EU Online Campaign I – Looking for an Adjudicator!

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kingofnoobia

Master Knight
What is an online campaign?
An online campaign is a linked series of matches governed by some overarching ruleset and campaign structure. They can be fairly simple or quite intricate, depending on the game and rules being used.

Why should we want this?
The object of this specific campaign is to provide context for matches, making them more interesting by tying them to a large-scale strategic campaign game.

So how does it work?
The rules for this particular campaign are largely based on the rules for the classic board game Diplomacy. We've essentially taken that rule set and converted it to support resolving battles by playing Warband matches. Inspiration has also been drawn from the Oceanic Campaign.

Here are the rules for taking part in the campaign, mostly borrowed from the Oceanic Campaign.

1. A clan is a band of players sharing tags and heraldry, i.e. the ordinary meaning of the word
    a. A clan may possess territory on the campaign map, such a clan is called a kingdom
    b. A clan that doesn't possess any territory is called a mercenary clan and may still participate by offering their services in battle to a kingdom. This involves helping kingdoms fill up their teams if they have trouble getting enough members, or joining together with kingdoms to allow larger battles to happen.
    c. Each kingdom will only be able to play a single faction over the course of the campaign. Each of the prospective player kingdoms may indicate any number of preferences in order. These will be taken into account while selecting the method for assigning factions.

2. Every clan that wishes to participate must submit the following:
    a. A king (and optionally up to two generals) in charge of diplomacy and orders for the kingdom
    b. Clan heraldry (whether or not it is in the banner pack)
    c. A clan thread or website with a full member list

3. Players not belonging to a clan may offer their services to clans as mercenaries.
    a. Individual mercenaries are simply advised to introduce themselves in the thread, but there are no compulsory formalities.

Here are the strategic rules, to govern the campaign map, written in collaboration by myself and Nireco. They basically cover the fundamentals of Diplomacy as well, but if you find any particular point confusing, you might want to refer to the original Diplomacy game rules for a full explanation. However, be aware that some things have been changed to allow the conversion to Warband use.

Game overview

The campaign map is composed of provinces, some of which contain supply centers, which define the limits of how many armies or fleets a given kingdom can control at one time. Unit movement is possible between neighbouring provinces. The kingdoms use their units to fight battles and expand their territory.

All kingdoms are given a certain amount of provinces to start with, which contain supply centers and are called home supply centers. These will also contain units at start, and are the only places where new units can be produced. One of the home supply centers is also the kingdom's capital, but for the strategic rules this has no relevance.

The game ends when one kingdom controls 15 or more supply centres at the end of a game year.

Turn structure

The game is divided into two turns per game year, beginning in spring and fall, starting with the spring turn. I've given some time frames for each phase of a turn, working off the basis of fortnightly turns.

At the start of each turn, there is some time for diplomacy. This includes all negotiations, forging alliances etc and also serves as a planning phase. All of this can done either in public or in private. Lying and betrayal are allowed, but keep in mind that if you are untrustworthy, others will refuse to make deals with you. A few days are reserved for this.

Orders
After the plotting is done, the kings and generals of each side submit their orders to the adjudicator over another day or so. Units can be ordered to move, support, hold or convoy. Once received and checked, all orders take place simultaneously. A day or two are reserved for the adjudicator to check all the orders and determine the result.

Battles
After all orders have been received, the battles occurring are determined by the adjudicator. He then makes a post declaring all battles in need of resolution, and players try their best to fight them. This is the longest phase in a turn, and will likely have over a week devoted to it. Either side may employ mercenaries to make up for missing players, but members of the same mercenary clan may not fight against each other. If either side is supported by an ally, players from the allied kingdom should also play on the team.

If a match can't be arranged within a reasonable time frame, the adjudicator decides the outcome, awarding the victory to one of the two sides. This can be influenced by a difference in support, but other factors may also be in play, for example if one side is clearly responsible for the failure to play a match.

Retreat
An unit defeated in battle must retreat to an empty province. After all battles have been resolved, all sides with retreating armies must submit retreat orders to the adjudicator. If there are no retreating armies, this phase is skipped. In any case, this phase shouldn't take more than a day unless there are exceptional circumstances that warrant a delay.

