--------------------------------------------------------------------- G O D W I L L S I T by Terry Martin GAME HANDBOOK --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- GENERAL GAME BRIEFING --------------------------------------------------------------------- General Introduction Welcome to 'God Wills It', my first megagame set in the medieval period, and one in which many of the conventions we often use in games on later periods simply do not apply. For example, knowledge of the enemy, maps of the country around you, a clear command structure and straightforward material objectives. To a greater or lesser extent all of these concepts were foreign to eleventh century man. This game tries to represent what might have happened when three very different cultures came into contact in a major way for the first time ever. To that extent, some ignorance of what the other side is doing (or even the rules by which they are playing) is not only inevitable, but desirable. This game is an experiment for me, and for Megagame Makers. I hope you find it enjoyable and perhaps even instructive about what it must have felt like to be caught up in such a huge cultural change to the world as men understood it. But remember it is a game, and a game about the interaction between players. What happens in this game will not be a reconstruction of history, it will be a reflection of the decisions that you take on the day. Having said that, I have tried to set the historical context as accurately as I can within the limitations of a game. This is important to me since the Crusades were the subject of my final year's study at Oxford many years ago, and I believe that they have become one of the most misunderstood periods of history today. There are a surprising number of primary sources for the First Crusade from all points of view, and a huge plethora of secondary texts. Surprise, surprise, not all historians agree on all aspects of the period as a whole, let alone on all aspects of the First Crusade. Where historians disagree, for the sake of consistency I have used Runciman as my arbiter of facts - though not necessarily of opinion. A couple of final warnings for you. First, the day starts with three entirely different games, and there are distinct phases to the day. When, and if, all those games interact, and at what phase, is pretty much dependent upon the players. But time is a reality; be aware at all times that time is moving on, and keep a close eye on what is happening in your own game as far as time is concerned. At each phase end, there will be a 'reconciliation of time'. But the game will go on regardless of how many sub games get stuck in a phase; if you spend thirty minutes making a plan when time is being measured in turns of ten minutes a month, that's entirely up to you. It will simply have taken you three months to make that plan. I consider this entirely reasonable in the medieval world, where nobody ever wore a watch! Second, there will inevitably be some mistakes in this game; in geography, history, spelling or whatever. This will be for one of two reasons; either it is a deliberate game fudge in order to help the game run more smoothly (e.g. the giving of maps tot he Crusaders that do not have Jerusalem at the centre of the world!), or they are a mistake on the part of the game's designer, me. For them I apologise in advance; a lot of the good things in here are actually the ideas and inspirations of other people, but the mistakes are mine and mine alone. Enjoy your game; after all, God wills it. The only question is whose God? Terry Martin Credits As always I want to thank my partners in Megagame Makers for their unending support and help. In particular I need to thank Brian Cameron, without whose inspiration (and nagging) this would have remained a very vague thought in the back of my mind. For Jim Wallman this is an unfamiliar period, but his usual enthusiasm and common sense, and of course his invaluable logistical support, have been invaluable. Finally, I thank the members of Chestnut Lodge Wargames Group, who have discussed this with me on so many occasions, helped me develop the ideas, and playtested what can be playtested in a game of this nature! --------------------------------------------------------------------- Game Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a game about the events of the last years of the 11th. century, when three cultures came into conflict, when the old rivalries between East and West took on new meanings, and when religious fervour and materialistic greed seemed to serve the same ends. The First Crusade changed the course of world history for hundreds of years afterwards; directly it led to the establishment of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, indirectly it led to the final decline of the Roman Empire of the East and the fall of Byzantium nearly 400 years later; from another culture's point of view it was the first great manifestation of the clash between Sunni and Shiite Islam that still bedevils the Moslem world today. And yet for many years it remained (particularly in Britain) one of the least widely known of any historical period in Middle East history, a time of myth and legend rather than solidly researched historical knowledge. Only in the mid twentieth century did scholars like Grousset in France, D.C.Munro in the States, and of course Steven Runciman in the UK start to stimulate their student's imaginations and encourage detailed study of this great migration of armed men. I have spent many happy years studying the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, but until recently I had never really devoted much time to the events of 1096 to 1099 that started it all off. And yet I do actually believe that the story of the First Crusade is more inherently interesting, challenging and even romantic than any of the tales of Richard Coeur de Lion and Salah -ed Din that excite so many schoolchildren of today. Today's game is an attempt to look at the First Crusade not as a great and romantic Christian venture, and equally not as a barbarian invasion from the West, but to look at events form the point of view of the three great cultures that were involved. As Runciman said in the Preface to his great History, " to tell the story from the point of view of the Franks alone or of the Arabs alone or even of its chief victims, the Christians of the East, is to miss its significance. For, as Gibbon saw, it was the story of the World's debate". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Game Philosophy --------------------------------------------------------------------- In recent times at Megagame Makers we have been trying to design games with fewer set rules and games which are 'umpire lite'. This game aims to take that trend even further and even to be 'briefing lite!'