From tivadar%home.interaccess.com@mailhost.interaccess.com Sat Apr 9 18:43 BST 1994
Return-Path: <tivadar%home.interaccess.com@mailhost.interaccess.com>
Received: from bgate.lut.ac.uk by hpc.lut.ac.uk (15.11/SMI-4.1)
id AA00672; Sat, 9 Apr 94 18:43:30 bst
Received: from mailhost.interaccess.com by mailhost.lut.ac.uk with SMTP (PP)
id <27217-0@mailhost.lut.ac.uk>; Sat, 9 Apr 1994 18:43:51 +0100
Received: from home.interaccess.com by mailhost.interaccess.com (5.67/1.37)
id AA08392; Sat, 9 Apr 94 12:42:32 -0500
Received: by home.interaccess.com (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA20875;
Sat, 9 Apr 94 12:42:50 CDT
Date: Sat, 9 Apr 1994 12:42:49 -0500 (CDT)
From: John Quarto-vonTivadar <tivadar%home.interaccess.com@mailhost.interaccess.com>
Subject: Re: here's de files (fwd)
To: Empires of the Middle Ages <a.poulter@lut.ac.uk>
Message-Id: <Pine.3.89.9404091255.B20600-0100000@home.interaccess.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Status: RO
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 7 Apr 1994 09:00:37 EST5EDT
From: Steve Nicewarner <STEVE@plume.ies.ncsu.edu>
To: John Quarto-vonTivadar <tivadar@home.interaccess.com>
Subject: Re: here's de files
The formatting is a little screwy, but here it is. I'm going to get the
map scanned late this week or early next, and send it along to those
who are interested. These rules have worked pretty well for us in
postal play [although the game has been on hiatus for a couple of
months]. --- Steve
Empires of the Middle Ages House Rules
Original Concept: Iain Bowen
Edited by Steve Nicewarner
Last Revised April 1994
[2.0] DEFINITION OF TERMS
CIVILIZED MUSLIMS: Defined as Abbasids, Ayubites, Fatimids,
Seljuks after 1200 AD, and Iberian
Muslims prior to 1200AD. Civilized Muslims may have ties and
claims in the same manner as Christian
empires.
COMMONLY USED ABBREVIATIONS
RC: Roman Catholic
EO: Eastern Orthodox
CHM:Christian Monophysite
CNS: Christian Nestorian
CSJ: Christian Syrian Jacobite
CEC: Coptic Egyptian Christian
CSJ: Christian Syrian Jacobite
JUD: Judaism
MUS: Sunni Muslims
MSS: Shi'a Muslim
iMUS: Iberian Muslim
MSW: Wahibiabism
[6.0] SEQUENCE OF PLAY
Within each year, all endeavors (including those by
magnates & raiders) are simultaneous.
Endeavors may be made conditional on (and only on) events of
previous years, effects of taxiation, and to
defend against enemy attack. Note that conditional orders may be
used to play hold cards, call and/or vote
in parleys, and all other non-endeavor activities.
Parleys are, unless otherwise noted, assumed to take place
immediately after the event which
spawned them. If a special parley is called (to continue a Crusade, for
example), it takes place prior to the
first year's endeavors.
In all cases, general order of precedence is;
1. Play of hold cards
2. Call Parleys
3. Taxiation
4. Year's Endeavors
[19.0] EVENT CARDS
The Event Card deck contains 120 cards, divided as listed
below. Cards which are not in the
standard deck are detailed afterwards;
20
Year of Famine
17
Year of Plenty
3
Minor Heresy
2
Major Heresy
8
Enlargement of King's Personal; Demense
15
Diplomatic Coup
10
Influence in Religious Hierarchy
8
Recognition of Claim
5
Single Area Dynastic Influence
2
Multi-Area Dynastic Influence
2
Epidemic
2
Leader Dies Heirless
1
Revolution in the Marches
1
Civil War
4
Major Unrest
1
Uprising
3
Advisor (ability 1)
2
Missionary Fervour
2
Advisor (ability 2)
2
Weapons Advance
1
Advisor (ability 3)
2
Tactical Systems
1
Siege Advance
1
Fortifications Advance
1
Debased Coinage
2
WILDCARDS
Minor Hersey: A rebellion check is made in the province with the
highest rebellion value (all are checked if
tied). A "U" results in the placement of a strength 3 URG in the area
and the area goes into unrest. An "R"
results in the conversion of the area to the hersey, and the area
rebels.
