Note: This document is subject to change, as errors are found and corrected, and rules sometimes change. Be sure you have the latest available copy.
A faction is considered destroyed, and the player knocked out of the game, if
ever all its people are killed or disbanded (i.e. the faction has no units
left). The program does not consider your starting character to be special; if
your starting character gets killed, you will probably have been thinking of
that character as the leader of your faction, so some other character can be
regarded as having taken the dead leader's place (assuming of course that you
have at least one surviving unit!). As far as the computer is concerned, as
long as any unit of the faction survives, the faction is not wiped out. (If
your faction is wiped out, you can rejoin the game with a new starting
character.)
Each faction has a type; this is decided by the player, and determines
what the faction may do. The faction has 5 Faction Points, which may be spent
on any of the 3 Faction Areas, War, Trade, and Magic. The faction type may
be changed at the beginning of each turn, so a faction can change and adapt to
the conditions around it. Faction Points spent on War determine the number of
regions in which factions can obtain income by taxing or pillaging.
Faction Points spent on Trade determine the number of regions in which a
faction may conduct trade activity. Trade activity includes producing goods,
building ships and buildings, and buying and selling trade items. Faction
Points spent on Magic determines the number of mages the faction may have.
(More information on all of the faction activities is in further sections of
the rules). Here is a chart detailing the limits on factions by Faction
Points.
For example, a well rounded faction might spent 2 points on War, 1 point on
Trade, and 2 points on Magic. This faction's type would appear as "War 2
Trade 1 Magic 2", and would be able to tax 24 regions, perform trade in 10
regions, and have 2 mages.
As another example, a specialized faction might spend all 5 points on War.
This faction's type would appear as "War 5", and it would be able to tax 100
regions, but could not perform trade in any regions, nor could it possess any
mages.
Note that it is possible to have a faction type with less than 5
points spent. In fact, a starting faction has one point spent on each
of War, Trade, and Magic, leaving 2 points unspent.
When a faction starts the game, it is given a one-man unit and 5000 silver in
unclaimed money. Unclaimed money is cash that your whole faction has access
to, but cannot be taken away in battle (silver in a unit's possessions can be
taken in battle.) This allows a faction to get started without presenting an
enticing target for other factions. Units in your faction may use the
CLAIM
order to take this silver, and use it to buy goods or recruit men.
An example faction is shown below, consisting of a starting character, Merlin
the Magician, who has formed two more units, Merlin's Guards and Merlin's
Workers. Each unit is assigned a unit number by the computer (completely
independent of the faction number); this is used for entering orders. Here,
the player has chosen to give his faction the same name ("Merlin the Magician")
as his starting character. Alternatively, you can call your faction something
like "The Great Northern Mining Company" or whatever.
There are different races that make up the population of Atlantis. (See the
section on skills for a list of these.) In addition, there are "leaders", who
are presumed to be of one of the other races, but are all the same in game
terms. Units made up of normal people may only know one skill,
and cannot teach other units. Units made up of leaders may know
as many skills as desired, and may teach other units to speed the learning
process. Leaders and normal people may not be mixed in the same unit.
However, leaders are more expensive to recruit and maintain. (More
information is in the section on skills.) A unit is treated as the least
common denominator of the people within it, so a unit made up of two races
with different strengths and weaknesses will have all the weaknesses, and none
of the strengths of either race.
A turn is equal to one game month. A unit can do many actions at the start of
the month, that only take a matter of hours, such as buying and selling
commodities, or fighting an opposing faction. Each unit can also do exactly
one action that takes up the entire month, such as harvesting timber or moving
from one region to another. The orders which take an entire month are
ADVANCE,
BUILD,
ENTERTAIN,
MOVE,
PRODUCE,
SAIL,
STUDY,
TEACH and
WORK.
This report gives all of the available information on this region. The region
type is plain, the name of the surrounding area is Turia, and the coordinates
of this region are (11,14). The population of this region is 500 elves, and
there is $2500 of taxable income currently in this region. Then, under the
dashed line, are various details about items for sale, wages, etc. Finally,
there is a list of all visible units. Units that belong to your faction will
be so denoted by a '*', whereas other faction's units are preceded by a '-'.
Since Atlantis is made up of hexagonal regions, the coordinate system is not
always exactly intuitive. Here is the layout of Atlantis regions:
Note that the are "holes" in the coordinate system; there is no region (1,2),
for instance. This is due to the hexagonal system of regions.
Most regions are similar to the region shown above, but the are certain
exceptions. Oceans, not surprisingly, have no population. Some regions will
contain villages, towns, and cities. More information on these is available
in the section on the ecomony.
The structure lists the name, the number, and what type of structure it is.
(More information of the types of structures can be found in the section on the
economy.) Following this is a list of units inside the structure. Units
within a structure are always visible, even if they would otherwise not be
seen.
Units inside structures are still considered to be in the region, and other
units can interact with them; however, they may gain benefits, such as
defensive bonuses in combat from being inside a building. The first unit to
enter an object is considered to be the owner; only this unit can do things
such as renaming the object, or permitting other units to enter. The owner of
an object can be identified on the turn report, as it is the first unit listed
under the object.
When a faction first starts in Atlantis, it begins with one unit,
in a special region called the Atlantis Nexus. This region exists
outside of the normal world of Atlantis, and as such has no products
or marketplaces; it merely serves as the magical entry into
Atlantis.
From the Atlantis Nexus, there are six exits into the starting
cities of Atlantis. Units may move through these exits as normal,
but once through an exit, there is no return path to the Nexus.
The six starting cities offer much to a starting faction; there
are unlimited amounts of many materials and men (though the
prices are often quite high). In addition, the starting cities
are guarded by invincible guardsmen, keeping any units within
the city safe from attack (See the section on Non-Player Units
for more information on city guardsmen).
As a drawback, these cities tend to be
extremely crowded, and most factions will wish to leave the starting
cities when possible.
There are three methods of departing the starting cities. The first
is by land, but keep in mind that the lands immediately surrounding
the starting cities will tend to be highly populated, and possibly
quite dangerous to travel. The second is by sea; all of the starting
cities lie against an ocean, and a faction may easily purchase wood
and construct a ship to SAIL away. Be wary
of pirates seeking to prey on new factions, however! And last,
rumors of a magical Gate Lore suggest yet another way to travel
from the starting cities. The rumors are vague, but factions wishing
to travel far from the starting cities, taking only a few men with
them, might wish to pursue this method.
Flying units are not initially available to starting players. A unit can ride
provided that the carrying capacity of its horses is at least as great as the
weight of its people and all other items. A unit can walk provided that the
carrying capacity of its people, horses and wagons is at least as great as the
weight of all its other items, and provided that it has at least as many horses
as wagons (otherwise the excess wagons count as weight, not capacity).
Otherwise the unit cannot issue a
MOVE order. People weigh 10 units and have a
capacity of 5 units; data for items is as follows:
Since regions are hexagonal, each region has six neighbouring regions to the
north, northeast, southeast, south, southwest and northwest. Moving from one
region to another normally takes one movement point, except that the following
terrain types take two movement points for riding or walking units to enter:
Forest, Mountain, Swamp, Jungle and Tundra. Also, during certain seasons
(depending on the latitude of the region), all units (including flying ones)
only have half their normal movement points, as freezing weather makes travel
difficult (in the tropics, seasonal hurricane winds and torrential
rains have a similar effect). Units may not move through ocean regions without
using the SAIL order.
Units may also enter or exit structures while moving. Moving into or out of a
structure does not use any movement points at all. Note that a unit can also
use the ENTER and LEAVE
orders to move in and out of structures, without
issuing a MOVE order.
Finally, certain structures contain interior passages to other regions. The
MOVE IN order can be used to go
through these passages; the movement point cost
is equal to the normal cost to enter the destination region.
Example: One man with a horse, sword, and chain mail wants to move north, then
northeast. The capacity of the horse is 20 and the weight of the man and other
items is 12, so he can ride. The month is April so he has four movement
points. He issues the order MOVE NORTH NORTHEAST. First he moves north, into
a plain region. This uses one movement point. Then he moves northeast, into a
forest region. This uses two movement points, so the movement is completed
with one to spare.
Note that a unit on board a sailing ship may not MOVE
later in the turn, even if he doesn't issue the SAIL
order; sailing is considered to take the whole month. Also, units
may not remain on guard while on board a sailing ship; they will have
to reissue the GUARD 1 order to guard a region
after sailing.
Ships get four movement points per turn. A ship can move from an ocean region
to another ocean region, or from a coastal region to an ocean region, or from
an ocean region to a coastal region. Ships can only be constructed in coastal
regions. For a ship to enter any region only costs one movement point; the
cost of two movement points for entering, say, a forest coastal region, does
not apply. Ships do, however, only get half movement points during the winter
months (or monsoon months in the tropical latitudes).
