Table of Contents Part I: Getting Started................................................................2 Book I: Of the World and Its Denizens............................................................................2 Book II: Of Succor in Times of Need..............................................................................2 Book III: Herein You Create a Noble..............................................................................2 Book IV: Of the Scenarios You Can Play......................
Part I: Getting Started reetings, noble lord. Herein begins a chronicle for deeds of arms and acts of chivalry with full and proper instruction in the arts of war and the training proper to a prince for the good governance of his lands. May the wise prince profit well from this so that he shall be proclaimed as one of the Lords of the Realm! G Book I: Of the World and Its Denizens As a newcomer to the Realm, you will encounter many new and wondrous things.
Book IV: Of the Scenarios You Can Play In single player mode, Lords III is organized into Campaigns and Battles. Campaigns - Irish, English, French, and German - are linked scenarios that recreate major events in each kingdom's history. The first time through, the scenarios in a campaign must be played in order; every time you win a scenario, the next one in the campaign is unlocked. Once you have unlocked a scenario, you can play it without going through the campaign progression.
Part II: The Battle Level ingdoms are won and lost on the battlefield, and the ability to lead your troops successfully is a boon to any leader. Heed the following advice and you may become the stuff of legends. K Battles take place on the Battle Level screen, which is made up of the Main Window, the Army Display, the Information Panel, the Action Buttons, and the Mini-Map. Book I: On the Main Window You view the battlefield and the companies on it in the Main Window.
knight, of that company. You can also select multiple companies by lassoing them in this view. When a company is selected, the base of every soldier in the company is highlighted. Book II: Herein the Army Display is Revealed The Army Display gives you a quick look at all the companies of your army. Each is represented by an icon that shows its troop type. Under each icon is a bar that shows the current health of the company, measured in men lost.
When a company is selected, the cursor changes when it is over an appropriate target to indicate what command will be given. Hand Sword Glowing Sword Arrow Ladder Siege Tower Door Boulder Move Attack In Charge Range Missile Fire Scale Wall Enter Siege Tower/Move to Wall Enter Castle Structure Attack Castle (Siege Engines) Book V: Knights and the Companies Under Their Command Armies on the Battle Level are divided into Companies composed of Soldiers under the command of a Company Leader.
Kingdom Knights are amongst the best warriors of their day with more offensive ability and endurance than Regional knights. They typically have multiple special abilities. Champions (dressed in silver) are heroes in battle, performing deeds of valor that belittle those of normal men and go down in history. Grand Champions (armored in gold) are peers, the best of the best. They are the stuff of legends. Garrison Captains are better fighters than typical Swordsman, but nowhere in the league of a knight.
enemy. Missile troops - archers and crossbowmen - are an important adjunct to any army. They have the ability to attack the enemy at a distance and can weaken powerful enemy companies before they engage in hand-to-hand combat with your melee troops. Soldier types are: Peasants. Peasants are lightly armed, disposable melee troops that win by attacking en masse and overwhelming the enemy.
Offense Melee Offense Ranged Defense Morale Mobility Formations Special Abilities Good N/A Low Average Average Column Line Skirmish Armor Piercing Ranged Defense Warriors. Fierce warriors are drawn from rural or barbarian tribes. They charge into battle with gusto, wielding large two-handed battle axes and wearing light armor that does not slow their advance. Their hard-hitting weapons are good for attack. They know few formations.
repel charges. Though their heavier armor makes them slow afoot, they are a force to be reckoned with. Offense Melee Offense Ranged Defense Morale Mobility Formations Special Abilities Average N/A High High Very Slow Column Line Shield Wall Skirmish Heavy Armor Ranged Defense Nobles. Nobles are elite soldiers, drawn from wealthy landholders in times of war. They are highly trained in combat, wear only the best armor and carry heavy polearms that deal destructive blows.
Special Abilities Column Mantlet Skirmish Armor Piercing Bowmen. Bowmen, unlike their crossbow wielding counterparts, are trained professionals who have grown up firing the bow and training to use it in formations. Bowmen wear little armor, preferring to stay light and mobile. When forced to engage in melee combat, they drop their bows and pull out swords.
Formations Line Column Skirmish Special Abilities Heavy Armor Armor Piercing Welsh Longbowmen (England). Practitioners of the longbow spend years learning their craft, and no place has the art of the bow been taken to greater heights than in Wales. It is the Welsh who are credited with first using the longbow in war and later perfecting the tactics. Welsh longbowmen are often found amongst the wealthiest of lords in England or as highly paid mercenary bands in other countries.
Offense Melee Offense Ranged Defense Morale Mobility Formations Special Abilities High N/A Exceptional Exceptional Very Fast Line Column Skirmish Armor Piercing Masterpiece Armor Highlanders (Scotland). The fierce highlanders of Scotland are rugged warriors, famous for their large two-handed swords called claymores. Highlanders are experts in traveling quickly over rough terrain and making swift hit and run strikes.
