FiefQuest Help Manual

Help Contents

Section 1. Overview

What is "FiefQuest"?

Section 2. Game Prep

Set-up

Strategic Map

Section 3. Game Controls

Timer

Resources

Graphs

Chat Window

Buttons -- Move, Info, Claim

Section 4. Other Windows

See Current Armies

Claim a Fief

See Current Lands

See Finances

Conversion Toggles

Section 5. Other Players

Show Other Players

Section 6. Fief History

Section 7. Counties

County Types

Section 8. Declarations of War/Battles

Call to Battle

Battle Mode

Battle Controls

Multi-Battles

Section 9. Market Faires

Create a Faire

Attend Faire Screen

Market Faire Screen

Trading Screen

Section 10. Court

Court Advisors

Section 11. Castles

Section 12. Siege Game

Siege, Pay Toll, Retreat Buttons

The Spoils Of War

The Siege

Token Rules

Castle Defenders

Burning Crops

Section 13. Change World Command

Section 14. FiefQuest Keyboard Shortcuts for Main Screen

Strategic Display

Battle Display


Section 1. Overview

What is "FiefQuest"?

"FiefQuest" is a challenging on-line, multi-player game of land acquisition, resource management, and battle strategy. The goal of "FiefQuest" is to develop the lands of your Fief, construct powerful armies, and defeat other players. By doing these things you will move up in rank. A Fief produces resources that can be spent to improve the lands, build armies or buy off other players. Being a multi-player game, a player may conflict or cooperate with the other players as much as he wants.


Section 2. Game Prep

Set-up

The first thing you must do is choose the coat of arms you wish to use throughout the game. Clicking on the arrows over and under the shield will display a variety of shield designs. Then, clicking on one of the various colors, and clicking on the part of the shield you wish to change, will allow you to customize the shield's colors. Type your character name in the space indicated on this screen. A new player begins the game as a coat-of-arms icon with an army unit, some money, but no fief. The player then moves around until he finds a likely looking spot where he may found his fief.

Strategic Map

The next screen you will see is the Strategic Map. The screen is divided into three parts: the Strategic Map, the Control Buttons, and the CHAT area for reading and entering text messages.

The Strategic Map is composed of hexagons, with each hexagon within a fief considered a county. Each county has a name and a terrain type. Fief counties provide wealth and resources to the player, as well as regulating the player's movement.


Section 3. Game Controls

Timer

To the right of the sundial is a timer counting down. The timer tells the player how much time remains before the "season" ends and he may collect taxes and resources again. Each season lasts eight minutes in real time.

Resources

Below the clock is a tally of his current resources. There are FOUR types of resources in the game. They are:

 LABOR:	Available workers.

 FOOD:	Used to feed population/workers.

 RESOURCES	Raw materials and things made from those materials.

 WEALTH	Gold, gems, other items whose only use is as cash

All of the above resources will be described in terms of points.

Graphs

Morale Graph

The Morale Graph shows the relative happiness of the population. The higher the morale, the lower the banditry level will be.

Banditry Graph

The Banditry Graph shows the current intensity of banditry in the kingdom. The higher the value, the more likely resources are to be stolen.

Chat Window

Below the Strategic Map is the CHAT WINDOW. This is used to communicate with other players. Simply type your text in the entry-box at the bottom, hit Enter, and it will be sent to everyone else on-line. The player may also send a private message by typing the other player's name or identification number (shown in the SHOW OTHER PLAYERS window), followed by a colon and the message you wish to send. CONTROL-X will clear the chat text line.

Buttons -- Move, Info, Claim

If the MOVE button is highlighted, clicking on a hexagon moves the player's token to the chosen location. The game will automatically choose the quickest route. Speed of movement is decided by the terrain type to be entered. There is no movement between movement ticks.

The following table shows the time, in movement ticks, for various terrain:

Plains	1

Forest	2

Hills	2

Swamp	3

Roads	1 (regardless of terrain if moving along road)

Mountain	Impassable

Lake	Impassable

Castle	(depends on other terrain in county)

River 	Add 1 (maximum of 3)

Before a unit enters a county, it must use up the number of ticks required for the terrain.

