Hi, this is just an update on how the last TNES is going. Uknemesis wanted to revive the ARTNES, so I'm using some ideas from there.

There's also going to be Castles, Fiefs, Nobles, Calls to Arms, Raids, etc. All sorts of ideas never before used in the NES. Also, combat is going to be MUCH less risk-based, making it more a game of skill and getting the right allies.

Anyway, the setting is the Scottish Wars of Independence. There are going to be 7 players

1. The Earl of Ross, Moray [Dark Green]

2. John Comyn, Buchan [Blue]

3. John of Lorn, Inverlochy [Purple]

4. Robert The Bruce, Carrick [Orange]

5. The Earl of Lothian, Lothian [Light Green]

6. The Earl of Galloway, Galloway [Yellow]

7. The Earl of Pembroke, England [Pink]

If anyone can think of better names for the Lothian and Galloway players please let me know :D Thanks!

Also, tell me what you think of the map.

can we start joining now? if so i will join as the earl of ross

I've to admit I don't know when this war took place,so could you give a date?
Would every player have the territories above or is it just a scenario how land could be divided?

ya if we can start claiming then i want to be the earl of lothian.

oh an i think this is supposed to be the second war of scottish independence the one where Robert the Bruce won instead of where Robert of Bruce lost(Bravehart).

Early 1300s.

The land would START divided. There would be no expansion phase.

I'm thinking of eliminating 1, 19, and 43 to make the start fairer, giving everyone 6 provinces.

Oh, about claiming 2 things:

1. I have to save a spot for Jason the King and UKnemesis [if they want to join], because they always mod and never get a chance to play :(

2. Please don't start claiming yet, this is just a preview and if you have any suggestions about the map fire away! But I haven't completely outlined the rules yet...

3. Which do you think would be better: a chance based battle system like UKNES or a skill based one like Diplomacy?

Ya! Thanks Troq! I will definetly play, just tell me when to sign up! Anyways, I know nothing about this war. Some questions and suggestions:

1. Will you be playing as a nation as well, like in UKNES4?
2. You should, if starting nations out with all provinces claimed, make the nations equal, with all 6 provinces.
3. Are there going to be capitals for each nation so that they gain more money or possible defend better or where your units are made at first? Or do we get to pick where it goes? Or will there not be any capitals?

and

4. I am not sure what a skilled-base battle is in Diplomacy, as I have never played it, but it would sure be nice for a change!

i would suggest eliminating the seas on the outside (A, G, K) or at least putting some sort of restriction on them, as it is you can get from territory 5 to 42 (opposite sides of map) in 3 or 4 turns (depending on fleet rules).

i think a skill based system is great, but the one in deplomacy is too symplistic. i think some thing where the army units were smaller (cheaper and therefore more of em) combined with pure 1 to 1 combat (maybe some bonuses for cities, towns or whatever) would be cool. unfortunately the smaller the army units the more work for the MOD, but if you dont have to throw any dice for the fighting then it might be ok anyway.

Jason:

1. Nope, just moderating. After all there are only 7 players! :D The seats will probably be full and to spare without me.

2. About Combat, I really wanted to do something other than the trademark UK buy 'em up smash 'em together biggest guy wins sort of thing, because wars get pretty tedious.

I want to somehow show Nobles leading various armies tramping around recruiting peasants and leading daring raids into neighboring countries, but I'm not sure how to do that yet.

I also DEFINITELY want to have at least 4 different units: Fleets, Pikemen, Archers, and Destriers.

Oh, about the oceans. Well, if combat were JUST on land, for example, Lothian would quickly get squashed [5 neighbors] while England and Moray remained safe and sound [2 neighbors]. Seas are a quick way to get around your opponent's back. It's also a way to form large alliances. For example, if Moray is fighting Buchan, Lothian is a good ally to have, but then again so is England - he's only 1 more sea away. The big seas makes up for the fact that Scotland is basically a skinny strip of land, where you can only go North or South and not really East or West.

sound fun, yet hard to mod! Good thing there are only 7 players! Also, what about the capitals i asked about?

How often will there be an update, and

When will this NES start?

1. Capitals, no. Castles, yes. A Castle boosts income and acts as a recruiting site. You start with 1 castle, guess you could call that your capital.

2. One each day if I can manage it.

3. As soon as I work out these darn rules! :D The temptation to just use UKNES3 rules is overpowering, but I really want this NES to be unique. So, might take a while.

