UKNES8 - Heroes, Tyrants and Legends

To be a hero is to give hope to those around you, to lead the lost, to comfort the hurt, to not fear death or defeat, but to try against all odds to succeed where others have failed.

A hero is someone who steps forward to lead, someone who refuses to give in, and carries the flag forwards to victory, or fights to the last in defeat. A hero fights for what they believe in, and holds true to their principles even when faced with certain annihilation.

But heroes can have vices as well as virtues, and it is these that can turn a hero into a tyrant, one who is feared as much by his own people as he is by the enemy.

And fear can encourage another hero to step forward to remove the tyrant, after which some give power back to the people, or rule fairly, but most become a tyrant themselves, being corrupted by the same evil that has ruined the one before - power.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that is what happened in the last war. The Kings of the Eight Nations send armies to fight each other, but do not care about the losses - it is merely a game for them to play against each other.

But now heroes have arisen to remove those Kings from power. Will these new heroes be just and fair, or will they succumb to the corruption that has plagued heroes since the dawn of time?

It is for their consciences to decide, as a conscience is the biggest virtue of all.

For some will be heroes, and some will be tyrants. But can a hero defeat the tyrants and bring world peace, and become a legend? Or will the tyrants win out, plunging the world back into darkness until more heroes can arise?

Any man can be a hero, many of those can be a tyrant, but few can be a legend. Which will you be?

**************************************************

The countries are:

America - Jason the King
China - Toasty
England - AnarchyRulz
France - The Troquelet
Germany - Dexter
Greece - Kennelly
Japan - Naervod
Russia - RoddyVR

Welcome to the UKNES8 - Heroes, Tyrants and Legends

Explanation of the map

The areas that each nation is split up into are the usual UKNES provinces, but each now has 5 settlements(the word I'll use to describe all of the types of building, be it village, town or castle lol). These all have names(which can be changed, more info on that later). There are also seas which have names(they're in bold, just hunt for it lol). Refer to Movement as to what the dotted lines mean.

These provinces are what makes this UKNES easier to mod. Provinces are the things taken into consideration for movement, and fighting(well the actual battle lol, spoils are individual settlements). The settlements are only used when it comes to deciding upkeep, upgrading settlements, and the amount of land taken(one battle win=one settlement taken, see combat for more specific details).

A filled circle to me means the circles that are currently dotted over the map. A dot means the little square dots that used to represent fleets and armies in the old UKNESs, and none of which are currently on the map.

Each black filled circle is a village, each dark grey filled circle is a town, and each white filled circle is a castle. To find out more about these, look further down.

Each white dot(like those armies in UKNES) when they appear will be a regiment, instead of the old armies. An army instead will be a dark grey dot, and will be made up of 5 regiments. The benefits of this will come later.

Each coloured dot in a sea is a squadron of ships belonging to the nation whose colour they are. A coloured filled circle represents a fleet, or a group of five squadrons, which is like an army on land, and belongs to the nation whose colour it is. Fleets get benefits like armies do.

Finally, a coloured dot in someone elses land represents an army belonging to the nation whose colour they are moving through ally's land. Single regiments CANNOT move through other people's territory.

Income

The income system is very simple - 3 gold for a castle, 2 gold for a town and 1 gold for a village. You begin with your capital being a castle, while you have 3 towns. All the other settlements(16) are villages. This gives you a starting income of 25 gold.

Your treasury(bank) can hold a maximum of 25 gold.

Upkeep

Again, a simple system in most ways. In the beginning, a castle can support 3 units for free, a town can support 2 for free and a village can support just one unit for free. Any units over that amount cost 3 gold each for upkeep(unless you research a tech to lower it).

Movement

Each regiment or army can move one province per turn, while each squadron or fleet can move one sea per turn. They are not based in cities, but based in the province as a whole as they can respond to threats quickly within that short distance.

New units(including sea this time lol) can move but not attack. They will still defend themselves and others in that sea/province though. New squadrons/fleets can transport units to friendly provinces, but not to attack. Also, it costs one turn to load the armies onboard(the fleet can still move), and one turn to unload the armies(the fleet can't move that turn).

Squadrons can carry 2 regiments each, and fleets can carry 2 armies each.

The dotted lines mean that it is all one province. That means you can move regiments/armies from one side of the water to the other without using squadrons or fleets. But to do this you MUST own one settlement in that province on either side of the water. If you don't, you must move them the normal way you would from province to province.

