The 'rules' of campaign

 Hi all, having done the scene setting for my new campaign (see here, here, here and here for a catch up) i thought i would go a little into the rules I'm imposing on this project. First thing to say is that i am playing solo and have no preference for any of the factions. Its an exercise in story telling and narrative scenario building to create a period of 'history' so strict adherence to any rules will only be taken so far. I reserve the right to ignore these rules at any point if there is a cool story building and i feel going in one direction or another will add to the narrative.

 That being said there are a few bits and bobs i want to show you before i write up the first battle.

Ye olde Campaign mappe:

Each action will be tracked on the map, this should give some context to the who, where and what of each action. The map is as shown in previous posts but i have added flags to denote the armies in the field of each faction. Each is led by a dedicated staff and the number on each flag will allow me to keep track of which leader is where. The size of each army is denoted by its relative size on the map. The armies are thousands of men strong (between 5000- 20000) and it is assumed they will not commit all their troops to one battle so its not a 'one and done' shot with them. It is also assumed they are well stocked and re-enforced to survive in the field until such a time as they cant!.

  The map moves will be as clear as i can make them but time is a factor i will not be paying much attention to, its not going to follow any kind of  turn structure, i may 'zoom in' to several places if the action is hotting up there and ignore other areas only to go back in time so to speak to cover other battles that have happened while i was elsewhere. I suppose i am taking the roll of film director rather than campaign controller in the classic wargame sense. In this way distances moved will also be abstracted on the whole.

  The current moves are shown above and next time out i will detail the first action (between Crivenshire 2nd army and the 3rd Fossestershire force). It shows the armies raised by the shires currently in action (Fossestershire and Royal Crivenshire have publicly raised forces to contest the interim rulership and Offenhammeshire have done so 'on the quiet', their intentions so far unknown).

Reaction charts

  These i will use for armies that have either had an opposing force move close to them or that have lost a battle and will be used to make decisions to add a random element to the narrative.

 When an army looses a game it will roll 1d10 and consult this table:

1 or less: Total Surrender!
               The army is defeated and removed from the map. If it is a force commanded by that shires Earl all field armies are held on the same terms and the whole shires forces come under the command of the shire that forced the reaction!.

2-4  Retreat and rally!
       The army will move away into clear ground in such a way that an attacking enemy may not attack them without moving closer first.

5-8 Retreat and hold!
    The army moves away and as above but not so far as to avoid attack. It will move to a defencive position if it can.

9-10 Counter strike!
      The army may have been pushed back but is far from defeated!. At its next opportunity it will throw men into the attack against the army that defeated them!.

 The rolling force must -1 from the roll for each consecutive battle lost after the first.

 When a force moves close enough to an enemy to become a direct threat the force that is being threatened must roll 1d10 and consult the following:

1 Offer terms!
   The commander will make moves to contact the enemy commander with an offer of surrender!. The threatened army is then removed from the game!. If it is the Earls force that rolls this result the forces army all surrender and its forces come under the control of the enemy that caused the result!.

2-3 Retreat!
   The force will move away from the enemy in such a way that it is not being threatened any more.

4-7 On Guard
    The force stays put ready to react to whatever the enemy may try!.

8-10 Attack!!
     The threatened force will attack as soon as able!.

  The rolling force must -1 from the roll for each consecutive battle lost after the first.

Note: i do reserve the right to either not roll or ignore the result if it would benefit the narrative to do so!.

Other factions

   The shires may be the ruling powers but they are not alone in the land. There are many other forces that will be featured that have their own aims and motivations!. Their are also several mercenary forces with little care than gold!. these forces may become involved if hired by another force, although they are a little 'unreliable' to say the least!.

Magic
  Whats a fantasy world without magic?. Now i sit in the 'low fantasy' camp. I like to use magic as seasoning rather than it being all powerful. In this campaign i am going to follow the magic rules i included in my Blood, Guts and rampant hex rules:

For ages past mighty wizards have been taking to the battlefields to aid the aims of Kings and Despots the world over in their struggles. Often the humble magic lobber was the difference between victory and defeat, and thus their stock rose to that of mighty (if slightly odd) heroes of battle!. However becoming a 'star player' on the field of battle paints a pretty large target on your backside and thus sure as eggs come out of lady poultry enemy commanders were seeking new and extreme ways to turn opposing wizards into gravy!. Turning the enemy Spell caster into an interesting collection of puncture wounds was the order of the day and soon it became rare for a wizard to survive very long when the cannons roared!.
    Around this time a collection of (singed and grazed) spell mumblers came together to see if anything could be done to increase their life expectancy. After a spirited discussion it was decided that a wizards place was in front of a roaring fire with a sherry and a nice bit of cake in a large tower rather than the cut and thrust of battle. Thus, the Spellcasters Trust for the protection of wizards of all types (S.T.P.W.T) was born!. To this end Wizards now refuse to enter battle, in their place a commander may purchase scrolls containing spells that they can bloody well cast themselves!!. This innovation means the wizards may have the desired effect on the battle without the worry of being run through by large, hairy, sweaty warrior types with no appreciation for the finer magical arts mid incantation!. Of course it has not been without its teething troubles but all new things will have bugs to iron out. Some scrolls are miss spelled (sometimes literally!) and can do more harm than good, not to mention the fact that wizards are known to have a poor grip on admin, resulting in scrolls turning up late or not at all!!. However these issues have not slowed the demand for battlefield magic, the industry for magic scrolls is in major growth and has made the wizards not just safer but considerably richer for it!.

 I will use whatever magic system is included in the rules i am using for a game but will work out a way for spells to be single use by a unit and determined at random before the game. There will also be a chance no magic will be available!.

 There will also be a few 'unlicensed' magic users around Olde Albilande that live on their own terms and may be persuaded to join forces with various factions to suit their own ends!. 

Rule Systems
   I will probably switch between whatever rules suit the size and type of action being played at the time but i think the story is the thing so i'm happy to chop and change. I am also finishing off my own mass battle system at the mo so i may use that even though it is in its testing stage as it kills two birds with one stone and will put pressure on me to get on with finishing them and writing them up!.


 Anyway, i hope this post will help make my intentions for the coming campaign clear(ish), basically its a story that will be shaped by gaming and i will continue to use several narrative posts to set the scene and fill narrative holes between battles (taking the place of the prologues i have used for my AARs) where needed. Next up, 'The battle of Phlemm Valley'!.

The battle of Phlemm Valley, coming soon!

.......'till next time........