I have not completed the rest of the game design this is just a preview of my rough draft.
STILL TO BE COMPLETED:
Details of each household
More detail on the skill list and what happens each year to determine child birth/skill increase
Economics of England
Dueling Rules
Military Combat Resolution
Titles and their function
Welcome to a Role playing game of “What-If”, in this game you will take the role of a Patrician of a Noble Family that is part of a Regency Council ruling over England.
The Year is 1588, it is a time deep within the renaissance when great advancements within Science, Culture and Religion were taking place. The game is not entirely historically accurate, in fact poetic license has been taken and the best analogy I have for you is to consider how the movies may treat this time period. If you are familiar with the showtime feature “The Tudors” or even those old classic movies of daring swashbucklers and musketeers.
The reality of what happened was that King Philip II of Spain had been king consort of England until the death, in 1558, of his wife, Queen Mary I of England, and he took exception to the policies pursued by her successor, his sister-in-law Elizabeth I. The aim of his expedition was to invade and conquer England, thereby suppressing support for the United Provinces – that part of the Spanish Netherlands in possession of the Dutch rebels – and cutting off attacks by the English against Spanish possessions in the New World and against the Atlantic treasure fleets. The king was supported by Pope Sixtus V, who treated the invasion as a crusade, with the promise of a further subsidy should the Armada make land.
The fleet set out with 22 warships of the Spanish Royal Navy and 108 converted merchant vessels, with the intention of sailing through the English Channel to anchor off the coast of Flanders, where the Duke of Parma's army of tercios would stand ready for an invasion of the south-east of England.
The Armada achieved its first goal and anchored outside Gravelines, at the coastal border area between France and the Spanish Netherlands. While awaiting communications from Parma's army, it was driven from its anchorage by an English fire ship attack, and in the ensuing battle at Gravelines the Spanish were forced to abandon their rendezvous with Parma's army.
However, some say if the wind had just shifted a little that day in August, the invasion may have succeeded. Conquest wouldn't have been totally necessary as there would have been local nobles and city garrisons willing to accept King Phillips coin for their surrender.
So in this game, we say the wind did shift that day. That day Lord Howard of Effingham and Sir Francis Drake who valiantly led the British Naval Forces could not turn the tide of battle and your side, the Royal Spanish side was victorious.
It has only been a few months. Queen Elizabeth and her court has been scattered, although the Queen's body has not been discovered. No heir is readily apparent and as her death has not been confirmed at this time, you reign in full stead as the sovereign council over England.
King Phillip has placed Duke Alexander Farnese as Governer over his dutch holdings, but makes no claim to the Throne of England. Instead, he only seeks that it name a true Catholic Sovereign ruler. He has entrusted you to rule until such time as a Ruler is named.
(Note: One player will be the Son of Duke Farnese, ruling in England for his Father)
Overview of Play:
This game is not intended to be an exercise in Micromanagement or accounting. One key aspect of GM burn-out in games is trying to run six or seven separate “Mini-Games” by having each of you run your own separate empires.
Instead, I propose a game that should require no more than 2 hours a week of time to maintain or play and that while there are quantifiable game mechanics, this should be a simple system to track and maintain (Yet fairly realistic). To that end, I've simplified some aspect of economics. I have prepared fairly detailed rules in regards to economics, law and military action however you may find I have simplified the system as a form of poetic license.
The intent is to provide you with an interesting challenge to roleplay: You must work with Five other players who have have their own agendas to rule the nation under a Regency Council. In that time you can gain vast amounts of wealth of power for yourself and your family and/or you can return England to it's position as a world power.
Unlike roleplaying games where you decide to attack the Orc, scale the tower, save the damsel and steal the dragons treasure, this is a game of politics, intrigue, economics and morality. You will be asked to decide matters of law. The burgers and merchants of the age seek more rights and privileges, this is a time when religion is in direct conflict withs science, when military tradition of Castles and Knights are still employed on the same field with musketeers and cannon-shot on the battlefield. It is a time when you will be asked to make important decisions and eloquent speech, or to be the velvet glove behind the decisions.
It is a “Thinking” persons roleplaying game. As GM I will provide you with situations and events that you will be able to use your vast resources to deal with. Instead of drawing a blade and doing battle with the Evil Knight though, you may more likely send your spymaster or negotiate to marry your daughter to the foreign court.
