Typed by Flux/Crystal 40/06/91 CHAMPION OF THE RAJ The Mogul emperors ruled India for two centuries. They brought law to the people and graced its cities with marvellous buildings like the Red Fort of Agra and the Taj Mahal. But by 1800 their empire is collapsing, riven by feuds and rebellions, and India has reverted to a host of warring states. The Thugs have taken bloody advantage of this chaos. They are evil fanatics who murder thousands of people as sacrifices to the goddess Kali. By ruthless terroism, they are rapidly winning power over the whole of India. No single state can fight the Thugs, who are quickly increasing in numbers and power. So it is vital that a strong leader emerges to unite India against them, before they can plunge the land into a bloodbath. You are one of six rival leaders, each fighting to unite India: * Viceroy of the British East India Company, * Company of the French East India Company, * Emperor of the remnant of the Mogul Empire, * Maharajah of the Maruthras, * Maharajah Singh of the warlike Sikhs, * Chief of the Gurkhas (If more then one person is playing, you each pick a leader). The rivals each have their own advantages and disadvantages. You should probably try winning as the Viceroy first, and leave the Gurkhas until last; they have great problems expanding their fledgling state in the mountains. Whoever wins must both defeat his rivals and smash the Thugs. It will not be easy! PLAYING THE GAME CONTROL METHODS This manual describes how to play "Champion of the Raj" entirely with a joystick, but there are three alternatives: * Joystick: push it in the appropriate direction and press "fire" to act. * Mouse: on menus and maps, use it as you normally would; elsewhere, move the mouse slightly in the same direction as described for the joystick and press the left button for "fire". * Numeric Keypad: this is used like a joystick; press keys to move (8=up, 9=up right, 6=right, 3=down right, 2=down, 1=down left, 4=left, 7=up left). To "fire" press 5, enter or the space bar. You normally use the joystick/mouse/keypad to move a hand around the screen. Most of the game is controlled by icons (little pictures for eg. Yes, No, Talk, Fight, etc..) and you move the hand so that its finger-tip is on the icon you want, and press fire to select it. (This is also called "clicking on" the icon). Only icons which make sense are shown; eg. you will not get the chance to attack if you have no troops available. Champions of the Raj also includes six arcade games, with different types of Indian action. Instructions for these are displayed on the screen the first time you encounter them. The following special functions, controlled from the keyboard work on most screens: * The + and - keys adjust game speed. * The M key switches the music on/off. * The P key pauses the game; press R to resume or C to continue. * The S key toggles sound effects on/off. * ^C cancels the game and quits to the operating system. CHOICE SCREEN The game starts at a banquet, where the six rivals to govern India have met before going their separate ways. Select + and - to adjust the number of players (1-6 people can play). Next, point at a sitting ruler and press fire to make him stand, or do the same to a standing ruler to make him sit. The standing rulers are the ones you have chosen to play. There can never be more rulers standing then the number of players chosen, so any excess sit automatically. When you are happily with the ruler(s) standing, select "play" to start the game. A window opens for each ruler, so you can enter the name of the person playing him (click above or below each letter to adjust it, then click on OK to continue). And then the game starts... HEADQUARTERS SCREEN You have a headquarters appropriate for your rank and nationally, and run your empire from here. It includes a map of India, a book (or scroll) on the table in front of it, icons on the wall and a bell to end your turn. MAP The map shows about 20 Indian states and 4 port cities (which are controlled separately from the surrounding states). Independent states have no flags or plane blue flags while others have the national flags of there current emperor. Capital states have crowns on top of their flag poles. When you click on any Indian state on the map, its flag flutters, its details appear on the book and appropriate icons appear on the wall. Clicking on the champion, sitting on one side of the headquarters, is the same as clicking on your own capital state. Click on the bar above the map to roll it up or down (revealing move icons on the wall behind). BOOK OR SCROLL The book shows details (icons and numbers) of the current Indian state... * State - Name * Army - Size * Defensive - Weaponry * Gold * Attacking - Weaponry * Industry * Minimum - Defenders * Treasury * Law and Order Click on any of these nine pieces of information to find out more. For Example, click on... * State Name for details of religion and current status. * Attacking - Weaponry icon for what percentage number the icon means. * Gold icon for precisely how much tax the emperor will get next turn. If the state is part of an empire, the Army - size, Income and Treasury information are for the empire as a whole. If the state is your own capital, clicking on the book lets you invest for the future. For example, click on... * Army Size for the chance to hire more troops, or * Industry for the chance to invest in industry (your tax income is proportional to the population, industry and law of your empire, so investment is worth considering). RUNNING YOUR EMPIRE ECONOMY Your tax income depends on the population you rule, and the level of your empires industry and law. You pay one gold for each of your troops each turn, but troops who you use to capture another state last turn are "living off the land" and cost nothing. If you have a big army, its cheaper to use it! New troops cost twice