EMPTY THRONE OF LARCHBROOK based on CATAPHRACT by Sam Sorensen PREMISE - the king has died without an heir - each player commands an army, either as a duke or a rebel leader - whoever is crowned king wins the game, though players are free to pursue any goals they wish, including helping someone else become king - the game runs in real time with updates once per day - if a letter takes 2 weeks to reach its destination in-game, the referee delivers it after 2 real weeks - the pace of the game is one move or less per day plus communication - standing orders can be issued to cover unexpected events - all players are anonymous - all titles are unisex; king, duke, etc. are used for all genders MAP - players are provided with a crude, possibly inaccurate map - the referee will track everyone on an accurate hex map where each hex is 6 miles across - the area of the island is about 400x300 miles - the referee will only describe what your scouts can see and will not point out where you are on the map - players are encouraged to track themselves on a personal map - all land is at least sparsely settled except for the mountains - rivers on the map are major rivers that are navigable by ship - generally named after the city at the river mouth INTERFACE - current weather and ground conditions are automatically updated - updated daily at midnight central time (1am eastern/10pm pacific) - once players choose their commander type, they will be given credentials for their private forum - the referee will attempt to provide daily updates on each player's army - counts of units, supplies, loot, etc. - current morale - basic description of the area within scouting range - rivers, mountains, coast, roads, strongholds, other armies - the player may issue commands to their army at any time - standing orders can be left to cover situations you may miss - when two or more players are in the same location in-game and choose to meet that day, they will have access to a private area where they can communicate freely in-character - letters may also be sent by horse messenger relay for 1 loot each UNITS - infantry - heavy infantry - count as double infantry on solid ground - count as infantry in mud - cavalry - count as double infantry on open ground - count as infantry during siege assaults - increase army scouting and foraging range - cavalry-only armies have increased forced march speed - heavy cavalry - count as quadruple infantry on solid open ground - count as double infantry in mud - count as infantry during siege assaults - increase army scouting and foraging range - cavalry-only armies have increased forced march speed - supply wagons - non-combatants - new armies have non-combatants equal to 25% of its soldiers - these are camp followers that eat your supplies - some can be ordered to leave but that will lower army morale, see the MORALE section for details - a week of being off-duty in a town or city moves the number of non-combatants 5% toward the default of 25% - siege engines - 1 month to build 10 - 1 week to break down or reassemble 10 - can be transported, 1 per empty supply cart - see the SIEGES section for more detail - ships - much faster than marching - cost 100 loot/day - see the SHIPS section for more detail - see the TRAVEL section for ship speeds STRONGHOLDS - fortified city - +4 vs assault, 15 siege resistance - stores 100,000 supplies - citizens hold 100,000-600,000 loot - default garrison of 500 infantry - fortified town - +3 vs assault, 10 siege resistance - stores 10,000 supplies - citizens hold 10,000-60,000 loot - default garrison of 250 infantry - fortress - +5 vs assault, 20 siege resistance - unoccupied at the start of game - when occupied - can store 1,000 supplies - citizens hold 1,000-6,000 loot - unoccupied strongholds may be taken at will by entering them - cities and towns not controlled by a player will initially have only the default garrison to defend themselves - all occupied strongholds block armies from passing on the road unless permission is granted to pass through the city - occupied strongholds can be pillaged at any time but have a 2-in-6 chance of sparking an uprising - see the SIEGES section for an explanation of siege resistance and pillaging rules RAISING ARMIES - it takes one day for a commander in a stronghold to start the recruiting process - soldiers gather and train at the stronghold from nearby settlements - after 1 month, the recruitment