A ship can only move if the total weight of everything aboard does not exceed
the ship's capacity. (The rules do not prevent an overloaded ship from staying
afloat, only from moving.) Also, there must be enough sailors aboard (using
the SAIL
order), to sail the ship, or it will not go anywhere. Note that
the sailing skill increases the usefulness of a unit proportionally; thus, a
1 man unit with level 5 sailing skill can sail a longboat alone. (See the
section on skills for further details on skills.) The capacities (and costs in
labor units) of the various ship types are as follows:
Normal movement in Atlantis, meaning ADVANCE
and MOVE orders,
is processed one hex of movement at a time, region by region. So,
Atlantis cycles through all of the regions; for each region, it finds
any units that wish to move, and moves them (if they can move) one
hex (and only one hex). After processing one such region, it initiates
any battles that take place due to these movements, and then moves on
to the next region. After it has gone through all of the regions, you
will note that units have only moved one hex, so it goes back and does
the whole process again, except this time moving units their second
hex (if they have enough movement points left). This continues until
no units can move anymore.
Sailing is handled differently; Atlantis cycles through all of the
ships in Atlantis, moving them one at a time. When Atlantis sails
a ship, it sails it through it's entire course, and then moves onto
the next ship.
Note that in either case, the order in which the regions are processed
is undefined by the rules. The computer generally does them in the same
order every time, but it is up to the wiles of the player to determine
(or not) these patterns. The order in which units or ships are moved
within a region is the order that they appear on a turn report.
Limitations:
A unit made up of leaders may know one or more skills; for the rest of this
section, the word "leader" will refer to such a unit. Other units, those which
contain non-leaders, will be refered to as normal units. A normal unit may only
know one skill.
Skills may be learned up to a maximum depending on the race of the studying
unit (remembering that for units containing more than one race,
the maximum is determined by the least common
denominator). The normal maximum skill level is 2, but every race has a list
of skills that they specialize in, and can learn up to level 3. Leaders can
learn every skill up to a maximum level of 5. Here is a list of the races and
the skills they specialize in:
Orcs are something of an exception; they can reach level 4 in combat, but have
a maximum level of 1 in all other skills.
If units are merged together, their skills are averaged out. No rounding off
is done; rather, the computer keeps track for each unit of how many total
months of training that unit has in each skill. When units are split up, these
months are divided as evenly as possible among the people in the unit; but no
months are ever lost.
Most skills cost $10 per person per month to study (in addition to normal
maintenance costs). The exceptions are Stealth and Observation (both of which
cost $50), Magic skills (which cost $100), and Tactics (which costs $200).
Note that it is quite possible for a single unit to teach two or more other
units different skills in the same month, provided that the teacher has a
higher skill level than each student in the skill that that student is
studying, and that there are no more than 10 students per teacher.
Note: Only leaders may use the TEACH
order.
This fee is generally 10 silver for a normal character, and
20 silver for a leader. If this is not available, units may
substitute one unit of grain, livestock, or fish for this maintenance
(two units for a leader). A unit may use the
CONSUME order to specify that it wishes to
use food items in preference to silver.
Note that these items are worth more when sold in towns, so selling
them and using the money is more economical than using them for
maintenance.
All items except silver are produced with the
PRODUCE order. Example:
PRODUCE SWORDS will produce as many swords as possible during the month,
provided that the unit has adequate supplies of iron and has the Weaponsmith
skill. Required skills and raw materials are in the table above.
If an item requires raw material, then one unit of material is consumed for
each item produced. Thus, to produce 5 longbows (a supply of arrows is assumed
to be included with the bow), 5 units of wood are required. The higher one's
skill, the more productive each man-month of work; thus, 5 longbows could be
produced by a 5-man unit of skill 1, or a 1-man unit of skill 5. (Plate armor
is an exception; a unit must have skill 3 to be able to produce it at all, and
each man can only produce 1 plate armor per month. Plate armor also takes 3
units of iron to produce.) Only Trade factions can issue
PRODUCE orders
however, regardless of skill levels.
The first 9 items on the list do not require raw material; they are produced
directly from the land. Each region generally has at least one item that can
be produced there. Shown on the
description of a region is a list of the items that can be produced, and the
amount of each that can be produced per month. This depends on the region
type; thus, mountains are the best places to quarry stone, and herbs are most
commonly found in forests and jungles. It also varies from region to region of
the same type. If the units in a region attempt to
produce more of a commodity than can be produced that month, then the
amount available is distributed among the workers.
Trade items are bought and sold only by cities, and have no other practical
uses. However, the profit margins on these items are usually quite high.
Buying and selling of these items in a region counts against a Trade faction's
quota of regions in which it may undertake trade activity (note that buying
and selling normal items does not).
Size is the number of people that the building can shelter. Cost is
the number of person-months of labor and the number of units of stone
required to complete the building. The material for all buildings
is stone.
There are other structures that increase the maximum production of certain
items in regions; for example, a Mine will increase the amount of iron that is
available to be mined in a region. To construct these structures
requires a high skill level in the production skill related to the
item that the structure will help produce. (Inns are an exception
to this rule, requiring the Building skill, not the Entertainment
skill.) This bonus in production is available to any unit in the
region; there is no need to be inside the structure.
The first structure built in a region will increase
the maximum production of the related product by 25%; the amount added
by each additional structure will be half of the the effect of the
previous one. (Note that if you build enough of the same type of
structure in a region, the new structures may not add _any_ to the
production level).
Note that structures will not increase the availability of an
item in a region that does not already have the item available.
Also, Trade structures do not offer defensive bonuses
(which is why they do not have a
size associated with them). As for regular buildings, the Cost
is the number of person-months of labor and also the number of
units of raw material required to complete a trade structure.
You can use two different materials to construct a trade
structure; it may be build of any combination of wood and stone.
The capacity of a ship is the maximum weight that the ship may have
aboard and still move. The cost is both the person-months of labor
and the number of units of wood required to complete the ship. The
sailors are the number of skill levels of the Sailing skill that
must be aboard the ship (and issuing the
SAIL order in order for the ship to sail).
War factions may also pillage a region. To do this requires the faction to
have enough combat trained men in the region to tax half of the available
money in the region. The total amount of money that can be pillaged will then
be shared out between every combat trained unit that issues the
PILLAGE order.
The amount of money collected is equal to twice the available tax money.
However, the economy of the region will be seriously damaged by pillaging, and
will only slowly recover over time. Note that
PILLAGE comes before
TAX, so
TAX will collect no money in that region that month.
It is possible to safeguard one's tax income in regions one controls. Units
which have the Guard flag set (using the
GUARD order) will block
TAX orders
issued by other factions in the same region, unless you have declared the
faction in question Friendly. Units on guard will also block
PILLAGE orders
issued by other factions in the same region, regardless of your attitude
towards the faction in question, and they will attempt to prevent Unfriendly
units from entering the region. Only units with Combat skill of at least 1,
or units with Crossbow or Longbow skill of at least 1, plus the appropriate
bow, may be on guard. Units on guard are always visible regardless of
Stealth skill, and will be marked as being "on guard" in the region
description.
Ally means that you will fight to defend units of that faction whenever they
come under attack, if you have non-avoiding units in the region where the
attack occurs. You will also prevent stealing and assassination attempts
against units of the faction, if you are capable of seeing the unit
attempting the crime. It also has the implications of the Friendly
attitude.
Friendly means that you will accept gifts from units of that faction. This
includes the giving of items, units of people,
and the teaching of skills. You will also admit units of that
faction into
buildings or ships owned by one of your units, and you will permit units of
that faction to collect taxes (but not pillage) in regions where you have units
on guard.
Unfriendly means that you will not admit units of that faction into any region
where you have units on guard. You will not, however, automatically attack
unfriendly units which are already present.
Hostile means that any of your units which do not have the Avoid Combat flag
set (using the AVOID order)
will attack any units of that faction wherever they
find them.
If a unit can see another unit, but does not have high enough Observation skill
to determine its faction, it will treat the unit using the faction's default
attitude, even if the unit belongs to an Unfriendly or Hostile faction,
because it does not know the unit's identity. However, if your faction has
declared an attitude of Friendly or Ally towards that unit's faction,
the unit will be treated with the better
attitude; it is assumed that the unit will produce proof of identity when
relevant. (See the section on stealth for more information on when units can
see each other.)
If a faction declares Unfriendly or Hostile as default attitude (the latter is
a good way to die fast), it will block or attack unidentified units, unless
they belong to factions for which a more friendly attitude has been
specifically declared. Units which cannot be seen at all cannot be directly
blocked or attacked, of course.
Secondly, the attacking unit must be able to catch the unit it
wishes to attack. A unit may only catch a unit if its effective
Riding skill is greater than or equal to the target unit's effective
Riding skill; otherwise, the target unit just rides away from the
attacking unit. Effective Riding is the unit's Riding skill, but with
a potential maximum; if the unit can not ride, the effective Riding
skill is 0; if the unit can ride, the maximum effective Riding is
3; if the unit can fly, the maximum effective Riding is 5. Note that
the effective Riding also depends on whether the unit is attempting
to attack or defend;
for attack purposes, only one man in the unit needs to be able to
ride or fly (generally, this means one of the men must possess a
horse, or other form of transportation),
whereas for defense purposes the entire unit needs to
be able to ride or fly (usually meaning that every man in the unit must
possess a horse or other form of speedier transportation).
Also, note that for a unit to be able to
use its defensive Riding ability to avoid attack, the unit cannot
be in a building, ship, or structure of any type.
A unit which is on guard, and is Unfriendly towards a unit, will
deny access to units using the MOVE order to
enter its region. Note that to deny access to a unit, the guarding unit
must satisfy the two above requirements; namely, it must be able to
see the unit, and also be able to catch the unit.