This is a game where you play not only yourself, but the “Patrician” of your family, and as head of that family you do have a lot of authority in the choice of career or spouse, but ultimately they are people with freewill and they may choose to ignore your will, be careful though in how you manage these people for as your blood, they can be your most loyal advisors (and if you should die in the game, you will play your heir).
The Regency Council
In this game you can hold only one Title, in this case one of the six high offices of the regency council.
Lord Chancellor (Secretary of State/Keeper of the Seals)
Lord High Treasurer
Lord Protector
Earl Marshall
Lord High Admiral
Lord High Constable
The Lord Chancellor is elected by the other members of the Regency Council and the Chancellor than assigns the other Title as they see fit to the other members of the Regency Council.
Most of the game will be played from the Palace of Westminster in England, where you shall be given reports of your forces and decisions, but in the course of the game you may certainly leave and go about affairs on your own.
Each of these positions guarantees you a place on the “Regency Council” which rules in the stead of a Sovereign Crown. There is a “Charter of the Regency” in place to determine how you shall govern, and changes to this can only be made with the permission of King Phillip II of Spain.
In addition, the King has reinstated a new Parliament with limited authority. This is made up of two houses, “The House of Lords” which is by invitation to those of noble birth and “The House of Commons” which is made up of Burgers and Merchants. These groups will occasionally provide you with new laws that they wish you to decide upon (by vote).
This body elects a spokesman, currently Lord Great Chamberlain William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley who will act as your advisor, he bears the sword of state and will preside over the next coronation in a ceremonial capacity. He was an advisor to the previous monarch and does bear some watching, however King Phillip is a man who sometimes brings his enemies close for such a purpose.
A quick guide to each Title of High Office:
Lord Chancellor (Secretary of State/Keeper of the Seals): will gain the most authority in the course of the game. They lead the council and generally put forth matters to vote upon.
Lord High Treasurer: In matters of taxation and economics the high treasurer appoints and controls the taxmen and excise/toll roads. This is a path to extreme wealth.
Lord Protector: The Lord Protector will maintain the royal stables and as such commands the Royal Cavalry, in addition to a stipend from the government in Military Arms. The Lord Protector is the only one who can create mounted troops (but he can grant these troops to other players)
Earl Marshall: The Earl Marshall commands the militia and standing Royal Army, in addition to a stipend from the government in Military Arms. The Earl Marshall has access to the very best troops and stores and their units will always have a bonus in combat.
Lord High Admiral: The High Admiral commands the Royal Navy (what is left of it), in addition to a stipend from the government in Military and Naval Arms. The Lord high admiral is the only one who can build military warships of all the players (but they can grant these to other players)
Lord High Constable: The highest law enforcement official in the land. You work hand in hand with the Lord High Treasurer to maintain order, but it is you who manage the roadwardens and town watches. You also manage and look after the Bailiffs of each of the seven provinces. You will assign the Bailiffs of each of the seven provinces (Very powerful titles, best to spread these around to other households besides your own)
This is just a quick guide on each of these Titles, more will be forthcoming on them, as well as the Titles they can appoint, and exactly how much the Title pays.
Each of you will start the game by Selecting one of the Six Ruling Families:
Robert Dudley-1st Earl of Leicester
Don Alonso de Guzmán El Bueno -Duke of Medina Sidonia
Hercule François, Duke of Anjou and Alençon
Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma
Archduke Rudolf II of Habsburg
William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle
Each of these individuals were handpicked by King Phillip II and his advisors to due to their actions in the invasion or leading up to it to be on the Regency Council (Even though many of them are not native to England itself).
As a Patrician you will also have 10-20 family members and your own personal advisors that serve you. This will be referred to in future as your “Noble Household” and over the course of the game as people die/are born into it or present themselves for recruitment you shall have a chance to manage that household to your pleasure.
I will go into detail on each family and their reasons for being chosen in a seperate post.
