Time of Troubles Game

The Time of Troubles Variant Game

RULES FOR TIME OF TROUBLES VARIANT

Medieval times were troublesome times, even when things were good. Incessant wars, plague, Mongols and general disorder. But things could get worse. And in this we play a historical game with all the"troubles" that actually happened, plus many that could have. Here would be the regular historical game, featuring the conflict between England and France. But even here we will have a few historical twists.

The ruler of England is Isabella (age 41). Queen Isabella had overthrown her hapless husband (Edward II) and had him murdered. She sits on a shaky throne. Historically, her eldest son, the future Edward III, put momma away and took the throne in 1327. But here we have Isabella holding off her ambitious son, for the moment, anyway. Isabella's other three children are not by Edward II. Two were fathered by Mortimer (her live-in lover) and another by de Grosmont.) Isabella's older brother, Charles IV Capet, is the French king. Historically, the three sons of Philippe IV (Isabella's and Charles father) died (Philippe IV died in 1314, his eldest son Louis X died in 1316, next son of Philippe IV, Philippe V died in 1322 and, historically, Charles IV passed away in 1328) in rapid succession before any could have a son who lived long enough to keep the Capetian line going. Thus the French crown passed to a grandson of Philippe IV's father (Philippe III). In our game, Charles IV takes care of himself, is still alive in 1337 (age 43) and has a son (Charles V, age 12), two daughters (Marie, age 13 and Margot, age 8). Wife is Jeanne, age 33. Interesting, no? The game offers a long list of troubles. Something old, something new, something borrowed and all of it blue. To wit:

The Troubles

The Mongols, who come in more than once. When they do arrive, two Mongol characters enters Venice with 80-120,000 men (combined) and a purse of 100 million ducats (combined). They have high stats. Can marry, but only male heirs may continue the line and then only if the Mongols hold at least one megafief or hold 5 other Italian fiefs.

Vikings- One player lands in North Sea port fief with 7-11,000 men and 15 million ducats. Low health, cannot marry. Excellent combat stats. Eric, Olaf and so on. All fiefs within 2 spaces will go into rebellion due the chaos caused by the invasion.

Berbers ( from North Africa), who attempt to reconquer Christian Spain, and whatever else they can grab. One player enters Aragon with 60,000 troops and 100 million ducats. Can marry and continue line only if the Berber controls one of the following, any Spanish Mega fief or 5 fiefs in any of the following provinces, Navarre, Bearn, Bigorre, Foix or Mallorca.

Mohammed the Maranid. The Turks move west into Italy. One player enters Venice with 50,000 men and 200 million ducats. Can marry and continue line only if Turk controls 1 megafief or controls 5 or more fiefs in Italy or Arles, Orkhan the Turk (to 1359).

Hussites heretics march in from Germany with their highly effective army. One leader (good stats, can't marry) and 20,000 troops. Leader set up as high stats English so the troops will be yeoman class. Anytime after 1400.

Massive outbreaks of Heresy (with members of the Bad Company taking ownership of all the fiefs in provinces so afflicted and tasked with trying to "convert" everyone else.) These events are more likely to come in the wake of the Plague. There will be Lollards, Bogomils, Waldensians and, by special request, a return appearance of the Cathars. Each holy man will, in addition to control of the province, be given a few million ducats. Each outbreak of heresy will result in one to three provinces going heretical and falling under the control of a local holy man (who will obtain ancestral owner status). The local holy man cannot pass on his position (i.e., marry and have heirs). So once you nail the holy roller, you're home free (except that ancestral ownership status goes south with the chief heretic.)

Moorish Pirate Armies land in Italy, France and Spain. Land in Mediterranean port fief with 4-5,000 men and 10 million ducats. Cannot marry, low health. Hussan, Abdul, etc. The Port and all fiefs adjacent will go into chaos with the landing of the pirate.

The Mighty Bruce, a much improved king of Scotland, tries to do what William Wallace could not. The Bruce is a mighty general and periodically is able to raise the clans (as a levy) into an army he doesn't have to pay for. The Irish Pretender.