Major Hersey: A rebellion check is made in every area of the L/R
group with the highest average rebellion
value (the group must consist of more than one area, and it can be the
L/R of the court). Results are the
same as a mionr heresy.In the next two pentades, all adjacent areas
must check for the spread of the heresy.
There is a 20% chance of a rebellion check for areas of the same
language or religion (no both), areas of
the same language and religion are automatically checked.
Enlarged King's Personal Demense: These cards last a maximum of
50 years.
Influence in Religious Heirarchy: Rulers of a religion invited to the
parley may use these cards if they have
a URG related to an invited religion in their empire.
Advisors: These can be either diplomatic or administrative advisors
(player's choice when played). They
modify the leader's diplomatic or administrative stature as
appropriate. They die with the first "1" leader
check thereafter.
Revolt in the Marches: The area with the highest rebellion value in
the empire revolts. There is a 20%
chance of a magnate appearing in the area.
Civil War: The area with the highest rebellion value in the empire
revolts. In addition, all adjacent areas
must check for rebellion (25% chance , 33% if already in unrest). If an
area revolts, all adjacent areas are
checked, except that an area can not be checked more than once, and
the court will not rebel. The
"rebelling" provinces become a player empire. The "rebel" empire
gains a claim to all areas claimed by the
original empire.
Major Unrest: All areas, except the court, take unrest checks
Weapons Advance/Tactical Systems: These cards last 20+d20 years.
Originals may be copied and given to
other empires, but they only provide a +1 benefit. (copies are never
as good as the original). If half (or
more) of the empires have a copy, the card is obsolete and is
returned to the deck.
Fortification Advance: Increases the maximum allowed level of forts
by one for players owning the
card.Players owning copies may build the improved forts at 3g per
endeavor. When the card is returned to
the deck, all players may build forts at the increased level. All the
rules for Weapons Advance/Tactical
System Cards apply here.
Siege Advance: Allows the player to ignore 1 level of fortification
during conquest and pillage endeavors.
Players owning copies may do the same at an additional cost of 1g
per endeavor. When this card is returned
to the deck, all forts are reduced by one level. Again, the rules for
Weapons Advance/Tactical Systems also
apply.
Debased Coinage: The player's treasury is halved (fractions rounded
up). Prior to 1000AD, this card will
affect Byzantium only.
Wildcards: Do anything the player desires. One will capture a leader,
give an extra year card, etc. Two
wildcards played together will do almost anything, even bring an
extra area into the game. Two players
may combine wildcards if desired. It is suggested that the players
consult with the GM before trying
spectacular effects.
[20.4-5] PARLEYS
Parleys may be called to discuss claims, diplomatic conquests,
crusades/jihads, schisms, Papal matters, or
due to the play of a wildcard.
Attendance at parleys is limited by religion as noted below
Claims/Diplomatic Conquests
Eastern Orthodox, civilized Sunni muslim (MUS),
Roman Catholic, and Catholic related empires
Schism and Papal matters
Roman Catholics only
Crusades
Roman Catholics and Byzantium
Jihads
Muslims only
[23.1] SCHISMS
In addition to the schism between the Catholic Church and Eastern
Orthodoxy, there is the possibility of an
internal schism in the Roman Catholic church. If a Catholic leader is
excommunicated, he has the option of
calling an excommunication parley against the Pope prior to his
actual excommunication. If this parley is
successful, the player who called the parley sets up a second Pope
(called an "anti-Pope") and designated a
base area within his empire as the "anti-Papal" seat. Each Catholic
empire must select which Pope to
follow at this time. Until the schism is healed, neither Pope may call a
crusade, excommunicate a player, or
unify with Eastern Orthodoxy.
Each turn, all Catholic empires must donate one year card to their
Pope in an attempt to dethrone the rival
Pope. These cards are played by the player controlling the
appropriate Papal seat (the GM if it is neutral).
The schism will end if; one Papal seat is conquered, or 80% of the
votes in a schism parley support
reunification. If the schism lasts more than 100 years, it becomes
permanent -- two seperate related
churches are established and the special powers of the Papacy are
eliminated.
[23.3] CRUSADES AND JIHADS
A: CRUSADES
There are three possible reasons for calling a crusade. Each reason,
and the conditions of the Crusade are
detailed below. In all cases, failure to support the Crusade by
donating one or more year cards is grounds
for excommunication. Also, any RC leader attacking an empire
participating in the Crusade may face
excommunication.
