Campaigns?

[Bonesaww666]

To whomever it may concern, is anyone considering the idea of running a Campaign again like the one against Lustria!?

I am not really the most technologically apt person (all my interwebbing is done with my phone, my computer is older then most of my WH opponents these days) so I couldn't really pull this off by myself, but would love to join a game. Maybe we could try drumming up support with the Chaos Factions... Make it a war for the North sort of thing, the way I see it the more "stuff" you throw at a wall the more likely it is to stick

Anyways, just looking for a think tank at the time...

[Calisson]

Hi, bonesaww666, welcome to D.net.

I'm sure that there would be quite a few people like you who would like to participate to a campaign.
Unfortunately, there is a lack of dedicated persons with the will to run it.
Is it per lack of time, or computer skills, or not daring to step forwards, that's not known.
If you consider you lack tech skills, then you've become one more among this group who would wish, but dare not.


Facing a problem, some people are the kind who find a solution, other people are the kind who find an excuse.
If you're not the solution, then you've found an excuse.

So whatever the reasons why you would believe not to be the best for the task, the only real reason is not daring to do it - no more no less than any other potential campaign runner.
The first one who will step forwards will be the best for the task, no doubt.

If you want to become a name in D.net, go and dare.

[Daeron]

Hm. Making an online campaign.. well.. it's not just about who wants but also about who "can". There is no readily available campaign system one can download and host. Without starting base, the amount of programming required is not to be underestimated. Unless you have a small team of full time developers, expect the development by itself to take months.

To put it crudely.. The "think tank" is the easy part. Getting enough coders to work on it... and a lead designer who's dedicated enough to carry the biggest load... Now that's the hard part.

For what it's worth, I have had the idea to develop such a system for years but never made the time for it. I don't mind being part of the think tank, but I must confess it will take some time before I can commit to actual development. Perhaps with some thinking.. we can narrow down the idea to something basic which will offer us a good start and get people interested. Then.. depending on the community feedback... We could prioritize the direction in which we expand the existing package.
That path could also increase interest from fellow programmers.. which might accelerate the development.

Still, consider such a path to take a frigging long time. It won't be done in a month or two.... Unless you have full time developers.

Sincerely,
Daeron,
Software Engineer

[Calisson]

This sounds more like a good excuse rather than a bad solution.

[Bonesaww666]

Hmmm... I was not necessarily launching into my own programming scheme, I am indeed quite computarded !

But since you seem to have kicked this project up to 11... But seriously though, I was thinking more along the lines of what a D.netter had tried to do before involving Lustria. I believe his intent was to entice more people to get involved on the BatRep forum.

I was specifically looking into the idea of scraping some people together to create a list of Scenarios that tied a group of BatReps together, take this "file" and present it to another forum and see if we could use the concept that Kinslayer had put forth in June.

I honestly signed up here for the simple reason of praising the idea! Oh and for somewhere to bring the tales of my rampant glory and enslavement of all those beneath me, which is... Well, everyone!

[Daeron]

Then I probably misunderstood what you asked. It seems the major work is administrative management then. That, I think, doesn't require any programming skills whatsoever, but may require some dedication. Good luck!

[Tal_1173]

I am designing a Lustria campaign right now and have the system set up. A friend of mine and I will be play testing the various aspects of the idea. Let me know if you would like to see the ideas I have.

[Bonesaww666]

I would love to hear'em man!

[Samusin]

indeed interesting want to hear it too

[xFallenx]

Yup. I'm interested in seeing what you guys come up with as well.

[Tal_1173]

This was designed for two people to have a story behind their battles over the course of a couple years. This should be able to be adapted for campaign with more people. I would love to see you guys rip this thing apart and help me make something for a larger group.

The Invasion of Lustria
Dark Elf set-up
• All sea-battles will be in the background and not played.
• The Druchii player creates an army list of 25,000 pts with 50% core that will represent the entire army at their disposal during the first year of the campaign. All members of the army must be kept track of throughout the game. Additional troops add to this base army. All special characters must be included.
• Every year after the start of the campaign, an additional 2000 pts of core, 200 pts of special and 50 pts of rare forces become available. At any point, if all currently available warriors are dead, the campaign is over and the Tzauaruz win.
• The Dark Elf player creates four invasion groups of 1500 pts that will attempt to make a beachhead at four different territories.
• The Dark Elf player may sacrifice up to 1000 pts from the army to gain information about the layout of the stinkies’ defenses. For every 100 pts, the dark elf may determine the defense of one territory.
• Every season the Dark Elf player may either fortify the original beachheads or they may begin two new ones by sending four more sets of 1500 pt armies into the invasion. A maximum of eight beach heads can be maintained at one time. The navy can only support so many supply lines from Naggaroth.
• When a force reaches 5000 pts it must be led by a Special Character. Malekith will not enter the fight until a single force of 10,000 points is on the map.

