KEYBOARD COMMANDS

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


A Brief History Of Medieval Castles

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

The era of castles came to a close by the late 15th Century, when 
castle walls proved to be no defenseagainst gunpowder weapons such as 
cannons.  For centuries these relics of medieval Europe lay in ruins, 
ignored by the inhabitants whose land they once defended.  In the 18th 
Century, however, romantic 
poets and musicians drew upon the Middle Ages for inspiration, and 
castles once again became important, a symbol of romance, chivalry, 
and strength.  Today, few symbols of the medieval period are as 
enduring or as powerful as castles.  The purpose of this program, 
CASTLES, is to allow you to experience both the romance and the 
reality of medieval castle building.  At the zenith of castle-
building, between 1280 and 1305 A.D., King Edward I consolidated his 
Welsh conquests by building some of the greatest fortresses ever 
constructed, in the hopes that the security of these castles would 
attract English settlers into Wales and assimilate the population.  We 
have fictionalized the characters and changed the names of the nations 
involved, and added a fantasy world for those who enjoy medieval 
fantasy, but the castles you can build are based on the actual Welsh 
castles of Edward I.

In this game you are placed on the throne of the kingdom of Albion, 
and must build your castle amidst political unrest, unfriendly 
neighbors, and war on two of your borders. You will make the hard 
decisions and face treachery, ambitious nobles, military disasters, 
and other things that we don't always associate with the romance of 
the period.  You may wonder why people remember this period with any 
fondness whatsoever, but hopefully you will have a greater 
appreciation for the challenges involved in both castle-building and 
being a king during the medieval period.

Perhaps it might even make you appreciate the complexities of 
engineering and politics in today's world.  

OF BASIC MATTERS

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

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

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

KEYBOARD and MOUSE

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

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

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

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

OPTIONS                      
After you have successfully loaded CASTLES, the first screen that you 
will see is the Options screen.  The Options include:  MESSENGERS (Yea 
or Nay): This determines whether you will be visited by messengers.  
If the answer is "Yea" you will receive a new messenger every month. 
If the answer is "Nay," no messengers will appear.

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

LEVEL (Peasant, Duke, Prince, or King): There are four difficulty 
levels in the game of CASTLES.  The Peasant difficulty level is a 
practice level, with a partially laid out castle, workers, labourers, 
and food, and enough money to build any castle you want.

Duke, Prince, and King levels are the real game levels. Duke and 
Prince levels give you a higher starting money value, higher tax 
values, better relations with the noble factions, the Church, and the 
people, and easier battles.  The highest difficulty level (King) gives 
you less access to money, less popularity, and harder battles.  No one 
said that being a King was easy.

CAMPAIGN:

In CASTLES, one of the objects is to subjugate the "savage lands of 
the Celts" by building castles in strategically important areas.  If 
you don't want to engage in a major castle building campaign, then 
choose the Single Castle option.  If you wish to play a short 
campaign, play a Three Castle campaign. The Eight Castle campaign is 
the longest and most intense of all of the campaigns.  See the section 
"Of The Conquest Of The Celtic Lands for further details.  Note: You 
can build more than one castle on a level; the Single Castle campaign 
refers to the game ending after you have conquered a single playing 
area.

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

CASTLE NAME: 

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

MAlN MENU

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

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

LABOUR: 

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

TAXES: 

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

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

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

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

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

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


OF CASTLE DESIGN

In all sub-menus, the command "Main" allows you to return to the main 
menu.

The heart of CASTLES is its ability to design a castle, which is done 
from the design window. When the design window has been triggered, you 
will see a top-down  erspective of  the castle grounds. This is 
referred to as the blueprint.  Entering the design window will bring 
up the top-down view of the castle and allow you to place pieces on 
the
blueprint. The main pieces are:

Towers

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

Walls

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

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

Gates

The center of the castle defense is often the gatehouse. The door is 
the most vulnerable point of the castle structure, and one which the 
enemy will likely attack first.

Gates take a long time to build, which is one of the reasons why 
castle builders typically waited until a castle neared completion 
before the gates were added.

