Overview
You are Warlord of one of the many scattered tribes of the new races, either Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Kobolds or Halflings (Hobbits) - a race of your choosing. There are seven tribes of each of the six player-controlled races, 42 tribes/players in total, though Medokh's World is populated with many other (computer-controlled) ancient races and creatures.
Each race has different advantages and disadvantages in a large variety of ways, each designed to be played in a certain fashion. The most successful Warlords will be those who correctly determine and utilise their race's own strengths to maximum effect, whilst avoiding situations where the tribe would be at a distinct disadvantage.
At the beginning of the campaign your tribe controls three settlements; two towns inhabited by your tribe's civilian population, and a strong castle guarding a potentially-hostile border. Your tribe will also have five armies of varying size in the field: the first, most powerful aremy will be in position to erect the structures needed to begin colonisation of a third town if so required. The other four armies have recently been mobilised from your two existing towns and are now prepared to carry out your bidding, whether further colonisation, exploration of nearby Regions, or even conquest of your immediate neighbours.
In addition to settlements and armies, you will also control a number of named, skilled Individuals in the employ of your tribe, as detailed later in this booklet. You may control up to fifty such Individuals at any time.
Medokh's World is a large and savage wilderness, much of it still largely unknown to your people, although your tribal archives contain a copy of a large, ancient map many centuries old. This map - apparently drafted by the legendary explorer and scholar, Saul Ruislar - covers the whole of Medokh's World at some period in past history, showing the many Regions and overall geographic features of the land, but it is not sufficiently detailed to reveal the finer details of the terrain. Tribal historians believe Ruislar's map shows the birthplaces of the forty-two tribes of the new races, as revealed to him by the Lesser Gods themselves (if local legend is to be believed).
At the start of the campaign, the aim of the tribal Warlord is to lead his or her people to prosperity. Armed regiments must be raised and trained, and armies of regiments sent forth to explore and colonise the wilderness beyond your home Region. As your armies build new, fortified hamlets, these will grow through a combination of colonists from among your own people as well as new people joining your prospering tribe from smaller local tribes of the same race.
Eventually these small hamlets will become villages, then towns, and finally, Great Cities.
Occasionally your armies will encounter hostility. This may be in the form of another powerful, neighbouring tribe competing for new lands to colonise, or perhaps some remnant of the ancient races in the land - of which Rock Trolls, Centaurs, Drow (Dark Elves), Ogres, Minotuars and Dryads are the most common.
Your forces might also encounter Independent settlements and armies belonging to the new races but not actually aligned with any of the established forty-two (player-controlled) tribes. These will also jealously guard their territorial borders in the event of hostilities.
Quite often your army commanders will beoffered the mercenary services of an army beloning to one of the ancient races, or perhsps even Independent armies from one of the new races. Once hired, and so long as your tribe remains on good terms with their race leaders, mercenaries will be loyal only to yourself: they will even fight others of their own race on your behalf, providing these are also mercenaries in the employ of another tribe who are your enemies. It is entirely possible for a rich tribe to fight its wars using only hired mercenary forces, who tend also to be veterans of many a campaign and therefore are often far better troops than most ordinary tribal warriors.
While exploring, colonising and perhaps conquering surrounding lands, as Warlord you will also need to ensure your tribe prospers at home. Population centres produce common commodities (Iron, Stone, Corn, Leather, Wood, Cloth & Meat) as well as gold Crowns, in taxes. You must endeavour to strike the best balance with a tax level which is not too hard on the population but sufficient to maintain your armies and settlements.
After the first dozen or so turns in the campaign you will need to begin giving some thought to religious matters. The new races were created as followers of Medokh and His Lesser Gods in the quest to once again banish Chaos from Medokh's World, but the Chaos Lords promise great powers and wealth to con verts of The One True Way; the path of evil. In addition there is a neutral option in the form of the nomadic Babulska tribes - the most prolific race in the land if rumour is to be believed. The Babulska worship neither Good nor Chaos, believing religious worship to be a shameful and degrading act; being called a 'believer' is the most venomous insult one Babulska could hurl at another! It is believed the Babulska welcome non-religious Warlords into their ranks, and that they have their own aims in the land which do not involve eventual victory by either Good or Chaos.
