San Goku Shi 7 - Strategy Guide (Page 05)

Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for San Goku Shi 7 - Strategy Guide (Page 05).

Comments: Officers with this skill are invaluable in battle. The number of 
injured in the Officer's status screen is the number of Troops you can 
restore to the target unit. Note that you can use this on your own unit as 
well. Think of it as a "heal" spell (or "cure" if you're a Final Fantasy 
fan).

Tactics-Oracle (20 AP) (*)
--------------
Requires Oracle skill. Has random effects in battle. Effects include 
increasing/decreasing lifespan or healing Officers.

Comments: I've never used this. Mostly because I'm scared to try. =)

Tactics-Creature (100 AP) (*****)
----------------
Requires Creature item. Summons a creature to use their ability in battle for 
you. Using this destroys the creature item.

Comments: Creatures can often turn the tide of battle and should be saved for 
situations that you must absolutely win.

-----
Ploys
-----

"Do not try to run away, O rebel! You have fallen into one of the Prime 
Minister's traps and had better stay!"
                                       - Jiang Wei to Sima Yi

At the start of every turn, the Tactician can choose to use one Ploy from the 
Ploys that he has selected at the start of the battle. Using Ploys does not 
require an additional cost, but the Ploys list cannot be changed when the 
battle has started.

*     - Useless Ploy. A waste of SP.
**    - Situational Ploy. Useful only in certain situations.
***   - Helpful Ploy. Useful in most battles.
****  - Great Ploy. Useful in any situation.
***** - Excellent Ploy. Sun Tzu would be proud of you.

Ploys-Chain (20 SP) (**)
-----------
Requires Wile skill. If successful, this chains the enemy's ship together, 
reducing the MP of all enemy units on water to 0. The chance of success is 
lessened if the target has the Navy skill.

Comments: Pretty worthless unless you know that you're going to be fighting 
mostly on water, and even then there are better options. It is pretty funny 
to watch though. It has a great chance of success if your enemies don't have 
the Naval skill. On a side note, sometimes Tacticians choose this Plot even 
if there's no water on the battlefield. =(

Ploys-Haste (30 SP) (****)
-----------
Requires Mystic skill. If successful, raises the MP of the Officer's entire 
army for one turn.

Comments: Useless if you're planning a defensive war, but godly if you're on 
the attack. This basically gives all of your units the Dash skill for a 
single turn without having to lose troops. If you want to jump-start your 
offensive this Ploy will do the trick.

Ploys-Rumor (30 SP) (*****)
-----------
Requires Rumor skill. If successful, causes one enemy unit to retreat from 
the battlefield. If unsuccessful, decreases the Troops of an enemy unit 
slightly. This Ploy cannot be used without a Tactician.

Comments: One of the most useful Ploys in the game. If your Tactician has 
100+ INT you can sometimes win battles in the first turn by scaring off the 
enemy Commanding Officer. I've driven off entire armies without fighting 
simply using this Ploy over and over. Use it. Abuse it. Love it. 
Unfortunately, the enemy can use this Ploy on your own forces, which will 
give you a taste of just how powerful this Ploy really is. After learning 
about the power of Rumor, I don't even bother setting up Traps on the field 
anymore. If you have a choice between setting Traps and Rumor, get Rumor. 
This Ploy doesn't work all the time, but when it does it makes a close battle 
better, and a great battle lopsided.

Ploys-Jeer (50 SP) (**)
----------
If successful, lowers the morale of the enemy army. Has a lesser effect if 
unsuccessful. This ploy cannot be used without a Tactician.

Comments: It's too expensive for its effect and pretty worthless unless the 
enemy's morale was low to begin with. But for some reason other Tacticians 
love using this one. It is amusing to watch though.

Ploys-Rally (30 SP) (**)
-----------
If successful, increases the moral of the Officer's army. It also removes all 
status effects from friendly Officers. Has a lesser effect if unsuccessful. 
This Ploy cannot be used without a Tactician.

Comments: It would be good if your army's morale was dangerously low and you 
were in a race to see whose morale would drop to 0 first. Otherwise I'd 
rather decrease my enemy's morale by occupying outposts and destroying units 
rather than increasing my own.

Ploys-Revive (40 SP) (*****)
------------
Requires Mystic or Doctor skill. This heals the injured troops of all 
friendly units. Wounded Officers may be restored back to full health. This 
Ploy cannot be used without a Tactician.

