KOTR Postmortem and Next-Gen Rules Discussion

[gibsonsg91921]

If we're planning on 20-30 people, we may want to think about how big of a mod we'd be downloading. The smaller the mod, the more likely I can do it. I'm sure my parents would leap at the chance to get my out of this game. If that means sacrificing myself for the greater good, so be it. I did ejaculate when I read the rules, however. (Not really, proverbially)

[Zim]

There's one thing I've been wondering about, although it may just be that I've missed something. How do units not from private/royal armies figure into Civil Wars? If the Chancellor favors one side, can he give extra units to their knights? Or can he recruit extra units for the private armies of one side, while only doing the minimum he is required to (not disbanding units, retraining) for the other?

[TinCow]

There's one thing I've been wondering about, although it may just be that I've missed something. How do units not from private/royal armies figure into Civil Wars? If the Chancellor favors one side, can he give extra units to their knights? Or can he recruit extra units for the private armies of one side, while only doing the minimum he is required to (not disbanding units, retraining) for the other?

Under the current rules, the Chancellor can disband units that are outside a garrison, fort, or Private/Royal Army. So, if the Chancellor is actively hostile to you and you are in a Civil War, any units you have outside of these groupings will be vulnerable to his manipulations. Even if you do keep your units from being disbanded, the Chancellor can simply refuse to give you further recruitment, while giving your enemy lots of recruitment.

As you can see, Civil Wars can be very tricky for people on the Chancellor's bad side. However, it can be done in a few ways. First, if you stockpile enough of a military beforehand, you could win before attrition takes its toll. A House with 3 decent sized Private Armies could probably beat a house with 1 Private Army, even if the Chancellor was hostile to them. Similarly, if two Houses attacked a third together, they could overwhelm a House that the Chancellor favored.

What it breaks down to in the current system is that having the Chancellor on your side is a major bonus, and having him against you is a major problem. If you're planning on attacking someone else and you do not have a significant advantage in strength, it would be best to get someone friendly in office first.

Then again, if the Chancellor is that much of a problem and you can't avoid a Civil War, you could always just kill the Chancellor and trigger a new election...