Between turns 30 and 40 the dreaded Chaos Winter will return to the land, heralding the return of the terrible Chaos Lords and their most evil minions, the Warlock Lords and the undead Mazdrakian hordes. the second Great Wars of Chaos will begin, and tribes across the length and breadth of Medokh's World will feel the icy touch of Mazdrak's foul breath as the marrow-chilling Skullwind howls down from the north. The land will freeze, as will lakes and seas across the land, and the undead Mazdrakian hordes will spew forth from their ancient resting place in the bowels of the land, bringing with them a foul stench and the touch of death. Medokh bound still in limbo, will howl in anguish. But He is helpless, the new races must face Chaos alone.
Towards the end of the campaign there will be a desperate race against time. On Turn 80 Mazdrak of the One Eye, Lord of the Netherworld and bearer of the terrible Orb of Eternal Night, will himself return to Medokh's World. Should Holy Medokh not by then have been freed from limbo, all will be lost: the forces of Chaos would then possess the power to destroy every last trace of Good in the land, effortlessly.
Prior to Mazdrak's return to the land, tremendous battles will be fought across the land over control of the Keys of Power. The Good forces desperately need to find and destroy the Keys in order to free Medokh and thereby save the world from certain destruction at the hands of Chaos. The evil followers of Mazdrak will be doing everything possible to prevent this happening, seeking control of the Keys themselves in order to draw even greater powers from these sources of the terrible Elder Magiks. The neutral Babulska, however, will be scheming to prevent either side from gaining the upper hand - at least long enough for the Babulska to themselves be in a position to triumph by destroying all religion in the land, whatever its nature or intent.
The fate of Medokh's World could well be in your hands alone.
Basic Campaign Features
A player's tribe is made up of a number of different types of settlement, each with a specific purpose in mind. These are as follows:
Towns
TOWNS are the basic population centres, but this is really a generic term used for any size of population centre from a small hamlet to a large town. The Town's populace cultivate the surrounding countryside, pay taxes, and provide recruits for the tribal armies, but they are important to the welfare and future prosperity of the tribe as a whole. Each Town is governed by local Tribal Elders, who do not always take too kindly to orders from upstart Warlords half their age. The Town Elders are also responsible for maintaining the local Guard units; bands of peasant militia trained for local defence in the event of hostilities. The Warlord may, however, also Garrison regular troops within a Town, or recruit local Guard units into the regular army as Garrison troops.
Cities
CITIES are simply very large towns. They can hold more people, more Guard regiments and more Garrison regiments then can even the largest Town, and will often have more extensive fortifications also. A Capital City is a great benefit to the tribe.
Shrines
SHRINES are places of religious worship, ranging from a small shrine to a Great Temple. In war-torn Medokh's World these are often fortified as with all other settlements, and quite frequently they will be seen guarded by fanatical warrior-priests of the Blood Guard cults - elite warriors trained from childhood in the martial service of their God. Shrines are also the homes of Mystics and Loremasters; dabblers in the arcane Mysteries of Life from which all 'magik' force is drawn.
Fortifications
FORTIFICATIONS are military strong-posts constructed purely with defence in mind, only rarely containing more than a handful of civilians. Forts range in size from small Watch-towers to majestic Great Castles, and act as bases for wide-ranging scouts as well as local defence units. In wilderness areas and along hostile borders they are also used as safe shelters by travellers and merchant caravans, making them ideal sources of useful gossip and rumours.
The (computer-controlled) Malkahai, an ancient and mysterious race, also use Great Castles as Fortified Trading Posts. These may be found throughout the land.
