Category : BBS Programs+Doors
Archive   : EXCALDMO.ZIP
Filename : INSTRUCT.EXC

WELCOME TO THE KINGDOM OF EXCALIBUR!

Conceived and writted by Rick and Jami Chism of

THE PITS BBS
(919) 362-8053
Apex, North Carolina

for WWIV Bulletin Board Systems
(special thanks to Wayne Bell, author of WWIV)
*

The game of EXCALIBUR! is played on a grid 26 spaces across by ten deep,
lettered A-Z across the top and 0-9 from top to bottom. Upon your initial
entry into EXCALIBUR you are placed in the city of Camelot. There are many
other cities on the board, but only in Camelot can you purchase knights,
potions, and information, or go jousting for gold. Here also you may visit
the Royal Vaults to deposit or withdraw your gold, and you may check on your
status or rank other players according to their wealth. When you are strong
enough you may choose to challenge the ruling player to a war, and if you win,
you will become the new ruler, which will give you top billing and will allow
you to joust for free and to wreak general havoc amongst those who are getting
too big for their noble britches!
When you start, you will be given 20 knights and 300 gold coins, 200 of
which will be in your purse and the remaining 100 will be placed in the royal
vaults. The best thing to do to start with is find your way around the options
in the main menu, which is the one you see while you are in Camelot.
*
After you have become acquainted with Camelot, you should go on a Quest
to explore the countryside. There are several types of terrains including
deserts, mountains, forests, plains, and swamps, which are beset with various
dangers that are best left for you to discover. There are also cities, which
you can capture. Each new day, the citizens of the cities which you own will
pay you a tax, which you may collect by revisiting the town. The more cities
you own, the more taxes you collect. More information will be available if
you respond with the A command from the quest menu. As you explore the
kingdom, your map will become revealed to you a square at a time.
BE CAREFUL! Only in Camelot are you safe from being captured by your oppo-
nents. If you are caught afield, you can be challenged to battle, and if you
are defeated, your purse and potions will be taken, and you will be held for
ransom, which means that all the gold you have in the vault will be turned
over to your captor, and you will be returned to Camelot penniless, although
you will not have lost any of your cities, except perhaps the one in which
you were captured, if that was the case.
*
You have twenty moves per day. You are charged a move every time you travel
or send out a scout or attempt to do battle. Sometimes, if the country is
rugged or a scout is delayed, you can be assessed two moves. If you find
yourself unable to return to Camelot, you can try to hide in a city owned by
one of your opponents, but if anyone suspects you are there, they can search
for you by spending an appropriate amount of cash and moves.
A potion will take you to any spot on the board. A potion is required for
you and one for each knight you take with you, so it can get expensive. You
cannot take a potion from within a city, but you CAN transport TO a city with
them. If you potion away from a spot and do not take all your retinue with
you, they may be picked up by the next player to pass by.
*
Your RETINUE consists of the knights which accompany you as you explore the
kingdom. They are the ones which you will use to battle for you. When you
capture a city, you will leave some of your retinue behind as GUARDS to insure
that the taxes are collected. You will pay your retinue ten gold coins apiece
per day, but your guards will be paid out of the city taxes. Therefore, the
more guards you leave in a city, the less tax you collect. However, the fewer
you leave, the easier it is to have a city taken from you. You may leave up
to 32,767 guards in a city without paying a cent in wages, but of course you
would long since have stopped having any taxes left over to collect from that
city.
Each new day you will collect a stipend of 200 gold coins. You will also
receive a report on which cities you own and how much taxes are available for
you to collect. You will also be assessed a tax which is dependent upon the
size of the royal guard, since the players provide their wages. The tax is
a percentage of your wealth in gold, both in the vault and in your purse. You
will also be required to pay for any knights that are in your retinue, at a
rate of ten gold coins apiece.
*
You are allowed to joust up to twelve times per day, or until you have lost
five times in succession, whichever comes first. Jousts cost 25 gold coins
to challenge, but may pay up to 1000 gold coins depending upon the prowess of
your opponent. Of course, the better your opponent, the more likely you are
to be defeated.
That's enough for now. Further help is avaliable using the A command from
either the Camelot menu or the Quest menu. Good luck, and enjoy!

Rick Chism