CANTABORIA HOME

The campaign uses the “Borderlands” boardgame as a basis, but with various rules modifications detailed below. Also, attacks can be resolved by tabletop wargame battles at the option of either player and hopefully usually will be – 'cos that's fun! (See HOTT Download plus House Rules, Battle & Troops cribsheets).

Basic Procedure
Every few weeks players should e-mail me with orders for their nation. At the deadline date I will update the game-map accordingly, and e-mail everyone - with details of any battles to be fought by the next deadline. Players can either fight the battles personally, or appoint a proxy general, or I will resolve it in a simple way. And I expect there will also be lots of email diplomacy, too! (See here for Boardgame Rules, Attack Summary, Development Summary).

How to Give Orders
Each turn players should send orders for one Cycle (equivalent to a year), specifying actions for each of these five Phases...

1. Development – Create things (e.g. Castles, Towns, Cities, Boats, Ships, Leaders) using Resource Tokens (i.e. Iron, Timber, Horses, Magic & Gold).
2. Tribute – Specify payment of Tribute and/or Tithe and vote for the nation to be Cursed. (This replaces Production*, which now occurs before each turn).
3. Trade* – Specify what Resource Tokens being given to which other players, what Resources you expect in return, and where they should go.
4. Shipment* – Specify what Resources are transported to where, and how (Foot, Horse, Horse Train or Boat/Ship). Also whose boats you allow to pass.
5. Attacks – Specify where you attack, including any support shipment. Also who/where you give support (if not tributary), and preference for battle resolution.

* These Phases may not occur due to natural disasters or curses. Divinations by the Priests/Seers of each nation will reveal this at the start of the Cycle.

Example Orders:
1. In Ilmeth build Castle using 4 Gold. At Leng/Ilmeth upgrade Boat to Ship using 3 Timber from Leng. In the Dales create Leader using Iron+Magic. In Orchish Sultanate upgrade Lord to Hero using 2 Gold.
2. No Tribute to Ayathgaron; Pay Tithe to Franchia of 1 Iron from The Dales; Vote to curse Hellan.
3. Trade 2 Horses from Bigendia & Hallion's March for 1 Iron & 1 Gold from The Dwarves, putting them in The Dales.
4. Transfer 1 Magic from Empire of Ayathgaron to The Dales by foot.
5. Attack Necrophylica, moving 1 Horse from Ilmeth to Orchish Sultanate in support. Support Dwarves in Romanius. Support Zombies in Troicinet, Cursed Shore & Arakhal's Caliphate. Resolve battles by HOTT.

New Rules
The following modifications have been made to the basic rules from Borderlands...

Changes to the Map
Many rivers, impassable mountains, rocks at sea, names changed to match old Cantaboria – map matched surprisingly well! (SteveB: Did you use it originally?)

Start with Only One Area
But have Production in your starting area, and a few resources (what you produce, and two other different Resources produced nearest). (Reason: The campaign should be about relatively gradual nation building, so the starting position and rate of development are less than in Borderlands).

Gradual Development
The given Resource Token costs only create 1 point-worth of each Development Token at a time. E.g. To create a City (3 pts), first build a Castle (1pt), using 1 Timber, 1 Magic, 1 Iron & 1 Gold (or 4 Gold); then pay again later to upgrade the Castle to a Town (2pts); and then again to upgrade the Town to a City (3pts).

Additional Development Tokens
Castle (1pt), Town (2pts), City (3pts) – cost 1 Timber, 1 Magic, 1 Iron & 1 Gold (or 4 Gold) per stage.
Leader (1pt), Lord (2pts), Hero (3pts) – cost 1 Iron & 1 Magic (or 2 Gold) per stage.
Boat (1pt), Ship (2pts) – cost 3 Timber per stage (or just 2 Timber for the first Boat and first Ship in the game).

Boats and Ships
Boats can travel on rivers just as described in the Borderlands rules. Ships can do likewise, but can also sail the seas – around the coast, anyway. Like Boats, Ships can travel past up to 8 area borders – but as there are fewer along the coast (i.e. only on one side), sea travel allows them to go much further. However, when a Ship attempts to sail past rocks, there is a 1 in 6 chance that it will be wrecked - this destroys the Ship and anything being transported.

The Lighthouse of Hydrabad
Whoever holds Arakhal's Caliphate controls the Hydrabad Lighthouse, and can order that it be LIT for the current Cycle (by default it is UNLIT). When lit, it guides any Ships safely past the rocks of the Bay of Hellan.

Semi-Simultaneous Orders
All players give their orders at the same time, but these are resolved as if they were performed in the usual order, i.e. the designated 'Lead Player' first in each phase, then the other players in turn. Be aware of this, as the GM will use the current player-sequence to resolve any timing conflicts.

Army Sizes in HOTT Battles
Normal HOTT army size is 24AP (army points). Conflicts with more/less support on the map-board modify this:
Support-points less than 4: HOTT army loses 2AP per point below.
Support-points more than opponent: HOTT army gains 1AP per point above (In contingents of up to 6AP each; first can be on-table at start, others arriving in sequence d6 turns after the previous. Contingents will be nations standard troops, or those of the nation from which they are receiving support.)

