King's Bounty - Let's Play

[Top Hat]

This is a special Continentia Network News report - Terrorism at the Capital

Doo da de doo doo boom ba boom....

Perry Center:
The kingdom is in a state of chaos today after the daring two-pronged terrorist attack aimed our nation's leadership. King Maximus is in a serious condition after a biological attack on His Royal Person during his daily meeting with his advisors earlier today. This attack quickly followed the theft of the Scepter of Order, the emblem of the King's effect on our nation. We go now to Ari Porter for further details. Ari?

Ari Porter:
Yes, Perry, we've just been given a few new facts about this terrible assault that occurred only a few hours ago. King Maximus was actually discussing the issue of the terrorist group known as Al Qaeos, the group claiming responsibility for the attacks, only moments before the first part of the attack.

He was calling for a pre-emptive strike on the continent of Saharia, which as you all well know had recently declared itself "independent" of the remaining government, after intelligence reports stated that the group had acquired knowledge of the development of Weapons of Magical Demonics.

In fact, just before the attack he had given the go-ahead to the war, and is quoted to have said, "They are either with us, or they are with the terrorists. We will lead an army now. We will crush him once and for all."

Perry Center:
That "him" referring to Arech Dragonbreath, the leader of the terrorist group?

Ari Porter:
That's correct. Anyway, seconds later what is being called by forensic mages as "a large, rectangular void" appeared. Arech Dragonbreath personally conducted the attack, stealing the Scepter of Order. King Maximus himself tried to prevent the theft, but it was too late.

After the attack, it has been reported that the King fainted and was taken to his bedchamber where emergency medical assistance was provided. Unfortunately, whatever biological agent was used in the attack has no known cure, and the King's health is deteriorating.

Perry Center:
So, what actions are being taken to recover the Scepter and capture these terrorists?

Ari Porter:
Well, once they were able to revive the King, he quickly signed an agreement to immediately open the HERO Academy.

Perry Center:
HERO?

Ari Porter:
Yes. It stands for Harmful Event Response Operative.

Its primary purpose is to train four adventurers - a Knight, a Paladin, a Sorceress and a Barbarian - into becoming generals. To the best candidate will fall the command of the army in order to achieve two goals: to recover the Scepter of Order and to capture alive the members of the terrorist cell involved in the attack.

Perry Center:
What can you tell us about these adventurers?

Ari Porter:
We don't have the names of any of the candidates yet, but we do have some information about them.

The Knight already has a strong standing with the army, already being an officer, so will probably start off with more loyal troops, and has strong leadership skills. It's rumored that because of his military service he's also starting off with a lot of money and a high weekly commission. However, he isn't adept at magic, which will definitely be a useful tool, and he'll have to see Secretary Aurange, who for safety reasons has been flown to an underground base. He'll also be expected to earn his pay, so he'll have to catch more terrorists than the other groups to earn his promotions.

The Paladin has had some previous military service, so does have good-but-not-great leadership, and from his faith he's got a lot of volunteers ready to fight for him from the beginning, but they're not really well-trained. He'll be partially sponsored by the Church, so he'll be getting a hefty income. He also shows promise of quite a good magic ability after he meets up with Secretary Aurange. Of course, he's got the same problem as the Knight: people are going to expect a lot of him and his promotions won't come quickly.

The Sorceress is the most hotly-debated choice, and we're not even talking about her gender here. She doesn't have the backing of the troops, so it'll take her a while to build up enough leadership capabilities to handle the large forces necessary to succeed. She starts off quite well financially from her research grants, but she's not going to get as much pay as the others since her department also has to maintain the King's health. She's already received magic training, so she won't need to see the Secretary, and she's already a rising star in the Department of Magic, and her promotions should come pretty fast.

The Barbarian is a collar-grabbing hardass. The army troops definitely have respect for him, so he'll start off strong. He's a grunt, so he doesn't have the immediate financial abilities of the others, but with advancement will come bigger pay increases, and his promotions will be very fast if he's successful. The biggest problem with him is that he apparently flunked basic magic, and Secretary Aurange is quoted to have said that "he's not going to get far" with magic.

Perry Center:
Do you have any information on what this 'training' is?