Diplomacy

You can sign Right of Passage(ROP) agreements, MPPs(Mutual Protection Pacts), DPPs(Defence Protection Pacts), non-aggression pacts(NAPs) and any other type you can think of. Be warned, there are no penalties for breaking agreements!

When you want to move units through an ally's territory, this can only be done one way - with an army. Only armies can cross into allied territory - not individual regiments.

Buying

You can buy regiments at 5 gold each, and squadrons at 10 gold each. Armies and fleets cannot be bought, they are simply created by 5 regiments or squadrons banding together.

You can also upgrade a village to a town for 7 credits. No units are required for building. You also can upgrade a town to a castle for 12 credits. When you are upgrading to a castle, you can choose to rename that settlement, and since it is now on the same status as your capital, you may move your capital to there, or even have it as co-capital.

Only castles can build units, and they must be coastal to build fleets(coastal is within roughly a centimetre of the sea on the map).

Also, once again you may buy techs. These will come at the end of these rules.

Combat - The Theoretical Side

Sorry, NO BOMBARDING OR MILITIA this time around!

When you attack on land, the troops you send take on all the enemy soldiers in that province.

Should you kill more than they kill of yours, then you win that battle, and gain the settlement you were aiming for(sorry, if you're aiming for a central settlement, you MUST go through a boundary one first to reach it!). Your army then attacks again and again until either you lose more armies than the other side does, your attack force is equal to or less than half the strength of what you began the attack with, or you have taken everything in that province. In any of these cases, the invasion of that province ends for that turn there(this can mean you're repulsed at the first settlement lol and sent running home with your tail between your legs!). Once your attack has stalled, the enemy will counter-attack in the same way you attacked them unless ordered not to, and they will do so until their counter-attack runs out of steam like yours did. Then finally the battle for that province ends. But if they counter-attack all the way back to the border and are still going, don't be surprised if they cross the border and start invading you unless ordered not to!

At sea the battles are the same, just they don't take any settlements. The attack continues until it is halted, and then the counter-attack happens in the same way. However, at sea the defenders will not enter another sea to continue their counter-attack - it stops there. For invasions, the attacker must have more ships left at the end of the combat.

If you succeed in cutting a settlement off(it is cut off from the rest of its parent nation due to being pinned against an enemy border, the border of the map or the sea, and the nation it belongs to has no fleet in that sea(you can cut if off by sinking that fleet, but if they have one in the sea next to it it isn't considered cut off)) then it is no longer controlled by the player. If it is a castle, it will produce units to defend itself, saving up the money to buy it(the income from it goes to itself, not to the nation that owns it). If it is a town, it will save up for 6 turns to upgrade to a castle and then begin to produce units to defend itself. If it is a village, it will save up for 7 turns to upgrade to a town, then 6 turns to upgrade to a castle and start producing units.

It may produce fleets or armies, depending on where it is(it may build a fleet so it is no longer cut off), and it may already have defending regiments/armies there(depending on what type of settlement it is, how many units were in the entire province and how many were still in their hands).

WARNING! Settlements that are cut off together(ie; you cut off a town and two villages) will pool their resources. In that example, they would most likely save gold for 3 turns then upgrade the town to a castle, and then begin producing units(and with a total then of 5 credits a turn, that would be one army a turn!).

So cutting off settlements can be an effective tactic, but watch your back!

Cut off settlements pay no upkeep, the nation that owns them pays upkeep for the units should they go over the amount it can freely support.

Combat - The Technical Side

To begin with, your units kill on 2 or below on a ten sided dice. Sounds pitiful I know, but consider the style of combat lol! And this can be upgraded with techs.

Attacking a town incurs a +1 penalty to the number you roll(think about it, you want to roll 2 or under lol), due to the superior defences, and attacking a castle incurs a +2 penalty due to the huge defences. These only happen attacking that settlement, not the entire province.

Convoying squadrons/fleets incur a +1 penalty.

Armies and fleets both receive a -1 bonus in defence and attack.

Espionage

See the new rules for espionage here.

Random Events

These will be just little news snippets usually, but don't be surprised if these do occur. Very rarely are they anything major, often they are just rumours, or bonuses/penalties for the nation mentioned.

Updates

Updates will be every day or every other day, depending on my schedule and how many orders I get in.

TECHS THAT YOU CAN BUY!

Land

Crossbows Costs 25 credits
Makes your regiments/armies kill on 3 or below in attack.

Longbows Costs 25 credits
Makes your regiments/armies kill on 3 or below in defence.

