Wars of Gods and Men II: Concluded

[kronenblatt]

... A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates...

...Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria. And Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria, and for three years he besieged it. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes...

... And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and he will make Nineveh a desolation, a dry waste like the desert...

... And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man; and a sword, not of man, shall devour him; and he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be put to forced labor...

(various parts of the Bible)

The river lands and the prosperous east mediterranean coast of the late seventh century BC. Five major factions - Egyptian, Lydian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Median, each with their own gods and divine rulers - have long dominated the region, pitted against each other for a clash over supremacy of these cradles of civilisations. Now, the ten minor factions - Hebrew, Phoenician, Cypriote, Ionian Greek, Bithynian Thracian, Cimmerian, Urartian, Mannaean, Elamite, and Persian - for too long enslaved and summoned to serve in their masters' armies, are rising!

The Wars of Gods and Men II (WoGaM II) campaign involves five players, like in the first campaign, but now with the tables turned in that players instead represent minor factions, fighting each other and the original major factions for supremacy and dominance over the region. Each player uses the armies of two minor factions (one as main army, one as allies, which one being which to be selectable for each individual battle and situation). In addition, players can use major factions' armies as allies if conquering their provinces.

In round 5, the third player faction was eliminated, ending the campaign with the winner being the player controlling the most provinces...

... tyronec!

tyronec has conquered six provinces, in addition to his original four, and stands at an unsurpassed 10!

Congratulations!

shane30 came second with five provinces, whereas dim30, GeneralKostas, and kronenblatt were eliminated, ending without any provinces at all.

[kronenblatt]

Credits and many thanks to Rico in the ever-friendly Few Good Men forum for making most of this map and providing me with tools and advice for the rest.

[kronenblatt]

[kronenblatt]

Overview

• This campaign covers the region around the eastern Mediterranean and the dramatic decades during the end of the seventh century BC, when several nations broke free from Assyrian dominance, other nations took advantage of the turmoil, and in the end annihilated Assyria, violently destroying Assyrian cities such as Nineveh and Kalhu.

• Each of the five players represents and uses a combination of two minor factions:
  
  • Hebrew and Phoenician.
  • Cypriote and Cimmerian.
  • Thracian and Greek.
  • Urartian and Mannaean.
  • Elamite and Persian.

• Players will also play as (non-player) major factions (Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Lydian, Median) when such major factions are defending against attacks by other players.

• A player or major faction who controls no provinces at the end of a round has lost and is irrevocably eliminated from the campaign.

• The campaign ends once at least three players or major factions have become eliminated and only one of the remaining players control more provinces than the other players.

• The winner of the campaign is then that sole player controlling the most provinces.

• Please note that a player must own the Rise of Persia and Immortal Fire DLCs in order to take part in the campaign.

Factions

Players and minor factions

• The five players permanently represent and use two minor factions each (i.e., a player represent the same two minor factions throughout the campaign).

• The ten minor factions initially control a number of provinces (31-50), two each.

• Each player correspondingly controls four provinces at the start of the campaign.

• The players each make one attack every round, upon neighbouring provinces controlled by major factions or other players, with the aim of gaining control over such provinces.

• The armies of the minor factions are using the base game army lists as follows:
  • Cimmerian: Cimmerian 750-600 BC.
  • Cypriote: Cypriot 680-550 BC.
  • Elamite: Elamite 815-539 BC.
  • Greek (Ionian): Greek 680-461 BC.
  • Hebrew: Hebrew 681-586 BC.
  • Mannaean: Mannaean 750-610 BC.
  • Persian: Achaemenid Persian 553-546 BC.
  • Phoenician: Phoenician 681-539 BC.
  • Thracian (Bithynian): Thracian 680-461 BC.
  • Urartian: Urartian 681-585 BC.

(Non-player) major factions

• The five major factions control a number of provinces (initially three each) that can be gained or lost as part of winning or losing battles, just like the case with players.

