Imperial Soil Revisited: Concluded

[kronenblatt]

The Imperial Soil Revisited tournament takes place in Italy during the middle of the eleventh century AD and involves four players. Each player represents a faction, fighting for dominance over the Italian peninsula. Players will fight battles using armies from Field of Glory:Medieval and the Reconquista DLC but that dynamically depend on provinces controlled or attacked from or defended in. Machiavellian intrigues are possible and encouraged through the opportunities for several players to attack the same provinces, supporting or undermining each other.

The campaign is now concluded, having ended in round 4, kronenblatt being the victor with 7 battle victories.

[kronenblatt]

End of campaign (round 4)


At start


Provinces and regions

[kronenblatt]

Overview

• This campaign covers Italy upon the middle of the eleventh century AD, a period in which the balance of power was shaken due to the arrival of a new faction to the scene and two other factions being expelled; the Normans, taking up the fight with the older factions and ousting the Romans (Byzantines) and the Arabs from Italy.

• Each of the players controls an equal number of provinces at start.

• The campaign ends as soon as a player at the end of a round can claim victory through having won at least seven battles and/or controls at least half of the provinces on the map (i.e., 14 or more).

• If more than one player claims victory in the same round, the winner of the campaign is he among them with:
  1. the highest number of controlled provinces,
  2. the highest number of won battles (if a tie), and
  3. the battle with the highest casualty difference during the campaign (if still a tie).

• Please note that a player must own the Reconquista DLC in order to take part in the campaign.

Download of "Imperial Soil Revisited" module

• Download is now available.

• The Imperial Soil Revisited v1 (version 1) module is needed to set up and play battles with the appropriate main armies and 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 Imperial Soil Revisited MP v1.
  3. Click on Download the Selected Campaign.

• The mod will then be automatically saved into the the My Games\FieldOfGloryMedieval\MULTIPLAYER\ folder, within the MP_IMPERIAL_SOIL_V1 subfolder.

• (The single-player (SP) version is available for download in the same way, allowing the use of Imperial Soil Revisited armies in battles against the AI.)

Army lists and units

• All players use the army lists of the Imperial Soil Revisited mod, for main armies as well as allies. (For more details, please see Armies and allies in battles below.)

• The armies are using the base game army lists as follows:
  
  Armies from the different regions (whether main army or allies)
  • Central: Papal 1050-1154 AD.
  • Eastern: Lombard 1050-1057 AD.
  • Northern: German (Imperial) 1050-1154 AD.
  • Southern: Italo-Norman 1050-1060 AD.
  Other armies as potential allies
  • Arab: Arab (North Africa) 1038-1160 AD.
  • Byzantine: Byzantine (Italy) 1050-1071 AD.
  • French: French 1050-1154 AD.
  • Guelf: Italian (Guelf) 1050-1154 AD.

• All units within an army list are freely available to deploy (other than the standard in-game limitations on numbers, etc.).

Provinces

• There are in total 28 provinces on the map, each player controlling an equal number of provinces at the start of the campaign, as color highlighted on the map.

• Each of the provinces are located within one of four larger regions:
  • Central: Roma (12), Orvieto (14), Ancona (15), Pisa (16), Firenze (17), Genoa (19), Bonifacio (28).
  • Eastern: Taranto (4), Melfi (6), Bari (7), Gaeta (8), Capua (9), Benevento (11), Spoleto (13).
  • Northern: Rimini (18), Bologna (20), Padua (21), Torino (22), Milano (23), Como (24), Brescia (25).
  • Southern: Palermo (1), Messina (2), Cotrone (3), Salerno (5), Napoli (10), Cagliari (26), Torres (27).

• The number of provinces that a player controls in the different regions at the beginning of a round will affect which main armies and allies he will use in his battles that round (see Armies and allies in battles below).

• Provinces are connected by land and sea, as indicated on the map and with sea connections between provinces as specified below (and through lines on the map):
  • Palermo (1) and Cagliari (26).
  • Messina (2) and Cotrone (3).
  • Pisa (16) and Bonifacio (28).
  • Genoa (19) and Bonifacio (28).
  • Torres (27) and Bonifacio (28).

Rounds

• Each round consists of the following three phases:
  1. Attack declarations: Each still active player announce, one by one in the order as specified below, which attack that his faction intends to make.
  • Order is (except for the first round) decided based on each players' maximum inflicted casualties the previous round, with the player having the lowest value going first, etc.
  2. Battle resolutions: All battles will be simultaneously played and completed in FoG2:Medieval during a period of four weeks.
  3. Administration: changes of province control, sorting of attack declaration order for the next round, et al.

