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Gemfire FAQ v2.1
-----------
by TIDQ (Email at the bottom)
========
Contents
--------
For ease, every part of the FAQ can be accessed by hitting Ctrl+F and searching
for the section number or section title.
1.0 Preface
1.1 Game Overview
1.2 The Story
2.0 Choosing a Family
2.1 Scenario 1
2.2 Scenario 2
2.3 Scenario 3
2.4 Scenario 4
2.5 Choosing an Advisor
3.0 Statistics
3.1 Disposable State Statistics
3.2 Permanent State Statistics
3.3 Personal Statistics
4.0 State Commands
4.1 Military Commands
4.2 Domestic Commands
4.3 Diplomatic Commands
4.4 Player Commands
4.5 Other Commands
5.0 Battle
5.1 Battle Basics
5.2 Standard Units
5.3 Battle Commands
5.4 Frontal, Flanking, and Rear Assault
5.5 Captured Leaders
6.0 5th Units
6.1 Explanation of Ranges
6.2 The Gems
6.3 Hired 5th Units
7.0 Events
7.1 Good and Bad Events
7.2 Death
8.0 Additional Things to Know
8.1 General Tips
8.2 The ROM Glitch
8.3 Beat the Game with a Non-Default Ruler
9.0 Miscellany
9.1 Legal Stuff
9.2 Email Me
9.3 Version History
9.4 Special Thanks
===========
1.0 Preface
-----------
_________________
1.1 Game Overview
Gemfire is a strategy game released for the SNES, NES, and Genesis back in
1992. The NES version was originally known as Royal Blood in Japan, and the
16-bit versions were called Super Royal Blood. Although it's a mostly forgotten
game from a time that strategy console games weren't popular at least here in
America, it's really quite a good game. The player chooses one of several royal
families jockeying for control of the land of Ishmeria, a vast island divided
into 30 specific political territories. Conflict and strategy are up to the
player to balance and master on two different levels, nation-building and
turn-based battles. The ultimate goal is for the player to use his (or her)
might and diplomacy to rule the entire country and reunite the pieces of
Gemfire.
The signature feature of Gemfire is the acquisition of magical gems from every
family that the player defeats. Each gem holds a unique supernatural guardian
that can aid soldiers in battle, and so the quantity and quality of gems that
the player possesses can make the difference between success and failure.
Overall though, the game isn't terribly difficult.
_____________
1.2 The Story
It is an age of knights and chivalry. It is also an age of magic and beasts.
The large island kingdom of Ishmeria is ruled with an iron fist by the evil
King Eselred. The king remained the unchallenged ruler as long as he held the
source of his power, a crown with seven magical Gems affixed to it, named
Gemfire. Each Gem contained a magical guardian, six wizards and a dragon.
In an act of defiance, the king's daughter Princess Robyn removed the Gems from
Eselred's crown. The Gems scattered themselves throughout the land and sought
out worthy rulers. Robyn's plot was found out by the king, however, and she
was thrown into the dungeon for what might be the rest of her days.
Six Gems found six different rulers. Now, these six families seek to overthrow
King Eselred, as well as each other, with the power of the Gems by their side.
The strongest Gem, the Dragon, still belongs to Eselred though. Thus begins a
seven-sided war to bring peace back to the land. Only one family can control
all of Ishmeria and reunite Gemfire!
=====================
2.0 Choosing a Family
---------------------
Although there is no difficulty setting in Gemfire, the ability to get ahead
is most heavily determined by which family is chosen to start the game. There
are four different scenarios, spread across a progressive timeline. In each
scenario, the player gets to choose one of four different families, giving
sixteen different ways to play the game. The ending of the game is exactly the
same, no matter which ruler or scenario the player chooses. Every family can be
played in at least one of the scenarios, with the exception of the villainous
Lankshire family.
____________________________
2.1 Scenario 1: Erin & Ander
"Six noble families have undertaken the task to overthrow King Eselred and
secure Gemfire. Erin of Blanche and Ander of Lyle and the main contenders, yet
only one family is destined to unite the crown!"
In this scenario, the Lankshire family controls most of the map from the very
start. Even though this is the first scenario, it might not be the most
friendly to beginner players. The player will have to deal with the Eselred's
powerful Dragon Gem in countless battles to get ahead.
- Blanche
Ruler: Erin
Gem(s): Zendor
Territories: 3
Vassals: 4
In all four scenarios, Erin (of Blanche) and Ander (of Lyle) will be the
easiest paths to victory. Erin has a defensive advantage in terms of one of
his territories being completely untouched by the enemy to start. It's then
easy to distribute soldiers and riches away from the landlocked territory and
towards the frontline. The player also starts adjacent to an unclaimed
territory which can expand Erin's empire right off the bat. Zendor is the
third best Gem in the game and can easily keep any other 5th Unit in check.
- Lyle
Ruler: Ander
Gem(s): Pluvius
Territories: 3
Vassals: 3
Although Ander starts out with the same amount of territory and one less
vassal than Erin, he is generally the strongest choice to start out the game
with in most scenarios. Unlike Erin, Ander starts out bordering three
unclaimed territories. It's possible to take all three of them on the first
turn, although Ander's forces will be spread thin if he gets too greedy. Even
more of an advantage to Ander is that he borders the lone territory of the
Chrysalis family. This gives Ander the opportunity to knock off one of his
opponents and secure a second Gem very close to the beginning of the game.
Pluvius is the second best Gem in the game, only eclipsed by the Dragon.
- Coryll
Ruler: Lars
Gem(s): Empyron
Territories: 2
Vassals: 2
The Coryll family will provide more of a challenge than Erin or Ander. They
do have a defensive advantage of having a landlocked territory, much like
the Blanche family. They also have a Gem, Empyron, who is pretty good. Like
Ander, Lars starts out near a weak opponent in Erik of the Flax family.
However, Lars starts out just as weak as Erik, and there's a good chance that
the Lankshire family will get to Erik's Gem before the player does, if he's
not careful. Lars also has slightly weaker personal stats than Erin and
Ander. Lars does have advantages, but not nearly as strong as Erin and Ander.
- Chrysalis
Ruler: Garth
Gems(s): Chylla
Territories: 1
Vassals: 2
Chrysalis is the pushover family in the first two scenarios, but in the first
scenario, the player has the option to play as their prince, Garth. There are
a couple of advantages. He does have a Gem, and his home territory only has
one access point from the outside, making it safe to expand outward. The
problem is that he still only has one territory, his personal stats are weak,
and his Gem, Chylla, is probably the worst in the game in some respects. One
of Garth's vassals, Sarthe, bears a scary resemblance to Pauly Shore. Hmm.
For a challenge, this family will have an uphill battle.
___________________________
2.2 Scenario 2: Flax's Shame
"Prince Erik of Flax is cornered in the Southwest after defeating the Coryll
Family. Now Flax feels threatened by the presence of Terian, the Prince who
deserted the King."
In the second scenario, the Lankshire Family has around the same amount of
land controlled as in the first scenario. However, there is no unclaimed
territory in the beginning, and both Erin and Ander start off with a solid four
territories a piece instead of three. Unlike the other three scenarios, there
is no horrible choice of family to start with.
- Blanche
Ruler: Erin
Gem(s): Zendor
Territories: 4
Vassals: 7
The second scenario gives Erin another territory and many more vassals to
spread around. He doesn't have any barricaded territories, but he does have
some easy options for attacking outward, like territories 3 and 11. The
opportunity to be the first person to knock off the Tate family is also
there, but Erin will be fighting the Lankshire, Lyle, and Molbrew families
for that honor.
- Lyle
Ruler: Ander
Gem(s): Pluvius
Territories: 4
Vassals: 6
Ander is still the strongest choice in this scenario, just edging out Erin.
Once again, Ander has the chance to take Garth's Gem very early in the game.
He also has fairly good access to the Molbrew and highly vulnerable Tate
families.
- Flax
Ruler: Erik
Gem(s): Scylla
Territories: 3
Vassals: 2
This is the only scenario the player can use Erik of the Flax family. What's
rather strange is that although the scenario introduction claims that Erik
overthrew the Coryll family, he doesn't obtain their Gem. Instead, the
Empyron Gem somehow ended up on the other side of the map with the Tate
family. The ever-smiling Erik is not a bad choice to dominate Ishmeria,
although he's well below Erin and Ander. He does have a Gem in Scylla, which
is neither a bad Gem nor a great Gem. Geographically, he's in a great
position to expand from, with one landlocked territory. On the downside, the
only place he has to expand into is Lankshire territory. A mixed bag.
