STRONGHOLD RESOURCES and FAQ ============================================================================= Current Version: 1.2 Last Revision: 19th March 2009 Status: Complete. Will update as necessary! By camelotcrusade. Copyrighted material 2009, 1993. ============================================================================= * The source materials for this document came from the original game itself, as well as from a 1995 re-release of the game on CD-ROM. This version included help documents only accessible via a DOS prompt and with the doxReader program on the CD. I first converted these to .txt documents and then began cleaning them up for use here. * Evidently the doxReader texts were created with a scanning program used to convert printed text into digital text. However, nobody bothered to check the spelling from the scanner and some of it was atrocious. * I have added comments and clarifications where beneficial to the addendum text and I additionally deleted a large block of text that apparently described another game but was somehow added to the addendum by SSI. From there it just grew and grew... see the version notes at the end for details. * I have chosen not to reformat and correct the text-based manual at this time. It�s really in a sorry state. I find it easier to use the PDF manual from replacementdocs.com. If I get requests to reformat it (or even better, an offer to help me if I send the crazy .txt) then I may consider it. ============================================================================= BULLETIN: I've added a link to DOWNLOAD the game for free, per SSI See section 5.1 for details. (3/19/2009) ============================================================================= This resource contains the following sections: 1.1 STRONGHOLD BUILDINGS 1.2 PLAYER BUILDING DATA 1.3 ENEMY BUILDING DATA 1.4 FACTION COMPARISONS 2.1 STRONGHOLD MANUAL ADDENDUM 2.2 ADDITIONAL GAME NOTES ON CONTROLS AND SETTINGS 3.1 RULEBOOK ERRATA & CORRECTIONS 4.1 STRONGHOLD COPY PROTECTION CODE WORD SHEET 5.1 RUNNING, BUYING, AND FINDING THE GAME 6.1 TIPS AND TRICKS FROM THE AUTHOR 7.1 COPYRIGHT INFORMATION 8.1 VERSION NOTES This document has been a labor of love� unfortunately this game is old, hardly anyone plays it anymore. Though I wish it would be revised and updated for the modern PC I�m not sure that will ever happen. It would be a great GBA game if you ask me. Anyway, if you do read this FAQ and enjoy playing STRONGHOLD, I�d love to hear from you (camelotcrusade @ fuse.net) Cheers, and happy gaming. ============================================================================= 1.1 STRONGHOLD BUILDINGS ============================================================================= A complete list of Stronghold buildings follows in section 1.2 and 1.3. Each building has several categories of data: BUILDER Which classes can build this structure. Some may be built only by specific character classes, some only by the baron, others by anyone, and finally some require specific ranks awarded by the game. INCOME How much money this building produces each turn. A negative number indicates how much the building costs to maintain per turn. COST The amount of money required to construct this building. POPULATION CAPACITY The number of people this building can house. FOOD PRODUCTION How much food this building creates each turn. Spring and summer productions shown. Production rises 125% in the fall and decreases to 25% in the winter. Other factors: near water=200%; green ground=150%; tan ground(hills)=75%; brown ground(high mountains)=37%, halfling =150% income *and* production. FOOD STORAGE How much food the building stores. DURABILITY How long a building lasts while under attack or abandoned. ============================================================================= 1.2 PLAYER BUILDING DATA ============================================================================= Numbers and words separated by slash (/) symbols denote upgrades. For example, under the heading for Farm are the words Plot/Farm/Plantation. When you first build it, it will be a Plot, and the first set of numbers in each column applies. After the first upgrade, it becomes a Farm and you refer to the second set of numbers. If only one number appears in any category, that number remains constant through all the upgrade levels. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ARENA builder: BARON (at DUKE level) income: - 25 cost: 5000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 65 Increases training STRONGHOLD-wide. Available at promotion level Duke. Training boost starts at 40%, and increases 4% for every promotion thereafter. Can only build one arena, and can only be built by the Duke. ARMORY Leatherworks/Shieldsmith/Armory builder: DWARF or FIGHTER income: -10/-20/-30 cost: 400/1700/5000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 20/40/60 Provides armor based on the level of the armory. Level 1 will provide armor to units without armor (except for mages). Level 2 and 3 generate superior armor types. Distributes to one unit per turn. Multiple armories distribute faster. BAKERY Bread Shop/Bakehouse/Bakery builder: HALFLING income: 4/8/16 cost: 800/150/2800 population