Danelaw - an open and dynamic tournament: Ongoing

Moderators: kronenblatt, Field of Glory 2 Tournaments Managers

Post Reply
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

Danelaw - an open and dynamic tournament: Ongoing

Post by kronenblatt »

Danelaw - England, 865 AD

"I am Uhtred, son of Uhtred, and this is the tale of a blood feud. It is a tale of how I will take from my enemy what the law says is mine. And it is the tale of a woman and of her father, a king. He was my king and all that I have I owe to him. The food that I eat, the hall where I live, and the swords of my men, all came from Alfred, my king, who hated me." (from The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell)

The starting point is Britain in the mid-ninth century AD, divided into four rivalling Anglo-Saxon kingdoms with petty Briton remnant kingdoms in the west. Soon though that will change, with the "Great Heathen Army" arriving on British soil along the eastern shores, intent on conquering and occupying all of the Anglo-Saxon lands and reap their riches.

This is an idea of a tournament for Schweetness101's Dark Ages Britain Mod that I will run as administrator but only occasionally participate in as player. And the latter goes for everyone else as well! :)

Because Danelaw is an open tournament in the sense that players on an ad hoc basis and round by round take turns in announcing their interest to make attacks and play out the corresponding Field of Glory II:Ancients game in The Dark Ages Britain Mod, with another volunteering player as the opponent.

In addition, it is dynamic in the sense that a player may play as different factions over the course of the tournament, and all in mirror game format, thus playing both sides in two separate games. For example, he may one round play an Danish Viking army against one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (and correspondingly as Anglo-Saxon against the Danes) only to a couple of rounds later reappear in a game with and against defending Britons of Strathclyde versus Kingdom of Northumbria, and then yet later make a landfall attack as the Norse-Irish upon Dumnonia (also defending in the other game). Thus, a player's success (and failure) in this tournament isn't directly measured by the fortunes of one faction but by his casualties inflicted and incurred in the games he's playing, whichever faction he's representing. (Factions may of course gain and lose territories on the map, based on battle outcomes, but this political situation only serves as acting as the backdrop and setting the scene for the ongoing development of the tournament.)

If all this sounds like fun, in combination with trying out Schweetness101's awesome Dark Ages Britain Mod, please let me know. :) No one has to sign up right away, but may enter later on if interesting.

I'm also doing a simple AAR on the same concept, albeit with alternate history HERE.
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

The Map

Post by kronenblatt »

Current map (after round 2)

Image
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

The Tournament

Post by kronenblatt »

Players' scores
  • Schweetness101: 239 (4 battles) => 59.75.
  • kronenblatt: 246 (4 battles) => 61.5.
Round 1
kronenblatt versus Schweetness101.
Danes (Vikings, no allies) make landfall attack upon Essex in Kingdom of Wessex (Late Anglo-Saxons, no allies).
=> Danes (Schweetness101 (95)) defeat Kingdom of Wessex (kronenblatt (25)) 51-25.
=> Kingdom of Wessex (Schweetness101 (90)) defeat Danes (kronenblatt (30)) 65-30.
=> Draw between Danes (-9) and Kingdom of Wessex (+9) => Danes gain control over Essex (despite draw), due to landfall attack.

Round 2
kronenblatt versus Schweetness101.
Danes (Vikings, no allies) attack Kent in Kingdom of Wessex (Late Anglo-Saxons with Brythons as allies) from Essex.
=> Danes (kronenblatt, 105) defeat Kingdom of Wessex (Schweetness101, 15) 45-15.
=> Kingdom of Wessex (kronenblatt, 81) defeat Danes (Schweetness101, 39) 62-39.
=> Draw between Danes (+7) and Kingdom of Wessex (-7). => No changes to regions' control.
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

The Rules

Post by kronenblatt »

Overview

Background and setting the scene
  • This tournament covers Britain in the mid-ninth century AD, being divided into four rivalling Anglo-Saxon kingdoms with petty Briton remnant kingdoms in the west, a situation about to change soon, with the "Great Heathen Army" arriving on British soil along the eastern shores, intent on conquering and occupying all of the Anglo-Saxon lands and reap their riches.
Vision and idea behind the tournament
  • The mod has been tailor made and designed by Schweetness101 to cover the specific type of warfare during this era, with new army lists, units, and rules.
  • The purpose of this tournament is to investigate and try out the mod and the warfare of the era and its different combatants, all in a historic setting.
  • It includes a dynamic number of players, who will (for each round or as part of a queue, if needed) express interest to make attack declarations as rounds go by, also playing out these attacks against other volunteering players in the form of mirror games (i.e., playing both sides in two battles).
  • Thus, a player will represent different factions during the course of the tournament, and not statically one and the same faction.
  • Some players will play more often and other more seldomly, which is all fine and up to themselves.
  • A player’s successes (and failures) will be measured by his own casualties inflicted and incurred in the games he's playing, whichever faction he's representing.
  • Factions will still gain and lose territories on the map, based on battle outcomes.
Victory conditions
  • The tournament ends once at least one player have concluded ten mirror games (corresponding to twenty individual battles).
  • The winner is then the player (from among those having concluded at least three mirror games) with the highest average score.
Code of Conduct
  • Players are kindly asked to:
    • express curiosity and open-mindedness in trying out new factions, situations, and opponents, all for the fun of it ( :D ), not for maximising your score ( :twisted: ).
    • offer to play a certain game only if you can undertake to conclude it within a three-week period at maximum.
      • This is crucial in order to maintain intensity and continuity in the tournament, since each round will involve only one attack and thus only one game with two players.
      • However, there is no rush or time limit between rounds but the tournament can then remain idle until a player picks up the attack initiative.
    • make good use of the terrain on the map, but no camping or running away please: this was the era of fearless warriors and clashing shield walls, for God's or Odin's sake! :)