By clicking on the SHIELD in the upper right-hand corner of the screen with the left mouse button, the player centers his army on the strategic map. Clicking on the right mouse button will center the strategic map on the player's castle.

The INFO Button means the player wants information about the location clicked upon. If the INFO button is highlighted and the player clicks on a county, a box appears, showing the terrain in that county, the fief (if any) it belongs to, any army tokens and any castles presently located there.

You can also use the Info button to expand your fief. Move your game marker to a hex that you wish to acquire. This hex must be bounded on two sides by hexes you already own. Click on the hex. This brings up the Info dialogue button.

If you have enough wealth (2 gold, 2 resources, and 2 labor), a "Claim" button will show up in the Info Dialogue window. If the player clicks on that "Claim" button, his fief will expand into that hex.


Section 4. Other Windows

See Current Armies

The See Current Armies button is represented by five soldiers and calls up a window showing the armies controlled by the player.

Within that window are five buttons. They are:

Auto Formation

Sets up units in formation box in a single line, with cavalry and light infantry on the flanks.

Rename

Click on this button to rename the unit that you have selected. Type the new name in the field provided.

Reinforce

By using the Reinforce button, and spending one wealth point, an under-strength unit may be brought up to full strength. "Reinforce All" will uniformly reinforce all armies, as long as there are enough resources to do so.

Disband

Removes the unit from game. If disbanded in a fief, the fief's banditry level goes up.

Buy Army

Means the player can buy one army unit. This may be Heavy Infantry (HI ), Light Infantry (LI) or Cavalry (CAV). The scale is approximately 400 men per HI, 300 for LI and 200 for CAV. An army outside the fief immediately receives the new units as reinforcements. Click on a unit-type to buy it. You will be asked if you wish to "Buy Mercenary" or "buy Regular." Mercenaries are more expensive, but also have more training.

Claim a Fief

The Claim a Fief button, represented by hexagons with a white flag in the middle, allows the player to claim an area as part of his fief. You can only claim a county with a house on it.

See Current Lands

The See Current Lands button, represented by a group of hexagons with a question mark beside them, calls up a window showing the current fief and its counties as developed by the player, as well as its current material resources.

If you have the minimum number of population, etc. available, the following buttons are available:

Upgrade Land

Allows the player to make his land more valuable (for instance, turning Hills into Mined-Hills).

Show Court

The Show Court button displays the people that the player has picked up and added to his court. You may also change your coat of arms from the "Show Court" screen.

Abandon Fief

If the player is sitting on a hex represented by his castle, he may choose to Abandon Fief. This will cause his castle to vanish, but he will retain his armies and resources. If the player does not claim another fief before the timer runs out, his resources will dwindle and his armies will starve.

See Finances

The button with the Treasure Chest is the SEE FINANCES button, which brings up the FINANCES WINDOW.

The FINANCES WINDOW contains a table indicating resource levels:

Current Season

The Current Season row shows current resource levels.

Next Tax

Next Tax shows what total resources will be received in the next round if things remain the same.

Support Costs

Support Costs shows the cost he will pay in food and wealth to support his population and armies. Each population point must be fed with one food point.

Total

The Total equals the projected level of resources on hand to do the player's buying and trading.

Create Faire

The CREATE FAIRE button means a market faire will be held at the player's fief until his next tax round (a maximum of 8 minutes).

Attend A Faire

The Attend a Faire Button brings up a menu of currently active faires which the player may then attend (see "Market Faires").

Conversion Toggles

The three Conversion Toggle switches at the bottom of the Finances Screen allow the player to convert resources to cash.

Convert Food

With Convert Food to Cash, the player may always spend 3 food points in exchange for 1 wealth point. The reverse is not possible.

Convert Resources

Convert Resources to Cash converts 3 resource points to 1 wealth point. The reverse is not available.

Convert Labor

Convert Labor to Cash converts 3 labor points to 1 wealth point IF he has a jester in his court. This represents money raised by entertainment. The reverse is not available.

Clicking on the UP or DOWN buttons will increase or decrease the amount to exchange. Then, clicking on the "exchange" button will complete the transaction.


Section 5. Other Players

Show Other Players

The Show Other Players screen is the list of all the players in the game, with their Coat of Arms, rank, and if they are friend or foe.