Gem Mines
GEM MINES are extended Fortifications, erected either on top of or very near to valuable sources of precious gemstones. At a distance they would appear indistinguishable from ordinary Forts, but at close range the mounds of rubble and obvious activity would usually mark them clearly as Gem Mines. Independent Gem Mines are found scattered throughout the land at the beginning of the campaign, but it is widely believed that there are many, many more untapped sources of precious gemstones still to be found. You may capture existing Gem Mines by siege but you cannot build your own new mines until a Surveyor Individual in your employ (of any level of skill) has discovered an untapped source of Gemstones.
Wizard's Towers
WIZARD'S TOWERS are also very similar to military Fortifications (indeed, ordinary Fortifications may be 'converted' to such by a skilled Sorcerer), and are also difficult to tell apart except at close range. Wizard's Towers are used for Spell Research when Shrines are not a practical option. They also afford much better protection against magical attacks than any other type of settlement (at a price) and are therefore ideal for housing valuable individuals. Wizard's Towers may be captured by siege, but you cannot build your own until you employ a Loremaster, Magician or Sorcerer.
MILITARY FORCES OVERVIEW
A tribe's military forces may consist of several different types of troops, and will doubtless encounter even stranger types, as follows:
Guard Regiments
GUARD REGIMENTS are units of part-time peasant militia; the 'Home Guard'. They are raised within Towns and Cities by the local Tribal Elders without consulting the Warlord, despite the fact that you're expected to contribute towards their upkeep in the military budget. It's called politics. Guard regiments are often poorly trained and equipped, but usually manage to make up for this inadequacy with sheer enthusiasm - when they've got a big wall to hide behind. As Warlord of the tribe you may muster any number of existing Guard regiments into regular Garrison regiment, where they will undergo proper basic training and receive better equipment.
Garrison Regiments
GARRISON REGIMENTS are full-time soldiers, mustered from the part-time 'Home Guard'. They defend the settlement at which they are based and send scouting patrols out to protect the surrounding countryside against marauding bandits.
Garrison regiments may be mustered into mobile Field Armies at the Warlord's command.
Field Army Regiments
FIELD ARMY REGIMENTS are also full-time soldiers and will generally form the bulk of any tribe's military forces, particularly as the campaign proceeds.
Armies may march, train, R&R, construct settlements, improve defences, explore ruins or specific areas of the land, raid or besiege any enemy settlements, and attack enemy armies in the field. They may also be accompanied by any number of skilled Individuals, many of which would greatly benefit an Army.
Mercenary Armies
MERCENARY ARMIES may be of almost any of the races, ancient and new. Once hired by the commander of one of your armies (if ordered to do so), a Mercenary band may either follow your own army dutifully and join in on subsequent battles and sieges, or may be given entirely separate marching and battle orders as if one of your own tribal armies. Mercenaries are purely for defence or offence though - they will never consent to manual labour such as erecting fortifications or new settlements.
The Blood Guard
THE BLOOD GUARD cults are fanatical, deadly warrior-priests trained from childhood in the arts of warfare. Sworn enemies of Chaos, they are the most dedicated followers of Medokh and the Lesser Gods and are often referred to as The Faithful. Later in the campaign the Blood Guard will come under the control of (player-controlled) High Priests and Knight Crusaders, and with the Holy Crusade Order will be brought forth from their precious Shrines to lead the forces of Good against those of Chaos.
The Undead Mazdrakians
THE UNDEAD MAZDRAKIANS are the zombie hordes of Chaos, and their return to the open land during daylight will herald the return to the land of the dreaded Chaos Lords themselves; the beginning of Chaos Winter. It is the day that the Blood Guard have been preparing for since the end of the last Great wars of Chaos, almost 700 years ago.
The Malkahai
THE MALKAHAI are not outwardly one of the aggressive ancient races, but are noted in this section as a tribute to the sheer power they wield in the modern land. It is said that what they cannot achieve through military prowess alone, they can buy: for almost a thousand years the Malkahai have dominated trade throughout the land using an extensive network of fortified trading posts.
Their absolute monopoly has been challenged only once throughout this period, and of the people who attempted this no trace will ever again be found.
