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Genghis Kahn II: Clan of the Grey Wolf (SNES)
A Guide by Greg Hartman
Contact: good_catholic_boy /at/ yahoo /dot/ com
aolim: goodcatholicboy9
-if you are lame, don't bother contacting me
-if using email, please indicate in the subject that you are asking me
about this guide. very rarely do i bother opening emails from people i
don't know that have blank subject lines. If contacting me via my aol
screen name, be warned that i check it sporadically so I very well might
not get your message. Email probably works best.
-the only language i can speak with any degree of clarity is english.
please, if you are contacting me, do so in english (although if you require
an answer that is only half-intelligible, german might work also).
definitely do not bother emailing me in any other language; i won't even
respond.
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Version History
Version 1.00 (06/09/04)
-first version of guide
Version 1.01 (06/14/04)
-proofreading, some minor clarifications throughout
Version 1.02 (06/16/04)
-proofreading, a minor correction
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Contents:
I. Introduction
II. Starting a Game
III. The Command Screen
IV. War
V. Misc. Tips
VI. Credits
VII. Legal
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I. Introduction
Genghis Kahn II is a strategy game that is roughly contemporary to
Romance of the Three Kingdoms II and Nobunaga's Ambition II, but focuses
instead on global domination (at least in the old world sense) around the
12th century. The game is loosely centered around Genghis Kahn, who, as
you probably remember from history class, unified the Mongol tribes and
then set out to conquer his neighbors.
As a player, you have the ability to take the place of any number of
rulers during this time period in order to prevent Mongolian expansion
through conquest of your own. The nations you can control vary
geographically from Britain to Japan with several options in between.
Like most of its predecessors, all gameplay is turn-based, with each game
turn representing a season. The game ends when your kingdom either
conquers the world or is destroyed by its neighbors.
Ultimately, the game represents a mostly successful incarnation of
these goals. Of course, like most strategy simulations of the time period
the game has its flaws, but a gamer with a well trained eye will be able to
overlook these faults to enjoy what Genghis Kahn II has to offer. A final
note with respect to this guide is to mention that it was made using the
SNES version of the game, so if there are any differences between your
version and this one, it very well may be accounted for in slight
variations between the versions.
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II. Starting a Game
There are four scenarios from which you can choose to play. The
fourth scenario is unavailable until you successfully complete the 1st
by the end of 1214.
1. Mongol Conquest - This scenario is different from all the others in that
you play on a map of Mongolia, rather than on the regular world map. There
are four different tribes that you can select. Undeniably, the two easiest
forces in this scenario are either the Mongols (province 1) or the Naimans
(provinces 12 and 14). The Naimans are only fair in the talent department,
but they are the only tribe that starts out with two territories. On top
of this, their lands are positioned in such a way that it is very easy
for them to expand quickly. The Mongols, on the other hand have a pretty
good ruler in Temujin (aka Genghis Kahn) and have a bunch of capable
officers. The only problem is that they start out in a district that is
surrounded by enemies. The Keriats (province 7), on the other hand,
start out in a less than ideal district and without any very talented
officers. The Jaradans are likewise more of a challenge, because although
their ruler is quite good, they start only with a single crummy officer and
few troops. If you succeed in conquering the entire country by 1214, you
will be able to select 8 generals and then proceed to the world conquest
scenario. You will also permanently unlock the scenario, but Genghis Kahn
will be the default ruler of Mongolia.
2. Genghis Kahn (1206) - This scenario, like all of the following, takes
place on the world map. Generally, this time period is fairly well
balanced. Of the rulers you can play, John I starts out very nicely
protected in isolated England. He also has some decent generals, but he
personally is generally pretty lousy with a D in politics. His people also
tend not to like him. He's certainly still worth playing though. Phillip
II in France is also a good choice. He starts with good officers, and he
personally is an excellent leader, with an A in politics and Bs in all other
categories. Genghis Kahn in Mongolia starts with a ton of good generals,
a fairly large army, and a capabable ruler. The only downside is that he
is already 44. He does have 4 capable sons, but none are really skilled in
politics and don't match their father in other areas. Ala al- Din of the
Khorezem Empire is doable, but he starts in a really rough area and
expanding will certainly be difficult. His one child, once made a general,
is pretty good. Ghuri of the Ghore Sultanate is the only selectable ruler
with more than one district, and this generally makes up for his rather
poor generals. Finally, Minamoto in Japan is also a fairly balanced
choice. He has decent generals, and the islands of Japan are fairly well
protected from the outside. He also starts with an army of samurai.
Again, almost any ruler in this scenario is about as good as another.
3. Yuan Dynasty (1271) - This scenario has much less parity than the
the former. The Yuan Dynasty, ruled by Kublai Khan, is by far the most
powerful force on the map. They also start with a plenty of good officers
and well-developed lands. Kublai Kahn's children, however, are only of
medium-low quality. Kublai Khan himself, on the other hand, is quite good.
The Kamakura Shoganate based in Japan is a tough play simply by virtue of
being so close to such a powerhouse. Their ruler, Hojo, doesn't help
matters much by having a D in politics. Over on the other side of Eurasia,
Charles I in Italy is a playable choice, if only by virtue of his own
personal stats. His son is laughably average. Having only one country
also doesn't help. Michael VIII is an even more difficult choice, since
he isn't as good at ruling as Charles, and his officers are few in number
and low in ability. He also starts in an area close to other more powerful
forces. The Il-Kahn empire is geographically the second largest compared
to the Yuan Dynasty, and is also a sound choice. Abaga is a decent ruler,
but his son really stinks politically. The Mameluke Sultanate is also a
possibility, although again successor problems can develop.
