Reltzik
2009-04-16, 10:48 PM
A game I'm thinking of testing out on these forums, but I'd like a few people to give it a once-over A) to see if there are any ambiguities in the rules, B) to see if any ability or strategy is particularly broken or cheesy, C) to see what parts are confusing, and D) to guess at what parts just won't be fun. This is a work in progress, and I request feedback. A warning, some parts of this are blatant ripoffs of existing games.
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Overview:
Deities at War is a turn-based refereed board/wargame in which players take on the roles of four deities, newly arrived at a previously un-claimed world and seeking to convert its followers to their own ways. The game can be played either straight, as a mechanical game with simple rules, or it can be used as a tool for roleplaying, with the gods having a rich mythos, their followers distinct personalities and character archs, and the battles being described in detail.
Game Start:
The referee sets the map up ahead of time and decides whether the first turn will be spring, summer, autumn or winter. Each player secretly chooses two affinities -- aspects of the world over which their deity holds some sort of dominance. They begin with a single unit, their deity, in their inner sanctum. Then the first turn begins.
The map:
The map is divided into zones, with some zones being adjascent to others. Each zone has a terrain type -- forest, city, plains, mountains, or wetlands -- and a population number over max population number giving a sense of how many mortals live in the zone (Each point of population corresponds to 10,000 people.) For example, one zone might be mountainous and have 3 population (30k people) living there out of a maximum 4 (40k) it can support. Some regions also have a ley power ranking, representing untapped natural energy which can be channeled to the deity by establishing a sacred site.
In addition to the world map, every player has two zones that are uniquely theirs -- their planar sanctums, corresponding to whatever brand of heaven, hell, nirvana, etc they might run. These two zones are adjascent to each other. The outer sanctum connects to the world at all points, but connects to those zones which have an affinity of the controlling god's more easilly than to other zones. The inner sanctum is every deity's seat of power, where they are the hardest to kill.
Power:
No deity is omnipotent in this game. Rather, they gather power from a variety of sources -- worship, sacred (or defiled) sites devoted to them, et cetera -- and channel that power into divine intervention. Nearly every ability costs power. You gain 20 power for free plus 1 power for every rank of sacred site you control, every turn. If you need more power than that in a turn, your followers can lend you their power using the Worship action. Power does not carry over from turn to turn, so use it or lose it.
Units:
Players can field units, representing armies, potent individuals, or angels/devils/djinns/whatever. The principle stats of a unit is its power (a number between 1 and 5) and its abilities. A unit's power represents how effective it is in combat, and how much power the deity can channel into it in a turn. Units are invisible to opposing players unless otherwise stated.
Actions:
There are several actions a unit can take, all of which cost power. If the power cost of an action exceeds the unit's power, it cannot take that action. Even the most simple of abilities, such as moving to another zone, require the expenditure of power; usually this represents the minor visions and so forth required for the deity to convey His or Her orders to the unit. If the power cost is less than the unit's power, you may pay this lower rate, or pay up to the unit's power to perform the ability at increased effectiveness. Units may only perform one action per turn, with the exception of deities.
The effectiveness of the ability is ALWAYS equal to the power spent on it. Multiple units can combine efforts towards the same action, provided each could undertake it individually; in this case, the effectiveness is equal to the sum of the power spent by each unit. Units performing the same type of action on the same target always combine their effectiveness, even if those units are not in the same zone. In addition, the deity can, through a vareity of miracles suppliment the actions of his/her units through divine powers at his/her disposal (see Divine Intervention, below.) However, the deity can only spend up to the particular unit's power supplimenting its abilities in any given turn.
Divine Intervention:
Deities can intervene directly in the world, rather than just by giving their followers orders. Though actual entry into the mortal world is not to be casually undertaken, a deity walking the earth is a being of, need it be said, godly power. However, a deity can also impact the world from on high, be it by way of thrown lightning bolts to subtle tweaks in the fortunes of mortals.
Deities do this by way of divine powers. Divine powers can have several ranks; the more ranks a deity has in a divine power, the stronger the deity is with that ability. Deities start with no divine powers, but can add one rank in any one power at the beginning of every turn of the game (while actions are declared) and use that rank in the same turn. The deity can use the ability as many times per turn as he/she has ranks in it, and can (usually) devote up to as many points of power to a given action as he/she has ranks in it. Thus a deity with 1 rank in a power can use it once per turn with an effectiveness of 1, while a deity with 5 ranks in it can use it up to 5 times per turn and spend up to 5 power on EACH use (provided he/she has that much power to spare).
