The Third Scenario League Design Contest: Poseidon's entry

         THE QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN FLEECE


This is Poseidon's entry for the SDC#3 on the MGE/FW Platform of "Jason and the Argonauts". I kept
the basics of the contest rules, but I did not build this on one myth of ancient Greece, but rather 
based it on a series of myths. The initial objective is to find the Golden Fleece and defeat the Hades.

Installation:

This scenario is exclusively designed for "Fantastic Worlds" and requires AT LEAST this version to work.
Lower vesion (i.e. "CiC") cannot run this scenario, no matter what you do.
Unzip all the files that come with this zip file into a folder named "Poseidon" in your "Scenario" folder.
There should be following files:

AEvents1.txt        IEvents1.txt       Readme.txt
AEvents2.txt        IEvents2.txt       Rules.txt
Cities.gif          LEvents1.txt       Terrain1.gif
City.txt            LEvents2.txt       Terrain2.gif
Game.txt            Pedia.txt          Units.gif
Hints.txt           Poseidon.txt
Icons.gif           Poseidon.scn

Now you must choose which civilization to play. If you want to play as the Argonauts, rename "AEvents1.txt"
into "Events.txt". When Playing the Laconians rename "LEvents1.txt" into "Events.txt" and as the Ionians
"IEvents1.txt" into "Events.txt". Now you can play.
When you are looking for Poseidon, you must rename "AEvents2.txt" into "Events.txt" and so on. You will
notice when it's time. Please keep all the files, especially when re-distributing this scenario!

The Participaters:

There are 5 parties racing for the fleece. This scenario will make an interesting multiplayer scenario
but will be fun for one player only games too.
You can choose to play one of the three teams: The Argonauts, Laconians or Ionians. The game is well 
balanced. Each "team" starts out with one city and a fair amount of units. Every contestant has ONE 
hero he may not lose (please note that the computer-controled participants can lose their heroes). 
The Argonauts also have their famous ship, the Argo, which may not drown.
Please, please do not play as the Olympians, Minoans, Myceneans or the Hades! These civs are only in
for game mechanics!
The difficulty ranking goes as follows:
Easy: Argonauts
Moderate: Laconians
Hard: Ionians
I do not recommend playing this via multiplayer, for I did not have enough time to develop
a special Multiplayer events file. For each party, there are two events files, which must 
be switched during the game. This will become neccessary before you get your second divine. 


What to do in this scenario:

This scenario is based on a throughout story line that starts with your team being stranded on a far-off
shore. You must follow the messages you get when you fulfill an event in order to end this scenario.
Don't worry. Your science is not very advanced but there are 450 turns in this scenario! This means that
you have got more than enough time to fulfill your task. Just make sure that you achieve it before the
"Archaic Age" begins!
There is a detailed Hints file delivered with the package. It gives you an explanation of what to do
in every occasion. But please try the things out first before you consult this file!

Units:

There are many units in this scenario, and many can be upgraded or advanced. I see no point in explaining
them all here. You should look this type of information up in the Pedia!
There are, however, several units that don't appear in the Civilopedia. These are usually deities, Heroes
and demonic creatures. Statistics are not so very important in this scenario, for it is explained to you
in the events pop-ups and, if really neccessary, in the Hints file what units can beat which ones.
The "Heroes" are based on heroes appearing in the Greek mythology. The Myceneans are lead by Perseus,
the guy who killed Medusa. The Argonauts are lead by Jason, the one who found the Golden Fleece.
The Laconians are lead by Heracles. The reason is that the Laconians are in what was later Spartan
territory, and the Spartans described themselves as descendands of Heracles. The Minoans are lead by
Telephus, who is said to have founded Pergamum. Finally, the Ionians are lead by Theseus, the Athenian
king who killed the Minotaur.
The Gods appearing in this scenario are Zeus, Athene, Poseidon, Atlas, Demeter, Apollo, Hades, 
Hephaestos and Hermes. Some of these play an active role, some a passive one. Among the beasts you 
will fight will be Centaurs, Cyclopae, Scyllas, Demons, the Minotaur... Nasty ones, but good to bring 
some fun into this scenario.

Other important things:

Some important advances can only be reached through events. Some advances have only slightly changed.
For example, Masonry now allows the player to build Fortresses and so on. For tech tree things and so,
please see the Civilopedia.
Only few wonders appear in the scenario. These are to give certain advantages to the specific civ.
Each civilization stands in the favor of a certain god or godess and have a wonder to describe this.
It is easy to spot this by simply checking the "Wonders" window.
You might notice immobile "Granary" and "Temple" units. Please don't disband them! They bring a lot of
flavor into this scenario!

Useful Tips and Tricks:

Conquest of Olympian cities will be something like "consulting" oracles. They will give you important
hints in this scenario! There is not specific order to consult them.
Watch out for Octopi, Demons and similar beasts! They are not that powerful, but can cause severe devastation.
It is not "forbidden" to found new cities, it is even recommended! You are under permanent threat of the
demons and/or the local empire. It might be necessary for your survival to establish new bases.
Bribes are now impossible. The only use of diplomats is stealing of advances and investigating cities!

Credits:

Thanks to all the authors from whose work I have taken art and ideas:

"The Homerian Age" by Allard Hofelt
"Atlantis" by Microprose
"Huge Collection of Icons" by Harlan Thompson
"Ancient Empires" by Paul Cullivan
"Artaxerxes" by Stefan Hartel
"Of Celts and Iberians" by Jesus Balsinde
"The War of Cuba" by Jesus Balsinde and Jesus Munoz
"Ancient Units collection" by Harlan Thompson
"Midgard" by Microprose
"Tropical Terrain" by Stefan de Jonge
"Allterrain" by Unknown
Erwan and Alex the Magnificent for Units
And some of Microprose's units

Have fun and Good Luck (and vote for me)!

Poseidon