Fantasy battlefields
Game manual
Presentation
Fantasy Battlefields is a turn based tactical battle game happening in a
fantasy universe.
Each player leads an army to fight against armies of virtual ennemies (artificial
intelligence) or against other players on a network or on the same computer.
Each army is composed of a great number of fighters having their specific
characteristics (Strength, Movement ...) and is organized
according to a determined hierarchy (commands, units, individuals ...)
Before each game the player can create and modify his armies using a visual editor
Zone 1 gives a list of all the available entities for a given race (barbarians, goblins, elves ...).
Zone 3 gives a tree representation of the army that is being modified.
When one selects an entity in zone 1 or 3, its characteristics appear in zone 4.
Zone 5 enables to modify optionnal parameters for this entity.
Zone 2 has 2 buttons, one enableing to recruit the entity selected in zone 1, and another to remove an entity or a group of entities selected in zone 3 (multiple selection is possible).
The player has 1500 points (beta version) to recruit the entities for his army (each entity costs a determined number of points)
There are 2 great categories of entities : units and individuals
Units are sets of several fighters with the same characteristics. Each unit
is lead by a chief
and can also have optionaly each of
the following characters :
The champion : a warrior
known for is ability in fighting.
The standard bearer : he
holds the morale of his unit.
The musician : He is used to
intimidate the ennemy units and to resist to intimidation.
It is possible to have units with an upgraded level
,
their cost is however higher.
Individuals are special independant figures with their own characteristics.
The warchief : He is at the
top of the hierarchy. He leads the main command of his army and gives his orders
to the battle leaders.
The battle leaders : they lead
a group of units and individuals called command and receive their orders from the
warchief
Heros : they are powerfull
fighters that can face several ennemies at once. Their only presence increases
the morale of the friendly units nearby.
Living legends/Exterminators:
More powerfull than heros. They are true war machines.
Wizards/Druids:
Magic characters able to cast spells.
Priests: Characters able to
heal woudeds, and to bring dead individuals back to life.
Command
heralds/Command banners: they increase the range of the leader's orders
Courier: fast messagers. Used
to transmit orders from the warchief to a distant battle leader.
Each army is divided into commands. Each command is lead by a battle leader or by the warchief himself.
Commands can be composed of several units and individuals.
There are different types of commands.
The warchief 's command: There is always one per army. This command receives its orders directly from the warchief. All the units and individuals of this command must be from the same race as the warchief.
Reinforcement commands: There can be several ones per army. All the units and individuals of this command must be from the same race as the warchief.
The allied command: There can only be one per army. All the units and individuals of this command must be from a race that is friendly with the warchief's race. (elves and humans for example)
The mercenary command: There can only be one per army. All the units and individuals of this command can be from any race. However when the battle turns bad, mercenary commands may betray their army and change side.
Level : ability for combat (number from 0 to 3)
Discipline : aptitude to keep calm (calm, agitated or fanatic)
Weapon : type of weapon (spear ...)
Armor : type of armor (light, medium, heavy ...)
Attack : Measures the intensity of the warrior's attacks (example : 1 for a man on foot, 3 for a troll)
Strengh : physical power
Resistance: ability to resist to strokes
Movement : distance that the warrior can cover each turn
Life points : number of wounds that the warrior can endure before dying
Morale : measures the confidence that a unit has in itself. All the units start the battle with a morale equal to 7. With a morale equal to 10 the warriors become mad and furious and ruch toward the closest ennemy. With a morale equal to 0, the unit routs.
Magic points :
each time
a wizard, a druid or a priests uses his power , he spends magic points. If the
number of magic points drops to 0 the character can no longer use his power.
Leadership :
Represents
the ability of a warchief or a battle leader to be obeyed but also his influence.When
the battle goes bad the morale of the command also depends on this factor.
Frightening
: some creatures like trolls
or dragons, are so frightening that their only presence causes panic among the
ennemy units.
Diurnal/Nocturnal
: preference
for day or night. Fighting at day for a noctunal creature or at night for
a diurnal creature is more difficult. Some creatures like elves are not
bothered by day or night .
