Fantasy General
Encyclopedia
Fantasy General is a hex-based
fantasy game published by Strategic Simulations in 1996. Its structure was taken from the computer wargame Panzer General
with some modifications to the base system. It was the second in the Five Star General series. It allows gaming against other human players by email
.
world. The player can play either a single scenario against a computer or human opponent or a campaign. There are two sides, Good and Evil, each with unique units, though they share unit equivalents.
In campaign mode, the player selects one of four heroes and sets out to defeat the Shadowlord and his four general
s, evil counterparts to the heroes. It concludes with the liberation of four continents and final defeat of the Shadowlord at the Fire Isle.
Gameplay is based on a traditional hex map
, with a wide variety of units available. Fantasy General is an operational-level game. Unlike Panzer General
, where units represent battalion-size groups, Fantasy General units approximate squads, with most units consisting of fifteen soldiers, though some (e.g. heroes, mechanical forces) represent single entities.
In Campaign mode, the player allocates gold toward researching new grades of units. Units range in grade from 0 to 5, though not all categories of units have a unit available for every grade. Mechanical units, for example, are only available in grades 0, 1, 3, and 5.
Units are further divided into classes. The classes are Heavy Infantry, Light Infantry, Skirmishers, Cavalry, Light Cavalry, Archers, Bombardiers, Sky Hunters, Siege Engines, and Spell Casters. There are Mortal units available from grades 0 to 5 for every class. Other unit categories vary, though every category has Heavy Infantry, Cavalry, and Sky Hunter units available.
and Danny Pelfrey and featured soprano Marisa Lenhardt. The game's music featured original settings of Strife is O'er, the Dies Irae
, the Easter sequence Victimae Paschali Laudes
, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, Dona Nobis Pacem
and two works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Komm, süßer Tod, komm selge Ruh
and Wir essen und leben.
Hex map
A hex map, hex board or hex grid is a gameboard design commonly used in wargames of all scales. The map is subdivided into small regular hexagons of identical size.-Advantages and disadvantages:...
fantasy game published by Strategic Simulations in 1996. Its structure was taken from the computer wargame Panzer General
Panzer General
Panzer General is a computer wargame published by Strategic Simulations in 1994 and set in World War II.- Overview:Panzer General is turn-based game, set on operational level hex maps. One plays lone scenarios from either Axis or Allied side and against a computer or human opponent...
with some modifications to the base system. It was the second in the Five Star General series. It allows gaming against other human players by email
Play-by-mail game
Play-by-mail games, sometimes known as "Play-by-post", are games, of any type, played through postal mail or e-mail. One example, chess, has been played by mail for centuries . Another example, Diplomacy, has been played by mail since the 1960s, starting with a printed newsletter written by John...
.
Overview
Fantasy General is a turn-based game situated in a high fantasyHigh fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
world. The player can play either a single scenario against a computer or human opponent or a campaign. There are two sides, Good and Evil, each with unique units, though they share unit equivalents.
In campaign mode, the player selects one of four heroes and sets out to defeat the Shadowlord and his four general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
s, evil counterparts to the heroes. It concludes with the liberation of four continents and final defeat of the Shadowlord at the Fire Isle.
Gameplay is based on a traditional hex map
Hex map
A hex map, hex board or hex grid is a gameboard design commonly used in wargames of all scales. The map is subdivided into small regular hexagons of identical size.-Advantages and disadvantages:...
, with a wide variety of units available. Fantasy General is an operational-level game. Unlike Panzer General
Panzer General
Panzer General is a computer wargame published by Strategic Simulations in 1994 and set in World War II.- Overview:Panzer General is turn-based game, set on operational level hex maps. One plays lone scenarios from either Axis or Allied side and against a computer or human opponent...
, where units represent battalion-size groups, Fantasy General units approximate squads, with most units consisting of fifteen soldiers, though some (e.g. heroes, mechanical forces) represent single entities.
Units
There are four unit categories: Mortal, Magical, Beast and Mechanical. Non-mortal units are usually stronger, but cannot be upgraded and will eventually become obsolete as the player researches new units.In Campaign mode, the player allocates gold toward researching new grades of units. Units range in grade from 0 to 5, though not all categories of units have a unit available for every grade. Mechanical units, for example, are only available in grades 0, 1, 3, and 5.
Units are further divided into classes. The classes are Heavy Infantry, Light Infantry, Skirmishers, Cavalry, Light Cavalry, Archers, Bombardiers, Sky Hunters, Siege Engines, and Spell Casters. There are Mortal units available from grades 0 to 5 for every class. Other unit categories vary, though every category has Heavy Infantry, Cavalry, and Sky Hunter units available.
Music
The soundtrack to Fantasy General was composed by Rick RhodesRick Rhodes
Rick Rhodes was an American musician and television composer.-Biography:Rhodes was born in Los Angeles, California. During his adult years, he toured the U.S...
and Danny Pelfrey and featured soprano Marisa Lenhardt. The game's music featured original settings of Strife is O'er, the Dies Irae
Dies Irae
Dies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
, the Easter sequence Victimae Paschali Laudes
Victimae Paschali Laudes
Victimae paschali laudes is a sequence prescribed for the Roman Catholic Mass and liturgical Protestant Eucharists of Easter Sunday. It is usually attributed to the 11th century Wipo of Burgundy, chaplain to the German Emperor Conrad II, but has also been attributed to Notker Balbulus, Robert II of...
, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, Dona Nobis Pacem
Dona nobis pacem
Dona nobis pacem is a phrase in the Agnus Dei section of the Roman Catholic mass. The phrase, in isolation, has been appropriated for a number of works, which include:* Dona nobis pacem, a traditional canon...
and two works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Komm, süßer Tod, komm selge Ruh
Komm, süßer Tod, komm selge Ruh
Komm, süßer Tod, komm selge Ruh is a song for solo voice and basso continuo from the 69 Sacred Songs and Arias that Johann Sebastian Bach contributed to Georg Christian Schemelli's Musicalisches Gesangbuch edited by Georg Christian Schemelli in 1736. Bach, by means of melody and harmony,...
and Wir essen und leben.