The intent here is to answer game mechanics, or background questions wihout giving away too many of the surprises in the game. Strategy is fine, but too many spoilers are not.
Thanks,
Bruce.
***
A proto-Faq for The King of Dragon Pass
[Notice of copyrights, web sites goes here.]
+---+ ___
| | / _ \ | | / \ | | | | / / +---+ \__/
Q
How do I see my tula's bounaries?
A
On the exploration (map) screen, press 'm'.
Q
Easter Eggs?
A
On the first screen of the game, press 'o' (for Opal, the game's
code name during development). To quote David Dunham, the
producer: "All the starting advisors are from the development team,
others are among the available leaders, and one other makes an
appearance within a few seasons." [I've never been able to get this
to work; just what is supposed to happen? If I press 'o' on the
opening screen, the tutorial starts.]
Q
How do I make a screen shot? I'd like to frame a picture of my new
King's Stead!
A
Yes, you can satisfy your royal decorating urges.
Q.
Help! I don't know how to form a tribe! What ever will I do?
A.
There is something specific you must do. Seek the will of the sky.
Read your manual.
[Short Game]
Q
How long do I have to hold the king/queenship to win?
A
Ten years. Consecutive years. Ten golden years.
[Long Game]
Q.
I've done seven heroquests after forming a tribe, but nothing new is
happening! What's wrong?
A.
It does take several years for the plot to work out. Maybe you just
need to wait a few seasons. Also, have you done seven different
heroquests? Your magician will tell you. You also must complete
the heroquest for your chief god/ess (Olanth and Aroka, Ernalda
Feeds the Tribe or Elmal Guards the Stead). When you meet the
blind seer prophecying a marriage to a feathered queen, you are on
the right track. The plot takes decades to play out.
Q.
I've been told that my king must meet someone. How do I do this?
A.
Don't worry. Everything will happen in the fullness of Time.
Q.
I've been told I must complete three tasks. What do I do?
A.
Save your game. Other than that, just wait for events to unfold.
" "
" "
=#=#= Trade, Money and Diplomacy
" "
" "
Q
What are the exchange rates of commodities?
A
The basic relationship appears to be:
1 horse = 4 cows 1 good = 1 cow (although cows seem to be more desirable) 2 food = 1 cow
Barganing skill greatly affects trading, as do several blessings. Heroquests can also make [your? all?] cows more valuble or generally improve trade negotiations.
Q
What is a small/average/enormous gift to another clan?
A
As a basic rue of thumb, 10 cows is miserly, 20 is customary, 30
cows is generous. Again, this is highly dependent on relative
strengths of your clan and the other, your leader's skill, active
blessings, treasures and heroquests. Note that treasures, even
"worthless" ones, are highly thought of.
Q.
I'm running out of money! Where shall I go? What ever shall I do?
A.
The most dependable souce of goods are your crafters and market.
Emphasize Issaries, increase the number of your trade routes. Do
this and you'll never be hungry again. Trade missions can help, but
later in the game you do need to send a lot of them to make a
difference. Exploring can help a lot at the beginning of the game.
Q
Clan X hates my guts! What can I do?
A
Well, that's what you get for raiding them last Storm. Several gifts
may be necessary. Several blessings, particularly those of Issaries
and Lhankor My could help. The course of events often brings
opportunities. Be generous in victory. If you are really desparate,
remember that everyone listens to the Gods, especially, Issaries
and Chalana Arroy.
Q
Everyone hates my guts! Help!
A
There are several approaches to this, depending on your clan's
orientation. You can dig in and trust in the powers of the terrible
and grim or you can travel the path of the trader and the sage. In
dire straits, don't forget the wisdom of the cows: even the angriest
male will ever follow.
_
/ \
\_ Exploration
\_/ \
/
Q.
I keep losing parties! Help!
A.
Exploring Dragon Pass for Farmers:
Q.
What should I explore?
A.
Your Tula. Bit by bit, push back the boundaries of what you know.