If more than one unit retreats to same province, they are all disbanded. If there are no free provinces that a unit can retreat into, it is disbanded.

Checking supply centers
At the end of each game year, after all other actions for the Fall turn have been resolved, supply centers and units are checked.

If a kingdom has more supply centers than units, it will create new units in its home supply centers, but only if those provinces are empty and haven't been conquered by enemy kingdoms. In such provinces, new units are created either until the unit total matches the supply center count, or until all home supply centers contain a unit. Players creating new units in coastal home supply centers can choose between fleets and land armies.

If a kingdom has more units than supply centers, it will need to disband armies until the numbers match. Another short phase, this shouldn't take more than a day. Again, if there is no need for this phase, it is skipped. After this, a new game year begins.

Orders

Move/Attack
The unit moves to a neighbouring province. If the province controlled by another kingdom, this is considered an attack.

Land armies can only move on land and fleets can only move in sea and coastal provinces. Also, if coastal a province have multiple coasts in contact with different sea provinces, the fleet residing there must be marked to one of the coasts and can't move through the land area to the other coast. This applies to provinces 23 and Y2.

If two or more moves are conflicting, the one with highest support will be made. If they have the same support, one is selected randomly (that unit made a forced march, managed to finish preparations early, or something along those lines).

However, if two opposing armies with the same support attack an undefended province, they fight a battle there. The winners of the random selection will fight as the defenders, but if they lose the battle, they will retreat as attackers.

If one of the armies moving into a contested supply centre belongs to the province's owner, they will automatically move there first and fight as defenders.

Example:
Army ProvA to ProvB

Support
The unit supports the combat actions of a specific, friendly unit. If the supported unit is attacking, then the supporting unit must be able to move into the attacked province. If the supported unit is defending, then the supporting unit must be able to move into the province being defended. If the supporting unit is attacked, its support command is changed to hold, cancelling the support. Allied factions can agree to support each others' armies. Two units can support each other.

Example:
Army ProvC supports Army ProvA to ProvB
Army ProvD supports Army ProvB

Hold
The unit stays in the province it currently is in, defending it against possible enemy attacks.

Example:
Army ProvB holds

Convoy
A fleet can convoy one selected army over a single sea province. The convoy is interrupted if the convoying fleet is defeated in battle. If it is attacked, but the attack fails, then the convoy will still be successful.

The convoyed army is given a move/attack order from its starting province to the province on the other side of the convoy.

Example:
Army ProvA to ProvC
Fleet ProvB convoys Army ProvA to ProvC

Battle

If the attacked province is empty, victory is automatic.

Every supporting unit gives a +1 battle advantage to its respective side.

The sides taking part in the battle agree on the base amount of players taking part. The default number is 8 players per team, and unless the sides can agree on a different number, this should be used. Thus each kingdom should be able to field at least 8 players for any given battle.

Each team has an amount of players according to the following formula: n + 0.2nx, where n is the base amount of players per team and x is the advantage. The resulting value is rounded down to give the final number of players.

The battle is then fought in Warband. If the result is a tie, it is considered attacking unit's loss.

Outcome of the battle:
  • If the attacker loses, it retreats back to the province it attacked from.
  • If the attacker wins, it will move to the province it conquered
  • If the defender loses, the defender retreats to a neighbouring empty province different to the one it was attacked from.

Two units attacking each other
The attack with more support takes place. If both have the same support, it is randomly determined which of the two fights as an attacker, and the other fights as a defender in the province they were going to attack from.

In chained attacks (A->B->C, C holds)
The battle A->B is automatically A's victory, as B moved away to attack C.

The battle B->C is fought. If B loses, it is unable to retreat to the province taken by A, and is destroyed.

The Adjudicator

The adjudicator is a neutral player who handles the organization of the campaign. He is responsible for determining the results of all the orders, and he has the power to resolve any and all crises and disputes. He also has final say on any proposed rule changes.

The tactical rules govern the specifics of combat resolution with Warband matches.