Each Male is rated in the following attributes, from 1-10
Nobility-
Marshall-
Admiral-
Stewardship-
Courtier-
Dread-
Scholar-
Faith-
Rake-
Discipline-
Age-
Each Female is rated in the following attributes
Beauty-
Charm-
Wisdom-
Chastity-
Faith-
Age-
This is due to the fact that at this time, even though women can be head of state, the attributes that best represent them are fewer than their male counterparts. (Call me a mysogynist or a student of history if you will)
It is also possible that notable figures of court will have a “Skill” in this game a Skill generally affects what kind of specialty knowledge you can have, but it could also be a personality flaw or notable trait such as drinks heavily or scandalous reputation.
Here is a quick definition of each of the Attributes:
Nobility- This represents the general education of all noblemen in conduct as well as sport such as hunting, riding, and dueling. (There is a dueling mini-game). It is also used for health and virility checks (as you age this value may be reduced).
Marshall- This is added in land combat to any dice when you are in a leadership role. It reflects your skill at commanding troops in battle, and to add your score you must be in a key leadership role.
Admiral- This is as with the Marshall skill, except in matters naval.
Stewardship- This represents your ability to manage a court or kingdom, negotiate with merchants and the business of actually running a kingdom.
Courtier- This is your charm and wit and ability to be revered at court, to gather information, to be diplomatic, to seduce women or ally with others. It is not necessarily tied to looks however a honeyed-toungue or a charming smile never hurts. Some one with a high Courtier skill must remain chivalrous and have a good reputation as well.
Dread- This is the fear and awe you inspire at court and on the battlefield. If you govern a people they fear your iron fist, if you marshall your troops for war they wonder should they fear you more than the enemy.
*The combination of courtier and dread cannot exceed 10.
Scholar- A Man of letters, you've been given a classical education. If you have a 6+ Scholar you can choose one of four backgrounds:
1- Seminary +1 Faith and a solid understanding of the church, its teachings and structure
2- Law: A good understanding of Law and Mathematics.
3- School of Ptolemy, classical training in geography, astronomy and history.
4- Engineering: you have an understanding of how to construct buildings/military siegecraft
Faith- This is more perception of your faith than a measure of it's actual value, even if you give lip service to it only, but are a patron of the church, this value can increase. The Faith of your household equals a certain amount of Piety (A resource)you receive monthly which can be spent to influence the church.
Rake- Lustful liasons with common trollops, drinking and wenching, knowing the best bawdy and ribald tales, the young Rake is a trouble maker to be sure, but in addition to skills such as gambling and telling tales, a Rake with at least a 6+ score is good at skullduggery, poisons and sneaking. A Rake with a 6+ score automatically has a -1 to Courtier (and actions that become common knowledge can result in a further reduction, better to get some one else to do the dirty work for you.)
Discipline-This is a value that is used to measure NPC's loyalty to your household and their assignments and convictions as perceived by you. Someone with a low discipline may be a drunkard or ignore their duties while a high discipline will serve loyally. Rewards may increase this value, but some times absolute power absolutely corrupts!
Rake and Discipline cannot exceed a total of 10. This is because being a Rake means breaking the rules and not being trustworthy.
Age- At 15, a member of your household is considered an adult and between 55-65 they usually retire although it is not unknown for one to live much longer and serve til death.
For women:
Beauty- Unlike the male contemporaries, the female is measured specifically for her beauty and appearance.
Charm- Grace and manners, as well as wit this is the female equivalent of the courtier attribute.
Wisdom- Intelligence and education in women is not as acknowledged and formal as it is for male, but this is the combination of the stewardship and scholar attribute and would be used if a woman were to rule.
Chastity- Strangely, the one attribute many of you may actually wish was lower, the higher this value the more the woman adheres to the notion of chaste virtue, Queen Elizabeth would have had a 10 in this. A lewd woman who takes many secret lovers may have a 3 or lower in this, and a 5 would be a good wife who at least has managed to kept any lovers completely secret.
Faith- This value is the same as for males
Age- at 15 they become adults and marrying age (Yes I am aware that historically it could have happened earlier, but for our purposes we shall say 15). At 35 any unmarried women will join the convent or become a matron in the household and shall be unmarriable (except in special certain circumstances)
Titles
As stated previously, you can personally only hold one “Title”. However, you can have any number of “Appointments” to hand out as you see fit to anyone within your household (or even outside of your household). If the person you 'appoint' can no longer perform those duties, typically you are allowed to retain the appointment and assign it to some one else at your pleasure.
