The ELVEN

Two centuries after the advent of The 3rd Cycle, explorers from various seafaring races sailed west over what became known as The Endless Sea in hopes of finding a land not embroiled in endless wars. Though the sea was treacherous and some missions encountered kraken to their demise, the efforts eventually succeeded in discovering an entirely new continent. They established colonies there, and merchants returned to their old homes with rare metals, jewels, spices and stories of dragons and other creatures there. Knowledge of this new world and the navigation of safer passages became known to all peoples of Alamaze, and each sent its own expeditionary missions to establish their own colonies in the new land.

The discovered country was large enough that each found a region to settle and grow. Denizens of the continent have been encountered as well. Rumors of a Giant Ant race; of an undead uprising led by a powerful being called The Night King, and the establishment of a society called the Lycans: breathing men and beasts but not like normal mortals.

Borders were established. Cultivating this new territory and making use of ample materials combined with new construction technologies developed in the last two centuries led to rapid development of whole ranges of structures, including castles. Peace was found and endured for the next two generations, but then the old rivalries and jealousies reemerged. Discourse has become tinged with aggression and innuendo. It is clear the innate desire to establish empire has reemerged in all the kingdoms.

It seems to the sages that the outbreak of war is inevitable and only a few months away. Each kingdom is preparing in their own best way: militarily, economically, covertly and magically, all using the new sciences of steel and construction and the advantages they provide to their desired ends. It is a frenzy of development and preparation.

The time, and so the land as well, in this intense swirl of activity in a world still with many unknowns has come to be called The Maelstrom, and The 4th Cycle of Alamaze!

TO ARMS!

Great Lord of The High Elves of the Golden Woods, hear my counsel. The High Elven kingdom enjoys a balance of strengths, and so is free to pursue a variety of strategies. As is well known, our archers are unsurpassed in skill. As always, our arch enemy remains the Dark Elven Imperium, but there are other forces whose acts are so diametrically opposed to the Elven ways that they too must be held in check. Thus we cannot stay withdrawn in our Golden Woods, but must involve ourselves in affairs throughout Alamaze to ensure eventual victory. We must not overestimate our ability to take the control, as there are those with less inviting territories who will covet the apparent sanctuary of our region.

The following traits provide special and unique bonuses for our kingdom. These effects are inherent and do not require specific action to enable unless otherwise specified in the section below.

• Acuity: Groups are never surprised, acts as entrenched. Agents have a reduced -10 points from being captured during missions. Political emissaries get +5 to their rebel/usurp die roll. Characters of this kingdom that become prisoners get 15 points added to their chance of escape.
• Archers: Kingdoms with the Archers trait get 50% of missile value at long range in the forest (normally 0%) and 100% at short range missile (normally 50%) in the forest. They get 50% long range missile fire in the mountains (normally 25%), also 75% in short range missile fire (normally 50%). They provide excellent rear-guard action, so their kingdom suffers only 50% of normal casualties in retreat (cumulative with other traits).
• Charisma: +1 influence. A bid for an open High Council chair is elevated by 10,000 gold without paying the cost (so a bid of 30,000 actually counts as 40,000).
• Healing: Gains the ability to reduce attrition to kingdom brigades (not entire group). Use Regenerate order #236 with group ID in Column A to heal up to 5% attrition to kingdom brigades. May only issue this regenerate order once per turn per group. An automatic Heal is performed at the end of the turn to all groups that reduces up to 3% attrition to kingdom brigades (no need to issue an order). Leaders and wizards that were killed in battle receive a special saving throw which gives a 33% chance of surviving their wounds instead of being killed.
• Magic Resist Sleep: Kingdom is 33% resistant to sleep effects.
• Oratory: +15% to Maintain Status Quo (#310) and Usurp Control (#330). +1 to starting influence.
• Spy Network: The kingdom has gone to lengths to establish a network of agents. Begins with an additional level 6 agent and level 3 agent at the capital. The cost for agent training is reduced by 20%.
• Trackers: Provides an intrinsic (no order required) level 4 agent recon of each active group area. Detects groups in ambush but not invisible groups. Can locate hidden sites if ending movement on them.

