[roll 1d “a”,“b”]
Another major change in my game of WK involves sieges.
This variant enhances the realism of laying siege, where a City’s occupants would start dying until surrendering, and given that a siege is a combination of not only cutting off supply lines but also of destructive measures such as siege engines, sapping and artillery (e.g. catapults, ballista’s, etc.), it would also make sense that structural damage could be inflicted. This will also alleviate a Noble’s ability to die in a siege and return with all his troops intact. Besieging may take longer to accomplish based on the size and fortification of a given City, but it is also much more devastating to its occupants if they fail to submit quickly.
A Noble still initiates a siege by placing a Siege marker next to a City or Stronghold. For each subsequent turn he continues the siege he places another Siege marker and draws 1 Fate card, For “Deal 100 Casualties” the besieger places a Casualty token on the City, and if there is a Noble present one is placed on his troops as well. For “Prevent 100 Casualties” a Breach token is placed next to the City. Once a total number of Casualty and Breach tokens equaling the total strength of the City is inflicted (including Fortifications and Garrisons, but not a Noble’s troops) it falls under the besieging Noble’s control (e.g. a City with 300 strength would fall with 2 Casualty tokens and 1 Breach) and any Noble’s inside are killed, unless a “1 Victory” is drawn before that happens. A result of “1 Victory” indicates the City has given up and the Baron takes control, unless there is a Noble in the City, in which case a result of “1 Victory” indicates no result until that Noble and all his troops have died or submitted. Killing a Noble in a City does not mean it has yet been taken. The besieger must also have enough Breaches and Casualties equal to the City’s strength.
Once defeated, all Casualty tokens are removed from the City or Stronghold (not from any Nobles involved), but Breach tokens remain. If for some reason a Noble remained in a besieged City without asking for “Capitulation” or coming out to fight he dies per the usual “Noble Death” rules, carrying over Casualties.
Other additional rules: (they make the game better. It is my job as host to remember them. This posting is to make you aware of them)
DEFUNCT ASSEMBLY AGENDAS
Per the usual rules, the Chairman of Assembly breaks ties when they occur during voting, even without having to spend a Vote himself. However, with this modification/clarification, if no one votes at all the item is dismissed (i.e. a vote of zero by every player does not constitute a tie, so the agenda is discarded).
IMPORTANT EVENTS AND HEAD OF THE CHURCH
Instead of the Head of the Church being forced to either pick a Red Event himself or give a Green away, Important Events are always randomly assigned. Before drawing randomly, however, the Head of the Church can choose to pay 1 Faith to either take a Green event or assign a Red to another Baron (Purple Events are always random). He can also take a Red Event on himself or give a Green away to gain 1 Faith
NEUTRAL CITY REPAIRS
This variant allows for the possibility of repairs to neutral Cities when the “Upgrade Defenses” card is drawn. The Chairman of the Assembly draws 5 Fate cards. If any are for a neutral City with Breaches, 1 token is removed from each City drawn.
ADVANCED GARRISONS
This option pertains to the “Garrisons” rule presented as part of the “For Glory” variant in the Crown and Glory Expansion. In addition to providing additional defensive strength for Cities, Garrisons also help quell revolts and riots. If a riot occurs with a Garrison present in the City, it is instantly suppressed (this may be more of a clarification than a modification). When a “Revolt!” Fate card is drawn, however, the Baron can first let his Garrison try to contain the uprising. He draws a Fate card, and if the result is “1 Victory” the revolt is squashed. If not, he must then pay the usual penalty to appease the City’s citizens. If he cannot, and the revolt results in the loss of his City, the Garrison is removed.
BARON SUCCESSOR
With this option when a Baron without any heirs is killed one of his Nobles can step up and act in his stead, effectively reducing the number of armies by one. The player chooses which Noble takes on this role, who in turn loses any office assigned to him, which is discarded. Any Charges the previous Baron held do not transfer to him and are discarded. Since he can no longer lead an army, now strictly relegated to the realm of politics, the Noble piece is removed from the board and placed atop the Baron card. Although he must “Draw for Deserters” (refer to “Noble Death” in the original rules), Regular troops return to the new Baron’s Stronghold during Upkeep.
NOBLE HEIR RETURN CONSTRAINT
During Upkeep a dead Noble’s heir can only return to randomly selected locations, and potentially not at all. The Baron draws 5 Fate Cards. If one has his color, the Noble may be placed at his Stronghold, or if he draws one or more with a City under his control the Noble can be placed on one of them. If none of these conditions are met the Noble cannot return that round, but if multiple locations are drawn the Baron may choose where the heir returns. This rule will help dampen the ability to exploit a Noble’s death as a movement strategy.
ADVANCED STRONGHOLD VICTORY
When a Stronghold is defeated it doesn’t have to be razed. If the attacker decides to keep it he returns the Stronghold marker to its Baron and replaces it with a blank control marker (fortified side up). This can now be used as an annex Stronghold. Nobles can return to it, and it acts as a backup if the Baron’s primary Stronghold is destroyed, allowing him to relocate without any disruption to Influence (for purposes of game play, the Baron is considered to be in both at the same time, meaning if either one is taken he cannot die). Any troops that are present do not move, however, only the Baron himself. Unlike the original rules, the victor does not take 1 City from the defeated Baron, or half his Crowns, unless something of that nature is arranged to avoid execution. Annexed Strongholds have 400 Strength, provide no income (including when razing them) and cannot be fortified.
If the Baron retreats via “Retreat/Draw 1 Fate” in the Crown and Glory expansion, is killed and has an heir (see “Limited Heirs”), is not executed via “Capitulation” or some other arrangement, or if “Player Elimination” is not being used, he may replace his Stronghold per the original “Attacking a Stronghold” rules, but with 4 Breach tokens on it, indicating its state of construction. These can be removed at any time per the usual method. If the attacking Baron shows no mercy and “Player Elimination” is in play, he is removed from the game per those rules.
I’d like to play.
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Okay. You are in. Looking for one more player.
does anyone have any color or faction preference?
Vaguely like red, happy with whatever.
Purple please.
FFG haven’t noticed that they haven’t purged the rulebook yet: https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/Warrior%20Knights/WK_rules.pdf
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Ooh I found my old copy gathering dust! I think I like the old board more… vague memories are being tinkled as I fiddle through the cards.
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Could I have Yellow, please? I cannot refuse being called Lemon
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@Lordof1
I should prep the old one too.
I still got my copy also.
May I take black?
This is how the Assembly phase will happen in this game. Please be aware.
This variant will be new to many of you. I hope we can have non-violent assembly discussions before a “call to vote” is declared.
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This quote (and many discussion held on BGG) was very enlightening. "…voting at assemblies was really voting; you got the same number of votes on each item as though you had people there. I’ve never seen voting take place in real life where people had to divide up their votes between agenda items and could carry votes over for later. "
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