A Formidable Adversary

A Formidable Adversary

Moorach: A very young city that has no army. Thus, the only way to shake off Dracorian’s shadow is to ally with the Alchemist inside the Laboratory, which is located inside the dark crater.
With Raspun finally defeated, Princess Zoé and Bors push on through Tandria. Their journey ends abruptly in the city of Moorach, however, when Zoé stumbles upon Lord Wolvering’s dark knight, Dracorian. Dracorian has been terrorizing a local Alchemist, and has cut off all travel to and from the Laboratory. Even clerics are denied passage—a clear violation of Tandrian law. It’s up to Princess Zoé to build a new army and rid the Alchemist of this fearsome enemy.

Enemy Forces

Dracorian

Dracorian begins the map with one General and six soldiers.

Starting Resources

Wood  5    Plank  20    Stone  25
Coal  30    Iron Ore  20    Coin  30
Grain  10    Flour  5    Bread  30
Fish  20    Book  5    Cloth  10
Garment  20    Jewelry  15    Tool  5

Established Production Chains

Plank: Woodcutter  2, Sawmill  1
Bread: Grain Barn  2, Windmill  2, Bakery  2
Beer: Well  1, Grain Barn  2, Brewery  2
Meat: Hunter  1, Butcher’s  2

Overview

Friendly Sectors: 1
Enemy Sectors: 5
Neutral Sectors: 2

Event Location: Laboratory

The Laboratory offers two Quests, either of which can be completed to win the map. Help the Alchemist break free of Dracorian’s grip by providing him with clerics to assist in his research or Coin to pay his hired guards.

Temporary Replacement

The Alchemist can’t bear Dracorian’s threatening presence any longer. Send him some of your Novices to replace him in his Laboratory and continue his studies while he seeks refuge.
Base Cost: Novice  10
Reward: Map Victory
Protection Money
The Alchemist is scared stiff of Dracorian and his henchmen. Deliver a batch of Coins to the Laboratory so the scientist can continue to pay mercenary guards to protect him.
Base Cost: Coin  10
Reward: Map Victory
You must still fulfill the Quest Board objectives to achieve victory, but this map allows you to use significantly varied strategies. Bribery and Proselytism can now be used to capture neutral sectors.
With the provided Coin, Garments, and Export Office, trading is available from the start of play. Additionally, with established Bread and Beer production chains, clerics can be trained almost immediately. However, your General lacks soldiers of any kind, and you will need a sizable army to meet most Quest Board objectives.
When planning a strategy, keep these points in mind:
Tool supplies are extremely limited.
The Tavern is located outside the town sector.
Required Musketeers will cost at least 10 Fancy Food.
Total required soldiers will cost least 60 Coins.
10 Novices or 10 Coins are required to complete the final objective.
The Toolmaker provided at the start of play can produce a small amount of Tools without supporting work yards. Tools can also be purchased at the Tavern, or recovered from demolished work yards. Depending on the size of your economy, extensive Tool production may not be necessary.
The established Meat production chain will provide enough Fancy Food to hire necessary Musketeers. Your Hunting Grounds are limited, however, so closely monitor any Food boosts.
Coin production is the priority for much of the map. With several trading opportunities available, Coin production should be the highest priority for all economies.

Because resources are already in place to support Novice production, expansion by Proselytism is an excellent option. Several new Technologies are available for research on this map. Although no Technologies directly affect Quest Board objectives, researching them can benefit several production chains. Fishing Grounds are available to support Plain Food demands, allowing Breweries to be placed on temporary Food boosts if needed.
Both neutral sectors must be conquered before completing the map. These sectors contain sources of Gold, Coal, and Iron. Resource use depends entirely upon which economic strategies you choose.
Because of Fancy Food demands, Meat production should be carefully monitored. Consider expanding production, or placing a single Hunter on a Food boost to ensure a steady supply of Animal.

