Romance three kingdoms 3 manual

To do this, follow the procedures below: Take a new floppy disk and put it in your floppy disk drive. Once the above procedures are complete, use the following steps to begin play: 1. Turn computer power on, insert the game start disk in your floppy disk drive and reset the computer. Change currently logged drive to hard disk. The game should begin.

When the game is finished, you will exit to the operating system. Otherwise, select "1" for New game. They each present slightly different challenges, but are equally difficult. Since successful completion of scenarios one to four means continuation of the game at the next scenario until unification in scenario five, total play time will be shorter by beginning with a latter scenario.

Remember, a master is a Warlord with the power to control as many states as he can acquire. In most scenarios most masters will start with more than one state. However, the plan leaked out and the eunuchs, deciding the best defense was a good offense, murdered Ho Chin. All of this put the palace in a great deal of confusion. A general named Dong Zhuo took advantage of this to attack the palace and appoint himself emperor.

However, before long these generals grew tired of Dong Zhuo's overbearing tyranny and gathered together in Loyang again to overthrow him. Dong Zhuo, aware of great danger around him, moved his capital to Ch'angan after burning most of the city of Loyang to the ground. No masters were hurt in the fire. Zhuo's death led to a power vacuum with every master in the country trying to become emperor.

The struggle became violent and many deaths resulted. In A. Su Ce, who succeeded Sun Jian, was assassinated at the age of 26, and in turn was succeeded by his younger brother Sun Quan.

The whole empire was in a state of confusion. Cao Cao wanted these states and made up his mind to take them. Liu Bei recruited Zhu Ge Liang as a military advisor.

Together they took the region of Jingzhou, states 37, 38, 39, and This battle signified the start of the ultimate phase of the Three Kingdoms Period. The field has been narrowed down to three masters and their generals. The only question is which one of these three will defeat the other two and unify China. When prompted, please enter number of players. If 0 is entered the computer will play a demonstration game against itself. To end the demonstration game press the Esc key. The screen will display the portraits of available masters and the basic values of the parameters that define each master's personality.

Masters not controlled by a human player will be controlled by the computer. When a master has been chosen the player's number will appear by the masters name. The strength of a master's situation at the beginning of the game varies according to the scenario being played and the master's parameters. It is possible to win with any hero and, though no hero can guarantee victory, the game is easier with a hero who starts out in an advantageous position. Thus, in the latter two scenarios Cao Cao and Sun Quan are in very strong positions while it would prove extremely difficult to unify China in scenario one with Liu Bei, who starts in a very disadvantageous position.

Simply checking this manual under Scenarios to see how many states a master owns at the beginning of the game is as good a gauge of success as any. The higher the value, the stronger the parameter. However, these values are not set in stone and can be changed both during play and setup.

During setup the screen will display a list of parameters for each hero and next to each parameter a rapidly and randomly changing number. Hitting the space bar once will set the first parameter, hitting it again will set the second and so on. By hitting the space bar five times you will have set all a master's parameters. The numbers are random but weighted so that you'll find the parameters you have set will tend 18 to be close to the basic parameters displayed in the previous screen.

If dissatisfied you will be offered a chance to try again. The trick is to remember that you can not change only one element and it is nearly impossible to get really high values for all parameters. Thus, you will have to decide which parameters you value most and which you would be willing to sacrifice, say intelligence over charisma P.

The greater the number the more resources computer controlled masters will start with, the smarter they'll be in battle and the worse natural disasters P. Entering one will produce a living nightmare for even the most advanced players. Warlike means computer controlled masters will attack frequently, even recklessly.

When set to rational, computer controlled generals don't become pacifists. They wait to attack until they see an almost certain victory. The game is significantly more difficult to win with the computer set to a rational personality.

During the course of the game, computer controlled masters will frequently invade each other. If you select to watch, the main display will change to the battle display and you will see these battles in great details.