- Molbrew
Ruler: Leander
Gem(s): Skulryk
Territories: 3
Vassals: 2
Statistically, the Molbrew family is the weakest choice to start the second
scenario with, although they're not terrible. They do have a respectable
three territories and a Gem. Leander himself has subpar stats. Their Gem,
Skulryk, has the least strength of all the Gems, but he does have great move
rate and range, so I really think he's at least better than Chylla.
Geographically, it appears like they're surrounded, but they're not that bad.
If Leander takes territory 15, they'll have one landlocked area and a lot of
options to expand. A bit of a challenge, but not the hardest scenario.
____________________________
2.3 Scenario 3: Terian's War
"Terian overthrew the Molbrew Family and is positioned in the West. His rivals
Erin and Ander each possess two gems of the crown, but magic is not the only
way to capture Gemfire..."
The annoying-to-battle Lankshire family starts out this scenario vastly
weakened from the previous two scenarios, only controlling eight territories,
while Erin and Ander have increased their empires to six regions a piece. Erin
and Ander also start out this scenario with two Gems each, making them good
choices for beginners.
- Blanche
Ruler: Erin
Gem(s): Zendor, Skulryk
Territories: 6
Vassals: 7
By this point, Erin has six territories and two Gems. He has a geographically
secure empire that could easily expand westward with a bit of development.
Starting with Erin at this point in the game takes out a lot of the challenge
for experienced gamers, but it might be right up the alley for a novice.
- Lyle
Ruler: Ander
Gem(s): Pluvius, Chylla
Territories: 6
Vassals: 7
By the third scenario, the advantage to choosing Ander over Erin has lessened
greatly, to the point where they're just about even. Pluvius is still
slightly stronger than Zendor, but that's about it. Ander, like Erin, has two
Gems from the get-go as well as six territories. Chances are in good favor
that Ander can take over the Tate family before Erin though.
- Tate
Ruler: Terian
Gem(s): Empyron
Territories: 2
Vassals: 4
The rogue prince Terian stays a constant force throughout the last three
scenarios, and the player has the chance to control him in the third one.
Although he only starts with two territories, Terian's starting empire also
borders the only two unclaimed territories on the map. If he's willing to
take the risk, he can double his empire's size on the first turn, although
on some play-throughs, other empires will move first. Terian, like Lars,
starts with the Gem Empyron, which is a pretty good one.
- Tordin
Ruler: Gweyn
Gem(s): None
Territories: 2
Vassals: 2
Ah, the Tordin Family. Gweyn is my personal favorite ruler to play as. The
Tordins are one of the two hardest families to use in the game. The Tordin
family is also the only family ruled by a woman. I guess the middle ages were
more progressive in other parallel universes. Start with two territories
surrounded by the Flax and Lankshire families. You get no Gems, and Gweyn has
a poor military rating. A firm grasp of the game's mechanics is fully
necessary for success with this family.
_______________________
2.4 Scenario 4: Gemfire
"The Lankshire Family bribed Pender to desert his own brother, Erin. They hope
to ally with Eadric, long lost son of Eselred, and gain his land in the South.
One ruler must stop the warring and reunite Gemfire!"
The Lankshires have crumbled into a smaller empire than Ander's and Erin's
individual empires. They still control the Dragon Gem though, so knocking them
over still won't be terribly easy. Eselred will also inevitably expand into the
unclaimed territory directly south of him, getting back to a decent size
fairly quickly. Overall, territory is most evenly distributed among the
families in the fourth and final scenario.
- Blanche
Ruler: Erin
Gem(s): Zendor, Skulryk
Territories: 7
Vassals: 8
For the fastest (and easiest) possible play-through of the game, look no
further than Prince Erin in the fourth and final scenario. He starts with
seven territories, the most of any family in any scenario, and two Gems,
including the mighty Zendor. Erin also has the opportunity to expand into an
eighth unclaimed territory, getting a big headstart. Erin also has easy
pickings with the Divas territory to the South.
- Lyle
Ruler: Ander
Gem(s): Pluvius, Chylla
Territories: 6
Vassals: 7
Although Erin finally eclipses Ander in strength in the final scenario, Ander
is still ridiculously overpowered at the start of this scenario. Two Gems,
six territories, and the opportunity to expand into a seventh territory.
Terian's Gem would be a good first target for this scenario.
- Tudoria
Ruler: Eadric
Gem(s): Scylla
Territories: 3
Vassals: 4
The enigmatic Prince Eadric has emerged in Ishmeria to stop his father,
Eselred, from abusing Gemfire for his selfish purposes. Eadric has
near-perfect Charm and Domestic stats, although his military strength is
merely average. Overall, he is a strong leader and commands a decent empire.
The southwest corner of the map is one of the best starting points to expand
from, and he already has a Gem to help him out. Eadric has serious work to
catch up to Ander and Erin at this point though, as they will probably be
harder to bring down than Eselred.
- Divas
Leader: Loryn
Gem(s): None
Territories: 2
Vassals: 3
For unexplained reasons, one of the King's lords, Loryn, has gained political
control of his own and seeks to unite Gemfire. Along with Gweyn, Loryn's
scenario is one of the two hardest paths to winning the game. He starts with
two territories and no Gems. He does have the chance to expand into a third,
unclaimed territory, but that may not be a great idea. Spreading Loryn's
forces is tricky, as he as the worst geographic starting point. He leaves
himself exposed on all sides, making expansion difficult to start. In fact,
this is even a little harder than Gweyn's scenario, so good luck.
_______________________
2.5 Choosing an Advisor
After choosing a family and before jumping into the action, the player will get
to choose an advisor. The advisor chosen does not affect gameplay in anyway.
They are
- Eldrow the Wise
- Zorax the Mighty
- Jade the Enlightened
- Jasper the Riddler
They only serve to give optional advice. Although, given the rather poor
intelligence of the Computer AI, I don't put much stock in the advice of these
experts. To hear the words of the advisor, simply hit one of the shoulder
buttons at any time on the world map. They mostly spill blurbs like "Attack
this territory" or "Invest in crops."
One might think that the advisors dispense advice with biases, like Zorax being
more inclined to invade other territories. However, this is completely false.
The only difference between the advisors seems to be the wording of their
sayings.
I tend to avoid listening to the advisors entirely, as they're idiots, and in
the case of Jasper, incredibly annoying.
==============
3.0 Statistics
--------------
The game is full of extremely nondescript statistics, so knowing what each one
does and why they're important is useful.
Every territory has stats unique to just itself. That's why keeping an eye on
and developing each territory is important. Three of these stats are like
disposable currency, rapidly fluctuating. The other three are more permanent
and change more slowly over time.
Every vassal, lord, and ruler in the game also has their own set of personal
stats.
_______________________________
3.1 Disposable State Statistics
- Gold
Every territory has its own treasury. Gold is one of the two main currency
in Gemfire. It's necessary to hire troops, develop Cultivation or Protection,
buy additional food, pay deployment costs for offensive battles, hire and
maintain 5th Units, pay ransoms, and use the Search command. The maximum
amount of Gold a single territory can have is 999.
Gold can be acquired through annual taxes, selling food, plundering an enemy
territory, collecting a ransom, the leprechaun event, and receiving it
through a transport from another territory.
- Food
Food is the other major currency in Gemfire. It's needed to feed troops in
battle, raise the loyalty of subjects through giving, sell into gold, and pay
ransoms. The maximum amount of food a single territory can have is 999.
Food can be acquired through annual farm collection, buying it with gold,
plundering it from an enemy territory, collecting a ransom, the food event,
and receiving it through a transport from another territory.
- Troops
Troops are the measure of a territory's military strength. The number of
men housed are the number that will defend the area should it come under
attack, not including 5th Units. In the event of attacking another area,
troops will be gathered from just one territory's pool, although not all of
them have to be used. Like gold and food, the maximum number that can stay
at a single territory is 999.
Troops can be acquired through the Recruit command, Moving Troops from a
neighboring territory, or the rare troops event.
______________________________
3.2 Permanent State Statistics
- Loyalty
Loyalty is the measure of a territory's love for its ruler. It is
represented by a horizontal red flag to the right of the Gold. Loyalty
determines how much monetary taxes will be collected every September. In
addition, Loyalty also affects the amount of food that is taxed, along with
Cultivation. With zero Loyalty, food will not come in September. Every
time a territory is taken over by force, the Loyalty of that territory
reverts back to zero. Loyalty also lowers very gradually over a long time.
