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ETERNAL ROME 16th May, 1991 Written and copyright by Sven Hartrumpf MXMI Documentation Table of contents Introduction 1 I. Fundamentals 3 II. Taxation Phase 6 III. Naval Phase 8 IV. Land Movement Phase 10 V. Land Combat Phase 11 VI. Siege Phase 12 Introduction Eternal Rome is an extremely complex strategic game which simulates the most important and interesting periods of the Roman empire in numerous independent scenarios. It includes military, diplomatic, political, economic, social factors and problems. My main intention was to write a simulation which is very realistic and historically accurate and at the same time easy and fast to play. This simulation allows interested people to become familiar with a distant period of history which our modern culture and civilization owes most of its fundamentals. Most scenarios can be played by two players. The game is also well designed for solitaire play and historical and strategic studies. As almost all games of this kind, the more players are involved the more interesting and entertaining the play will be. But I also created for all scenarios, which are normally played by 3, 4 or even 5 players, one or more versions for less players. Therefore hobby-strategists, historically interested people and all human beings that enjoy the inspiring and entertaining play with others may have found "their" game. - 2 - There are two versions of ETERNAL ROME: a tryware version 1.x and a professional version 2.x. The tryware version may be freely distributed as long as the original program is always accompanied by this original documentation. I would like to see it in every disk series, which is really PD. The tryware version has no disk operations. So you can not save nor load scenarios. You should use it to decide whether it is worth buying the professional version or not. In the tryware version you can only play the two player scenario "Octavius and Antonius". If you enjoy playing the tryware version, you can buy the complete professional version. The professional version is not freeware and may not be distributed freely. Doing so is both illegal and immoral. If you order the professional version you will become a registered user. The professional version includes 5 scenarios. You can also buy two scenario disks (Alpha and Beta) each of them containing 10 new scenarios. Most scenarios are delivered in several versions for different numbers of players. You can NOT buy scenario disks if you are not a registered user of ETERNAL ROME. Currency USA ($) GB (£) Germany (DM) Product Eternal Rome 2.0, 39,00 22,00 59,00 professional version Scenario disk Alpha 19,00 11,00 29,00 Scenario disk Beta 19,00 11,00 29,00 Eternal Rome 2.0 66,00 38,00 99,00 including Scenario disks Alpha and Beta (you save 11,00 6,00 18,00) I must always add for 6,00 3,00 6,00 postage, packing etc Send the money, your comments and suggestions to: S. Hartrumpf Die Rappenwiesen 41 b 6380 Bad Homburg GERMANY NO WARRANTY I WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST MONIES, OR OTHER SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE ETERNAL ROME (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAM). - 3 - I. Fundamentals You can start the game without any arguments (EternalRome, stack size must be at least 20000 bytes), but you can also add three parameters from your CLI/SHELL. The first contains the width, the second the height of the used window in pixels. If the third (optional) parameter is 'i' the interlace mode will be used. If no parameters are given the main window has the minimal size of 640*200 non-interlaced pixels. I recommend a size of 730*280 for all who use a PAL Amiga (maybe you have to change the preferences for the left top edge of screens). At first I will describe the basic control elements of the computer simulation. Eternal Rome uses an flexible information system which is based on windows. You can comfortably control the simulation during all phases using the mouse (except if you want to enter a new file name to save a scenario). If you click on a hexagon (in the following I will just use the common abbreviation hex/hexes), an information window is opened which tells you all about this hex. Since the intelligence of a player into the military affairs of his enemies is strictly limited to hexes where both have units or both have fleets, you will be informed about the position of an enemy unit but not about its strength. By mutual agreement this restriction can be disabled by using the 'Intelligence'-item in the 'Options'-menu. Every information window can be closed by clicking on the close gadget at the left top edge. If a window waits for further input or output, it can not be closed. If you close the map window, a requester asks you if you really want to quit. If you affirm, the simulation immediately ends. You can close all information windows by selecting the 'Clear display' menu item in the 'Utilities'-menu. Information text is normally printed in white. But in most windows there is also text in blue. If you click on this you receive information concerning the subject the text represents. You will soon understand this very tricky information system. After starting the game you see a geographical map which contains all regions of Europe, Asia and Africa which ever belonged to the Roman Empire (Imperium Romanum) and all regions of its most threatening enemies. The title line displays important information in the following order: the name of the current phase, the name of the power which is to play, the current date and the status of communication. If a '*' precedes the date, it is winter time and movement costs are higher than normal. There are some provinces where winters are so warm that