capacity: 0 food production (base): 4/8/16 seasonally: spring (1/2/4), summer (2/4/8), fall (4/8/16),winter (5/10/20) food storage: 0 durability: 20/40/60 Generates income and produces food. Food rate is 25% of normal in spring, 50% in summer, 100% in fall, and 125% in winter. BAZAAR Trading Post/Trade Faire/Bazaar builder: ANYONE income: variable cost: 400/800/1600 population capacity: 0 food production: +/-: 5/15/40 food storage: 0 durability: 10/14/22 Bazaar: Buys or sells 5-15-40 food during a food shortage or surplus at rate of one gold piece per food unit. Won't buy food unless food stores are empty. Available at promotion level Count. BRIDGE builder: ANYONE income: -5 cost: 200 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 60 Bridges allow passage of all units, even enemy units, over water into an adjacent block. Bridges must be built over water. BUILDER'S HALL builder: ANYONE income: -5 cost: 1000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 50 Builder's Hall: Repairs all damaged buildings for the owner once per year, starting with spring. Two halls allow two repairs a year, etc., up to four halls repairing four times a year. CLERIC HOUSE Chamber/Refuge/Retreat builder: CLERIC income: 0 cost: 10/200/800 population capacity: 2/10/15 food production: 0 food storage: 30/160/500 durability: 20/60/99 CLERIC KEEP Keep/Fortress/Castle builder: CLERIC income: 0/-9/-18 cost: 0/2000/8000 population capacity: 20/100/250 food production: 5 food storage: 150/800/2500 durability: 30/70/99 DWARF HOUSE Home/Hall/Mansion builder: DWARF income: 0 cost: 10/200/800 population capacity: 2/7/18 food production: 0 food storage: 20/100/350 durability: 30/60/99 DWARF KEEP Keep/Fortress/Castle builder: DWARF income: 0/-10/-20 cost: 0/2000/8000 population capacity: 20/70/180 food production: 5 food storage: 100/500/1750 durability: 30/70/99 ELF GARDEN Nursery/Flower Garden/Elf Garden builder: ELF income: -8/-16/-24 cost: 1000/5000/10000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 10/20/30 Increases the rate at which units gain experience (for leveling up). Trains all units belonging to the leader, not just the ones in the block with the training hall. Begins training the first unit that arrived at the STRONGHOLD, then cycles through other units in order of appearance. Multiple training halls train units faster. ELF HOUSE House/Cottage/Home builder: ELF income: 0 cost: 10/250/900 population capacity: 2/7/15 food production: 0 food storage: 10/120/400 durability: 10/40/80 ELF KEEP Keep/Fortress/Castle builder: ELF income: 0/-8/-18 cost: 0/2500/9000 population capacity: 10/70/150 food production: 5 food storage: 75/500/1500 durability: 20/40/60 ELF TREE Elf Tree/Elf Grove/Elf Forest builder: ELF income: 2/6/18 cost: 30/600/4000 population capacity: 0/2/10 food production: 10/20/40 food storage: 0/10/100 durability: N/A Elf trees do provide extra population and food storage but the in-game feedback (clicking information) does not indicate this. However, if you check your values for this at the STRONGHOLD or keep and then chop down the tree, you will see a decrease of the above amount. FARM Plot/Farm/Plantation builder: ANYONE income: variable cost: 10/500/3000 population capacity: 0 food production: variable food storage: 0 durability: 10/20/30 Production rises to 125% in the fall and decreases to 25% in the winter. Other factors: near water=200%; green ground=150%; tan ground(hills)=75%; brown ground(high mountains)=37%;halfling=150% to income and food production FIGHTER HOUSE Residence/House/Mansion builder: FIGHTER income: 0 cost: 10/100/500 population capacity: 2/8/20 food production: 0 food storage: 18/80/220 durability: 20/50/80 FIGHTER KEEP Keep/Fortress/Castle builder: FIGHTER income: 0/-10/-20 cost: 0/1000/5000 population capacity: 20/80/200 food production: 5 food storage: 90/400/1100 durability: 30/60/90 FLETCHER Arrowmaker/Arrowsmith/Fletcher's Shop builder: ELF income: -10/-20/-30 cost: 600/2500/6500 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 15/30/50 First level repairs broken bows, first upgrade makes +1 bows, second upgrade makes +2. Bows are distributed to one unit per turn. Multiple flecheries distribute faster. FORESTER'S CAMP builder: ANYONE income: -4 cost: 100 population capacity: 5 food production: 0 food storage: 50 durability: 15 Units claim trees automatically after a camp is built, moving into new blocks to claim trees similar to how units set to auto-build will build houses automatically. FORGE Metalworks/Swordmaker's Shop/Forge builder: ANYONE (except MAGE or ELF) income: -10/-20/-30 cost: 500/2000/6000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 20/40/60 First level repairs broken weapons, first upgrade makes +1 weapons, second upgrade makes +2. Weapons are distributed to one unit per turn. Multiple Forges distribute faster. GAMING HALL Dice Den/Card Parlor/Gaming Hall builder: THIEF income: 5/10/20 cost: 400/700/1300 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 10/15/30 Generates income and increases income for inns at the expense of other party members at the rate of 3% per upgrade, up to a maximum of 50% of the STRONGHOLD's total income. So, if the total Stronghold income is 300, a Dice Den