                          The War of the Dark God
                   Scenario description and special rules

                                Morten Larsen

                                February 2003

1 Introduction

It is some 300 years after the Mage War, some 200 years after the Troll
Wars, and 178 years after the subsequent collapse of the Great Empire of
Chard. The scattered pieces of the once glorious empire are now five small
human nations, uncoordinated where not outright at war with each other. The
other "old" major powers of Chard are the Pirates of Pyr, the Druids, and
various nations of non-humans. Then there are the three new powers, but we
will come to them later.

Just north of the continent of Chard, in the Cold Sea, lies the Northern
Isles where a human king rules what was once the farthest outpost of the
Great Empire. In the northern reaches of the continent itself are scattered
the castles of the Order of Quama, descendants of the finest order of
knighthood of the old empire. Together with the two elven kingdoms and the
Druids, these two human nations have hitherto dominated the northern part of
the continent, except for the northeast. Here the swamps and deserts are
home to the Snakemen, so called because of their scaly skin and their
slightly flattened heads and yellow eyes. On the far northeastern tip of the
continent, where once one of the great battles of the Mage War were fought,
are mountains and harsh wastelands where a few scattered humans struggle to
survive. The central part of the northern half of the continent is mostly
covered with forests. In the eastern part of the forested lands lies the
kingdom of the Elves of Windwood. Otherwise, the forests are home to the
scattered human followers of the Druids, an ancient priesthood for the
goddess of nature, Wenollin.

On the eastern shores of the southern half of Chard lies the Eastern
Kingdom, once the strongest province in the Empire. The fertile lands of the
Eastern Kingdom are shielded in the west by the Grey Range, and west of
those mountains lie the lands that were once the heart of the Great Empire.
Now the old heartland has only a fraction of its original population,
concentrated around a few independent walled towns. In the southern part of
the Grey Range lies the kingdom of the Dwarves, on good terms with the its
human neighbours to the east.

The far southern tip of the continent is the Wey peninsula. This is ruled by
a ruthless and powerful queen who is ever at war with her neighbour the
Caliph of El-Sha'al, who rules a great populous nation on the plains
northwest of Wey. North of Wey and the Caliphate, the great Din'aral jungle
stretches in a green belt across the continent from east to west. In the
hilly country just north of Din'aral, from the western shore and northeast
towards the old heartland of the empire, one finds the kingdom of the
Gnomes. Unlike his dwarven counterpart, the gnome king does not care much
for humans, a resentment that dates back to the Troll Wars where the Great
Empire punished the gnomes for their neutrality.

From the lands of the Gnomes, the Black range stretches northwards as far as
the great northern forests where the Druids and the Elves of Windwood
reside. In the middle of the Black Range itself, the Trolls have once again
begun to gain in power, although they are nowhere near their strength from
before the Troll Wars. They have enslaved the nearby tribes of goblins, and
with the power vacuum in the old heartland of the empire they are looking to
expand their influence towards the east. On the shores west of the Black
Range lies the kingdom of the High Elves, ever a thorn in the side of the
troll king. The High Elves, together with their cousins the Elves of
Windwood, situated further east, have hitherto prevented the trolls from
expanding northwards out of the Black Range.

In the great western bay that stretches from the High Elves in the north to
the Caliphate in the south lies the islands of the human Pirates of Pyr.
They used to raid the shores of the continent until the great battle at
South Point where the navy of the Great Empire destroyed most of the pirate
fleet. Since then Pyr has built a new though smaller fleet and is now so
strong that the trade by sea between the Caliphate and the High Elves has
dwindled to almost nothing.

Enter the Dark God.

The Dark God Ozzaxytl is a conqueror of worlds in several planes of
existence (or dimensions, if you will). Ozzaxytl has now cast his hungry
eyes on the world of Chard. He is currently unable to manifest in Chard but
has to work through minions and agents. In order to bring about the
manifestation of their master, the agents have to gain control of seven
power spots, specific locations where the lines of power that bind the world
meet, and erect a dark obelisk on each power spot. A few obelisks have
already been erected, and as more are added, the power that Ozzaxytl can
channel to his minions will increase. The Old Gods of the world of Chard
were unaware of the threat from Ozzaxytl until the erection of the first
obelisks changed the power pattern of their world. They cannot oppose the
much stronger Ozzaxytl directly but have to work through their followers to
prevent the erection of the obelisks.

Ozzaxytl's influence has introduced three new major powers on Chard: The
Vampire Lord, the Sorcerer and the Beast Master, none of which were
previously powerful enough to threaten any of the regular nations. The
Vampire Lord has his realm in the far north east of the continent, just
north of the Snakemen. The Sorcerer's castle is located in the Red Ridge
Mountains, a range that runs along the western coast of Chard, from the
kingdom of the High Elves in the south to the Cold Sea in the north. The
Beast Master lives somewhere in the wilderness of the east, south of the
Snakemen and southeast of Windwood. The emergence of these three powers very
much threatens the elven kingdoms, the Druids and the Order of Quama.

The War of the Dark God is about to begin. It will end when either all seven
dark obelisks are in place or when all existing obelisks have been destroyed
and the Old Gods again reign supreme.

2 The Nations

Here follows a description of the sixteen player positions in the War of the
Dark God scenario. The military and economic concerns of each nation are
described along with a summary of any special powers.

The positions are arranged in two opposing factions: The Minions of the Dark
God versus The Alliance. Nations from different factions cannot have more
friendly relations than "neutral" while nations from the same faction cannot
have relations less friendly than "neutral".

2.1 The Minions of the Dark God

The eight nations or powers following Ozzaxytl have the common goal of
establishing the seven obelisks, preferably destroying the nations following
the Old Gods in the process. To establish the obelisks they must gain
control of the seven power spot hexes.