Paderick de Burgh, erstwhile Earl of Connaught and pretender to the throne of Ireland. He has good stats and is 25 years old. Has ancestral rebellion rights for Irish fiefs (is considered the ancestral owner). Receives a small army early on, by 1340 (large enough to quell an ancestral rebellion in one of the Irish fiefs.) After that, has to raise more money, and troops, to use the ancestral rebellion and quell the other parts of Ireland. Also has to worry about the English. Is periodically able to raise the a levy into an army that he doesn't have to pay for.

The Empire Strikes Back (the Holy Roman Empire decides to assert control over Imperial lands). The Emperor gets an army of about 20,000 Germans from the east (every few years) and goes to work on Italy and France. At the same time, he gets 50 million ducats of tax revenue from his eastern subjects.

The Empire Revived. The REAL Roman empire revives led by united Italian princes. The Duke of Lombardy manages to unite Lombardy, Venice, Verona, Florence, Genoa and the Papal States as the new Imperium Romanum. The player positions that normally hold each of these megafiefs still exist, and when they come into play they can trigger an ancestral rebellion and, given a subsidy from another player, can retake their ancestral megafief. Meanwhile, Visconti is the "Imperator Romanum" and can try reassembling the rest of the old Imperium Romanum, when he isn't fighting off Mongols, Turks, Moorish pirates and heresy. The new imperial title is not official. But as long as de Visconti holds two or more of the Italian megafiefs, he is recognized as the de facto Roman Emperor. It usually takes a century or so before these new titles become official.

The pope is in Rome, as a guest of the Imperator Romanum. The papal fiefs in France have reverted to the French king. The anti-pope routines are still in effect.

Time of Troubles is a no-purge game. Positions assigned to volunteers;

47- Isabella, Queen of England (sister of Charles IV le Bon). A very weak character compared to the usual Edward III (in this game the crown prince). Moreover, Isabella has a complicated love live (check out the Sire IDs of her children.) Isabella speaks French and cannot recruit troops in England, she also cannot marry.

38- Edward, the Prince of Wales. Eventually, to be king as Edward III. Unmarried at this point.

200- Charles IV le Bon, Roi de France. Much more capable than the historical Valois king.

172 Charles V, Prince Hertier de France. A child of 12, nice stats.

17 Julius Visconti, Imperator Romanum (the reconstituted Roman Empire in Italy). Visconti is the richest man in Europe and presides over the largest population. But he also has the most enemies, and is no great shakes as a military commander.

22 Pontifex Maximus. In Rome, but stripped of all the papal lands.

181 Ludwig von Bayern, Holy Roman Emperor . Ten percent chance each year of getting millions of ducats and 20,000 troops from his lands in the east. His son inherits.

40 Robert II Bruce, king of Scotland. A Mighty Man if there ever was one. And a ten percent chance each year of getting a levy from the warlike clans.

261 Paderick de Burgh, erstwhile earl of Connaught and pretender to the throne of Ireland. A wealthy young man that can incite ancestral rebellions in Irish fiefs and has a ten percent chance each year of getting a levy from the Irish population.

89 Roger Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, lover to Isabella Plantagenet. He holds the County of Cambridge, a gift from Isabella.

44 Ionnes Kantakouzinos, the Byzantine despotes of Southern Italy and Sicily. An able adminstrator and competent general. He may marry and have heirs, but if his line dies out, holding no Italian megafiefs, he is permanently removed from play. (The Byzantine Empire admits defeat.) As an Orthodox Christian, he begins the game excommunicated and is immune from the effects of excommunication and interdict.

Bad Company members will be in the following positions 45, 91, 102, 159, 162, 188, 194, 195, 199, 258, 264, 268, 270, 275, 276 Members of the Bad Company enter the game excommunicated and outlawed. Any player (including Heralds) who capture and execute any of these wretches gets a stature boost of 4.

