I had a dream

[Warwick]

And this will forever mark me as a Warlord nutcase. I had a dream in which I designed a new map campaign system. Damn, if it doesn't look cool in the light of day. It's an unexplored area map in squares. Each square is a blank until someone explores it, then it gets a roll on a chart to see what is there. Each square also has a number on the four flat sides. If you want to attack an occupied square, the two numbers tell you what kind of forces you can bring. So if Player A has the number 1 on his side and Player B has the number 7, the battle is going to be 100 points vs 700. Sure, it's a bloodbath, but in this campaign each model has to be paid for. So if I can kill 150 points with my 100 points, that's a victory of sorts for me. Especially if I focus on killing off Player B's Shieldmaidens so he has to buy more next turn instead of Skadi. Also, this means I might want to move my army to another flat side, on which favors me instead of him.

Okay, it's not perfect. It was a dream. I'm lucky I got this much out of it. I would make a bunch of changes, but the basics are kinda neat. It's like I'm stealing ideas from myself.

And the map in the dream was really cool looking.

[Warwick]

I would change it from square to hexes. The numbers on each flat side wouldn't be 1-10. More like (1d12 x 100) + 400. 500-1600 points. Then have letters beside the numbers. So my hex shows 700D and yours is 900M. I get 700 points and the D grants me the Bog Witch as a free solo. You have 900 points and M grants you the ability to set up last after all my units are placed. I think this would be a good campaign about destroying a single hex. I strive to slow you down and you have to drive to the center of my empire and flatten it. You win if you ever take my capital. I win if I hold out.

On the 20th turn, the invaders get their final chance to buy new models. After that, anything lost is lost for good, so use it wisely. You won't buy points in a model by model mode. You put points in Grunts, Adepts, Elites, Solos, and Leaders. So if I have 250 points in Adepts I can buy any amount of Adepts (within army building guidelines) for the upcoing battle. But each Crimson Knight I lose is subtrcated from my Adept total at the end of battle. This means next turn if I want 10 Crimson Knights again I better put more gold into Adepts, or go with skeletons until I can find more gold.

Hmm, I better write this up. Good dream, eh?

[Stubbdog]

dang you and your ability to totally distract me from work... LOL

[Arbiter10]

Your ideas sound interesting; I'd like to read more. The big question I have at the moment is what would be the fluff behind random-sized forces (500-1600 points)? What's going on in the campaign world that prevents the commanders from knowing exactly how many soldiers they're bringing to the battle?

[Warwick]

I don't know. My subconscious wanted unbalanced battles. But I've worked a way into the rules to bring more troops by paying extra gold. Not very cost effective, but it's going to be an option. Just because you know the Reven are bringing 1,200 points doesn't change how many men you have behind you. So you only brought 750. Make 'em count. Pick your battles, if you can. Warlord is skirmish. This isn't about two huge forces smashing against each other on a plain of freshly mown grass. So I guess it really isn't a huge capitol I'm trying to defend. More like a fortified town.

Army lists will have to be made before each battle, because you won't know what to build until then. After three turns of careful moving, I attack the Reven force when they are weakest (I'm attacking from a 1,100 hex to a 800 hex!) His hex grants him a bonus of a special spell available to any spellcaster, so he builds an 800 point list with two mages. I build a 1,100 point list with loads of fast moves to counter his mages. Game on.

[Warwick]

Start with 2,000 gold and nothing else. You spend gold to gain points for different categories. Leader, Elite, Grunts, Adepts, and Solos. Any equipment added to a model counts as gold from that category. You must purchase a model from its original category, not where you end up placing it (the Moor Hound is a Solo and must be paid from your Solo fund, even if you use as an Elite). Each player may buy category points before the game begins. After that you may only buy category points on your turn.

 

You get one army token per full 1000 points you have in all five categories. This token represents an army under your control. Example: Before my game begins I purchase 200 Leader, 200 Elite, 600 Adept, 200 Soldier, and 300 Solo. Left over 500 goes into my gold coffer for later turns. I have one army token.