The Vampire Lord:
     The Dark God has given the Vampire Lord the power to animate the dead
     and control them. The Lord rules a bleak and dark country where a few
     scattered villages contain the only population. A small band of
     mercenaries is the only regular army, but the nations of the north
     rightly fear the power of the Vampire Lord and his re-animated dead (or
     un-dead).

     Military:
          The starting military is just a few mercenaries and a few of the
          weakest un-dead troops, but the realm of the Vampire Lord is
          remote and not easily accessible. The Lord and his lieutenants can
          create armies of the weaker un-dead such as zombies and skeletons.
          These armies do not require any upkeep, but creating them takes
          time and finding the necessary death mana can be difficult. The
          more powerful un-dead creatures such as wraiths or ghostly
          warriors can only be summoned by the Vampire Lord himself and
          furthermore they require an upkeep. These un-dead are so dreadful
          to behold that their mere presence strikes all but the bravest of
          men with terror. Their only weakness is their vulnerability to
          certain holy powers.
     Economy:
          The small population and desolate lands mean that only a little
          gold is available. The main resource needed is not gold, however,
          but death mana. This mana is found mainly on old battlefields and
          in ruined cities and it is one of the main tasks of the vampire
          lieutenants of the Vampire Lord to roam the land for mana.
     Special powers:
          The Vampire Lord can cast various magic spells which can be used
          to reduce the production of his enemies' countries (population,
          livestock and food) and to locate death mana, and he and some of
          his minions can also cast the feared cold strike spell.
     Neighbours:
          The nearest allies are the Snakemen just to the south. The nearest
          enemies are a little more distant and are the Order of Quama and
          the Elves of Windwood, both to the west. The Druids are also ever
          nearby.
The Sorcerer:
     The Sorcerer has the special favour of the Dark God. He has been given
     the power to summon minions of the Dark God, so-called demons, from
     other planes of existence. He also knows many arcane mysteries and can
     weave complicated spells. He rules a small, thinly populated country in
     the Red Ridge Mountains. His summoned demons are feared for their
     toughness and fierceness.

     Military:
          The Sorcerer has a small regular army for defence but for attack
          he must rely on his ability to quickly summon powerful demon
          armies. The two difficulties with this are that the demon troops
          are expensive to maintain for any length of time and that only the
          Sorcerer himself can summon them.
     Economy:
          The Sorcerer has only a small income in gold from his lands, but
          gold is not the most important resource to him. For his demons he
          needs dark mana and for his spells enchantment mana. The first
          kind of mana he receives directly from the Dark God, and the flow
          can only be increased as more obelisks are erected by the Sorcerer
          or his allies. The second kind of mana he can increase by
          meditation or by gaining possession of certain artefacts.
     Special Powers:
          The Sorcerer has great magical powers and knows a variety of
          spells, including some strike spells. He has assistant sorcerers
          who also have magical powers but no power over demons. The
          Sorcerer can even teleport himself, with or without others, and
          this makes his armies the most mobile in the world.
     Neighbours:
          The nearest allies are the Trolls, quite a distance to the
          southwest. The nearest enemies are the Northern Isles to the north
          (but they are unable to land directly on the rocky shores of the
          Sorcerer's realm) and the Order of Quama, plus the ever-present
          Druids.
The Beast Master:
     The Beast Master is a monster half man and half beast, created by the
     stray magical energies still lingering from the Mage War in some
     places. Scorned by civilisation and shunned by natural beasts, he was
     easily turned to the Dark God in his thirst for revenge. He lives in a
     wilderness stronghold with his following of other beast-men and
     monsters.

     Military:
          The Beast Master recruits his armies from the beast-men living in
          the wilderness. He and his minions can also sometimes ally with
          the monsters wandering the lands, at least with those which have
          intelligence. No upkeep or creation cost is paid for this army,
          but the recruiting base is limited in any one place, and it takes
          time to find and organise the wary beast-men.
     Economy:
          The Beast Master does not care for the coins of civilisation, nor
          does he need any mana. However, some of his follower beast-men
          have special powers that require enchantment mana. They have some
          inherent mana in them but additional mana can be obtained by
          gaining certain artefacts.
     Special Powers:
          Some of the Beast Master's followers have minor magical ability.
          Among their spells are strike spells and knowledge finding spells.
          The Beast Master "nation" can demolish cities which they gain
          control of (and score victory points for it). The most important
          special power of the beast-men is however that all leaders can
          enter and leave "quest mode" not only in owned hexes but also in
          neutral hexes and therefore to a large extent move around unseen
          by the armies and scouts of other nations.
     Neighbours:
          The nearest allies are the Snakemen, some distance north, and the
          Trolls, a somewhat further distance southwest. The nearest enemies
          are the Elves of Windwood, not too far northwest, and the Druids.
The Snakemen:
     The various tribes of snakemen are united under one king. For centuries
     they have lived in the swamps and deserts, displaced from better lands
     by the stronger races. The Dark God has promised them dominance over
     old enemies and vast reaches of fertile land.

