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Were-Sandwich
2007-03-31, 03:04 PM
This is something I cooked up to replace Chess in my CS.



Malith

Malith (lit. Child-War in elven) is a simplistic strategy game played by elves. It originated as a training system for war, but upon realisation that it didn’t represent war at all, was scrapped, but was soon taken up as a simple pastime. It is a game that is both simple yet complex at the same time, showcasing the elvish race’s ingenuity and subtlety.

Playing Area

Playing boards vary greatly in size and quality, depending on the maker and price range, however they always share the following things:

A playing surface marked out in hexes roughly 3” across. A standard board is 10 rows of 10. They are generally overlaid over a forest motif, but different variants may substitute this for something else.
Eight 1x1” areas marked off, to represent each player’s four prepared spells
A rack (like the one that comes with scrabble) for each players “spellbook”
Setting Up

A player may set up his pieces in any configuration he wants, any where in his closest two rows. Each player gets 1 Elvish Lord, 1 Elvish Mage, 2 Elvish Champions, 8 Elvish Warriors and 4 Elvish Archers. He then puts four spells form his spellbook in his prepared spell slots.

Who goes first?

Traditionally, the question of who goes first is answered by both players choosing a leaf on a nearby tree, with the first player’s leaf to fall deciding who goes first. As few other races have the patience (or lifespan) to use this method, they usually suffice with flipping a coin.

Turns

Turns are played out as follows:

Prepare Spells
Play spells
Pieces moved
Spells resolved
Combat Resolved
Prepare Spells

Players move one spell from their spellbook to one of their prepared spell slots, if one is free.
Play Spells

Players announce which spell, if any, they will play this turn. Players can only cast one spell each turn. Spells do not resolve yet, do not choose targets etc.
Move Pieces

Players take it in turns to move a single piece each. The player who won the coin flip at the beginning of the game moves second. Pieces move the following distances:

Elvish Lord: 1 hexes
Elvish Mage: 2 Hexes
Elvish Champions: 1 Hex
Elvish Warrior: 2 Hexes
Elvish Archer: 2 Hexes
If a piece enters a hex containing another piece, neither can move further that turn. There is no limit to the number of pieces that can be in one hex at any time.
Spells Resolve

Spells that players announced earlier now resolve. The player who lost the original coin flip chooses targets etc first, then the winner. Both spells resolve simultaneously.
Combat Resolves

Each piece has a Attack Value and a Defence Value. Each piece deals its Attack value in damage to another piece in the same Hex. Pieces that take their Defence Value or more in damage in one turn are removed from play. All damage is applied simultaneously; after all eligible pieces have declared targets for their attack.
Elvish Archers and Elvish Mages

These pieces are special, in that they can attack targets up to two squares away, rather than only those in their own hex. Also, they apply their damage before other pieces damage is applied.
Elvish Champions

Other friendly pieces in the same or adjacent hexes as an Elvish Champion have +1 to their Attack Value as long as they remain in the applicable hex.
Elvish Lord

If this piece is removed, its owner loses the game.

Spells & Pieces

Spells

Each players Spellbook includes:

3x Fireball
3x Haste
3x Bulls Strength
3x Shield
3x SlowFireball
This spell deals 2 damage to all pieces in one hex.
Haste
Target piece you control may immediately move 2 hexes
Bulls Strength
Target piece gets +1 Attack Value until end of turn
Shield
Target Piece gets +1 Defence Value until end of turn.
Slow
Target piece immediately moves 2 hexes back along the path it moved this turn.

Pieces

Elvish Lord

5/5. If this piece is removed, you loose the game.
Elvish Champion

3/4. Other friendly pieces in the same or adjacent hexes as an Elvish Champion have +1 to their Attack Value as long as they remain in the applicable hex.
Elvish Archer

2/3. These pieces are special, in that they can attack targets up to two squares away, rather than only those in their own hex. Also, they apply their damage before other pieces damage is applied.
Elvish Mage

4/3. These pieces are special, in that they can attack targets up to two squares away, rather than only those in their own hex. Also, they apply their damage before other pieces damage is applied.
Elvish Warrior

2/2.


Critique?

Starsinger
2007-04-01, 01:15 AM
Nice! I wanna play...

Miles Invictus
2007-04-01, 01:36 AM
Sounds neat. The most glaring issue I see is a semantic one -- all units are Elven, and to refer to them as such is unnecessary. Well, that, and the fact this game is significantly more complicated than Chess.

Actually, though, you need to come up with rules for ties and/or stalemates. What do you do when one side has, say, a Warrior and a Lord, while the other side only has a Lord? Ruleswise, it's a tie, since the Warrior is irrelevant to combat. Realistically, though, the player who managed to retain a Warrior is the better player.

I've got two contradictory suggestions:
* The Lord becomes a 5/2 unit when the rest of his army has been eliminated. He will die in his very next battle, but he can force a tie by engaging the enemy Lord.
* The Lord becomes a 4/5 unit -- he will lose against the opposing Lord, but he will win any other battle. He forces a tie by eliminating the enemy army before its Lord (or a sufficiently sized force) can kill him.

Were-Sandwich
2007-04-01, 05:54 AM
Hmmm. I didn't think of that, its still a work in progess. Ill think on it.

Sornas
2007-04-01, 09:47 AM
A quick question, does that damage done to the defense value of a piece persist? (Like Hit points, I mean.) Or go away at the end of the turn? (A la MTG?)

Were-Sandwich
2007-04-01, 10:46 AM
ala MTG. Little to no bookeeping.