The Law of the Jungle

[yahzuk]

HE WHO HAS; GETS
HE WHO WANTS; TAKES

This is the law of the Jungle.
This is the Aztec way.

This game is meant to be very challenging.
This game is meant to be highly competitive.
This game is meant to be interesting and engaging and fun.
This game is not meant, in any way, to be fair.

Welcome to the Jungle.
You're an Aztec now……..

​

 

[yahzuk]

1. Intro
2. Index
3. Game Structure
4. Character Attributes
5. Aztec Class Structure
6. Game Decisions
7. Character Actions
8. Character Titles
9. Aztec Gods
10. Character Attacks
11. Controlling Units
12. Proposing Rule Changes
13. Joining the Game
14. Rule Change Log

 

[yahzuk]

WELCOME
Welcome to Aztlan, home of the Aztec empire!
You are the ruler of a great house.
Well… a house anyway…. perhaps someday it will be great.

Welcome to Aztlan, home of the Aztec empire!
You are the ruler of a house.
Well… a house implies multiple characters related in some way…. You begin the game all by your lonesome self

Welcome to Aztlan, home of the Aztec empire.
You are a citizen.
No….. Citizens have educations and land and tenants who work the land for them
You? Not so much.

<sigh>

Welcome to Aztlan, home of the Aztec empire.
You are a worthless peasant.
You live on land that is not your own, struggling to eke out a living while the powerful nobility demand what little you have.
But perhaps someday through hard work, treachery and a little luck, you can build a great house to rule over.
And then&#8230; then you will make them pay&#8230;&#8230;..

Welcome to the game.

BASIC GAME STRUCTURE
As a player in this game you will control a house consisting of one or more characters.
You only get one upon signing up - expanding your house is up to you.
The game is divided into Council Sessions.
The council session is divided into three parts; "Morning", "Afternoon" and "Evening".
During the Morning the God's Festival is announced and each character may perform 1 action.
During the Afternoon, the results of the Morning are announced and each character may perform 1 action.
During the Evening, the results of the Afternoon are announced, food is consumed and the council session is ended. No actions are performed.

Regardless of what happens in the council, ten gameturns will be played in between each council session.
The actions you perform may increase your character's attributes, improving them throughout the game.
As you accomplish certain things, your character may earn titles, granting him special status, bonuses or abilities.
The game continues until it ends.
The player with the highest total Fame among all his characters will be the winner.

 

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CHARACTER ATTRIBUTES
All characters have 4 attributes:
Combat Experience (XP) - Earned through combat. New characters start with XP=1.
Fame - Earned through culture. New characters start with Fame = 0.
Craftsmanship - Earned through production achievements. New characters start with Craftsmanship = 1.
Wisdom - Earned through scientific achievements. New characters start with Wisdom = 1.
All of a player's characters belong to the same house.
A house has a single pool of food and of gold. New houses start with Food = 0 and Gold = 0.

FAME
Characters earn Fame by earning culture.
Fame is a measure of a character's standing within Atzlan used for many things.

SCIENCE BEAKERS
Tlatoani, Citizens and Peasants working at Science Academies may earn science beakers.
Science beakers may be used to research new technologies.
Science beakers cannot be saved. Any beakers not used during the council session in which they are earned are lost.

PRODUCTION HAMMERS
Tlatoani, Citizens and Peasants may earn production hammers.
Production hammers may be used to build buildings or train units.
Production hammers cannot be saved. Any hammers not used during the council session in which they are earned are lost.

COMBAT EXPERIENCE (XP)
Soldiers and characters involved in attacks may earn combat experience (XP).
Experience earned increases the character's XP value.
XP also represents the character's health.
When a character is wounded or starving they will lose XP.
A character with 0 XP immediately dies.

GOLD
Each house has a common store of gold.
Gold can be used in several types of character actions.

FOOD
Each house has a common store of food.
Excess food is saved for the next council session.
At the end of every council session, all characters need to eat to stay alive.
The amount of food a character requires depends on their strength and Fame (Kings always expect a better table than peasants!).
The amount of food a character requires is equal to sqrt((XP+Fame)/10), rounded up.
If a house does not have enough food for all of its characters, randomly determined characters will be short of food.
These characters lose XP equal to (XP)*(Food Short)/(Food Required)*(1.5)*(Random Number).
Characters that drop to 0 XP starve to death.

 

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AZTEC CLASS STRUCTURE
There are several classes within the Aztec society.

PEASANT
Most characters begin the game as peasants.
A character is also considered a peasant whenever they are not specifically something else.
Peasants have no special rights or privileges.

SOLDIERS
Any character in a unit is considered a soldier.
At the beginning of each council session, the Aztec people provide soldiers with food rations of 1 food.
Soldiers that require more than 1 food must receive the remainder from their houses.

CITIZEN
A citizen is a member of lower nobility who has earned the right to own land.
The number of citizens in a city is equal to the number of citizens in the game.
At the beginning of each council session, citizens receive science beakers equal to the per citizen science beakers generated by the city.
Any peasants living on the citizen's land are considered tenants. A tenants' 2nd action each council session must always be to toil on behalf of the citizen.
A citizen is required to defend any of his tenants from attack (automatic - no action required).
New citizens are chosen at random, weighted by Fame.
Citizens may live in puppet cities.
If a citizen starves to death in game, a random citizen is demoted to peasant, weighted by 1/Fame.
If enemy units force a citizen off their current hex, the city is relocated to the new hex. Any peasants residing on the hex are unaffected.

