
MOSCOW -- THE THIRD ROME

by Michael J. Daumen
   daumen@mindspring.com

I.	PREPARATION FOR PLAY

	A.  This scenario requires Fantastic Worlds to work.
	B.  Store the files from this .zip file in a directory
named "Moscow" or something similar.  The files included are:

	Moscow.scn
	Moscow.map
	Moscow.txt
	Rules.txt
	Units.gif
	Icons.gif
	Terrain1.gif
	Terrain2.gif
	Cities.gif
	City.txt
	Events.txt
	Pedia.txt
	Title.gif


II.	BACKGROUND

	In 1223, the Mongol Horde under Genghis Khan struck west along the
"Conqueror's Road" -- the belt of grasslands that stretches from China to 
the fringe of Europe.  They met little resistance in Russia, ruled by Kiev
at that time, and soon most of the Russian cities were paying tribute to Batu
Khan at his capital in Sarai, near the Volga delta.
	But Rus' had long been a land of tenacious dynastic squabbles.  The
nobles, originally Vikings, constantly schemed to enlarge their holdings at
the expense of others, only to die and start the process anew by splitting
their territories amongst their children.  To most rulers, the Tatars were
merely another player in the game.
	Until the cities grew strong with trade and technology; and Europe
began to prosper; and the Mongols grew accustomed to their role as rich
overlords; and Russians began dreaming of throwing off the yoke and joining
the developing nations to the West . . . .


III.	NATIONS INVOLVED

	A.  The Russians are split into several tribes since they were not
united under a single state -- that is your job.  The most important tribes
were the Great Russians, ruled by Novgorod, the Little Russians, and the
White Russians.  Moscow gets its own tribe of straight Russians.  At the
start all are friends or at peace with the Tatars; but only the Republic of
Novgorod is nominally free from subjugation.
	B.  Poland and Lithuania joined into a Catholic state during the
time period represented by this scenario.  Together or apart, they have been
traditional enemies of Russia for eight hundred years.  Their main capital is
Vilna and they have an additional capital in Krakow.
	C.  The Teutonic Knights occupied the area of Estonia and Pomerania.
They were given these lands by the pope in order to convert the pagans that
lived on what was then the fringe of Europe.  Their capital is Riga, but they
moved to Tallinn during the scenario time period.
	D.  The Mongol Horde (Tatars in Russian, also known as the Khanate
of the Golden Horde by the gaudy color of their banners) ruled most of the 
area of the map at the start of the scenario, either directly or by appointed
subordinates.  Their rule was surprisingly tolerant of differing religions
and cultures -- a sharp contrast to their well-earned reputation for cruelty
to those who resisted.  Many of the peoples they conquered were allowed to
govern themselves, acknowledging their status by paying tribute.

	The rulers of these nations are not all contemporaries but rather the
most important figures of the era covered by the scenario.


IV.	TECHNOLOGY

	The nations other than Moscow have many Filler Techs to slow down
their rate of advancement.  They should not be traded for.
	Tech changes have been made primarily to assign special units and
improvements.  There are some techs which allow for changes via the events
file as well.
	Once a Russian nation "Renounces the Yoke" (i.e., develops the tech),
the yarlik (see below) no longer works and the Mongols will attack the rebels.
	Acquiring "Land Reform" allows the (Russian only) nations to double
irrigate land per Refrigeration.
	Acquiring Fortification allows defenses of the same name.
	A Russian nation that researches Oprichnina can change their govern-
ment to a fundamentalism.  This was Ivan the Terrible's reconstitution of
Russian rule, eliminating the boyars (nobles) in favor of the black-clad
oprichniki (which operate like fanatics).


V.	BUILDINGS AND WONDERS

	The changes of buildings are documented in the Pedia file.  Most of
the changes involve limiting some improvements to specific nations or cities.

	The Tatars can use their cities to generate money (capitalization)
in the form of tribute from their other lands.

