Once, there was a man unlike any other. A warrior, a leader, a hero, the sort of man who could...
Heirs of Sigmar (Warhammer Fantasy)
- Thread starter Maugan Ra
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discord link
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- London, England
Alright then, discord has been created, and can be found here - Join the Heirs of Sigmar Discord Server!
Writing up the IC thread now-ish.
Writing up the IC thread now-ish.
IC thread
- Location
- London, England
turn one deadline
- Location
- London, England
Turn One Deadline is noon on Saturday the 26th, British Summer Time, if you need an extension ask me closer to the time.
Expanded Capital tables
- Location
- London, England
Never Too Much Gold
Expanded Capital Rules
We are now in turn three, and one of the area of rules that most people have found a little oblique is how much capital is worth. Since the precise amount of coins each point represents is deliberately abstract, I am instead going to expand the examples given for each possible level of expenditure and expand the scale to a higher end (since 9+ capital representing 'more money than sense' when it took 10 to recruit an army is clearly not ideal).
So, with that said, some ideas for what you could buy...
State Troops
1-5 Capital - Add a small detachment of supporting troops to an existing army (a light artillery battery, a cohort of battle priests, a unit of ogre linebreakers). Provide superior equipment, training or apparel to the officer corps. Incentivize performance in a battle with the offer of a reward purse for meritorious deeds.
6-10 Capital - Change and/or improve the equipment of an entire army (half-plate armour for all your infantry, upgrading all your archers and crossbowmen to blackpowder), provide army-scale support units like Shallyan priestesses or a guaranteed plot of land for every veteran.
10-15 Capital - Found an entirely new army of regular state troops. Grant a massive army-wide upgrade to all troops (all infantry get dwarf-forged half plate) or apply a trait upgrade in the form of a unique unit (a massive flagship, a steam tank, whatever new superweapons those lunatics at Nuln have come up with.)
15-20 Capital - Found a new army of troops with superior equipment and training. Add multiple specialised detachments to an existing army and provide the officers with combined-arms training. Offer knighthood and associated land and title to veterans who perform best in a given army.
21+ Capital - Every man a knight, in equipment if not title (warning: may incur displeasure from actual knights)
Mercenaries
There are always men and women and others willing to sell violence for coin, just as there are always lords of the Old World willing to employ them. The cost of a mercenary unit is determined by two factors - scale and quality.
6-10 Capital - Hire an army of veteran troops, a host of poor troops, or an elite detachment for one campaign
11 - 15 Capital - Hire a host of veteran troops or an army of elite troops for one campaign.
16 - 20 Capital - Obtain the services of a unique hero-level character for one battle.
21+ Capital - Convince a unique hero-level character to fight for an entire campaign or else bring in outside help from their homeland.
Infrastructure and Construction
Everyone loves a big old building, right? A few people also love roads, walls and even the odd canal. Most of these can be thought of more as status symbols, as the actual economic effects are unlikely to be easily represented given the abstract nature of the system. Also I will set swamp demons on you if you bring the weird GoT canal obsession in here.
1-5 Capital - Individual buildings located within a settlement or just outside it. A zoo, a new school, a temple of reasonable size, that sort of thing. A manned fort stationed somewhere strategically important.
6-10 Capital - Major networks or sprawling complexes within a given settlement; a university campus, the Altdorf Menagerie, a mighty cathedral to one of the gods. Improved roads connecting a handful of settlements, a string of forts and other defences necessary to secure them. Improving the walls and other defences of a town or city.
11-15 Capital - A luxurious palace or an actual castle worth the name. Base cost for new roads and improvements across much of a state (the real difficulty is getting the territory secured first). A major dockyard capable of actually building warships, or a foundry capable of creating guns and cannon (warning, Nuln really likes having a monopoly).
16-20 Capital - A true citadel, something that can reliably be expected to hold off multiple hostile armies. Grand infrastructure projects such as sewers that won't get infested by rat-shaped beastmen or the reclamation of viable land from the swamps of Westerland.
21+ Capital - The same as above, but specifically bigger and better than whatever that fellow across the border has.
Expanded Capital Rules
We are now in turn three, and one of the area of rules that most people have found a little oblique is how much capital is worth. Since the precise amount of coins each point represents is deliberately abstract, I am instead going to expand the examples given for each possible level of expenditure and expand the scale to a higher end (since 9+ capital representing 'more money than sense' when it took 10 to recruit an army is clearly not ideal).
So, with that said, some ideas for what you could buy...
State Troops
1-5 Capital - Add a small detachment of supporting troops to an existing army (a light artillery battery, a cohort of battle priests, a unit of ogre linebreakers). Provide superior equipment, training or apparel to the officer corps. Incentivize performance in a battle with the offer of a reward purse for meritorious deeds.
6-10 Capital - Change and/or improve the equipment of an entire army (half-plate armour for all your infantry, upgrading all your archers and crossbowmen to blackpowder), provide army-scale support units like Shallyan priestesses or a guaranteed plot of land for every veteran.