SPECIALIST
A citizen may choose to occupy a specialist slot instead of a land tile.
A specialist is not able to have tenants as they have no land.
At the beginning of each council session the Aztec people provide specialists with 3 food.

TLATOANI
A Tlatoani is king of his city.
At the beginning of each council session the Tlatoani receives the output of his city (no action required).
The food received by the Tlatoani is the city's net food production. The Tlatoani does not lose food if the city's food production is less than 0
The gold received by the Tlatoani is equal to (City Specific Income and Trade per Economic Overview) - (City Specific Expenses per Economic Overview) - (Empire Wide Expenses)*(Citizens in City)/(Total Citizens). The Tlatoani does not lose gold if the gold value is less than 0.
Tlatoani own all strategic and luxury resources generated by the city.
There are several actions that can only be performed by Tlatoani.
New Tlatoani are chosen at random, weighted by Fame.
A puppet city has no Tlatoani.
A peasant residing in the city hex will be a tenant of the Tlatoani.
Tenants of Tlatoani are handled in exactly the same way as tenants of citizens.

Tlatoani are also responsible for maintaining the happiness of the Aztlan.
Each city's happiness is equal to (Happiness Generated by the City)-(Unhappiness Generated by the City).
Happiness from natural wonders are shared by all cities.
Happiness from luxuries are shared among the cities that possess the luxuries.
If the city's happiness is greater than or equal to 0, nothing happens.
If the city's happiness is less than 0, there is a chance each council session that the NPC peasants will revolt against the Tlatoani and remove him from the throne.
A randomly selected character from the city, weighted by fame, becomes the new Tlatoani.
The overthrown Tlatoani becomes a peasant on the hex the new Tlatoani came from.
The odds of being overthrown by the angry mob of NPC peasants is equal to abs|City Happiness/100|

 

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GAME DECISIONS
The following is a description of how key game decisions are determined.

DETERMINING RESEARCH
Each council session, any character that earned science beakers may choose Research as one of their actions and choose a technology to research.
There is no centralized research institution - each character is free to research anything they wish.
Each gameturn, a technology is randomly selected from among the research actions.
The selection is weighted, in which the strength of each researcher's action is (Beakers)*(Wisdom).
The selected character makes a minor breakthrough in their field of study and earns 1 point of wisdom.
The selection uses up one of the character's science beakers, making that character less likely to be picked again during that council session.
If all of the science beakers of all the characters making a produce action are used up, the remaining selections are made randomly (unweighted).
The character that makes the final breakthrough in unlocking the technology is credited with its discovery and receives the title "Inventor of Technology X".
In the event that no characters make a research action, technologies are randomly selected for research, but no characters gain any wisdom. The research is considered to have been done by NPCs.

DETERMINING PRODUCTION
Each council session, any character that earned production hammers may choose Produce as one of their actions, and choose a building or unit.
There is no centralized production authority - each character is free to produce anything they wish.
Each gameturn, a production item is randomly selected in each city from among the build/train actions.
The selection is weighted, in which the strength of each builder's action is (Hammers)*(Craftsmanship).
The selected character makes significant progress in their production project and earns 1 point of craftsmanship.
The selection uses up one of the character's production hammers, making that character less likely to be picked again during that council session.
If all of the production hammers of all the characters making a produce action are used up, the remaining selections are made randomly (unweighted).
The character that completes a building is credited with its construction and receives the title "Builder of Building X".
The character that completes a unit receives an additional character who has the title "Captain of Unit X".
In the event that no characters in a city make produce action, production is randomly selected in the city, but no characters gain any craftsmanship. The production is considered to have been done by NPCs.

DETERMINING SOCIAL POLICIES
During any council session, any character may choose to spend some of their Fame in support of adopting a social policy. (requires an action).
When it is time for a new policy to be adopted, a policy will be randomly selected.
The selection is weighted, in which the strength of each character's support is equal to the fame spent.
The character who's supported policy is adopted receives the title of "Minister of Policy X".
In the event that no characters have supported adopting a social policy, then adopting a policy will be deferred to a future council session.

DIPLOMACY WITH OTHER NATIONS AND CITY STATES
Aztlan is the greatest empire in the world!
Aztlan does not accept the proposals of lesser nations! Lesser nations must accept the proposals of Aztlan!
Any diplomatic agreements proposed by other nations will be summarily rejected. (they will of course be reported to the Aztec people to alert them to our neighbor's interest)
The Tlatoani of any city has the authority to propose diplomatic agreements with any nation or city state on behalf of Aztlan. (requires an action)
The Tlatoani who makes the agreement collects any direct benefits of the agreement.
Tlatoani do not have the authority to:

• Exceed their limit of gold that can be spent in a single council session.
• Give away a city other than their own city
• Give away luxury or strategic resources they do not control
• Gift units

SPENDING GOLD
Any Tlatoani has the authority to spend the empire's gold. (requires an action)
Tlatoanis may spend gold on the following:

• Diplomatic agreements they propose
• Buying buildings or units in their city
• Buying land for their city
• Upgrading military units within their city

However, the limit of how much gold any Tlatoani may spend during a single council session is equal to (Total Gold)*(Citizen's in City)/(Total Aztec Citizens).