Other topics of concern in Castle design include:

The Keep

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

The Eraser

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

OF LABOURERS AND THEIR ILK

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

In CASTLES, we have divided the work force into seven categories: six
specialists and one general labourer category.  In reality, medieval 
castle building required other types of specialized labour.  Records 
from the building of Flint Castle in Wales has
recorded payments to Plumbers, Coalers, Janitors,  Watchmen, and 
Messengers. The records also indicate that the total payments of these 
workers were substantially less
than other categories, which indicates that only a few individuals 
filled these positions in comparison with other worker types, so it is 
safe to ignore them.

In playing CASTLES, it is easy to overlook one of the most difficult 
problems facing Edward I in his castle-building: logistics.  The 
resources that were needed to build these
castles were immense.  Thirty-five hundred workers were hired to build 
Edward I's masterwork, the unfinished Beaumaris Castle. In less than 
six months, 6500 was spent.
This amounted to one and a half million pennies, the principle unit of 
currency in England. Transporting the wages of the workers for 
Beaumaris must have been a nightmare.  That these magnificent 
fortresses were built is a tribute to the abilities of Edward I, his 
master builder Sir James of Savoy, and to the thousands of craftsmen 
who laboured over a twenty-year period to build them.

The types of workers employed in the game are:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The labour menu also allows you to alter the wages of your workers.  
The base wages for your workforce are:

Diggers	Ll/month/20 diggers
Carpenters	15/month/20 carpenters
Masons	16/month per 20 masons
Quarrymen	L1/month per 20 quarrymen
Carters	L1/month per 20 carters
Smiths	L5/month per 20 smiths
Labourers	L0/month per 20 labourer
Archers	L2/month per 20 archers
Infantry	L3/month per 20 infantry

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

OF TAXATION AND PERSONAL SAFETY

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

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

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

Levies are taxes which are collected every month.  To collect a levy, 
simply go to
the Collect Levy area on the Taxes screen, adjust the amount to 
whatever you
desire, then click on the box below. At the beginning of the next 
month, that amount will be added to the Treasury.  The maximum amount 
that can be levied depends on the difficulty level of the game.  At 
Duke level, it is 400. At Prince level, it is
300, and at King level it is 200.

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

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

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

Let the taxer beware.

OF MILITARY MATTERS

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

MILITARY MENU

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

Archers shoot arrows at opponents.  They are very poorly armored, and 
no match in melee range for someone with armor or a melee weapon; they 
will disappear when their supp-
ly of arrows have been depleted, or when they are slain.

Infantry also serve as castle guards; these are the men who will be 
used if someone asks you for troops.  Infantry are tougher than 
archers, but can only attack at close range.

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

BATTLES

SET-UP

When a battle occurs, you will be given a chance to set up your castle 
before the enemy comes.  Simply pick up archer and infantry pieces and 
place them on the blueprint, in
the same way that you placed castle pieces.  These pieces will attack 
the enemy when they appear or come within weapon range.

If you are operating at less than maximum strength (500 infantry and 
500 archers), you will have an option to divide your forces into 1-10 
units.  Stronger units will not be damaged as easily as weaker ones, 
but more numerous units will allow you to spread your forces
across a larger area.  Beware of spreading yourself too thin.

CONTROLLING YOUR ARMY

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

THE ENEMY

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

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

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

Catapults will continuously fire large stones at your castle walls, 
knocking them down after multiple hits.

When most of the enemy pieces have been killed, the attack will end 
and you will have triumphed.  If you have completed your castle, you 
will proceed to the next level or to the
final screen (if all castles in the campaign have been built).  
However, when the 
enemy has killed off your defenders or destroyed a large section of 
your castle, they will have triumphed and your game will be over.

As you advance in your campaign, you will be required to have 
progressively higher percentages of your castles left standing after 
conquering each territory.

OF FOOD AND ITS ADVANTAGES

One of the most common tactics of an enemy, particularly if they 
believe that they can block your supplies, is the siege.  In order to 
withstand a siege, a wise monarch will purchase an emergency supply of 
food:  thus when one's army is under siege, they will not starve.

Food can be purchased by entering the Food menu, clicking on the 
arrows beside "Buy" and clicking on the box underneath the Food menu.  
This will purchase the proper amount of food.

Food costs vary wildly, depending on demand and availability.  Food is 
much less expensive after the fall harvest than it is in early spring, 
when the needs of winter have used up most surpluses. The same needs 
of winter will also affect the supply of food at your castle; you will 
have less food after winter than you had before the winter.