Map
  • The map covers a major part of mainland Britain, divided into 17 regions.
Image


Factions
  • There are in all seven factions (color coded on the map).
    • Vikings
      1. Norse-Irish
      2. Danes
    • Britons
      3. Britons
    • Anglo-Saxons
      4. Kingdom of Wessex
      5. Kingdom of Northumbria
      6. Kingdom of East Anglia
      7. Kingdom of Mercia
  • The Briton factions may not make any attacks and will not gain control over any new regions, no matter how victorious they are.
  • The Anglo-Saxon factions are considered separate kingdoms.
  • Even though factions belong to the same group, they are necessarily on the same side but may attack each other, e.g., Anglo-Saxons against Anglo-Saxons.
  • Once a non-Viking faction controls no regions, it is irrevocably eliminated and will not reappear in this tournament.
  • Viking factions (if controlling no regions) may always make attempts at gaining regions through landfall attacks.

Rounds
  • Each round consists of the following three phases:
    1. Attack declarations: The player designated by the administrator ("first player") announces which attack that he intends to make, with another player (also designated by the administrator) acting as the opponent ("second player").
    2. Battle resolutions: The corresponding battle is played and completed as a mirror game using the Dark Ages Britain Mod of FoG II:Ancients during a period of three weeks.
    3. Administration: changes of region control, determining which player to determine next round's attack.

Attacks
  • The first player declares one attack by a faction of his choice.
    • Only Anglo-Saxon and Viking factions can attack, not the Briton factions.
  • The attack involves the faction (the "attacker") making an attack from one of the faction's controlled regions ("attacker's region") upon a connected region ("defender's region") controlled by another faction (the "defender").
  • Alternatively, Viking factions (Danes and Norse-Irish) can make landfall attacks upon certain regions, but only when the faction in question controls no regions at all.
    • Landfall attacks serve the purpose of establishing a bridgehead on British soil for Danes and Norse-Irish, for further potential expansion.
    • Danes can make landfall attacks upon the regions of Bernicia, Deira, Lindsey, East Anglia, and Essex.
    • Norse-Irish can make landfall attacks upon the regions of Strathclyde, Elmet, Gwynned, Dyfed, and Dumnonia.
  • The attack declaration (whether landfall or not) will be made in a post in the tournament's thread on the forum.
  • Examples on how to express attack declarations:
    • Mercia attack Deira from Lindsey.
    • Mercia attack Essex from Middle Anglia.
    • Danes make landfall attack upon Lindsey.

Battles

Setting up the battle
  • The first player creates the challenge as a Paired (Mirror) Challenge in the FoG2 Multiplayer Lobby, using the Dark Ages Britain Mod (version 1.6). also making a post in the tournament thread for information.
  • Thus, the players will play out two battles and as both factions.
  • Battles take the following form:
    • Scenario: Dark Ages Britain v1.6.
    • Paired (Mirror) Challenge.
    • Custom Battle.
    • Scenario: Open Battle.
    • Armies: as set out below, in "Armies and allies", with the first player deciding allies (if any) for both factions.
    • Turn limit: 24 turns.
    • Force size: Large (1600 FP for both attacker and defender).
    • Map size: Wide (40x32).
    • Map type: North European Agricultural.
    • No map re-rolls will be made.
Concluding and reporting the battle
  • Battles are to be concluded within a three-week deadline.
  • Battle outcomes, once resolved, are always posted by the victor, or the player having inflicted the most casualties, in a post of the tournament thread.