 

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CHARACTER ACTIONS
During each council session, every character is permitted to make 2 actions.
This is not a reflection upon the competence of your character. It is a limit upon the number of things you have time to accomplish during a council session.
The order of your actions matter. Actions will be resolved in order of:

• Every character's first action from highest to lowest Fame
• Every character's second action from lowest to highest Fame

Actions should be signified by putting the appropriate action keyword in bold.
Actions that are not valid at the moment of resolution will be considered void.
Characters that do not submit any actions before the council session closes will not do any actions.
Players are free to submit their character's actions openly through the main thread, or secretly by PM.

LOCATIONS
There are a few exceptions, but most actions involving other characters require that both characters be in the same location.
The following are counted as the same location for the purpose of actions:

• Both characters in the same city (they do not have to be on the same hex).
• Both characters in the same unit.
• Characters in two different units within 2 hexes of each other.
• Characters in a city and characters in a unit within the city.

SACRIFICE
Sacrifice another character to one of the Gods.
You may only sacrifice one of your own characters or a character that you have captured as a slave.
You may only sacrifice a character in the same location.
See the section on Gods for more details on sacrificing characters.

OFFERING
Make an offering to one of the Gods.
See the section on Gods for more details on making offerings.

MOVE
Peasants and Citizens may move to another workable hex tile within the same city.

TRAVEL
Characters may travel from one city to another.
Characters become a peasant in the destination city and may choose any workable hex to reside on.
If the cities are not connected by trade routes, traveling to another city requires both of a character's actions for the council session.

ENLIST
Characters may enlist to join a unit.
May also be used for characters to move from one unit to another.
Characters may only enlist in a unit in which the number of currently enlisted characters is less than the unit's health.
See section on controlling units for more details.

ORDER
Only characters with the title "Captain of Unit X" may issue orders to the unit.
See section on controlling units for more details.

DESERT
Characters may desert a unit and move to any workable hex in any city.
Upon deserting a character's Fame is reduced by half, rounded down.

DISBAND
Only characters with the title "Captain of Unit X" may disband the unit.
Characters from the disbanded unit become peasants on randomly selected hexes within the nearest city.

RETIRE
Only characters with the title "Captain of Unit X" may retire from the unit.
Other characters must use the desert action to leave a unit.
Upon retiring a character earns a bonus of 50% of their Fame in recognition of their service.
The retiring character may move to any workable hex in any city.

TOIL
Work the land you are living on to earn its output for your house.
Only peasants may toil.
Characters with the title of "Tenant of Character X" automatically have toil as their 2nd action, but the fruits of their labor go to the citizen that owns the land instead of the character.

EVICT
A citizen may evict a tenant from his land, forcing the tenant to move to another tile of the citizen's choice within the city.
Eviction is the only a citizen may take against one of his tenants.

PROCREATE
Characters may raise a child to increase the size of their house.
Only characters located within Aztec territory may procreate.
In addition to the character action, procreation consumes food from the house equal to (Current Characters+1)^2.
The player gains an additional peasant on the same hex as the character.
The new character may not make any actions until the next council session.

RECRUIT
Characters may use their fame to recruit another character to join their house.
In addition to the character action, recruiting consumes Fame from the character equal to (Current Characters+1)^2.
The player gains an additional peasant on the same hex as the character.
The new character may not make any actions until the next council session.

ATTACK
Characters may attack another character at the same location.
There are several different types of attacks.
See section on character attacks for more details.

DEFEND
Characters may prepare to defend themselves and their house against attacks.
When defending, a character's attributes are doubled for the purpose of defense strength calculations.
A defending character will automatically join the defense of any attack against a member of their house (or on a tenant of a member of their house) in the same location.
A character that uses both actions for defense will have their attributes doubled twice (2x * 2x = 4x)
The doubling of attributes does not apply until the defense action is resolved.

PROPOSE
Any Tlatoani may propose a diplomatic agreement with a foreign nation or city-state.
Any interaction with another nation or city-state is considered a diplomatic agreement.
Only Tlatoani may propose diplomatic agreements.
See section on diplomacy for more details.

SPEND
Any Tlatoani may spend gold from the empire's treasury on diplomatic agreements or purchases within their city.
The limit to how much gold a Tlatoani may spend in a single council session is equal to (Total Gold)*(Citizen's in City)/(Total Aztec Citizens)
See section on spending gold for more details.

RESEARCH X
Any character with one or more science beakers may attempt to research a technology.
See section on determining research for more details.

PRODUCE X
Any character with one or more production hammers may attempt to produce a building or unit within their city.
See section on determining production for more details.

GIVE X
A character may give things to another character in the same location.
Things that may be given:

• Fame
• Food
• Gold
• Ownership of a slave
• Captaincy of a unit
• Citizenship over a tile of land
• Rulership of a city

TRAIN
Spend gold from your houses' stores to increase one of your character attributes (XP, Wisdom, Craftsmanship, Fame) by 1 point.
The cost to increase an attribute by 1 pt is equal to (Current Level +1)^2

PURCHASE
Spend gold from your house's stores to buy X points of science beakers, production hammers or food at a cost of 3X gold.

JOIN HOUSES
Players may decide to formally join their houses.
To do this, a Join House action is required by the highest Fame character of BOTH houses.
Once joined, they are considered a single house for all game purposes.

SPLIT HOUSES
Players may decide to formally split a joined house.
To do this, a Split House action is required by the highest Fame character of either house.
The leaving house takes with it (Random Number) percent of the house's Food and Gold stores.