4. World Conquest (1185) - Very similar to the second scenario, except that
you can select some different rulers. Richard I is ruling in England, but
he is a fairly tough play, since abandoning his country to fight in the
crusades has earned him an E in politics. He still has some decent
officers though, and England remains a geographically safe region to expand
out from, so don't completely reject playing as him. Frederick I of the
(Holy) Roman Empire is a slightly tougher choice, due to his old age,
average successors, and a tougher geographical starting point. Isaacius II
in the Balkans has a similar problem, although he is slightly younger, and
his children slightly better. Unfortunately, he starts closer to the
powerful Ayyubids, so he is no cakewalk either. The Ayyubids, for their
part, have two powerful countries and a very good leader in Salah al-Din.
The only downside is that he is middle aged and without any capable
successor. The Mongols are similar to their status in the second scenario,
but all of their followers are younger. They are still a very good choice.
Last, but not least, is the fairly powerful Kamakura Shogunate. They have
pretty good officers and a fine leader in Minamoto, so, given their solid
geographical position, they should present no real difficulty.
After you have finished selecting your ruler and the scenario, you
will be asked whether or not you want to view wars in which your kingdom's
ruler is not directly involved. For the most part, this is a matter of
personal preference, but be warned that simulated battles are skewed very
much in favor of the attacker. Battles you actually do watch, on the
other hand, leave a much larger chance for a successful defense. Next you
will be asked if you wish to view combat between units. This is *much*
more time consuming than simply watching wars. No matter what, if your
ruler's unit is attacked, you will watch the combat between the units.
Generally, for expediency's sake, i leave this set to no, but again, it's
a matter of personal preference. Definitely set it to no if you plan on
using a lot of units with bows and don't have many arms/arrows. Also
definitely set it to no if you are using an army with 3 long distance units
and only one melee unit, because that unit stinks unless you simulate the
battle. If you are looking to win as quickly as possible, set both to
'no' and read the misc. tips section at the end of this guide.
Having decided that, you are thrusted into command of your particular army.
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II. The command screen
As soon as the computer decides it is your nation's turn for the
particular season, you will be brought to the main country command screen.
If you have an advisor, he will ask you if you want to issue orders
yourself. If you hit no, your advisor will propose some activities, and
you will be able to choose to allow him to do them or not. Unless you are
very lazy, you should almost always issue orders yourself, unless your
ruler has very poor politics and very few body points. Hitting 'Yes' will
bring up a menu of commands, but first an explanation of the numbers on the
screen:
In the upper left corner will be a portrait of your ruler and his name.
Since he is your nation's ruler (and is thus in his own bloodline) he will
have a little crown next to his name. Next to his portrait is a small
picture of a torso with a number next to it. The number next to it is the
amount of body points he currently has. These are expended whenever he
does an action, based on his politics level. See the section on character
stats for more information.
Below your ruler's portrait is another portrait. If you have an advisor,
this will be his picture, and his name will be listed underneath it. If
you don't have an advisor, a picture will still be there, but it will just
be a random schmoe, and he won't have a name listed.
In the upper right corner is a white box with the current season and year.
Below this is the current rate multiplier for the game's 4 types of
merchants. This is only a general reflection of prices, as different
traders are willing to pay different amounts for different goods. More on
this later.
In the box centered on the bottom of the screen is a wealth of information
about your territory. This can be toggled by pressing either L or R on
your controller. In the first page:
1. (top left - gold coin picture) - gold you have in your province. Gold
is used to hire and salary troops, buy food, specialties, or arms, pacify
the people, or to give as tribute to other rulers. The max is 9999. The
number in red (or green) next to your gold supply indicates the season's
change. Every unit must be payed 10 gold per season, and your nation
collects taxes every spring. You can also gain gold by extorting it from
other rulers or by selling food or specialties to a merchant, if they are
present. If you do not have enough gold to pay your troops, a portion of
them will desert. Make sure you always have enough money.
2. (left middle - meat picture) - the amount of food you have in your
territory. Food is used to feed your people and your troops when they are
in battle. You can also sell it for money or give it to the people to
raise their loyalty. The number next to it is the seasonal change, red is
negative, green is positive. You gain food by having the population
devote its labor to herding and also by a harvest every autumn that is
based on your nations's population and its agricultural development. If
you don't have enough food to meet the seasonal change, your people will
become very unhappy and are likely to rise in revolt. If an army in the
field runs out of food, the soldiers will slowly start to desert. You can
buy food from the merchant, usually at about 1*(market rate)/per unit of
food. The max is 9999.
3. (left bottom - picture of people and a house) - the amount of civilian
population living in your territory. This rises over time slowly and also
increases when you disband troops at a rate of 200*x where x is the amount
of units you disband. Higher populations increase a territory's
development more quickly and also produce more output from herding and
specialties production. Drafting troops or disasters such as the plague
will lower it. Warfare, particularly warfare fought primarily in towns,
will also lower it. The max is 9999.
4. (middle top - picture of a blue bag and a gold piece) - the commercial
development of your territory. The maximum is 200. The higher the
commercial development, the more money the area produces from taxes in the
spring. Warfare or disasters lower it. Allocating a high proportion of
the population to construction increases it, as does raising the nation's
population in total numbers, or having your advisor invest gold in its
development. Certain cultures are more likely to have high economies.
5. (middle center - picture of wheat) - the agricultural development of
your country. Higher agriculture increases the annual harvest in the fall.
