Aegon's Conquesthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNxbquecGsYAnd so it came to pass, Valyria was set ablaze by the Fourteen Flames, and was Doomed.
But still, the scions of that mighty empire still lived. Came Aegon Targaryen, from across the Narrow Sea, upon his dragon and his sisters on theirs. They landed on the eastern shores, and having subdued the sealords there, have made clear that all lords of Westeros must bend the knee or perish in Fire and Blood....
-From the Declaration of Aegon's Conquest
What's the game nerd?
Rude, but I will answer you nonetheless. Aegon's Conquest is the only game that matters, the Game of Thrones. You are a Lord, Lady, or Mx. Noble of one of the lands of Westeros; fighting, scheming, and buying your way into dominion over all the Kingdoms.
Wait, weren't you a demon last time?
Haha, you jest most assuredly. I am but a humble observer from the Iron Bank in Braavos, from across the Narrow Sea. We believe there is profit to be had in uniting Westeros under a single ruler, and are acting as a go between for the wars to come. Any resemblance to persons living, dead or infernal is coincidental. I did hear a tale of
Demons vying to rule the Hells once upon a time but I cannot imagine why you would associate me with such a fanciful tale.
Never mind. So, can I go save Ned Stark or Hodor?
What's a Hodor? Are you a mad person? We are in the time of Aegon the Conqueror, who seeks dominion over all of Westeros! Surely this war shall be the last one fought on this bountiful soil! Perhaps an illness has stolen your knowledge of the land. Nevertheless, you should do fine so long as you remember how to lead your House.
Sweet, like the Starks or the Lannisters?
Just so, you are one of several luminaries of a household seeking to claiming right over all of the land and drive out the invading dragons (Or maybe you are the invading dragons, we really don't judge)
Ok, I'm in, how do we do this
Merely sign these
documents and we'll loan you the funds to start raising your army...
Aegon's Conquest is a Megagame for 33 players based on the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin. Knowledge of the lore is far from necessary to play this game. All you need to know is Westeros is a fantasy land with some dragons, lots of knights, and a whole lot of blackhearted politics going on.
Am I doing this alone?
Nope, this is a team game (except the Night's Watch Commander at first, but we'll explain that later) You will be 1 of 4 members of a House working together to assume control of the Kingdoms of Westeros. For those familiar with our previous outing, there is no traitor mechanic in this game. You can trust all members of your team implicitly.
How do we play?
Again, if you played Tis Better, you have some idea of the general shape of this game. The members of the house have several mini-games they will be playing that affect each other's actions as well as the game on the whole. The exact methods of this will be summarized in a later post, but you're free to peruse from the free
DrivethruRPG Documents to see the full rules or run your own at some point! (Check out DDE's other games too, they're cool folks and make interesting stuff!)
Turn times?
Turns will last approximately 22 hours, ending at 5pm PDT (8pm EDT) Any orders submitted after this time will not be counted. As is tradition, turns will last 46 hours in the event of weekends and holidays, to allow for extra deliberation time. The intention is to run this game for approximately 25 turns (which should be about a month) but as usual, you put as much time as you wish into the game itself.
Are you managing this by yourself again?
Nope!
@AustinP0027 has graciously volunteered to assist me this time around. Include them in all PMs you would include me in. We are ever ready to provide you with assistance.
Now then, let's burn this castle!
The belligerents
House Targaryen "Fire and Blood"Boomthorkell - Lord
JusticeForPluto - Knight
CedrickC - Maester
Zombie Hero- HeirHouse Arryn "High as Honor"
balrog1911 -Lord
Assuran - Knight
chanvrerie - Maester
Gizzy - HeirHouse Stark "Winter is Coming"Bluecyan - Lord
Wildcat - Knight
Docrimbo - Maester
facetious - HeirHouse Hoare -
"Look to the Waves"Zonugal - Lord
Bendery It Like Beckham - Knight
Flounderofthe12 - Maester
Cello - HeirHouse Lannister -
"Hear Me Roar"Kearney "Goldmember" Lannister - Lord
Schuss - Knight
Infidel - Maester
Bucketman - HeirHouse Gardener -
"Courage. Honor. Justice"Virgil_Leads_You - Lord
jdarksun - Knight
Auralynx - Maester
shalmelo - HeirHouse Martell -
"Unbowed. Unbent. Unbroken."Kayne Red Robe - Lord
Theodore Floosevelt - Knight
Kristmas Kthulhu - Maester
Kime - HeirHouse Durrandon -
"Ours is the Fury!"Dolph Durrandon - Lord
vagrant_winds - Knight
Allanon Kisigar - Maester
H3Knuckles - HeirThe Night's Watch, Defenders of the Realms of MenSlym - Lord Commander of the Night's Watch
H3Knuckles - Steward of the Night's Watch
Gizzy - Builder of the Night's Watch
Zombie Hero - First Ranger of the Night's Watch
"Go down, kick ass, and set yourselves up as gods, that's our Prime Directive!"