     Military:
          The scaly skin of the snakemen is a natural armour and they can
          fight fiercely with clubs and stones or using their teeth. With
          proper weapons and training, however, they become comparable to
          human heavy infantry, only more mobile. Some tribes fight mounted
          on the large lizard-like "dzareks", two armoured warriors on the
          back of each beast. Some can quickly make reed boats when needed
          and thus travel on rivers or lakes or even on the ocean, if they
          stay near the coast.
     Economy:
          The armies of the snakemen only have to be supplied with food, not
          gold, which is rather fortunate as the nation is extremely poor.
          The main problem facing the snakemen is the lack of weapons for
          their armies. Their lands have little metal ore and except for
          food they do not have much to trade.
     Special Powers:
          None, other than those listed under military.
     Neighbours:
          The nearest are the Vampire Lord to the north and the Beast Master
          to the south. The nearest enemies are the Order of Quama, the
          Elves of Windwood and the Druids, all to the west and south west.
The Trolls:
     The Troll kingdom is in the Black Range and its forested foothills. The
     trolls are old enemies of the elves and the dwarves; and the Dark God
     has promised that these races shall become slaves of the trolls. The
     trolls already dominate the weaker and smaller goblins, who they use
     for labour and catapult-fodder in their armies.

     Military:
          The trolls can muster hordes of goblin troops, equipped with
          spears or crude swords, some riding fierce wolves. These goblin
          troops are weak and cowardly, at lest compared to proper troll
          soldiers, but there are not that many trolls to recruit quality
          troops from. Troll soldiers are well known for the extreme
          rapidity with which their wounds heal; wounds suffered in battle
          one day will be completely gone the next.
     Economy:
          The trolls mine their mountains for gold and metals for their
          weapons. They get wood and food from the forested foothills. Their
          shaman draws his enchantment mana from certain gems occasionally
          found in the mines.
     Special Powers:
          Trolls are very good at tunnelling and sapping work and thus quite
          good at bypassing or destroying enemy fortifications. The kingdom
          has a shaman who knows a few minor spells.
     Neighbours:
          The only really nearby allies are the Gnomes, immediately south.
          Other than that, the nearest are the Pirates of Pyr, some distance
          southwest across the ocean. Enemies are the High Elves, very near
          towards the west, and the Druids and the Elves of Windwood, both
          fairly near towards the north.
The Pirates of Pyr:
     The islands of the Pirates of Pyr lie off the west coast of Chard. For
     centuries the rulers of these isles have been mainly pirates, raiding
     the coasts of the continent and capturing the merchant vessels that
     brave the western seas. From time to time the various nations along the
     coast have attempted to destroy or at least curb the pirates, and in
     fact the Great Empire managed to destroy most of the pirate fleet and
     would surely have invaded Pyr had it not been for the timely outbreak
     of the Troll Wars. The pirate king has been promised great wealth by
     the agents of the Dark God and is thus a staunch supporter of
     Ozzaxytl's cause (and if he had joined the Alliance he would have had
     to forego robbing the shipping of the Caliphate and the High Elves). As
     a reward the Dark God has given him some magical powers.

     Military:
          The Pirates have a large fleet which they rely on to quickly bring
          them where the action (and loot) is. They have very few horses and
          are thus the only human nation without cavalry. Their harbours are
          guarded by castles and this together with their powerful fleet
          makes the Pirate islands very difficult to invade.
     Economy:
          The Pirates are very independent people and thus reluctant to pay
          taxes or work in villeinage (they would rather be villains than
          villeins). Thus the gold and manpower available to the pirate king
          is not on par with that available to other nations. Wood for ships
          is also always in short supply. On the bright side, pirates bring
          their own weapons and thus the need for metals is limited. Their
          sorcerer king gets his mana directly from the Dark God and thus
          the mana available depends on the number of obelisks standing.
     Special Powers:
          The sorcerer-king can magically dominate the giant insects which
          infect much of the wilderness of Chard and this can boost his
          armies at least early in the game. He can also cast various minor
          enchantments and as more obelisks are raised his magical powers
          become more substantial. The renowned pirate heroes can in a pinch
          usually recruit some bandits to their cause, even in neutral
          territory. The pirates can also build ships cheaper than other
          seafaring nations.
     Neighbours:
          The nearest allies are the Gnomes and the Trolls in the east. The
          nearest enemies are the High Elves to the north and the Caliph of
          El-Sha'al to the southeast.
The Gnomes:
     The Gnomes inhabit the hills immediately south of the Black Range.
     Besides the large Gnome population, there is a minority of dwarves.
     During the Troll Wars, the Gnomes maintained neutrality to avoid being
     overrun by their powerful neighbour to the north. The Great Empire,
     which paid dearly in the wars, subsequently occupied most of the
     Gnomes' realm and exacted heavy taxes as "war compensation". The Great
     Empire is now gone and the Gnomes once again free in their own lands,
     but the resentment towards the victors of the Troll Wars - humans in
     particular - is still strong. When the Trolls joined the side of the
     Dark God, the Gnome king decided that this time around, he might as
     well truly ally his kingdom to the Trolls and thus get a chance to
     avenge the humiliations suffered in the last great war.

     Military:
          The military power at start is not great, but the Gnomes can
          quickly muster a fairly large number of troops (infantry and
          archers), comparable in quality to light and medium human troops.
          They can also muster a few high quality dwarven regiments. Gnomes
          (and dwarves) are generally resistant to magical attacks.
     Economy:
          With an abundance of mines, the Gnomes never lack metals for their
          weapons nor gold to pay their troops. They are also well supplied
          with food and can thus be said to have an all round sound economy.
          Their wizards generate their own mana and can meditate to boost
          their production.
     Special powers:
          The gnome engineers are effective at sapping work and can thus
          weaken enemy defences. Gnome wizards know various spells, most
          importantly powerful strike spells, and any successful campaign is
          likely to rely heavily on those strikes. The gnome wizards are
          also skilled in the creation of magical weapons.
     Neighbours:
          The nearest neighbours are the Trolls immediately north and the
          Pirates of Pyr, across the ocean to the west. The nearest enemies
          are the Caliph of El-Sha'al whose realm is to the south and their
          cousins the Dwarves, some distance southeast.
The Queen of Wey:
     The people of the Wey peninsula have long been ruled by a ruthless and
     (in the opinion of some) mad queen. She has always coveted the lands of
     the Caliph and the current war between their two nations is the result.
     Recently, however, the queen had been more worried about her advanced
     years and failing health than by her war with the Caliph. Thus when the
     Dark God approached her and promised her eternal life, she immediately
     became his servant. The power flowing to her from the Dark god through
     the obelisks now keeps her strong and healthy and she knows she will
     become ever stronger as more obelisks are erected.