Tzauarian set-up
• The Tzauarian player has 25,000 pts of army available with 50% core at the beginning of the invasion. Every year after the start of the campaign, an additional 1000 pts of core, 500 pts of special and 300 pts of rare forces become available.
• All twenty major cities must be guarded at the beginning of the campaign with a minimum of 1000 pts. This leaves 5,000 points at most for the Tzauarian player to divide throughout the continent. The Great Slann will remain with the Temple until his army is attacked.
• The 5000 pts remaining must be deployed in a manner that would allow the Tzauaruz to protect their people from random raids and maintain a watch over all the whole of Lustria and supply any larger army groups. This being said the largest army allowed prior to the start of the campaign is 2000 pts. The Tzauarian player needs to keep in mind that the Dark Elf player may invade from any sea zone in any season.
• All army points must be secretly and clearly written on the campaign map prior to the Dark Elf player declaring the initial territories that will be invaded.
• Either the territory holding the army group must be able to supply the armies deployed or there must be supply caravans set up. Look at the supply section for details to determine the maximum army size allowed.
• The Capital will always have an additional 10,000 pts of defense. These points are not included in the original 25,000. The additional 10000pts represent the Tzauaruz’s willingness to defend the Great Temple of the Old Ones. If this force is attacked and is then victorious, this army is then able to be used as normal.
• The Tzauarian player has supplies stored in all of their cities based on the size of the city as detailed in the supply section. Assume all cities are fully stocked at the beginning of the war.









The Map
• The map being used is a 3’x3’ poster printed on computer paper with geologic features and with province and territory divisions. Each province is divided into a number of territories listed below.
• Provinces and Territories
o Province:_______________
 Territory 1Capital: _______________
 Territory 2: City: _______________
 Territory 3: town: _______________
 Territory 4: town: _______________
 Territory 5:
 Territory 6:
o Province:_______________
 Territory 7: Capital: _______________
 Territory 8: City: _______________
 Territory 9: town: _______________
 Territory 10: town: _______________
 Territory 11
 Territory 12
o Province:_______________
 Territory 13: Capital: _______________
 Territory 14: City: _______________
 Territory 15: town: _______________
 Territory 16: town: _______________
 Territory 17
 Territory 18
o Province:_______________
 Territory 19: Capital: _______________
 Territory 20: City: _______________
 Territory 21: town: _______________
 Territory 22: town: _______________
 Territory 23
 Territory 24
o Province:_______________
 Territory 25: Capital: _______________
 Territory 26: City: _______________
 Territory 27: town: _______________
 Territory 28: town: _______________
 Territory 29
 Territory 30
o Province:_______________
 Territory 31: Capital: _______________
 Territory 32: City: _______________
 Territory 33: town: _______________
 Territory 34: town: _______________
 Territory 35
 Territory 36
o Province:_______________
 Territory 37: Capital: _______________
 Territory 38: City: _______________
 Territory 39: town: _______________
 Territory 40: town: _______________
 Territory 41
 Territory 42
o Province:_______________
 Territory 43: Capital: _______________
 Territory 44: City: _______________
 Territory 45: town: _______________
 Territory 46: town: _______________
 Territory 47
 Territory 48
o Province:_______________
 Territory 49: Capital: _______________
 Territory 50: City: _______________
 Territory 51: town: _______________
 Territory 52: town: _______________
 Territory 53
 Territory 54
o Province:_______________
 Territory 55: Capital: _______________
 Territory 56: City: _______________
 Territory 57: town: _______________
 Territory 58: town: _______________
 Territory 59
 Territory 60

Dark Elf Logistics of War
• The Druchii navy can support a total army size of 5000 pts at most. Any army above this must be supported by the land that the Druchii player controls. The Dark elf player uses the same equation and values as the Tzauarian player except this total is divided by the control factor that determines how well slaves are doing their jobs supporting their army.
• The Dark Elves are allowed a single army group of 10,000 points, two of 5000 points, and then any number of 1500 point armies or below.

Tzauarian Logistics of War
• The Tzauaruz are allowed a single army group of 10,000 points, two of 5000 points, and then any number of 1500 point armies or below.
• When the Tzauarian player liberates one of their cities from the Dark Elf, the supply produced is multiplied by the occupation value representing damage from the Dark Elf occupation. This value heals one point per year.