Your tula. The gods will sometimes have destinations in mind.
Also, your tula. Re-exploring areas, particularly named ones is
often very fruitful. Finally, remember to explore your tula.
|\ | > |/ Magic |\ | \
Q.
What's a good size for a sacrifice?
A.
Listen to your ring! Your magician may have a suggestion or two.
Seven cows or goods would be a good start.
Q.
I'm spending a lot on sacrifies but not getting any result. What's
wrong?
A.
All gods are not the same. Read their myths to know them.
Bloodthirsty ones like, well, blood, but peaceful ones prefer shiny
things. I'm personally convinced that the grey sage is a greedy old
bugger too.
Q.
How do blessings work?
A.
Blessings take effect immediately. If you've sacrificed directly, it
lasts five seasons, a full year. A temple blessing lasts indefinitely.
Q.
How does Maran Gor's blessing work?
A.
The terrible hag of the dark earth cares only about blood. The more
people (or trolls) that die on your fields, the better your crops will be
the next Earth season.
Q.
I can't build any more temples! I don't have enough worshippers.
How do I solve this?
A.
Focus your worship. Choose the blessings you want and destroy
or reduce the temples you don't need. Take in more clansfolk.
Make more allies and trading partners. Form a tribe.
Q.
I can't build more than a shrine to my favorite God! What's going
on?
A.
First, check that you have enough trade goods. Shrines cost 10
goods, Temples [40?--check], Great Temples, 100. If you don't
have enough dosh, you won't get the build button.
Also, some Gods are better than other Gods. That is, many Gods only can have a shrine, some a temple and some a great temple. The list is:
Shrine: Ancestors, Barntar, Maran Gor, Odayla, Vinga Temple: Chalana Arroy, Lhankor My, Uralda, Urox Great Temple: Ernalda, Humakt, Issaries, Elmal, Orlanth Note that there are also some Gods and spirits which can be found during play. These entities can only ever have a shrine built for them.
Note that there have been reports of limits to building beyond these restrictions. It is unclear if this is a bug or one of the conditions above.
Q.
I'm having trouble doing heroquests. What should I do?
A.
Learn HeroQuesting in just 21 Days!
Q.
One of my ring says that I've performed so many heroquests, but I
know I've done many more. What gives?
A.
Your magician is counting the number of *different* heroquests you
have done. Doing the same one over and over does not count (for
the victory conditions).
+
< >
X The clan and family
/ \
/ \
Q.
Who is...
A. ...my chief:The person in the left-most slot with the torc glyph. Duh. ...my warleader: The ring-member with the highest combat score. ...my lawspeaker: Ditto, for custom. ...my best poet: The ring member with the highest average leadership and custom. ...my king: The noble with the W glyph on their picture. You know, the clown you spent all those cows on at the last moot. Note that they don't have to be on your ring.
Q.
How do I get new nobles?
A.
Wait for your old ones to die; youngsters will be along in a season
or two. Note that only deaths due to old age have this effect. Also,
if the omens say that children born in a year will have great
destinies, it appears that the children of that year produce more
nobles (so spend points on children during sacred time). There is a
treasure that can help. Finally, an event can bring you a babe with
Heroic potential.
Q.
How do I get a noble of [deity]?
A.
This seems to be entirely a matter of luck. The game start is
entirely random. You can have a wide variety of (the wrong)
worshipers. Nobles appearing during the game also appear to be
chosen randomly.
Q.
The farmers/weponthanes hate me! Help!
A.
Solve the immediate problem by gifting or feasting. In the longer
term, watch your play. Farmers like peace and cows,
weaponthanes like to prove their valour. No one likes losing battles.
Q.
Kids, don't have enough! The clan is dying!
A.
Your casualty rate is higher than your growth rate. Stop fighting if
possible, or fight more defensively. Recruit more farmers, take in
strays, as they come your way. Seek the blessings of Orlanth's
mother and wife and of the gentle white lady. Sacrifice magic for
children at sacred time. Add more mothers and healers to your
ring.