• However, major factions are not permanently represented by any of the players, but serve as passive factions that do not make any attacks themselves but can be attacked by players aiming of gaining control over major factions' provinces.

• Therefore, in the case of a major faction being attacked by a player, another player will play that major faction as part of defending against the attack.

• The armies of the major factions are using the base game army lists as follows:
  • Assyrian: Assyrian 681-609 BC.
  • Babylonian: Babylonian 626-539 BC.
  • Egyptian: Egyptian 664-571 BC.
  • Lydian: Lydian 687-551 BC.
  • Median: Median 626-550 BC.

Download

• Download is now available.

• Use version 2 (v2).

• The Wars of Gods and Men v2 module is needed to set up and play battles with the appropriate allies.

• Download the module through the following usual steps:
  1. Click on the Download community scenarios button at the top of the main screen of the game.
  2. Select Wars of Gods and Men MP Custom Battles v2.
  3. Click on Download the Selected Campaign.

• The mod will then be automatically saved into the the My Games\FieldOfGlory2\MULTIPLAYER\ folder, within the MP_WARS_GODS_MEN_V2 subfolder.

• (The single-player (SP) version is available for download in the same way, allowing the use of Wars of Gods and Men armies in battles against the AI.)

Map and provinces

• The colors on the map indicate provinces controlled by the different players or by major factions:
  
  Players
  
  • Hebrew and Phoenician
  • Cypriote and Cimmerian
  • Thracian and Greek
  • Urartian and Mannaean
  • Elamite and Persian
  Major factions
  
  • Assyrian
  • Babylonian
  • Egyptian
  • Lydian
  • Median

• The cultures of the provinces are also written on the map (staying unchanged throughout the campaign, independent on who controls the provinces).

• There are in total 35 provinces on the map:
  • 15 provinces (1-15) are initially controlled by the five major factions; 3 provinces each.
  • 20 provinces (31-50) are initially controlled by minor factions; 2 provinces for each minor faction and thus 4 provinces for each player.

• All provinces can be controlled by major factions as well as by players.

• Control of provinces is changed through attacks made by victorious or losing players upon other players or upon major factions.

• Provinces are connected by land and sea, as indicated on the map and with sea connections as specified below.
  • 3: sea connection to 35 and 40.
  • 31: sea connection to 35.
  • 33: sea connection to 35.
  • 34: sea connection to 35.
  • 35: sea connection to 3, 31, 33, 34, 36, and 40.
  • 36: sea connection to 35.
  • 40: sea connection to 3 and 35.

Rounds

• Each round consists of the following three phases:
  1. Attack declarations: All players announce, one by one in the order as specified below, which attack that they intend to make.
  • Attacks in a round are announced in decreased order of each player's highest inflicted casualties in his attack in the previous round (i.e., the player having inflicted the highest casualties in his attack announcing first, and so on).
  • In the first round, attacks are announced in the order of players signing up to the campaign.
  2. Battle resolutions: All battles will be simultaneously played and completed in FoG2 during a period of four weeks.
  3. Administration: changes of province control, sorting of attack declaration order for next round, et al.

Attacks

• A player is every round required to declare one attack upon a province controlled by a major faction or another player.

• The attack involves the player (the "attacker") making an attack from one of his controlled provinces ("attacker's province") upon a connected province ("defender's province") controlled by either a major faction or another player (the "defender").

• These two provinces (attacker's province and defender's province) are considered "provinces-at-stake" for that attack.

• A province already being a province-at-stake, i.e., already included as a province-at-stake in any other attack made by another player this round (whether as attacker's province or defender's province), is not allowed to be attacked from or attacked upon.

• The attack declaration will be made in a post in the campaign's thread on the forum.

• Examples on how to express attack declarations:
  • If the defender is another player: kronenblatt attacks deeter's Sippar (10) from Ninive (9), using a Greek army with Thracian allies.
  • If the defender is a major faction: kronenblatt attacks Babylon's Sippar (10) from Ninive (9), using a Thracian army with Greek allies.