Ari Porter:
Apparently it's got something to do with dungeons. But whatever it is, it had better be fast and good, for the sake of the kingdom. The training will take several months, but the king won't last much longer after that, and they will have to actually succeed in their mission before he dies.

Perry Center:
Indeed. Thank you Ari. We will now recap the main events...

----

To: C. Odex (codex@www.rpgcodex.net)
From: Continentia Network News Headquarters(lol@www.cnn.com)

We need you to do some background checking. Apparently the HERO candidate's been picked.
We need the following ASAP:

Which one of them got chosen?
What's their name? (This has been kept hush-hush during the selection process)
How much time does the King have left?

Any info you can get on their "plan for success" that aren't TOP SECRET (and some that are) would be a bonus, too. Are they going to try to go straight for the Scepter, or capture as many terrorists as possible? Are they going to go for strong armies, flying armies, happy armies, focus on magic? What's with these "artifacts" that we've heard about? Expect a bonus in your pay if you get a scoop on the other networks.

Report to Ari when you get to the King's castle. If you take the next boat, you'll get there next week.
---

 

[Sputnik]

Rather silent around here.

I never played the original (though I'm eagerly awaiting the Russian remake, there's never too much turnbased goodness), but the Paladin is my definite favourite due to his mighty moustache.

 

[Jason]

Ignore Sputnik and his creepy Freddy Mercury infatuation. Let's go with the Sorceress since I've had good experiences with women in purple evening gowns.

 

[Cthulhugoat]

Go for Barbarian. Named THOR NEKBREAKA. Full caps, If possible. HURT ME PLENTY - err, - hard.

 

[Top Hat]

Incoming transmission...

Please stand by...

 

[Au naturel]

Sorceress

 

[Sovy Kurosei]

The sorceress shouldn't be included as a choice. Top Hat should know why.

My vote goes for the knight. Or barbarian. Either one is fine with me. I can't respect a man that has a moustache like that kiddie fiddler Paladin. Don't care for name and for difficulty go with whatever you want.

 

[SmokedWolf]

Barbie the Barbarian gets my vote.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

Get the knight. Leadership is the most important stat in this game.

 

[SmokedWolf]

Pah, who cares for leadership! We want gold! And lots of it!

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

Well, you might want to be able to lead a large enough army to win... eventually.

 

[Keldorn]

I remember playing it on the Sega Genesis in the early 1990's. Excellent game, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.


Anyone know if the barely audible clicks you get (running it in dosbox) is as good as the audio gets ?

 

[Circuitbreaker]

The Sorceress seems the obvious choice. Nothing beats unleashing excessive magical terror on an unsuspecting enemy.

 

[aweigh]

Is the Sega Genesis version the same as the PC one?

 

[Top Hat]

The War on Terrorism: A Special CNN Report with Perry Center

Doo da de doo doo boom ba boom....

Perry:
Today, the HERO agent placed in charge of the forces of the War on Terror was announced. Frederica Quicksilver, outstanding Sorceress of the Department of Magic, won a long, drawn-out contest between the four remaining candidates. This comes along with news that healers confirm that King Maximus has only about four hundred days to live before succumbing to the biological agent used in the attack on the kingdom several months ago.

After much speculation, it was announced today that Frederica Quicksilver, a prominent member of the Department of Magic was to lead the forces in the capture of the seventeen terrorist suspects and the search for the Scepter of Order.


Chancellor Ayd:
Although all the candidates were very accomplished, it was decided that magic knowledge would prove the most useful tool in the coming days. Miss Quicksilver showed the highest abilities in this area, and it we hope that with time, her lack of leadership would be overcome by experience leading soldiers in the field. Her natural assets and her previous training in this area means that the required training for magic will not be necessary, which should save some valuable time in the capturing of these villains.

The king's health, and some public initiatives to aid the HERO in her quest were also announced.

Chancellor Ayd:
We are also sad to announce that the King's health is dire indeed. Despite the best medical care from healing magic, natural remedies and scientific research, the King is estimated to not live much longer than four hundred days. Should the unfortunate occur, and Miss Quicksilver fail to find the Scepter in time, we do not hold out much hope for the kingdom, which has already taken a heavy toll with much of the land already being held by the enemy forces.

