*Title*
Stratic
*Summary*
Stratic is a game of strategy and tactics (think of a mix of chess, stratego, risk and warhammer) popular amongst the nobility of BattleMaster. Designed to be a true test of one's leadership on the field of battle, skilled Stratic players are often successful Marshals and Generals. Most all nobles learn to play Stratic at a young age and many play Stratic throughout their life with heavy play occurring in times of peace. Stratic has become so popular hat the most skilled of players and the winners of challenging matches garner much Prestige.
*Details*
Characters can challenge other characters to games of Stratic. The winner of a game of Straic is determined by Leadership skill, opening choices and chance. Wins and losses are also tracked for each character. Characters can earn Leadership skill increases by playing Stratic often and can even earn Prestiege for wining certain numbers of games (a point for 25, 50 and 10 wins foe example) or by winning games decisively.
* Games of Stratic are arranged in the same manner as duels.
* Like duels, games must be played in person.
* When issuing a challenge or accepting a challenge the player should chose a formation
* the same formations available to them as a Marshal are available to them in a game of Stratic
* The game is then played out as if it where an actual battle between two armies with leadership playing a key role in the end result
* A single, default army is always used for games (8 troops infantry, 6 troops archers, 4 troops calvary, 2 troops SF for example)
* Ratings are then adjusted based on the ELO system and any Leadership skill or Prestige rewards are given
* Either a simple message stating the results is sent to each character (degree of victory, rank adjustments, skill/prestige changes)
* a full battle report could be sent if preferred but I like a simple message stating the results as it keeps battles special
Optional Ideas:
* Change the name of the game to something better?
* Have a cheat option that gives you an edge in the game but there is also a chance of being found out which results in game and H/P loss?
* Only award leadership skill bonuses up to XX% - it is a game after all and studying/playing a game can only take you so far...
* Give characters a Stratic Rating using the ELO system instead of simply tracking wins/losses?
* Simply record wins/loses instead of calculating ELO ratings?
* Let characters select an army from a list of pre-made armies
* all armies are equal in CS but can vary in:
* troop quality vs numbers
* disposition of troop types (infantry heavy, archer heavy, cavalry heavy, ect...)
*Benefits*
Knights during medieval times were known to be avid game players and enjoyed playing games of Chess or Backgammon amongst themselves. Skill with the game was respected was included in the training of pages and squires. Having an equivalent in BM will give nobles something to do during times of peace.
Having the game closely replicate real battles helps allows for players to have those "training battles" they are always wanting without really taking it to the battlefield. It also means that there is no need to create a separate engine for resolving these games as the standard battle engine can be employed. Additionally, the close resemblance to actual battles gives justification for ones leadership skill increasing by playing the game.
The proposed mechanics also make it possible to potentially reuse the dueling system for arranging matches. The rating system gives players yet another progression path they can tackle and the games allow players in peaceful realms another means of gathering a few points of prestige (this should not be easy and should accumulate at a much slower rate than one could manage in actual war).
This game could also be used as an Ic tool for IC mentors to teach their pupils about war and provide them a means of directly training their pupils by playing games with them.
*Possible Downsides or Exploits*
Stratic takes player focus from real warring? I tried to avert this with my suggestions to have only a single, default army all nobles use, requiring that nobles play each other in person, and by providing a simple results message instead of a full battle report. In game messaging should also make it clear that a game is being played. By hiding the actual battle report, victory in a game of Stratic should not be quite as fulfilling as victory in a real war.
Players use Stratic to buff up Leadership? Well, this is really a benefit to me - to a certain extent at least. Since games must be played in person the number of games played will be limited somewhat. I also think that either a simple cap can be set (once a character has 45% leadership, it is no longer possible to gain leadership y playing Stratic) or making it progressively more difficult to earn leadership as you skill level increases should keep abuse from happening.
Players use Stratic to gain too much prestige? I would put strict limits on how much prestige one can gain by playing Stratic. As mentioned above, only three points could be earned with any certainty and additional points for decisive victory should be hard to earn (it has to be a REALLY decisive victory). For experienced characters, the prestige gained will have a minimal impact but new characters will appreciate the opportunity to gain prestige.
