The Troquelet
Conscious
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- Apr 15, 2002
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TROQUELET RETURNS! NES [EPICNES]
Hi, my ISP had some problems so my net wasnt functioning... Ive been lurkin round here a while to see what the NES is up to.
Time to stick my oar in once again!
This is EPICNES. I decided to go back to the drawing board with the King Arthur/Scotnes ideas, and heres the result! Aside from the basic UKNES system theres a new method of movement and combat which will leave MUCH less up to luck, rewarding strategy and planning. Terrain and different kinds of units, castlebuilding, and parts of the feudalism mechanism are all here! Welcome to Merrie England....
THE RULES
Each of you has just succeeded to the throne of a major kingdom. Your goal will be to turn your petty fief surrounded by barbarian lands into the most powerful nation in the world or at least England [another English NES to placate UKnem and Jason! ]. You will build Peasants, Knights, Fleets, and Castles to strengthen and protect your empire.
Turns will happen every day at 4.00 in the afternoon, San Francisco time, except Sundays [my day off!]. With each turn will come a map-update, reports from of The Daily Alchemist [turn summary], and income updates.
Land you own is divided into provinces with a number like in the UKNES system. Sea is owned by nobody and divided into seas with a letter, all as usual.
Heres whats new:
A province is either Grassland, Forest, or Hills. Grasslands produce 3 gold pieces a turn, Forests produce 2, and Hills produce 1. Forests and Hills however are more easily defensible and slow down troops.
A province with a Castle produces DOUBLE income. A Hill Castle produces 2 gold for example, a Grass Castle produces 6.
Each turn you receive money to spend based on your income. However, you must also pay upkeep. And at the end, money not spent is halved and sent on to the next turn.
Each Peasant, Knight, or Fleet you own costs 1 gold per turn in upkeep. Castles are free - they support themselves.
Example. I have 2 Grass Castles, 1 Hill Castle, and 2 Forests. Thats 6+6+2+2+2= 18 gold. However I also have the 3 Castles mentioned above [but they are free of upkeep!] and 2 Knights. 18-2 means I have 16 gold to spend this turn.
You start with 11 gold at the beginning of the game: 6 from your Grassland Castle starting province and 5 from your treasury. Your starting province has a Castle, so you get 6 income per turn from that province.
You may spend money to buy:
Units [Peasants, Knights, or Fleets - the armed forces]
Castles [protect your land and boost income]
Marches [the necessary logistics to move troops from place to place]
1. UNITS
You may only buy units to start in a province with a Castle. So its a good idea to place castles strategically so your forces can reach any space in one turn after building them.
Knights and Fleets cost 3 gold each, while Peasants cost 2 gold each. Theres no limit to the amount you can build per turn.
2. CASTLES
You may only build 1 Castle per turn. You dont need Knights or Peasants in the province to build Castles though - the serfs can do the work. Castles cost 6 gold each. Only 1 Castle per province!
A Castle can NEVER be destroyed unless the player occupying it decides to destroy it on purpose.
3. MARCHES
Units that have just been built cannot move.
You have 2 free marches a turn. Extra ones can be bought at 4 gold each.
One March can be used for the following:
1. To load any amount of troops onto fleets [4 units per fleet] move the fleet up to one space, and unload them, attacking anything in the space.
OR
2. To move any number of troops in one province to another adjacent one.
OR
3. To move any number of fleets in one sea to another adjacent one.
Heres an example of two Marches. I move 4 Knights from Province A to B. In Province B there are already 3 Peasants and 1 Knight. The whole stack, 5 Knights and 3 Peasants, now moves for one March to Province B.
BUT!
There are limits to the amount of moves one unit can make per turn:
A Knight can only make up to 3 Marches.
A Peasant or Fleet can only make up to 2 Marches.
Troops may NOT switch fleets while at sea. That means no multi-fleet convoys.
However its made up for by the fact that fleets can move up to 2 seas if you expend enough marches.
When a Fleet makes a transport that counts as a March, of course, even if the Fleet never moved, because it loaded and unloaded troops. And it counts as a March for the unit crossing over.
But remember, the whole move only COSTS one March altogether.
ALL troops must stop and end their turn once entering a Forest or Hill space, or an enemy province!
