as
 a large castle.

 BATTLES

 SET-UP
 When a battle occurs, you will be given a chance to set up your castle before
 the enemy comes. Simply pick up archer and infantry pieces and place
 them on the blueprint, in the same way that you placed castle pieces. These
 pieces will attack the enemy when they appear or come within weapon
 range.
  If you are operating at less than maximum strength (500 infantry and
 500 archers), you will have an option to divide your forces into 1-10 units.
 Stronger units will not be damaged as easily as weaker ones, buk more
 numerous units will allow you to spread your forces across a larger area.
 Beware of spreading yourself too thin.

 CONTROLLING YOUR ARMY
 Each character in the army is subject to individual control. For
 archers, simply click on the piece, then click on the target; the archer will
 concentrate its fire on that piece until it is dead, then he will choose a new
 target. For infantry pieces, you may click either on an enemy target, or a
 position. Sometimes your infantry may lose line of sight of an enemy or get
 caught at the edge of a moat, simply move the infantry piece to another
 location, and he will try to locate the enemy.

 THE ENEMY
 Trying to destroy your castle is the Enemy. The Enemy will usually be
 Celts, though ogres will attack you frequently in the Fantasy World setting.

 The enemy will march toward your keep, trying to destroy anything or
 anyone in their path. Ogres are particularly infamous for their blood-thirsty
 tendencies.

 The enemy has two special weapons: sapper's tents and catapults.
 sapper's tents contain miners who will dig a tunel underneath your
 castle, fill it with dead pigs, and light them afire, causng an
 explosion that will destroy the castle.

 Catapults will coninuously fire large stones at your castle walls,
 knocking them down after multiple hits.
 When most of the enemy pieces have been killed, the attack will end
 and you will have triumphed. If you have completed your castle, you
 will proceed to the next level, or to the final screen (if all castles in
 the campaign have been built. However, when the enemy has killed off
 your defenders or destroyed a large section of your castle,
 they will have triumphed and your game will be over.

  -= OF FOOD ITS ADVANTAGES =-

 One of the most comon tactics of an enemy, particularly
 if they believe that they can block your supplies, is the siege.
 In order to withstand a siege, a wise monarch will purchase a
 emergency supply of food thus when one's army is under siege, they
 will not starve.
  Food can be purchased entering the Food menu, clicking on the
 arrows beside "Buy" and clicking on the box underneath the Food menu.
 This will purchase the proper amount food.
 Food costs vary wildly, depending on demand availability. Food is
 much less expensive after the fall harvest than it is in early
 spring, when the needs of winter have used up most
 surpluses. The same needs of winter will also affect
 the supply of food at your castle; you will have less
 food after winter than you had before the winter.

 During a siege, depending on the number of defenders at your
 castle, the food supply will decrease. When it hits zero,
 defenders will start to die. Some sieges can be quite
 long, making multiple purchases of food very necesary.

  -= OF MESSENGERS AND DIPLOMACY =-

 At the beginning of the game, the player
 has the option of receiving messengers. These messengers will
 come from a variety of sources; noble families, the
 Holy Church, the princes of Gwynedd, the peasants,
 or the King of Bretagne are the most common sources
 of messengers.

 During the course of this sequence, you will have to
 make a decision on a problem brought to you by the
 messenger This problem may be as trivial as a name
 for a knight's newborn son, or as important as
 determining whether or not the kingdom goes to
 war.

 The decisions that you make will have consequences.
 Do not expect to insult an ambassador from
 another kingdom without some sort of retaliation.
 During the course of the decision-making process,
 you may find loyal vassals betraying you, you may
 have to arbitrate important disputes, or you may make
 peace with your enemies. Consider your answers
 carefully. Some of the things that the messengers
 want may not be in the best interest of the
 kingdom. Be careful of nobles who are trying to
 advance their own fortune at the kingdom's expense.
 On the other hand, making the nobles unhappy is
 usually not a good idea. Prudent judgement is essential.

 The best way to consider the messenger sequences is
 as stories that are interwoven into the game. The
 exploits of the Prince might be one story, the attempt
 by the Duke of Norshire to conquer the Picts is
 another story. There will always be the possibility of
 several stories running through the game at a time.

 Your responses to the messenger sequence will
 determine your style of rule. Brutal actions may go
 unnoticed for a long time, but eventually people will
 begin to hear stories about you. Indecisiveness in moments
 of crisis will give you the reputation of
 being a weak king. You may have to find a balance
 while walking a diplomatic tightrope. Still, no one said
 that being a king or queen was easy.

 To get an indication on how whether the various
 factions in the kingdom like you, go to the Options
 screen and click on the Counsel button. Sir Richard
 of Westhampton will appear and tell you how
 you're doing.

  -= OF THE CONQUEST OF THE CELTIC LANDS =-

 The ultimate goal of the original
 CASTLES player, Edward I, was to build a network of invincible
 fortresses. That is the goal of the player of this game
 as well.

 The Celtic lands are divided into eight strategic
 territories, or cantrefs. To conquer a cantref, the
 player must build a castle within the territory, and
 must face a battle. When the completed castle has
 proven its worth in battle, it will attract settlers who
 will build a town nearby. Eventually, the town will
 trade with the Celts, who will become dependent on
 Albion for goods and services. Thus the Celtic lands
 will be assimilated.

 There are eight cantrefs in which the conquest of
 the Celtic princedoms takes place. They are (in
 order):

 Rhos
 Arfon
 Penllyn
 Arwystli
 Aberffraw
 Gwerthyrnio
 Dunoding
 Powys

 RHOS
 This is is a broad plain with coastal area in the west
 and north. It is close to qarties, and has great historical value to the
 Celts. they will not permit you build a castle here with out a fight.

 ARFON
 This is another broad plain, with lakes, near the coast of Gwynedd.
 It is close to quarries.

 PENLLYN
 This is an area of interior Marsh, a quagmire that is
 not loved by those who work on castles. It is close
 quarries.

 ARWYSTLI
 The construction site in Arwystli is in a heavily
 wooded section. It is also an isolated area, far from
 the quarries.

 ABERFFRAW
 This area in Northwest Gwynedd contains substantial
 coastline. Its quaries are nearby, but noted
 for their hard stone which makes them difficult to
 work.

 GWERTHYRNION
 This area in South Gwynedd is known for its
 broad, shallow lakes, and fierce natives. It is far from
 any quarries, too far, as the carters will tell you.

 DUNODING
 The castle site in this wide region is in
 marshland, every workers least favorite terrain. Its
 quarries are old, and quarymen have to work harder
 than the once did to get valuable supplies of
 lime and limestone.

 POWYS
 In the center of the Celt lands is the huge region
 known as Powys. Once it was a rival to Gwynedd.
 Now it is a land of bitter resistance to the Albion
 conquerors. It uses the same quarries as Donoding,
 but they are considerably further away.

 As each cantref is subdued, more tax money will
 come to the Treasury of Albion. However, there may
 be occasions where the King must rush his troops,
 to the defense of one of his other castles, or lose that
 tax money.

