CoL Strategic Warlord Rules

Strategic Warlord is a rules variant set up to allow players to simulate a war size conflict between the factions of the Accordlands using the existing Collectible Card Game, Warlord by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). This rules set borrows from Team SELWG’s published rules, found elsewhere.

Strategic Warlord is designed to be played with teams of five players for each faction of Warlord: Saga of the Storm. Each team consists of an Overlord, a Messenger, and three Warlords. Each Overlord stays next to the war map watching the movement of the armies, discussing treaties with the other Overlords, and giving orders for the movements of his Warlords. The Messenger is the only person allowed to be in the War Room with the map as well as in the Battle Room to see the battles in progress. The Messenger will inform the Overlord of the progress of the battles as well as informing the Warlords of who to fight and whom the clan is currently allied with. Warlords are in charge of one of the clan's armies and stay in the Battle Room with their decks as well as making the movement orders each turn. Each Warlord must have a prepared deck of the faction they represent for use in the battles to come.


Game Materials
As a team game, Strategic Warlord needs above all else a lot of players. With a recommendation of five to seven players per faction team and at least four (of six) faction teams, that means you will need at least 20 players and a set of Judges (as below).

The next thing necessary to acquire is a suitable venue that has two separate (or separable) areas isolated from each other yet easily accessible to each other. One area is called the War Room – where all the Overlords plot their armies’ movements and conduct diplomacy with other factions. The second area is called the Battle Room where the Warlord players actually play games of warlord to determine the outcome of battles that were orchestrated by the Overlords in the War Room.


Strategic Room
- Map Table – The main Strategic Map Table should be large enough to allow for placement of the presiding judges with their material and also for seats for each of the Overlords around the table’s edge. Materials should include most if not all of the following:
- the Strategic Map itself;
- figures for indicating the armies and their respective movement on the map;
- tokens or other indicators to show the ownership of the territories on the map:
- at least one copy of the rules;
- a laptop or other computer, to facilitate the running of the event; and
- a large clock for the Overlords’ reference against the turn sequence.
- A separate table may be desired and included to store other supplies such as prize support and other storage media and the like as may be needed to the effort.


Battle Room
- Battle Area – This is to consist of enough tables to allow placement of all Strategic Map territory labels with room for Doubles play. More can be added for potential larger battles. Territory labels should be placed on these tables in alphabetic order.
- Kibbitz Area – An space adjacent to the Battle area needs to be set aside for non-battling Warlords to chat and engage in pickup games while they wait. One or two small copies of the Strategic Map could be included in this area to allow the Warlords to get an idea of who’s doing what and where, and also allow for easier issuing of their orders to the Travel Judge.


Time
The third hardest element is time. With turns that are 20 minutes in length, sessions of 4 (12 turns) to 6 hours (18 turns) are not unusual. There are times when members of some teams may not be active for quite lengthy periods of time – up to an hour has been known. It is imperative that all players know the risk of this eventuality upon registering for the game; make sure you have what you need to combat any possible boredom. As mentioned above, a specific area will be provided in the Battle Room where such players may occupy their time while awaiting a Strategic battle.

Here is the suggested sequence of play:
10 Min. Overlord Initial Placing of Armies and Suggestions to Warlords
<<<BEGIN SEQUENCE>>>
** TURN BEGINS **
5 Min. Warlord Order Writing
- Travel Judge takes orders from each Warlord
- Travel Judge returns orders to Strategic Room
15 Min. Warlord Seating and Battles / Overlord Planning
- Movement of armies on Strategic Board
- Movement of STORM on Strategic Board (opt.)
- Seating of battles
- Overlords Strategize
- Runners communicate with Warlords
** TURN ENDS **
<<<REPEAT SEQUENCE>>>

This sequence allows approximately three turns for each hour played. Games may be calculated on that basis. It is highly recommended that the Judges create a sheet to track this, and that may be replicated so that people at the Strategic Table and Battle Area may track the progress of the game’s turns.


Judges
While Strategic Warlord has many elements of a classic strategy board game, it is not as simple as a couple of players grouped around a table. The judges are responsible for maintaining fair play in both the War Room and Battle Room. There are three types of judges – War Room, Battle Room and Travel.
- War Room Judge – The War Room judges are responsible for overseeing the strategic map itself, and managing the game’s time clock and progress.
- Battle Room Judge – The Battle Room judges are responsible for maintaining order in the Battle Room, and running the STORM as necessary (see rules for the STORM below)
- Travel Judge – The Travel judge is specifically responsible for recording the orders of the Warlords in the Battle Room, transporting them to the Strategic Table, and returning the results as necessary to the Battle Room in order to seat Warlords for battle as necessary. During the order-taking phase, the Travel Judge should visit each Warlord once and once only, regardless whether that Warlord is free or is engaged in battle, in order to receive that Warlord’s orders. This must be made clear to the various Warlords.


