1. Introduction

The Caribbean! project was launched in 2011 as a continuation of Snowbird’s (called Snowberry Connection at the time) previous project, By Fire and Sword. At the beginning it was envisioned as a simple, non-ambitious mod which would transfer the same setting to North America and add rowboats. The plot was supposed to revolve around the so-called Beaver Wars (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_Wars). However, already at the design stage, there came an idea to introduce real sailing boats instead of rowboats. And as soon as you think sailing boats, you think pirates. Therefore, Canada and the Great Lakes were substituted for the Caribbean Sea and Central America as the game’s setting.

This change in geography fed the developers’ ambitions. Solutions were found and implemented to enable individual parties’ travel by sea, naval battles (textual at first, fully playable afterwards), trade and production systems. This rise in ambition also affected the development schedule. The Mount & Blade engine is quite tricky; while promising a seemingly easy implementation of an idea at first, it later presents a whole array of constraints and limitations. All in all, the design took four years.

Something else happened in the course of the development of Caribbean!. The game was separated from the parent Mount & Blade series. Snowbird studio took a decision not to tie the game into the system created by Warband. Many of the principles created back in 2009 by Warband were altered and reconceptualized.

The game allows you to create your character in three easy steps.

1. Choosing your travel background
2. Allocating character development points
3. Customizing your appearance

Note that the choices you make at this point have only a mild effect on they way the game is going to unfold; in other words, they are not critical for gameplay.

2.1. Your travel background

At the start of the game the player is prompted to choose a background for the character. The choice will determine his initial parameters, party size and composition, equipment and even the character’s relations with other factions. Therefore, choose your background carefully, as it will also influence the starting level of difficulty. There are four backgrounds to choose from: Enterprising merchant, Retired lieutenant, Escaped convict and Dastardly pirate. Note that these are not different classes. The choice does not influence the plot of the game, nor does it limit or broaden gameplay possibilities for any of the backgrounds.

Relationship to attributes


Relationship to skills


Relationship to weapons proficiency


Starting fleet:


Staring army:

Merchant: 20 units
Lieutenant: 40 units
Pirate: 15 units
Convict: 3 units

Starting equipment:

Merchant: 40 000 piastres, musket, sword. 80 units of various commodities s in the cargo hold.
Lieutenant: 20 000 piastres, Infantry Broadsword. 30 units of fish and meat in the hold.
Pirate: 10 000 piastres, Blunderbuss Pistol, Cutlass. 20 units of fish and rum in the cargo hold.
Convict: 1 000 piastres, Old Flintlock Pistol, Boucan. 5 units of fruits in the cargo hold.

Starting ranks/reputation:


2.2. Allocation of character development points

Allocation of character development points allows you to improve several parameters of your choice. You cannot redistribute points already assigned, because they are determined by your choice of character background. Each character gets 4 attribute points, 4 skill points and 10 proficiency points. You can learn more about the influence of various stats of the character in chapter §3 of this manual.
To proceed to the next step, you need to type in your character’s name and allocate all available points, except for proficiency points (these can be distributed later).

2.3. Customizing your appearance
Your character’s face has no influence on gameplay, however, customization will make him more aesthetically pleasing for you. You can skip this step entirely and accept default looks. If you wish to tweak your character’s face later, click on his image on the parameters screen.

Character development is key to unlocking a number of game mechanics, mastering the game process, for the formation of personal strategies and tactics and so on. Your character’s parameters develop as he advances in level. Each level-up gives you 1 attribute point, 1 skill point and 10 proficiency points. In addition, proficiency points add automatically for the type of weapon you use in battle.


Character development screen. 1 – Character name, 2 – Character parameters (current level, current and maximum health, current experience and experience needed to get to the next level), 3 - Attributes, 4 – Attribute points to be allocated, 5 - Skills, 6 – Skill points to be allocated, 7 – Weapon proficiencies, 8 - Traits, 9 – Trait points, 10 – Weapon points to be allocated, 11 – Button to confirm changes.

Every three levels the character is awarded several trait points. Points do not have to be allocated immediately. Several other parameters (renown, rank/reputation, and others) are developed in a different way, as described in the corresponding chapters of this manual.

3.1. Character attributes

1. Strength: Each Strength point adds one extra hit point. The following skills can be learned only if the skill level does not exceed 1/3 of Strength: Ironflesh, Athletics, Power Strike.
2. Agility: Each Agility point adds 5 extra Proficiency points and slightly increases attack speed. The following skills can only be learned if the skill level does not exceed 1/3 of Agility: Buccaneering, Precise Shot, Weapon Master, Riding, Harquebusier, Looting.
3. Intelligence: Each Intelligence point gives one extra skill point. The following skills can only be learned if the skill level does not exceed 1/3 of Intelligence: Fleetmaster, Naval Combat, Seafaring, Navigation, Trainer, Tracking, Tactics, Inventory Management, Herbalism, Surgery, Engineering.
4. Charisma: Each Charisma point gives +1 to party size. The following skills can only be learned if the skill level does not exceed 1/3 of Charisma: Persuasion, Leadership, Trade.

Accordingly, the following rule is observed: every 3 points spent on one of the four attributes allows the player to add one point to a skill tied to this attribute. For example, 9 attribute points spent on Strength allow to advance Ironskin skill by 3 points. In addition to that, upping Intelligence by one point gives the Character 2 skill points per level (one is earned at level-up, the other is a bonus for upping Intelligence).

3.2. Character Skills

The set of skills contributes to your character’s individuality. There are personal skills (they are applicable only to the character) and party skills (applicable to the entire party). The maximum level for any skill is 10.

List of skills:

• Fleetmaster: Allows to control larger vessels without penalty.
• Naval Combat: Increases the damage and reloading speed of the ship's cannons by 5%.
• Seafaring: Increases the speed and maneuverability of the ship by 3%.
• Buccaneering: Enables the ship’s crew to sustain itself by collecting foodstuffs on the go.
• Ironflesh: every level adds 2 extra hit points.
• Power Strike: increases melee damage by 8%.
• Precise Shot: gives a 3% to deal double damage with firearms.
• Navigation: Speeds up movement by 3% while at sea on the campaign map.
• Athletics: Improves the character’s running speed.
• Weapon Master: Each point increases the proficiency limits by 40 — this skill increases the Proficiency limits, but does not in itself add extra Proficiency points.
• Riding: Allows to ride better horses and increases your riding speed and maneuvering value.
• Harquebusier: Reduces damage and accuracy penalties for shooting with firearms from horseback.
• Looting: Increases the amount of loot collected after battles by 10%.
• Trainer: At the end of the day each officer of the company gives some experience points to every other party member whose level is lower than his.
• Tracking: Allows to track down enemy armies including their numbers and direction.
• Tactics: Increases starting battle advantage by 1.
• Path-finding - Speeds up land movement of the party by 3% on the campaign map.
• Inventory Management: adds 6 extra slots to character’s Inventory.
• Herbalism: Party healing speed is increased by 20% (on the campaign map only).
• Surgery: Each party member gets a 4% chance to survive a death blow and be critically wounded instead. Restores 5% of hit points lost in battle by all members of the party.
• Engineer: Lowers the time of siege ladders construction, adds hull hit points and speeds up repair during naval battles.
• Persuasion: Increases chances of persuading another character in a dialogue.
• Leadership: +5 to maximum company size and -5% to wages. Increases morale.
• Trade: reduces trade penalty by 5%.

3.3. Character Traits

Trait development can be accessed through the character menu. Just as the case is with skills, there are personal traits and party traits. Personal traits increase specific parameters of the player character, i.e. increase damage dealt by a certain type of weapon, increase the maximum company numbers, etc. Party traits give bonuses to all members of the company. Every trait has requirements (certain parameters of the character, his status, or unlocking other traits as a pre-requisite) and cost. Trait points are collected every 3 levels of character development, according to the following schedule: Levels 3 and 6 – 2 points, Levels 9 and 12 – 3 points, Level 15 – 4 points. After this, when the character advances 3 levels, he earns previous number+1 of Trait points, i.e. 5 points at Level 18, 6 points at Level 21, etc. Therefore, by the time your character reaches Level 30, he will have earned 49 trait points.

Note: Level is the minimum character level required to unlock a trait.

Edged Weapons and Polearm Traits


Firearms and Throwing Traits


Traits


Loot Gathering Traits


Trading and Inventory Management Traits

Army Commander Traits


Fleet Commanding Traits


Naval Battles Traits

Land Battles Traits


Pirate Traits

3.4. Character Ranks and Reputation

Your character advances in rank and reputation as he improves his martial prowess and business reputation, respectively. You earn the next military rank when you gain renown, which grows as you complete tasks and win battles. Simply put, the more you fight, the higher your rank is. Business reputation accumulates in accordance with the total amount of cargo in the ship’s holds and in warehouses, the number of manufactories built and the amount of cash amassed by the character. The starting rank – sailor – is the same for both trading and military ranking systems, but all the following ranks/reputations differ in name and significance.

