It's time for Stream of Consciousness Game Design with Monk V: The Numerals Are Pointless Because Nobody Cares!
We're back to grand strategy RTD- I've reworked most of this, including the combat (yet again.)
The most active "main" players are Patricians, head of a prestigious noble house whose support is crucial to The Empire
tm. The Empire
tm is situated on a small island across the ocean, and has recently discovered a new continent full of natural resources and all kinds of good things, as well as waves upon waves of hostile
Gnoll tribes. The PCs have received an Imperial Mandate to colonize and exploit the new world, and are allowed to claim land and resources as their own provided they pay tribute to the Emperor.
The PCs aren't just given free reign by The Empire
tm, however- some lands are claimed in the name of the Emperor himself, and there are Imperial forces available to help defend the citizens. The Emperor has grown old and weak- more importantly, he is lacks an Heir to the throne. The twisted old man sees competition in the new world as a way to determine who should be Emperor. Periodically, The Emperor sets tasks for the Patricians- those who complete those tasks the best gain the Favor of the Emperor. The Patrician with the highest Favor of the Emperor at the time of his death receives the allegiance of the Imperial Forces- not that this is likely to deter the other Patricians from trying to take the throne for themselves! The game is over when one Patrician controls the Imperial City and has more land than the other claimants combined.
Random waitlisters may also "Guest Star" as Megabeasts or the Warlord of a Barbarian Hordes. Megabeasts normally have an objective of some kind, with a side of World Burning thrown in. Barbarian Hordes function as a faction much like the Patricians, but with some differences- they cannot colonize new regions, they have limited recruitment options, and they are hostile to any Imperial-aligned side. They often have higher maintenance costs and Warlords may have certain obligations imposed on them by their Horde.
The world is grouped into regions, much like a Risk board. When a player explores, they enter a new region. The region is of a random terrain type, and is of a random size- some terrains modify how big the region can be (impassable mountains are smaller, grasslands are bigger, etc.) Regions produce resources (Coin and Food, primarily,) and often have other interesting features, whether it be unique topography, the presence of natural resources, interesting flora or fauna, native inhabitants (hostile or otherwise,) enchantments, special structures, whatever. Each region can support one settlement- settlements are necessary to perform many actions.
Population is how many citizens owe the House allegiance. Population consumes Food, and produces Coin in the form of taxes. Population is also required to train military units. Population is not Region specific- where all those people are at any specific point in time isn't terribly important, and it is assumed that Population flees ahead of rampaging armies/megabeasts. Population grows as long as Food is positive and the Pop Cap has not been reached. The maximum Population you can have is determined by Improvements.
Happiness is how happy the Population is. If the Population under a House becomes disaffected, Bad Things happen, ranging from lowered tax income to outright revolution. Happiness is raised by certain Improvements and Resources, lowered when Pop is drafted for militia, Pop is starving, or when things get destroyed, and Random Events play merry hell with it.
Food is how much food is produced under the direct control of your House. It is expressed as X/Y (Z) where X is the amount of food currently stockpiled in granaries, Y is the maximum amount of Food that can be stockpiled, and Z is the rate at which food is stockpiled. Food is necessary to maintain your Population, and as such is a valuable strategic asset. Food is produced by certain Improvements and Resources, drained by Pop and Random Events, and can be directly traded between players like Resources.
Coin represents the wealth of the House. Most actions require Coin, and Coin is required to maintain a standing military. Coin is produced by Pop, Improvements and Resources, and drained by military, player action, and Imperial Tribute. Of course, Random Events can mess with this most thoroughly.
Resources are valuable assets at the disposal of the House. They commonly increase one of the other stats, and may be required for certain buildings/units/actions. Resources are normally acquired when a Region is occupied, though some require Improvements. Resources are never consumed- control of a resource represents control of the supply of that resource, and as long as the supply is maintained the benefit is conferred. That supply line can be mucked with by enemy action or Random Events, however.
Characters are historically significant figures who are associated with the House. They are most often Generals, but might be minor courtiers, artisans, political allies, generals, or anyone, really. Characters frequently provide some benefit to the House, but may also inflict a drawback in certain situations. Characters are fairly unique- only Generals can be directly trained, although some high-end Improvements encourage Character creation/development. Once they exist, they have their own life and relationships- they might stay with one House their entire life, leave or be cast off as the result of Events and/or personal relationships, or they might bounce from faction to faction as a mercenary.
