Ruleset!
ARTNES 2
WELCOME MAT
This is the 2nd ARTNES, revised for realism, a larger map, and more players. Thanks to all who played ARTNES 1, and to the other NESes which continue to provide this fun game to CivFanatics and Apolyton visitors, and hopefully to make the game more and more fun, without adding needless complication and difficulty. For that reason the rules are quite concise and take only a few minutes to read through.
JOINING
Up to eleven players can play in ARTNES 2. The game will start once 8 or more have joined up. Thereafter anyone can join the remaining open spots. Once all 11 spots are filled the game is closed unless a player leaves.
EXPLANATION OF THE MAP, TIME SCALE, and CURRENCY
Unlike other NESes, this one has a map split into regions. The ocean regions are called Seas and the land regions are called Realms. In addition, a Realm which borders a Sea is also known as a Coastal Realm. Each Sea or Realm is named historically.
Each Realm has 3 numbers besides a name. These numbers are Terrain, Population, and Gold. Terrain is a measure (0, 1, or 2) of the difficulty of moving and fighting in the Realm. Population (1, 2, 3, or 4) states how many subjects live in the Realm (conscription depends on Population - a larger Population can support a larger army). Finally, Gold (1, 2, 3, or 4) is your income from that Realm, and can be used to buy new armies, or saved until next year.
The game starts in 1300 AD and moves forward a year each turn (so the next turn would be 1301 AD).
At the beginning of the game each player will receive 5 Gold. Gold is the currency of the game, extracted from Realms, and used to buy armies.
ARMIES
There are 4 units - Castles, Knights, Spearmen, and Galleys. All of these can be bought using Gold. All except Castles use up Population points each turn. A Castle boosts each status of a Realm by 1, without exceeding the limit. So, if a Realm had stats of 1-4-2, it would have 2-4-3 with a Castle.
There is no limit to the number of armies in a Realm, but only 1 Castle may be bought in each Realm.
ON EACH TURN
On each turn, the map update will be posted by the moderator. In addition the post will include the status of each nation. This will tell: the total Population of the nation, the total Gold received this turn (aka the Salary), and the Treasury (the Salary plus the balance from last turn).
After this you have exactly 48 hours to conduct diplomacy and talk with your fellow Kings. By the end of the 48 hours you must submit your orders.
POPULATION
The size army you can have at ANY moment in time depends on your Population size. Population points can NOT be stored and saved.
A Knight or Galley takes 2 PP (Population Points), while a Spearman takes 1.
So, if I had a Population of 14, I could have 7 Knights, or 4 Knights, 1 Galley, and 2 Spearmen, etc.
Remember that a Castle boosts your PP in that Realm by 1.
You may NOT buy units if they would make you exceed your PPs.
If, by losing a Realm, you go over your PP total, units will starve (which unit is randomly determined) until you have enough PPs.
ORDERS
At the start of your PM to me, include how much Gold you have, your PPs, and your PPs left over after subtracting your current army.
Next, you may buy units. A Spearman takes 2 Gold, a Knight or a Galley 4, and a Castle takes 6. Please specify for each unit which Realm it is starting in. A Galley may only be built in a Coastal Realm. Only 1 Castle per Realm. Remember not to go over your PP total!
Next you may state moves. Each unit may move OR stay still.
A Galley may move from a Sea to a Sea, or from a Sea to a Coastal Realm of that Sea, or from a Coastal Realm to another, adjacent, Coastal Realm which borders the same Sea (so it may NOT cross land, but it can crawl along the coast). In each case a Galley may move 1 Space.
A Spearman may move from any Realm to another which is adjacent. It may also Convoy. A Spearman can move just 1 Space.
A Knight may move from any Realm to another which is adjacent. It can move UP TO 2 Spaces, but MUST stop once in an enemy Realm. A Knight may also Convoy.
Castles are immobile.
CONVOYING
A Spearman or a Knight on a Coastal Province can jump to another Coastal Province bordering the same Sea, IF there is a Galley in the Sea. This counts as the entire move (Knights cant move one more space).
CLAIMING LAND
If one of your units moves to a neutral Realm that Realm becomes your own. If two nations both move into the same Realm the one with more Knights wins and the other nations move never happens. If equal amounts of Knights are on both sides the winner is randomly determined.
If two nations have units in the same space combat may or may not happen.
Galleys of multiple nations can coexist in the same space except Galleys of nations at war WILL fight.
Regardless, units on land always fight.
LAND COMBAT
Combat points are added up first. When attacking a Knight is worth 4 points and a Spearman 1. On defense a Knight is worth 1 and a Spearman 2. Galleys dont count. So for example, if 2 Knights and a Spearman attacked 2 Spearmen, the count would be 9 for the attackers and 4 for the defenders.
This number is turned into an odds with attacker:defender, and the odds are always rounded down. The possible odds are: 1:2, 2:3, 1:1, 3:2, 2:1, 5:3, and 3:1. In our example, the odds would be 9:4 which is rounded down to 2:1 (in reality 8:4).
After determining the odds, the odds for the REAL combat are 0, 1, or 2 odds to the left, depending on the Terrain number of the defending Realm. Also remember that a Castle boosts this number 1. So if the Realm was 0 but had a Castle the odds would be 3:2, NOT 2:1, because of a 1-odds shift left.
Finally, a six-sided die is rolled and the appropriate result happens, according to the following chart. The letters A B C D and E stand for results, where C is a standoff with equal losses, A and B are severe and middling attacker losses, and D and E are middling and severe defender losses.
1:2 2:3 1:1 3:2 2:1 5:3 3:1
1 A A A B B C C
2 A A B B C C D
3 A B B C C D D
4 B B C C D D E
5 B C C D D E E
6 C C D D E E E
So, if a 4 was rolled in our example, the result would be a standoff, with equal losses, and the attacker would not seize the Realm.
Casualties are always up to the moderator and decisions are final. However, A,B, and C decisions ALWAYS mean the attacker must retreat and leave the Realm in the defenders hands (even if the Defender loses all his units!), while D and E mean the defender loses the Realm to the attacker and must retreat (even if the attacker is destroyed).
If an attacker attacked by Convoy he may retreat to the original Realm.
Any Galleys a defender has in his Realm are destroyed if the defender loses.
SEA COMBAT
Sea combat is quite simple: Galleys are randomly removed from one side or the other until one side loses all its Galleys.
MAP UPDATES
Map updates will happen every 48 hours upon submission of orders.
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