Loyalty is primarily increased by the Give Food command, although it is also
raised by a good event.
- Cultivation
Not so surprisingly, Cultivation determines how much food will be collected
every September. Cultivation is not the only thing that affects food though,
as both high Cultivation and Loyalty are necessary. The better the farmland,
the more food is grown, and the more food can be taxed. Cultivation lowers
some in the event of warfare, as well as some bad events. It is represented
by a picture of grain to the right of Food.
Cultivation is raised by the Develop-Cultivation command.
- Protection
The Protection stat primarily safeguards the territory against bad events.
Less bad events occur with high protection, and bad events that do occur have
a less negative effect. There may be more significance to Protection, but I
haven't found it yet. Protection lowers some in the event of warfare, as well
as some instances of Sabotage, and some bad events. It is represented by a
picture of a castle tower, to the right of Troops.
Protection is raised by the Develop-Protection command.
_______________________
3.3 Personal Statistics
- Charm
The icon that looks like a Heart is that character's Charm rating. The
primary use of Charm is to increase the effectiveness of Give Food, which
raises a land's Loyalty. Charm may have bearing on other actions, but it is
not known for certain.
Charm of a character can be increased only through good events on the
territory where he or she rules or a Search item.
- Domestic
The little icon of a piece of paper is that character's Domestic rating.
The higher a character's Domestic rating, the more he or she is able to
defend against Sabotage and Plunder. A high Domestic rating also increases
the effectiveness of Develop greatly, which is its most important use.
Domestic strength of a character can be increased only through good events on
the territory where he or she rules or a Search item.
- Military
The sword and shield icon represents a character's Military strength. It has
a direct influence on the effectiveness of units in battle. High Military
strength means soldiers will kill more and be killed less. An even matchup
can turn into a lop-sided squashing if one side has an inferior Military
strength.
Military strength, like Charm and Domestic, can only be affected by events or
a Search item.
- Fame
Fame is a stat that is completely exclusive to each family's ruler, and it
generally represents the overall might of the entire family. It's
represented by a badge on the ruler's view screen. Fame, aside from being
a measure of how cool the ruler is, affects some diplomatic actions, like
Ally, Defection, and Surrender. That is, high Fame makes them all slightly
more likely to succeed.
Fame increases as the player's empire increases. Winning battles and
acquiring new territory are the fastest ways to increase Fame. Getting new
vassals and a few other things affect it as well. Losing battles and
territory will lower Fame by the same degree.
==================
4.0 State Commands
------------------
These are the main commands on the map screen. All gameplay outside of battle
uses these commands.
_____________________
4.1 Military Commands
The military command menu is represented by the picture of two swords crossing
in front of a shield. These are all the commands related to battle units.
- Attack
The Attack command is, as one might guess, the command to attack a bordering
territory. Before going into battle, the attacker must decide how many troops
to take, how much food to take, and which 5th Unit to bring into battle.
Recommendations for battle are covered in the Battle section (5.1), and 5th
Units are covered in the 5th Units section (6.1).
There is a deployment cost for troops that shouldn't make a noticeable dent
on the pocketbook, but it can be determined by this simple formula:
Deployment Cost = 1/8 * (Number of troops) +10
In other words, for every 8 soldiers deployed, there's a charge of 1 gold
piece, plus a base cost of 10. As such, it costs 22 gold for 100 troops, 35
gold for 200 troops, 47 for 300 troops, and so on.
The formula for food needed in a battle is also linear:
Food needed per day = 1/10 * (Number of troops + 5th Unit Strength) +1
5th Unit Strength is only added into the formula if it's a HIRED 5th Unit.
The Gem guardians are exempt from the equation, because they can apparently
live without food, but other 5th Units do indeed need to be fed, just like
the rest of the soldiers.
Not including 5th Units, an army of 100 will require 11 food per day, an army
of 200 will require 21 food per day, an army of 300 will need 31 food, etc.
A successful attack acquires the target territory to the player. If there
was a ruler or vassal in charge of the attack, they will move from their
previous territory and instead be stationed in the new territory. The
territory the attack was led from will then be controlled remotely. The Home
territory can be moved in this way.
- Recruit
A pretty straightforward command, this allows the player to recruit new
soldiers for that particular territory. Every soldier costs 2 gold pieces.
A maximum of 999 soldiers can be in each territory at a point in time.
- Move Troops
This command lets the player move troops from one territory into a bordering
territory, so long as the target territory isn't occupied by another family.
It's primarily used to redistribute gold, food, troops, and hired 5th Units
to different regions under the player's control. It is also, however, the
command used to claim an unoccupied territory.
Like Transport, it allows the player to move food and gold to different parts
of his or her empire, but it's limited in that it can only transport to a
bordering territory.
- Hire Monster
This command allows the player to both hire and fire 5th Units, not including
Gem guardians. During the time that Gem guardians are unavailable for several
turns, backup 5th Units can be the difference between winning and losing.
Unlike Gems, hired 5th Units can only be used by the territory at which
they're currently stationed. They can be moved to a different territory with
the Move Troops command.
Hired 5th Units require both a hiring cost and an upkeep cost, which are the
same amount. For example, the Bugbear costs 30 gold pieces. They cost 30
gold pieces for their initial hiring and then an additional 30 gold pieces
every three months. If there isn't enough money to pay the upkeep of a hired
5th Unit, they will desert the player.
More details on the different kinds of 5th Units are covered in the 5th Units
section (6.1).
_____________________
4.2 Domestic Commands
Domestic commands are those that promote the welfare of the player's land. They
are represented by a picture of a House on the main menu.
- Develop
The Develop command allows the player to invest 10 gold pieces and a turn to
raise his or her Cultivation or Protection stat. Cultivation affects the
amount of food produced in a territory. Protection lessens the blow of
natural disasters. Develop has to be done repeatedly to get a good return,
but it's well worth it and pretty much required to win.
Either stat will raise from 2 to 5 points per Development, depending solely
on the Domestic stat of that land's lord.
In addition to being naturally rewarding, consistent use of the Develop
command is the sign of moral rulers in Ishmeria. Development will cause good
events to happen randomly at the yearly quarter. For more on random events,
see the Events section (8.1).
- Trade
The Trade command allows the player to turn his gold into food and his food
into gold at will. It's a great way to balance commodities, but even better
is its ability to make that territory's lord rich. The exchange rate
fluctuates from month to month, which is the key to wealth. Check often.
The language of the exchange rate is simple to decipher:
"The prices are low." 1 gold = 2 food
"The prices are average." 1 gold = 1 food
"The prices are high." 2 gold = 1 food
Buy low and sell high. It's not out of the question to quadruple one's net
worth in a few months. Not surprising that Trade is the most easily abused
command and a major reason why the game is considered on the easy side by
some.
Also, Trade is one of the few commands that does not end the player's turn.
- Give Food
Giving food is the primary way to raise the Loyalty of a territory. The
amount of Loyalty gained from giving food is dependant on Charm stat of that
territory's lord.
Unlike Develop, the player can invest a lot or a little into raising loyalty
per turn, giving 20, 50, 80, or 100 food shares. A lord with high Charm can
easily bring triple the Loyalty that a land with no lord would bring per
giving of food.
- Transport
With this command, the player can send or receive gold and food from one
territory and put it in another, no matter how near or far. Even territories
under a family's rule that are physically separated from the rest of their
country can send and receive transports. An important command for
redistributing wealth to where it's needed, particularly newly acquired
territories with low domestic statistics.
_______________________
4.3 Diplomatic Commands
Diplomatic commands are actions which involve foreign nations aside from direct
attack. They're represented by a bright red flag in the main menu. All four
Diplomatic commands have a chance of success or failure, so save the game
before attempting one of them.
- Ally
The Ally command lets the player enter a non-aggression pact with another
family. Other than the two families not being able to attack each other,
there is no economic or military benefit in entering an alliance.
The chance of success is dependent on the overall strength of both family's,
likely determined by relative Fame of each leader. As a rule of thumb, if
there's another family with twice as much territory as the player, they won't
Ally. If the target family is weaker than the player's, they will probably
accept the terms. If both families are about even in strength, it could go
either way. Be forewarned that the computer is prone to breaking alliances
whenever they feel like it.