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

CASTLES OF MESSENGERS AND DIPLOMACY

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

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

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

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

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

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

OF THE CONQUEST OF THE CELTIC LAND

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

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

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

Rhos
Arfon
Penllyn
Arwystli
Aberffraw
Gwerthyrnion
Dunoding
Powys

RHOS
This is a broad plain with a coastal area in the west and north.  It 
is close to quarries, and has great historical value to the Celts.  
They will not permit you to build a castle here without a fight.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When a castle has been built in all eight cantrefs, victory will have 
been achieved.  You will receive a summary of your relations with the 
various factions in your kingdom, and how historians viewed your rule 
(the overall score).

If your reign was the Golden Age of Albion, you truly were a great 
king!

A GEOGRAPHY OF ALBION AND ITS NEIGHBOURS

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

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

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

Between north, east, and west are the Midlands.  The Warfields are the 
most influential family here, followed by the Westhamptons.  The 
rivalry between the noble families is caused because of disputes in 
the Midlands; the rivalry between the Westhamptons and the Norshires 
is particularly bitter.  North of Albion is the Pictlands.  They are a 
group of clans who owe allegiance to a king, a distant relative of the 
king of Albion.  The Picts and Albion have enjoyed a long truce until 
recently, when the alliance between the Picts and the Bretagnese 
triggered a series of border skirmishes that have erupted into a full-
scale war.  The commander of Albion's Northern forces is the Duke of 
Norshire; he is not noted for his military skill.

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

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

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

A GUIDE TO THE PERSONAGES OF THE REGIONS

THE RULINGFAMILY OF ALBION

The current ruling family of Albion has been in power since the mid-
12th century.  They have seen a vast empire in continental Europe 
dwindle to vitrualy nothing, civil wars, and conquest of neighboring 
states.

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

The King/Queen of Albion (aka you): Now entering middle age, the ruler 
of Albion is enjoying a relatively peaceful time following a 
tumultuous succession to the throne, when your younger brother Prince 
Arthur tried to take your throne.  Your spouse died many years ago, 
leaving you with but a single heir.

You have won a string of recent victories against the Celtic Princes, 
and hold enough territory to allow you to build castles in their 
lands, in hopes of holding it.  Some of the Celtic princes do not 
appreciate this, and rebellions are common place.

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

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

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

NOBLE FAMILIES OF ALBION

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

THE  WESTHAMPTONS

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

The Duke of Westhampton

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

Sir Richard of Westhampton

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

Sir Roger of Westhampton

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

Sir Phillip of Westhampton

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

THE NORSHIRES

This family is the most prominent of the Northern nobility.  They are 
not as wealthy or as comfortable as the other great lords of the 
kingdom, and there is considerable enmity between them and the other 
noble families.  The Northshires take great pride in their military 
ability, pride which is not always deserved.



The Duke of Norshire

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

Thomas of Norshire

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

THE WARFIELDS

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

The Duke of Warfield

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

Sir Edwin of Warfield

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

THE CHURCH

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

The Pope

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

The Bishop

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

The Abbess of St. Martha's

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

THE CELTS

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

BRETAGNE

Across the Channel is the great land of Britagne, one of the great 
powers of Europe.  A century ago, the king of Albion controlled much 
of Bretagne, though technically he was still the vassal of the King of 
Bretagne.  The King of Bretagne eventually broke most of Albion's 
continen tal empire, which has resulted in decades of hostility, much 
of it caused by Albion's refusal to let go of its empire.

The King of Bretagne recently died, naming Henry, Duke of Beel as his 
lawful successor.  However, many of the most powerful barons of France 
support Henry's cousin, Charles, Duke of Clossau.

Henry, Duke of Beel

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

Charles, Duke of Clossau

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

Andre, Duke of Mallardville

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

FAERIE 

(These entities will only appear in the Fantasy version of this game.)

Faerie is the land beyond the twilight, a magical place full of 
mystical beings.  According to legend, Faerie is ruled by Lord Oberon 
and Lady Titania and is home to many sprites, hobgoblins, ogres, and 
elves; fay creatures both good and evil.  Most of the folk of Faerie 
do not involve themselves in the affairs of the world, but some of the 
more mischievous or evil do.

