Rules:Axemen and Allies

From Myth-Wiki

Rules Background

The original Axemen and Allies rules can be found here. They were written by Wes Rogers for tabletop play at conventions using miniatures.

The Myth-Weavers variant rules presented here are designed for play-by-post, and also carry out the original author's intent to expand the unit types. The variants are written by Mordae with input from AbsentWizard, Cletius, Conbar, Daeron Alcarin, Diagoras, Gygaxphobia, Keytium, Luke6080, Mr_Knox, and Prontium.

Game Board

The game is played on a 60x80 hexagonal terrain map. Terrain is grouped into five general types:

Plains (Grassland/Farmland): The easiest to move through, offering little resistance to the advancing army.
Forest (Light/Dense): Tall, spreading trees slow movement for mounted troops and make combat more difficult.
Rough (Marsh/Rocky Hills/Forested Hills): Uneven terrain slows movement for all troops and is more difficult to fight on than flat ground.
Mountains (Rocky/Forested): Impassable except for the most lightly armored of troops.
Water (Lake/Ocean): Impassable to all troop types.

Cities and castles are placed on the map by the players. The map may also include rivers and roads.

The map is divided into ten fiefdoms, bordered in red. At the start of the game, each fiefdom is home to one player's castle, cities, and armies.

Cities and Castles

Cities provide tax revenue for the controlling player. Castles provide tax revenue and also a bonus in defense; defending troops take half the number of hits (rounded down) that are inflicted during combat.

Cities and castles are required to be at least 4 hexes apart (measured by starting from the location of the nearest city and walking 4 hexes).

Cities and castles may be captured. Control of a city or castle rests with the player whose troops last occupied the location. Should a city or castle be left unoccupied, control transfers immediately upon a new owner's troops entering. In the case of a castle, the player capturing the castle also takes control of any unspent money in the castle's treasury.

New cities may be established wherever a player has troops (except water or mountains), and are purchased for the cost of 10 gold pieces. New castles may not be built.

During game play, footmen may be tasked to raze a city. Doing so requires at least five footmen present in the city and takes an entire movement phase. Castles may not be razed.

Roads

Roads provide an easy means of transporting troops through the realms. Movement along a road costs one point less than the listed cost in the #Unit Information table, to a minimum of 1 point per hex.

During the setup phase, the umpire will connect each player's cities and castle with roads. The umpire will also connect one city in each fiefdom to a city in each neighboring fiefdom.

During game play, footmen may be tasked to build or raze roads along their way; doing so costs one extra movement point for each hex. (When moving to raze a road, the road bonus does not apply.)

Rivers

Rivers present difficulty for troop movement. Moving across a river takes an entire movement phase regardless of troop type. Following a road negates the river penalty.

Participants

Participants consist of 1 umpire and up to 10 players. The umpire monitors play to enforce the rules, and issues orders for armies not under the control of a player.

Game Setup

Each player begins with a castle, four cities, and 200 gold pieces with which to buy troops. The umpire may adjust these quantities to suit the skill of the players involved or the desired pace of play.

First, each player rolls 2d6 to determine the order of play (highest goes first). In the case of ties, the tied players roll again as necessary to arrive at a clear order.

Second, each player in turn chooses a fiefdom and places their #Cities and Castles within their borders. These improvements may be played on any hex EXCEPT water or mountains. Players may purchase additional cities at the cost of 10 gold pieces each.

Third, each player purchase their starting troops using their allowance of gold pieces (see costs above) and places the troops within their borders. Troops may be placed on any hex EXCEPT water or mountains. Any number of troops may occupy a single hex; a collection of troops in a hex is referred to as an army. Each player receives one Named Knight (Hero) troop for free; this represents the knight who seeks to claim the throne.

Prior to the start of the game, the umpire must announce the amount of time allowed for each turn. Typically, this will be at least two days but may be more or less depending on the availability of players and the pace of play desired. The umpire may also elect to announce a turn limit to the game.

Game Play

Game play is turn-based, consisting of a negotiation phase, a troop movement phase, a combat phase, and a purchase phase.

During the #Negotiation phase, players may discuss matters of the game amongst themselves, make or break alliances, and prepare orders for their troops. The umpire will announce the date and time at which this phase ends, and all troop movement orders must be submitted by this deadline. If all players submit troop movement orders prior to the deadline, the umpire may elect to end the negotiation phase early to speed play.

During the #Troop Movement phase, the umpire executes the movements ordered by the players in the order of play determined during setup.

During the #Combat phase, players execute battles using the combat rules below. Alternately, the umpire may run the entire combat to speed play, providing all rolls are made visible to both combatants. Once all combats have been adjudicated, the combat phase ends.

During the #Purchase phase, players collect taxes and acquire additional troops or cities. The umpire will announce the date and time at which this phase ends, and all build orders must be submitted by this deadline. To speed play, the umpire may combine the Purchase phase with the Negotiation phase of the next turn.

Negotiation

During negotiations, players may arrive at a variety of diplomatic agreements. These agreements are only as good as the word of the players involved, so consider wisely!

Discussions should be held in private threads within the game forum so as to be monitored by the umpire. NOTE: Discussions may only be held with fiefdoms that abut the lands under the player's control!

Alliance

An alliance is a pact between two or more players to act in concert. Allied troops may pass through squares occupied by other allied troops without penalty and may assist in combat. Alliances may be made or broken during any negotiation phase and must be announced to the umpire. Alliances have no effect on victory conditions.

Fealty

Fealty is a pact between two players that one recognizes the other's claim to the throne. Fealty functions as an alliance for gameplay purposes. Fealty, once sworn, may not be revoked unless the named knight of the player to whom fealty is sworn is killed. Fealty can result in a diplomatic victory.