A unit using ADVANCE
instead of MOVE to enter a region, will attack
any units that identify it as Unfriendly and attempt to deny it access. If
the advancing unit loses the battle, it will be forced to retreat to the
previous region it moved through. If the unit wins the battle
and its army doesn't lose any men, it is allowed to continue to
move, provided that it has enough movement points.
Note that neither of these restrictions apply for sea combat, as
units within a ship are always visible, and Riding does not play
a part in combat on board ships.
On the attacking side are all units of the attacking faction in the region
where the fight is taking place, except those with Avoid Combat set. A unit
which has explicitly issued an
ATTACK order will join the fight anyway,
regardless of Avoid Combat.
Also on the attacking side are all units of other factions that attacked the
target faction in the region where the fight is taking place. In other words,
if several factions attack one, then all their armies join together to attack
at the same time (even if they are enemies and will later fight each other).
On the defending side are all identifiable units belonging to the defending
faction. If a unit has Avoid Combat set, and its faction cannot be identified
by the attacking faction, it will not be involved in the battle. A unit which
was explicitly attacked will be involved anyway, regardless of Avoid Combat.
(This means that Avoid Combat is mostly useful for high stealth scouts.) Also,
all non-avoiding units in factions allied with the defending unit will join in
on the defending side.
Units in adjacent regions can also become involved. This is the exception to
the general rule that you cannot interact with units in a different region.
If a faction has at least one unit involved in the initial region, then any
units in adjacent regions will join the fight, if they could reach the region
and do not have Avoid Combat set. There are a few flags that units may
set to affect this; a unit with the Hold flag
(set using the HOLD order)
will not join battles in adjacent regions.
This flag applies to both attacking and defending factions. A unit with
the Noaid flag (set using the NOAID order) will
receive no aid from adjacent hexes when attacked, or when it issues an
attack.
Example: A fight starts in region A, in the initial combat phase (before any
movement has occurred). The defender has a unit of soldiers in adjacent region
B. They have 2 movement points at this stage. They will buy horses later in
the turn, so that when they execute their
MOVE order they will have 4 movement
points, but right now they have 2. Region A is forest but fortunately it is
summer so the soldiers can join the fight.
It is important to note that the units in nearby regions do not actually move
to the region where the fighting happens; the computer only checks that they
could move there. (In game world terms, presumably they did move
there to join the fight, and then moved back where they started.) The computer
checks for weight allowances and terrain types when determining whether a unit
could reach the scene of the battle.
Note that the use of ships is not allowed in this virtual movement.
If you order an attack on an ally (either with the
ATTACK order, or if your
ally has declared you Unfriendly, by attempting to
ADVANCE into a region which
he is guarding), then your commander will decide that a mistake has occurred
somewhere, and withdraw your troops from the fighting altogether. Thus, your
units will not attack that faction in that region. Note that you will
always defend an ally against attack, even if it means that you fight
against other factions that you are allied with.
In each combat round, the combatants each get to attack once, in a random
order. (In a free round of attacks, only one side's forces get to attack.)
Each combatant will attempt to hit a randomly selected enemy. If he hits, and
the target has no armor, then the target is automatically killed. Chain armor
gives a 1/3 chance of surviving a hit, and plate armor gives a 2/3 chance.
Hits inflicted by a crossbow cannot be deflected by armor; the target is
automatically killed, regardless of armor.
The basic skill used in battle is the Combat skill; this is used for hand to
hand fighting. If one soldier tries to hit another using melee weapons, there
is a 50% chance that the attacker will get an opportunity for a lethal blow.
If the attacker does get that opportunity, then there is a contest between his
skill and the defender's.
If the skills are equal, then there is a 1:1 (i.e. 50%) chance that the attack
will succeed. If the attacker's skill is 1 higher then there is a 2:1 (i.e.
66%) chance, if the attacker's skill is 2 higher then there is a 4:1 (i.e.
80%) chance, 3 higher means an 8:1 (i.e. 88%) chance, and so on. Similarly
if the defender's skill is 1 higher, then there is only a 1:2 (i.e. 33%)
chance, etc.
Possession of a sword confers a +2 bonus to Combat skill. (Troops fighting
hand-to-hand without swords are assumed to be irregularly equipped with knives,
clubs etc.) Possession of a horse, and Riding skill, also confers a bonus to
effective Combat skill equal to the Riding skill level (up to a maximum of 2)
provided that the terrain is one of Plain, Desert or Tundra.
Missile weapons are slightly different. A soldier who has a longbow and is
skilled in its use will use it; otherwise, he will use a crossbow if he has
one, and skill in its use; otherwise, he will fight hand to hand. The skill
check to hit with a longbow is made against an effective defense of 2; i.e., a
longbowman with skill 1, having made the 50% chance of getting an effective
attack, has a 1:2 chance of hitting a target. A crossbow is an easier weapon
to use, so the chance to hit is calculated against a defense of 0; on the other
hand, a crossbow can only fire every other round (the first, third, fifth,
etc.,
rounds, including the free round of attacks if one's side has one). Note that
the target unit's actual skills are irrelevant for bow attacks.
A soldier with a melee weapon attacking a bowman makes his attack just as if
the bowman had a Combat skill of 0, even if the bowman is a leader who also
has Combat skill.
Being inside a building confers a +2 bonus to defense. This bonus is effective
against bows as well as melee weapons. The number of men that a building can
protect is equal to its size. The sizes of the different types of buildings
are as follows:
If there are too many units in a building to all gain protection from it, then
those units who have been in the building longest will gain protection. (Note
that these units appear first on the turn report.) If a unit of 200 men is
inside a Fort (capacity 50), then the first 50 men in the unit will gain the
full +2 bonus, and the other 150 will gain no protection.
Units which have the Behind flag set are at the rear and cannot be attacked by
any means until all non-Behind units have been wiped out. On the other hand,
neither can they attack with melee weapons, but only with bows or magic. Once
all front-line units have been wiped out, then the Behind flag no longer has
any effect.
Units with the Healing skill have a chance of being able to heal casualties of
the winning side, so that they recover rather than dying. Each character with
this skill can attempt to heal 5 casualties per skill level.
Each attempt however requires
one unit of Herbs, which is thereby used up. Each attempt has a 50% chance of
healing one casualty; only one attempt at Healing may be made per casualty.
Healing occurs automatically, after the battle is over, by any living healers
on the winning side.
Any items owned by dead combatants on the losing side have a 50% chance of
being found and collected by the winning side. Each item which is recovered is
picked up by one of the survivors at random, so the winners generally collect
loot in proportion to their number of surviving men.
If you are expecting to fight an enemy who is carrying so much equipment that
you would not be able to move after picking it up, and you want to move to
another region later that month, it may be worth issuing some orders to drop
items (with the GIVE
0 order) in case you win the battle! Also, note that if
the winning side took any losses in the battle, any units on this side will not
be allowed to move, or attack again for the rest of the turn.
Regardless of Stealth skill, units are always visible when participating
in combat; when guarding a region with the Guard flag; or when in a
building or aboard a ship. However, in order to see the faction that
owns the unit, you will still need a higher Observation skill than
the unit's Stealth skill.
If the thief has higher Stealth than any of the target faction's units have
Observation (i.e. the thief cannot be seen by the target faction), the theft
will succeed. The target faction will be told what was stolen, but not by
whom. If the specified item is silver, then $200 or half the total available,
whichever is less, will be stolen. If it is any other item, then only one will
be stolen (if available).
Any unit with high enough Observation to see the thief will see the attempt to
steal, whether the attempt is successful or not. Allies of the target unit
will prevent the theft, if they have high enough Observation to see the unit
trying to steal.
Success for assassination is determined as for theft, i.e. the assassin will
fail if any of the target faction's units can see him. In this case, the
assassin will flee, and the target faction will be informed which unit made the
attempt. As with theft, allies of the target unit will prevent the
assassination from succeeding, if their Observation level is high enough.
If the assassin has higher Stealth than any of the target faction's units have
Observation, then a one-on-one fight will take place between the assassin and
the target character. The assassin automatically gets a free round of attacks;
after that, the battle is handled like a normal fight,
with the exception that neither
assassin nor victim can use chain mail or plate armor (the assassin because he
cannot sneak around wearing metal armor, the victim because he was caught by
surprise with his armor off). If the assassin wins, the target faction is told
merely that the victim was assassinated, but not by whom. If the victim wins,
then the target faction learns which unit made the attempt. (Of course, this
does not necessarily mean that the assassin's faction is known.) The winner of
the fight gets 50% of the loser's property as usual.
STEAL and ASSASSINATE
are not full month orders, and do not interfere with
other activities, but a unit can only issue one
STEAL order or one
ASSASSINATE
order in a month.
There are two major differences between Magic skills and normal skills. The
first is that the ability to study Magic skills sometimes depends on lower
level Magic skills. The Magic skills that a mage may study are listed on
his turn report, so he knows which areas he may pursue. Studying higher
in the Foundation skills, and certain other Magic skills, will make other
skills available to the mage.
Also, study into a magic skill above level 2 requires that the mage
be located in some sort of protected building (a tower, fortress, castle or
citadel; mines, quarries, etc, do not count). If the mage is not in such a
structure, his study rate is cut in half, as he does not have the proper
environment and equipment for research.