The Seelie Court

The Seelie Court is the court of the good elves, the beneficent elves 
( this is opposed by the Unseelie Court of the dark elves).  The 
Seelie Court is worried about the interference by others in Faerie on 
the world of Albion, and will occasionally offer warnings regarding 
supernatural evils at work in Albion.

The Bean Sidhe

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

The Wild Hunt

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

SIR RICHARD OF WESTHAMPTON' S GUIDE TO CASTLE BUILDING

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

SIR RICHARD: Greetings.  I am Sir Richard of Westhampton, one of the 
foremost knights in the kingdom, as you'll probably notice  over and 
over again. Castle building is not my field of expertise; I am an 
administrator for my father, the Duke of Westhampton, and a counsellor 
for my sovereign, the ruler of Albion. However, as my liege is busy 
with other matters, I have been asked to explain some of the basic 
secrets of castle construction.  I have talked with some fine master 
builders in my day, so it is a subject with which I feel comfortable.

But as my language is that of the court, perhaps my squire, Alain, 
should explain some of the essentials of castle-building in simple 
terms...

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

SIR RICHARD: A mouse? Using a mouse as a messenger? What nonsense is 
this?

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

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

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

SIR RICHARD: Interface? Common speech is indeed strange!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SIR RICHARD: They are unbuildable?

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

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

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

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

ALAIN (laughing): Yes, my lord. 

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

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

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

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

SIR RICHARD: Yes, I know one quite well.  Now I will provide you with 
what the scribes call a tutorial. This will teach you the basics of 
castle building.  Here is the plan for the castle we are about to 
build. (See Fig. A, pg. 30) This should be reasonably  easy to follow.  
Just place the pieces, do not concern yourself with such things as 
height, number of labourers, and other considerations just yet.

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

SIR RICHARD: I thought that I had done so.

ALAIN: You did not, my lord.

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

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

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

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

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

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

ALAIN: My apologies, my liege. 

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

ALAIN: That is very important.

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

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

SIR RICHARD: That mouse again!

ALAIN: If you had followed the previous instructions, your tower 
should be building nicely.  On the right-hand side of the tower should 
be three wall segments and another
tower, as follows:

T 1 2 3 T
O - - - O

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

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

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

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

ALAIN: Aye, my lord. And now it says "Unstable." They have stopped 
building.

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

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

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

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

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

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

SIR RICHARD: That mouse again!

ALAIN: Now increase the labourers to maximum.

SIR RICHARD: The entire structure is building!

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

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

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

SIR RICHARD: Reminds me of a coat of arms.

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

SIR RICHARD: That was simple.

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

O - - - O - - - O - - - O - - - O
 |                                         |
 |                                         |
 |                                         |
O                                        O

ALAIN: Wait for the number of available labourers to reach its maximum 
total.  If five hundred labourers were hired, then five hundred 
labourers should be free, as labourers who finish their assigned job 
head directly into the Freed Labour Force to await reassignment.  The 
"Free" count should be at 500. Once it is, click on the

next three wall segments, and the tower on the right hand side of 
those walls.  The following walls or towers should be built, or in the 
process of building: 

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

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

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

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

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
O - - - O - - - O - - - O - - - O
 |                                         |
 |                                         |
 |                                         |
O                                        O
 
ALAIN: Now repeat the process for the western wall.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SIR RICHARD: That can be a mess. Workers will be reduced on the pieces 
that are being built to stretch between all of the allocated pieces. 
Sometimes, the number of workers on a piece will drop to zero, which 
may cause an entire wall section to become Unstable.  The work force 
will lack all coordination.

ALAIN: Why do I expect that you knew everything I was talking about, 
my lord?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ALAIN: Are there any other possible problems?

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

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

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

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

THE REAL WORLD CASTLES OF EDWARD I

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

The history between England and its neighbors was never a peaceful 
one.  While England and Scotland both coalesced into centralized 
monarchies before the 11th century, Wales remained a collection of 
princedoms, squabbling for land, raiding each other and England. 
Ownership of Northern England changed hands frequently.  The Welsh 
raided the English lands on their border, and vice versa.  