Before each battle, the players choose the battlefield, the number of armies, which armies are going to be played by the computer, and on which side is going to be each army.
The terrain has a great influence on the outcome of the battle.
Some obstacles like buildings stop movements, some like woods protect from projectiles, others like mountains slow the progression of units.
Before each battle, players distribute the armies among the sides. Armies on the same side are considered as friendly and therefore fight together against the same ennemies.
Before each battle, armies must be deployed on the battlefield. This can be done automatically by choosing the automatic deployment option. Otherwise each player will deploy all the entities of his army in turn (the order is determined randomly) in his side deployment zone (delimited in green). Once all the armies are deployed, the battle can begin.
Each game is divided into rounds (in the game a round represents the tenth of a day, therefore day and night alternate every 5 rounds).
Each round is a succession of phases (shooting, threat, movement and combat)
Moreover a player can during his turn, interrupt the current phase so that one of his magic individuals casts a spell, or that his warchief gives a new order.
The upper part of the screen is an information zone.
Zone 1 displays the current slot and phase and the name of the leading player
Zone 2 is composed of several tabs.
The first tab is a report of all the battle major actions.
The second one displays the current phase help
The following tabs are tree views of each army. If you click on one entity of the tree, the view of the battlefield (zone 4) is then centered on the position of that entity.
Zone 3 displays the
characteristics of the last selected entity. You can also display the
characteristics of any entity by clicking on it directly on the battlefield view
(zone 4) with the right mouse button.
Zone 4 is the battlefield view. You can move the point of view by positioning the cursor on the screen edges (left edge to move the point of view on the left etc.).
During each phase, a colored outline appears around selectables entities (blue for actors, red for targets).
Buttons
in zone 5 allow to zoom in and out on the battlefield (this can also be done
with the mouse wheel)
Zone 6 is a mini representation of the battlefield. If you click on it, the battlefield view (zone 4) is then centered on the place where you clicked.
Zone 7 contains the following buttons.
-"next phase" enables the leading player to end the current phase
-"Magic" enables the leading player to interrupt the current phase so that one of his magic individuals casts a spell.
-"New orders" enables the leading player to interrupt the current phase so that his warchief gives a new order.
-"Save game"enables players to save the current game (not available in network games)
-"Back to menu" enables players to go back to main menu (from which they can quit the game)
Some additional action buttons appear in zone 8 during the different game phases.
Keyboard usage
F1-Display help tab
F2-Show/hide vertical sets (trees, houses)
F3-Show/hide memory in use
F4-Show/hide battlefield
F5-Day/night filter on/off
F6-Screenshot
During this phase the player decides on which target are his units with projectiles going to shoot.
To be able to shoot, a unit with projectiles must have a clear line of sight (no trees or montains) to its target, and must be at a distance inferior to the maximal distance of its weapon (12 steps for dragon the breath, 30 steps for a long bow), and must not be engaged in close combat.
The unit must of course have amunitions in reserve (8 volleys of arrows for archers
,
3 breaths for dragons
).
The player selects a unit that can shoot (blue outline),
then a target (red outline).
He repeats this operation until all his units with projectiles have a target , or clics on the "next phase" button if he does not want to assign a target to every unit.
Losses endured during this phase can affect the morale of units.
During this phase the player decides if his units are going to try to intimidate the ennemy units, so that they doubt, and finally leave the battlefield.
Calm units (see discipline) never try to intimidate.
To be able to intimidate a unit must not itself be doubting (morale below 5).It must have a clear line of sight (no trees or montains) to its target, must be at a distance inferior to 12 steps from its target, and must not be engaged in close combat.
The player selects a unit that can intimidate (blue outline),
then a target (red outline).
He repeats this operation until all his units that can intimidate have a target , or clics on the "next phase" button if he does not want to assign a target to every unit.
Intimidation can affect in good or bad the morale of units.
At 10 the unit becomes mad and
furious and rushes toward the closest ennemy whatever the orders it received
from its battle leader.
Morever the unit gains efficiency in close combat.
Between 5 and 9 the unit is not affected.
