Bretwalda!Some of my best wargaming memories come from campaigns we have played over the years. An evening's game is fun, but one generated from weeks or months of strategic maneuvering seems to "mean" so much more.
Most campaigns place each player in control of a kingdom, nation, tribe, etc. Economics and logistics can be finely detailed or handled abstractly, depending on the person running the campaign (the Game Master). Typically, players maneuver their armies across a map, seeking to protect or expand the borders of their country. Clashes with other armies are fought out on the tabletop, and it is here that campaigns really shine.
Victory is not merely for personal satisfaction or bragging rights, it is necessary to secure your strategic goals (or frustrate those of your enemy). Because losses suffered in battle are important, now, players will actually retreat if the odds are too steep. They also learn to conserve their troops and not waste them in costly attacks. Their army is not just put away in a box at the end of the evening -- it must be conserved for the next turn of the campaign.
If the campaigns I have run over the years share a common feature, it is simplicity. I feel if a player gets bogged down in the mechanics of running their kingdom, i.e., supplying their armies, different types of production, the campaign becomes WORK rather than fun. And if it is too much work, the players -- and just as importantly, the GM -- lose interest.
Below are some of the campaigns I have run over the years, or rules I have developed but haven't gotten a chance to run, yet. Feel free to use them for your own gaming circle. E-mail me if you have any questions about them, or if you do use them, I'd love to hear a report!
Bretwalda!This was a long running, essentially play by mail DBA campaign I ran for my friends. It was set in Britain during the Dark Ages -- just about the time the Viking raids began. Of the10 players, more than half were local Columbus players, so we always had a ready crew to fight out the battles. I wrote an extensive series of articles on the campaign in the newsletter of HMGS Great Lakes, The Herald, which I have reprinted here. I have also included a post-campaign analysis of the successes and failures of each kingdom, the map, and hopefully soon, the rules themselves.
Justinian's
WarsThis was a new experiment for me -- I ran a monthly DBA campaign down at the local hobby store. This one was set in the 6th century, during the time of Emperor Justinian's attempted reconquest of the West. Only a couple of the players were known to me at the start of the campaign, but it has been running for nearly three years. The number of players fluctuated from seven to 10, but it had the benefit of introducing a handful of players into Ancients and DBA. I have included the turn by turn reports, along with a few articles one of the players wrote for the HMGS Great Lakes newsletter, The Herald. The map and rules are also included.
Friends,
Romans, CountrymenThis was a fun, little GM-less campaign that four of us played a number of years ago. We were all Roman magistrates -- politician generals, if you will -- out to increase our prestige by defeating Rome's enemies. It was heavily inspired by Colleen McCullough's excellent "First Man in Rome" series. Our goal was to score the most Prestige Points, which could be won by defeating barbarians in battle, conquering new provinces, and economic clout. Since we were all Roman players, we also got to play the "bad guys" -- the barbarians -- when our rivals were fighting. The incentive was to smash the other player's Roman armies so that their campaigning (and prestige point accumulation) was limited. Click here to see the rules and map, and read a series of reports I am currently writing on this campaign in The Herald.
Guardian of the RealmThis set of rules has never been used for a campaign, yet. It is very similar in structure to Justinian's Wars, but set in the world of fantasy miniatures. It is designed to be used with Chipco's "Fantasy Rules!" set, my personal favorite for fantasy. Since this has never been playtested, there are no battle reports, etc., to entertain you. Just the rules...
Trumps of KingsHere is another set of campaign rules that I have never got a chance to playtest. However, this one is different in that it is set in the Horse and Musket period -- roughly the time of the War of Austrian Succession. It is heavily indebted to the ideas of Alasdair McIntosh's "King of Kings" campaign, which appeared in the Midwest Wargamers Association Newsletter #93. As above, no battle reports here, just the rules.