To further stir the pot, we assume that the 13th century French kings had not been so successful in regaining the English kings possessions in France. Thus in this game, English hold Aquitaine, but have lost most of their holdings in Anjou. The Duchy of Aquitaine (for this game): In addition to the traditional game English overlordships of FGA Gascony and FGU Guyenne, Aquitaine contained the following overlordships that are now considered English: FAC Armagnac (d'Armagnac, 113, traditional game holder) FAG Agenois (Crown of France traditional holder) FAM Amgouleme (Navarra, 157, traditional holder). FBG Bigorre (Crown of France) FCO Comminges (d'Armagnac, 113) FLI Limousin (Richemont, 103) FPG Perigord (Bernard de la Marche, 246) FQU Quercy (Crown of France) FSA Saintonge (de Pons (222)) The English at some point controlled FAJ, FAL, FCE, FEV, FMR, FTH, FVN, but these slipped into French control a long time before the game would start.

We assume that the French have not been idle in the 14th century, and have picked up control of areas to the east. The following overlord ships start the game belonging to the French king. The Emperor is still in this area. But having lost his overlordships in the past century, he is eager to recover these losses. HLR Lorraine (traditional owner 214, de Lorraine) HLX Luxembourg (de Bohemie, 131) HLG Liege (Baudet) HHN Hainnault (de Baveaux, 83) HBB Brabbant (130 de Lothier) The French royal family (Capetians, not those Valois losers) have better stats.

Strategy: The list (missing as of 5/98) below shows the player positions, ranked by purse size at the start of the game. Several things are noticeable right away. First, the mightiest player in the game is the new Roman Emperor (Julius de Visconti.) But the Roman emperors position is not without peril. He has several major enemies. Mongols and Turks will come out of the east, The Byzantines are in Naples, while Moorish pirates will land on his coast and heresy may break out in Italy. Perhaps worst of all, the original rulers of the areas of Italy still have ancestral owners out and about. When these positions are activated, the players will have large purses and the ability to trigger ancestral rebellions in their fiefs. If these ancestral owners get outside backing, they can take apart the de Visconti empire. The English are quite strong. Not only does the king of England possess many more overlordships in France, but still has the superior soldiers. But the English have additional problems. The king of Scotland is much stronger and both the Bruce and the pretender to the Irish throne (ID 261, who has the Irish fiefs as ancestrals) get levies from time to time. Moreover, the English begin the game with a woman on the throne (aided by her lover, Mortimer). She cannot lead armies, and the Crown Prince (unmarried and without a heir) is the only capable commander the English have. The French king has good stats and heirs. He has some more overlordships in the German areas. The pope is landless and in Rome. The Holy Roman Emperor gets a 20,000 man levy from time to time, the better to recover Imperial lands in Italy and elsewhere.

NEW ADDITIONS TO RULES 1-15-96 (modified 7-23-98) Both the Holy Roman Emperor (for Hxxxx, Ixxxx fiefs except the Italian megafiefs) and the Italian Emperor (for his his megafiefs) can collect the Special Archbishops Tax if approved by the Pope. The sees for the Archbishops for the HRE: Aachen (HJU02), Cambrai (HHN08) and for Visconti: Venice (IVE00), Florence (IFL00), Genoa (IGA00), Lombardy (ILA00), Verona (IVR00). As is the usual case, these fiefs must have Archbishops installed by the pope in order to collect a tax for that Archbishopric.

NEW ADDITIONS TO RULES AS OF 7-30-97

Overlordships can now be conquered by any player in the game. Papal approval is no longer needed to strip if you are playing the following positions. 47, 38, 200, 172, 181, 17 (Ixxxx titles only), 40 (in England and Scotland only), 261 (in England and Ireland only), 44 (Ixxxx titles only) as well as any member of the Bad Company. ALL other PCs can lay claim and strip but Papal approval is needed for all titles. No PC's need HRE approval for any title.