The Ally command can only be used from the Home province. The Lankshire
family does not enter alliances.
- Negotiate
Negotiate actually encompasses two different commands, Defection and
Surrender.
Defection is a very neat command. It lets the player try to persuade another
ruler's vassal to switch sides and join the player's ranks. If that vassal
is the lord of an enemy territory, the player will gain control of that
territory, riches, soldiers, and all, without even having to lift a weapon.
Vassals that don't control territories can also be recruited. To find them,
click on the opposing family's Home territory to bring up a list of names.
The success rate of Defection is not entirely known for certain. I have my
suspicions on which stats affect it, but I won't speculate. It has mostly to
do with the stats of the person being asked to defect rather than the
negotiator, as the same people seem to be easier to recruit in every game.
However, the ruler's Fame also must bear some weight, as the more powerful
the player is, the more people are willing to defect to his or her cause.
Heirs, however, are the hardest people in the game to recruit through
Defection usually, although it is possible.
It is also possible to recruit vassals by defeating them in battle. See the
Battle section for more details (5.5).
Surrender is a command that will be used very, very little in any game. As
the name implies, using this command will try to force another family into
surrendering to the player. A successful surrender means that an entire
family's vassals, territories, soldiers, and wealth will become property of
the player. It's quite the powerful command. As one might expect thought, it
almost never works. In order for a family to surrender, they need to be
vastly overpowered. As in, the player could be the most dominant family in
Ishmeria, and it still might not work. By the time the player is powerful
enough to get Surrender to work, he or she's essentially already won the game
anyway. Surrender is more of a time-saver towards the very end of the game
than actually useful in getting ahead.
The difference in power that determines the success of Surrender is almost
certainly determined by Fame.
- Sabotage
This command gives the player the opportunity to damage a neighboring
territory. If Sabotage is successful, it will destroy either 1/5 of the
enemy troops, 1/5 of the enemy's Loyalty, or 1/5 of the enemy's Protection
stat.
The rate of success for Sabotage relies primarily on a low Domestic rating
for the lord of the area being sabotaged, although other factors might have
a small bearing on it.
The computer AI doesn't seem to use Sabotage very often, and neither do I. It
does have uses in certain situations though.
- Plunder
Plunder is a fantastic command for the player who has rich neighbors. For
every successful Plunder of a neighboring territory, 1/5 of both the enemy's
gold AND food will become property of the player. It's a double-whammy of
hurting them and helping the player. If it works once, it will work
continuously, so keep robbing them. Success rate for Plunder is the nearly
the same as Sabotage, although it may be ever so slightly harder to Plunder,
as I've had some cases (although not often) where Sabotage was possible yet
Plunder was not.
___________________
4.4 Player Commands
What I have dubbed "Player Commands" don't actually have an official name in
the game. They're represented on the main menu by a picture of an armored
helmet. Also, with the exception of Search, most of the Player commands don't
end the player's turn.
- View
View is the all-purpose information command in the game. It allows the player
to see statistics for his own people, his opponents' people, and stats on
different territories.
Initially, the game will ask to view a specific territory. Do so by using the
pop-up pointer on the map, and the gold, food, soldiers, loyalty,
cultivation, protection, and ruler of any territory are instantly visible.
Clicking on a territory also gives information about the entire family
associated with that particular land through the next set of commands.
One
The View-One command lets the player take a look at a specific vassal
in any family. Most units have three statistics: Charm, Domestic, and
Military strength, which become visible with View. Rulers have two other
features visible: The Fame stat and a simple graph, showing which parts
of Gemfire the ruler has thus far collected. More on the personal stats
can be found in the Statistics section (7.1).
Many
The View-Many command displays the three major stats for all vassals in
a family. There's no new information to be found here that can't be seen
in the View-One command, but it does display many of them at once in a
handy list.
Land
The View-Land command crunches information into a list, much like the
View-Many command. However, View-Land displays territories in a list
rather than people. With it, all of a families territories are organized
by gold, food, loyalty, cultivation, troops, but oddly enough, the
Protection stat is omitted.
5th Unit
View-5th Unit only works for territories that the player owns. Also, it
only views the available 5th Units for the territory that's been selected.
There's no way to view all 5th Units in the player's empire at once.
- Change Lord
At the Home province, the player can use this command to change the lord of
any of his or her territories aside from Home. There are three settings that
each territory can be changed to.
You
Changing a territory's lord to "You" means that the ruler of the family
will control the territory remotely from the Home province. In game
mechanics, this means that the territory gets HALF of the bonuses of
having the actual lord. Unless the head of the family has absolutely
absurdly high stats compared to everyone else, a territory will always be
more productive with a real lord.
A territory controlled by You will have a portrait and name of the
family's ruler in place of where the lord would go. So, the only way to
see a visual difference between a remotely controlled territory and the
actual Home province where the ruler of the family IS an acting lord, is
the little icon below the name of the province. For Home, it is a red
shield. For a remotely controlled territory, it's a flag.
Lord
The difference between a lord and a vassal is that a lord controls land.
So essentially the Lord command takes the Lord of one territory in the
player's empire and moves him or her to a different territory. Lords
cannot control two territories at once, so the territory that the lord
was moved from will then become under the control of "You," until
instructed otherwise.
If the destination territory for the transferring lord already has a lord,
the initial lord will be ousted and put back into the vassal pool.
The Home territory can be shifted by the Lord command. First select the
territory that will become the new Home province. Then, when it asks which
lord to move, choose the current Home territory. The game will prompt
"Okay to move Yourself?" Then select Yea. Oddly enough, changing the Home
territory ends the player's turn, even though the Change Lord command does
not end the turn in all other cases.
Vassal
Selecting this command brings up a list of the player's vassals that do
not have assigned territories. The vassal will then become the new lord
of the target province and will then be removed from the vassal list.
Like with the "Lord" command, if the territory already had a lord in
place, he will be put onto the vassal list in place of the one that was
called up to rule.
- Entrust
Entrust is the lazy man's command, although a recommended one near the end
of the game. A territory that becomes Entrusted will give up its turn every
month. Instead, the computer will decide what to do in that territory, if
anything. If the player changes his mind, he can simply Cancel the Entrust
at any time.
Generally, the computer is an idiot. Entrusting a territory is not a good
idea if that territory is on the border of enemy territory, or especially if
it's early in the game. Very late in the game, when there's no point in
developing so many states every turn, having to take 20 turns per month is
excessive. The game will go by much more swiftly if territories are Entrusted
late in the game. So it is a good command to have, but only if the player
is willing to give up the usefulness of the territory.
- Search
Search is the only Player command that ends the player's turn. That's why
it's highly recommended that the player saves his game before using Search,
then loads the game afterwards to get the turn back.
The Search command does the one thing that View cannot, see 5th Units of
foreign lands. The usefulness of that information is questionable, but it's
merely a mask for the true usefulness of Search.
Searching enemy territories can sometimes randomly turn up special items.
These items will drastically increase character stats, much faster than any
other method in the game. Those items are:
Silver Sword - Raises Military Strength +25
Sword of Fire - Raises Military Strength +30
Sword of Victory - Raises Military Strength +40
Scroll of the Planets - Raises Domestic +25
Scroll of Knowledge - Raises Domestic +30
Scroll of the Sages - Raises Domestic +40
Moonstone - Raises Charm +30
Dragon Jewel - Raises Charm +40
{Special thanks to everyone who emailed me about the Searchable items.
Unfortunately, there are too many to list, and I don't remember who first
told me about it.}
__________________
Other Commands 4.5
There are only a few, more self-explanatory commands out of the main four
categories, but they need to be mentioned.
- End Turn
Press the Cancel button on the map screen to bring up the opportunity to
prematurely end the player's turn. 3/4 of the normal commands in the game
end the player's turn anyway, so there's a good chance that this command will
never be needed. Cultivation and Protection take so long to develop that I
usually spend idle turns investing in that rather than simply ending the
turn. If the player really doesn't care about developing a territory anymore,
he or she can simply Entrust it and forget about it, rather than ending
turns every month. The option is there if it's needed though.
- Get Advice
Pressing the shoulder button will bring up advice from the player's advisor.
As I already stated earlier, the advisors are pretty useless, but perhaps
for beginner players, they can serve as a crutch of sorts.
- Save Game
Self-explanatory. Hit Start to bring up the Save Game option. The game has
two in-game save slots. Saving in-game is necessary to fix glitched ROMs.