Armies and allies

Main armies
  • Danes: Vikings .
  • Norse-Irish: Norse-Irish.
  • Anglo-Saxons: Late Anglo-Saxons (note: without Mountable Fyrd).
  • Strathclyde: Early Scots.
  • Gwynedd and Dyfed: Welsh.
  • Dumnonia: Brythons.
Allies
  • Norse-Irish and the Briton factions do not use allies.
  • The Anglo-Saxon factions can (but are not obliged to) use allies as follows:
    • Kingdom of Wessex: Brythons as allies.
    • Kingdom of Northumbria: Early Scots as allies.
    • Kingdom of East Anglia: no allies.
    • Kingdom of Mercia: Welsh as allies.
  • Danes can (but are not obliged to) use certain allies if they are attacking from or defending in the following regions:
    • Bernicia or Strathclyde: Early Scots or Later Picts as allies.
    • Elmet: Early Scots as allies.
    • Dyfed, Gwynned, West Anglia or Hwicce: Welsh as allies.
    • Dumnonia or Wessex: Brythons as allies.

Effects of battle outcome

General
  • 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.
  • Players will obtain scores from both outcomes in the two individual battles of the mirror game, as set out under "Players and scoring" below.
  • The two outcomes of the individual battles in the mirror game will determine the overall result of the attack, as follows and with effects set out in "Factions and regions" below:
    • The faction having the most victories is considered the overall victor, with the other faction considered the overall loser.
    • If neither faction has a victory, the overall result is considered a draw.
    • If the two factions have one victory each, the overall victor is the faction (if any) with a sum of inflicted casualties minus incurred casualties from the two battles of +10 or higher (and if no such faction, the overall result is a draw).
    • Examples
      • if each faction has won one battle in the mirror game but the first faction has +11 in casualty difference (and the other faction thus -11), that first faction is thus the overall victor.
      • if one faction has won one battle and drawn the other battle in the mirror game, it has more victories (1) than the other faction (0) and is thus the overall victor.

Factions and regions
  • If the attacker's faction is the overall victor, it gain control over the defender's region.
  • If the defender's faction is the overall victor, it gains control over the attacker's region.
    • If the overall result is a draw, there is no change to region control.
    • Exception: the Briton factions never gain control over any new regions.
  • However, in the case of landfall attacks, the following applies instead regarding draws and a victorious defender's faction:
    • If overall result is a draw, the attacker's faction will gain control over the defender's region.
    • If the defender's faction is the victor, it retains control over the defender's region.
Players and scoring
  • Players will obtain scores from both individual battles in the mirror game.
  • Drawing and losing player's score from a battle equals his inflicted casualties (subject to a maximum of 60).
  • Victorious player's score equals 120 minus the losing player's score (subject to a minimum of 60).
  • A player's total score in the tournament equals the average of his scores from all his battles in the tournament, only applicable once he has participated in three mirror games or more (i.e., of course corresponding to six or more individual battles).
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
Schweetness101
Captain - Heavy Cruiser
Captain - Heavy Cruiser
Posts: 928
Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2016 6:12 am

About the Mod

Post by Schweetness101 »

You can of course find the link to download the mod, which now includes a PDF changelist, in the OPENING POST of the mod thread.

I strongly recommend that you read the PDF changelist, as the mod makes many gameplay, and not just aesthetic, changes.

The short list of important things to keep in mind though are the following:
  • Anarchy and refusal charge: Units have a chance to anarchy charge (i.e., charge at its own initiative) and refuse charge now based on various conditions.
  • Shieldwalls: Certain unit types (offensive/defensive spearmen, armoured heavy weapon, armoured impact foot) get an adjacency bonus to POA and CT checks, and defense against 90 degree flank attacks, if in shieldwall (adjacent to units of a similar type, see the mod page for a detailed description of this with pictures).
  • Rebalancing: Some unit capabilities/POAs are rebalanced around anarchy, shield wall and other rules changes, including edits to warband Deep Impact, Light Spear (inf and cav), Lancers and Heavy Weapon.
  • Limited ammo: Ranged units can run out of ammo (5 full and 5 half effect shots) but can also melee a bit more.
  • Bows: Bow units, both Light Archers and Bowmen, can shoot over adjacent, same height, allied non-light infantry units that are not in combat.
  • No free generals: All generals (aside from the C-in-C) must be purchased.
  • Generals: Generals can move one square while in combat.
  • Rally requires command: Units can only rally while in command.
  • Combat speed resolution: Non-light infantry combat is somewhat slowed down, and cavalry melee is sped up.
  • Cavalry fallback: Cavalry can fall back further.
  • Cavalry ZoC loss: Cavalry enable loss of secondary ZoC of non-light infantry that they charge (even if falling back after charge).
  • Shorter LoS: Decreased line of sight by half, i.e., to 10 tiles (from 20 in vanilla).
  • Less disordering: Heavy Foot are only slightly disordered in rough terrain.
and more changes besides those, but the above list should get you started.