If you elect not to watch, the results will be displayed on the main display. Observing others' battles can be entertaining but it will extend playing time a great deal. If so, you will be offered a menu that lets you change from a new game to a continuation of an old one, change scenarios, heroes or the computer's strength. You will also be offered the option of making no change at all. The left hand side of the main display is taken up with a map of China while the right displays information about your state or the state you are viewing.

Identical to state listed above display except when display has been called with View command. See Commands for details. DATE: Current date. RICE: Rice available. DEBT: Money owed to the merchant. Other debts do not show up here. Ancient China used the lunar calendar. January to March is spring P. The master will get old in spring, and military funds and food will be collected in autumn. At the beginning of each season there may be a disaster such as plague, locusts, or flood.

See chapter7, Events, for details. The map is divided into a total of fifteen regions, each region containing several states. There are some variations among individual states but regions tend to be fairly uniform in terms of flood probability, peasant loyalty, available of metal and so forth. It can be useful to know what kind of regions your states are in. The View command can provide a map which shows each region and gives a written description of it. When a 23 master does not personally control a state, he gives orders to the general appointed governor who controls it for him.

All masters are generals though not all generals are masters. The terms "hero"and "master"are completely interchangeable. Subordinates with charisma P. States you own but aren't in, you administer by giving orders to the state's governor. Should a governor defect to another master he will take the state with him, so be careful to maintain your governor's loyalty.

Should you have so many states that giving orders to each governor individually is burdensome you may authorize a governor to administer a state without orders from you.

Command 17 can only be given from the state the master is in. FUNDS Funds refers to cash on hand-money that may be used for flood prevention work, development projects, war, and a variety of other things.

At the beginning of autumn each year July to September taxes are collected and added to funds. The amount of taxes collected will reflect conditions in the state, the population, the value of land and the loyalty of the people. Funds may also be increased by selling rice or obtaining loans from the merchant or from other masters. RICE Rice is collected in autumn every year as part of taxes. The amount of rice collected will vary with the same factors that affect the amount of money collected.

Rice may also be obtained from the merchant or other masters. It is as essential as money during war. You should keep as large a stock of rice on hand as you can afford. Debt is the sum owed the merchant and is equal to the loan plus interest. Every autumn P. If you do not have sufficient funds to cover the debt the loan will be carried over to the following year.

The figure displayed for debt does not include the value of loans taken from other masters, which you must remember yourself. Loans from other masters bear no interest so only the principal need to be returned. The price of rice is set in line with the interest rate thus helping to make it possible to repay debt by selling rice. More castles means economic power. More economic power means more tax.

Plunder does not, however, assure you of finding beautiful women. Some states have many, some have few, some none at all. From the beginning of the game each state has a set number of horses and this figure can not be increased. Floods occur frequently in the summer and states close to these rivers may suffer serious damage. The probability of flood P. The size of a state's population directly affects its productivity. A small population means less money and rice at tax time.

Natural disasters P. Loyalty may not exceed and anything below 70 is cause for concern. It is these generals and their troops who fight wars and carry out other tasks. The maximum number of generals that may be in a state is However, it is not wise to put too many generals in one state at a time. As a rule, a maximum of 15 is best. That number has a very direct bearing on a state's military power. The number of soldiers will decrease if casualties are suffered during a war or if natural disaster P.

Some free generals are known publicly, others are hidden. The number beside Free Generals refers to free generals who are known to others. In order to succeed in Romance of The Three Kingdoms you will need as many generals as you can get. Free generals in your own state can be worn more easily than those in other states P.

A large number of free generals indicates that a country has great potential power. See Chapter 5, Generals, for more details. Commands are entered by typing in the appropriate number and then hitting return. If you move to an empty state, you gain that state automatically. If you move during winter some of your soldiers will freeze to death. Since troops carry rice and gold with them when they move you can also use this command as a nearly risk free way to move supplies between neighboring states.

It is not possible to move in northern states during winter. After entering command 2 you will be asked to choose the generals you will send in to fight, appoint a commander-in-chief among the generals and determine the amount of gold and rice you will give the invasion force to use. The screen will then change to the battle display, on which the war will commence. Note that you cannot attack a state at war with a third master. If a war is not over inside a month 30 days it will be continued the following month.