Secondly, some spells are for use in combat. A mage may specify that
he wishes to use a spell in combat by issuing the
COMBAT order. A combat spell specified in this
way will only be used if the mage finds himself taking part in a battle.
The description that a mage receives when he first learns a spell
specifies the manner in which the spell is used (automatic, in combat,
or by casting).
Although the magic skills and spells are unspecified in these rules, left for
the players to discover, the rules for combat spells' interaction are spelled
out here. There are five major types of attacks, and defenses:
Combat, Bow, Energy, Weather, and Spirit. Every attack and defense has
a type, and only the appropriate defense is effective against an attack.
Defensive spells are cast at the beginning of each round
of combat, and will have a type of attack they deflect, and skill level
(Defensive spells are generally called Shields). Every time an attack
is launched against an army, it must first attack the highest level Shield
of the same type as the attack, before it may attack a soldier
directly. Note that an attack only has to attack the highest Shield,
any other Shields of the same type are ignored for that attack.
An attack spell (and any other type of attack) also has an attack type, and
attack level, and a number of blows it deals. When the attack spell is cast,
it is matched up against the most powerful defensive spell of the appropriate
type that the other army has cast. If the other army has not cast any
applicable defensive spells, the spell goes through unmolested. Otherwise, the
skill level of the attack spell, and the skill level of the defensive spell are
matched against each other. The formula for determining the victor between a
defensive and offensive spell is the same as for a contest of soldiers; if the
levels are equal, there is a 1:1 chance of success, and so on. If the
offensive spell is victorious,
the offensive spell deals its blows to the defending army, and the
Shield in question is destroyed (thus, it can be useful to have more than
one of the same type of Shield in effect, as the other Shield will take
the place of the destroyed one).
Otherwise, the attack spell disperses, and the defending spell remains in
place.
Some spells do not actually kill enemies, but rather have some negative
effect on them. These spells are treated the same as normal spells; if
there is a Shield of the same type as them, they must attack the Shield
before attacking the army.
Physical attacks that go through a defensive spell also must match their skill
level against that of the defensive spell in question. However, they do not
destroy a layer of the spell when they are successful.
Note that the city guardsmen in the starting cities of Atlantis possess
Amulets of Invincibility, and may not be defeated.
For example, if your faction number (shown at the top of your report) is 27,
and you have two units numbered 5 and 17:
Thus, orders for each unit are given separately, and indicated with the UNIT
keyword. (In the case of an order, such as the command to rename your faction,
that is not really for any particular unit, it does not matter which unit
issues the command; but some particular unit must still issue it.)
IMPORTANT: You MUST use the correct #ATLANTIS line or else your orders will be
silently ignored.
If you have a password set, you must specify it on you #atlantis line, or
the game will reject your orders. See the
PASSWORD order for more details.
Each type of order is designated by giving a keyword as the first non-blank
item on a line. Parameters are given after this, separated by spaces or tabs.
Blank lines are permitted, as are comments; anything after a semicolon is
treated as a comment (provided the semicolon is not in the middle of a word).
The parser is not case sensitive, so all commands may be given in upper case,
low case or a mixture of the two. However, when supplying names containing
spaces, the name must be surrounded by double quotes, or else underscore
characters must be used in place of spaces in the name. (These things apply to
the #ATLANTIS and #END lines as well as to order lines.)
You may precede orders with the at sign (@), in which case they will
appear in the Template at the bottom of your report. This is useful
for orders which your units repeat for several months in a row.
IMPORTANT: Remember that names containing spaces (e.g., "Plate Armor"), must be
surrounded by double quotes, or the space must be replaced with an underscore
"_" (e.g., Plate_Armor).
Example:
Change your faction's email address to atlantis@rahul.net.
Examples:
Move north, then northwest, attacking any units that forbid access to the
regions.
In order, move north, then enter structure number 1, move through an inner
route, and finally move southeast. Will attack any units that forbid access to
any of these locations.
Example:
Assassinate unit number 177.
Example:
To attacks units 17, 431, and 985:
or:
Example:
To cause the unit to attempt to tax every turn.
The Guard and Avoid Combat flags are mutually exclusive; setting one
automatically cancels the other.
Example:
Set the unit to avoid combat when possible.
Example:
Set the unit to be in front in combat.
Example:
To build a new tower.
Examples:
Buy one plate armor from the city market.
Recruit 5 barbarians into the current unit. (This will dilute the skills that
the unit has.)
Examples:
Cast the spell called "Super Spell".
Cast the fourth-level spell in the "Super Magic" skill.
Example:
Claim 100 silver.
Example:
Instruct the unit to use the spell "Super Spell", when the unit is involved in
a battle.
Example:
Tell a unit to use food items in the unit's possession for maintenance
costs.
Examples:
Declare your faction to be hostile to faction 15.
Set your faction's attitude to faction 15 to its default attitude.
Set your faction's default attitude to friendly.
Example:
Set the unit,s description to read "Merlin's helper".
Example:
Destroy the ship or building the unit is in.
Example:
Enter ship number 114.
Example:
Changing the number of faction points assigned to MAGIC may be tricky.
Increasing the MAGIC points will always succeed, but if you decrease
the number of points assigned to MAGIC, you must make sure that you
have only the number of magic-skilled leaders allowed by the new
number of MAGIC points BEFORE you change your point distribution.
For example, if you have 3 mages (3 points assigned to MAGIC), but
want to use one of those points for WAR or TRADE (change to MAGIC 2),
you must first get rid of one of your mages by either giving it to
another faction or ordering it to
FORGET all its magic skills.
If you have too many mages for the number of points you try to assign
to MAGIC, the FACTION order will fail.
Examples:
Assign 2 faction points to WAR, 2 to TRADE, and 1 to MAGIC.
Become a pure magic faction (assign all points to magic).
Example:
Find the email address of faction 4.
Example:
Forget knowledge of Mining.
The FORM order is followed by a list of orders for the newly created unit.
This list is terminated by the END keyword, after which orders for the original
unit resume.
The purpose of the "alias" parameter is so that you can refer to the new unit.
You will not know the new unit's number until you receive the next turn
report. To refer to the new unit in this set of orders, pick an alias
number (the only restriction on this is that it
must be at least 1, and you should not create two units in the same region in
the same month, with the same alias numbers). The new unit can then be
referred to as NEW
This set of orders for unit 17 would create two new units with alias numbers 1
and 2, name them Merlin's Guards and Merlin's Workers, set the description for
Merlin's Workers, have both units recruit men, and have Merlin's Guards study
combat. Merlin's Workers will have the default order
WORK, as all newly
created units do. The unit that created these two then pays them enough money
(using the NEW keyword to refer to them by alias numbers) to cover the costs of
recruitment and the month's maintenance.
You can refer to newly created units belonging to other factions, if you know
what alias number they are, e.g. FACTION 15 NEW 2 will refer to faction 15's
newly created unit with alias 2.
Note: If a unit moves out of the region in which it was formed
(by the MOVE order, or otherwise), the alias
will no longer work. This is to prevent conflicts with other units
that may have the same alias in other regions.
If the demand for recruits in that region that month is much higher than the
supply, it may happen that the new unit does not gain all the recruits
you ordered it to buy, or it may not gain any recruits at all. If the
new units gains at least one recruit, the unit will form possessing
any unused silver and all the other items it was given. If no recruits
are gained at all, the empty unit will be dissolved, and the silver and
any other items it was given will revert to the lowest numbered unit you
have in that region.
If the target unit is not a member of your faction, then its faction must have
declared you Friendly, with a couple of exceptions. First, silver may be given
to any unit, regardless of factional affiliation. Secondly, men may not
be given to units in other factions (you must give the entire unit);
the reason for this is to prevent highly skilled units from being
sabotaged with a GIVE order.
There are also a few restrictions on orders given by units who been
given to another faction. If the receiving faction is not allied to
the giving faction, the unit may not issue the
ADVANCE order, or issue any more
GIVE orders. Both of these rules are to prevent
unfair sabotage tactics.
If 0 is specified as the unit number, then the items
are discarded.
Examples:
Give 10 swords to unit 4573.
Give 5 chain armor to the new unit, alias 2, belonging to faction 14.
Give control of this unit to the faction owning unit 75.
The Guard and Avoid Combat flags are mutually exclusive; setting one
automatically cancels the other.
Example:
Instruct the current unit to be on guard.
Example:
Instruct the unit to avoid combat in other regions.
Example:
Valid directions are:
1) The compass directions North, Northwest, Southwest, South, Southeast, and
Northeast. These can be abbreviated N, NW, SW, S, SE, NE.
2) A structure number.
3) OUT, which will leave the structure that the unit is in.
4) IN, which will move through an inner passage in the structure that the unit
is currently in.
Multiple MOVE orders given by one unit will chain together, so:
is equivalent to:
Note that MOVE orders can lead to combat, due to hostile units meeting, or due
to an advancing unit being forbidden access to a region. In this case, combat
occurs each time all movement out of a single region occurs.
Example 1: Units 1 and 2 are in Region A, and unit 3 is in Region B. Units 1
and 2 are hostile to unit 3. Both unit 1 and 2 move into region B, and attack
unit 3. Since both units moved out of the same region, they attack unit 3 at
the same time, and the battle is between units 1 and 2, and unit 3.
