TROLL QUEST
The Game of Underground Exploration
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INTRODUCTION
Troll Quest is a play-by-mail game of exploration, mining, monsters and magic. Troll Quest is primarily a strategy game. There are no alliances, and no need to attack other clans in order to win.

"Bob", The Troll

GAME MECHANICS
Each clan has a single race. Each race produces "men" of various classes at different rates. Miners dig caves and collect minerals; fighters are more effective in combat than other classes; sages search for minerals and other clans; workers build colonies to produce more men. The playing space is a 3-dimensional section of earth. Colonies produce men, and they can grow alone or by using workers. Units hold men up to development limits, which can be increased with money. Monsters can be fought or bribed. Magical artifacts can be found, and can be very powerful if used properly. The objective is to accumulate the most treasure.

 HOW TO PLAY
The report contains a step-by-step description of all actions and combat reports, a map of your own caves (and adjacent enemy caves), a complete status report of your clan, and ratings showing the leading and average statistics each turn.

Although the game may appear relatively simple, the game is very 'deep'. There is no best way to win. Each player must work out a strategy that overcomes the limitations of his clan's race. The game is about exploration, not war. There is a very low attrition rate.

There is a PC mapping program available that makes the process of mapping easy, and can produce a complete view of your position every turn. It can be updated automatically via modem or diskette files. You can also use the order entry program to minimise the chance of errors on our part. We give a 20% discount on Troll Quest turns if you do not require paper turns.

 RACES AND STRATEGIES
Dwarf

Dwarves are a sturdy, hardworking race. They are the best miners among the races, and their extensive knowledge of geology allow them to find minerals with ease. They are very long lived, and breed very slowly. Running a dwarf clan is a safe option. Their sages and miners ensure that they are never short of cash, and with the increased development, they fight effectively. They can only grow in numbers by spending a lot of their money on new small colonies.

Goblin

Goblins are poorly organised, but overcome this with numbers. They breed very quickly, with most of the offspring interested only in more breeding. They are very greedy, however, and this motivates them into effective mining. They have very low intelligence, which severely limits their ability to find minerals. To take advantage of goblin workers, you should start several colonies and have them grow at maximum rate, using more workers. This will produce a large pool, from which large numbers of other classes will emerge in time. Like all races with poor sages, they can suffer from lack of money for colonising, due to finding few minerals.

Hobgoblin

Hobgoblins are a war-like race, who have little interest in monetary wealth. They breed quickly, and have little interest in mining. Their pre-occupation with fighting limits their abilities at searching for minerals. Hobgoblin clans are difficult to run because they find few minerals and are often beaten to them by better miners. Threatening neighbouring clans for taking 'their' minerals may be the best way to survive. This is not a good option for beginners.

Gnome

Gnomes are a race of dilligent workers. They are experts at geological surveying, and they use mechanical devices to produce good mining rates. They are long-lived, and breed slowly. Gnome clans tend to be as rich as dwarf clans, for the same reasons. They may be more effective than dwarves near the end of the game, when sages are more important.

Troll

Trolls are the most dangerous race in combat, because of their great physical attributes. They use their hard claws to dig through dirt and rock alike. They are stupid, and thus have very limited ability in finding minerals. They are more interested in finding other races to eat! Troll clans are especially dangerous because other clans cannot easily defend themselves by filling in caves in their way. They suffer somewhat from lack of sages, and you will have to arrange your sages carefully to overcome this.

Orc

Orcs breed very quickly and are competant fighters. They tend to argue amongst themselves, which enhances their fighting skills, but they are not sufficiently organisated to search for minerals effectively. Like hobgoblin clans, they suffer from lack of money. If you can get good growth, however, miners will eventually appear in large numbers. Sages will always be a problem.

Kobold

Kobolds also breed quickly. They are extremely greedy, which motivates them towards achieving good results in mining and surveying. They are very small and disorganised, which reduces their effectiveness in combat. Kobold clans have the potential to mine faster than dwarves if they can achieve and maintain their high growth rate. Their low fighters are a problem, and you can expect significant losses from monsters. Bribing monsters should be considered.

Dark Elf

Dark elves are extremely evil, motivated by greed and averice. They use magic to find minerals, and to help their fighters. They are extremely long-lived, and breed very slowly. Dark elves tend to know where everything is, but have trouble getting there. Efficient mining should be a priority. They have the fighters to stand up to the more aggressive races, and their sages can provide valuable strategic information. Like other long-lived races, they require money to start many small colonies, due to low growth rates.

 WHAT DOES IT COST TO PLAY...AND WHY?
To start in a game costs just $15. This includes the first 5 turns. After that, the cost is $3 per turn. Turns are usually processed every two weeks.

We aim to provide a high level of customer service, including maintaining game balance and fairness to all players. We can be relied upon to finish a game that we start, and if something goes wrong, we are obliged to correct the problem quickly.

It's worth considering these issues when looking at 'free' PBEMs. If you are not paying for the service, then you cannot expect the moderator to go out of his way to help you, or fix problems. There is nothing worse than being told the game has been cancelled right when it was getting interesting, just because the moderator moves interstate, or has no time to run the game.

 GETTING STARTED
Troll Quest can be played without paper at all. There are utilities to map your cave system, update the map from your turn, and enter your orders. This is all controlled through a single menu. Due to limited demand, and the time required to set up the procedures, we are not currently running TQ via e-mail.

To register your interest in a fully internet game of TQ, fill out the Startup Request Form.

Then download these files:
 
  TQMANUAL.ZIP   (29k)  Manual (text format)
  TROLLQST.ZIP  (227k)  Player Utilities (PC only)
Unpack the contents in a separate sub-directory. Type TQ to bring up the menu. See the DOC files if you get stuck, or give us a call!

Please be aware that, due to limited demand, we do not expect to start a game of TQ in the near future. Check the New Games page for more details.
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