THE BROKEN KINGDOM
By Elok-Readme

INTRO:
This is my first complete scenario (so take it easy with the reviews).
It takes place in the Kingdom of Arkan, which comes entirely from my own
imagination.  Unlike most Civ2 scenarios, there is no "ocean" terrain here;
that spot is filled by open plains, and the "land" terrain is representative
of mountains, hills, forests and the like.  It can get a little confusing at
first, but the altered system adds some neat stuff to gameplay, such as mage
units who carry spells.  You need FW or better to play it.
The in-game civilopedia should cover most questions you have.  This stuff is
just FYI and background story.

THE STORY:
The Kingdom of Arkan was established sometime around 650 AD; the exact date
is uncertain.  Over the years, it grew prosperous, developing a rich 
heritage of its own and a level of cultural and scientific sophistication
unmatched in the other regions of the West until the Renaissance.  King
William II took its throne in 1084 after his father died young of illness.
About three years into his reign, servants cleaning the Chancellor Rucillus's
quarters discovered a vast stockpile of poisons, magical artifacts, and books
on such unsavory subjects as Necromancy, Demonology, Sorcery, and a primitive
school of black magic similar to voodoo.  Given the suspicious circumstances
of the last King's death, William reacted poorly, and Rucillus barely escaped
with his life.  He vanished, and was not seen for many years.

In the year 1105, one of the Queen's Ladies-in-Waiting gave birth to a son.
This would not have been the slightest bit remarkable, had the lady in
question been married.  As it was, there was a considerable scandal, which
only grew as the years passed and the boy began to show a remarkable 
resemblance in form and temperament to the King.  Ignoring the disapproving
mutters of his court and the Church, William raised Maximillian like a son;
while, being illegitimate, the boy could not be Heir, and the King later
had many proper sons, his firstborn always enjoyed his special favor, and was
appointed General over Arkan's Legions when he turned twenty-three.

In spring of 1133, Maximillian led most of the Legions west on his father's
orders, to conquer distant lands for the crown.  He had not been gone for a
month when Rucillus reappeared out of the wilderness with a demonic army,
took the Palace by storm, and killed the entire Royal family-except one.
The minor merchant Penth Relthane, who had been trying to smooth-talk his way
into a royal audience, grabbed the infant Prince Sebastian in the confusion
and fled the city.  He took shelter in his family's ancestral holdings in the
south, and as acting "Protector" for the Prince began raising an army in the
countryside.  His forces called themselves Loyalists, but William had never
been a popular king, and Penth gained tremendous support with promises of
absolution of all feudal obligations for peasants who flocked to his aid.

Rucillus, rather unstable from years in exile with only ghosts and devils for
company, spent weeks shut up in the Palace, periodically sending out waves of
black magic to blast nearby towns off the face of the earth.  Penth's cause
grew stronger and stronger, as he had the sense to promise vengeance without
actually mentioning an attack on Rucillus and his magic.  Eventually, the mad
Chancellor broke out of his daze and began recruiting discontented members of
the local aristocracy to crush Penth's rebellion, declaring himself King by
right of conquest.

Battle was nearly joined when, in May of 1134, Maximillian returned with the 
Legions.  He was understandably not happy with the situation.  Penth, having
acquired a taste for power, had no interest in yielding his command to the
late King's bastard son, and accused Maximillian of conspiring with Rucillus.
The General retaliated by swearing to kill both traitors...

BASIC PLAY
There are several different types of units at your disposal, which I modelled
(very roughly) after the pieces from a game of chess.

As in a chess game, your most important piece is your "King."  Each faction's
leader is represented by a unique unit, usually a fairly powerful one.  Your
leader is by far the easiest way to capture enemy cities, as he is the only
way you have (at the start of the game) of escorting "civilian" (land)
units between the masses of rougher terrain that shelter your cities.  Each
faction has its own way of capturing cities after the leader dies, but it's
not easy.

Civilian units consist of Knaves, Courtiers, Merchants, and Nobles.  The 
first two are diplomats, Merchants take the place of freight, and Nobles are
expensive to build and basically helpless but can take control of unguarded
cities without bribing them, like the Knave or Courtier do.

For "pawns," you have drudges and the more advanced workers.  They're puny,
but they move over any terrain and modify the land to suit your goals.  As
low-born peasants, they can and will panic and desert if forced out into the
open for too long.  Workers can even build rubble piles to block off passes.
As there is no irrigation or mining in this scenario, you need drudges to
ruin enemy land as well.  Use them wisely.

Your cities are guarded by towers, fortresses, and bastions.  These cannot
move, though due to a quirk of game mechanics they may be carried by leaders.
They have lots of health and can suppress unhappiness, and don't suffer a 
defensive penalty when stuck in a city like Knights or Magicians.

Knights, as you might expect, are the backbone of your army.  They move fast,
they fight hard, and they take lots of abuse before falling.  There are three
technological levels of them: Horsemen, Knights, and Paladins.

Magicians, Warlocks, and Sorcerers are an odd batch.  Slower and weaker than
the cavalry, the only things they have going for them are invisibility and
the power to cast magic spells.  Magic, naturally, is VERY strong.  Keep your
mages well-stocked with thunderbolts and firestorms, and they will serve you
well, ambushing and sneaking up on enemy cities.

Each of the three factions also has two units only it can build, one which 
lets it take cities after its leader dies, and one that just exists for fun.
And there are of course a few other unit types I haven't mentioned.  Civ
veterans should be able to figure out what to do with them though.

There are barbarians, but fortunately they aren't too strong.  You may bribe 
them for a cheap fighting force, or exterminate them, whichever you like.

CREDITS:
All of the artwork for this scenario was ripped from
various sources, due to the unfortunate fact that I suck.
To give credit where it's due,
BeBro made the Trebuchet, Honor Guard and Paladin graphics.
I got the Worker from Harlan Thompson's awesome Lord of the
Rings scenario.  I'm guessing it's his work.