this much to hire. You may decide to use the Book to invest money in your economy (industry and law) to increase your future taxes, or in weaponless, (so your troops fight better). Costs depend on the population of your empire, so it sometimes pays to keep small. When adding a state to your empire, it is better to capture states with good economies, as they will benefit the average figures of your empire. Unfortunately, the best places tend to be other peoples capitals. STATUS Alternatively, you can invest in a high status and select the Durbah (or parade) icon to invite your fellow rulers to a festival. The more elephants you hire (click on the up icons) the better. The idea is to impress people, so they are more likely to join your empire peacefully in the future. Select talk to negotiate with another prince. If your status is good enough, and if there are no religious obstacles, the prince will probably invite you to a sporting occasion. And if you prove your prowess at his chosen sports (Elephant Racing or Tiger Hunting), he will ally his state into your empire. ATTACKING Click on a state next to one of yours, and the Attack icon will usually appear. You can attack providing that you have not already been defeated this turn, and still have some troops available (victorious troops from previous battles stay where they are, living off the land, and can't be used again until next turn). Select the attack icon, then click on up and down icons to adjust your troops, and finally on OK. As a general rule, attacking troops need at least 2:1 odds to do well. If the defender is also a player, let them adjust their defending troops in the same way. (You also get to do this, if you are the defender and eg. the computer is attacking you). If the battle is likely to be a walk-over, the computer handles everything without bothering you. When you capture the capital of an empire, you must capture the rulers palace in order to gain full control. (see later for the game). Succeed, and all the vassal states of the empire are captured with its capital. Fail, and you only get the capital. ARCADE GAMES Your decisoins in the "random" events in the game often lead to arcade game sequences. The guru appears whenever the game loads, initially to give you instructions and subsequently with wise advice. TIGER HUNT Even today, tigers kill dozons of Indian people each year. At the time of the Raj, much of India was plagued by rogue tigers. These man-eaters must be shot, to save hundreds of lives and what greater proof of your skill and courage can there be then to kill an animal which is willing and able to kill you and others? Steer the cross-hairs to aim and press fire to shoot. The recoil kicks the gun sideways, but you have a second barrel still to fire. Miss twice and you are in trouble, because reloading takes several seconds. ELEPHANT RACING Climb atop your elephant and you are ready for off. This is a vertically scrolling game, where two elephants race south along a wide earth track between grandstands of spectators. And the first elephant to get a nose past the winning post wins. Push the joystick left and right to steer, up to slow amd down to speed your elephant. Or press fire and move the joystick to whip in the corresponding direction. Watch out for dirty tatics from your opponent, and don't go to fast for the ground underfoot. CAPTURING THE PALACE You have captured the capital state of an empire, but your troops are still dealing with the remenatnts of the defeated armies (those who have not already run away). Then news reached you that the former rulers are preparing to leave thier palace and lead the vassal states of the empire against you. Unless you can reach the palace soon, you will find that you have captured the capital but lost your empire. You must make your way up the screen and enter the palace gates. Push the joystick in any of the eight directions to move, and push fire to shoot. Avoid the enemy bullets, and don't shoot women. BATTLE IN THE THUG TEMPLE You rule all India and your armies, freed from the need to battle your rivals, are driving back the Thugs on all fronts. But the fight is far from won. The Thug priests are plotting a coup against your govermant tonight, and they could yet seize power unless you stop them. There is no time to gather your troops. The only chance is for a lone attacker to creep into the Thug temple, seize Kali's jewel which symbolizes their power, and escape safely with it. The Thugs obey whoever controls this artifact, so you will have broken their power forever. Find the statue of Kali, grab the jewel she guards (just walk up to it) and escape from the palace alive. Push the joystick in any of the eight directions to move, and push fire to shoot. Avoid the Thugs and their knives. SWORD FIGHTS I suspect that more Indian royalty have lost their lives to assassins then all the other causes of death put together. There are plenty of people who would like you to die suddenly and mysteriously. In the sword fight game, you need not control indivdual blows. Even if you were to do nothing but watch, your champion and his Thug opponent would attack and parry each others blows roughly alternatively. Control is by moveing a highlight across a 3*3 grid... Left to right movement controls wether your hero tried to attack stand or retreat. In turn these effect the probality of parrys working (retreating is safest, but a hero can only retreat so far). Up down movement selects high, middle or low blows. Each opponent is move vunerable to one attack type then others, and your aim is to learn his weaknesses and exploit them. Press fire to replace the next blow (or parry) which the computer has picked for you by the blow that you prefer. Keep a watch on the wounds you have suffered. It is better to retreat a little and live, then to attack valiently and die or your injuries. Typed by Flux/Crystal 04/06/91