The Babulska
THE BABULSKA are said to be the most prolific race in the land, but these fierce nomads never stay in one place long enough for anybody to actually count them! Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that there are more Babulska wandering the land than there are fleas on an Orc's posterior.
INDIVIDUALS OVERVIEW
In addition to settlements and armies, the third powerful arm of any Medokh tribe is in the form of skilled Individuals. Usually these offer their services to the highest bidder on the Malkahai-operated Open Market, but sometimes they are newly-trained members of your own tribe who prefer to work for yourself rather than offer their services to the highest bidder (or pay the exhorbitant Malkahai commission for using the Open Market!).
The tribe's Warlord is also an Individual in the game, usually highly skilled such as a Warlord-Sorcerer or a Warlord-Battle Master. This is your own character in the game (but don't worry, you also get to play the successor should your Warlord die!).
A tribe may control up to fifty skilled Individuals at any one time, and there are over 130 different types to choose from! These range from rare and powerful types such as Master Rangers, Sorcerers, Battle Masters, Master Assassins, Siege Masters, etc. through lesser types like Orators, Spies, Armourers, Trackers and Apothecaries, to the lowly Craft Guildmasters such as Master Farmers, Master Mason and Master Miners. For practically every feature of the campaign there is a skilled Individual able to improve performance - if he's in the right place at the right time.
One of the most significant uses of skilled Individuals is in the ability to form a Party of Adventurers. Certain specialist types of Individuals may form together in a group for the purpose of exploring the ancient ruins of the land, carefully. This is a far superior method to exploring with troops as a small party of highly-skilled Individuals are able to reap much greater benefit from successful exploration, particularly as regards discovering and understanding ancient Manuscripts describing the lost lore of the ancients.
Tribal Lore
A cornerstone of tribal power is knowledge. Knowledge takes many forms but in particular the most important knowledge to gain during the early turns of a Medokh campaign is termed Common Lore. There are seven Common Lores - one each for the common commodities of Iron, Stone, Corn, Leather, Wood, Cloth and Meat - and at the beginning of the campaign your tribe will possess rudimentary but variable knowledge of each; as a 'Researched Lore'. As the term suggests, any of the common lores may be researched by tribal scholars with an expenditure in gold Crowns.
Each Town and City belonging to the tribe also has its own Lore level for each of the seven common commodity lores. When the Researched level has been pushed higher than any Town's corresponding Lore, the latter may be upgraded with a further expenditure in Crowns. A higher Lore represents increased knowlege, so - for example - upgrading Corn Lore at a Town is assumed to be instructing the farmers there how to grow better crops. Perhaps the research invented an improved corn grinder, or a windmill, or a potent new fertiliser, but regardless of what the actual increase in Lore entails, upgrading a Town's Lore in any commodity will thereafter improve that Town's production of this commodity every turn (and therefore also increase the taxes you collect!).
Common Commodity Lores are also inked in various ways. For instance, improving Iron Lore will not only increase iron production, it will also enable better tools to be made for all of the other commodities: a tougher chisel for the stone masons; a better plough for the farmers; a sharper saw for the carpenters, etc.
Generally speaking, for a Town or City to enjoy maximum possible production, all of its Common Commodity Lores should be upgraded to 100% eventually.
In addition to the seven Common Commodity Lores there are numerous other types of more advanced Lore able to be researched by Tribal Scholars. These briefly are as follows:
Military Theory
MILITARY THEORY is the art of leadership and battlefield command. Training regimental officers in this Lore will increase discipline in the field and leadership control in battle. It is a relatively expensive Lore and so is often neglected by many Warlords, usually to their severe disadvantage sooner or later.
Practical Military Lore
PRACTICAL MILITARY LORE is the study and invention of the tools of warfare; arms and armour. Once researched higher than the Practical Lore of troops in a Garrison or Army, those troops may have their equipment upgraded and be trained in the use of the new equipment.