will be complete if the stronghold was garrisoned for 16 out of the previous 30 days - raise infantry, cavalry and supply wagons - gain more soldiers from more populated areas - all settled land that is closer to your stronghold than any other garrisoned stronghold is considered the county of that stronghold - at the end of the month, land within the current county borders will draw recruits - pay loot upfront to train a heavy detachment variant, minimum 100 infantry or 50 cavalry - 2 per soldier for heavy infantry - 4 per soldier for heavy cavalry - detachments can be trained later, but that still takes a month in a controlled stronghold - if an area is recruited from more than once per year, there is a 1-in-6 chance of triggering an uprising - no recruitment is accomplished - a rebel army of 1d20*500 infantry arises with an initial goal of attacking the recruiting commander DETACHMENTS - units of the same type, initially named for the stronghold they came from, plus their attached wagons and non-combatants - attaching wagons to cavalry removes the speed bonus to forced marches - infantry 100-1000 per detachment - cavalry 50-500 per detachment - reconfiguring detachments takes 1 day - transferring wagons takes negligible time - example army Commander: Lord Kingle Traits: Incompetent Garrisoned: Kingle Infantry 1,300 : Cavalry 1,450 : Wagons 20 : Non-combatants 680 Field Strength 5,000 : Mud Strength 4,200 : Siege Strength 3,150 Column Length 1.4 miles Morale 9/12 Carried 12,000/148,250 Supplies 0 : Used/Day 16,680 : Days Left 0 Stockpile 0/100,000 : Days Left 0 * Loot 2,000 : Used/Day 0 Espionage 0/day : Mercenaries 0/day : Ships 0/day Siege Engines 10 : Soldier Loot 0 Past 7 Days ( . . . . . . . ) marched 0 days Days Off-Duty 3 2nd Infantry of Whitford 900 : 10 wagons 1st Infantry of Whitford 400 : 10 wagons 1st Cavalry of Kingle 500 1st Cavalry of Whitford 450 2nd Cavalry of Whitford 300 1st Heavy Cavalry of Kingle 200 BATTLE - +1 per multiple of enemy soldiers (+1 for double, +2 for triple, etc.) - +1 per point of higher morale - -1 for being unready (marching, foraging, off-duty, etc.) - outcome depends on the difference between rolls - 0 (tie) - defender, if there is one, holds the objective - attacker, if there is one, loses 1 morale - both sides suffer 5% casualties - 1 (marginal victory) - losing army loses 1 morale. - both sides suffer 10% casualties - 2-3 (clear victory) - victorious army suffers 5% casualties - losing army suffers 10% casualties - losing army loses 2 morale - victorious army gains 1 morale - 4-5 (decisive victory) - victorious army suffers 5% casualties - losing army suffers 15% casualties - losing army loses 2 morale - victorious army gains 2 morale - 1-in-6 chance losing commander captured, lose 1 additional morale - 6+ (overwhelming victory) - victorious army suffers 5% casualties - losing army suffers 20% casualties - losing army loses 2 morale - victorious army gains 2 morale - 2-in-6 chance losing commander captured, lose 1 additional morale - the losing army retreats 1 hex - a morale check is rolled, on any failure instead of the usual consequences the army routs - routed army - loses 10-60% of supplies and loot - makes an uncontrolled retreat a further 1d6 hexes (could take days), then regroups - if retreat is impossible - reduce army size and supply by half - stay in place uncontrolled for 1d6 days - winning army can take all lost supplies and loot - 4-in-6 chance of losing each prisoner held - fighting at night adds +50% casualties to both sides - commanders can challenge one another to single combat instead of battling with armies - terms are negotiated - declining a challenge reduces morale by -1 in the declining commander's army - decided by opposed d100- rolls - detachments taking part in battle gain experience - effective strength is equal to: - number_of_soldiers * ( 1 + ln( battles_fought + 1 ) * 0.2 ) - which gives a large initial strength boost that tapers off slowly with each battle - this strength bonus does multiply with bonuses from cavalry and heavy units - when detachments are merged, the number of battles is averaged and a small amount of strength is lost MULTIPLE ARMY BATTLE - separate armies fighting as allies - numerical advantage is based on shared numbers - morale and other penalties and bonuses are averaged - one combat roll is made - allies win or lose together - three or more opponents fighting