The Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 (PC VERSION) FAQ/Guide, ver. 1.63
by Douglas Lee (douglaswlee-at-netscape-dot-net) -- 19 January 2004
This document is a general overview of the eighth edition of Koei's famous
strategy game series, "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
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* *
* Please note: I am not able to answer any emailed questions about RTK *
* so please do not email me with your questions. Sorry. *
* *
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Dedication
----------
For Julie.
Version history
---------------
v1.63 - Small fixes.
v1.62 - Fixes again for SSX. Thanks to Nanodemon from GameFAQS.com!
v1.61 - Some fixes to SSX's marriage requirement, officer skills
v1.6 - More changes to the Marriage requirements
v1.54 - Made massive corrections to the marriage requirements. Please check
each one carefully now! (Changes are marked with ***)
v1.53 - Corrected a requirement for marrying Lin Zhi (you need only the farm
popular support to be at 20); added a blurb about Infamy (s. 17)
v1.52 - No additions made - I am not accepting any email questions, re: RTK
games. Sorry, I simply don't have the time to give personal attention
to email questions about this topic, so please use the message board.
v1.51 - Some minor changes (added a bit to the Blue skills, added warning
that Children are not part of the PS2 version)
v1.5 - Many corrections (removed -zhou suffixes..."zhou" = province, fixed
up the minimum amount of gold before Zuo Ci will offer to teach you a
super skill, added more compatibility comments re: the Sages of China)
v1.43 - Just made a correction: Sword of the Seven Stars gives red Confident
skill (wanted to be consistent with the rest of the FAQ when I refer
to that skill). I also renamed the scheme "Illusion" to "Magic" in
order to clear up any confusion with the battle manoeuvre "Illusion"
v1.42 - NO OFFICER CAN MARRY ANOTHER OFFICER!
v1.41 - Gah, more spelling corrections. I guess I really should proofread this
v1.4 - Corrected and made additions to the s. 7 on Sages of China (including
corrections/additions to what each Sage can do for you and which city
they start)
v1.31 - Corrected Deeds requirements for officer classes, added alternate ways
to get the Orange, Green, and Blue super skills
v1.3 - Added Duelling section to "Warfare"
v1.21 - Made some minor corrections to the wives/husbands section, relabelled
Super Skills
v1.2 - Added a little tidbit about the "Additional information" profile
in s. 2 on Character Information
v1.11 - Made some corrections to spelling mistakes
v1.1 - Added children section, renamed "Marriage" to "Marriage and Children"
v1.0 - Original draft
Some legal technicalities
-------------------------
"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" series is (c) 2002-2003 Koei Games
(http://www.koeigames.com). No copyright infringement intended. This
document should be found exclusively on GameFAQs.com, at Sanguo ONline
(http://www.sanguo-online.com), and at Kongming's Archives
(http://www.kongming.net). You may use and/or print this document for PERSONAL
USE ONLY. You may NOT put this on your site or use it to make a profit. I am
NOT interested in having this or any other FAQ of mine published at any other
website at this time. Do not distribute this document, or alter it in any
shape or form. Thank you.
This FAQ is copyright (c) 2003-2004 Douglas Lee.
Also: I'm translating game terms from the original Chinese. Based on past
experience with translated games, terms may differ when they are translated
into English, so please bear with me.
Acknowledgements
----------------
-Koei Games for developing the RTK series.
-Kriel at GameFAQS.com for asking lots and lots of questions and for
suggesting that I make this FAQ/Guide in the first place.
-Liu Bei98 at Sanguo ONline for outlining the battle campaigns.
-Steven Chin at Sanguo ONline.
-Firebirdjim at Rtk Frontier Palace (http://www.3kingdoms.net) for the
full list of special wives and husbands.
-Threekingdoms.com, which has many useful references, including the map of
China that lays out the provinces (http://www.threekingdoms.com/map2.htm)
-Sanguogame.126.com for instructions on how to raise the child
Onward!
THE TABLE OF CONTENTS
=====================
1. Introduction
2. Character Information
3. Battle Strategies
4. Skills
5. Positions in the Empire
6. Character Development
7. The Sages of China
8. Interactions with the Han Emperor
9. The City and City Development
10. The Council Session
11. Warfare
12. Foreign Affairs and Diplomacy
13. Goals, Missions, and Objectives
14. Social Interactions and Relationships
15. Marriage
16. Items
17. A Word about Infamy
1. Introduction
================
For those of you who are already familiar with the Romance or "RTK" series,
you might find things have changed a bit (or a lot) from previous editions.
This FAQ/Guide is intended to illustrate the [new] features of this game.
Background
----------
The second century is coming to a close and with it, the decline of the Han
dynasty. The Han dynasty was one of the longest and most famous dynasties
to have ever ruled China. Toward the end of the century, the imperial court
was plagued by corruption and decadence at the highest levels. Eunuchs,
trusted court attendants of the imperial family, wielded great influence and
power over the royalty. Eventually, the self-serving nature of the eunuchs,
complicated by widespread famine across the country, led to the rise of the
Yellow Turbans Rebellion. Their leader, Zhang Jiao, and his brothers were
said to be able to control Nature herself. The imperial government has
fallen into shambles; some royal officers seek to restore the dynasty to its
former glory while others seek to mold China into their own image. The goal
is the same: unite China under a single flag. The question is "whose flag?"
When RTK7 came out, it introduced a new way of playing an RTK game. Instead
of playing as the liege (ruler) of a country, you were allowed to play as
any character. That meant you could play as a liege, but now you could
choose to play as a warlord, a prefect, a common officer, or a ronin. This
style has carried over into RTK8--and now you may play as more than one
character (in RTK7, this "multiplayer" feature was hidden as a secret code;
in RTK8, this option is obvious and in the open as an option for players).
Another significant feature in RTK8 that sets it apart from the previous
editions is the ability to play in any year from 184 AD to 234 AD. Before,
a player was allowed to start only at certain years/scenarios; this,
however, has changed, and now the player has 50 years/scenarios to choose
from.
2. Character Information
=========================
Your information profile is divided into several sections:
i. statistics
ii. position in the empire (discussed in s. 5)
iii. battle strategies (discussed in s. 3)
iv. skills (discussed in s. 4)
v. additional information (appearing as button-triggered pop-up windows)
Statistics
----------
Your statistics are divided into four main areas:
War -- this is your proficiency in fighting; best for developing the city
security
Int -- this is your intelligence; best for developing the city technology
and city walls
Pol -- this is your ability to get things done; best for developing the city
economy
Cha -- this is your ability to recruit soldiers and officers to join your
empire; best for developing the city farmland
Each statistic can be developed from its initial levels over time (see s. 6
on Character Development).
Position in the empire
----------------------
There are several important pieces of information that describe you:
(a) fame -- how well-known you are
(b) gold -- how much money you have
(c) health -- poor health means your War statistic will be low; it also
affects the number of action points (AP) that you have
(d) availability -- shows whether you have done an action
(d) privileges -- applies only if you are a common officer; when you make a
suggestion to your prefect, you have the option of using a privilege to make
sure your suggestion is accepted by the prefect
There are two ways to gain a privilege point:
-exceeding 200% at city development (or if there are other common officers
who have exceeded 200%, you must be the highest performer) will give you
1 privilege point
-succeed in a military plot or diplomatic tactic; if the prefect chooses to
honour you in the next council session, you will gain 1 privilege point
(e) liege -- your supreme ruler
(f) officer class -- having higher deeds means you will be promoted to a
higher officer class; in turn, having a higher officer class opens the door
to promotions as well as the ability to command more soldiers when you are
on the battlefield
(g) deeds -- a reflection of how much you have done in service to your
empire
(h) region -- the administrative area of the liege's empire in which you
are located
(i) position -- shows if you are a ronin, common officer, warlord,
prefect, regional commander, or liege
(j) service years -- how many years you have served under your current
liege
(k) city -- the city in which you are located
(l) salary -- how much money you receive as wages every 3 months
(m) loyalty -- how loyal the character is to his liege (NOTE: you do not
see the loyalty rating of your liege because he can't be disloyal to
himself nor do you see your own loyalty rating because you decide whether
you want to leave your liege or stay)
(See also s. 5 in Positions in the Empire for more information.)
Additional information
----------------------
These buttons, when pressed, give you information about your officer. They
information on your officer's biography, his proficiency with battle
manoeuvres, the special items he owns, a list of the people he knows at the
various levels of friendship (this includes your spouse, sworn brothers, sworn
enemies), and the goals/missions that your officer is pursuing.
3. Battle manoeuvres
====================
Battle manoeuvres are military manoeuvres that you can carry out during
battle. You can tell if the unit has successfully executed the manoeuvre if
all FIVE of his soldier icons move in unison, causing substantial damage to
the target. If one or more soldier icons are shadowed and do not move with
the rest of the unit, then the manoeuvre failed to execute properly, and so
it will cause less damage. The battle manoeuvres, as well as the relevant
unit types, are:
CHARGE (infantry and cavalry only)
-a rush against the target enemy unit
-best used if the target is on open land
BESERK (infantry and cavalry only)
-attacks several surrounding units
-an allied unit can be attacked by accident too
-best used if surrounded by many targets but you can also be up against a
single enemy unit, and this manoeuvre will let you attack that same unit
several times
ATTACK + CHAOS (infantry and cavalry only)
-attacks the target enemy unit
-may also make the target unit fall into CHAOS, making it more vulnerable
to attack
-best used if the target is in forests, swamps or mountains although it
is marginally effective on open land
SNEAK ATTACK (infantry and cavalry only)
-attacks the target enemy unit in a surprise attack
-may also make the target unit fall into CHAOS, making it more vulnerable
to attack
-best used if the target is in forests, swamps or mountains although it
is marginally effective on open land
PHALANX CHARGE (infantry only)
-a strong attack against the target enemy unit
-may cause substantial damage
-may also make the target unit fall into CHAOS, making it more vulnerable
to attack
-this is the "super" attack for that particular unit type
-best used if the target is on open land
CAVALRY CHARGE (cavalry only, but not elephants)
-a strong attack against the target enemy unit
-may cause substantial damage
-may also make the target unit fall into CHAOS, making it more vulnerable
to attack
-this is the "super" attack for that particular unit type
-best used if the target is on open land
FIREBOLT (archers only)
-attacks the target enemy unit with firebolts
-may set the enemy unit on fire
-best used if the target is on land and if the weather is sunny
BURST OF ARROWS (archers only)
-shoots the target enemy unit with a focused burst of arrows
-best used if the target unit is on open land or in the mountains
SHOOT ALL AROUND (archers only)
-shoots multiple targets
-an allied unit can be attacked by accident
-best used if surrounded by many targets
STORM OF ARROWS (archers only)
-shoots the target enemy unit with a concentrated burst of arrows
-may cause substantial damage
-may also make the target unit fall into CHAOS, making it more vulnerable
to attack
-this is the "super" attack for that particular unit type
-best used if the target unit is on open land or in the mountains
FLOOD (all units)
-floods enemy ships (i.e. enemy units in water) within range
-may also make the target unit fall into CHAOS, making it more vulnerable
to attack
ARSON (all units)
-sets a fire on target spot
-cannot be used on swamps or water (duh)
BOULDER (all units)
-drops boulders on all enemy units within range
-may also make the target unit fall into CHAOS, making it more vulnerable
to attack
-can be used when enemies are in mountains only
ILLUSION (all units)
-casts an illusion on all enemy units within range
-may also make the target unit fall into CHAOS, making it more vulnerable
to attack
-best used when the weather is cloudy
POWER SIEGE (infantry only)
-a powerful attack on the defenders' city walls
-does not attack enemy soldiers nor do you suffer any losses
Battle manoeuvres are rated at seven levels, from worst to best:
(1) unknown (i.e. this manoeuvre is unavailable and cannot be executed yet)
(2) novice
(3) green
(4) experienced
(5) veteran
(6) expert
(7) master
The higher your expertise, the more likely you can execute a battle manoeuvre
successfully. To improve your expertise, you need to either train at the
city barracks or execute the battle manoeuvre on the battlefield (see s. 6
on Character Development). Every time you do one of these two actions, you
gain experience points that work toward the next level of expertise. Once
you reach level 5 (veteran), the only way you can improve your expertise is
through battlefield execution (i.e. you cannot train any more once you reach
level 5).