Overlords and Setup
The map of the Accordlands is made up of 22 separate territories. They are color coded according to faction. There are also neutral provinces coded in gray that belong to no faction. All factions start with four provinces; the exception is NoThRoG who start with three provinces. One of the provinces for each faction represents the Capital and is more important than the other provinces. If necessary, a token should be placed in each Capital to designate its significance.

Color Faction Capital
Red Deverenians Luthlarius
Brown Dwarves Rockhome
White Elves Myreth
Yellow Free Kingdoms Andover
Blue Mercenaries Lands of the Kabal
Green NoThRoG Jotunheim
Grey Neutral Baraxton and Athanaes

At the beginning of the game, each Overlord chooses where his armies will begin – each must begin at different territories within the faction’s lands. If enough Warlords are available, one must be placed in each territory until all territories are covered, and then the Overlord may double up armies in territories. All of these positions are submitted secretly to the War Room judges and revealed simultaneously - each army should be noted on the map with a clear marker of some sort (token, miniature, or whatever will clearly identify the faction and name of the army). Also, the Overlord must identify which warlord is leading each army so that the judge running the War Room can accurately pair off the Warlords based on their position on the map. Once the starting positions are determined, the Overlord distributes the “resource” cards amongst his Warlords. Then the game begins.


Overlords and Setup (Cont’d)
Only the Overlords know the actual positions at any given time of each army within the Accordlands, and use their Messengers to communicate to their Warlords where their armies should move each turn. As the only member of their team allowed to talk with players from other clans, the Overlord represents the diplomat of the clan. In addition, being the only member of their team who looks at the main map with all of the units, the Overlord is responsible for the overall strategy of the clan - an order from the Overlord should not be ignored by the warlords....


Resources
Each Overlord starts with one “Resource” card for each each of the Warlords on the team. Traditionally, a “Resource” consist of a first level character with the following stats: +1 ATK, 11AC, 1HP, +0Sk. A Warlord who is not involved in a battle may give any “Resources” he has to the Messenger. The Messenger may give these “Resources” to any Warlord who is not involved in a battle. This is usually done by orders of the Overlord. Warlords with “Resources” who lose their battle forfeit those “Resources” to the victor. In this manner, “Resources” may change hands any number of times.

An alternate form of “Resource” which may be employed to add some flavor and strength is to utilize a second level character of each particular faction. It is suggested that characters who provide offensive potential should be used, should retain all their flavor, but characters with multiple strikes per attack should be avoided. Examples would be as follows:
Deverenians – Lord Anguisant or Sir Guerin
Dwarves – Avalanche or Guardian
Elves – Guinevere or Loravon
Free Kingdoms – Ariella or Azamerath Flamekeeper
Mercenaries – Keridwen or Ssaurth
NoThRoG – Dakat or Phar’Dunn


Armies
Similar to the game Diplomacy (from Avalon Hill), there is a turn every fifteen minutes. During that time, the Overlords should discuss alliances, consider strategy, and then send word to their Warlords (through the Messenger) where they should move/attack. Every 20 minutes, Warlords that are not currently in a battle with another army must submit a command to the Battle Room judge for the turn (these must be submitted by the person playing that warlord). Any command that the judge cannot interpret from what is written is considered "too confusing for his subordinates" and will result in that army automatically standing still for that turn. The warlord cannot explain what "he meant to say", so they should make very clear instructions. As soon as 20 minutes has expired, the “turn” ends and no more orders can be accepted from the Warlords. If a warlord is late with his orders for the turn for any reason, that army performs no actions or movements for the turn - it is the warlord's responsibility to keep track of how much time they have remaining. It is perfectly acceptable (and advisable) to submit your orders to the Battle Room judge early.


Army Commands
There are two possible commands for an army. These are:
- "Capture and Stand" - seize control of the current province. If an army makes a “Capture” command, any Overlord that has an army at the territory when the “Capture” is attempted can cancel it. If there are no other armies in that territory before movement (or if they do not contest the control of the province), then that Overlord marks the territory as under his faction’s control. The “Capture” command/attempt is always made before any moves are resolved for the turn.Battle Room Judge – The Battle Room judges are responsible for maintaining order in the Battle Room, and running the STORM as necessary (see rules for the STORM below)
- “Capture and Move” – seize control of the current province, and then move to an adjacent province. All of the same rules for capture apply as for a “Capture and Stand” order, but the army moves to an adjacent province after capturing the current province. All normal rules for movement apply, as well.