Comments: This is basically a Heal Tactic that affects your entire army. Can 
be useful in some grueling battles where casualties are heavy. If you have 
access to this Ploy, by all means take one or two for the added protection.

Ploys-Weather (20 SP) (*)
-------------
Requires Chart skill. Changes the weather of the battlefield. This Ploy 
cannot be used without a Tactician.

Comments: I guess if you really needed a certain weather condition to use a 
Ploy this would be helpful. I think there's better ways to spend your SP. 
Note that units have a much greater sight range on clear days.

Ploys-Wind (20 SP) (*)
----------
Requires Chart skill. If successful, the direction of the wind can be 
changed. This Ploy cannot be used without a Tactician.

Comments: Unless you're playing as Zhuge Liang at Chi Bi and want some 
nostalgia, skip this one.

Ploys-Lightning (50 SP) (*)
---------------
Requires Chart or Mystic skill. If successful, lightning randomly hits a unit 
on the battlefield, reducing it to 1/10 of its size. Officer hit will also 
lose Health. This can only be done in storm weather. This Ploy cannot be used 
without a Tactician.

Comments: This might have been useful if it did more damage and didn't 
randomly hit targets. I'll pass on this one.

Ploys-Illusion (50 SP) (**)
--------------
Requires Oracle skill. If successful, creates an illusion that confuses 
several enemy units and reduces their numbers. Can only be done in cloudy 
weather. This Ploy cannot be used without a Tactician.

Comments: More useful than lightning. I haven't used this one though.

Ploys-Discord (30 SP) (**)
-------------
Requires Wile skill. If an enemy allied country sends reinforcements and this 
is successful, the reinforcements all withdraw from battle. The chance of 
success increases if Relations between the two countries are low. This Ploy 
cannot be used without a Tactician.

Comments: This is a super version of Rumor, but only works under very 
particular conditions. As a result I haven't used this one at all.

Ploys-Rush (30 SP) (*****)
----------
If successful, the Officer's reinforcements will arrive on the next turn. The 
chance of success increases if the time to arrival is short. This Ploy cannot 
be used without a Tactician.

Comments: If you're expecting reinforcements, you need at least one Rush. If 
reinforcements are very far away and you really need them, get two or more. 
Having reinforcements now rather than several turns later can mean all the 
difference in the world. Enemy Tacticians almost always use this Ploy at the 
beginning of the turn, and you should too.

Ploys-Assassin (30 SP) (*)
--------------
If successful, an assassin will severely injure a random enemy Officer, 
causing their Health and WAR to drop. The lower the target Officer's WAR and 
INT, the greater chance of success. This Ploy cannot be used without a 
Tactician.

Comments: Enemy Tacticians often use this Ploy, but to no real effect. While 
this is amusing to watch, there are many better Ploys available. This Tactic 
rarely works unless the target is extremely weak, in which case sending an 
assassin after them is a bit counterproductive.

Ploys-Inspire (50 SP) (**)
-------------
Raises the TP of all friendly units. This Ploy cannot be used without a 
Tactician.

Comments: I guess during a drawn out battle this could be useful. Enemy 
Tacticians love to use this when you lay siege to their cities.

Ploys-Edict (200 SP) (**)
-----------
This obtains a Cease Hostilities Edict from the Emperor, forcing all 
attacking forces to withdraw from battle. This Ploy cannot be used without a 
Tactician. The higher the Liege's Imperial Bond, the higher chance of 
success. Cannot be used if the Emperor has abdicated, or if the enemy Liege 
is an Emperor.

Comments: Great if you can pull if off. Cao Cao once tried to use this on me. 
Too bad I didn't believe it was real. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

-------------
Ploys (siege)
-------------

"Our enemies have camped in difficult ground instead of the open country and 
are crowded in the dangerous valley there. After some days of this rain, 
River Xiang will swell, and I shall send people to dam up all the outlets and 
so let the water rise very high. When at its highest, I shall open the dams 
and let the water out over Fancheng. That valley will be flooded too, and all 
the soldiers will become aquatic animals."
                                       - Guan Yu to Guan Ping

The following are siege specific Ploys that the Commanding Officer can have 
his Tactician use during a city siege. If the Tactician is not available then 
Ploys cannot be used during a siege. The higher the Officer's INT, the 
greater chance of success. Note that Ploys from the field battle carry over 
to the siege battle.