 

 

This army token moves across the map, exploring and fighting. On your turn each token may take one action. These actions are Explore, Attack, or Recruit. If you Explore, you move into a blank hex, you roll to see what is there and for each of the six sides. If you Recruit, you make a roll on the recruit chart and see if you can get more men (or whatevers) to add directly into your category funds. To Attack you must be next to a hex controlled by an opponent. It does not matter if there is an army token in that hex, it still counts as an Attack. Your opponent can then decide to move an army token of his into the hex to block you, thus starting a battle on the tabletop. If an army token is already there, the fight begins. A defender cannot retreat without a battle of the size dictated by the hex numbers.

 

 

Any time an enemy wants to invade a hex you control, you can spend gold to either move an army token to engage and/or boost your army up to his level if there is a point difference. For every hex you move, you spend 50 gold. For every point you want to increase your army size during that battle, you spend 2 gold. This gold is lost after the battle.

 

Example: Dwarves move to Attack my hex containing the Small Village. I don't like that. Even though I have an army token three hexes away, I announce I am sending troops to block him. That's 150 gold from my coffers right away. Next I see Dwarves get 1,200 points and I get a close 900. I don't want to be overrun when I think I can take him, so I spend some gold to increase what I can bring. I spend 400 gold from my coffer and now can field 1,100. Close enough. Especially since the Small Village has the special ability "Any Defender gains the Bane Trait"! Let's see how the Dwarves like it!

 

Dead isn't dead. Models taken off the field get a chance to only be wounded, scared, lost, etc. At the end of the game, after all Tough checks have been made, the models that are "dead" are given another roll. Each category gets its own set of rolls. For example, you get 1d10 for each Grunt model slain. Roll all of them. For each 9 or 10, pick one Grunt to return to your service. The others are actually dead and subtracted from your Grunt category. Do this for each other category.

 

Retire the Field. Not every battle should go to the last man. If you're getting smashed and just want to escape, you may do so by Retiring the Field. Also called running away, you baby. You must announce this on the start of a turn before any cards are flipped. At the end of that turn, your models begin leaving the field of battle in whatever format you can describe, but try to retain some dignity. Models not engaged in close combat are simply removed. Models in close combat must stay and try to get free. On the next turn, models left behind in close combat must break free in the usual manner, then count as having fled the field.

 

After you have activated each army token, you can use your gold to buy more category points. Depending on how much fighting there was, this might be a lot. Then you pass the turn to the next player and get yourself a well-earned beverage.

[Warwick]

Left out something small. GOLD! Yes, you get gold for holding certain hexes. At the end of your army token phase and before spending any gold on new category points, you gather gold from taxes, extortion, payments, royalties, whatever. Then you can spend it! And not just on category points. You can buy an Advisor. Or an Assassin. Or cool sunglasses, only 3 gold and such a bargain.

[Saint Vierzehn]

I like it. I'd love to see a proper campaign kick off.

 

-StV.

[rgtriplec]

Interesting. I've never played in a campaign. It seems complicated but I'm sure after a round or two it would seem second hand. I think we should be able to kill the retreating enemy, the cowards that run. They should have to exit the board, not just be taken off. Getting potshots lobbed at them. Isn't that what archers are for?

 

Or, If they annouce their retreat the guys left behind should become my prisoners if they fail their breakaway. Then I can sell them for gold at the slave auction. Now see that's fun. I'd love to auction off the Witch Queen or some bone marines. Or, they could be forced into conscription.

 

Also the guys that are left behind should have like a -2 to dis, being left behind would be bad for morale.

[Warwick]

The great thing about Warlord is it can have dozens of campaign systems and all of them can be cool. This is one I'm just throwing together. I have another one, the card-based campaign, which will get more attention. A campaign system can be as simple as a linked story line or as complex as the one in the core rulebook. I'm a big fan of systems with options between battles.

I like the idea of having to ransom back your own guys. I need to work that in when someone flees. Good ideas.

[Gaming Glen]

Interesting. I've never played in a campaign. It seems complicated but I'm sure after a round or two it would seem second hand. I think we should be able to kill the retreating enemy, the cowards that run. They should have to exit the board, not just be taken off. Getting potshots lobbed at them. Isn't that what archers are for?