There are four types of Appointments:
Government-
Military-
Ecclesiastic-
Guild-
Government- These are offices such as a Bailiff or Magistrate, in the performance of these duties wealth and power will be returned to the household, but often they themselves can make appointments as well. You may also appoint to diplomatic positions such as envoys to various sovereign nations, as prior diplomats were loyal to Queen Elizabeth they have been dismissed or recalled. Very few have retained their positions either within or outside Brittain.
Military- The default appointment is made at 15 when a male of your household reaches 'adulthood' and can become either a midshipmen, squire, or Aide de camp. However, when raising your own personal troops you can also appoint higher rank such as Captain or Commander.
A midshipmen will serve in the British Navy
A Squire will serve at court with a Knight
An Aide-De-Camp will be a junior Officer in a British Army unit.
At this time the 'standing army' of the crown has been reduced to almost nothing, but there are many loyalist British rebels who may need to be put down and King Phillip has on loan many Spanish “Tercios”. In addition, every member of the regency council will be authorized to raise and maintain their own personal companies of Yeomen and Armsmen for their own personal needs. How you choose to use them will be up to you, but be careful of bringing England to War at this precarious time.
Ecclesiastic-The default appointment is made at 15 when a male or female of your household is assigned to the seminary in exchange for 100 Piety (A resource). However, if you should gain control of a Bishopric or through some special circumstance you could appoint a Cardinal or Bishop. A male will become a priest while a female will become a nun. In time, they can raise to great power, privilege and authority within the Roman Catholic Church and even affect the outcome of the election or become Pope themselves.
While the Protestant faith is alive and well in England thanks in part to a recent Tudor King and Elizabeth herself, the Bishoprics all owe allegiance (at least in name) to the Pope in Rome, one important matter may be to root out religious subversion within the realm.
Guild- The default appointment is made at 15 when a male of your household is assigned to one of the seven key Guilds in the land to learn a trade as an Apprentice. If you should gain control of a Guild you could potentially appoint a Guild Master. Guilds typically control the process to become a journeyman or master and it is very difficult to influence that process, and usually only a “Master” can be appointed a Guild Master. The guilds elect the 78 members of the House of Commons and it is possible also that your appointee could be chosen to be a member.
There are twenty six guilds in total, but there are only seven notable guilds that will be represented in the game (being sort of an amalgamation of their internal alliances)
1- The Stonemasons Guild
2- The Armourers Guild
3- The Craftsmans Guild
4- The Stevedores/Ports Guild
5- The Theatre Guild
6- The Moneylenders Guild
7- The Merchant Venturers Guild
Each of these Guilds will have an elected Guild Leader who shall speak on their behalf and who may want special privileges or even offer to sell their privileges in exchange for specific favors. This is an important component of the game.
There are also foreign guilds (especially those involved in banking) which may in the course of the game interact.
Power Resources
In this game we track seven types of power resources which you earn on a monthly basis:
Wealth (Ducat):
Authority
Piety Influence:
Culture
Invention
intrigue
Military Arms
Naval Power
It is not necessary to track every little workshop or guild you own, but you will have a general idea of where these Resources come from (Suitable to a Patrician such as yourself), you can spend these resources as you see fit.
Deficit Spending and Inflation: DS&I: These concepts do not exist within the game. There is certainly the ability to loan or be loaned resources at interest or without interest in the course of the game, but ultimately you cannot spend what you do not have.
Even the “Wealth” resource is not simply money that you could simply press more of if you were without. It represents a real value of work and labor and therefore you cannot spend more than you have. You could “seize” some one else's wealth and use it as your own, but that has consequences as well.
The game will naturally adjust for inflation in due course, and while the laws of supply and demand are complex, the value of the wealth would be relative to its counterpart in another of the six power resources. So in other words, if 4 Wealth would buy 1 Invention, it will always buy that amount even if the actual value of the 4 wealth went from 20 gold ingots to 40 gold ingots.
BASE CONVERSION RATES:
It is not possible to convert more than 1000 wealth in a given month to any other resource unless you control a special guild or Office.
Wealth can be converted to any of the following:
25: 1 Authority
50: 1 Piety Influence:
20: 1 Culture
50: 1 Invention
2:1 intrigue
1:1 Military Arms
2: 1 Naval Power
So in other words, you could convert 1000 wealth to 500 naval power or 1000 military arms (or some combination).