*     - Useless Ploy. A waste of SP.
**    - Marginal Ploy. Every little bit helps in a siege.
***   - Helpful Ploy. Useful in most sieges.
****  - Great Ploy. Useful in any siege.
***** - Excellent Ploy. Wall? What wall?

Ploys-Sap (20 SP) (Offense) (**)
---------
If successful, digs tunnels underneath the city's wall, reducing its Defense.

Comments: Every little bit helps in a siege. Cute animation.

Ploys-Flood (50 SP) (Offense) (**)
-----------
If successful, floods the city lowering its Defense as well as the enemy 
army's morale.

Comments: I haven't used this one yet.

Ploys-Riot (30 SP) (Offense) (**)
----------
If successful, causes the people in the city to riot, reducing the defending 
troops and lowering morale.

Comments: I've seen an Officer try this before but it didn't work. Too bad 
though. It would have been funny to watch.

Ploys-Loot (20 SP) (Offense) (*)
----------
Loots the vicinity of the city, lowering the city's Commerce, Land, and 
Safety. The higher the Officer's INT and number of troops in the offensive 
army, the more effective the looting is.

Comments: This one's great fun to use, but pointless. Amusing to watch. The 
enemy CO will think poorly of you if you use this. =)

Ploys-Tunnel (10 SP) (Offense) (**)
------------
If successful, digs tunnels under the city wall for a surprise attack.

Comments: It's pretty funny watching all those soldiers scurrying underneath 
the wall. =) Cute but not very effective.

Ploys-Feint (20 SP) (Offense) (**)
-----------
If successful, draws off the enemy with a feint leaving the wall open to 
attack, reducing the city's Defense. The more turns remaining in the siege 
the higher chance of success.

Comments: Not too bad if you can pull it off.

Ploys-Lure (100 SP) (Defense) (**)
----------
Requires Wile skill. If successful, lures the enemy into the city, lowering 
enemy morale and troop numbers. If unsuccessful, the Officer's army loses 
morale and troops.

Comments: Somewhat useful if you can pull it off.

Ploys-Falsify (200 SP) (Defense) (**)
-------------
Requires Mystic skill. Causes the entire attacking army to withdraw.

Comments: Great if you can pull it off. I haven't used this one yet.

Ploys-Raze (10 SP) (Defense) (**)
----------
If successful, burns the enemy's food supply, reducing their Food and morale. 
Cannot be done under storm conditions. Chances for success increases under 
clear or cloudy conditions, decreases under rain or snow conditions.

Comments: Fun but not very effective. This one rarely works against a smart 
Commanding Officer.

Ploys-Sally (10 SP) (Defense) (**)
-----------
If successful, performs an attack against the attacking forces without 
retaliation.

Comments: Cheap but not very effective.

Ploys-Conscript (50 SP) (Defense) (**)
---------------
Increases defending troop numbers through emergency conscripting. 
Conscripting is handled automatically. Cost is 3 Food per Troop and city 
Safety drops by 5.

Comments: Good if you need to hold out just a little while longer. Otherwise 
it's not going to make much of a difference.

Ploys-Raid (50 SP) (Defense) (**)
----------
If successful, confuses the enemy, making them fight one another.

Comments: Funny, but not very effective.

----------
Retreating
----------

If the battle is not going well in your favor, you can choose to retreat from 
battle. In a field battle you can only retreat if you are in your own staging 
area (indicated by the orange squares where you started). If a Prefect 
retreats to a city not his own, he becomes an Officer. If a Liege retreats to 
a city with a Prefect, the Prefect becomes an Officer. If you retreat in a 
battle, there is a chance you will be captured if the enemy pursues. The 
higher the Officer's WAR and INT, the less chance he has of being captured. 
Officers with Steeds always retreat safely. The winners of a field battle 
have the option of pursuing the retreating forces to attempt to capture 
Officers. If an Officer in the pursuit forces has high WAR he will 
occasionally injure an enemy Officer. Sometimes the retreating forces will 
counter attack, dealing damage to a pursuing Officer's unit.

------
Seiges
------

When an attacking army defeats a defending army, and the defending forces 
still have Officers available in the city, the battle moves to a siege. Note 
that the attacking army can choose to withdraw from the field after the 
battle rather than proceed to a siege. The defending army can also choose to 
withdraw from the city rather than prepare for a siege. If both sides are 
still willing to fight, the battle proceeds to a city siege.