Attacks

Individual attacks

• Each round requires a player (the "attacker") to announce an attack, in the form of attacking another neighbouring player (the "defender").

• The attack announcement is made in a post in the campaign thread on the forum, as follows:
  • The attacker specifies from which one of his provinces that the attack takes place ("attacker province") and which neighbouring province that is attacked ("defender province", together with the attacker province, the "provinces-at-stake" for that particular attack).

• Example on how to express an attack announcement
  • SnuggleBunnies attacks kronenblatt, using the Central army with Arab allies. Attacker province Napoli, defender province Capua.

Conflicts (consisting of one or several attacks)

• A province already included as a province-at-stake in a player’s attack can again be part of other players’ attacks in the same round.
  • Example: SnuggleBunnies attacks kronenblatt’s Capua from Napoli. kronenblatt in turn attacks TomoeGozen’s Benevento from Capua. TomoeGozen (counter)attacks kronenblatt’s Capua from Benevento. Lennard attacks TomoeGozen’s Benevento from Bari.

• All such provinces-at-stake, and their attackers and defenders, linked together through one or several attacks are then considered part of the same “Conflict”.

• A Conflict can therefore consist of several provinces-at-stake (sometimes many more than the original two), involving several players (more than the original two), with the prize of the Conflict for its one victor (if any) being all such provinces-at-stake.
  • In the example above, SnuggleBunnies, kronenblatt, TomoeGozen, and Lennard are involved in the same Conflict, with Capua, Napoli, Benevento, and Bari being satrapies-at-stake in that War.

Battles

Setting up the battle

• Each of the attacks are fought out between the attacker and the defender as an individual battle in Field of Glory II - Medieval as follows:
  • Armies and allies: in accordance with Armies and allies in battles below.
  • Turn limit: 24 turns.
  • Scenario: Custom Battle - Open Battle.
  • Force size: Large (1600 FP).
  • Map size: Wide (40x32).
  • Map type: Mediterranean Agricultural.
  • No map re-rolls are allowed.

• The defender of the attack 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 when accepting the challenge).
  • Please note that the Imperial Soil Revisited v1 module (MP_IMPERIAL_SOIL_V1) needs to be selected and launched under Select another module when creating the challenge.
  • When the challenge has been created, the defender, for information, sends a PM to the attacker and makes a post in the campaign thread.

Concluding and reporting the battle

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

• Battle outcome, once resolved, is always reported by the player having inflicted the highest casualties through a post in the campaign thread.

Armies and allies in battles

Main armies

• A player must use the army of the region in which most of his controlled provinces are located at the beginning of the round.
  • If several regions are applicable, the player may choose among these.

• Examples:
  • A player who at the beginning of the round controls three provinces in the Northern region and two in the Central region must use the Northern army as his main army.
  • If he instead controls three provinces in each of the Northern and Central regions, he can choose between the Northern and Central armies as his main army that round.

• The same main army must be used in all the player's battles in the same round.

Allies

• If a player in the beginning of the round controls any provinces in a region or regions other than the one of his main army (see above), he must choose as allies from among such regions in his battles that round.

• However, under any of the circumstances below, he may (if he wishes) instead choose allies as follows:
  • If attacking from an attacker province located in the Northern region, the French army can be used as allies.
  • If defending in a defender province located in the Central region, the Guelf army can be used as allies.
  • If attacking from an attacker province located in the Southern region, the Arab army can be used as allies.
  • If defending in a defender province located in the Eastern region, the Byzantine army can be used as allies.

• The player may freely choose different allies for different battles even if in the same round.

Effects of battle outcome

Victors of battles

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

Victors of Conflicts

• Only one player (but potentially none) may be the victor of a Conflict and gain (or retain) all the provinces-at-stake of that Conflict, such player determined as follows:
  • The minimum casualty differences (whether from a victory, draw, or loss) from each of the victors of battles in the Conflict are compared (even if they may have drawn or lost other battles in that Conflict).
    • Players that have only drawn or lost battles in the Conflict are however not included in such comparison (and may therefore only lose and not gain any provinces-at-stake from that Conflict).
  • The one player with the highest casualty difference is considered the victor of the Conflict and gains control over all the provinces-at-stake of the Conflict.
  • If two or more players have the highest casualty difference, there is no victor of the Conflict and no change of control to any of the provinces-at-stake of the Conflict at all.

Draws

• If neither player routs the enemy, neither player is considered victor or loser for that battle, and the battle is considered a draw.

• 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, and the battle is considered a draw.

• In the case of only draws in a Conflict (i.e., no victors or losers), the provinces-at-stake are lost to other players (whether eliminated or not) in the campaign there were not part of the conflict, with:
  • the attacker deciding who to take control over the attacker province (as highest priority), and
  • the defender deciding who to take control over the defender province.