skims 9 gp from that total if the leader has an inn. Each Hall requires its own inn to skim gold. GATE Gate/Sturdy Gate/Manned Gate builder: ANYONE income: -8/-10/-12 cost: 200/300/450 population capacity: 0/0/4 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 10/40/80 Gates allow passage of friendly units only. N/S gates allow E/W passage and vice versa. GLASSWORKS builder: THIEF income: -8 cost: 1500 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 view range: +5 durability: 40 Requires a level 3 (or higher) thief to build. Increases the view range of towers by 5 blocks. Also distributes mirrors (to one unit per turn) for protection in combat against medusae. GRANARY Storage Shed/Storehouse/Granary builder: ANYONE income: -10/-25/-40 cost: 100/600/5000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 500/3000/10000 durability: 10/30/60 Increases total food storage. Automatically distributes food to a starving leader when food production is below total population. GUARD HOUSE Guard House/Drill Hall/Training Hall builder: FIGHTER or DWARF income: -5/-15/-30 cost: 500/1000/4000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 25/50/75 Increases the rate at which units gain experience (for leveling up). Trains all units belonging to the leader, not just the ones in the block with the training hall. Begins training the first unit that arrived at the STRONGHOLD, then cycles through other units in order of appearance. Multiple training halls train units faster. HALFLING HOUSE Lodge/Adobe/Dwelling builder: HALFLING income: 0 cost: 10/100/400 population capacity: 2/6/13 food production: 0 food storage: 50/180/520 durability: 30/60/90 HALFLING KEEP Keep/Fortress/Castle builder: HALFLING income: 0/-10/-15 cost: 0/1000/4000 population capacity: 20/60/130 food production: 5 food storage: 250/900/2600 durability: 30/70/99 INN Guest House/Tavern/Inn builder: ANYONE income: 15/35/75 cost: 2000/4000/8000 population capacity: 15/35/75 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 30/50/70 JEWELER Trinketer/Ringmaker/Jeweler builder: MAGE income: -10/-20/-30 cost: 750/3000/7000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 25/50/70 Makes rings of protection, +1, +2, and +3. Only makes rings for mages. MAGE HOUSE Room/Cottage/Manor builder: MAGE income: 0 cost: 10/300/1000 population capacity: 2/5/15 food production: 0 food storage: 15/100/300 durability: 10/40/80 MAGE KEEP Keep/Fortress/Castle builder: MAGE income: 0/-8/-16 cost: 0/3000/10000 population capacity: 10/70/150 food production: 5 food storage: 50/600/2000 durability: 20/40/60 MAGIC MILL Apothecary/Alchemist's Lab/Magic Mill builder: MAGE income: 4/8/16 cost: 800/1500/2900 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 20/40/60 Generates income. Creates a random chance that a Forge, Fletcher, Jeweler or Armory will make a more magical product (+3 instead of +2 weapons, for example). Each upgrade adds a 3% chance of this happening. Note that rings of protection never go above +3. MAIN CASTLE Main Castle/Fortified Castle/Stronghold builder: BARON income: 0/-20/-40 cost: 0/7000/15000 population capacity: 25/100/250 food production: 5 food storage: 375/1500/4500 durability: 30/70/99 MARKETPLACE builder: ANYONE income: 5 cost: 100 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 1 Each market gives 10% access to the common fund. Also improves farm income and food production. Fund access caps at 10 markets per leader, though markets may still be built for income and the food production boost. MASON'S HALL Brick Kiln/Stonemasonry/Mason's Hall builder: DWARF income: -5/-10/-15 cost: 500/750/1000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 60/75/90 Increases the building construction speed, +10%, +20%, and 30%. Works on three buildings at a time. MINES Iron/Gold/Gem (Note: not upgrades) builder: ANYONE income: 50/125/250 cost: 0 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 10/20/20 OUTPOST builder: ANYONE income: -20 cost: 3000 population capacity: 10 food production: 0 food storage: 300 durability: 50 Generates new units at the outpost location, as if it were STRONGHOLD belonging to same owner as leader who built the outpost. Not available until Baron reaches Marquis; can build one per level thereafter. PUBLIC BATH Steam Bath/Bath House/Public Bath builder: CLERIC income: -7/-14/-21 cost: 700/1400/2800 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 10/20/30 Increases maximum unit size. Increase is by 1,2, or 3, according to upgrade level of the bath. Each Bath affects 5 units at a time. SCRIBERY Clerk's Office/Transcriber's shop/Scribery builder: CLERIC income: 6/12/24 cost: 500/900/1700 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 20/25/30 SOCIAL HALL S. Club/Hall of Fellowship/Social Hall builder: HALFLING income: -10/-17/-24 cost: 750/3500/6000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 30/60/99 Increases the rate at which units gain experience (for leveling up). Trains all units belonging to the leader, not just the ones in the block with the training hall. Begins training the first unit that arrived at the STRONGHOLD, then cycles through other units in order of appearance. Multiple training halls train units faster. TEMPLE