Loss of Holy Cities: If Rome or Constantinople is lost to the muslims,
of if Jerusalem is occupied
by a non-Abbasid muslim, then the Pope will automatically call a
crusade. The Crusade is 5 years
long and is supported by year cards donated to the Pope by Christian
players. The Pope may use
more than five cards during the pentade if he has them. If the
liberated city is Rome, it belongs to
the Pope, if the liberated city is Constantinople or Jerusalem, and an
adjacent area was conquered
as well, a Crusader State is formed, otherwise the area becomes
neutral.
Attack by Heretics: If a RC empire is attacked by a related or heretical
empire, then the attacked
leader may call for a crusade parley. If the Crusade passes, a
Crusade parley will be called at the
beginning of every pentade until the Crusade is discontinued, or the
offending empire is eliminated.
Defense of the Crusader States: If a Crusader State has lost an area
to an non-RC or RC related
empire, then a crusade parley may be called by any RC or related
empire. If the Crusade passes, it
operates in the same manner as an "attack by heretics" crusade
detailed above. The base area for
the Crusade may be any area in a Crusader State or the nearest area
of a player participating in the
Crusade.
B: CRUSADER STATE OPERATIONS
A non-player Crusader State will receive one year card per pentade. In
addition, they may receive up to
four year cards per pentade from player empires. These cards are
played sensibly by the GM.
Crusader States will automatically begin to colonize their areas to the
language of the empire which
donated the most year cards to the Crusade (ties are broken by
determining the most "successful" empire).
When this colonization is complete, the area will automatically
convert to RC and a strength 3 URG of the
former religion is created.
C: JIHADS
If either Jerusalem or Mecca (in 'al-Hejaz) falls to a non-Sunni muslim
empire, then a jihad may be called
(it must be called if Mecca falls). The mechanics of jihads is the same
as for Crusades except that the jihad
ends when the holy city is liberated at which time the area is returned
to the control of the last Sunni
Muslim empire to control it.
[24.0] RAIDERS AND MAGNATES
Add the following raiders
[24.4] DESERT RAIDERS
[24.41] Desert Base: The desert raiders operate from an off-board
area adjacent to al-Kuwait and al-Hejaz.
This area has a permanent SS of -1. The desert raiders are muslim
heretics, speak Eastern Arabic, and are
led by a strength 5 leader.
[24.42] Desert Raider Targets: The desert raiders will pillage adjacent
areas until that is impossible, then
they will attempt to conquer an adjacent area (at best effectiveness)
so that they can pillage some more. If
they ever happen to capture Jerusalem, they will begin converting
areas under their control to their heresey,
Muslim Khwarzite (MSK)
[24.43] Timing of Desert Raiders: Desert raiders are active in any
pentade after 1000AD in which a 6 is
rolled.
[24.5] PETCHENEGS
[24.51] Petcheneg Base: The Petchenegs begin in the Steppes. If the
Steppes are controlled by an empire,
they will attempt to conquer them from an offboard area of permanent
SS -2. The Petchenegs are
TURPAG, speak Turkish, and have a leader of random strength 5-8.
[24.52] Petcheneg Targets: The Petchenegs will conquer Crimea, then
Wallachia. After they take
Wallachia, they will rule it out of unrest, then use it as a base to
pillage adjacent areas. When all adjacent
areas are at SS -3, or unassailable, they will attempt to conquer a
neighboring area (at best effectiveness)
so that they can pillage some more.
[24.53] Timing of Petchenegs: Petchenegs will be active in any
pentade between 1000AD and 1150AD on
a roll of 6.
[24.6] CUMANS
The Cumans follow the same rules as the Petchenegs except that
they occur between 1100AD and
1200AD.
[24.7] NORMAL MAGNATES
Magnate activities are the same as in the regular rulebook except that
when determining areas to attack, an
area of the same language or religion has 1 added to its SS. Also,
there is a (100-(n*10))% chance (10%
minimum) of a magnate becoming a player empire (n being the
number of players). This is checked when
the magnate is activated, at the end of every decade afterwards and
immediately prior to deactivation.
[24.8] SYRIAN MAGNATES
The Syrian Magnate is replaced with the following;
Seljuks: Appear in Azerbaijan between 1050 and 1200 with a strength
of 7-12. If Azerbaijan is not neutral,
the Seljuks will attack it from an offboard area of permanent SS 0.
Almohads:Appear in Marocco between 1150 and 1300 with a strength
of 5-10. If Marocco is controlled,
the Almohads will attack it from an offboard area of permanent SS -2.