 In each cantref, the rebellions will become more
 fierce. The land may be some distance from the
 quarries, increasing the cost of the castle. The subjugation
 of these lands is not an easy thing. The terrain of these lands
 are different; Arwystli and Powys are heavily forested, while
 Penilyn contains a great marsh. The enemy will use
 different approaches on these territories.

 When a castle has been built in all eight cantrefs,
 victory will have been achieved, and you will
 receive a summary of your relations with the various
 factions in your kingdom, and how historians viewed
 your rule (the overall score).
 If your reign was the Golden Age of Albion, you
 truly were a great king!

  -= A GEOGRAPHY OF ALBION AND ITS NEIGHBOURS =-

 Albion is based on England in the late
 13th Century. Albion is an amalgamation of
 several Germanic kingdoms that were conquered
 by a French duke in the late 11th Century;
 this new King then eliminated the ruling
 families and replaced them with his own.

 Albion has four geographical regions. The
 North, which falls under the influence of the Duchy
 of Norshire, has sometimes belonged to Pictland, the
 kingdom of the Picts which lies north of Albion.
 The North has a rather strong independent streak,
 being farther from the influence of the king than
 the other people of Albion. The west of Albion falls
 under the influence of the Duke of Westhampton, a
 close relative of the ruler of Albion. This includes the
 border marches, land which once belonged to
 the Princes of Gwynedd and now belongs to Albion
 barons. The ownership of the marches has been a
 major source of disagreement for Albion and
 Gwynedd.

 The east of Albion falls under the influence of the
 duke of Warfield. Warfield is the section of the
 country where Parliament resides, a council of barons
 who has been fighting for power since they forced
 King John to sign the Great Charter in 1215,
 which limited the King's rights. This charter has
 usually been ignored by the King, but it has been
 used by barons as a weapon to limit the power
 of a weak king.

 Between north, east, and west are the Midlands. The
 Warfields are the most influential family here, followed by the
 Westhamptons. The rivalry between the noble families
 is caused because of disputes in the Midlands; the
 rivalry between the Westhamptons and the Norshires is particularly
 bitter.

  North of Albion is the Pictlands. They are a group
 of clans who owe allegiance to a king, a distant
 relative of the king of Albion. The Picts and Albion
 have enjoyed a long truce until recently, when the alliance between
 the Picts and the Bretagnese triggered a series of border
 skirmishes that have erupted into a full scale
 war. The commander of Albion's Northern forces
 the Duke of Norshire; he not noted for his military
 skill.

 West of Albion is the pricedoms of the Celts, of
 which Gwynedd is by far the most powerful. These
 princedoms have been at war for centuries with Albion.

 South of Albion is the main continent of Europe
 The closest kingdom to Albion is Britagne, a union
 duchies under a single monarch. Britagne is the
 historical enemy of Albion since the King of Albion
 once held large portions of land in Britagne and many
 wars were fought over that land. The lands are now
 controlled by the King of Bretagne, but no King of
 Albion has ever abandoned the dream of regaining their continental
 empire. The throne of Britagne is currently in dispute.
 The two claimants are Henry, Duke of Beel, and Charles, Duke of Clossau.

  The greatest state in Europe is the Teutonic Provinces, ruled by a
 single Emperor. The Teutonic Provinces occasionally invades
 Britagne, other than that, its affairs have little bearing on the current
 state of Albion.

  -= A GUIDE TO THE PERSONAGES OF THE REFIONS =-

 THE RULING FAMILY OF ALBION
 The current ruling family of Albion has been in
 power since the mid-12th Century. They have seen a
 vast empire in continental Europe dwindle to virtually
 nothing, civil wars, and conquest of neighboring
 states.

 Albion is considered a minor power in the politics
 of Europe, and the ruler of Albion is considered less
 important than one of the Princes of the Teutonic
 States.

 The King/Queen of Albion (aka you). Now entering
 middle age, the ruler of Albion is enjoying
 a relatively peaceful time following a tumultuous succession to
 the throne, when your younger brother Prince Arthur tried to take your
 throne. Your spouse died many years ago, leaving you with but a single heir.
 You have won a string of recent victories against the Celtic Princes, and hold
 enough territory to allow you to build castles in their lands, in hopes of
 holding it. Some of the Celtic Princes do not appreciate this,
 and rebellions are commonplace.

 Prince Henry: Your only child is Prince Henry, who
 has a well-earned reputation for irresponsibility. He is
 in his late teens, and causes nothing but
 trouble. Somehow, you hope that he will turn into a
 creditable king when his rime comes, but you have strong doubts.

 Prince Xrthur: Your rebellious brother fled the country during a small
 civil war that took place during your succession. He
 is currently in exile in the court of your enemy Charles,
 Duc de Clossau, who is one of the leading contenders
 in the Britagnese civil war.

 Princess Edith: Your sister was married to an important Britagnese
 duke to strengthen your alliance with the Britagnese ruling
 family. That ruling family is now dead and there is a
 civil war in Britagne. Princess Edith stays out of
 politics, is well-known for her graciousness, piety,
 and,charity, and is well beloved in both Albion
 and Britagne.


 NOBLE FAMILIES OF ALBION
 Even a government as centralized as Albion's cannot
 run by a king's decree alone; the feudal system
 gives a great deal of power to the noble families. There
 are three dukes in Albion, all of whom have immense
 political and financial importance, many earls, and
 many more knights who serve the earls and hold
 fiefs of their own. The three principle noble families are:

 THE WESTHAMPTONS
 This family is the most prominent noble family in the kingdom, a fact which
 does not go unnoticed with the other noble families of Albion. The Westhamptons
 have a reputation for chivalry, integrity, and unmatched prowess in arms. This
 reputation is deserved, but some Westhamptons deserve it more than others. The
 Westhamptons are also extremely proud, and that is not always a virtue. The
 Westharnptons hold large tracts of lands in West Albion, and shares their
 influence with the Warfields in the Midlands.

 The Duke
 of Westhampton

 This aging Duke was once a great knight in the days of his youth, having
 fought in the Crusades. He is an old friend of the ruler of Albion, though
 they have grown apart during the years. The Duke expects the Westh@mpton
 family to receive the kingdom's highest honors and privileges. The Duke
 despises the other noble families, and holds the
 Church in complete contempt, though he takes
 pride in defending Christian values and beliefs.

 Sir Richard
 of Westhampton

 The eldest of the Duke's many children, Sir Richard
 is one of the chief administrators in the realm,
 as well as one of the most trusted counsellors. Sir
 Richard is capable, competent, and loyal, though
 on occasion he holds the glory of the Westhampton
 family in higher regard than the welfare of the
 kingdom. Sir Richard is a formidable combatant, but
 prefers administrative duties to battle. Sir
 Richard's loyalty is unqueslioned.

 Sir Roger
 of Westhampton

 The second oldest of the Duke's sons, Sir Roger is
 not the most honorable member of his family, nor
 the most beloved. Roger takes extreme pride in
 being a Westhampton and will protect his family
 interests at all costs. Sir Roger is loyal to the throne, but his actions
 are not always in accord with the wishes of the
 ruler of Albion.