NOTE: You cannot improve upon a battle manoeuvre that you don't know (i.e. at
level 1 unknown). See s. 6 on Character Development for info on how to
acquire new battle manoeuvres.
4. Skills
=========
Skills are your capabilities both on and off the battlefield. If you have
certain skills, you can do certain tasks better or perform new tasks that
you cannot do without them. You may be lucky and learn the skills from the
Sages of China or from your spouse (i.e. wife/husband).
THE "RED" SKILLS
----------------
These skills are the most difficult to learn, compared to the other skill
sets.
FIERCE
-increases your WAR growth potential by 20 points from your starting WAR
(as opposed to the usual 10)
-you can learn this skill by maxing out your WAR and visiting the city walls
INTELLECTUAL
-increases your INT growth potential by 20 points from your starting INT
(as opposed to the usual 10)
-you can learn this skill by maxing out your INT and visiting the city
weapons forge
POLITICIAN
-increases your POL growth potential by 20 points from your starting POL
(as opposed to the usual 10)
-you can learn this skill by maxing out your POL and visiting the city market
KIND
-increases your CHA growth potential by 20 points from your starting CHA
(as opposed to the usual 10)
-improves your chances at recruiting officers to join your empire
-you can learn this skill by maxing out your CHA and visiting the city
farmland
CONFIDENT
-allows you to use SHOUT during a battle
-you can learn this skill by visiting the city barracks
<< STATS MAX AT 100 SUPER SKILL >>
-if you have all 5 skills before this one and 2,000 gold, Zuo Ci will visit
you and teach you this "skill"
-it increases your statistics maximum POTENTIAL to 100
THE "ORANGE" SKILLS
-------------------
Probably the easiest set of skills to learn. Cai Yan, the female poet who
resides at the Chang'an inn, can teach you these skills if you build up a
friendship level of 5 (trusted) with her.
FARMER
-improves your ability to develop the city farmland
-you can learn this skill by visiting the farmland until popular support
reaches 30, and then keep visiting (you will eventually get this skill)
ECONOMIST
-improves your ability to develop the city economy
-you can learn this skill by visiting the market until popular support
reaches 30, and then keep visiting (you will eventually get this skill)
WALL BUILDER
-improves your ability to develop the city walls
-you can learn this skill by visiting the city walls until popular support
reaches 30, and then keep visiting (you will eventually get this skill)
SECURITY PATROLLER
-improves your ability to develop the city security
-you can learn this skill by visiting the security office until popular
support reaches 30, and then keep visiting (you will eventually get this
skill)
INVENTOR
-improves your ability to develop the city technology
-you can learn this skill by visiting the forge until popular support
reaches 30, and then keep visiting (you will eventually get this skill)
<< SUPER SCOUT SUPER SKILL >>
-if you have all 5 skills before this one and 2,000 gold, Zuo Ci will visit
you and teach you this "skill"
-alternatively, if you get Zuo Ci's Shield Armour Book, you will get this
super skill
-it allows you to see the stats for all cities during the council session
without having to use the SPY command
-you may also use the ALERT CAMPAIGN, which allows your armies to
successfully defuse all enemy traps when attacking
THE "GREEN" SKILLS
------------------
Sima Hui, the Sage who wanders around the cities of the provinces of Jing,
Yang, and Yi, will teach you these skills once you develop a friendship
level of 5 (trusted) with him.
DEBATE
-use this against an enemy officer during the council session; if you were
successful, that enemy officer will likely defect during a battle
SUBVERT
-use this against an enemy officer during the council session; if
successful, that enemy officer's unit can lose soldiers and become disabled
during a battle
RUSE
-lowers the enemy city's security development
CHAOS
-during a battle, you can use CHAOS against enemy unit, making it more
vulnerable to attack
RUMOUR
-attempts to lower an enemy officer's loyalty
<< LIGHTNING SUPER SKILL >>
-if you have all 5 skills before this one and 2,000 gold, Zuo Ci will visit
you and teach you this "skill"
-alternatively, if you get Zhuge Liang's 24 Manuals of War, you will get
this super skill
-if you have both this skill and ASTRONOMER, you can use the LIGHTNING BOLTS
plot during a battle
THE "BLUE" SKILLS
-----------------
This is a difficult set of skills to learn. You have to repeatedly train
your soldiers at barracks of various provinces of China. It is only through
repeated training that you will gain the skill. Your spouse may also teach
you this skill, if you are married.
FOOT SOLDIER
-you fight better during a battle when set as a foot soldier
(i.e. light infantry, heavy infantry, rattan infantry)
-when you are an infantry unit, you will move farther compared to those who
don't have this skill
-to get this skill, train in any city in Bing province (e.g. Puyang)
CAVALRY
-you fight better during a battle when set as a cavalry officer
(i.e. light cavalry, heavy cavalry, Shanyue cavalry, elephants)
-when you are a cavalry unit, you will move farther compared to those who
don't have this skill
-to get this skill, train in any city in Liang province (e.g. Xiliang)
ARCHER
-you fight better during a battle when set as an archer unit (i.e. archers,
crossbow wagon)
-when you are an archer unit, you will move farther compared to those who
don't have this skill
-to get this skill, train in any city in Ji province (e.g. Bohai)
NAVY
-you fight better when in the water (i.e. ships)
-to get this skill, train in any city in Yang province (e.g. Moling/Jianye)
SCOUT
-when spying on the target city, you will also gain info on the surrounding
cities
-in battle, this officer will successfully detect and disarm any enemy traps
-develop a friendship of level 5 (trusted) with Sima Hui, and he will teach
you this skill (eventually)
<< CONFUSION SUPER SKILL >>
-if you have all 5 skills before this one and 2,000 gold, Zuo Ci will visit
you and teach you this "skill"
-alternatively, if you get the Technique of Peace, then you will get this
super skill
-you can use the CONFUSION plot during a battle
THE "YELLOW" SKILLS
-------------------
ASTRONOMY
-you can control the weather and wind
-you can learn this skill by marrying Lin Zhi, Sima Hui's daughter (she will
teach you this skill, eventually) or, if you are Sun Ce, by apologizing to
Yu Ji, the Daoist priest
-alternatively, if you have 2,000 gold, Zuo Ci may offer to teach you
DOCTOR
-you can heal the wounded soldiers in an allied unit
-you can also heal wounded officers if you visit them immediately
-you can learn this skill by building up a level 5 (trusted) friendship with
Hua Tuo (who will give you his medical journal)
-alternatively, if you have 2,000 gold, Zuo Ci may offer to teach you
-you can also buy a book of healing from the merchants at Luoyang, at a
cost of 3,000 gold
5. Positions in the Empire
==========================
There are several positions within your liege's empire. To see what each
position can do during a council session, see the chart at the end of
this section.
Ronin
-----
This is a Japanese word that referred to a samurai warrior without a master,
and so it applies quite nicely in this context. There are three kinds of
ronin:
THE NORMAL RONIN
A ronin does not serve a liege, but instead is free to wander about from one
city to another. He may meet and converse with other ronin as well as
officers who serve under a liege, visit a city's buildings (e.g. farmland,
economy, city walls, etc.) to build up popular support, etc. Eventually, he
may decide to join an empire and serve a liege. Until he becomes part of an
empire, the normal ronin does not attend any council sessions.
THE EXILED LIEGE
An exiled liege is a liege that doesn't own a city. He can move from one
city to another, but sometimes an occupying liege's forces may prevent him
from crossing the borders from one liege's territory to another, and so he
must retreat to the first city. He might be able to cross the borders if he
forces his way through, but that usually results in a reduction in the
friendly relations with that other liege (i.e. you just invaded his land
and broke though...not exactly a "nice" thing to do). The exiled liege may
meet and converse with normal ronin and recruit him as one of his
Followers. He can also meet and converse with officers who serve under a
liege. He may also draft a small number of soldiers from the city, but the
number is extremely limited given his few resources. The exiled liege may
lead an attack on another liege's city if he has soldiers. If the exiled
liege comes upon an unowned city, then he may choose to claim it and start
his own empire.
THE EXILED LIEGE'S FOLLOWER
A follower is not quite a "ronin" in the strictest sense because he has a
master, an exiled liege. A follower is just that--he follows his liege
wherever the liege goes. He can offer suggestions for courses of action,
like a common officer. He may also draft a few soldiers from the city, but
again, the number is extremely limited given his few resources.
Common Officer
--------------
A common officer is a character who serves under a liege, but has no special
privileges or position within the empire. During a council session, the
common officer may make one suggestion to his prefect to take a certain
course of action, but the prefect must give approval. He may, however, use
a privilege to ensure that the prefect accepts the suggestion (i.e. no
chance of refusal). A common officer is often assigned city development
duties by the city prefect at the conclusion of the council session.
Warlord
-------
A warlord is the advisor to the city prefect, and he is appointed to this
position by the prefect. He is one who decides whether an action is in the
best interests of the city and the empire. The warlord's power often mirrors
or mimics that of his prefect. In a sense, therefore, the warlord is a
"second prefect" of the city, but ultimately the true prefect is the one who
has the final say in the matter. During a council session, the warlord enjoys
a special status of being able to make up to 6 suggestions to the prefect.
While he is not obligated to advise the prefect when faced with ambassadors
from other lieges, the prefect will often go along with the choice of his
warlord.
The warlord cannot order any subordinate officers outside the council session.
Note: in RTK7, you had "Influence Points" or IP when you became warlord. This
has been taken out of RTK8, so you can give your advice without any cost.
City Prefect
------------
A city prefect is the governor of one of his liege's cities. He is
appointed to this position by his liege or regional commander. Consequently,
he is responsible for the carrying out the policy of his liege or regional
commander. The prefect also has the power to appoint an officer in his city
to be his warlord. Like the warlord, the city prefect has 6 suggestions
(really suggestions to himself) to carry out actions during the council
session. The city prefect convenes the council session to decide what to do
over the next 3 months. At the conclusion of the council session, the prefect
has the power to assign city development duties to the officers under his
command in the city. Regional commanders and Lieges are prefects of their
respective cities.
The city prefect cannot order any subordinate officers outside the council
session.
Regional Commander
------------------
The regional commander is in charge of usually more than one city. He is
appointed to this position by his liege to be responsible for the
administration of a section of the empire. The regional commander answers to
the liege and is supposed to carry out the regional policy set by the liege.
The RC has the power to set city policy and appoint city prefects for all
cities under his command. Being the prefect of his own city, the regional
commander also has the power to appoint his city's warlord.
The regional commander cannot order any subordinate officers outside the
council session.
Liege
-----
This is the highest ranking position of a single empire. The liege is the
head of the faction. He has the power to appoint regional commanders, city
prefects, and his own city's warlord. The liege can divide his empire into
sections, headed by regional commanders. Consequently, he can set regional
policy to be carried out by his regional commanders. The liege is also able
to set city policy for all the cities under his administrative command.