they do not make movements more difficult. From May to October it is always summer, from December to March it is always winter, April and November may be summer or winter months (computer determines whether it is winter or summer by using a random generator). The last information in the title line (status of communication) is very important as the computer displays here what it is waiting for, e.g.: If the status is "Select two fleets", the computer is waiting for the user to open an information window about the fleet the user wants to select (if not already opened) and to activate this window by clicking into it (avoid to click on text printed in blue because you will receive information you probably do not want). Activated and unactivated windows are distinguished by intuition as follows: an activated window has a normal (i.e. easily readable) title line, while the title line of an unactivated window is 'ghosted'. But let's return to the example given. If you select a fleet, the status text will change to 'Select one fleet' and you have to select a second fleet as described above. - 4 - You can always quit an action and clear the status text in the window title by selecting the 'Quit action' item of the 'Utilities' menu. The computer will not change the status text, although you have selected an object of the requested type, if the selected object can not be used for the current operation. In most cases you will immediately understand why your input is not accepted (e.g. it is quite reasonable that the computer does not let you change the position or composition of enemy armies or fleets and things like that), but in some cases you will have to take a look at this documentation in order to understand it. The computer always tries to reject inputs which make no sense or are not allowed. The map is divided into provinces. The borders between provinces are painted in white. Every province consists of several hexes. A hex has an average width of 70 km. The colour and sometimes also the pattern of the hex show the dominating type of terrain. To identify the different terrains, take a look at the following table: Colour Terrain Colour Terrain white clear brown wild, mountainous green forest blue coast dark green marsh dark blue deep sea yellow desert The first five types can only be entered by land whereas the last two can only be entered by sea. But there are also mixed hexes since the coast line of the Mediterranean is far from being a hexagonical one. Mixed hexes are horizontally striped using the bright blue (representing shallow water) and the colour of the predominating type of terrain. Principally you can move from every hex in six directions. But if you move by sea the hex must be passable by sea, and if you move by land the hex must be passable by land. As all rules you should know this rule but never mind if you forget it, because the computer will never allow anyone to break a rule. Therefore the computer will help you to avoid great problems and disputes due to ignoring rules (un)intentionally. There are some paths between hexes which should be passable according to this general rule but which are not. The border between hexes where no path between them exists is painted in black. In most cases they represent mountains which can not be passed by an army. Between some hexes which represent land and sea there is no path, because they are not connected by land or by sea directly. The map does not mark paths which are not passable by sea. You can not enter provinces which are assigned to no power at the beginning of the scenario. There are seven straits which can be passed without using fleets at an additional cost: the Bosporus and the Hellespont for 4, the Straits of Gibraltar for 12, the English Channel for 16, the Strait of Messina for 4, the Gulf of Patras for 8 and the strait between the Black Sea and the Asowian Sea for 4 additional points. You can change the position and the scale of the map by using the three proportional gadgets at the right and at the bottom of the map window. The right vertical gadget moves the visible part of the map up (north) and down (south), the upper horizontal gadget moves it to the left (west) and to the right (east). The lower horizontal gadget changes the scale of the map. If you move the knob to the left, the hexes become smaller (zoom out), if you move to the right the hexes, become bigger (zoom in). The computer always zooms relatively to the middle of the map. - 5 - The map shows the names (or the beginning of the names) of the most important cities (at the most one per hex; if the name of a city changed during the covered period of time (e.g. Byzantium - Constantinopolis), the most famous ancient name is used). Most provinces have several cities and one capital city. The names of capitals are capitalized. The existence and importance of a city can change from one scenario to another. This reflects the historical development in the ancient urban life which was one of the main aspects of the Roman empire. Therefore the possession of a province depends upon the possession of its cities. A power controls a province as long as it controls its capital. A power gains control of a province if it controls the capital and at least one half of the remaining cities. I mentioned the term "power" in the last paragraph - here is the explanation: A power is a political fraction which is simulated in a scenario. A power can control cities and provinces, move and recruit land units and fleets, tax provinces and do much more described below. Each player controls one or more powers and tries to succeed in fulfilling the victory conditions, which you can read if you select the 'Victory info' item in the 'Diplomacy' menu. The computer also reports in this