 Sir Phillip of
 Westhampton

 The third oldest son of the Westhamptons, Sir Phillip delights in
 being a warrior and displaying his martial prowness. He
 earned a formidable reputation during the Crusades as one of the
 greatest knights in Europe. Sir Phillip is a skilled commander, but would
 rather fight on the fields of Europe than in Gwynedd or the Pictish lands.
 He is extremely loyal to the throne, but his pursuit of honor in battle and
 tournaments sometimes goes beyond the best interests of the kingdom.


 THE NORSHIRES

 This family is the most Prominent of the Northern
 nobility. They are not as wealthy or as comf onable
 as the other great lords of the kingdom, and there is
 considerable enmity between them and the other


  ___________________________________________________
 |                                                   |
 |          O---O---O---O---O  O - ROUND TOWER       |
 |          |               |  # - SQUARE TOWER      |
 |          |               |  - - WALL              |
 |          |               |  | - WALL              |
 |          O   #---#---#   O III - GATE             |
 |          |   |       |   |                        |
 |          |   |       |   |                        |
 |          |   |       |   |                        |
 |          O   #--III--#   O                        |
 |          |               |                        |
 |          |               |                        |
 |          |               |                        |
 |          O---O--III--O---O                        |
 |                                                   |
 |                     Figure A                      |
 |___________________________________________________|

 noble families. The Norshires take great pride in
 their military ability, pride which is not always
 deserved.

 The Duke
 of Norshire

 This aging man is considered by members of
 many of the other noble families to by the joke of the
 kingdom. He is an incompetent general (rumored
 to be a coward), petty, vain, and proud. The
 Duke of Norshire believes that everything he does is
 in the best interest of the kingdom, but his own personal pride
 really comes before all else.

 Thomas
 of Norshire

 The Duke's teenage son Thomas is considered
 a reckless youth; he is the closest friend of Prince
 Henry of all of the Albionese nobility. Thomas
 has attracted notice for his martial skill, his ability to
 command troops, and their loyalty to him (as well for
 as playing pranks on the Picts). Despite their many
 differences, Thomas cares a great deal for his father,
 and holds his family's honor in high regard.

 THE WARFIELDS

 The third great family of Warfield is the Warfields,
 who hold a great deal of power in the Midlands and
 in the Southeast. The Warfields have a reputation for
 bullying, tyranny, overtaxing, and ill-treatment of
 peasants.

 The Duke of Warfield

 The Duke rules his fiefs with an iron fist. He is a
 cruel and intolerant lord, and his knights are little
 more than thugs. Nonetheless the Duke has many
 lords who are loyal to him, and he holds a position of
 great political importance. The Duke is loyal to the
 throne, but is also quite greedy.

 Sir Edwin of Warfield

 The eldest son of the Duke despises his father's
 cruelty and greed. An atypical Warfield, he is on
 reasonably good terms with the Westhamptons
 and the Norshires. He and his father are estranged.

 THE CHURCH

 The Church's influence has been in decline
 throughout the 13th Century; recent archbishops
 and bishops have been trying to increase their influence in Albion.
 As with the dukes, the Church provides some revenues
 for the Crown, and is a faction that cannot be easily
 ignored.

 The Pope

 The Bishop of Rome, Pontiff of the Holy Roman
 Church, the Pope is a man with considerable
 political influence. His greatest power is the
 power of excornmunication, which bans a person
 from membership in the Church and from the ritual
 of holy communion. In general, the Pope overuses
 excommunications, and they are not as great a
 deterrent to anti-clerical behavior as they once were.

 The Bishop

 The local bishop is an extremely proud man,
 far more devoted to the Church than you had hoped when you appointed him
 (there is a quarrel between Albion and Rome on the appointment of
 bishops, with Rome on losing end). The bishop is arrogant, smug,
 greedy, and vindictive, but he is also (unlike the popular stereotype of
 medieval clergy) genuinely concerned about the poor and the spiritual
 well-being of his followers.

 The Abbess of St. Martha's
 Also known as the Mad Abbess, she believes that supernatural
 forces are everywhere, conspiring to corrupt the soul of the
 people of Albion. The abbess has been known to make rather
 absurd allegations from time to time.

 THE CELTS

 West of Albion, beyond Hay's dike, is one of the historical lands of the
 Celts, which in our world is known as Wales. The Celts were never united,
 and the lands of the Celtic West is divided into a number of Princedoms:
 Gwynedd, Powys, and Deheubarth are the most prominent Throughout
 history, the Celts and the peoples of Albion have raided each other at
 virtually every opportunity; after the Norman Conquest, the Celts generally
 on the losing side of this battle. Of the Princedoms of the West, Gwyned
 is generally the most unified and powerful.

 BRETAGNE
 Across the Channel is the great land of Britagne, one
 of the great powers of Europe. A century ago, the
 king of Albion controlled much of Bretagne, though
 technically he was still the vassal of the King of
 Bretagne. The King of Bretagne eventually broke
 most of Albion's continental empire, which has
 resulted in decades of hostility, much of it caused by
 Albion's refusal to let go of its empire.
 The King of Bretagne recently died, naming Henry, Duke of Bee] as his
 lawful successor. however, many of the most powerful
 barons of France support Henry's cousin, Charles,
 Duke of Clossau.

 Henry, Duke of Beel
 Henry of Beel is the most sympathetic of the two contenders
 to the throne of
 Britagne. He was appointed by the former king as his successor, but the
 majority of the barons either refuse to support him, or support his
 rival, Charles of Clossau.


 Charles, Duke
 of Clossau
 Charles of Clossau is an old enemy; you knew him from a visit to
 the Britagnese court when you were ten, when you found him
 to be spoiled, ill-mannered, and contemptuous. He had
 similar opinions of you. Neither of you have forgotten that meeting.
 Charles harbored your traitorous brother, Arthur, following
 his rebellion, and has been his host ever since.
 Charles' messengers pride themselves on their wit, usually an insult
 at the expense of Albion.

 Andre, Duke
 of Mallardville
 The Duke of Mallardville
 is recognized as one of Bretagne's greatest knights
 and a paragon of chivalry He holds Albion in extreme
 contempt, and is a bitter enemy of Sir Phillip of Westhampton,
 who fought with him (and against him)
 in the Crusades.

 FAERIE
 (These entities will only appear in the Fantasy version of this game).
 Faerie is the land beyond the twilight, A magical place full of mystical
 beings. According to legend, Faerip is ruled by Lord Oberon and Lady
 Titania, and is home to many sprites, hobgoblins,
 ogres, and elves; fay creatures both good and evil.
 Most of the folk of Faerie do not involve themselves
 in the affairs of the world, but some of the more mischievous or evil do.
 The Seelie Court The Seelie Court is the court of the good elves, the
 beneficent elves (this is opposed by the Unseelie Court of the dark elves).
 The Seelic Court is worried about the interference by
 others in Faerie on the world of Albion, and will
 occasionally offer warnings regarding supernatural evils at work in
 Albion.

 The Bean Sidhe
 The Bean Sidhe, or Banshee, is a female spirit
 whose song foretells death and disaster. She is one of
 the most dangerous spirits of Faerie to walk in the
 world of the living.

 The Wild Hunt
 The legendary Wild Hunt appears in time of great un
 rest. The hunt is one of the guises of Death, who rides
 a pate horse and leads ghastly hounds in a procession, whose purpose
 is the gathering of souls.