The liege cannot order any subordinate officers outside the council session.
Officer classes
---------------
There are now nine classes of officers, where the 9th class is the lowest
and the 1st class is the highest. An officer's class depends on the Deeds
that he has performed in service to the empire: the more Deeds he has, the
higher his officer class. The higher the officer class, the higher the
salary and the more troops that the officer can command on the battlefield.
Here is a list of the officer classes, maximum soldier assignment,
minimum Deeds, and quarterly salary):
Liege = 20,000 troops (no Deeds necessary, no salary paid)
1st class = 18,500 (33,000 minimum Deeds, 180 gold salary)
2nd class = 17,000 (24,200 minimum Deeds, 150 gold salary)
3rd class = 15,500 (17,600 minimum Deeds, 120 gold salary)
4th class = 14,000 (12,100 minimum Deeds, 100 gold salary)
5th class = 12,500 (7,700 minimum Deeds, 80 gold salary)
6th class = 11,000 (4,400 minimum Deeds, 60 gold salary)
7th class = 9,500 (2,200 minimum Deeds, 50 gold salary)
8th class = 8,000 (1,100 minimum Deeds, 40 gold salary)
9th class = 6,500 (0 Deeds, 20 gold salary)
When an officer receives a promotion to the next officer class, his loyalty
to his liege improves. If he is demoted to a lower officer class, however,
his loyalty drops.
6. Character Development
========================
There are several aspects of your character that can be developed during the
course of the game: your statistics, your battle strategies, and your skills.
For each aspect, there are several ways of developing your character, but all
of them involve gaining experience.
Developing your statistics
--------------------------
As mentioned above, you have four statistics: war, intelligence, politics,
and charisma. Generally, you can improve each statistic by a maximum of 10
points from the starting position; in some situations, you can improve a stat
by 20 points, but in order to have this added potential, you need to have the
appropriate RED skill (see s. 4 on Skills).
You can improve a statistic by visiting your house and training yourself.
When training a stat, you gain EXPERIENCE points for that area (i.e. if you
decide to improve your war statistic, you will gain experience in war). Once
your stat's experience reaches 100, you have improved your stat by 1 point.
Sometimes you will meet a fellow officer who happens to be training too, and
both of you will benefit much more than if you were training alone. In
another rare situation, your spouse will improve a stat for you. Usually the
war stat improves in this case, and only if you are stationed in a city that
is completely surrounded by enemy cities.
You also gain experience, working towards a stat improvement, when you carry
out tasks to develop your city. For example, if you continue to work hard at
building the city walls, you will eventually gain enough experience in the
INT stat such that you will improve that stat by 1 point. Similarly, you can
gain experience for your WAR stat when you engage in battles. The more tasks
you are involved in, the more experience you gain, and the faster your stats
will improve.
Developing your battle manoeuvres
---------------------------------
Battle manoeuvres are the complex manoeuvres that you can carry out when in
a fight. If properly executed, a battle manoeuvre can cause serious damage
to the enemy, perhaps even turning the tide of war in your favour. The same
applies to your enemies: if they pull off a well-executed manoeuvre, they
can seriously cripple your forces. Battle manoeuvres are difficult to learn,
but there are a few ways to learn them.
1. An enemy attempts on you a battle manoeuvre that you do not know. You may
be able to "pick up" the manoeuvre from the attempt, but there's no
guarantee that you will. This method is most unusual, but it does happen
occasionally.
2. When you visit a friend who has a level 6 friendship (intimate) with you,
and discuss military strategies with him/her, you may learn a new manoeuvre
from your friend. This stands a greater chance of learning a new manoeuvre,
compared to #1.
3. Your spouse will teach you a manoeuvre. Again, this is a rare occasion.
For battle manoeuvres, there are several levels of expertise ranging from
beginner to expert. The higher your expertise, the greater the chance your
strategy will be carried out properly. The levels are:
(1) unknown (i.e. this manoeuvre is unavailable and cannot be executed yet)
(2) novice
(3) green
(4) experienced
(5) veteran
(6) expert
(7) master
Once you reach level 4 (experienced), you usually have 50/50 chance of
succeeding. Obviously, once you reach level 5 (veteran) and higher, your
chance of success improves dramatically.
To improve your battle manoeuvres, you need to gain experience in carrying
them out. You can gain experience by training in the city barracks or on the
battlefield itself. Once your manoeuvre experience reaches 100, your
manoeuvre will improve to the next level. A note: once your manoeuvre
reaches level 5 (veteran), you cannot train that strategy at the barracks any
more--you will have to use it in the battlefield to gain more experience.
Also, even if you reach level 7 (master), it doesn't mean you will succeed
100% of the time. You can still fail, but the chance of that is much less
than if you were at level 2 (novice).
Developing your skills
----------------------
Skills determine your abilities both on and off the battlefield. Needless to
say, if you do not have a certain skill, you are therefore "not good" at
doing a certain task. Skills are somewhat more difficult to learn compared to
improving your stats, but there are plenty of ways of acquiring new skills.
There are no degrees of proficiency in skills as there are in battle
manoeuvres.
Unlike RTK7, one can have a 100 in a stat (e.g. War) and still learn a new
skill. There is no need to have a deficiency in a statistic in order to gain
a new skill since skills and stats are not linked in that way any more
See s. 4 on Skills to learn more about each type of skill and where you can
learn them.
7. The Sages of China
=====================
There are Eight Sages of China, each of whom travel within a certain part of
the country. When a Sage is in a city, he can be found at the inn where you
can visit him. Sages cannot be recruited into service of a liege, but if you
develop a trusted friendship with a Sage, he will teach you Skills or even
get you married to their protege. While you can develop friendships with
Sages, you cannot give them gifts nor can you swear brotherhood with any of
them. They cannot be sworn enemies nor can you marry any of them.
Certain Sages are compatible with certain kinds of officers--their
compatibility is listed with each Sage's starting city in every scenario, and
a brief description about them.
Sima Hui / Xiangyang: The teacher of Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Xu Shu. You
can find him in the city of Hanzhong, and the provinces of Jing, Yi, and
southwest Yang. If you develop a trusted friendship with him, he can teach you
the green skills one by one or the blue Scout skill. He may also introduce you
to his daughter, Lin Zhi, whom you can marry (if you're a guy). He is most
compatible with Shu officers, and therefore any Shu officer will have an
easier time building a friendship with Sima Hui than any other officer.
Hua Tuo / Shouchun: A famous doctor. You can find him in the provinces of
Yang, Xu, and Qing. If you develop a trusted friendship with him, he will
teach you the Doctor skill or give you his Medical Journal (same effect). He
is most compatible with Shu officers, and therefore any Shu officer will have
an easier time building a friendship with Hua Tuo than any other officer.
Xu Shao / Runan: A prophet. He is the man who called Cao Cao the most loyal
in peacetime but the craftiest in wartime. You can find him in the provinces
of Ji, Yan, Yu, Qing, and Bing--but he tends to stick around the city of Wan.
He is most compatible with Wei officers, and therefore any Wei officer will
have an easier time building a friendship with Xu Shao than any other officer.
If you meet with him, he may appraise your character and talk about your
private goals (similar to what he did for Cao Cao).
Cai Yan / Chang'an: The poetess also known as Cai Wenji. Her father is Cai
Yong, the royal historian of the Later Han dynasty. You can find her only at
the inn at Chang'an (i.e. she doesn't move). If you develop a trusted
friendship with her, she can teach you the orange skills one by one. She may
also introduce you to Jiang Rong, whom you can marry (if you're a guy). She is
most compatible with Wei officers, and therefore any Wei officer will have an
easier time building a friendship with Cai Yan than any other officer.
Yu Ji / Wu : A Daoist priest. You can find him almost anywhere in China, but
he tends to stick around the provinces of Yang, Yu, and the eastern part of
Jing. If you develop a trusted friendship with him, he may also teach you the
Astronomy skill or the Doctor skill. He is most compatible with Liu
Zhang's officers, although he will readily talk with Wei and Shu officers.
Guan Lu / Pingyuan: A prophet. You can find him in the provinces of Ji, Bing,
and Yan. If you develop a trusted friendship with him, he may introduce you
to his protege, Zhou Xin, whom you can marry (if you're a girl) or he may
extend your life span or teach you the Astronomy skill. He most compatible
with Wei officers, and therefore any Wei officer will have an easier time
building a friendship with Guan Lu than any other officer.
Mi Heng / Beihai: He is most famous for "mooning" Cao Cao (Ch. 23 of the
novel), which obviously didn't impress Cao Cao too much. You can find him
around the provinces of Qing, Yan, Xu, and Yu. If you develop a trusted
friendship with him, he may teach you the green skills one by one. He is most
compatible with Liu Zhang's officers, although he may talk with Wei officers
on occasion.
Zuo Ci / reportedly Chaisang: A Daoist mystic. You don't find him--HE finds
YOU whenever you have at least 3,000-4,000 gold, and he will come and offer
to teach you any blue skill one by one. He will also teach you the last skill
of each skill set, provided that you already have the first five.
8. Interactions with the Han Emperor
====================================
The Han emperor has been reduced to nothing more than a figurehead, and not
everyone is interested in restoring the dynasty to its former glory. In RTK8,
there are three Han emperors, one of which is on the throne at any time:
Ling, Shao, and Xian. Emperor Ling is alive until about 188 AD, at which time
he dies and Emperor Shao takes over, only to be ousted (usually by Dong Zhuo)
in 189-190, at which time Emperor Xian ascends to the throne. Xian stays as
the emperor until a new emperor appears (this is described below).
Even though the government of the Han dynasty is in shambles, the dynasty
in itself still holds great prestige as it had governed China for over 400
years. As a result, the titles and ranks of the imperial court still command
great respect for those who hold such honours. In RTK8, the imperial ranks
are given to those lieges who have captured provinces of the country and,
later, a certain number of cities. Provinces are clearly demarcated with
thick, black borders if you look at the game's map of China.
If you have captured... then you will be given the rank of...
1 whole province imperial protector
10 cities duke
25 cities prince
40 cities emperor
Provinces are distinguishable by thicker black lines when you read the map
of China.
Once you reach the title of duke, the Han emperor will grant you the title
appropriate to your liege's command over a certain part of the country. For
example, if your liege captures most of Northern China (e.g. the provinces
of Ji and You), then the Han emperor will bestow you the rank of Duke of Yan
(an ancient state that dominated those northern provinces). Once you reach
the title of prince, the emperor will grant you the princely title that is
based on your liege's historical background. For example, if your liege is
Liu Bei and he has 25 cities, he will be given the title of Prince of
Hanzhong. Similarly, if your liege is Cao Cao and he has 25 cities, he will
be given the title of Prince of Wei.
Alternatively, a liege may declare himself to have an imperial rank based
on his fame and his control over a number of cities. This usually happens
if the Han Emperor has been deposed.
There are other imperial ranks that cannot be obtained as a promotion but
are part of the scenario. These ranks are the Regent Marshal and the Prime
Minister. He Jin in the Yellow Turbans scenario holds the rank of Regent
Marshal. No one else holds this rank in later scenarios. By 189, Dong Zhuo
holds the rank of Prime Minister, and by 194 Cao Cao takes this rank.
The Han emperor may on occasion send an envoy to request 2,000 gold from a
liege. The liege may agree to give the gold, and gain about 500 fame, or
disagree and gain no benefit.
When you capture the city in which the Han emperor resides and you have
acquired the title of Duke, your liege will be asked whether he intends to
help restore the Han dynasty, or sweep it aside and begin a new dynasty.