Supply Calcuations
• Players must keep track of the final supply values calculated by the spreadsheet for use next season.
• Both players can store supplies. The Tzauarian player begins the game with stored supplies and the Dark Elf player can attempt to seize these supplies. A small city can store 1000pts of supplies for winter, medium city can store 2000 pts, and a large city can store 5000 pts of supply. The storage of supplies is recorded on the map.
• Supply trains can be used to send stored supplies from cities to the field when a 500 pt army is dedicated to maintaining this supply train, but a single supply caravan can only transport supplies over three territories. An army of 10,000 Druchii would need multiple supply trains to reach the capital because the territory that they will be on will not be enough to supply them. Supply trains are the only way an army can receive stored supplies.
• Territories on the map have climates similar to South America. Each of the territories has a supply value that determines the base supply given by the given territory. Some of these territory are temperate and seasons greatly affect their ability to produce foodstuffs. All of these issues are taken into account on the spread sheet.
• The supply spreadsheet has a touch of randomness. No one can predict how well a farm will produce their goods. This is taken into account on the spreadsheet through a random number calculation. Do not be surprised when supply values change inexplicably. These random effects are rather small however.
• The amount of supply produced is determined by the equations in the excel spreadsheet. The information required in the spreadsheet is colored yellow. All other cells are equations or information that does not change. This spreadsheet determines the supply for both races as the same time. Below are some directions for filling out this spreadsheet.
o Dark Elf army total: Count total points!
o Stored supply: These are supplies stored in cities plus 5000 for the Dark elves.
o Season Effect: Every season change this value. This value will only change in territories that are temperate. Territories whose season remains constant will not change! Seasons are 1-4. The spreadsheet will determine when and how these territories are affected by the seasons.
o Tzauarian Army total: duh…
o Tzauarian supply: These are supplies stored in cities
o Druchii distance: Count the number of territories away that the Dark Elf controlled territory is away from a dark elf army of 500 pts or more starting with the territory in question.
o Tzauarian distance: Count the number of territories away that the Dark Elf controlled territory is away from a Tzauarian army of 500 pts or more starting with the territory in question.
o Occupation value: Reduce this value by 0.1 for every season that the dark elf player controls the territory. Increase this value every year after the territory is liberated.
o Dark Elf Control: If the Dark Elf controls the territory change this value to 1. If/when the Dark Elf loses control change it to a zero.
o Tzauarian control: Same idea as Dark Elf Control.
o Enemy Interference (EI): Nearby armies can cause problems with supply lines, water supplies, etc. If an enemy army is 1 territory away make this value 3. If the army is 2 territories away EI= 2, and if they are 3 territories away make this a one. More than that far away has no effect.



Actions
• Each season has three months. Each race chooses one of three actions each month per force: move, patrol, or hold. These movements happen simultaneously by writing the moves down on a piece of paper. For example: Army in territory 1 moves to territory 2.
• When an army group moves into another army's area, a battle begins. If two armies would need to move through each other, a battle begins. If a general wishes to retreat, a leadership check is required. A successful leadership test means that the army escapes to a territory of their choice. If the check fails the general still has time to prepare his troops but the army must set up completely before the other player sets up the terrain. The pursuing army sets up on the opposite side of the table after the enemy army is set. Then the pursued army can try to flee off the table to attempt a retreat again if they so choose.
• When an army chooses to patrol, they are then allowed to battle any adjacent enemy group.
• When an army chooses to hold and is then attacked, they are allowed to set up randomly determined terrain to their specifications. They also may deploy their army as they wish and tell the opposing army from which direction they are entering. The opposing army sets-up within twelve inches of the indicated table edge.
• After movement is resolved then both armies resolve supply


Fighting Battles
• When a battle begins, choose a scenario or narrative battle from the 8th edition book that fits the movement of the two army groups. If players cannot agree on the scenario, quickly and easily, randomly decide. If an interesting situation occurs then the players can of course create a scenario of their own.

Dealing with wounds
• When a battle is over both players make a causality roll to determine what happens to each character and each soldier at the battle's end. This will be affected by the degree of victory and a random roll. Characters will be hard to kill.
• For each core troop wounded: a roll of 4-6 they survive
• For each special troop wounded: a roll of 3-6 they survive
For each rare troop wounded: a roll of 2-6 they survive
• For each Character: Roll 2-6. If this fails, roll 4-6. If this fails apply ward saves if available.
• For each Special Character: two successive rolls of 1 must occur for the special character to die and then apply wards saves!

New Special Character
One hero character represents the human controlling the army. This character can develop into a new special character over time, but they begin as a hero of the chosen type. After they reach the level of a lord in all ways, they may further develop and become a special character, with the limits being their ruler’s stats and rules below.