     Military:
          The Queen of Wey has a large standing army due to the constant
          state of war of her nation. She is the only one to use war
          elephants in her armies, the strongest regular units available to
          human nations. Other than that, her troops are mostly medium and
          heavy infantry; she has practically no cavalry. If the Queen
          should be forced to fight a defencive war she has the benefit of
          having exclusively walled cities and defendable borders.
     Economy:
          The people of Wey are poor and over-taxed. The cost of constant
          warfare has drained the nation of most resources. But the land is
          fertile and the slave-worked mines are producing the metals needed
          to keep the army supplied with weapons.
     Special powers:
          None at start, but as more obelisks are erected the Queen will
          gain the ability to cast some spells and even summon powerful
          un-dead.
     Neighbours:
          The biggest problem presently facing the Queen of Wey is that she
          has no allies nearby. The nearest ones are the Gnomes and the
          Pirates, both of them north and west beyond the lands of the
          Caliph. Her nearest enemies are of course the Caliph of El-Sha'al
          to the northwest, but also too close for comfort are the Dwarves
          to the northeast. It is unlikely that both the Queen of Wey and
          the Caliph of El-Sha'al will be in the game after the first half
          has been played.

2.2 The Alliance

The seven nations of the Alliance, aided by the Druids, oppose the minions
of the Dark God. Their common goal is to find and destroy any dark obelisks
already erected, and to prevent their opponents from gaining control of the
power spots (certain hexes). Unfortunately they do not know exactly where
the seven power spots are, but have to deduce it from the activities of
Ozzaxytl's minions (or through various special spells and powers, or hidden
ancient lore).

The Order of Quama:
     Quama is the god for law and fairness. The templars of Quama were
     renowned in the Great Empire for their fearlessness and skill in
     combat. After the collapse of the Empire, most of the knights settled
     in the northern part of the continent where the Order had built its
     strongest castles. Today the Order of Quama is the main military power
     in the north, but it also has widely separated territories to guard.

     Military:
          The Order has quite large armies of heavy troops. Their knights
          are great leaders in battle and also capable of undertaking
          perilous quests on their own. The navy is small and consists
          mainly of transport vessels. Their strong castles guard all their
          vital territories and a well maintained stretch of the old North
          Road gives their heavy troops some mobility even over the great
          distances within their realm.
     Economy:
          The Order rules a well disciplined and prosperous people and thus
          the tax base is excellent. They are also well supplied with metals
          for their weapons and armour. Horses is in fact the only commodity
          which could ever be in short supply, due to the ever present
          demand for cavalry mounts. The priesthood gain their mana from
          praying to Quama.
     Special Powers:
          The priests of Quama know various information gathering spells and
          some spells especially useful for combating un-dead and demons.
          They can also create golems (giant, strong, humanoid creatures) to
          aid the questing knights.
     Neighbours:
          The Order of Quama control territories over much of the northern
          Chard and thus have almost all the nations of the northern half of
          Chard nearby. In the east, the Snakemen and the Vampire Lord are
          not too far away, in the west is the Sorcerer. In the south are
          the Elves of Windwood and in the north, in the Cold Sea, are the
          Northern Isles. The Druids are like the Order dispersed over much
          of Northern Chard and thus never far away.
The High Elves:
     The High Elves are the oldest nation of Chard, predating the Great
     Empire by several millenia. Their numbers have not yet been fully
     restored after their losses in the Troll Wars and thus their power is
     not what it once was. Their wealth and knowledge is considerable
     however, and their armies, though small, are of excellent quality. They
     worship Enellior, the elven god, and also Quama, the god of law. The
     elven lords have some magic skills.

     Military:
          Elven troops are well equipped and fearless in battle. They are
          inherently resistant to magic and can themselves weave minor
          enchantments that help them versus opponents who are so tough they
          can only be damaged by magical means. The High Elven archers are
          renowned for their skill and range. The navy of the High Elves
          consists of a few warships, lately used mainly for escorting the
          few traders who dare the waters of the Western Sea.
     Economy:
          The High Elves are very wealthy and even with moderate taxation
          the income is usually more than sufficient. They also produce
          metals, wood and horses in adequate quantities. The High Elven
          lords draw their mana from the entire elven population while the
          priesthood obtain their mana by prayer.
     Special powers:
          The elven lords can cast and dispel enchantments and create
          enchanted weapons. The elven priesthood knows information
          gathering spells and spells effective against un-dead and demons
          as well as some strike protection spells.
     Neighbours:
          The nearest enemies are the Trolls a very short distance to the
          southeast and the Pirates of Pyr in the part of the Western Sea
          which lies due south. Then there is the Sorcerer, some distance to
          the north. The nearest allies are the Druids to the northwest and
          also the Order of Quama in that direction, for even though they
          are some distance away the old roads are maintained most of the
          way. The cousins in Windwood are somewhat further away across the
          Black Range but can travel quickly.
The Elves of Windwood:
     Like the High Elven nation, the elven presence in Windwood predates the
     Great Empire. The Elves of Windwood are descendants of elves who left
     the elven cities in the west for a simpler life in the great forests of
     northern Chard. Once the elves roamed all of the great forests, but
     during the Mage War and later the Troll Wars they gravitated to
     Windwood to seek safety in numbers. They worship Enellior, the elven
     god, and Wenollin, the goddess of nature. They have no separate
     priesthood but their lords are versed in the magic of nature as well as
     some of the old elven enchantments.