------------
Siege Attack
------------

The attacking force wins a siege when all of the defending units are defeated 
or have retreated, the Defense of the city is reduced to 0, or the enemy's 
morale is reduced to 0. The attackers must win the siege before the number of 
turns reaches 0 or they will be forced to withdraw. If the attackers run out 
of food their morale will decrease each turn.

Before each turn, if the Commanding Officer and Tactician are present, they 
can use a Ploy on the city (if you have Ploys remaining). The Commanding 
Officer can then order a Full Attack, Full Ram, or direct each unit to act 
individually.

- Full Attack: Only available if the Commanding Officer is present. All of 
the attacking units attack the enemy together, reducing the enemy's Troops. 
There are five types attacks available: Arrow, Catapult, Fireball, Missiles, 
and Direct. Horse, Calvary, and Elephants cannot attack units on top of the 
walls, so they will attack the gates instead. Towers are especially effective 
for attacking units on the walls. Each unit will take damage from counter 
attack unless it is a Catapult or Tower.

- Full Ram: Only available if the Commanding Officer is present. All of the 
attacking units attack the wall together, reducing the city's Defense. There 
are three types of attacks available: Fireball, Catapults, and Direct. Each 
unit will attack with the most effective attack type available. Catapults are 
especially effective for attacking the city gate.

- Full Retreat: The entire attacking army withdraws from battle to the city 
they started from. Effects are the same as retreating from a field battle.

Unless they city has very little Troops protecting it, the best way to win a 
siege is to destroy the city wall. The best way to do that is with a Full Ram 
attack. If the Commanding Officer is not present, your units will act 
individually. If the rate of damage to the wall each turn is too low, you 
should consider withdrawing from the siege and coming back with stronger 
forces. It is possible to remove the entire city's defending units using the 
Rumor Ploy repeatedly.

------------
City Defense
------------

The defending force wins a siege when all of the attacking units are defeated 
or have retreated, the enemy's morale is reduced to 0, or the time allotted 
to the siege has run out. If the defenders run out of food their morale will 
decrease each turn.

Before each turn, if the Commanding Officer and Tactician are present, they 
can use a Ploy on the city (if you have Ploys remaining). The Commanding 
Officer can then order a Full Attack, Full Wait, or direct each unit to act 
individually.

- Full Attack: Only available if the Commanding Officer is present. All of 
the attacking units attack the enemy together, reducing the enemy's Troops. 
Enemy units that have a missile attack (Bow, Crossbow, Arbalest, Catapult, 
and Tower) can counter attack.

- Full Wait: All the troops end their turn without acting.

- Full Retreat: The entire defending army withdraws from battle. The 
retreating army must choose which city they wish to retreat to. Effects are 
the same as retreating from a field battle. A rear guard can be appointed to 
delay the enemy.

Resisting a siege depends on the number of troops in the city along with the 
city's Defense. If the city's Defense is low and the number of attackers is 
high, it is only a matter of time before they break through the walls, and 
you should consider a tactical retreat. If the city's Defense is high and the 
number of attackers is low, most of the time you can usually outlast the 
siege by waiting for time to expire. You can also make the attacking army 
withdraw using the Rumor Ploy.

----------
Unit Types
----------

"Then Cao Cao's troops watched for Yuan Shao's archers to ascend the towers. 
As soon as the archers began to shoot, all the catapults began to heave stone 
balls into the skies and they wrought great havoc. There was no shelter from 
the falling stones, and enormous numbers of the archers were killed."

The Commanding Officer decides before each battle which unit types each 
Officer will command. The types available to each Officer depends on the 
number of Arms they possess.

Foot: Each Officer begins with this unit type. Foot units are average in 
attack and defense, but can still be effective with high Drill levels and in 
large numbers. The have good mobility in rough terrain.

Teng Jia: Requires Teng Jia. Teng Jia units are equipped with special rattan 
armor that greatly increases their defense. Because Teng Jia armor is oil 
based it is highly flammable and vulnerable to fire. Strong against Foot and 
Crossbow units, weak against others, especially siege units (Tower and 
Catapult).

Horse: Requires Horse. Horse units have a greater movement range on flat 
terrain than Foot units and a higher attack and defense. Horse units can use 
the Charge attack whether the Officer has the skill or not.