Example 2: Same as example 1, except unit 2 is in Region C, instead of region
A. Both units move into Region B, and attack unit 3. Since unit 1 and unit 2
moved out of different regions, their battles occur at different times. Thus,
unit 1 attacks unit 3 first, and then unit 2 attacks unit 3 (assuming unit 3
survives the first attack). Note that the order of battles could have happened
either way.
Example:
Name your faction "The Merry Pranksters".
If multiple units are on one side in a battle, they must all have the
NOAID flag on, or they will receive aid from other hexes.
Example:
Set a unit to receive no aid in battle.
The OPTION TEMPLATE order toggles the length of the Orders Template
that appears at the bottom of a turn report. The OFF setting eliminates
the Template altogether, and the SHORT or LONG settings control how
much detail the Template contains.
IMPORTANT: The PASSWORD order does not take effect until the turn is actually
run. So if you set your password, and then want to re-submit orders, you
should use the old password until the turn has been run.
Example:
Set the password to "xyzzy".
Example:
Produce as many crossbows as possible.
Example:
Promote unit 415 to be the owner of the object that this unit owns.
Examples:
Show the unit to all factions.
Show the unit and it's affiliation to all factions.
Cancels revealling.
Example:
Sail north, then northwest.
or:
Example:
Sell 10 furs to the market.
Example:
Show the skill report for Mining 3 again.
Get some information about Iron.
Example:
Steal silver from unit 123.
Steal wood from unit 321.
Example:
Study horse training.
Example:
Attempt to collect taxes.
is equivalent to
Example:
Teach new unit 2 and unit 5 whatever they are studying.
Your units in the Current Status section are flagged with a "*" character.
Units belonging to other factions are flagged with a "-" character. You may be
informed which faction they belong to, if you have high enough Observation
skill.
Objects are flagged with a "+" character. The units listed under an object (if
any) are inside the object. The first unit listed under an object is its
owner.
If you can see a unit, you can see any large items it is carrying. This means
all items other than silver, herbs, and other small items (which are of zero
size units, and are small enough to be easily concealed). Items carried by
your own units of course will always be listed.
At the bottom of your turn report is an Orders Template. This template
gives you a formatted orders form, with all of your units listed. You
may use this to fill in your orders, or write them on your own. The
OPTION order gives you the option of giving
more or less information in this template, or turning it of altogether.
You can precede orders with an '@' sign in your orders, in which case
they will appear in your template on the next turn's report.
Always have a month's supply of spare cash in every region in which you have
units, so that even if they are deprived of income for a month (due to a
mistake in your orders, for example), they will not starve to death. It is
very frustrating to have half your faction wiped out because you neglected to
provide enough money for them to live on.
Be conservative with your money. Leaders especially are very hard to maintain,
as they cannot earn enough by WORKing
to pay their maintenance fee. Even once
you have recruited men, notice that it is expensive for them to
STUDY (and
become productive units), so be sure to save money to that end.
Don't leave it until the last minute to send orders. If there is a delay in
the mailer, your orders will not arrive on time, and turns will NOT be rerun,
nor will it be possible to change the data file for the benefit of players
whose orders weren't there by the deadline. If you are going to send your
orders at the last minute, send a preliminary set earlier in the week so that
at worst your faction will not be left with no orders at all.
Table of Contents
Thanks to Kenneth Casey
for putting together this table of contents.
Index of Tables.
Introduction
Atlantis is an open-ended computer moderated fantasy game for any number of
players. Players may attempt to carve out huge empires, become master
magicians, intrepid explorers, rich traders or any other career that comes to
mind. There is no declared winner of the game; players set their own
objectives, and one can join at any time.
Playing Atlantis
Atlantis (as you undoubtedly already know) is a play by email game. When
you sign up for Atlantis, you will be sent a turn report (via email). Your
report completely details your position in the game. After going over this
report, and possibly communicating with other players in the game, you
determine your course of action, and create a file of "orders", which you then
send back to the Atlantis server. Then, at a regular interval (often one
week), Atlantis collects all the orders, runs another turn (covering one month
in game time), and sends all the players another report. Factions:
A player's position is called a "faction". Each faction has a name and a
number (the number is assigned by the computer, and used for entering orders).
Each faction is composed of a number of "units", each unit being a group of one
or more people loyal to the faction. You start the game with a single unit
consisting of one character, plus a sum of money. More people can be hired
during the course of the game, and formed into more units. (In these rules,
the word "character" generally refers either to a unit consisting of only one
person, or to a person within a larger unit.)
Faction Points
War (Maximum number of taxable regions)
Trade (Maximum number of regions in which trade activity is allowed)
Magic (Maximum number of magicians)
1
10
10
1
2
24
24
2
3
40
40
3
4
60
60
5
5
100
100
7
* Merlin the Magician (17), faction Merlin the Magician (27), has: leader.
Skills: none.
* Merlin's Guards (33), faction Merlin the Magician (27), has: 20 vikings,
20 swords. Skills: none.
* Merlin's Workers (34), faction Merlin the Magician (27), has: 50 vikings.
Skills: none.
Units:
A unit is a grouping together of people, all loyal to the same faction.
The people in a unit share skills and possessions, and execute the
same orders each month.
The reason for having units of many people, rather than keeping track of
individuals, is to simplify the game play. The computer does not keep track of
individual names, possessions, or skills for people in the same unit, and all
the people in a particular unit must be in the same place at all times. If you
want to send people in the same unit to different places, you must split up the
unit. Apart from this, there is no difference between having one unit of 50
people, or 50 units of one person each, except that the former is very much
easier to handle. Turns:
Each turn, the Atlantis server takes the orders file that you mailed to it, and
assigns the orders to the respective units. All units in your faction are
completely loyal to you, and will execute the orders to the best of their
ability. If the unit does something unintended, it is generally because of
incorrect orders; a unit will not purposefully betray you.
The World
The Atlantis world is divided for game purposes into hexagonal regions. Each
region has a name, and one of the following terrain types: Ocean, Plain,
Forest, Mountain, Swamp, Jungle, Desert, or Tundra. (There may be other types
of terrain to be discovered as the game progresses.) Regions can contain
units belonging to players; they can also contain structures such as buildings
and ships. Two units in the same region can normally interact, unless one of
them is concealed in some way. Two units in different regions cannot normally
interact. NOTE: Combat is an exception to this. Regions:
Here is a sample region, as it might appear on your turn report:
plain in Turia (11,15), 500 peasants (wood elves), $2500.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Wages: $15.
Entertainment available: $125.
For Sale: 50 wood elves at $60, 10 leaders at $120.
Wanted: none.
Products: 37 horses.
* Hans Shadowspawn (15), faction Hans and his Merry Pranksters (14), has: 1
leader, $500. Skills: none.
- Vox Populi (13), has: 1 leader.
____ ____
/ \ / \
/(0,0) \____/(2,0) \____/
\ / \ / \ N
\____/(1,1) \____/(3,1) \_ |
/ \ / \ / |
/(0,2) \____/(2,2) \____/ |
\ / \ / \ W-O-E
\____/(1,3) \____/(3,3) \_ |
/ \ / \ / S
/(0,4) \____/(2,4) \____/
\ / \ / \
\____/ \____/
/ \ / \
Structures:
Regions may also contain structures, such as buildings or ships. These will
appear directly above the list of units. Here is a sample structure:
+ Temple of Agrik [3], tower.
- High Priest Chafin (9), has: leader, sword.
- Rowing Doom (188), has: 10 ice dwarves, 10 swords.
Atlantis Nexus:
Note: the following section contains some details that you may wish
to skip over until you have had a chance to read the rest of the
rules, and understand the mechanics of Atlantis. However, be sure
to read this section before playing, as it will affect your early
plans in Atlantis.
Movement
There are two main methods of movements in Atlantis. The first is done using
the MOVE
order (or the ADVANCE
order), and moves units individually from one
region to another. The other method is done using the
SAIL order, which can
sail a ship, including all of it's occupants, from one regions to another.
Certain powerful mages may also teleport themselves, or even other
units, but knowledge of the workings of this magic is carefully
guarded.
Normal Movement:
In one month, a unit can issue a single
MOVE order, using one or more of its
movement points. There are three modes of travel, walking, riding and flying.
Walking units have two movement points, riding units have four, and flying
units have six. A unit will automatically use the fastest mode of travel it
has available. (The ADVANCE
order is the same as MOVE,
except that it implies
attacks on units which try to forbid access; see the section on combat for
details.)
Weight
Capacity
Silver
0
Grain
5
Livestock
50
0
Iron
5
Wood
5
Stone
50
Fur
1
Fish
1
Herbs
0
Horse
50
20
Sword
1
Crossbow
1
Longbow
1
Chain Mail
1
Plate Armor
3
Wagon
50
200
Sailing:
Movement by sea is in some ways similar. It does not use the
MOVE order
however. Instead, the owner of a ship must issue the
SAIL order, and other
units wishing to help sail the ship must also issue the
SAIL order. The ship
will then, if possible, make the indicated movement, carrying all units on the
ship with it. Units on board the ship, but not aiding in the sailing of the
ship, may execute other orders while the ship is sailing. A unit which does
not wish to travel with the ship should leave the ship in a coastal region,
before the SAIL
order is processed. (A coastal region is defined as a non-
ocean region with at least one adjacent ocean region.)