Stirrups(REQUIRES CROSSBOWS) Costs 50 credits
Makes your regiments/armies kill on 4 or below in attack

Breastplates(REQUIRES LONGBOWS) Costs 50 credits
Makes your regiments/armies kill on 4 or below in defence

Lances(REQUIRES STIRRUPS) Costs 75 credits
Makes your regiments/armies kill on 5 or below in attack

Pikes(REQUIRES BREASTPLATES) Costs 75 credits
Makes your regiments/armies kill on 5 or below in defence

Cannon(REQUIRES LANCES) Costs 100 credits
Makes your regiments/armies kill on 6 or below in attack

Muskets(REQUIRES PIKES) Costs 100 credits
Makes your regiments/armies kill on 6 or below in defence

Sea

Grappling Hook Costs 25 credits
Makes your squadrons/fleets kill on 3 or below in attack

Pikes Costs 25 credits
Makes your squadrons/fleets kill on 3 or below in defence

Cutlass(REQUIRES GRAPPLING HOOK) Costs 50 credits
Makes your squadrons/fleets kill on 4 or below in attack

Cannon(REQUIRES PIKES) Costs 50 credits
Makes your squadrons/fleets kill on 4 or below in defence

Grapeshot(REQUIRES CUTLASS) Costs 75 credits
Makes your squadrons/fleets kill on 5 or below in attack

Roundshot(REQUIRES CANNON) Costs 75 credits
Makes your squadrons/fleets kill on 5 or below in defence

Naval Guns(REQUIRES GRAPESHOT) Costs 100 credits
Makes your squadrons/fleets kill on 6 or below in attack
PS: Also known as seven-barrelled guns

Muskets(REQUIRES ROUNDSHOT) Costs 100 credits
Makes your squadrons/fleets kill on 6 or below in defence

Economical

Supply Wagons Costs 100 credits
Costs just 2 gold for upkeep per unit over the free limit.

Supply Depots(REQUIRES SUPPLY WAGONS) Costs 250 credits
Costs just 1 gold for upkeep per unit over the free limit.

Tinned Food(REQUIRES SUPPLY DEPOTS AND IMPROVED FARMS) Costs 500 credits
Upkeep is free for all of your units.

Farms Costs 150 credits
Increases the free upkeep for units from settlements to 4 for a castle, 3 for a town and 2 for a village.

Improved Farms(REQUIRES FARMS) Costs 300 credits
Increases the free upkeep for units from settlements to 5 for a castle, 4 for a town and 3 for a village.

Banks Costs 100 credits
Increases the income from each type of settlement to 4 gold for a castle, 3 for a town and 2 for a village.

Stock Exchange(REQUIRES BANKS) Costs 250 credits
Increases the income from each type of settlement to 5 gold for a castle, 4 for a town and 3 for a village.

Military Academy Costs 500 credits
Reduces the cost of regiments to 3 gold and the cost of fleets to 5 gold.




TIMELINE

Good luck everyone!

Nemesis

PS: http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads3/uknesviii15.jpg

France for me, of course!

I'll take Russia. not counting UKnesses 5 and 6 which lasted a combined 2 turns, i havent played it yet which is sort of wierd considering i was born and brought up there.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I wanted Russia.

But anyway, i guess I will take England.

can i be china?

I'll be Greece.

i know im not invited but can be france?

I guess I'll play as Germany then So when we do we get too see the map and the rules?

*grabs Japan before everyone else takes it *

I should forewarn you, however, that I will be unavaliable from Wedensday to Sunday for the Bands of American Grand Nationals competition. After that though, I'm free as a bird .

toasty, is it last wednesday to today that you aint available?

i like things 'organized' so:

America - Jason the King
China
England - AnarchyRulz
France - The Troquelet
Germany - Dexter
Greece - Kennelly
Japan - Toasty
Russia - RoddyVR

out of the invited players that leaves SKILORD with China to take.

and i want to see a map! (dont realy matter if its one we'll be using or even one of earth, i just REALY want to see a map. lol)

I think he made it clear you cant join as of right now unless you were inivted.

Nemesis: Thank GOD you reserved my America, I was out all last night at my homecoming dance, and wouldn't have got anything good .

So game begins now? We need map.

I am insulted that I am not on the invited list.

Shame you did it like this but it's your NES and your choice

BTW any thing comes open I will be following this NES and I can step in to caretake or replace someone who can't do the NES anymore....

dammit! i didnt see that france was taken!

