The HALFLING

Dossier for:

The Commonwealth of the Halflings

“To Our Mutual Benefit”

Dawn of the 4th Cycle of Alamaze

The Commonwealth of the Halflings is an economic superpower, harnessing its vast wealth and influential trade networks to navigate the complexities of the realm and secure allies while avoiding direct conflicts. Lacking substantial military defenses, the halflings rely on a meticulously woven web of alliances to safeguard their interests and protect their homeland. To solidify and maintain these alliances, the halflings strategically cultivate economic interdependence, ensuring their allies become reliant on their trade. At the heart of their economic prowess lie the Hobbit Inc. Trading Companies, strategically established along their coastlines. These companies serve as central trade hubs, facilitating the flow of goods from the sea to the mainland. Through these ventures, the halflings ensure their control over key trade routes, consolidating their economic power and leveraging it to forge and strengthen their alliances.

Their small size and unassuming nature allow them to operate covertly as spies and scouts, gathering vital information on potential threats. Armed with this intelligence, they can assess risks, estimate the costs of dealing with adversaries, and plan their strategies accordingly. Guided by the Prime Minister, the Commonwealth of the Halflings has mastered the art of wielding economic influence to shape its destiny.

TO ARMS!

From Your High Merchant:

Sire, let us exploit our great economic knowledge and avoid foreign entanglements and wars. We have a clear path to becoming an economic power, and our abilities should make it relatively easy to attract allies. We may need to invest in Companions when available and recruited brigades to deter invasion, but that done, kingdoms may seek us out as trading partners. Additionally, we have an impressive array of Traits and Special Orders. We have friends in a Power 3 wizard and Marshal that we were otherwise unlikely to see for some time. Great Leader, we are a different type of kingdom that must use imagination and diplomacy, but we will have a unique experience rising to power.

Specialized Traits For Our Kingdom:

The following traits provide special and unique bonuses for our kingdom. These effects are inherent and do not require specific action to enable unless otherwise specified in the section below.

Type	Name
Cultural	Adventurers
Cultural	Charisma
Cultural	Cunning
Cultural	Foreknowledge (Ring Of Invisibility)
Cultural	Foreknowledge (Palantir Ambalar)
Cultural	Industrious
Cultural	Magic Resistance (Battle)
Cultural	Magic Resistance (Death)
Cultural	Oratory
Cultural	Stalwart
Cultural	Trick Of The Trade
Magic	Substandard

• Adventurers: +10 points to group strength in Unusual Sighting encounters. Automatic entry to encounters that require a wizard to cast Light Of The Evening Star or Bridge Of Mist for access. +10 points to leadership promotion and -10% to leader and wizard death in unusual encounters. +10 points to agent rescue and emissary escape attempts. Warriors, the soldier portion of a party’s strength rating, are worth +5 in Unusual Encounters.
• Charisma: +1 influence. A bid for an open High Council chair is elevated by 10,000 gold without paying the cost (so a bid of 30,000 actually counts as 40,000).
• Cunning: +15 point bonus to Incite Rebellion (#320) and Stir Unrest (#315). +3 levels to max agent training. Agent training reduced by -1,000 gold.
• Foreknowledge: Kingdom has the short name of one or more artifacts on setup. Varies by kingdom as to number and which specific artifacts.
• Industrious: +10% food and gold production of all controlled popcenters. Increasing food/gold production or defenses at a popcenter costs 1,000 less gold per issuance (does not apply towards Dwarven special ability of improving defenses).
• Magic Resist Battle: Kingdom is 33% resistant to combat magic effects (e.g., firestrike, earthquake). If successful, no damage will be taken.
• Magic Resist Death: Kingdom is 33% resistant to magical death effects. This consists of the kill leader/wizard spell, death spell, and the summon imp/demon/high demon spells. If successful, no damage will be taken.
• Oratory: +15% to Maintain Status Quo (#310) and Usurp Control (#330). +1 to starting influence.
• Stalwart: Immune to Fear and Chaos. 25% reduction to harmful magic (4,000 magic damage would become 3,000). +15 points leader promotion and emergence, -15 points leader and wizard death (improved survivability to combat damage and kill leader / kill wizard).
• Trick Of The Trade: Gets 25% more in a trade with another kingdom that does not possess the same trait (Trick of the Trade) than the indicated amount (this does not come from the other player’s treasury). Agents have -25% to being captured (so a 40% chance of capture becomes 30%). Sea movement by a group is 25% less likely to be interdicted.