SPECIAL RULE: only 4 units may ever occupy one of your Castle spaces, NO EXCEPTIONS! If you are ATTACKING a Castle you can use up to EIGHT units, total.
COMBAT
Any foreign Knights, Peasants, or Castles together fight. Fleets may coexist unless one owner ordered that they should fight.
In land combat, total units on each side are totalled.
A KNIGHT counts 2 points on offense, 1 on defense.
A PEASANT counts 1 point on offense, 2 on defence.
A CASTLE counts for 2 points on Grass or in Forest, 3 on a Hill [even if no Knights or Peasants are there to defend it, the serfs still will!].
A HILL itself without a Castle counts for 2 points [even if no Knights or Peasants are there to defend it, the serfs still will!].
Whoever has less points is labelled the LOSER [attacker in a tie always loses]. The other player is the WINNER. For that round at least!
Two dice are rolled. The LOSER loses points worth the same as the number on the HIGHER dice. The WINNER gets enough points taken away to equal the number on the LOWER dice.
Peasants are destroyed before Knights.
The another round is played, and another until:
The first side to lose half its force in NUMBER of UNITS [castles dont count] is DEFEATED and must retreat or die.
Heres an example of a fight to make things clear.
Alex attacks Beckas Forest Castle. Becka defends it with 4 Peasants, bringing the defensive total up to 10. Alex only has 3 Knights and 4 Peasants, for a total of 10. Hes the loser in a tie, because hes attacking.
The dice rolls read 3, 2. Alex removes 3 Peasants. Becka removes 2 Peasants.
However, BECKA has lost the battle because she just lost 2 of her 4 Peasants, reducing her army to 1/2 its size while Alex still has 4 of his 7 units. She retreats, and Alex occupies the Castle.
MORAL: use combined arms! Knights on defense are NOT useless because they die LAST so they arent risked in the battle, and they boost your numbers. Same for Peasants on attack: they are useful cannon fodder to keep your knights safe.
Water combat: the winner is the player or alliance with the most fleets. Each loser fleet rolls a dice. On 1, 2, or 3 the fleet sinks. On 4 or 5 the fleet may retreat safely to any friendly sea. On 6 the fleet may retreat safely AND an enemy fleet is also sunk!
ABOUT SERFS
Serfs are the villeins, virtual slaves of the aristocratic lords, unfortunately, but they are very useful. They build your Castles, for a price, and they will muster to defend a province.
If a province is empty of real troops and an enemy enters the serfs will muster. They are worth one point on defense. They use the defenses of Castles and Hills. They only last one turn since any casualties at all will kill them, but they may inflict minimal casualties on an enemy. A serf defending a Hill Castle can win a round against two Knights or four Peasants. Dont underestimate their use, and dont think an empty province is easy pickings if it has good defences - youll need a few Knights to take even an empty province out.
POSTCOMBAT
Castles are never destroyed, just occupied! So dont make Castles just to leave them vacant because they can become strongholds for your foe.
All units that cant retreat die. Retreating to the fleet is a valid option, ONLY if you attacked over water.
TREASURY
Any money not spent in units, castles, or marches is divided in half, rounded down, and added to your treasury to be used next turn.
Example: my income is 12 gold + 5 treasury gold = 17 gold. I spend 9 gold, leaving 8, which reduces to 4 and next turn I will have my income + 4 treasury gold.
DIPLOMACY
ANY kind of secret or public agreement can be made, and there are ZERO penalties for breaking them except getting a rep for backstabbing. And in the NES thats more than enough to get a dogpile on you. So be wary of which treaties you break.
The map shows the legend and the country identifications.
The year is 1030. Each turn brings 6 years of progress, so the next turn will be 1036.
Lets begin! Have fun.
APPENDIX: Example of Arthur of Essexs 1st turn ORDERS
To: The Troquelet
ORDERS
I have 11 gold to spend.
I buy 3 Knights and 1 Peasant for 9 and 2 gold, no gold left over.
I use Free March One to move a Knight and a Peasant from 10 to 11 and claim it for Essex.
I use Free March Two to move 2 Knights from 10 to 9 and claim it for Essex.
I buy zero extra marches.
I store zero gold.
My total troops are 3 Knights and 1 Peasant. Next turn I will pay 4 gold upkeep.