This is hardly the most economic way to develop resources, it is probably wiser to invest in the production of all the types of resources. To do so, England itself must prosper either internally or with foreign colonies and merchant endeavors.
Your titles shall grant you wealth and periodically the GM will grant you an opportunity to invest in ways to increase overall wealth.
Typically though you must spend to make more wealth, the cost of that investment is often high and it is not as simple as “I spend 20,000 wealth to make 1,000 more wealth a month” (I wish it was). In the beginning the game you will have “Estates” which represents how much you earn a month from all your various holdings and overtime you will have an opportunity to increase.
Common Costs:
Church (Requires a Priest) – 1,000 Piety, 1,000 wealth, 1,000 culture = 100 piety a month
Workshop (Requires an Inventor/Artist) – 1,000 invention, 5,000 wealth, = 100 invention or culture a month
Free Company Yeoman – 1,000 Military Arms, 1200 wealth (and 1200 wealth a year)
Free Company Cavalry – 5,000 Military Arms, 1200 wealth (and 1200 wealth a year)
Free Company Arquebuseers (foot) – 5,000 Military Arms, 1200 wealth (and 1200 wealth a year)
Free Company Cannoneers (heavy bronze) -7,000 military arms, 1200 wealth (and 1200 wealth a year)
Spanish Tercios cannot be created on British Soil
A free company is roughly 1,000 men and comes with a free “Captain” title to appoint.
Here is a quick definition of each of them:
Wealth (Ducat): It is expressed as a “Ducat” which is a general coin of the Italian realm but in addition it reflects luxury items such as gold and gems, and also manpower to actually do work, building supplies and materials, supplies, food, wine, etc.
Wealth is used to 'get things done' except in cases where you must spend one of the resources below.
Authority: Within the government, if you want to create or assign an Office, pass a law, influence an Official through normal channels, you spend “Authority” to get it done. Each of you generate a certain amount of Authority just for holding your position on the Regency Council and you gain the authority from your household as well.
Piety Influence: The PI is your indulgence from the pope. You do good works and be a model prince for the Church and your PI increases. You do bad things and it decreases. It is possible to lose at least 50% of your Piety whenever there is a new pope.
Culture: Statues, Paintings and great works, if you are a patron of the Arts, your Culture will increase. Great men of letters, poets, authors, and other masterworks can be produced for you by simply spending Culture. To sponsor the building of a Cathedral for instance, you will have to spend wealth but also Culture.
Invention: Science is in its early stages. Thaumaturgy is thought to be a real practice, yet in this age it is these great thinkers who receive your patronage in their workshops who research and design for you. Invention can be spent to produce a more efficient cannon or to perhaps even to finish building a University.
intrigue: Your spys and agents gather intelligence for you on a constant basis. Want to buy a rumor of what is happening abroad? Want to infiltrate a foreign court? You spend intrigue to get it done. This can also be spent to obtain blackmarket/illegal goods and services, assasinate, kidnap or intimidate, by some gentlemen with less than honorable reputations. In other words, You say you want it to happen and spend the intrigue and the arrangements will be made.
Military Arms: This is weapons, military tradition and training and manpower all rolled into one. It is the ability to fight a war and typically along with wealth it is needed to maintain an army or siege. You want to recruit a Free Company of Troops? An Officer? You spend Military Arms and from within your 'supply' of this resource one is recruited. It is possible this person was always in your employ, so Military Arms are not just sitting around in a warehouse somewhere, they are probably militia who are at the ready in time of need. As a member of the regency council you take part in the defense of the realm so it is perfectly acceptable to maintain your own personal army for use by the realm.
Naval Power: Like Military Arms, except this can only be deployed at a coastal province and it not only reflects naval ships of war but also merchant ships (Sometimes they are two in the same). The reason this is tracked separately is traditionally both MA and NP are not held by the same people, although all members of the Regency Council should be accumulating some NP for the good of the realm.
In Summary: You will gain these seven resources every month (And so will all of England) to use at your pleasure. You simply say “I want to spend 1,000 Military Arms to create a Company of Yeoman” and it is done.
If you want to build something like a Castle that will take 20 years, your payment can be split up into a monthly cost, so you do not have to pay it all upfront.
(continued- this is just a preview)