Conqueror 1086 AD

Conqueror 1086 AD

Version/contact info:
     
Version 1.00:      My first stab at a FAQ.  Please submit 
                   comments/questions/tips about this via email to 
                   conqueror1086ad~gmail~com.  Replace the ~ as appropriate.

Version 1.01-1.02: various edits

Version 2.00:      First edit incorporating reader feedback and additions.  
                   Thank you chaoyun2k and Simon-Pierre!

Known deficiencies - I plan on adding sections about: 
     - impact on Castle structures and raids
     - courting Victoria
     - army size translated into # of men in a castle raid
     - tavern patron bios

Table of Contents:

   I. Introduction & Installation
  II. Creating Your Character
 III. Home screen: the Tactical Room
  IV. Village
   V. Tournament
  VI. Weapons & Armor
 VII. Inside a Casgtle
VIII. Courting Walkthroughs
  IX. Ending the Game


I. INTRODUCTION & INSTALLATION

     This guide was a long time coming.  Back in the mid-90’s, I had a modest 
     amount of money saved from four years of doing odd jobs for neighbors.  I 
     had only ever played computer games that my father had brought home - 
     mostly compilations of shareware and relatively lousy games.  Eventually, 
     my parents brought me to an electronics store and allowed me to buy a 
     game of my choosing.  How could I not choose Conqueror 1086 AD, with the 
     giant Knight on the cover and the ultra-realistic graphics on the back?  
     The game was certainly expensive, priced at $55, but ended up being a 
     great investment.  Having no experience playing any other game at about 
     the time of its actual release, it was my first chance to play a game at 
     the cusp of technology.  Despite the various flaws of the game, it 
     provided hours and months and years of entertainment.

     Of course, modern computers are far too fast to play this game without 
     emulation, so here is a brief synopsis of how I got the game to work on 
     my machine.  This is largely a subjective exercise, so do your research 
     and you will be able to determine what works best for you.

     First step was to download the game from one of the various Abandonware 
     websites out there.  Next, you need a DOS emulator to play it.  Being a 
     little rusty with the old command prompts, I chose to use D-Fend 
     Reloaded, a graphical interface for the DOSbox program.  D-Fend Reloaded, 
     in my opinion, provides a simple interface for adjusting the various
     settings available within DOSbox, giving you the best true-to-era 
     experience possible.  The Profile Wizard guides you through setting up 
     the game to your chosen specifications; tinker with this until you find 
     the settings which match your interest.  I would suggest using one of the 
     slower settings at first; otherwise, the game speed will go far too fast 
     to be playable (there is no “pause” button in the game).

     Once you have the game installed, it’s time to create your conqueror and 
     play!


II. CREATING YOUR CHARACTER

     Your character is initially measured across five metrics: Strength, 
     Dexterity, Piety, Stamina, and Honor.  Each numerical value corresponds 
     to a qualitative description as well:

     Strength

          This attribute determines the health of your character and how much 
          damage their weapon strikes do in melee.  This attribute rises quite 
          easily though melee battles in castle sieges.

              0: Feeble
            1-3: Runt
            4-7: Weak(ly)
           8-11: Average
          12-15: Brawny
          16-19: Mighty
             20: Herculean

     Dexterity
          
          Uncertain what this attribute impacts, but it can be raised via 
          jousting.

              0: (not possible)*
            1-3: Unskilled
            4-7: Clumsy
           8-11: Adequate
          12-15: Handy
          16-19: Skilled
             20: Expert
     *lowest starting value is 2, and no dilemmas will lower it to 0

     Piety
     
          This attribute influences your ability to place a Church or 
          Monastery in your Village; below a certain level, you won’t be 
          allowed to.  It also has some influence on the women you can court; 
          some of them don't like an overly pious man.  One of the easier 
          attributes to raise, you can reach Saint quite quickly via 
          15-shilling donations to various churches.

              0: Evil
            1-3: Black-Hearted
            4-7:Sordid
           8-11: Amoral
          12-15: Upright
          16-19: Righteous
             20: Saint

     Stamina
          
          Uncertain what this attribute impacts, but it can be raised via 
          jousting.

              0: Exhausted
            1-3: Weary
            4-7: Dragging
           8-11: Average
          12-15: Athletic
          16-19: Tireless
             20: Dynamo

     Honor

          This attribute influences your ability to court women, and can be 
          raised by jousting to win the favor of ladies.

              0: Blackguard
            1-3: Despicable
            4-7: Unprincipled
           8-11: Decent
          12-15: Gallant
          16-19: Valiant
             20: Chivalrous

     You have the option of choosing from six pre-generated characters or 
     creating your own.  Each of the six pre-generated characters have stats 
     related to their name, as follows:

          Chaunce Norman
           Strength: ??
          Dexterity: ??
              Piety: ??
            Stamina: ??
              Honor: ??
             Wealth: ??

          Ronald DeMille
           Strength: 9
          Dexterity: 8
              Piety: 8
            Stamina: 10
              Honor: 10
             Wealth: 490s

          Hayward Tussle
           Strength: 20
          Dexterity: 20
              Piety: 8
            Stamina: 16
              Honor: 10
             Wealth: 740s

          Spencer Goodman
           Strength: 18
          Dexterity: 16
              Piety: 18
            Stamina: 19
              Honor: 20
             Wealth: 1240s

          Mordred Knatchbull
           Strength: 18
          Dexterity: 17
              Piety: 0
            Stamina: 15
              Honor: 0
             Wealth: 1240s

          Simon Hakluyt
           Strength: 7
          Dexterity: 4
              Piety: 4
            Stamina: 7
              Honor: 2
             Wealth: 240s

     Comments: It’s rather obvious how each character was designed, with the 
     exception of perhaps Chaunce Norman, whose stats are randomly generated.  
     Why not just make your own character to have random stats?  The one 
     difference between this and Sir Chaunce is that his starting gold is 
     randomized as well, whereas you will always start with 240 shillings.  
     Also, beware: you may think Spencer Goodman is “easy” mode, which is true 
     to some extent, but some of the ladies at the joust have personalities 
     that make them less interested in one with his honor and piety stats.  So 
     not every possibility in the game is open to a single individual 
     character.
     