Enemy

The Enemy button is used to change a "friend" to a "foe" and vice versa. Highlighting the other player and clicking on the "Enemy" button will change the other player's status. If you encounter a "foe," you will be given the option of fighting him. If you choose "yes," a battle will ensue. If you choose "no," the other player's status will automatically change to "friend" and you will pass each other on the map normally.

Call Player

By using Call Player, a call is made to the player highlighted on the above list. Only the player being called can read the message.

Send Money

Send Money brings up a screen with a toggle switch to indicate the wealth you are sending to another player.

Center on Fief

Center on Fief shows the selected player's fief and castle.

Spy

A Spy reports the statistics of other players designated as an enemy to determine attack strategy. A spy costs four gold pieces unless you have a Spy Advisor in your court, in which case, the spy is free. Only one spy can be sent out at a time.


Section 6. Fief History

The last of the Control Buttons on the Strategic Map brings up a window showing the Fief History, including the events for that season.

Show Court

The Show Court button will show the people in your court.

Plague

A PLAGUE lasts for the entire season of the game remaining before the next tax round. The effects of plague are felt during the tax collecting, when all resources are degraded somewhat due to the ill-health of the population. Plague can be spread by wandering armies.

Famine

A Famine affects only the food supply, and appears after a tax round and lasts until the next round.

Storms

Storms affect only resources, diminishing by some degree the resource points put out during that tax round.

Bountiful Harvest

Bountiful Harvest means a particularly good crop comes in. This may also convert cleared forests to regular forest land.

Thievery

When banditry increases beyond a certain point, Civil Unrest occurs. This affects the taxes collected in that round 5% per point above 4.

Marriage

When the player finds a spouse character, the fief has a Wedding. Morale of the fief goes up greatly (see Section 7).

Children

If the player has a spouse, there is a random chance they will have a Birth.

Win Battle

If the player takes part in a Victorious Battle, morale of the fief improves.

Lose Battle

If the fief has a Defeat, the morale goes down.


Section 7. Counties

County Types

The following types of counties that exist in the game and what they produce, are listed below:

County Type	Movement Cost	Labor	Food	Resources	Wealth
Plains (empty)	1	0	1	0	0
Plains (Pasture)	1	2	3	1	0
Plains (Cultivated)	1	4	8	0	0
Plains (Burnt)	1	4	0	0	0
Hills	2	0	0	0	1
Hills (Mined)	2	1	0	0	4
Forest	2	0	0	1	0
Forest (Cleared)	2	1	0	4	0
Lake	n/a	0	0	0	0
Lake (with fishing)	n/a	1	2	0	0
Labor

In addition to the above, the player gets 1 wealth point for every two Labor points in taxes. All points except labor may be accumulated from round to round.

Taxes

Each round of tax and resources occurs every 8 minutes.

Food

One food point is needed to feed one labor point. This is done automatically. Any excess food may be saved. If food falls short, unfed labor points are lost and provide no tax wealth.

Morale Graph

The Morale Graph shows the relative happiness of the population. The higher the morale, the lower the banditry level will be.

Banditry Graph

The Banditry Graph shows the current intensity of banditry in the kingdom. The higher the value, the more likely resources are to be stolen.


Section 8. Declarations of War/Battles

Call to Battle

If a player enters a hex occupied by another player marked as an "enemy," he'll be asked if he wants to start a battle. If the answer is "yes," the invading player's army will assume the battle formation, and the battle will begin. If he answers "no," the current occupant will be asked if he wants to declare battle. He may say "no," and allow the first player to pass, or say "yes" and engage his opponent. When a player engages an opponent, the game goes into the BATTLE MODE.

Battle Mode

In BATTLE MODE, a maximum of eight players may engage in battle. Each player starts with their army (which they have purchased with the Build Army button)and a command tent. A player can either win the battle by defeating his opponent's armies, or capturing his command tent. To destroy a command tent, the player must leave his army on the opponents tent for 20-40 seconds. After a victory occurs, the players return to the strategic map.

When you move the pointer over a unit, an Information Window will show you the level, type, and condition of your troops. Type of Troops:

Cavalry consisting of 200 troops.