Armies and allies

Players as attackers and defenders

• Main army: The player uses (independently of which minor factions' provinces he actually controls; his own or others) one of his two minor factions as the main army.

• Allies: The other one of his two minor factions is always used as allies in his battles, unless a major faction is an eligible ally:
  
  Eligible major factions as allies
  • The player he may (instead of one of his minor factions) decide to use a major faction as allies, if controlling more provinces with that major faction's culture than all the other players:
    • Assyrian culture: provinces 7-9.
    • Babylonian culture: provinces 10-12.
    • Egyptian culture: provinces 1-3.
    • Lydian culture: provinces 4-6.
    • Median culture: provinces 13-15.
  • If several players control the most provinces with a major faction's culture, no one is allowed to use that major faction as allies.

• The player can freely choose for each individual battle which of his minor factions to use as main army and which of his minor factions (or eligible major faction) to use as allies, as long as he always brings allies to his battles.

Major factions as defenders

• Main army: The major faction itself is used as the main army.

• Allies: No allies are used.

Battles

Players controlling the sides in the battle

• The attacker will always be controlled by the player making the attack declaration resulting in the battle.

• If the defender is another player, the defender will be controlled by that other player.

• If the defender is a major faction, a player (other than the attacker) will be selected by the campaign organiser in his own discretion and always in good faith.

Setting up the battle

• The defender creates the challenge in the FoG2 Multiplayer Lobby, always with defender as Side B (in order for the other player to immediately be able to deploy and make first round when accepting the challenge).

• In order to create a challenge with Wars of Gods and Men armies, after having launched New Challenge and Create Skirmish, press Select Another Module and therein Wars of Gods and Men v2, which will make the armies for Wars of Gods and Men II available.

• When the challenge has been created, the defender, for information, sends a PM to the attacker and makes a post in the campaign thread.

• Battles take the form of a Custom Battle as Open Battle with:
  • Armies:
    • Attacker and defender (if being another player): one of his minor factions as main army and always with allies either the other minor faction or an eligible major faction.
    • Defender (if being a major faction): the major faction as main army without any allies.
  • Turn limit: 24 turns.
  • Force size: Large (1600 FP for both attacker and defender).
  • Map size: Wide (40x32).
  • Map type: Pot Luck.
    • No map re-rolls will be made.

Concluding and reporting the battle

• Players commit to concluding their battles within the four-week deadlines after the campaign organiser has listed the battles to be fought that round and to adhere to the results derived from the adjudication mechanism in the case of failure to meet such deadline.

• Battle outcome, once resolved, is always posted by the victor, or the player having inflicted the most casualties, in a post of the campaign thread.

Effects of battle outcome

• The side routing the enemy is considered the victor of the battle, and the routed side correspondingly considered the loser of that battle.

• If neither side routs the enemy, neither side is considered victor or loser for that battle and the battle is considered a draw, with no effects from that battle.

• Players can also agree to a draw before the battle commences or at any time during the battle, in which case neither player is considered victor or loser for that battle.

• The victor (if any) of the battle gains control over the loser's province-at-stake, whether the victor or loser is a player or a major faction.
  • Thus, in the case of the victor being a major faction defending against a player, the major faction will gain control over the attacker's province.

[kronenblatt]

• Download is now available (thanks, rbodleyscott!).

• The Wars of Gods and Men v2 module is needed to set up and play battles with the appropriate allies.

• Download the module through the following usual steps:
  1. Click on the Download community scenarios button at the top of the main screen of the game.
  2. Select Wars of Gods and Men MP Custom Battles v2.
  3. Click on Download the Selected Campaign.

• The mod will then be automatically saved into the the My Games\FieldOfGlory2\MULTIPLAYER\ folder, within the MP_WARS_GODS_MEN_V2 subfolder.

• (The single-player (SP) version is available for download in the same way, allowing the use of Wars of Gods and Men armies in battles against the AI.)

[kronenblatt]

tyronec has joined. Welcome!

[kronenblatt]

GeneralKostas has joined. Welcome!