Shrine/Church/Temple builder: CLERIC income: -5/-15/-25 cost: 500/4000/8000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 20/40/80 Increases the rate at which units gain experience (for leveling up). Trains all units belonging to the leader, not just the ones in the block with the training hall. Begins training the first unit that arrived at the STRONGHOLD, then cycles through other units in order of appearance. Multiple training halls train units faster. THIEF HOUSE Hut/Shack/House builder: THIEF income: 0 cost: 10/60/200 population capacity: 2/8/20 food production: 0 food storage: 12/56/160 durability: 10/20/40 THIEF KEEP Keep/Fortress/Castle builder: THIEF income: 0/-5/-10 cost: 0/600/2000 population capacity: 20/80/200 food production: 5 food storage: 60/280/800 durability: 10/20/30 THIEVES' GUILD Den/Black Market/Guild builder: THIEF income: -4/-10/-22 cost: 350/3000/6000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 10/20/30 Increases the rate at which units gain experience (for leveling up). Trains all units belonging to the leader, not just the ones in the block with the training hall. Begins training the first unit that arrived at the STRONGHOLD, then cycles through other units in order of appearance. Multiple training halls train units faster. TOWER Small Tower/Tower/Large Tower builder: ANYONE income: -10/-15/-20 cost: 500/2000/5000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 30/65/99 Allows units to see surrounding countryside. View ranges are 15 block at first upgrade, then 30 and 45 with the upgrades. View ranges increase at higher elevations. TOYMAKER Woodcarver/Puppetmaker/Toymaker builder: ELF income: 6/12/24 cost: 500/900/1700 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 20/40/60 TREE Tree/Grove/Forest (Note: built or claimed by non-elves) builder: ANYONE income: 1/5/20 cost: 30/400/2000 population capacity: 0 food production: 5/10/30 food storage: 0 durability: N/A UNIVERSITY School/Collage/University builder: MAGE income: -15/-22/-36 cost: 1000/5000/10000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 30/75/99 Increases the rate at which units gain experience (for leveling up). Trains all units belonging to the leader, not just the ones in the block with the training hall. Begins training the first unit that arrived at the STRONGHOLD, then cycles through other units in order of appearance. Multiple training halls train units faster. VAULT Money-dealer's Shop/Bank/Vault builder: ANYONE income: -2/-8/-24 cost: 500/2000/8000 population capacity: 0 food production: 0 gold storage: 2000/10000/50000 durability: 10/50/90 Increases maximum gold storage. Income is lost when maximum gold storage is full; no more gold can be stored. WALLS Wall/Sturdy Wall/Manned Wall builder: anyone income: -1/-5/-9 cost: 20/50/200 population capacity: 0/0/3 food production: 0 food storage: 0 durability: 10/40/80 Walls block passage of non-flying monsters. N/S walls may be built over water. E/W walls will place units defending the wall vulnerable to attack. N/S walls will place the defending unit on one side of the wall and the enemy on the other when viewing combat, so ranged attacks will be needed to defeat the enemy. Auto-combat will resolve normally regardless of whether or not a defending unit can attack at range. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.3 ENEMY BUILDING DATA Enemy buildings can be claimed by player units occupying an enemy block that contains no combatants. To do this, simply select the enemy building and change the owner to the player. Enemies can build farms and housing but frequently they are not intelligent enough to stay there and tend them. Enemy STRONGHOLDs cannot be claimed. ENEMY HOUSE Hut/Shack/House builder: HUMANS or HUMANOIDS income: 0 cost: 10/60/200 population capacity: 2/8/20 food production: 0 food storage: 12/56/160 durability: 10/20/40 All enemy houses use the above template, though they may display different graphics normally not accessible to human players. For example, trolls build mud huts, minotaurs make straw huts, and goblins create wooden shacks. ENEMY FARM Plot/Farm/Plantation builder: ANYONE income: variable cost: 10/500/3000 population capacity: 0 food production: variable food storage: 0 durability: 10/20/30 Enemy farms are identical to player farms. ============================================================================= 1.4 FACTION COMPARISONS ============================================================================= While playing the game I could tell that each faction came with some penalties and benefits in terms of housing, but I wasn't sure how great the gaps were. So, I created the table below to analyze the differences in housings. Here's the data for an organized look at what's going on: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLERIC BUILD CAPACITY STORAGE DURABILITY HOUSE 10/200/800 2/10/15 30/160/500 20/60/99 KEEP 0/2000/8000 20/100/250 150/800/2500 30/70/99 MAINT. 0/-9/-18 DWARF BUILD CAPACITY STORAGE DURABILITY HOUSE 10/200/800 2/7/18 20/100/350 30/60/99 KEEP 0/2000/8000 20/70/180 100/500/1750 30/70/99 MAINT. 0/-10/-20 ELF BUILD CAPACITY STORAGE DURABILITY HOUSE 10/250/900 2/7/15 10/120/400 10/40/80 KEEP 0/2500/9000 10/70/150 75/500/1500 20/40/60 MAINT. 