See the ROM Glitch section for details (8.2).
- Load Game
Available either before starting the game or by hitting Start to bring up the
pause menu. Load an in-game save.
- Speed
Change the message speed by going to the pause menu and selecting Speed. The
game is very light on messages, and even after playing through the game
countless times, I've never felt impatient enough to change the message
speed. The option is there for those who want it though.
- Sound
Turn the in-game sound on or off by going to the pause menu and selecting
Sound. Console gamers will probably leave it on, but ROM players can use
the Sound feature as a way around the ROM Glitch. See the ROM Glitch section
for more details (8.2).
- Quit
Nobody likes a quitter. Use this to quit the game. The game will ask if the
computer can take over for the player, at which point the game will become
a demo game. In a two-player game, having one player quit turns the game into
a single-player game. Using the Quit feature isn't necessary to simply turn
off the game. Turning off the game at any point won't harm the data.
==========
5.0 Battle
----------
Simply building stats and intimidating opponents isn't any fun without battles.
I'd hesitate to call Battle the meat of the game though, because there is just
too much other stuff. It is one of the most essential elements though.
_________________
5.1 Battle Basics
Battle is initiated when one territory uses the Attack command to invade
another territory. The person being invaded will have the option to Fight,
Retreat, or Surrender. Surrender isn't an option unless the person being
attacked has no men or food and doesn't have somewhere to retreat. I've never
seen Surrender work in these circumstances. Retreating will cause the
territory's lord to run to a neighboring province with his or her soldiers.
There is a chance the lord can captured by the enemy during this process. Even
if there's a healthy 5th Unit available, one side cannot enter combat without
actual troops available. If both sides are able and willing to fight, the
battle commences.
All battle takes place on a 10 x 8 grid battlefield. Every battlefield looks
different, and the geography of the obstacles depends on what part of the
country the battle is taking place in. The attackers, colored reddish orange,
start along the left edge of the map. The defenders, colored blue, start along
the right edge of the map. Both sides have a flag on the battlefield
representing their side's base, although the defenders have a wall partially
surrounding theirs, or at least a grouping of fences.
Each sides has their total number of troops divided into four equal units, plus
both sides get to pick a 5th Unit of their choosing (6.0). These five units
make up the battle forces, for a total of ten possible units on the battlefield
to keep track of.
There are four ways to achieve victory in battle:
1. Wipe out all of the opposing team's units.
2. Capture the opposing team's flag.
3. Let the opposing team run out of food.
4. Force the enemy to retreat.
As stated in the Attack command section, the formula for food needed is
Food needed per day = 1/10 * (Number of troops + 5th Unit Strength) +1
Wherein Gem guardians are exempt from the formula since they don't need food,
but hired 5th Units DO need food. The food rations remaining on each side are
represented by the number below each side's commander's name. The number in the
parentheses is how many days' worth of food that number is.
A "day" is four full turns. Day progression can be seen by the graphic on the
top middle of the screen. In order, they are sunrise, noon, sunset, and night.
Each new day begins at sunrise.
Both sides can only use the bodies of their units and built Fences along with
natural obstacles of the terrain to block the path for the enemy to capture
their flag. Fences can be broken though, and units can be killed to clear that
path.
The computer will retreat if it feels it is less than one turn away from being
wiped out. The computer will not retreat if it feels its flag is in danger.
Retreating becomes impossible if there are no neighboring territories to
retreat into.
In general, the computer AI will stay back and guard its flag if the player
has the clear advantage of numbers. If both sides are about equal in force, or
the computer has the numerical advantage, they will take a more aggressive
approach and advance towards the player's flag. Also, if the computer feels it
can outlast the player's food supply, they also may hang back and defend their
flag.
__________________
5.2 Standard Units
Both sides in battle will have their number of troops divided into four equal
units, one group of horsemen, two groups of knights, and one group of archers.
Any remainder of troops that doesn't divide evenly gets tacked onto the total
horsemen.
- Horsemen
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Short
Horsemen can move three squares per turn. Their attack range is standard for
melee units. They can attack any hostile unit as long as it's standing on a
square right next to them.
- Knights (Type 1)
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Short
Knights can't move as far as horsemen, and they have the same range. One
advantage they have is that they can build fences.
- Knights (Type 2)
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Short
These knights are exactly the same as the other group of knights in every
way. The only difference is their graphic, so that the player can tell units
apart from each other.
- Archers
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Long
Archers are the oddball of the four main units. While knights and horsemen
have the same attack power, and attack the same way, archers don't. Archers
are slightly weaker in attack power than knights and horsemen. However, they
attack only panels that are two squares away from them, not close up, and not
diagonally. Their big advantage besides their range is that they do not take
damage by attacking, like all short range units do. Their long range attack
can also reach over other units and obstacles. For a more clear diagram of
their attack range, see the Explanation of Ranges section (6.1).
___________________
5.3 Battle Commands
The battle commands aren't that complicated, but they bear mentioning.
- Move
The first thing a selected unit will be asked to do is Move. It's not
possible to do another unit action and then move. Most units can move two
squares per turn, but some can move three. Take care in how a character gets
from point A to point B, since it could affect which direction the unit is
facing when they're done moving. Units cannot change the direction they face
after they're done moving.
- Attack
After the unit has moved (or has chosen to not move), it can attack any unit
in his range. Attacking will change the direction that unit is facing.
The effects of attack vary, depending on the unit and the way the unit it's
attacking is facing. More details on that are in section 5.4.
- Fence
Fences keep the enemy at bay, at least temporarily. They cannot be traversed
by any unit except for Gargoyles and Wyverns, since they're extra cool and
can fly. Fences are instrumental in keeping an aggressive enemy away from the
flag. However, only knights can make fences. Making a Fence can fail and
waste a turn if the unit isn't strong.
- Break
This command breaks a fence. Any unit in the game can try to break a fence.
If the unit isn't strong, Break can fail and waste a turn.
- Wait
If the unit cannot or does not want to take a specific action, they have to
choose Wait after moving.
The following commands are not unit-specific and can be accessed by hitting the
cancel button when a unit is not selected.
- End Turn
This command ends the turn and turns gameplay over to the opposite team. The
player does not have to move all of his of her units before ending the turn.
The Player can keep track of which units have been used in a turn, because
units that have already moved will be grayed out.
- Auto mode
If there were ever a command to never use, ever, it's Auto mode. Entrusting
unused territories is one thing, but the computer is absolutely abysmal at
battles. If nothing else, putting the computer in charge will draw out the
battle too long, and may cost more troops than need to be sacrificed.
- Animation
Turn the attack animation on and off with this. The only things that could be
considered spectacle in the entire game are the attack animations. Why anyone
would want to turn them off, I don't know. The choice is here.
- Retreat
If all is lost, retreat. There won't be much loss to cut though. It probably
would be more beneficial to retreat before the battle than during it.
_______________________________________
5.4 Frontal, Flanking, and Rear Assault
There is strategy in battle, and that comes in the form of how one unit attacks
another. No matter which side gets attacked, a short range unit will incur
damage to itself at the same time it's attacking. Long range units (like
archers) do not. Gem guardians incur a flat percentage of strength loss,
regardless of which side they're attacking.
If one unit attacks another from its front, that is called a Frontal assault.
It is the least advantageous to do a Frontal assault, as it will do the least
amount of damage to the victim unit, and it will also do more backlash damage
to the attacking unit.
If one unit attacks another from its side, that is called a Flanking assault.
Flanking attacks do more damage than a Frontal assault, and they will receive
less backlash damage as well.
If one unit attacks another in its back, that is called a Rear Assault. These
attacks do the most damage to the enemy unit while allowing short range
attackers to receive the least amount of backlash.
One should always aim for Flanking and Rear assaults. Frontal assaults usually
aren't even worth doing unless the victim unit is severely overpowered. In some
extreme instances, where one side's commander has a higher Military rating than
another, an attacking unit can actually hurt itself more with backlash than it
hurts the other enemy in a Frontal assault.
This is all very straightforward, but some 5th Units (mainly the Gems) can
attack other units at an angle. There's a very specific method that the game
uses to determine what kind of assault is scored by angular attacks.
If the unit is attacking in an L-shape, the long side of the L will be the side
getting attacked.
ooV
ooo
oXo
Let's say this is a 3x3 cutout of the map. If unit X is attacking V, which is
facing south, it will be a Frontal assault, because X is still most turned to
V's front.