Officers may on occasion be called into the presence of the Han emperor,
who will bestow a gift of gold and increase that officer's fame. This is
done usually because that officer has earned great merits for his liege,
and so he is recognized and rewarded for his efforts.
9. The City and City Development
================================
The city is the principal part of gameplay. You are stationed in one city,
and outside the council session you interact with the city's facilities and
its people. There are several defined sections of the city:
(a) The City Walls
This is where you can build up and reinforce the city walls (officers
with high Intelligence stats will do better here), pillage an adjacent
city for money and food, visit another city, or patrol the local peasants
to gain popular support.
(b) The Farmland
This is where you can develop the farmland to increase food production
(officers with high Charm will do better here) or patrol the local
peasants to gain popular support.
(c) The Soldiers' Barracks
This is where you can train yourself in battle strategies to improve your
expertise or patrol the local peasants to gain popular support.
(d) The Security Office
This is where you can increase the city's security level (officers with
high War stats will do better here), do battle with bandits (they appear
only if the city's security status is below 60%), or patrol the local
peasants to gain popular support.
(e) The Marketplace
This is where you can improve the city's economy to increase tax income
(officers with high Politics stats will do better here), buy and sell
items (if there's a merchant in the city), or patrol the local peasants to
gain popular support.
(f) The Weapons Forge
This is where you can develop the city's technology to create new and
better weapons to help you conquer China (officers with high Intelligence
will do better here) or patrol the local peasants to gain popular support.
(g) The Government Palace
This is where you can visit an officer, spread slander against an officer,
or give an item to an officer in the city. If you are the liege, you can
also deposit or withdraw money from the city coffers.
(h) The Ronin's Tavern
This is available to ronin only (i.e. not to officers of an established
empire). It acts in the many ways like the government office when you wish
to interact with the Followers of an Exiled Liege or the Exiled Liege
himself. Followers and Exiled Lieges draft soldiers here.
(i) The Inn
This is where wandering ronin and the Sages of China can be found. Here,
you can interact, hire, or give an item to a ronin. The Sages cannot be
hired but you can interact with them here. They may often give you some
sound advice or even teach you a skill.
(j) Your House
This is your home in the city, if you are an officer of an established
empire. You can improve your stats, hold a party, or resign from service
to the liege here. If you are a ronin, this is where you can try to gather
other officers in the city to follow you as a new liege. If you are
married, your husband or wife will be out in front, tending to the house.
If you have a fictitious child, he/she will be playing nearby. Your dog is
also here, and may turn up some buried treasure if she happens to be
digging up the front yard. She may also bark repeatedly if she sees a
thief escaping from your house, presumably with stolen goods...
Often, if you are not the prefect, you will be responsible for developing one
of the city's facilities during a three month period. It is up to you to
develop that facility to the satisfaction of your prefect. The more you work
at it, the more recognition you will receive, and the sooner you will receive
promotions and honours at a future council session. A city prefect (i.e. the
liege, the regional commander, or the prefect) is not obliged to develop any
specific part of the city, but he is free to make any contributions he sees
fit.
There are often dozens of people walking about the city, and you can interview
them. They will sometimes give you little tidbits of information, rumours that
they've heard, etc. Interviewing any of the city population isn't a necessity,
but some players like to do that anyway. On occasion, however, there are some
particular examples of people who show up every now and then. This includes
the drunk who is lying outside the ronin's tavern, a group of people reading a
public sign near your house, the fisherman who tries his luck at the river
near the bridge, and a cute couple on the bridge who remark the state of
affairs.
10. The Council Session
=======================
Every three months, a council session is held at your city (presumably, the
other cities of your empire will be holding similar sessions of their own).
The first course of business is a report of the city's development for the
past three months. High-achieving officers receive deed and fame points for
their accomplishments. Under-achieving officers receive a stern scolding.
Occasionally, if a prefect is impressed by an officer's success in carrying
out a task, then he will honour that officer by awarding him some gold (about
100-500 gold). Once an officer has reached a certain level of deeds, the
prefect will award a class promotion to that officer (e.g. from an 8th class
officer to a 7th class officer). If, however, an officer consistently fails
to accomplish the city development tasks assigned to him, he may be demoted
to a lower officer class.
If you are a common officer and have achieved a rating of 200 or higher
during the course of your development OR if you have successfully carried out
a strategic task (i.e. damaging the walls of an enemy city), then your prefect
may honour you with a privilege point. A privilege point allows you, as a
common officer, to make a suggestion for an action and force it through the
prefect's approval. Normally, the prefect considers your idea before accepting
or rejecting your proposal. Using a privilege point for your suggestion forces
the prefect to accept your suggestion automatically. You can have a maximum of
3 privilege points. Other officers (e.g. prefects, warlords, ronin) do not get
privilege points.
The second course of business involves the solicitation of suggestions from
the officers as to a course of action. In this part of the council session,
the prefect and his subordinate officers can make a number of a suggestions,
all of which are subject to the approval of the prefect. Common officers
normally can make only one suggestion per session, unless they have at least
one privilege point--which common officers can use to automatically approve
a suggestion. Prefects have up to six suggestions (to themselves :) while the
city warlords have up to six suggestions. It is not necessary to use up all
available suggestions in a council session.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| CHART OF COUNCIL SESSION ABILITIES |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| |HIRE|MOVE| |FIRE|APPT|MOVE|ATTK|B/S |RECR| |USE |SPY |FRGN|SET |
| |OFCR|OFCR|ITEM|OFCR|RANK|RSRC|CITY|FOOD|SLDR|REBL|PLOT|CITY|AFFR|PLCY|
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|RONI| N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|EXIL| Y | Y& | Y$ | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | Y | Y@ | N |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|FOLW| Y* | Y* | N | N | N | N | Y* | N | N | N | N | Y* | N | N |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|OFCR| Y* | Y^ | N | N | N | N | Y* | Y* | Y* | Y | Y* | Y* | N | N |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|WARL| Y* | Y* | N | N | N | Y* | Y* | Y* | Y* | Y | Y* | Y* | Y*%| N |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|PREF| Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|REGC| Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y# | Y! |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|LIEG| Y | Y | Y$ | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | Y |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
LEGEND
& = The exiled liege can "move" his entourage of officers from one city to
another. Usually, if the exiled liege is in the territory of a liege, he can
freely move about within that territory. He might be able to cross a border
from one liege's territory to another liege's territory, but sometimes he is
driven back by the border guards; other times, he can break through the
sentry, but at a cost of friendly relations between lieges.
$ = Only the liege or exiled liege can give or take away items. All the
others can give items only.
@ = The exiled liege's foreign affairs power is limited to sending gifts to
lieges only.
* = Suggest only--the prefect or liege must approve (unless, in the case of
the common officer, you use a privilege, which makes it automatically
approved).
^ = The common officer can suggest moving himself only, not others.
% = The warlord's foreign affairs power depends on the power of his
prefect, i.e. the foreign affairs power mirrors his prefect's power.
# = The regional commander's foreign affairs power is limited to getting
an enemy city's prefect to defect and demanding an enemy liege to
surrender.
! = The regional commander can set policy for the cities under his
regional command only, whereas the liege can set policies for entire
regions as well as individual cities under his regional command (i.e. the
liege cannot set individual policies for cities that he has delegated to
his regional commanders).
Finally, at the conclusion of the council session, the prefect solicits his
subordinate officers to help develop the city's facilities. Often, several
officers will volunteer to devleop a certain facility, depending on what
part of the city needs work. The prefect then can assign up to 10 officers
to develop the various parts of the city. Generally, it is better to assign
officers that are proficient at certain tasks. For example, it would not be
wise to assign Zhang Fei to work at the weapons forge when his intelligence
is fairly low. He would be better working the security office detail.
See s. 9 on the City and City Development to see which kinds of officers
would do better at developing specific parts of the city.
11. Warfare
===========
This is the singlemost important part of the game--war. Battles happen only
during the council session months (i.e. you can fight in January, April,
July, and October, but no other months).
Battle preparation
------------------
There are a few preparatory steps before your armies engage in a battle with
an enemy.
1. If you are a commanding officer (i.e. liege, regional commander, prefect,
warlord, or exiled liege):
a) you must select which city will launch the attack (if there is only one
city available for you to select, then it will be automatically selected).
You can also see a miniature map of the target battlefield.
b) you must select the target city (again, this will be automatically
selected if there is only one available city to attack).
c) you can select any adjacent, allied cities to send reinforcements to help
your army.
d) you must select which officers in the attacking city will be sent on the
expedition.
e) you must assign soldiers to each officer in the expeditionary force and
select what kind of unit type each officer will have for his troops. If you
have met the requirements, you can equip your unit(s) with special weapons
(battering ram, catapult, tower, or ship). You can also adjust who will be
the expedition's commander and tactician (although this is normally preset
by the computer).
All of these 5 steps apply if you are launching attack, but steps C to E
apply if you are defending against an attack. After these steps are complete,
you will be taken to the battle council chamber screen.
2. If you are a common officer in the army, you won't be able to set these
options. Instead, if you agreed to join the battle, you will be taken
directly to the battle council chamber screen.
** Important note! In addition, if you are a liege, prefect, or regional
commander and your warlord suggests launching attack, and you agree to the
attack, the computer will automatically go through steps A to E _without_
your approval of each step.
Battle council chamber screen
-----------------------------
The battle council chamber screen features the battlefield map in the centre
of the screen. If you are attacking, you will see red squares, one of which
represents a single unit (i.e. one officer and his troops) in the offensive
army. You will not see the defending army's deployment. Conversely, if you
are the defending army, you will see blue squares (your defending units) on
the battlefield map but you will not see the attacking army's forces.
Yellow squares represent outposts that must be captured (if attacking) or
provide soldier reinforcements (if defending).
Your army's commander and tactician (if your army has at least two officers)
will discuss preliminary strategies for the battle. If there is only one
officer in the army, (i.e. no tactician available), that army will not be
able to use schemes. If there is a tactician available, he will suggest what
he thinks are the appropriate schemes and the appropriate battle campaign
style to use in the upcoming battle. Further details at this stage depend on
whether you are attacking or defending.
Attacking
---------
On the offensive side, the tactician will suggest a number of schemes as
well as what he thinks is the best attacking campaign style. The commander
has the last word on these choices, and is free to modify them as he sees
fit. There are several attacking campaign styles available:
1. Fast campaign. All units' mobility multiplied by 1.5, morale increases by
20. If you don't win the battle within 10 turns, all units' morale drop by 40.
2. Lightning-quick campaign. Even greater mobility than Fast Campaign, morale
increases by 20. 10 turns rule still applies.
3. Normal campaign. No special advantages or disadvantages.
4. Cautious campaign. You get a better view (less fog of war), and you won't
be ambushed if you run into an enemy when moving.
5. Calm campaign. Higher chance to avoid enemies' tactics and schemes.
6. Tactical campaign. Higher success rate on tactics against the enemy.
7. Water dragon campaign. Greater mobility and defense on water.
9. Alert campaign. Deactivates all traps, mobility normal.
The attacking army's tactician can also draw up a manifest of schemes to use
in the upcoming battle. Again, the commander has the final authority to either
accept or modify the tactician's plans. The possible offensive schemes are:
1. Slander: weakens the defending city's walls, making them vulnerable to
attacks from the offensive army if they start battering down the walls.
Slander lasts usually for no more than 5 days before it wears off.
2. Dig walls: makes the defending army's soldiers vulnerable to a direct
attack from the offensive army.
3. False rumours: lowers the defending army's morale.
4. Incite peasant riots: the defending army's soldiers suffer an attack from
own city's population.