A great many uses of divine power suppliment the actions of the deity's units (including the deity him/herself) -- be it by smiting their enemies dead on the battlefield, or helping them perform minor miracles to win converts, or simply whispering in their ear to tell them when to duck. These supplimental powers suffer under the additional limitation that You cannot expend more power supplimenting a unit's ability than the unit's power rating. However, to make up for that shortcoming, You can use the power twice a turn for every rank you have in it, instead of the normal once per turn.
Resolution:
Each action, then, will have an effectiveness. This is your dice pool. For every point of effectiveness, a d6 will be rolled. If this roll is a 5 or 6, it counts as a success. Depending on the actions, multiple successes might be required to accomplish your goals, or multiple successes might result in increased gains. Once the successes for each action are tallied, all actions are resolved simultaneously based on these calculated successes.
The turn:
The game is turn-based, with all players playing simultaneously. The turn is divided into two phases: Actions and resolutions. In the actions phase, all players declare actions for as many of their units s they wish. After all players declare their actions, all actions are resolved.
Sight:
Deities are not omniscient by default, at least, not when other deities would rather they not know something. You can see everything Your units see, but what they can see is limited. Seeing a unit lets you know who it belongs to and what type of unit it is. If you cannot see something, you cannot target it with an action. Awareness of a unit lasts for a turn; unless you do something to keep an eye on them, you'll lose track of them in the next resolutions phase. Every unit is visible at a range (number of zones away) equal to its power minus 2. Units with -1 power are, by default, invisible to other units even in the same zone. Actions are visible at a range of their effectiveness minus 2. Usually an action will be performed in the same zone as the unit who does it; when this is not the case, it is visible as counted from the zone it is targetting. Seeing a unit will also tell you what type of action it is undertaking, but not the target of that action. Seeing an action will let you know what type of unit is performing it, and what type of unit (and in what zone) it is being performed against, but won't let you actually see the unit performing the action or the action's target.
List of Units:
Followers. The rank and file worshipers, each unit represents 10k people. 1 power. Followers cannot use the Move action; they must instead Migrate. They are created by Converting population and correspond to (your) population in the zone.
Devotees. The truly blessed individuals, messiahs and avatars and the like. 2 power (just as much as 20k ordinary people!). Devotees are created by way of the Ascension ability.
Divine Agent. Angels, devils, Djinns, lesser forest spirits, whatever's appropriate to Your nature. Power 3. Divine agents have a +1 to any roll, meaning power they spend succeeds on a 4, 5, or 6. They can be created at the cost of 15 power in your inner or outer sanctum at the beginning of your turn and can act in the same turn. At the beginning of your turn, you must pay 5 power for each Divine Agent or it will die before it can act.
Greater Agent. An archangel or a greater spirit of nature or something like that. Power 4. Like a Divine Agent, except that it has a +2 to all rolls AND gives a +1 to the rolls of every friendly unit in the same zone. (These bonuses never stack with any other.) Greater agents cost 30 Power to make and 10/turn to maintain.
Deity. Deities begin in their Inner Sanctums. They gain a +3 to any roll they make (save for divine interventions) and grant a +2 to any die roll for any unit in the same zone as them. (These bonuses never stack with any other bonuses.)
Deities cannot be made and they represent You, the player. If a player's deity is eliminated, so is the player. Deities normally cost nothing to maintain; however, every turn they begin in the material world they must spend 20 power or be transported back to their inner sanctum prior to acting.
Sacred site: Sacred sites are high churches, monastaries, shrines, circles of power, desecrated lands, etc built on places of ley power. Their power varies, but they provide the deity with that many points of power each turn. They can never leave their zones, but otherwise can take any action allowed by their power level, including helping other units migrate or teleport. Sacred sites are built by other units.