Tower: Requires Tower. Tower units are able to perform Missile attacks while 
attacking cities, which cannot be retaliated against. This can only be 
performed on clear or cloudy days. In field battles, Tower units are the same 
as Foot units.

Crossbow: Requires Crossbow. Crossbow units are able to use arrow attacks at 
a much greater distance than Foot units with Bows. Crossbow units have low 
attack and defense. Arrow attacks deal more damage to Horse and Calvary.

Catapult: Requires Catapult. Catapult units are able to perform Catapult 
attacks while attacking cities, which cannot be retaliated against. In field 
battles, Catapult units are the same as Foot units.

Calvary: Requires Horse, Armor, and Harness. Calvary units have the highest 
land movement on flat terrain of any unit, and have high attack and defense. 
Like Horse units, Calvary units can use the Charge attack whether the Officer 
has the skill or not.

Elephant: Requires Elephant. Elephant units are slow in rough terrain and 
water, but have the highest attack and defense of any unit. Elephant units 
can use the Charge skill whether the Officer has the skill or not.

----
Arms
----

"I have also a plan for a multiple crossbow, which I have been unable to 
execute. The weapon shoots ten bolts of eight inches length at every 
discharge. The sketches are quite ready, and the weapons can be made 
according to them."
                                       - Zhuge Liang to Jiang Wei

Arms allow an officer to form new units in battle, or increase their unit's 
effectiveness. The type of Arms available in cities depends on the type of 
cities under their Liege's control as well as the available resources. City 
resources include lumber, rattan, horses, ore, leather, sulfur, and nitrate. 
Forging certain Arms requires that the Tech level of the city be a certain 
level, and the forging Officer has the Invent skill.

Teng Jia (1000 Gold, 200 Tech): Allows the creation of Teng Jia units. 
Requires rattan.

Horse (500 Gold): Allows the creation of Horse units. With Armor and Harness, 
allows the creation of Calvary units. Requires horse.

Harness (1000 Gold, 200 Tech): With Horse and Armor, allows the creation of 
Calvary units. Requires horse and ore.

Armor (800 Gold, 100 Tech): With Horse and Harness, allows the creation of 
Calvary units. Requires ore and leather.

Bow (300 Gold, 100 Tech): Allows Foot units to make an arrow attack. Requires 
lumber.

Arbalest (1200 Gold, 400 Tech): Allows Crossbow units to make two shots per 
attack. Requires Invent skill to forge. Requires lumber.

Fireball (3000 Gold, 900 Tech): Allows Catapult units to make Fireball 
attacks during a siege. Requires Invent skill to forge. Requires sulfur and 
nitrate.

Crossbow (500 Gold, 300 Tech): Allows the creation of Crossbow units. 
Requires lumber.

Tower (1500 Gold, 600 Tech): Allows the creation of Tower units. Requires 
Invent skill to forge. Requires leather and lumber.

Catapult (2000 Gold, 700 Tech): Allows the creation of Catapult units. 
Requires Invent skill to forge. Requires leather and lumber.

Elephant (10000 Gold): Allows the creation of Elephant units. Only available 
at Yong Chang. Requires the Tame skill. Requires ore and rattan.

Wood Ox (4000 Gold, 1000 Tech): Increases the effectiveness of Foot units 
against Elephants. Requires Invent skill to forge. Requires lumber, ore, 
sulfur, and nitrate.

Ship (1000 Gold): Increases Officer's movement in river terrain. Only 
available at port cities. If an army is attacking a city via a river route, 
the initial morale is decreased by 5% for each unit without a Ship.

Barge (2500 Gold, 500 Tech): Increases Officer's movement in ocean terrain. 
Only available at port cities. If an army is attacking a city via an ocean 
route, the initial morale is decreased by 5% for each unit without a Barge.

----------------------
Miscellaneous Strategy
----------------------

- If you need to heal yourself and don't have the Heal Tactic, find a nearby 
outpost that belongs to you. Each turn you spend on the outpost adds 500 
Troops to your unit. Enemy units that have been seriously damage tend to do 
this as well.

- Try to keep track of where the enemy is at all times. If there are 10 enemy 
units, and you can only see 5, you can rest assure that they're moving around 
somewhere, most likely attempting to surround your forces or capture one of 
your outposts. If you hear the enemy's footsteps and don't see any of their 
units for a while, you know that the enemy is up to no good.