Light Infantry consisting of 300 troops.

Heavy Infantry consisting of 400 troops.

Skill Levels

The Skill Level of these troops are either Green, Trained, Veteran, or Elite.

Morale Levels

The Morale Level of the troops will be rated as Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor.

Fatigue Levels

The Fatigue Level is likewise rated as Excellent, Fit, Tired, or Exhausted.

Battle Controls

Movement

To move an army unit, click on the Movement Button (indicated by an arrow). Then, click once on the unit you wish to move, and click again on the desired destination, and the unit will move to that location.

To move several units as a group, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the pointer until a box surrounds the units you wish to move. Then, clicking on the desired location will cause those units to move there.

Formation

To the right is the Formation Button, which acts similarly to the Movement Button. Clicking on this button, then successively clicking on multiple army units will add those units to the selection. If a unit is already selected, clicking on it will remove it from the selection. Once you have finished selecting the units, you can click on the movement button again to move the units in formation to the new destination.

Attack Posture

If a unit is selected, clicking on the Attack Button, (indicated by a sword), will put the unit in Attack Posture. In this posture, the unit can do more damage, but is also likely to take more damage.

Defense Posture

If a unit is selected, clicking on the Defend Button, (indicated by a shield), will put the unit in the Defensive Posture. In this posture, the unit does less damage, but can also sustain more damage.

Strategic

The Strategic Button takes the player to the Strategic Map. In that view, the player can then click on the sword and return to the Battle Mode.

Give Up

The Give Up button means that you surrender, and the battle ends. Your army is then diminished according to the Morale Level.

Berserk

When you click on the Berserk button, all your soldiers will fight harder, doubling the number of inflicted casualties. However, your armies will get exhausted much faster using this method.

Additional Info., Search, Rally

Clicking on the Shield at the top of the screen will provide additional information. Clicking the left mouse button searches for your closest unit that is not on the screen, and centers the screen on that unit. Clicking again looks for the next available unit, or your tent if there is no unit available. Clicking the right mouse button will rally the other units around the selected unit. If you have no units selected, the clicking the right mouse button will rally your troops to the Command tent.

Multi-Battles

A player may join a battle that is already in progress by clicking on the location where a battle is occurring. A message will then come up, asking which side the player wishes to join, either the attacker or defender (maximum eight players per battle). The player then moves to that battle, and either joins the Attackers (on the lower half of the screen) or the Defenders (on the upper half of the screen).

If the player loses in a multi-battle, and the battle is not over, he will be pushed to a hex adjacent to the battle. Since all players will always have at least a minimal army, that player may rejoin the battle if he desires.


Section 9. Market Faires

One of the easiest ways to gain wealth or resources is to either hold or attend a Market Faire. It is here that these items can be bought, sold, or traded.

If a player wishes to hold his own Market Faire, he clicks on the box marked CREATE A FAIRE in the Finances Window. This calls up the CREATE A FAIRE box.

Create a Faire

Advertisement Copy

At the top of the screen is a place for the player's Advertisement Copy. The player may enter up to four lines of text as the advertisement for a faire.

Attendance Fee

At the bottom of the screen is a toggle switch indicating the Attendance Fee. This value, from 0 to 9, is set to indicate how much the faire will cost other players to attend.

Attend Faire Screen

You do not have to attend your own faire. To attend your faire, or the faire of another player, open the Finance window and click "Attend Faire." This will open the Faire screen.

Info Box

In the center of the screen is a list which shows the icons of the current faire holders, and the entry fee to get into faire in Wealth points. Below that is an Info Box, which shows an advertisement describing the faire.

Will Trade

On the left of the screen are the Will Trade buttons, where you designate what you wish to trade at the faire.

Will Buy

Under them are the Will Buy buttons, showing what you are willing to buy at the faire. The window on the right of the screen shows your current resources.

Go To Faire

The Go To The Faire button sends you to the faire.

Cancel

The Cancel button returns you to the previous menu.