     As for choosing to create your own character... if you do, you will see 
     an initial value for each starting statistic, with the option to “reroll” 
     as many times as you like.  Once you settle on a roll you like, you will 
     be given a series of six questions.  The idea behind this is that your 
     roll represents you at 12 years of age, and the six questions represent 
     six dilemmas you face as you age to adulthood.  Your decisions will 
     influence your stats, for better or worse, so be careful!  Most responses 
     check against your current stats, so you’re likely to lose stats if you 
     opt to fight a bear while you’re a weakling, for example.  If you gain 
     gold or items during this process, you will begin the game with them.

     Whether or not you gained gold or items in the dilemmas, and whether you 
     make your own character or choose a pre-generated one, you will begin the 
     game with the following items: Knight’s Sword, Fighter’s Dagger, Gambeson 
     Armor, Tilting Shield, Footman’s Helm.  You will also get a base of 240 
     shillings as a created character.

     Thanks to a post on the Abandonia board for Conqueror (thanks Ceridien!), 
     here is an outline of the options and results for the dilemmas:

     lord lying about income:
          - option 1 (tell overlord)
               not believed: piety +1
               believed: piety +1, honor +1
          - option 2 (blackmail lord) 
               piety -1, +20 shillings
          - option 3 (say nothing)
               no change
     
     lord stealing money at mass:
          - option 1 (tell priest) 
               not believed: piety +1
               believed: piety +1
          - option 2 (blackmail lord)
               piety -1, +20 shillings
          - option 3 (say nothing)
               no change

     delivering message (reading it):
          - option 1 (confess)
               full success: piety +1
               partial success: no change
          - option 2 (make up story)
               no change
          - option 3 (do not deliver message)
               no change
     
     lord taking out loan on fief:
          - option 1 (tell overlord) 
               believed: piety +1, honor +1
               not believed (partial success), piety +1
          - option 2 (bribe overlord)
               piety -1, +20 shillings
          - option 3 (say nothing)
               no change
     
     buying helm:
          - option 1 (buy helm) 
               caught by priest: piety -2
          - option 2 (steal helm)
               full success not caught: piety -1, +helm
               partial success not caught: piety -2, +helm
          - option 3 (save for it)
               piety +1
     
     finding magical ring:
          - option 1 (keep it for yourself)
               success: strength +1, piety -2, stamina +1, honor +1
               failure: no change
          - option 2 (maid)
               success: -1 piety, honor +1
          - option 3 (church exorcism)
               piety +1
     
     dishonest lord:
          - option 1 (tell overlord)
               piety +1
          - option 2 (blackmail lord)
               piety -1, +20 shillings
          - option 3 (say nothing)
               no change
     
     dying swordsman:
          - option 1 (return sword) 
               success: piety +1, stamina +1, honor +1, +dagger 
               failure: piety +1, stamina -1
          - option 2 (take sword)
               piety -1, honor -1
          - option 3 (leave sword)
               no change
     
     forester stealing:
          - option 1 (tell the king) 
               not believed (imprisoned): strength -1, stamina -1
          - option 2 (tell the overlord)
               not believed: no change
               believed: piety +1, honor +1
          - option 3 (say nothing)
               no change
     
     killing dragon (80s):
          - option 1 (kill it) 
               killed: strength +1, piety +1, honor +1, +sword
               partial failure: strength -1, piety+1, stamina-1
               full failure: strength -3, piety +1, stamina -2
          - option 2 (challenge rival) 
               can't get near lair: piety -2, honor -1, 
               accepted: piety -2,
          - option 3 (decline invitation)
               no change
     
     killing dragon (60s):
          - option 1 (tell the truth)
                    piety -1, honor +1, +60s
          - option 2 (bribe) 
               caught: piety -2, honor -1
               not caught: piety -1, +60s
          - option 3 (remain silent) 
               partial success: piety +1
               full success: piety +2, +30 shillings
     
     yeoman daughter:
          - option 1 (pretend)
               piety +2
          - option 2 (refuse for honor)
               failure: no change
               success: piety +2
          - option 3 (enjoy)
               piety -1
     
     overlord farm:
          - option 1 (move marker)
               discovered: -1 piety
          - option 2 (tell tenants)
               failure: piety -1, stamina -1
          - option 3 (refuse)
               success: piety +1
     
     overlord heresy:
          - option 1 (defend) 
               hanged: piety +1/honor -1
               released (partial success): piety +1
               released (full success): piety +1, honor+1
          - option 2 (testify)
               no change
          - option 3 (keep quiet)
               no change
     
     boar:
          - option 1 (attack) 
               success: killed: strength +1, honor +1
               failure: strength -1, stamina -1, honor +1
          - option 2 (rope it)
               success: dexterity +2, honor +2
               failure: no change
          - option 3 (run)
               no change
     
     bear:
          - option 1 (fight) 
               scare away 1: piety +1
               scare away 2: piety +1, honor +1 
               scare away 3: piety +2
               fight (no witness): strength +1, piety +1, stamina, +1, honor +1
               fight (witnessed): strenght +2, piety +1, stamina +1, honor +5
          - option 2 (scare away) 
               success: piety +1, honor +1
          - option 3 (cower)
               no change
     