simultaneously - separate combat rolls and outcomes per pair of opponents - e.g. A vs B vs C: - roll A vs B - roll A vs C - roll B vs C - apply all victory conditions for each army, then apply all defeat conditions for each army, making it possible for all 3 armies to rout if A defeats B, B defeats C and C defeats A SUPPLIES - infantry - eat 1 per day - carry 15 - cavalry - eat 10 per day - carry 75 - wagons (horse and driver) - eat 10 per day - carry 1,000 - each day without supplies reduces army morale by 1 - after two weeks without supplies, the army dissolves - 1 cavalry or supply wagon can be converted to 1 infantry + 300 supplies - citizens restock stronghold stockpiles - 1/9 of their capacity every month except in winter - stronghold must not be under siege - stronghold must have been garrisoned for 16 out of the past 30 days LOOT - must be carried - takes up the same space as supplies - +1 morale per 1 loot given to each soldier in an army - soldiers will deposit/spend personal loot after a week of being off-duty in a town or city - 1 loot: send a horseback messenger - 100 loot: fund a basic intelligence operation, costs more for more advanced operations - 100 loot/day per +1 bonus to counter-espionage - 100 loot/day to hire a ship - 1 loot/day per infantry and 3 loot/day per cavalry to hire a mercenary company - 2 loot per infantry or 4 loot per cavalry to train a heavy variant - strongholds collect taxes every November 1st, roughly equal to how many infantry can be raised - stronghold must not be under siege - stronghold must have been garrisoned for 16 out of the past 30 days - commanders who control a stronghold can collect its taxes or have them sent to him, risking theft or interception SCOUTING - during daylight, an army sees everything in a ~9 mile radius (everything in your hex and one hex beyond it) - cavalry in the army increases this to about a ~15 mile radius (your hex and 2 hexes beyond it) - bad weather reduces scouting range - light rain: no penalty - rain: -1 hex - heavy rain: -2 hexes - minimum scouting range is 300 feet - night - heavy rain with infantry only HARRYING - a detachment can spend a day harrying an enemy within scouting range - choose what they focus on: - kill soldiers - equal to 20% of the harrying detachment's effective count - destroy supplies - equal to 2d6 x the harrying detachment's effective count - steal loot or supplies - equal to 1d6 x the harrying detachment's effective count - effective count is number of effective soldiers, modified by experience - an infantry detachment has a 2-in-6 chance of success - a cavalry detachment has a 4-in-6 chance of success and add +2 to success rolls for destroying or stealing - on failure, the harrying detachment loses 20% of its numbers - a harried army moves at half speed and cannot go off-duty - you cannot harry an army inside a stronghold FORAGING - represents taking supplies from locals in exchange for IOUs - infantry can forage the current hex and adjacent hexes - cavalry can forage the current hex and up to 2 hexes away - 1 day of foraging with infantry - least populated area (7 hexes): 70,000 supplies - most populated (a city with 6 surrounding land hexes): 350,000 supplies - 1 day of foraging with cavalry - least populated area (19 hexes): 190,000 supplies - most populated (a city and 18 surrounding land hexes): 830,000 supplies - mountain areas can not be foraged - if the same hex is foraged more than once per year, there is a 2-in-6 chance of revolt - after 5 times, the area is barren until spring - 1 day to torch an area equal to foraging range, making it barren until spring - there is a 1-in-6 chance of revolt INTELLIGENCE - spies loiter near armies looking for work - base cost 100 loot/day - gather detailed information about hexes in scouting range - operations take 1 day plus travel time - try to get details of enemy armies - get full army status details - 4-in-6 chance of success - add +1 chance per 100 loot extra - try to deter spies from gathering information on your army - -1 to enemy chances per 100 loot - find out how long ago areas were last foraged or recruited from - get information from locals about passing armies TRAVEL - army: 12 miles/day, up to 5 days per week - forced march: 18 miles/day up to 7 days per week, lose 1 morale - night march: 6 miles/night, lose 1 morale, roads only - forced night march: 12 miles/night, lose 2 morale, roads only - cavalry-only