0/-8/-18 FIGHTER BUILD CAPACITY STORAGE DURABILITY HOUSE 10/100/500 2/8/20 18/80/220 20/50/80 KEEP 0/1000/5000 20/80/200 800/400/1100 30/60/90 MAINT. 0/-10/-20 HALFLING BUILD CAPACITY STORAGE DURABILITY HOUSE 10/100/400 2/6/13 50/180/520 30/60/90 KEEP 0/1000/4000 20/60/130 250/900/2600 30/70/99 MAINT. 0/-10/-15 MAGE BUILD CAPACITY STORAGE DURABILITY HOUSE 10/300/1000 2/5/15 15/100/300 10/40/80 KEEP 0/3000/10000 10/70/150 50/600/2000 20/40/60 MAINT. 0/-8/-16 THIEF* BUILD CAPACITY STORAGE DURABILITY HOUSE 10/60/200 2/8/20 12/56/160 10/20/40 KEEP 0/600/2000 20/80/200 60/280/800 10/20/30 MAINT. 0/-5/-10 *CLAIMED ENEMY HOUSES USE THE THIEF TEMPLATE. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now, I'm not a math wizard so I haven't made any formulas to determine any kind of overall best ranking (and if you do it, please share and I'll add it.) Still, I'm competent enough to do a ranking by sight in these categories: BEST & WORST RANKINGS: HOUSING Most expensive: MAGE Least expensive: THIEF Most capacity: FIGHTER, THIEF Least capacity: HALFLING Most storage: HALFLING Least storage: THIEF Most durability: CLERIC, DWARF Least durability: THIEF BEST & WORST RANKINGS: KEEPS Most expensive: MAGE Least expensive: THIEF Most capacity: CLERIC Least capacity: HALFLING Most storage: HALFLING Least storage: THIEF Most durability: CL.,DW.,HF. Least durability: THIEF Most maintenance: DWARF Least Maintenance: THIEF I can also see that this data implies you could build more strategically. If you don't care about houses that match the decor, you can maximize your your housing funds by building the best houses possible for your needs. Then, just trade them to other faction players. For example, if you need more housing for units, you can get 200 more for a total of 270 gold if you make upgraded THIEF houses, or for 610 gold get 200 more from a FIGHTER. Of course, you can always fork out 1400 gold for 15 stylish mage houses... It's also worth noting that for 510 gold you get 520 storage AND 13 housing out of a halfling abode, that's nearly as much storage as a level 1 granary. I've noticed that every 4 space bars equals a an income/cost infusion, so that's 41 turns for the additional 410 gp spent on the halfling house to pay for itself vs. the 10 gold ad infinitum you pay for a level 1 granary. So a halfling player might upgrade houses before building more granaries if it would cover his storage needs. Finally, the decision about who you want to move into the main STRONGHOLD has more of an impact than you might think. Here is what it offers: STRONGHOLD BUILD CAPACITY STORAGE DURABILITY KEEP 0/7000/15000 25/100/250 375/1500/4500 30/70/99 MAINT. 0/-20/-40 If a THIEF builds it, he will get a lot more storage and durability, but he has to pay a lot more more gold and only gets a small boost to housing as compared to say, a MAGE, who conversely plays a smaller amount more to receive a lot more gain. Either way though whoever owns it will need to be wealthy to keep the upgrades rolling in. There is an early game advantage to having a player like an ELF or MAGE own it, as the STRONGHOLD is better than either of them having TWO level one keeps of their own type. OTHER WAYS TO GET HOUSING, FOOD STORAGE, or FOOD PRODUCTION. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- You might be surprised to learn some of the other buildings can generate housing, storage, and food. Some of the buildings don't give you this information directly, but you can verify it by noting the difference if you build one, check the leader data, and then salvage it. The following buildings provide housing in addition to houses and keeps: ELF TREE (0/2/10), FORESTER'S CAMP (5), GATE (0/0/4),INN (15/35/75), OUTPOST (10), WALL (0/0/3) The following buildings provide food Storage in addition to houses and keeps: ELF TREE (10/20/40), FORESTER'S CAMP (50), OUTPOST (10). Only the BAKERY and BAZAAR provide food aside from farms and trees. Each has its own special rules so refer to the building section (1.2) for details. ============================================================================= 2.1 STRONGHOLD MANUAL ADDENDUM ============================================================================= For complete and specific "how to play" information, please refer to the manual. Any notes regarding changes to the game after the rule book was printed, or any rules errata can be found in the errata sections that follow. COPY PROTECTION For Stronghold you must count section headings when you count words. If you do not possess a manual, see the STRONGHOLD COPY PROTECTION CODE SHEET section of this FAQ. ============================================================================= 2.2 ADDITIONAL GAME NOTES ON CONTROLS AND SETTINGS ============================================================================= CONTROLS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOUSE CONTROL Left-click the mouse to perform actions. Right-click to automatically exit out of any menu or indicate you are DONE with a menu. KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS Note these are shortcut keys only. A mouse is required to play STRONGHOLD. G Show compass O Create a leader (before all 