ANNEX
A citizen in a puppet city may annex the city, becoming Tlatoani of the new city.

 

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CHARACTER TITLES
Characters who accomplish certain things (which may be either positive or negative!) receive a title.
Titles incur some bonus or penalty to the character.
A character may have any number of titles.

INVENTOR OF TECHNOLOGY X (N)
The character that discovers a new technology receives the title of inventor of that technology.
The era number of the technology is placed in parenthesis at the end of the title. (N)
Each council session, characters with the title of Inventor receive a science beaker bonus equal to (N).

BUILDER OF BUILDING X (N)
The character that completes the construction of a building or wonder receives the title of Builder of that building or wonder.
The era number of that building or wonder is placed in parenthesis at the end of the title (N).
Each council session, characters with the title of Builder receive a production hammer bonus equal to (N).
Note that this title is not awarded to characters that complete the production of a unit.

MINISTER OF POLICY X (N)
The character credited with the empire adopting a social policy receives the title of Minister of that Policy.
The era number that the policy is unlocked is placed in parenthesis at the end of the title (N).
Each council session, characters with the title of Minister receive a Fame bonus equal to (N).

SLAVE OF CHARACTER X
A character captured in combat receives the title of slave of character X.
Note that the slave is owned by a specific character, not by the character's house, although ownership of the slave may be given to another character.
If a slave's owner is killed, or if the slave escapes, the title of slave is removed.
Note that slaves may own other slaves. The title of slave is not removed just because the slave's owner becomes a slave.
When a character is a slave, the slave's owner can demand the slave perform a specific action during the morning part of the council session. (The slave's owner cannot demand the slave make a specific action during the afternoon session)
This shall be handled by allowing BOTH the slave AND the slave's owner to submit an action for the morning session.

• If the slave's owner submits an action and the slave does not, then the slave's owner's action is followed.
  In this case, anything gained for the house is awarded to the slave's owner's house instead of the slaves.
• If the slave submits an action and the slave's owner does not, then the slave's action is followed without penalty.
  A slave can only do what he's told when he's told what to do!
  In this case, anything gained for the house is kept by the slave's house.
• If BOTH the slave AND the slave's owner submit an action, then the slave's action is followed and the slave gains the title "Defiant Slave"
  In this case, anything gained for the house is kept by the slave's house.

DEFIANT SLAVE (N)
When a slave does not follow his owner's demands, the slave receives the title "Defiant Slave"
Each time a slave is defiant the value of N is increased by 1.
If a slave attacks his owner (including escape attempt) while disobeying an order, the value of N is increased by 2 instead of 1.
If a defiant slave is sacrificed to one of the Gods, the value N is added to the sacrifice value of the slave. (Section section on Aztec Gods).

OWNER OF CHARACTER X
The character that captures a slave receives the title Owner of character X.
(This title is added for convieniece when reading the character chart).

TENANT OF CITIZEN X
A peasant that lives on a hex owned by a Citizen receives the title of Tenant of Character X.
A character that begins a council session as a tenant must have "toil" as their 2nd action, and the fruits of their labors are automatically turned over the Citizen owning the land.
The title of Tenant is immediately lost if either the peasant or the citizen move from the hex.
Tenants have no choice but to toil and a toil action will automatically be given to any tenants who do not submit a toil action when required.

CAPTAIN OF UNIT X
The leader of a unit receives the title of Captain of Unit X.
Only the Captain of a unit may issue orders to that unit (requires an action).
The title of Captain may be given to another character.

CONQUEROR OF CITY X (N)
When an enemy city is captured, all characters in the military unit that captured the city receive the title of Conqueror of City X.
The number of citizens in the city AFTER it is captured is placed in parenthesis at the end of the title. (N)
Each council session, characters with the title of Conqueror receive a Fame bonus equal to (N)

HERO OF CITY X (N)
When a unit liberates a city, all characters in that military unit receive the title of Hero of City X.
The number of citizens in the city BEFORE it is captured is placed in parenthesis at the end of the title (N).
The value of N is increased by 2X if the liberated city was previously controlled by the Aztecs.
The value of N is increased by 3X if the liberated city was originally founded by the Aztecs.
Each council session, characters with the title of Hero receive a Fame bonus equal to (N)

DESTROYER OF CITY X (N)
When a unit razes a city, all characters in that unit receive the title of Destroyer of City X.
The number of citizens in the city BEFORE it is captured *2 is placed in parenthesis at the end of the title (N).
The value of N is 1/2X if the razed city was previously controlled by the Aztecs (round down)
The value of N is 1/3X if the razed city was originally founded by the Aztecs (round down)
Each council session, characters with the title of Destroyer receive a Fame bonus equal to (N)

PREIST OF GOD X (N)
When a character sacrifices another character to one of the Gods, they receive the title of Priest of God X.
The value of the sacrifice is placed in parenthesis at the end of the title. (N)
The bonus received depends on the God to whom the sacrifice is made and the value of the sacrifice. (See section on Aztec Gods for details)

EXPERIENCED AT ATTACK TYPE X
When a character makes a attack of type X and wins the attack, they gain the title "Experienced at Attack Type X".
The character's attack or defense strength is increased by 25% in any future attacks/defenses of that type.

SKILLED AT ATTACK TYPE X
When a character makes a attack of type X against an enemy whose defense strength is greater than the attack strength and wins the attack, they gain the title "Skilled at Attack Type X".
The character's attack or defense strength is increased by 50% in any future attacks/defenses of that type.
Replaces the title of "Experienced at Attack Type X".