Special Rules For The Commonwealth of the Halflings Kingdom:

• Terrain Adeptness: Advantage in Mountains, Disadvantage in Swamp
• Magical Prowess: Substandard (Tier 5 of 7)
• Spells available earlier than prowess base: Dispel Magic, Fertile Fields, Heal, Lesser Masking, True Seeing, Valor
• Fight To The Last Man (use TAC 7). Defensive group vs. group tactic. Requires Stalwart, no Green brigades, at least two Veteran Kingdom brigades, and a Marshal or higher (not stunned). This is a defensive only tactic (does not initiate combat). Provides an additional +15% to defense over normal defensive bonus, and retreat becomes 90% (which means our troops will continue fighting until nearly completely destroyed).
• Special Order: Establish a Hobbit Inc. Trading Company (Order #611) at any city or coastal/sea town that is kingdom owned. Once constructed, this building allows our kingdom to trade on the open market at an improved 3:2 exchange rate (normally 3:1). Limits selling on the open market at 100,000 goods maximum. Costs 10,000 food and 15,000 gold to construct and only one may exist for our kingdom. The Hobbit Inc. Trading Company building will be destroyed if ownership of the pop center is lost by any means (may be rebuilt at another location).
• Special Order: Reveal All Trades (Order #425, no other columns needed). Reveals all trade transactions conducted by all kingdoms during the turn.
• Special Order: Hire New Figure (Order #512). Only our Halfling kingdom may issue this order to create a new Marshal to become a leader for one of our groups, a new Power-2 Wizard, or a new Level-7 Agent. When filling out this specialized order, specify group ID in Column “A” (if hiring a group figure or leave blank for agent), for Column “B” either Marshal, Wizard, or Agent, for Column “C” enter a name of length 4-12 characters (no spaces first two characters or leave blank and a random name will be generated). Cost is 100,000 gold for any of the new figures (Marshal, Power-2 Wizard, Level-7 Agent). If hiring a Marshal or Power-2 Wizard, group must be at the capital, may be an inactive group. Hiring an Agent-7 will be placed at the capital. May only hire a new figure if no more than 3 of that type already exists or of higher level in the kingdom. So, if a Marshal, Grand Marshal, and a Lord Commander exist across all groups then a new Marshal may not be created since 3 (the max limit) already exists. If the supplied name is not unique across all groups (not just within the specified group) then a random name will be generated. It is possible that combat earlier in the turn may create a new leader with the same two initials which will cause the specified name to be replaced with a random one. Hiring a new figure with this order will not prevent ambush nor will it ruin the chances for a successful rest with Order #745.
• Begins with two Power-3 wizards and a Marshal in addition to the default starting characters.
• Halflings may create an elite ship on any sea regardless of their pop center ownership relative to the sea (for Order #749, specify any map area for Columns C and D).
• Halfling emissaries will be captured only 25% of the time their base falls to unfriendly hands (most other kingdoms are 50%).
• Due to their diminutive size, Halfling agents receive +15% bonus on all steal attempts (food, gold, artifacts).
• Halfling agents receive a -15% penalty when attempting an assassination but due to being aware of their surroundings, gain a +15% bonus in protection if their emissaries (or agents, priestesses, fools) become a target of an assassination.
• Halflings are expert at reconnaissance and receive +3 levels when performing such missions (applies to Order #970 only, not trail or other recon-style missions).
• Special Order: Equip Advanced Item (Slings of Accuracy) (Order #607, 500 mithril), slings of accuracy are an advanced weapon group attachment similar to forged improved weapons and cannot be traded. The slings of accuracy provide an extra 20% leader/wizard death effect during group combat. Equip slings of accuracy to group at kingdom-owned pc with forge (to smelt and extract the magical properties of the mithril). Group must have one or more brigades in group. Group must already be equipped with improved weapons or mithril weapons from forge (Order #605). Only able to equip improved weapons, mithril weapons, or advanced weapons to a group once on the same turn.
• All Halfling controlled pop centers provide an automatic recon of their location as a level 1 agent.
• Starting Halfling villages are hidden with a Glyph of Concealment.