     wolves:
          - option 1 (dagger)
               success: strength +1, piety +1, honor +2
               failure (friend dies): dexterity +1, piety +1
          - option 2 (bow)
               dexterity +1, piety +1
          - option 3 (run away)
               no change
     
     old woman selling ale:
          - option 1 (report her to overlord) 
               no change
          - option 2 (buy her beer)
               failure: no change
               success: piety +1, honor +1
          - option 3 (blackmail her)
               no change
     
     hidden chalice:
          - option 1 (keep chalice)
               success: piety -2
               failure: no change
          - option 2 (sell the chalice)
                    piety -2, +10 shillings
          - option 3 (return chalice to your overlord) 
               piety +1, honor +1
     
     abandoned baby boy:
          - option 1 (raise it)
               baby dies:
               farmers child:
               count's child:
          - option 2 (leave at church)
               no change
          - option 3 (leave it behind)
               piety -1
     
     lord steals from mass:
          - option 1 (tell priest) 
               believed: piety +1
               not believed: piety +1
          - option 2 (extort lord)
               piety -1, +20 shillings
          - option 3 (do nothing)
               no change
     
     highway stranded man:
          - option 1 (help) 
               attacked by party: strength +1, piety +1
               return to village: piety +1, honor +1
          - option 2 (leave him be)
               no change
          - option 3 (report to town)
               no change
     
     fox:
          - option 1 (kill them)
               dexterity +1
          - option 2 (tell warden) 
               warden dies: no change
               warden kills them: no change
          - option 3 (leave alone)
               piety +1
     
     disguise as maid:
          - option 1 (deliver disguised) 
               caught: no change
               not caught: no change
          - option 2 (deliver not disguised)
               caught: no change
                    not caught: dexterity +1
          - option 2 (turn down offer)
               no change
     
     captured lord:
          - option 1 (free him) 
               success: strength +2, dexterity +1, piety +1, +dagger
               success (wounded): strength -1, dexterity +1, piety +1
          - option 2 (go back to sleep)
               piety -1
          - option 3 (tell authorities)
               no change
     
     poaching:
          - option 1 (bribe priest)
               piety -1
          - option 2 (beg for mercy)
               full success: strength +1, piety +1, stamina +1
               mediocre success: piety +1, stamina +1
          - option 3 (run away)
               no change


III. HOME SCREEN: THE TACTICAL ROOM

     Castle

          This is the screen where you design your castle.  Don’t worry if 
          your medieval castle design skills are a little rusty; there is 
          unfortunately no impact of your design on gameplay.  When your 
          castle is attacked, you will be warped into it for a melee battle, 
          and the landscape of it will change depending on the structures 
          you’ve built in the Castle screen.  But the actual placement of them 
          and design will have no impact.

          Most immediately, you can use the Castle screen for a quick 
          Productivity boost.  A Steward will add 10%, while a Beadle and a 
          Priest will each add 5%.  By July 1, you will likely need to build a 
          Servant Room for them as well, else you will suffer a Productivity 
          penalty.  You can safely wait until June to build this.

     Farm

          You have four options for planting food in March.  All require 5 
          serfs per tile, so they can be evaluated for profit solely based on 
          their cost and revenue.  

          Below is a table showing: per-tile cost, per-tile return (at 50% 
          Productivity) for non-harvest months, per-tile return for harvest 
          month, total revenue for one year

                    Grain      - 1 -  2 - 25 -  47
                    Beans      - 1 -  2 - 25 -  47
                    Vegetables - 1 - 10 - 10 - 120
                    Fruit      - 5 -  5 -  5 -  60
		
          Planting food leads to population growth.  But there is in fact no 
          difference in population growth between a tile of Grains, Beans, 
          Vegetables, or Fruit.  Vegetables have the best return for their 
          cost, and Beans are needed for keeping Productivity up (you lose 15% 
          Productivity on July 1 if you don’t have enough Beans, and you need 
          25% of your food to be Beans in order to avoid this message).
          
          Grains and Fruit supply less revenue than Vegetables, and have no 
          ancillary effects, so they can be ignored.  Ideally then, you should 
          plan on only planting Beans and Vegetables in a ratio of 1 Beans for 
          every 3 Vegetables.  Livestock, Horses, and a Granary have no impact 
          on population or Productivity either, so those can be ignored as 
          well.
     
          How much food do you need to maximize population growth?  It appears 
          that one tile of food per 100 population is needed to maximize 
          growth.  Note that this “per 100 population” refers to the 
          population as it begins the next month.  So if you have 1,200 
          population on March 31 and would grow to 1,284 on April 1, you’ll 
          need to have 13 food on April 1 in order to attain that growth.  
          Having merely 12 food tiles on April 1 will limit your growth.
     
          The formula for population growth is difficult for me to pin down, 
          so rather than try to come up with an equation, I’ll post some 
          trials and their results.  The column for “%requirements” is the 
          percentage of the requirement for maximum population growth (in this 
          case, 14 food and 14 houses), and the “%max” is the percentage of 
          maximum population growth attained.  These results all assume 50% 
          Productivity.