Hail Hydra
Posts
Herein lie the secrets for gaining total dominion over the lands of Westeros
The full of this text can be found at here
To conquer, one must wield sufficient Power which is tabulated in several ways:
-1 Power for each resource in your domain (as noted on the map)
-1 Power for holding your House Seat
-1 Power for each Relic you've recovered (used or not)
-1 Power is lost for each Secret revealed about your House (-1 Power)
To acquire these things and damage your rivals, you must wage war, recover relics, and dig up dirt. (as the commoners put it)
Each round of the war proceeds thusly:
Lords broker new alliances, resource trades, and intrigue to prevent their rivals from getting gold. They also control the house's access to resources
-Heirs may also intrigue to prevent an additional house from collecting gold as one of their actions. Particularly comely Heirs may also may also broker an additional alliance.
-The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch may trade Secrets and other intriguing cards for favors, resources or Heirs taking the Black. They may also foil one Lord's intrigue in a round.
Knights of the realm marshal their house's armies. They pay for their upkeep, raise new levies, then march and act in the interests of the house, be it conquering undefended lands, supporting a nearby army, or giving battle to drive an enemy force out. Once this is completed, resources are harvested from the land based on which house controls which territory and what season the land is currently in.
-Heirs may interject and move an army out of turn, and particularly stout Heirs can hire sellswords to swing several battles in their favor.
-The Night's Watch, while they do not wage war in the Realms of Men, may spend resources to affect armies in several ways, from helping secure an escape to allowing Wildlings to swarm and rampage through a land.
Maesters toil to gain more knowledge, be it to gain links on their chain, find Secrets of allies, locate lost Relics or tend ravens to provide timely intelligence to aid their house or hinder others. They also arrange a marriage to an allied house, hoping to improve the traits of their house Heir for the next round. Finally, the maesters collectively conspire and read the signs to see if the season will change, as well as determine which house will lead the next round's actions.
-Heirs may interject and attempt root around for Secrets as well. Particularly Brainy Heirs may instead attempt to track down Relic Locations
or send Ravens of their own.
-The Night's Watch will also be seen wandering the halls of the Citadel, trying to eke out Secrets and sometimes even Forge their own chain links.
Heirs wander the land, assisting their House in the ways outlined above, but also Delving for Relics at locations they and their Maesters have uncovered through painstaking research (or purchased from the Night's Watch)
-The Night's Watch will also Delve for Relics as bargaining chips in their ongoing search for recruits to guard the Wall.
Turns proceed with each role completing their actions in Banner Order before moving onto the next action and/or role. (With the exception of Heirs, see below)
Lords must submit the following orders for each turn:
-Resource trades with currently allied houses (Must be matched by orders from the corresponding Lords)
-Which House they wish to conduct an Intrigue against, preventing them from collecting a Gold this turn (Gold being a Wildcard resource)
-Which resources the House will collect from each territory you control (Depending on the season and territory, as well as the links your Maester has forged, this can be be 1-3 resources from each territory)
-Expose a Secret (Either another house's or your own) Based on the story of the secret the Lord tells and the effect they wish for, a penalty will apply. (In addition to the negative Power attached to the secret) If a House exposes their own secret, they suffer no penalties and instead gain a Gold for their shrewd timing.
Knights must submit the following orders each turn:
-Note the purchase of any new armies and which stronghold they march from
-Marching orders for each army (Each army may move up to 1 friendly/allied territory in this phase)
-1 action for each army, chosen from among Support, Oppose, Raid, Give Battle, Conquer, Force March (Summer Only), Cut Off
Knights must provide rolls for actions that require them
Maesters must submit the following orders each turn:
-Roll dice to Dig Up Dirt (Acquire Secrets), Research Legends (Locate Relics), or Visit the Rookery (Acquire Dark Wings, Dark Words)
-Arrange a Marriage with an allied Maester and roll for Heir traits
-Vote to determine who starts Banner Order next round
-Apply Dark Wings, Dark Words Effects for next round
Maesters must provide rolls for actions that require them
The Disciplines of the Citadel (Tech Trees) (Each chain link is forged in it's order of reference in a chain)
-Bronze (astronomy): Once per Round, you may choose to reroll the die used to determine if the Seasons change.
-Pewter (measurements): When you trade Resource cards to the Free Cities for Gold, you spend one fewer cards.
-Black Iron (ravenry): Whenever the Maester uses Visit Rookery, tend to an additional raven no matter the roll result.