I have an idea to make combat unique in this NES(damn, why do I always give my ideas to everyone else and never implement them in the UKNES lol?).

Anyway, FORMATIONS.

When you enter combat, you must decide what formation to use.

Defensive takes 1 from all attacker rolls, but takes 1 from all of yours too, making the kill count lower on both sides.

Offensive adds 1 to all your rolls, but also adds 1 to the enemy rolls, making the kill count higher on both sides.

Normal doesn't add or subract anything from either side. The effects are cumalative, so if both decide on an attacking formation, there will be a lot of dead people. If both decide on a defensive posture, there will be little fighting and so a lot less dead. If one chooses attacking and the other chooses defending, they cancel each other out.

The default defender's stance is defensive, the default attacker's stance is normal.

How does that sound Troquelet?

Nemesis

Also, I'll be Pembrokeshire if you're letting me and Jason reserve first lol.

Nemesis

Nem: I think he is waiting until the game starts to sign us up. But, if his isn't I'll be Earl of Ross. lol.

Well, I'll use what spare time I have in the next two weeks to think of good rules. If all goes well I think we can start maybe sometime late August.

Ok, based on input, here is the new map. Each player has exactly 6 provinces and there has been some minor re-arranging.

In England you see an example of a VILLAGE [1 tower], a MANOR [two], and a CASTLE [all three].

Three FLEETS are in Sea M. Three DESTRIERS [armored knights] are in 4. Three PIKEMEN are in 2. Finally, three ARCHERS are in 3.

In the real game, the quantity of units would be unknown, and there would be only 1 symbol of each type per province. For example, if I had 3 Pikemen and 2 archers in a province, what would show up on the map would be a Pikeman and Archer symbol, noting "There are some Pikemen and some Archers here, but we don't know how many." The map would look the same if I had 1 Pikeman and 15 Archers, or 7 Pikemen and 3 Archers, etc. You can find out by paying for spying, but of course the report will not always be accurate...

Units don't fight on sea, only Fleets do.

However, on land, each unit has 4 numbers: an attack and defense rating against each of the other two units. When combat occurs, the attacker and defender are randomly matched up in pairs, and the extras on either side jump in if one of their comrades dies.

For example, suppose five Knights attack an Archer and 2 Pikemen. The initial matchups would be Knight-Archer, Knight-Pikeman, Knight-Pikeman. And if one of the Knights dies, one of the extra two jumps in place for him.

A d6 is rolled for each unit, and hitting the number or above destroys an enemy unit.

For example, for the Knight the pertinent ratings are the Attack ones: "Knight attacking Archer" needs to roll 4 or better to hit, "Knight attacking Pikeman" needs 5 or better.

Meanwhile the defenders are rolling against their "Pikemen defending Knight" which is 4 and "Archer defending Knight" which is 5.

When you hit, losses are simultaneous [when a unit is hit it can hit back simultaneously], and then replacements jump in. Any side outnumbered 2:1 flees and must retreat or die. The winners get a "parting shot" at them, which is an extra round of dice for each unit, with a -1 modifier on the rolls.

But of course, this is a "black box" system. I do the work, what you see is the results.

But it makes it very important to used "mixed arms", that is, don't stick to just one unit on either attack or defense or you can easily be countered.

Dang, a lot of work must have gone in on the battle system, troq! Soudns GREAT! The units look abosolutly great too! How can you do such units? Anyways, great job! I can not wait until the game!

Thanks :D The units are very easy, I have the whole map in Paint [.bmp], right? So I just draw them with a pixel pen [the pencil tool], at the top magnicifcation. Then when you zoom out to regular they look pretty good! I like the towers, they give a lot of atmosphere. Although if anyone builds a Castle in Edinburgh [10] it's probably going to fall into the sea! :lol:

Great lol, but you are going to have one hell of a lot of work managing that :)

Just promise not to do what you did with the SUPERNES and the ARTNES - started talking too much about the system, didn't update and let it die! Don't let it happen again lol!

Anyway, I think you need to reduce the size of the units a bit so they'll fit in some of the smaller provinces(imagine if 1 had a castle, knights, archers and pikemen in it!).

And I look forward to seeing the rest of the rules(about buying castles and what they do etc).

Nemesis

Hey this sounds interesting, id like to join it when it gets started

yeah, sure, no problem. Probably start when I get back, today's my last day online and I'm returning the 16th.