5 are created), or view a leader when on screen with his keep V Toggle view between postcard and overhead B/L Set pyramid to 100% build T Set pyramid to 100% train R Set pyramid to 100% recruit C Center pyramid </- Decrease magnet by one >/+ Increase magnet by one Enter Cycles through available pyramids Tab Selects a pyramid ESC View options screen F5-F8 Selects first, second, third, or fourth visible building 1�5 Selects one of the five leaders listed on right side of screen P Pause on/off WHILE VIEWING A UNIT H Homes the unit R Readies the unit U Unassigns the unit OTHER KEYBOARD COMMANDS Arrow Keys Move around map Control-S Sound effects on/off Control-M Music on/off Spacebar Passes time (even while paused) SETTING MULTIPLE PYRAMIDS SIMULTANEOUSLY Occasionally, you will want to set several of a leader's pyramids to the same position at once. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Make sure the overhead view is in the large window. 2. Click on the small leader pyramid you want to set. 3. Adjust the large pyramid to the position that you want. 4. Click on the small leader pyramid again. 5. Enclose the units whose pyramids you want to set. To do this: a. Click on a point above and to the left of the units. b. Move the mouse to create a rectangle around the units. c. When you have enclosed the units you want, click again. 6. All pyramids of the leader you selected will be set to the same position within the rectangle GAME SETTINGS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- STARTING VALUES The Peaceful, Aggressive, and Hostile worlds have different starting values for initial gold, gold storage, and auto-build status. They also have different morale requirements for promotions. These values are: Gold Gold Storage Auto-Build Morale % to Promote Peaceful 500 4000 ON 55, 57, 59, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 Aggressive 300 3000 OFF 55, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71 Hostile 100 2000 OFF 55, 58, 61, 64, 67, 70, 73, 76, 79 PREGENERATED CITY Stronghold comes with a pre-generated city-in-progress in case you want a quick start for the game, or if you are a beginner and want a head start towards a successful city. To load the pre-generated city, press the button labeled First City after choosing the New Game option in the opening menu. ============================================================================= 3.1 RULEBOOK ERRATA & CORRECTIONS ============================================================================= * Buildings are not damaged by combat in their block. Buildings are only damaged by being abandoned or by having monsters and no friendly units in their block. * There is a limit to the total number of units (friendly and enemy) in the world. If you can't generate new units, kill some monsters to free up unit slots. WARNING: DO NOT exceed 30 monsters total in a custom world. * Mouse Movement: The mouse is active throughout the game, and may be used for all input except to answer the copy protection question or to enter an amount of money. ============================================================================= 4.1 STRONGHOLD COPY PROTECTION CODE WORD SHEET ============================================================================= When "Stronghold" presents you with a "Page"/"Line" combination simply find that combination in the first two columns of this code word sheet and type the word from Column 3. This should only occur when choosing �New Game.� Page Line Word ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 1 choose 2 2 after 3 1 movement 4 3 dots 5 1 hit 6 1 longbow 6 2 spells 8 1 constructing 9 2 squares 10 1 swamps 11 2 would 12 2 repair 13 1 controlling 14 1 setting 15 1 sage 16 1 when 16 1 button 17 1 home 18 1 needed 19 2 screen 20 2 gold 21 1 spellcasting 22 1 opponents 26 1 expense 27 1 plan ============================================================================= 5.1 RUNNING, BUYING, AND FINDING THE GAME ============================================================================= BUYING/FINDING THE GAME ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got my second copy off of Amazon marketplace and the original at a now defunct-chain called Babbages in 1993. These days you can Google for it as Stronghold 1993 to find it... watch out for other games bearing the same name, like the one from Firefly studios (which was good, but it's not similar to this game at all). UPDATE: Joel Billings, one of the original SSI employees, sent me this link for what appears to be a FREE download. It's hosted on The Underdogs site. http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?gameid=1079 (as of 12/04/2006) Update (3/19/2009) - Not surprisingly, a few years later this link is gone. However, a google search on download stronghold 1993 did return several options. A few that worked for me were: http://www.classicpcgames.com/games/download/stronghold-(1993)/889/ http://www.classic-pc-games.com/pc/strategy/stronghold.html The zip file contains everything you need: just put it in C:\Strong, get that DOSBox utility, and you should be ready to roll. I believe the site will also include the manual, but be forewarned it's the OCR scan job I mentioned at