Read Me file for Stoker
An entry to Scenario Design Contest #3
Dracula ToT Component

Before you go much further...

One tribe only is suitable for play.

This scenario is solely designed for the player to assume the role of Vlad Tepes, leader of the House of Mircea ('the Mirceans'). The game simply won't play well as any other tribe.

The default level of difficulty is Deity. This will assure that the principal protagonists in the game - the Hungarians and the Ottomans - remain at least a little wary and distrustful of the Mirceans.

Despite being confined to a single tribe, the player may choose one of several alternative victory objectives. All victory objectives are conquest oriented, and involve securing two key foreign cities. The cities nominated are generally large and difficult targets. Furthermore the Mirceans endure a poor form of government, and relatively little time (just over 100 turns) to achieve these victory conditions.

Objectives

There are three stated objectives, of which any one will lead to game victory;

'Ottoman retreat'

Capture Constantinople and Mostar (lies to the south west) by force.

Note that the cities need not be held concurrently. For instance, the player may capture Mostar, and later lose the city prior to capturing Constantinople. Regardless, the game will consider this a victory.

If the cities are destroyed outright, rather than captured, this still will contribute to the victory.

Diplomacy in this scenario does not permit cities to be bribed.

Constantinople need not be 'owned' by the Ottomans (or the Byzantines for that matter) when captured to secure victory.

There is a delay of one turn after the victory conditions are met before victory is formally recognised.

'Hungarian recoil'

Capture Buda and Cluj by force.

Generally the same principles apply as per 'Ottoman retreat', however the player heads north to attack the Hungarian forces.

'Double trouble'

Capture by force both (the Hungarian city of) Pecs and 
(the Ottoman city of) Adrianopole and hold them both simultaneously for a duration of five years.

Unlike the other victory conditions, the two cities in question must be retained in tact under the occupation of the Mirceans for five years (twenty turns). When both cities are captured, a 'timer' in the events file is enacted. If either or both cities are lost or destroyed during this period of occupation, the event will not complete and victory will be denied. This form of victory can only be attempted once in any game. The 'timer' will function only once and will not reset itself.

There is a one-in-six chance per turn that the Hungarians will declare war on the Mircea House each turn once Pecs is captured, and the same probability that the Ottomans will declare war once Adrianopole is captured.

Pecs or Adrianopole may be captured by another tribe prior to Mircean occupation. The victory condition does not require that Pecs necessarily be under Hungarian rule prior to seizure by the Mirceans, nor Adrianopole under Ottoman rule prior to capture. It is however unlikely that any other tribes will secure these cities (before the House of Mircea).

Opening Strategy

Little strategic advice is offered here, however in the first stage;

• It should be important to initially consolidate your units into a more potent singular force. Many units are moving to predetermined co-ordinates, and it may be advantageous to stop them before running into trouble.

• Merchant trading units should be used to offset the poor financial status of the Mircean House.

• Be prepared to use your Ambassadors to steal technology.

• Once diplomatic links are established, try to trade technologies to improve attitude (if this is desired) and work towards more potent units.

Note also that some horseback and missile units cannot cross mountain squares. Despite some roads built on rivers on the scenario map, settlers cannot build further roads on rivers (no bridge building advance).

Game and Historical References

The scenario has attempted to recreate the struggle that the 'real' Vlad Tepes found himself negotiating with - acting as a vassal state trying to appease the imposing Ottoman forces on one hand, and maintaining some loyalty to his family's oaths (Order of the Dragon) on the other. While the scenario endeavours to capture much of the political intrigue and historical unfolding of the era, the scenario has needed to be 'bent' in order to provide an entertaining game within the Civilization II constraints. For the record, Vlad eventually sided with the Hungarians, however did not drive his invasion force to Constantinople.

Credits and Acknowledgements 

There are an array of scenario authors (both professional and fan-authors) who provided some inspiration to the final shape of the game. Special acknowledgement however to - Mick Uhl, Harlan Thompson, Captain Nemo, and Blackclove. Furthermore, thanks to William Keenan and Cam Hills for their tips on Test of Time scenario authoring. William Keenan provided the basic map upon which the scenario has been founded, as well as some of the city improvement graphics. Many of the other graphics were sourced from the Bryce Select Gallery. Numerous texts were consulted, however of note were the papers 'The Historical Dracula' by Ray Porter, 'The Siege of Belgrade' by Tom Kovach, and 'Prince Dracula, Son of the Devil' by Douglas Myles.

Installation

All files go into the single directory 'Stoker' as a subdirectory of 'Test of Time'.

Author's Comments

A few notes on the scenario itself:

On the plus side;

The scenario should be considered to be quite difficult and challenging. Although constructing a victory condition around capturing only two cities would tend to indicate a relatively simple challenge, the cities are distant and well defended. Wider playtesting may disprove this assertion however!

The game is relatively manageable, with a small number of cities and units at the outset. Technology does not flow at a frantic rate, while diplomacy in the first few turns is likely to be totally absent.

There is a range of victory objectives to be sought, giving the player a clear direction.

The theme is supported frequently be the events file, while there are other small enhancements such as the substitution of 'pollution' with 'impalements'. The generally poor reputation of the Mircean House works against an overly affable foe, with alliances difficult to form.

Wide use of flags and masks in the events file, addressing the victory conditions, negotiations and diplomatic shifts.

Some debatable weaknesses;

The game is confined to a single map. A second map exists, however is used for behind-the-scenes game mechanics only.

Reliance on much default artwork / graphics, sounds, and 'avi' files. No new sounds have been added or modified.

Historical details are occasionally compromised by gameplay constraints. Aspects such as river warfare along the Danube became impractical to implement. Ocean warfare generally circumvented also due to land-dominated map.

Opted to by-pass the 'Multiplayer Hotseat' approach to scenario design. The frequent textbox messages (associated with 'Hotset') simply became too distracting. Experimentation was eventually abandoned, however it focussed on playing both the Mirceans and the Moldovans in the one game.

Barbarian-free game, although the Danseti House tends to fulfil the role relatively comfortably.

With that said, I hope you enjoy it!