After selecting Begin Play, your first task is to choose a location for your main castle. This is what you see:
There are two views: the large window, which shows a close-up of the terrain, called the "postcard view," and the small window in the upper right, which displays an "overhead view" of a portion of the map. Between the two windows is a button with an arrow on it. Click on the button to swap the postcard and overhead views. In this way you can see more of the wilderness map.
In the overhead view is a small yellow rectangle. This is the map spot, or 'block', the postcard view is displaying. To display a different block, point to a different place in the overhead view, and click. The yellow rectangle moves, and the postcard view changes. You may also use the keyboard cursor keys to move around the map:
Arrow Keys move up, down, left, or right one block.
Page Up and Page Down: move up or down 16 blocks.
Home and End: move left or right 8 blocks.
Underneath the small window is a compass. Another way to explore the wilderness is to click on com- pass points: you move one block in the direction you click on. Only north, south, east, and west are legal; you may not move diagonally.
You will also see two numbers in parentheses, separated by a comma. These are the X (horizontal), Y (vertical) coordinates of the location currently displayed in the postcard view. The upper-left corner of the map is (0,0).
Terrain: The various terrains help your people develop in some ways and hinder them in others:
Water (blue) is good near farms; food production increases where irrigation is easy and plentiful. Water is also a natural line of defense. Enemies may not be able to cross lakes, rivers, and streams. You may build bridges to cross water.
Plains or valleys (green) are best for farming. Crops grow strong and produce best in the rich soil there. However, these areas are the worst locations for mines; they run dry quickly.
Mountains (brown) are best for mines; they last longest if placed there. But crops grow poorly in cold, harsh climates. Also, building in the mountains can be difficult, because of the steep faces and severe cliffs.
Hills (tan) are the middle ground between the plains and the mountains. Both mines and farms do well, producing average amounts of minerals and food. Just as in the mountains, steep hills can be difficult to build on.
The Overhead View: As your stronghold grows, white dots accumulate on the overhead map. Each of these dots represents at least one of your units. Other dots and blocks on the map mean different things:
White dots indicate your units.
Brown dots are enemies you can see. Units "see" a certain distance into the wilderness.
Flashing red and white dots mean combat is occurring between your units and enemies.
Yellow dots indicate at least one of your units is infected with disease.
The large red square is the location of your main castle.
Small red squares are Keep locations and monster strongholds. At first, the only ones on the map are your own. Later, as your units explore and build towers to better survey the land, red squares indicating enemy strongholds will appear.
Brown lines are where you have placed a wall.
Constructing Buildings: As you move the cursor around the postcard view, it changes shape: sometimes it's an eye, and sometimes a shovel. The eye indicates that you can look at a unit -- see "Viewing Units".
The shovel indicates a possible location where you may place buildings. Refer to the building card for information about the various buildings, their cost, income they might provide, size, and so on.
Note: You must have a unit present to use the shovel.
To begin construction, click on an empty spot of land. A message will appear underneath the postcard window, and a menu beneath the overhead view. Clicking on different scenery allows you to do the functions described in the following sections.
Undeveloped Land : If the spot is vacant, the message will read something like this: "Fighter House: provides more housing. It will cost Anthony the Fighter 10 of 96 gold. Fund is 26 gold." This means that a Fighter House is the next building you will build if you click on the "PLACE" button. The structure will provide more housing. Anthony the Fighter is the leader who will pay for the house, and whose people will get the housing. The building costs 10 of the 96 gold pieces Anthony has in his coffers. The Fund is discussed later in "The Common Fund"
If you click on the "PLACE" button, Anthony's people will start constructing a Fighter House. It will be built at the location you clicked on, and cost Anthony 10 GP. When the house is finished, Anthony's people will inhabit it.
To build a different building, click on the "CHANGE BUILDING" button. A list of buildings, with the least expensive building at the top, appears. Select one of those to see its cost and benefits. To begin construction, click on "PLACE".
If you change your mind and do not want to build a building, click "DONE" or the right mouse button.