Offense Melee Offense Ranged Defense Morale Mobility Formations Special Abilities Good N/A Exceptional Exceptional Very Slow Column Line Skirmish Shield Wall Heavy Armor Ranged Defense Swiss Pikemen (S. Germany). The Swiss pikemen are perhaps the most professional soldiers. They spurn armor in favor of mobility. This, combined with their superior formation training, allow them unparalleled battlefield maneuverability for foot soldiers.
Goedendag (Flanders). The Goedendag is a uniquely Flemish invention, a deadly two handed club, shod with a long iron spike affixed to the end. The Godendag formation is very effective against both cavalry and heavily armored infantry. Offense Melee Offense Ranged Defense Morale Mobility Formations Special Abilities High N/A Average Average Slow Column Line Phalanx Schiltrom Armor Piercing First Strike Heavy Armor Book VII: How a Noble Moves and Faces His Units There are two ways to move a company.
arrow and an outline of the company formation will appear at the target point. Moving the mouse causes the arrow to pivot 360º. When the mouse button is released, the company will move to the location and orient themselves in the direction chosen. When a move order is given the company marches by the most direct route. Swamp, mud and scrub will slow company movement considerably. Rivers are impassible except at bridges and fords. If attacked while moving the company will cancel the move order and fight.
Shield Wall. The shield wall is a defensive formation designed to block off an area of the battlefield, a gap in a defensive line or a hole in a castle wall. The soldiers form a tight line, their shields interlocked, and attempt to ward off any attempts to breach their defenses. This hampers their offense, but this is more than made up for by their defense in many situations. Advantage: High bonus to defense, especially against charges. Good bonus to morale. Disadvantage: Slow movement rate. Phalanx.
While soldiers hold their formations as long as they can, formations have a tendency to break down as battles progress. Book IX: On the Abilities of Soldiers Special abilities help to make each soldier type unique and aids in emphasizing the soldier's role in the battle. Every soldier has a different combination of special abilities. Special abilities are used automatically. You do not have to instruct soldiers to use them. Heavy Armor. A soldier with heavy armor has increased defensive capabilities.
when a melee attack will be made. There may be times when you want to override the default attack mode. In these cases, use the Missile/Melee button to switch weapons of the company. When the bow icon appears, the company attacks with missile fire; when the sword is shown, it will make a melee attack. Both infantry and cavalry companies can charge over short distances. Charges are powerful attacks that increase the damage a company does on initial impact with the enemy.
To use a siege tower, select the tower and move the cursor over the castle wall you wish to assault. When the assault wall icon appears, right-click to move the tower towards the wall. Both an empty and loaded siege tower can be moved to a wall. Once a siege tower successfully makes it to the targeted wall, the company of soldiers inside the tower will automatically storm the wall. As long as a siege tower remains in contact with a wall, other companies can use it to climb the walls from outside.
Book XIII: On Taking a Castle Once walls are breached, your troops can storm through the castle to fight defenders. You can order your soldiers to any part of the castle by clicking the desired location. The company will move to the nearest entrance (usually a tower) and then go to the location, provided the way is not blocked by enemy troops. As the battle progresses, you can measure your success by the number of your troops on castle walls and tower tops.
Book XV: The Perils and Rewards of Doing Battle Battle lasts until one side flees the field. A company's morale is indicated by the color of its icon on the Army Display: the color ranges from green to yellow and then into orange and red as morale is lowered. Green is good morale, yellow means the company is shaken and deep orange to red means the company is on the verge of routing.
In a Conquest scenario, when one side orders a withdrawal, the battle ends and the game returns to the Strategic Level. The withdrawing army must retreat a safe distance before the player can issue it new orders. Part III: Strategic Level Armies march and wealth is earned on the Strategic Level. Here, you develop your lands and make strategic military decisions.
have a parcel where no vassal is assigned. Clicking on it will instantly take you to that parcel. If you have more than one empty parcel, repeated presses will cycle you through all your unassigned lands. The Empty Parcel is also activated by pressing F4 on the keyboard. The Mini-Map shows the world and the location of known friendly and enemy armies. You can left-click to move the map view to any location on the map.
Book II: On Vassals and Their Duties Vassals give parcels of land their function. When you assign a vassal to a parcel, he puts that land to use depending on his particular type. The four types of vassals are Knight, Clergy, Burgher, and Serf. To see the vassals available to you, select View Vassals from the Action Buttons. This displays portraits of your unassigned vassals in the Selection Bar and the Action Buttons associated with vassals.
strengthen as parcels improve; the walls get better and the fief acquires a small garrison. Castles must be upgraded, as explained below. Castles also generate construction points, which are needed to upgrade or make repairs after combat.