the beinnig of the FAQ and thus it's not formatted well. If it's anything like the building card it's probably full of mistakes, too. In addition to underdogs you can find references to this game on Mobygames, GameSpot, and Wikipedia. Mobygames has some nice screenshots. RUNNING THE GAME ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- To run the game on Windows XP you will need a DOS emulator (or an old PC). I used DOSBox, a great community utility to allow you to run old DOS games in windows. My game works great with DOS box even though my specs blow it away - no MoSlo or other speed reducer needed. For your amusement, the specs are: 486 PC, 2MB RAM and about 8 MB of Disc Space (if you like to make a lot of different savegames). DOSBox is a free download here http://www.dosbox.com/, or you can google it by name. I am using version 0.72, the most current release as of 3/19/5009. For the configuration I used, see the DoxBox section below. PLAYING THE GAME WITH DOSBOX V. 0.72 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Install DOSBox. Then, create a directory called C:\DOSGAMES and install the STRONGHOLD game beneath that; C:\DOSGAMES\STRONG\. Then, copy the text below into your dosbox.conf file in your DOSBox game directory (C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.72), though don't replace the entire file, just make sure the entries under the headings below are the same inside your dosobx.conf file. You can open the config file in your notepad application. Then, to start your game open up DOSBox and type CD STRONG to get into the directory and then STRONG to run the executable. Right-click to skip the demo and get into the game. SETUP OF MY DOSBOX.CONF FILE I was going to paste it here but it contains text strings too long unbroken for GAMEFAQs to allow. So instead here are the sections that I changed. Hopefully I didn't forget anything... I don't think I changed very much. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [sdl] fullscreen=false fulldouble=false fullresolution=original windowresolution=640x480 output=overlay autolock=true sensitivity=100 waitonerror=true priority=higher,normal mapperfile=mapper.txt usescancodes=true [render] frameskip=0 aspect=false scaler=advinterp3x [cpu] core=normal cycles=3000 cycleup=500 cycledown=20 [autoexec] mount c c:\DOSGAMES c: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- These changes will enable the directory setup I mentioned above to work, and also create a good place to run additional DOS Games (e.g., C:\DOSGAMES). The 640x480 resolution is tough to change; just think of it like a Gameboy screen on your Windows desktop. Also, as the game wears on I find myself changing the cycles higher and higher by using ctrl+F12. I run it as high at 7000+ when gameworld is full of visible monsters and units. ============================================================================= 6.1 TIPS AND TRICKS FROM THE AUTHOR ============================================================================= I have been playing Stronghold for years now then recently got back into it. Here are some tips and observations I haven�t seen anywhere else that may help you enjoy the game a little bit more. HELP BUTTON ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The HELP button in the unit and leader screens brings up a menu of help topics. If you are struck, try reading through these suggestions ECONOMY TIPS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Always save it before excavating a rock. If you can stand saving and loading, an early gold or gem mine will really help you get off to a strong start. * Use early mine money to build sustainable income, like upgraded farms and especially the money makers from each faction (e.g., dice dens, magic mills, scribery, etc.) instead of using it to build fancy things you can�t afford (like universities). * Claimed trees salvage for 11 gold, while trees that haven�t been claimed sell for only 3 gold. So, if you can spare the time claim trees you don�t want, *then* chop them down. * Pre-generated world #3 has a *ton* of juicy rocks waiting to be harvested and a nice flat plain to start your empire. * To prepare for winter, make sure you aren�t building things with upkeep costs that will outpace your non-farm income. Farm income is only 25% of normal (and for trees even worse I think) in winter. So, try to match any expenses you incur with equal or more revenue. So, if a granary costs 6 gold, a level 1 scribery will cover that cost. Since the game doesn�t have a good balance sheet of costs and expenses, keeping track of this is up to you (at least in the beginning, when you actually might go bankrupt in the winter). This is trickier for dwarves and fighters, as they have no revenue building structure. You might have another faction build them a few, or just build lots of markets until inns are available. * Walls are really expensive to upkeep, so try only to build N/S walls if possible. They are easier to defend (see below) plus you only need one N/S wall (usually on the far right or far left of a block) per block to defend it instead of 4 E/W walls. And, unless you�re dripping in money, upgrading them isn�t necessary (since you�re not planning