Each block of the map is made up of four squares of land -- the far left, the middle left, middle right, and far right. Each is a potential spot for a building. Some may be covered with water, and therefore be unavailable for building. Some steep slopes can only have farms or walls built on them.
Some wide buildings require two squares of land. If you intend to build a wide structure, be sure the square to the left or to the right of the one you clicked on is empty so the structure will fit. Refer to the building list to see how wide the various buildings are.
Trees, Rocks and Swamps: Not all undeveloped land is clear and ready for construction. You will also find trees, rocks, and swamps. When you click on one of these, a different message and set of buttons will appear:
Trees: Trees can provide food and income, but you must "claim" them first. When you click on a tree, the message tells you the harvest value of the tree and asks if you wish to claim it. To have Anthony claim the tree, click on the "CLAIM" button. Construction begins. When it is finished, Anthony owns the tree, and the food and income it generates goes into his granaries and coffers.
If you do not want the tree, click on the "CHOP DOWN" button. Your people will remove it, allowing construction in that square.
To leave the tree alone, select "DONE".
Elves are best at cultivating trees; they can get more food and income from them than other character classes.
Rocks: Within some rocks are veins of gems, iron, or gold. When you click on a rock, the message reads, "Search this location for minerals? Active party is Anthony." To command Anthony's people to excavate the rock, click on the "EXCAVATE" button. If they find minerals they will start building a mine. If not, they will haul away the rock, leaving the space clear for construction.
To clear the land directly, click the "REMOVE" button. The people will take the rock away without searching for minerals.
Click on "DONE" to leave the rock alone.
Dwarves are best at locating minerals in rocks; the chance that they will find one is greater than that of the other character classes.
Swamps: Swamps can get in the way of construction. Clicking on one of these brings up two buttons: "FILL IN" and DONE. To command the active party member's people to fill the swamp with dirt, select "FILL IN". This takes a while because filling a swamp is time-consuming. When they are done, you will have a clear location ready for construction.
Click on "DONE" to leave the swamp there.
Construction in Progress: To check the progress of the construction of a building, click on it with the shovel cursor. You will see a message like this: "Marketplace: 18% complete. Owned by Anthony. Active party is Anthony the Fighter." The structure is 18% finished, and Anthony is the owner.
To the right "SUSPEND" and "DONE" buttons will appear. If you want to halt construction, click on "SUSPEND". This will stop construction, and the gold you spent on the building will be lost.
Click on "DONE" to continue construction.
The owner of a building may or may not be the same as the "active party," and it is important to understand the difference. The owner owns the building: he or she receives the benefits from it, and pays any maintenance costs. The active party is the one who will take the next construction action; he or she will build the next building, even though other structures on the screen may be owned by someone else.
Automatic Expansion: As more units join your stronghold, they will move out into untamed land. Houses will spring up. Each of your five leaders recruits followers, and they need places to live, so they build. To disable automatic expansion, toggle the Auto Build option on the Leader screen.
The Common Fund: Some buildings generate income. 10% of this income is taken by the leader as a tithe to be held in reserve for use in times of crisis. Marketplaces allow leaders to use this common fund. Each market provides access to 10% of the fund. For example, if the total fund is 200 GP, three marketplaces would allow Anthony the Fighter to use up to 30% of the 200, or 60 GP. So, if the Fighter House information says, "It will cost Anthony the Fighter 10 of 5 gold. Fund is 60 gold," Anthony can afford to construct the house, because he can use his 5 remaining gold pieces, plus another 5 GP of the 60 available to him from the fund. This applies to upgrades and repairs as well.
Completed Buildings: You must have a unit on the same block as a building to interact with it. Click the shovel icon on a building to display information about it. A message like this will appear: "Fighter House (8/8), owned by Anthony. Active party is Anthony the Fighter. Upgrade costs 150 of 926 gold. Fund is 212."
The name of the building is first. Next comes the condition of the building. Perfect condition is 8; the number to the left is the current condition. "8/8" means the building is in perfect condition. After that is the owner. The upgrade cost is next, followed by the total number of gold pieces you own. The Fund number is the number of gold pieces available to you through the common Fund.
