Realms is a 1991 real-time strategy game produced by Graftgold Ltd. for MS-DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST. It was published by Virgin Games. In Realms, the player has to build cities, collect taxes, create troops and fight enemy cities and troops in order to defeat their opponents. Introduction Realms shows an intro as the game loads. During this intro, it tells the story of a prince watching his late father, the king being immolated at sea. Mourning, he sheds a tear, and his mourning is rewarded by the gods. He is struck by lightning, which forms and serpent in hands, an emblem of his right to rule the world. A tagline appears afterwards, stating "There can only be one... just make sure it's yours." After inserting and loading the second disk, the game can start. Gameplay First, the player must choose a race to control. Each of the six races is based on a fantasy race ala Tolkien. Each race has their own attributes, including some strengths and weaknesses. For example, Dwarves prefer having an axe as a weapon, but Elves are the best archers. After completing a training mission, which allows the player to get to grips with raising armies and keeping the population fed, the player can play any of the 10 missions on offer. Cities Player controlled cities can be taxed, fed by buying of grain, improved defensively with city walls and grown by cultivating surrounding land. If the population is sufficient, an army of 1000 men/women can be raised. Information about population, health rating, morale and grain amounts for the city are found by clicking on a friendly city. Armies A player can raise an army from a player-controlled city. Infantry or cavalry can be raised. The quality of the soldiers (elite warriors, warriors, militia or raw recruits) depends on city size and number of armies already raised from that particular city. The army can be equipped with a range of weapons, armour and bows. The army also needs to be paid. A well paid army will have high moral and recover its numbers quickly after battles, whereas a lowly paid or unpaid army will disband soon after creation. An army can be paid through the pillages it carries out, but this needs to be done regularly to avoid the unit disbanding. An army's equipment level and pay can be adjusted when the army is based