[kronenblatt]

• Download is now available.

• The Imperial Soil Revisited v1 (version 1) module is needed to set up and play battles with the appropriate main armies and 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 Imperial Soil Revisited MP v1.
  3. Click on Download the Selected Campaign.

• The mod will then be automatically saved into the the My Games\FieldOfGloryMedieval\MULTIPLAYER\ folder, within the MP_IMPERIAL_SOIL_V1 subfolder.

• (The single-player (SP) version is available for download in the same way, allowing the use of Imperial Soil Revisited armies in battles against the AI.)

[kronenblatt]

This campaign, involving warfare and diplomacy in Early Medieval Italy, will start in mid-August with seven players. I’m checking the interest again among the player community, so if you’d like to participate and are fine with the rules, please post here or PM me.

[kronenblatt]

This campaign has been on hold for a while but is now planned to start in early August (2023!) with four or seven players. I’m checking the interest again among the player community, so if you’d like to participate and are fine with the rules, please PM me.

[kronenblatt]

Time for first round's attack declarations, in the following order

• kronenblatt (August 11)

• edb1815 (August 12)

• AKvGoeben (August 13)

• TomoeGozen (August 14)

Please note the following

• Make your attack declaration in a post in the campaign thread on the forum.

• You can make your attack declaration before your order and your deadline, but not after.

• Please look at attacks and conflicts in the rules.

[kronenblatt]

kronenblatt attacks AKvGoeben, using the Central army with Arab allies. Attacker province Napoli (10), defender province Salerno (5).

Some comments on my selection of armies
Because the largest number of my controlled provinces are located in the Central region (4 out of my 7), my main army must be Central. I control provinces in the Southern (1) and Eastern (2) regions too and must therefore select allies from one of these two regions. BUT since I'm attacking from an attacker province located in the Southern region (namely Napoli), I can also use the special rule of having the Arab army as allies for this particular attack. Which I do. The first post of this thread (also here below) will indicate which army must be used as main army and from which regions allies must be selected (other than any special rules). Maps in the second post of this thread are also useful. And of course the "Armies and allies in battles" section of the rules (see below as well).

Armies and allies in battles

Main armies

• A player must use the army of the region in which most of his controlled provinces are located at the beginning of the round.
  • If several regions are applicable, the player may choose among these.

• Examples:
  • A player who at the beginning of the round controls three provinces in the Northern region and two in the Central region must use the Northern army as his main army.
  • If he instead controls three provinces in each of the Northern and Central regions, he can choose between the Northern and Central armies as his main army that round.

• The same main army must be used in all the player's battles in the same round.

Allies

• If a player in the beginning of the round controls any provinces in a region or regions other than the one of his main army (see above), he must choose as allies from among such regions in his battles that round.

• However, under any of the circumstances below, he may (if he wishes) instead choose allies as follows:
  • If attacking from an attacker province located in the Northern region, the French army can be used as allies.
  • If defending in a defender province located in the Central region, the Guelf army can be used as allies.
  • If attacking from an attacker province located in the Southern region, the Arab army can be used as allies.
  • If defending in a defender province located in the Eastern region, the Byzantine army can be used as allies.

• The player may freely choose different allies for different battles even if in the same round.

[TomoeGozen]

Hi Andreas,
Can I clarify something please?
When you say must take an ally , do you mean you must always take an ally or do you mean that if you do take an ally it must be one of those specified by the rules?
Thanks,
Dave

[kronenblatt]

Hi Andreas,
Can I clarify something please?
When you say must take an ally , do you mean you must always take an ally or do you mean that if you do take an ally it must be one of those specified by the rules?
Thanks,
Dave

The former, i.e., you must always take an ally. Of course as long as there is at least one ally available to you (which there always will be if you control provinces in at least two regions ).

From the rules
If a player in the beginning of the round controls any provinces in a region or regions other than the one of his main army (see above), he must choose as allies from among such regions in his battles that round.

[edb1815]

edb1815 attacks AKvGoeben, using the Southern army with Arab allies. Attacker province Messina (2), defender province Cotrone(3).

[AKvGoeben]

AKvGoeben attacks kronenblatt, using the Eastern Army with Southern allies. Attacker province Benevento (11), defender province Capua (9).

[kronenblatt]

AKvGoeben attacks Kronenblatt, using Eastern Army. My understanding is that I can't take Byzantine allies if I am attacking?. Attacking Capua (9) from Benevento (11)

Correct. Byzantine allies can only be used when defending a province in the Eastern region. So your only choice is now Southern allies, which you must use (only region in which you control provinces, other than the Eastern region). Ok?