It goes up if you increase the proportion of the population working in the
fields and also increases as the total population does. Disasters and
warfare lower it. It also increases relative to the climate in the
country. Very arid climates generally have much lower agricultural
development than do more moist ones. Finally, your advisor can invest
a small amount of gold to temporarily raise your agriculture. The max is
200.
6. (middle bottom - picture of a king yelling at someone) - the people's
loyalty towards your kingdom. The higher this number is, the faster the
area develops and the less likely the populace is to rise in revolt. It
increases when you give money, food, or specialties to the people, and
decreases when you draft or disband soldiers, collect a special tax,
your nation is attacked/hit by a disaster, or you don't have enough food
to meet the seasonal change. If it falls to around 30, you should be
prepared for a rebellion.
To the far right is a picture that is supposed to represent the territory's
culture and below that is the weather of the region. First the culture:
1. Western Europe - represented by a castle with high spires. This
stretches from spain, up to England and east up into Germany. Commerce and
farming both develop well, although commerce increases slightly more
quickly. Don't bother herding much in these regions. (< 5%)
2. Eastern Europe - represented with a more square looking castle.
Stretches from the Balkans northward and then eastward into the Ukraine.
Generally, this is very similar to Western Europe, but agriculture improves
faster than does commerce.
3. Middle East - All of north Africa, Asia Minor, as well as what is today
referred to as the Middle East. Represented by a picture of pyramids.
Depending on the climate of the region, agriculture might still be
relatively successful, but in the more arid sections, herding might be
more profitable. Commerce increases fairly quickly in these regions.
4. India - represented by a building with an onion shaped dome. This
area is only present in the areas of what is today India, Pakistan, and
Bangladesh (which is territories 21, 22, and 23) and also in the region
of SE Asia that is today Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia etc (territory 14).
In the wetter southern regions, agriculture increases slightly more
quickly, but otherwise the economy and the fields develop fairly closely.
5. Central Asia - represented by a small building, some mountains, and
birds in the sky. This region expands from the area east of the Ukraine
and down to the limits of India (territories, 2, 8, 7, and 3). Tibet
is included as well (territory 9) The weather is generally very arid, and
agriculture does not develop well. Commerce develops fairly slowly too, but
can still do marginally well. You might want to have some people engaged
in herding.
6. Mongolia - represented by two small huts. Both farming and commerce
develop slowly and have low maximum values. This is one of the few areas
where it pays to devote some of the population to herding. Only Mongolia
has this culture.
7. China - represented by a picture of the Great Wall. All of Korea as
well as areas 4, 5, 12, and 13. By far the best and most productive
culture. Commerce and agiculture increase very quickly. Definitely do
not waste time herding here.
8. Japan - represented by a Japanese style pagoda. Commerce does not
develop very well, but agriculture does. Allows you to hire Samuruai
units. The only place with this culture is the island of Japan.
Climates:
Note: I am _much_ less sure about these.
Df - Cool, dry regions
Dw - Warm, dry regions
B - Arid regions
A - Hot, wet regions
Cs - Temperate Mediterranean type weather
Cw - Temperate dry weather
Cfb - Temperate wet weather
Cfa - Temperate very wet weather?
Whatever the abbreviations are, they don't make any sense to me.
Hitting R or L will change the contents of this box. The new information
is:
(top left - picture of wheat) - the percentage of the population engaged in
farming. The higher this is, the faster the fields will develop.
(middle left - picture of a sheep) - the percentage of the population
engaged in herding. The higher this is, the more food that will be
produced every season from herding.
(bottom left - picture of a gift) - the percentage of the population
currently engaged in producing the territory's specialty good. A picture
of the good is next to the number.
(middle top - picture of two houses) - the percentage of the population
currently engaged in construction. The higher this is, the faster the
economy and defense of the area will increase.
(middle center - picture of a wall) - defense of this territory. This
value assigns a certain advantage to units that are fortified in either
a castle, city or fort on the battlefield map. The higher the number, the
bigger the advantage.
(top right - picture of two soldiers) - the number of military units
currently stationed in this area. The maximum is 20.
(middle right - picture of a spear and shield) - the arms level of the
troops currently stationed in this territory. The maximum is 100. The
higher the arms level of troops, the more effective they are in battle and
the more projectiles they will have available for long range attacks.
(bottom right - picture of two soldiers with swords outstretched) - the
training level of the troops currently stationed in this country. The
maximum is 100. The higher the training level of troops, the greater their
mobility and quality in battle.
There will also be a menu of options on the right. These are the commands
you can carry out. In describing these commands, I will be using body
point totals assuming your ruler has a politics rating of C, as this is
the middle ground. Simply add 2 if you ruler has an E, and 1 if he has
a D. Likewise, subtract 2 if he has an A and 1 if he has a B.
Example: My C politics ruler trains troops at a cost of 5 body points, but
a ruler with A in politics would do it for 3.
A. Policy commands
1. (two scrolls and a star) - set policies - body point cost: 6 - Set
comprehensive policies for a state to follow. Obviously, you can only do
this to areas within your own empire. This is the only way you can
control provinces that are ruled by someone who is not your ruler. After
selecting this command, the first thing you'll have to do is set the
allocation of labor in the territory. In all but a few regions, you'll
generally want to minimize the amount of herding, as it does not really
help that much. If you divide the remainder fairly evenly you'll probably
be fine.
Next you'll set the overall policy for the territory, either
domestic, military, economic, or balanced. In practice I am unsure about
the differences between economic and domestic. I usually select domestic
because it doesn't feel as though it changes much in the long run anyway.
