This exploded pinata is a rough draft of the main Sengoku map.
- 65 Provinces with capitals
- 15 areas with port access (for trade)
- 13 areas that provide iron (for high-level infantry)
- 12 areas that provide luxury resources (to trade for gun units)
- 11 areas that provide lumber (to move across sea zones)
- 10 areas that provide horse (for high-level cavalry)
- 8 areas with gold mines (to throw excess manpower into)
That means there will be 134 distinct tactical maps to fight on (I've made 20 so far), most of which will look similar, but you'll know what you're getting into before you fight. If there's a heavily-wooded area next to your capital, build light units that aren't disrupted moving through forest. If there is a river choked off with a bridge, stock up on ranged units to pick them off one by one.
The resources are not evenly distributed; western clans will have greater access to ports and luxury resources, which means they'll be able to buy gunnery units more often. Central clans have access to iron and horse necessary for powerhouse army stacks, southeastern clans have gold mines but not enough peasants to toss down the shafts, eastern clans have greater access to lumber which allows fast travel across the sea.
In the center is Kyoto, but no one would dare attack the Emperor.
What will the role/function of Kyoto and the Emperor? Can you gain a bonus from taking Kyoto or controlling adjacent provinces? Or is Kyoto a forbidden part of the map and the Emperor just an absent deity?
ReplyDeleteI hadn't gotten that far yet. Any ideas? Emperor makes resource requests from random players? Takes money from the rich to give to the poor? Randomly shuts off a war with an enforced peace?
DeleteIf they weren't random, I could be the emperor and a player. I couldn't invade anything, and my job would be to defend myself with limited requests/demands from other players. Deny the emperor and lose honor.
Well, it looks like the Sengoku period was a time when daimyo were competing to become shogun and then to unite the nation with them as emperor. During the time Kyoto was almost constantly under siege by one group or another, being nearly destroyed in the process. The Sengoku period was largely started over shogunate succession. So, it seems like maybe there is no Emperor - it seems that Kyoto is the goal, to be captured, held and defended. That could be interesting diplomatically if we make holding Kyoto ONE of the options for victory, because whoever holds it will need to maintain either military superiority or a careful set of alliances. It would also entice other members to join together against common enemies, knowing that they may have to fight against each other later on if one of them takes Kyoto.
ReplyDeleteNow, granted, all that info came from a quick Wikipedia search over lunch. I have a book on Japanese history that I'll take a look at too to confirm.
Holding Kyoto, in addition to some added income, gives you +1 honor per month? You might lose that when someone takes it back, but it'll still put you ahead of the others.
DeleteWhat role does honor play in the game again?
ReplyDeleteHonor works like victory points.
DeleteLose it for losing battles, declaring war, breaking alliances, failed ninja assassinations, surrendering.
Gain it for winning battles, making alliances, holding Kyoto, winning wars.
I'm trying to remember victory points - wasn't that the chart we were keeping on the wall during EiA?
ReplyDeleteThat would work. How many victory points do you need to win?
EiA had that extra layer to victory points, political points; the more you had, the higher you went up along that "thermometer," but progress always slowly returned to room temperature. I thought we could cut that layer out and just use honor as a generic victory indicator.
DeleteI'm not sure how much you need to win, I was thinking we'd race to the end of 5 years (60 turns) and see who's ahead. If we notice a pattern develop -- Date clan has a huge advantage that we didn't notice -- then maybe next time we'll set handicaps.