There are also some AI behavior and deployment changes, and map generation changes, you will notice if you play a few battles vs the AI.
Last edited by Schweetness101 on Sat Dec 10, 2022 6:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My Mods:
Ancient Greek https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=977908#p977908
Dark Ages Britain https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=106417
Anarchy (Medieval) https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=987488#p987488
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

Re: Danelaw - an open and dynamic tournament

Post by kronenblatt »

OK, so this will all kick off now. And who better to be participating in this round 1 than the administrator and the mod creator...? :)

=> Danes make landfall attack upon Essex in Kingdom of Wessex, with kronenblatt versus Schweetness101.

=> Game set up as follows:
Paired (Mirror) Challenge.
Module: Dark Ages Britain v1.5.
Scenario: Open Battle.
Armies: Vikings versus Late Anglo-Saxons.
Turn limit: 24 turns.
Force size: Large (1600 FP for both attacker and defender).
Map size: Wide (40x32).
Map type: North European Agricultural.

password: essex

Enjoy! Puh, wish me good luck: first time playing this mod.
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
Schweetness101
Captain - Heavy Cruiser
Captain - Heavy Cruiser
Posts: 928
Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2016 6:12 am

Re: Danelaw - an open and dynamic tournament

Post by Schweetness101 »

Danes make landfall attack upon Essex in Kingdom of Wessex, with kronenblatt versus Schweetness101.
=> Mirror 1: Vikings army (Schweetness101) defeats Late Anglo-Saxons army (kronenblatt) 51-25.
=> Mirror 2: Late Anglo-Saxons army (Schweetness101) defeats Vikings army (kronenblatt) 65-30.
My Mods:
Ancient Greek https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=977908#p977908
Dark Ages Britain https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=106417
Anarchy (Medieval) https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=987488#p987488
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

Round 1: concluded

Post by kronenblatt »

Round 1
kronenblatt versus Schweetness101.
Danes (Vikings, no allies) make landfall attack upon Essex in Kingdom of Wessex (Late Anglo-Saxons, no allies).
=> Danes (Schweetness101 (95)) defeat Kingdom of Wessex (kronenblatt (25)) 51-25.
=> Kingdom of Wessex (Schweetness101 (90)) defeat Danes (kronenblatt (30)) 65-30.
=> Draw between Danes and Kingdom of Wessex.
=> Danes gain control over Essex (despite draw), due to landfall attack.

Image
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

Round 2: available for attack

Post by kronenblatt »

Round 2 is now available for any player ("first player") wishing to announce which attack that he intends to make, with another player acting as the opponent ("second player") in a mirror game, thus players fighting two battles with both factions.
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

Round 2: attack

Post by kronenblatt »

Danes attack Kent from Essex, with kronenblatt versus Schweetness101.

=> Game set up as follows:
Paired (Mirror) Challenge.
Module: Dark Ages Britain v1.5.
Scenario: Open Battle.
Armies: Vikings versus Late Anglo-Saxons with Brythons as allies.
Turn limit: 24 turns.
Force size: Large (1600 FP for both attacker and defender).
Map size: Wide (40x32).
Map type: North European Agricultural.

password: kent
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

Round 2: concluded

Post by kronenblatt »

kronenblatt versus Schweetness101
Danes attack Kent in Kingdom of Wessex from Essex.
Vikings versus Late Anglo-Saxons with Brythons as allies.
=> Danes (kronenblatt, 105) defeat Kingdom of Wessex (Schweetness101, 15) 45-15.
=> Kingdom of Wessex (kronenblatt, 81) defeat Danes (Schweetness101, 39) 62-39.
=> Draw between Danes and Kingdom of Wessex.
=> No changes to regions' control.

Image
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

Rules changes

Post by kronenblatt »

With effect from round 3, I will amend the rule regarding change to region control for the sake of increasing dynamics:

  • The two outcomes of the individual battles in the mirror game will determine the overall result of the attack, as follows and with effects set out in "Factions and regions" below:
    • The faction having the most victories is considered the overall victor, with the other faction considered the overall loser.
    • If neither faction has a victory, the overall result is considered a draw.
    • If the two factions have one victory each, the overall victor is the faction (if any) with a sum of inflicted casualties minus incurred casualties from the two battles of +10 or higher (and if no such faction, the overall result is a draw).
    • Examples
      • if each faction has won one battle in the mirror game but the first faction has +11 in casualty difference (and the other faction thus -11), that first faction is thus the overall victor.
      • if one faction has won one battle and drawn the other battle in the mirror game, it has more victories (1) than the other faction (0) and is thus the overall victor.
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
kronenblatt
General - Elite King Tiger
General - Elite King Tiger
Posts: 4392
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 4:17 pm
Location: Stockholm, SWEDEN

Up for a game?

Post by kronenblatt »

Is anyone up for a game here in Danelaw or in Sacred Bands?
kronenblatt's campaign and tournament thread hub:

https://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108643
Post Reply

Return to “Field of Glory II: Tournaments & Leagues”