Champion of the Raj (raj_man_en.txt)

CHAMPIONS 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, 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 terrorism, 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
5 = FIRE (ENTER or SPACE can also be used to FIRE.)

You normally use the joystick, mouse or keypad to move a hand around the screen.
Most of the game is controlled by icons (little pictures for e.g. Yes, No, Talk,
Fight, etc.) and you move the hand so that its finger-tip is on the icon you
want, and FIRE to select it. (This is also called "clicking on" the
icon). Only icons which make sense are shown; e.g. 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:

+/-     = adjust game speed.
M       = toggles music on/off.
P       = pauses the game, R to resume or C to continue.
S       = toggles sound effects on/off
CTRL C =  cancels the game and quits to workbench.

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
happy 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
plain blue flags while others have the national flags of their 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 - for what percentage number the icon means.

Gold - for precisely how much tax the emperor will get next turn.

If the state is part of an empire, the Army, 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 - for the chance to hire more troops

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 weapons, (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 the 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 e.g. 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. Succeed, and all the
vassal states of the empire are captured with its capital. Fail, and you only
get the capital.

ARCADE GAMES

Your decisions 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 dozens 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. The first elephant to get its nose past the winning
post wins.

Push the joystick left and right to steer, up to slow and down to speed up your
elephant. Or press fire and move the joystick to whip in the corresponding
direction. Watch out for dirty tactics from your opponent, and don't go too
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 remnants of the defeated armies (those who have not already run
away). Then news reached you that the former rulers are preparing to leave their
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 government 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 than 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 individual 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 moving a highlight across a 3x3 grid. Left-right movement controls
wether your hero tried to attack, stand or retreat. In turn, these affect the
probability of parries working (retreating is safest, but a hero can only
retreat so far). Up down movement selects high, middle or low blows.

Each opponent is more vulnerable to one attack type than 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, than to attack valiantly and die from your injuries.

Quiz