Tribute to the Empire of Ayathgaron
King-Emperor Thagarius II of Ayathgaron demands tributary fealty from all nations. Each turn, players orders must say whether they give tribute – which takes the form of military service, i.e. troops to serve in the Imperial armies. Anyone who gives tribute cannot support other nations in battle this Cycle.

The Wrath of Ayathgaron
However, anyone not paying tribute suffers the King-Emperor's wrath – Ayathgaron will support against them in any conflicts with tributary or zombie nations. Adjacent to Ayathgaron this is worth 8pts and 6pts further away. Thus contingents of Ayathgar-tributary troops may go into battle anywhere across Cantaboria!

Tithe to the Theocracy of Franchia
His Holiness, Pope-Hero Aesop the First, humbly requests that all nations pay the gods their due. Each Cycle he decrees what must be paid - D6: 1,2 = Gold; 3 = Horses; 4 = Timber; 5 = Iron; 6 = Magic. One Resource Token of the specified type must be paid during the turn (either in Development or Attack Phase, after Trade). Any nation which does not pay the Tithe goes on this year's Naughty List - at the end of the turn, one such nation is voted to suffer a Holy Curse.

Holy Curse Votes
Nations which pay their Tithe avoid this year's Naughty List – and are also entitled to vote for the nation to be targetted by this year's Holy Curse. The nation on the Naughty List receiving most votes will be the target (unless no nations are on that list, in which case it will be whatever nation received most votes). In the case of a tie, His Holiness has the casting vote (i.e. it's random). Once the target nation is selected, the Holy Curse strikes a randomly-selected territory of that nation.

Holy Curses
Each Cycle, His Holiness Pope-Hero Aesop calls upon the gods to smite the most unworthy nation with a Holy Curse, chosen from among these (d6):
1: Gaiala's Wild Hunt – The nation's attack must be launched from the target area next Cycle. (Otherwise all the player's forces there become Zombies.)
2: Theadun's Children – An army of zombies, skeletons and/or similar undead appears in the target area, and attacks!
3: Notret's Famine – The target and adjacent areas are blighted by famine. No Production occurs there next Cycle.
4: Notret's Plague – The target and adjacent areas are struck by fearful disease. No Trade can occur there next Cycle.
5: Lanrakus' Storm – The target and adjacent areas suffer really quite nasty weather. No Shipment can occur there next Cycle.
6: Lanrakus' Lunacy – The army in the target area turns coat to a random player faction (Zombie if current owner is indicated). If a Leader/Lord/Hero is present, they may retreat to an adjacent area or stay to fight a battle - in which case they are reduced one level and a new Warrior/Army of their nation is placed there.

Ayathgari/Franchian Reciprocity
Historical arrangements between the Empire of Ayathgaron and the Theocracy of Franchia mean that the Empire is deemed to pay it's Tithe (so is never on the Naughty List) and the Theocracy is deemed to pay Tribute in return (so Papal troops are free to support as they will), though no actual resources are exchanged.

Phase Determination
Some phases may not occur (1 in 6 for each separately) – Production, Trade and/or Shipment phases may be disrupted by continent-wide Famine, Plague and/or Storms respectively. (Unlike in Borderlands, however, there is no voting by players about this - except indirectly via Holy Curse Votes, as above).

Non-HOTT Battle Resolution
The GM will decide any conflict not resolved by a HOTT battle with a random roll, i.e. Chance to win = Side's Support Points / Both Sides' Total Support Points. (This is approximate. The actual type of die rolled will be chosen to favour non-players and/or defenders, in order to encourage tabletop battles & stability).

Support Orders
Orders to support other nations must specify an individual territory. E.g. “Support the Dwarves in Romanius” is ok, but “Support the Dwarves anywhere” is not.
(Reasons: Simulates 'command & control' difficulties; Reduces influence of the insouciant; Requires disclosure of plans to supposed allies... ;-) )

Zombie Armies
Zombie Armies are always supported by neighbouring zombies, and never suffer reduction for lack of support. The Theocracy of Franchia will support neighbouring Zombies against any non-tithing opponents. ('Zombie' armies are not necessarily zombies – a random army of baddies will be selected from the army lists).

Casting Spells
For the character of the Cantaboria setting (and a bit of fun), spells can be cast by expending magical resources: one Spell costing 4 Magic (cast in Attack Phase).
Note that Spells/Curses can only be cast upon an adjacent territory (the Theocracy uses a Cantaboria-wide network of priest-agents to implement Holy Curses). Spells available include the Holy Curses (see above) and... ??????

Victory Points
The first to control 3 Cities wins the campaign. But for fun (and glory!) I'll also keep count of the tabletop battle victories (whether FtF or Online) won by each player (i.e. a rolled-for victory doesn't count, but a HOTT victory as stand-in general for someone else's nation does). The above League of Nations will be secondarily ordered by that - when I remember and have the time!