MASTER OF ATTACK TYPE X
When a character makes a attack of type X against an enemy with the title "Skilled at Attack Type X" and wins the attack, they gain the title "Master of Attack Type X".
The character's attack or defense strength is increased by 100% in any future attacks/defenses of that type.
Replaces the title of "Skilled at Attack Type X".

 

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AZTEC GODS
The Aztec Gods exist, and will reward those who please them with offerings and human sacrifices.
There are numerous Aztec Gods, but only the four most powerful Gods are relevant to this game.
Aztec religion is very complicated with many Gods having patronage over many things, with areas often greatly over lapping.
It is obviously greatly simplified for the purposes of this game.

FESTIVALS OF THE GODS
Every council session, a festival is held in honor of one of the Gods, selected at random.
Offerings and sacrifices made to a God during his festival earn 2X the usual bonus.
Priests of a God also receive a recurring bonus during the God's festival.

HUTZILOPOCHTLI, the God of War
Hutzilopochtli is the Aztec God of War.
Characters may make a offering to Huitzilopochtli of their XP, for which Huitzilopochtli will reward them with a blessing of XP equal to (XP Offered)*(Random Number)*(1.5)*(2 if during Festival of Hutzilopochtli).
Hutzilopochltli smiles upon the sacrifice of warriors.
Characters may sacrifice another character to Hutzilopochtli and earn the title "Priest of Hutzilopochtli (N)"
The value of the sacrifice (N) is equal to the sqrt(XP of sacrificed character * 2 if during festival of Hutzilopochtli), rounded down.
During future festivals of Hutizilopochtli, Priests of Hutzilopochtli are rewarded with a blessing of XP equal to N*(Random Number), rounded down.

QUETZALCOATL, the God of Knowledge
Quetzalcoatl is the Aztec God of Knowledge.
Characters may make an offering to Quetzalcoatl of their Wisdom (it is perhaps best not to think to deeply about how this is done!), for which Quetzalcoatl will reward them with a blessing of Wisdom equal to (Wisdom Offered)*(Random Number)*(1.5)*(2 if during Festival of Quetzalcoatl).
Quetzalcoatl smiles upon the sacrifice of scholars.
Characters may sacrifice another character to Quetzalcoatl and earn the title "Priest of Quetzalcoatl (N)"
The value of the sacrifice (N) is equal to the sqrt(Wisdom of Sacrificed Character * 2 if during Festival of Quetzalcoatl), rounded down.
During future Festivals of Quetzalcoatl, Priests of Quetzalcoatl are rewarded with a blessing of Wisdom equal to N*(Random Number), rounded down.

TEZCATLIPOCA, the God of Rulership
Tezcatlipoca is the Aztec God of Rulership.
Characters may make an offering to Tezcatlipoca of their Fame, for which Tezcatlipoca will reward them with a blessing of Fame equal to (Fame Offered)*(Random Number)*(1.5)*(2 if during Festival of Tezcatlipoca)
Tezcatlipoca smiles upon the sacrifice of leaders.
Characters may sacrifice another character to Tezcatlipoca and earn the title of "Priest of Tezcatlipoca (N)"
The value of the sacrifice (N) is equal to the sqrt(Fame of Sacrificed Character * 2 if during Festival of Tezcatlipoca), rounded down
During future Festivals of Tezcatlipoca, Priests of Tezcatlipoca are rewarded with a blessing of Fame equal to N*(Random Number), rounded down.

TLALOC, the God of Fertility
Tlaloc is the Aztec God of Fertility
Characters may make an offering to Tlaloc of their Food, for which Tlaloc will reward them with a blessing of Food equal to (Food Offered)*(Random Number)*(1.5)*(2 if during Festival of Tlaloc)
Tlaloc smiles upon the sacrifice of children.
Characters may sacrifice another character to Tlaloc and earn the title "Priest of Tlaloc (N)"
The value of the sacrifice (N) is equal to sqrt((10*(2 if during Festival of Tlaloc)) - XP of Sacrificed Character), rounded down. Zero if imaginary number (negative inside square root).
During future Festivals of Tlaloc, Priests of Tlaloc are rewarded with a blessing of Food equal to N*(Random Number), rounded down.

Note on Multiple Sacrifices
Many characters may end up making multiple sacrifices over the course of the game.
If a character makes multiple sacrifices to the same God, their titles will be treated as "Priest of God X (N1+N2)."
If a character makes multiple sacrifices to different Gods, their titles will be treated as "Priest of God X (N1), Priest of God Y (N2)".

 

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CHARACTER ATTACKS
There are may types of attacks, explained a little later.
All attacks have the same basic components: Attack Strength, Defense Strength, Location Strength and Attack Results.

ATTACK STRENGTH
The strength of the attack is equal to sqrt(N1) + sqrt(N2) +….
N equals the character attribute, depending on the type of attack.
If multiple characters are involved in the attack or if multiple attributes are involved, they are added together after sqrt taken.

DEFENSE STRENGTH
The strength of the defense is equal to sqrt(N1) + sqrt(N2) +….
N equals the character attribute, depending on the type of attack.
If multiple characters are involved in the defense or if multiple attributes are involved, they are added together after sqrt taken.

LOCATION STRENGTH
The location strength is a reflection of the justice and order in the location of the attack.
The higher the location strength, the more difficult it is to carry out attacks.
The location strength is equal to either the city strength or the unit's melee strength, whichever is relevant.