See Chapter 6, War, for more details. Note, however, you may not send to or from a state at war. No generals accompanies the transport party so the risk of theft by either an enemy or bandits is great, especially if a great quantity of goods is being sent or if the distance 28 involved are large. If you wish to send supplies to one of your states P. During winter the northern half of the country experiences extreme cold so you cannot use command 3 in northern states P.

Command 4 cannot be used in autumn P. Loyalty of the people in the state effected will decrease every time special taxes are imposed. If you manage to recruit a general who has been appointed governor his state will become yours. Most of the other generals in that state will come over to you, though a few with a great deal of loyalty to the old master may leave the state. Command five can also be useful in wars lasting more than a month, since you can use it to pick up generals fighting against you.

Command 5 can only be given by the master himself, so you cannot give it from a state the master is not in. A general you have recruited from another master's land will come to your state unless he is a governor.

If a governor, he will stay in place and continue to serve as governor, but under you rather than the old master. To recruit a general send gifts suitable to your target's personality. When you go after generals in service, look for those with low loyalty and, ideally, large numbers of troops. Following 29 is a description of the options available under command five. Write a letter. The chances are fairly low, but it costs nothing. Send money.

This will be most effective with the less bright generals. Send a horse. This will especially please those with high power but lower intelligence P. Send a woman. Visit in person. This is the most effective way to win generals with less power but high intelligence. However, should you jaunt off to some remote land, there is a very real risk of your being caught by the the enemy.

Each general may have a maximum of 20, soldiers. You need to pay 10 points of money and points of rice for every soldiers you employ. However, if the population is less than the total number of soldiers P.

These soldiers may then be redistributed to other generals. All information is free though obtaining information about states and generals other than you own is counted as an order and means giving up the chance to do anything else that turn. STATES Detailed information on the social and economic conditions in any particular state and about the generals in that state. After selecting this option you will be asked what state to check and presented with another menu.

You may chose to view; a. Employed Generals. Generals under the governor in that state. Attacking generals. If that state is at war data on the generals involved. Free Generals. Generals who serve no master but who openly live in that state. Wandering generals. Masters who have become wanders and are in that state. Generals, summary. Summary in chart form of all generals in that state. Social, economic status. Produces a data chart for that state identical to the main display.

View other state. Use View to look at another state. You may look at as many states P. End View. Stops view. If you have been using View to examine other masters' states P.

If you have viewing your own states you will be allowed to give another order. Knowing the sorts of regions your states are in can be a great advantage. The regional map will give you this information. You can give another order after viewing the regional map. Both 31 will be received equally gratefully.

If you give more than 5, units of rice maximum value of rice is your charisma P. Give to a general You can give a general money, food, books, or women, which will increase his loyalty to you. Generals will often distribute part of the gifts they receive among their soldiers, thus raising the loyalty of the army.

The generals prefer money over food, all other things being equal. When you give books to a general, his intelligence P. The books themselves will cost five points of money. If you give a women, especially to physically strong generals, their loyalty to you will sharply rise.

The amount of increase in flood protection you get with every application of command 8 varies with the amount of money you allocate and the intelligence P. As with flood P. It is the only way to increase military power without spending money.

The more luck P. In order to conduct a search you will need between three and four units of money. If you are lucky enough to find one, funds will increase. Success will depend largely on luck P. The regional map may provide some information, but only some. After locating a hidden general you should use command 5 to recruit him.

If you succeed he will become your subordinates. You can search for the jade seal using this command. Since plunder entails breaking into homes, stealing private property and dragging away women it displeases the people and their loyalty to you will sharply, as will your charisma P. Your subordinate generals will react in different ways. Generals with high power P. If you enter this command and have the funds available, a hexagonal map of the state will appear.

Locations where it is possible to erect a castle will be marked with an oval. It will take about a year to complete construction of a new castle. While a castle is under construction, an X mark will appear on the hexagonal map. A castle represents a town where taxes are collected and serves as a defensive base when the state is under attack.