For all of you who did not get invited to this NES, there are 2 open spots in EPICNES, IIRC, because people aren't submitting their orders and their three-day time limit is up! If you want to go to that NES, read through it and then join up, be my guest! I'll post the open spots on the last page in a moment.

And I hope that if people in THIS nes don't submit orders for two turns in a row without an excuse [like Toasty's band thing] that their country will go into civil unrest and be open to join up.

0AD - The Eight Nations are formed by tribes banding together against the barbarians that threaten the stability of the entire known world.

500AD - A Franco-German raid on Japan leaves the capital, Kyoto, a burning wreck and thousands dead. The capital of Japan is moved to Tokyo, where the Shogun plans his revenge.

510AD - That revenge is finally had as Japanese troops push the French all the way back to Lyons, and capture it. Hamburg is captured on the German front, and Germany is finally pushed all the way from the Home Island of Japan. Both nations sue for peace, and the Shogun becomes a legend of Japan.

600AD - The regime of a once-powerful nation, the Iroquois, now corrupt and outdated, collapses, and the rest of the world rush to take colonies there.

750AD - England has won out in the major battles that occur in the ex-Iroquois lands, pushing Russia back and taking the last French colonies there. With her new status as the major world power, England takes Calais from the French with ease, and Hong Kong Island from the Chinese. She also takes a major slice of the Spartan Military District of Greece, including Sparta itself.

800AD - Japan and England sign the Kyoto Pact, that one will come to the aid of the other in war. This is to prevent expansion by the rising power of France.

850AD - The nations that are bitter against England finally feel powerful enough to act, with France, Greece, China and Russia all declaring war on the superpower. England reacts quickly, taking Dijon and Rheims from France, as they are cut off due to the Lyons Salient of Japan. It seems that the Anti-Anglo Alliance as acted too soon, with only Russia gaining territory, pushing the English back from Odessa, Yakutsk and Vladivostok. Then America declares her independence due to the high tax rates imposed because of the war.

851AD - The Royal Navy is devastated by a loss to the Allied Fleet, and Britannia no longer rules the waves. The English are routed by Greece in Sparta, led by Alexander the Great. They are eventually completely removed from Greek territory by him, before he dies of an illness. The Japanese are unable to aid the English due to a surprise German attack on the Hamburg Province, and the French recapture their lost territory. China invades Hong Kong Island, retaking it with heavy losses. All nations recognise America, even the English, although bitterly. The armies of the Alliance begin to prepare for an invasion of England, and their combined fleet seems too huge for the Royal Navy to stand a chance. England looks doomed...

852AD - Admiral Horatio Nelson saves the day, routing the combined fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar, named after the Cape near Rheims known as the Cape of Trafalgar. England sues for peace. Japan and Germany sign a peace treaty, with Germany once again controlling the Hamburg Province.

912AD - A bitter feud between England and America erupts over American support of piracy against the English. The English, once again the dominant naval power, lands in Washington after fooling the American Army into concentrating on defending New York instead, not expecting such a deep attack. The President's house is burned, and painted white, and from then on called the White House. America signs a peace treaty, promising not to support any more piracy.

1000AD - Napoleon is crowned Emperor of France. He retakes Lyons and even Orleans from Japan, which no nation except the Japanese object to, the Kyoto Pact long since dead. But then he pushes onwards, all the way to Edo, and suddenly France is a major power once more.

1001AD - Napoleon lands in Osaka, and begins to work his way north towards Tokyo. The English declare a blockade, and French reinforcements no longer arrive. The Emperor is stranded in Japan with German and Japanese troops seeking to destroy him, while the English retake Calais, and work with America to take Marseilles.

1002AD - Napoleon returns home, signs a peace treaty, and abdicates. He is exiled to Dublin.

1008AD - Napoleon helps start a revolution by the Irish in Dublin, and escapes back to Paris. The English are forced to send their army to crush the Irish rebels, and while that happens Napoleon retakes Marseilles and begins to march on Calais...

1009AD - Napoleon is defeated once and for all by the English Duke of Wellinton, near a small hamlet outside Calais known as Waterloo. Napoleon is executed in London for crimes against humanity.

1276AD - A war of words between England and Greece erupts into a shooting war, and England retakes Glasgow, the main village in the part of Scotland(Edinburgh Province) that borders the Spartan province. Peace eventually is made.

1399AD - A huge war erupts, with no side winning any land, but a lot of soldiers and civilians losing their lives. The corrupt regimes are removed from power.