Defending
---------
On the defensive side, the tactician will suggest a campaign, a number of
schemes, and lay any traps as he sees fit, depending on the campaign he
selects. The defending commander has the authority to revise some or all of
the defending tactician's plans. There are several defensive campaigns:
1. The castle line. Units will line up in front of the castle, defense is
up but morale decreases.
2. Fortify the walls. Higher defense than The Castle Line, morale still
decreases.
3. Outpost campaign. Units will gather around the fortress on the frontline,
no special advantages or disadvantages.
4. Calm campaign. Higher chance to avoid enemies' tactics and schemes.
5. Tactical campaign. Higher success rate on tactics against the enemy.
6. Water dragon campaign. Greater mobility and defense on water.
7. Shooting campaign. Archer units' arrow range increases.
8. Entrenched campaign. Units stay in the castle, morale drops
9. Fortified campaign. Units stay in the castle, morale drops, castle
defense increases.
There are also some defensive-exclusive schemes:
1. Conscription: the defending army adds emergency conscripts from the city's
population.
2. Reinforce walls: the defending city's walls are made stronger against the
offensive army's attacks on the walls, whose attacks would cause less damage
to the city. It is possible that this strategy can last for the entire 30
days of the battle.
3. Rapid retreat: the defenders, who are deployed anywhere outside of the
castle, will rush back to the castle walls, but at a cost of morale.
4. Internal strife: causes attackers who are within visual range of the city
to attack one another. Usable only if the defending commander is in the city.
Success depends on the tactician's Intelligence.
Schemes applicable to both attacking and defending armies
---------------------------------------------------------
1. Chain: freezes enemy units who are in the water.
2. Rally: generally, raises the army's morale from 6-25%. Sometimes this
scheme fails, and on occasion this can _hurt_ morale instead (because the
enemy army will taunt you for being that pathetic!)
3. Astronomy: changes the weather conditions to either sunny, cloudy, light
rain, thunderstorm, or snow. Requires the yellow Astronomy skill.
4. Wind control: changes the direction of the wind. Can also reduce all wind
to a dead calm, which can cause the enemy army to fall into Chaos or Panic
(they are frightened by this sudden lack of wind). Requires the yellow
Astronomy skill.
5. Magic: casts a spell on one or more of the enemy units, which damages
the troops and lowers the morale of those affected. It often sends the
damaged units into Chaos or Panic. Works only if the weather is cloudy.
6. Lightning: summons at least one lightning bolt. Any unit struck by the
lightning bolt suffers 80-90% casualties, 60-70% loss of morale, and injures
the unit's officer. Any units adjacent to the struck unit also suffer 60-70%
casualties, 50-60% loss of morale, but does not injure the unit's officer.
Requires the yellow Astronomy skill and the green Lightning skill.
Last words before a battle
--------------------------
Before the battle begins, the commander can interview his expedition's
officers one by one, soliciting opinions about the upcoming battle. With the
exception of the alert campaign (attacking army only), interviewing officers
before engaging in the fight can raise the morale of one expedition officer's
unit by 1-5%. Only the commander can interview his officers. Interviewing
allows the commander to re-examine the stats of each expeditionary officer,
including what kind of unit, morale, number of soldiers, etc. A sharp-eyed
commander should notice that if members of the same family or two or more
members of a sworn brotherhood are in the same expedition, each member
receives an automatic 5-10% morale bonus to start.
Any member of the expedition can check with the tactician's report, which may
include information on who is the enemy commander and enemy tactician, any
news of reinforcements for either side, the campaigns of both armies, and
the terrain of the battlefield.
When finished, the battle can begin!
Engaging in a battle
--------------------
One of the first things you may notice is a blue dotted line that is on the
battlefield. This indicates the offensive army's supply lines. If any
offensive army unit goes past this line while it is still on the map, then
that unit will suffer a loss of morale since its soldiers have gone past the
attacking army's ability to supply that unit with food. The supply line
disappears when the attacking army captures the defenders' outposts (i.e. no
defenders are on the outposts and an attacker has landed upon one outpost).
This supply line can play an important role in your decisions in engaging
with the enemy. For attackers, it is absolutely critical to capture the
outposts if that the army has to continue its advance to the castle walls.
For the defenders, the outposts provide two advantages: soldier
replenishment, defence bonuses from offensive army attacks, and extended
range for archer units stationed on outposts.
The map is divided into isometric squares, i.e. "flattened diamonds" to show
3D perspective. Each army unit and outpost takes up 9 squares, with its key
position located in the middle square. For example:
______
/_/_/_/ This represents a unit. The X represents the centre of the unit.
/_/X/_/ When moving, your destination point will be where the centre of
/_/_/_/ the unit will be with the rest of the unit around that new point.
Keep in mind that the unit takes up 9 squares because units can accidentally
run into enemy units (and possibly suffer damage from the enemy) or have
their mobility blocked by enemy units (mobility is not blocked by allied
units, so one friendly unit can pass by another, hassle-free).
Forests, mountains, roads, grassland, plains, and water often mark various
parts of the map. In some cases, a certain kind of terrain offers advantages
not given by other kinds (e.g. plains allow for freer movement compared to
mountains, but mountains offer extended range for archers). You also keep in
mind that certain types of terrain can make units vulnerable to certain kinds
of attacks. For example, any unit situated in mountains, water, or on beaches
will be extremely vulnerable to archer attacks, and any unit situated on flat
plains will be very vulnerable to charges (both infantry and cavalry). Any
unit situated in a forest will be quite vulnerable to firebolt attacks from
enemy archers, especially in bright sunny days, as well as surprise attacks
in any kind of weather.
Castle sieges
-------------
The defenders may choose to hole themselves up in the city walls, hoping to
outlast the attackers by running them out of the 30 days. Both sides can
attack each other by shooting arrows (the defenders naturally have archers,
but the attackers must have archer units, towers, or catapults). Shooting at
each other often results in few casualties to either side, but as the battle
progresses in the later days, the defenders tend to be more vulnerable as a
continued siege wears down the defence, and the defenders often face soldier
desertions from their units.
The attackers have the additional option of attacking the city walls.
Attacking the walls is a very slow process, especially if the city walls are
well developed. Infantry units tend to do well when attacking the walls, and
they also have the option of using the POWER SIEGE battle manoeuvre (provided
that the officer has that battle manoeuvre). This manoeuvre, if executed
successfully, can seriously damage the city walls; if it does not succeed,
then only minor damage ensues. Sieging armies would also do well to have a
Slander scheme available to them since a successful execution of the Slander
scheme weakens the walls with a 25 point hit, and it makes the walls more
vulnerable with each regular attack from a sieging unit.
As your empire's technology develops, you will obtain three new siege
weapons: the battering ram, and later the catapult and the tower. The
battering ram and the catapult are generally the most effective weapons since
they can lop off many points off the city walls. The tower is generally not as
effective since it is designed mainly as a weapon to be used against soldiers,
not the city walls. See the section below on Unit Types for more information
about siege weapons.
Defensive outposts do not have "walls" like the city does, and so battering
rams will have no effect on the outposts.
Once the castle walls have been broken through, the battle is over, and the
attacking side will be victorious, regardless of how many soldiers either
side has.
Defenders, if they plan on holing themselves up behind the castle walls,
should have a Reinforce Walls scheme available to them so as to increase
their chances of outlasting the attackers.
Unit types
----------
There are various unit types, depending on your empire's level of
technological development, as well as the provinces/cities that your empire
has captured. Each kind of unit has certain advantages that make them useful,
and so it is generally in your best interest to have a certain mix of unit
types, depending on your campaign AND the skills of your officers.
INFANTRY
The most basic unit. There are three kinds of infantry: light infantry, heavy
infantry, and rattan-armoured infantry (a.k.a. teng jia units). They have
medium range of movement, but they have two certain advantages that make
them worth having around in your expedition.
1. The phalanx charge: this special manoeuvre can seriously cripple an enemy
unit almost as badly as the cavalry charge. If you know that your enemy has
an officer with the phalanx charge, you would do well to avoid open land
like plains and grassland.
2. Power Siege: infantry is the only unit type that has this manoeuvre
available to them--no other unit can use this manoeuvre. Even without this
manoeuvre, the infantry is very good at attacking city walls.
Light infantry is a given, but heavy infantry requires technological
development and the rattan-armoured infantry is available only to that
empire that captured the city of Sanjiang (the southwestern-most city in
China).
CAVALRY
Another fundamental unit. There are four kinds of cavalry: light cavalry,
heavy cavalry, Shanyue cavalry, and elephants. Light and heavy cavalry have
a long range of movement, but they have trouble travelling through both
forests and mountains. Shanyue cavalry, however, has no trouble moving
through mountains while elephants have no trouble moving through forests.
Cavalry have certain advantages that make them worth having in your
expedition:
1. Aside from your commander, they are often the first units in your
expedition that get to move. This can be of importance when confronting your
enemy.
2. Long range of movement: since your soldiers are mounted on animals, they
have much longer range and can provide a first-strike against your enemies.
3. The cavalry charge: although elephants cannot use this manoeuvre, the
cavalry charge is one of the most devastating attacks in the game. If you
know that your enemy has an officer with the cavalry charge, you would do
well to avoid open land like plains and grassland.
4. Elephants: these units generally suffer less damage than other units,
however they do not have as long range of movement than the other kinds of
cavalry. They make up for this by being able to move through forests with
ease.
5. Shanyue cavalry: these units can move through mountains with ease whereas
the other kinds of cavalry often have to move around this kind of terrain.
Light cavalry is a given, but heavy cavalry requires technological development.
Elephants are available only to the empire that has captured Sanjiang (the
southwestern-most city in China). Shanyue cavalry is available only to those
empires that have captured either Yong province (northwestern-most province,
contains Xiliang) or You province (one of the northeastern-most provinces,
contains Beiping).
ARCHERS
Archers are also a basic unit. There are two kinds of archer units: regular
archers and the crossbow engine. They have the same range of movement as
infantry units. They are not limited to shooting arrows (i.e. they could draw
their swords and attack like infantry). They have certain advantages that
make them worth having in your expedition:
1. Gust of Arrows and Storm of Arrows: these two manoeuvres are concentrated
bursts of archer attacks and can deal out some serious damage, especially the
Storm of Arrows manoeuvre. The Storm of Arrows manoeuvre is not available to
the crossbow engine unit, however, but all other archer manoeuvres are. If
you know that your enemy has an officer with these manoeuvres, especially the
Storm manoeuvre, you would do well to avoid mountains, water, and beaches.
2. Extended attack range: because these are not contact-assault units (i.e.
they do not have to be adjacent to enemies in order to attack them), you can
often attack distant enemies. The attack range increases if the archers are
situated on mountains or on defensive outposts (defenders only).
3. The crossbow engine: it is a powerful weapon since it shoots a massive
number of arrows at the enemy. However, it has an extremely limited range of
movement, and often cannot keep up with any expedition that has to travel
long distances. It is much more suited to defence, although attackers often
have one or two crossbow engines.
Regular archers are a given, but the crossbow engine requires technological
development.
ADVANCED WEAPONS
Advanced weapons are secondary attachments to the above units and are
additional tools to help an army win battles, especially offensive battles.
They are not primary units, e.g. a cavalry unit can change into a battering
ram and an archer unit can change into a tower. They often have poor range of
movement, and so it is to your advantage to move while in the simpler unit
types and then change into the advanced weapons when you are close to your
target. With the exception of the Ship, advanced weapons are not available to
defenders, and also with that exception, they are also quite vulnerable to
attacks from enemies.
Battering ram: most effective only against city walls. They are not suited
to attacking soldiers.