info window which conditions are fulfilled and which are not. There are seven different types of powers depending upon whether it is a major or minor, a civilized or a barbarian, a neutral or a client state: 1. Roman power (always a major and civilized power) 2. Major civilized power (but not a Roman one) 3. Major barbarian power 4. Minor civilized neutral power 5. Minor barbarian neutral power 6. Minor civilized client state 7. Minor barbarian client state Major powers always have their own game turn while minor powers never have. If a player controls more than one major power in a scenario, this is mentioned in the introduction to the scenario ('About scenario' in the 'Utilities' menu) and/or the victory conditions info (see below) mentions conditions for more than one major power and how many powers must fulfil their victory conditions. If players declare themselves to be allied, all allied players have only one game turn during the last occuring game turn of the allied players. Minor powers can be active or inactive client states or active or inactive neutrals. If a minor power is a client state, the power which is its patron (always a major power) does all actions for it during its own game turn. Units of the patron power may move through the provinces of the client state and in combat they are considered to be allied. But a major power normally does not receive taxes from the provinces of its client states. If the client state is inactive, its troops may neither move nor attack. An inactive power (neutral or client state) always becomes active, if it is invaded by an enemy. An inactive neutral does not influence the game, until it is activated. Then it is controlled by the power whose interests are at least connected with those of the neutral state. This power is the major power whose provinces and land units are farthest from those of the neutral state. Each month during the tax phase the controlling power is determined by the computer. - 6 - Each power can control units. One unit is a certain number of soldiers of one type. There are eleven types of units: Name Land Sea Mov. Sta. Number Legion I 24 12 20 4 (4000) strength values Legion II 20 10 20 4 (4000) for legions are Legion III 16 8 20 4 (4000) halved after 290 A.D. Civilized Infantry I 20 10 18 4 (4000) Civilized Infantry II 16 8 18 4 (4000) Barbarian Infantry 20 10 16 4 (4000) Light Infantry 4 4 24 1 (1200) Archers 4 4 24 1 (1200) Heavy Cavalry 30 0 32 8 (1000 + 1000 horses) Light Cavalry 6 0 32 2 (1500 + 1500 horses) Horse Archers 6 0 32 2 (1500 + 1500 horses) Leader 32 0 The person of the leader and his staff. The numbers following the name of the unit type represent its strength on land, strength at sea, movement allowance and its stacking value (indicates the amount of place the unit needs - important for transporting on fleets). One army is a number of units which do all actions together. An army can be accompanied by one or more leaders. Each leader has a quality value for land movement and combat and a quality value for sea movement and combat. Both values are often equal but in some special cases of extraordinary abilities at sea or on land (e.g. Agrippa) they differ. The quality values are important for combat and interception. One fleet unit is an unit of 50 single ships. Fleet units can be stacked together to one fleet and then can be commanded as one unit. Every fleet can transport one army. II. Taxation Phase This phase is the very first phase in every month. At first the activation conditions for inactive neutral powers (use 'Activation info' item in the 'Diplomacy' menu to read them) are checked. In some cases you have to roll a die: you can roll a real die and enter the result by clicking on the rolled number or you can click on 'R' (for 'Random') and have the computer use a random generator to produce a number between 1 and 6. If the minor power activates, the control over it will be assigned to the power mentioned in the power info or to the farthest power. You can determine the farthest power (exact definition: see I.) by selecting the 'Farthest power' item in the 'Diplomacy' menu. The controlling power must dislocate the units for the power it controls by selecting 'Set up units' in the 'Army' menu. Then he must select one hex within the activated power's provinces where units should be placed. Using a special window (described below in chapter III.) the controller can select which units are placed in this hex. The controlling player repeats this procedure until all units are set up. During the taxation phase all civilized major powers receive taxes from their provinces. The tax incomes are displayed in an information window. Every power has its own taxation phase before the first power plays the remaining phases. The taxes are collected in the treasury. The tax value of a province changes from scenario to scenario reflecting the historical change of wealth of provinces. - 7 - During the taxation phase every power can also mobilize new units and fleets in its provinces. You can only mobilize two units and two fleets per hex. If the mobilizing power is civilized and controlled cities at the beginning of the game, it can only recruit units in unbesieged friendly cities. Fleets can obviously only be built in ports. Their construction takes three months. If the owner of the port where the fleets are built changes during the construction, so does the owner of the new fleets. To recruit units ('Recruit units' item in the 'Army' menu) in a hex first click on this hex, then click on the names of the unit types to be recruited. New units have only one half of the strength of old, seasoned units, but they can be seasoned after land combat. There are three ways of recruiting units: a) By expending talents