The rank/reputation level determines what the character can do. A higher military rank allows to hire better soldier and buy more powerful warships. A better trading reputation unlocks more capacious trade ships and allows to build more manufactories. Renowned warriors and powerful traders can buy letters of marquee and use larger calibers of ship artillery; eventually they may catch the eye of one of the factions.

Ranks


3.5. Renown

Renown is an extra parameter of the character. It serves a dual purpose. Firstly, it gives an extra bonus to maximum party size. This principle is described in Chapter 6 of this manual. Secondly, it speeds up advancement in the military ranking system. In addition, Renown increases the character’s chances of getting a city awarded to him (becoming governor).

Renown can be earned in several ways. Fighting is the most obvious. How much renown the character earns depends on the odds of battle and the total number of participants. Therefore, to gain renown by fighting you should challenge armies which are larger than yours, or at least equal. Challenging smaller parties will bring very little to no renown. Renown also grows when you complete assignments and take cities by siege. It drops if the character loses or flees a battle.

4.1. Inventory overview

The Inventory panel can be accessed by clicking the “Inventory” tab on the campaign map or by pressing the “I” hotkey. A slightly altered Inventory panel comes up when the character is looting or trading. There are three 3 sub-panels. The panel on the left varies looks a bit different in different modes: it can serve as “trash” (if accessed through the “Inventory” button), show the menu of trader’s goods (when trading) or display the items which can be collected after battle (looting). The central panel shows equipment currently in use by the character. The panel on the right shows other items in the character’s inventory.


Inventory panel in trade mode. 1 – Items available for purchase, 2 – Item info (the cursor is pointing to this item), 3 – Outfit equipment slots, 4 – Arms equipment slots, 5 – Mount slot, 6 – Trade balance, 7 – Info on character’s defense parameters provided by the items currently equipped, 8 – Other items in the Inventory, 9 – Character’s cash.

There are several types of equipment in the game: arms and ammunition, armor and clothes, and horses. Each type of equipment has its own set of properties and types of use. The only part of description shared by all types of equipment, apart from price, is the system of modifiers. These prefixes in the name of an item show whether it is better or worse than another model of the same item, in relation to specific properties. These prefixes allow for a wider and more interesting array of items in the game. “Bad” prefixes signify the degree of damage sustained by an item, which can be repaired by the character if he learns the necessary skills to do so.

4.2. Arms
Place a weapon you want to use in one of the four arms slots on the central panel of your character’s inventory. Shields and ammunition occupy the same slots. In combat, your character has access only to the arms located in these four slots. In combat, weapons are toggled by scrolling the mouse wheel. Scrolling up equips the next weapon; scrolling down equips the next shield and allows to put it away.

Arms properties

• Name: Title including modifiers.
• Weapon Type: Corresponds to weapon Proficiencies.
• Price: Weapon price depending on the character’s current status. Price shown in the weapon’s properties may differ from Sell price during trade, as it will depend on the Trade skill of the character.
• Weight: Affects the character’s speed in combat.
• Type of attack and damage: Type of attack, which determines the type of damage.
• Speed rating: influences strike speed, blocking speed and reload speed.
• Weapon Reach: Depends on the physical length of a melee weapon.
• Accuracy: shows actual firing accuracy of firearms.
• Requirements: Additional pre-requisites for the use of this weapon.

The type of attack and the weapon’s own properties determine the type of damage it deals to the enemy. Most edged weapons can be swung or thrust. If a weapon’s info panel shows both types of attack, it’s likely that you can pierce an enemy with a thrusting move, and cut with a swinging one. Firearms deal only piercing damage. Some weapons deal blunt damage. The type of damage is indicated by letters ‘c’, ‘p’ and ‘b’ next to the number showing maximum damage.

There are several weapon types in the game, each corresponding to a proficiency. Weapon types include One-handed weapons, Two-handed weapons, Polearm melee weapons, Artillery, Firearms and Throwing weapons. As the character’s proficiency grows, he deals more damage with weapons of the corresponding type.

4.3. Equipment

There are four slots for equipment, i.e. amour and clothes worn by the character. These slots correspond to body parts: head, body, arms and legs. Each type of equipment protects this specific body part. In some cases protection is extended. For example, some jackets provide protection to both body and legs. Item properties indicate the degree of protection and the weight of the item, which adds to total encumbrance.

4.4. Horses

Equipped with a mount, the character can ride into battle on horseback. To place a horse into the appropriate slot, your character has to have a Riding skill no less than indicated in the horse’s requirements. A mount can also be captured in battle, if the previous owner has been killed or has dismounted. However, this horse will only belong to the character till the end of the battle, and the usual requirements for Riding still apply. If your Riding skill level is 0, you cannot use horses regardless of circumstances.

Horse properties

• Hit points: The horse’s health.
• Armor: The degree of protection the horse has.
• Speed: The horse’s own maximum speed, before the character’s skills or applicable modifiers are factored in.
• Maneuver: The horse’s turning speed.
• Charge: Damage when charging into the enemy infantry.
• Requirements: Riding skill level necessary to ride this horse.
• Price: Price of the horse.

If the damage sustained by the horse goes over its hit points, the horse falls and becomes unavailable for the duration of the battle. After the battle it may regain its properties, become lame or die. If the horse becomes lame, its speed decreases dramatically, sometimes critically, so the horse loses the ability to trample. Placed into inventory (i.e. not equipped and not being used in combat), a lame horse will slowly heal, but never regain its former properties in full. A horse that has died disappears from the inventory forever.

4.5. Buying and selling of items

Inventory Items can be bought and sold in city markets. To sell an item, drag and drop it into the seller’s inventory. Likewise, to buy an item, drag into your own inventory or into the slot for Arms, Equipment or Horse. You can click on items while holding down Ctrl key to transfer the items from you to the seller (or vice versa) immediately, without having to drag them with the cursor.

No item that has changed hands within the same trade session is considered bought or sold until you confirm the transaction. This means that you can exchange items without any additional charges until you confirm the sale/purchase. The Buying and Selling prices are based on the original price of the item, with the character’s Trade skill factored in. The higher the skill, the lower the Buying Price and the higher the Selling Price is.

The current trade balance is shown under the equipment slots in the middle sub-panel of the Inventory panel. Trade balance is the difference between money spent and earned in this trade session. You can end up with a positive or negative balance. If the character does not have enough cash to pay the seller, you cannot finalize the transaction until the sum payable is reduced to the amount which the character can cover, or until the balance is made positive. If the seller does not have enough cash to pay the character, a pop-up message will inform you about this fact. In this situation you can either confirm the transaction (in this case you only get the sum which the seller is able to pay) or move items around to alter the trade balance.

Outside of a trade situation, you can get rid of items (discard them) by dragging them into the left sub-panel of your Inventory.

5.1. Map Overview

The campaign map is the main field of action in the game. Several events and assignments are tied to it. On the campaign map you can see all cities, as well as the movement of other parties’ fleets and companies on land. All fleets and companies are shown as pictograms: ships and mounted figures, respectively. The campaign map is interrelated with battle maps, because the landscape and the type of battle depends on the location where the opposing parties have met on the campaign map. Your character travels on the campaign map in real time, but whenever he stops, the game pauses. You can interrupt this pause by pressing and holding down the “Space” key. In this case, the character will remain on the spot, but the time will keep running. Hold down “Space” and “Ctrl” keys simultaneously to speed up the passing of time.

Left-clicking on the map produces different results, depending on the object of clicking. If you click on an empty area, your company will start traveling to that location. If you click on another company, your character will initiate a dialog with that company, often with a view to attacking it. Clicking on a city will send your character into that city. If this requires physically reaching the company or the city, the character will travel the distance or follow the company you have clicked on. Right-clicking on the map brings up a list of objects and persons located around that spot. Picking a place or a person from this list is another way of sending your character towards them (same effect as left-clicking them on the map). On occasions, the list will include location-specific activities, for example, looking for smugglers.

5.2. Factions

Factions are political states which are represented in the game in accordance with the historical setting and gameplay specifics. Each faction has several cities and characters (governors and fleetmasters) on the Campaign Map, as well as its own set of available troops and, in some cases, faction-specific types of ships. There are three types of diplomatic relations any two factions can enter: war, peace and truce. Factions enter a state of war once it is declared by one of the parties (the aggressor). Truce should be agreed upon by the leaders of both factions. You can always check the state of diplomacy in the list of factions. To do this, press “Q” (default hotkey) while you are on the campaign map and switch to the “Nations” tab in the Quests menu.