In addition to this information, a column of option buttons will appear on the right side of the screen:
Information: Clicking on the "INFORMATION" button gives you additional information about the building - specifically, how much gold a building generates or costs and if it provides any housing or grain storage. Click on the "INFORMATION" button again to display the condition/owner/upgrade information.
Repair: If a building is abandoned, combat takes place in the block, or the owner of a building runs out of money, its condition degrades. The building will look spotty and rundown. When the condition reaches 0, the structure collapses. Note: keeps and castles only collapse if enemy units share the block with them for a prolonged amount of time, regardless of condition.
Buildings degrade at different rates. Some, such as large towers, last a long time; while others, like marketplaces, collapse almost immediately when left alone or fought over. The higher a structure's durability, the longer it lasts. Refer to the building card for each buiiding's durability.
To repair a building, click on the "REPAIR" button. If you can afford the repair, it takes place instantly.
Upgrade: Most buildings can be upgraded. An upgrade is an expansion or fortification made to a building to make it more useful or valuable. Buildings which can be improved may be upgraded twice. Buildings must be condition 8/8 for an upgrade to be possible. If the condition is less than 8, the "upgrade" option is replaced with "repair."
To upgrade a building, click on the "UPGRADE" button. If you can afford it, construction on your upgrade will begin.
Salvage: Click on "SALVAGE" to destroy a building. You will receive a small amount of money. You may also use "SALVAGE" to destroy captured enemy buildings, though it may be smarter to take ownership of them instead (see Change Owner.)
Demolish: You may not Salvage an enemy stronghold. To destroy it (and stop it from generating any more monsters!) choose the "DEMOLISH" option.
Change Active Party: When you click on a building, the active party is set to the owner of the building. If you want to change the party, click on "CHANGE PARTY". A list of possible parties will appear. Click on the one you want. You may only change to a party which has a unit on the block. In other words, you may only change parties to Anthony the Fighter if one of Anthony's fighters is on the screen.
Change parties if you want a different party to undertake the construction, demolition, upgrade, or repair you are planning.
Change Owner: Transfers ownership of the building from one leader to another.
Sometimes a building would better serve a party member other than the owner. For example, an impoverished leader may need the income a rich leader's mine generates. To switch ownership, first change parties to the owner-to-be, then click on "NEW OWNER". You may only change to a party which has a unit on the block.
Done: When you click on a building the game pauses while you decide what to do. Click on "DONE" to resume play.
Controlling the Game
Pyramids: Pyramids are located to the right of the screen, one for the Baron and one each for the other leaders. Use these to tell units what combination of the three main actions they should pursue on each block.
Setting a pyramid changes the priorities of the units only in the block you are currently viewing. To change the priority settings somewhere else, go to that block and set the pyramid there.
To change a pyramid, click on it. A large version of it will appear below the small window. Next click on the large pyramid, and drag the apex around. To increase the area of the pyramid for one of the actions, you must move the apex AWAY from the label. For example, to tell the people to build more, drag the apex UP the screen; the dark red area will get bigger.
Recruit: The yellow portion of the pyramid represents the amount of recruiting you want the units on the screen to do. The more yellow in the pyramid, the more recruiting the units will perform. Recruiting attracts new, first level units to the stronghold, and increases the size of existing units.
Train: The light red part inside the pyramid is for training. A high percentage of light red means more training will occur, and existing units will increase in level more quickly. Higher level units are more powerful and better in combat: they have more hit points and better magic spells.
Build: If you want the people to finish buildings faster, increase the dark red or "build" portion of the pyramid. It is a good idea to use maximum "build" in the beginning of the game, so your people will complete their castles quickly and get off to a good start. Be sure to change the pyramid when construction is complete. A setting of 100% building will do no recruiting or training.
If a pyramid is set to a combination which includes 0% building, construction of buildings will NEVER be completed.
Once construction is underway, only the units on the screen will help to complete it. So, if a building is being built for Anthony the Fighter, Seline the Mage will work on it if some of her mages are on the screen. To complete a building fastest, for each leaders units represented on the screen, set the pyramid to maximum build.