ATTACK RESULTS
The results of the attack are determined by (Random Number ) * (Attack Strength + Defense Strength + Location Strength) / (Defense Strength+ Location Strength)
As always, the random number is a randomly determined number between 0 and 1
If the resulting number is between 0 and 0.33, then all attackers suffer the result of a failed attack.
If the resulting number is between 0.33 and 0.67, then the principal attacker suffers the result of a failed attack.
If the resulting number is between 0.67 and 1, then the attack is essentially a draw with no result.
If the resulting number is between 1 and 1.5, then the principal defender suffers the result of a successful attack.
If the resulting number is greater than 1.5, then all defenders suffer the result of a successful attack.

JOINT ATTACKS
Two or more characters may make a joint attack.
Joint attacks require a lot of coordination.
All characters participating in the joint attack must indicate it is a joint attack, and submit a matching action for the attack.
Each character must name all the other characters participating in the joint attack.
Otherwise the joint attack fails to happen (action voided) amid the confusion of miscoordination.
If successfully coordinated, the joint attack occurs on the action of the slowest participant.
One character may be designated the "principal attacker" to lead the attack. Again, all character participating in the joint attack must have matching orders.
If no principal attacker is designated, the slowest participant is considered the principal attacker.


DESPARATE ATTACK
Any character may declare their attack to be a desperate attack.
In a desperate attack, the attacker's relevant character attributes are doubled for the purpose of attack strength.
However, as a result of over-extending themselves, the attacker's relevant character attributes are decreased by half after the attack (regardless of attack result).

TYPES OF ATTACKS
There are many ways to attack someone; using your physical might, your intellect, or your position of status.

DUEL
A duel is an "honorable" contest of physical combat.
The attack strength is based on XP.
The defense strength is based on XP.
The losing side loses XP equal to (Random Number)*(XP)*(1.5)
The winning side gain XP equal to (Random Number)*(Enemy XP Lost), rounded down, divided among winners according to combat strength
A character cannot lose more XP than they started with.

ASSASSINATE
An assassination is a "dishonorable" attempt to kill an enemy
The attack strength is based on XP and Wisdom.
The defense strength is based on XP.
The losing side loses XP equal to (Random Number)*(XP)*(1.5)
The winning side gain Wisdom equal to (Random Number)*(Enemy XP Lost)*(Random Number if Attacker Wins), rounded down, divided among winners according to combat strength
A character cannot lose more XP than they started with.

DEBATE
A debate is an "honorable" attempt to outwit an enemy.
The attack strength is based on Wisdom.
The defense strength is based on Wisdom.
The losing side loses Wisdom equal to (Random Number)*(Wisdom)*(1.5)
The winning side gain Wisdom equal to (Random Number)*(Enemy Wisdom Lost), rounded down, divided among winners according to combat strength
A character cannot lose more Wisdom than they started with.

DISCREDIT
Discrediting an enemy is a "dishonorable" way to undermine their credibility.
The attack strength is based on Wisdom and Fame.
The defense strength is based on Wisdom.
The losing side loses Wisdom equal to (Random Number)*(Wisdom)*(1.5)
The winning side gain Fame equal to (Random Number)*(Enemy Wisdom Lost)*(Random Number if Attacker Wins), rounded down, divided among winners according to combat strength
A character cannot lose more Wisdom than they started with.

CHALLENGE
A challenge is an "honorable" attempt to seize control of a city, piece of land, unit or ownership of a slave.
The attack strength is based on Fame.
The defense strength is based on Fame.
The losing side loses Fame equal to (Random Number)*(Fame)*(1.5)
The winning side gains/retains control of the item in question and gains Fame equal to (Random Number)*(Enemy Fame Lost), rounded down, divided among winners according to combat strength
A character cannot lose more Fame than they started with.

OVERTHROW
Overthrow is a "dishonorable" attempt to seize control of a city, piece of land, unit or ownership of a slave.
The attack strength is based on Fame and XP.
The defense strength is based on Fame.
The losing side loses Fame equal to (Random Number)*(Fame)*(1.5)
The winning side gains/retains control of the item in question and gains XP equal to (Random Number)*(Enemy Fame lost)*(Random Number if Attacker Wins), rounded down, divided among winners according to combat strength
A character cannot lose more Fame than they started with.

STEAL
Stealing is a "dishonorable" attempt to take a house's stores of food and gold.
A stealing attack may only be targeted against the highest Fame member of a house.
The attack strength is based on Wisdom and XP.
The defense strength is based on Fame.
If the attack is successful, the attackers steal food equal to (Food Stores)*(Random Number) and gold equal to (Gold Stores)*(Random Number).
The losing side loses XP equal to (Random Number)*(XP)*(1.5)
The winning side gains 1 pt of Fame.

CAPTURE
Capture is an attempt to take an opponent as a slave.
The attack strength is based on XP, Wisdom and Fame.
The defense strength is based on XP, Wisdom and Fame.
The losing side is taken as slaves.
The winning side gains 1 pt of XP, Wisdom and Fame.

ESCAPE
Escape is an attempt to escape from slavery.
Capture is an attempt to take an opponent as a slave.
The attack strength is based on XP, Wisdom and Fame.
The defense strength is based on XP, Wisdom and Fame.
The attacker (escaping character) gains 1 pt of XP, Wisdom and Fame.
If the attack is successful, the slave escapes and is no longer a slave.
If the attack fails, the defender gains 1 pt of XP, Wisdom and Fame.