Objective: Conquer the Gold Mine Sector

As play begins, select the Export Office and train one Hawker.
Locate the neutral camp in the sector north of your town. Use the Coin provided at the start of play to conquer the sector through Bribery.

Wait for your Hawker to deliver 30 Coins to complete this objective.

Objective: Displace Draco’s Troops

Dracorian’s forces are blocking the Alchemist’s Laboratory from a fortified sector. You should not attack them unless you have at least five Pikemen and 10 Musketeers.
Use the Prestige Tree to unlock the Stronghold, Export Office, and Church option. Begin Church construction near the provided Export Office.

Place a new Storehouse across from the Church. Because the Tavern is located outside your town sector, this Storehouse is used to deliver goods and Coin to the Tavern.
Build a new Well near the Brewery Storehouse to keep up with Beer production.
Once Meat is available, place the Butcher on a Fancy Food boost. Speed up Animal gathering by placing an additional Hunter work yard on the nearby Lodge.
Take a moment to assess required production. Planks provided at the start of play should allow for all basic construction. The active Sawmill is consuming Wood that can be traded for Coin once the Watermill is available. Consider knocking down the Sawmill to preserve Wood and recover an extra Tool.
The Toolmaker should only be needed for a short time, and is occupying a space that is ideal for Garment production. Once the Initial supply of Iron has been consumed, the Toolmaker should be knocked down to allow for a more useful work yard.

Demolished work yards are easily replaced, so don’t hesitate to knock down unnecessary or inefficient production chains.

If your economic strategy demands additional Tools, simply relocate the Toolmaker or purchase new Tools from the Tavern

The remaining neutral sector grants access to Coal, Iron Ore, and the Watermill. Unfortunately, it’s defended by Stone Fortifications, making Bribery a particularly expensive option. However, only 15 Novices are required to convert the camp—with streamlined Beer operation and ample Plain Food, Proselytism is the fastest way to conquer this sector.

Once the Toolmaker work yard has been knocked down, establish a small Garment production chain.
This layout not only provides a large area for a the Shepherd, but has a single Storehouse linked to both the Residence and Noble Residence for the remaining work yards. Place a Well across from the Storehouse, and a Farm with one Shepherd work yard. Add the Weaving Mill and Tailor work yards once Wool production has begun.

Stored Food will produce up to 25 Novices. Your Bakeries can easily support the Tailor’s Plain Food requirement, and still provide temporary Food boosts to other work yards.
Once all 12 Novices have been produced, send them to capture the remaining neutral sector.
With this sector conquered, all that remains is to build a strong army. The Tavern, Watermill, and Marketplace all offer different trade options to help maintain your economy. Select the Watermill to begin trading Wood for Coin. Trade Garments and provided Jewelry at the Marketplace. Consider training additional Hawkers to establish new Trading Outposts for Stone and other resources.
Use remaining Planks and Tools to establish additional Wood production in the Watermill sector. Construct a Lodge with three Woodcutters, and place a Storehouse nearby to speed production.

Before trading at the Tavern, produce additional Novices to research any desired Technologies. Once Novice production is complete, select the Tavern to trade Beer for Coin.

To speed up Garment production, place the Tailor on a temporary Fancy Food boost and monitor Meat supplies closely. Hunting Grounds are slow to replenish, and you need at least 10 units of Fancy Food to hire Musketeers.

Check in on Hunters often to maintain Animal production.
As Coin is produced, hire soldiers at the Tavern. Dracorian’s Generals each have three Pikemen, so order at least five Pikemen for your own army. Once enough Coin has been produced, remove all Fancy Food boosts, and hire at least 10 Musketeers from the Tavern.

Objective: Help the Alchemist!

Once the path is clear, select the Alchemist’s Laboratory and agree to send 10 Coins to pay his mercenaries. A Hawker must be available to make the delivery, so cancel remaining Marketplace trades to speed the transaction and complete the map.