Q.
Kids, got way too many! The tula is bursting at the seams!
A.
Make sure you can feed everyone. Barntar, Yinkin, Orlanth and
Elmal can help, but Ernalda and Uralda are the most important.
Engage in some costly wars, perhaps in Asia. Worship death.
Wait for the kids to grow up.
_____ _____ \\ // | \|/ Herds and | Agriculture + \ /
Q.
I'm running out of sheep! What to do?
A.
You've got more temples than your clan can support. Reduce their
number. Send your best traders out with large missions; they'll
trade for sheep on the side. Cattle raids often get sheep,
particularly if you're low. Spend magic on herds. Put a good
Uraldan on the ring. Never slaughter sheep for food.
Q.
On the picture of the tula (shown at sacred time), when moving the
mouse over the cows/sheep, the message that they are
overcrowded and malnourished appeared. The herder on the ring
said they have enough land. What's going on?
A.
It appears your herder tells you the bare minimum on which the
herds can survive. For them to thrive, you need to have a bit extra
pasturage. A quarter again the recommended pasturage (125%)
seems to work.
|
-=+=-
| War & Death | |
Q.
Neighbours keep sneaking onto my tula without my seeing them.
what can I do?
A.
Build a watchtower. Clear more land. Make sure that your
weaponthanes aren't slacking off. After missions, they will reduce
their patrols, the lazy bums. Check the raid screen after every raid
or mission to reset the patrol levels.
Q.
Can I seize land from a clan that is not a neighbour?
A.
No, but if you seize all of a neighbour's lands, you get new
neighbours...
W W
W W
W w W Mastering The Game
W W W
WWWWW
Avast Ye Swabs! Spoilers Ahoy!
Read past this point at your own peril!
Q.
Which shrines should I build?
A.
This varies so widely with play style that it impossible to give one
answer. However, most agree that building a Barntar shrine (with
either of Vigour or Plowsong) is important. Chalana Arroy is critical
too, for both healing and curing. Finally, having at least a shrine to
Uralda with Calf Blessing is also very important to long term
survival.
Later in the game, either Humakt and Maran Gor or Issaries and Lhankor My will become very important.
Q.
What effects do the various traditional enemies have?
A.
Trolls: There are several families of Dark Men in Dragon Pass,
which the game tracks just as it does the other clans. They are all your enemies. Also, there is one area of the map you should definitely avoid. Several treasures can greatly help you. I think that one treasure, in particular, will only appear in a troll-enemy game [the iron spike].
Elves: The Aldryami are phantoms, never coming to grips with
your forces. Guerillas in the mists that wreathing the Quivin. Be careful of your boundaries.
The Winter Tribe of Valind: Winter storms are fierce, but you can
win luck fighting them. You also can get tribal magic by raiding during Dark Season, but 'ware lest ye fail. This is possibly the easiest choice for a beginner.
Basmoli Beastmen: You will shortly find some unfriendly
neighbours with some very powerful friends. They may look comical, but beware, beware the Deadly Ducks of Death! There is an area of the map you should stay away from also.
Tada the Green: The nomads of eastern Prax will harry your
steads, much like the horsepeople of the west. You can take the fight to them, but they have strong magic which can scour your tula and kill ring members. Towards the end of the long game, great help can come from humble beginnings. [Do you piss off the Uroxi too? Not sure.]
The Salty Sea: Floods, wiping out crops and drowning your people
and herds will be a constant problem.
Q.
OK, spoil me. Where should we explore first?
A.
The Quivin mountains are quite nice, as are the Dragonewt wilds. A
first visit to the utter west can also be very profitable but is
extremely dangerous. Don't forget your own tula too.
Q.
What does that crazy reptile want with its questions about what we
think is important?
A.
What happens after he leaves? The gift will eventually lead to an
important choice. Think well on your answer to its question and
you will be mightily rewarded. The reptile is a magisaur by the way,
not a 'newt.
[end of file]
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