Capacity
Cost
Sailors
Longboat
200
25
5
Clipper
800
50
10
Galleon
1800
75
15
Order of Movement:
This section is probably un-important to beginning players, but it can
be helpful for more experienced players.
Skills
The most important thing distinguishing one character from another in Atlantis
is skills. The following skills are available: Farming, Ranching, Mining,
Lumberjack, Quarrying, Hunting, Fishing, Herb Lore, Horse Training,
Weaponsmith, Armorer, Carpenter, Building, Shipbuilding, Entertainment,
Tactics, Combat, Riding, Crossbow, Longbow, Stealth, Observation, Healing, and
Sailing. When a unit possesses a skill, he also has a skill level to go with
it. Generally, the effectiveness of a skill is directly proportional to the
skill level involved, so a level 2 horse trainer is twice as good as a level 1
horse trainer.
Specialized Skills
Vikings
Lumberjack, Shipbuilding, Combat, Sailing
Barbarians
Mining, Hunting, Weaponsmith, Combat
Plainsmen
Horse Training, Carpenter, Entertainment, Farming
Eskimos
Hunting, Fishing, Herb Lore, Healing
Nomads
Horse Training, Crossbow, Ranching
Tribesmen
Lumberjack, Herb Lore, Healing, Farming
Darkmen
Mining, Quarrying, Armorer, Building
Wood Elves
Lumberjack, Carpenter, Entertainment, Longbow
Sea Elves
Fishing, Shipbuilding, Longbow, Sailing
High Elves
Horse Training, Entertainment, Healing, Farming
Tribal Elves
Herb Lore, Longbow, Healing, Ranching
Ice Dwarves
Fishing, Building, Shipbuilding, Crossbow
Hill Dwarves
Mining, Weaponsmith, Armorer, Combat
Under Dwarves
Mining, Quarrying, Armorer, Crossbow
Desert Dwarves
Quarrying, Armorer, Building, Crossbow
Orcs
Combat (4)
Studying:
For a unit to gain level 1 of a skill, they must gain one months worth of
training in that skill. To raise this skill level to 2, the unit must add an
additional two months worth of training. Then, to raise this to skill level 3
requires another three months worth of training, and so forth. A month of
training is gained when a unit uses the STUDY
order. Note that study months
do not need to be consecutive; for a unit to go from level 1 to level 2, he
can study for a month, do something else for a month, and then go back and
complete his second month of study. Teaching:
A unit with a teacher can learn up to twice as fast as normal. The
TEACH
order is used to spend the month teaching one or more other units (your own or
another faction's). The unit doing the teaching must have a skill level
greater than the units doing the studying. (Note: for all skill uses, it is
skill level, not number of months of training, that counts. Thus, a unit with
1 month of training is effectively the same as a unit with 2 months of
training, since both have a skill level of 1.) The units being taught
simply issue the STUDY order normally (also, his
faction must be declared Friendly to the teaching faction).
Each person can only teach up to 10 students in a month; addition students
dilute the training. Thus, if 1 teacher teaches a units of 20 men, each man
being taught will gain 1 1/2 months of training, not 2 months. Skill Reports:
When a faction learns a new skill level for this first time, it may be given
a report on special abilities that a unit with this skill level has. This
report can be shown again at any time (once a faction knows the skill), using
the SHOW
command. For example, when a faction learned the skill Shoemaking
level 3 for the first time, it might receive the following (obviously
farsical) report:
Shoemaking 3: A unit possessing this skill may produce Sooper Dooper Air
Max Winged Sandals. Use PRODUCE Winged Sandals to produce this item.
The Economy
The unit of currency in Atlantis is the silver piece.
Silver is a normal item, with zero weight, appearing in your
unit's reports. Silver is used for such things as buying items,
and unit's maintenance. Maintenance Costs:
IMPORTANT: Each and every character in Atlantis requires a maintenance fee
each month. Anyone who ends the month without
this maintenance cost has a one third chance of starving
to death. It is up to you to make sure that your people have enough available.
Money will be shared automatically between your units in the same region, if
one is starving and another has more than enough; but this will not happen
between units in different regions (this sharing of money applies only for
maintenance costs, and does not occur for other purposes). If you have
silver in your unclaimed fund, then that silver will be automatically
claimed by units that would otherwise starve. Lastly, if a faction is
allied to yours, their units will provide surplus cash to your units for
maintenance, as a last resort. Recruiting:
People may be recruited in a region. The total amount of recruits available
per month in a region, and the amount that must be paid per person recruited,
are shown in the region description. The
BUY order is used to recruit new people. New
recruits will not have any skills or items. Note that the process of
recruiting a new unit is somewhat counterintuitive; it is necessary to
FORM an
empty unit, GIVE the empty unit some money,
and have it BUY people; see the
description of the FORM order for further details. Items:
A unit may have a number of possessions, referred to as "items". Some details
were given above in the section on Movement, but many things were left out.
Here is a table giving some information about common items in Atlantis:
Skill
Material
Weight (Capacity)
Silver
0
Grain
Farming
5
Livestock
Ranching
50 (0)
Iron
Mining
5
Wood
Lumberjack
5
Stone
Quarrying
50
Fur
Hunting
1
Fish
Fishing
1
Herbs
Herb Lore
0
Horse
Horse Training
50 (20)
Sword
Weaponsmith
Iron
1
Crossbow
Weaponsmith
Wood
1
Longbow
Weaponsmith
Wood
1
Chain Armor
Armorer
Iron
1
Plate Armor
Armorer
Iron
3
Wagon
Carpenter
Wood
50 (200)
Village, Towns, and Cities:
Some regions in Atlantis contain villages, towns, and cities. Villages add to
the wages, population, and tax income of the region they are in. Also,
villages will have an additional market for grain, livestock, and fish. As
the village's demand for these goods is met, the population will increase.
When the population reaches a certain theshold, the village will turn into a
town. A town will have some additional products that it demands, in
addition to the
other common items. Also, a town will sell some common items as well. A
town whose demands are being met will grow, and above another threshold it
will become a full-blown city. A city will have additional markets for common
items, and will also have markets for less common, more expensive trade items.
Buildings and Trade Structures:
Construction of buildings and ships goes as follows: each unit of work on a
building requires a unit of stone and a man-month of work by a character with
Building skill at least 1; higher skill levels allow work to proceed faster
(still using one unit of stone per unit of work done).
Again, only Trade factions can issue
BUILD
orders. Here is a table of the various building types:
Size
Cost
Material
Tower
10
10
stone
Fort
50
40
stone
Castle
250
160
stone
Citadel
1250
640
stone
Cost
Material
Skill
Production Aided
Mine
10
wood or stone
Mining 3
iron
Farm
10
wood or stone
Farming 3
grain
Ranch
10
wood or stone
Ranching 3
livestock
Timber Yard
10
wood or stone
Lumberjack 3
wood
Inn
10
wood or stone
Building 3
Entertainment
Quarry
10
wood or stone
Quarrying 3
stone
Ships:
Ships are constructed similarly to buildings, except that they
are constructed of wood, not stone; and their construction requires
the Shipbuilding skill, not the Building skill. Only factions with
at least one faction point spent on trade can issue
BUILD orders. Here is a table on the various
ship types:
Capacity
Cost
Material
Sailors
Longboat
200
25
wood
5
Clipper
800
50
wood
10
Galleon
1800
75
wood
15
Advanced Items:
There are also certain advanced items that highly skilled units can produce.
These are not available to starting players, but can be discovered through
study. When a unit is skilled enough to produce one of these items, he will
generally receive a skill report describing the production of this item.
Production of advanced items is generally done in a manner similar to
the normal items. Income:
Units can earn money with the WORK
order. This means that the unit spends the
month performing manual work for wages. The amount to be earned from this is
usually not very high, so it is generally a last resort to be used if one is
running out of money. The current wages are shown in the region description
for each region. All units may WORK,
regardless of skills or faction type.
Entertainment:
Units with the Entertainment skill can use it to earn money. A unit with
Entertainment level 1 will earn 20 silver per man by issuing the
ENTERTAIN
order. The total amount of money that can be earned this way is shown in the
region descriptions. Higher levels of Entertainment skill can earn more, so
a character with Entertainment skill 2 can earn twice as much money as one with
skill 1 (and uses twice as much of the demand for entertainment in the region).
Note that entertainment income is much less, per region, than the income
available through working or taxing. All factions may have entertainers,
regardless of faction type. Taxing/Pillaging:
War factions may collect taxes in a region. This is done using the
TAX order
(which is not a full month order). The amount of tax money that can be
collected each month in a region is shown in the region description. Only
combat ready units may TAX;
a unit is combat ready if it either: has Combat
skill of at least 1,
or has Longbow or Crossbow skill of at least 1 and also
has the appropriate bow in his possession. Each taxing character can collect
$50, though if the number of taxers would tax more than the available tax
income, the tax income is split evenly. Note that possession of a sword,
while giving a man an effective Combat skill of 2, does not confer the
ability to tax if the unit does not also have a Combat skill of at least
one.