          StartingPop EndingPop Growth Houses Food %requirements %max
             1200        1284     7%     14    14      100%      100%
             1200        1272     6%     10    10       71%       85%
             1200        1272     6%      7    7        50%       85%
             1200        1260     5%      6    6        43%       72%
             1200        1260     5%      5    5        36%       72%
             1200        1248     4%      4    4        29%       57%
             1200        1236     3%      3    3        21%       42%
             1200        1212     1%      2    2        14%       14%
             1200        1212     1%      1    1         7%       14%
             1200        1180    -1.7%    0    0         0%      -24%

          One other factor impacting population growth is Tax rate.  The game 
          defaults to 10% (you can see and adjust this in the Village screen, 
          which is where you can see your tax revenue coming in from the 
          various establishments in your town).  The default value is quite 
          appropriate; it is the highest value at which full population growth 
          is maintained.  At 0%, 5%, and 10% you will attain the growth 
          numbers detailed above.  If your tax rate is above 10% - that is, 
          anywhere between 15% and 100% - you will lose about 7% of what was 
          expected from the formulas above.

     Village

          There are three key structures in the Village screen and the rest 
          serve only to provide a small amount of revenue.  A Church and a 
          Monastery each provide an immediate 15% increase in Productivity.  
          Houses allow for higher population growth each month, which is 
          crucial to building more revenue generators and building an army.  
          You will also get a Productivity penalty on July 1 if your housing 
          is not sufficient to support your population (1 house per 100 
          population).  The remainder of the town buildings are really just 
          decoration, providing minimal revenue. 
     
          Building one Church, one Monastery, and filling all remaining tiles 
          with houses, is probably the ideal powergaming strategy here, though 
          it makes for an ugly village when looking at this screen.

     Forest

          The Forest is your best source of income on an ongoing basis.  
          Despite what may be intuitive, Cutting Timber is actually far more 
          profitable than mining.  Below is a table of each tile occupation 
          available in the Forest, along with it’s cost, revenue, and number 
          of Months needed to make back your initial investment at 50% 
          Productivity:

              Type      Cost  Serfs  Revenue  Months50
           Cut Timber     5     5       5         1
           Iron Mine    400    10      15        27 
           Coal Mine    400    10      31        13
           Gold Mine    400    10      36        12
          Silver Mine   400    10      15        27

          As you can see, you earn back your investment on Cutting Timber 
          after just one month - so every month thereafter is pure profit.  I 
          do not know of any reason to invest in Iron, Coal, or Silver.  Gold 
          Mines should be the only thing placed on available tiles.

          The Woodward is a simple 5% boost to your Productivity by hiring 
          one.  Hiring a Prospector does not appear to have any impact on the 
          revenue of your mines.

     War Planning

          Here is where you build your armies and send out spies.  Spies 
          simply tell you the size of armies as they leave castles, and cost a 
          one-time fee of 80 shillings.  Moderately useful, but I’d much 
          rather just put the money towards building armies so big I don’t 
          care about the size of my opponents’ armies.

          Armies have both an upfront cost, and a monthly upkeep cost.  Below 
          is a table of the costs of each army type at 50% Productivity and 
          100% Productivity:

          Type       Price50  Price100  Upkeep50  Upkeep100
          Swordsmen     28       20        12         8
          Halberdiers   23       15         8         5
          Knights       32       24        16        10

          In field battles, these units follow simple rules: Swordsmen beat 
          Halberdiers, Halberdiers beat Knights, and Knights beat Swordsmen.  
          It’s probably ideal to have a good mix of each and hope you can 
          outmaneuver your opponent and have your Halberdiers fighting their 
          Knights, etc.  For castle siege invasions, you simply need an army 
          of any size attached to your character.  Since Halberdiers are 
          cheapest, I tend to make an army of 1 Halberdier and connect it with 
          my character for invasions.  Army size will dictate how many 
          soldiers you get inside for a castle invasion, but the soldiers in 
          such battles are really not helpful to you unless you’re a weakling 
          with poor armor and weaponry.

     Map
     Orders

          Both the Map and Orders page show you the same thing they show you 
          from the primary play screen.  Map shows the location of all of the 
          castles in England, and orders shows you a text description of where 
          the current tournament is, as well as any orders from your Overlord 
          or King William.

     Overview

          Main page

               The main page of the Overview is pretty self-explanatory.  
               Fiefs refers to the number of castles you own, and Villages 
               refers to the number of villages (not necessarily forts or 
               castles) therein.  In the top right, your attributes are shown, 
               though for some reason your Dexterity and Stamina is not 
               listed.  Fame is also shown here; this is a metric that starts 
               at the minimum and rises as you overtake forts and castles.

          Political

               The Political screen details the individual forts and castles 
               you control, along with their population.  Your initial fort is 
               listed last, and is the only one with a population that can 
               actually grow.

          Economics

               The Economics page shows your current wealth, and how much of 
               that came from conquest (i.e. bags and chests of gold in forts 
               you’ve sieged) and from tournaments (via wagers with other 
               lords over jousts and skirmishes).  This page also has a 
               largely useless pictogram that attempts to show the revenue and 
               expense coming from each of the Farm, Village, Forest, and 
               Castle screens.  In most games, you’ll see Farm, Village, and 
               Forest maxed out on the revenue side, and Castle will have a 
               small amount of expense on the other side.

          Personal

               The Personal screen will again show your age, wife, and 
               attributes (this time including Stamina and Dexterity).  It 
               will also show “Lance Experience”, which rises as you joust, 
               though it seems to be capped at 20.  Your “Sword Experience” 
               rises not only from fort and castle siege, but also skirmish 
               battles in the Tournament.  There is no cap on this number.  
               Lastly, this screen also shows your possessions.  This is 
               mostly your weaponry and armor that you’d see in battle 
               screens, but also includes various items you’ve obtained from 
               the ladies of the tournament (Medallion, etc).