1. Each province on the campaign map is assigned a specific battle map to be used in matches.
    a. Empty provinces are mostly random maps, supply centres are exclusively non-random maps, capitals are castles. Roughly equal amounts of all battle maps are used.
    b. Exception: Port Assault is not tied to any province. However, if a coastal supply centre is attacked by a fleet or a convoyed army, Port Assault will be used.
    c. In battles between fleets out at sea, a special scene will be used: http://www.filefront.com/16339001/NavalBattle.sco/

2. The game mode for every map is battle, except for capitals, which will be fought using the Siege game mode.
    a. On Siege battles, the defender always defends the castle. Or Port Assault, the defender always spawns away from the ships. On Village, the defender always spawns inside the walls. On Snowy Village, Ruins or Ruined Fort, the defender always spawns in the village. On other maps, the defenders choose their own spawns.
    b. On random maps, the defender may choose to reset the map up to two times to achieve a satisfactory result.

3. Each kingdom involved in a battle must use the faction assigned to their kingdom.
    a. Mercenaries and allied soldiers supporting a kingdom in battle also fight using that kingdom's faction.

4. Default settings:

8 players to a team
Best out of 5 rounds
Round time 7min
No bots
Melee/Ranged FF on 40% friend
Camera on teammate view
Manual block
Normal speed
Default gold

    a. The kingdoms doing battle can agree to change any of these settings, or to introduce special "house rules" such as champion battles, class type limits or the use of bots, so long as they do not conflict with any of the other rules.
    b. On any point where agreement cannot be reached, the default setting should be used.

Here's the campaign map, drawn by Ursca, provinces and such mostly done by Nireco, with a little help from yours truly. Ursca also wrote the brief backstory.

Yellow = Boh (Sar)  Blue = OL (Nord)  Green = EoI (Rho)  Red = IFoR (Swa)  White = Perkele (Vae)  Purple = 22nd (Kher)

lyonesseturn4orders.png


Lyonesse and its smaller sibling, Ys, were discovered in 864 by the Nord explorer Bolverk, who named it Bolverksland. In later times it was rediscovered by the Swadians who named it Lyonesse.

Each great faction of Calradia sent a group to colonise, at first peacefully and then by force. Lyonesse became a popular place to send exiles and bored third sons, and they in turn embraced it as a new land in which they could earn glory for their name. In time, Lyonesse became a kind of microcosm of the larger calradia, each clash between the forces of the princes of Lyonesse was mirrored by the wars fought on the continent.

Lyonesse is famed for its great white mountain lions. The de facto arms of the island are a crowned white lion rampant on a field of red. Recently, the famed Khergit poet and chronicler, Qadachar was exiled to Lyonesse after writing a particularly cutting poem about Sanjar Khan.

lyonessestartmapbind.png

Castle 1                1
Castle 2                2
Castle 3                2
Castle 4                1
Village                  5
Nord Town            3
Snowy Village        2
Field by the River    4
Ruins                    4
Ruined Fort            5
Battle on Ice          2
Random Plains        9
Random Steppe      9

1 - Castle 1
2 - Field by the River
3 - Village
4 - Random Plains
5 - Ruins
6 - Ruined Fort
7 - Random Plains
8 - Random Plains
9 - Random Plains
10 - Random Plains
11 - Castle 3
12 - Random Steppe
13 - Ruins
14 - Random Plains
15 - Battle on Ice
16 - Random Steppe
17 - Village
18 - Random Plains
19 - Random Steppe
20 - Snowy Village
21 - Nord Town
22 - Battle on Ice
23 - Random Steppe
24 - Castle 2
25 - Ruined Fort
26 - Random Steppe
27 - Field by the River
28 - Nord Town
29 - Ruins
30 - Castle 3
31 - Ruined Fort
32 - Field by the River
33 - Random Steppe
34 - Village
35 - Snowy Village
36 - Village
37 - Ruins
38 - Battle on Ice
39 - Random Steppe
40 - Random Steppe
41 - Field by the River
42 - Castle 4
43 - Nord Town
44 - Ruined Fort
Y1 - Village
Y2 - Random Steppe
Y3 - Castle 2
Y4 - Ruined Fort
Y5 - Random Steppe
Y6 - Random Steppe

We're playing with six kingdoms; one for each of the Native kingdoms. Those slots are all filled but there are still clans interested in playing, they can either join as mercenary clans or try to form a coalition with one of the existing kingdoms, preferably a small one.