 

[yahzuk]

UNITS
The Aztecs are a warrior people and this game will involve a great deal more warfare than my previous games.
For the first time, I am giving players a high level of control over individual units.
For simplicity, all units are handled in this same manner, including military units, settlers, workers, work boats and Great People.

NEW UNITS
When a new unit is created, the player credited with finishing the unit receives a new character who starts as a soldier and has the title "Captain of Unit X"
If a worker is captured, the player controlling the Captain of the capturing unit receives the new character.
If a unit acquired by other means (social policy, wonders, gifts), the new character will be given to an appropriate player as determined by Yahzuk.

ENLISTING IN A UNIT
Any character may join a military unit by enlisting. (See character actions)
The maximum number of characters that may be part of a unit at any given time is equal to the unit's current health.
A unit at full health may contain 10 characters.
Any character spots not filled by player's characters are filled by NPCs (not individually tracked).
Player characters may displace NPCs by enlisting in a unit.
Even units like Great People may have up to 10 characters. These characters are essentially the Great Person's support staff, with the "Captain" being his Chief of Staff who has a great deal of influence over the Great Person.

CONTROLLING UNITS
The Captain of the unit controls the military unit, which is done by issuing orders (counts as an action).
If a unit contains no player's characters the unit is controlled by Yahzuk.
The Captain may issue orders as broadly or as specifically as he likes.
The Captain may issue conditional orders, giving the unit instructions on how to handle a situation that may or may not arise.
When issuing orders, the Captain is restricted to a word limit equal to 5 * (the unit's current level).
This is not a reflection upon you as a Captain. This is the limit of how complex an order the unit is capable of understanding and following.
A fresh rookie unit can only handle very basic orders. A highly experienced unit can handle very complex units.
A Captain may double his word limit by using both of his actions for the council session to issue orders.
If the Captain goes over the word limit, the unit will become confused and will fortify in their current position because they don't know what else to do.
Non-military units that don't have a "level", have a fixed order word limit of 15.
A unit will maintain the same orders from council session to council session, until the Captain issues new orders.
The Captain may not "add-on" to a previous sessions orders. When new orders are issued, the orders from previous sessions are discarded.
The Captain of a unit does not have the authority to declare war (cannot attack units we are not at war at or violate closed borders).
Remember: Whatever orders you give a unit determine what the unit does for the next 10 turns!

LIFE AND DEATH IN A UNIT
A unit at full health contains 10 characters (some player characters and some NPCs)
When a unit loses health, some of those characters are killed
Killed characters are selected at random, weighted by 1/XP.
NPC characters are considered to have a permanent XP = 1.
If a unit is killed, all characters within the unit are killed.
If a settler or worker is captured, all characters within the unit are removed from the game, but will be returned if the unit is later rescued.
When a unit gains health, NPCs automatically and immediately fill in the restored character spots.
If the Captain is killed, a randomly selected character, weighted by Fame, is promoted to Captain.
When a military unit gains XP, Fame or gold through any of its actions, all characters within the unit earn the same amount of XP, Fame or Gold.
When a military unit receiveing the combat bonus from a nearby General gains XP, Fame or Gold through any of its actions, all characters within the General's unit earn the same amount of XP, Fame or Gold.

DISBANDING AND DESERTION
The Captain of a unit may disband the unit, in which case all characters of the unit become peasants in the nearest Aztec city.
Characters form a military unit may "enlist" in another military unit as an action during any council session.
The Captain of a unit may retire from the unit.
Otherwise, characters must "desert" the unit in order to leave it.

Settling a city, expending a Great Person, or using a work boat consumes the Captain of the unit.
Any other characters within the unit are treated as if the unit had disbanded.

CAPTURING CITIES AND WORKERS
When ordering a unit to capture a city or worker, the Captain may specify in his orders what to do with the captured city or worker.
If not specified, it shall be assumed that a captured city becomes a puppet state and that captured workers will be kept.

 

[yahzuk]

PROPOSING CHANGES TO THE RULES
Over the past couple games, it's become clear that as soon as I post a set of rules, someone is going to have suggestions on how they should be changed.
So now I'm giving in and setting up a formal system for proposing rule changes.

Simply send me a PM with your wonderful new idea.
Discuss it to your heart's content on the main thread or elsewhere, but for the official proposal send me a PM so I see it quickly.

But like the Aztec Gods - Yahzuk demands sacrifices!
Include with your proposal an offering of 25 points of XP, Wisdom, Craftsmanship and/or Fame from one or more of your non-slave characters.
The offering doesn't gaurentee your proposal will be accepted, but without it Yahzuk will not consider your words.

However, your proposal will be accepted as long as:

1. You adhere to the proposal procedure (as judged by Yahzuk!)
2. Your idea is fitting with the existing rules and tone of the game (as judged by Yahzuk!)
3. Your idea is reasonably easy to implement and administrate (as judged by Yahzuk!)
4. Your idea does not throw off the intended balance of key aspects of the game (as judged by Yahzuk!)
5. Your idea does not negatively impact the running of or playing of the game (as judged by Yahzuk!)

Don't think your wonderful idea is worth 25 points of XP, Wisdom, Craftsmanship, and/or Fame?
Well, if you think so little of your idea, then why are you bothering me with it?
Begone you! Play the game or don't.