For these reasons, it is generally worth investing in castles even though the initial price may be rather steep and the wait until completion long. Covert action allows you to send one of your generals against an enemy without all the risks associated with full scale war. Generals may be sent on any of the following missions: A.

Spread stories that will confuse the inhabitants and lower their loyalty to the master. If successful you may destroy as much as one third of the enemy's food supply. You must, however, be careful with all these operations. If your agent is not skillful enough to deceive the enemy, or if there is a highly intelligent generals in the enemy state, your operation may be discovered before it is carried out.

If so, your messenger will probably be executed and it is quite likely the enemy will seek revenge. For example, by constantly repeating bad rumors about his master you may be able to lower a governor's loyalty enough that he will easily be swayed to defect to you, giving you a state without having to fight a war. Select the master you wish to negotiate with and send a messenger to the state the master is in.

Success will depend partly on your charisma P. If you have recently fought against him, failed to pay debts to him, ignored his requests for negotiations or have recruited his generals, you will almost certainly be refused in any loans, for instance. If your charisma is low, or you send a messenger with an extremely low loyalty to a master with high charisma, it is quite possible your messenger will defect to the other master's side.

It is also possible your messenger will be killed. You don't need enemies if you can avoid them, especially powerful ones sitting on your borders. Under command 15 you have the following options: A. Unlike loans from the merchant, these debts bear no interest. If another master does not have the funds available to lend you the full amount you request, he may offer you a smaller loan.

If you fail to repay the money or rice, the master from whom you borrowed will become very hostile, making it difficult to deal with him in the future. Debts to other masters will not be posted nor repaid automatically. The conditions for borrowing rice are the same as for other debts. Should you have several states isolated from each other the ability to exchange land with other masters should help you unify territory. To exchange land with another master both of you must have two states or more and the states to be exchanged must be adjacent.

Note that when you exchange land the loyalty of people in both states will drop. If he agrees to marry her his hostility towards you will drop sharply. However, if you have attacked him left him with bad debts or done similar things to him in the past, he may kill both your daughter and your messenger.

If so, your charisma P. If you attack a state in which your daughter lives as the wife of a master he will kill her and your charisma and popular loyalty will similarly decline. However, when a master dies and is succeeded by one of his subordinates, previous marriage based relationships become irrelevant. A master can have more than one wife.

You should bear in mind that if another master's hostility towards you is less than 10 you are completely safe from attack and if it is zero you can demand land. However, this does not mean he will help you should you get into trouble. He will not be able to refuse your request. However, you must give him 10, points of money, a jade seal P. Conversely, if another master's service P. Loans from the merchant bear interest at the rate posted on the main display.

Your debt will automatically be paid back in autumn P. Merchants will also buy and sell rice at the posted price. Merchants will always be available in states 4, 7, 10, 13, 20, 21, 28, 29, 37, 48, and 56 but in other states they will come and go.

Merchants will tend to avoid states with low popular loyalty and low land values. Merchants will also tend to avoid southern states in Summer and northern states in Winter. To have a weapon made you must pay one unit of money and supply ten units of metal. The weapons makers will make weapons so long as you have the money and the metal. Command 17 allows you to grant authorization to a general to run his state without direct orders from you.

The general will not only run the state on a day to day basis but will, if attacked, handle defense. You should make a policy of only entrusting states of little 37 immediate strategic importance.

Command 17 can also be used to remove authorization from a general and personally take control again. You may want to take advantage of this feature should a shift in events cause a previously insignificant state to become important, the arrival of a new neighbor, for example. Command 17 must be issued from the state the master is in, but it costs no money and a second command may be given after it.

Wandering is a last resort use fuel if your state is extremely weak and surrounded on all sides by strong enemies. When you wander all the generals in states other than yours will leave, generals in your state may accompany you but will be restricted to soldiers apiece. You can be forced to wander if you are captured during war by an enemy and then released or flee from a battle. If you become a wanderer during war, subordinate generals who fought with you will follow you.