Contested resources:
Zones have limited population, and those with ley energy have a limited amount. Different deities may vie for those limited resources IN THE SAME TURN. If they do so, and there's not enough to go around, then whoever rolled the most successes for the attempt immediately claims the difference (or up to max if the difference is more). If there's still some to spare, the player who rolled less then claims one, then the person who rolled more, and so on, alternating until there's no more to claim. In case of a tie, a die will be rolled to see who gets to claim first. If there's competition for resources, the deities involved get to see opposing actions and units REGARDLESS of visibility.
In particular, note: No zone may have sacred sites of a combined power greater than the zone's ley energy. No zone may have more followers in it than population. And no zone may have more population in it than the maximum.
Zone properties:
Affinity: Any action taken where one of your affinities applies gives a +1 bonus to rolls. This bonus does not stack with any other bonus. Each zone has a terrain type, which serves as an affinity. In addition, each turn has a season (spring summer autumn or winter) which serves as an affinity for every zone in the materia world. Finally, zones which have seen population die in them in the last year (four turns) have the death affinity.
Sanctum: For anyone but the god who owns the sanctum, a penalty is imposed on all rolls. A -1 penalty applies for actions in the outer sanctum, and a -2 for actions in the inner sanctum. These penalties stack with bonus but not with each other.
List of actions:
Worship. 0 power. The unit adds its power to the deity's power pool. It may take no other action this turn. This action is taken by default if none other is assigned.
Convert. 1 power. Conversion is aimed at the unalied population of the current zone OR a neighboring one. Every success creates a follower in that zone. This ability attempts to target existing population beyond the number of followers in the zone; if more than one deity attempts it simultaneously, see Contested Resources, above.
Attack. 1 power. Attempts to destroy enemy units in this or a neighboring zone. Roll against the combined power of ALL enemy units in the target zone. If you score more successes, that many enemy units are removed from the target zone, in ascending order of power... even if you could not see those units. Special: Sacred sites are not destroyed by each success, but rather have their power reduced by one for each success and are destroyed when they reach 0.
Slaughter. 1 power. For every success, reduce the zone's population by 1. This ability attempts to target existing population BEYOND the number of followers in the zone; if more than one deity attempts to target the same zone's population, see contested resources, above. If even 1 population is destroyed, the zone gains the death affinity for a year (4 turns).
Hide. 1 power. Reduces the range at which the unit can be seen at by the number of successes. Each unit does this separately.
Spy. 1 power. Increases the range which the unit can see by the number of successes.
Migrate. 1 Power. The follower attempts to move to a neighboring zone, which cannot be at max population. Other units can attempt this action as well, aiding the followers in moving, but only as many followers can move as attempted the action. Every success reduces the local population by one, increases the population of the neighboring zone by one, and moves a follower to that zone. When you declare this action, you may specify a maximum number of followers to be moved.
For purposes of sight, the unit can be seen at a range counted from its destination OR origin zone, but can only see from the zone it starts in. This action attempts to use the spare room for population of the target zone; if more than one deity attempts to do this, see contested resources, above.
Multiply. 1 Power. Followers only, and only in a zone with less than max population. The followers work to increase their numbers. Increase the local population by 1 for every success, up to max. Other units may assist in this action, but you cannot earn more successes than you have followers engaged in this action. If more than one player is trying to fill this spare room, see contested resources, above.
Build. 1 Power. Usuable only in a zone with free ley energy. The unit attempts to augment the deity's existing sacred sites, or create a new ley site if the deity has none in that zone. Every full three successes increase the number of ranks your existing site has by one. If you did not have a site in that zone, you now have one with a number of ranks equal to the number of successes you rolled divided by 3, rounded down. All deities' combined sacred sites in a zone may not exceed the zone's ley energy. If more than one deity attempts to build in the same zone in the same turn, see contested resources, above.
Move. 2 Power. The unit attempts to move to a neighboring zone. Even a single success allows the unit to move. However, it counts as remaining within its present zone until all other actions are resolved. Different units' move actions are only combined if they move from the same zone to the same zone. For purposes of sight, the unit can be seen at a range counted from its destination OR origin zone, but can only see from the zone it starts in.
Ascension. 3 Power. With three successes, you may turn a follower into a Devotee. Every attempt costs an additional 10 power.
Cross Over. 3 Power. The unit attempts to move from an Inner Sanctum to any zone in the material world, or vice versa. If that zone has one of the affinities associated with that sanctum, you must pay an additional 5 power. If it does NOT have one of the affinities, you must pay an additional 10 power. This cost is incurred for EACH UNIT that crosses over.
