The Game of Cronies

The Going To Gather the Skilled Phase

Burgundian scribe (portrait of Jean Miélot, secretary, copyist and translator to Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, from a copy of his compilation of the Miracles de Notre Dame NOTE: NOT IN FACT A MONK AT ALL, NOR PROBABLY A SCRIPTORIUM!, though a canon of Lille Cathedral.), 15th century. The picture is greatly detailed in its rendering of the room’s furnishings, the writer’s materials, equipment, and activity. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The houses found new specialists for their ambitions.

Robheart Brightneon-scribes

House Landlaster-sappers

House Cartell-patrons

Runtly Brightneon-gladiators

House Boltloose-entertainers

House Hyfell-scribes

House Starkcrazy-charioteers

The Night’s Botch-engineers

House Arhead-tutors

House Sully-road builders

House Greyboy-weavers

The Wildthings-politicians

Dimheiress Tarfeatheren-scribes

House Frayd-engineers

Stainless Brightneon-tutors

The Going To Trade and Continuing To Trade Phase (Summer, Year 1)

English: Trading schooner in ice. Jibs set. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New independent traders were sent.

Starkcrazy sends trader to Rotten Tooth – Arhaed textiles for Starkcrazy iron.

Cartell sends trader to Saltwhiffe- Greyboy marble for Cartell potions.

Wildthings send trader to Shadowpower- Wildthings potions for Night’s Botch stone.

Arhead moves trader to Boarpen Square – no trade possible this season.

Hyfell moves trader to Barrenhal-foodstuffs for Sully parchment.

No trade conducted:

Boltloose -No trade.

Landblaster-No trade.

The Going To Trade and Continuing To Trade Phase (Summer, Year 1)

Trader in Germany, 16th century (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A few houses continued trade.

Sully lore for Hyfell horses

Arhead parchment  for Starkcrazy horses.

Cartell foodstuffs for Greyboy textiles

Night’s Botch stone for Hyfell grass seed

New trading sites were established:

Robheart Brightneon creates trading post in Seascard -Brightneon timber for Frayd ash.

Stainless Brightneon of the Dragonbones builds temple in Mtns. of the Goon – converts in province .

Runtly Brightneon builds fort in Crackmont Runtly foodstuffs for Darne ash.

The Game Turn

Currently a typical game turn in this proposed Rally Round the King supplement consists of the following eleven phases. Phase XI. is only conducted at the end of the campaign year.  If you’ve been reading the posts carefully, you probably have already figured this out to be the case.

I. The Income Phase

II. The Diplomacy Phase:

III. The First Going to War and At War Phase: Preparation

IV. The Purchase of Military Units, and Other War Assets

V. The Second Going to War and At War Phase: Action

VI. The Going to Trade and Continuing To Trade Phase

VII. The Going to Gather the Skilled

VIII. The Going to Build Phase

IX. The Mob Mood Phase

X. The Sophistication & Superiority Phase

Xi. The History Continuance Phase

Camelot, an illustration for Idylls of the King (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Game Development

 
I’ve play testing the completed draft of all the rules in this ongoing Game of Cronies campaign that you have been following here.

I’m making changes as needed. Sections of the rules are being read and/or played including scenarios by the play testers. The rules themselves are currently about 82 pages in length and another 15  for the  scenarios. By the way, the rules in this supplement provide another campaign alternative to the ones already in RRtK and the historical supplement. They are not meant to replace the tactical table battle in RRtK. I hope to create a rich and detailed world for the battles by including diplomacy, fate, economy,and civilization building, and to provide lots of strategic options for armies and fleets- allied armies,conducting sieges,handling different actions using war galleys like raids, blocking trade, etc. There is trade and development of a civilization but even here these have military applications too. 

In play testing the quick battle system allows players to handle lots of campaigns at the same time, playing out battle on the table when they want and using quick battle to complete others. I’ve been able to run 15 nations (half of Talomir) and Sean is using them for 8 in his play test successfully (see here: http://seanswgcorner.blogspot.com/2013/02/chronicle-of-loa.html.

 So a player can have table battles as usual using RRtK, but add other situations like fighting a relief army at a siege, or ambushing an army in quick battles, or having a defending army evade, etc.