However, if you become a wander after being released by the enemy, no generals will follow you. Since as a wanderer you own no states, a modified version of the main display will appear. The commands available to you as a wanderer are as follows: A. MOVE Used to move to a neighboring state. Every time you move, a number of volunteers will gather around you. You may place these men under any of your generals or command them personally.

If the total number of troops in your army reaches 20, men, you will no longer be allowed to wander, you will be considered to have established a state with yourself as master. If you are in someone else's state at the time you will have to fight him first. See chapter 6, War. You run a risk of being captured when you start to move in an occupied state.

You automatically settle when as a wanderer your army reaches 20, men but you can also settle by giving this order. When you are in an empty land, establishing a new state is as simple as giving this order. If you are in a state already belonging to another master, 38 you will need to fight him.

See Chapter 6, War for details. If you are secluded no volunteers will gather around you. Use this command to see conditions in other states and check on your subordinates.

You can give another order after using view. No commands other than the above are available to you as a wander, though as soon as you establish a new state the full main display with the full range or orders will return.

If you wish to stop playing mid game, even if you have no desire to save the game. Please use Interrupt Game rather than simply cutting power to the computer. Otherwise you risk damaging your disks. You may also control sound by 39 using the F1 and F2 keys. When prompted, F1 will turn sound off and F2 will turn it on.

Turning animation off will in no way affect game play. Animation may also be controlled using the F3 and F4 key. Where prompted, F3 will turn animation off and F4 will turn it on. The default value is 6, the maximum value is The greater the number the longer messages will be displayed. Generals are mainly defined by their parameters, position and number of troops. The table below is an exhaustive list of the characteristics that make up a general.

Points 14 to 16 are only relevant when the general is a master. WIFE 1. A master who has left his state or states behind and is roaming the country looking for new territory is considered to be wandering. Only a master may wander. A general who is not a 41 master but works for a master is employed.

A general who is not a master himself but serves no master is free. A free general becomes employed after being recruited by a master.

Any state belonging to a master that the master is not in is controlled by a governor who accepts orders from the master.

This governor is automatically appointed by the computer from among generals in that state. One master may not serve another as a governor. Generals who are neither masters nor governors are considered to have no position. Soldiers with low loyalty are likely to betray their commanders on the battlefield.

Generals with low loyalty may betray the master they serve under them. Generals who have been appointed governor who defect to another master give control of the state they had been entrusted to the new master.

AGE Life expectancy is largely predetermined, though luck P. Life expectancy appears nowhere on the screen, though a low number of body P. BODY The number of body points indicates a general's health, with indicating perfect health and 0 death. The number of body points does not influence the effectiveness of general's orders, either on the main or battle display. Plague 42 will lower a general's health, as will advancing age.

New values for body will be posted every Spring. Intelligence may reach a maximum value of POWER Power is a summary of a general's military abilities, and powerful generals are far more effective in combat than those who excel in other areas. A general's power will increase with every victory on the battle display but will decrease if he is taken hostage.

Power may reach a maximum value of Charisma is especially important for masters, who must influence others. Charisma will decrease when a general plunders or when his daughter is executed by an enemy. The only way to increase charisma is to accumulate a great deal of rice and then give virtually all of it to the peasants.

Specifically, more than 5, units of rice must be donated with less than left in stock. Charisma may reach a maximum value of LUCK Luck plays an important part in nearly all game events. The maximum value for luck is Any time a general completes a task, be it leading men in battle or merely acting as a messenger, his experience level will rise. Experience is easier to increase than intelligence P. The maximum value for experience is When the number of soldiers in a general's army is displayed so will be the soldiers' loyalty to him and the weapons level of the army.

This weapons level is given as a ratio of arms to soldiers. Loyalty of an army to its general may be raised by giving gold or rice to him command 7 , since he will pass along some of this gift to his troops. A city becomes automatically deglated after conquering it. Xantrani -1 point DOS version. Share your gamer memories, help others to run the game or comment anything you'd like. We may have multiple downloads for few games when different versions are available. Also, we try to upload manuals and extra documentation when possible.

