Cataclysm Mechanics Draft
[edit] Changes to the FAQ since the initial posting are in red for ease of identification. The entire 'final' FAQ will be reposted at the start of the relevant thread when the Cataclysm begins.
Since 1320 is rapidly approaching, I have been ironing out the system I am going to use to run this thing. I have written up the following Cataclysm FAQ as a draft. These are the general blueprints that I am planning on following, but they are not 'rules' in any hard sense and I will break them if I think I need to in order to do what I want.
Comments are welcome and I am open to changes.
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Cataclysm FAQ
Overview:
At the beginning of every game turn, I will make a Status Post with all information needed for the players that turn. At the start of the post will be a general overview of significant events, such as AI army movements, city conquests, etc. This will be followed by a situation report for each player. The situation report will include any pertinent results from the previous turn, a basic description of the player’s current situation, provinces the player controls, the player’s personal wealth, the Direct Recruitment units available to the player, and a short multiple choice description of possible actions. These multiple choice descriptions will not be definitive by any means; they will merely provide examples of options that are open to you. For example:
Johnny von Hindenburg:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
After I have made this post at the beginning of each game turn, players may send me their action choices. This can be something as simple as "B" (indicating you want to do multiple choice option B corresponding to your character) or a 4 paragraph explanation of what you want to do and why. ALL PLAYERS MUST SEND ME THEIR CHOICES BY PRIVATE MESSAGE. This is to ensure secrecy, since some choices can harm other players. I do not want other players to see what you are going to do before you do it, because it might effect their own decisions. The * will indicate the option that I think is the safest for the avatar. If a player does not respond with their choice of action within the time allotted for the turn, I will always use the * choice. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR OPTIONS ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE CHOICES I LIST. IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING ELSE, YOU SIMPLY NEED TO SAY SO. I will figure out a way to implement nearly anything you can think of, so long as it makes sense and would be realistically possible for your avatar.
Specific Game Mechanics:
Income:
Money will be very tight during the Cataclysm and each player will have to accumulate money for their own personal use. Their current wealth will be represented by a simple number, which has no relation to in-game prices. There will be two kinds of income:
1) Fixed Income: Each player will receive an income of 1 for each city that is under their control, not rioting, and has an uninterrupted path to the player’s location. Castles do not generate Fixed Income. If an enemy army is blocking the route, you will not get the income. If you are besieged, all routes are considered blocked and you will get no income except for the settlement you are in (unless that is rioting too). Each player will be told which provinces are under their control each turn.
Provinces that belong to a Count who remains loyal to their Duke will provide 1 income to BOTH the Count and the Duke. Counts that rebel from their Dukes will receive an income of 2 from the province they declare as their 'Capital' for the rest of the Cataclysm, provided that all other requirements for the income are met. Rebel Capitals that are Castle settlements will receive an income of 1; this is the only way that a Castle settlement can produce Fixed Income during the cataclysm. Rebel Capitals cannot be moved during the cataclysm, even if your capital is held by the AI or has fallen under the control of another player; if you care about the extra income, you had better protect it.
2) Event Generated Income: Extra income can be created in nearly any way imaginable, but the methods will have consequences. The amount gained from an Event will vary, but will generally range from 1 to 10. For instance, you can disperse your army to tax the surrounding lands for 2, but if you are unlucky, a regiment could be attacked by bandits and destroyed while away from the main army. Doing this would also prevent you from moving out of the province, so it would be best to do it when you know you won’t be attacked or will be able to win if you are attacked. The safest and most profitable method of gaining Event Income is to plunder any destructible buildings in a settlement. Doing this will destroy the building for good, but it will produce an income equal to the number of turns required to build the structure from scratch and there is no limit to the number of buildings you can knock down per turn. Please note that destroying buildings in a province will probably make the people of that province hate you. This will make it difficult to recruit new soldiers and will limit your options in some other regards. Of course, you could always plunder the buildings from a neighboring province whose Lord is not around to protect it…
Construction/Repair:
Players can only build or repair buildings in the province they are physically located in at the beginning of a turn. Construction cost will be equal to the number of turns required to build the structure from scratch. Repairs will cost 1 per building being repaired, except for walls and towers, which will cost 2.
Recruitment:
Armies are the lifeblood of the Cataclysm. The larger your army, the more territory you will be able to successfully control and the better off you’ll be in general. I don’t think I need to explain why. THERE WILL BE NO RETRAINING DURING THE CATACLYSM. There will be multiple ways for players to recruit new units.