  -= SIR RICHARD OF WESTHAMPTON'S GUIDE TO CASTLE BUILDING =-

 Herein, Sir Richard of Westhampton and his squire, Alain, seek to explain
 some of the mysteries of castle-building.

 SIR RICHARD: Greetings. I am Sir Richard of
 Westhampton, one of the foremost knights in the
 kingdom, as you'll probab]y notice -- over and over
 again. Castle building is not my field of expertise, I
 am an administrator for my father, the Duke of Wes-
 thampton, and a counsell for my sovereign, the rul
 of Albion. However, as mliege is busy with other
 matters, I have been aske to explain some of the bas
 secrets of castle construc- tion. I have talked with
 some fine master builders in my day, so it is a subjec
 with which I feel comfor able.
 But as my language is that of the court, perhaps
 my squire, Alain, should explain some of the essenfials
 of castle-building in simple terms...

 ALAIN: Certainly my lord. First, to start your
 castle-building, use your mouse. Click on the right
 button and bring up the main menu.

 SIR RICHARD: A mouse? Using a mouse as a
 messenger? What non-sense is this?

 ALAIN:'Tis the way it is done these days, my lord.

 SIR RICHARD: Talking mice? I have never heard
 of such a thing. Perhaps I am behind the times.

 ALAIN: The main menu is your key to commanding
 yofir workforce. If you wish to design your castle,
 click with your left mouse button on the Design
 window. If you wish to hire labourers, click with your
 left mouse button on the Labour window. If you
 wish to hire guards, click on the Military menu. To
 escape from these menus, click on the right mouse
 button. I would recommend spending a minute
 or two practising using this interface.

 SIR RICHARD: Interface? Common speech is
 indeed strange!

 ALAIN: They will soon find that the interface is
 easy to use, my lord. Now, let us continue our castle
 building. We will need to plot our pieces, so we must
 click on the Design window. In the upper right
 hand corner are two types of towers, a wall, a gate,
 and a circle with a line through it.

 SIR RICHARD: I had not heard of a Master Builder
 using this tool. It was probably developed by the
 Saracens. They are masters of their craft.

 ALAIN: Perhaps, my lord. Use these pieces to
 plan the layout of your castle. Remember that
 there are several things that can go wrong in castle
 building. If you are planning your castle, and your
 castle piece does not appear on the terrain when
 you place it.

 SIR RICHARD: As it did in that castle in Powys, the
 one with the large towers, if I recall...

 ALAIN: Yes my lord. That's because the master
 builder tried to build the castle on very solid stones,
 ones which could not be removed.

 SIR RICHARD: Yes. I recall the king was not
 very happy about paying the diggers for digging on
 a piece of land that was unsuitable for castle building.

 ALAIN: I would imagine not, my lord. Remember,
 do not try to build in TREES, ROCKS, HEAVY
 MARSH, POOLS, or too close to the SHORE. You
 will be unable to lay a foundation for your castle.

 SIR RICHARD: Of course, there is the matter
 of towers and walls...

 ALAIN: Thank-you for reminding me, your
 lordship. Novice castle-builders will sometimes
 try to plan castles whose walls are placed at different
 angles, such as a north facing wall trying to
 connect with a southeast facing wall.

 SIR RICHARD: They are unbuildable?

 ALAIN: Unsupportable. Always place a tower if
 you wish to change the facing of a wall.

 SIR RICHARD: Unsupportable? I would think
 that builders with our skill will be able to master such
 a difficult craft.

 A-LAIN: Surely you jest, my lord. Our builders are
 skilled tis true, but they cannot defy the laws of
 nature. If you wish a wall to build, it MUST have
 SUPPORT from a structure ALMOSt AS TALL, AS TALL,
 or TALLER THAN ITSELF Thus a WALL cannot
 build that is more than FOUR feet taller than
 either of its ADJACENT walls. It would collapse my
 lord. The same applies for a GATE.

 SIR RICHARD: I would not tell my father that this
 cannot be done. He believes that a Westhamptoin can do anything.

 ALAIN (laughing): Yes, my lord.

 SIR RICHARD: You have mentioned walls and
 gates. What of towers? Are they unsupportable?



 ALAIN: No, my lord. Towers are built with solid
 support at all stages of their building. They can
 rise on their own. 'Tis why they take so long to build.

 SIR RICHARD: Suppose I have been building a
 large castle, and I cannot place any more towers,
 walls, or gates?

 ALAIN: I would check on one's Resources count, my
 lord. If the count is at zero, then you can no longer
 place any more pieces. I have heard of kings who
 built castles beyond their means.

 SIR RICHARD: Yes, I know one quite well. Now,
 I will provide you with what the scribes calla
 tutorial. This will teach you the basics of castle
 buildiing. Here is the plan for the castle we are about
 to build. (See Fig. A, pg. 30)

 SIR RICHARD: This should be reasonably easy
 to follow. Just place the pieces, do not concern
 yourself with such things as height, number of
 labourers, and other considerations just yet.

 ALAIN: Perhaps you should tell them to find a
 suitable piece of land.

 SIR RICHARD: I thought that I had done so.
 ALAIN: You did not, my lord.

 SIR RICHARD: Oh. I apologize. Anyways, be certain that the land on which
 you place your castle is a broad swarth, of suitable
 measure for your task. Now place the castle. On
 the northern section, going from left to right, you
 should place a round tower, three segments of
 wall, a second round tower, three more segments of tower, a third
 round tower, three more segments of wall, a fourth
 round tower, three more segments of wall, and a
 final round tower, as shown below.

 O---O---O---O---O

 ALAIN: 'Tis a lot of wall segments, my lord.

 SIR RICHARD: Without them, the castle would
 soon fall to one's enemies. Now, I have mentioned
 the laws of building walls, that you should have adjacent structures to
 support it. Allow me...

 ALAIN: My lord, I was the one who mentioned the law of support!



 SIR RICHARD: Do not contradict thy liege, Alain.
 'Tis against all codes of chivalry.

 ALAIN: My apologies, my liege.

 SIR RICHARD: We will make a knight out of thee
 yet, Alain. Now, let us look at this law in action. First
 hire some workers. Five hundred will be more than
 adequate for our purpose. Be certain to hire skilled
 masons.

 ALAIN: That is very important.

 SIR RICHARD: Indeed. The other workers are important,
 but the mason is the most skilled at the art
 of castle-building. Without a skilled workforce, castle-building
 is a labourous and unnecessarily lengthy task.
 Now once you have your workforce, you are ready
 to build the castle. Let us go to the northwest corner
 of the castle, and take the first section, which consists
 of a round tower, three wall segments, and a
 second round tower. We shall start on the north-west tower..

 ALAIN:...Takeyour mouse and have it increase
 the count of labourers on a piece to its maximum.

 SIR RICHARD: That mouse again!

 ALAIN: If you had followed the previous instrutions, your
 tower should be building nicely on the tight-hand side of the
 tower should be three wall segments and another
 tower, as follows:

  T123T
  O---O

 Now, take your mouse, and increase the number of
 workers on wall piece number one, and wall
 piece number three.