Natural Lore
NATURAL LORE is one of the most important Lores although at first glance it might not appear worth the extremely high cost of researching it. Natural Lore deals with the geography of the land, of its fauna and flora. Don't underestimate the tremendous effect that possession of such knowledge could have on the tribe in a huge variety of ways.
The Lesser Mysteries
THE LESSER MYSTERIES are the key to understanding the mystical precious gemstones of Medokh's World, and with such understanding comes great power.
There are various forms of Magik to be found on Medokh's World but by far the most easily-accessed is Common or 'White' Magik, which consumes precious gemstone to release magical force. Unfortunately, research of the Lesser Mysteries - unlike the above-mentioned Lores - consumes gemstones not gold, so this can prove a very expensive Lore to research.
The Greater Mysteries
THE GREATER MYSTERIES are the key to understanding Elder Magiks and the powers of the Gods. Through Greater Mysteries alone may all answers be revealed, but unfortunately once again this research also requires abundant consumption of the precious gemstones of Medokh's World.
There are various other types of 'Lore' in the campaign, not least of which is Spell Research. There ar 126 different Spell Rituals available in each game, covering a wide variety of amazing powers. Other Lores are rare indeed, being treasure of the ancients lost with the simple passing of time but waiting, somewhere, to be discovered once again.
All Lores may also be transcribed in Manuscript form, either for sale to the highest bidder on the Open Market for such items, or as a gift to an allied tribe. Such as a 'Manuscript of Knowledge' is more commonly known as a MOK: Corn MOK, Iron MOK, Spell MOK, etc.
MOKs may also be found by chance, such as by a party of Adventurers exploring the ancient ruins of the land.
TRIBAL GOVERNMENT
The Warlord of a tribe must also choose what form of Government he or she intends to lead, choosing between Republic, Monarchy and Despot as follows:
Monarchy
A MONARCHY is the form of Government your tribe starts with, but your initial Warlord is assumed to not yet have made a decision on how he or she intends to rule the tribe, so may choose to alter this at any later stage. However, each Warlord character may alter the Government type of the tribe only once during his/her lifetime - though successors may make their own decision.
A Monarchy is the 'middle ground' between the two opposite extremes of Republic and Despot. It has neither great advantages nor great disadvantages, and all rules in the Rule Compendium and all Supplementary Rules Sheets apply to a Monarchy exactly as stated therein.
Republican
A REPUBLICAN form of Government is always more popular with the common people, so enjoys significant morale and taxation benefits. Republican Governments are also more acceptable to the people of other tribes in the land, making this form of government particularly influential. There are of course some disadvantages to being a Republic. First and foremost, the Warlord of the tribe turns much of the power over to an elected Senate of Tribal Elders, and will thereafter act more as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The Warlord also loses the right to declare any Diplomatic Attitudes on behalf of the tribe, so has to wage war and make peace with tribes according to the whim of the Senate, who act on the opinions of the people of the tribe.
Despot
A DESPOT, on the other hand, rules the tribe with the backing of the military, whose loyalty is assured by the simple expedient of paying them double the normal wages. Under a declared Despot the common people have little or no say in tribal affairs and the Warlord is free to change Diplomatic Attitudes at will. Army life is also preferable to being a common peasant under a Despot's rule, so there is never any shortage of eager recruits for the tribe's armies.
However, a Despot will always rule over a troubled and fairly unhappy populace, and this will be reflected in the economic prosperity of the tribe (or rather, the lack of such). As if that wasn't enough of a deterrent to would-be Despots, unhappy citizens may revolt against the Warlord's rule, aiming to make their settlement Independent or be accepted into another established tribe, preferable one ruled by a Republican form of Government.
There are of course more advantages and disadvantages concerning your choice of Government type, but we have outlined the major ones here to give a feel for the sort of real-life decisions you're forced to make as a Warlord in The Keys of Medokh. Note that Orcs and Kobolds make the best Despots, Elves and Hobbits make the best Republics, and Dwarves and Humans make the best Monarchies. In all cases this reduces the disadvantages associated with a particular Government type if it's the one most suitable to your race.