Ottomans: Appear in Azerbaijan between 1275 and 1450 with a
strength of 7-12.If Azerbaijan is not
neutral, the Ottomans will attack it from an adjacent offboard area of
permanent SS 0.
***If two Syrian magnates are available when the Syrian Magnate is
active, only one will be active (50/50)
[24.9] THE MONGOLS
The Mongols are divided into a Northern and a Southern horde. When
the Magnate Appearance Table calls
from Mongols, determine randomly which horde appears. The
Southern horde operates in the same manner
as the Northern horde detailed in the rulebook except as noted below.
Mongol courts are considered
MON/PAG. If a Mongolian magnate becomes a player empire, it loses
its 2 year card per pentade ability.
Southern Mongols begin in an off-board area of SS -1 adjacent to
al-Iraq. If they still exist in 1280, they
automatically become a player empire. At that time, the Khan of the
Southern Mnogols must convert to a
non-Pagan religion/religious heresy.
[25.0] COLONIZATION
[25.16] Overseas colonization costs are as follows; 1g for one sea
area, 3g for two sea areas, 6g for three
sea areas, etc. Note that seafaring bases get their first area free as
usual.
[25.17] A colonization may be put in abeyance for a period of up to 25
years. The colonization level will
remain the same during the time the attempt is in abeyance. If the
attempt is not resumed after 25 years, the
colonization level will decline 1 point per pentade until the
colonization attempt is resumed or the
colonization level reaches 0.
[25.22-3] If an area receiving colonists is in unrest, the current
colonization level is halved, and no progress
towards colonization may be made in the current pentade.
[33.0] SCENARIO INFORMATION
The game will end in 1475AD or at the end of any pentade in which
Constantinople is converted to Islam.
Victory points will be awarded as follows; VP for the size of the
empire (as per the normal rules), VP for
colonizations & conversions (5VP normally, 2.5VP for areas part of a
"mass conversion"). Also, at the end
of every 25 year period starting with 875AD VPs will be awarded to
the most improved empire and to
members of the most improved religion (1st=5VP 2d=3VP 3rd=1VP).
The GM reserves the right to add to
or modify this information as necessary.
****** The following rules do not fit cleanly into the EMA rules
numbering system.
I. THE PAPACY
The Pope is a non-player magnate ruling in both the temporal and
spritual world. The Papal seat is usually
Rome, however, if Rome is converted from RC, the court will move to
Venice, or, if Venice is not RC,
Avignon (in Provence). If the Papal seat is not controlled by an
empire, the Pope will receive one year card
per pentade to rule the Papal seat. The first non-player Pope is a
3-3-3 ruler, after which leader checks are
resolved normally. A player Pope follows all the normal rules.
The Pope has the ability to call an excommunication parley. A parley
will automatically be called against
any non-Italian speaking player who attacks Rome. A parley may (not
must) be called against player(s)
who; break binding agreement, refuse to go on Crusade after voting
for it in a crusade parley, or consort
with heretics, heathens, and schismatics. In these cases, a
non-player Pope will call a parley if a player uses
an Influence in Religious Hierarchy card, or at the request of a player
Religious Order (q.v.).
The Pope also has the ability to call for Crusades. See the Crusade
rules for details of this ability.
II. RELIGIOUS ORDERS
A player may give a non-RC area to the Pope for the foundation of a
religious order. The order will convert
the area to RC, then attempt to take and convert neighboring areas to
RC. Fifty years after its foundation,
the order is eligible to become a player empire. A wildcard may be
used to form a muslim religious order.
This order is played by the GM "in the name of the Prophet" and in
the same manner as a Catholic order.
III. PATRIARCHATES
All EO rulers gain 1 point on their diplomacy stature if they control
Jerusalem, Syria, or Alexandria. In the
case of Syria and Alexandria, all URGs must be removed to gain the
modifier.
All EO rulers, except the Byzantines, gain 3 points on their diplomacy
stature if the control Constantinople.
Additionally, if Constantinople falls to an EO ruler, he may declare his
court as a new patriarchate. He
would not gain a diplomacy modifier for controlling the new
patriarchate, but other rulers could.
The Byzantines gain 3 points on their diplomacy stature if they
control Rome.