Fly. 3 Power. The unit attempts to move faster than normal. Choose a path through up to as many zones as you are spending power for, up to the unit's power. Each success means you move one zone along that path. Different units' fly actions are combined only if they move from the same zone to the same zone. Resolve flight at the same time as movement (after all other actions). For purposes of sight, the unit can be seen at a range counted from any zone it passes into or out of, but can only see from the zone it starts in.
Teleport. 4 Power. The unit attempts direct site-to-site teleportation. Choose a destination. To succeed, you must roll at least as many successes as the distance between zones. If you do not, the unit goes nowhere. You may choose to teleport another unit (so long as it is not a follower or a sacred site) instead of yourself. For purposes of sight, the unit can be seen at a range counted from its destination OR origin zone, but can only see from the zone it starts in.
Divine Powers.
Assist(action). A wide range of powers varying on the action type you can assist. Assist(Ascension) is a different power than Assist(build). Ranks are gained and tracked separately, and the use of one power does not count against the limit for the use of others. Use the Assist power to supplement the actions of your units using the named action. You may not use an assist power to suppliment a unit's effectiveness by more than its power, but you may assist multiple units engaged in the same action up to their combined power.
(Action) From On High. A wide range of powers varying on the type of action you can perform on high. Ascension from on high is a different power than Attack from on high. So long as you are in your outer or inner sanctum, you may perform the action as if in any zone with your affinity. You can have a maximum of 5 ranks in any such power. Powers which can be done from on high are: Attack, Slaughter, Convert, Ascension, Build. Powers used from on high require 2 points be spent for every point of effectiveness.
Occult: The target friendly unit benefits as if from the hide command, even if the unit does not take the Hide action (or takes another action).
Shroud: An action you are about to undertake becomes harder to see, just as if it were a unit taking the hide action.
Martyr: Spend 5 power at the beginning of your turn and choose a devotee of yours that was killed last turn. If you roll two successes, that devotee is revived in the zone he died in and may act this turn. He will die again at the end of this turn, but may be affected by the Martyr power again next turn. (In actuality, this reflects the spread of your faith or goals which the martyr died to achieve.)
Resurrection: Spend 20 power at the beginning of your turn and choose a devotee that was killed last turn. If you roll four successes, that devotee is revived in the zone he died and may act this turn.
Defense of the Chosen: When your units are attacked, any unspent power goes to assist them in their defense. You may not spend more per unit than that unit's power OR your ranks in DotC. If your units on defense have a sum power greater than your power to assist them, they compete for your attention using the contested resources method, with power ratings substituting for successes.
Map generation:
Play is intended for 4 players on a map of 19 hexes (arranged as a hexagon with three zones to a side). The referee can set up the map by design or at random. There should be three city hexes, three mountain hexes, three forest, three wetlands, and three plains. In addition, place one impassible zone which no one can occupy (not even a deity).
Distribute these at will or at random. For each type of zone, there will be one with a ley power of 4, one with a ley power of 2, and one with no ley power. Cities have max populations of 20, plains max populations of
10, forests max populations of 6, and wetlands and mountains max populations of 4. Each zone starts out at half its max population. Finally, randomly select one zone of each type. Ensure that this distribution includes 1-2 zones with ley power 4, 1-2 with ley power 2, and 1-2 with no ley power. These zones will have the Death affinity for the first 4 turns.
Winning and Losing.
If your deity unit is ever destroyed, you lose.
If the last population is wiped from the map, all players lose.
Otherwise, the last player standing wins.
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Quick reference:
Affinities: Mountain, Forest, Plains, City, Wetlands, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Death.
Dice rolls: Roll power in d6s. Every 5 or 6 is a success.
Bonuses: (use best that applies)
Unit is deity: +3 to rolls. (2s succeed.)
Deity is in zone or unit is greater agent: +2 to rolls (3s succeed).
Greater agent is in zone or unit is lesser agent: +1 to rolls (4s succeed.)