Please keep in mind that this thread is no longer particularly concerned with rule discussion, so limit yourselves to pointing out any serious problems you see that you believe might hurt the chances of the campaign succeeding. If issues arise during play, those can be amended as necessary. If something about the rules is not to your liking, feel free to organize your own event at a later date, but for now, this is what we're doing.

The current map for use in naval battles: http://www.filefront.com/16339001/NavalBattle.sco/

Adjudicator
OLL_TheNarrator

Kingdoms
The Illustrious Functionality of Reveran (Swadian)
    Leaders: Function okiN, Function Arch3r, First Derivative MaHuD
The Empire of Istiniar (Rhodok)
    Leaders: Emperor SCGavin, Duke Lugh, Duke Illuminati
The 22nd Imperium (Khergit)
    Leaders: Harlequin Khan, Commander Coffee_n_Smokes, Commander BigMac
The United Kingdom (Nord)
    Leaders: King ProjectAngel, Diplomat fotch
The Kingdom of Perkele (Vaegir)
    Leaders: King Hande, General Cheers, General Alatzy.
Caliphat Bohemius (Sarranid)
    Leaders: Caliph SanDiego, Emir Smuggler, Emir Switchfoot

Mercenary clans
The Order of the Lowlands
The Noble Order of the Platypus
Druzhina

Individual mercenaries
Razzums
johnftonnessen
Suomen Kuningas
RalliX
Selcouth
LDKSoldier
Hagbard
TogglesDaCat
dagorkan
KTTdestroyer
We_love_house_music
Heimir
Gobi
Captain Melon
McBeverage
Urist
Fyrd
 
Someone didn't read the rules properly. 8 is the minimum acceptable amount, in case the sides for whatever reason can't decide on their own number. :razz:

The sides taking part in the battle agree on the base amount of players taking part. The default number is 8 players per team, and unless the sides can agree on a different number, this should be used. Thus each kingdom should be able to field at least 8 players for any given battle.
 
rules said:
The default number is 8 players per team, and unless the sides can agree on a different number, this should be used. Thus each kingdom should be able to field at least 8 players for any given battle.[/rules] Im talking about raising that number so clans instead of saying NO, we have enough players, being force to play with mercs if they cant afford that numbers
 
It's just a worst-case provision so that if the players just aren't available, a match can still be played. I certainly don't imagine it being an issue very often. If it becomes one, then the number can be raised as deemed necessary, but it's better to start too low than too high.
 
Can I sign up as an Individual mercenary? I might have a few friends that will join in later then we can switch to a clan.
 
Sign up the Guard of Istiniar as "Republic of Istiniar". :smile:

I wondered about the loser of a battle with no neighbouring empty provinces: Will that clan be out of the campaign for good?
 
SCGavin said:
Sign up the Guard of Istiniar as "Republic of Istiniar". :smile:

I wondered about the loser of a battle with no neighbouring empty provinces: Will that clan be out of the campaign for good?

The clan will have whole faction under control. So losing one army don't drop you out.
 
IG and Razzums signed up.

MaHuD said:
we pick Rhodoks or what arch3r?

If kingdoms have a wishes for factions, they should indicate multiple possible choices in order of preference. As many as you care about. If the last two or three don't make any difference to you, then no need to mention them, but the more you do mention, then the higher chance you don't get the bottom one. :razz:

This will give a better overall view of what people want, and help achieve as desirable an outcome overall as possible while still maintaining diversity.
 
Die Slow And Pain said:
rules are from diplomacy aye?

Of course.

Zoltanus said:
That typo is going to cost you your life  :evil:.

That'll be the day! Anyway, you have to admit, it'd be a much better name that way. :wink:

Ok, ok, fixed.

Suomen Kuningas said:
FF should be 100% :grin:
no seriously it should.

I can participate as a mercanery

That's up to the players to decide, but the default setting is low FF. I'll sign you up.
 
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