IV. REGENCIES
When a leader dies after a rule of less than 5 or more than 40 years,
there is a possibility that the heir is
under age (the formula for calculating such will not be revealed to the
players). If this occurs, a regent is
appointed to run the empire until the ruler is old enough to assume
the throne. Normally, regents are
controlled by the player and have the L/R or the court area. If another
player, however, has a claim to one
of the areas controlled by the regency, it may call for a regency
parley to which all neighboring rulers are
invited. The parley may reject the proposed regent and award the
regency to the ruler requesting the parley.
If the parley is deadlocked, the Pope will act as regent.
If the regent is controlled by another player, he submits orders for the
empire for the duration of the
regency. Should he attempt to gain areas from the regency, or decline
to surrender the regency after the heir
reaches majority, the original player may call an excommunication
parley against the regent.
Leader checks during the regency have an equal chance of applying
to the regent or the heir. Should the
empire draw a "Leader Dies Heirless" card during the regency, the
regent usurps the true heir and founds a
new dynasty. All areas that rebel as a result of the card come under
the control of the legitimate heir.
V. GREAT HERSEYS
Paulicians: In 1000AD every EO area will undergo a standard
rebellion check. A "U" result means that an
URG of level 2 is formed in the area. An "R" result means that the
area converts to Paulicianism (CHP)
and rebels.
Bogomilism: In 1080AD all EO areas in Europe except Greece and
Constantinople undergo a standard
rebellion check. A "U" places a URG of level 1 in the area, the URG is
level 3 if an "R" is rolled. In
1090AD all areas adjacent to an area with Bogomils are checked and
a level 1 URG is placed in all areas
where a "R" resulted. In 1110AD and every 20 years thereafter all
areas containing Bogomils are checked
and the Bogomil URG is increased by 1 for every "R" result.
Catharism: In 1200AD all LOC areas are checked for Catharism.
Results are the same as those for
Paulicians.
Hussites: In 1400AD all OHG areas, Bohemia, Silesia, Austria and
Hungary are checked for Hussites. A
"U" results in a level 2 URG, an "R" result makes the URG level 4.
Wahibabism: In 1300AD all muslim areas are checked for
Wahibabism. a "U" results in a level 3 URG, on
an "R" the area converts to Wahibabism and rebels. If a court area
converts to MSW, the empire is
prohibited from daelings with Christains. MSW is related to MUS and
MSS.
VI. UNDERLYING RELIGIOUS GROUPS
An underlying religious group (URG) is a religious group that has
enough converts and political power to
influence political life in an area, but not dominate it. A URG can have
a strength ranging from 1 (weak) to
4(strong). Effects of a URG are;
*Each URG has a (4*level)% chance of providing the magnate of an
area.
*Each URG adds (level/3) to the rebellion value of an area (fractions
rounded down)
*Each URG subtracts (level/4) from the VP value of an area
*If the URG reaches level 5 it becomes the dominate religion of the
area. The former dominant religion is
now a level 3 URG
*URGs decline by one level every 100 years starting in 1050AD if in
an area dominated by an unrelated
religion. JUD can not be reduced to level 0 by this rule.
*URGs are not "left behind" when an attempted religious conversion
ends.
URGs are removed from the area by an equivalent number of
religious conversions. If the URG is level 2
or below, no rebellion check is needed.
Relations between religions are detailed below;
Church Related Churches
RC EO, CSU
EO RC, CSU, CSJ, CHM, CEC
CSU RC, EO, CNS, CSJ
CNS CSU, CSJ, CEC
CSJ EO, CNS, CSU, CHM
CHM EO, CSJ, CEC
CEC EO, CNS, CHM
VII ALTERATION OF BSS AND POPULATION
Population can change due to famine and plenty. If an area of
maximum SS has a year of plenty there is a
10% chance of its population increasing by one. Conversely, if an
area of SS -3 has a year of famine, there
is a 10% chance that its population will decrease by one
If an area of maximum SS, which is not in unrest, is ruled
successfully, there is a 5% chance of an increase
in its base SS. Conversely, if an area of SS -3 is the victim of a
successful combat endeavor, there is a 5%
chance that its base SS will decrease by one, and a 5% chance that
its population will decrease by one.
VIII ERROR CORRECTION -- THE "20 YEAR RULE"
The GM will make every effort to correctly present and adjudicate
moves. Given the size and complexity of
the game, however, mistakes will still occur. The GM will gladly (OK,
maybe not that gladly) go back and
correct mistakes, provided that the error is noted within twenty game
years. After that it is an "act of God"
and corrections will not be made.
THE "25 YEAR RULE"
Should a ruler control a province for 25 years without another empire
having a claim or tie to the area, he
will automatically receive a claim to that area.