 SIR RICHARD: I see that the report on this piece
 says "Waiting".

 ALAIN: That is because there are only a limited
 number of scaffolds and work crews available at a
 time. "Waiting" means that it is waiting for a scaffold.

 SIR RICHARD: Ah, the building has begun. I suppose that
 is why it says Building.

 ALAIN: Aye, my lord. And now it says Unstable
 It has stopped building.

 SIR RICHARD: Yet the work crews are still there!
 What lazy churls are these?



 ALAIN: That is because they follow your instructions only, my lord. You
 know the penalty for disobeying one's liege in
 these times, my lord. The workers will only do work
 where they are ordered to do so. And if a structure is
 Unstable, it cannot be built any further without risk of
 collapse. Thus the workers are not building any more.

 SIR RICHARD: Excuses, excuses. They are lazy, 'tis clear. Now how do we
 solve the dilemma, and cause these unstable walls
 to build?

 ALAIN:'Tis easy, my lord. Think not of the castle pieces as individual
 segments, but sections of connected walls, towers, and gates. Each piece in
 this section must be building for the entire structure
 to build. Currently, only the left tower, and wall segments Number One and
 Number Three have builders assigned to them, as indicated by the stars
 above the pieces...

 ** *
 T123T
 O---O

 SIR RICHARD: So if we were to assign workers to
 the pieces without stars, the second wall and the
 right tower, the entire piece would build without
 any problems?

 ALAIN: Let us try it. Take your mouse and click on
 the pieces. Their height should be four feet, and
 they should have no labourers assigned.

 SIR RICHARD: That mouse again!

 ALAIN: Now increase the labourers to maximum.

 SIR RICHARD: The entire structure is building!

 ALAIN: Indeed. And soon, we will have a completed section of wall,
 surrounded by two towers. Now that you have successfully built one
 section of wall, let us continue building the entire structure.

 SIR RICHARD: Suppose one makes an error in the
 planning stages. My brother Roger has done so frequently. Can such an
 error be rectified?

 ALAIN: Aye. Bring up the Design menu. This
 provides our blueprint. See the circle with that slash
 through it?

 SIR RICHARD: Reminds me of a Coat of Arms.

 ALAIN: Well, click on that symbol. Now, take the cursor to the piece you
 wish to delete on the blueprint. Click the left mouse button on that piece I
 to remove it. If you wish to replace the piece, simply click on the
 appropriate piece and place it on the desired spot.

 SIR RICHARD: That was simple.

 ALAIN: Indeed. Let us resume our castle building.
 Let us continue building the North wall We shall build slowly, a section at a
 time. Currently, this is what has been built:

   *****
   O---O---O---O---O
   |               |
   |               |
   |               |
   O               O


 ALAIN: Wait for the number of available labourers
 to reach its maximum total. If five hundred labourers
 were hired, then five hundred labourers should be free, as labourers who
 finish their assigned job head directly into the Freed Labour Force to
 await reassignment. The "Free" count should be at 500. Once it is,
 click on the next three wall segments, and the tower on the right
 hand side of those walls. The following walls or towers should be built,
 or in the process of building:

    *********
    O---O---O---O---O
    |               |
    |               |
    |               |
    O               O

 ALAIN: Once those wall have been completed, confinue with the next
 three wall segments and tower

    *************
    O---O---O---O---O
    |               |
    |               |
    |               |
    O               O

 ALAIN: And then once more. The North section of
 the castle's outer wall should now be complete.

    *****************
    O---O---O---O---O
    |               |
    |               |
    |               |
    O               O

 ALAIN: Now repeat the process for the western wall.

   ******************
   *O---O---O---O---O
   *|               |
   *|               |
   *|               |
   *O   #---#---#   O
   *|   |       |   |
   *|   |       |   |
   *|   |       |   |
   *O   #--III--#   O
   *|               |
   *|               |
   *|               |
   *O---O--III--O---O

 SIR RICHARD: I notice that you have been moving
 to another view to place your workers. Let us suppose we complete
 the front of the castle, in the same way that you did the back.
 Now let us try to assign workers to the inner walls...

 ALAIN: Hmm. It is rather hard to allocate to pieces
 that are concealed by portions of the castle that are
 already constructed.

 SIR RICHARD: We could tear them down and build them up again.

 ALAIN: That's a rather awkward solution, my lord. There are two better
 solutions for this problem. First, it is possible to change the perspective
 on the castle. Flip the castle from front to back by using the "F" key.

 SIR RICHARD: "F" key? I believe I once heard a minstrel talking about that.

 ALAIN: If you still cannot adjust the piece using a flip command, then go
 back to the design menu. You can adjust the number of workers from the main
 view and from the blueprint.

 SIR RICHARD: All of this allocafing of workers seems so...

 ALAIN-. Tedious? It can be, my lord. Fortunately, there is a shortcut.
 Before one builds a castle, hire your laborers immediately. Then go to the
 design menu, and before you put together your blueprint, allocate workers to
 that piece. The piece will begin to build as soon as you place it, and the
 number of workers assigned will remain the same for all future pieces.

 SIR RICHARD: That is an improvement. However, I've always found
 shortcuts to be rather dangerous in practise.

 ALAIN: Well, there are risks. If you do not have
 enough workers and allocate too many pieces, then
 the pieces will not build immediately. They will be in
 a state of 'Waiting". Worse, when vou have allocated
 pieces with more workers then you have in the available
 workforce...

 SIR RICHARD: That can be a mess. Workers will be
 reduced on the pieces that are being built to stretch
 between all of the allocated pieces. Sometimes, the
 number of workers on a piece will drop to zero,
 which may cause an entire wall section to become
 Unstable. The work force will lack alt coordination.
 ALAIN: Why do I expect that you knew everything
 I was talking about, my lord?

 SIR RICHARD (smiles): I have seen many castles rise
 and fall, and dealt with many master builders in
 my day. The study of castle building has been something
 of a hobby of mine. After all, if my liege has
 been spending many thousands of pounds on
 castle-building, his counsellors ought to know whether his money
 has been well spent. Of course, there is only one true test
 of a castle, and that is how well it does in battle. I
 think I will let my brother Phillip talk about it when
 he has the time...

 ALAIN: Yes, he would be the choice. Or Thomas of
 Norshire.

 SIR RICHARD: That pup? Surely you jest. Now,
 by this rime you should have a clear indication of
 how to place castle pieces, how to assign workers to
 castle pieces, and what to look for if the castle pieces
 are not being built.

 ALAIN: Perhaps you should repeat the main points, my lord.

 SIR RICHARD: An excel lent suggestion. First, if
 you cannot place castle pieces on your blueprint, it
 is either because you are trying to place it on land
 where a castle cannot be constructed, or because
 you have used up the maximum resources that can be
 assigned to the project.

 ALAIN: Be certain that your Resources counter is
 not at Zero. Also, if the number is slightly above
 zero, you may not be able to place certain pieces such
 as gates.

 SIR RICHARD: Second, if a castle piece has stopped
 building, check to see if the piece is listed as Unstable or Waiting.
 Unstable pieces need to be supported by the adjacent pieces. Wailing
 pieces need a scaffold to become available.

 ALAIN:'Tis true. But what of No Workers?

