Bay 12 Games Forum

INTRODUCTION:

A Player (maximum of 10?) picks a State, a Color (Red, Gold, Green, Cyan, Orange, Silver, Purple, White, Teal, Lavender), and from there, they must take control of neighbouring lands and grow in strength.

Only then can they start a campaign to forge a new Empire that shall rule over the Mediterranean and the Ancient World!

If any Player gets eliminated, another can take their color, pick an independent State, and try their hand in the fight for the throne.

TURN ORDER:

The turns of all Players are SIMULTANEOUS. Orders can be sent through Personal Messages to the GM (Haspen), or if you're not caring about what people see, in the game thread itself.

For your orders to be valid, they must be bolded using the forum bbcode.

A simple example of a Player's turn:

5 Grain for Defense of Ecbatana.
5 Grain for Investing of Ecbatana.
10 Grain for Conquest of Assyria.

You cannot edit your orders once you've send the post! Think twice before posting!!

STATES AND EMPIRES:

The map is divided into 87 States, each with its own number (check NAMES spoiler for a list of names). A Player starts with one State.

You also choose the defining trait of your Nation:

A) Martial: +2 Grain when Attacking/Defending via Land.
B) Oligarchy: +5 Grain bonus.
C) Plutocracy: Investments require 3 Grain instead of 5.
D) Maritime: Can establish Trade Routes across 4 Sea Regions; +2 Trade Routes.

Each Player starts with 10 Grain, which is used to support their forces when conquering and defending, and can be used to invest into states so that they generate more Grain.

Once you have 4 Provinces with total Grain output of at least 25, you can create an Empire.

There's special Grain bonus for being an Empire: a non-State dependent +5 to your Grain count, and this bonus persists until end of the game (or your early demise).

To win the game, you must establish a world-spanning Empire.

First, you must control 40 or more Provinces.
Second, your dominion must be continuous; any gaps between your provinces (whether due to rebels, or other Players' conquest) must be filled up with your glorious state color!

INDEPENDENT STATES:

Non-Player States will always dedicate themselves to defense of their borders, meaning that their Grain will always be spent on Defense.

The independent States will never use Grain for Conquests, nor they will Invest Grain to improve their economy. Fools, all of them!

GRAIN AND INVESTMENTS:

Grain is used twofold; to supply soldiers fighting abroad or defending the states, or to improve the economy of the state.

If you do not dedicate any Grain to defense of a province, any opportunistic Player can simply walk their well-fed soldiers into it and automatically take control of the state!
The more Grain you dedicate for defense, the greater chances of repelling the enemy. Same with conquering your neighbours; the more Grain you set aside for the conquest, the greater chances of success.

You can also Invest your Grain in a State that you control. Each State at start lets you use 10 Grain per Turn.
For each 5 Grain Invested into a State, the State will provide you with 1 extra Grain, starting from next Turn.

Example: You have 90 Grain, and your home State, Athens, provides you with 15 Grain. If you invest half of your Grain, 45, into Athens, this will raise Athens' Grain output to 24 (15 + [45/5=9] = 24).

CONQUESTS, DEFENSE, AND THE DIE OF WAR:

Once you decide to conquer some of your neighbours, you must know that each combat is resolved using a d10 die. You can only Conquer States adjacent to the ones you control (or across Seas, look into paragraph below).

Combat formula is simple: d10 + Grain = your number. If you roll higher than the opponents' defending force, you win and the State is yours!

Example: You decide to conquer State of Waset, and dedicate 19 Grain to the task. State of Waset can afford to dedicate only 12 Grain for defense of its borders. You roll is 6, their roll is 4. 19+6 = 25, 12+4 = 16. State of Waset loses the fight and its lands are now yours!

If a State is attacked by more than 1 Player at once, the Grain spent on Defense is spread as equally as possible with any leftover spent against the Player with highest amount of Grain dedicated to the conquest.
If a State is defeated by more than 1 Player at once, the control of the State falls into the hands of the Player that dedicated more Grain into the State's Conquest.

Once a State is conquered, inevitably there will be looting, pillaging and destruction at hands of victorious soldiers. The Grain output of the State is thus HALVED, and the new owner of the devastated land will need to re-invest into it.

THE SCARY SEAS OF ANCIENT WORLD:

Seas are labeled A to W, allowing conquest of islands and opposite shores of Mediterranean (and beyond!). Oversea conquest require preparations and preparations require extra Grain; to launch an attack across a sea, you must spend extra 5 Grain on the attack.