Stripping rules remain the same with one small change. Documented proof is now needed. It is the PCs obligation to copy and record all info and then pass it on to the SYSOPS. The SYSOPS will deduct 500 KDs from your purse to look over the information and he will then decide if indeed a strip has taken place. His decision is final and absolute. (Most strips do not occur because the player failed to announce his intent to strip when he first attained 51% of the fiefs in a Overlordship)

Isabella now speaks French and cannot marry or recruit troops in England.

Isabella cannot step down from the Throne of England. She must be removed or die

Roger Mortimer is now in the game as a PC rather than a NPC in Isabella's family. His ID is 89.

Henry de Grosmont's (93) name has been changed to Henry Plantagenet.

Time of Troubles now uses the new PC and NPC Database. There are many fief and stat changes.

If the English lose Ireland the English King or Queen's stature is reduced by 5.

NEW Victory Conditions- There are many Victory conditions in the game. The game ends when any set victory condition is met or in 50 years whichever comes first. If at the 50 year mark no condition has been met the Sysops declares the winner of the game.

French Moderate Victory- The French team wins a moderate victory if they re-conquer all of the Overlordships in France that England holds at the start.

French Major Victory- A Capet takes the Throne of England

English Moderate Victory- The English team wins a moderate victory if they take 10 Overlordships plus own Paris.

English Major Victory- The English Team takes the Throne of France, (Note: Isabella cannot become Queen of both England and France)

There are also some new Victory conditions which now let Other PCs win the game.

The German Emperor wins a Victory if he can reclaim all of the H0000 titles.

The Irish pretender wins a Victory if he retakes all of Ireland, the Isle of man and North and South Wales.

The Bruce wins a Victory if he conquers and holds the following overlordships. ENU, ECU, EDU, ELA, EYS

The Roman Emperor wins a Victory if he can take and hold the following titles, ISV, ISZ, IAS, IPM, and IMN. He also needs to hold onto 4 of the 6 Mega fiefs he start the game with.

One of the Spanish kings (8, 110, 157 and 197) wins a victory if he can take and hold L0000, CAR00, CBC00, any one of the other three Spanish megafiefs, and the titles to NNV, MRS, FNA, FFX, FBG and FNA.

The Byzantine Empire wins a Victory if the despotes can take and hold PPS00 and 2 additional Italian megafiefs while continuing to hold Naples.

(Additions of 5/98)

These are already included in the above.

Overlordships can now be conquered by any player in the game. Papal approval is no longer needed to strip if you are playing the following positions. 47, 38, 200, 172, 181, 17 (Ixxxx titles only), 40 (in England and Scotland only), 261 (in England and Ireland only), 44 (Ixxxx titles only) as well as any member of the Bad Company. ALL other PCs can lay claim and strip but Papal approval is needed for all titles. No PC's need HRE approval for any title.

The Byzantine Empire. The OTHER Roman Empire isn't quietly letting de Visconti consolidate Italy into a rival Mediterranean power. The Byzantine Empire has taken control of Southern Italy and Sicily prior to 1337. The Byzantine provincial capital is currently in Naples where Ioannes Kantakouzinos is the despotes, the Byzantine military governor. The despotes receives an army of about 15,000 Imperial troops every few years to use in Italy. At the same time, he receives 30,000kds from his Emperor. The Emperor has demanded he conquer Italy, destroy the Roman Papacy, and re-establish a single Roman Empire.

44 Ionnes Kantakouzinos, the Byzantine despotes of Southern Italy and Sicily. An able adminstrator and competent general. He may marry and have heirs, but if his line dies out, holding no Italian megafiefs, he is permanently removed from play. (The Byzantine Empire admits defeat.) As an Orthodox Christian, he begins the game excommunicated and is immune from the effects of excommunication and interdict.

The Byzantine Empire wins a Victory if the despotes can take and hold PPS00 and 2 additional Italian megafiefs while continuing to hold Naples.

Both the Holy Roman Emperor (for Hxxxx, Ixxxx fiefs except the Italian megafiefs, and Axxxx fiefs if Arles has not been abosrbed into France) and the Italian Emperor (for his his megafiefs) can collect the Special Archbishops Tax if approved by the Pope.