     Special Section: Productivity

          Productivity is the most important metric in the screens available 
          from the Tactical Room.  Productivity not only determines how much 
          revenue you get from your expenditures in Farm, Village, and Forest, 
          but it also serves as a multiplier for population growth.  You begin 
          with 50% Productivity, but can easily attain 95% by the end of the 
          first month by doing the following:
               
               Castle: add one Steward, one Beadle, and one Priest.
               Village: add houses as needed, and one Monastery
               Forest: add one Woodward

          For some reason, doing the above steps in a different order often 
          results in only 90% Productivity.

          You will need to take some additional steps to ensure your 
          productivity does not fall on July 1.  You will need to ensure you 
          have enough housing for your population (1 house per 100 
          population), will need to have planted enough Beans to keep up soil 
          productivity, and will need a Servant Room in your Castle.  No need 
          to pay for the servant room in the first month of the game (March); 
          wait until June so you don’t have to pay for it for extra months.


IV. VILLAGE

     Inn/Tavern Patrons

          Frederick de Mandeville
          Gerrard
          Hugh Bigod
          Gilbert de Lacy
          Ivo
          Nellie
          Otto
          Richard de Lucy

     Church

          Donations

               Donations increase your Piety score.  I haven't yet worked out 
               if higher donations increase it at a faster rate, nor whether 
               you can just donate to the same church over and over to get all 
               the way to Saint, but suffice to say it won't take long to 
               attain this, even from the lowest Piety score, if you're so 
               inclined.

          Blessings

               I don't yet know if these actually have any effect on your 
               success in the joust, in battle, or in managing a fief, but I 
               doubt that it does.

     Moneylender

          You have the option to borrow money from the moneylender, which is 
          due with 50% interest when the harvest arrives (July 1).  You can 
          borrow up to 200 shillings (thus you will owe 300).  In general, 
          this is a very wise investment, since you can put that money to use 
          and earn far more than the 50% interest off of it.  No starting 
          player can afford all of the investments he would ideally like to 
          make in the first month (even if you start with a pre-generated 
          character that has 1240 shillings), so in every game there is a way 
          to put the 200 shillings to use in the first month in a way that 
          earns you far more return than the 100 shilling interest you’ll end 
          up paying in a few months.  If you manage to make yourself a 
          formidable melee fighter by July 1, you don’t need to pay back the 
          moneylender at all.  He’ll send his thug after you, and you’ll fight 
          him in melee.  He’s fairly easy to defeat if you’re well-armed by 
          this point.

     Blacksmith
          
          Here you can buy and sell various weapons and armors usable in 
          castle sieges.  Three weapons (Kingslayer Sword, Bishop's Sword, 
          Mercenary Sword) are not able to be found in siege castles, so your 
          only opportunity to acquire them is from a blacksmith.  The 
          remainder of weapons and armor are all either given to you at the 
          start of the game, or able to be found for free within one (or more) 
          castles you siege.


V. TOURNAMENT

     Stands: Courting

              Adela - You cannot romance her. Period.
               Jane - Perhaps the easiest to romance.  I’m not sure she has 
                      any restrictions at all on who she will initially give 
                      her colors to.  Jane has a bit of a scary past - she 
                      speaks of nightmares of fighting all around her.  
                      Hmmm... wonder if these are repressed memories?
          Anna Lisa - Daughter of Frederick de Mandeville.  Won’t let you wear 
                      her colors initially if you are highly pious and not 
                      famous yet.
           Victoria - Daughter of Wendessa.  Won’t let you wear her colors if 
                      you’re too pious.
           Wendessa - Rich widow without access to her estate.  Mother of 
                      Victoria.
            Valetta - Older woman with access to the mythical dragon-proof 
                      armor.
     
     Joust

          You can joust up to three times per tournament.  Before and after
          each, be sure to visit a lady to chat and ask for her colors.  You
          can make a wager with your opponent, which is typically a value 
          between 20 and 80 shillings.  I think the record of the opponent 
          does influence how hard it is to defeat them, but if you keep your 
          lance exactly where it begins in the joust, you will win every time 
          anyways.

     Skirmish

          You can only skirmish once per tournament, and there’s not much to 
          be gained from it.  You’ll be able to wager against any one of five 
          opposing lords, and face them in a field battle, each of you having 
          about 8 soldiers accompanying you.  The Skirmish has no effect on 
          courting ladies, though it does increase your Sword experience and 
          can earn you a few shillings.


VI. WEAPONS & ARMOR

     Weapons
     
          There is no way to truly measure the effectiveness of various 
          weapons without massive sample sizes of testing.  As a shortcut, I 
          measured the size of each weapon on the Quick Reference Guide 
          (http://www.sierragamers.com/uploads/24082/the_games/
          conqueror_quick_reference.pdf) in millimeters.  

          Below is a table of each weapon name, the length of bar on the Quick 
          Reference Guide (including the name itself), and the Buy price of 
          the weapon.  Sell price of a weapon or armor is always 75% of the 
          Buy price:

          Name                  mm.  Buy Price
          Kingslayer Sword      182     4000
          Mercenary's Sword     174     2800
          Bishop's Sword        171     3200
          Thruster's Sword      143     1500
          Armor-Ripping Sword   144      850
          Defender's Sword      130      900
          Knight's Sword        129      700
          Irish Sword           131      500
          Battle Sword          122      500
          Danish Sword          113      450
          General Sword          99      300
          Heavy Crossbow        143      ---
          Light Crossbow        130      ---
          Spiked Mace           138       90
          Flanged Mace          103      100
          Battle Axe            122      300
          Horseman's Axe         97      210
          Saxon Axe              82      120
          Basic Axe              81      122
          War Hammer            101      100
          Hammer                 85      130
          Stiletto Dagger        68       34
          Thruster's Dagger      61       44
          Fighter's Dagger       60      ---
          Decorative Dagger      34      100