[AKvGoeben]

Right sounds good, Eastern Army with Southern Allies then

[TomoeGozen]

TomoeGozen attacks edb1815 using Northern army with Central allies. Attacking from 20 into 19.
cheers,
Dave.

[kronenblatt]

• kronenblatt (August 11): attacks AKvGoeben, using the Central army with Arab allies. Attacker province Napoli (10), defender province Salerno (5).

• edb1815 (August 12): attacks AKvGoeben, using the Southern army with Arab allies. Attacker province Messina (2), defender province Cotrone (3).

• AKvGoeben (August 13): attacks kronenblatt, using the Eastern Army with Southern allies. Attacker province Benevento (11), defender province Capua (9).

• TomoeGozen (August 14): attacks edb1815, using the Northern army with Central allies. Attacker province Bologna (20), defender province Genoa (19).

[kronenblatt]

Defenders use the same rules as attackers when main armies and allies are determined.

When it comes to main armies, it's fairly straightforward in that the same army list is used when defending as when attacking.

However, determining and selecting allies could be more flexible (other than that allies must be used, if any are available):

• If a player in the beginning of the round controls any provinces in a region or regions other than the one of his main army (see above), he must choose as allies from among such regions in his battles that round.

• However, under any of the circumstances below, he may (if he wishes) instead choose allies as follows:
  • If defending in a defender province located in the Central region, the Guelf army can be used as allies.
  • If defending in a defender province located in the Eastern region, the Byzantine army can be used as allies.

• The player may freely choose different allies for different battles even if in the same round.

[kronenblatt]

AKvGoeben attacks kronenblatt, using the Eastern Army with Southern allies. Attacker province Benevento (11), defender province Capua (9).
=> kronenblatt defends, using the Central army with Byzantine allies.

I could choose between Southern and Eastern allies, since I control provinces in these regions. Furthermore, because I'm defending in Capua (9), which is located in the Eastern region, I may also choose Byzantines as allies.

From the rules:
If defending in a defender province located in the Eastern region, the Byzantine army can be used as allies.

[kronenblatt]

Battles

• kronenblatt attacks AKvGoeben, using the Central army with Arab allies. Attacker province Napoli (10), defender province Salerno (5).

• edb1815 attacks AKvGoeben, using the Southern army with Arab allies. Attacker province Messina (2), defender province Cotrone (3).

• AKvGoeben attacks kronenblatt, using the Eastern Army with Southern allies. Attacker province Benevento (11), defender province Capua (9).

• TomoeGozen attacks edb1815 , using the Northern army with Central allies. Attacker province Bologna (20), defender province Genoa (19).

Setting up the battle

• The defender of the attack 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 when accepting the challenge).
  • Please note that the Imperial Soil Revisited v1 module (MP_IMPERIAL_SOIL_V1) needs to be selected and launched under Select another module when creating the challenge.
  • When the challenge has been created, the defender, for information, sends a PM to the attacker and makes a post in the campaign thread.

• Each of the attacks are fought out between the attacker and the defender as an individual battle in Field of Glory II - Medieval as follows:
  • Armies and allies:
    • Attacker: in accordance with the attack declarations.
    • Defender: please see below.
  • Turn limit: 24 turns.
  • Scenario: Custom Battle - Open Battle.
  • Force size: Large (1600 FP).
  • Map size: Wide (40x32).
  • Map type: Mediterranean Agricultural.
  • No map re-rolls are allowed.

Concluding and reporting the battle

• Please conclude battles within four weeks (i.e., by September 10 at the latest).

• Battle outcome, once resolved, is always reported by the player having inflicted the highest casualties through a post in the campaign thread.

Defenders' army lists

• Defenders use the same rules as attackers when main armies and allies are determined.

• When it comes to main armies, it's fairly straightforward in that the same army list is used when defending as when attacking.

• However, determining and selecting allies could be more flexible (other than that allies must be used, if any are available):
  • If a player in the beginning of the round controls any provinces in a region or regions other than the one of his main army (see above), he must choose as allies from among such regions in his battles that round.
  • However, under any of the circumstances below, he may (if he wishes) instead choose allies as follows:
    • If defending in a defender province located in the Central region, the Guelf army can be used as allies.
    • If defending in a defender province located in the Eastern region, the Byzantine army can be used as allies.
  • The player may freely choose different allies for different battles even if in the same round.

[kronenblatt]

AKvGoeben attacks kronenblatt, using the Eastern Army with Southern allies. Attacker province Benevento (11), defender province Capua (9).

Game set up with password CAPUA and PM sent.