Market Faire Screen

At the top of the screen is a banner stating who is running the faire, and a LIST of all the PLAYERS at a faire, with what they wish to trade and buy. Highlighted buttons show what they are WILLING TO BUY and WILLING TO TRADE. Select the other player you wish to trade with, and click TRADE. This notifies the other player that you wish to trade with them. The other player will respond "yes" or "no" to your trade request. If they answered yes, the Trading Screen will appear. The players may complete negotiations by using the Chat window. The CALL PLAYER button connects the two players. EXIT THE FAIRE returns the player to normal play.

Trading Screen

If the player chooses to trade, the screen will change to the TRADING SCREEN. On the left of the screen is a list of resources and toggle switches indicating how much you are offering to trade. The numbers on the left indicate what you WANT in return. When you formulate your offer, you send it to the other player by clicking on the OFFER button. The other player may Accept or Decline. If they accept, the exchange is automatic. If they Decline, your Withdraw button toggles back to the Offer position. If you are still interested in trading, you may both begin the transaction again with counteroffers.

Note: Both the Attend Faire and Market Faire screens make you designate resources that you wish to buy and sell. The Trading screen doesn't hold you to those decisions. You are free to trade anything you want.


Section 10. Court

Court Advisors

While playing the game, you will come across advisors to add to your court.

The Members of the Court are:

Spouse:	adds to morale of army and kingdom; minus to morale if killed or sold.

Knight: 	adds to army morale and army attack ability.

Priest: 	adds to morale and army defense ability.

Heir:	adds bonus points to morale.

Armorer: 	adds to army defense.

Jester: 	allows excess labor to be traded for cash, 3 for 1.

Horse trainer: 	adds to Cavalry attack and defense.

Drill Master: 	adds to Heavy Infantry attack and defense.

Bowman: 	adds to Light Infantry attack and defense.

Engineer: 	adds to siege attack and defense.

Farming Expert:	adds to cultivated county food production.

Miner: 	adds to wealth produced by mines.

Sailor: 	adds to food produced by lakes.

Spy: 	may spy once between tax rounds for free.

Tax Collector: 	adds to taxes collected.

Shepherd:	adds to food produced by grazing plains.

Woodcutter: 	adds to resources produced in forests.


Section 11. Castles

A player's castle is determined by his rank. The higher the rank the greater the castle bonuses.

The Ranks are:

Rank		Labor	Food	Resources	Taxes
	King	12	6	12	(6)
	Duke	8	4	8	(4)
	Baron	6	3	4	(3)
	Lord	4	2	2	(2)
	Knight	2	1	1	(1)
(Please note: Taxes are collected and added to Wealth at the end of each season.)

For siege purposes, a castle Labor bonus number is also its siege defense number. Castles may not be moved or relocated by a player except by abandoning their current fief and claiming a new fief.

For each week that you don't play the game, you will drop by one rank.


Section 12. Siege Game

Siege, Pay Toll, Retreat Buttons

Upon entering a county containing another player's castle, and the player is on-line, the player will be presented with SIEGE, PAY TOLL, or RETREAT buttons. If a SIEGE is declared, a siege commences. If the player decides to PAY TOLL, the player pays the toll set by the other player (1-10), and no siege takes place. The RETREAT button causes the player to stay where he is. The attacker in a siege has two basic fighting options: assault or remain in place.

Once you select Assault, a screen will immediately give you the opportunity to purchase siege weapons up to the limit of your resources. You will have 30 seconds to do so. Then the Assault phase of the Siege begins. A successful Assault phase will give you a better ratio for the Attack phase. After the Assault phase, you may the option to Attack the castle or Stand. To Attack, the ratio of attackers to defenders must be at least 4 to 1.

Attack

For an attack to take place, the siege ratio must be 4-1. Whatever the final ratio is indicates the chance of a successful assault.

Stand

A player can maintain a siege as long as he does not move his token. By waiting out his opponent, he can hope to starve him out by waiting from tax round to tax round.