10-15 Capital - Found an entirely new army of regular state troops. Grant a massive army-wide upgrade to all troops (all infantry get dwarf-forged half plate) or apply a trait upgrade in the form of a unique unit (a massive flagship, a steam tank, whatever new superweapons those lunatics at Nuln have come up with.)
15-20 Capital - Found a new army of troops with superior equipment and training. Add multiple specialised detachments to an existing army and provide the officers with combined-arms training. Offer knighthood and associated land and title to veterans who perform best in a given army.
21+ Capital - Every man a knight, in equipment if not title (warning: may incur displeasure from actual knights)
Mercenaries
There are always men and women and others willing to sell violence for coin, just as there are always lords of the Old World willing to employ them. The cost of a mercenary unit is determined by two factors - scale and quality.
- Scale: You can hire a detachment, an army or a host of mercenaries.
- A detachment cannot fight on its own, but adds something useful to an existing or allied formation. Hiring a force of Kislevite Hussars to give your state army some light cavalry and scouting support would be a good example.
- An army operates on the same scale as a state army, and will generally have a similar mix of unit types within it. A Tilean pike formation supported by crossbowmen and outriders would be an example.
- A host is a truly mighty force on the scale of multiple armies, and are very rare to actually be up for sale. Hiring an entire tribe of Ogres and all their attendant livestock and servants would be an example.
- Quality: This roughly represents a mix of troop experience, equipment and willingness to actually do what you tell them.
- Poor quality mercenaries are lightly armed, poorly trained, especially self-interested or some combination thereof. Most Free Companies in the Empire operate at this level, as would a Norscan raiding force, as they are good fighters but entirely unwilling to engage 'hard' targets in stand-up battle.
- Veteran troops are well trained, equipped and motivated, and are generally the point at which 'mercenary' starts being an actual respectable profession. Tilean pike-and-crossbow companies would be an excellent example.
- Elite troops are generally on par with the 'named' Dogs of War, and bring something truly special to the field. Norscan were-bears, Mengil Manhide's Manflayers and Asarnil the Dragonlord fall into this category.
6-10 Capital - Hire an army of veteran troops, a host of poor troops, or an elite detachment for one campaign
11 - 15 Capital - Hire a host of veteran troops or an army of elite troops for one campaign.
16 - 20 Capital - Obtain the services of a unique hero-level character for one battle.
21+ Capital - Convince a unique hero-level character to fight for an entire campaign or else bring in outside help from their homeland.
Empire - Generally speaking the native mercenaries of your homeland tend to be Free Companies, loosely organised bands of cut-throats and thieves that are usually employed by merchants and other non-state actors. They are decent skirmishers and have the advantage of knowing the language and terrain, which makes them useful for local campaigns.
Tilea - The most famous home of mercenaries in the Old World, the city-states of Tilea tend to field companies of heavily-armoured pikemen backed up by units of wickedly accurate crossbowmen. Some have begun experimenting with the inclusion of blackpowder weapons in their ranged cohorts.
Estalia - Eternal rival of Tilea, this hot southern realm is a place of great culture, learning and bloodshed. Estalian mercenaries are some of the finest light cavalry in the world, charging in and out with heavy sabres and wheeling in perfect formation across broken terrain. Many of them are the famed Diestros that have mastered a duelling form which blends marksmanship with rapier-fighting.
Kislev - Kislevite armies are renowned for their cavalry. Every town and village in Kislev can muster a force of cavalry to its defence, whether mobile horse archers or the famed shock cavalry of the Winged Lancers, and Kislevite mercenaries are consequently always mounted. The most famous are the Gryphon Legion, who decorate their banners with the feathers of monsters each man has personally slain.
Norsca - The proud men of the north are always willing to spill blood for coin, though finding which tribes are reliable mercenaries and which are lawless pirates is a challenge in its own right. On the land their forces never go above poor quality, but Norsca is the only source of mercenary fleets and can offer virtually any scale or quality desired.
Dawi - The Dwarves have a great love of gold, and fighting for pay is an acceptable means of obtaining it. Dawi mercenaries are never poor quality, and they have the finest heavy infantry you will ever find. Obtaining a Dwarf hero unit will generally require some particularly worthy cause or terrible foe.
Ogres - The majority of the Ogre Kingdoms lie half a world away, but there are several tribes that have taken up residence in the Grey Mountains and other areas of similarly rugged terrain. They take payment in food as well as gold, and there is nothing in this world that can withstand an Ogre tribe at full charge.
Other sources will be added as they are contacted through diplomacy.
Tilea - The most famous home of mercenaries in the Old World, the city-states of Tilea tend to field companies of heavily-armoured pikemen backed up by units of wickedly accurate crossbowmen. Some have begun experimenting with the inclusion of blackpowder weapons in their ranged cohorts.
Estalia - Eternal rival of Tilea, this hot southern realm is a place of great culture, learning and bloodshed. Estalian mercenaries are some of the finest light cavalry in the world, charging in and out with heavy sabres and wheeling in perfect formation across broken terrain. Many of them are the famed Diestros that have mastered a duelling form which blends marksmanship with rapier-fighting.