1) Direct Recruitment: Each player can recruit any unit type that is available in the province they are physically located in, to include settlement units and mercenaries. Please note that events and player choices may ‘disable’ recruitment of some unit types temporarily or even permanently. Each player will be told which units are recruitable in their current province each turn. Unit costs will vary according to my whims, but will generally be as follows:
Poor Quality Infantry or Militia: 1
Medium Quality Infantry or Militia/Low Quality Missile: 2
High Quality Infantry/High Quality Missile/Low Quality Cavalry: 3
Medium Quality Cavalry/Low Quality Artillery: 4
High Quality Cavalry/High Quality Artillery: 5
2) Event Generated Recruitment: Extra recruits can be created in nearly any way imaginable, but the methods will have consequences. One option could be to use press-gangs to levy civilians into your army. This will obviously make the people unhappy (which has its own consequences), reduce the population, and won’t provide you with high quality units, but it will let you raise a small force quickly and for free. As another example, if you have high piety and chivalry and are in a city with a Teutonic Knights guild house, you may be able to convince them to join you for free. A third option would be to bribe away the soldiers from another player’s army or settlement. Since there will be no retraining during the cataclysm, bribing will be the only way to gain new veteran units. The cost of bribing will vary based on the traits of the avatar who owns them. An avatar that is well-loved (via traits) by his troops will greatly increase the bribe price of his men (i.e. High Quality Infantry cost 5 instead of 3). In contrast, units will require less money to desert from an avatar that they do not like (High Quality Infantry cost 2 instead of 3).
Movement:
There will be no captain-led army movement during the Cataclysm. If you want to move forces around, you'll need to do it yourself or find an ally who will do it for you. Avatar led armies will generally be constrained by normal in-game movement limits, but not always. Exceptions to movement:
1) Avatar Only Armies: Avatars that move alone without any other units can move anywhere on the map that is not blocked by enemy (AI or HRE) forces. If the route is clear, you can get there, including by boat. The only possible exception to this could be the sea route from the Reich to Outremer. If someone wishes to cross that distance, they should discuss it with me first and I will figure out how to implement it.
2) Cavalry Armies: Avatars that move with only cavalry can cover long distances on land, so long as the route is not blocked by enemy (AI or HRE) forces and does not cross out of HRE-held territory. If there is a continuous safe road from Ragusa to Caen, a cavalry force can ride there in 1 turn.
3) Individual requests: I will consider making other exceptions for movement restrictions if people request them. You'll have to give me a good reason why, but I will seriously consider it if it makes sense. For instance, players could attempt to cross an otherwise impassable mountain range as a short-cut, but will risk losing men to avalanches and rock slides. If you want to move in a non-standard fashion, you must specifically request it.
Controlling Provinces:
At the start of the Cataclysm, Dukes/King will control all of their corresponding Duchy's/Outremer's provinces which still belong to the HRE, unless otherwise noted. Counts will control the provinces officially allocated to them. After the Cataclysm begins, control of provinces can be gained and lost through the choices made by the players. Obviously, losing it to an enemy faction will result in your loss of control. However, other players can seize control of your territories as well by marching an army into it and formally declaring that they are seizing it. Depending on the circumstances, the settlement might resist the attack and fight back, or it might simply surrender without a fight.
Fighting Other Players:
Since players are free to sack and seize each others lands, bribe each others armies, and generally do things that will make other people mad, it is possible that some players may seek to fight each other. This will be allowed, even if one party wants to avoid the battle (though it may be difficult to corner a player who is trying to avoid you). If you don’t want someone to fight you, you probably shouldn’t do things to anger them. If two players end up engaging in battle, the situation will be resolved as follows:
1) If both players agree, the battle will be fought in multiplayer. I will create a specific list of the units each player will have available to them in the multiplayer battle and state the type of map on which the battle must be fought (i.e. open field, Player A defending a Castle, etc.) and the battle must be fought under those conditions. The results must then be sent to me and I will disband units to reflect the casualties.
2) If either player cannot or will not fight a multiplayer battle for any reason, I will decide the end result of the battle on my own in any way I see fit. I will disband units to reflect the casualties.
In both cases, the loser will become the prisoner of the victor. The loser’s surviving units will join the victor’s army and the victor will gain control of all of the loser’s provinces. NO AVATAR WILL DIE IN PVP BATTLE, NO MATTER HOW IT IS FOUGHT OR WHAT THE RESULTS ARE. However, victors can execute their prisoners if they so choose. Players who become prisoners will continue to have choices to make every turn, just like everyone else, but their options will reflect their new circumstances. These would likely be things such as attempting to break out of prison or proclaiming loyalty to the victor and offering to serve him.
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Originally Posted by TosaInu
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