Factions will have different attitudes towards the character. Your character’s relations with the other factions are listed in the Reports window. Press the “Reports” button at the bottom of the campaign map to access it. A faction’s attitude will fluctuate, as it is based on the character’s own actions (attacking the faction’s troops or neutral troops, completing quests) and on the relations between the factions themselves, if the character has sided with one of them. Bad diplomatic relations with a faction may lead to aggression on the part of that faction, regardless of the character’s other allegiances or neutral status. The Brotherhood of the Coast stands apart from the other factions. Each visit to a city controlled by this faction leads to a slight deterioration of diplomatic relations with all colonial nations which are at war with the Brotherhood. Conversely, destroying pirates and bandits improves relations with colonial nations.

Game Factions:

• Kingdom of England
• Kingdom of France
• Kingdom of Spain
• Republic of Netherlands
• Brotherhood of the Coast

Once the character reaches the 3rd military rank or trade reputation level, he is allowed to join one of the game factions. To do this, wait for the “Faction Membership” quest to appear on the message board of a city controlled by the faction you would like to join. Joining a faction gives the character a number of advantages (the ability to capture cities, hire faction troopers, help allies in battle, become governor), but also limits his possibilities with regards to the current diplomatic relations between factions. If the faction you have joined declares war on another nation, then your character also enter the state of war with said nation.

5.3. The Player’s Faction

You may choose to found and lead your own faction. It will function in exactly the same manner as the other factions. i.e. will have its own name and flag, may capture enemy cities, muster armies, and your character will not have to pay fees and taxes in his own cities. In addition to that, you may try to persuade characters from other factions to come over to your side. A high level of Persuasion skill increases your chances of successful recruitment. At the same time, other factions will, by default, be hostile towards the player’s faction at the beginning, which places it into difficult political waters from the very start. This is why it is recommended that you found your own faction only after you have significantly upgraded your character, mustered a powerful army (including troops in the garrisons) and forged strong bonds with various lords.

Ways of founding your own faction:

1. Capturing a city from an existing faction. This is possible only if your character has not pledged allegiance to any factions.
2. Leaving the faction after discussing it with the leader of the faction, while retaining colonies under your control.
3. Leaving the faction upon receiving a message that a city you have captured has been handed over to another character. Choose “This shall not stand!” in the dialog menu to leave the faction. If you have colonies under your control, you can found your own faction.

5.4. Cities

Cities (colonies) are objects on the campaign map. Each city is controlled by one of the game factions and may be captured by armed forces. Cities allow you to do the following: buy and sell arms and equipment; trade in bulk; buy, upgrade and outfit ships; hire troops and captains; accept quests (including quests for joining a faction); build manufactories and municipal buildings; form a garrison.


City menu. 1 – Additional city options (construction, trade in bulk, message board with quests), 2 – Icons of manufactories and municipal buildings, 3 – City prosperity status, 4 – Governor’s Mansion, 5 – Town Hall, 6 - Tavern, 7 - Market, 8 - Shipwright, 9 - Garrison, 10 - Fort, 11 – Button to exit the screen, 12 – Flag of the Faction which controls this city, 13 – City name.

If you visit a neutral or an ally’s city, you can enter it immediately. This is different if you attempt to visit an enemy city. A prompt will come up asking if you would like to try and sneak in secretly. There is always a possibility that the guards will recognize your character and attack him. If you can defeat the guards, you can enter the city, but in this scenario bulk trading will not be available.

Conveniently laid out, the city menu is a schematic representation of the buildings which are standard for all colonies: Shipwright, Garrison, Fort, Market, Tavern, Town Hall and the Governor’s Mansion. In the top left corner you can find the icons of additional options: bulk trading; construction (this menu also comes up if you visit the Town Hall), the message board with available quests; and the warehouse (only displayed if the character has any of his good stored there). At the top of the screen you can find icons representing the city’s manufactories and municipal buildings, as well as the city’s prosperity level. At the bottom of the screen you can see the name of the city and the “Leave” button to exit the city.

Main city buildings and their purpose:

• Shipwright: Buying, selling, upgrading and repairing ships.
• Garrison: Hiring regular troops of a faction (the character has to be a member of this faction), buying field artillery.
• Fort: Managing the city’s garrison (your character has to be a member of this faction to transfer soldiers into the fort. He has to be governor in order to take them back).
• Governor’s Mansion: Dialog with the governor and other aristocrats and captains who happen to be in the city.
• Tavern: Resting in the city without spending your foodstuffs. In a tavern you could meet slave-traders, potential companions, and peddlers selling rare pieces of equipment.
• Market: Buying and selling of arms, equipment and horses.
• Town Hall: Brings up the construction menu for municipal buildings (the character has to be governor to access to this option) and manufactories.

The prosperity of a city influences the cost and variety of commodities; a higher prosperity level will raise the maximum number of manufactories that can be constructed; unlock municipal buildings and increase the governor’s income. Prosperity grows steadily in peaceful times and drops drastically if the city is captured or pillaged.

City Prosperity Levels

0-19 - Very poor
20-39 - Poor
40-59 - Average
60-79 - Rich
80-100 - Very rich

5.5. City quests

You can accept different quests posted on the city’s message board. Rewards and quests themselves are highly varied. Some are not even quests as such, since they do not require specific actions, but rather specific results for which you can collect a reward. You may encounter the following types of quests: hiring mercenaries; swearing allegiance (joining a faction); concluding a trade deal (buying goods off a merchant on special); delivering a trade order (bringing commodities specified in the quest description, to the city); hunting bandits (destroying a certain number of bandit gangs); obtaining a letter of marquee.

If there is compensation for the completion of a quest, it is normally a cash reward and/or renown points, depending on the quest specifics. Many quests have a time limit, so the character has to complete them before the deadline.

5.6. Governorship

The governor of a colony has direct control over it. Governors collect revenue from their cities, put garrisons in place to protect them, and construct municipal buildings. The governor has to be a member of the faction which controls the city. Your character can become governor, too, but no sooner than he reaches rank/reputation level 5. In certain cases (e.g. capture by siege) the city may be governor-less for some time, until the leader of the faction appoints a new governor. Governors are indicated in the description of each city in the list of cities. To access it, click the “Quests” tab on the campaign map or hit “Q” on your keyboard. Once the Quests tab comes up, click on the “Locations” tab.

6.1. Player’s troops overview

Your units fights together with the character in naval and land battles, during sieges and boarding action. To review and manage your troops, open the “Party” panel by pressing the corresponding button at the bottom of the campaign map or “P” (default hotkey) on your keyboard, and find the “Manage army” tab to the right of the ships’ icons. Army management menu allows you to sort troops within the party, review your units’ properties and upgrade them. Upgrades follow a certain, pre-existing line of development and normally leave your troops within the same branch of service. A unit can be upgraded whenever it has accumulated the required number of experience points. If, for whatever reason, you have to discharge your troops, you can do so by clicking the “Disband” button. If you have several units of the same type, they will be disbanded one by one.

Manage army menu. 1 – Party size (current / maximum), 2 – Types of units currently in your party (in brackets next to each type: number of units fit for combat / total number), 3 – Controls for sorting units within the party, 4 – List of prisoners, 5 – Type of unit selected, 6 – Management of the unit selected (open properties, disband), 7 – Upgrade button, 8 – Short stats of the unit (morale, weekly wages), 9 – General stats of your party (morale, party size, number of cannons, number of ships, number of prisoners), 10 – Party skills of the character and his captains.

You can transfer your units to the garrison of a colony controlled by your faction. Remember that if you are not the governor of said colony, you will not be able to take your units back after the transfer.

Leading an army means having to pay for its upkeep. Upkeep costs of individual units and companions add up to a total amount of the army’s upkeep. The higher the level of a unit or companion, the higher the maintenance costs. Costs for each unit are displayed in the “Manage Army” panel. If you have troops in garrisons, their upkeep cost also adds up to the total army upkeep.

The maximum size of the party depends on the character’s renown, the Leadership skill level, and Charisma. Troops placed in garrisons are exempted from this limit.

6.2. Mustering an army

To get access to hiring regular faction troopers, you have to join this faction. To join a faction, you have to have at least a Lieutenant’s rank or Trader’s reputation, and complete the “Faction Membership” quest which will eventually appear on the message board of one of the faction’s cities. After this, you character will have access to the garrison, where you can hire troopers. In the window that comes up, choose the branch of service from which you would like to hire, then click on the model of one of the available units in the center of the screen and drag the toggle bar to the right to hire as many as you want (the further you drag it, the more units you are hiring).