 

That's what cavalry are for, also. But I guess removing "retreating" units immediately speeds up play.

 

Or, If they annouce their retreat the guys left behind should become my prisoners if they fail their breakaway. Then I can sell them for gold at the slave auction. Now see that's fun. I'd love to auction off the Witch Queen or some bone marines. Or, they could be forced into conscription.

 

Also the guys that are left behind should have like a -2 to dis, being left behind would be bad for morale.

 

"Hey witchy, get me my slippers!" *crack goes the whip* "And a beer!"

 

*settles back in the comfy chair*

 

"Ah, it's good to be the king."

 

 

I still wonder about the random force size. I could see maybe the terrain having something to do with it, like a defensive position that has a limit on the number of troops to be effective and the limited access to it might keep the number of attackers down, but I don't see this happening in every location.

 

Speaking of which, has anyone played a "storm the castle" scenario and do the defenders have enough of an advantage that they could be, say, half the force size of the attackers?

[Stubbdog]

What about something to the idea of having gold and silver instead of just gold.

 

Silver would be used to spend on leaders and soldiers. Gold would be used on elites and solos. And the two cannot be intertwined. You still allocate like you said before, but I know plenty of people that never buy solos or never take elites. They just load up with their favorite adepts. By splitting the money types into types that require spending in those categories, it somewhat insures people will bring something from those categories too.

 

Also, question. I think I understand your concept of the blind roll once you explore a new territory. But, the conept of the edges is throwing me off. If I explore a new hex and the middle is 5D5 (5 gold, hex bonus D, 5 silver) that makes sense. But, then one of the edges has a 100elves meaning I have to fight 100 elves to go that direction? And if I do go that direction and win does that 100 elves disapear? What if my opponent has his army token in that next hex, would I have to fight 100elves plus whatever his army has in it?

 

If a plyer has multiple army tokens, are those tokens associated wth the same models, or you had said that they make new army lists each fight so does that mean that it doesnt matter which army token is there, the pool of models to choose from is open to any model purchased? Example, over on the left in hex 1, player A attacks the hex owned by player B. Player B spends the money to send an army chip there. HE builds his army and they fight. Next turn Player B goes and he chooses to activate army chip 2 over on the right and attack hex 12. Is he able to use the same models in his army build or are they considered not available since they just fought over in Hex 1?

[Warwick]

I'm in my hex and you are in the next hex. The flat side between our hexes is a line. On my side of the line is "700X". On your side of the line is "1100B". If I Attack you, or you Attack me, the fight will be my 700 vs your 1100. Now the Attacker is the only one who gets the bonus from the letter. The Defender gets a bonus from whatever is in the hex. If I am Defending a Sacred Ground hex, I might get Smite Evil 2 on all models. You get the "B", which could be all Attacker ranged attacks have +2 RAV.

 

Tokens are generic. They only mean some force is there. Once a battle is going to start, then you build your army with the forces you have in your categories and the limits of the hexes. I was treating all the models, even the unique, as being generic enough for there to be more than one. So if I fight two battles on my turn I could use the Grave Horror in both. I might make Warlords unique enough to not be able to do this.

 

Hmm, gold and silver? I'm liking that twist.

[rgtriplec]

I guess not running down the retreating army would speed up the game. But taking prisoners is a great idea. You could sell them for their cost, or trade them in prisoner exchanges. Each faction could also have a chief enemy where if you took prisoners you get double their cost. So if the gobins capture a shieldmaiden they get 140pnts vs the normal 70.

[Saint Vierzehn]

I like the idea of having to ransom back your own guys. I need to work that in when someone flees. Good ideas.

 

You need to be careful about bonusses/penalties that carry over between fights. If someone wins big in their first two fights, they might turn into an unstoppable juggernaut for the rest of the campaign. It can also lead to situations where one player will be at a disadvantage because his opponent fought a softie in the last round.

 

It's ususally best to keep those sorts of bonusses/penalties small, and not have them carry over for more than one round.

 

-StV.