Recently, I've been playing a Discord Wargame Campaign, being run by Capt. Hook, using the rules from Tony Bath's "Setting Up a Wargames Campaign". On the Ferrnus Isle, three years ago, six colonies were laid down by two competing peoples for dominion over the isle. This post will be a combination AAR of the game so far from my perspective as a player, and musings on how such a game can be used to benefit your ongoing RPG game.
To start, Hook drew a map for us to fight over, with 6 inlets for our exploring parties to land at and begin our colonies, divided into two factions the Greeks and the Vikings. The next two campaign years were split between exploration (gaining new territory) and expansion (promoting growth amongst our population). This was all the prep needed for us to begin the game proper, which is divided into 12 months of 3 weeks, with each week in game taking a week in the real world.
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| My version of the Isle of the Ferrnus, made in MS Paint so that I can mark it up as I see fit. |
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| The Ferrnus Isle at the start of Year 3; the Purple is the Greeks, the Red the Vikings |
All inter-player communications are handled through the Referee, as well as all orders for our domains. Each player is in control of the leader of their colony (the Thane for the Vikings, the Delos for the Greeks), we can improve our colony, raise troops, train to improve them, conduct raids or wars, spy on our friends and foes, the possibilities are endless. There is a nice bit of roleplay going on in the communications between the characters, and the fog of war is thick. Not only do we not know where the various armies that have been raised are moving and planning, we don't even know if the couriers we've sent have arrived or have been intercepted by bandits or worse (the enemy)!
So far we are about to begin the 2nd week of the 3rd month of the 3rd year, and already things have heated up. I am controlling the Jarl of Sommerheim and leader of the Viking expeditions (and for OpSec purposes what I write from here on out may or may not be the truth), which is located on the Western Coast sandwiched between two Greek Colonies. In the first month armies were raised, roads and defenses constructed, units began to train their way up from Levies into true soldiers. Regular contact has been had with the Vikings on the South Coast, but no one has heard from those on the East Coast. Rumors of bandits abound in the lands, but whether they are true bandits or enemy raiders no one knows for sure. During the end of the 2nd Month, the Delos of Aidos (the Greeks in the NW corner of Ferrnus) sent a raiding party to burn and loot a village on the border of our realms, those raiders were quickly captured and dispatched by my Cavalry patrols, and with proof in hand of their vile treachery War was declared between our people's (which allows all participants to recruit a larger percentage of their population into the army). The troops of Sommerheim are marching to the border with Aidos, leaving some men behind to look over the border with our Southern neighbor Poryphyrachora, lest they try to squeeze us in a vice. And so stands the situation as the 3rd month drags on...
Which brings me to the second half of my title. This type of campaign (weekly/monthly orders/turns with adjudication by the referee) is a perfect backdrop for adventuring. The Jarl of Sommerheim would give anything to have an assassin infiltrate the court of Aidos or the enemy camps, have a thief steal the idol from their temples causing heartache amongst the people, have an adventurer lead a small band to attack their supply lines and communications or safeguard an important message to his allies and ensure it arrives. Especially if the timeline for orders were to be expanded from weekly to monthly, that offers a lot of room for a friendly DM (either the referee or someone in his club) to run games in the same shared region, with each game style impacting and influencing the other. Can the adventurer dodge the moving armies? Can the Delos really be trusted or is the party being used as a patsy? Will the theft of the artifacts from the temple cause the wargame player to divert precious military resources to recover them or will he take the morale penalty amongst his troops?
The interactions and possibilities are near limitless, even more so when more players are taking part in the wargames campaign. Is the general of the army of Sommerheim as loyal as his player claims to be? Is there a grand conspiracy amongst dissatisfied generals/thanes to overthrow the Jarl? Which side will the party choose?
I know you're thinking, "surely, Hoot, this is too ambitious an undertaking for myself and my humble band of friends!" To that I respond, yes it is ambitious, but it's not impossible! The founding of our shared hobbies were built by clubs (both formal and informal) and friend groups; and with the internet it is easier than ever! Arneson and Gygax lived 300 miles away from each other, and through the USPS were able to conduct grand campaigns on the scale of rulers and armies (both the historical and the fantastical). With Discord, e-mail, twitter, and blogs; it's easier than ever to contact friends in far off places! All it takes is one friend who's interested and willing to run a wargame campaign in the style of Bath, Featherstone, Arneson, and Gygax; and keep you informed as the DM to the state of the world, as you must also keep him informed if the party manages to steal that idol from the temple.
What are you waiting for... the banners are raised, the armies are marching, and adventure calls!
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