On your right you can see the list of units you already have. If you need to disband them, the process is similar. Choose the branch of service first, then click on the unit type, and, while holding down the left mouse button, drag the toggle bar to the left (the further you drag it, the more units you are disbanding).

Confirm any changes you’ve made by clicking “Done” at the bottom of the screen.

Army hiring menu. 1 – Units available for hire, listed by branch of service 2 – The character’s free cash, 3 – Total price for hiring these units, 4 – Party size (current / maximum), 5 – Total weekly wages to be paid out, 6 – Units already in the character’s party, listed by branch of service, 7 – Units hiring menu, 8 – Unit info panel (name, hiring price of 1 unit, weekly upkeep costs), 9 – Buttons to confirm or cancel your transactions.

In addition to regular troops, each nation has irregular colonial militia, which can be accessed via the message board of a city. You don’t have to join a faction or reach a high rank/reputation in order to hire militia units, however, all of their stats are significantly lower than those of regular units.

Finally, a good way of replenishing you army is freeing prisoners. If you defeat an enemy company which had prisoners, you can recruit them into your own army.

Some cities have a special municipal building which allows you to hire veteran soldiers with better stats. Upgrades for normal recruits do not go as far as ‘veteran’.

6.3. Party Morale

You can check the current morale of your army in the “Reports” tab at the bottom of the campaign map. Morale affects the battle-worthiness of your army. Additionally, lower morale makes desertion from your party more likely. The average morale value is 50. The Leadership skill and the variety of foodstuffs increases morale, while a larger party size lowers it. Different events also influence the party’s morale:

• Wage arrears on payday (-)
• Letting prisoners go (-)
• Shortage of food (-)
• Losing a battle (-)
• Resting in a tavern (+)
• Winning a battle (+)

There is also the concept of loyalty. If you fight against an army which belongs to the same faction from which you have recruited your units, then your units get a morale penalty. The opposite is also true: your units get morale bonus when they fight against the enemies of their original faction.

6.4. Logistics

To keep your party’s morale high, stock up on foodstuffs, which are consumables in your ships’ cargo holds. Consumables are marked in orange, whereas other commodities are in blue. Nevertheless, all foodstuffs can be bought and sold just like any other commodity.

Each additional type of foodstuffs in your ship’s holds increases the party morale. Therefore, it is recommended that you stock up on different types of food. Your food supply will be gradually depleting at the rate proportionate to your party size. Buccaneering skill allows your troops to collect food as you travel across the Campaign map.

7.1. Player’s Fleet Overview

The player’s fleet will grow mighty in the course of naval battles, just like the land troops become seasoned in land battles. Each ship is a separate unit with its own properties and battle-worthiness. The maximum number of ships you can own at any time is six.

All your ships are listed in the Party menu, which can be accessed by pressing the “Party” button on the campaign map or “P” (default hotkey) on the keyboard. Here you can review all your ships’ properties, redistribute sailors between ships, rename your vessels, appoint your companions as captains, and switch any ship into “do not use in battle” mode (if you choose this option, the ship will be automatically put at anchor at the start of a naval battle).

Choose a ship by clicking on its icon at the top of the screen. Use arrows under the icons to change the order of the ships in battle. The ship on the very left is your flagship, which your character commands during battle. You can choose to make any other of your vessels flagship by clicking on the “Make flagship” button.

Manage Fleet menu. 1 – Switching to Manage army tab, 2 – The player’s ships, 3 – Name of the selected ship and the option to change it, 4 – Properties of the selected ship, 5 – Additional actions available for the selected ship (make flagship, add sailors from another ship, repair, review cargo hold), 6 – List of modifications already applied to the selected ship, 7 – Captain of the selected ship (2% in brackets means that the Fleetmaster skill exceeds the ship’s requirements by 1 point).

Ship properties

• Top Speed: Ship’s maximum speed when moving by the wind.
• Maneuvering: Turning speed of the ship.
• Margin of strength of the hull: Ship’s primary hit points.
• Margin of strength of the rigging: Hit points of the masts and sails.
• Cargo hold: Capacity of the cargo hold.
• Maximum crew size: Maximum possible number of sailors on the ship.
• Boarding crew: The number of sailors who will take part in boarding. As a rule, it’s 10% of the crew total.
• Crew experience: Experience level earned by this crew.
• Placement of cannons: Info on the location of cannons and gun decks on your ship.
• Maximum number of cannons: Number of cannons allowed in each location.
• Ammunition: Total ammo on your ship.

Each of these properties corresponds to an aspect of trading or fighting. For example, the margin of strength of the hull is the number of hit points the ship may lose before it sinks, and the capacity of the cargo hold determines the total number of items the ship can take on board.

These properties are, in turn, influenced by the correlation between the rank of the ship and the Fleetmaster skill of the character. Sailing large ships with a low Fleetmaster skill will lower their effectiveness. The current level of this skill is indicated on the right, under “Captain’s skills”. Negative percentage means that the level is not sufficient to sail this ship. For every skill level that is wanting, there is a 10% penalty to the ship’s properties. If your Fleetmaster level is higher than the ship’s requirements, it adds a 2% bonus for every ‘extra’ level of the skill.

There are several classes of ships in the game. They become unlocked as the character advances to certain military ranks or trade reputation levels.

Boats (Rank 0):

Note on Max. Calibre: Multideck ships can carry cannons of several different calibres. As a rule, the heaviest cannons are installed on the lower deck, and the lighter ones – on the medium and top deck. The table shows the maximum calibre allowed for the lower deck.


Light ships (Rank 1):


Medium ships (Rank 2):

Trade Ships:


Warships:

7.2. Buying and upgrading ships

You can buy ships from a Shipwright. Visit a Shipwright in a city and switch the menu to buying. The availability of ships for purchase depends on your character’s rank/reputation, the Shipwright’s level of upgrade and on the faction which controls the city. Of course, honest purchasing is not the only way of enlarging your fleet. You can always board enemy ships during battle and add them to your fleet if you win.

A Shipwright can also upgrade ships. You can choose to do one or all of the following: replace the ship’s artillery; train your crew; purchase ship upgrades. The choice of artillery is limited by the character’s rank and the type of ship. The bigger the ship, the heavier the guns it can support. The calibre determines the damage they can deliver, as well as their range and reload speed. It should also be noted that there are two types of naval guns: cannons and long-barreled culverins. The latter deal more damage and have more precision compared to cannons of the same calibre. To replace cannons or culverins, click on the slot on your cannon deck and choose the model you would like to install. You also have the option of removing and selling your guns, or installing additional ones if you have unoccupied slots on your gun decks.


Switching between ship upgrades menus. 1 – select the deck on which to replace artillery (the number of icons may vary depending on the type of ship), 2 – switch do ship upgrading panel, 3 – switch to crew management panel (selected by default)

Click on the icon with gears in the top right corner of the screen to open the ship upgrades menu. You will see an icon of the upgrade currently selected. Click on it to bring up the list of all available upgrades. In total, there are 20 possible ship upgrades in the game. What is special about most ship upgrades is that they give a penalty as well as a bonus – most often, they take up room in the cargo hold. Different types of ships support different numbers of upgrades.

The crew can also be upgraded. It is a one-time event after the hiring. You can upgrade your recruits from novice to experienced. If you have significantly replenished the crew, you may have to redo the training.

Summary of ship management regimes. From left to right: crew management panel, ship upgrades panel, artillery management panel.

Ship upgrades

Note on the Cost: not including extra costs of upgrades or replaced artillery.


Additionally, Shipwright is the place where you can sell or repair your ships, replenish your crew and ammunition. When selling a ship, you can get back up to a quarter of its nominal price, depending on the ship’s condition. The number of sailors available for hire depends on the city’s prosperity level and will gradually replenish. The ammunition stock at the port is unlimited.

8.1. Land battle overview

When a conflict between two or more parties occurs on the Campaign map, a battle is initiated. If your character is one of the conflicting parties, a dialog menu comes up. In the course of this dialog you will have several options which will allow to avoid battle. If your character initiated the battle, you will see the following options: “Charge the enemy”, “Order your troops to attack without you” (this will lead to an auto-calculation of the battle’s outcome), “Retreat” and “Surrender”. If you choose to have the results of the battle calculated automatically, the AI will sum up losses and name the winner based on the total strength of participants on both sides. If this option is chosen, a window with the results immediately comes up and no actual fighting occurs. The player has no influence on these automatic calculations.

