The NECROMANCER

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!

Lord of the Undead, your victory is all but assured, unless your mortal office holders fail in their missions. Your magic power is unsurpassed, your ability to both create and summon all sorts of undead in unprecedented and not threatened, your early achievement of many spells is a source of jealousy with your rivals. You will want to raise a wizard to be able to teleport an army group, as assembling an undead army group shouldn't take long. Woe to your enemies, Lord of the Undead.

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.

• Evil: Only Evil kingdoms may summon undead if in spell lists. Undead brigades cannot become Elite. Undead brigades have a floor morale of 80 and cannot raise above 120. Damned, Skeletons, and Zombies may be summoned from pop center areas (not in wild only). Only Evil kingdoms may recruit Trolls. Brigade maintenance is -25% for Evil kingdoms. Only Evil kingdoms may have Nazgul, Wraith, or Lich figures. Evil kingdoms gain a pop center's full production value in food and gold (not reduced by seasonal effects) when conquered. Rule of Law has cost of 0 for Evil kingdoms. Evil kingdoms start Hostile in all regions except for capital and second town regions. When an Evil kingdom first controls a particular region, all non-Evil kingdoms have their regional reactions changed to Hostile. If an Evil kingdom has control in a region with Loyal reactions, non-Evil kingdoms cannot improve their regional reaction there. An Evil kingdom may not enamor a region that is Loyal to any non-Evil kingdom. Agent training is -1,000 gold to a minimum of 1,000. Maximum agent training is +2 levels.
• Magic Resist Death: Kingdom is 33% resistant to magical death effects. This consists of the kill leader/wizard spell, death spell, and the summon imp/demon/high demon spells. If successful, no damage will be taken.
• Order: +2 to starting Influence. Controlled popcenters have 10 points intrinsic counter espionage in addition to any agent counter espionage, and intrinsic 2 points Maintain Status Quo (so the equivalent to a Provincial Governor maintaining status quo in a Tolerant region popcenter with 12 Influence). Magic research cost and agent training are +1,000 gold per level (i.e. a penalty due to the imposition of maintaining order).
• Ruthless: Cause Fear (-10% to morale of opposing groups or to popcenter defense). +2 points intrinsic status quo to controlled popcenters so about a Provincial Governor Maintaining Status Quo in a tolerant region. +10 points to Threaten (#180).

• Terrain Adeptness: Standard
• Magical Prowess: Supremacy (Tier 1 of 7)
• Spells available earlier than prowess base: Summon Death, Summon Demon, Summon High Demon, Summon Ghouls, Summon Mummies, Summon Skeletons, Summon Wights
• Transmute Damned to Zombie (Order #551, 0 gold). This order will convert a brigade of Damned troops into becoming a brigade of Zombie troops. Zombie brigades created by this order will be of Green experience level, and this order cannot bring the group total to be over 20 Zombie brigades. The advantage of having the more advanced Zombie troops is their special ability to eat the dead on the battlefield, which increases the number of Zombie brigades in the group (up to their maximum). The additional Zombie brigades join the group at no cost and are automatically done by the peculiar nature of the Zombie troops.
• Winter Attack. Group vs. group attack ability. Group must attack (not defend). May only be done in regions affected by the season, so during the Winter season, only permitted in regions 1-3 and 5-7 (except during an Ice Age where all regions are valid). Happens automatically if kingdom, region, and season qualifies (no special order needed). Attacking with this innate ability automatically grants +20% to both attack and defense values and causes Fear (-10% morale for battle) to enemy if our kingdom attacks at a TAC 2+. Can stack with Flanking or Night Attack.
• Night Attack (use TAC 5). Group vs. group attack. Requires a Marshal or better (not stunned), 2 or more Veteran or higher kingdom brigades, cannot be done in summer. Causes Fear (-10% morale for enemy in battle), enemy missile phases are at -75%, own missile phases are -33%, enemy leadership values reduced 33%, enemy retreat losses are x2, enemy characters have +10 points to death chance from battle. Retreat as TAC 2. Night attack is not valid against groups that attack our own at TAC 2 or higher (our attack converts to standard battle plan).
• Wizard capitals start with a significant boost to their defense than normal.

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: Supremacy (Tier 1 of 7)

Maximum assured Power level attainable: 9

(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, Speed, Stun Leader, Ward

Level 2: Bridge Of Mist (Intrinsic), Dispel Magic, Dispel Storm at Sea, Firestrike, Guarded Attack, Invisible Patrol, Kill Leader/Wizard, Lesser Masking, Light Of The Evening Star (Intrinsic), Raise Zombies, Ship of Mist, Sleep, Teleport Self

Level 3: Command Tornado, Conceal Emissary, Dispel Dome of Invulnerability, Dispel Regional Effect, Flash Flood, Greater Masking, Hidden Ore, Imp Familiar, Instant Self Teleport, Invisible Brigade, Mirror Image, Presence (Intrinsic), Protection from Regional Effect, Raise Population Center Census, Strengthen Walls, Summon Skeletons, Teleport Patrol, True Seeing, Ward Population Center, Wind Storm

Level 4: Chaos, Cold Darkness (Regional Effect), Curse, Destroy Undead, Earthquake, Fertile Fields, Instant Summon Phantoms, Invisible Division, Project Image Of Group, Summon Ghouls, Summon Minotaurs, Teleport Brigade, Wall of Flame

Level 5: Conjure Prestige, Create Magical Item, Demonic Visions (Regional Effect), Ice Torrent, Infuriate Populace, Invisible Army, Meteor Strike, Plague (Regional Effect), Raise Regional Census (Regional Effect), Sacrifice, Summon Death, Summon Kraken, Summon Rock Golems, Summon Wights, Teleport Division, Transform to Nazgul, True Seeing (Intrinsic), Unveil Group Locations, Unveil Population Centers, Wraith Form

Level 6: Augment Title, Chain Lightning, Charm Region, Conjure Scandal, Dome of Invulnerability, Enhance King's Aura, Famine (Regional Effect), Revelation, Simulacrum, Storm at Sea, Summon Demon, Summon Mummies, Summon Specters, Teleport Army

Level 7: Power Word Stun, Prismatic Rays, Summon High Demon, Summon Leviathan, Teleport Army Group, Transform to Lich

Level 8: Crack The Sky, Incendiary Cloud, Summon Iron Golem

Level 9: Arcane Disjunction, Disintegrate

Many soldiers were formerly among the Damned, and received military training and equipment upgrades, and so fly their brigade banner as bannermen of the Necromancer. Normally equipped with black leather, shield and spear, with a compliment of archers. It will be rare to see an exclusively Necro-kingdom brigade force given the great variety of summoned and companion brigades available.

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 3 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.