If the manual is missing and you own the original manual, please contact us! MyAbandonware More than old games to download for free! Browse By Perspective Top-Down. Download 2 MB. Play in your browser. See older comments 5. Write a comment Share your gamer memories, help others to run the game or comment anything you'd like.

Send comment. Just one click to download at full speed! DOS Version. Download 8 MB. Download MB. Romance of the Three Kingdoms V Genesis This is how you should get your soldiers early on in the game. The second way to acquire soldiers is to Hire them from a city. Those mercenaries have higher Training and Morale levels, but cost 40 Gold and Food per men. Your officers' Charm rating determine how many troops you can Hire.

When resources start pouring in, Hiring soldiers will drastically reduce your battle preparations. The third way to gain soldiers is to recruit enemy officers who have some. You can do this from the Main Screen, or by capturing officers in battle as they try to flee or in Duels with your generals.

The Training and Morale will vary greatly depending on your opponent. Note that if you Free or Capture the officer, you will not get his soldiers. Instead of killing him, Recruit and then Assign his troops or Fire him if his Loyalty is too low, it's faster.

Beware, rulers tend to Assign most of their troops to very loyal followers. To get inside, the attackers must assault the gates to destroy them using a Normal attack, not with Simultaneous, Bow, Firebolt, Charge, or Fire. Gates have a toughness of when it reaches 0, the gate opens. You can also climb over city walls if you have a mobility of 9 just spend a few turns waiting to increase mobility.

It won't always work, especially if Training and Morale are low. There are subtler ways to open the gate - from the inside. If one of your units is already within the city, it can open the gate for the others by just walking in it. If you Bribed an enemy officer on defense or have an officer in Hiding, have him Switch to your side and open the doors! Last, if a defense unit stands in a doorway and is attacked at melee range by one of the attacking units, the gate will stay open.

Not only can you win city battles by destroying the opposite side or making them flee, but the attackers can also win by seizing all the castles in the area. Doesn't happen often, though, and so long as the defenders hold one castle all the other ones provide no benefit.

It has only happened to me twice. In a single month, the two sides will fight for 10 days, with 3 turns by day - hence a total of 30 turns. If no winner has been declared, the battle will continue next month unless a Truce is declared. Here, it's the defending side that has an extra way to win: if they can defend the battlefield for twenty?

There are three main kinds of land battlefields: fortification, mountain and plain. Fire plays a bigger role in those contests.

No, you can't get off on islands or the riverside. You're stuck. Weather also plays a part in battle. Clear is the default weather: you can see everywhere, and so can your enemy. When it rains, units' vision is restricted to the squares immediately next to them. In fog, there is no vision at all, and if you move carelessly, you may encounter an enemy unit.

In such a case Training, Morale and the commander's abilities determine which side gets to make a Surprise attack! Verdict: cheap and effective. Don't forget to train them. Their mobility also depends on morale and the commander's horses. Bow and Firebolt have a range of 2. Verdict: technically better than Infantry, but I don't like to use them too much.

At the beginning of the game they broaden your tactical options, but later on invest in They have the same abilities and attacks as regular Archers, but their ranged attacks have increased power and a range of 3.

Verdict: Uwwaa! My favorite unit. If you keep a few tens of thousands of these behind walls, no one can get through. It's a waste to have them fight hand to hand because dead soldiers somehow take their weapons with them to Heaven.

And Lord knows strong crossbows cost an arm and a leg. They are faster and stronger than Infantry in close quarters, especially their Charge attack. Verdict: I don't like Cavalry. In field battles they're nice, especially if your soldiers lack Morale, but in city assault they don't possess the crucial ability of being able to climb walls.