Note that this requirement is NOT in effect if you have a land state adjacent to the target - then its assumed your attack simply comes through that land state instead.

Example: You own Umbria, in Italy, and decide to attack Dalmatia, in the Balkans, and spend 15 Grain on this attack. This means only 10 Grain will be used to attack Dalmatia, while 5 Grain will be spent on 'preparations'.

TRADE ROUTES:

A Trade Route grants a +3 Grain bonus per Trade Route to both sides of the Trade Route. You can have 2 Trade Routes at once. (4 if you're Maritime).

You can establish Trade Route with your immediate land neighbours, or you can set water trade routes across 2 Sea Regions (4 if you're Maritime).

Independent Nations will require to be 'gifted' 5 Grain to establish a Trade Route; establishing a Trade Route with another Player only requires their consent.

Independent Nations will break the Trade Route if attacked; Players can dismantle Trade Routes as they please.

LANDS:
1 Sparta
2 Corinth
3 Athens
4 Epirus
5 Thessaly
6 Macedonia
7 Thrace
8 Crete
9 Cyprus
10 Lydia
11 Mysia
12 Paphlagonia
13 Pontus
14 Galatia
15 Cillicia
16 Cappadocia
17 Armenia
18 Media
19 Mesopotamia
20 Ecbatana
21 Assyria
22 Babilon
23 Phoenicia
24 Judea
25 Phillistia
26 Mafkat
27 Nabatea
28 Waset
29 Nubia
30 Men-nefer
31 Buto
32 Siwa
33 Antipyrgus
34 Libya
35 Leptis Magna
36 Oea
37 Cartago
38 Syracuse
39 Megale Hellas
40 Roma
41 Sardinia
42 Corsica
43 Mediolanum
44 Etruria
45 Umbria
46 Aquileia
47 Raetia
48 Carnutia
49 Biturigia
50 Masilia
51 Narbonensis
52 Tarraco
53 Gades
54 Baleares
55 Baetica
56 Numidia
57 Mauretania
58 Sala
59 Tingis
60 Lusitania
61 Hispania
62 Gallicia
63 Asturia
64 Aquitania
65 Gallia
66 Bretonia
67 Belgica
68 Atrebatea
69 Cornovia
70 Icenia
71 Frisia
72 Saxonia
73 Suebia
74 Sugambria
75 Hermunduria
76 Noricum
77 Pannonia
78 Dalmatia
79 Illyria
80 Moesia
81 Scythia
82 Dacia
83 Sarmatia
84 Cimmeria
85 Taman
86 Alania
87 Caucassia

SEAS:

A German Sea
B The Channel
C Coast of Aquitania
D Coast of Gallicia
E Coast of Lusitania
F Pillars of Heracles
G Coast of Mauritania
H Ligurian Sea
I Tyrrhenian Sea
J Sea of Sicily
K Libyan Sea
L Ionian Sea
M Adriatic Sea
N Straits of Corinth
O Coast of Egypt
P Palestinian Coast
Q Red Sea
R Coast of Cillicia
S Sea of Crete
T Aegean Sea
U Western Black Sea
W Eastern Black Sea

Players:
Chaunce Bellamy: 21/25 (NO WEAPON)
Eloise van der Boore: 17/25
Joram Jolyon: 9/20
Jorne Karsson: 16/24 (NO WEAPON)
Lucas Dreyfus: 24/24
Margrethe de Ruyter: 8/20
Marietta Lancaster: 18/22
Marion Casier: 21/22
Markus Bridger: 20/21
Orietta Fiorina: 18/21
Sylvianne Bismarck: 19/21

Allies:
Cedric von Sachsen: 12/24
Johannes van Dyck: 20/26

Enemies:
Haakon A: -6/28
Haakon B: 28/28
Haakon C: 28/28
Haakon D: 0/28
Haakon E: 28/28
Haakon F: -2/28
Haakon G: -35/28
Haakon H: -20/28
Chuck A: -2/25
Chuck B: -2/25
Chuck C: 0/25
Chuck D: -8/25
Chuck E: -6/25
Chuck F: -10/25
Chuck G: -7/25
Poocher A: 22/22
Poocher B: -20/22
Poocher C: 22/22
Poocher D: -18/22
Poocher E: -4/22
Volk Svagen: 30/30

Doors&Walls:
Wooden Door 6.13: 30/30HP, 5 DEF
Cracked Wall 13.13: 20/20HP
Cracked Wall 16.3: 20/20HP
Cracked Wall 18.6: 20/20HP

We are the mighty Qing!

And there's a swarm of rats gnawing upon your divine feet.