We will be releasing to all citizens the "Fraidy Bunch" Bingo cards.

Through our intelligence networks, we have learned that the Scepter was hidden somewhere within the Four Continents, and that the only map known of this location has been given to the seventeen leaders of the terrorist cells, and with eight seemingly-innocent artifacts. If you see any of the people depicted on these cards, please contact any government representative. When we announce the capture of any of these villains, you will be able to mark off the appropriate square on your cards.

With the hope of the Kingdom with her, Frederica Quicksilver departed on her important mission.

Perry:
We now pass to Ari Porter, who was at King Maximus' castle today. Ari?

Ari:
Thank you, Perry. We are fortunate to have Frederica Quicksilver with us here for a quick interview. First, I think I can speak for the whole kingdom when I say, good luck.

:
Thank you very much.

Ari:
So, can you tell us a little about your plans?

:
Yes. I plan to disguise myself as a blue-cad ninja and ride on a strange seal-horse creature with broken legs. This will hopefully have the effect of making the enemy think that I am a complete idiot. I shall further reinforce this by having my banner slap me repeatedly in the face. I want to assure the public that I do know what I am doing, however.

Ari:
I see you don't have much of an army with you.

:
I want to keep my early expenses as low as possible, as I scout around Continentia for clues. Also, I don't want to lead people to needless slaughter, so I shall be sending the very eager, but untrained, peasants home. The best thing for people to do is get on with their lives, and leave the upcoming battles to the professionals. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to start riding a deformed seal-horse.

Ari:
Thank you very much for your time. This is Ari Porter, Continentia Network News.
---
A CNN Special: The Front Lines of the War on Terror with Ari Porter.

Today my crew and I headed off with the forces of Frederica Quicksilver to bring you a personal perspective of the War on Terror.

Frederica decided that intelligence-gathering and exploration would be the best way to begin the hunt for the Scepter. So, after leaving the King Maximus' Castle we headed for the nearby town of Hunterville.

While we were there, Frederica decided to purchase siege weapons to allow her to launch attacks on the enemy's castles. Why nobody within the government decided to give the last hope for success some basic resources is still unknown, as our attempts at communication with the government has been ignored so far.

Miss Quicksilver also spoke to some of the locals to see if they had heard any information about the terrorists.

:
Rumors?

:
At Castle Vutar, I saw Princess Aimola with a lot of sprites, a lot of sprites, many skeletons, many zombies and a few ogres the other day. Horrible creatures! I avoid them whenever I can.

:
Well, I can't go about avoiding these criminals. Princess Aimola, you say? She's a terrorist. I'd better go get about getting a contract to make this arrest legitimate.

:
Oh, I can't wait to take this bitch down. But her army's quite powerful, so I'll just have to scout around. I think I should get a boat and sail around a bit first.

And so we left Hunterville after renting a boat, and headed off to build up our resources.

While we sailed, we stumbled upon some treasures, but few leads.

We also met up with a wandering band of creatures. Fortunately, they weren't able to attack us as we sailed past.

Close by, we were able to find a treehouse where a group of gnomes lived.

:
We're willing to join your army, if you would like. We can't afford to do it for free, however.

:
That's good to know, but for right now I want to keep our costs to a minimum. I'll call in on you later if necessary. *ahem*Whatever*ahem*.

An intense moment occurred during a routine scouting mission when two enemy forces approached our position. However, due to some quick manoeuvering, we were able to get back to our ship before any attacks took place.

:
I know you might think it unwise to be giving away money, but I need to boost the confidence of the public in my leadership abilities, and charity events provide a good way to boost the public image while we're away from the castle.

Quite soon, we were able to gain access to a valuable prize: a map to one of the other continents.

:
Forestria, eh? If we go there now, we can get better riches and more powerful units. But that means at least six-day delay before making an arrest, and there's still a lot of Continentia to search. I'll have to think about this...

Fortunately for us and the small scouting party of ten sprites, there were no battles today. However, as time passes the likelihood of bloodshed increases. This is Ari Porter, CNN.

---

Perry:
Next week on our War on Terror summary: a round-table discussion on the current crisis, an interview with one of the terrorists, and an update on the events in the field from Ari.