Setting Multiple Pyramids Simultaneously: Occasionally, you will want to set several of a leader's pyramids to the same position at once. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Make sure the overhead view is in the large window.
2. Click on the small leader pyramid you want to set.
3. Adjust the large pyramid to the position that you want.
4. Click on the small leader pyramid again.
5. Now enclose the units whose pyramids you want to set. Click on a point above and to the left of the units. Move the mouse; it will create a rectangle around the units. When you have enclosed the ones you want, click again. All pyramids of the leader you selected will be set to the same position within the rectangle.
Moving Units: At the bottom of each pyramid is a horizontal "magnet" bar. Use this to attract additional units to a map block. Go to the block you want to attract units to. Select the pyramid for the leader's units you want to attract, then click on the magnet. The further toward the right end of the magnet you click, the more units you attract. The further left, the fewer. A message will tell you how many of this leader's units can be attracted and the number you are attracting. If no units are available, the message will read, "attracting 0 of a possible 0 units."
To move a single, specific unit, ready the unit, then increase a magnet. The last unit readied is the first to be attracted.
Main Menu Button: In the bottom-left corner of the screen is a square button. Click here to return to the main menu.
After you place your main castle and all Four keeps, it is a good idea to save your game, just in case things go poorly and you want to try again.
Speeding up Time: As time passes in STRONGHOLD, game events occur. Game events include city growth, unit movement and enemy movement. To accelerate the passage of time, press the space bar. A message will say, "Time passes " You will see the white and brown dots move around more actively on the overhead map, and buildings will be completed sooner.
You may not accelerate the passage of time while watching combat; the battle will continue until someone wins. However, you may view a different location, then press the space bar. Time will pass, and the game will resolve the combat.
Pausing the Game: Above the pyramids is a button labeled "PAUSE". Click here to switch off normal stronghold development. This "turns off" the passage of time; game events do not occur when the pause button is depressed. Buildings under construction will never be completed; units will not move from block to block; enemies will stay put. Pyramid and magnet settings will not take effect until the game is resumed, but you may change them. You may also place, upgrade, repair, and demolish buildings. Click on the "RESUME" button when you are ready for activity to continue.
You may not pause while watching combat. If you view a combat while paused, the game will automatically "resume" until the combat is finished or until you change locations.
Viewing Units: The cursor becomes an eye when it is over people on the postcard view. Click on people to get information about their units, to hear them describe the living conditions in the neighborhood, to adjust their combat readiness, and to view their leader.
Each person on the screen represents a unit of several individuals. Each of the members of the unit is the same class and level. The on-screen representation of the unit changes as the unit goes up in level. For example, a unit of first-level mages wear grey robes, but the robes change to purple when the unit goes up a few levels.
When you click on a person, a portrait appears, along with information about that unit. The portrait changes as the unit goes up in levels, showing the better armor, weapons, etc. the unit receives as it gains experience.
The first line of information is the character class. Below that is something like, "Unit of 6', telling the number of individuals composing the unit. The next line tells you which party member is the leader of the unit: for example, it might say "Loyal to Anthony."
When you click on the "LEADER" button (see below), the information you get will be about Anthony.
Next is the level of the unit, and the experience points (EXP). The number on the !eft is the EXP accumulated so far; on the fight is the number needed to reach the next level. For example, 100/4,000 means the characters have 100 EXP and need to accumulate 4,000 to go up to the next level.
Hit points are next. On the left is the number remaining; on the right is the maximum. "5/12" means the unit has 5 hits remaining out of a possible 12. Each member of the unit has the same number of HP but only one at a time takes damage in combat. When that member is defeated, the number of members in the unit decreases by one, and the next member will receive the combat damage.
Next is AC, or Armor Class. This indicates the quality of the armor the unit is wearing. The lower the number, the better. AC 10 is pitiful, AC 1 is excellent.
The status of the unit's weapons is last. Each character class/race is armed with a different kind of weapon. It might read: "Sword." This means the members of the unit are using standard-issue swords.
You might see "Damaged Sword." This means their weapons have worn down and are in need of repair. Build a metalwork shop to fix the damage. If you build a swordmaker's shop, +1 weapons will begin to appear throughout your city. A weapons forge creates +2 weaponry.