After that you'll have to set the investment area. Note that this only
works in states that have advisors, because only they can use the invest
command. Really, this does not seem to be a critical decision either, just
pick whichever arena you'd rather see develop more quickly (I generally
stick with economy). The next decision is military policy, either
quantity, quality, arms, or balanced. There is a huge difference between
quantity and quality, and generally if this is a border state, you want
quantity. Otherwise, you are better off selecting quality, in order to
prevent non border states from amassing huge armies and then rebelling.
With this command, the computer will focus on training the existing
soldiers rather than hiring new ones. I almost never ask them to focus on
buying arms, because I would rather be able to have them move money around
rather than spending on arms for soldiers that probably won't see much
action. Finally, you will set the diplomatic policy. Another state in
your empire that you don't control directly will never attack another
state unless you set the policy to invade. If you set it to extort, the
other state will occasionally demand tribute, but won't invade. Choosing
coexist will cause the computer to more or less ignore diplomacy completely.
I have never bothered to set a policy to submit, and I am unsure why
anyone would really want that as their diplomatic policy. Generally, if
you are concerned about the computer over expanding, set this policy to
extort or coexist.
2. (picture of a scroll and a man in blue) - advisor policies - body point
cost: 7 - If you use this command your advisor will create new policies
for the selected state. After he has proposed his suggested policies you
can change them as you see fit. There is really little reason to ever use
this command, because it uses more body points than just doing it yourself,
and you also won't have to go through changing his dopey policies. It is
rare that your advisor will come up with fantastic policies.
3. (picture of an unfurled scroll) - change policies - body point cost: 3 -
This command allows you to change a single policy of a state without
expending the high body point cost of completely re-writing them. You can
only use it on a state that already has policies decreed to it.
4. (picture of an unfurled scroll crossed out) - delegate - body point
cost: 3 - cancels all policies for a state and allows the governor to
rule as he wishes.
*Important notes for policies*
If a governor does not have enough body points to change labor allocation
in his territory, it does not matter what you set his labor allocation to,
since he won't ever be able to change it. Generally, if you want to avoid
this make sure that you always appoint someone as governor who has at least
10 body points if they have an E in politics. Also, note that a state that
you just conquer (or reconquer in case of rebellion) defaults to delegated
control, so the first thing you will probably want to do is write some
policies for it.
B. Domestic Commands
1. (picture of four people) - allocate labor - body point cost: 7 -
allocate the labor of your particular territory. This is the only way to
actually change it when you are in your home province. You can only
control the allocation of labor in other states in your empire through
setting policies.
2. (picture of a man handing a king a box) - collect a special tax - body
point cost: 10 - demand your people give you a special payment of money.
You can enter the amount to demand. Your people's loyalty will drop. The
amount of tax that you can collect is the amount of people living in your
territory/10+1. Note that you don't simply round up the last figure, you
always add one and drop the decimal.
3. (picture of a king handing a man a box) - give to the people - body
point cost: 8 - give either food, gold, or specialty items to the people
in order to raise their loyalty. I think that your ruler's charm effects
how effective these gifts are. Obviously, the more you give your people,
the greater the increase in their loyalty.
C. Order Commands
1. (picture of a sword and a horse) - order an attack - body point cost: 5 -
order a vassal state to attack an enemy on its next turn. As long as your
governor has enough food, gold, and body points to do so, he will carry
out your order, even if going to war would be suicide. Note also that if
the state has only about 200 gold it won't warn you first - it'll just
attack with all it can afford to send (4 units). It is prudent to examine
a state closely so as to avert embarrassing defeats before ordering it to
attack.
2. (picture of a bag and an arrow) - send order - body point cost: 4 -
order a vassal state to send another territory within your empire a set
amount of either food or gold. As long as your governor has enough body
points to do so, he should carry out the order on his next turn.
3. (picture of a horse and an arrow) - move order - body point cost: 4 -
order a vassal state to move troops to another territory within your
empire. As long as his area has troops to move and the governor has enough
body points, he will carry out your order on his next turn.
4. (picture of two men shaking hands) - order diplomacy - body point cost: 6
- order a vassal state to either demand tribute or surrender from a
neighboring territory. As long as your governor has enough body points, he
should carry out the order on his next turn.
D. Diplomacy Commands
1. (picture of a king with a sword) - demand surrender - body point cost: 7
- demand the surrender of a neighboring force. Once you select the state,
you'll have to select an officer to send to make the negotiation. In my
experience, I seem to have the best results with officers with high charm,
but I could be imagining this. It really doesn't hurt to try this command,
because it is entirely possible to convince some opponents to surrender to
you, even if they are still capable of putting up a fight.
2. (picture of two flags and an = ) - forge alliance - body point cost: 6
- ask a neighboring state to enter into a period of alliance with your
empire. Alliances can be anywhere from one to eight years, and are
impossible to cancel. They are good ways to secure yourself on a
particular front so as to concentrate on another enemy. Again, try to
send someone with high charm to negotiate the alliance.
3. (picture of a king and a gold coin) - demand tribute - body point cost: 6
- demand a neighoring country pay you tribute. If they accept they will
send you a fraction of their money. Send your officer with the highest
charm.
E. Person Commands
1. (picture of a man sitting in a chair) - appoint a governor - body point
cost:6 - this command allows you to appoint a governor to one of your
vassal states. Generally, the most important characteristic to look for
in a governor is his politics ability, since this is what controls how
many actions he can take in a turn. On the other hand, rebellions are
quite common, so you are much better off entrusting a state to an officer
who is related to you in some compacity, either by marriage or by blood,
as they will never betray you. I have read somewhere (I don't know where)
that officers with higher political ability are more likely to rebel, but
I am unsure myself if this is true.
