Domains at War

Sure. It's not necessarily a problem, just an extra wait step inbetween turns for feedback.

Play-by-post wise, I think formatting it like old wargame orders or chess moves would be interesting, one could state what they did in the Roll20 interface then announce end-of-turn or attention-required.

  • Orc Infantry A
    • Charge; Hex D5 > Hex E7
      • Attack, Human Light Cav B; hit (18), 1 damage

ATTN: Human Light Cav B; May WIthdraw

or whatever. Just a touch of structure would go a long way, and would eliminate any surprises in not noticing something changed in the battlefield if you're looking at day+ delays between action. It helped way back when I was toying around with it early on in kickstarter:

http://crowbarandbrick.blogspot.com/2013/05/autarchs-domains-at-war-battle.html

Multiple commanders working would be interesting to see too, or, given the freedom of an electronic interface, a multi-force battle, 3 or more unaligned armies.

 

I like the way you think! Plus, a three-way game would let both of us play with susan_brindle, and work out how that would be handled.

EDIT: OH GOOD LORD! I just re-read this and realised how far down my own throat I just jammed my foot! I am so sorry if I offended anyone! I've edited the above for clarity.

The defender can also usually choose the path of a retreat of a unit that fails morale.

I’m interested in this (for much the same reasons as Susan, namely that my intuition for DaW:B is not yet strong enough to houserule with confidence or run without piledrivers). I’ve been thinking about writing a DaW:B server for a while now; maybe I’ll work on that over the holidays.

Cool! Would you be more interested in doing one of the two premade battles or setting up something custom? I'm happy to play with as many people as possible, although as in all things, at some point logistics become an issue ;P

 

I'd be very, very grateful if one of our tech-wizards set about designing a terrain randomizer.

 

 

The existing scenarios probably have a lower barrier to entry than perhaps trying to work up something custom at the start.

Terrain generation with a textual output wouldn't be too hard; graphical output or placing it automatically in Roll20 would be a bit more challenging.

[quote="jedavis"] I've been thinking about writing a DaW:B server for a while now; maybe I'll work on that over the holidays. [/quote]

That sounds interesting. As a standalone process, or piggybacking on something existing? (Roll20 APIs, etc)

Hmm… I was planning to go full gameserver with an independent client and a protocol suitable to play by AIs (and King of the Hill DaW tournaments / teaching neural networks to crush my poor players), but roll20 API is also a good idea. I should probably learn javascript anyway…

I'd love to run through the basic scenarios again...but I might change my mind part way through, depending on how long they take in this format. I'm guessing we'd all like to eventually test something a bit more representative of where we'd like to take it, no?

"I can na' change the laws o' physics, Cap'n!"

                                                         - Scotty

Nice.

 

Well, the one example scenario is very basic, but the epic one actually makes use of almost all the rules, since it includes heroes with items and a wizard. The only thing it doesn't have is nonhuman units. Obviously at some point then we have to have the battle of the Necromancer Prince vs the Free Monster Alliance to test all the monstrous units, with particular emphasis on how high-undead armies can work.

 

I'll rig up the basic battles in Roll20 over the next couple days.

Sounds interesting!

I always thought that Roll20 would be a good way of playing D@W:B. I played a few games of the most basic scenario but wouldnt mind playing that one again, still have not figured out how to win against the beastmen...

[quote="jedavis"] Hmm... I was planning to go full gameserver with an independent client and a protocol suitable to play by AIs (and King of the Hill DaW tournaments / teaching neural networks to crush my poor players), but roll20 API is also a good idea. I should probably learn javascript anyway... [/quote]

Gracious. Far be it from me to limit your scope, though. :)

 

If you’re just looking for a webpage with a 6-mile hex terrain dropdown, a generate button, and output of a set of terrain features that need placed on a map, I should be able to get that put together by saturday evening (very conservatively) depending on how my holiday travel goes.

Ed: Well I Scotty’s Law’d that one pretty hard (“Always tell the captain it’s going to take 50% longer than you think it’s actually going to take”). It’s up at http://jedavis.me:5000/terrain/

Alright, go ahead and join the game officially.

https://app.roll20.net/join/475292/RfBhpw

The current map should be the setup for the epic battle, as that's what I found out I already had all the resources for almost preloaded. If guys would like to try the smaller battle first, that'll be pretty quick to whip up. You'll notice that I used the little colored dots roll20 has to mark divisions, so you know which archers belong in Menna's Joint and which ones are the Autarch's. The little icons represent the heroes and unnamed lieutenants; feel free to alter them as you see fit. The way they are is just leftovers from the first time we did this.

I've placed one half of the map in Fog of War, under the assumption that I'm going to play the barbarian side, because as mapmaker I get first dibs. Whoever wants to pick up the other side is welcome to.

 

EDIT: oops I forgot there's a terrain stage of setup! I guess just whoever wants to, draw some terrain on the map.

any chance of regular updates/screenshots being posted somewhere for people who just want to lurk and observe?  It might also be possible to just follow that link and peek, but I wasn't sure.

You can peek! I'll also be taking screenshots regularly once we get started.
 

Alright! I rolled random terrain and arranged my army. Whoever wants to play the opposing side, volunteer, and set up your forces at your leisure. Also, remember you get a certain number of lieutenants; I suggest marking units with flags if they have a lieutenant.

 

I thought about using the pre-established terrain, but eh. Let's roll on charts!

I’ve used VASSAL for play-by-post (of ASL : Advanced Squad Leader) extensively. VASSAL is built for virtual tabletop and PbP, although I’ve never tried VASSAL VTT. Logs are exchanged via e-mail for PbP. There is an automated logging facility, which logs movement, dice rolls, LOS checks and text entered (which is used both for resolving game mechanics and general discussion). For ASL, VASSAL has existing hex maps as well as overlays, not unlike D@W.

I’ve not used any of the RPG VTT. How do they support PbP? Is anyone here familiar with both VASSAL (or similar) and Roll20 (or similar)?

I’d love to play a lot more D@W as well, and PbP could be a “leisurely” way to play.

I've done Roll20 a decent amount. It's workable.

That VASSAL though, that looks really intriguing for this - the list of already created modules is impressive, and I can't see that D@W:B wouldn't be able to be covered by that.

I am somewhat taken aback this is the first time I've heard of it.

Oh yeaaaaaaaah Vassal exists! That'd make much more sense than roll20. You'd just have to create a module for it. I played the 40k tabletop a bit with it and yeah, very well made. I imagine it'd be a huge timesink up front to make it compatible.

 

Anyway the map is all set up now so I'm just waiting on ya'll to set up the opposing army.