Your first group begins as your most powerful and important group. In addition, should you earn your Early Strategic Objective or qualify for an Appeal to the Gods (Epic Game only) there are possible awards that only go into your first group (see General Rules).

Early Strategic Objectives:

Enter your selections for the Early Strategic Objectives with your orders on turns 1 through 3. Use Order #991 and reference the instructions in the Official Rulebook. If you do not select any objectives, your kingdom will receive the default objectives listed below:

Control a region	worth 2 points
Have 3+ Dukes (not Demon Princes/Consuls/King/Queen/Regent)	worth 1 point

We are pursuing a MINOR ESO!

On turns 10 through 15, if our kingdom has achieved the above requirements to total 3 achievement points, we may claim awards worth 3 points!

Victory Conditions:

This campaign has NORMAL victory conditions.

Therefore a kingdom may win via Rex (control 5+ regions) or by Lion’s Share (most status points at end of the game).

Skeletons In The Closet:

The following skeletons, if revealed, will have detrimental impact on your influence and on regional reaction in some regions.

Type	Code
MAJOR	3013	The Ranking Political Emissary Is Of Mixed Blood Of A Despised People.
MINOR	6092	The King Had Knowledge Of The Assassination Of His Father.
MINOR	3019	The King Has Astraphobia: He Greatly Fears Thunder.

Magical Prowess:

Proficiency: Substandard (Tier 5 of 7)

Maximum assured Power level attainable: 6

(Spellcasters may attempt to research beyond the assured level, but may fail about 50% of the time, and the gold cost is still consumed)

Gold cost per research level: 11,000

(Plateau levels have additional cost. At 3rd level, +10,000 gold. At 5th level, +30,000 gold. At 7th level, +60,000 gold. For example, to increase a pwr-2 wizard to pwr-3, the cost is the gold-cost-per-research-level x level + plateau cost, or 43,000 gold. To reach 5th level, the cost is 85,000 gold. To reach 7th level, the cost is 137,000 gold.)

Spell List

Level 0: Rite Of The Magi, Self Invisible, Wizard Assist Encounter

Level 1: Create Food, Light Of The Evening Star, Lightning Attack, Magic Research, Protect Heroes and Wizards, Raven Familiar, Shield, Stun Leader, Valor

Level 2: Bridge Of Mist, Create Gold, Dispel Magic, Fertile Fields, Guarded Attack, Heal, Lesser Masking, Sleep, Speed, Ward

Level 3: Bridge Of Mist (Intrinsic), Diplomacy, Fear, Firestrike, Hidden Ore, Light Of The Evening Star (Intrinsic), Presence (Intrinsic), Reveal King’s Influence, Ship of Mist, Strengthen Walls, Teleport Self, Wind Storm

Level 4: Chaos, Conceal Emissary, Dire Wolf Familiar, Dispel Dome of Invulnerability, Dispel Storm at Sea, Eagle Familiar, Flash Flood, Greater Masking, Instant Summon Phantasmal Forces, Invisible Patrol, Kill Leader/Wizard, Mirror Image, Raise Population Center Census, Teleport Patrol, True Seeing, Ward Population Center

Level 5: Command Tornado, Create Magical Item, Destroy Undead, Dispel Regional Effect, Instant Self Teleport, Invisible Brigade, Protection from Regional Effect, Teleport Brigade, Wall of Flame

Level 6: Blinding Light (Regional Effect), Dire Wolf Familiar (Intrinsic), Earthquake, Invisible Division, Storm at Sea, Summon Minotaurs, Teleport Division, True Seeing (Intrinsic)