-Valyrian Steel (magic & the occult): Gain +1 to Research Legends and Delve rolls.
Chain of Families and Heraldry:
-Copper (history): Once per Round, you may reroll a die roll made when you Arrange A Marriage.
-Electrum (astrology): Choose a Trait (Brains, Brawn, Beauty) and a color (options determined by specific House). When you would normally gain a Blank X in that Trait on your Bloodlines Card, you may instead choose to make that X the indicated color.
-Red Gold (statecraft): You can propose and maintain one additional alliance each turn.
-Iron (warfare): This bonus is specific to each House and relates to armies at the Westeros Map.
Chain of Pastures and Villages:
-Platinum (chivalry): While in a land with a Grain icon, your armies gain +1 to Give Battle rolls.
-Brass (animal husbandry): Gain +1 Cattle during Harvest.
-Tin (agriculture): Gain +1 Grain during Harvest.
-Silver (medicine & healing): The Heir ignores the penalty for rolling a 6 or less on Delve.
Chain of Fire and Industry:
-Steel (forestry): Gain +1 Lumber during Harvest.
-Pale Steel (smithing): Gain +1 Iron during Harvest.
-Lead (surveying & roads): When your armies Force March, they may move one additional space.
-Yellow Gold (economics): Gain +1 Gold during Harvest.
Heirs may submit orders for up to 2 of the following actions. They must submit where in the Banner order they are acting.
-Conduct an Intrigue against a House, preventing them from collecting a Gold this turn. If Beauty Traits are matching, they may also propose an additional alliance (Must be matched by orders from the corresponding Lord or Heir)
-Grant 1 army a bonus action out of turn. If Brawn Traits are matching, they may also hire Sellswords for Gold to Support or Oppose any army on the map.
-Dig Up Dirt (Acquire Secrets) about an allied house. If Brains Traits are matching, they may instead Research Legends (Locate Relics) or Visit the Rookery (Acquire Dark Wings, Dark Words)
-Delve for Relics at a location they or an allied house control (Must have a Relic Location to do so)
Heirs must provide rolls for actions that require them
Each Night's Watch member may submit 3 of the following actions. The Night's Watch always acts last after each role.
-(Lord Commander Only) Trade 4 of the same resources to the Iron Bank for 4 Gold
-(Lord Commander Only) Choose 1 Lord to negate their Intrigue for the round.
-(Lord Commander Only) Dig Up Dirt (Acquire Secrets) AND Forge a Link or Dig Up Dirt (Acquire Secrets)
-Scour the Battlefields (Gain 1 Secrets card for each House that 6 or below on Give Battle actions this turn)
-Spend resources to perform 1 one of the following (targeting any army): Wildling Attack, Support, Oppose, Force March (Summer Only), Negate Cut Off effects for 1 army.
-(Builder Only) Declare a Territory has a Temporary Stronghold for the next round
-(Steward Only) Forge a Link, Dig Up Dirt (Acquire Secrets), Research Legends (Locate Relics), or Visit the Rookery (Acquire Dark Wings, Dark Words) AND may vote on the Banner order. You may also declare your preference of season (The die will be rolled twice and if your option is 1 of the 2, it will be taken)
-(Ranger Only) Dig Up Dirt (Acquire Secrets), Research Legends (Locate Relics), or Visit the Rookery (Acquire Dark Wings, Dark Words) AND Gain a Relic Location.
-Delve for a Relic at an uncovered location (Limit 1 for the entire team/round)
The Night's Watch must provide rolls for actions that require them.
The Iron Bank will declare any new events that come into play and the results of the previous will be announced as the new round begins.
Standings:
Arryn: 13 (3 Relics)
Stark: 11 (4 Secrets, 1 Relic)
Targaryen: 10 (2 Relics)
Lannister: 9 (1 Secret, 2 Relics)
Martell: 9 (4 Secrets, 2 relics)
Hoare: 8 (1 Secret, 2 Relics)
Durrandon: 7 (3 Relics)
Gardner: 5 (2 Secrets)
Links to Turn Reports
Turn 0
Turn 1
Turn 2
Turn 3
Turn 4
Turn 5
Turn 6
Turn 7
Turn 8
Turn 9
Turn 10
Turn 11
Turn 12
Turn 13
Turn 14
Turn 16
All armies amphibious?
Yes. It assumed you have the ships necessary to transport your armies across sea borders.
Question for knights: each house performs ALL its army actions during their banner order turn, or each house takes turns, in banner order, performing one action until no houses have any armies with remaining actions?
Per the rules, each step of the turn is completed before moving to the next house in Banner Order. This means all of a house's armies must move (or choose not to move) before moving to the next house's move. This would also mean all house army actions take place before the next house's army actions. If you want to steal the march on your opponents, have your Maesters get you voted higher in the turn order during their Conspiracy, or hope the seasons change. Maybe both?