Combat
Combat occurs when one unit attacks another. The computer then gathers
together all the units on the attacking side, and all the units on the
defending side, and the two sides fight until an outcome is reached. Attitudes:
Which side a faction's units will fight on depends on declared attitudes. A
faction can have one of the following attitudes towards another faction: Ally,
Friendly, Neutral, Unfriendly or Hostile. Each faction has a general attitude,
called the "Default Attitude", that it normally takes towards other factions;
this is initially Neutral, but can be changed. It is also possible to declare
attitudes to specific factions, e.g.
DECLARE 27 ALLY will declare the Ally
attitude to faction 27. (Note that this does not necessarily mean that
faction 27 is allied to you.) Attacking:
A unit can attack another by issuing an
ATTACK order. A unit that does not
have Avoid Combat set will automatically attack any Hostile units it identifies
as such.
When a unit issues the ATTACK order, or
otherwise decides to attack another unit, it must first be able
to attack the unit. There are two conditions for this; the first
is that the attacking unit must be able to see the unit that it
wishes to attack. More information is available on this in the
stealth section of the rules. The Muster:
Once the attack has been made, the sides are gathered. Although the
ATTACK
order takes a unit rather than a faction as its parameter (mainly so that
unidentified units can be attacked), an attack is basically considered to be by
an entire faction, against an entire faction and its allies. The Battle:
The troops having lined up, the fight begins. The computer selects the best
tactician from each side; that unit is regarded as the leader of its side. If
two or more units on one side have the same Tactics skill, then the one with
the lower unit number is regarded as the leader of that side. If one side's
leader has a better Tactics skill than the other side's, then that side gets a
free round of attacks.
Size
Tower
10
Fort
50
Castle
250
Citadel
1250
Victory!
Combat rounds continue until one side has accrued 50% losses (or more). The
victorious side is then awarded one free round of attacks, after which the
battle is over. If both sides have more than 50% losses, the battle is a draw,
and neither side gets a free round.
Stealth and Observation
The Stealth skill is used to hide units, while the Observation skill
is used to see units that would otherwise be hidden. A unit can be
seen only if you have at least one unit in the same region, with an
Observation skill at least as high as that unit's Stealth skill.
If your Observation skill is equal to the unit's Stealth skill, you
will see the unit, but not the name of the owning faction. If your
Observation skill is higher than the unit's Stealth skill, you will
also see the name of the faction that owns the unit. Stealing:
The STEAL
order is a way to steal items from other factions without a battle.
The order can only be issued by a one-man unit. The order specifies a target
unit; the thief will then attempt to steal the specified item from the target
unit. Assassination:
The ASSASSINATE
order is a way to kill another person without attacking and going
through an entire battle. This order can only be issued by a one-man unit,
and specifies a target unit. If the target unit contains more than one person,
then one will be singled out.
Magic
A character enters the world of magic in Atlantis by beginning study on one
of the Foundation magic skills. Only one man units, with the man being a
leader, are permitted to study these skills. The number of these units (known
as "magicians" or "mages") that a faction may own is determined by the
faction's type. Any attempt to gain more, either through study, or by
transfer from another faction, will fail. In addition, mages may not
GIVE men
at all; once a unit becomes a mage (by studying one of the Foundations), the
unit number is fixed. (The mage may be given to another faction using
the GIVE UNIT order.) Magic Skills:
Magic skills are the same as normal skills, with a few differences. The basic
magic skills, called Foundations, are Force, Pattern, and Spirit. To become
a mage, a unit undertakes study in one of these Foundations. As a unit
studies the Foundations, he will be able to study deeper into the magical arts;
the additional skills that he may study will be indicated on your turn report.
Foundations:
The three Foundation skills are called Force, Pattern, and Spirit. Force
indicates the quantity of magical energy that a mage is able to channel (a
Force rating of 0 does not mean that the mage can channel no magical energy at
all, but only a minimal amount). Pattern indicates ability to handle complex
patterns, and is important for things like healing and nature spells. Spirit
deals with meta-effects that lie outside the scope of the physical world.
Further Magic Study:
Once a mage has begun study of one or more Foundations, more skills that he may
study will begin to show up on his report. These skills are the skills that
give a mage his power. As with normal skills, when a mage achieves a new level
of a magic skill, he will be given a skill report, describing the new powers
(if any) that the new skill confers. The
SHOW order may be used to show this
information on future reports. Using Magic:
A mage may use his magical power in three different ways, depending
on the type of spell he wants to use. Some spells,
once learned, take effect automatically and are considered always to
be in use; these spells do not require any order to take effect. Magic in Combat:
NOTE: This section is rather vague, and quite advanced. You may want to wait
until you have figured out other parts of Atlantis before trying to understand
exactly all of the rules in this section.
Non-Player Units
There are a number of units that are not controlled by players that may be
encountered in Atlantis. Most information about these units must be
discovered in the course of the game, but a few basics are below. City and Town Guardsmen:
All cities and towns begin with guardsmen in them. These units will defend any
units that are attacked in the city or town, and will also prevent theft and
assassination attempts, if their Observation level is high enough. They are on
guard, and will prevent other units from taxing or pillaging. The guards may
be killed by players, although they will form again if the city is left
unguarded. Wandering Monsters:
There are a number of monsters who wander free through Atlantis. They will
occasionally attack player units, so be careful when wandering through the
wilderness. Controlled Monsters:
Through various magical methods, you may gain control of certain
types of monsters. These monsters are just another item in a unit's
inventory, with a few special rules. Monsters will be able to carry
things at their speed of movement; use the SHOW ITEM
order to determine the carrying capacity and movement speed of a
monster. Monsters will also fight for the controlling unit in combat;
their strength can only be determined in battle. Also, note that a
monster will always fight from the front rank, even if the controlling
unit has the behind flag set. Whether or not you are allowed to give
a monster to other units depends on the type of monster; some may be
given freely, while others must remain with the controlling unit.
Orders
To enter orders for Atlantis, you should send a mail message to the Atlantis
server, containing the following:
#ATLANTIS faction-no
#ATLANTIS 27
UNIT 5
...orders...
UNIT 17
...orders...
#END
Abbreviations:
All common items and skills have abbreviations that can be used when giving
orders, for brevity. Any time you see the item on your report, it will
be followed by the abbreviation. Please be careful using these, as they
can easily be confused.
Order Summary
To specify a [unit], use the unit number. If specifying a unit that will be
created this turn, use the form "NEW #" if the unit belongs to your faction, or
"FACTION # NEW #" if the unit belongs to a different faction. See the
FORM
order for a more complete description. [faction] means that a faction number
is required; [object] means that an object number (generally the number of a
building or ship) is required. [item] means an item (like wood or
longbow) that a unit can have in its possession. [flag] is an argument
taken by several orders, that sets or unsets a flag for a unit. A [flag]
value must be either 1 (set the flag) or 0 (unset the flag). Other
parameters are generally numbers or names.
ADDRESS [new address]
Change the email address to which your reports are sent.
ADDRESS atlantis@rahul.net
ADVANCE [dir] ...
This is the same as the MOVE
order, except that it implies attacks on units
which attempt to forbid access. See the
MOVE order for details.
ADVANCE N NW
ADVANCE N 1 IN SE
ASSASSINATE [unit]
Attempt to assassinate the specified unit, or one of the unit's people if the
unit contains more than one person. The order may only be issued by a one-man
unit.
ASSASSINATE 177
ATTACK [unit] ..
Attack a target unit. If multiple ATTACK orders are given, all of the targets
will be attacked.
ATTACK 17
ATTACK 431 985
ATTACK 17 431 985
AUTOTAX [flag]
AUTOTAX 1 causes the unit to attempt to tax every turn (without requiring
the TAX order) until the flag is unset. AUTOTAX 0 unsets the flag.
AUTOTAX 1
AVOID [flag]
AVOID 1 instructs the unit to avoid combat wherever possible. The unit will
not enter combat unless it issues an ATTACK order, or the unit's faction
is attacked in the unit's hex. AVOID 0 cancels this.
AVOID 1
BEHIND [flag]
BEHIND 1 sets the unit to be behind other units in combat. BEHIND 0 cancels
this.
BEHIND 0
BUILD
BUILD [object type]
BUILD given with no parameters causes the unit to perform work on the object
that it is currently inside. BUILD given with an [object type]
(such as "Tower"
or "Galleon") instructs the unit to begin work on a new object of the type
given.
BUILD Tower
BUY [quantity] [item]
Attempt to buy a number of the given item from a city or town
marketplace, or to buy new people in any region where people are
available for recruiting. If the unit can't afford as many as [quantity],
it will attempt to buy as many as it can. If the demand for the item
(from all units in the region) is greater than the number available, the
available items will be split among the buyers in proportion to the amount
each buyer attempted to buy. When buying people, specify the race of
the people as the [item].
BUY 1 "Plate Armor"
BUY 5 barbarians
CAST [skill] [arguments]
Cast the given spell. Note that most spell names contain
spaces; be sure to enclose the name in quotes! [arguments] depend
on which spell you are casting; when you are able to cast a spell,
the skill description will tell you the syntax.
CAST "Super Spell"
CAST "Super Magic" 4
CLAIM [amount]
Claim an amount of the faction's unclaimed silver, and give it to the unit
issuing the order. The claiming unit may then spend the silver or give
it to another unit.