Level 7: Bounty (Regional Effect), Conjure Prestige, Conjure Scandal, Ice Torrent, Infuriate Populace, Invisible Army, Meteor Strike, Project Image Of Group, Raise Regional Census (Regional Effect), Revelation, Summon Kraken, Summon Rock Golems, Teleport Army, True Seeing (Intrinsic), Unveil Group Locations, Unveil Population Centers

Level 8: Augment Title, Chain Lightning, Charm Region, Dome of Invulnerability, Enhance King’s Aura, Teleport Army Group

Level 9: Prismatic Rays, Summon Death, Summon Leviathan

The Commonwealth of the Halflings Military Dossier

Kingdom Brigade Description:

Halflings will not conquer Alamaze on the backs of its military. They are Stalwart so resist fear, but at best could be considered average on the attack, although they are above average on defense due to toughness. They have slingers and some short bows, but no horses and they really cannot charge. They are generally under equipped and have no military tradition. Adding recruited brigades and companions will be necessary if the Halflings wish their military to be effective.

Kingdom Brigade Ratings:

LR Missile	SR Missile	Charge	1st Melee	2nd Melee	Combined	Storm (PC)	Defense
Average	Above Average	Not A Factor	Below Average	Below Average	Below Average	Below Average	Above Average

Recruit Troops (Order #560), Recruit Companions (Order #565), or magically summoned brigades fight at their respective values for all kingdoms. They move according to the kingdom’s movement table. They consume food and gold at their respective rates. Groups at sea fight according to the fleet quantity and quality in the given sea.

Special Note: Flyers may be available for your kingdom through the Recruit Companions (Order #565) or as a Wizard Summoning Spell. All flying groups, either as natural flyers like Dragons or groups enhanced with special brigades/artifacts that bestow flying capabilities, are considered flying at all times. When specifying the group’s movement, all terrain costs are calculated as normally in your movement order (including when flying over water areas). However, flying groups whether they are all-natural flyers (e.g., all brigades of Griffons) or non-natural flyers (ground-based troops that gain flying by acquiring an artifact or by recruiting Giant Eagles) are checked throughout the turn if their situation changes. Flying status may be lost if the group no longer meets certain criteria such as losing division-sized status required by certain artifacts due to transferring troops between groups, combining groups together, or gaining additional troops through battle as what may occur with special troops like Zombies that eat the dead and grow in number. Or Lycanthrope that spreads among the injured on the battlefield and the group acquires new Lycan brigades. Another possibility to consider is if the group will receive any troop reinforcements, which occurs at certain intervals throughout the game. So, even though a ground-based, non-natural flying group may start the turn as a flyer, its status may change throughout the course of the game. A flying group that flys over or lands upon a water area may be issued any movement order (e.g., 720 and not required a sea movement order like 710).

Natural flyers are: Black/Red Dragons, Great Bats, Phoenixes, Specters, and Wyverns, as well as the new troop types of Air Elementals, Beholders, Chimeras, Cockatrices, Fairy Folk, Gargoyles, Giant Eagles, Griffons, Manticores, Mephits, Pixies, Rocs, and Sprites. Giant Eagles and Rocs are the only natural flyers capable of bestowing flight to ground-based troops. Artifacts that are capable of bestowing flight to others are: Great Red Bats of the Lost Caves, Green Dragon Mates, and the Last Herd of Winged Stallions. If a group consists of only natural-flyers or ground-based troops that become capable of flying, the following flight bonuses apply: +20% attack bonus vs pop centers, immune to Earthquake, Flash Flood, and Wall of Flame spells, patrol-sized groups have 32 (rather than 20) movement points (only for patrols of the Black Dragon, Red Dragon, and Fairy Folk kingdoms), may fly over water without a naval fleet being involved (may finish movement upon a water area), automatically performs a reconnaissance of the group’s location as a level 1 agent, and the flying group may not be flanked in battle (a special attack maneuver that certain kingdoms may perform).