Below 5 the unit doubts.
It becomes disorganized
and becomes less efficient in shooting and close combat.
At 0 the unit routs.
During this phase the player decides the movement of his entities.
Each entity can move and manoeuvre given a number of action points equal to its movement capacity.
Entities engaged in close combat and units with"defend" orders cannot move. They only have 2 action points and their manoeuvres are limited. Units with attack orders get 2 more points for movement
some terrains stop movement (walls, deep water ...)
Other entities, friendly or not also stop movement.
Slow terrains (mountains, forests, swamps) slow down movement
Forced marches (without slowing down) through these terrains disorganise
units (The unit becomes
less efficient in shooting and close combat).
The phase takes place as followed
The player selects an entity that can move (blue outline),
then he clicks on the battlefield to indicate its destination, or chooses a manoeuvre.
- Quarter turn left/right(0 pt)
All entities can do this manoeuvre provided they have enough space.
-Surround (1 pt) This
manoeuvre enables units to outflank their ennemies. Only units engaged in close
combat can do this manoeuvre provided they have enough space.
-Expend/Reduce front (2pts)
This manoeuvre enables units to increase or reduce the width of their front in
order to increase or reduce the number of warriors in contact with the ennemy.
All units can do this manoeuvre provided they have enough space.
-Wheel round left/right(2pts)
This manoeuvre enables units to wheel round by 45 degrees on one of their flank.
Only units with "manoeuvre" orders can do this manoeuvre provided they have
enough space.
-Reorganisation (4pts) This
manoeuvre enables a disorganized unit to
reorganise itself so that it becomes more efficient in shooting and close combat.
Only units not engaged in close combat can do this manoeuvre.
-Take
off/Land (1pt) This manoeuvre enables flying entities
(dragons, daemons) to take off or to land. Only flying units not engaged in
close combat can do this manoeuvre provided they have enough space.
Wizards and druids that are not in contact with ennemies during this phase can recover up to 20% of their lost magic points :
+1 if they are not bothered by day or night.
+2 if they do not move
During this phase the close combat results are automatically determined.
All the entities in contact with an ennemy fight.
Losses endured during this phase can affect the morale of units.
A player can during his turn, interrupt the current phase by clicking on the "New Orders" button so that his warchief gives a new order to his own command or to one of his battle leaders or that battle leaders give new orders to theuir units.
In any case the warchief or battle leader must be at less than 10 steps from all the units concerned (add 16 steps if a command banner is near the leader, and 8 steps for each command herald nearby). A player can change a unit or a group orders only once per turn
During this phase the player selects either
- the warchief and then a battle leader (including the warchief) to change the orders of a command.
- a battle leader (including the warchief) and then one of its.
- the warchief, a courier near the warchief (less than 5 steps) and then the battle leader to whom the orders must be transmitted. The courier will move automatically to the concerned battle leader during the next movement phase.
The player then selects the new orders to give :
Attack : 
Units with projectiles (archers, dragons) that have amunitions left automatically move to short range to the closest ennemy
Other units automatically engage in close combat the closest ennemy that is not yet engaged in close combat.
With this order units are more efficient in close combat and get 2 more points for movement.
Manoeuvre :
Units can move freely on the battlefield.
However, if they are engaged in close combat, they are less efficient and their morale is diminished.
Defend :
Units stay immobile on the battlefield.
If they are engaged in close combat, their morale is increased.
The player can repeat several times this operation during this phase. He shall click on the "next phase" button once he has finished giving his orders.
A player can during his turn, interrupt the current phase by clicking on the "Magic" button so that his wizards, druids or priests use their powers.
The player first selects the wizard, druid or priest that needs to use his power.
The character must not have spent all his magic points.
The player then chooses the spell to cast:
Each spell has a variable magic point cost that is determined after the the player decided to cast the spell. If the cost is superior to the caster's remaining points, the points are spent but the spell automatically fails.
Druids powers
Terror : Provokes panic among
the ennemy unit. The unit loses 3 morale points. The druid must have a clear
line of sight to the target. The cost varies with the distance and the worth of
the target (number of warriors* attack).