[kronenblatt]

With the help of Rico at the friendly gaming forum of The Few Good Men, this beautiful map will be used in Wars of Gods and Men II!

[kronenblatt]

shane30 has joined. Welcome!

[kronenblatt]

dim30 has joined. Welcome!

[kronenblatt]

The five-player pool is now full (welcome all!) and minor factions have been allocated as follows:

• tyronec: Hebrew and Phoenician

• dim30: Cypriote and Cimmerian

• shane30: Thracian and Greek

• kronenblatt: Urartian and Mannaean

• GeneralKostas: Elamite and Persian

The campaign will start beginning/mid-August, but please already now download the "Wars of Gods and Men MP Custom Battles v2" module in-game.

[tyronec]

A couple of questions:

If you lose both of the provinces of one of your minor factions (say 31 & 32) can you still use that faction's army (Hebrew) ?

If another payer captured both provinces of a minor faction (again say 31 & 32) would that player then be able to use Hebrew as an Ally ?

[kronenblatt]

If you lose both of the provinces of one of your minor factions (say 31 & 32) can you still use that faction's army (Hebrew) ?

Yes, you can always (and actually have to) use the armies of your own minor factions, unless you're entitled to use a major faction's army as allies instead of one of them.

If another player captured both provinces of a minor faction (again say 31 & 32) would that player then be able to use Hebrew as an Ally ?

No, unfortunately not. There's a technical limitation in that FoG II:Ancients (still, to my knowledge) only allows for a maximum of 10 allies in the army list (allies 11+ from the army list file are simply not shown in-game).

[anderarcos11]

Hello, can i join this campaign?

[kronenblatt]

Hello, can i join this campaign?

Currently it seems full. But I'll send out a PM to the current players prior to launch this month and will keep you as reserve.

[kronenblatt]

Order of attack declarations (based on when signing up)

1. tyronec: Hebrew and Phoenician (August 25)
2. GeneralKostas: Elamite and Persian (August 26)
3. shane30: Thracian and Greek (August 27)
4. dim30: Cypriote and Cimmerian (August 28)
5. kronenblatt: Urartian and Mannaean (August 29)

Please note

• Attack declarations are posted in the campaign thread.

• You declare one attack every round, upon a province controlled by either a major faction or another player.

• Please express attack declarations as follows:
  • kronenblatt attacks Ninive (9) from Nihiriani (43), using an Urartian army with Mannaean allies.

• Date (midnight CET+3 (Jerusalem) time) above indicates deadline, after which opportunity for you to declare attack is forfeited and the player next in line may declare his attack.

• Once you have declared an attack, please PM the player next in line, who will then be free to declare his attack, up to his deadline, so we all don't need to wait for each player's deadline.

• Rules are found HERE.

Attack declarations

• A player is every round required to declare one attack upon a province controlled by a major faction or another player.

• The attack involves the player (the "attacker") making an attack from one of his controlled provinces ("attacker's province") upon a connected province ("defender's province") controlled by either a major faction or another player (the "defender").

• These two provinces (attacker's province and defender's province) are considered "provinces-at-stake" for that attack.

• A province already being a province-at-stake, i.e., already included as a province-at-stake in any other attack made by another player this round (whether as attacker's province or defender's province), is not allowed to be attacked from or attacked upon.

Armies and allies when declaring attacks

• Main army: The player uses one of his two minor factions as the main army.

• Allies: The other one of his two minor factions is always used as allies in his battles (unless a major faction is an eligible ally, which is not the case this first round.

[tyronec]

tyronec attacks Memphis (3) from Jerusalem (31) using Phonecian with Hebrew allies

[GeneralKostas]

GeneralKostas attacks Artacana (15) from Pasargada (50) using Persian army with Elamite allies

[shane30]

Shane30 attacks Iconium (6) from Xanthus (40) using Greek army with Thracian allies

[dim30]

Sorry for the delay.

dim30 attacks Harran (7) from Malidiya (42) using Cypriot and Cimmerian allies.