Readme file

Prince of Darkness Scenario v2.0 (August 1, 1999)

INTRODUCTION


In this scenario you must undertake a quest and complete it in an unspecified time. You may play any civilization except the Stygians. Your quest is to destroy the Stygians before they can finish researching a series of technologies leading to Summoning. When Summoning is researched, it results in a flood of new and powerful units which make total Stygian victory inevitible. You are able to destroy the Stygian Civlization by capturing their capital, Malebolge.

In order to complete your quest, you must be the first to research chivalry. This will ensure that Prince Vladimir (the hero) will appear in your country and not someone else's. The best way to do this is to build the wonder "Book of Enlightenment." This will give you 2 new technologies. Make sure one of them is chivalry. If you are the first to research chivalry, you will also get a technology that allows the construction of the warship unit. It carries 4 units and is the only unit that may cross oceans with even a moderate degree of safety from sea monsters. Do not transport Lord Vladimir or the wizard Marsutan in anything else! To increase your chances, back up one square at the end of each move. This reduces the chances of an unseen sea monster being able to attack you. If you attack a sea monster with a warship, chances are you will kill it. If a sea monster attacks you, chances are you will be sunk. The warship unit also serves as a mobile base for spell (missile) units.

When Lord Vladimir arrives in your country, a message will appear telling you what task needs to be completed first. A spy bird will also appear near your destination to show you where to go. This pattern is repeated each time you successfuly complete a task.

A key task is freeing the wizard Masutan from captivity. He is your second essential unit. You need him to win the game. He is a spy unit but do NOT risk him to bribe, steal technology or sabotage. He also has the capability to be a mobile base for spell units. A mobile base cannot move spell units, they must move on their own, but they can end their turn there. So move the mobile base (Marsutan or warship unit) first, then move the spell unit to it. Be careful not to exceed the range of the spell unit.

There are several types of spell units. Each has a range of 4. There is only one Conflagration Spell unit available, if you get that far.  Use it to break the Gates of Hell to gain access to Malebolge. Don't lose it under any circumstances or use it for anything else. Additonal spells are available if you capture barbarian cities marked with a "G" rune (for Gandalf).

After you have completed your quest (except for breaking the Gates of Hell and capturing Malegolge), you must undertake a full scale invasion of Stygia. Build up lots of Heroic Infantry and Knights plus a good sized force of Archangels for this mission. 

Prince of Darkness is different from most scenarios in two ways. First, regular military forces are less important. There are few units types available, although each tribe has its own distinct set of units, each with their own style. It is also quite difficult to capture cities, at least until the seige tower unit becomes available. Lord Vladimir can easily capture cities, but after the warship unit is built he needs to set out on his quest -quickly!

The second difference is that trade really means something in Prince of Darkness. You will soon go bankrupt if you don't trade extensively and immediately. Once you have established multiple trade routes, you may have enough cash flow to begin a military build up. Only then is it profitable to begin attacking some of the barbarian cities on your borders. Avoid drawn-out wars with civilizations other than the Stygians. They are not your enemies. Concentrate on the quest.

LEVEL

Do NOT play at Deity level. The Stygians rate of technological advance is simply too great at that level. They will discover Summoning before it is physicaly possible to complete the various tasks making up the quest. I don't know if it is even possible to win at Emperor level. I recommend Prince, or King if you want a real challenge.

UNITS

I have used units by Alex Morozov where I can to try to give the scenario a consistent look. I have also drawn heavily on units from Pauli Paananen's Trakoria scenario. Other units are either drawn from the Fantastic Worlds library, or have been around in various scenarios for years. Many units have been modified by me. Some have been created from scratch.

SOUNDS

See UNITS above. Many taken from MOMJR in FW. The laugh is Vincent Price. The music is from his movie, "The Raven."

TITLE

The title page is from Francisco Goya's "The Incantation."

WONDERS

Enchantment of Prosperity was the Colossus.
Spell of the Barbarians was the Great Wall.
Enchantment of Labours was King Richards Crusade.
Tower of Sorcery was Newton's College
Enchantment of Joy was Shakespeare's Theatre
Divine Transformation was Leonardo's Workshop
Nostradamus' Observatory (built) was Copernicus' Observatory
Soul Of Mammon (built) was Adam Smith's Trading Company
Book of Enlightenment was Darwin's Voyage
Forge of Mephistophiles was Hoover Dam
Chamber of Black Arts was the SETI Program
The Great Library (built) is The Great Library

THANKS

To Zcribbler for his comments and playtesting. To Cam Hills for his graphical contribution (the technology era pentagram). Special thanks to Mr. Temba (my spellcheck calls him Mr. Tomb) for his excellent advice and suggestions.


Questions or comments are welcome. 

E-mail me at brison@home.com