army doubles speed of forced marches - off-road halves all speeds, wagons cannot travel off-road - mountain travel is at 1/4 speed - news - 12 miles/day over land - 60 miles/day along the coast - horse messenger - 48 miles/day, 5-in-6 chance of safe delivery - ship travel speed - takes 1 day to embark/disembark - ships sail 72 miles/day at sea or downriver - ships sail 36 miles/day upriver - rowing adds 12 miles/day but counts as forced march - marching armies stretch 1 mile of road per - 5,000 infantry - 2,000 cavalry - 50 wagons - any army longer than 6 miles - only travels 6 miles per day - or 12 miles per day at forced march - fording a river - infantry: half-day per mile of soldiers, less than 1 mile, normal speed - cavalry: normal speed - wagons: cannot ford rivers, must use bridges - anyone (commanders or supply wagons) travelling alone without an army - 1-in-6 chance per day of getting killed - commanders can forced march and night forced march without penalty - supply wagons alone will not forced march or march in the rain MORALE - armies tend toward 9 morale when off-duty, gaining or losing 1 per week - -1 morale if time off-duty is cut short - morale check rolled at the end of every off-duty period - referee rolls 2d6, failure if more than current morale - 50% of non-combatants can be made to leave - army morale lowered by 1 - max morale is 12 - if morale starts at 8 or less and morale is lost that day, a morale check is triggered - if a morale check fails, the army suffers desertion - lose 5% of soldiers and supplies per point of failure - e.g. fail by 5 and lose 25% COMMANDERS - starting commander options: - duke - controls one city - starting army is mixed infantry, cavalry, supply wagons and non-combatants - starting position known to all commanders - rebel leader - controls no strongholds - starting army is infantry only - starting position unknown to other commanders - commanders start with a random age from 20-50 and 1-4 traits - one trait plus one for every decade above 20 - commander traits - beloved - your army gains +1 off-duty morale - brutal - strongholds you besiege lower their threshold by an extra -1/week - defensive engineer - when you defend a stronghold add +2 to the defensive bonus - duelist - you have a +10 bonus in single combat and win ties - guardian - your army suffers 5% fewer casualties in battle - minus 1-in-6 chance to be captured in battle - honorable - your army never pillages unless you order them to - minus 1-in-6 chance to spark a revolt when foraging, torching or raising additional armies - ironsides - when you defend a stronghold in a siege add +5 to its siege resistance - logistician - your army can carry 20% more total supplies - your army stretches half as long on the road - outrider - with a cavalry detachment your scouting and foraging range expands to 3 hexes - poet - your morale check failure rolls count as 2 higher - raider - 20% extra loot found when pillaging - 10% extra supplies whenever you forage - ranger - bad weather does not reduce your scouting ranges - siege engineer - you can construct a detachment of 10 siege engines in a week - spartan - when you acquire new non-combatants you pick up only half as many - stubborn - your army does not lose morale on defeat in battle - vanquisher - you deal an extra 5% casualties to the enemy in battle - plus 1-in-6 chance to capture enemy commanders in battle - veteran - your army never routs upon defeat in battle - NPC commander traits - incompetent - all NPC commanders get this - 1-in6 chance to lose 1 morale daily - informed - when leading an uprising, citizens in the recruitment area will give the location of any non-rebel army - wrathful - when leading an uprising, attack or march toward any non-rebel army in the rebel's home county - closest non-routed army will be attacked first, then closest routed army, if equidistant choose randomly - march in rain and every day when noble armies are in the county - when killed, a player moves into the waiting queue and can rejoin the game as a new commander - the referee will offer players in the waiting queue a new commander when any of the following happen: - an NPC commander already exists in game - the waiting player can take over that army immediately - a commander decides to split his army - the waiting player can take control of the new division - an uprising is triggered - the waiting player can lead the rebel