If the scenario assigns to the mobilizing power this way of recruiting (used by Roman powers), the power must expend as many talents as printed in the mobilization windows. The number of new units of each unit type which can be recruited in a province per year is limited. These limits are shown in the mobilization window and in information windows about provinces. b) By expending talents and replacement points Using this way (often used by non-Roman civilized states) in addition to a) the power must expend as many replacement points as the stacking value of the unit type. A power receives every tax phase as many replacement points as the replacement rate in the power info indicates. c) By expending replacement points Using this way (used by minor and barbarian powers) the power need not expend talents. In addition to b) it can only rebuild eliminated units and only receives replacement points if there are units to rebuild. During the tax phase each power can transfer talents to allied powers by selecting the 'Transfer talents' item in the 'Diplomacy' menu. Then you must select the power, from whose treasury the talents should be subtracted, and the power, to whose treasury the talents should be added. The number of talents are determined by using a proportional gadget. Allied powers attack and defend together and can accept siege in every allied city or anchor in every allied port. An alliance is declared by selecting the 'Declare alliance' item in the 'Diplomay' menu. Then you have to select two major powers which want to declare an alliance. An alliance always includes the client states (if any) of the major powers. During the tax phase an alliance can be terminated by every allied major power and the old type of relationship (in most cases not friendly) is restored. - 8 - III. Naval Phase During the naval phase all actions concerning fleets are allowed. Only in this phase information windows about fleets are extended by six rectangles which contain the numbers of the hexes which are adjacent to the hex where the fleet is at the momemt. If the number is printed in blue the fleet can be ordered to move in this hex by clicking on this gadget, if printed in white it can not, because both hexes are not connected by sea. If a fleet moves it must expend movement points. In information windows about hexes the number of movement points, which must be expended to move from this hex in a possible direction, follow the name of terrain. If there are two lists of numbers, the first is for land, the second for naval movement. A fleet can use 30 movement points per month. During winter naval movement costs are doubled. To move longer distances using the shortest way (measured in movement points) you can use the 'Distance' menu: First select the right menu item ('By sea at winter time' or 'By sea at summer time'). You now have to select at least two hexes. If you do not want to select any more hexes, just click again into the last selected hex window or select the 'Quit action' item in the 'Utilities' menu. Only in the first case the user can immediately select a fleet which follows the calculated track if possible. In a special window the minimum number of movement points which are needed to move from one hex to the next will be displayed below the numbers of these hexes. If no connection exists a dash is displayed. At the right you always see the total amount of movement points which are needed to move from the very first hex to the very last. So you can describe a way by selecting two or more hexes. The determined way is marked in the map with '*'. If you enable the 'Show path' option in the 'Options' menu, the path will be displayed after every redrawing of the map. If the computer has successfully calculated a connection between two hexes, you can use this connection by selecting the 'Follow track' item in the 'Distance' menu. If the season of computation is equal to that of reality, you can select a fleet which has enough movement points to go the determined distance. This fleet must not be blockaded. A fleet is blockaded, if it is in a blockaded port, i.e. there are more enemy fleets besieging the port than besieged fleets in the port. A fleet can not enter nor leave a blockaded port. One fleet unit can transport units up to a stacking value of 4 points. You can embark units on a fleet by selecting the 'Embark units' item in the 'Fleet' menu and selecting the fleet which is to carry units. Then you see a box in which armies of the same power and in the same hex as the selected fleet are displayed. You can select one by clicking on it. Then a window is displayed in which you can move units from land to the fleet (and vice versa) by moving the proportional gadgets to the right (or left). If you want to move a leader from one side to the other, you must click on his name. The strength values of each army (strength on land/strength at sea/stacking value is the standard order of strength values) are shown in the first line and are changed if you move units. There are many situations which require a very similar input. If during embarking the colour of the strength values of the embarked army turns from green to white, the fleet carrying the army is overloaded and you have to correct this error by moving units back to the other side. If you click on 'OK' the changes will be valid, if you click on 'Quit' they will not. If you embark in a hex which contains a friendly unblockaded port, the computer considers the fleet to embark in this port for 2 instead of 6 movement points. - 9 - You can disembark units in a friendly port, even if it is besieged unless it is blockaded, for 2 movement points ('Disembark to port') or disembark at the coast for 6 movement points ('Disembark units'). If the coast