 SIR RICHARD: Ah yes. If a piece is not building, and you receive a report
 that says "No Workers", then you need to hire more
 labourers.

 ALAIN: Are there any other possible problems?

 SIR RICHARD: Not unless the monarch is so foothardy with his purse that
 he runs out of money. In such a case, both laborers
 and guards will quickly abandon the king for better paying work. Why does
 it always seem that the people in power are the greatest debtors?

 ALAIN: Perhaps because they are not spending their own money, my lord.

 SIR RICHARD: Hmm, that reminds me, I have business to do for my
 father. If you do not understand these principles, repeat this
 tutorial until you do. Now if you will excuse me, my father wishes
 me to look at his household accounts, and see how much debt he has
 incurred.

 ALAIN: And now that we have come to the end, remember, gentle folk, that
 if we have offended you with problems that were not explained within this
 discourse, use your telephones to contact us at the number listed in the
 Warranty section, and gladly will the wise and patient folk do their best to
 solve your problems.


  -= THE REAL WORLD CASTLES OF EDWARD I =-

 The reign of King John and his son Henry Ill were a disaster for
 England's continental empire; the vast empire that Henry II had built
 between Scotland and the Pyranees had crumbled. One side effect of this
 defeat was that it allowed England to concentrate on the subjugation
 of its neighbors, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

  The history between England and its neighbors was never a peaceful one.
 While England and Scotland both coalesced into centralized monarchies
 before the 11th Century, Wales remained a collection of princedoms,
 squabbling for land, raiding each other and England. Ownership of
 Northern England changed hands frequently The Welsh raided the
 English lands on their boader, and vice versa. Everyone worried about
 Vikings. In 1066, however the Norman Conquest changed everything.

  The subjugation of England by the Normans was conducted in a manner that was
 ruthless even by medieval standards; whole villages were destroyed, and the
 entire ruling class of England disappeared in twenty years, replaced by
 Normans.

 A culture as ambitious and as powerhungry as the Normans were not content
 to hold a single kingdom; they were constantly trying to expand, and
 engaged in continuous suppression of rebellious provinces, attacks against
 the King of France, and disgruntled family members (refer to the Tales of the
 Middle Ages for suitable examples). However, this did not mean that the
 kings of England forgot about the other nations in the British Isles.
 The Normans were quick to expand into Wales. However, the geography of
 Wales confined their advances to the valleys and lowlands of
 Southern Wales. Even the might of Henry II was not sufficient
 to defeat Welsh troops. Henry responded by recognizing
 the rule of Welsh lords, particularly Rhys ap Gruffyd, in return for
 their recognition of his overlordship. This would not
 be the first time that an English king would meddle in Welsh
 politics, nor would it be the last.

  In the 13th Century, Wales was finally united
 under the leadership of Prince Llywelyn the Great
 and his grandson, Llywelyn ap Cruffyd. Indeed, in the treaty of
 Montgomery, Llywelyn ap Gruffyd forced Henry III
 of England to recognize his territorial gains and his
 title "Prince of Wales". However, despite the triumph of the
 princes of Gwynedd, their glory was soon to end. Henry III
 relinquished most of the disputed lands in France
 with the Treaty of Paris in 1259. This allowed his son,
 Edward I, to concentrate on the conquest of Wales
 as no king had done since the early days following
 the Norman Conquest. His original plan was to overrun many
 of Llywelyn's lands and hand them to his more compliant brothers,
 Dafydd and Gruffyd. However, his campaign of 1277 was such a
 success that Edward realized that he didn't have to reward
 Dafydd. In 1282, the Welsh rebelled. Edward went to
 war against the Welsh, and won. Llywelyn died in an
 ambush, and Dafydd was captured, tried, and executed.

  Edward realized that he needed to consolidate his
 gains. He decided on a policy of building castles
 in strategic places. He would encourage English
 settlers to build towns near the castles, eventually they
 would trade with and assimilate the Welsh.

 This was the most expensive enterprise ever taken
 up by a King of England at that time, and eventually it
 would almost entirely drain the English treasury.
 To coordinate the building, Edward chose as his master
 mason a renowned architect, Sir James of Savoy,
 who had studied the castles built by the Moslems in the Crusades.
 Sir james built castles according to the needs of his master, Yang
 Edward, and supervised the building.
 There were ten castles built by Edward I, in what clearly can be
 considered three separate castle building campaigns. Of these ten,
 six castles have special importance.

  THE MAJOR WELSH
  CASTLES OF EDWARD I
  Castles Dates Built
  Flint 1277-1281
  Rhuddian 1277-1281
  Caernarvon 1283-1323
  Conway 1283-1287
  Harlech 1283-1289
  Beaumaris 1295-1323

 The first two castles on this list (as well as two lesser, castles,
 Builth and Ruthin, which were started at the same time) were
 built by Edward following the initial campaign. While
 Flint and Rhuddlan are impressive, they do not compare with the latter
 four castles, which are truly masterpieces of English
 building and military engineering. What is also impressive about the
 castles is their sheer variety; each castle, though constructed
 at the same time, stands out as an individual structure with little in
 common with the others.

 Caernarvon, Conway, and Harlech were all started following the
 conquest of Wales. Harlech was designed as a military
 fortress, standing tall on the face of a large cliff. Its
 central defense was designed around an extremely strong gatchouse,
 which was later incorporated into the second
 stage of building at Caernarvon.
 In many ways, Conway is the most visually impressive of Edward's
 castles, with eight huge drum towers and an inner ward
 surrounded with turrets. Its approaches were
 protected by barbicans and fortified steps.
 Of all of Edward's castles, Caernarvon had a highly
 symbolic importance that was reflected in its design.
 Before its construction, a rumor surfaced that the
 bones of Magnus Maximus, the father of the first
 Christian Roman Emperor Constantine had been
 found on the site. Master James had visited the
 castles of the Holy Lands and may have been to Constantinople,
 where he would have seen the walls of Constantinople with its
 polygonal towers; the towers of Caernarvon were
 based on those of Constantinople. The great tower of
 Caernarvon, the Eagle Tower, was meant to have
 imperial connotations. In 1284, Edward's heir, the future
 Edward II, was born at Caernarvon. He became the first in
 a long line of Princes of Wales; tragically, Edward II was
 destined to be deposed by his wife, his barons, and his
 fifteen year old son in 1327.

  In the 1294 and 1295, a new series of revolts broke
 out in Wales. In 1294, Caernarvon Castle and its town
 fell to the rebels, and though it was soon
 liberated, Edward and Master James were determined
 that this would never again occur. The resulting rebuilding and
 expansion of Caernarvon included Lhe King's Gate,
 which included no fewer than five doors and six
 portcullises, with each of these secfions bolstered by
 arrow loops in the walls and murder holes in the ceiling.