That's all fine, but what about perfect 45 degree angles?
ooV
ooo
Xoo
Now, unit X is equally facing both unit V's side and front, assuming V is still
facing south. If unit X attacks on this perfect diagonal line, it will always
attack along the HORIZONTAL. So in this instance, unit X will get a Flanking
assault on unit V.
____________________
5.5 Captured Leaders
After a battle is over, the loser's leader in battle might be captured,
assuming the losing army even had a leader. Even in the case of Retreat,
there's a chance the retreating forces might have their leader captured. This
can have very serious or very fun consequences.
If the loser was trying to defend a landlocked territory (ie had no neighboring
provinces to retreat to), the chance of capturing the ruler of that province
is nearly 100%, except in the case of Eselred, who is extremely difficult to
capture until you take his final territory, if it's even possible. However,
taking a family's very last territory always results in capturing the ruler of
the family.
As long as the captured leader is not the ruler of the family, the captors
will be forced to try and put that vassal up for ransom. That ransom will
either be gold or food, food always being a higher price. I have yet to figure
the formula for determining ransom prices.
If the ransom is paid, the spoils will go to winning army's territory. If the
ransom is refused, this will bring up three new choices. If a family leader is
captured, they will forego the ransom procedure and go right to these choices.
- Recruit
Recruit works just like Defection. If successful, the conquered vassal will
join the player's ranks. It should be noted that Recruit has a much higher
rate of success than Defection. Don't be afraid to try it. If the newly
recruited vassal was attacking from a different territory, his territory will
become property of the player as well.
Successfully Recruiting a family leader immediately puts all of his
territories, vassals, and armies under the player's control. Needless to say,
it's a huge score if that happens.
- Release
This simply gives the vassal back to his or her family without a struggle or
ransom. Banish isn't always better than Release. A spared life could still
become the player's vassal one day.
As a side effect, releasing a vassal causes his military strength to go down.
(Thanks to "i like cheeze" for pointing this out.)
- Banish
Simply put, the vassal is exiled from Ishmeria, never to return. Taking
enemy leaders out of the game can be fun, but it can also be overdone. Banish
has the most impact if it's used on heirs and family rulers. If the ruler of
a family is banished, one of his heirs will assume the throne. All of the
qualified heirs are listed in the Non-Default Ruler section (8.3).
If there are no heirs in the family (or they've all been banished), the
family will disband. When this happens, that family's Gem(s) will transfer
to whomever banished the ruler. Any lords that were in charge of one of the
family's remaining territories will declare supreme rule of that territory
and start their own family. Any territories that were controlled remotely by
the Home territory will become unclaimed. So technically, any character in
Gemfire can become a prince or princess. The player just won't be able to
control any of those families.
=============
6.0 5th Units
-------------
5th Units are as their name implies. All the soldiers in a battle are divided
into four units, but another 5th unit can be provided by the player. These
are either Gem guardians, hired units, or the Pastha which is neither. They
all behave very differently, and some are very clearly better than others.
Rather than having a number of men, some 5th Units (including all the Gems)
have a single unit that instead has a specific amount of Strength. Strength
functions the same way as having a number of men. The higher the Strength,
the more damage that unit does. If the number gets too low, the 5th Unit dies
or runs away. Gems cannot die.
_________________________
6.1 Explanation of Ranges
All 5th Units (and all regular units as well) have an attack range that fits
into one of four types. Their area of attack can be illustrated with the
following diagrams.
"." marks the location of the attacking unit.
"X" marks the squares within the unit's attack range.
"o" marks a square that cannot be attacked.
- Long Range (Same as an archer)
ooXoo
ooooo
Xo.oX
ooooo
ooXoo
Note: All long range units do less damage but do not take damage when attacking
- Short Range (Same as a knight/horseman)
ooooo
ooXoo
oX.Xo
ooXoo
ooooo
- Circular Range
XXXXX
XoooX
Xo.oX
XoooX
XXXXX
- Largest Range
XXXXX
XXXXX
XX.XX
XXXXX
XXXXX
____________
6.2 The Gems
The ultimate collectible items in the game are the valuable Gems. The Gem
guardians are usually the first choice for 5th Unit to bring into battle. The
only reason not to is either because the player doesn't possess a Gem, or
because the Gem has been used in a recent battle.
If a Gem is used in battle, it needs to rest three months before it can be used
again. If a Gem is defeated in battle, it needs to rest five months before it
can be used again. As such, it is very advantageous to have multiple Gems, or
at least backup 5th Units.
The big downside to Gems in battle is that they lose Strength with every attack
they use. It's always 10% Strength lost per attack, even if they're just taking
out a single archer. The Strength loss is also unlike the backlash damage that
short range characters take, in that the direction the victim unit is facing
does not change the amount of strength loss the attacker receives back.
- Dragon
Strength: 160
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Largest
Default Family: Lankshire (Scenario 1-4)
The Dragon is easily the best 5th Unit in the game. There are some others
with better a better move rate, but there isn't a more raw destructive force
than this.
- Pluvius
Strength: 160
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Circular
Default Family: Lyle (Scenario 1-4)
Pluvius is possibly the best unit the player can start with. For an old
wizard, he sure does pack a punch. One of only three 5th Units that starts
with 160 Strength.
- Zendor
Strength: 150
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Circular
Default Family: Blanche (Scenario 1-4)
The slight drop in strength in made up for by his exceptional move rate.
Zendor arguably can be considered the best unit in the game, although I still
think the Dragon is better.
- Empyron
Strength: 140
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Short
Default Family: Coryll (Scenario 1), Tate (Scenario 2-4)
Empyron is completely outclassed by the Dragon, Zendor, and Pluvius. He
essentially has the move rate and attack range of a normal knight or soldier,
although he has the strength of a Gem guardian. He's more than capable of
holding his own against any foe once he finally gets in position to attack.
- Scylla
Strength: 130
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Short
Default Family: Flax (Scenario 1-3), Tudoria (Scenario 4)
Scylla is essentially a weaker version of Empyron. Same move rate and attack
range, but less strength. I don't know if the game is trying to make her
feel inferior because she's a female and Empyron's a male, but she's still
not terrible Gem. She's just not a spectacular one either.
- Chylla
Strength: 120
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Short
Default Family: Chrysalis (Scenario 1-2), Lyle (Scenario 3-4)
Well, she has good move rate. At this point though, low strength really makes
a big difference, and her attack range isn't helping her. Chylla is sure a
lot better than many hired 5th Units, but she won't be taking down the Dragon
by herself in most battles.
- Skulryk
Strength: 110
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Circular
Default Family: Molbrew (Scenario 1-2), Blanche (Scenario 3-4)
I actually have a soft spot for Skulryk. He's the only Gem in the game
besides Zendor that can boast a maximum move rate AND a great attack range.
Plus, his attack is a whirling cloud of poison with a skull in the middle,
which is one of my favorite attacks. However, his low Strength KILLS him.
The difference between 160 Strength and 110 Strength is a lot in reality, but
I'd still take him over Chylla any day.
___________________
6.3 Hired 5th Units
When there are no Gems available, or the player doesn't want to waste one on
a battle where it isn't needed, hired 5th Units come into play. Unlike Gems,
the player can't use a single hired monster in any territory he or she wishes.
Hired monsters stay exclusive to a single territory, like troops. 5th Units
can be transferred from the territories in which they were bought with the
Move Troops command.
The biggest downside to hired units is that they cost gold every three months
to maintain their upkeep. The gold spent every quarter is equal to their hiring
cost, so it's okay to be cheap. If they don't get paid, they'll run away.
Also note that some of the best 5th Units in the game are humans. Humans,
however, seem to be prone to deserting a territory for no reason though.
The commentary written below the units is just opinion, not fact. Keep that in
mind.
- Bugbear
Strength: 100
Price: 30
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Short
The Bugbear is a singular unit, some kind of Bigfoot-type creature. He's so
ugly that he's almost adorable. Almost. If nothing else is available, the
Bugbear isn't the worst choice for his reasonable price tag, but he never lit
up my world.
- Fachan
Strength: 100
Price: 40
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Largest
Well, the Fachan is not strong, and he's not the cheapest guy. He does have
great move rate, and he has the Dragon's rare attack range. He personally
never "did it" for me, but I've gotten feeback from multiple people saying
that he's one of their favorite units. Give it a shot.
