Dark Tower Inventory
There is a variety of useful items and treasure that you can lug around in Dark Tower. Some of these can be purchased at a country's Bazaar.
Gold.
Players start the game with 30 bags of gold, and winning battles with Brigands is the only
way to gain more. Gold is the medium of purchase at the Bazaars. Gold is transported by
the player's warriors, and they can only hold 6 bags each. Any gold you have in excess of
this must be left behind. Purchase a Beast to alleviate this problem. In any case, the
most gold you can possess is 99 bags... because there are only two digits on the tower's
display!
Rations
of Food. Each player begins with 25 rations of food. Each turn you take, your
warrior force consumes a certain amount of it, whether they move or not. 15 warriors or
less will consume one ration per turn; 16 to 30 will consume two rations per turn; 31
to
45 will consume three rations per turn; 46-60 4; 61-65 5; 76-90 6; 91-99 7. The most food
you can carry is 99. A ration of food always costs 1 bag of gold; there's no point in
haggling.
Warriors.
Your fighting force in the war against the Tyrant King's Brigands. Though the player starts the game with ten warriors, more can be (and
must be) hired at a Bazaar. The maximum number of Warriors you can have in your force
is... you guessed it... 99. In the multiplayer game, you will always be left with at least
one Warrior regardless of the ills that befall you, but the single player game will end in
defeat if your last warrior dies. Warriors can be killed in battle, by Plague, or
"abducted" by a Dragon or Curse. Other ways to gain Warriors without paying for
them include: being struck by Plague when you have a Healer, and being
awarded with a Wizard (which allows you to steal Warriors and gold from
another player).
Beast.
A Beast is valuable because it can carry 50 bags of gold, over and above the
6 bags per man that your Warriors can carry. Beasts are immune to combat, and don't consume any food. You can only
own a single Beast, which is all you should need (since you can't have more than 99 bags
of gold, anyway).
Scout.
You can never get lost if you have hired a Scout; he will see you safely through uncharted
territories. In fact, if you are the victim of a "Lost" event and you have a
Scout, not only do you not lose a turn, but you immediately gain an
additional
turn.
Healer.
In a similar fashion to the Scout, the Healer protects against the Plague event. Not only
does the Healer prevent the loss of life during a Plague, but actually awards you with two
new warriors! (I still haven't figured out how that one works). The Healer doesn't
prevent losses
in battle, or to starvation.
The following treasures can't be bought, only won in battle:
Dragonsword.
A special prize, for if the Dragon attacks you, the sword will slay the Dragon and give
you all the warriors and gold that the fire-spitting beast has collected during the game.
When you slay the Dragon, you lose the Dragonsword. The Dragon, meanwhile, is only
"temporarily slain." After a Dragon attack, place the Dragon pawn in the
affected territory; until the next attack, this territory is now off limits to players.
Pegasus.
This flying horse can be used to transport anywhere on the board. Once it is used, it's
gone. There is no special procedure for using the Pegasus, just move anywhere on the board
and cash in the token. If you cross a frontier, be sure to pause there and press the FRONTIER button so the tower knows you're in a new
kingdom. Each player may only have one Pegasus token at a time, so if you already have a
Pegasus and the tower awards you another, ignore it. (Actually, the game doesn't keep
track of your Pegasi, so you can cheat and use this feature whenever you want, as many
times as you want). The Pegasus is the only treasure for which you hear a special sound; so everyone will know when you've won one.
Wizard.
A special treasure that allows you to Curse another player. When the Wizard offers you his
services, you choose an opposing player, and you are awarded with 25% of that player's warriors and
gold. The Wizard is then used up, and lost. A Wizard must be used as soon as it is
awarded; you can't "save" a Wizard for later use. Just sit back
and enjoy the angry curses from the player you just Cursed.
Magic
Keys of Brass, Silver and Gold... after a battle you may be awarded one magic key.
You must own all three to be able to enter the Dark Tower and win the game. You will only
receive one key in each foreign kingdom, and they are awarded in order as follows: Brass,
Silver, then Gold. You will not find a key in your home kingdom, and you will never find
two of the same keys. You can't leave a foreign kingdom without owning the magic key for
that kingdom, but as soon as you find it, you should move on without delay.