Also, since it's cavalry's job to fight toe-to-toe with the enemy, you'll always lose horses after each fight - which does not happen with Archers and Strong Archers. There also are three kinds of ships you can use in naval battles. Dirt cheap, I guess. Resists attacks well, but has a mobility of only 4. Note that in naval battles you must assign both weapons and ship to a unit. Don't waste cavalry in naval battles, they don't provide any bonus.

Let's separate this section in three: Defense, Offense, and Tactics. Defense: The goal is to do maximum damage to your opponent with minimum damage to you. As such, ranged units i. Archers and Strong Archers are the key.

Position them behind gates or walls, and have them fire away at incoming foes. Keep firing from behind while your melee units engage the enemy at close range. If you have waaayyyy more soldiers than the opponent, he might just run away upon seeing you. It happens. If you have little Food, the enemy might piss around and wait for you to starve.

You can either forfeit and flee, or try to beat them before your troops lose all their Morale. Offense: The goal is to strike where it hurts the most - the commander-in-chief. If the defenders' CIC runs away, the whole force has to follow. So concentrate your attacks on him, keeping away reinforcements from interfering. If you have a higher ratio than the enemy does, technically you can starve him. If, say, he has Food for soldiers, and you have Food for the same number of soldiers, then you'll win if you just sit back and wait for him to go through all his supplies.

This may take a very long time, and I don't recommend it. I suggest you starve the enemy only if he has a low amount of Food, period - none at all is good. If they have little Food, they'll come for your ass like crazy, and Charge your CIC through and through. Just retreat gradually, and let them starve. Tactics: 1 - Fire! Fire's movement depends on the wind, so be careful. Forests and grass are easier to burn than swamp and river.

Castles are almost invulnerable. If it's raining, burning terrain will be extinguished. It's much easier to set empty ground on fire than to set fire to ground occupied by a unit. On defense, shoot Firebolts over the walls at enemies: they'll be caught in a sea of flame, and your own forces will be protected by the fortifications. In naval battles, you can set the enemy's ship on fire by the same two methods. Be careful with fire. Forests burn especially well, and wind can shift suddenly.

Have two or more units concentrate their attacks on one enemy. It takes an Army rating of 70 to initiate a Siml. Choose Siml. All other friendly units including reinforcements surrounding the enemy and who haven't acted this turn will join in the attack.

Up to 5 friendly units can join in a Siml. The interesting thing with Simultaneous attacks is that they are more efficient than their normal counterparts. If you have them attack Simultaneously, they'll each lose less than X soldiers and will kill more than Y x 2 soldiers.

Try to trap enemy units along mountains or walls - or better, surround them. All land units have the ability to get in there and mix it up with the enemy, and it's stronger than a Normal attack. Cavalry is the best at this, and Archers the worse.

The Charge is more powerful the higher the commander's War rating is. When Charging, you may injure the commander of the enemy unit. Use Charge when the enemy has few soldiers remaining. You may capture the enemy commander. You can use Charge to get in or out of a particular spot, as you may traverse the enemy unit when Charging. It's sort of a desperate measure, but what the heck, it's there if you need it.

Duels between the officers is one of the coolest features of this game. Only units in land and city battles can use this, and you cannot ask for a duel of a unit inside a castle - usually the CIC, in other words.

The officer receiving the challenge may decline it. In that case his unit loses Morale. Also, your own officers may accept a challenge without consulting you. If the duel is accepted, the result depends mainly on the officers' War rating. The two warriors will exchange blows for as long as needed.

A duel ends when: a One officer's stamina the colored bar is empty. If your officer wins a duel, his unit's Morale goes up. The enemy commander and his soldiers are captured, and are out of the battle from now on. Always be sure to have more Food than soldiers: a soldier:Food ratio is the minimum I recommend. If a city has very few supplies the Food counter on the main screen will be red other rulers will constantly attack until you starve to death.

The easiest way to get Food is to get it from conquests. You can raid another ruler's city, kill everyone inside, and get the supplies - both Gold and Food.

Then retreat back to your base. The second easiest way to get Food is to buy it. Price ranges from 25 yuck to 75 great Food per Gold. You can usually buy Food for less than Gold. Of course, you can always wait for the harvest in July. The Food obtained depends on the population size, support, tax rate, Land, Cultivation and Irrigation.