Before the battle commences, you can arrange your troops within the limits of a given staring zone. At the same time you can see your enemy’s formation, however, it will not move or charge while you are on the battle map. For the time of this arrangement, time is frozen. Units will be moved to the appointed location immediately (they do not have to travel), but within a limited space (your staring zone). If necessary, you can remove some of your units from battle (place them in reserve). Once you have finished arranging the troops, press the “Start Battle” button at the bottom of the screen.

Visual menu of the army arrangement. 1 – Disposition of the player’s units, 2 – Buttons for giving orders to the entire army (charge, follow the character, hold position), 3 – Indication of the total number of live units on both sides, 4 – The enemy’s disposition, 5 – Slots of free units (disbanded or placed in reserve), 6 – Button to begin the battle (only available at the army arrangement stage)

After you have arranged your troops, the battle begins. The two armies move towards each other from the opposite ends of the map. In the course of battle, ordinary units may be wounded or killed; captains and the player character may be wounded. Critically wounded units and captains become inactive after the battle (they cannot participate in other battles), but will heal overtime. The speed of healing is determined by the level of Herbalism skill. Cavalry mounts can also be killed. Cavalry units who have lost their horses may continue fighting on foot. If the player character is knocked unconscious at any point during the battle, he will enter the next stage of battle with very few hit points. If he gets knocked unconscious again or if he has entered the first stage of battle with very low hit points, there will be no further stages of battle. You will see an automatic calculation of the outcome. An attempt to retreat by pressing the “TAB key” during battle will also take you the auto calculations of the battle outcome.

The battle may leave units on both sides killed or critically wounded. A unit that has been killed disappears from the party forever. A critically wounded unit in the winning party will be considered healing and will slowly regain hit points, whereas a wounded unit from a losing party will be taken prisoner. Soldiers that are healing cannot participate in battles until they have reached the required minimum of health points. The probability of being critically wounded instead of killed rises when the player character, captains or other characters have the Surgery skill, and when objects with blunt damage are used as weapons.

8.2. Main principles of the battle system

Fighting in the game is based on using two mouse buttons (striking and blocking) and the keyboard (movement). The left mouse button is reserved for the main battle action: attack (delivering a blow, firing a shot, etc.) Specifics will change depending on the type of weapons. In some cases, holding down the left mouse button enables the player to modify the action. For example, you can hold the swing of an edged weapon or aim your firearm. With edged weapons, the direction of the attack is very important. You can attack from for directions: from above, from below (a piercing strike), from the left and right. For some weapons, the choice of attack direction is limited to, for example, piercing from below. Depending on the settings, the direction of attack is controlled either by the mouse or by the keyboard. Typically, the controls are set in such a way that the direction of the strike is chosen by shifting the mouse slightly in one of the four directions just before delivering the blow.

The right mouse button is used for blocking. You can block with either a shield or a weapon. Blocking with a shield creates a protective screen of corresponding size in front of your character. This screen will not disappear until you consciously lower the shield or until it is destroyed by your enemies. Blocking with a weapon is different from blocking with a shield in that it gives protection from one direction of attack only. Therefore, to successfully counter an opponent’s blow, your character has to raise his weapon in the direction from which the blow is coming.

It is also possible to knock someone down with a powerful blow of a melee weapon or by charging your horse into them. For a short period of time, a character that has been knocked down loses the ability to move, attack and block. You cannot knock down with a shot. Additionally, when you slash, shoot or use a throwing weapon in movement, a speed bonus is added to the damage you deliver. It is only a bonus if you move towards the opponent; if you are moving away, it becomes a penalty. For this reason a standing character will always have weaker attacks than someone fighting from the back of a charging horse.

Another variable to be factored in is your character’s running speed. Adding points to your character’s Athletics skill will make him faster, whereas encumbering him with heavier pieces of equipment will slow him down. Going up a steep slope and forcing a water obstacle (sandbar) also affects running speed.

8.3. Controlling your units

There are two battle control systems: visual and keyboard. They can be used simultaneously. Keyboard controllers allow you to select a branch of service by numbers, and to give orders to the selected units by hitting F1 to F7.

Keyboard controllers:

• 1 – Infantry only
• 2 – Musketeers only
• 3 – Cavalry only
• 4 – Harquebusiers only (cavalry armed with harquebuses)
• 5 – All branches of service

• F1 – Hold position (the ‘position’ is the character’s location at the time of this order)
• F2 – Follow the character
• F3 – Attack the enemy (charge)
• F4 – Retreat (return to the starting position)
• F5 – Hold the fire
• F6 – Fire at will
• F7 – Fire once

To make their use more intuitive, the key for these commands is displayed in the right half of the screen. When you select troops and orders from this list, they get highlighted. Therefore, consequently pressing 3 and F3 on your keyboard will send your entire cavalry charging at the enemy.

Visual control system involves the battle map (accessed by pressing ‘Backspace’ on your keyboard) and the icons of your troops, which you can drag and drop. If you change the position of its icon on the map, a division will start moving to destination. The mode of their advance (or retreat) can be selected in the drop-down menu which appears when you point the cursor at this division. There are two regimes: attack (the division will try to engage the enemy) and neutral (the division will avoid fighting). Additionally, you can order your entire army to attack, hold position or follow the character. Choosing “attack” on the visual command panel will serve as a signal to break formation (your soldiers will fight as individual units). Using visual command is very similar to arranging troops before battle, with two major differences: firstly, time does not freeze, and secondly, your units do not appear in on their new position immediately, but have to physically travel there.

8.4. Size of battle and battle advantage

Depending on the settings of the size of battle (the maximum number of units which are allowed to participate in battle at any one time) and on the number of units on both sides of the conflict, the battle may go through one or several stages. Under otherwise equal conditions, at the initial stage of battle a matching number of units from both sides will be pitched against each other. The total number shall not exceed 150 units (the maximum size of battle allowed in the game). Note that the units at the top of your list in the Army management menu will be the first to join battle. During the battle reinforcements (reserve units) will arrive. If the opposing forces are too numerous and five reinforcement brigades have arrived from any one side, the current battle will be stopped and the outcome calculated, however, the conflict itself will not be over. Surviving units will resume fighting following the same battle cycle, until one side loses all its able combatants.

Battle advantage is the ratio of the sizes of the two armies at the start of conflict when battle size settings do not allow for all units to join the action at once. Unit count on both sides is based on the size ratio of the two armies (the larger the opposing army, the more this ratio will be skewed in their favor) and the commanders’ Tactics skill level.

8.5. Field artillery

Field artillery is used in land battles. You can purchase field guns once your character advances to Captain military rank or gains Councilor business reputation. Apart from that, you can buy field artillery in any city where Casting Works is constructed. At the start of battle, field artillery is by default stationed with your units. Field guns are manned by gunners, whom you must hire in the garrison separately from the guns themselves. The gunners automatically take position next to their cannons and start firing at the enemy. Consider the risk of friendly fire – your gunners cannot aim to avoid hitting your own units and will shoot anyway.

If a gunner is killed, your character can take his place. A field gun is controlled manually in several stages. First your character needs to approach it and use the action button to “man” it. After this, the loading process begins. Once it’s over, you can fire. Use arrow keys on the keyboard to aim the gun. Turn it with “left” and “right” arrows and control elevation with “up” and “down”. Field guns cannot move away from their spot.

8.6. Loot

Loot is all the trophies you collect after defeating another army. It includes equipment items of the units who participated in the battle. Loot collection screen comes up after the battle outcome and looks like a modified inventory panel. On the left you will see your trophies, and on the right, your own inventory. Drag and drop whatever you would like to collect from the panel on the left to your own inventory on the right. If necessary, you can also drag items from your inventory to the trophies panel and thus discard them, making room for better items from the loot. You cannot return to the looting window after you have closed it.

Please note that most items of your opponents’ equipment will not make it into the loot collection panel. The Looting skill increases the number and quality of trophies collected.

9.1. Naval battles overview

Naval battles are only initiated if the your character is physically at sea. When two fleets meet on the Campaign map, a dialog is initiated. It is slightly different from the one that comes up before a land battle. Here, you do not have the options of surrendering or ordering your troops to attack without you. If the player character decides to attack another party, the only two options are “Engage them!” and “Leave”.


Naval battle – ship controls. 1 - Compass, 2 – List of the player’s ships, 3 – Battle speed controls, 4 – Ship arrangement options, 5 – Mini-map, 6 – Heath bars of the player’s ship (white for the rigging, red for the hull, green for the crew), 7 – Ship artillery controls, 8 – Stats of the selected target (info about the player’s ship will be in gray, an ally’s ship – in green, and an enemy ship, in red).