• Terrain Adeptness: Supremacy in Forest, Disadvantaged in Swamp
• Magical Prowess: Mastery (Tier 2 of 7)
• Spells available earlier than prowess base: Bounty, Invisible Brigade, Unveil Group Location
• Giant Eagles (Order #565 Recruit Companions) are available for our kingdom to transport our troops. These flying and majestic creatures are capable of carrying our forces, up to 5 brigades total (division-sized or less including the Eagles) may be flown.
• Because of our supreme proficiency in the Forest, our groups can mask the size of their force when ending movement in a Forest area. This masking occurs automatically, without requiring either a spell or order.
• Special Order: Evasion (Order #118). Evade prevents combat with the specified group if in Forest terrain. Not considered as a retreat for either group and is the equivalent to a normal defensive order (so cannot attack groups/pop centers/encounters nor rest/set ambush). Evasion is limited to groups of up to 5 brigades.
• Special Order: Equip Mithril Item (Order #606). This order is only available to the Dwarven and Elven kingdoms due to their master skill level and craftsmanship. Group must be located at kingdom-owned pc with forge. Group must already be equipped with the improved forged item (armor/weapons) in order to upgrade to their mithril version. Mithril armor provides +50% combat protection. Mithril weapons provides +50% combat effectiveness. Cost for forging either mithril armor or weapons is 1,000 mithril ingots. Group may only be equipped once a turn with forged armor/weapons.
• Special Order: Equip Advanced Item (Elven Bows) (Order #607, 500 mithril), elven bows are an advanced weapon group attachment similar to forged improved weapons and cannot be traded. The elven bows provide an extra 20% leader/wizard death effect during group combat. Equip elven bows to group at kingdom-owned pc with forge. Group must have one or more brigades in group. Group must already be equipped with improved weapons or mithril weapons from forge (Order #605). Only able to equip improved weapons, mithril weapons, or advanced weapons to a group once on the same turn.
• Our ruler starts the game as being Immortal.

Your first group begins as your most powerful and important group. In addition, should you earn your Early Strategic Objective or qualify for an Appeal to the Gods (Epic Game only) there are possible awards that only go into your first group (see General Rules).

Enter your selections for the Early Strategic Objectives with your orders on turns 1 through 3. Use Order #991 and reference the instructions in the Official Rulebook. If you do not select any objectives, your kingdom will receive the default objectives listed below:

We are pursuing a MINOR ESO!

On turns 10 through 15, if our kingdom has achieved the above requirements to total 3 achievement points, we may claim awards worth 3 points!

This campaign has NORMAL victory conditions.

Therefore a kingdom may win via Rex (control 5+ regions) or by Lion's Share (most status points at end of the game).

The following skeletons, if revealed, will have detrimental impact on your influence and on regional reaction in some regions.

Proficiency: Mastery (Tier 2 of 7)

Maximum assured Power level attainable: 9 (includes +2 levels from Immortal)

(Spellcasters may attempt to research beyond the assured level, but may fail about 50% of the time, and the gold cost is still consumed)

Gold cost per research level: 8,000

(Plateau levels have additional cost. At 3rd level, +10,000 gold. At 5th level, +30,000 gold. At 7th level, +60,000 gold. For example, to increase a pwr-2 wizard to pwr-3, the cost is the gold-cost-per-research-level x level + plateau cost, or 34,000 gold. To reach 5th level, the cost is 70,000 gold. To reach 7th level, the cost is 116,000 gold.)

Level 0: Rite Of The Magi, Self Invisible, Wizard Assist Encounter

Level 1: Bridge Of Mist, Create Food, Create Gold, Diplomacy, Fear, Light Of The Evening Star, Lightning Attack, Magic Research, Protect Heroes and Wizards, Raven Familiar, Reveal King's Influence, Shield, Stun Leader, Valor, Ward

Level 2: Bridge Of Mist (Intrinsic), Dispel Magic, Firestrike, Guarded Attack, Heal, Invisible Patrol, Lesser Masking, Light Of The Evening Star (Intrinsic), Ship of Mist, Sleep, Speed, Teleport Self, Wind Storm

Level 3: Command Tornado, Conceal Emissary, Dire Wolf Familiar, Dispel Dome of Invulnerability, Dispel Storm at Sea, Eagle Familiar, Fertile Fields, Flash Flood, Greater Masking, Hidden Ore, Instant Self Teleport, Invisible Brigade, Kill Leader/Wizard, Mirror Image, Presence (Intrinsic), Raise Population Center Census, Strengthen Walls, Teleport Patrol

Level 4: Chaos, Destroy Undead, Dispel Regional Effect, Earthquake, Instant Summon Phantasmal Forces, Protection from Regional Effect, True Seeing, Unveil Group Locations, Unveil Population Centers, Wall of Flame, Ward Population Center

Level 5: Blinding Light (Regional Effect), Bounty (Regional Effect), Create Magical Item, Dire Wolf Familiar (Intrinsic), Ice Torrent, Invisible Division, Project Image Of Group, Summon Minotaurs, Summon Rock Golems, Teleport Brigade

Level 6: Chain Lightning, Conjure Prestige, Conjure Scandal, Dome of Invulnerability, Enhance King's Aura, Infuriate Populace, Invisible Army, Meteor Strike, Raise Regional Census (Regional Effect), Revelation, Storm at Sea, Teleport Division, True Seeing (Intrinsic)

Level 7: Augment Title, Charm Region, Prismatic Rays, Simulacrum, Summon Death, Teleport Army

Level 8: Crack The Sky, Incendiary Cloud, Power Word Stun, Teleport Army Group

Level 9: Arcane Disjunction, Disintegrate, Summon Iron Golem

Renowned throughout Alamaze for their marksmanship with Elven bows, they are Riders and are also above average with the charge phase. Well trained and armed infantry is respectable in close combat.

