Khaírete, and welcome to Diadochi – Fate of an Empire This is my third endeavor in hosting a Forum Game, and this will once again follow the same model, but this time with a focus towards roleplaying, plotting and politicking, and military action. This game about the Diadochi has been in my mind for a long time, and has been worked on for quite some months. Hopefully everything will be polished enough by now, in order to host an excellent experience both for the players. My previous games have usually required quite an amount of historical knowledge, and the case is similar here. It is recommended to properly research the setting, the characters and the locations. A good site to start from is Livius or Encyclopedia Iranica. You may also ask questions from me or from some of the other history gurus on the IRC channel. The scale of this game will be quite huge, thus posing a challenge both for the players and the GM.
The Fate of an Empire will begin in the summer to autumn period of 323 BCE (114th Olympiad, 2nd quarter). The colossus known as Megas Alexandros has passed away, and his generals have divided up his Empire, each travelling towards their allocated satrapies. Some areas remain to be reconquered, some live under a constant threat of nomad tribes and some are on the verge of revolt. It remains to be seen if the Diadochi of Alexander can keep his Empire in one peace, or if it will succumb to the ambitions of all these men greedy of power.
Rules of Diadochi – Fate of an Empire
Joining the Game
Players can join the game upon requesting a spot from the list of open characters, in the thread or on IRC.
Every player HAS to post a character biography sheet to this thread, and MUST keep it updated to show the development of the character. This is very important for both me and other players, as we must keep up with dozens of historical persons. Players are encouraged to link the character sheet to their forum signature. Below is an example of the character sheet; most of the required fields can be found from the stats.
Name:
Age:
Culture:
Family: (relatives, such as your wife and children) (In case your character has NO historical data on his family, you may create a wife (though it might also be wise to remain unmarried), one adult child OR two underage children.)
Biography: (Short background story for your character, and a summary of his life and deeds as the game progresses)
Location: (Where your character currently resides)
Players are strongly encouraged to create a family for their character in the Game, so that when their character dies, a family member can succeed them. Players who do this will get some on the income, wealth, and influence carried over from their last character as 'inheritance.' If a player's character dies, the player is welcome to continue playing, either by following as one of the characters’ sons, generals or heirs, or as another totally unrelated character.
Stats
In this game, the Characters have three main Stats with gameplay relevance: Income, Treasury, and their Armies. Wealth is measured in drachmae, and represents a character's and his Satrapy’s material's worth. Income is measured in drachmae per year, and represents both the incomes from the character’s private investments, estates as well as the incomes of his Satrapy.
The militaries of characters cost upkeep. The details on military are used to determine the outcome of battles, together with war plans, terrain and other elements. Each military unit is also accompanied by a short summary on its composition, as well as its location. Below is a list of military units.
Army
Light Infantry (peltast, archers, skirmishers)
Veteran Light Infantry (seasoned spearmen, specialized and skilled skirmishers, javelinmen, slingers etc.)
Medium Infantry (hoplites, heavier spearmen)
Veteran Medium Infantry (for example hypaspists and other special heavier troops)
Phalanx
Veteran Phalanx (Phalanx regiments with special status, such as Asthetairoi)
Mercenary Infantry (various mercenaries raised on campaign, for a short time)
Light Cavalry (prodromoi, skirmisher cavalry)
Heavy Cavalry (xystophoroi, heavier Persian cavalry)
Veteran Cavalry (hetairoi, horse archers, other privileged riders)
Elephants
Chariots
Navy
Larger Polyremes
Penteres
Tetretes
Triremes
Orders
Every character gets one normal order per turn. This can be anything, as long as it is not directly war-related (recruitment, for example). You may, for example, try to establish new cities, gain new influence, and persuade locals to adopt Greek customs. Your imagination is your limit, but actions should be reasonable – and preferably in line with your character. This order is limited to a single action, and should take up no more than four lines in the message box.
Every character having an army or a command gets a Military Order. This is to detail military actions, war plans and recruitment. If you wish to do fell on the fields of battle, you should really invest in this order type, as it will be the most crucial one of the game. The war plan should include the commanders (either players or NPCs) for the right and left flanks, as well as the composition of forces for the center and the flanks. The army's commander will command the center, and guide the strategy and overall tactics of the army. The flank commanders will detail in their orders the individual tactics of their flank during a battle.
Orders should have a subject of “Fate of an Empire - Your Character’s Name, Current Turn”. So, for example:
To: XVG
Subject: Diadochi – Fate of an Empire – Satrap Philippos, Turn 1 / 114th Olympiad, 2nd quarter
Message text:
Normal Order:
For anything not military-related, and not doable by IC.
War Order:
This is used for BOTH recruitment and war plans, which should be of even more in-depth detail than before, given the focus of this game.
Plots
Plots are group covert efforts, for example assassinations. These will be treated as a special kind of order. Players are free to secretly plot, gather influence, etc without GM approval. When the plot leader feels he is prepared to act, he must send me a PM detailing the plot goal, its plan, and those who back it. Any requests for NPC support (such as the King of the Sakae, Macedonian noble families, etc) can be directed to me. Once I confirm the people that back the plot, it will be considered an order. A plot serves as the player’s personal order for the turn he decides to launch it, as well as for all those backing the plot. The greater the combined influence a plot has, the more likely it is to succeed.
Note that any assassination of a higher ranking character, or even the ruler, will need a very powerful plot backing to succeed.
Updates
There are two types of updates. These will contain the results of orders, events, and other important happenings. The first type of update is a Main Update. It will cover a year in-game, and will contain the results of all the orders sent in, among other events that happen that year. The second type of update is a Mini Update. It will highlight or cover a specific event during the year. The first few turns will proceed much slower than the later ones, in order to properly set into motion the complex transition towards a new era in Hellas and Asia.
Events are significant happenings (such as a war, a new ruler in another land, a natural disaster,or an unexpected benefit) that will usually cause a headache for the Realm rulers, though sometimes will bring them or other characters joy. The majority of Diadochi – Fate of an Empire will be player-driven, yet hopefully realistically based on the aspirations of their characters, but these events will guidelines for the development of especially the first stages of the Diadochi era. For the mini updates, I might ask you to send extra orders, both normal and war. These cases are always announced in the thread. Some of the most important battles, for example, might constitute multiple mini updates.
Well, that is it! If you still have any questions regarding the rules or if some part of them is unclear feel free to PM me here on the Forums or contact me on IRC. Have fun exploring the birth of the Hellenistic era!
IRC Channel
The IRC Channel is for OOC conversation and speaking with me. It is not a requirement, but it is very strongly recommended.
Network: http://www.coldfront.net/
Channel name: #TA
Instructions:
1) Go to ColdFront using the link above.
2) Choose the Flash or Java Client
3) Create a screen name
4) The client will auto-add you to #coldfront. Leave this channel.
5) In the command box type "/join #TA"
You should then be logged in and ready to chat.
Credit for awesome header image and some other pieces of art goes to Shynka.
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