Projectile shield :
Creates a shield against projectiles around the friendly target. The shield
prevents any projectile attack during 3 turns. The druid must have a clear line
of sight to the target. The cost varies with the distance to the target.
Shrink : Divides permanently by
2 the size, strength, resistance, attack and movement of the ennemy target. This
spell can be casted twice on the same target. The druid must have a clear line
of sight to the target. The cost varies with the distance and the worth of the
target (number of warriors* attack).
Speed : Increases by 50% the
movement of the friendly target during 3 turns. The druid must have a clear line
of sight to the target. The cost varies with the distance to the target.
Sunrise/sunset : Allows to go
forward into time. This spell is usefull for creatures are bothered by night (like
humans), or day (like orcs). The cost varies with the number of added slots.
Wizards powers
Summon a daemon : Allows to
summon a daemon that will join the wizard's army. The daemon will be able to
move at the next turn. It will drain between 1 and 6 magic points from its
summoner each turn. If the wizard has no more magic points, the daemon will
attack him.
Bannish a daemon : Allows to
bannish a summoned daemon, before it drains all the magic power of its summoner.
Lightnings : Fires
lightnings to the ennemy unit. The wizard must have a clear line of sight to the
target. The cost varies with the distance and the specified power.
Ennergy ball : Fires an
ennergy ball to the ennemy individual. The wizard must have a clear line of
sight to the target. The cost varies with the distance to the target.
Magic shield : Creates a
shield against magic around the friendly target . The shield prevents any other
friendly or ennemy spell during 5 turns. The wizard must have a clear line of
sight to the target. The cost varies with the distance to the target.
Telepathy :
Allows to transmit an order to a friendly battle leader. The wizard must be near
the warchief (less than 5 steps). The order can be badly interpreted by the
battle leader. The cost varies with the distance to the target.
Priests powers
Heal : Heals (lost life points)
the friendly target. The priest must have a clear line of sight to the target.
The new number of life points cannot exceed the initial number. The cost varies
with the distance and the number of added life points.
Resurrection : Allows to
bring a dead individual back to life. The individual reappears near the priest
with only 1 life point.
The battle is over when all the armies remaining on the battlefield are on the same side.
You won a battle...now win the war.
Campaigns allows players to fight several battles on a bigger map. Campaign games are also turn-based.
Each player is given a determined number of army points at the beggining of the campaign. With these points the player can during his turn rise a new army using the army editor.
Each risen army is placed on the player's capital (represented by a tower on the campaign map).
The player can also move all his armies during his turn. The maximum distance (number of hexagons) that an army can cover during one turn is equal to the minimum movement of its entities divided by 3
(for example if an army is composed of a leader with movement=6 and a unit with movement=9, then its movement= 2 hexagons per turn)
When an army ends its move on a village or on a capital. It takes the control of it (a flag with the army color is placed next to the village/capital)
A player cannot rise armies if he does not control his own capital
A player receives 30 army points each turn for each capital under his control
A player receives 20 army points each turn for each village under his control
2 armies cannot stay on the same hexagon
When an army ends its move on a friendly army hexagon the 2 armies merge
When an army ends its move on a ennemy army hexagon the 2 armies fight. The screen switches to battle mode. The game map is automatically chosen in order to correspond to the hexagon terrain.
The battle mode screen is the same as the one for single battle game except that the "exit to menu" button as been replaced by a "run away" button. A player can press this button during his turn to order his army to retreat (instead of being massacred)
When the battle is over the screen switches back to the campaign map. The army that lost the battle is driven out the hexagon where the battle took place (if there is no free hexagon the army is destroyed).
70 percent of the winner's fighters that routed return to their army
40 percent of the looser's fighters that routed return to their army
The winner's units that did not rout during the battle will start the next battle with a morale equal to 8
The looser's units that did not rout during the battle will start the next battle with a morale equal to 6
All the units that routed during the battle will start the next battle with a morale equal to 4
The war is over when all the armies remaining on the campaign map are on the same side and all the capitals are controlled by this side