Actions:
0 Power: Worship.
1 Power: Convert, attack, slaughter, hide, spy, migrate, multiply, build.
2 Power: Move
3 Power: Fly, Cross Over, Ascension
4 Power: Teleport
Divine Powers: Assist(Action), (Action) from on High, Occult, Shroud, Martyr, Resurrection, Defense of the Chosen
Power pool = 20 + sacred site ranks + worship.
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Overview:
Deities at War is a turn-based refereed board/wargame in which players take on the roles of four deities, newly arrived at a previously un-claimed world and seeking to convert its followers to their own ways. The game can be played either straight, as a mechanical game with simple rules, or it can be used as a tool for roleplaying, with the gods having a rich mythos, their followers distinct personalities and character archs, and the battles being described in detail.
Game Start:
The referee sets the map up ahead of time and decides whether the first turn will be spring, summer, autumn or winter. Each player secretly chooses two affinities -- aspects of the world over which their deity holds some sort of dominance. They begin with a single unit, their deity, in their inner sanctum. Then the first turn begins.
The map:
The map is divided into zones, with some zones being adjascent to others. Each zone has a terrain type -- forest, city, plains, mountains, or wetlands -- and a population number over max population number giving a sense of how many mortals live in the zone (Each point of population corresponds to 10,000 people.) For example, one zone might be mountainous and have 3 population (30k people) living there out of a maximum 4 (40k) it can support. Some regions also have a ley power ranking, representing untapped natural energy which can be channeled to the deity by establishing a sacred site.
In addition to the world map, every player has two zones that are uniquely theirs -- their planar sanctums, corresponding to whatever brand of heaven, hell, nirvana, etc they might run. These two zones are adjascent to each other. The outer sanctum connects to the world at all points, but connects to those zones which have an affinity of the controlling god's more easilly than to other zones. The inner sanctum is every deity's seat of power, where they are the hardest to kill.
Power:
No deity is omnipotent in this game. Rather, they gather power from a variety of sources -- worship, sacred (or defiled) sites devoted to them, et cetera -- and channel that power into divine intervention. Nearly every ability costs power. You gain 20 power for free plus 1 power for every rank of sacred site you control, every turn. If you need more power than that in a turn, your followers can lend you their power using the Worship action. Power does not carry over from turn to turn, so use it or lose it.
Units:
Players can field units, representing armies, potent individuals, or angels/devils/djinns/whatever. The principle stats of a unit is its power (a number between 1 and 5) and its abilities. A unit's power represents how effective it is in combat, and how much power the deity can channel into it in a turn. Units are invisible to opposing players unless otherwise stated.
Actions:
There are several actions a unit can take, all of which cost power. If the power cost of an action exceeds the unit's power, it cannot take that action. Even the most simple of abilities, such as moving to another zone, require the expenditure of power; usually this represents the minor visions and so forth required for the deity to convey His or Her orders to the unit. If the power cost is less than the unit's power, you may pay this lower rate, or pay up to the unit's power to perform the ability at increased effectiveness. Units may only perform one action per turn, with the exception of deities.
The effectiveness of the ability is ALWAYS equal to the power spent on it. Multiple units can combine efforts towards the same action, provided each could undertake it individually; in this case, the effectiveness is equal to the sum of the power spent by each unit. Units performing the same type of action on the same target always combine their effectiveness, even if those units are not in the same zone. In addition, the deity can, through a vareity of miracles suppliment the actions of his/her units through divine powers at his/her disposal (see Divine Intervention, below.) However, the deity can only spend up to the particular unit's power supplimenting its abilities in any given turn.
Divine Intervention:
Deities can intervene directly in the world, rather than just by giving their followers orders. Though actual entry into the mortal world is not to be casually undertaken, a deity walking the earth is a being of, need it be said, godly power. However, a deity can also impact the world from on high, be it by way of thrown lightning bolts to subtle tweaks in the fortunes of mortals.
Deities do this by way of divine powers. Divine powers can have several ranks; the more ranks a deity has in a divine power, the stronger the deity is with that ability. Deities start with no divine powers, but can add one rank in any one power at the beginning of every turn of the game (while actions are declared) and use that rank in the same turn. The deity can use the ability as many times per turn as he/she has ranks in it, and can (usually) devote up to as many points of power to a given action as he/she has ranks in it. Thus a deity with 1 rank in a power can use it once per turn with an effectiveness of 1, while a deity with 5 ranks in it can use it up to 5 times per turn and spend up to 5 power on EACH use (provided he/she has that much power to spare).