2. (picture of a man with a small crown) - make prince a general - body
point cost: 5 - this command allows you to make one of your sons an active
general. You need to have a son who is at least 10 years old in order to
use this command. For some reason a son can never become an advisor.
3. (picture of a man in a robe and a funny hat) - appoint or dismiss an
advisor - body point cost: 6 - you will then have to choose between an
arrow up and an arrow down. There is no reason to ever dismiss an advisor
unless you are appointing a new one, and if you appoint an advisor to a
territory that already has one this will happen automatically. You should
try to make sure that every state has an advisor. An advisor will only
give advice on alliances and other diplomacy if they have a B or better in
their Politics stat.
4. (picture of a girl) - arrange marriage - body point cost: 4 - marry a
daughter off to another general in order to ensure his loyalty. You must
have a daughter who is at least 10 years old in order to use this command.
An officer who is related to you by marriage will never rebel and seize
power himself.
5. (picture of a guy) - appoint or dismiss general - body point cost: 5 -
either raise a local man and promote him to general or dismiss a current
general and send him wandering the countryside. If you are just starting
out, there is a chance that if you try to promote an officer you will find
one that is fairly skilled. Later in the game, however, if you use this
command you are very likely to find officers that have E's in everything
and 5 body points. Unless you need to make room in order to make a son a
general, you will probably never need to dismiss anyone.
6. (picture of a heart) - spend time with family - body point cost: 5 -
visit your wife and any children you have that are older than 10. It is
important to do this fairly often so that your wife will continue to bang
out children that you can either make generals or marry off to somebody to
ensure that they will remain loyal to you. If your ruler passes away
without a male successor, the game is over. Note also that only a son can
succeed your ruler, and not a son-in-law. Thus boy children are more
valuable than girls.
F. Market Commands (only accessible if a merchant is in your territory)
1. (picture of an arrow going into a house) - sell goods - body point cost: 4
- sell goods to a merchant based on the rate. The higher the rate, the
more money you will fetch for your goods. Certain merchants also are
willing to pay more money for certain goods. For the most part, you can
use common sense and supply and demand to determine who will pay the most
for your goods. For example, the Venetian merchant will pay a lot for
spices, and the Islamic merchant will pay a lot for textiles. Note also
that all your territories produce specialty goods and they all are
collected into one large pool that only the ruler (and not any governor
with delegated control) can sell.
2. (picture of two soldiers) - hire mercenaries - body point cost: 4 - hire
some mercenaries to fight for your army. The cost is variable based upon
the current market rate. Also note that different merchants have different
units available. Unless prices are very low (.5 or .6) it is cheaper to
draft units, but mercenary units don't lower your population or people's
loyalty and come better trained and equipped than do conscripts.
3. (picture of an arrow going away from a house) - buy goods - body point
cost: 4 - buy goods from a merchant. The price for particular goods varies
depending on the merchant and the current market rate.
G. War Commands
1. (picture of a sword and a horse) - war - body point cost: 6 - attack a
neighboring territory. You will first be asked if you wish to command the
army yourself. If you select no and do not have watch battles set to 'on'
then the battle will be simulated, otherwise you will watch the battle with
no command over it. If you choose to go personally you will have control
over the battle. Next, your advisor will ask you if you wish to form the
units for the battle yourself. If you agree to, you'll assign paticular
troops into units, with a maximum of 4 groups per unit. Deploying one unit
costs the territory fifty gold. You'll also have to choose a commander for
each unit after the first. Finally, you'll be asked how much gold and food
to send with the troops. Gold is unnecessary on the battlefield, but, of
course food is not. Each group of troops can carry 200 food and consumes
about 10 food per day. Send enough food so that you can be assured you
will not run out on the battlefield. For more info on waging war, see
section IV.
2. (picture of 2 soldiers) - draft - body point cost: 4 - draft soldiers
from the local population. Depending on the region in which your
territory is located you will be able to draft different soldiers. This
is usually the cheapest way to augment your army (unless prices are
exceedingly low) but it also lowers the area's population and people's
loyalty.
3. (picture of an arrow an a horse) - move troops - body point cost: 5 -
this command allows you to move either your ruler or a group of soldiers
into a neighboring friendly territory. If move your ruler, the old
governor of the territory into which you are moving will replace you in
the original state.
4. (picture of two soldiers with swords outstretched) - train troops - body
point cost: 5 - train the soldiers in your home base. The training level
will increase. The fewer troops you are training and the higher your
ruler's war, the bigger the increase in fighting skill.
5. (picture of a bag with an arrow) - move goods - body point cost: 4 -
send either food or money to another province.
6. (picture of a sad looking soldier and a large X) - dismiss troops - body
point cost: 6 - disband legions of soldiers. The ex soldiers will join
the population of the city and will slightly lower the people's loyalty.
You generally only want to use this command if you already have 20 units
and you want to upgrade by eliminating weak units and replacing them with
powerful ones.
H. Info Commands
Note: none of these use body points, except when you use the 'view another
territory' command to view an enemy's state; it then uses one body point.
1. (picture of a mirror) - view home province - this brings up a new menu
of commands.
a. (hill and flag) - nation data - views the data normally accessible
from the command screen
b. (two flags and an = ) - alliance - shows all the alliances your
nation currently has. The numbers on the flags indicate how much
time is left on the alliance.
c. (man sitting in chair) - views the data of the ruler
*** A quick note about character data
Generals are rated in 4 catagories from A (masterful) to E (incapable):
War - Affects how well the legions in a unit fight. Higher war also
increases the effectiveness of training.