hex used for disembarking is not a friendly one, you need a leader who has a naval quality value of 2 on the fleet, as invading an enemy province by sea is very difficult. Since only some leaders in few scenarios have a quality value of 2, you can extend this rule to leaders which have a naval quality value of 1 ('Amphibic invasion' item in the 'Options' menu) in order to make the simulation faster and more interesting. The movement allowance of the disembarked army for the current month is reduced in proportion to the expended movement points of the fleet, e.g.: if the fleet uses 12 out of 30 movement points, the normal movement allowance of an army consisting of legions (20) will be reduced by (12/30)*20=8 to 12. A fleet needs enough movement points to embark, disembark or move. A fleet can be splitted ('Split fleet'), or units/fleets can be exchanged between two fleets, which belong to the same player, are in the same hex and have the same status, ('Exchange fleets') or all fleets, which belong to the same player, are in the same hex and have the same status, can be stacked together ('Concentrate'). But you can never overload a fleet. Every fleet must anchor in a port at the end of every second month. If a fleet does not fulfil this condition, it is considered to be drowned. If a fleet is reduced, so are the embarked units down to the stacking value the remaining fleet can carry. A fleet besieging a port ('Lay siege' item in the 'Fleet' menu) need not meet this condition. If at the end of the siege phase a fleet is in a hex containing a friendly unbesieged port, it will anchor in this port. A fleet can attack an enemy fleet ('Attack fleet' item in the 'Fleet' menu). The attacker must select the attacking and the defending fleet. The calculation of the strength values is printed in a special window. The quality value (the naval one) of the best attacking leader is added to one die-roll, while the quality value of the best defending leader is subtracted from it. Therefore it would not be bad for the attacking power, if it rolls a high number. As the morale of the soldiers is very important, 1 is added/subtracted for each 50 points of difference in the morale value. I will not present the algorithm for calculating the result of battles, because you should experience the conditions under which you can risk a decisive battle. The power which lost more fleets than its enemy is the loser and has to retreat to a friendly unblockaded port, which is not more than 10 movement points away from the hex where naval combat occurred. Possible ports are presented to the loser's choice. If there is no possibility to retreat, the losing force must lose an additional fleet and remains in the hex where it was beaten. A fleet can engage in naval combat only once per month. The morale values of the concerned powers are changed. If a power loses a unit, it loses as many morale points as the stacking value of the lost unit; if a power eliminates an enemy unit, it receives as many morale points as the stacking value of the eliminated unit. The morale value of a leader who has only the name of his power plus an identification number is 1 plus his quality value on land. The morale value for individually named leaders is doubled, for imperators even multiplied by 10. If a power's morale value reaches zero, the power dissolves. A minor power becomes an inactive client state of the power which caused its dissolution (if any), otherwise it becomes a minor neutral power and its units are moved in its own provinces. If a non-Roman major power dissolves, it becomes an inactive neutral minor power. If a Roman power dissolves, its Imperator (if still in play) must resign. Each of its provinces defects to the Roman power, which has the greatest force in the province or controls the nearest province. A single city defects to the controller of the capital of the province it belongs to, or to the power which controls the greatest number of cities in this province. If any calculation is a tie, the power with the highest morale value gains control. Armies and fleet units are halved and defect to the power which controls the province or the nearest province. - 10 - The sole possibility to react to the current player's actions is to intercept moving armies or fleets. If you try to intercept a fleet ('Intercept fleet' item in the 'Fleet' menu), you must select the fleet which is to be intercepted. This enemy fleet must be in shallow sea, as in deep sea operations are very difficult and the correct position of a fleet can not be determined in such a huge area of water. After you have selected a fleet, all fleets which are in friendly unbesieged ports and not more than 6 movement points away from the fleet, which is to be intercepted, are printed in a window. The owner of these fleets can order them to try interception by clicking on them. But interception is only successful if the die-roll is higher or equal to the distance between the intercepting and the intercepted fleet. Therefore the maximum interception range is 6. If no more fleets want to try to intercept the moving fleet and at least one fleet successfully intercepted the moving fleet, naval combat immediately occurs, in which the intercepted fleet is considered to be the defender. An intercepted fleet may not move any further. IV. Land Movement Phase Land movement is very similar to naval movement. A moving army can be intercepted ('Intercept army' item in the 'Army' menu), unless it is in a city, or on a fleet, or in a desert hex. If you choose this menu item and the army you want to intercept, all armies which can intercept (i.e. which are inside the largest possible interception range and have a leader) are printed in a window (cf. naval phase). The interception