Due to popular demand, let's talk about clans.
Depending on the number of players who are interested, we might have 10-14 clans watering the fields of Japan with cardboard blood. I love the idea of giving each clan a tiny specialized bonus, but I'm wary it might break the game's balance somehow. Here are some rough ideas:
1. Shimazu - master swordsmen, recruiting costs for heavy infantry reduced by -1.
2. Chosokabe - expert bowmen, recruiting cost for heavy archers reduced by -1.
3. Oda - tacticians, generals gain +1 experience point after battles.
4. Mori - naval tradition, naval movements require -1 lumber.
5. Takeda - master of horse, recruiting costs for heavy cavalry reduced by -1.
6. Hattori - information network, ninja bonus something something (more to come).
7. Hojo - advanced architecture, Hojo controlled castles can hold +1 unit.
8. Tokugawa - respected leadership, general's maximum capacity increased +1.
9. Uesugi - tranquil living, supply costs reduced for all land movement by -1.
10. Ashikaga - expert tradesmen, castle storage capacity +1/2.
11. Otomo - westernized, recruiting cost for heavy gunners reduced by -1.
12. Date - expert blacksmiths, recruiting cost for naginata samurai reduced by -1.
13. Hosokawa - royal lineage, recruiting time for generals decreased by -1 month.
14. Ikko Ikki - battle rage, panic rating (morale) bonus of +10%.
These bonuses may not be in the final version, but they do give a little flavor. Some are certainly more useful than others, but we won't know until we've played.
I just researched through your blog posts and I don't see a rundown of what individual units can do. Would ninja's be a battlefield unit, or a clandestine unit whose location would only be known by the player? Perhaps to cause disorder or lower morale or assassinate a general prior to a battle? If a ninja moves into a space prior to a battle (the player could write the location down and keep track on a table), the player gets to roll ninja effectiveness before hostilities begin and that could have some effect?
ReplyDeleteOr, they could serve merely as informants (which kind of takes all the fun out of ninjas) - you could roll to discover stats about the enemy prior to battle or something.
Ninja could also sabotage resources - no gold/iron etc for a turn or something. But it would be great if there was some way to make that anonymous...
Everything you've mentioned here is going in. You'll purchase a ninja unit and after a few months, it will show up on the main map that only you and I can see.
ReplyDeleteNinjas will move on the map like armies, so you'll write turn orders for them; they can give information on nearby army composition, aid in sieges by opening the castle gates (giving a +2 bonus to the attacker's assault roll), and they can steal resources from a castle (I think I can make this secret).
AND...they can assassinate generals, difficulty based on the general's rank, and whether they succeed or fail, the ninja is eliminated.
What about my idea for sabotaging resources? It's fine if you leave it out, but I'm just curious.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your reply tells me that you're functioning as more of a "dungeon master" (or Emperor, as it were) than a participant?
Also, do you need help making the battle maps? I'd love to help out! How are you making them? Is it through Vassal or another site?
Until Vassal 4.0 comes out, I'll have to referee since the game can't exist unless someone keeps it open. I'm making the tactical maps using a graphics program, most are modeled from Shogun 2 combat maps, but they're all starting to look similar now that I've got about 20. I'll likely reuse them.
ReplyDeleteAs for ninja resource sabotage, I was planning on allowing an army to walk onto a resource and prevent it from being collected. Allowing a ninja to do that as well might keep too much out of a player's hands.