Recruit Troops (Order #560), Recruit Companions (Order #565), or magically summoned brigades fight at their respective values for all kingdoms. They move according to the kingdom's movement table. They consume food and gold at their respective rates. Groups at sea fight according to the fleet quantity and quality in the given sea.

Special Note: Flyers may be available for your kingdom through the Recruit Companions (Order #565) or as a Wizard Summoning Spell. All flying groups, either as natural flyers like Dragons or groups enhanced with special brigades/artifacts that bestow flying capabilities, are considered flying at all times. When specifying the group's movement, all terrain costs are calculated as normally in your movement order (including when flying over water areas). However, flying groups whether they are all-natural flyers (e.g., all brigades of Griffons) or non-natural flyers (ground-based troops that gain flying by acquiring an artifact or by recruiting Giant Eagles) are checked throughout the turn if their situation changes. Flying status may be lost if the group no longer meets certain criteria such as losing division-sized status required by certain artifacts due to transferring troops between groups, combining groups together, or gaining additional troops through battle as what may occur with special troops like Zombies that eat the dead and grow in number. Or Lycanthrope that spreads among the injured on the battlefield and the group acquires new Lycan brigades. Another possibility to consider is if the group will receive any troop reinforcements, which occurs at certain intervals throughout the game. So, even though a ground-based, non-natural flying group may start the turn as a flyer, its status may change throughout the course of the game. A flying group that flys over or lands upon a water area may be issued any movement order (e.g., 720 and not required a sea movement order like 710).

Natural flyers are: Black/Red Dragons, Great Bats, Phoenixes, Specters, and Wyverns, as well as the new troop types of Air Elementals, Beholders, Chimeras, Cockatrices, Fairy Folk, Gargoyles, Giant Eagles, Griffons, Manticores, Mephits, Pixies, Rocs, and Sprites. Giant Eagles and Rocs are the only natural flyers capable of bestowing flight to ground-based troops. Artifacts that are capable of bestowing flight to others are: Great Red Bats of the Lost Caves, Green Dragon Mates, and the Last Herd of Winged Stallions. If a group consists of only natural-flyers or ground-based troops that become capable of flying, the following flight bonuses apply: +20% attack bonus vs pop centers, immune to Earthquake, Flash Flood, and Wall of Flame spells, patrol-sized groups have 32 (rather than 20) movement points (only for patrols of the Black Dragon, Red Dragon, and Fairy Folk kingdoms), may fly over water without a naval fleet being involved (may finish movement upon a water area), automatically performs a reconnaissance of the group's location as a level 1 agent, and the flying group may not be flanked in battle (a special attack maneuver that certain kingdoms may perform).

Your intercept radius is 4 areas (for Order #732).

Over fifty criteria which comprise the characteristics of each Kingdom have been evaluated in designing and balancing the Second Cycle. Exactly where your Kingdom falls along many of these lines will be divulged below. Much of the work which went into the second cycle involved balancing the potential of each Kingdom. The ratings will be broken down into several elements of play, with a numeric rating converted into a subjective phrase. These rating phrases were arrived at by establishing a mean and standard deviation for each criteria, and then assigning the appropriate phrase. Throughout, the following scale is used:

What this is intended to relate to you is that there is no puffing of any ratings: if you have a SUPERIOR rating in some area, another King almost certainly has a VERY POOR rating there. On the other hand, if you think your Kingdom looks horrible in a certain area, yet it's evaluation is BELOW AVERAGE (rather than VERY POOR), then you should be clued to reevaluate your perception of the strength of other Kingdoms in this area (ie, they probably are not as strong as you suspected).

For each area, take the rating for Summary with a grain of salt. It will involve some weighting of the factors in that category, but could give a misleading final evaluation. For example, in the military section, a Kingdom whose troops are quite good in combat may be summarized as only average militarily because of poor movement capabilities and light reinforcements. In any case, the evaluations are only intended to allow you to frame your Kingdom's beginning characteristics against those of the other Kings.