Naval battles are in many ways similar to land battles. The two fleets start out at the opposite ends of the map, then they draw close in. Note that the enemy fleet will move towards the player’s fleet regardless of the odds of the battle. You can fight a naval battle at four different speeds: slow, standard (by default), fast and super-fast.

In the course of a naval battle, ships may be destroyed or captured. A ship is destroyed if it loses all of the hull hit points. When this happens, she ship starts sinking, and part of the crew and cargo goes overboard. The men and the cargo may be picked up by any nearby ship, be it friendly or hostile. A message will appear in the battle log to inform you of a successful pick-up. Salvaged items are added to the total cargo of your fleet; rescued sailors become part of the ship’s crew. If the player’s flagship is destroyed, command is passed on to the next ship on the fleet list.

After a successful boarding you can transfer trophy goods into your own cargo holds and add the captured ship to your own fleet, make it flagship, or scuttle it. If you decide to keep the ship, it will come under your control immediately, either as an ally ship (if you add it to the fleet) or as the vessel which your character commands (if you make it flagship). When you add a captured ship to your fleet, part of your flagship’s crew is transferred to this new ship. If you are defeated in boarding action, the entire battle is lost.

9.2. Ship controls

The ship’s movement is controlled by the keyboard. WASD keys are default controllers, but these can be changed in Control Settings. With these keys, you can steer your ship to the left or to the right, hoist or lower your sails. The speed of your vessel depends not only on the sails’ configuration (hoisted, fully or partially lowered), but also on the vector of movement in relation to the wind. Current wind direction is indicated by the compass in the top left corner of the screen.

Firing at the enemy ships is semi-automatic. The most suitable target is chosen automatically based on the distance between you and the angle of swing. When you lock on a target, a ship icon appears above the corresponding battery on the artillery control panel. You fire at enemy ships by pressing ‘Space’ (default key) or the icons of your gun decks.


Artillery controls. 1 – Drop a floating mine (gunpowder barrel), 2 – Port broadside, 3 – Fire from select portside batteries, 4 – Fire from bow cannons, 5 – Switch ammunition type (cannonballs, grapeshot, chainballs), 6 – Fire from prow cannons, 7 – Fire from select starboard batteries, 8 – Starboard broadside, 9 – Repair the ship

There are three types of ammunition for naval battles: cannonballs, grapeshot and chainballs. Each of them delivers damage to all three components of a ship – the hull, the rigging and the crew – but the degree of damage depends on the ammunition type. Cannonballs do most damage to the hull; grapeshot to the crew; chainballs to the rigging; however, it is extremely important which part of the ship is hit. A cannonball which hits the rigging does not damage the hull; a chainball which hits the hull does not damage the rigging. The crew almost always receives some damage, especially from grapeshot. The damage also depends on the calibre of the guns. The type of ammunition determines firing range. Cannonballs have superior range, whereas you have to be much closer to the enemy to use grapeshot.

In addition to naval guns, ships are equipped with gunpowder barrels (floating mines), which can be dropped from the bow of your ship. Colliding with such barrels will deliver substantial damage to any ship. The supply of all ammunition, including gunpowder barrels, is limited and does not replenish automatically. If you run out of ammunition, you will have nothing to harm your enemy with. The ammo supply is shared between all types of shot. Additionally, the ship’s captain may decide to ram an enemy ship. For this you need to send your ship straight into the opponent’s. It is advisable to ram it in the side to deliver more damage. Total damage will depend on the size of the ramming ship and its speed at the moment of collision.

You can control your guns (switch ammunition, choose between port/starboard broadside or using individual batteries) via the visual artillery controls at the bottom of the screen.

9.3. Controlling your fleet

Ships in your navy fight on their own, but you can give them limited orders. To do so, select an ally ship and choose the desired action on the command panel. These are the available orders: follow the flagship (this action is set as default), drop anchor (a warship will stay on the spot, but will fire at will if an enemy ship comes into range), fire at an enemy target, make a ship into a fireship.

The latter is a rather special command. When you make your ship into a fireship, it cannot fire at the enemy anymore, but instead becomes alight. The crew is transferred to your other ships. Now you can use the fireship to ram your opponent’s vessels. A successful ramming action by a fireship causes substantial damage to the attacked vessel, but the fireship is also destroyed. You cannot reverse this order, therefore, when you turn an ally ship into a fireship, you lose it anyway, whether the ramming action is successful or not. Also note that the fireships starts blazing immediately following the order and you cannot control it afterwards. It is highly advised that you bring it as close as possible to the target and make sure that it is sailing in the right direction before you set it on fire.

To give an order to an ally ship, you need to select it in the fleet menu (the list of all of your ships in the top left corner of the screen), or by clicking on its icon on the mini-map, or by clicking on the ship proper. The mini-map is color-coded and shows your character’s ship (your flagship) in yellow, your ally ships in green, and the enemy ships, in red. The stats of the selected ship are displayed in the bottom right corner of the screen. If no ship is selected, the panel shows your flagship’s stats.

Apart from commanding individual ships, you have the ability to change your fleet’s formation. Ships may form a line of battle (default formation; the ships follow each other, with the flagship in the lead), sail in line formation (parallel to each other) or free formation (and act as the circumstances may demand).

9.4. Boarding action

When two ships close in on one another to about a hull’s length, a prompt for boarding action comes up. If you choose to board an enemy ship, hold down the “Use” key (“F” default hotkey) until the bar is filled. Boarding action can be initiated by the player character or by a hostile ship. Two AI-controlled ships cannot engage in boarding action. For the duration of the boarding, the entire naval battle is frozen, meaning that all the other ships do not fire at each other. Just before boarding begins, a dialog window comes up, asking you where you would like your character to stand at the start of boarding (the bow, the prow, or in the thick of the action with the boarding crew). Battle location specifics depend on the types of ships involved. There are three possible variants: a small ship versus another small ship, a large ship versus a small ship, or a large ship versus another large ship.

The number of combatants in a boarding action is limited by the game itself and is not governed by the land battle size settings. Any units which did not ‘fit’ in the beginning will arrive as reinforcements; as opposed to land battles, the number of occasions on which they arrive is not limited. Note also that both the land army units on the engaged ship and part of the ship’s crew (boarding crew) will take part in boarding. Whereas the boarding crew is attached to one ship, your land army units are only linked to it inasmuch as they are being transported on it. Therefore, if you manage to destroy the entire crew of a hostile ship, there will still be regular land army units taking part in boarding action on the side of your opponent. In combat, units are labeled accordingly to make it easier to distinguish between them; boarding crew members are labeled as “Sailors”, while the regular units have their usual titles.

During boarding, the player character and any combatants on both sides may use ropes (they allow you to move from ship to ship instantly, provided that you move from a taller ship onto a lower one, or between two ships of the same size), hooks (to instantly move from a lower ship onto a taller one), climb into the “crow’s nest” and run across boarding bridges. The player character cannot give orders to his units; all of them act on their own.

The standard behavior of the units during boarding action involves the following: part of the team (normally those which can be considered melee infantry) will attempt boarding the hostile ship using boarding bridges, hooks and ropes, engaging any enemy units that come their way; the other part (ranged units) will hold their ground and fire at the opponents from their muskets and pistols. Throwing grenades during boarding is also allowed, but field artillery is obviously not used and does not appear at the scene of battle. Therefore, if your character entered battle standing at the bow or at the prow of the ship, he has a chance to intercept enemy “scouts” attempting boarding with ropes and hooks, then proceed to the hostile ship, destroy the ranged units and strike the infantry in the rear, if the battle is still raging. On the other hand, if you buy a shield from an armorer, you can fight effectively in the first ranks and minimize losses in your team.

Victory conditions for boarding are the same as for a land battle. If your character falls, a free camera is activated and you can still watch the battle. If you press TAB at this point, you will be taken to the auto calculation of the battle outcome. While your character is alive and fighting, the battle goes on until the entire enemy crew is destroyed (including all possible reinforcements).

Once your character reaches the Captain Lieutenant military rank, you have an option to besiege a city controlled by a faction which is hostile to the character or warring with his faction. To do so, select “Besiege city” in the menu which comes up when you attempt to visit a hostile city. After this you will have to prepare for the siege by building siege ladders. This is a long process, and the exact time which depends on the Engineer skill of your character. For the duration of construction your character is transferred back onto the campaign map, but remains immobile, and game time is sped up. While the ladders are being constructed, your character can be attacked, and in this case a land battle is initiated. Once the ladders are ready, you are taken back to the menu where you can either confirm the commencement of siege (and choose between leading your troops into battle or having the outcome calculated immediately and automatically), or cancel it. If you opt for the auto-calculation of the outcome, the familiar land battle algorithms will be used.