Politics - Probably the most important category, it affects how many body
points it takes to perform an action. A general with an A in politics is
just as useful with 9 body points as a general with a C is with 15.
Leadership - Affects the morale of your troops in battle.
Charm - This affects how useful a guy is in diplomacy. The higher the
better. I imagine it also affects how good a general is at giving food to
the people, but I am less sure about this.
There is also the stat of body points, which controls how many actions a
general can do when he is either ruler or governor. The more body points,
the more actions that can be taken in a particular season. As generals
age, their body points slowly decline (you'll notice your ruler complaining
about his back, or making some comment about how wonderful it would be to
young again). This can be a serious problem if your ruler has a very bad
politics stat, because he can lose points to the point of not being able
to do almost any action, in which case your advisor will be running the
country. (I've had the misfortune to have a general with E politics as
my ruler who was down to 5 body points, a real problem). As body points
continue to decline, a ruler has a much higher chance of passing away.
There is also a picture in the info box: a very large crown indicates that
this general is the ruler, a smaller blue hat indicates that this general
is a governor, a scroll indicates that this general is an advisor, a
sword indicates that this general is a regular officer, and a little plant
indicates that this is a free general ready to be recruited.
***
d. (a man frowning) - view generals who serve you but have no higher
rank. A * indicates he is either your son in law or a brother,
whereas a # indicates that this general is your son.
e. (a man dressed in blue) - view your current advisor
f. (a prince and a girl) - view your children who have been neither
married or promoted to generals. A son who has not yet been promoted
to general cannot succeed his father.
g. (two soldiers) - view the soldiers that are currently stationed in
this territory.
h. (a present) - view all the specialty items your empire currently
possesses. The specialty that is highlighted green is produced
locally.
2. (a picture of a man) - view all generals - lists all your generals and
all their abilities in a handy chart. A crown indicates that a general
is your son, a ring indicates the general is either a son in law or a
brother.
3. (a picture of a telescope) - view another territory - does just that.
If you are viewing one of your own states, it does not cost anything;
otherwise it uses one body point, regardless of your politics stat.
4. (a picture of a man and a house) - view merchants - shows the areas
where the specific merchants are currently trading. A little picture of
a treasure box denotes the state in which the merchant is based. These
territories will always have their own particular merchant present.
5. (a picture of two flags and a hill) - view territories - lists all the
states that are currently under your control, their current gold and food,
the specialty they produce, and the amount of soldiers stationed there.
Additionally, if someone related to you in some way is ruling the nation,
either a ring or a crown will be next to the area's row in the table.
The home province will be highlighted green.
6. (a picture of three pikes) - view troop types - lists all the troops
and their abilities. From top to bottom, these are: short range attack
damage, charge damage, long range attack damage, and defense. If a unit
has no long range attack, it is represented by a star. A rating in red
indicates that the attack has an increased chance of confusing the unit
under attack. Spirit is the base morale of the unit before it is affected
by a commander's leadership rating. The mobility rating is just that, how
far the unit can move. For convenience, I have transcribed these values
below:
Type: Light Infantry
Spirit: 50
Mobility: 6
Close Attack: B
Charge Attack: D
Projectile Attack : 0
Defense: D
Comments: Super cheap, but not that powerful fighting. Great if you need
a paper army to convince the computer not to attack you. Otherwise,
pretty useless unless you are trying to overcome the enemy with numbers
or using a quasi-exploit to win as quickly as possible (see section V).
Type: Heavy Infantry
Spirit: 60
Mobility: 6
Close Attack: B
Charge Attack: D
Projectile Attack : 0
Defense: C
Comments: Better than light infantry, and still not expensive. Unless
you are in China, Pikeman are a better deal.
Type: Pikemen
Spirit: 60
Mobility: 5
Close Attack: B
Charge Attack: B
Projectile Attack : 0
Defense: D
Comments: Cheap, and I prefer these over heavy infantry.
Type: Cannons
Spirit: 30
Mobility: 5
Close Attack: D
Charge Attack: E
Projectile Attack : C + confusion
Defense: E
Comments: Complete crap. Unless you are letting the computer simulate
every battle, don't even think about using these.
Type: Short Bow
Spirit: 60
Mobility: 6
Close Attack: C
Charge Attack: E
Projectile Attack : B
Defense: D
Comments: Pretty cheap, but also pretty useless if you don't keep your
soldiers well armed. Good essentially in the same ways that light
infantry are, either for simulated combat, victory by numbers, or as a
paper army used to convince the computer not to attack you.
Type: Long Bow
Spirit: 60
Mobility: 6
Close Attack: E
Charge Attack: E
Projectile Attack : A
Defense: D
Comments: Better than crossbowmen. I'd rather use these guys than any
other non mounted archery unit.
Type: Crossbow
Spirit: 50
Mobility: 6
Close Attack: D
Charge Attack: E
Projectile Attack : A
Defense: E
Comments: The close range bonus of D compared to longbow's E isn't worth
the lowered defense. If you are using either of these unit types as
skirmishers, you are either out of arrows or out of your mind.
Type: Elephants
Spirit: 60
Mobility: 5
Close Attack: B
Charge Attack: B
Projectile Attack : D
Defense: A
Comments: Good stats, but not that useful. They are also very expensive.
Just about any mounted unit is better.
Type: Catapults
Spirit: 20
Mobility: 5
Close Attack: E
Charge Attack: E
Projectile Attack : A + confusion
Defense: E
Comments: Hmmm. Crap. That 20 rating for spirit isn't a typo.
Definitely use longbowmen before these losers.