Conflicting Capture commands will be resolved as follows. Multiple Warlords issuing “Capture and Stand” or “Capture and Move” commands will automatically cancel each other. In cases of multiple Warlords issuing different Capture commands, the one issuing “Capture and Stand” will gain possession of the territory (except where conflicting as above). In all of these cases, any additional army or armies moving into the territory will have no effect until the following turn. Such disputed territories will retain their original status prior to this turn’s orders.

The former "Return" command – to return a destroyed army to play in its Capital or any homeland territory – is now an automatic, one turn process. The former rules of returning or respawning caused problems, especially with some players not understanding they could come back. This option creates a better play experience especially for the Warlords. Any Overlord with control of the Capital may cancel this “Return” ability (simply by saying "no") and prevent the unit from returning to play that turn.


Warlords
There will be a copy of the map in the Battle Room for each faction to reference, but the armies' current locations and province control is not marked on these maps - it is solely for the Warlords to use as a reference. The Warlords are responsible for issuing the commands for their armies each turn. If they are engaged in a battle, they can obviously not issue a command. If armies from two or more clans are moved into the same province, there may be a battle!


Battles
If two or more armies end up in the same province, then those Warlords must face off at a table. If all Warlords in the province agree to a truce, then no game is played and those armies may move out of the province on future turns. If even a single Warlord wants to fight, they play a (nearly) normal game of Warlord, until the only remaining armies in that province agree to a truce. If there is a truce right away, neither player should even begin playing. Typically, the Warlords will declare a truce or battle based on their instructions received from their Overlord via their Messenger. Regular commands will continue to be accepted, but until a battle resolves in either victory or a truce, these commands will not be processed.

Eliminated Warlords have their armies immediately removed from the map in the War Room for the remained of the turn and will automatically return on the following turn if possible (see above). The allied armies (those involved in a truce) stay in the Province.

Many battles will continue longer than 20 minutes, so it is possible to have armies move into a province where there is already a fight in progress. If that happens, the current player finishes his Order before they are added. Then, the entering Warlords are arranged randomly behind the last player to perform an Order. Each of the entering Warlords gets one "production turn" (in order to catch up a bit) - during this turn they can only bring cards into play and they are assumed to have opponents who are continuously passing. Any actions that directly or indirectly affect another player’s cards or army is canceled. After the production is done (which ought to be done simultaneously for all entering armies to save time), the game continues normally with the first entering Warlord taking a normal Order.

The Judge/s for the Battle Room should be aware of two possible abuses of the rules:

1. Stalling for time in the hopes of getting reinforcements; and
2. Allied Warlords building forces to have unstoppable armies in case another army moves into the province.

In both of these instances, at the Judges’ discretion, the STORM! may be called upon to destroy the offending army/armies.


Messengers
This can be the most interesting of the roles within the faction team. The Messenger doesn't get to make any official decisions, but is the only person in the faction that has complete knowledge of what is happening on both sides of the wall. An intelligent(!) Messenger that can clearly and quickly describe the scene in the other room is always the difference between the successful faction and the faction that is destroyed. While corruption and bribery are to be expected amongst the Overlords and Warlords, the Messenger must remain above these considerations and faithfully carry out their duty.


Optional Rules
Some or all may be used at the Judges’ discretion …

Coup! - If all of the Warlords of a faction agree, they can raise one of their number to the rank of Overlord of their faction, returning the original Overlord to the rank of Warlord. The Warlords ought to keep in mind that this is horribly damaging to the diplomacy that has been performed so far…

Unique Warlords – Strategic Warlord should be run with no two players playing the same warlord (i.e. a NoThRoG faction team may consist of an Uthanak player, a Sceth player, and a Taoth player but couldn’t contain two Uthanak players and one Taoth player for instance). This is taken even further by instituting the rule that no other players may bring the registered starting warlords into play.

The STORM! – Controlled by the Judges, the STORM begins in Baraxton. Each turn, after armies move, The STORM may move to a random adjacent province and destroy all armies in that province. BOOM! The STORM may also move to a random province and destroy any or all armies in that province. BOOM! See also Appendix 3.