Catapult: effective against city walls, but they can also wreak havoc on
enemy soldiers too. They are perfect for bombardment of any enemy.
Tower: least effective against city walls, but they are great for bombarding
enemy soldiers on the open battlefield and in outposts. They can do a fair
bit of damage to defenders who hole themselves up behind the city walls.
Ship: No effectiveness against city walls. It merely extends the range of
units in water as well as provide offensive and defensive advantages. The
Ship is available only to that empire that has captured the province of
Yang province (the southeastern-most cities of China).
Duelling
--------
On occasion, you can challenge (or be challenged) to a duel with an enemy
officer. Usually a duel happens if your opponent believes he has a decent
chance at beating you (i.e. his War stat is roughly equal to yours) or if
he has nothing to lose (he has so few soldiers left in his unit that he
would rather attempt to defeat one of your units by duelling you). Unlike
RTK7, the Confuse-and-Duel trick will not work: the computer will not (or
at least rarely will it) accept duels in that situation. In some cases,
you may not choose to accept or decline a challenge because your officer
is too impetuous and impatient to refuse (e.g. Zhang Fei is one example).
Refusing to accept a challenge often results in a loss of soldiers on the
refuser's side, or a morale increase for the opponent's army--either way,
these are the results of (perceived) cowardice.
When you are in a duel, you will find several pieces of information and
actions at your disposal. You will see the combatants' health, War stats,
and spirit meters. The spirit meter is measurement of how much ferocious
strength the combatant has. Each combatant can use some spirit strength
in order to increase the effectiveness of an action, and possibly cause
more damage to his opponent. You will also see that you have 10 rounds of
duelling. This is like a timer: if the duel is not finished at the end of
10 rounds, then the duel is called a draw and neither combatant wins.
Here is the map of actions. Each round starts at the @ point.
If you decide to flee, your opponent will chase after you. Sometimes he will
catch up, and if he does, he gets two free shots at you. If you manage to
escape, the duel ends in a draw. If you have a treasured horse (see s. 16 on
Items), your escape is guaranteed.
If you decide to attack, you have two options:
A. Slash
B. Jab
For each Attack, you can decide to use extra spirit strength or to use
regular strength. If you do use spirit strength, you will notice that your
spirit meter will decrease one unit.
If you decide to use a tactic, you have three options:
i. Replenish your spirit meter
ii. Irritate your enemy
iii. Depress your enemy
Replenishing your spirit meter will add four units of spirit strength.
Irritating your enemy causes your enemy to be hot-tempered that he will
concentrate on attacking with spirit strength, but in doing so, he is unable
to defend himself effectively. Depressing your enemy will prevent your enemy
from using his spirit strength, but he can still attack at regular strength
and defend himself.
If you have chosen to attack or use a tactic, you can then decide your
defensive measures:
a. Normal defence
b. Aggressive defence
Normal defence means that you will try to defend against your opponent's
attacks as usual. Aggressive defence means that whenever your opponent tries
to attack you, you will also poke at him (hopefully in an area made
vulnerable when he lunges at you, and can cause some damage).
Like attacks, you can use extra spirit strength for each defence, and using
spirit strength reduces your meter by one unit.
This means if you decide to attack and defend using spirit strength, you will
be using two units of spirit (one for attack, one for defence).
Note: simply using extra spirit strength does not guarantee that your move
will be successful. It is entirely possible that your opponent can fend off
your move, minimizing the damage to little or even none.
Note: the only circumstances in which you can control your dueller are:
1. the duel involves a character you are playing as in the game
2. the duel involves an officer that is part of the expeditionary force of
which YOU are the COMMANDER.
E.g. suppose I play as Guan Yu only and he is the Commander of a battle.
Zhang Fei (I do not play as him) is also in the fight as one of the officers
in the expedition, but because I (Guan Yu) am the commander, I get to control
his moves on the battlefield. I can move Zhang Fei to an enemy and offer a
challenge. I will then control Zhang Fei in the duel, even though I'm not
playing as Zhang Fei. Similarly, if an enemy challenges Zhang Fei, I can
control Zhang Fei in the duel.
You have no control in the duels involving any other officer (i.e. officers
who are part of allied reinforcements).
12. Foreign Affairs and Diplomacy
=================================
Inevitably, your empire has to deal with other empires, although not
necessarily in a military fashion. You can set up treaties, send gifts,
create, join, or leave coalitions, and there are also other means of
diplomacy.
SEND A GIFT
Basically, it is giving food or gold to another liege in an attempt to
improve relations.
ALLY
This involves, usually, sending gold or food in attempt to create a treaty
with another liege. If your empire's relations with another liege are quite
hostile, then a treaty proposal will often not succeed. Conversely, if
relations are quite friendly, then the chances of success improve
dramatically. Also, if your relations are not 100% friendly and the treaty
succeeds, the relations improve by approximately 20%.
Treaty lengths are counted in months. Allies cannot attack each other as long
as a treaty exists.
CANCEL
Breaking a treaty has several strong negative impacts. Your relations with
the other liege drop dramatically, and the loyalty of the officers also
drops. This can present quite a problem...
DEMAND SURRENDER
Well, sometimes intimidation can be fun, especially when you have 500,000
troops outside that liege's last city...
An interesting note about lieges who surrender: the defeated liege then
becomes a vassal state. He cannot attack other cities on his own will (i.e.
if you set his city policy to autonomous, he can do anything but attack), but
if he is ordered to attack by his superiors, then he will attack.
INTIMIDATE
This involves threatening to attack an enemy city unless that city's prefect
agrees to give up some food or gold. If that prefect agrees, then food/gold is
sent in exchange for the promise that his city will not be attacked. This
promise is binding until the next council session.
COALITION
This involves a two-year, multiple-liege alliance against a single enemy
liege. When any coalition member attacks that common enemy, all other
coalition members are expected to send reinforcements. Not sending
reinforcements results in that liege being kicked out of the coalition (which
has similarly negative effects as cancelling a treaty). Unless there is a
separate treaty in existence before the coalition was created, no coalition
member is obligated to send DEFENSIVE reinforcements to another coalition
member if the latter is under attack. For example, suppose Cao Cao, Liu Bei,
and Yuan Shu are in a coalition against Dong Zhuo. Suppose that Dong Zhuo
attacks one of Cao Cao's cities. Yuan Shu, if he has a city adjacent to Cao
Cao's empire, is not obligated to send any defensive reinforcements unless
Cao Cao and Yuan Shu already had a treaty before the coalition was created.
Once a coalition is in place, coalition members cannot sign separate treaties
until the coalition's two-year term expires.
Only those coalition members with cities adjacent to the common enemy's
cities can launch an attack. This means that while Liu Bei may be tucked
away in the city of Pingyuan, he cannot attack Dong Zhuo and call for
coalition members to join him. However, if Cao Cao has a city beside Dong
Zhuo and attacks, then Liu Bei and all the other coalition members will be
expected to send help.
A liege can create, join, or quit coalitions. There can be only one
coalition at any time. Vanquishing the common enemy results in the end of
the coalition, and all the coalition lieges receive a +2,000 fame bonus. If
a coalition's two-year term expires, then no fame bonus is awarded; usually,
some other liege will create a new coalition against the same common enemy
(although the members of the coalition may not necessarily be the same).
Coalition members cannot attack each other.
If the coalition's leader (i.e. the liege who created the coalition) has lost
his last city, then one of the surviving coalition members will take over as
the new leader and the coalition will dissolve normally (either by defeat of
the common enemy or after the two years elapse).
13. Goals, Missions, and Objectives
===================================
Sometimes you have a mission or objective to achieve. If you are not the
liege, you may be ordered to recruit a specific ronin or even given some
details about how to advance your career within your liege's empire. The
liege's objectives are pretty mundane: capture a certain number of cities in
order to reach the next imperial rank (see s. 8 for the chart of cities-to-
rank), help vanquish a common enemy in a coalition. Prefects may be ordered
to attack a specific city while regional commanders may be ordered to conquer
a specific liege's entire territory or a particular province.
Generally, there is no time limit to complete any given objective, although
you should keep in mind that the faster you complete an objective, the sooner
you will rise through the ranks and achieve greater glory for yourself and
your empire. If you ever forget what objectives you have, check your personal
profile and press the Goals/Objectives button. The only mission that carries
a time limit is an officer's objective to recruit a specific ronin--normally,
you have six months to locate and recruit that particular ronin.
Other, more routine objectives include developing a part of the city to the
satisfaction of the city prefect. If, however, you are ordered to find and
recruit a specific ronin, you do not have to fulfil the city development
objectives (this is because the liege is more interested in recruiting that
ronin).
14. Social Interactions and Relationships
=========================================
The social system has changed since RTK7. Instead of a 100-point system of
degrees, there are now categories of friendship. They range progressively
from:
(1) unknown (i.e. you haven't heard of this person, so he/she will not
show up in your list of friends)
(2) acquaintance
(3) colleague
(4) good friend
(5) trusted friend
(6) intimate friend
Family relationships typically start off at the trusted level, but they
can degrade to lower levels if things turn sour. Sons and daughters who
enter the game will always start with trusted level relationships with
their family members.
Your ability to improve relationships with other officers depends largely
on your compatibility with them. Cao Cao, for example, won't easily become
a friend to Liu Bei unless you spend a lot of time (and money) to develop
the friendship. Improving relationships is important, especially since a
good friend is more inclined to help you than a mere acquaintance.
The main way of improving relationships is through simply visiting your
friend. There may be a short conversation, a piece of information, or even
a little friendly competition between friends. Normally, when you visit a
friend, you have three choices of conversation topics:
1. talk about military affairs
2. talk about people
3. talk about work
Choosing military affairs will result in advice about anything related to
military tactics, skills, concepts, etc. If you talk to an intimate friend
about military affairs, he may be inclined to teach you a new battle
manoeuvre. On occasion, your friend may challenge you to a friendly duel.
Choosing people will result in advice about how to improve relationships
with other officers, as well as any rumours about where to find ronin in
the country.
Choosing work will usually result in one of two things. If you talk to your
prefect about work, he will remind you of your city development task (if
you are assigned to develop a part of the city). If you talk to anyone else,
you may have an opportunity to ask that friend to help you develop your part
of the city. It is up to your friend whether he will agree to help you, so
developing a good friendship with that officer is key if you want to increase
the likelihood that you will get help.
You can also give gifts of items (e.g. a sword, a piece of artwork) to a
friend and hope that it is accepted, and therefore will improve relations.
You can, in addition, spread rumours and lies about an officer in the city,
and make him less inclined to remain loyal to his current liege. This can
be effective if you want an officer to quit without you having to fire him.
Special relationships
---------------------
There are special types of relationships outside of the six categories of
friendships stated above. There are sworn brothers, sworn enemies, and rivals.
SWORN BROTHERS
Sworn brothers are the highest form of friendship possible. In order to create
a sworn brotherhood with another officer, you need to develop the friendship
level to the intimate level. This takes some doing because, once you swear a
brotherhood, you are devoting each other to one another's personal welfare.
Consider as the best example the Peach Garden Oath of the three brothers, Liu
Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.
Sworn brothers have several advantages: they are always willing to help you,
no matter what. On the battlefield, sworn brothers who are part of the same
expedition enjoy a +10% morale bonus when starting a battle. Also, if one
sworn brother is defeated in a battle (not killed, but just captured), the
surviving sworn brother may receive a +25% morale boost to seek revenge.
Sworn brothers typically refer to each other by their style names (e.g. Zhou
Yu will always call Sun Ce, "Bofu" while Sun Ce will call Zhou Yu, "Gongjin")
or by their proper title (e.g. "elder sworn brother", "younger sworn sister").