  It was after the revolt of 1295 that Edward decided
 to begin work on the grandest and most ambitious castle of all,
 the beautiful Beaumaris ("beautiful marsh"). While lacking in the
 Christian (and Arthurian) mythological tones of Caernarvon,
 Beaumaris was an immensely impresive fortress based
 on the concentric castles of the Middle East. It had
 two sections, an outer curtain wall defended by over a dozen
 towers and strong gatehouses, and an inner wall with immense
 towers and extremely powerful gatehouses. The layout of
 Beaumaris demanded that any attacker who managed
 to break through the outer curtain would have to
 make a sharp turn under heavy fire to approach the
 inner curtain to attack it. For several years,
 thousands of men, at a cost of L13000, worked on
 Beaumaris, until Edward ran into financial
 problems. Edward's belligerent policy towards
 Scotland and a dispute with the French crown
 over Gascony caused an immense drain on the treasury of England, and
 Edward was a king who heavily taxed his subjects.
 England was building an empire of castles it could
 not afford.

  Although the construction of Beaumaris continued well into the reign
 of Edward II, the great castle was never finished. The towers of the inner
 curtain wall were never raised to their full height, the southern gatehouse
 remaimed unfinished, and the great hall within the inner wall was never
 begun. Beaumaris remained, like all too many works of art, an unfinished
 masterpiece. No enemy ever attacked Beaumaris;
 the rebellion of Owen Glendower in 1400 was the last armed attempt to
 restore the. Welsh nation, and it failed.

 The grandest human achievements, like grand works of nature, cannot be
 described or shown in pictures. It impossible to understand
 the awe inspiring scope of the Grand Canyons without seeing it
 in person. It is impossible to truly appreciate the Cathedral
 of Notre Dame without visiting it. So it is with the castles of
 Edward I; one cannot truly appreciate the scale of Edward's endeavor
 without viewing these castles in person. This is perhaps the greatest
 tribute that one can pay to Edward I, that and the fact
 that his castles have endured to inspire people long after his death.

  -= TALES OF THE MIDDLE AGES =-

 I: The Plantagenet Saga

  Let's imagine a soap opera about medieval
 royalty. We'll include:

 King Henry

  A tall, handsome man with a temper so bad that he was seen chewing on
 straw when he was angry. A man who ordered the murder of one of his
 closest friends in a fit of rage. A man whose sons and whose wife
 continuously plots aginst him.

 Queen Eleanor.

  Leader of a rebellion against her husband, and imprisoned for the rest of
 his reign.

 Prince Henry

  The eldest son. At his father's coronation, he
 boasted that he was the son of a king, while his
 father was only the son of a Duke. He led rebellion
 after rebellion against his father, reconciling with
 him after every failure.

 Prince Richard

  The second son.
 Betrothed to Alice, sister of his best friend, the King of
 France. Unfortunately, she currently in the custody
 of King Henry, who is enamored by her, and
 refuses to allow the mariage.

 Prince Geoffrey

  The third son. When his brothers rebel, he does too.

 Prince John

 The youngest son. He was born after his father's
 empire was carved up, and ended up with nothing,
 hence the derogatory title "Lackland". His father's
 favorite, much to the chagrin of his brothers.
 Later, he would become one of the worst rulers in
 English history.

  The writers of modern day soap operas would be
 hard pressed to find a more contentious family
 for their drama than the Plantagenet family of
 Henry II. Their history was one of treachery, combat,
 and enough sex to ensure that it would receive big
 ratings, if it was ever aire.

  When Henry II was crowned King of England
 in 1154, he held the largest empire in Western Europe
 He was King of England, and Duke of Normandy
 and Anjou, possessing as much as two-thirds of
 France. By 1158 he had become overlord of Wales
 and Scotland as well, and soon added Ireland to his
 empire. However, powerful men make powerful
 enemies.

 Henry Il's enemy was King Louis VII of France.
 Although Henry was technically Louis's vassal,
 Henry had more land and a much larger army than
 Louis. However, Louis was far from the greatest threat
 that Henry had; the greatest threatcame from
 his sons: Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, and John.

 In 1173, Henry the Younger demanded that
 his father resign either the throne of England, or the
 thrones of Normandy or Anjou. When his father
 refused, Henry the Younger fled to the court
 of Louis of France, followed by his brothers
 Richard and Geoffrey. The revolt lasted two years,
 after which Louis, Young Henry, and Geoffrey sued
 for peace. Richard tried to continue the rebellion on
 his own, but failed, and was forced to return to his
 father and ask for his forgiveness. Surprisingly,
 Henry forgave his sons. His wife, Eleanor of
 Aquitaine, however, was locked up in a tower for sixteen
 years for her part in the rebellion.

 Henry gave his sons pieces of his empire, which kept them happy for nearly
 eight years. In 1182, Henry the Younger demanded
 that his brother Richard (who was named Duke of Aquitaine) pledge his
 loyalty to him. Richard refused, and Henry the Younger
 and Geoffrey marched their armies against him.
 King Henry, alarmed by the war between his sons, demanded that they settle
 it peacefully. They cheerfully ignored him, so King Henry allied himself with
 Richard. The rebellion ended when Henry the
 Younger died of dysentery in 1183. Surprisingly,
 Henry the Younger was so popular with the people of
 Rouen and Le Mans that they nearly went to war
 for the custody of the body

  Geoffrey took refuge at the court of the recently
 crowned King Phillip Augustus of France, until
 his unfortunate death in a tournament in 1186. This
 left Phillip without a pawn to use against the King of
 England, so he invited Richard to his court.
 Richard and Phillip soon became close friends, to the
 great chagrin of Henry II.

  In 1188, Richard and Phillip joined forces against
 Henry II, and captured several of Henry's towns.
 The pretext for this attack was Henry's unwillingness
 to allow Richard to marry Alice, sister of Phillip
 Augustus.

  In 1189, Henry learned that his one previously unrebellious
 son, John, had joined with Richard in the
 revolt. Henry, who loved John far more than any of
 his other children, fell into despair and soon died,
 cursing his sons with his last breath. And no one
 could really blame him, could they?

  Happy at last, Richard took the throne of
 England. He rewarded those who had supported
 him against his father by dismissing them, then
 joined with his friend Phillip Augustus in the Third Crusade.
 By the end of 1191, they were no longer friends. The greedy Prince
 John, who was not made regent in Richard's absence, deposes
 Richard's hand-picked governor, the greedy William Longchamp. Richard,
 through a combination of military brilliance and extreme ruthlessness (who's
 going to miss a few thousand hostages anyways?) secures a Christian presence
 in the Holy Land and visiting privileges for Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem.
 Richard returns home in 1192, but is captured by ne of his enemies, the
 Archduke of Austria.

  Meanwhile, brother John joined with Richard's former friend Phillip
 Augustus to usurp Richard's empire while Richard is imprisoned.
 John declared that Richard died in prison, but no one
 believes him, and the barons of England joined
 forces to oust him. The loyal barons then collect a
 huge sum of money to pay his ransom. John is then
 betrothed to the same Alice that Richard was betrothed
 to (who was beloved of his father Henry II), but eventually
 spurns her to marry the heiress of the duke of
 Gloucester. (Later, John decided to divorce his wife
 and marry the daughter of a French noble, in what
 proved to be the second messiest royal divorce in
 English history.)