     Military:
          The Elves of Windwood have only small standing armies, but every
          wood-elf is a hunter and the armies are thus quickly mustered.
          Their powerful and enchanted bows shoot straight and their axes
          and swords are sharp. Some elves tame the great wolves of the
          forest and use them as mounts or charm them to fight with them in
          battle.
     Economy:
          The Elves of Windwood have only little gold and only little do
          they need it. They do not mine metals but use mostly wood for
          their weapons. The woods provide plenty of food, wood and wolves.
          The nature mana is drawn directly from the land and the
          enchantment mana is drawn from the elven population.
     Special powers:
          Like their civilised cousins in the west, the elven lords of
          Windwood can cast and dispel enchantments and create magic
          weapons. They also have some skill with nature magic and can
          improve their own or their allies' production of food, wood and
          livestock as well as do some healing.
     Neighbours:
          The nearest enemies are the Snakemen to the northeast and the
          Beast Master to the east; the most powerful enemies are the Trolls
          to the south, just slightly further away than the other two. In
          the far northeast is the Vampire Lord and his un-dead hordes. The
          nearest allies are the Druids, immediately north and south and
          also a short distance west. The Order of Quama is not far away to
          the northwest and north.
The Dwarves:
     The Dwarves live in strongly fortified cities and castles in the
     southern end of the Grey Range. Even though the Dwarves are not devout
     followers of any of the old gods, they have to oppose the Dark God as
     they do not relish the thought of slavery under their old hated
     enemies, the Trolls. Their only regret is to be opposed to their
     cousins the Gnomes because of the old follies of the Great Empire. The
     Dwarves have recently had an influx of dwarves and gnomes from the
     Gnome kingdom, refugees who hate the Trolls more than they loved their
     King.

     Military:
          Dwarves are tough, magically resistant fighters and produce
          quality weapons. All their troops are heavily armed and armoured
          and are especially effective against large opponents (such as
          giants, trolls, elephants and even cavalry). The Dwarves can also
          recruit a few gnome units, but these are much weaker than the
          dwarven units and the gnome population is perhaps better utilised
          to work the mines. Their fortresses are the strongest in Chard,
          even stronger than the enchanted cities of the High Elves. They
          have no cavalry nor any navy and thus have no fast-moving troops
          of any kind. Their starting armies are adequate, but recruiting
          and outfitting new troops takes a long time.
     Economy:
          The Dwarves are accomplished miners and thus produce great
          quantities of iron and gold. Their main concern is that their
          realm produces too little food to support great armies, but
          luckily dwarves eat less than other races.
     Special powers:
          The dwarven engineers are very good at weakening and bypassing
          enemy fortifications and can also quickly build temporary
          fortifications in the field.
     Neighbours:
          The nearest enemy is the Queen of Wey, a small distance to the
          southwest (although through difficult terrain). The Nearest allies
          are the Eastern Kingdom, neighbours to the north, and the Caliph
          of El-Sha'al through the Din'aral to the west.
The Druids:
     The Druids are the priesthood of Wenollin, the goddess of nature. They
     do not constitute a nation as such but are nevertheless a major power
     in the northern half of Chard. They have human followers concentrated
     in several locations in the great northern forests; men of the woods
     and hills.

     Military:
          The Druids have small forces of able men in every place they call
          theirs. Almost wherever you go you in the wilderness you can find
          worshippers of Wenollin and thus the Druids can recruit units in
          most neutral hexes. Where men will not suffice the Druids can call
          upon the creatures of the wild or the huge and powerful Treants to
          do their bidding.
     Economy:
          The Druids have one important resource: nature mana. They get this
          from the land they control and from special places of power. They
          also collect a little gold from their followers and are always
          able to supply their armies with food.
     Special powers:
          Of all the priesthoods of Chard, Wenollin's priests are closest to
          the land and thus the best attuned to the lines and points of
          power which they locate surer and swifter than priests of other
          gods. They can also improve production of food, wood and livestock
          and even improve the fertility of the population of the lands they
          bless. They can if needed call upon the darker forces of nature to
          strike their enemies. Most unique of their powers is their ability
          to instantly transport themselves and their followers between the
          ancient druidic stone circles.
     Neighbours:
          The Druids have holdings quite close to all of Ozzaxytl's minions
          in the north and also to all the northern members of the Alliance,
          especially the Order of Quama and the Elves of Windwood.
The Eastern Kingdom:
     East of the Grey Range lies the Eastern Kingdom, on some of the most
     fertile land of Chard. The royal family are descendants of the old
     imperial house as are many of the other noble families. The lands that
     make up the Kingdom were mostly untouched by the Troll Wars and the
     people have known only peace for centuries. Much of the priesthood of
     the Great Empire fled to the province that is now the Eastern Kingdom
     after the fall of the imperial capital and thus a mix of old gods are
     worshipped here. Most important is the temple of Duhal, the god of
     light.