Kingdom and Recruitable Troop Types (Food/Gold Amount Is Cost To Recruit):

Type	ID	Food	Gold	Max Per Group	Notes
Halflings	HA	N/A	N/A	Unlimited	Kingdom brigade, not recruitable but receive as reinforcements
Mythians	MY	6,000	8,000	Unlimited	Recruit at pop center within Zanthia (6), The Sword Coast (8), Zamora (10), Mythgar (11), or The Untamed Lands (12) and requires General and 1 Veteran brigade
Northmen	NM	4,000	6,000	Unlimited	Recruit at pop center within The Crown Islands (1), Darkover (2), The Diamond Coast (3), Triumvia (5), or Stormgate (13) and requires Captain
Nyvarians	NY	4,000	6,000	Unlimited	Recruit at pop center within The Diamond Coast (3), Nyvaria (7), Pellinor (9), The Untamed Lands (12), or Stormgate (13)
Paladins	PA	8,000	10,000	Unlimited	Recruit at pop center within Darkover (2), Krynn (4), Triumvia (5), Nyvaria (7), or Pellinor (9) and requires General and 1 Veteran brigade [Only permitted for non-evil kingdoms]
Stormgate Guard	ST	10,000	10,000	Unlimited	Recruit at pop center within Stormgate (13) and requires General
Vikings	VI	6,000	9,000	Unlimited	Recruit at pop center within The Crown Islands (1), Darkover (2), or The Diamond Coast (3) and requires General and 1 Veteran brigade
Westmen	WE	4,000	6,000	Unlimited	Recruit at pop center within Krynn (4), Triumvia (5), Zanthia (6), The Sword Coast (8), or Stormgate (13) and requires Captain
Zamorans	ZA	4,000	6,000	Unlimited	Recruit at pop center within The Sword Coast (8), Pellinor (9), Zamora (10), Mythgar (11), The Untamed Lands (12), or Stormgate (13) and requires Captain
Companions (Order #565):
Centaurs	CE	4,000	8,000	5	Recruit in wild (no pop center) in Forest terrain and requires General and 3 brigades
Ents	EN	6,000	6,000	3	Recruit in wild (no pop center) in Forest terrain and requires Marshal and 1 Veteran brigade
Rohirrim	RO	4,000	8,000	5	Recruit in wild (no pop center) in Plains terrain and requires General and 1 Veteran brigade
Wood Elves	WO	4,000	8,000	5	Recruit in wild (no pop center) in Forest terrain and requires General and 1 Veteran brigade
Summoned (By Spell):
Minotaurs	MI	N/A	N/A	5	Summon in wild (no pop center) in Forest, Mountains terrain
Phantasmal Force	PM	N/A	N/A	5	Summon in wild (no pop center) in any terrain
Rock Golems	RG	N/A	N/A	5	Summon in wild (no pop center) in Mountains terrain

Resource Consumption per Brigade (Each Turn):

Type	Food	Gold
Halflings	1,500	1,500
Mythians	1,700	2,100
Northmen	2,000	2,000
Nyvarians	2,000	2,000
Paladins	2,700	2,700
Stormgate Guard	3,000	3,000
Vikings	1,800	2,200
Westmen	2,000	2,000
Zamorans	1,600	1,600
Companions (Order #565):
Centaurs	1,700	1,900
Ents	2,000	2,000
Rohirrim	2,000	2,200
Wood Elves	1,400	1,700
Summoned (By Spell):
Minotaurs	2,300	2,500
Phantasmal Force	0	0
Rock Golems	500	1,500

Reinforcement Schedule (Receive As Kingdom Brigades):

Turn 5:	2
Turn 10:	2
Turn 15:	1
Turn 20:	1
Turn 25:	1
Turn 30:	1
Turn 35:	1
Turn 40:	1

Terrain Combat Adjustment:

Terrain Type	Movement Point Cost	Movement (Ice Age)	Halfling	Trait
Plains	5.0	6.25	0%
Forest	7.0	8.75	0%
Mountains	7.0	8.75	+10%	Advantage plus Lesser Masking
Desert	7.0	8.75	0%
Marsh	8.0	10.00	-10%	Disadvantage
Sea	5.0	6.25	0%
vs PC’s	*	*	0%

Intercept Radius:

Your intercept radius is 3 areas (for Order #732).