     Armor

          For armor, we have an additional metric available, which is the size 
          of the armor bar in skirmish and castle siege screens.  I have 
          measured this in terms of pixels in the game window.  The chart 
          below has each armor name, the length of the bar in the quick 
          reference guide (including the name itself), the number of pixels 
          it adds to your armor bar, and the Buy price:

          Name                  mm.   Pixels  Buy Price
          Full Plate            104     35	5000
          Half Plate             89     30	3000
          Quarter Plate          77     25	1600
          Chain Hauberk          60     20	1800
          Chain Tunic            46     15	1200
          Leather                33     10	800
          Gambeson*              25      5	400
          Heraldic Shield        48     10	600
          Norman Shield          40     10	200
          Decorative Shield      35      5	300
          Saxon Shield           28      5	120
          Tilting Shield         24     --	50
          Great War Helm         45     15	300
          War Helm               39     10	180
          Norman Helm            33      5	120
          Footman's Helm         29     --	60
          *Gambeson provides protection even with another armor equipped

          For the most part with armor pieces, it looks like one pixel in the 
          armor bar equates to 3 millimeters on the reference guide.  For 
          shields and helms, it doesn’t hold up as much.  I’m inclined to 
          think that the armor bar in the game is most representative of the 
          actual algorithmic benefit of each armor piece, so I’d advise 
          evaluating the items by that number.

VII. Inside a Castle

     If you choose to siege a castle in first-person, you will be immediately 
     transported inside of it with some number of support men whom you can 
     direct.  You will always have at least one man accompanying you, but 
     more can appear if you have a very large army with you when you Attack.

     The Radar Map is very helpful in this mode, showing you the layout of the 
     floor and potentially alerting you to treasures hiding behind secret 
     walls.  To enter a secret room, simply press the space bar in front of 
     the wall as you would if it were a normal door.

     Vases and barrels can have food in them.  This replaces your health, 
     which you will almost always need during the course of a siege.

     You can generally tell after a few sieges where the Champion of the 
     castle is.  I try to avoid him until all other enemies are vanquished, 
     as killing them helps gain Strength and combat experience.

     There are sometimes small bags of gold in these castles, but more gold 
     is gained by finding weapons and armor in the castle and selling it to a 
     blacksmith afterwards.  Because you can only have one of any given item 
     at a time, it is wise to sell off all weapons and armor you don't need. 
     Though because all weapons have a chance to break when you use them, you 
     may want to keep a backup weapon just in case.

     Two weapons can only be found in castles, never in blacksmith shops.  
     These are the Light Crossbow and the Heavy Crossbow.  You can also only 
     find crossbow bolts in various castles.  These weapons are most useful if 
     your character is early in their campaign and is relatively weak in 
     combat.  The crossbows allow you to damage enemies from a distance, and 
     are especially useful for taking down Champions without suffering damage 
     yourself.

     The most important thing to ensure in a castle attack is that your men 
     don't perish.  If they do, you can still complete that castle attack, but 
     upon exit you will not have an army accompanying you any longer.  So you 
     cannot move onto the next castle attack, but rather must create a new 
     army to join with you, which can take as much as a month depending on 
     your location.

     Because it only requires a minimal army (1 halberdier), provides quite a 
     bit of gold via selling items, and very quickly becomes a walk in the 
     park as your character gains strength and skill, I tend to prefer castle 
     Attack as the primary way for which I grow in Conqueror.

VIII. COURTING WALKTHROUGHS

     In the tables below, a "Win" is when you ask for the lady's colors, win a 
     joust with them, and return to her.  A "Visit" is when you click on a 
     lady to speak with her and she has new text for you.

     Note that you *can* attempt to romance multiple ladies at the same time.
     In fact, this may be the only way to defeat the dragon, as multiple 
     dragon-fighting items come from multiple women.

         Adela -        You cannot romance her. Period.

          Jane -        I’m not sure she has any restrictions at all on who 
                        she will initially give her colors to.
                   Win: medallion
                   Win: decorative dagger
                 Visit: hear a story about her feeling of dread upon seeing 
                        Hugh Bigod.  She mentions something about him having a 
                        “special” lance.
                   Win: Defender’s Sword.  
                   Win: Hammer.  
                   Win: a nondescript Lance.  
                  Visit Hugh Bigod in the Inn.  He tries to get you away from 
                        Jane by telling you Valetta has an interest in you.  
                        You can push back and argue that he’s just trying to 
                        get you off of the trail of his dragon-slaying lance.  
                        If you say this, he’ll offer you a deal: get him a 
                        proclamation and he’ll give you the lance in return.
                 Visit: Declare your love for her on your next meeting.
                   Win: Ask some questions about Hugh, the Pastons, etc., then 
                        leave.
                 Visit: Joan, her nanny, will interrupt, and tell you the 
                        truth about Hugh and give you the proclamation.
                 Visit: Agree to marry her, and Hugh will jump in and offer 
                        you the dragon-slaying lance in exchange for you 
                        breaking things off with Jane and giving him the 
                        proclamation.