End orders.
Map and Timeline in second post.
Hi, my ISP had some problems so my net wasnt functioning... Ive been lurkin round here a while to see what the NES is up to.
Time to stick my oar in once again!
This is EPICNES. I decided to go back to the drawing board with the King Arthur/Scotnes ideas, and heres the result! Aside from the basic UKNES system theres a new method of movement and combat which will leave MUCH less up to luck, rewarding strategy and planning. Terrain and different kinds of units, castlebuilding, and parts of the feudalism mechanism are all here! Welcome to Merrie England....
THE RULES
Each of you has just succeeded to the throne of a major kingdom. Your goal will be to turn your petty fief surrounded by barbarian lands into the most powerful nation in the world or at least England [another English NES to placate UKnem and Jason! ]. You will build Peasants, Knights, Fleets, and Castles to strengthen and protect your empire.
Turns will happen every day at 4.00 in the afternoon, San Francisco time, except Sundays [my day off!]. With each turn will come a map-update, reports from of The Daily Alchemist [turn summary], and income updates.
Land you own is divided into provinces with a number like in the UKNES system. Sea is owned by nobody and divided into seas with a letter, all as usual.
Heres whats new:
A province is either Grassland, Forest, or Hills. Grasslands produce 3 gold pieces a turn, Forests produce 2, and Hills produce 1. Forests and Hills however are more easily defensible and slow down troops.
A province with a Castle produces DOUBLE income. A Hill Castle produces 2 gold for example, a Grass Castle produces 6.
Each turn you receive money to spend based on your income. However, you must also pay upkeep. And at the end, money not spent is halved and sent on to the next turn.
Each Peasant, Knight, or Fleet you own costs 1 gold per turn in upkeep. Castles are free - they support themselves.
Example. I have 2 Grass Castles, 1 Hill Castle, and 2 Forests. Thats 6+6+2+2+2= 18 gold. However I also have the 3 Castles mentioned above [but they are free of upkeep!] and 2 Knights. 18-2 means I have 16 gold to spend this turn.
You start with 11 gold at the beginning of the game: 6 from your Grassland Castle starting province and 5 from your treasury. Your starting province has a Castle, so you get 6 income per turn from that province.
You may spend money to buy:
Units [Peasants, Knights, or Fleets - the armed forces]
Castles [protect your land and boost income]
Marches [the necessary logistics to move troops from place to place]
1. UNITS
You may only buy units to start in a province with a Castle. So its a good idea to place castles strategically so your forces can reach any space in one turn after building them.
Knights and Fleets cost 3 gold each, while Peasants cost 2 gold each. Theres no limit to the amount you can build per turn.
2. CASTLES
You may only build 1 Castle per turn. You dont need Knights or Peasants in the province to build Castles though - the serfs can do the work. Castles cost 6 gold each. Only 1 Castle per province!
A Castle can NEVER be destroyed unless the player occupying it decides to destroy it on purpose.
3. MARCHES
Units that have just been built cannot move.
You have 2 free marches a turn. Extra ones can be bought at 4 gold each.
One March can be used for the following:
1. To load any amount of troops onto fleets [4 units per fleet] move the fleet up to one space, and unload them, attacking anything in the space.
OR
2. To move any number of troops in one province to another adjacent one.
OR
3. To move any number of fleets in one sea to another adjacent one.
Heres an example of two Marches. I move 4 Knights from Province A to B. In Province B there are already 3 Peasants and 1 Knight. The whole stack, 5 Knights and 3 Peasants, now moves for one March to Province B.
BUT!
There are limits to the amount of moves one unit can make per turn:
A Knight can only make up to 3 Marches.
A Peasant or Fleet can only make up to 2 Marches.
Troops may NOT switch fleets while at sea. That means no multi-fleet convoys.
However its made up for by the fact that fleets can move up to 2 seas if you expend enough marches.
When a Fleet makes a transport that counts as a March, of course, even if the Fleet never moved, because it loaded and unloaded troops. And it counts as a March for the unit crossing over.
But remember, the whole move only COSTS one March altogether.
ALL troops must stop and end their turn once entering a Forest or Hill space, or an enemy province!