- Gargoyles
Strength: 120
Price: 40
Move Rate: 3*
Attack Range: Short
The asterisk is because Gargoyles have flying ability. Essentially, Gargoyles
are weaker, cheaper versions of my personal favorite hired 5th Unit, Wyverns.
Read more about Wyverns to see why flying is so great, but for Gargoyles
specifically, the price-to-strength ratio doesn't really satisfy me.
- Gunners
Strength: 150
Price: 40
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Long
I cannot tell if there's an in-battle difference between Gunners, Shooters,
and Spearmen. What I do know is that Gunners cost twice as much as Spearmen.
Gunners are still a great unit, but the price is iffy. If Spearmen become
available, hire them and fire the Gunners.
- Lancers
Strength: 180
Price: 50
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Short
No, that isn't a typo. Lancers start out with more strength than even the
Dragon. Although I doubt in a head-on contest that the Lancers would actually
prove to be stronger than the Dragon. Still, they're an insanely powerful
unit, with good move range. These guys are right up there with Wyverns for
their usefulness as top hired 5th Units, but they're not cheap.
- Lizards
Strength: 110
Price: 60
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Short
Lizards wouldn't be all that bad, if they weren't so expensive. They're not
even close to being worth the 60 gold price tag.
- Ogre
Strength: 100
Price: 50
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Short
To put it bluntly, the Ogre is a ripoff. The Ogre is a gimped Bugbear that
costs more, basically. Nowhere near that price tag.
- Olog-Hai
Strength: 110
Price: 30
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Short
Olog-Hai are like Orks but slightly stronger and more expensive. Like Orks,
the Olog-Hai stink.
- Orks
Strength: 100
Price: 20
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Short
Extremely cheap and extremely weak. Orks stink. There's also a bad event
where a hired monster will destroy part of a territory, and 90% of the time
that happens, it's Orks. Something about them likes to rampage. So honestly,
don't buy them. Skeletons are just as cheap and crappy, but won't rampage as
much.
- Pastha
Strength: 160
Price: 0
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Short
The Pastha is not actually a "hired" monster, but he's not a Gem either. He's
somewhere in between. The Pastha is the only monster that is totally on par
in attack power with the Dragon. These guys are very strong. Unfortunately,
for some reason they also have the Gem guardians' one weakness, the 10%
strength penalty for every person they attack. They have minimal move and
attack range, which essentially makes the Pastha a stronger version of
Empyron.
Obtaining the Pastha is easy enough. Simply develop territories until good
events start happening. Eventually a Pastha will agree to come to one of the
player's territories. I accumulate a lot of these guys, which is good because
they're gone forever after using them in just one battle. On the positive
side, they don't cost anything to hold onto, and they will never abandon
their territory. Pasthas are REALLY, REALLY good. Hold onto them.
- Pikemen
Strength: 150
Price: 40
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Short
Pikemen are like lancers, but weaker and cheaper. All in all, Pikemen are
great 5th Units, but if money is no object, there are a couple better
choices.
- Skeletons
Strength: 100
Price: 20
Move Rate: 2
Attack Range: Short
Well, Skeletons are... cheap. They're definitely easy on the pocketbook, so
for the player that can't afford to buy a decent anything, these guys are a
lot better than having nothing, but they're also incredibly lame.
- Shooters
Strength: 150
Price: 35
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Long
Shooters are like Spearmen and Gunners in Strength, range, and move rate.
Shooters are also cheaper than Gunners, but more expensive than Spearmen.
All in all, they're still great to have around. Dump them if Spearmen become
available.
- Spearmen
Strength: 150
Price: 20
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Long
For a mere 20 gold, Spearmen are the best cheap unit in the game, bar none.
They're also in the running for the most useful 5th Unit, period. If there
are some up for grabs, take them. They, like archers, do not take damage when
they attack other units. They're basically an extra set of archers, but with
a better move rate.
- Warriors:
Strength: 180
Price: 60
Move Rate: 3
Attack Range: Short
Warriors are essentially lancers but more expensive. They're still great
units though. Get them if it's affordable and lancers aren't available.
- Wyverns
Strength: 150
Price: 60
Move Rate: 3*
Attack Range: Short
The asterisk by move rate is because Wyverns have a movement ability unique
to only them and Gargoyles. They can FLY. They fly over obstacles like
fences, trees, and rivers. Sneaking up on enemies is a pinch with Wyverns,
and they're quite strong too. In short, I love Wyverns. They're quite pricy
though, so I usually can't hold onto them forever unless I'm in a very
wealthy territory. On the plus side, Wyverns lack the rebellious nature of
human 5th Units, which are the only other hired 5th Units that really stack
up in usefulness against the Wyverns.
==========
7.0 Events
----------
_______________________
7.1 Good and Bad Events
To the first-time gamer, Events may look like random occurences with minor
bonuses or demerits. However, while the effects are somewhat randomized, the
frequency of events is not that random, and the player's control on these
events can be harnessed to his or her advantage.
The almighty Develop command, which should be used regardless of its effect on
events, encourages good events to happen. Development is the sign of moral
rulers in Gemfire, and morality is rewarded. Constant development across the
player's many territories will have good things occuring on a constant basis.
Bad events sometimes are not avoidable. Sometimes they are. The Protection
stat decreases the frequency of bad events in that territory, as well as
lessens the negative effect of those events. A high Protection stat has its
uses, in other words.
Events that affect the lord of a territory that occur in a province controlled
by "You" actually affect the ruler of the family. This provides the only good
reason in the game to NOT have a vassal in charge of a territory. Having
remotely-controlled territories developing like machines is the fastest way
to pump a ruler's stats.
Here's a list of the good and bad events, and their effects.
Good Events
- "Kind redcaps cast good spells in (territory)."
The territory's Cultivation stat increases.
- "A unicorn empowered the ruler of (territory)."
The lord of the territory gets a boost in his or her Domestic and Military
stats. One of my favorite events.
- "A Pastha offered to fight for (territory)."
The Pastha becomes an available 5th Unit in that territory. See the 5th Unit
section for details. (6.3)
- "An elvish troubador sang praises of (territory)."
That territory's Loyalty stat inceases.
- "A Leprechaun left a small pot of gold in (territory)."
The territory gets an unimpressive amount of gold.
- "A Far Garta gathered food for (territory)."
The territory gets an unimpressive amount of food.
- "A fairy rounded up troops for (territory)."
The territory gets an unimpressive amount of troops.
- "A Gwraig brought a charm to the ruler of (territory)."
The lord of the territory gets a boost in his or her Charm stat.
- "Airial calmed stormy winds headed for (territory)."
Increases Protection.
Bad Events
- "Durahan rode through (territory) with the Shadow of Death."
The territory's Protection stat falls. Same as a Banshee.
- "Black Annis frightened the people of (territory)."
The territory's Loyalty stat falls.
- "A Banshee brought an evil omen to (territory)."
The territory's Protection stat falls. Same as Durahan.
- "Mischievous pixies dug up the fields in (territory)."
The territory's Cultivation stat falls.
- "The (5th Unit) went on a rampage, ravaging the land in (territory)."
The territory's Loyalty, Cultivation, AND Protection falls. Mega ouch. This
seems to happen most often in states with hired Orks, although I've also seen
Olog-Hai go on a rampage many times.
- "Hobgoblins stole from (territory.)"
The territory loses a small amount of gold.
- "Auguskiegies gobbled up food in (territory)."
The territory loses a small amount of food.
- "A shrieker scared troops in (territory)."
The territory loses a small number of troops.
- Heavy Snow
Randomly affects the northern territories. Occurs once per year in the month
of December. Causes damage to Permanent State Stats.
- Flooding
Randomly affects the Eastern and Southeastern territories. Occurs once per
year in the month of June. Causes damage to Permanent State Stats.
- Fire
Randomly affects the Western territories. Occurs once per year in the month
of September. Causes damage to Permanent State Stats.
- Earthquake
Randomly affects the Southwestern territories. Occurs once per year in the
month of March. Causes damage to Permanent State Stats.
- Plague
Much like the other seasonal bad events, except Plague occurs every season,
and can affect any territory. It strikes in December, March, June, and
September. States are affected negatively. Damn that plague.
_________
7.2 Death
One special event that does not occur randomly is family death. When a
character reaches the ripe old age of 75, they die. Sometimes they die a few
months sooner, sometimes a few months later, but they die.