Next is a description of the living conditions in the neighborhood. Here you can find out how well things are going and what problems you need to address. In general, the people are concerned with having enough food, housing, and income to live.
If more than one unit is on screen, a "NEXT" or "PREVIOUS" button will appear to the fight. Click on one of these to see another unit. Using these buttons, you may cycle through all the units (and, during combat, the monsters) in the postcard view.
Ready-Home-Unassigned: At the bottom of the portrait screen are three buttons: "READY", "HOME", and "UNASSIGNED". These refer to the combat status of the unit.
Ready: Ready means the unit is prepared for combat. Readied units will be the first attracted by magnets.
Home: Home sets the unit on 'sentry duty' on a block. The unit will not budge from that block for any reason as long as it is 'homed' here. As they explore the wilderness, units will move into new territory. When they arrive at unoccupied blocks, one unit will home itself automatically on each block. Homed units cannot be attracted away by magnets.
Unassigned: Unassigned units are "not ready" and "not home." These are surplus units, free to be called away with magnets. They are next in line for duty behind readied units.
For example, you have four readied, five homed, and three unassigned fighter units. You wish to attack a block, so you increase the magnet there. The message reads, "Attracting 5 of a possible 7 fighter units." The four readied units and one of the unassigned units go to the block. The total available number of fighter units is seven, not twelve, because only readied and unassigned units can be attracted. Homed units stay home.
Viewing the Leader: One of the buttons on the portrait screen is "LEADER". Click here for information about the party member leader of this unit. You can also click on the leader's name on the main screen.
Along the top of the screen is the name, alignment, and character class of the leader. Also the character attributes: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma. These attributes are translated directly to the leader's units - the attributes of every unit under the leader will be the same as the attributes of the leader.
The body of the screen contains population, housing, food, food storage, gold, income, fund, and popularity information:
Population-Food-Housing: Leaders are responsible for feeding and housing their people, and food and housing are the biggest concerns of the people. Their complaints or compliments on the portrait screen usually refer to these basic needs.
To see if a leader is providing enough food, compare population to food production. If population is greater than food production, people are going hungry. Stored food can alleviate this problem for a while. Surplus food is placed into storage to be used when needed. People will not starve until all stored food is exhausted.
"Food stored" is the amount of food in storage. One unit of stored food will feed one population unit for one turn. "Food storage" is the maximum amount of food the leader can store.
Granaries not only store food, but also distribute the surplus to starving leaders.
To check on housing, compare population to housing. If population exceeds housing, some people will have no place to live. If your people run short of housing, city growth stops.
In general, to maintain steady city growth, leaders must provide more food and housing than the people need. This will encourage them to have children and to recruit more people.
To stay in touch with the needs of your people, compare population to food and to housing often for each leader. If you are aware of how each party member is doing you will be able to maintain constant growth and happiness for all of the people in the city.
Gold & Income: Some buildings produce income. After 10% of this income is put into the common Fund, the remainder is credited to the leader. GOLD is the amount of money accumulated so far. INCOME is the number of gold pieces produced each turn.
Some buildings cost money to maintain. This cost is subtracted from the income each turn. If a leader's expenses exceed the revenues, income will be a negative number. A negative income will drain a leader's gold until it reaches O, then buildings which require money to maintain will start to degrade.
Fund Access: Refers to the amount of money a leader may draw out of the common fund at any one time. For each marketplace the leader owns, 10% of the fund is available. COMMON FUND is the total amount of money in the fund.
Popularity: Popularity is determined by the morale of the people in the stronghold. A popular Baron is one who feeds and houses the population well, and one who makes sure there is enough money to go around.
Near the center of the leader screen is a popularity chart.
Remember: the chart refers to the Baron's popularity, not the popularity of the leader you are viewing.
As a city grows, the Baron will be promoted if the popularity is high enough for the given city size shown.
| For example: | Popularity | City Blocks |
|---|---|---|
| Current | 48% | 26 |
| To Promote | 55% | 50 |