The Battle of The Hag

Though outnumbered in units 6 to 11, Ser Jammy Landblaster was a superior commander to Stainless Brightneon as was his troops. Half of the Zingsayer’s army were lancers, half foot. Jammy was able to maneuver Lord Stainless into an unfavorable position in the hills, attacked and trounced the Dragonboners.

The invasion of The Hag ended almost as quickly as it had begun. The gloomy face of the Lord of Dragonbone darkened further as he couldn’t rally the troops as they streamed past him.

Hans Burgkmair the Younger (c. 1500-1559) , Emperor Maximilian I, from his Turnierbuch (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jammy Landblaster sent one of the captured Dragonboner knights with a hastily written limerick for Lord Stainless.

“There once was a lord from Dragonbone

who’d foolishly set forth to attack

But that day the Landblasters in battle shone

And drove the idiot buggers back.”

Kicking his stallion’s ribs, Jammy marshaled his troops and raced them back into Flashsparke to join his impatient father.

The Two-day Battle of Farth

Sir Galahad, a medieval hero displaying qualities that Lord Halisham did not expect everyone could display under duress (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Joyridah Mormot, the self-proclaimed hero of the Snap Dragon Queen, Dimheiress of Galleeria put his right hand on her shoulder reassuring her of her success against the massed army of Adorunrun Cartell’s forces assembling before her own. She glared at him, removed his sweaty palm and warned, “Joyridah, use your hands to smite my enemies, not to touch me.”

Yes, Galsleazy,” the chastised knight muttered.

One of her snap dragons, Dragaround, seared Mormot’s wrist with a lance of fire from its horrid mouth. Mormot pulled back his hand in pain and noted how much bigger her “children” had grown the past three months.

The open terrain favored the tactics of both armies, and they were evenly matched. The first day’s action was inconclusive. The second wasn’t. Cartell eked out a minor victory as the Galleerian’s fled to the safety of their capital at Mormeen. Cartell intended to complete his conquest of the Snap Dragon Queen’s nation in the fall.

The Second Battle of the Chicken Neck

At the Twinge, the siege dragged on. There was no assault and the petty unit commanders left in the siege works spent their time in idle disputes. Meanwhile in the countryside…

With their clouds of skirmishers and mounted units, the combined Frayd/Sully army was easily able to out-scout the army of Talon Greyboy, predominantly foot. The Lord Talon Greyboys were not lured into an attack on hilly ground where the two banners of the Frayds and the Sullies were seen streaming in the wind. The Sully banner depicted a fish skeleton with the words, ““Bully, Booty, Burner” proudly displayed.

Instead the Greyboys avoided this trap easily and then accepted battle in the open plains of the Chicken Neck.

The Greyboys were outnumbered over two to one, but the army had beaten the Frayd in Spring and were confident; they had a hero, Gagmaw, and a magic user, and of course, they were  commanded by Talon Greyboy. Lord Chevron Frayd was no military genius to say the least and Bedmore Sully had to defer to Wierdo Frayd’s son.

With some good fortune, the Greyboys ground up the Frayd and Sullys. It was a major triumph for the Greyboys.

The Frayd/Sully forces reentered Seascard province. The Greyboys held the battlefield and Chicken Neck province.

English: Illustration of a knight in Gothic armor from Concilium zu Constanz woodcut (digitized page 34 of 509) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The siege of the Twinge might well continue in the fall should Talon Greyboy decide.

Sea Actions off the Coast of the Frayd Provinces

Having raised four war galley squadrons in the summer, Lord Talon Greyboy used his long-winded ships to advanteage since the Frayd and Sully had nothing to counter them.

Greyboy employed one war galley squadron to raid the coast of Seascard province. The Ironrustmen ravaged the coast and immediate inland areas of Seascard province – one of the two Frayd provinces. Fifty crowns worth of loot was garnered in the venture. All of the marauding war galleys returned safely to Pyker with their booty.

Galley, Maltese, by the Order of the Knights of St. John, wooden ship model from the Museo Storico Navale di Venezia (Naval History Museum) in Venice, Italy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Meanwhile three squadrons and transports sailed slowly westward along the coast of the Chicken Neck paralleling Talon’s land force as it prepared to fight the joint relief army of Chevron Frayd and Bedmore Sully. Worse come to worse, there were ships available to withdraw the Greyboys should disaster fall.