A major advantage to sworn brotherhood is that if you have a sworn brother
in the same city as you, and a sworn enemy visits you to try to kill you,
your sworn brother will ALWAYS be there to defend you.
If any sworn brother is executed by an enemy liege, the surviving sworn
brothers will immediately perceive that liege to be a sworn enemy (see below
for more information about sworn enemies). These surviving sworn brothers, if
they ever visit a sworn enemy, may choose to either forgive or try to kill
their sworn enemy in vengeance of their fallen brother.
Any character can have up to three sworn brothers.
SWORN ENEMIES
Sworn enemies are the lowest form of friendship possible, and unless they
are forgiven, they remain at acquaintance-level relationships. A character
will see another character as a sworn enemy if the latter had anything to
do with the death of the former's family member or sworn brother. For
example, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei will see Sun Quan as a sworn enemy in
scenarios after 221 because they see Sun Quan as having a hand in the death
of their sworn brother, Guan Yu. Another example: Sun Ce will see Liu Biao
and Huang Zu as his sworn enemies because he sees the latter two as being
responsible for the death of his father, Sun Jian.
Usually since only a liege can order an execution of another officer, he will
become the sworn enemy to any surviving family member or sworn brother of the
dead officer.
RIVALS
These are generally very innocuous relationships and can occur between friends
of any level. This happens between fellow officers serving under the same
liege. A rival is really someone who challenges you to do your best in serving
your liege. It really is a friendly kind of rivalry, and does not involve any
kind of vengeance or retribution like sworn enemies would.
A liege cannot have any rival.
Recruiting officers
-------------------
Recruiting officers to join your empire falls into three distinct categories:
1. recruiting discovered ronin from your within your city
2. searching for undiscovered ronin (once they become discovered, it then falls
into category 1)
3. stealing an officer away from another liege
Recruiting in categories 1 and 2 usually results in offering the ronin some
gold to entice him to join your empire. The amount of gold is usually 100. You
cannot offer special items to "sweeten" the deal of recruitment.
Recruiting in category 3 allows you to offer a substantially larger amount of
gold to entice the officer to leave his liege and join you. Offering a larger
amount also includes giving the potential defector a higher officer class as an
additional "reason" to leave his liege and join you.
If you are offering... then you are also offering...
1st class 9,000 gold to join your empire
2nd class 7,000 gold
3rd class 5,000 gold
4th class 3,000 gold
5th class 1,500 gold
6th class 800 gold
7th class 400 gold
8th class 200 gold
9th class 100 gold
Also in category 3 recruitment, you may decide to also include a special
item (on top of the gold) to further sweeten the deal to entice that officer
to join you.
15. Marriage (and Children, POWER-UP KIT VERSION ONLY)
======================================================
A new feature of RTK8 is the ability to get married! Marriage has many
advantages, most of which have to do with acquiring new talents from your
wife (or husband, if you are playing as a female character), who will be
happy to teach you. You may learn Skills or Battle Manoeuvres from your
spouse, and you may also get a 5 point boost in one of your stats.
There are two categories of spouses: normal spouses and famous spouses.
(POWER-UP KIT VERSION ONLY).
NORMAL SPOUSES are introduced to you when you visit an intimate friend.
(ALL VERSIONS)
FAMOUS SPOUSES are very special characters who have some spectacular skills
to teach you
Note:
*** NO OFFICER CAN MARRY ANOTHER OFFICER!!! ***
So if you create a Zhen Ji custom character, she CANNOT ever marry Cao Pi.
No officer can marry any of the Sages of China either. You cannot even
attempt to marry Cai Yan, the girl who stays at the Chang'an inn.
All marrying conditions assume that your character:
1. is younger than 60 years old. Old farts do not get to marry.
2. single. You can only marry one wife, even though polygamy is common
practice in ancient China (go figure).
3. has Infamy below 500 (a hidden statistic, so try to avoid committing too
many atrocities like executing officers or levelling high-performing cities).
How to marry the famous wives (taken from my Events FAQ)
--------------------------------------------------------
THE MARRIAGE OF DIAO CHAN
START IN SCENARIO: 190 or before
YOU CONTROL: Lu Bu
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Your friendship with Wang Yun is good friend or higher, and
Lu Bu is not married yet.
RESULT: Wang Yun officers Diao Chan to Lu Bu in marriage. If Lu Bu accepts,
then Diao Chan becomes Lu Bu's wife and Lu Bu's fame goes up by 100. If Lu Bu
declines, then nothing happens.
THE MARRIAGE OF THE TWO QIAOS
START IN SCENARIO: 198 or before
YOU CONTROL: Either a male liege or a male officer serving under him, but the
two characters must be sworn brothers.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: BOTH CHARACTERS' fame is 8000 or higher and stats are 70 or
higher, your faction controls the province of Yang and the city of Lujiang,
neither sworn brother is married yet.
RESULT: The liege marries Da Qiao, the officer marries Xiao Qiao, and the fame
of both characters goes up by 100.
THE MARRIAGE OF SUN SHANG XIANG
START IN SCENARIO: 209 or before
YOU CONTROL: any male liege, but not Sun Quan
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Your War and Charisma stats are 80 or higher, you control
at least three provinces, your faction is neighbouring Sun Quan's faction, the
factional relationship between Sun Quan and your faction is 60 or higher
(perhaps allies too?), have popular support of at least 20 in each facility of
your home city
RESULT: Sun Quan offers his sister, Lady Sun, to you in marriage. If you
accept, Sun Shang Xiang becomes your wife, your fame goes up by 500, and the
factional relationship goes up by 20. If you refuse, the factional relationship
drops by 5.
SPECIAL THANKS: to Nanodemon from GameFAQS.com for this discovery
THE MARRIAGE OF YUN LING
START IN SCENARIO: any
YOU CONTROL: any male
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Your War stat is 70 or higher, you have participated in 10
or more winning battles, you must be the one to eliminate the last of the
bandits who occasionally plague a city with low security, your fame is 5000 or
higher.
RESULT: You meet Yun Ling who is bent on seeking revenge for her father's death
at the hands of the bandits. Since you have defeated the bandits, she offers
herself to marry you. If you accept, Yun Ling becomes your wife and your fame
goes up by 100. If you refuse, your fame goes up by 100 only.
THE MARRIAGE OF LIN ZHI
START IN SCENARIO: any
YOU CONTROL: any male
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Your Charisma is 70 or higher, your Intelligence -OR- your
Politics is 70 or higher, your friendship with Sima Hui is trusted friend or
higher, your popular support at the farmland of your city is 10 or higher, your
fame is 5000 or higher.
RESULT: Sima Hui visits you and offers his adopted daughter in marraige. If
you accept, Lin Zhi becomes your wife and your fame goes up by 100. If you
refuse, your fame goes up by 100 only.
THE MARRIAGE OF JIANG RONG
START IN SCENARIO: any
YOU CONTROL: any male
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Your Charisma is 70 or higher, you own the Ancient Lyre
(which you can buy from the merchants at Luoyang for 3000 gold), your
friendship with Cai Yan is at trusted friend or higher, your fame is 5000 or
higher
RESULT: Cai Yan visits you and asks you to give her the Ancient Lyre, which
belongs to her friend. If you agree, Cai Yan takes the lyre from you and Jiang
Rong is introduced to you for marriage. If you accept Jiang Rong, she becomes
your wife, your fame goes up by 100, and you gain 2000 gold (call it a
"reimbursement" for the gold you spent on buying the Lyre in the first place).
If you do not give Cai Yan the Ancient Lyre at all, then your fame goes up by
100 only.
THE MARRIAGE OF CUI LAN
START IN SCENARIO: any
YOU CONTROL: any male
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Your War stat is 60 or higher, your fame is 5000 or
higher, you have 6000 or more gold -OR- the yellow Doctor skill.
RESULT: Cui Lan asks you to help heal her father. If you agree, Cui Lan's
father offers her in marriage. If you accept, Cui Lan becomes your wife and
your fame goes up by 100. If you refuse, your fame goes up by 100 only.
THE MARRIAGE OF HU JI
START IN SCENARIO: any
YOU CONTROL: any male liege
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: All of your stats are 70 or higher, your fame is 10000 or
higher, you hold the title of Prince, you possess the Han Emperor and support
him.
RESULT: Emperor Xian offers Princess Hu in marriage. If you accept, then she
becomes your wife and your fame goes up by 100. If you refuse, then your fame
goes up by 100 only.
THE MARRIAGE OF ZHAO YI
START IN SCENARIO: any
YOU CONTROL: any female
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Your Charisma is 70 or higher, your Intelligence -OR- your
Politics is 70 or higher, your friendship with Guan Lu is trusted friend or
higher, your fame is 5000 or higher
RESULT: Guan Lu introduces you to his protege, Zhao Yi, for marriage. If you
accept, Zhao Yi becomes your husband and your fame goes up by 100. If you
refuse, your fame goes up by 100 only.
THE MARRIAGE OF XU JIAN
START IN SCENARIO: any
YOU CONTROL: any female
OTHER REQUIREMENTS: Your fame is 5000 or higher, your Charisma is 60 or higher,
in the city you are at, have popular support in all areas be above 10, you
have the yellow Doctor skill -OR- have at least 6,000 gold
RESULT: You capture Xu Jian who is a thief. He asks you for mercy because he is
trying to heal his sick, old mother. If you grant him mercy, your fame goes up
by 100 and you heal his mother. He then offers himself in marriage. If you
accept, Xu Jian becomes you husband and your fame goes up by 100. If you refuse,
your fame goes up by 50 only.
Once you get married, you can visit your spouse, who will tell you some news
or give you advice about the empire. On occasion, your spouse may give you a
small gift of gold or a kiss (how cute!). If you manage to acquire the gold
earrings, a lyre, and a bag of perfume, you can give these three items to your
spouse, who will then give you The Sword of the Seven Stars, the most powerful
weapon (+10 War) in the game.
Children (POWER-UP KIT VERSION ONLY; NOT PART OF PS2 VERSION)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Once you get married, you will get to raise a child from birth until he/she
reaches the age of 15, at which time he/she will join your liege's empire as
a regular officer. These children are fictional in that you do not get to
raise the children who normally enter the game. For example, Cao Cao has many
sons, including Cao Pi and Cao Zhi. You will not be able to raise them. You
WILL, however, get a chance to raise Cao Man (I just came up with another name
for a FICTIONAL son) from birth to maturity. In essence, you are creating an
officer over the span of 15 years while you are working for your empire.
In the month that your child is born, you will get to give him/her a name.
Two months later and then every January after that, you will get to decide how
to raise your child based on making certain choices. Each decision that you
make will have an impact on your child's stats, skills, and other attributes
for when he/she reaches the age of 15 and joins your empire.
Once your child reaches 15, he/she will have a trusted relationship with you,
like all other family members. An interesting part is that once your child is
15, you have the option of continuing to play as your original character, the
parent, or switching over to play as the child. If you decide to play as the
child, then all the parent's relationships built up with other officers do not
carry over, i.e. the child will have to develop his/her own friendships with
the same officers.
Once you have raised a child, you cannot have any more children (aside from
the ones who normally enter the game, i.e. Cao Cao will have Cao Zhi and Cao
Zheng, but Cao Man will be the only child you will get to raise).
RAISING YOUR CHILD
You get to make decisions reflecting your child's development. At ages 4, 8,
and 12, your spouse will make an evaluation of your child's development, and
tell you how your child seems to be progressing (a "report card" of sorts).
At the end of this section, there will be a chart of report card results.
Here is the list of events/decisions that you get to make, and their effects
on your child.