You must pay Food wages to your forces too, so the less soldiers and officers in the city the more goes in your pockets. If there's an Advisor on the defending side, he may also suggest that you dig pitfalls before the battle starts.

The number of pitfalls depend on the Advisor's Intelligence rating. Place pitfalls in front of gates and bridges. They can deal a lot of damage, depending on the enemy unit's size. If you are attacking and have an Advisor with you, he may warn you of the presence of pitfalls. Interestingly enough, I found out that those pitfalls never have a definite emplacement. But it seems your Advisor has a chance to "disarm" the pitfalls at the beginning of the battle. If he fails, you're sure to encounter pitfalls if you step on a space where a pitfall can be dug.

If he succeeds, you won't encounter any pitfalls at all. With this command, the unit tries to set fire to an adjacent space. Setting fire to ground occupied by a unit is much more difficult than setting empty space on fire.

Success depends on Intelligence of your officer, and on that of the enemy commander if you're trying to set occupied land on fire.

You can only Ambush in land and city battles. Terrain in which you can Ambush are forests, high grass, and hills. When Ambushed, a unit will stay that way until you order it to move Normally or until an enemy unit walks up to it. In that case you will be given the choice of making a Surprise attack!

Those attacks are extremely powerful, and casualties on the attacking side are exceedingly low. You can also move while Ambushed to other Ambushable terrain, for 6 mobility points. To break cover, just order the unit to move Normally. You can't ambush the CIC, Cavalry or units already located next to enemy units.

Sometimes Ambush fails. If there's Fog, and you can't see the enemy unit next to you, Ambush will fail anyway. There are three options: Hide, Bribe, or Any. If you sent an officer in Hiding and he's among the opposing troops, he will immediately Switch to your side.

If you have an Advisor with you, he will tell you if any officers are in Hiding among the enemy forces. You can Bribe enemy commanders before the battle starts. The lower their Loyalty is, the better the chances of success. Interestingly enough, you can Bribe enemy Governors!

If they hold the only castle in the city, then you'll win automatically upon the Governor's treason. Your Advisor will also tell you if any Bribed officers are around. The Any option attempts to persuade an enemy officer who hasn't been Bribed or sent in Hiding.

Success depends on his Loyalty, and the commander's Intelligence and Charm. It also costs some Gold to attempt this, whether you succeed or fail. Really powerful, as it costs you no soldiers. However, you need to really see that the two units are side by side.

Success depends on the Intelligence of your commander and on the enemy commander's. Confuse: attempts to confound an enemy unit. If successful, the enemy unit will be marked with a? I'm unsure as to whether it also decreases the unit's defensive abilities. This Plot depends on the Intelligence of your commander and the enemy's. There are four kinds: Books, Swords, Horses, and Miscellaneous.

Seven copies of this book on the Art of War are scattered throughout the land. Discover them with the Search command. Meng De is the pseudonym of Cao Cao.

Another volume on the art of war. Cao Cao has it in Scenarios You can find it in 5 and 6. The "T'ai-p'ing ching", in other words. Search for it. The wise man Zuo Ci may visit you at the beginning of the month and bestow it upon you. Search for it in 6. A foot-long blade, richly decorated. Carried by Wang Yun in Scenario 1, but can be discovered with the Search command in later scenarios.

The sword of Cao Cao and his descendants. Another one of Cao Cao's sword. Can be found with Search in Scenario 6. Liu Bei has it in Scenario 4. Search for it in others.

The horse of Cao Cao and his descendants. Belongs to Lu Bu in scenarios 1 and 2, and to Guan Yu in 3 and 4. Use the Search command to get it in Scenarios 5 and 6.

Effect: if an injured officer is in your home city, he will immediately recuperate the following month. Search for it in Luoyang during Scenario 1. The accuracy of these predictions depends on the Intelligence rating of the chief Advisor: the higher it is, the more accurate.