How hard is the game to learn..I did a demo years ago and it seemed a little difficult..?

Is not so difficult once you read the manual and most of the lore. But you have to do so.

Easy to just start playing, you'll figure out most stuff on your own as you go along.
But it's damn near impossible to master.

I've played many, many games and never managed to make myself the king of the whole dragon pass. Closest I've come was forming a tribe and being elected a king of that.

I've won the game twice. Once with an Ernalda peace tribe where I had so much food I simply bribed all the other tribes and clans with it. A feud was starting? Send them 150 food and some gifts. In the end I was friends with everybody, had so many goods that I could buy all the other tribes' treasures and once you get a good clanleader it should be smooth sailing. The other was a Lhankor My custom tribe. Oddly enough that is one of the better ways to go at it. You'll be weak early game, but once you get to the clan making part you'll be loving it that you rock at custom. It is decisively easier to make positive things happen between tribes with a really high custom.


.. but the one that has evaded me so far is an Ermal war tribe with a focus on a huge tula with the max amount of hunters .. AND the beastmen as enemy ;)

Well.. yeah. I really should try something along those lines. I'm usually balanced or war clan, then really get dragged into feuds and hammer the pants off some poor tribe. Ruining my economy in the process.

Someone slaps your cheek? Whack his bloody head off with an axe!!
Not the most obvious way towards peace and prosperity I guess..

Just bought this game as it looked very unique and challenging, can anyone tell me if it sorta is like those browser-based MMORTS (lTribal Wars for example?)

Just put your role playing "Ok i'm the leader of a bronze age tribe" hat on, and try to play as you would in real life. This is not an out and out war game of the typical strategy fare. Your people, each one, is an important person that adds to the ability and longevity of your tribe, they are not disposable assets from a limitless pool, they are people.

So yeah you really have to change your typical computer game outlook and be more 'human', is about as good a clue as i can give. Read up on your tribes history, read the hero stories and backgrounds as they are the key to doing the Hero Quests that are a vital part of the game.

Overall most people should find it one of the most interesting and unique games they have played, it's long been in my top five games of all time list, and hopefully the exposure GOG can give it will ensure we get to see more games like it :)

sounds very interesting!!

Excellent advice.

hey, hello David Dunham (the producer and co-designer of KoDP) :)

Thanks for making this wonderful game and turning up here to try to answer the many questions i'm sure people will have. I used to keep an old PC for playing retro games, but it died a little while ago, so i was really missing my KoDP fix, and now i have the GoG version all is good in the gaming world again.

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Back on the OP's question, i would say you should not overlook the manual, and not just give it a quick once over, but really read it and refer to it often. Eventualy you will learn the better solutions to the various problems the game throws at you. The game is very 'learnable' but you will not always have the same outcomes to your actions, which is based on a large array of factors (some random, some due to clan/leader attributes etc). But after a few games in which things will mostly have gone wrong, you will start to become a better leader of your clan, and it is indeed possible to form a tribe and become King of Dragon Pass (i have done it once before, a long time ago!).

Also when in the game, go to 'background' icon on the stone arch and spend time clicking through and using 'view' to read the various myths, especially any that relate to your clans background and upcoming heroquests your clan ring suggest you need to do. Once you are in the 'view' mode and reading the relevant myth story, look for the yellow circle thing near the top of the screen as this expands the myth into more detail if it is one your clan knows, write some of it down, and this will become essential in aiding your ability to complete the hero-quests. You also have the 'Saga' icon which gives a detailed background of your clan and it's founding.

Knowing the background world of Rune Quest is also helpfull, but in relation to the game is not essential. This ex runequest player was rubbish at heroquests for a very long time, until my partner showed me that being all 'warriorish' was not always the best method. But as background reading it is good to know who Humakt is and why you should be careful around his followers etc. Much of that info is in the 'background' screen, and not all of the full myths will be available to you right away (you need to learn more by dedicating clan magic to 'mysteries' and doing sacrifices in the 'Magic' screen).

Sometimes the gods just won't smile on you, and you can just do as best you can. But honoring the traditions of your clan, your clan dieties and knowing the background information behind all that will guide you in the right direction. Also listen to your clan ring, they are often very useful guides.