Serfs feed your armies and provide labor to build castles. The Information Panel lists name, power level, and whether the serf has any special abilities. Once assigned a parcel, it will also show points of food produced and if a retainer is attached to the parcel. Serfs create farms on parcels and manors on estates. As they develop they produce more points of food and construction points. Each point of food can supply one company.
Special Ability Accuracy Applies to Army Additional Company Army Additional Siege Engine Army Architect Parcel Armorer Parcel Bravery Army Builder Parcel Chivalrous Political Consumption Army Crusader Political Devotion Parcel Diplomatic Political Engineering Army Farmer Parcel Ferocity Army Financier Parcel Good Employer Parcel Bonus Penalty Decreases the offensive Increases the offensive rating of missile attacks rating of missile attacks Grants an additional company of m
Special Ability Applies to Bonus Honorable Political Industrious Parcel Loot Army Loyalty Army Luck Knight Periodically increases Honor Increases the number of construction points provided by castles, cities, fiefs, farms and manor houses Increases the amount of loot a knight’s army can pillage after a battle Increases the morale recovery rate for companies at castles or fiefs Decreases the likelihood of capture or death Mobility Army Negotiator Parcel Piety Political Quartermaster Army
Book III: Regarding the Use of Armies When a Knight is assigned to a parcel or estate, an army appears on the map at his fief or castle. The Knight commands this army. Selecting an army changes the Action Buttons to those used by armies: Move, Force March, Pillage, Reorganize and Orders. The View Armies button displays all your armies in the Selection Bar. The banners in the Selection Bar have icons indicating whether the army is currently in battle, in the field, or occupying a castle, fief, or city.
diers will fight to the best of their abilities. When you leave a battle, your soldiers will attempt to carry out whatever commands you have given them before making their own decisions. It is possible for several battles to occur at the same time, and you must choose which battles to oversee. Finally, unless an army is of high quality or high morale, it may surrender before battle begins when faced by overwhelming odds.
The distance between an army and friendly lands, and the presence of enemy armies, fiefs and castles, determines how much food it actually receives. Armies that don't receive full rations are forced to forage. Armies that receive no food are out of supply. Foraging slows an army's movement and causes its morale to drop. When out of supply, an army's movement is greatly slowed and the morale loss is severe. When a company's morale drops too low, soldiers desert.
Agents include: Assassin. An assassin can be hired to attempt to kill a specific vassal. After you hire the assassin, select the parcel where the targeted vassal resides. If the assassination is successful, the vassal will be killed immediately. The noble house pays the diplomatic and monetary cost whether or not the attempt is successful. Corrupt Cardinal. A corrupt cardinal can be hired to ruin a noble house's Christianity..
The list of retainers includes: Artists. Artists work for a church or cathedral and increase the parcel's production bonus. Alewife. Alewives work on manors or farms and increase the food production of the parcel. Holy Scholars. Holy scholars work at Cathedrals and increase the Christianity bonus. Mason. Masons work at Castles and increase construction point production. Mediator. Mediators are assigned to castles.
When a castle is damaged during combat, it can be repaired after the battle is over. For damaged castles, a Repair option appears. Click Repair to restore a damaged castle. Book VII: On Garrisons A castle can hold a single army plus all garrison troops stationed there. If an entering army would exceed the limit, no companies of that army will enter (although individual companies an be ordered to enter separately). Armies are moved into castles by selecting the army and rightclicking the castle.
The Map shows parcels with region and kingdom borders indicated. Each parcel is color-coded to show who owns it. Estate locations are marked by icons. The buttons above the map allow you to display additional information. The Information Display shows your ratings: Chivalry, Christianity and Honor. The remaining information depends on what is selected. Politics shows the actions possible toward other noble houses.
It decreases when you raze serf and clergy parcels, pillage (especially for pillaging your own or church lands), fight battles in enemy territory (unless the enemy is excommunicated or a heretic), fight battles on enemy church parcels, and fight battles in enemy cathedral regions. Lords with high Christianity attract the pious, virtuous and diligent.
Break Alliance allows you to end any alliance by decree. This causes an immediate loss of Honor and puts both houses into a state of peace. The Give action opens a panel where you can give crowns to other nobles. When you have entered the amount you want to give, click the Give button to complete the action. By giving gifts you can influence the opinion other nobles hold of you. The Accept/Decline Offers button lets you decide on offers of peace and alliance made by other players to you.
To join an existing game, select the game from the list and press Join. This takes you to the staging lobby where you can see and chat with the other players. Once done, you press Ready. When all players have signaled they are ready, the game will begin. To host a game, press the Create Game button. You will enter the staging lobby, where you select and name a scenario and set game conditions.
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