. There are mechanisms in the game, but players will only know about them if they have to. For the most part I have deliberately kept to a minimum any rules about what you may or may not do. If this means that some players get the feeling of events being somewhat out of their knowledge and control as the day goes on, then I make no apology. That is exactly how many of the participants in the actual events felt at the time, and it is reasonable that people trying to reconstruct some of those events should feel the same confusions as they did. I am afraid that - within the guidelines of your briefs - you will have to work out how to interact with other players as the game develops. So did your predecessors in reality! Having said all of that, I do not believe that the Crusade was moving into totally unknown territory. There is enough evidence of contacts between the three cultures to reinforce what I have always believed instinctively; the Medieval world was a very small place and most people - of noble blood at least - knew a fair bit about it. Each team's brief will reflect what I believe you would have known. None of the players are the ignorant members of the People's Crusade; the Franks are all magnates of the West, professional rulers and soldiers, some of you with great experience. The Byzantines are all aristocrats or professional soldiers of the greatest Empire in the world, the inheritors of Imperial Rome's culture as well as its power. As for the Moslems the days of nomadic tribal wandering are long gone; you represent the princes, emirs and atabegs of a new and equally cultured imperial power. Some historians make the early medieval period out to be one of ignorance, squalor and barbarism. I believe that is a very flawed and twentieth century view; I hope this game will reflect the fact that all of you represent in many ways the flowering of your particular civilisations. You may think of other players as barbarians but you know that you represent an advanced culture, and of course the only true way to God. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Game Structure --------------------------------------------------------------------- By now you won't be surprised to learn that this general briefing isn't going to be very long. Your team and personal briefings will give you much more information as to who you are and what you are expected to do! What all of you need to know is that there are three different games being played throughout the day. There is a Western game, a Byzantine game and a Moslem game. During the day it is probable that these games will interact with each other, but when that happens is not laid down in any design rules; if it happens it will happen as and when two or more of the team games start to interact with each other and that will be dictated solely by what the players do. There are also certain phases within the individual games, to represent the passing of time. This handbook details what will be common structures to all three games, such as representations of forces, currency, time and movement. Most players will be involved at some point in the game in the moving of forces. We will be using a variation of the system that Jim Wallman and Brian Cameron have pioneered so successfully in recent games like the Warlock Mountain games and War without an Enemy. Different tables will represent different locations and the players will move from table to table with a tray representing their forces. One floor of the School will represent Western Europe, another floor will represent Asia Minor and Palestine, and Byzantium will be located in the Staff Room, signifying the fabled glory of the City that is reputed to account for half the wealth of the known world. Other than that I'm not going to tell you much about the other elements of the game's structure; what you need to know initially will be in your team and personal briefings; what you may need to know later on you may be told later on; or then again you may not. You may just have to find out for yourself. A point on the umpires, on whom your personal briefings will give you slightly more information. The umpires are there to help the game run smoothly, to administer hidden rules and to provide you with game inputs from sources outside the played roles. Some umpires will represent non-played characters; others may represent factions and tensions within your own team; but they are not there to do the players' jobs for them. Don't expect them to. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Role playing and Wargaming --------------------------------------------------------------------- There has been quite a lot of debate recently about role playing within wargaming. I'm not going to try to tell you whether to be a role player first and a wargamer second, or whatever. What I do want to say is that this game is designed to give each player a role; that role dictates how you fit into the game and your relations with other players; if anybody chooses to ignore their role and try to behave like a twentieth century staff college graduate, we can't stop you, any more than we can stop you if you decide to cheat, (especially in a game with so much self policing). But I do strongly believe that you will get a better game out of trying to fit into the role of your character, and trying to understand the mind of eleventh century generals and politicians, than you will by ignoring them. As for language and modes of address, that's up to you. But remember that rank, birth and correct manners were important to the men and women of this period, and you ignore them at your peril, if other players take them seriously. Religion isn't just important; it is central to all your lives. Some of you may be more overt in your religious observances than others, and have more respect for the priests of your particular culture than others, but there is not one of you who does not believe in your God, and in a life after death, with all that that implies in terms of reward and / or punishment for your deeds done in your lifetime. Even if you do forget, your followers will not, and it is quite likely that you will lose followers should you forget your duty to God. Other than that I don't want to say anything else about role-playing; use your common sense in trying to deal with other characters and with events. That's all they could do in reality. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Standard Terminology --------------------------------------------------------------------- One problem in trying to study this period is the total lack of standard measurements - of numbers, currencies, distances, calendars etc., not to mention the fact that we are dealing with at least five languages in the scope of this game. I could have really made your lives a misery by using different measurements for the three different cultures, but I think it would have made me even more miserable in the designing and writing of the game. (Just to take one simple example, the primary Western sources talk about marks of gold, marks of silver, livres, pounds and sous, while the Greek bezant and the Arabic q'tar are also variable in their actual value). Consequently, just as we will use a standardised language for the game (English, in case any of you were wondering), we will also use standardised measurements. All currencies will be expressed arbitrarily in terms of marks. Distances and movement rates will be in miles; months will consist of 30 days, and the main game calendar will use today's conventions, so the start year in game terms will be 1096. And, you'll be pleased to know, maps will be based on modern cartographic convention, not centred on Jerusalem! --------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Game Mechanics --------------------------------------------------------------------- a) Representation of Forces Forces will be represented by figures, painted to the usual fine standards of Megagame Makers! Figures will represent the following ratios: - Heavy Horse (Crusaders and Greek heavy cavalry) : 1 figure to 200 men Medium/Light Horse (Seldjuks/Fatimids/Turcomen) : 1 figure to 500 men Infantry (all types) : 1 figure to 500 men Crossbowmen : 1 figure to 100 men Players will carry their forces with them at all times in trays, unless the player is not with his forces. Forces not under player command will react defensively, or to prior orders (e.g. in the case of garrisons) but are unlikely to make any new decisions on their own. Smaller forces (e.g. scouting parties) are not represented in this game by figures, nor are the mass of camp followers and non-combatants. Should small scouting parties be sent ahead into enemy territories, their safe return will be diced for under umpire supervision. Most forces have to be paid for in maintenance. These are detailed as necessary in the team and individual briefings. b) Representation of Money As noted above, we have simplified all money in the game into a game currency of marks. This currency will be represented in game terms by the following coinage: - One small silver coin = 10 marks One large silver coin = 100 marks One small gold coin = 500 marks One large gold coin = 1,000 marks One gold ingot = 10,000 marks Most teams will deal solely in cash currencies or IOU notes, but a few of the more wealthy teams may need to keep rudimentary paper accounts (see national briefings). There will also be various jewels and other artefacts in circulation that will have clear cash values marked. c) Areas and Movement Each table will encompass one or more Areas, and will be under the control of a Table Umpire. Each area can be traversed in a month (i.e. one turn). Movement will be point to point within an area, and from area to area. As a player leaves an area by a designated point he automatically enters the next area at the corresponding point. Each area will have a Sustenance Value, which will gradually be eroded by the numbers of forces crossing the area, and more rapidly if troops linger in the area (e.g. by wintering). Within a month's turn, it will be possible to scout any adjacent area - subject of course to the scouting force's return. The length of a turn may vary during the day, but most turns will be of ten minutes to a month. That's not very long, and it will be vital to plan ahead as far as you can. d) Combat Each team's input into combat will be found in the team handbook, which you will receive a few days before, or on the morning of the game. My belief is that for the vast majority of the protagonists in this game, the ways of fighting of their enemies was not known, beyond vague rumour and the experience of a few individuals. Combat resolution will only be explained therefore, when you first encounter other teams in battle. There will be separate - and very simple - rules for siege warfare, which again will be explained when the necessity occurs. What is common knowledge is that only the Byzantine Empire maintains a professional siege train. e) Umpires Although this is an umpire-lite game, the role of the umpires will be crucial. There will be four main types of Umpire involved. These will be: - Control Umpires Key umpires of the game, their responsibility is to maintain the momentum of the game, and ensure that the interface between the different games works, and that information flows and interaction happens as it should between the various teams. They are also responsible for resolving disputes or grey areas within the game and for ruling upon any unforeseen problem areas, Ultimately, their rule is law. Team Umpires Each major team will have a team umpire who will oversee the team, act as liaison with other game parts as necessary, and also take the role of the lesser characters and non-played characters within each team. They will represent public and religious opinion, the feelings of the armies as a whole, and ultimately the power of the ordinary troops. Should a leader lose the respect of his troops (by showing cowardice or publicly irreligious behaviour, for example) they will determine the reaction of the leader's followers. They will also be responsible for any uncommitted troops in an army and deciding what leader, if any, they will attach themselves to in time of need. Table Umpires As a player or team of players reaches a table, an umpire will take charge of what happens while they are in that table's area(s). Table Umpires will reveal what you should know about the area, and supervise interactions in that area. The Table Umpires will also represent the native inhabitants of the region, if they are not player represented. NPC Umpires In conjunction with the other Umpires, the Non Played Character Umpires will be responsible as necessary for game input from major characters who are not actually being played, and who the Team and Table Umpires cannot represent (e.g. the Pope and some of the Western monarchs, the Caliph of Baghdad, the Princes of the Russias etc.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT: Timing on the Day --------------------------------------------------------------------- By now you will have realised that quite a lot of what you will need to do in your particular game will only be found in your team handbook or your personal briefings. It is quite deliberate that those briefings are not enclosed with this handbook. You should receive your team briefing a few days before the game, but your personal brief will not be given to you until the morning of the game itself. This is to avoid massive pre-planning which is not in the spirit of the game or the period. I would therefore urge you to turn up when the game timetable suggests. There will be plenty for you to read and assimilate on that morning before the game proper starts. For the same reason the map that accompanies this handbook is a very general map and does not include areas. More detailed areas will become available as you need them. --------------------------------------------------------------------- This game briefing/handbook is available for information to users of the internet, on the understanding it is (c) Terry Martin, and if used is credited appropriately. Thanks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------