Considering how knights’ turns work, are we submitting our moves in this thread, in banner order? And then following up with our actions in banner order? or is there another procedure for us to follow? Question marks?
You would submit your orders for the turn in your PM thread and they'll be enacted in banner order between turns. Not perfect but easier to manage and give people a chance to act without waiting.
Makes sense for managing something like this to avoid the issue of continuously waiting on one player. it seems this would make it really easy for a bunch of orders to not work as written, though, if we don’t see everybody’s move orders before we give our actions and we do it all in one? Like what happens if I submit a give battle and the other army left the territory, or I want to raid but an army entered the territory, etc
At that point, the GMs will use context to carry the given orders out to the best of our abilities. If it would make sense to support/oppose an neighboring army rather than give battle, it will be done. If it would make sense to conquer or raid a territory left fallow, or to maneuver around a force, we will endeavor to honor the spirit of the orders given. (This is also part of why we're party to PMs and game communications)
For clarity's sake: some of the Maester links in the Chains of Pastures and Villages and Fire and Industry give +1 to an asset during Harvest. Would I be correct in assuming that we only get that benefit if we control territory with the relevant icon, or does that apply no matter what?
You only get a bonus to resources you are able to Harvest (ie, you control a territory with that icon)
Do we need to announce our trades and alliances here or can the be done secretly?
Alliance and Trades are public table information. You can choose to agree to them privately but they will be shared publicly with all other Lords (likely in the daily summary).
What is the maximum amount of support an army can have?
After cancelling out relevant opposes, an army can have up to 2 'stacks' of support on it
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Lord Gardener Sounds fun. But I am flexible.
Who will lead my bannermen? I need a Maester, a Knight, and a Heir!
These virtues made Westeros!
The things that will destroy Westeros are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life. And Dragons.
I promise we will send our rough riders to fend off any fiendish dragons!
For Westeros!
We need strong minded, moral, and dutiful Lords like you in Novovalyria. So, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Bend the Knee, and you and your line will continue to rule as you always have (No First Night), and your lands will stretch further than ever before.
Or, you will be humbled, broken, then devoured.
Should we attempt to form the typical phalla / CF-regular team and join Virgil in Gardener or are we ok with being snapped up as free-agent picks?
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Lord of Lannister if possible
Yup. In the original lore, Gardner were the original rulers of the Reach, descended from Garth Greenhand. When they didn't bend the knee to Aegon, they were destroyed and their chief bannermen, the Tyrells, were raised up to Great House status. In this game however, it doesn't have to go that way though.
Yes please
Knight is somewhat the most straightforward, in that they spend acquired resources, and play the straight up wargame across the map. The trick is that everything else outside of the map affects what happens there in some way, so you want make sure you know what your other team members are doing to effectively deploy your armies and have battles fall your way.
Maester is a scientist role, researching to tech up the house (by Forging Links) but they can also affect the wider game in more devastating ways by digging up dirt and tending ravens, in addition to providing Heirs with locations hunt for scoring Relics. (Choosing when to do one over the other is the meat of the role) They also have some light diplomacy in the form of arranging marriages with 1 of the Maesters their house has allied with for the turn, as well working with all the Maesters to decide which house starts the turn order off next round.
Heir is a bit of a dilettante role, doing a smattering of all the others each turn. They can broker an extra alliance, act with an army out of turn, find Relic Locations, and uniquely to them, recover Relics by doing a micro-RP post based off the scenario provided. Depending on the bloodline traits your Maester has secured for you, you can gain additional/bolstered actions based on how well they arranged marriage with the other Maester. Heirs also are unique in that that they can be converted to the Night's Watch faction, gaining a different set of actions and objectives. The reasons this might happen are severalfold, but the big immediate one is Taking the Black can allow you to negate any point penalties from Secrets that have hit your family over the course of the game thus far.
Hopefully that gives you an idea of where you want to slot yourself in Knuckles!
Lord of Martell please.
We will not kneel
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Welcome to the Team.
Any up for Thrilling combat?
A daring Quest or
Sorcerious science?
Only thing I know for sure is that I want to be an Heir. Don't particularly care which house, so any Lords who want a wine-soaked wastrel who will disgrace your family name - hit me up
ooooo @shalmelo could be our fourth for House Phalla
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
You're getting Knight, then. I'll do science this time.
I proclaim myself lord of House Hoare.
Huh, I thought House Hoare controlled the Arbor and Oldtown at that time? That's why they have the grapes and the raven on their banner.
*This post was brought to you by Mountain Dew: Code Red.
They raid down there at least, and historical liberties are possibly being taken for balance reasons