Decision 1. Three months old, you miss your child and so you go home to visit:
(a) study -> increases Intelligence and Politics stats
(b) buy clothes -> increases Charisma
(c) going out as a family -> increases War
Decision 2. Two years old, you go to Japan:
(a) buy a toy -> increases Intelligence
(b) buy clothes -> increases Charisma
(c) study -> increases Politics
(d) family eats together -> increases War
Decision 3. The family goes out together:
(a) take a walk together -> increases Intelligence and Politics
(b) go shopping -> increases Charisma
(c) eat together -> increases War
----
From this point on, in February, May, August or November, your child may
encounter an old man. This old man will be either:
(a) an immortal god, who will give your child a skill
(b) a wise man, who will teach your child
(c) someone that your child runs into by accident, enraging the poor old man,
and disappointing the parents
The chances of your child learning a skill from (a) or (b) are about 10%, so
if it fails, don't be that surprised...
----
Decision 4. Four years old, the child is playing outside:
(a) study -> increases Intelligence
(b) buy clothes -> increases Charisma
(c) go out together -> increases Politics
(d) practice with a sword -> increases War
----
In June of the year that your child is 4 years old, your spouse will make the
first evaluation: this will be based primarily on the child's Intelligence,
but the other three stats will be reported on, too.
----
Decision 5. Five years old, the child has an interest in life:
(a) study -> increases Intelligence
(b) change clothes -> increases Charisma
(c) talk about biology -> increases Politics
(d) catch a bird -> increases War
Decision 6. Six years old, the child has an interest in horses:
(a) instruct how to ride -> increases Intelligence
(b) buy this horse -> increases Charisma
(c) talk about horse's value -> increases Politics
(d) test your child's riding ability -> increases War
Decision 7. Seven years old, the child has an interest in tea:
(a) talk about tea's strength -> increases Intelligence
(b) return home with tea -> increases Charisma
(c) talk about tea's history -> increases Politics
(d) return home and make tea -> increases War
Decision 8. Eight years old, your child's first love:
(a) behave intelligently -> increases Intelligence
(b) behave gracefully -> increases Charisma
(c) behave with maturity -> increases Politics
(d) play together -> increases War
----
In June of the year that your child is 8 years old, your spouse will make the
second evaluation: this will be based primarily on the child's maximum
potential.
----
Decision 9. Nine years old, your child broke something:
(a) listen to child's explanation -> increases Intelligence
(b) patiently teach your child -> increases Charisma
(c) preach to your child -> increases politics
(d) scold your child -> increases War
----
In December of the year that your child is 9 years old, your child will tell
you his/her wish. This wish is based primarily on your child's abilities and
stats as they have been developed so far. You do not make a decision here.
(a) prefers studies -> values Intelligence the most
(b) prefers socializing -> values Charisma the most
(c) prefers ruling the country -> values Politics the most
(d) prefers martial arts -> values War the most
----
Decision 10. Ten years old, a strange merchant visits, asking for a favour:
(a) reject, and punish by sword -> increases Intelligence
(b) simply reject -> increases Charisma
(c) ask for details -> increases Politics
(d) agree -> increases War
Decision 11. Eleven years old, your child wonders about trees:
(a) talk about trees -> increases Intelligence
(b) talk about the future -> increases Charisma
(c) talk about a tree's uses -> increases Politics
(d) take a walk -> increases War
Decision 12. Twelve years old, your child looks at the night sky:
Go home:
(a) chat with mother -> increases Charisma
(b) practice with sword -> increases War
Stay outside:
(a) study the climate -> increases Intelligence
(b) study the stars -> increases Politics
----
In June of the year that your child is 12 years old, your spouse will make the
third evaluation: this evaluation will mention and potential deficiencies in
the child's development.
----
Decision 13. Thirteen years old, your child is in your library:
(a) study Sun Tzu's _Art_of_War_ -> increases Intelligence
(b) amuse the child -> increases Charisma
(c) study the _Annals_of_History_ -> increases Politics
(d) practice with sword -> increases War
Decision 14. Fourteen years old, your child will talk about the future:
(a) focus on knowledge -> increases Intelligence
(b) focus on kindness -> increases Charisma
(c) focus on politics -> increases Politics
(d) focus on military -> increases War
----
In December of the year your child is 14 years old, your child will tell you
what he/she thinks is most important. You do not make a decision here.
(a) knowledge is the road to survival -> values Intelligence the most
(b) getting along with others is best -> values Charisma the most
(c) government is most important -> values Politics the most
(d) the military is the most important -> values War the most
At this stage, you can decide to continue to play as the parent or switch
over and play as the child instead.
Evaluation table:
WAR
If your spouse says... then your child's stat is about...
Unparalleled 95+
Wan Fu Mo's enemy 90+
Just 80+
Fierce 70+
Has studied martial arts 60+
Ordinary 40+
Not proficient Below 40
INTELLIGENCE
Unrivalled 95+
Brain trust 90+
Virtuous 80+
Cognizant 70+
Has studied knowledge 60+
Ordinary 40+
Not proficient Below 40
POLITICS
Enlightened emperor 95+
Benevolent governor 90+
Has political technique 80+
Strategist 70+
Has studied politics 60+
Ordinary 40+
Not proficient Below 40
CHARISMA
Favoured by God 95+
Talented and kind 90+
Strong reputation 80+
Talented 70+
Has studied socializing 60+
Ordinary 40+
Not proficient Below 40
DEVELOPMENTAL POTENTIAL
If your spouse says, for a stat... then your child's ability may...
May place great expectations rise 20+ points
Has great potential rise 10 to 20 points
Can grow some more rise 1 to 10 points
Has no more growth potential not develop any more
16. Items
=========
Most of the items can be bought from the merchants, especially the permanent
ones who are located in the large cities (Chang'an, Chengdu, Hanzhong,
Luoyang, Moling, Shouchun, Xiapi, Xiangyang, Jiangling, Xuchang, Ye). For
some of the items such as the Nine Awards, I suggest that you look up my
Events FAQ for details as to how to acquire it.
HORSES
The Red Hare and the Shadow Runner are the only horses that are never up for
sale at a merchant. You can buy the others.
-Red Hare (Lu Bu and later Guan Yu)
-Hex Mark (Liu Bei)
-Shadow Runner (Cao Cao)
-Grey Lightning (Cao Cao)
-Firestar (Wang Shuang)
All the horses allow you to escape from a duel successfully.
WEAPONS
Note: ** = there are more than one of this weapon, and you can buy the others
from the merchants
-Sword of the Seven Stars: +10 War (the only one in RTK8), red Confident
skill, cannot be bought or sold. It comes with giving your husband/wife all
three of the perfume, the earrings, and the lyre items.
-Sword of Trust (usually with Cao Cao): +3 War
-Blue Rainbow Sword (usually with Cao Cao, Xiahou En, or Zhao Yun): +3 War
-Lunar Spear: +8 War, red Fierce skill (Lu Bu, there are also other lunar
spears that give +2 War but do not give the red Fierce skill)
-Blue Dragon Sabre (Guan Yu): +5 War, red Fierce skill
-Snake Spear (Zhang Fei): +5 War, red Fierce skill
-Hard Keel Snake Spear (Cheng Pu): +3 War
-Swords of Fate (Liu Bei): +3 War
-Ancestral Sword (Sun Jian/Sun Ce/Sun Quan): +3 War
-Three Points Halberd (Ji Ling): +3 War
-Double Iron Spear (Dian Wei): +3 War
-Giant Axe (Xu Huang, **): +3 War
-Iron Whip (Huang Gai, **): +3 War
-Sleeve Arrows (Zhuge Liang): +1 War
-Hard Thorn Mace (Shamoke): +3 War
-Shooting Star (Wang Shuang, **): +2 War
-Short Halberd (Dian Wei, **): +1 War
-Flying Knives (Meng Huo, **): +1 War
-One Handed Halberd (Taishi Ci, **): +1 War
-Eyebrow Knife (**): +2 War
-Copper Mallets (**): +2 War
-Hard Lock (Gan Ning, **): +2 War
BOOKS
-Map of West Sichuan (Zhang Song): blue Scout skill
-Map of the Southlands (Lu Kai): blue Scout skill
-Way of Peace (Yu Ji): yellow Doctor skill
-Medical Book of Hua Tuo (Hua Tuo): yellow Doctor skill
-Books of Typhus: yellow Doctor skill
-Shield Armour Book (Zuo Ci): +10 Intel, orange Super Scout skill
-Technique of Peace (Zhang Jue): +10 Intel, blue Confusion skill
-Sun Zi's Art of War (Sun Jian/Sun Ce/Sun Quan, **): +5 Intel, blue Navy
skill
-24 Manuals of War (Zhuge Liang/Jiang Wei): +8 Intel, green Lightning skill
-Six Strategies (**): +5 Intel
-Meng De's New Treatise (Cao Cao/Cao Pi/Cao Rui, etc.): +5 Intel, blue
Infantry skill
-Mo Zi (**): +5 Intel, orange Wall Builder skill
-Confucian Analects, Lao Zi, Zhuang Zi, The Poems, Shu Jing, Rituals, Book of
Changes (**): +5 Intel
-Spring and Autumn Annals, Book of China (**): +10 Politics
-Shi Ji, National War Policy (**): +7 Politics
-Explanation of Confucian Analects (He Nan): +5 Politics
-Standard Theory (Cao Pi): +5 Politics
-Book of Chess (Wei Zhao): +5 Politics
-Theory of Needing (Wang Ji): +5 Politics
-Governing Theory (Wang Chang): +5 Politics
-Opera Playing Theory (Cao Zhi): +5 Politics
-Dried Impressions Calendar (Kan Ze): +5 Politics
-Treatise on Filial Piety (Yan Jun): +5 Politics
-Enemy State (Qiao Zhou): +5 Politics
OTHER ITEMS
-Imperial Jade Seal: Charm = 100, red Kind skill
-Nine Awards: red Kind skill
-Abacus: orange Merchant skill
-Lyre, Perfume, Ear Rings: you need to give one of each to your spouse in
order to get the Sword of the Seven Stars
All the other items don't give any special abilities or increase stats. They
are, however, perfect for increasing the loyalty and/or the friendship level
of your fellow officers.
17. A Word about Infamy
=======================
You will have noticed that some of my FAQs refer to a statistic known as
Infamy. Infamy (i.e. "bad fame") occurs when your character commits evil
actions. Having too high a measure of infamy can exclude you from getting
certain events to happen, but also has the negative effect of having some
characters refuse to ever talk to you. The following actions are known to
raise infamy.
Wartime Atrocities:
-constantly attacking cities (especially heavily populated ones) using
catapults and battering rams
-executing captured prisoners of war
Other Crimes and Misdemeanours (Infamy Increase)
-pillaging cities for food and gold (40 points)
-refusing to help any of the townspeople when they ask for help (e.g. not
giving gold to the old beggar at the marketplace, refusing to help the
scared woman who wants more security)
-accepting bribes from merchants
-failing when trying to complain about another officer (7 points)
-cancelling a peace treaty or quitting a multi-liege coalition
-failing in a coup
-failing to successfully kill your sworn enemy
The following actions are known to lower infamy (but not by much, so do
not expect a lot of redemption for your evil, evil acts!).
-helping out any townsperson who asks for your assistance
-joining in the celebration when the farmers harvest their crops
Ending remarks
==============
I hope I covered as many bases possible. There are other aspects of the game
which I may have missed either intentionally or unintentionally (because I
forgot).
If there are any mistakes or omissions that you feel are important, please
drop me a line at douglaswlee-at-netscape-dot-net and let me know.