  Richard is released from prison in 1194, and returns
 to England. He immediately goes to war against
 Phillip and John, annulling the sale of estates made in
 1189 to raise money for the effort. John, wanting to get
 back in his brother's good graces, invites the officers
 of one of Phillips garrisons to an entertainment,
 then massacres them and returns to England. At
 their mother's behest, the two brothers are reconcile
 with each other, though Richard is noticeably cool
 to the arrangement. Surprisingly, John does not
 betray Richard for the rest of his reign. Richard
 spends most of the rest of his life fighfing Phillip
 Augustus (who nearly drowns in the river Epte
 after fleeing a major defeat), and quelling rebellions in Brittany and
 Aquitaine. Finally, Richard died from an arrow wound
 while trying to take a treasure from a rebellious
 vassal. Richard appointed the eleven year old Arthur
 of Brittany (son of his dead brother Geoffrey) as his
 successor, but the disgruntled John eventually
 fights his way back to the throne, losing the empire
 of his brother and his father in the process. In
 1216, he dies, succeeded by his young son, the boy-king Henry III, who
 is the father of Edward 1. (Eventually, Edward III, Edward
 I's grandson, would invaded France to take back some of
 the lands lost by John, starting the Hundred Years War in the process.
 But that's another story.)

 II. Roast Rochester

  During the course of John's troubled reign, one
 of his many problems were rebellious barons. His
 father, Henry II, had torn down many castles in his
 day (in an attempt to keep his barons from developing
 their own centers of power), but one which had
 escaped his notice was Rochester Castle in
 England. This castle, built of small-sized stones and
 consisted of a huge central keep surrounded by curtain
 walls, was attacked by King John's troops in 1215.
 During the siege, the attackers dug a tunnel
 beneath the base of one of the corner towers, propping it up
 with heavy wooden beams. Into this tunnel, they placed forty
 fat pig carcasses. Then they set the pigs on fire.

 To the defenders' astonishment, the heat from the burning pigs
 began to crack the masonry. The corner of the tower
 crumbled. The besiegers then entered the keep and
 forced the defenders to surrender. One scribe wrote of
 the event: "Men no longer put their trust in castles.
 The scribe's assessment was soon proved to be inaccurate; not only
 did lords continue to build castles,
 but the fallen tower was later replaced.

 III. Devils May Care
  Religion was important in the Middle Ages, and the
 gathering of souls by the Church was considered to
 be one of the most important activities.

  Many of the clergy were highly literate, and some
 were exceptional scholars, providing scholarship
 whose influence has been felt even in the modern
 era. Unfortunately, not all of them were. Bishops
 sometimes found that both candidates and ordained
 priests were unable to read Latin, and therefore unable
 to understand both the scriptures and the ritual.
 Gerald of Wales spoke at length about ignorant
 parish priests who confused Barrabas and Barnabas,
 or St. Jude with Judas Iscariot, or the meaning of parables.
 Perhaps this might explain why priests frequently talked
 about devils.

  The Bible does not talk very much about Hell or
 devils, which was not reflected in the sermons of
 these priests. Devils, the torments of Hell that awaited the wicked,
 and other nasty tales were often told in church, usually with very little
 Biblical basis. The popular image of devils (pointed ears, forked
 tails, red or black skin) owes a lot more to these
 medieval tales than the Bible..

 Priests told highly entertaining tales of sinners
 who were caught or tricked by the devil and who
 were forced to suffer for an eternity as a result. These
 stories endured in the form of folktales, even to the
 present day.

 Priests were not the only ones who told stories
 about devils. There was a popular rumor that there
 was demonic blood in the House of Plantagenet, as
 Geoffrey Greygown, Count of Anjou in the late
 10th Century, was said to have married a demon.
 One wonders, given the gentle nature of the family
 how such a rumor might have started.

 Although England and Wales in the Middle Ages
 were thoroughly Christian cultures, pagan superstitions
 still endured in the minds and hearts of both
 peasants and nobles. In many ways, diabolical tales
 were a Christian counterpoint to these enduring
 pagan myths. Travelling performers often performed morality tales from
 the bible or the lives of saints that featured the
 devil; eventually the Church began to raise concerns about the accuracy
 of these plays.

 IV. Five Good Reasons Not to Be a Peasant in the Middle Ages

 5. Wonderful traveling opportunities!

  Most peasants in the Middle Ages never travelled
 more than twenty miles away from their homes at
 any time in their (usually short) lifetime.

 4. Friendly neighbours!

  People living on the borders between neighbouring nations had to be
 worried about an invasion at virtually any time. During one Scottish
 invasion of Northern, England, it is said that so many prisoners were taken
 that not one Scottish bousehold was without an English slave.

 3. Great bosses!

  One of the more charming feudal customs was called "Jus Primae Noctis",
 which gave the lord of a fief a right to sleep on the first night with
 the newly married bride of one of his serfs.

 Fortunately, a serf could avoid this practise -- if he paid a fine. This
 practise was never common in England, and seems to have fallen out of favor
 on the continent by 1200 AD.

 2. Great cuisine!

 A peasant did not have a lot of variety in their meal.
 Meat was rare, there was not a great variety in
 vegetables, water was stale (or worse), and peasants were generally
 undernourished.

 1. Do we need any other reasons?

        CASTLES
  -= A Bibliography =-

 BOOKS

 Castle
 David MacCauley, Houghton Mifflin, 1977
 (An entertaining and informative look at castle building).

 The Castle Guide
 Grant Boucher, Troy Christensen, Arthur Collins, and Nigel Findley,
 TSR Inc, 1990

 English Medieval Castles
 R. Allen Brown, B. T Batsford, 1954, 1961

 Kingdom of Champions,
 Phil Masters, Iron Crown Enterprises, 1990

 Life in a Medieval Village
 Frances and Joseph Gies, Harper Perennial, 1991
 (An extremely informative, yet easy to read book on life in an English
 viltage, providing invaluable background on the Middle Ages).

 Lionheart
 Edwin Mng, Columbia Publications, 1987

 Norman Castles
 Derek Frank Renn, John Baker Publishers, Ltd., 1968,

 Oxford History of Britain
 Kenneth O. Morgan ed., Oxford University Press, 1988

 Studies in Castles and Castle-Building
 Arnold Taylor, Hambledon Press, 1985
 (A highly technical piece, this provides hard data on castle construction
 for people who are really interested in the topic)

 TELEVISION

 Castle, Unicorn Projects,
 1983 (Highly entertaining animated adaptation of David MacCauley's
 Castles, occasionally airs (in the United States) on PBS.)

 Robin of Sherwood, ITV
 Productions, 1985-88
 (While this series had its flaws (historically inaccurate for a show that
 tried to be "realistic") this series provides an interesting interpretation
 of the popular Robin Hood cycle and British Fantasyltnyths.)

 Wizards and Warriors,
 Don Rio Productions, 1982
 (Long forgotten by all but a handful of fantasy fans, this series provided
 good production values, anachronisfic heroes, and interesting villains.)

 MOTION PICTURES

 The Adventures of Robin Hood
 1938 (Historically inaccurate adaptation of a 19th Century version of
 Robin Hood, with a delightful performance by Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone.
 Hollywood pageantry at its finest, wonderfully produced.)

 Robin and Marion, 1974
 (Sean Connery is superb as an aging Robin Hood in this unorthodox telling
 of the popular tale.)

End...............
