Opponents Wanted

[Gnashrak]

Seeking two opposing teams for a 3 team fourth age grudge game (Neutral team already filled). Individuals or small groups are welcome to sign up but full teams will be given preference. If interested, send email to keith<at>kendallweb.com (replace <at> with @).

The following special rules apply. All are negotiable.

- Standard setup rules unless otherwise noted (though we'd be happy to negotiate regional assignment to allegiances)
- Dedicated Neutrals (order 175 not allowed except for kingdoms on turn 1 so they can join their pre-assigned allegiance)
- Three teams: FP (NK+7), DS (SK+7), N (9)
- SNAs 31 (K/A @ +20) and 11 (New Agents @ 40) are not allowed.
- No improvement of PCs to MT or City status or setup placement of MT or Cities in the hexes 4215, 3329, and 2430 (which are inaccessible to armies).
- Kingdoms do NOT get starting capital information (fully realizing that they might get it anyway if there's a mix-up)
- Victory condition: Highlander (there can be only one...allegiance remaining, that is). Each team will select a captain and will inform Harlequin of who that is. If the captain submits a team concession, then the entire allegiance drops from the game. Victory is automatically achieved if any one allegiance has 3:1 superiority against _all_ active opposing nations in number of active nations as well as all victory point categories (armies, characters, wealth). Evaluation of this automatic victory condition must be requested (i.e. Harlequin will not evaluate it automatically every turn).
- In order to faciliate negotiation, all players will receive a list of names and email addresses (but not nation name) for each allegiance
at game start.
- After startup, if any player is found to have violated any of the Setup or Gameplay limitations, that player will be immediately dropped from the game. That player's nation will go dormant (i.e. no other player will be allowed to adopt it) unless all remaining allegiances vote to permit it to return to play.

[FrightfulTales]

Gnashrak,

In addition to all rules set by you, all relations should automatically set to disliked for all opposing nations before game start. If you don't understand the request, then you shouldn't care about adding it, but if you do, it's an extremely cheesy tactics to say the least.

FrightfulTales

[Gnashrak]

FrightfulTales:

A good point. Consider it added to the explicit rules set.

Now, regarding your attitude...it could use a bit of adjustment. There is this beast called an "oversight" (a.k.a. "honest mistake") that you left out of your list of possibilities. Since the only grudge games I've played in have been 2-team games, Harlequin always took care of pre-setting relations automatically. Hence it didn't cross my mind that specifying that particular rule would be necessary.

Of course, that's one reason for posting the entire set of special rules...so people like you can notice the oversight and suggest a correction (which is definitely appreciated). Next time, though, I suggest you leave out the innuendo.

Keith

[Player]

You can't improve ANY pop to MT, or just those hexes? I'm innuendo free...depending on the answer.

[Gnashrak]

Just those three hexes.

The point is that those are the only three hexes that can be made completely inaccessible to armies/navies. Since we don't think it reasonable that a team be _required_ to cultivate agents or mage hit squads in order to take out a capital, we're proposing to eliminate the possibility that a capital will end up in any of those hexes.

Of course, as I said in the initial post, all proposed special rules are negotiable. We just think that one is a good idea.

Keith

[Player]

The SNA's are gone, but 615 and 620 are allowed. Sounds like a reasonable proposal. I would suspect the limited FA market would prefer a regional set up, though. There's good odds on getting surrounded in a 2 team grudge FA, but when your allies are only 1/3 instead of 1/2 the other nations, that possiblity is extremely high, no? Do you have one prepared for that possibility?

[Gnashrak]

Actually, we prefer a regional setup but didn't want to load down the proposed ruleset and scare people away. :) We figured we would address it when brought up by an interested party (like yourself).

We were looking at two maps (attached in this post and the next since I can attach only one file per post) and considering three possible ways of divvying up regions: by assignment, by negotiation, or by draft (i.e. alternating selection). IMO, assignment opens up fairness issues (or at least the appearance of such). Negotiation will likely be heated and difficult to bring to a timely close with three allegiances involved. Draft is my choice since it adds another strategic aspect to the game.

It would work something like the following:

1. Since the FP and DS already have a region by virtue of their kingdoms, the Neutrals should pick first.
2. Since the NK is the weaker kingdom, the FP should pick second.
3. That leaves the DS to pick third.
4. Continue in that rotation until all regions have been chosen.
5. Each choice is sent by the allegiance captain to both other allegiance captains as well as Harlequin.
6. Each choice must be made within 24 hours of the previous choice (by a particular time each day might be more manageable but would be slower).

Regarding nation placement once regions have been selected:
1. For the 18 region map, each allegiance must place at least one nation in each region they chose. In the 12 region map, each allegiance must place two in each non-kingdom region with the exception of 1 in each Mordor region (they're small).
2. All capital placement choices for an allegiance must be 4 or more hexes from each other (counted by a hex walk) so that no capital placement choice for a nation will disqualify any other capital placement choice for the allegiance.
3. For nations assigned to a region to satisfy placement rule 1 (above), all capital placement choices must be in the same region.
4. Nations not assigned to a region to satisfy placement rule 1 are "floaters" and can make each of their capital placement choices in different regions.
5. At least one capital placement choice for each nation must satisfy the condition that it is not possible to take a hex walk of two hexes from the capital and will step outside the region. This is to ensure that there will be at least one configuration of capital choices that Harlequin can use to start the game. All other capital placement choices for a nation are not restricted in their closeness to region borders.
6. The placement of PCs other than the capital are not restricted to the regions owned by the allegiance but must still be within the standard 3 hexes from the nation capital.
7. Nations do not have to specify all three of their capital placement choices. However, if Harlequin runs out of choices for a nation that takes this option, then Harlequin may place that nation (at their discretion) anywhere in the 01 or 02 row of the map. This rule allows nations to not crowd each other when trying to place in the same region but there is a risk involved.

Did I miss anything? :)

Keith

[Gnashrak]

The other map