on dying and having durability matter here). COMBAT TIPS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Most enemies will ignore you until you destroy one of their units first. After that, they will periodically attack you. * When enemies attack you can normally figure out where they will strike, though it�s not always at the same place. Bolster your borders with a few units on guard duty. * Destroying an enemy STRONGHOLD without killing any wandering units belonging to that STRONGHOLD will cause them to make a beeline for your empire and attack it en masse. * Giant ants in particular will go insane, and there are normally A LOT more ants per stack than most creatures have. Be careful before you unleash a plague of ants. :) * Directly viewing combat and using auto-combat both have their uses. * Auto-combat will make some units lose that would normally easily defeat a creature, and it will also sometimes pick off weaker units in a large army when it normally wouldn�t happen (e.g., that level 1 mage hanging out with 4 level 6 fighters.) However, auto-combat will also resolve combat in situations where you�re plum out of luck, such as a body of water between and the monster in regular view. * Regular view is generally better. As a bit of a cheat, if you toggle to and from the active combat block t will reset the positions of your characters vs. the monsters each time you do it. So, fast attackers like a thief can feasibly stab a dragon to death by you tabbing on and off so quickly it can get in a strike and then reset its position before you give the dragon a minute to attack back. * If the victory bar isn�t cleared and all you see are your units on a screen, try toggling back and forth. Oftentimes there isn�t enough room to draw all the enemies and all your units on the screen, particularly when cleaning out an enemy STRONGHOLD. Tab back and forth until the enemy numbers are reduced to a just a few and you�ll be able to win. * Humans and humanoid units are vulnerable to more spells than non-human units. Especially low level ones, like goblins and kobolds. This means low-level mages and elves can wreak havoc and be generally more useful when fighting these creatures, as they can use sleep, charm, and magical missile. * Some enemies attack very quickly and your slower units won�t even have a chance to recover. Be careful if you one-on-one with dwarves vs. scorpions, for example. My stack of level 6 dwarves got annihilated as I watched since they swung their hammers too slowly to connect � and the scorpion attack so quickly the dwarf was in a perpetual spin of recoil. To solve this problem, bring a mix of units, or use auto-combat. * If you�re watching a fight over a N/S wall, make sure one of the units there can shoot or cast damage spells. * Remember, this is FIRST EDITION D&D Rules. That means clerics don�t get any spells until SECOND LEVEL. So, unless they are at least level 2, they can�t cast healing spells. I recommend training them to at least level 2 before adding them to any army you�re gathering. ============================================================================= 7.1 COPYRIGHT INFORMATION ============================================================================= Original Building Card and Addendum created by � SSI Strategic Simulations, Inc. Dungeons & Dragons is a trademark owned by and used under license from TSR, Inc. Lake Geneva, WI, USA. All TSR characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by and used under license form TSR, Inc. � 1993 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved. � 1993 Strategic Simulations, Inc. All rights Reserved. ============================================================================= 8.1 VERSION NOTES ============================================================================= Current Version: 1.2 Last Revision: 19th December 2009 Status: Complete. Will update as necessary! By camelotcrusade. Copyrighted material 2009, 1993. VERSION 1.2 *Updated DOSBox instructions for v. 0.72 from v. 0.65 *Added additional DosBox config settings *Fixed some minor spelling mistakes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- VERSION 1.1 *Added 1.4 FACTION COMPARISONS *Added 2.2 ADDITIONAL GAME NOTES ON CONTROLS AND SETTINGS' *Added 5.1 RUNNING, BUYING, AND FINDING THE GAME *Added a FREE Link to download the game; apparently it's now public domain *Fixed an error with the elf tree and farm entry on the building list. *Fixed some minor spelling mistakes and spacing issues *Added separators for easier reading ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- VERSION 1.0 *CREATED AND SUBMITTED BY CAMELOTCRUSADE * I updated the building card and fixed errors. * I added the information for enemy buildings to the building card * I added some tips and tricks of my own to the end of this FAQ *This is my first ever FAQ. Feedback and comments are welcome. (camelotcrusade @ fuse.net) ============================================================================= THANKS ============================================================================= A big thanks to SSI for making such a cool game, and to you for reading about STRONGHOLD with interest... even after so many long years. :)