In general, players should have the freedom to do what they want (results determined by d6,) but there are many common actions that have established costs and effects.
Explore/Expand- Players fund an organized exploration effort to any unexplored region. The exploration returns knowledge of what is in that region- once explored, a player may pay to colonize the region, claiming it for themselves and establishing a settlement in the region. Priority for colonization starts with the exploring player, then continues in order of highest Imperial Favor. Players may Explore only once per turn, but they may Expand as often as the opportunity presents itself.
Military Management- Players order their armies to march or fight- most units can only move one region per turn, but there is no specific limit on the number of attacks/moves a player can make in one turn.
Region Management- Players pay Coin to construct an Improvement, train a unit, or generate a Character. Each Region can only perform one action per turn.
Diplomacy- Players can initiate diplomatic action, often for trading purposes. Players may treat with whomever they like, though if they consort with enemies of the Empire there may be Imperial Censure. Treaties within the Empire are enforced by Imperial might- breaking a treaty may result in heavy fines or even confiscation of territory. The Emperor normally does not care what arrangements are made between the Patricians and outside forces, but he never approves of dealings with Gnolls and reserves the right to bring Patricians into line with Imperial Foreign Policy as it changes.
Units have a few stats. Toughness refers to how much damage they can take in combat (see Combat.) Toughness regenerates at 1/turn. Experience is a measure of how much combat a unit has seen- after every combat, this increments by one. At certain thresholds, the unit may gain additional Abilities- frequently this is predetermined based on the unit. Finally, Special Abilities are qualities of the unit which activate under certain conditions- most are beneficial, but not all.
Generals have fewer stats to worry about. They have a Leadership rating which represents their command abilities, and they have a slew of Special Abilities they bring to the table. Generals also have Experience, which functions similar to how Unit Experience operates. Generals normally do not engage in combat like Units, and effectively have a Toughness of 0.
Military Units are based in particular Regions, and can move One Region per turn. Regions can typically only hold a certain number of Military Units at one time- this number can be increased by Improvements or General abilities. Armies attack by moving into a hostile region that has an enemy army to defend it- if there is no defending army, the region is occupied by the attacker.
The first thing that happens in combat is that any special abilities of the Generals or the units activates. Next, the Generals roll opposed Leadership checks- the winner gets extra d6's in the combat equal to his margin of success (e.g [5]vs[3] would grant 2 for the first general.) Then, each unit in each army rolls 1d6- on a 6, the unit deals Damage (typically 1) to a random enemy unit, and on a 1 the unit blunders and takes 1 Damage. Once the units are done, any bonus rolls from Leadership Checks or special abilities are rolled. After the rolls, if one side lacks any units and the enemy has Damage left to deal, the loser's General must make a Roll to Dodge that Damage as they flee the site of the battle- failure means they are killed/captured in battle. If all the defenders are dead and the attacker has units left, the attacker occupies the Region. If the defender wins and has more units than the attacker, nothing special happens. If the attacker does not win, but still has more units than the defender, then the Region produces no resources for that turn.
Occupied Regions may suffer Unrest- the former owner rolls 1d6+Happiness after combat. For every point above 6, impromptu Guerrillas resist the occupation, and engage in combat against the invaders. Guerrillas have zero Toughness, and melt away after the combat. Regions that have experienced Unrest do not produce any resources, and another check is rolled next turn to see if the Unrest continues with new Guerrillas arising. Invaders may quell Unrest by deploying military garrisons (most Infantry have a special ability that helps quell Unrest) or by declaring Martial Law, which is costly and imposes a Happiness hit on the rest of the House, but ends the resistance immediately.
So! As you may have noted, I did do away with the Council of Lords since I couldn't think of a
reasonable way to manage that. This is still pretty outline-y; in particular, The World, Patrician Action and Unit/Character Specials all need to be written down and incorporated. I decided to go with the simplified combat route, more Risk and less RPS. Unit special abilities are intended to be rather indirect and have less to do with combat itself- you'll see what I mean when I get around to writing that shit down.
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Topic: Roller's Block (RTD Brainstorming Thread) (HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY) (Derm is 5k) (Read 743499 times)