Type: Nomads
Spirit: 60
Mobility: 9
Close Attack: C
Charge Attack: C
Projectile Attack : C
Defense: C
Comments: Not bad. Fairly affordable and very versatile. I'd much
rather an army of these guys to elephants.
Type: Lancers
Spirit: 60
Mobility: 8
Close Attack: B
Charge Attack: B
Projectile Attack : 0
Defense: C
Comments: Well, they're better than almost any unit on foot, but that's
about it. In most situations, you are better off with nomads. They're
not a bad choice in China.
Type: Mongols
Spirit: 80
Mobility: 11
Close Attack: B
Charge Attack: B
Projectile Attack : B
Defense: C
Comments: Well, there is a reason this game is titled after a Mongol
leader. These guys are pretty sweet, and they're worth what they cost.
Type: (Horse) Archers
Spirit: 70
Mobility: 10
Close Attack: C
Charge Attack: C
Projectile Attack : A
Defense: D
Comments: I don't really like these guys. They are pretty expensive,
and not that much better than longbowmen. If you have the money though,
the extra mobility is a big advantage.
Type: Mamelukes
Spirit: 70
Mobility: 8
Close Attack: B
Charge Attack: B
Projectile Attack : 0
Defense: B
Comments: Lancers but better in just about every way. They will be your
tanks if you are fighting in the middle east.
Type: Knights
Spirit: 70
Mobility: 7
Close Attack: C
Charge Attack: A
Projectile Attack : 0
Defense: B
Comments: Costly, but still...ok. There isn't much else you can do if you
are fighting in Europe and need powerful units and don't have merchants
around to hire mercenaries.
Type: Samurai
Spirit: 80
Mobility: 8
Close Attack: A
Charge Attack: C
Projectile Attack : C
Defense: C
Comments: These are really my favorite units in the game. Very flexible,
and not that expensive. Overall, they are probably a little weaker than
Mongols, but they're still great.
**************************************
IV. War
Once a war breaks out, you'll come to the war screen, and, provided that
your ruler is involved directly, you will have command of it. Once you
reach the battle map you will be asked if you wish to deploy your units
yourself. Generally, it is best to do this yourself unless you are very
lazy, as it will help to streamline your coming advance (or defense). Note
that inclement weather can effect your soldiers when invading an area that
is experiencing a disaster, otherwise the weather (located in the upper
right) only affects the mobility of your legions.
There are several different commands you are then presented.
A. Battlefield Commands
I. Order (legion) - This command allows you to give specific orders to any
legion under your authority. There are several specific policies:
1. Move - order the legion to move to a specified location
2. Chase - order the legion to chase a particular enemy legion
3. Attack - order a legion to focus on attacking the enemy (rather than
supplying, moving, or ambushing). The legion's movement will remain
delegated to the commander.
4. Ambush - order the legion to ambush in a specific area of the
battlefield map. When a unit is ambushed, most, if not all, of its
units begin the conflict in confused status.
5. Supply - order the legion to supply at a specified location. If you
specify a forrest area, the legion will hunt. If you specify a
town or city and are the attacking force, your legion will pillage
the area for supplies. When defending you can still supply at these
areas, but it is not called pillaging and won't effect the people's
loyalty. Generally, you only need to do this if your legions are
running very low on supplies.
6. Flee - order the legion to attempt to escape from the battlefield.
After you select this command you'll have to choose the area from
which to begin the escape. The numbers over the flag denote to which
allied state the legion will be withdrawing. If the first legion
retreats (or is killed in battle) the other units will automatically
withdraw, but stand a chance of being captured.
II. Reform - Order two legions that are adjacent to each other to swap
units.
III. Talk - Speak with another legion that is neighboring your 1st legion.
If you are adjacent to the enemy's first legion, you will have the
option to propose a truce or to demand surrender. Either way, if the
enemy agrees, the battle will end. In the case of a truce, the
attackers all withdraw with no chance of being captured and the state
remains with the defender. In the case of a surrender, the enemy's
ruler agrees to submit without additional resistance, and the attacker
gains the territory.
If your first legion is adjacent to another lower ranked legion, your
ruler can ask its commander to betray his master and switch sides in
the current battle. This rarely works, but is obviously very
effective when it does.
IV. Info - displays information about specifics in the battle.
1. Legion - Views information about particular legions. If you choose
to view an enemy's legion(s) it will take 1 battle turn. It presents
the following information:
a. Commander of the legion and royal relations, if any.
b. The level of the legion. From highest to lowest, the levels are
elite, crack, veteran. The better the level of the legion, the
more effective it is in battle. Higher training and morale will
effect this value.
c. Troops - the total amount of soldiers in this legion.
d. Units - the units in this particular legion and how many troops
are currently assigned to each.
e. Mobility - the current mobility of the unit. The higher this
value is, the farther the unit can move. Having the unit wait one
turn causes this value to increase by one.
d. Arms - the arms rating of this legion. The higher this value is,
the more times a unit in the legion can attack using a distance
weapon.
e. Supply - How well this unit is supplied. If a legion runs out of
supplies, troops will start to quickly desert.
f. Morale - the morale of the unit. This effects how well the units
fight in battle as well as their mobility. The unit selection
plays a major role in this, as units with very low spirit values
tend to also have lower morales.
2. Person - views the generals that are currently leading units in
battle. If a general's body points reach 0, he will be cut down in
fighting.
3. Field - views the names of the kingdoms involved in this battle and
their commanders, as well as all the possible escape points.