Character stats will increase slightly each year until the age of 60. After 60,
a character's stats will start to decrease until they die.
(Thanks to Black Turtle for pointing this out.)
Death can technically be prevented. When a character is scheduled to die,
there is a small chance they won't die that particular month, but the
likelihood of death does not decrease on a monthly basis. So to keep someone
alive at the age of 75, the player would have to save the game every month and
reload at the end of a turn if the vassal in question dies.
So what happens when a family ruler dies and there are no heirs left? Well
first of all, there is no chance in Hell that this event could occur unless the
player were blatantly manipulating the game to make it happen. The game would
have to go on for almost 30 years for something to happen, when it takes 7-10
years to win the game.
The same rules apply as if all the heirs had been Banished. The lords become
rulers of their own new families, and remotely ruled territories become
unclaimed. What happens if that family had a Gem? That, I'm not sure of. Since
no family would be directly responsible for the crumbling of the family, I am
not sure where the Gems would go.
=============================
8.0 Additional Things to Know
-----------------------------
Game mechanics aside, there are a few tips and strategies to keep in mind.
________________
8.1 General Tips
- Defect early and defect often.
Almost as soon as the player starts the game, it's possible to obtain one or
two new territories simply by defecting unloyal lords. Some lords are rather
stubborn but might change their mind later after the player has obtained more
power. Try to defect people at least once every other year.
- Check food prices every month.
Unless the player wants to make the game harder for himself, there's no
excuse for not checking the Trade prices. Sell most of the food when prices
are high and spend most of the gold when prices are low. It fluctuates from
month to month sometimes, so don't miss a crucial price change.
- Don't attack a territory unless there will be enough troops left to defend.
Gemfire is like a game of chess. Knocking off another chess piece just
because the player can isn't always the best idea. Being left vulnerable is
worse than not attacking. Make sure there are enough troops built up to
defend the territory they're coming from and the territory they're going to.
- Bide time to develop the land.
There should almost never be a turn wasted in Gemfire. Cultivation and
Protection only cost 10 gold each, so if there's nothing better to do,
keep developing. The extra return from food come September will be worth it.
- Don't deal with the enemy Gems if it can be avoided.
The reason other 5th Units in the game exist is because Gems have to take
time to recharge between battles. If possible, wait until the enemy has
already been in a battle with another player. Eselred's army is a lot easier
to deal with the month after he uses his Dragon Gem to fend off an attack
from someone else.
__________________
8.2 The ROM Glitch
Anyone playing Gemfire on their SNES console can skip this section.
For those playing on an emulator, there is a particular part of the game that
makes Gemfire glitch and can freeze gameplay. It is not the fault of currupt
ROMs, simply an error that can occur. There is an easy fix for it though, so
anyone can play Gemfire normally on an emulator as if they were playing on
their console.
Anytime a computer player attacks another computer player, the sound may stop
on some emulators. While the loss of sound may not seem like a big deal, it
signifies that the glitch has kicked in. While the sound is frozen, if the
player either tries to attack another family, or another family attacks him or
her, the game will freeze. That is to say, the screen will go black before
battle starts and there's no way around it but to reset the game.
There's are two simple ways around this though.
If the game has already glitched, but the player is about to enter battle in
one way or another, save the game using the in-game save feature. Save Stating
will NOT fix it. Then, reset the game. Load the game manually, and the sound
should be back the way it's supposed to be. Voila, the player will be able to
attack his enemies once again.
An even easier way around it is to simply turn off the sound before the game
glitches, using the in-game sound option on the pause menu. That is, turn off
the sound while it's still working. Don't wait until after the sound has frozen
to turn the sound off. Otherwise, the glitch needs to be fixed with the first
method. Turning off the sound at the beginning of the game means the game will
never freeze. However, the player will also be deprived of any of the game's
music and sound effects. Keep that in mind when choosing a method.
__________________________________________
8.3 Beat the Game with a Non-Default Ruler
Finally mastered the game? Tired of playing with the same old people? Try this
nifty little trick. It's possible to beat the game with someone other than
Erin, Ander, Garth, Lars, Erik, Leander, Terian, Gweyn, Loryn, or Eadric.
If the ruler of a family is banished from Ishmeria, a successor will then
become the ruler of said family. There are only a select number of people who
are eligible to take over a family. This is signified by small icon on the
character's profile that resembles a branch of a family tree. This means they
are related by blood to the ruler of the family. If the ruler of a family is
banished when there are no successors, however, the family disbands, and new
families will rise up in its place, headed by a former vassals. If this is the
player's family, that means Gameover.
So all one needs to do to get a new ruler is have their leader banished. The
problem with this is that the computer almost never banishes people they
capture. The solution is to start a two-player game. Have player one be the
family that has the person you want to control. Have player two be some other
family, hopefully one that's very close by. Save the game right when player two
is next to player one's home province. With player one's leader, attack player
two with ONE soldier. Then let player one lose the battle. If player one's
leader isn't captured in the process, load the game and try again. Once the
ruler is captured, banish him. Player one will then be asked to select a new
leader from its list of successors. After that, have player two quit the game.
Then, the computer will take over for player two, and the player will be once
again playing a single-player game, except with a brand new ruler.
The following people can be used to beat the game with this method:
- Wolfen (Lyle family, Scenario 1-4)
- Keyla (Lyle family, Scenario 2-4)
- Randal (Lyle family, Scenario 3)
- Pender (Blanche family, Scenario 1-3)
- Anselm (Blanche family, Scenario 1-2)
- Karl (Blanche family, Scenario 1-4)
- Arkin (Blanche family, Scenario 2-3)
- Elgis (Chrysalis family, Scenario 1)
- Sarthe (Chrysalis family, Scenario 1)
- Fuster (Molbrew family, Scenario 2)
- Bryan (Tate family, Scenario 3)
- Anise (Tate family, Scenario 3)
- Alex (Tordin family, Scenario 3)
So for all the equal opportunists out there, Gweyn isn't the only female
capable of reuniting Gemfire. Keyla and Anise are also up for the challenge,
even though Anise is only 15 years old at the start of her game!
==============
9.0 Miscellany
--------------
_______________
9.1 Legal Stuff
This FAQ is Copyright 2004-2005 by me. Any use of this FAQ without my
explicit permission will be in a world of trouble, and I will find out if that
happens. Gemfire is the Copyright product of KOEI and distributed by Nintendo.
I am not in anyway affiliated with KOEI or Nintendo. This FAQ is solely for
non-profit use.
_______________
9.2 Emailing Me
I'd love to hear any commentary or questions about the FAQ. I can be reached
at
[email protected]
If there is something missing or wrong with the FAQ, please feel free to email
me and I'll try to fix it. Also if you have a question that is not addressed in
the FAQ, I will try to help you answer it. Also, if you wish to post this
guide somewhere besides GameFAQs, please email me and ask permission. I'll
probably say yes.
Do NOT ask me where to get a copy of the ROM. These emails will go straight
into the trash.
___________________
9.3 Version History
- 12/24/04 - v1.0 First edition of the FAQ is submitted to GameFAQs
- 12/30/04 - v2.0 Big update so soon after publishing. Fixed a bunch of typos.
Reworded some of the intro. Added four more events. Added the "Captured
Leaders" section. Added the "Death" section. Made a big correction on the
Loyalty stat. Added an important footnote to the Search command. Fixed info
on changing Home Province in both the Attack command section and the
Change Lord command section.
- 11/15/05 - v2.1 Based on feedback, I've made several important corrections.
I've added facts about releasing vassals and aging. I also finally have the
list of Searchable items, which is the most important omission from the FAQ.
With that added, I am now considering the FAQ to be complete, the ultimate
source for how to master Gemfire. This means this could be the last update.
__________________
9.4 Special Thanks
Thanks to Black Turtle for giving me some corrections on remotely controlled
provinces and the Red Cap event. Also thanks for telling me about aging stats.
Thanks to "i like cheeze" for telling me about how releasing vassals lowers
their military strength.
Thanks to the MANY people who emailed me about the Searchable items.
Special Thanks goes to KOEI for making such a fantastic game.
Thanks to Blockbuster Video for first introducing this game to me 12 years ago.
I have played this game to death since then, and this FAQ would not be here if
it weren't for that franchise.
Thanks also goes out to GameFAQs for being one of the greatest resources on
the internet.
_______________________________________________
Gemfire FAQ (c) 2004-2005 John "TIDQ" Robertson