CLAIM 100
COMBAT [spell]
Set the given spell as the spell that the unit will cast in combat. This
order may only be given if the unit can cast the spell in question.
COMBAT "Super Spell"
CONSUME UNIT
CONSUME FACTION
CONSUME
The CONSUME order instructs the unit to use food items in preference
to silver for maintenance costs. CONSUME UNIT tells the unit to use
food items that are in that unit's possession before using silver.
CONSUME FACTION tells the unit to use any food items that the faction
owns (in the same region as the unit) before using silver. CONSUME
tells the unit to use silver before food items (this is the default).
CONSUME UNIT
DECLARE [faction] [attitude]
DECLARE [faction]
DECLARE DEFAULT [attitude]
The first form of the DECLARE order sets the attitude of your faction towards
the given faction. The second form cancels any attitude towards the given
faction (so your faction's attitude towards that faction will be its default
attitude). The third form sets your faction's default attitude.
DECLARE 15 hostile
DECLARE 15
DECLARE DEFAULT friendly
DESCRIBE UNIT [new description]
DESCRIBE SHIP [new description]
DESCRIBE BUILDING [new description]
Change the description of the unit, or of the object the unit is in (of which
the unit must be the owner). Descriptions can be of any length, up to the line
length your mailer can handle. If no description is given, the description
will be cleared out.
DESCRIBE UNIT "Merlin's helper"
DESTROY
Destroy the object you are in (of which you must be the owner). The order
cannot be used at sea.
DESTROY
ENTER [object]
Attempt to enter the specified object. If issued from inside another object,
the unit will first leave the object it is currently in. The order will only
work if the target object is unoccupied, or is owned by a unit in your faction,
or is owned by a unit which has declared you Friendly.
ENTER 114
ENTERTAIN
Spend the month entertaining the populace to earn money.
ENTERTAIN
FACTION [type] [points]...
Attempt to change your faction's type. In the order, you can specify
up to three faction types (WAR, TRADE, and MAGIC) and the number of
faction points to assign to each type; if you are assigning points
to only one or two types, you may omit the types that will not have
any points.
FACTION WAR 2 TRADE 2 MAGIC 1
FACTION MAGIC 5
FIND [faction]
Find the email address of the specified faction.
FIND 4
FORGET [skill]
Forget the given skill. This order is useful for normal
units who wish to learn a new skill, but already know a different skill.
FORGET Mining
FORM [alias]
Form a new unit. The newly created unit will be in your faction, in the same
region as the unit which formed it, and in the same structure if any. It will
start off, however, with no people or items; you should, in the same month,
issue orders to transfer people into the new unit, or have it recruit members.
The new unit will inherit its flags from the unit that forms it,
such as avoiding, behind, and autotax.
UNIT 17
FORM 1
NAME UNIT "Merlin's Guards"
BUY 5 Plainsmen
STUDY COMBAT
END
FORM 2
NAME UNIT "Merlin's Workers"
DESCRIBE UNIT "wearing dirty overalls and carrying shovels"
BUY 15 Plainsmen
END
CLAIM 2500
GIVE NEW 1 1000 silver
GIVE NEW 2 2000 silver
GIVE [unit] [quantity] [item]
GIVE [unit] UNIT
The first form of the GIVE order gives a quantity of an item to another unit.
The second form the the GIVE order gives the entire unit to the specified
unit's faction.
GIVE 4573 10 swords
GIVE FACTION 14 NEW 2 5 "Chain armor"
GIVE 75 UNIT
GUARD [flag]
GUARD 1 sets the unit issuing the order to prevent non-Friendly units from
collecting taxes in the region, and to prevent any units not your own from
pillaging the region. Guarding units will also attempt to prevent Unfriendly
units from entering the region. GUARD 0 cancels Guard status.
GUARD 1
HOLD [flag]
HOLD 1 instructs the issuing unit to never join a battle in regions the unit is
not it. This can be useful if the unit is in a building, and doesn't want to
leave the building to join combat. HOLD 0 cancels holding status.
HOLD 1
LEAVE
Leave the object you are currently in. The order cannot be used at sea.
LEAVE
MOVE [dir] ...
Attempt to move in the direction(s) specified. If more than one direction is
given, the unit will move multiple times, in the order specified by the MOVE
order, until no more directions are given, or until one of the moves fails. A
move can fail because the units runs out of movement points, because the unit
attempts to move into the ocean, or because the units attempts to enter a
structure, and is rejected.
MOVE N
MOVE NE IN
MOVE N NE IN
NAME UNIT [new name]
NAME FACTION [new name]
NAME OBJECT [new name]
Change the name of the unit, or of your faction, or of the object the unit is
in (of which the unit must be the owner). Names can be of any length, up to
the line length your mailer can handle. Names may not contain parentheses
(square brackets can be used instead if necessary), or any control characters.
NAME FACTION "The Merry Pranksters"
NOAID [flag]
NOAID 1 indicates that if the unit attacks, or is attacked,
it is not to be aided
by units in other hexes. NOAID status is very useful for scouts or
probing units, who do not wish to drag their nearby armies into battle
if they are caught. NOAID 0 cancels this.
NOAID 1
OPTION TIMES
OPTION NOTIMES
OPTION TEMPLATE OFF
OPTION TEMPLATE SHORT
OPTION TEMPLATE LONG
The OPTION order is used to toggle various settings that affect your
reports, and other email details.
OPTION TIMES sets it so that your faction receives the times
each week (this is the default); OPTION NOTIMES sets it so that your faction
is not sent the times.
PASSWORD [password]
PASSWORD
The PASSWORD order is used to set your faction's password. If you have a
password set, you must specify it on your #ATLANTIS line for the game to
accept your orders. This protects you orders from being overwritten, either
by accident or intentionally by other players. PASSWORD with no password
given clears out your faction's password.
PASSWORD xyzzy
PILLAGE
Use force to extort as much money as possible from the region. Note that
the TAX order and PILLAGE order are mutually
exclusive; a unit may only attempt to do one in a turn.
PRODUCE [item]
Spend the month producing as much as possible of the specified item.
PRODUCE crossbows
PROMOTE [unit]
Promote the specified unit to owner of the object of which you are currently
the owner. The target unit must have declared you Friendly.
PROMOTE 415
QUIT [password]
Quit the game. On issuing this order, your faction will be completely and
permanently destroyed. Note that you must give your password for the quit
order to work; this is to provide some safety against accidentally issuing
this order.
RESTART [password]
Similar to the QUIT order, this order will completely
and permanently destroy your faction. However, it will begin a brand new
faction for you (you will get a separate turn report for the new
faction). Note that you must give your password for this order to work,
to provide some protection against accidentally issuing this order.
REVEAL
REVEAL UNIT
REVEAL FACTION
Cause the unit to either show itself (REVEAL UNIT), or show itself and its
faction affiliation (REVEAL FACTION), in the turn report, to all other factions
in the region. Used to reveal high stealth scouts, should there be some reason
to. REVEAL is used to cancel this.
REVEAL UNIT
REVEAL FACTION
REVEAL
SAIL [dir] ...
SAIL
The first form will sail the ship, which the unit must be the owner of, in the
directions given. The second form will cause the unit to aid in the sailing
of the ship, using the Sailing skill. See the section on movement for more
information on the mechanics of sailing.
SAIL N NW
SAIL N
SAIL NW
SELL [quantity] [item]
Attempt to sell the amount given of the item given. If the unit does not have
as many of the item as it is trying to sell, it will attempt to sell all that
it has. If more of the item are on sale (by all the units in the region) than
are wanted by the region, the number sold per unit will be split up in
proportion to the number each unit tried to sell.
SELL 10 furs
SHOW SKILL [skill] [level]
SHOW ITEM [item]
The first form of the order shows the skill description for a skill
that your faction already possesses. The second form returns some
information about an item that is not otherwise apparent on a
report, such as the weight.
SHOW SKILL Mining 3
SHOW ITEM Iron
STEAL [unit] [item]
Attempt to steal as much as possible of the specified item from the specified
unit. The order may only be issued by a one-man unit.
STEAL 123 SILVER
STEAL 321 wood
STUDY [skill]
Spend the month studying the specified skill.
STUDY "Horse Training"
TAX
Attempt to collect taxes from the region. Only War factions may collect taxes,
and then only if there are no non-Friendly units on guard. Only
combat-ready units may issue this order. Note that the TAX order and the
PILLAGE order are mutually exclusive; a unit
may only attempt to do one in a turn.
TAX
TEACH [unit] ...
Attempt to teach the specified units whatever skill they are studying that
month. A list of several units may be specified. All units to be taught must
have declared you Friendly. Subsequent TEACH orders can be used to add units
to be taught. Thus:
TEACH 1
TEACH 2
TEACH 1 2
TEACH NEW 2 5
WORK
Spend the month performing manual work for wages.
Sequence of Events
Each turn, the following sequence of events occurs:
Where there is no other basis for deciding in which order units will be
processed within a phase, units that appear higher on the report get
precedence.
Report Format
The most important sections of the turn report are the "Events During Turn"
section which lists what happened last month, and the "Current Status" section
which gives the description of each region in which you have units.
Hints for New Players
Make sure to use the correct #ATLANTIS and UNIT lines in your orders.