range of an army is 6 (the highest possible die-roll) plus the highest land quality value of its leaders. If only cavalry tries to intercept, this range is increased by 3. The player which tries to intercept must roll a die. If the die-roll plus the above mentioned modifications is higher or equal to the movement points between the two armies, interception is successful and the intercepted army may not move any further and is considered to be the defender in the land combat, which will be automatically started during the following phase. An army can overrun unbesieged enemy units ('Overrun' item in the 'Army menu), if the strength of the attacking heavy cavalry is 5 times greater than the total strength of the defenders. After a successful overrun all enemy units are eliminated. If the attacked units have a friendly city in this hex, they are considered to retreat to this city immediately and can not be eliminated. - 11 - V. Land Combat Phase At the beginning of this phase all combats resulting from interception are simulated. Then you can order one of your armies to attack ('Attack' item in the 'Army' menu). After you have selected the attacking army, all enemy armies in the same hex are printed in a window. If there is an enemy city in the hex, it is also displayed. Then you must select the army or city, which should be attacked. If the power of a defending army has a friendly unbesieged city in this hex, it may retreat to this city and at the same time accept siege. The defending army can also try to retreat to an adjacent hex, unless the strength of enemy units in this hex plus the strength of enemy units, which have attacked from this hex, is at least one fourth of the strength of the retreating army. If a power retreats, its morale value is decreased by 5. If there are still enemy units in the hex, land combat occurs. The computer calculates the total strength values. Strength values of units in a city are doubled. If the city is attacked by barbarians or if the city is in a province, where wood is seldom and therefore building siege machines is nearly impossible, strength values are even tripled. The fortification level of an attacked city is also added. The highest quality value (the one for land operations) of the attacking leaders is added to the value of one die-roll, while the highest quality value of the defending leaders is subtracted from it. Further modifications are displayed in the information window (cf. naval combat). The computer determines the losses, the losing side and chooses by random those units which are removed from play. If all units of an army are removed the leaders of this army are considered to be captured. This can be the surprising end of a power if the imperator/rex is taken prisoner. If there are any possible successors, they succeed in the order, which the number after the quality values in the army info indicates; if there is no successor for the Imperator of a Roman power, the morale value reaches zero and the power dissolves. The morale values of the involved powers are changed as described above in the paragraph about naval combat. If unseasoned units participate in land combat, as many strength points as the opposing force had can be declared to be seasoned and their strength values are doubled. - 12 - VI. Siege Phase During the siege phase every city, which the current power has been besieging for at least one month, is checked, whether one besieged unit is removed because of the duration and the circumstances of the siege or not. Every city has a siege value which expresses how hard the siege worked on its ability to defend. This value is equal to the number of months the siege lasts, but never greater than 6. If it is winter or if the city is surrounded by desert or if the province, which the city belongs to, is plundered, this value is increased by 2, if the province, which the city belongs to, is not civilized, this value is increased by 1. Unblockaded ports can subtract 2, since ports can much easier be supplied as long as they can be entered by sea. All these modifications are added to the siege value by the computer. The besieging power rolls one die and if this die-roll is less than the siege value, one unit is removed from the besieged armies/fleets. The computer removes one unit according to the following priority list: heavy cavalry, light cavalry, fleet units, heavy infantry and at last light infantry. If there are no units left to remove, the fortification value of the city is decreased by one (this change is only temporary and the original fortification value is restored when the siege ends). If the fortification value of the besieged city reaches zero, the besieger succeeds and the city will obey him. If the strength of the besieging units is less than one fourth of the unmodified strength of the besieged units, the siege ends and the besiegers failed to win the control over the besieged city. During the siege phase a power can plunder a province, if it controls its unbesieged capital with heavy infantry or heavy cavalry ('Plunder' item in the 'Army' menu). It receives 10 times the normal tax income. For six months no one may tax the province or recruit units in it, and the intrinsic defense value of cities in plundered provinces is temporarily reduced to zero. In addition if a power plundered one of the provinces it controlled from the beginning, it may never recruit again in this province and only receives 50% of the normal tax income from the plundered province after these six months. Barbarian powers gain as many morale points as the tax value of the province, they plundered. The morale value of the power, which controlled the province at the beginning of the scenario, is reduced by 50% of the province's tax value.