Fallen Empire Campaign Elements Part Nine: Summertime in Port

Each game for little boys is meant as pass-time. But each game as well becomes a means to measure and to build up strength a-physic, build endurance and dexterity, and teamwork and camaraderie among the brothers twixit. For on the field of pretty play, for what it matters nary but these brothers truly brother up in sport as men of war do brother up on fields of valor more. For men of cloth and scepter and so neither crown nor sword, it is the same to line a house and point their duty toward.

When men first tread the field, ears wet, their Sergeant cries them gather: “This how we men do on the field of sainted valor!”

Summertime in Port is made for wars. Stupid wars and pointless wars. Wars to practice war for war and sake of war alone. Every summer there’s a war. So how can we tell which war we’re having now? Wait and see!

Procedures for Summertime

1. Throw against the Hazard table for the City in this season.

Click to Enlarge

2. Throw against the Rumor tables.

3. Then we go to war! This has been cribbed almost in its entirety from Skerples here:
https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2017/05/osr-medieval-stalemate-simulator-or-six.html

Throw against the War Charts to see which powers are involved:

In the case of Table 13, throw until you have enough factions to satisfy the result on Table 12.

Then throw against Table 14 to determine what the war is about.

The typical campaign season was between 6 and 12 weeks, depending on the size of the war, the cause of the conflict, the proximity of the two sides, and few other factors. Throw 2d8 to see how long the summer’s war season lasts. The result is how many weeks of war maximum the factions spend fighting. After your campaign weeks are up, the war stays in stalemate until the next campaign season or major event. If the number thrown is greater than 10, it’s a Major War. Otherwise it’s a Minor War. Consult the proper map.

Start each war from the central "Stalemate" hex. You can say that the war ends at any point, particularly if the causes are no longer relevant, the initial leaders die, or there are a string of disasters. 

Roll 1d6 per week of the war. Start in the middle (the war always starts with stalemate). Move hex to hex, week by week. If you hit an edge, slide to the next adjacent hex if the side you hit is sloped, or stay in the same hex if it's horizontal or vertical.

Major War:

Minor War:

And again, totally Skerples' work.

But if you enlarge the pictures you can see that it's not strictly true that nothing happens. Things do get decided. But not usually what is intended by either belligerent.

How the Players Get Involved:

Have each player secretly choose which side he supports. The only exception is a player who is in the guild or noble house of one of the belligerents. That player must be on that team.

Then after each die roll, the players have an opportunity to bump the result by one in any direction. But they only get a certain number of choices – they can only bump the direction one space per turn and only a total number of times indicated on Table 15. Use the highest character level among the PCs on that side. 

In the case of the result of “Death of a Major Figure,” throw against Table 16.

In the case of the result of “Religious Strife,” throw against Table 17.

A final result of “Minor Victory” against the opponent allows the victor to gain some non-numerical advantage within the city for the next year. A final result of “Major Victory” allows the victor to choose a new territory within the city adjacent to their current territory which is unoccupied or is occupied by another combatant.

It was upon this night exact, St. Johnsfeast Night, when Imogene would then receive the news she was a widow for a second time. The knight she had been cleven to by William’s good decree was slain upon the valor fields whilst chasing down Duke Conan, back a ways, on Kenelm’s Day. She asked the monks in Hyacynthe’s command what day this was, and found she it was in July: the seventeenth. Two months be gone he was and nary had she word! She wondered then about his son, a boy she cared about a goodly mint.  His name was given as Bealdo, and his age was but eleven years. His name was like his father’s. A blond boy was Bealdo, with broad shoulders and a caring heart. And fell she, found she, unto manly Hyacynthe, to give her comfort in her pallor-time whilst grieving for the fallen knight she had in mind.

And thenceupon that night, that Ides of red September, did the season change for Autumntime, and harvest, feasts and pumpkin wine.