- Although this one is pretty obvious, try to lay Traps in areas the enemy is 
most likely to use. Note that for both you and the computer using the Move 
command will automatically choose the shortest (most easiest) terrain to move 
in. This makes terrain such as Bridges and Roads ideal for Traps.

- If your unit is relatively weak (i.e. low WAR) and isn't very effective 
using direct attacks against the enemy, use arrow attacks or Tactics such as 
Fire instead. Every little bit helps.

- Taunt has a much higher chance of success than Confuse.

- Use the Rush Ploy if you're expecting reinforcements. Depending on the size 
and position of the reinforcements, it may be better sometimes to wait for 
them to arrive normally in order to catch the enemy in a pincer movement.

- If you're expecting a naval battle or terrain with a lot of water, equip 
your Officers with Ships and or Barges. This makes a huge difference in the 
movement rates of units in the water. Some Officers will barely move a square 
each turn.

- If you're the Commanding Officer ALWAYS check the Ploys selected by your 
Tactician. Tacticians with low INT tend to choose Ploys that are rather 
ineffective or useless for the situation (such as Chain when there is no 
water on the map, or not selecting Rush when you have reinforcements coming).

- Unless you are hopelessly outnumbered and have nowhere else to retreat to, 
NEVER let your Tactician select Ambush as a strategy. The odds of it working 
to your advantage are very low, even if the Commanding Officer and Tactician 
have god like WAR and INT abilities and the weather conditions are optimal 
(i.e. bad weather).

- Horse, Calvary, and Elephant units are incredibly slow in rough terrain and 
water. If you want to defend an area and mobility isn't a concern, these 
units are the best for the job however.

- Unless an Officer has the Navy skill, the Chain Ploy will always work if a 
unit is in water.

- Using Probe does not guarantee you will find a Trap unless the Officer has 
the Scout skill. Use your intelligent Officers to Probe ahead and clear a 
path for your less intelligent ones. 

- If things look hopeless for a defending army, try to cut off as many supply 
posts as you can and hold out for as long as possible. Even if you fail to 
reduce the enemy's morale to 0, you will waste precious time for the 
attacking army as they try to root you out.

- Rumor can work wonders on the battlefield if you're on the attack, but be 
warned that Officers that retreat are available to defend the city during a 
siege battle. Driving off an attacking force using Rumor can work well in the 
short run, but since you're not depleting their Troop levels it is only a 
matter of time before they try to attack your city again.

- If possible bring Catapult and Tower units instead of Foot. They come in 
very handy during siege battles, especially if you are attacking units on the 
walls. Catapult units are great siege defense units as well.

- During a siege it is best to follow the Commanding Officer's advice unless 
you are absolutely certain that defeat in imminent unless another action is 
taken (such as Repair). The Commanding Officer will usually order a full ram 
(offense) or full attack (defense).

- Horse, Calvary, and Elephants cannot participate in a full attack 
(offense). They will attack the gate instead. Note that these units cannot 
counter attack if the defending forces attack them.

- Unless the defending units are few in number and have very little Troops 
left, you are better off attacking the gate during a siege than the enemy 
themselves.

- Be aware that units with missile attacks can counter attack you if you 
attempt to attack them from the walls. Units such as Catapults and Towers can 
inflict serious damage so be careful.

----------
XIV. Items
----------

"This book is the Essential Arts of Peace. With the aid of these volumes, you 
can convert the world and rescue humankind. But you must be single-minded, 
or, rest assured, you will greatly suffer."
                        - Saint Hermit of the Southern Land to Zhang Jiao

Throughout the game you will have the opportunity to obtain items either by 
purchasing them from a merchant, receiving them from a Liege, or plundering 
it from another Officer. Items you personally receive or obtain are added to 
your item collection and can be viewed via the option on the title screen. 
Some items give bonuses to your attributes. Others grant additional skills. 
The best items give both. But regardless of which items you want to get there 
are a few things you should know about them beforehand.

- Items that increase abilities are not cumulative with one another. If you 
have two items that have INT +5 you will not get a +10 bonus. If you have two 
items that raise an attribute to different levels, say two weapons with WAR 
+7 and WAR +10, you will get the bonus of the higher of the two. You can only 
receive a maximum of +10 to any ability, which is noted in the parentheses to 
the right of your attributes in your officer's information screen.