Experience for the New Special Character
• The new special character must gain experience in war progress. The character must cause a number of wounds equal or greater to their own to progress. This new character starts as a lowly hero of the chosen type.
o An unwounded character is allowed to raise one characteristic, and increase their magic item allowance by 10 pts.
o A wounded but victorious character is allowed to raise one characteristic.
o A character that was removed from the battle but survived should be glad they survived.
o All characteristics and magic item allowances are maxed as per the army book for Lords.
• Once all stats are equal to the level of a lord of their type, stats and magic allowance can raise as detailed below.
o If the character finishes the battle unwounded, but caused a number of wounds equal or greater than their own: roll a d6 1-2 nothing additional happens, 3-4 one stat increase (Max emperor), 5-6 specific skill or artifact item.
o If wounded, but was not taken out, roll a die 1-4 nothing happens, 5-6 one stat increase assuming the minimum of wounds was caused.
o If taken out of the battle, roll a die 1-5 nothing happens, 6 one stat increase assuming the minimum of wounds was caused.
o This special character is allowed three artifacts and four skills at most
o This character rolls for survival just like a special character... some people are born with fate on their side... If this character does die, the controlling player may start a new character from scratch if they wish.
o The rolls above occur after each battle


Tier 1 Skills for new special character
1. Killing blow
2. Dark Elf: Poison use on one weapon / Tzauarian: ?
3. Increase magic level
4. Warrior elite
5. Cause fear
6. Dark Elf: Slaver/ Tzauarian: ?
7. Stubborn
8. Scout
9. Sniper
10. Dark Elf: Khainite / Tzauarian: ?

Tier 2 skills for new special character (Must select previous of same number first)
1. Heroic Killing Blow
2. Dark Elf: Poison use on ALL weapons / Tzauarian: ?
3. Increase magic level 2nd time
4. Supreme combatant (I=10, WS=10)
5. Terror
6. Dark Elf: Skin taker stackable ward save for each kill max of 3+/ Tzauarian: ?
7. Unbreakable
8. Infiltrator (can appear inside an enemy unit)
9. Master Archer (ignore long range and cover)
10. Dark Elf: Dark Magic Lore Master/ Tzauarian: ___________ Lore Master

Tier 1 Items
1. Weapon +1 str and reroll to hit
2. Weapon +2 WS and reroll to wound
3. Armour heavy armour +4 armour save
4. Armour helmet ????
5. Enchanted Bound spell of choice
6. Enchanted Choose effect ( ????)
7. Arcane +1 to casting
8. Arcane 4+ to nullify miscast
9. Talisman 4+ Ward
10. Talisman magic resist 2
11. May have two magic items of the same type

Item Upgrade
1. Weapon add +2 str
2. Weapon add one effect (ignore armour,)
3. Armour add regen
4. Armour add ward
5. Enchanted add 2nd bound spell
6. Enchanted Choose second effect ( ????)
7. Arcane add Loremaster of lore of choice
8. Arcane May choose either to be able reroll up to two dice during casting or dispell phase
9. Talisman add +1 to ward
10. Talisman add 2 to magic resist
11. May have three magic items of the same type

Victory Conditions
• After three years of combat, the Druchii receive one new artifact for each full province they control. The New Special Character receives one of these items if more than one is found.
• If the Dark Elf player fails to hold a single province, then the Tzauarian player wins.

[xFallenx]

That’s one hell of a well thought out campaign. So as a rule of thumb, how long, in RT, do you see this playing out from start to finish? I imagine it'll add 1/3 more time for a 3rd player & so on & so forth.

[Tal_1173]

The campaign is designed to play through three years covering twelve moves each year. So, if a group of 16 people played one game a week, the campaign could be completed in about two months I would think. I am just not sure how much of this original design would transfer to an online environment. Any thoughts?

[Samusin]

wow thats quite some work you made yourself there I like it

[Red...]

looks fascinating, but overly complex. Try to streamline it some, otherwise the campaign will become more about trying to remember the campaign requirements than strategising.

[xFallenx]

The amount of detail is obviously subjective to the guys you'll be playing with, so a bare bones version as Red suggests would be a good idea, that way if a group wants more detail, they can find a happy medium. I personally love the amount of detail you have as logistics interest me, the rest of my group, less so.

[Tal_1173]

Thank you guys for the feedback. I have a thought in response...

Most of the details are taken care of with a spreadsheet I've created. Each month, the only information needed is the size and location of each army group. Everything else is calculated automatically. Basically, the person or people running the campaign would keep track of logistics for everyone rather easily. For the generals in the field, they would simply be informed of how many more troops they receive or lose (Points), and any intelligence that they are allowed to know. Each general would make a decision of what their force would do, fight a battle, and turn in a report. They would then get the end of month report after all battle reports were turned in.


I don't how many people generally get involved with online campaigns on this site and Lustria.org, but if more than fifteen on each side would be interested, then the map could simply be split into three times the number of territories?