     Military:
          The Eastern Kingdom has always been quite safe behind the Grey
          Ridge, mountains to the west, ocean to the east and the Dwarves to
          the south. Only in the north, where the road to the old heartland
          once ran, does the king keep any significant force. For the coming
          conflict, the Eastern Kingdom must muster far greater armies than
          it has ever seen before. The navy is of a respectable size but
          most of the ships are traders.
     Economy:
          The fertile lands and peaceful past makes for a prosperous people
          and good tax payers. In view of the many weapons that will be
          needed, the metal production is insufficient (although respectable
          compared to other human nations) and the wood production will not
          support a fast expansion of the navy. The priests get their mana
          from their temples and from holy rituals.
     Special powers:
          The priests of the Eastern Kingdom know many different spells,
          including information spells and spells for combating demons and
          un-dead. They are also capable of making holy weapons and creating
          golems.
     Neighbours:
          No enemies are nearby; equally distant are the Queen of Wey in the
          south, the Gnomes and the Trolls in the West and the Beast Master
          in the north.
The Northern Isles:
     The isles in the Cold Sea are ruled by a king whose subjects are the
     most accomplished mariners in the world of Chard. The ships of the
     Northern Isles are large, oceangoing vessels which are often seen in
     ports as far south as the High Elves or even (though not quite as
     often) in the ports of the Eastern Kingdom. Of the Old Gods the most
     popular and important is of course Requa, god of the seas and the
     seafarers.

     Military:
          The Northern Isles have a powerful navy and respectable armies,
          mostly infantry. They can muster all the standard human units and
          they can build both the large ship types favoured by other human
          nations and their traditional longboats, the fastest vessels for
          ocean travel. The main ports are guarded by castles but the fist
          shield of the Northern Isles should always be their navy.
     Economy:
          The Northern Isles have a good tax base and produce adequate
          amounts of food, metals and horses. The wood production is larger
          than normal for human nations allowing quick expansion of the
          navy. The priests gain their mana from prayers.
     Special powers:
          The priests can cast spells to aid ocean travel and also general
          spells of information gathering and some other minor spells.
     Neighbours:
          Just across a short stretch of ocean on the northern coast of
          Chard are the Druids and the Order of Quama, and the latter has
          several ports on the Cold Sea. The High Elves are not too far by
          ship along the coast to the south. The nearest enemy is the
          Sorcerer in the coastal Red Ridge mountains, but even the
          islanders cannot find any safe place to anchor their ships on that
          rugged coast. The islanders can never know themselves safe from
          the threat from the mountains though, as rumour has it that not
          only can the sorcerer teleport himself but some of his demon
          lieutenants can also fly, even across open water. The main rival
          for dominance of the seas and conquest of the small neutral
          islands is of course the Pirates of Pyr far away to the south and
          the navies of the two seafaring nations often clash off the
          western coast of Chard.
The Caliph of El-Sha'al:
     The Caliph rules a populous but poor nation in the south. From his
     father he inherited the conflict with his arch-enemy, the Queen of Wey.
     For many years his armies have been busy repelling the many attacks
     across the border from Wey. Though his people would wholeheartedly
     support an invasion of Wey his wise generals advise him that the strong
     walled cities of the southern neighbour are not lightly taken and that
     his legendary cavalry is better utilised in the flat country on his
     side of the border. The most important religions in El-Sha'al are those
     of Rakatar, the war god, and Onosho, the horse goddess.

     Military:
          The cavalry is by far the most important branch of the armies of
          the Caliphate, though the infantry is the most numerous. Almost
          all units mustered are of the lightest variety due to the limited
          supply of metals compared to the virtually limitless supply of
          men. The light cavalry is the quality troop type of the Caliphate
          and blessed by Onosho they are stronger than the light cavalry of
          other nations. The navy is almost nonexistent due to the loss of
          many ships to the Pirates and the fact that very little wood is
          available. The port on the West Sea is guarded by a castle to
          protect from landings from Pyr.
     Economy:
          All resources except men and horses are in constant short supply.
          The priests get their mana from rituals.
     Special powers:
          Any cavalry unit mustered by the caliphate will be extra strong in
          combat. The priests of Rakatar can create weapons of great power
          for questing and can cast spells that boost the nation's armies.
     Neighbours:
          The nearest enemy is of course the Queen of Wey to the south, but
          the Pirates of Pyr are just off the coast to the west, and the
          Gnomes are a short distance through the Din'aral to the north. The
          nearest allies are the Dwarves to the east and even further east
          the Eastern Kingdom. Parts of the old southern road linking the
          western port of the Caliphate to the eastern ports of the East
          Kingdom is still intact, so reinforcements from those parts can
          arrive reasonably quickly. Either the Caliphate or the Queen of
          Wey will probably be eliminated after half of the game has been
          played. In fact it could even happen to both nations at the same
          time.

2.3 Which nation to choose

The nations of "War of the Dark God" are very different and play very
differently. The following table is an attempt to rate the nations for
various characteristics which affect the style of play required to do well
and enjoy the game. The ratings range from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest).