Everyone worried about Vikings.  In 1066, however, the Norman Conquest 
changed everything.  The subjugation of England by the Normans was 
conducted in a manner that was ruthless even by medieval standards; 
whole villages were destroyed and the entire ruling class of England 
disappeared in twenty years, replaced by Normans.

A culture as ambitious and as power-hungry as that of the Normans were 
not content to hold a single kingdom; they were constantly trying to 
expand while engaged in continuous suppression of rebellious 
provinces, attacks against the King of France, and disgruntled family 
members (refer to the Tales of the Middle Ages for suitable examples).  
However, this did not mean that the kings of England forgot about the 
other nations in the British Isles.

The Normans were quick to expand into Wales. How-ever, the geography 
of Wales confined their advances to the valleys and lowlands of 
Southern Wales.  Even the might of Henry II was not sufficient to 
defeat Welsh troops.  Henry responded by recognizing the rule of Welsh 
lords, particularly Rhys ap Gruffyd, in return for their recognition 
of his overlordship.  This would not be the first time that an English 
king would meddle in Welsh politics, nor would it be the last.

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

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

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

THE MAJOR WELSH CASTLES OF EDWARD I

Castle 	Dates Built

Flint		1277-1281
Rhuddlan	1277-1281
Caernarvon	1283-1323
Conway	1283-1287
Harlech	1283-1289
Beaumaris	1295-1323

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

Caernarvon, Conway, and Harlech were all started following the 
conquest of Wales.  Harlech was designed as a military fortress, 
standing tall on the face of a large cliff.   Its central defense was 
designed around an extremely strong gatehouse, which was later 
incorporated into the second stage of building at Caernarvon.

In many ways, Conway is the most visually impressive of Edward's 
castles, with eight huge drum towers and an inner ward surrounded with 
turrets.  Its approaches were protected by barbicans and fortified 
steps.

Of all of Edward's castles, Caernarvon had a highly symbolic 
importance that was reflected in its design.
Before its construction, a rumor surfaced that the bones of Magnus 
Maximus, the father of the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine, 
had been found on the site.  Master  James had visited the castles of 
the Holy Lands and may have been to Constantinople, where he would 
have seen the walls of Constantinople with its polygonal towers; the 
towers of Caernarvon were based on those of Constantinople.  The great 
tower of Caernarvon, the Eagle Tower, was meant to have imperial 
connotations. In 124, Edward's heir, the future Edward II, was born at 
Caernarvon.  He became the first in a long line of Princes of Wales; 
tragically, Edward II was destined to be deposed by his wife, 
hisbarons, and his fifteen-
year-old son in 1327.

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

It was after the revolt of 1295 that Edward decided to begin work on 
the grandest and most ambitious castle  of all, the beautiful 
Beaumaris ("beautiful marsh").  While lacking in the Christian (and 
Arthurian) mythological tones of Caernarvon, Beaumaris was an 
immensely impressive fortress based on the concentric castles of the 
Middle East. It had two sections, an outer curtain wall defended by 
over a dozen towers and strong gatehouses, and an inner wall with 
immense towers and extremely powerful gatehouses. The layout of 
Beaumaris demanded that any attacker who managed to break through the 
outer curtain would have to make a sharp turn under heavy fire to 
approach the inner curtain to attack it.  For several years,  
thousands of men, at a cost of 13000, worked on Beaumaris, until 
Edward ran into financial problems. Edward's belligerent policy 
towards Scotland and a dispute with the French crown over Gascony 
caused an immense drain on the treasury of England, and Edward was a 
king who heavily taxed his subjects. England was building an empire of 
castles it could not afford.

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

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

TALES OF THE MIDDLE AGES

I: The Plantagenet Saga

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

King Henry

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

Queen Eleanor

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

Prince Henry

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

Prince Richard

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

Prince Geoffrey

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

Prince John

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

The writers of modern day soap operas would be 


hard pressed to find a more contentious family for their drama than 
the Plantagenet family  of Henry II. Their history was one of 
treachery, combat, and enough sex to ensure that it would receive high 
ratings if it was ever aired.