army - a commander sends word that he is looking to hire mercenaries - the waiting player can lead the mercenary company - the size of the company is dictated by what the buying commander has paid for - 1 loot per infantry per day - 3 loot per cavalry per day - waiting players will be asked if they want the role when it comes up - if they pass or take longer than a day to respond, the next person in the queue is asked - once in the game, you are not obliged to act in any predefined way - a rebel leader can ally with the duke that spawned him - a mercenary commander can attack the duke that hired him - a commander can attack his duke - a duke can abandon his city - if there are no players in the waiting queue, new armies will be led by NPC commanders, but they are incompetent SIEGES - assaulting a stronghold gives a -1 penalty to the attacker - assaulting a stronghold gives the attacker an extra 5% casualties - assault defense bonus is lost if the gate is open - after each day of siege, referee rolls to see if someone inside opens the gates - 1-in-6 chance to check; if successful, a further 2d6 must exceed the siege resistance - 1-in-6 chance of lowering resistance by 1 each day of siege - 1-in-6 chance of lowering resistance by 1 each day per 10 siege engines - resistance lowered by 1 each day that the stronghold has no supplies - +1 resistance each time the encircling army is attacked from the outside, up to the normal maximum - after winning a stronghold - army gains non-combatants: - fort: +5% - town: +10% - city: +15% - the winning commander either allow the soldiers to pillage or tries to keep them in line with a successful morale check - after a pillage - army gains +2 morale - soldiers take half the loot held by citizens - commander gets 5% of the loot taken - any commander gets half the normal recruits from areas in the current county of this stronghold for 1 year PRISONERS - captured commanders can be: - kept prisoner indefinitely - released - executed: lowers morale of his former army by 1 - ransomed: exchanged for loot from his home stronghold - noble commanders only - ransom equals: - 1d6 x 1000 for cities - 1d6 x 100 for towns - if at the home stronghold, exchange immediately, otherwise a message is sent and a supply wagon detachment is dispatched with the ransom, optionally with a guard army - recruited (player commanders only): give the defeated commander an army to command for you, though there is no obligation to remain loyal - an army with prisoners has a 4-in-6 chance of losing each prisoner when routed SHIPS - 1 ship costs 100 loot/day to transport your cargo/soldiers - 1 ship can carry 100 soldiers, 20 cavalry or 10 supply wagons - 6 miles of coast can launch/disembark 100 ships - 6 miles of river can launch/disembark 50 ships per side - ship crews have their own morale - if they fail a morale check, they drop off your cargo/soldiers at the nearest land; 2-in-6 chance that they come back for you in 3d6 days - pay 100 loot for +1 crew morale - crew morale is unaffected by weather - ships fight other ships using the same rules as land battles - count ships instead of soldiers to determine numerical advantage WEATHER - weather is modelled after average english weather and represents an average per day across the entire continent - light rain - adds +1 to mud count - rain - reduces scouting range by 1 hex - adds +3 to mud count - reduces morale by 1 when marching - heavy rain - reduces scouting range by 2 hexes - adds +5 to mud count - reduces morale by 1 when marching - solid ground: 0-1 mud count - mud: 2-5 mud count - deep mud: 6 mud count (max) - clear winter day removes 1 from mud count - clear spring/fall day removes 2 from mud count - clear summer day removes 3 from mud count ORDERS - all orders represent what your army will do the following day - orders from all commanders are processed at the same time and reported the following day - each day - referee posts army status and results - players post orders for the next day - players have until midnight central time (1am eastern/10pn pacific) to place orders for the next day - typical orders - attack - form up - makes your army ready for battle if attacked - march - either describe a path along the roads or use the 6 hex directions: N, S, NW, SW, NE, SW in 6 mile increments - sail - same as March, either give a destination (ships will then hug the coast) or use hex directions - go off-duty