Dependence
     is an attempt to rate how much the survival and the success of the
     nation depends on support from the other players on your team. "War of
     the Dark God" is a team game (even though an individual winner is found
     at the end) and the entire team must succeed for its nations to have
     any chance of winning (see section 3 below), so cooperation is always
     essential for all nations. This rating therefore does not reflect the
     general need to cooperate but rather is a measure of the direct
     dependence on other allies supporting your nation either with resources
     or military actions and on them doing so successfully. So e.g. the
     Caliph of El-Sha'al is very dependent on help from his allies while the
     Vampire Lord is more or less self-sufficient. In general, the Alliance
     nations are more dependent on each other than the Dark God nations and
     on the whole require closest cooperation between team members.
Importance
     is how important it is to your team that the nation is played well and
     fulfils its "role" in the game. All nations are important to the team
     but some can relax more and afford more mistakes than others without
     endangering the whole team. The ratings in this category is given
     without regard to the placement of the seven power spots (obelisk
     hexes) as this varies from game to game. Any nation close to one or
     more power spots becomes even more important to its team than indicated
     by the table. So the table shows that the Sorcerer and Druids are vital
     to their respective teams and will be "on" most of the time while the
     island nations of the Pirates of Pyr and the Northern Isles to some
     extent can sit back and choose how involved they want to be in the
     going-ons on the mainland. Note that the need for close cooperation
     among the Alliance nations is also evident from their generally high
     importance scores - almost all nations must do well for the Alliance to
     succeed.
Stability
     is how good the nation is at surviving and recovering from disasters
     (strategic errors, forgetting to send in orders or just making bad
     mistakes) in the face of a determined opposition. To some extent the
     ratings also reflect how likely it is to make a grave mistake with a
     given nation. So the Queen of Wey and the Caliph must be their toes all
     the time while the Northern Isles and Snakemen have fairly easily
     defended positions.
Difficulty
     is a measure of how difficult in a technical sense it is to play the
     nation well. Some nations are complex to run and some require rather
     specialised styles of play while others are straight-forward with
     perhaps fewer but better tools to do the job. So e.g. the very
     specialised nations of the Vampire Lord, Sorcerer, Beast Master and
     Druids are hard to play well while the simpler strong military nations
     of the Snakemen, Trolls and Dwarves are much more straight-forward. The
     high score for the Pirates and the Northern Isles are due to the need
     for much navy movement.

  Nation      VL  So  BM  Sn  Tr  PP  Gn  QW  OQ  HE  EW  Dw  Dr  EK  NI  CE
  Dependence   1   2   3   2   2   3   3   5   3   3   4   2   4   3   2   5
  Importance   2   5   2   3   4   1   4   2   4   4   4   4   5   3   1   4
  Stability    3   4   4   5   4   4   3   1   3   3   2   3   3   4   5   1
  Difficulty   4   4   5   1   2   4   3   4   3   3   3   2   5   3   4   3

3 Winning the game

The game ends after 24 turns or on an earlier turn where the seven dark
obelisks are either all standing or all down at the end of the turn.

If all seven obelisks exist at the end of a turn, or if at the end of turn
24 there are six obelisks standing, it is a Dark God victory and the Dark
God minion with the most points win, the one with second most points places
second, etc. If at the end of a turn no obelisks are standing, or if at the
end of turn 24 only one obelisk is standing, it is an Alliance victory and
the Alliance player who has the most points wins, etc. Otherwise the
conflict (but not the game) will continue and neither side wins. In this
case players of both factions are placed according to their score.

Victory points are awarded for enemies destroyed in combat, for power spot
(obelisk) hexes owned and for cities controlled. At the start of the game
all nations have zero victory points and as the game progresses points may
be added or subtracted (it is possible to have a negative score!).

The points awarded for units destroyed in combat depend mostly on their
(theoretical) combat value and range from 1 point per 100 individuals killed
for human Light Infantry to 29 points per 100 individuals killed for the
un-dead Wraiths. No points are awarded for wounded individuals or for
individuals who flee, only kills count.

A power spot hex (i.e. a hex where a dark obelisk can be located) is worth
20 points to any Dark God minion who owns it. Each power spot hex owned by
an alliance nation and marked with a marker of light (see section 3.1 below)
is worth 20 points to the owner. Some Alliance nations may start the game
(unknowingly) owning a power spot hex and if they mark such a hex they will
gain 20 points.

A dark obelisk destroyed by an Alliance nation (by taking the hex it is in)
is worth 10 points in addition to the 20 points gained for the hex itself
(it is automatically marked as the presence of an obelisk reveals it to be a
power spot). Similarly, any marker of light destroyed by a Dark God minion
is worth an extra 10 points to the player, in addition to the 20 gained for
raising an obelisk.

Markers of light each add a permanent bonus of 1 point to the score of all
Alliance nations at the end of every turn (this is in addition to the points
awarded to the nations that own them). Standing dark obelisks are worth 20
points to all Dark God minions (in addition to the points awarded to the
player that owns them), but unlike the marker of light bonus these points
are lost if the obelisk is torn down. The 40 points for the two starting
obelisks is already included in the starting scores of the Dark God minions.

Cities are worth two victory points per size increment, except to the Trolls
and the Druids who gain only one point per size increment. For the original
owner of a city it is worth an extra 10 points in addition to those awarded
for its size. This means that if you lose a size 8 starting city of your
nation you lose 26 points while if you gain a new size 8 city you gain only
16 points. The Trolls' cave city (Ugrak Da) and the snakeman swamp city
(Shebesh Ssash) are only of worth to their original owners, other nations do
not get points for these cities (but may of course take them to deprive the
Trolls or the Snakemen of their point value and production).

Some nations receive special points for special nation victory conditions
(such as controlling certain locations or owning certain items, for owning
certain terrain, or for having a large production of a specific resource).

Magical and special items, whether produced by players or found by questing
characters, are worth some victory points to their owner. All non-unique
magic items are worth 3 victory points to whoever owns them. All non-unique
non-magical items (e.g. an Adamantine Axe or a Poisoned Blade) are worth 2
victory points. All unique magical items are worth 10 victory points and all
unique non-magical items (e.g. "The Golden Cup of the Elven Queen") are
worth 5 victory points.

The different nations must get their points in different ways. Some nations
(Trolls, Caliph, Queen) can hardly avoid getting a significant amount of
combat points just defending their territory while others may have far to
travel for a decent fight (Eastern Kingdom, Pirates, Northern Isles). Some
nations (especially the Alliance nations of the North) are very far from the
nearest city worth any points to them. A few nations can really never hope
to take any cities or kill any large number of enemies but must rely mostly
on their special victory points.