Wait, what?
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……
I see - You think your wonderful idea is woth 25 points of XP, Wisdom, Craftsmanship and/or Fame, but your don't have 25 such points.
Well then, spend a few council sessions experiencing the existing rules, earn yourself some points, and then you can propose your wonderful idea!

So now everyone's happy, right?
Well, I am anyway, and that's good enough for me!

 

[yahzuk]

JOINING THE GAME
If you've read and understood all that and are still interested in joining this game, then you must be some knid of madman.
Aztlan needs people like you!

If you haven't read and/or understood all that and are intent on joining the game anyway, then you must be a poor unfortunate fool destinated to wind up on the pointy end of some madman's knife.
Aztlan needs people like you!

Either way, sign up and join the game.

When joining the game, you receive one peasant with XP 1, Wisdom 1, Craftsmanship 1, Fame 0.
You are head of your own house with food 0 and gold 0.
You get to give your peasant a name and choose a workable hex in any ciity to live on.
Characters that do not choose a starting location will be assigned one at random.
During the pre-game signup perido only, characters may choose to enlist in the starting warrior instead of choosing a workable tile.

If you played in the previous game, A More Pefect Union, then you start with gold equal to your AMPU score.
You may use your gold prior to the start of the game:
[*] Purchase Food, Science Beakers or Production Hammers at a cost of 3 gold per resource point.
[*] Increase your Fame, Wisdom or Craftsmanship at a cost of (Current Level+1)^2.
[*] Recruit another character to your house at a cost of (Current Characters+1)^2 fame.

KICKING OFF THE GAME
Ideally I'd like to have at least 10 players signed up before starting the game.
At that point, two characters will be randomly selected to begin as the first Tlatoani and citizen.
This character selection is weighted according to Fame.
Starting character fame is equal to 0 unless you purchase points of Fame with AMPU gold.
In the unlikely event that there are not at least 2 characters with some Fame before the start of the game, the first Tlatoani and citizen selection will be unweighted.

At this point, the council of T0 will be held and all characters may make their 2 actions.
Players may continue to sign up for the game at any point throughout the game.

The starting map will be posted.
We are obviously the Aztec and the game speed is standard. All victory conditions are enabled.
That's all you really need to know about the game settings.

SIGNING UP AGAIN
If you lose all of your characters, you are welcome to sign back up to try again.
It is possible for a player to find himself in a position where all of his characters are trapped as Slave-Tenants, leaving the player unable to control them.
In this case the player must wait 3 council sessions, at which point if all of his characters are still trapped as Slave-Tenants, the player will be allowed to sign up again, even though he still has characters in the game.

 

[yahzuk]

13-Nov-11

• Random starting location assigned if none chosen
• Characters may choose to enlist in starting warrior as their location (during pregame signup period only)

15-Nov-11

• Added note about tenants of Tlatoani (section 5)
• Added rules about city happiness and angry mobs of NPC peasants (section 5)
• Adjustment to determining research/production - hammers/beakers get used up as selections made - reducing chance of same character always picked (section 6)
• Adjustment to "honorable" attacks - point gain for winning based on enemy's points, not your own. Reduces benefit of attacking significantly weaker characters. (section 10)

16-Nov-11

• Misc spelling corrections
• Rebalanced attack outcomes (section 10)
• Clarifications to city production for Tlatoani (section 5)
• Council session divided into morning and evening. (section 3)

23-Nov-11

• Changed council session terminology (section 3)
• Clarified rules on slaves and tenant actions when no actions submitted (section 8)

25-Nov-11

• SIGNIFICANT CHANGE - Added rules for Defiant Slaves (section 8)
• Added Owner of slave title to list (section 8)
• Can only sacrifice character in same location (section 7)
• Clarified joint attacks and principal attackers (section 10)

Spoiler Commentary :

So I've made a significant change here and it deserves a little commentary.
I've given slaves the oppurtunity to be defiant and disobey their owner's orders.
Why?
After a great deal of delibration, I ultimately decided it was a problem that the slave-tenant thing took away both of a character's actions.
I don't care so much that it was a raw deal for the slaves - obviously it was, but frankly slaves deserve a raw deal - no, the problem for me was that it was such a singular path, and that is against what I'm trying do with this game , not to mention rather boring.
As it stood before, anytime you captured a slave, the logical thing to do was to march him directly to some citizen's tile (obviously your own if possible) and lock up both of the slave's actions so he can't oppose you until you were good and ready to sacrifice him.
There's no real decision involved in that. It's a giant neon sign that says "Tap Here".
So now there is a greater dynamic between slave and owner.
Are you cruel to your slaves? Or merciful?
Do you demand a slave obey you in the morning and toil for you in the afternoon too? Or do you allow him some measure of freedom for the later part of his day?
Do you dutifully obey your owner's wishes in the hopes of pleasing him and living long enough to someday regain your freedom? Or do you risk your owner's wrath by defying him now?
Do you sacrifice a defiant slave immediately? Or do you risk losing him in order to sacrifice him for an even greater value at a later time.
Now these are decisions worthy of some thought!
Thus endeth my rant. Register your complaints vai the procedure outlined in section 12.

`

 

[yahzuk]

reserved 15/15

 

[yahzuk]

reserved for future use

 

[yahzuk]

decided to block out a few more reserved posts for future needs 16/20

 

[yahzuk]

reserved 17/20

 

[yahzuk]

reserved 18/20

 

[yahzuk]

reserved 19/20