SPECIAL RULE: only 4 units may ever occupy one of your Castle spaces, NO EXCEPTIONS! If you are ATTACKING a Castle you can use up to EIGHT units, total.
COMBAT
Any foreign Knights, Peasants, or Castles together fight. Fleets may coexist unless one owner ordered that they should fight.
In land combat, total units on each side are totalled.
A KNIGHT counts 2 points on offense, 1 on defense.
A PEASANT counts 1 point on offense, 2 on defence.
A CASTLE counts for 2 points on Grass or in Forest, 3 on a Hill [even if no Knights or Peasants are there to defend it, the serfs still will!].
A HILL itself without a Castle counts for 2 points [even if no Knights or Peasants are there to defend it, the serfs still will!].
Whoever has less points is labelled the LOSER [attacker in a tie always loses]. The other player is the WINNER. For that round at least!
Two dice are rolled. The LOSER loses points worth the same as the number on the HIGHER dice. The WINNER gets enough points taken away to equal the number on the LOWER dice.
Peasants are destroyed before Knights.
The another round is played, and another until:
The first side to lose half its force in NUMBER of UNITS [castles dont count] is DEFEATED and must retreat or die.
Heres an example of a fight to make things clear.
Alex attacks Beckas Forest Castle. Becka defends it with 4 Peasants, bringing the defensive total up to 10. Alex only has 3 Knights and 4 Peasants, for a total of 10. Hes the loser in a tie, because hes attacking.
The dice rolls read 3, 2. Alex removes 3 Peasants. Becka removes 2 Peasants.
However, BECKA has lost the battle because she just lost 2 of her 4 Peasants, reducing her army to 1/2 its size while Alex still has 4 of his 7 units. She retreats, and Alex occupies the Castle.
MORAL: use combined arms! Knights on defense are NOT useless because they die LAST so they arent risked in the battle, and they boost your numbers. Same for Peasants on attack: they are useful cannon fodder to keep your knights safe.
Water combat: the winner is the player or alliance with the most fleets. Each loser fleet rolls a dice. On 1, 2, or 3 the fleet sinks. On 4 or 5 the fleet may retreat safely to any friendly sea. On 6 the fleet may retreat safely AND an enemy fleet is also sunk!
ABOUT SERFS
Serfs are the villeins, virtual slaves of the aristocratic lords, unfortunately, but they are very useful. They build your Castles, for a price, and they will muster to defend a province.
If a province is empty of real troops and an enemy enters the serfs will muster. They are worth one point on defense. They use the defenses of Castles and Hills. They only last one turn since any casualties at all will kill them, but they may inflict minimal casualties on an enemy. A serf defending a Hill Castle can win a round against two Knights or four Peasants. Dont underestimate their use, and dont think an empty province is easy pickings if it has good defences - youll need a few Knights to take even an empty province out.
POSTCOMBAT
Castles are never destroyed, just occupied! So dont make Castles just to leave them vacant because they can become strongholds for your foe.
All units that cant retreat die. Retreating to the fleet is a valid option, ONLY if you attacked over water.
TREASURY
Any money not spent in units, castles, or marches is divided in half, rounded down, and added to your treasury to be used next turn.
Example: my income is 12 gold + 5 treasury gold = 17 gold. I spend 9 gold, leaving 8, which reduces to 4 and next turn I will have my income + 4 treasury gold.
DIPLOMACY
ANY kind of secret or public agreement can be made, and there are ZERO penalties for breaking them except getting a rep for backstabbing. And in the NES thats more than enough to get a dogpile on you. So be wary of which treaties you break.
The map shows the legend and the country identifications.
The year is 1030. Each turn brings 6 years of progress, so the next turn will be 1036.
Lets begin! Have fun.
APPENDIX: Example of Arthur of Essexs 1st turn ORDERS
To: The Troquelet
ORDERS
I have 11 gold to spend.
I buy 3 Knights and 1 Peasant for 9 and 2 gold, no gold left over.
I use Free March One to move a Knight and a Peasant from 10 to 11 and claim it for Essex.
I use Free March Two to move 2 Knights from 10 to 9 and claim it for Essex.
I buy zero extra marches.
I store zero gold.
My total troops are 3 Knights and 1 Peasant. Next turn I will pay 4 gold upkeep.
End orders.
Map and Timeline in second post.