1400AD - Heroes step up to take the reigns of those nations, and have begun great construction projects. A few have even begun to rebuild their armies, while England begins to rebuild the Royal Navy. Spies are being re-activated, and espionage is once again a weapon to be used against other nations.

1401AD - More nations begin to challenge English dominance of the sea, while the first major army since the Great War has been activated in Tokyo. Regiments are beginning to train all over the world, and some predict military action within the next few years.

1402AD - France starts a trend of modernising the capital province. Rumours of corruption in the American and German elections. Greece and England start a war of words over riots in Pharsalos and Glasgow.

1403AD - Scuffle between American and French fleets due to tense atmosphere, joint exercises proposed by some while others fear war, and a nation advances in tech at sea - but no one is sure who.

1404AD - One nation seems to be preparing for an aggressive war, having researched Crossbows. A mercenary group known as the Black Knights come to Avalon to sell their skills. They number 5 regiments, and have Lances(roll 5 or under to kill in attack) and Breastplates(roll 4 or under to kill in defence).

1405AD - One more nation researches Pikes(at sea), and one from the USA/Russia/China continent researches a tech. The Black Knights sign up for a ten year deal with France for 40 gold up front. The Sea Serpents, a mercenary unit of 3 squadrons, put themselves up for hire. They have just Pikes(roll 3 or under in sea defence to kill) as their main weapons aboard their ships.

1406AD - The Sea Serpents expand to 5 squadrons(1 fleet) and move to the Yellow Sea, employed by the English. Despite the big talk of the Chinese, the English power in that sea outnumbers the Chinese two to one. Another nation discovers Pikes at sea, and another uses Longbows on land(land defence bonus). Finally, the leaders of both mercenary units express their hope that there won't be a world war, and reveal their roots, the Knights being American and the Sea Serpents being English.

1407AD - A Golden Age of Techs is declared for a year after many techs have been discovered. 3 nations now have Crossbow, the offensive land tech. Another nation upgrades to Cannon on their defensive ships. Germany, Greece and France show an alarming build up in the number of troops they have. The Kell Hounds, a mercenary unit fleeing Rome to take a message to General Maximus, an exile from Rome who is one of the few that can save it, arrive in Middle Earth.

1408AD - Octavius is revealed as the brother of Maximus, and now his ally. They prepare for war against Commodus. Many techs are discovered before the Golden Age of Technology comes to an end. Troop build ups continue.

1409AD - Rome is won by the rebels, who give it to the Senate. India grows ever larger, and an even bigger threat. The Kell Hounds return to Middle Earth, as an army with Lances(4 in attack) and Pikes(5 in defence), charging high prices for their services. Build ups continue all over Middle Earth, and war looms.

1410AD - The Black Knights break their contract with France on polite terms, and are hired by Russia. Two of the three Kell Hound armies also sign up with Russia, while the other is employed by the Germans. The Sea Serpents sign a new contract with the English. War seems a question of when not if as the nations of Middle Earth increase their military size.

1411AD - Russia invades China's Shanghai Province, losing 9 regiments. The Kell Hounds lead the attacking force of 21 regiments, which decimates all 15 Chinese regiments. The Shanghai Province falls completely to Russia once the Chinese troops have been eliminated. China however sinks the Russian Yellow Sea Fleet, sinking all 4 Russian squadrons for the loss of just one squadron.

1412AD - The Kell Hounds quit Russian employ to hunt down a rogue mercenary unit called the Genyosha, which massacred civilians in Canton. The Black Knights expand to two armies, and request more pay because of it. The English people are declared the happiest in the world, and gain a defence bonus at sea and on land for the next year. ACME replaces the Mercenary Board, backed by the now independent Wolf's Dragoons.

1413AD - ACME seems to be failing as no nations join. The Commission begins to look into simply charging a 1 gold fee for each mercenary unit hired rather than charging for the list of units.

1414AD - Japan begins build up on Japanese border.

(i have to say it, don't know why...)
by the way you said you choesn invited players, only 1 thing make my not good, and it's how much time i play NES... (not a lot...) but all the rest are me... (you can check yourself how active i was, just see that after every post, metter for me or not, i post somthing...)

The map isn't historical, right? It's a made-up map? So Britain and I won't necessarily be together?

Anyway, everyone, please stop spamming the thread - if you have a problem about signups just PM nemesis... although I doubt he's doing an expansion - unless he's a masochist 8 players is already a lot to deal with.

no spam, i just acting as a kartzia... (translate if you want...)