Sieges mostly follow the rules of land battles, but with several exceptions: firstly, you cannot arrange your troops before the battle begins, and secondly, the setting is a fortified stronghold. On one side are the attackers, and on the other, the defenders. A colony is defended by its garrison and all captains who happen to be present in the city at the moment of the beginning of the siege.

During the siege, the defenders are protected by the walls and have no need to advance towards the attackers, who, on their part, have to reach the stronghold’s walls at the double and climb the siege ladders. To start going up a ladder, you need to come close to it and press the “Use” key (“F” by default). Once you have done this, a short clip shows the climbing and then your character finds himself on top of the wall. The victory condition for both parties is destroying all of the enemy units.

If the siege was successful, you will be prompted to pillage the city. If your character has reached the Captain military rank, then he can also capture the city. If the player has not joined any other faction yet, capturing a city in this way means the creation of your own faction. If, on the other hand, the character has already sided with a faction, this city will be handed over to the faction leader, who will then appoint a governor. If your character has advanced to the Сommander or Admiral military rank, you can request that governorship be given to him, and if you are denied this privilege, you can take offence and create your own faction.

11.1. Economy overview

The economy is based on piasters – the common currency of all game factions. You can earn piasters by completing quests, pillaging cities, destroying hostile parties, collecting revenue generated by colonies, selling captured ships and prisoners - and, of course, trading. Your expenditures are a sum of the soldiers’ and captains’ payroll, taxes and harbor fees, the cost of hiring new units, costs of building and paying for the upkeep of manufactories, purchasing and providing maintenance for ships, and others.

Expenses and income can be one-time or recurring. Recurring payments are part of your weekly budget and may include the governor’s salary (income), weekly wages of the army, the maintenance of ships and upkeep of manufactories (expenditures). The budget is automatically balanced. Any surplus is added to the character’s total cash, any deficit is covered by it. If you do not have sufficient funds for the upkeep and maintenance of your army, manufactories and fleet, your debt will be factored into the next weekly budget. Remember that debt affects the morale of your troops and may lead to desertion; the ships’ condition deteriorates for lack of proper care; and manufactories may shut down.

11.2. Trade

Commodities (trade goods) play a key role in the economy of the game. These can be consumable (your party’s food supply) and non-consumable. You can purchase commodities in bulk from a merchant, collect from a hostile boat destroyed or captured in a naval battle, or acquire as a product of manufactories.


Bulk trade exchange menu. 1 – First party in the trade exchange (the merchant), 2 – Payer character’s free cash, 3 – Trade balance, 4 – Cargo hold capacity (current / maximum load), 5 – Second party in the trade exchange (the character’s cargo hold), 6 – First party’s trade goods, 7 – Second party’s goods, 8 – Turn the pages displaying trade goods, 9 – Cancel or confirm your actions.

Trade exchange menu comes up when you visit a merchant, redistribute your own commodities or loot other ships. Bulk trading works in the same way as the buying and selling of equipment, but there are some technicalities. For one, to transfer commodities of a certain kind between the two panels, you need click on the icon of the commodities in question and then, holding down the mouse button, drag the toggle bar to the left or to the right, depending on the intended direction of the transfer. The further you drag the toggle bar, the more items are transferred. The cargo hold (i.e. the total cargo hold capacity of all the ships in your navy) is limited, so if the total amount of commodities you are taking on board exceeds the available holds’ capacity, you need to make room in the holds before the transaction can be completed. If there are more types of commodities than can fit on one page, the rest will be displayed on page 2 of the bulk trade exchange menu.

Depending on the type of exchange, it will either involve payment in piasters or be a simple act of transferring items from one panel to the other. An example of the latter is the transfer between a warehouse and your ship’s cargo hold, or collecting trophies (loot) from a defeated enemy ship. Some of the actions allow you to indicate the parties of the exchange by simply clicking on these parties’ names, i.e. you can choose to place the commodities you are purchasing from a merchant directly into your fleet’s cargo holds or into a warehouse in town. If you are buying from a merchant, you need to match the price of commodities with cash, otherwise the transaction cannot be completed. The merchant’s cash supply is unlimited. The balance of trade is displayed at the top of the screen. Trade balance is the difference between the total cost of commodities sold and purchased by the character, and can be positive (the merchant has to pay the character), negative (the character has to pay the merchant) or balanced to zero (neither party has to pay anything).

To generate trade revenue, follow the standard logic: buy commodities at a lower price and sell them somewhere else, where the price is higher. This principle stems from the general rule of the game economy: a certain type of commodities becomes more expensive in those colonies where it is in short supply, and becomes cheaper where a surplus exists (normally in those colonies which produce it). Selling any commodities produced by your own manufactories is profitable even in the same city (where a surplus exists), but this profit will be much smaller, since the operations of manufactories also cost you some money.

Commodities in the Caribbean!

Consumables (Foodstuffs):

• Meat
• Fish
• Fruits
• Grain
• Corned Beef
• Salted Fish
• Bread

Other goods:

• Lumber
• Cocoa
• Coffee
• Hemp
• Cotton
• Flax Bundle
• Sugarcane
• Iron
• Silver
• Tobacco
• Salt
• Dyes
• Sugar
• Flour
• Cloth
• Linen
• Ropes
• Weapons
• Irongoods
• Jewelry
• Timber
• Beer
• Rum
• Clothing
• Furniture

Imported goods:

• Spices
• Wine
• Silk
• Porcelain

Note: Imported goods cannot be produced by manufactories. They come, from time to time, in shipments from Europe to select colonial ports.

If you have a large feet or a big shipment on board, you may have to pay taxes and harbor fees. Harbor fees are based on size of your fleet, namely the total capacity of your cargo holds. Taxes are based on the total value of commodities you carry. These are payable upon entering a port, regardless of whether you intend to trade or not. Taxes and fees are collected by all factions except the Brotherhood of the Coast. If you wish to avoid paying taxes, you can attempt to sell your wares to smugglers. To do this, right-click on a city and select “Find smugglers” in the drop-down menu. Note that not every colony will have smugglers. Mind also that you may be caught by the customs patrol. If this happens, you can either attack the patrol (this initiates a naval battle), surrender, try to flee or allow the customs officers to come on board (a naval battle will follow only if your cargo is discovered).

Buildings in colonies generate revenue and offer other advantages. Based on their functions, buildings are classified into three types: those that produce raw materials (mines and plantations); those that produce commodities (manufactories); and municipal buildings. To access the construction menu, click on the corresponding icon in the top left corner of the screen or on the Town hall. There are always construction costs; however, construction happens instantly.

Municipal buildings are only available to the governor of the colony. Buildings that produce raw materials are unlocked when your character advances to Shopkeeper business reputation. Manufactories are unlocked when your character earns Merchant business reputation. His reputation also determines the maximum possible number of manufactories in any one colony, as well as the maximum possible number of manufactories in all cities.

Raw materials come from mines, plantations and other operations which exploit the mineral and agricultural resources typical for the colony in question. Every city has only a narrow range of resources. Their accessibility also varies, thus limiting the total possible number of raw material manufactories of a specific type. For example, in the vicinity of a colony there may be rich silver deposits, but very few woods. This would mean that you can construct a maximum of 4 Lumber mills and 12 Silver mines.

City manufactories are technically not tied to the city’s resources and can be constructed anywhere, their maximum number and variety determined only by the city’s prosperity level. However, in the process of production they all use certain raw materials, therefore it is only logical to construct a manufactory in a city which is already producing the necessary materials cheaply. Otherwise you will be shipping them across half the map or paying through the nose at the market for the import.

Manufactories do not generate cash revenue, but they produce a daily quota of commodities. All goods produced by the manufactories appear in the city warehouse, where you can pick them up later. Note that manufactories have weekly upkeep costs, which can be lowered if you develop Peddler and Entrepreneur traits.