The Spoils Of War

When the player wins a siege, he receives the opponent's wealth, resources, and rank. If the opponent is of a higher rank, the winner is promoted to that rank. For instance, if there are less than eight Lords on-line, and two knights choose to battle, the winner of that battle becomes a Lord, and the loser remains a Knight. If there are eight lords, the winner is not promoted. Therefore, if you want to be promoted to Lord, you must attack and defeat another Lord. At that time, you become a Lord, and your opponent is demoted. This works for all other ranks. The total allowed per rank is: Knight -- any number; Lord -- 8; Baron -- 4; Duke -- 2, and King -- 1. It is possible to have more than one King, or more than the maximum allowed of each rank, on-line at the same time. If a King has logged off, and while he was off-line another player becomes King, both Kings will reign when the second logs on again. Each will share the tribute from their kingdoms unless one King defeats the other. If a King defeats another King, the losing King becomes a Duke.

A King gets a tribute fund at the beginning of each season. A King can give this money to other players, but cannot directly use it himself. The fund is equal to 60 wealth points divided by the number of Kings on-line.

Once per season, a King can select a player and send a "Royal Guard" to make an appearance in that player's fief. This raises the morale and decreases the banditry level of that fief.

The Siege

One player may CHALLENGE another player to a siege from any distance. To do this, the player first marks them as an enemy, then clicks on their castle to go there. When the player clicks on the opponent's castle a second time, he will be asked if he wants to challenge the other player. If he says yes, the other player is challenged. The opponent is informed not to abandon his fief or leave the game before the challenger arrives. If the opponent does, he will be penalized.

Before the siege, each player spends resource points to buy up to 12 tokens. Then a brief siege game commences. The attacker goes first and places one of his tokens. The defender responds by placing one of his own tokens. Then, all defender tokens in play attack the other player's tokens according to the Token Rules below.

At the end of six rounds, the difference in remaining tokens will affect the odds in the attack phase that follows.

Token Rules

The basic rules for the tokens are:

1.	Mine	defeats	Mine	or	Wall
2.	Catapult	defeats	Catapult	or	Tower
3.	Tower	defeats	Wall
4.	Raid	defeats all	Towers	and	Catapults
5.	Walls (in play)	defeat	Raids
Castle Defenders

In order to help defend his castle, a player may place from one to six Light Infantry units in the garrison. This increases the "siege defense value" of the castle. In order to defeat these Castle Defenders and have a successful siege, the attacker must have a superior attack force in a 4-1 ratio. For example, if a castle has two units of defenders, the attacking army must have 8 units to have a successful siege.

If Light Infantry troops are placed in the garrison as Castle Defenders, and then taken out, they will come out as Green Troops, regardless of the rank they held when they entered the garrison.

Burning Crops

You can burn the farm lands of any other player you designate as an enemy. To do so, move your army onto an enemy's hex containing fields. Then click a second time on the hex. A window will appear asking you if you want to burn the field. Burnt fields produce no food at the next harvest.


Section 13. Change World Command

On the menu is an option called "Change World." This allows the player to leave the game he is currently in, and choose a new one. When he changes worlds, the player retains all of his accumulated gold and resources and all of his advisors. But he must claim a new fief.

To use the Change World Command, choose the Change World menu item. This brings up a list of all worlds currently active. On the left is a list of all available worlds. If you click on a world, the right side will show a list of the players who are currently active in that world. The More Info button shows the shield, name, and rank of all players in that world. To enter a new world, simply highlight it, and click on the Enter World button.

Upon entering a new world, a player is automatically demoted to a Knight. He also forfeits all land held in the previous game. The clock re-sets, giving the player a fresh start. If the player chooses to leave a world while a battle or siege is in progress, the player's opponent automatically wins.


Section 14. FiefQuest Keyboard Shortcuts for Main Screen

Strategic Display

ALT-C	Center map on army, alternating each time.

ALT-V	Center map on fief.

ALT-M	Select Move Army Mode

ALT-I	Select Hex Information Mode

ALT-A	Show Army (if not in battle) Go To Battle Map (if in battle)

ALT-L	Show Fief (lands)

ALT-F	Show Finances

ALT-P	Show (past) History

ALT-H	Show Help

ALT-Q	Quit/About

Battle Display

ALT-C	Center on selected unit (if any)

ALT-M	Select Move Unit Mode

ALT-F	Select Formation Mode

ALT-A	Assume Attack Posture

ALT-D	Assume Defensive Posture

ALT-R	Rally

ALT-B	Berserk

ALT-S	Go to Strategic Map

ALT-G	Give Up

ALT-Q	Quit/About