A great many uses of divine power suppliment the actions of the deity's units (including the deity him/herself) -- be it by smiting their enemies dead on the battlefield, or helping them perform minor miracles to win converts, or simply whispering in their ear to tell them when to duck. These supplimental powers suffer under the additional limitation that You cannot expend more power supplimenting a unit's ability than the unit's power rating. However, to make up for that shortcoming, You can use the power twice a turn for every rank you have in it, instead of the normal once per turn.
Resolution:
Each action, then, will have an effectiveness. This is your dice pool. For every point of effectiveness, a d6 will be rolled. If this roll is a 5 or 6, it counts as a success. Depending on the actions, multiple successes might be required to accomplish your goals, or multiple successes might result in increased gains. Once the successes for each action are tallied, all actions are resolved simultaneously based on these calculated successes.
The turn:
The game is turn-based, with all players playing simultaneously. The turn is divided into two phases: Actions and resolutions. In the actions phase, all players declare actions for as many of their units s they wish. After all players declare their actions, all actions are resolved.
Sight:
Deities are not omniscient by default, at least, not when other deities would rather they not know something. You can see everything Your units see, but what they can see is limited. Seeing a unit lets you know who it belongs to and what type of unit it is. If you cannot see something, you cannot target it with an action. Awareness of a unit lasts for a turn; unless you do something to keep an eye on them, you'll lose track of them in the next resolutions phase. Every unit is visible at a range (number of zones away) equal to its power minus 2. Units with -1 power are, by default, invisible to other units even in the same zone. Actions are visible at a range of their effectiveness minus 2. Usually an action will be performed in the same zone as the unit who does it; when this is not the case, it is visible as counted from the zone it is targetting. Seeing a unit will also tell you what type of action it is undertaking, but not the target of that action. Seeing an action will let you know what type of unit is performing it, and what type of unit (and in what zone) it is being performed against, but won't let you actually see the unit performing the action or the action's target.
List of Units:
Followers. The rank and file worshipers, each unit represents 10k people. 1 power. Followers cannot use the Move action; they must instead Migrate. They are created by Converting population and correspond to (your) population in the zone.
Devotees. The truly blessed individuals, messiahs and avatars and the like. 2 power (just as much as 20k ordinary people!). Devotees are created by way of the Ascension ability.
Divine Agent. Angels, devils, Djinns, lesser forest spirits, whatever's appropriate to Your nature. Power 3. Divine agents have a +1 to any roll, meaning power they spend succeeds on a 4, 5, or 6. They can be created at the cost of 15 power in your inner or outer sanctum at the beginning of your turn and can act in the same turn. At the beginning of your turn, you must pay 5 power for each Divine Agent or it will die before it can act.
Greater Agent. An archangel or a greater spirit of nature or something like that. Power 4. Like a Divine Agent, except that it has a +2 to all rolls AND gives a +1 to the rolls of every friendly unit in the same zone. (These bonuses never stack with any other.) Greater agents cost 30 Power to make and 10/turn to maintain.
Deity. Deities begin in their Inner Sanctums. They gain a +3 to any roll they make (save for divine interventions) and grant a +2 to any die roll for any unit in the same zone as them. (These bonuses never stack with any other bonuses.)
Deities cannot be made and they represent You, the player. If a player's deity is eliminated, so is the player. Deities normally cost nothing to maintain; however, every turn they begin in the material world they must spend 20 power or be transported back to their inner sanctum prior to acting.
Sacred site: Sacred sites are high churches, monastaries, shrines, circles of power, desecrated lands, etc built on places of ley power. Their power varies, but they provide the deity with that many points of power each turn. They can never leave their zones, but otherwise can take any action allowed by their power level, including helping other units migrate or teleport. Sacred sites are built by other units.
Contested resources:
Zones have limited population, and those with ley energy have a limited amount. Different deities may vie for those limited resources IN THE SAME TURN. If they do so, and there's not enough to go around, then whoever rolled the most successes for the attempt immediately claims the difference (or up to max if the difference is more). If there's still some to spare, the player who rolled less then claims one, then the person who rolled more, and so on, alternating until there's no more to claim. In case of a tie, a die will be rolled to see who gets to claim first. If there's competition for resources, the deities involved get to see opposing actions and units REGARDLESS of visibility.