4. Plan - views the current orders to all allied units.
B. Inter-Legion Combat commands
Once your legion enters into battle with another legion you will be
taken to the unit combat screen. Here, many of the orders will take away
from a units mobility points, so I will indicate the loss with a minus
sign and the value after each command. The battle lasts until the turns
(located in the upper right corner) reaches 0 or all the units of one side
are destroyed.
1. Move - move the unit to a particular location. Each space your unit
moves takes two mobility.
2. Attack - attack an enemy unit.
a. Near (-3 mobility) - use a close range skirmish attack. This will
inflict light damage to both units, unless the defending unit is
confused in which case it will be much more effective.
b. Far (-3 mobility) - use a long distance attack. This inflicts no
damage at all upon the attacker, but requires a unit that is
capable of using long range weapons and a stockpile of
projectiles.
c. Charge (-5 mobility) - order a charge against the adjacent unit.
This inflicts more damage than a regular skirmish attack, and
greatly increases the chances of confusing the enemy unit. On the
other hand, however, if you are unsuccessful in causing confusion
in your enemy, there is a high chance of becoming confused
yourself. Charging against an opponent already in confused status
is generally devastating.
3. Order - give particular orders to this unit.
a. Lead (-4 mobility) - allow the legion's commander to personally
take the front of this unit. The effectiveness of the unit will
increase, but there is a risk of the commander becoming injured or
even being killed in combat.
b. Revive (-4 mobility) - attempt to revive a nearby allied unit that
is in confused status.
c. Delegate - delegates command of the entire legion to the computer.
Once you agree to let the computer take control, you cannot
regain control of the legion for the rest of this combat.
4. Info - views information on units and commanders.
a. Unit - views the training, troops, morale, and arms of any unit
currently in battle. If you are using it on an enemy unit, it
costs 2 mobility.
b. Person - views the stats of the commanders currently in this
battle. Again, if you are viewing your enemy it costs 2
mobility.
A war ends when all the legions of one side are defeated or withdraw,
the first legion of either side is defeated or withdraws, one side
agrees to either surrender/sign a truce, or the attackers occupy all the
installations (cities, forts) in the area. In the case of anything besides
a truce, the victorious side then has to decide what to do with the
prisoners taken in the battle. Recruited officers immediately join your
generals pool, although officers will never join you if that pool is
already full (8 officers). Released officers return to their ruler, and
those who are executed are removed immediately from the game.
*****************************************************
V. Tips/Strategies
1. When simulating battles, the game highly favors the attackers and this
is very easy to take advantage of while playing. You can easily conquer
places extremely quickly by hiring a very large army of very cheap units
and then sending them at the enemy led by lower officers, and skipping
the entire war altogether. 99% of the time, the army with more units will
win the battle, and with relatively few casualties. This method can allow
you to conquer the entire world in very little time. On the other hand,
it is very cheap and essentially an exploit, so keep that in mind.
2. Spend time with your family! Although it does not seem to offer very
much in immediate benefits, spending time with your family is perhaps one
of the most important ways to spend your time during your seasonal turn.
You absolutely need to have a good amount of generals that you can trust,
and really the only way to be assured of a follower's loyalty is to be
related to him in some capacity. The only way to do this is to have a good
enough relationship with your wife so that she continues to produce sons
and daughters. You really cannot spend too much time visiting your family.
3. Choose your governors wisely. Governors are very likely to rebel in
this game, especially when your ruler dies and has to be replaced. The
best choices for governors are your sons or son in laws, as these people
will remain loyal no matter what. Occasionally you wife will let you know
a general who is particularly disloyal. Never, ever allow one of these
clowns to become a governor, because he will assuredly betray you. Of
course, you won't have enough relatives to govern the entire world, even if
your wife is constantly popping out new children, so make sure to keep the
amount of soldiers under the command of nonrelatives very low. This way,
even if a governor rebels, he won't have enough soldiers at his disposal
to cause any real problems.
4. Generally, it is best to do most of the conquering yourself. The
computer tends to overextend itself very quickly, and the best way to
prevent this is to keep such decisions out of your governors' hands. In
order to prevent the computer from expanding, set their diplomatic policies
to anything besides invade, and they will never attack.
5. Never stockpile specialty goods in hopes that your other areas will
somehow utilize them, because they never will. Once you have conquered
enough lands, your specialty goods will be produced so quickly that you
will almost always have as much money as you could possibly need, so use
this to build up large armies of the best units (mongols, samurais, etc)
and arm them to the teeth. With an army of 20 maxed out mongols, you will
practically never see defeat.
6. Make sure that you sell your goods to the proper merchant if possible.
Generally, goods that are produced locally make much more money when sold
to merchants who are traveling long distances. Silk sold to the venetian
merchant, for example, yields a price somewhere around double the current
market rate.
7. Don't be afraid to ask another state for tribute or to surrender,
because it does succeed relatively often.
8. When picking a successor, the most important quality is, of course,
politics, because this will determine how many commands the ruler can make
per season. War is also important, because it is very annoying to train
soldiers with someone who has an E in war.
More Tips?? Email them to me and I will post them.
******************************************
VI. Credits
Thanks to Koei for making this game.
Thanks to Nicole Xhilone (pronounced X-ill-on) for reading my guides.
******************************************
VII. Legal
This guide is copyright 2004 by Greg Hartman.
The game is copyrighted by Koei.
As of the time I am writing this, the only website that is allowed to post
this guide is:
http://gamefaqs.com
If you are interested in posting this guide or any of my others on your
website, send me an email and I will almost assuredly agree to allow you to
do so provided you don't charge people in order to view it. It is illegal
to post this guide without permission, and shame on you if you are
considering it.