	The wonders are taken from the most important buildings of the time
in the region.  Most are churches (as you can tell, the Russians take their
religion seriously) and castles.  They all have some effect in game terms
and are documented in the Pedia. In addition, the Russian nations can build
the "yarlik."
	The Tatars selected one Russian prince to rule over his fellows by
granting him the yarlik, or imperial edict.  Acquisition of the yarlik, at
the expense of other nobles, became the objective of Russian diplomacy.  In
game terms, the yarlik has the effect of Adam Smith's Trading Company, thus
freeing up treasury.  When any Russian nation sucessfully renounces the 
Tatar Yoke (explained below in the technology section), the yarlik loses its
power as the Tatars seek to crush the revolt.


VI.	UNITS

	All the Russian nations have the same units.  The Tatars have their
own units as well.  Many of the Lithuanian and Teutonic units are shared; the
Knights have unique units as well.  All new units are documented in the Pedia.

	There are a few names which require some description:

	A.  Boyars are Russian noblemen, each holding a particular city.
	B.  The Druzhina was a prince's retinue of his greatest knights.
	C.  Oprichniki were fierce warriors hand-picked by Ivan the Terrible
to carry out his orders.  They were answerable to the Tsar alone.
	D.  Knights of the Sword are an elite order of the Teutonic Knights.
	E.  Trebuchets are advanced seige engines used originally in China
and adopted by the Mongols.
	F.  The Hochmeister was the commander of the Teutonic Knights.
	G.  Varangian Guard were the personal guards of the Byzantine Emperor.
	H.  Khazars were Central Asian merchants in the Mongol Empire.
	I.  A Hetman is the ruler of a Cossack village.
	J.  Yermak was a famous Cossack who led the exploration and conquest
of Siberia.
	K.  The Tsar-Pushka was a giant cannon used to subdue Russia's enemies.
Only one was ever made, and it was never fired.


VII.	MAP AND TERRAIN

	The map consists of a portion of European Russia from the Black Sea
to the Gulf of Finland, and from the Carpathians to the Urals.  Terrain that
would normally not appear in the scenario has been reused.
	A.  In place of mountains is Taiga (a Russian word borrowed directly
from the Mongol one for "forest"), the immense woodland that reaches from 
the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean.  This is deep forestland that makes travel
by horse very slow.  Its special squares are fur and timber.
	B.  Forests have a modified picture to represent deciduous trees.
Its special squares are beehives and game.
	C.  Jungle has been replaced by black earth ("chornozyom"), a fertile
area of farmland in the Ukraine where food yields are highest.  In addition,
the special resources are flax (used to make linen) and orchards.
	D.  Desert has been replaced by Steppe, a zone of grasses with few
trees.  Special terrain in this area are springs and pasture.
	E.  Ice wil periodically appear in place of some water areas as
events cause them to freeze and thaw.  It is difficult to travel over and
harder for units on ice to defend themselves.  It provides no resources of
any kind, but may allow units to cross lakes.


VIII.   SPECIAL NOTES

	Two important things that Moscow did during this time was explore the
unknown wastes of Siberia and form a lasting alliance with the Cossacks.  It
is very difficult to simulate these things in game terms without leaving some
surprises.  So here are some tips:

	1.  Explore Siberia.  Valuable sable furs can be found on the far side
of the Urals.  In addition, there are some good sites for future cities.
	2.  Venture to the depopulated areas north of the Black Sea.  Its only
inhabitants are bands of cossacks that were too small to resist the Tatars.
Yet they long for freedom, and hope that a conqueror from the north will lead
them to glory.  If a Russian unit "frees" such a village, the Cossacks may
join your growing army -- at the risk of angering the Tatars.


VIII.	ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Map, flags and cities made by Harlan "The Turk" Thompson.  Harlan also made
the icons for the Kremlin, St. Sergius Monastery and Orthodox Cathedral (and
sent me the picture of the Tsar's bell for Yaroslav's Court), drew the steppe,
trebuchet, streltsy, crossbowmen, and offered several invaluable suggestions.
When you have a good scenario on your hands, Harlan is the one to run it by.
If he starts sending you units, you can tell you're on the right track :)
Alex the Magnificent made several units -- Yermak, Pikemen, the Grand Duke,
and Footmen -- and suggested several more.  Please note that the units with
Alex' AM in the corner CANNOT be used without his permission.  Tatu Aphonen
made the Swede (it can be found at Alex' site).  Jesús Balsinde gave valuable
advice, suggestions, inspiration, and help with the title gif.
