Megagame Makers

We will have two maps in the hall. The first is a representation the land of Ur, while the other is much more detailed representing the town of Ur and its direct surrounding fields. The latter map should have a scale of 1:1000. Thus one square of 5 x 5 cm represents 50 x 50 m². The scale of the first map should be decided soon. The city of Ur is a rough octagon of about 1km x 1km, so this will need about 20 x 20 squares on the City table.

The game will be played in turns of 1 hour, each of which represents a day. The period in which the game takes place (Spring, Summer or Autumn) still has to be decided. The first turn is a special one, devoted entirely to diplomacy and the approach of the Dark Prince and his (mostly) living troops. During this turn, the Dark Forces are not yet on the City table. In the night after the start of the siege, the Dark Prince's Grand Necromancer may use his magic to raise undead troops out of the five graveyards that lie just outside the city gates along the roads towards the city.

Turn timing:

If the Dark Prince captures city center (Palaces and Ziggurat) before or in turn 7, he is the victor and his Imperial Guard will occupy the city. Independent of the outcome of the game, his mercenaries and raised undead will leave him afer the game. If the Dark Prince wins, the next megagame will be 'The rebellion of Ur'

The first 10 minutes of a turn represents the first 6 hours of the day (0.00 - 6.00) and is used for sleep (i.e. internal discussion and turn preparation) and for special nightly rituals, such as raising undead. The next 20 minutes represents the morning of the day (6.00 - 12.00), during which 3 rounds of siege and combat take place. The following 20 minutes are for the afternoon (12.00 - 18.00), during which another 3 rounds of siege and combat are fought. The final 10 minutes of a round represents the evening of the day (18.00 - 24.00) and is intended for negotiations, meetings etc. Of course, diplomacy is an activity that is ongoing during the whole day, but (at least living) players must be able to sleep at some time during the day.

A unit can have one or two steps maximum. The amount of troops that a unit represents differs from species to species. Thus one unit of humans is about 100 men while one unit of dwarfs represents 70 dwarves. Since a square on the City table represents 50 x 50 meter, we have set the stacking limit at maximum 4 units per square. This means that two opposing stacks of 4 units can be in one square giving a troop density of one per 3 m².

Each unit has 3 scores namely Combat, Move and Retreat. Whether we are going to need the Move score is a bit doubtful. As the city is only 1 x 1 km large, an infantry unit can easily walk around the city within one round of combat (2 hours). The Retreat score is the number of squares to move after breaking off or losing combat.

Each round of combat can be split in the following phases:

• Initiative
• Move (by intention)
• Artillery / Missile / Genie attack
• Giant Hamster attack (gnomes only) / Dragon attack (when present)
• Melee
• Siege

Initiative
How we are going to decide initiative is not yet clear. The intention is that the map umpires know who moves first before resolving combat.

Move
Players indicate where they want to move their troops to. The map umpires must decide whether these moves are allowed. Sorties are only possible if the square adjacent to a gate is free.

Missile attack
Archer units have Combat 1 (Elves 2), Move as light infantery (Dwarves -1, Elves +1), Retreat 2 (Dwarves -1). When a unit passes through or directly alongside one or more archer units, an opposing stack may fire arrows. Throw 1D6 per unit. At a score of 4-6 (normal archers) or 2-6 (Elven archers), the top unit of the moving stack loses 1 step (cumulatively). A non moving or defending stack fires first.

Artillery attack
Artillery units have Combat 1, Move special and Retreat none scores. The artillery unit indicates a square 3 squares away (2 when diagonal) and resolve like missile attack on 3-6. Use 5-6 when target is in buildings or on walls. The gnomes have steam artillery and can aim 9 squares away (Use Gnomish chance table).

Genie attack
The city has 1 unit of genie troops on the wall. Throw 1D6. On a 4-6, it kills one step from a stack directly below and adjacent to the section of the wall the troops are on (i.e. boiling oil attack etc.). They may also use a successful die roll to fix one part of the wall and remove one success marker from a damaged wall section.

Melee attack
Determine who is attacker and who is defender. Add the Combat value of both sides together and determine the ratio of forces (rounded in defender's advantage), roll 1D6 and apply the following odds table:

Apply an appropriate column shift if one side has more cavalry than the other. Apply 3 column shifts if one side has overwhelmingly more cavalry than the other (Excess of 3:1 or more).

Losses are taken as a ratio of the opponent strength in steps, rounded. In case of a loss or exchange, one step loss is always taken. When a unit has lost one step of two, its combat value may be reduced.

Example:
4 units of Dwarf Heavy Infantery (Combat 3, 8 steps) attack 3 units of Mercenary Light Infantery (Combat 2, 6 steps). The ratio of combat strength is 2:1. Neither side has cavalry. On a 4-6 roll, the dwarves win, resulting in 2 step losses for the mercenaries and 1 step loss for the Dwarves. On a 1-3 roll, there is only an exchange (resulting in the same losses because of the rounding).

Question:
Do we need difficult terrain modifiers such as fighting in city squares?

Siege units
A siege unit has a certain demolition strength (Trebuchet 4), Combat 0, Move 3 and Retreat none and must be located in a square adjacent to a city wall section. Upon firing, throw 1D6, add the demolition strength. If the result is at least 9 for the outer wall and 8 for the inner wall, a success is scored and marker on the wall section. Upon 3 successes, the wall is breached at this point. If two adjacent wall sections are breached, troops can pass through the wall. Siege units must always be guarded, as an unguarded siege unit under attack is always destroyed (although this takes one combat round). A siege unit is always the lowest unit in a stack.