     Anna Lisa -        Won’t let you wear her colors initially if you are 
                        highly pious and not famous yet.
                   Win: 5 shillings
                   Win: 10 shillings
                 Visit: you can simply listen to her rumors a bunch of times 
                        and recite a bit of poetry to her.  Then leave and 
                        return to her and she’ll ask you to marry her.  Agree 
                        to do so, and she’ll tell you to ask her father’s 
                        permission first.  Go to the Inn and speak with 
                        Frederick.  He’ll tell you you’re too poor to marry 
                        her, and will tell you the location of the dragon’s 
                        lair (north Wales) so you can plunder the cave while 
                        the dragon is gone (like he does) and earn enough to 
                        marry Anna Lisa.  Of course, no matter when you stop 
                        by, the dragon is there...

      Victoria -        Won’t let you wear her colors if you’re too pious.
                   Win: nothing
                   Win: nothing
                   Win: Thruster's Dagger
                   Win: nothing
                   Win: Saxon Axe
                 Visit: Simon Le Grey is being quite...forward and possessive 
                        towards Victoria and you have the option of defending 
                        her honor in a duel, which you have to do to continue. 
                 Visit: Poetry. (for the first time she will allow you to 
                        court her)
                   Win: Dragon Stone
                 Visit: nothing
                 Visit: Victoria will ask if you wish to marry her.  
                        If you don't do so at the next visit Victoria will grow
                        impatient and you must ask her to marry you to 
                        continue. She will introduce Gilbert the Lacy, from 
                        whom you need permission to get Victoria's dowry of 
                        500,000 shillings. Of course, Gilbert will refuse to 
                        let a penny go into dowry, if you want to marry 
                        Victoria you have to accept that she's penniless.

                        Then after the vows, some Nigel come into play and 
                        tells the story that it's really Victoria that killed 
                        Hugh Miller and he's paid to keep her secret, but he 
                        wants more and blackmails you. You have the option of 
                        declining, confronting Victoria and paying him. I 
                        confronted her and she admits the truth, she did it 
                        because she didn't want to marry Simon Le Grey.

                        Then we get a few other options besides refusing to 
                        pay and agreeing to pay him : we can threaten his life 
                        if he says a word and also end your relationship with 
                        Victoria. The latter option doesn't do anything, I 
                        went with threatening Nigel. Then you have one last 
                        chance of paying him, I didn't and so far nothing came
                        of it.

      Wendessa - 
                   Win: nothing
                 Visit: she will introduce you to Gilbert de Lacy, the 
                        executor of her estate.  Awkward.
                   Win: nothing
                   Win: Dragon Stone (non-functional item, but it is believed 
                        that it helps - and may be required - to slay the 
                        dragon)
                   Win: Knight’s Sword.
                 Visit: she tells you she made a bet with Gilbert and wants 
                        you to win the next joust for a special prize.
                   Win: the Shield of St. George (special anti-dragon 
                        shield... again, may be helpful, may be required, or 
                        may be useless, towards killing the dragon)
                   Win: nothing
                 Visit: she tells you of her first marriage and gives you a 
                        note from Gilbert.  If you tell her you’re not scared 
                        of him, she’ll ask you to marry her.  If you agree to 
                        marry her, Gilbert steps in and tells you that he’s 
                        had a bit of an executor-with-benefits relationship 
                        with her for a little while now, and reminds you that 
                        you won’t get her money unless he approves of you.  To 
                        win his approval, he asks for the “Orchid of Wessex” 
                        which is located in Okehampton (you must siege the 
                        castle in first-person to find it). Alternatively, 
                        you can blackmail him with the note Wendessa gave you.

       Valetta - 
                   Win: nothing
                   Win: nothing
                   Win: nothing
                   Win: nothing
                   Win: nothing
                 Visit: You can successfully marry her if you like.  You can 
                        also ask her about the dragon, and insist that you’re 
                        going to challenge it.  If you do, she’ll give you a 
                        book to bring to the priest in the town of Ely in 
                        Cambridgeshire (just north of Cambridge castle).  
                        Giving the priest the book will net you the special 
                        Dragon Slaying Armor (again, may be either required, 
                        helpful, or useless, in killing the dragon).


IX. ENDING THE GAME

     As mentioned when you begin, there are two paths the game pushes you 
     towards: slaying the dragon and usurping the crown.  Since the game ends 
     when you accomplish either of these, you can’t do both.  Note the game 
     will also end in March 1096 when you turn 30 years old.

     Path of the Dragon

          Courting ladies at the Tournaments, and chatter in the Inn, will 
          help you learn what you need to know to slay the dragon.  It is 
          believed, but not confirmed, that you need the following things to 
          slay the dragon:

               - high strength
               - dragon-slaying armor
               - Shield of St. George
               - dragon stone
               - dragon slaying lance
               - knowledge of where the dragon resides

          Strength is needed to wear the dragon-slaying armor (legend has it 
          that its last wearer perished due to insufficient strength - it’s 
          one heavy set of armor).  You can obtain the armor by courting 
          Valetta and telling her you insist on attempting to slay the dragon. 
          You will obtain the dragon stone and the Shield of St. George by 
          courting either Victoria or her mother Wendessa.  The dragon slaying 
          lance is obtainable through romance with Jane and the murderer of 
          her parents, Hugh Bigod.  Finally, you can figure out where the 
          dragon resides by simply exploring the map, or by romancing Anna 
          Lisa and asking her father Frederick for permission to marry her.

          Once all items and attributes are obtained, make your way to the 
          dragon’s lair.  Upon entering it, you will cut to a first-person 
          joust scene.  Simply lance the dragon in the eye as you approach to 
          attain victory.

     Path of the Crown

          In order to usurp the crown from William, you need to capture 
          London.  All other villages and fiefs are technically not required, 
          though they do help you build population and thus army size to take 
          on William.

