Sword and Planet pt. 5: Bloodlines, Loyalty and Titles

It's been awhile since I've updated, but I've not slowed down in working on the game. I have, however, been spending too much time working on graphics as opposed to mechanics. This seems to happen to me, as I enjoy the process of both. Either way, this is going to be the last update for awhile, as I'm going on the road for awhile. Next update will probably come in July... maybe the beginning of the month. Once I'm settled again in a new apartment and back in Seattle, I'll be able to work on these blog updates more.

As for comments on the combat system - I've found them extremely useful, but have not addressed the issues yet. I know the system is imperfect, but would like to try and use the three combat values specifically. I'm unsure how I would like to implement them, but I need to keep some things in mind: 1. Simplicity - the game shouldn't grind to a halt anytime there is a battle, battles should be frequent but not the sole action in the game. 2. Attacker bonuses - the attacker should always have the upper hand in this game, I want to discourage turtling and push players to be as agressive as possible. This is, after all, a game of warfare.

I've been thinking of what shape the game will take, and I am always one to stress the importance of scenarios within a game. I've been struggling with how to implement a variety of scenarios with only the pieces that will be "in the box." The general theme of the game is pre-1950's pulp action serials, but another theme is the destruction of civilizations. So the scenarios I would like to make, would relate to the downfall of ancient societies into complete anarchy.

Three ideas of the scenarios are hierarchy, downfall and anarchy. Hierarchy would form along the lines of what is more normal in a wargame, each player controls a political faction and attempts to conquer neutrals and enemies. Barbarians would, however, begin to present themselves, although not as a major threat, more of an annoyance. Downfall is what the game is being designed for, a few weak political structures attempting to survive in an ancreasingly chaotic and barbarous world. Players would work independently of the political forces, but use them to secure their victory over the other players. Anarchy chronicles the last days on the world, resources are extremely scarce, empires have fallen and post-apocalyptic armies battle for what remains.

Since the game is to emulate post WWI feelings and also the build up to the Second World War, I would like to try to keep the feelings of the period a constant goal. If you're familiar with much pulp writing, there are many themes that are recurrent, such as fear of communists! I want to keep this game in the theme, first and foremost!

Now, onto the update.

Characters are the main medium of the game, and they serve as both leaders and as independent actors. A character leading an army is classified as a leader and will generally only react to other leaders. A character on his own is largely invisible from leaders, unless they leave their armies behind and fight one-on-one.

Leaders who lead conquests will also reap the rewards, and the more cities conquered, the stronger a character will become. This will be represented by titles and rewards, as displayed below.

As is hopefully evident, I've been hard at work trying to get the graphics more consistent and less awful.

If you look at the character cards for Thea Norvak and Srall Hesinn, they both have two golden-colored counters on them. These are titles they hold, and represent rewards the've accrued for their accomplishments. The title "Therj" is a military governor for a city, granting a bonus point of leadership for each city they've conquered. Below each city, you can see the a colored counter from each player that shows the possession of the city, and as previously noted, these track the relative values of the cities. Thea Norvak would be in the yellow players possession and Srall Hesinn would be in the purple players. Srall, who is currently in the aptly-named Thureayah is Therj of both that city and Bourja, granting him two bonus points to his meager leadership score of three.

Also worth noting, is the color of the cities in relationship to the plaque reading "Kingdom of all Antorgans." This means that the cities and any space within 2 steps of these cities, are considered within the political jurisdiction of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is not controlled currently, as there is no control marker on the plaque. The two players are getting involved in a civil war over the Kingdom, and since the Kingdom's 4 cities (there is one to the left which is not pictured) are all still in existence (are in possession of players or neutrals), the Kingdom still exists. If two of the cities were to fall, dropping the Kingdom down to half its size, the Kingdom would fall forever, preventing anyone from gaining complete control over it.

Even if both players were to control all four cities, they could not rightly declare themselves King of all Antorgans. It requires an objective card to become legally recognized in the title. Therj of cities are the only titles that do not require objective cards to claim cities, any other titles will require the objective card.

I have placed the objective card "King of all Antorgans" besides Thea Norvak, whose player is currently holding the card. Objectives can be both public and private, when private they remain within a players hand, taking up vital hand space. Although when they are private, they can only be claimed by that player. If a player feels that his chances at grabbing the title are too low, he may discard the card, making it public. The card will be placed on the board and become available for all players, but no longer take up any hand space. Kings, Warlords and Emperors are all powerful titles, and players should work actively to prevent others from gaining them.

The objective "King of all Antorgans" allows a character to become King over the Kingdom of all Antorgans, gaining a bonus five points towards leadership. This allows a character to command a very large army and makes them extremely powerful on the battlefield.To grab the title, the orange player needs to not only control all four of the cities in the Kingdom, but must destroy the rebellious Antorgia tribe which is controlled by Haarek Thrillian who is hiding in the woods to the south.

Another feature that I'm introducing, is that of birthright, which in a feudal society, is always important. The title of King of all Antorgans may only be bestowed upon an aristocrat character (listed on their card). Birthright is an important factor with characters, but is increasingly important in the hierarchy scenario. In the anarchy scenario, all characters would be counted as barbarians (that is, without birthright). Even if the objective for King was public, Srall Hesinn would be unable to claim it. If you look closely, he is listed as an artisan, and would not be able to claim an aristocrats title. Haarek Thrillian is a barbarian, and is basically an outsider from the social hierarchy.

While Srall Hesinn would be unable to claim the title, he would be able to prevent it from ever coming to fruition. He currently controls two cities, preventing the title from coming about, but if he were to attack the two other cities in the Kingdom, he would destroy the Kingdom all together, making the title useless. The orange player would have wasted vital handspace holding the title, which could have been used for more action cards, character cards or anything else.

It seems I have no problem being long-winded in these updates, so I've decided to stop here. I have a lot more that I didn't demonstrate in this update, so maybe I will try to get another in before I leave.

Comments are always welcome.