In particular, note: No zone may have sacred sites of a combined power greater than the zone's ley energy. No zone may have more followers in it than population. And no zone may have more population in it than the maximum.
Zone properties:
Affinity: Any action taken where one of your affinities applies gives a +1 bonus to rolls. This bonus does not stack with any other bonus. Each zone has a terrain type, which serves as an affinity. In addition, each turn has a season (spring summer autumn or winter) which serves as an affinity for every zone in the materia world. Finally, zones which have seen population die in them in the last year (four turns) have the death affinity.
Sanctum: For anyone but the god who owns the sanctum, a penalty is imposed on all rolls. A -1 penalty applies for actions in the outer sanctum, and a -2 for actions in the inner sanctum. These penalties stack with bonus but not with each other.
List of actions:
Worship. 0 power. The unit adds its power to the deity's power pool. It may take no other action this turn. This action is taken by default if none other is assigned.
Convert. 1 power. Conversion is aimed at the unalied population of the current zone OR a neighboring one. Every success creates a follower in that zone. This ability attempts to target existing population beyond the number of followers in the zone; if more than one deity attempts it simultaneously, see Contested Resources, above.
Attack. 1 power. Attempts to destroy enemy units in this or a neighboring zone. Roll against the combined power of ALL enemy units in the target zone. If you score more successes, that many enemy units are removed from the target zone, in ascending order of power... even if you could not see those units. Special: Sacred sites are not destroyed by each success, but rather have their power reduced by one for each success and are destroyed when they reach 0.
Slaughter. 1 power. For every success, reduce the zone's population by 1. This ability attempts to target existing population BEYOND the number of followers in the zone; if more than one deity attempts to target the same zone's population, see contested resources, above. If even 1 population is destroyed, the zone gains the death affinity for a year (4 turns).
Hide. 1 power. Reduces the range at which the unit can be seen at by the number of successes. Each unit does this separately.
Spy. 1 power. Increases the range which the unit can see by the number of successes.
Migrate. 1 Power. The follower attempts to move to a neighboring zone, which cannot be at max population. Other units can attempt this action as well, aiding the followers in moving, but only as many followers can move as attempted the action. Every success reduces the local population by one, increases the population of the neighboring zone by one, and moves a follower to that zone. When you declare this action, you may specify a maximum number of followers to be moved.
For purposes of sight, the unit can be seen at a range counted from its destination OR origin zone, but can only see from the zone it starts in. This action attempts to use the spare room for population of the target zone; if more than one deity attempts to do this, see contested resources, above.
Multiply. 1 Power. Followers only, and only in a zone with less than max population. The followers work to increase their numbers. Increase the local population by 1 for every success, up to max. Other units may assist in this action, but you cannot earn more successes than you have followers engaged in this action. If more than one player is trying to fill this spare room, see contested resources, above.
Build. 1 Power. Usuable only in a zone with free ley energy. The unit attempts to augment the deity's existing sacred sites, or create a new ley site if the deity has none in that zone. Every full three successes increase the number of ranks your existing site has by one. If you did not have a site in that zone, you now have one with a number of ranks equal to the number of successes you rolled divided by 3, rounded down. All deities' combined sacred sites in a zone may not exceed the zone's ley energy. If more than one deity attempts to build in the same zone in the same turn, see contested resources, above.
Move. 2 Power. The unit attempts to move to a neighboring zone. Even a single success allows the unit to move. However, it counts as remaining within its present zone until all other actions are resolved. Different units' move actions are only combined if they move from the same zone to the same zone. For purposes of sight, the unit can be seen at a range counted from its destination OR origin zone, but can only see from the zone it starts in.
Ascension. 3 Power. With three successes, you may turn a follower into a Devotee. Every attempt costs an additional 10 power.
Cross Over. 3 Power. The unit attempts to move from an Inner Sanctum to any zone in the material world, or vice versa. If that zone has one of the affinities associated with that sanctum, you must pay an additional 5 power. If it does NOT have one of the affinities, you must pay an additional 10 power. This cost is incurred for EACH UNIT that crosses over.