3.1 About the power spots, dark obelisks and markers of light

The power spots are seven specific hexes, known to the Dark God players at
the start of the game and unknown to the Alliance players. Whenever a Dark
God nation gains control of a power spot hex, a dark obelisk is
automatically erected in the centre of the hex at the end of the turn. This
will be known to all who can see the hex (they may not be able to see the
obelisk itself, but they can see the activity in the hex), and the fact that
an obelisk has been erected (but not its location) will be communicated to
all nations. Furthermore the Dark God will send 100 Dark Guardians to guard
the obelisk. Even if the alliance does not detect the obelisk as it is
erected, their agents will detect the obelisk and report its location 1 to 3
turns later, and there is of course always the chance that it may be spotted
by a scout.

When an Alliance nation gains control of a power spot hex containing a dark
obelisk, the obelisk is automatically destroyed at the end of the turn and
its destruction communicated to all nations.

The alliance nations can place markers of light in the hexes they own (only
one per hex). When a marker is placed on a power spot it helps the Old Gods
and the player is awarded 20 victory points (which will be deducted again if
the hex is lost). If the marker is placed in a hex which is not a power
spot, the marker is immediately destroyed and 10 points is deducted from the
player's score permanently. A correctly placed marker of light will sanctify
the hex it is placed in and will start earning all alliance nations 1
victory point per turn. In addition, for every marker placed the priests of
the old religions are in closer communion with their gods. The game effect
of this is that for every marker of light, alliance nations will receive an
amount of holy mana equal to the normal production of their religious
characters. This extra mana is added to the nation pool rather than as
personal mana for each character. Similarly, the two nations worshipping the
god of nature, Wenollin, will gain extra nature mana. The Druids will gain 5
mana per Minor Druid and 10 per Major Druid while the Elves of Windwood will
gain 10 mana per Lord of the Woods. Characters fleeing or retreating at the
end of the turn do not generate any extra mana from markers of light.

The power spot hexes lies where the lines of power meet, and most of them
where two or more such lines end. Lines of power run parallel to the hex
grid, so when the Alliance learns the location of a power spot they can
search for others along the lines of hexes going from the known power spot
hex in the six directions of the COSMOS compass. There are certain magical
spells which reveal power lines and power spots, and as more and more
obelisks are erected it becomes easier for the Alliance to locate the lines
of power and power spots by magical means (but by then it may be too late!).

4 Questing

Two nations rely heavily on using quest mode to move unescorted characters
around unmolested by the regular military units of the game: The Vampire
Lord must get his vampires to remote hexes containing death mana and the
Beast Master must move his characters to places where he can recruit
beast-men and monsters. Other than those two nations, the Dark God followers
are likely to have less presence in quest mode than the Alliance as they
have fewer major characters to spare and many major magical items to be
found in quest mode are less useful to the Dark God side than to the
Alliance.

Apart from a few wandering monsters, most monsters in quest mode are found
in their lairs. Monster lairs are scattered around in the wilderness (hexes
not controlled by anyone at the start of the game). Examples of monster
lairs are bandits' dens, ruins and caves. When the monster(s) have been
cleared out of a lair the lair will in general not be re-populated (unless
the lair is really part of an extended quest, see below). All lairs will
contain treasure of some kind which can be picked up once the monsters are
gone, so it is a good idea to search for a few phases after clearing out a
lair to spot all the treasure there may be (small items such as magical
rings are easy to miss).

4.1 Extended quests

Some lairs or other locations found in quest mode may have detailed
descriptions which are issued as blurbs. A detailed description is an
indication that the location is somehow linked to an extended quest. Items
found or rumours which questing characters pick up may also be links to
extended quests. An extended quest is a small "story quest" which requires
more than just monster bashing to complete. The rewards for solving an
extended quest are much higher than for clearing a lair of monsters: Usually
there will be a major magic item to be found (one which unlike most magic
items affects the military side of the game) or other significant gains for
your position.

If you opt to try to solve an extended quest you have stumbled upon you
should be prepared to seek information from various sources. All nations
except the Beast Master have an "advisors" or an "augury" order which can be
used to ask for simple information related to extended quests (at a cost)
but more information may be obtained by characters visiting certain places.
Hints in the blurbs related to the extended quests may indicate that
information has to be sought from a certain source, e.g. "The Fat Sage", and
your job is then to find that source (your advisors may know where) and send
a character there to get the information.

The advisors/augury orders have the following formats:

advisors subject
augury subject
The subject may be any (short) text. These orders are nation orders used to
ask information of the nation's disembodied advisors. It will usually cost
some resources depending on subject if the order is successful and
information is gained, but it will cost nothing if it is not.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Example:
advisors Fat Sage
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are two other orders which may be needed when solving an extended
quest: locate and special.

locate description
The description may be any short text. This order is used by a character to
reveal a "hidden" location which is supposed to be where the character
currently is (e.g. in the city where the character is). Locations which can
be "found" with the locate order are not really hidden but are just not
interesting (and thus not "seen" by your characters) unless you know what to
look for. If e.g. the wizard you seek lives in a red house with a green door
in a certain city suddenly that house becomes interesting to you, but unless
you know you should look for it you will pass it by without noticing
anything special about it.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Examples:
locate Red house with green door
locate Royal Library
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

special action
The action may be any short text. This order is used by a character to
perform a special quest-related action not covered by the usual orders.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Examples:
special Pull green lever
special Ask innkeeper about Rosebud
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note that all the special questing orders (advisors, augury, locate, special
and any other free form text orders) are very sensitive to spelling mistakes
in their arguments.