          There are two ways to take over villages and fiefs: one is a castle 
          siege in which you and some men enter the castle and attempt to kill 
          all inside it, including the lord.  The other is via field battle 
          with a large army.  Since most field battles involves some losses, 
          you’ll constantly be needing to replenish your army.  On the other 
          hand, a well-equipped character can siege a castle and kill everyone 
          inside without suffering any losses.  Additionally, most villages 
          and fiefs have various weapons and armor in side, which can be sold 
          to the blacksmith for a substantial profit, or used to make future 
          sieges easier.

          However, before we get to castle sieges, it’s generally a good idea 
          to make sure your home fief is operating smoothly.  It will be your 
          biggest source of income over the course of the game.

          Start off by pressing V for “Village”.  Visit the moneylender and 
          borrow 200 shillings.  Exit the village and press H for “Home” to 
          visit the Tactical Room.  Click on the Castle and add a Steward, 
          Beadle, and Priest, for a quick jump to 70% Productivity.

          Click on Village next, and add houses (I’d recommend 20 or so) and a 
          Monastery.  Now click on the Forest and add a Woodward.  You should 
          now be at 95% productivity.

          Now go to the army screen and create an army of 1 Halberdier.  You 
          only need one unit in an army in order to siege a castle, so we 
          choose Halberdier because it’s the cheapest.

          Finally, go to the Farm screen and add as much food as you can.  
          You’ll want to add only Beans and Vegetables, in a precise 1:3 
          ratio, for optimal Productivity and Revenue.

          Exit out of the tactical room and look at the map.  Right click on 
          Army 1 to join your Knight with them.

          The white dots on the map are villages that can be captured, while 
          the dots with flags are fiefs.  Fiefs generally have standing armies 
          that will come out and put you in a field battle if you get too 
          close.  Given that you only have 1 Halberdier, you will lose this 
          and your game will be over.  So let’s start by attacking a village.
          You can choose any village you like, but once you attack a village, 
          its lord will begin sending armies to siege your home village at 
          regular intervals.

          Move your Knight and Army 1 together to the chosen village, and 
          press A for “Attack” when you get there.  After a brief loading 
          screen, you’ll be in the castle or fort.  You will have 1 soldier 
          with you (representing your Halberdier unit in your army).  Try to 
          keep him alive, because if he dies you’ll simply be a Knight on the 
          world map, unable to siege more villages.  You’ll have to create 
          another army unit and meet up with your Knight.  So, while 
          protecting your soldier, go about exploring the castle/fort.  Unless 
          your strength attribute is pitiful, you shouldn’t have much trouble 
          taking down enemies, taking the occasional damage and healing via 
          food and ale that you find.  

          The champion of the castle will be easily identifiable by his armor 
          and the plume in his helmet.  I find the best way to fight these 
          guys is by hit-and-fade tactics.  Even with the worst stats, you 
          can run up to them, take a swing with your sword, and move directly 
          backward before they can swing back at you.  Do this enough and 
          eventually you will kill the champion and the village will be yours.

          With this new village comes additional population, which can be used 
          immediately.  First go to the blacksmith in the village and sell any 
          items you acquired that you don’t need.  Then go to your Tactical 
          Room of your Home and, if it’s still March, add more Beans and 
          Vegetables to your Farm (most likely, serfs are the limiting factor 
          that made you stop before, not shillings).

          Now repeat as desired with the next closest village.  It’s best to 
          chart out a path on the roads, for two reasons.  One, it takes less 
          time.  And two, you’ll pass through other un-attackable villages on 
          the way.  You can stop in them and make a donation if you want to 
          raise your piety, and also check for a few of the high-end weapons 
          that you’ll never find in a castle siege: Mercenary Sword, Bishop’s 
          Sword, and Kingslayer Sword.

          As you continue to overtake villages, your strength will slowly grow 
          (as will your Sword Experience in your Overview screen; I have no 
          idea if this actually impacts any algorithms).  After March 31, you 
          won’t be able to plant any more crops, so your best bet is to use 
          your new serfs to Cut Timber in the Forest.  This is the next most 
          profitable way to spend your resources.

          Eventually, you will want to attack and take over a Fief.  These 
          have an extra defense in that as you approach with an army, they 
          will send out an army to meet you.  98 times out of 100, they will 
          intercept you before you can reach the Fief to siege it, so plan on 
          a Field Battle.  This means that if it’s just your Knight and 1 
          Halberdier, it’s likely game over.  You have three options then.

               One is to bring at least one additional army and try to use 
               that first to lure their army out; you can then sneak in with 
               your Knight+Halberdier and siege.  If you win the siege, all of 
               their armies are removed from the field when you exit, so your 
               decoy army is safe.  

               Two, if you have built up a nice population by this time, you 
               can put together a sizable army and put your Knight with that.
               Then feel free to meet their army in the field before laying 
               siege, win the battle, and go on to siege the fief.

               Finally, you can use the save+reload strategy.  Armies tend to 
               appear on one side of a fief consistently; if you approach from 
               the other side, you should get the chance to use the Attack 
               command to siege it before you’re intercepted or a field battle.

          Ultimately, you will be the only lord left in England, with all 
          villages and fiefs claimed except London.  Build up the largest army 
          you can, and then simply follow the same strategy you used to 
          capture the other fiefs: lure out the King’s armies so you can jump 
          in for a siege, beat the king’s armies in field battle and siege at 
          your leisure, or try to find a corner of London you can siege before 
          the King’s armies get to you (very unlikely with London).

          Inside the siege of London, you will find a massive castle to siege, 
          along with the most enemies you’ve ever faced in a siege.  William 
          will be in a throne room by himself, and at this point should not 
          pose much of a threat to your fully-armored, high-strength knight.

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