- If another Liege's army captures you, that Liege gets all of your items. 
This can lead to some rather scary item collections in some scenarios.

- The easiest way to obtain items is from the merchants that visit your city. 
Item selection changes from month to month so check back regularly if they 
don't have anything you like. Some characters automatically begin the 
campaign with certain items. Also some items are only available during 
certain scenarios. If you have the Trade skill you get a discount price on 
items.

- If you really want to fill out your item collection there's a little trick 
you can use. Whenever you obtain an item it gets added to your item 
collection. The trick is that it doesn't have to stay in your possession. 
Simply buy items when the opportunity presents itself then sell them back. 
You've added an item to your collection at only a fraction of the cost. This 
trick works well if you have the Trade and/or Wealth skills.

Special thanks to kongming.net for the Item ordering.

Steeds - All Steeds allow their owner to always retreat safely and gives them 
the Dash skill.
1. Red Hare: Can always retreat safely. Skill: Dash
2. Hex Mark: Can always retreat safely. Skill: Dash
3. Grey Lightning: Can always retreat safely. Skill: Dash
4. Shadow Runner: Can always retreat safely. Skill: Dash
5. Firestar: Can always retreat safely. Skill: Dash

Weapons - All Weapons increase WAR ability.
6. Seven Star Sword: WAR +3
7. Sword of Heaven: WAR +10
8. Sword of Light: WAR +10
9. Crescent Halberd: WAR +8
10. Black Dragon: WAR +5
11. Viper Blade: WAR +5
12. Serpent Spear: WAR +2
13. Swords of Fate: WAR +7
14. Ancestral Sword: WAR +2
15. War Trident: WAR +2
16. Twin Crescent: WAR +2
17. Great Axe: WAR +2
18. Steel Flail: WAR +2
19. Thorned Mace: WAR +2
20. Shooting Star: WAR +2
21. Throwing Blade: WAR +1
22. Flying Swords: WAR +1
23. Hand Spear: WAR +1
24. Sleeve Darts: WAR +1

Maps - All Maps give the Scout skill.
25. Map of Western Shu: Skill: Scout
26. Map of Nanman: Skill: Scout

Medical Books - All Medical books give the Doctor skill.
27. Books of Healing: Skill: Doctor
28. Hua Tuo's Journal: Skill: Doctor

Mystic Scrolls - All Mystic Scrolls increase INT ability by 10 and gives the 
Mystic skill.
29. Book of Illusions: INT +10 Skill: Mystic
30. Way of Peace: INT + 10 Skill: Mystic

War Manuals - All War Manuals increase INT ability and gives a skill.
31. Art of War: INT +8 Skill: Flood
32. The 24 War Manuals: INT +8 Skill: Invent
33. Scroll of Taigong: INT +8 Skill: Wile
34. Meng De's War Manual: INT +3 Skill: Reversal

Scriptures - All Scriptures increase INT ability by 5.
35. Confucius: INT +5
36. Lao Tzu: INT + 5
37. Zhuang Zi: INT +5
38. Books of Poetry: INT +5
39. Book of History: INT +5
40. Book of Rites: INT +5
41. Book of Changes: INT +5

History Books - All History Books increase POL ability.
42. Chun Qiu Annals: POL +10
43. The Grand Histories: POL +10
44. History of the Han: POL +7
45. Warring States: POL +7

Treatises - All Treatises increase POL ability by 5.
46. The Commentaries: POL +5
47. Treatise on Society: POL +5
48. Treatise on Chance: POL +5
49. Treatise on Times: POL +5
50. Treatise on Policy: POL +5
51. Treatise on Magic: POL +5
52. Treatise on Seasons: POL +5
53. Classic of Filial Piety: POL +5
54. Treatise on War: POL +5

Seal - Raises its owner's CHA to 100.
55. Imperial Seal: CHA +100

Treasures - Treasures increase an officer's Loyalty.
56. Awards of Valor
57. Bronze Pheasant
58. Feather Fan
59. Kneeling Lady
60. Boshan Censer
61. Dragon Vase
62. Lacquered Kettle
63. Gold Vase
64. He's Jade
65. Bull Lantern
66. Faerie Stone
67. Dragon Ring
68. Lu's Mirror

Creatures - Creatures are a one-time use item that can be used in battle to 
attack the enemy.
69. Dragon
70. Kirin
71. Phoenix
72. Roc