Alternate Capitals – The Capitals of each faction are not marked on the map. If your faction’s capital is captured the Overlord of that faction may re-locate to another original homeland province or a previously captured capital. If neither of these options is available, your faction is removed from the game.

Provincial Setup - Each table will have a map and name of the province it represents on it, so where people are sitting is where they really are!!!


Winning the Game
At the end of the last turn, any army that does not have any armies from another clan in the same province claims control of the province it is in. Points are calculated as follows:

Each Neutral Territory – 1 pt.
Each Factional Non-Capital Territory – 2 pts.
Each Factional Capital – 3 pts.
(Opt.) Defeating the STORM! – See Appendix 3.
Defeating an Opposing Army – 2 pt.

The faction with the most points accumulated during the game is declared the winner (ties broken by the number of their own provinces they control, then by number of non-neutral points they control).


Appendix 1: Sign-ups
There are two means currently used for signing players up for Strategic Warlord: On-Site and Pre-Registration online.

On-Site sign-up is very simple to conduct. Simply create a sheet (some form of spreadsheet is generally best) primarily delineated by each faction and secondarily by team position within that faction (Overlord, Runner, Warlords 1-3), and leave space by each for players to physically fill out. Extra space will be provided for up to two additional Warlords. This should be posted in an obvious and pre-publicized location, and monitored such that no single person or group can determine the course of the entire sign-up.

Pre-registering online is a secondary means that can be very useful for ensuring you have enough people for a session. The easiest means of doing this is by opening a topic in the General forum of the Temple of Lore (or, indeed, the forum of choice on your site of choice, depending upon your need), and on a first-post/first-served basis allow the ranks to be filled. Reasonable prior warning should be given on the site, to allow all those interested a chance at obtaining positions. Players should be encouraged to list several preferences for position, as timing of posts may cause conflict with the original choice.

Limit the number of people any one person can sign up for Strategic, to allow as many as possible to have a reasonable shot at obtaining a spot on the roster. For online pre-registration, allow the original signer plus one other as leeway to allow for someone who may not otherwise have timely access to sign-up when it is offered. For on-site sign-ups, each person may only sign for themselves.


Appendix 2: Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Some of this is covered in the above sections (see also the sections on Judges and Battles), but it is deemed an important-enough topic to expand upon here.

If a player is found to be acting in an unsportsmanlike manner, the Strategic Judges have the right to penalize the player and/or the entire team, as necessary. Penalties may range from utilization of the STORM! to an additional round for resurrection to removal from the event.

We will not tolerate any foolishness that would detract from the fun for everyone. This includes, but is not limited to, excessive rules lawyering, foul language, and stalling. On the first instance, a warning will be issued. If the behavior is not changed, it will result in one or more penalties being assessed.

The purpose of this is not to walk around with a hammer smashing knuckles; but this is a ‘fan event’ run by volunteers and people who enjoy doing something different. There are a limited number of spots, and if you can’t behave and ruin it for others, then you don’t deserve to play.


Appendix 3: Alternate Rules for The STORM!
- The STORM is a means by which the Overlords may be encouraged to move their armies along, and their Warlords may be entertained by game play against interesting special cards. To this end, one or more of the Battle Room judges may be retained with Overlord, Dragonlord and/or Medusan Lord decks (where and as available) to simulate the STORM’s actions.
- The STORM should be subject to random movement from its point of origin. This movement occurs each turn of play immediately after Warlord movements have been performed. Roll an appropriate die to determine the movement of the STORM into an adjacent territory. In NO case should the STORM return to the territory it was just moved from, and it should not be allowed to re-enter a territory it has been in within a period of at least three turns. The STORM moves from territory to territory one territory at a time.
- If any Warlord /s are within the territory at the time the STORM enters that territory, the STORM and all Warlord/s will immediately engage in battle. This battle will continue until either the STORM or its opponents are destroyed, or the next turn’s movement of the STORM has occurred. Each turn’s movement occurs regardless whether any battles that have been engaged have resolved or not.
- Any Warlord/s destroyed by the STORM will immediately respawn in the respective capital territory of the Warlord in question.
- If the STORM is defeated, the Warlord responsible will receive points depending upon the STORM’s composition, as follows:
- Overlord: 3 pts.
- Dragonlord: 5 pts.
- Medusan Lord: 10 pts.
- Overlords should be cautioned from the outset that the STORM is not to be farmed for points. If any hint of this is occurring, the Auto Destruction of option of the STORM should be exercised. The primary reason for the playing the STORM in this optional manner is to provide an interesting play-experience for the Warlords with the potential points gained as a bonus ONLY.