Border Princes Campaign 12: HQs

Right, we are almost there now !  Today I am blogging about HQ territories and how to choose them.

At the start of the campaign, each player must select a map section to be their faction’s HQ territory.  The HQ territory is both the territory from which a faction begins its campaign of conquest in the Border Princes and in which each faction raises additional Banners to its cause.  As such, both the initial placement and defence of an HQ territory from conquest are very important.

 Fluffwise, the HQ territory represents the political heartland/capital of your faction’s interests in the Border Princes.  Amongst humans they could be the seats of power of the petty rulers who hold sway here, amongst orcs the tribal grounds of a powerful warlord, etc.

 

For example, I am thinking that my Bretonnians are based around the stronghold of a descendent of the original crusaders who colonized the Border Princes centuries ago.  Other descendents of these original crusading colonists from across the Border Princes are rallying to this lord’s banner to ensure that the Border Princes remain true servants to the Bretonnian Crown and to the Lady!

Whatever the backstory behind your faction and its HQ, the following rules apply:

SELECTING AN HQ TERRITORY.

At the beginning of the campaign, each player will roll 2d6 VIA THE ONLINE DICE ROLLER to determine the order in which players choose HQ territories.

• Players take it in turns to select an HQ territory ON THE EDGE OF THE MAP.  After a player selects her/his territory, he sends an email to the ORGANIZER and other players informing them of his/her choice.  Then the next player selects and HQ territory on the edge of the map, and so on…
• Players may NOT select a river, marsh, road, bridge or special map section as a HQ territory.
• Players may NOT select an HQ territory which is ADJACENT to another HQ territory.

Obviously, HQ territory selection is the first tactical decision made in the campaign.  Do you choose a special map section near a road or river section to speed movement or do you choose a map section for its proximity to a potential ally or a special map section that you really want to control early on?  Obviously the FIRST player to choose an HQ section has an advantage in terms of choosing the prime strategic locations, but the LAST player has an advantage in knowing exactly WHERE his/her potential friends and foes may have chosen their HQ territories.

Fluff considerations are also helpful in deciding where to place your HQ.  For example, Dwarves favour mountains, elves favour forests, Imperial settlers tend to travel from Blackfire Pass and orcs, while a constant menace throughout the Border Princes, are particularly prevalent in the Badlands to the south of the Border Princes.  As always, a combination of strategy and fluff/backstory make for the most fun!

RULES FOR HQ SECTIONS:

• Once the game begins, newly recruited banners are always formed at the HQ.
• Similarly, SCATTERED banners are always REFORMED at the HQ.
• The HQ territory functions just like an ordinary territory of its type (e.g. plains, mountain, forest).  HOWEVER, any Banner in an HQ territory ALWAYS counts as being FORTIFIED (+200 points) and extra fortification of an HQ territory has NO ADDITIONAL EFFECT.  However, to represent the defences erected in an HQ territory, any banner fighting a battle in an HQ territory is allowed to roll THREE TIMES (rather than just once) on the DEFENDED OBSTACLES TABLE.

·        LOSING YOUR HQ:

• Obviously, the HQ is critical to a faction’s survival and loss of an HQ has dire consequences:
• If a faction loses their HQ, they may NOT recruit new banners NOR reform banners which have been SCATTERED.
• If a faction loses their HQ, their remaining Banners have THREE campaign turns within which to retake their HQ or they can no longer be supported: the remaining banners are forced to disperse and that faction and player are ELIMINATED from the campaign.  If a player loses his/her HQ, they had better be making allies quicksmart who can help retake it!

·    Obviously, if a player loses her/his HQ territories AND all his/her banners, that faction is ELIMINATED from the campaign