Ruins
The system of Ruin Exploration in previous versions of The Keys of Medokh has been reviewed and the new rules for such have addressed all of the problems evident in the earlier system: specifically, the sheer number of regiments and mystics required for worthwhile gains, the high risk factor, and the time scale involved. There are now two forms of Ruin Exploration, as follows:
Army Exploration
As before, Ruin Exploration is still possible with entire regiments protects by Mystics (now including the skills of Loremasters, Magicians and Sorcerers of course). However, the worthwhile limit is now 15 regiments, with the first surviving regiment exploring 5%, the second 4%, the third 3%, the fourth 2% and the fifth to fifteenth regiments exploring 1% each: a maximum possible exploration of 25% per turn using this form of exploration, though there is nothing whatsoever to prevent two or more entirely different armies from exploring different parts of the same ruin on the same turn.
Mystics are still required to try to protect regiments from the non-mortal beings in the ruins which cannot be killed by mortal means, to the tune of (a maximum of) 10 Mystics PER regiment involved if they have no appropriate Holy or Spell Ritual to assist them. (Using appropriate Holy or Spell Rituals reduces the number os Mystics required per regiment). This will give the regiments involved a 95% chance of surviving,which is the maximum possible even if there is 'surplus' magical power available: even a Sorcerer canot do the impossible, but he can personally give up to five regiments the maximum 95% protection possible because he has the Mind Power of about 50 Mystics, the equivalent of a High Priest. A Magician equals 25 Mystics and a Loremaster 10.
Fewer than the equivalent of 10 Mystics per regiment exploring will proportionately reduce the percentage chance of each regiment surviving, though each regiment's chance is now calculated separately rather than for the army as a whole (which was how it used to be: either all survived or none did), which means on most occasions at least a few of the regiments involved should survive.
If regiments are lost, Mystics will also be lost in similar proportion to the regiments, ie. those which fail to protect their own regiments will actually die trying to do so. Without Mystics, regiments have no chance whatsoever of escaping from the evil within.
For specific details regarding Exploring the Ancient Ruins using Armies, please refer to the ER (Explore Ruin) Order detailed later.
Party Exploration
A far superior form of Ruin Exploration is now made possible by the introduction of skilled Individuals into the game, as a regiment consists of anywhere between 300 and 500 troops so an Army doing exploration is literally barging its way into the ruin with the intention of physically defeating anything which might oppose it. A Party consisting of just a few Individuals, however, may use stealth, wits and a mixture of highly specialised skills to achieve a similar or even much greater result. In fact, the FEWER the actual numbers in the Party (within reason), the better the chance it has of not disturbing the ancient evils, thus we have set the maximum (and also IDEAL) possible size of our Party to EIGHT members.
A Party can be formed only around a Tribal Champion or a Master Ranger (including a Warlord-Master Ranger). The Party still needs to be accompanied TO the ruin by an Army of 1 or more regiments, but the troops will wait outside .
Any Army given the ER Order and which has a Champion or Master Ranger present will be assumed to be a Party Exploration. The computer will then search the tribal Individuals listing in numerical order to find other relevant Individuals with the Amy which it can add to the Champion's Party, and it will add the FIRST seven other useful ones it comes across. For this reason you should be careful not to use an army which is full of Trackers with a lower Individual ID number than the Individuals which you actually want to use in the Party, because these would be found by the computer first and put into the Party instead.
If there are fewer than seven useful Individuals with the Army in question, it will try to fill the Party with ordinary Mystics from the Army if any are available. Note that the morale of the accompanying Army is irrelevant in Party Exploration, ie. there is no need for them to be Fanatical as they do not enter the ruin themselves.
In line with all the best fantasy novels a Party should be well balanced for maximum gain, a mixture of warriors (led by the Champion), magic-users, scouts and - ideally, when available - High Priests. Our system reflects this by awarding a % explored to each individual member depending on how useful he personally is to the Party, and how many others of his type there are: a Party consisting entirely of Sorcerers, for example, is nowhere near as effective as a more evenly balanced Party would be, as shown below.
| PartyExploration | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | 10% | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Apothecaries | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High Priest | 10% | 5% | 4% | 3% | 2% |
| Loremaster | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| M.Ranger | 10% | 6% | 4% | 3% | 2% |
| M.Spy/Assassin | 8% | 5% | 3% | 2% | 1% |
| Magician | 5% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Mystics | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Sorcerer | 10% | 7% | 5% | 3% | 2% |
| Spy/Assassin | 4% | 3% | 2% | 1% | 1% |
| Trackers | 4% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 1% |
| W.Instructor | 5% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| W.Master | 10% | 7% | 5% | 3% | 2% |
| W.Trainer | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
The ideal Party would therefore consist of (roughly) the Champion, a High Priest, a Master Spy or Assassin, a Master Ranger, two Weapon Masters and two Sorcerers, with a possible Exploration Gain of a massive 72%! However, since it would still take two turns to explore a ruin, drop one of the Individuals in favour of a Healer: an Apothecary, Guild Apothecary or - ideally - a Master Apothecary. While a Party is at much less risk than a horde of regiments, it could still encounter serious threats from time to time, and one or more of the Party might be seriously injured. An Apothecary in the Party might just save the lives of valuable Individuals, even though they cannot themselves explore or aid the Party in any other way.
An Andaluziak Ranger will not join the Party as such, but there are times when their unique talents (of which many are unknown even to most of the players who actually control them!), could be a benefit to the Party if the Andaluziak were located in the same hex as the ruin being explored .
Note that the Tribal Warlord may also join the Party is you wish to risk such an important Individual, but unless he has one of the better skills mentioned above he will only count as a Weapons Trainer, worth a mere 2% gain at most. Besides which, it is not recommended that you include a Warlord in the Party whatever his skills, unless also accompanied by a Master Apothecary: the chance of any Individual dying in a ruin when such a miracle-healer is present is very slim indeed (but still possible).
The Importance of Ruins
It is extremely important that every Warlord fully understands and appreciates the tremendous value and importance of the many ancient ruins of th land, not only in terms of the gold and gems to be found within (which IS admittedly a considerable amount), but also in terms of the valuable ancient manuscripts and artifacts which many legends indicate have a resting place in one ruin or another.
In addition to the fabled Keys of Power there are the ancient Holy Talismans to consider; 42 Minor Talismans, 21 Major Talismans and even the 7 Great Talismans of the Elysium -- the latter reputedly every bit as potent and destructive as the legendary Keys of Power themselves.
Equally as important are the Manuscripts of the ancients, whatever their nature, for any of these could prove to be the crucial difference between a tribe which prospers and one which does not, or between a tribe which survives and one which does not .
Note that just exploring 100% of any given ruin will not empty it of everything there is to find, although this will suffice to find all of the gold and gems to be had, as well as some Manuscripts. The more important or powerful items and Manuscripts will doubtless be very well hidden and require some additional condition to be met before they too can be had, such as possession of a Manuscript which details the precise location of the item or Manuscript in question. Having already explored 100% of a ruin (or being in possession of a complete Ruin Map Manuscript for that ruin, purchased on the Open Market or from another tribe), will greatly ease the considerable difficulty which is normal in searching for such items.