Troop Movement

Troops can move the number of hexes indicated in the #Unit Information table. An army composed of different units can only move as fast as the slowest unit; thus, it is to the player's advantage to group units appropriately!

Troops can be ordered to hold position; to proceed to a particular location (with or without engaging enemies along the way); to intercept or interpose another army; or to assist another army or ally in their action.

Should an army be ordered to move but become engaged in combat prior to the player's turn in order, the movement order will be voided. The umpire will announce all combats initiated and establish threads to conduct each combat (see below).

Combat

Combat begins with the attacking army (here referred to as Army 1) moving into the hex occupied by the defending army (here referred to as Army 2). If the attacking player orders two armies into the same hex, the armies are combined for the purposes of combat. Combat ends when either Army 1 or Army 2 is destroyed or retreats. Combat is divided into two sub-phases: missile and melee.

In the missile sub-phase, Army 2 first takes two shots with each bowman and skirmisher in their army and one or more shots with each siege engine (see #Unit Information). Army 1 removes one troop of their choice for each hit. Army 1 then takes two shots with each remaining bowman and one or more shots with each remaining siege engine (see #Unit Information). Army 2 removes one troop of their choice for each hit; if Army 2 occupies a castle, divide the total number of hits by two and round down (3 becomes 1, 5 becomes 2, etc.).

In the melee sub-phase, Army 1 first takes one shot with each troop in their army. Bowmen and skirmishers may participate in the melee sub-phase, but siege engines cannot. Army 2 removes one troop of their choice for each hit; if Army 2 occupies a castle, divide the total number of hits by two and round down. Army 2 then takes one shot with each remaining troop in their army. Army 1 removes one troop of their choice for each hit. The melee sub-phase repeats until one army is destroyed or calls a retreat.

If a retreat is called, the victorious army takes one parting shot with each troop in their army. Bowmen may participate, but siege engines cannot. The retreating player removes one troop of their choice for each hit; there is no reduction for occupying a castle as the army is retreating. The retreating army can retreat in any direction, using unexpended movement points from the movement phase.

Unit Information

			Movement Cost by Terrain*				Hit # by Terrain
Unit	Cost	Movement	Plains	Forest	Rough	Mountains	Plains	Forest	Rough	Mountains	City	Castle
Named Knight (Hero)	N/A	3	1	2	2	4	3	4	4	X	3	4
Knights	10	3	1	2	2	4	3	4	4	X	3	4
Cavalry	6	4	1	2	2	5	4	5	5	X	4	5
Raiders	3	5	1	2	2	6	5	6	6	X	5	6
Skirmishers	4	5	1	2	2	6	6	6	6	X	6	6
Swordsmen	5	2	1	1	2	3	4	4	4	X	4	4
Pikemen	2	2	1	1	2	3	5	5	5	X	5	5
Militiamen	1	3	1	1	2	3	6	6	6	6	6	6
Crossbowmen	3	2	1	1	2	3	5	5	5	X	5	5
Archers	2	3	1	1	2	3	6	6	6	6	6	6
Catapult	5	2	1	2	2	3	5	X	6	X	4 (2x)	4 (2x)
Trebuchet	8	2	2	2	2	3	4	X	5	X	4 (3x)	4 (3x)
* Roads reduce the movement cost through a hex by 1.

Riders

Mounted units include Heroes, Knights, Cavalry, Raiders, and Skirmishers. They have relatively high movement but are slowed by rough terrain. In combat, all units other than Skirmishers attack during the melee sub-phase. Skirmishers attack during the melee and missile sub-phases.

Footmen

Footmen include Swordsmen, Pikemen, and Militiamen. They move relatively slowly but do not suffer significant terrain penalties. In combat, they attack during the melee sub-phase.

Bowmen

Bowmen include Crossbowmen and Archers. They move slightly faster than footmen on account of their lighter armor. In combat, they attack during the missile and melee sub-phases.

Siege Engines

Siege engines include Catapults and Trebuchet. They move very slowly and are hindered further by rough terrain. Siege engines cannot attack in wooded areas. In combat, they attack only during the missile sub-phase, rolling one attack on an open battlefield and multiple attacks against city and castle targets.

Named Knights (Heroes)

The named knights provide a leadership bonus to the army they are grouped with. Each troop gets a +1 bonus on hit rolls in the combat phase.

Should a player's named knight be killed in battle, other players may no longer swear fealty to him and so a diplomatic victory is no longer possible. However, the player's army may swear fealty to others, and may achieve a military victory.

Purchase

The umpire will announce the beginning and end of the purchase phase. For speed of play, the umpire may allow the players to conduct purchases during the next turn's negotiation phase. Purchase orders should be posted in the player's private thread.

During the purchase phase, each player collects taxes: one gold piece for each city under their control, and two gold pieces for each castle under their control.

Players may then elect to purchase additional troops or found new cities using the collected funds. New troops must be placed in a city or castle.

If the player controls a castle, unspent funds may be placed in the castle's treasury. If the player controls more than one castle, the player may select which treasury in which to trust the funds. If the player controls no castles, all funds must be spent.

Victory Conditions

The game is ended when only one player has troops (a military victory) or when all remaining players swear fealty to a single player (a diplomatic victory). The umpire may, in the interests of playing time, suggest an end to the game when, in his opinion, it is clear that one player has a decided advantage.

The game may also end at the turn limit if one was established by the umpire. In this case, the winner is the player who commands the largest fiefdom, measured by the number of castles controlled or under fealty to the player times two plus the number of cities controlled or under fealty to the player.