Warlords of Antiquity
Rules and Player sign-up
In this game of conquest set in 272 BCE, players control the decisions of their nation and may engage in diplomacy, warfare, and skullduggery to achieve victory!
VICTORY CONDITION: First player to own 100 regions wins the game.
Starting World Map:
I recommend opening world map image in a new browser tab for clarity. You will also be able to zoom in.
The Regions on this map will be filled with different colors depending on which faction/country owns it.
This is the starting map on Turn 0, where each faction/country owns 1 region to start with.
Map Legend (Factions)
Map Legend (Factions)
These are the available factions you can play as in this game. I've included a zoomed-in image of the factions' starting locations to help you find them on the world map.
- Athens = Light Yellow
- Sparta = Brown
- Pergamon = Hot Pink
- Macedon = Dark Blue
- Getae = Dark Brown
- Scythia = Gold
- Egypt = Light Purple
- Seleucid = Blue-Gray
- Aorsoi = Green
- Parthia = Purple
- Baktria = Sky Blue
- Suebi = Salmon Pink
- Boii = Aqua
- Rome = Red
- Carthage = Gray
- Epirus = Tan
- Gallaeci = Cream
- Arverni = Dark Green
- Pontus = Orange
- Iceni = Blue
Turns
Turns
This will be a turn based game, where each turn is 24 hours. All players will post their moves once per day, and the GM (me) will post an updated Map every 24 hours with the result of attacks/movements/new territory conquered/etc.
You can win the game by owning 100 regions.
Please note: if a player does not post a move in time (in the 24-hour window) he/she will basically skip that turn.
How to Join, and GM-controlled Factions
How to Join, and GM-controlled Factions
To join the game, you need to choose a faction. Simply comment here with the faction you'd like to play, and I will add you to the game. Scroll up to the "Map Legend (Factions)" section to see the list of factions.
GM-controlled factions
If not all factions are claimed by players when the game starts (sometime next week, perhaps June 28th or 29th), the Game Master (GM - which is me) will control the unclaimed factions to balance the map. New players can still join at any time! When a new player joins the game, they can choose any (one) GM-controlled faction to take, and that faction will be given to that new player.
Factions controlled by the GM:
- Cannot win the game!
- Cannot perform Assassination or Rebellion missions with Secret Agents
- Can engage in diplomacy
- Plays passively (cannot attack a player unless attacked)
Additionally:
- A player can only switch factions if their faction owns less than 5 regions.
- A GM-controlled faction with 75 or more regions cannot be taken over by a player because it is too close to the 100 region victory condition. Again, GM-controlled factions cannot win the game.
Map: some rules
Map: some rules
As mentioned before, this is the starting map. Regions will be colored in as the game progresses depending on which faction owns it:
I recommend opening this map image in a new browser tab for clarity.
The thick black lines are mountain ranges, and are impassable. If you want to attack a region on the other side of the mountain, you will have to go around the mountain. There are 14 sea zones. Sea zones are labeled, and separated by black lines.
A white area of 14 pixels or bigger with black borders around it is considered a region. A white area smaller than 14 pixels is considered part of the nearest region to it.
To attack a region on a map, simply color in that region with your faction's color, and post the map. Alternatively, you can just say something like “Attack the northern regions of my empire”, or “Attack Crete [just an example]” and that is also fine.
Depending on your dice rolls (more on this later) you may or may not be successful in capturing a region. I will post the updated map at the end of each turn.
Your starting region is your capital. You will find out how to build the other structures (cities, fortifications) below.
Prestige
Prestige
Your faction's Prestige is a big factor in the game. The more Prestige your faction has, the more Moves you will be able to perform each turn.
1-25 Prestige: 1 move per turn
26-60 Prestige: 2 moves per turn
61-65 Prestige: 3 moves per turn
(65 is the maximum Prestige)
All factions start off with 1 Prestige at the beginning of the game.
Your Prestige can increase (or decrease!) depending on what actions you take in the game.
Throughout the rules you will see specifically how much Prestige you gain or lose by certain these actions.
Moves and Dice Rolls
Moves
A player can do a certain amount of Moves per turn. The amount of moves allowed is determined by that player's “Prestige”.
Things that count as "Moves":
- Moving your Capital (New players, meaning players that have played for less than 5 turns, can move their capital for FREE)
- Attacking a Region (by land or sea)
- Attacking a fleet
- Building something (Great City, Fortification, or fleet)
- Repairing a fleet
- Moving a fleet from one sea zone to another
Diplomatic actions (making alliances, declaring war, etc.) are FREE. You do not need to use Movement points on those.
Dice Rolls
For each Move you wish to perform, the GM (me) will roll the dice to see how successful you were.
All dice rolls are public and will be performed using https://rolz.org, so there can be no cheating. I will post the link to the Dice Room with every turn so it is public record. Only some Secret Agent dice rolls will be kept hidden, and even those will be revealed once the game ends.
Now for the fun stuff
Regions and Invasions
Regions and Invasions
Attack by Sea
To attack a coastal region by sea, you first need to have a fleet in that naval zone. Naval zones are labeled, and are divided by black lines on the map (Ex: Eastern Mediterranean, West Mediterranean, Black Sea, etc.).
Attack by Land
You can only attack a region that you are in contact with (meaning, one of your regions is touching the enemy region that you want to attack).
The GM will roll a virtual 6-faced dice (https://rolz.org) to see how successful you were in your attack.
[0] = Crushing Defeat (You are unable to attack this region next turn)(-2 Prestige)
[1] = Clear Defeat (-1 penalty for your next attack on this region. Penalty expires after the next turn.)(-1 Prestige)
[2] = Average Defeat
[3] = Close Defeat (+1 bonus for your next attack on this region. Bonus expires after the next turn.)
[4] = Pyrrhic Victory
[5] = Average Victory (+1 Prestige)
[6] = Clear Victory (+1 Prestige)
[7] = Heroic Victory! (+2 Prestige)
[8] = Legendary Victory! (+3 Prestige)
If your final score is 4, 5, 6, or 7 congratulations! You have taken the region, and depending on what you rolled, maybe you even got a Prestige bonus!
However if you got a 0, 1, 2, or 3, you were not able to take the region, and maybe even got an Prestige penalty.
If you got a 0 or 1, the enemy has a chance to counter-attack! The GM will roll the dice again to see if the counterattack was successful (counterattack has a 50% success rate):
- [1, 2, or 3] = Counterattack fails. You are safe.
- [4, 5, or 6] = Counterattack is successful, and the enemy takes YOUR region that you attacked from. (If you attacked by sea, your fleet is destroyed.)
Importance of Capital region
Normally it takes a Move to change your Capital from one region to another. New players (those who have played less that 5 turns) can change their Capital without using a Move.
If you lose your capital region you will lose 3 Prestige. However, if your capital is taken by another player, or you lose it due to rebellion, you can assign a new capital without using a move.
If you don't assign a new capital you lose 3 Prestige every turn.
Losing all of your regions
A player who loses all his/her regions to another player will be able to make a revolt once every two turns in the province they last owned. The GM will roll to determine the results of the attempted revolt. A player who doesn't have any regions in 4 turns will be eliminated.
Rules (Parts 2-4) continued in the comments below (due to character limitation for Posts)