Kislev - Kislevite armies are renowned for their cavalry. Every town and village in Kislev can muster a force of cavalry to its defence, whether mobile horse archers or the famed shock cavalry of the Winged Lancers, and Kislevite mercenaries are consequently always mounted. The most famous are the Gryphon Legion, who decorate their banners with the feathers of monsters each man has personally slain.
Norsca - The proud men of the north are always willing to spill blood for coin, though finding which tribes are reliable mercenaries and which are lawless pirates is a challenge in its own right. On the land their forces never go above poor quality, but Norsca is the only source of mercenary fleets and can offer virtually any scale or quality desired.
Dawi - The Dwarves have a great love of gold, and fighting for pay is an acceptable means of obtaining it. Dawi mercenaries are never poor quality, and they have the finest heavy infantry you will ever find. Obtaining a Dwarf hero unit will generally require some particularly worthy cause or terrible foe.
Ogres - The majority of the Ogre Kingdoms lie half a world away, but there are several tribes that have taken up residence in the Grey Mountains and other areas of similarly rugged terrain. They take payment in food as well as gold, and there is nothing in this world that can withstand an Ogre tribe at full charge.
Other sources will be added as they are contacted through diplomacy.
Infrastructure and Construction
Everyone loves a big old building, right? A few people also love roads, walls and even the odd canal. Most of these can be thought of more as status symbols, as the actual economic effects are unlikely to be easily represented given the abstract nature of the system. Also I will set swamp demons on you if you bring the weird GoT canal obsession in here.
1-5 Capital - Individual buildings located within a settlement or just outside it. A zoo, a new school, a temple of reasonable size, that sort of thing. A manned fort stationed somewhere strategically important.
6-10 Capital - Major networks or sprawling complexes within a given settlement; a university campus, the Altdorf Menagerie, a mighty cathedral to one of the gods. Improved roads connecting a handful of settlements, a string of forts and other defences necessary to secure them. Improving the walls and other defences of a town or city.
11-15 Capital - A luxurious palace or an actual castle worth the name. Base cost for new roads and improvements across much of a state (the real difficulty is getting the territory secured first). A major dockyard capable of actually building warships, or a foundry capable of creating guns and cannon (warning, Nuln really likes having a monopoly).
16-20 Capital - A true citadel, something that can reliably be expected to hold off multiple hostile armies. Grand infrastructure projects such as sewers that won't get infested by rat-shaped beastmen or the reclamation of viable land from the swamps of Westerland.
21+ Capital - The same as above, but specifically bigger and better than whatever that fellow across the border has.
Expanded Knightly Orders
- Location
- London, England
Knightly Orders
Near-exclusively drawn from the ranks of the nobility, the Knightly Orders of the Empire are one of its proudest institutions, the crushing fist that strikes against mankind's foes wherever they rear their ugly heads. While their battlefield prowess is legendary, and their feats of heroism well known, in this disunited age it is often their political power that most concerns the Lords who rule over the divided land.
By long tradition, Knightly Orders are self-governing institutions funded and supported by one of two sources; Templar Orders are supplied by the priests and laity of a particular faith, while Secular Orders owe their support to the local nobility from which they often draw their recruits. Neither has formal authority over their associated knights, but rare is the Grandmaster that would utterly shun the request of a benefactor.
Mechanics
Just as standard factions have Armies and Fleets, Knightly Orders have Chapters, each representing roughly a hundred knights and all associated squires, outriders and support staff. Chapters do not have the normal division of experience or quality - any collection of knights is by definition a unit of veteran troops equipped and trained to the best possible standards. However, most Knightly Orders maintain one particular Chapter as its 'Inner Circle', which consists entirely of proven heroes and is consequently better than the rest.
How a given Chapter measures up to a standard Army in fighting power is hard to quantify, but they can be taken as being roughly on par before tactics and equipment are taken into account; a chapter able to leverage its immense momentum and striking power can rout an army from the field quite easily, while an army that digs in with spears and handguns could arguably see off an assault with minimal casualties.
Each Knightly Order will also have at least one Chapterhouse, a facility somewhere between a temple, fortress and barracks where their knights can rest and train between active deployments. While based at a Chapterhouse, a Chapter of knights has no upkeep, but can only undertake operations within the same general geographic vicinity; generally within the same province, or along the border regions of an adjacent one. If a Chapter wishes to operate further afield, it must pay a steep cost - 10 capital per chapter per turn.
Note that as knightly orders do not generate capital by default, this funding must typically come from another player.
Establishing a new Chapterhouse will generally carry a baseline cost of 15 capital and 10 influence. This is a one-off investment representing the land grants, contracts and establishment of all appropriate support personnel.
Replenishment
An organisation consisting almost entirely of young members of the nobility cannot easily replace its losses - prestige, far more than mere coin or material incentive, is the primary means by which a Knightly Order recruits new members and replaces its losses.
Chapters can be injured and damaged in much the same way as armies can. However, rather than simply repairing over time, it costs 5 influence per chapter per turn to restore them a level of 'health' - from Decimated to Bloodied to Reduced to Full Strength.
If you wish to raise new Chapters, this can be done so via the expenditure of 15 influence per Chapter. Note that this can also be paid by other powers on your behalf, as local nobles and rulers encourage their subjects to take oaths with your orders.