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

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

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

Henry gave his sons pieces of his empire, which kept them happy for 
nearly eight years.   In 1182, Henry the Younger demanded that his 
brother Richard (who was named Duke of 
Aquitaine) pledge his loyalty to him. Richard refused, and Henry the 
Younger and  Geoffrey marched their armies against him.  King Henry, 
alarmed by the war between his sons, demanded that they settle it 
peacefully. They cheerfully ignored him, so King Henry allied himself 
with Richard.  The rebellion ended when Henry the Younger died of 
dysentery in 1183. Surprisingly, Henry the Younger was so popular with 
the people of Rouen and Le Mans that they nearly went to war for the 
custody of the body.  
Geoffrey took refuge at the court of the recently crowned King Phillip 
Augustus of France until his unfortunate death in a tournament in 
1186. This left Phillip without a pawn to use against the King of 
England, so he invited Richard to his court.  Richard and Phillip soon 
became close friends, to the great chagrin of Henry II. 

In 1188, Richard and Phillip joined forces against Henry 11, and 
captured several of  Henry's towns.  The pretext for this attack was 
Henry's unwillingness to allow Richard to  marry Alice, sister of 
Phillip Augustus.  

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

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


his enemies, the Archduke of Austria.

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

Richard was released from prison in 1194, and returned to England. He 
immediately went to war against Phillip and John, annulling the sale 
of estates made in 1189 to raise money  for the effort. John, wanting 
to get back in his brother's good graces, invited the officers of one 
of Phillip's garrisons to an entertainment, then massacred them and 
returns to England. At their mother's behest, the two brothers 
reconciled with each other, though Richard was noticeably cool to the 
arrangement.  Surprisingly, John did not betray Richard for the rest
of his reign. 

Richard spent most of the rest of his life fighting Phillip Augustus 
(who nearly drown in the river Epte after fleeing a major defeat) as 
well as quelling rebellions in Brittany and
Aquitaine.  Finally, Richard died from an arrow wound while trying to 
take a treasure from a rebellious vassal. Richard appointed the 
eleven-year-old Arthur of Brittany (son of his  dead brother Geoffrey) 
as his successor, but the disgruntled John eventually fought his way 
back to the throne, losing the empire of his brother and his father in 
the process.  In
1216 he died, succeeded by his young son, the boy-king Henry III, who 
became the father of Edward I.  Eventually Edward III, Edward I's 
grandson, would invade France to take  back some of the lands lost by 
John, starting the Hundred Years War in the process... 
but that's another story.

II: Roast Rochester

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

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

III: Devils May Care

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




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

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

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

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

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

FIVE GOODREASONS NOT TO BE A PEASANT IN THE MIDDLE AGES

5. Wonderful travelling opportunities!

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

4. Friendly neighbours!

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

3. Great bosses!
 
One of the more charming feudal customs was called "Jus Primae 
Noctis," which gave the lord of a fief a right to sleep with the newly 
married bride of one of his serfs on the first night. Fortunately, a 
serf could avoid this practice -- if he paid a fine.  This practise 
was never common in England, and seems to have fallen out of favor on 
the continent by 1200 AD.



2. Great cuisine!

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

1. Do we need any other reasons?

CASTLES, A Bibliography

BOOKS

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

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

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

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

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

Lionheart, Edwin King, Columbia Publications, 1987
 
Norman Castles, Derek Frank Renn, John Baker Publishers, Ltd., 1968,

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

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

TELEVISION

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

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

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

MOTION PICTURES

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

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

CREDITS

Executive Producer Brian Fargo 


Art Assistance		Todd Camasta
			David Mosher


Producer
Scott Bennie

Production Assistance
Katie Fisher

Programming (PC)
Byon Garrabrant

Programming Assistance
Robert Barris
Tony Fu
Bill Snyder
Jim Sproul
David Steffen

Design
Scott Bennie

Design Assistance
Bill Fisher
Byon Garrabrant

Art
Arlene Caberto
Dave Nelson
Meghan Rowntree

Music Production
George
"The Fat Man"
Sanger



Music 

Dave Govett

Music Conversions 

Jacob Buchert III

Playtesting

Jacob Buchert III
Thomas R. Decker
Vince DeNardo
And everyone at
Quicksilver Software Inc.

Manual Design
Vince DeNardo

Manual
Scott Bennie

Manual Art: Hayato Ochiai Dan Burke Dave Nelson