Lumber mill

• Build cost: 10000
  
• Upkeep per week: 700
  
• Produces per day: Lumber (5)
  
• Used by: Weaponsmith, Carpenter

Cattle pasture

• Build cost: 14000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1000
  
• Produces per day: Meat (4)
  
• Used by: Butcher

Fishery

• Build cost: 12000
  
• Upkeep per week: 800
  
• Produces per day: Fish (4
  
• Uses: Fish market

Fruit orchard

• Build cost: 12000
  
• Upkeep per week: 800
  
• Produces per day: Fruits (5)

Cocoa plantation

• Build cost: 16000
  
• Upkeep per week: 110
  
• Produces per day: Cocoa (3)

Coffee plantation

• Build cost: 18000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1200
  
• Produces per day: Coffee (3)

Grain field

• Build cost: 12000
  
• Upkeep per week: 800
  
• Produces per day: Grain (5)
  
• Used by: Mill, Brewer

Hemp plantation

• Build cost: 10000
  
• Upkeep per week: 700
  
• Produces per day: Hemp (5)
  
• Used by: Ropemaker

Cotton plantation

• Build cost: 14000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1000
  
• Produces per day: Cotton (4)
  
• Used by: Weavery

Flax plantation

• Build cost: 12000
  
• Upkeep per week: 800
  
• Produces per day: Flax (5)
  
• Used by: Sailmaker

Sugar plantation

• Build cost: 1400
  
• Upkeep per week: 1000
  
• Produces per day: Sugarcane (4)
  
• Used by: Sugar mill

Iron mine

• Build cost: 14000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1000
  
• Produces per day: Iron (4)
  
• Used by: Weaponsmith, Blacksmith

Silver mine

• Build cost: 25000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1700
  
• Produces per day: Silver (2)
  
• Used by: Jeweler

Tobacco plantation

• Build cost: 19000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1300
  
• Produces per day: Tobacco (3)

Salt mine

• Build cost: 12000
  
• Upkeep per week: 800
  
• Produces per day: Salt (5)
  
• Used by: Butcher, Fish market

Dyeworks

• Build cost: 12000
  
• Upkeep per week: 800
  
• Produces per day: Dyes (4)
  
• Used by: Weaver

Sugar mill

• Build cost: 22000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1600
  
• Produces per day: Sugar (3)
  
• Used by: Distillery
  
• Consumes per day: Sugarcane (3)

Mill

• Build cost: 20000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1400
  
• Produces per day: Flour (4)
  
• Uses: Baker
  
• Consumes per day: Grain (4)

Weaver

• Build cost: 38000
  
• Upkeep per week: 2600
  
• Produces per day: Cloth (3)
  
• Used by: Tailory
  
• Consumes per day: Cotton (3), Dyes (3)

Sailmaker

• Build cost: 20000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1400
  
• Produces per day: Linen (4)
  
• Used by: Tailory
  
• Consumes per day: Flax (4)

Ropemaker

• Build cost: 16000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1100
  
• Produces per day: Ropes (4)
  
• Consumes per day: Hemp (4)

Weaponsmith

• Build cost: 30000
  
• Upkeep per week: 2100
  
• Produces per day: Weapons (3)
  
• Consumes per day: Iron (3), Lumber (2)

Blacksmith

• Build cost: 22000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1600
  
• Produces per day: Irongoods (3)
  
• Used by: Furniture maker
  
• Consumes per day: Iron (3)

Jeweler

• Build cost: 28000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1900
  
• Produces per day: Jewelry (1)
  
• Consumes per day: Silver (1)

Carpenter

• Build cost: 16000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1100
  
• Produces per day: Timber (4)
  
• Used by: Furniture maker
  
• Consumes per day: Lumber (4)

Brewer

• Build cost: 22000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1500
  
• Produces per day: Beer (4)
  
• Consumes per day: Grain (4)

Butcher

• Build cost: 30000
  
• Upkeep per week: 2100
  
• Produces per day: Corned beef (3)
  
• Consumes per day: Meat (3), Salt (2)

Fish market

• Build cost: 27000
  
• Upkeep per week: 1900
  
• Produces per day: Salted fish (3)
  
• Consumes per day: Fish (3), Salt (2)

Bakery

• Build cost: 30000
  
• Upkeep per week: 2100
  
• Produces per day: Bread (3)
  
• Consumes per day: Flour (3)

Distillery

• Build cost: 45000
  
• Upkeep per week: 3200
  
• Produces per day: Rum (3)
  
• Consumes per day: Sugar (3)

Tailory

• Build cost: 61000
  
• Upkeep per week: 4200
  
• Produces per day: Clothing (2)
  
• Consumes per day: Cloth (2), Linen (2)

Furniture maker

• Build cost: 51000
  
• Upkeep per week: 3500
  
• Produces per day: Furniture (2)
  
• Consumes per day: Timber (3), Irongoods (2)

Wharf

• Build cost: 10000
  
• Requires prosperity of 50
  
• Allows to build advanced ships. Reduces repair cost by 10%

Inn

• Build cost: 5000
  
• Increases tax revenue by 2% and prosperity by 5. Increases the rotation of available mercenaries and trading quests in town.

Press service

• Build cost: 8000
  
• Requires: Inn
  
• Speeds up the replenishment of Sailor available for hire at the Shipwright’s.

Barracks

• Build cost: 15000
  
• Allows to hire musketeers

Arsenal

• Build cost: 12000
  
• Allows to hire infantry

Stable

• Build cost: 20000
  
• Requires prosperity of 40
  
• Allows to hire cavalry

Casting works

• Build cost: 40000
  
• Requires prosperity of 70
  
• Allows to buy field artillery and hire gunners. Reduced the sale price of naval guns when buying and upgrading ships.

Training camp

• Build cost: 50000
  
• Requires: Barracks, Arsenal, Stable
  
• Allows to hire veteran soldiers.

Customs

• Build cost: 15000
  
• Requires prosperity of 60
  
• Increases tax revenue by 5%

Church

• Build cost: 25000
  
• Requires prosperity of 70
  
• Increases prosperity by 5

Well

• Build cost: 3000
  
• Increases prosperity by 3

Granary

• Build cost: 10000
  
• Increases prosperity by 4. Reduces maximal and minimal prices for foodstuffs.

Warehouses

• Requires: player has manufactories in the city.
  
• Increases tax revenue by 2%. Increases prosperity by 5. Reduces the maximum and minimum prices for non-consumable commodities.

Dry dock

• Requires: Wharf
  
• Reduces repair cost by 15%. Allows to buy ships rank 4

Constable

• Requires prosperity of 40
  
• Increases tax revenue by 1% and prosperity by 1. Mitigates the drop in prosperity level if the city is conquered or pillaged.

Firefighter service

• Requires prosperity of 30, Well
  
• Increases prosperity by 2. Halves the risk of the destruction of buildings during a siege.

Municipal buildings do not produce commodities. They influence the way the city functions and are unlocked when your character becomes governor of the given colony.

13.1. Companions

Companions are your character’s irreplaceable sidekicks. You meet them in taverns of different cities. Just like the player character, these companions have their own parameters and inventory, accumulate experience points, advance in level and gain Attribute, Skill and Proficiency points. It is up to you to decides how to allocate these points and how to equip your companions. To access your companion’s parameters and inventory window, select the corresponding option in a dialogue with him. Party skills of the companions have an effect the entire army. Companions can be appointed captains of your ships.

Companions are positioned randomly and occasionally move from city to city. For a small fee, the tavern keeper will tell you the location of one or two potential companions. There is a one-time fee when you hire a companion; after that, you will be paying them weekly wages depending on their level.

Available companions:

• Alonso Incosa, a Spanish soldier
  
• John Kirk, a bloodthirsty pirate
  
• Juba, a runaway slave, also the son of a Senegalese chieftain
  
• Vanhouten, a bankrupt merchant
  
• Father Gober, a wandering missionary
  
• Jose de Alba, a dishonored Castilian grandee
  
• Chibchan, a Native American shaman
  
• Frogling, a young corsair
  
• Lamore, a Maltese knight
  
• Patrick Gordon, a Scottish aristocrat in exile
  
• Bodgan, a Cossack adventurer
  
• Francois Tributor, a former prate ship’s master

13.2. Treasure hunt

Treasure hunt in the Caribbean! is associated with the companions. There are 12 hidden treasures in total, one per companion, plus one special trove, which crowns the treasure-hunting campaign. The mechanics of treasure-hunting is tied to communication with your companions. If you party comes near one of the cities which have special meaning for your companion, and 10 days have passed since the hiring of this particular companion, he will temporarily leave your party and come back in several days with information about the location of the treasure. By carefully combing the area indicated by your companion, you can find hidden treasure. This may require some effort, especially in densely populated areas and on the islands. When the location of the treasure appears on the map, you can attempt to dig it out (or lift it from the sea bottom – there are various kinds of hiding places). If there are enemy parties or bandits lurking nearby, it may be wise to destroy them first, so that you are not interrupted at the crucial moment.

Treasure-hunting takes a lot of time and is not always successful, and therefore affects your troops’ morale. After several failures your party may even refuse to carry on with this task, so you may have to put off searching for several days. Chances of success depend on a number of factors; first of all, the size of your party and our character’s properties. Having a high Engineer skill helps with digging; Tracking may facilitate searching the ruins; and there is nothing better than brute Strength when probing underwater.

Each treasure trove comes with a fragment of a secret map. After you have collected seven fragments, you get a chance of solving its mystery.