Rebels - nationalists, patriots, peasants, pretenders - pop up in our provinces with alarming frequency.



Despite military presence of the Banners in most inflamed provinces, the seditious thought is still high.

And we simply cannot afford to have a High Judge at the court, too.



Some previously Mongol provinces have become Qing cores.

The worst is behind us, for now.



We don't need either +10 revolt risk nor a regiment of arquebusiers that the 1st option gives.

The 2nd does spawn the heretics, but Seventh Banner is nearby. It will deal with the rebels.



Things have calmed down, and it has emboldened us to begin a move into Easternmost Siberia.

We gotta secure the coastline before Europeans do so.



As if on cue, our Diplomat has died of old age.

Perfect opportunity to get a High Judge, especially that the one we've bought is of Rank 6!



That doesn't stop the Vietnamese to raise against our glorious overlordship!

Alarmingly so, their main peasant troop is larger than any of our banners.



Sixth and Eight Banners together storm the province of Binh Tri Thien!

The battle is a ferocious one, but what can peasants do against might of Manchu banners?

After this battle, which sees a third of their men killed, the Vietnamese disperse, fleeing into jungles of swamps of Viet.



Even if this guy ascended when exactly 15, this puts him at 73 years of age.

What a champ! This was your irregularly scheduled Europe News!



And so ends the regency - Emperor Huang Taiji now rules alone!

Immediately he gathers the Ministers of his court for a meeting.



"Ours is the glory and prosperity of the Middle Kingdom. But what have Europeans?" The Ministers were silent.

"Europeans have firearms and bureaucracy better organized than ours." The Ministers gasped in shock.




"So as to progress, we must adopt their ways of science and philosophy. It is the only path we can take!"

Few weeks later, the conservative Ministers began organizing a resistance against European influence in Qing Empire.

The Emperor agreed to their demands, but only temporarily, to lower the anger of the peoples - the reforms remain in place.



Our Emperor however does not stop with his reforms, and accepts a new Judiciary system.

It helps a bit with revolt risk, which will be crucial in the coming decades.



Blessed be the work of our High Judge Hoogle Folun!

Obviously we take the free Stability boost.



As the years pass by in relative quiet, Emperor Huang Taiji is pushing for more and more reforms.

This time, to combat piracy and make us look less of a bloodthirsty horde we were two centuries ago.



True enlightment awaits us in the near future.

For that, we shall build some Fine Arts Academies, just like those in European kingdoms of Tuscany and Burgundy!

We're doing that mostly for stability investment.



But the Heavens themselves have been angered by Huang Taiji's progressivism!

They've struck down the Crown Prince, and there's no heir ready to take over if our current Emperor dies.



Jugjur, one of the most strategically placed Siberian provinces, connecting with many others, is now our colony!

In the future, when the Siberian lands are properly developed, we might place a Centre of Trade there.



Emperor Huang Taiji is the great administrator we've needed.

Under his economic policies, our inflation drops quite rapidly!



Gold has been struck in Jugjur, making it our second ever gold mine. This is a good sign!



Prosperous is the rule of Emperor Huang Taiji, and the astrologers have proclaimed establishment of a new era of peace and glory.

But the position of Crown Prince is still vacant, and the Emperor is not getting any younger. When shall there be prosperity within the Imperial family, just like there is in the rest of China?

Why can't men of Aisin Gioro be like Jan I Hrvatinic, King of Celje? He lived all the way to February 1668... we need to prod the Slovenes about secrets of immortality!

1. notquitethere, Taoist Kingdom of Qi (+5): Qi (14), Guzhu (12), Guo (, Ji (, Lai (13), Lu (4), Tan (, Teng (2), Nie (2), Cao (2), Song (3), Han ( = 89
2. Kashyyk, Confucian State of Wu: Wu (34), Zhong Li (5), Ying (5), Xi (4), Chao (4), Xue (4) = 56
3. flazeo25, Mohist Kingdom of Shu (+5): Shu (13), Kui (5), Xun (5), Qiang (5), Ba (5), Qin (5), Bao (5), Yelang (5), Quanrong (5), Yiqu (5), Deng (5), Shen (5), Zhuang (5), Bai Pu (5), Dun (5), Luo (5), Chu (4) = 97
4. evictedSaint, Confucian Kingdom of Jin (+5): Jin (16), Zheng (5), Wey (5), Quwo (5), Bai Di (5), Bing (5), Zhou (, Chen (5), Zhongshan (4), Tang (3), Yan (4), Fei (4), Ju (4) = 78