Fly. 3 Power. The unit attempts to move faster than normal. Choose a path through up to as many zones as you are spending power for, up to the unit's power. Each success means you move one zone along that path. Different units' fly actions are combined only if they move from the same zone to the same zone. Resolve flight at the same time as movement (after all other actions). For purposes of sight, the unit can be seen at a range counted from any zone it passes into or out of, but can only see from the zone it starts in.
Teleport. 4 Power. The unit attempts direct site-to-site teleportation. Choose a destination. To succeed, you must roll at least as many successes as the distance between zones. If you do not, the unit goes nowhere. You may choose to teleport another unit (so long as it is not a follower or a sacred site) instead of yourself. For purposes of sight, the unit can be seen at a range counted from its destination OR origin zone, but can only see from the zone it starts in.
Divine Powers.
Assist(action). A wide range of powers varying on the action type you can assist. Assist(Ascension) is a different power than Assist(build). Ranks are gained and tracked separately, and the use of one power does not count against the limit for the use of others. Use the Assist power to supplement the actions of your units using the named action. You may not use an assist power to suppliment a unit's effectiveness by more than its power, but you may assist multiple units engaged in the same action up to their combined power.
(Action) From On High. A wide range of powers varying on the type of action you can perform on high. Ascension from on high is a different power than Attack from on high. So long as you are in your outer or inner sanctum, you may perform the action as if in any zone with your affinity. You can have a maximum of 5 ranks in any such power. Powers which can be done from on high are: Attack, Slaughter, Convert, Ascension, Build. Powers used from on high require 2 points be spent for every point of effectiveness.
Occult: The target friendly unit benefits as if from the hide command, even if the unit does not take the Hide action (or takes another action).
Shroud: An action you are about to undertake becomes harder to see, just as if it were a unit taking the hide action.
Martyr: Spend 5 power at the beginning of your turn and choose a devotee of yours that was killed last turn. If you roll two successes, that devotee is revived in the zone he died in and may act this turn. He will die again at the end of this turn, but may be affected by the Martyr power again next turn. (In actuality, this reflects the spread of your faith or goals which the martyr died to achieve.)
Resurrection: Spend 20 power at the beginning of your turn and choose a devotee that was killed last turn. If you roll four successes, that devotee is revived in the zone he died and may act this turn.
Defense of the Chosen: When your units are attacked, any unspent power goes to assist them in their defense. You may not spend more per unit than that unit's power OR your ranks in DotC. If your units on defense have a sum power greater than your power to assist them, they compete for your attention using the contested resources method, with power ratings substituting for successes.
Map generation:
Play is intended for 4 players on a map of 19 hexes (arranged as a hexagon with three zones to a side). The referee can set up the map by design or at random. There should be three city hexes, three mountain hexes, three forest, three wetlands, and three plains. In addition, place one impassible zone which no one can occupy (not even a deity).
Distribute these at will or at random. For each type of zone, there will be one with a ley power of 4, one with a ley power of 2, and one with no ley power. Cities have max populations of 20, plains max populations of
10, forests max populations of 6, and wetlands and mountains max populations of 4. Each zone starts out at half its max population. Finally, randomly select one zone of each type. Ensure that this distribution includes 1-2 zones with ley power 4, 1-2 with ley power 2, and 1-2 with no ley power. These zones will have the Death affinity for the first 4 turns.
Winning and Losing.
If your deity unit is ever destroyed, you lose.
If the last population is wiped from the map, all players lose.
Otherwise, the last player standing wins.
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Quick reference:
Affinities: Mountain, Forest, Plains, City, Wetlands, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Death.
Dice rolls: Roll power in d6s. Every 5 or 6 is a success.
Bonuses: (use best that applies)
Unit is deity: +3 to rolls. (2s succeed.)
Deity is in zone or unit is greater agent: +2 to rolls (3s succeed).
Greater agent is in zone or unit is lesser agent: +1 to rolls (4s succeed.)
Actions:
0 Power: Worship.
1 Power: Convert, attack, slaughter, hide, spy, migrate, multiply, build.
2 Power: Move
3 Power: Fly, Cross Over, Ascension
4 Power: Teleport
Divine Powers: Assist(Action), (Action) from on High, Occult, Shroud, Martyr, Resurrection, Defense of the Chosen
Power pool = 20 + sacred site ranks + worship.