games-pc pirates! gold ユーザーズマニュアル

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Conversely, when your opponent hits you, you are weakened
and your men demoralized.
Retreat
Retreat is easy. Simply move off the edge of the screen. Of course,
you lose whatever you were fighting over and your reputation suf-
fers. On the other hand, retreat is usually preferable to surrender...
Surrender
Surrender occurs when one fighter is being badly beaten by
the other. Over the course of the battle, the losing fighter’s
morale, represented by the flags on the screen, declines as the
winning fighter’s morale improves. When a fighter’s morale gets
too low, any blow may force him to surrender.
In massed combat, each man’s morale is deeply affected by
how his side is doing. If your force is taking terrible losses, your
morale will fall. On the other hand, if your men are beating the
enemy, your opponent’s morale will crumble. 
In any case, the side with more men has a significant advan-
tage. When your enemy outnumbers you greatly, you had better
seek to defeat their captain quickly before sheer weight of num-
bers gives him the victory.
ATTACKS
As described above, each combination is a different swordfighting
maneuver. During battle, you select a combination and your body
automatically makes the moves. Each combination takes a different
amount of time to execute; each does a different amount of damage.
There are two types of attack: thrust and slash.
During a battle it is important to mix up your attacks: if you
continuously thrust high, for example, your opponent will learn
and take advantage of your predictability, perhaps by parrying
your attack and then launching a quicker counterattack before
you can respond!
The Slash
The slash is a brutal, heavy blow, with damage done by the
edge of the blade rather than the point. Since you’re using the
edge of your weapon, you must be closer to your opponent to
hit him. On the other hand, a successful slash can do an enor-
mous amount of damage as you draw your entire blade-edge
across your enemy’s body.
Slashing High: This takes the longest time to execute, but has an
extra-long reach. If it succeeds, this combination does twice the
normal amount of damage
Slashing Mid-Level: This is a faster slash than the high slash, but
it is still slower than the thrust. This combination does twice the
damage of a normal attack.
Slashing Low: This is the fastest slash, but has a shorter reach.
This combination too does twice the damage of a thrust.
THE COMMON MAN AS WARRIOR
In this turbulent time, there are more clergymen than sheriffs! A
man protects his own property and person against thieves and
banditry — if he doesn’t, the kings and governors surely won’t! It
is the rare man who goes without some kind of weapon. 
Noblemen settle disputes quietly in duels, rather than through
open warfare (a barbaric practice, frowned upon by the Crown,
for its detrimental affects upon the important business of trade
and taxation).
Unable to afford the high-quality blades of their “betters,” com-
moners must be satisfied with staves, clubs, crude spears, large
knives and such homemade implements of carnage. When they
can get a weapon, the common-folk prefer the heavy cutlass, an
ideal weapon for a stout but untutored fighter.