Rules

Rise of the Orc Lords will be played out in near real time.  For every day that passes in the real world, one day will pass in the game. Generally, the game will use weekly orders, but as things devolve into the expected amount of chaos that only twelve seasoned D&D players can bring, that might change as we move into Decembork.

At the start of the game, players will issue orders for the first week's movement/activity to their chiefs and subchiefs.  These orders must be submitted to the DM a few days before December 1, to give him time to adjudicate the results of the moves on the map.  

When conflict arises, it will be important to note the day on which the conflict occurs.  We can play ahead of the calendar, but only when we are certain that the results cannot be impacted by other actors - or that other actors cannot impact the events in question.

Victory Conditions

Deliveries to Malturrim before the end of the month

• 1 point for every full 20HD of slaves
• 1 point for every full 100gp 

In the Orc Lord's control at midnight on the 31st

• 1 point for every full 10HD of orcish warriors
• 1 point for every full 20HD of slaves
• 1 point for every full 100gp in your possession

Bonus points may be given for unusual deliveries on an as-needed basis

Reinforcements

Success breeds success. For every full 2 points of goods delivered to the Dread Lord's Tower on the same day, 10HD worth of orc warriors spawns in your home-hex the next day. 

Movement

• Every orc force (at home or on the road) must be led by a warlord or subchief. If you have no subchiefs, your warlord must remain at home and your shaman can lead a raiding force.
• Each force will be marked on the map.  All players will be able to see the location of opposing forces, but will not know the size or contents of a force until they encounter it.
• Forces can move one hex per day.
• Forces cannot raid twice on consecutive days - you need to retreat and regroup for a day before hitting the settled hex again.
• Forces with wagons or slaves-on-the-hoof cannot move in the rain.
• Forces with hobbled slaves or laden porters move one hex every two days.
• Each wagon can transport 1000gp, or 60HD worth of slaves, or a proportional mix of the two.

Weather Effects

• When fighting in the daytime, orcs suffer a one-column shift to the left on the CRT (below)
• When fighting at night, orcs suffer a one-column shift to the right on the CRT
• When fighting in the rain, orcs do not suffer any penalties or bonuses
• Wagons cannot move in the rain
• Three days of rain have already been determined - randomly - and on days when they occur there will be a notice posted on 

Wagons

• Caravans with more than six wagons move at half speed (takes two days to move one hex)
• Wagons cannot move in the rain
• Each wagon can carry 60HD worth of slaves, or 1000gp, or a mix of the two

Raiding Other Orc Towns

When raiding a rival orc's fortress

• Defenses multiply the total HD of defenders by 1.5 or 2.0 for stone-walled forts
• Resolution
• Players can choose to fight out the battle in a mutually agreeable manner
• Alternatively, players can have the DM roll on the Siege CRT
• Which units are killed/captured by the enemy are randomized
• When a village falls below 20HD following casualty calculation, the survivors flee into the wilds and are never seen again.  The whole place is burned, and that player no longer has a home hex.  Any forces remaining in the field go full nomad.  They can no longer spawn replacements when cashing out points.

Orc on Orc Violence

When two orc forces enter the same (non-home) hex the following rules apply:

• Any random encounters spawned will attack a random force
• If both forces seek to avoid contact, they do
• If both forces are looking for a fight, they do
• Combat can be performed by the DM using the CRT (dice for orc/enemy)
• Alternatively, the two players can agree to game out the fight in a mutually agreeable manner
• If one side wants to evade:
• There is a 50% chance they do so and move out of the hex unmolested the next day
• If combat occurs, the evading force is treated as "Enemies" on the CRT, below

An orcish force in its home hex can opt to remain behind the walls.  If it chooses, it may allow a passing orcish horde to move through the hex without combat.  If it chooses to attack, the intruding orc force only has a 33% chance to escape a pitched battle.  In this event, use the standard CRT instead of the Siege CRT, and the home team forfeits the defensive bonus provided by its walls.

Random Encounters and Combat

For every day of travel through un-occupied hexes there is a 1 in 10 chance of a random encounter.  

For most encounters, there is an even chance that it occurs at day or night.

When an orc force meets another orc force and a fight ocurs, the DM will determine the results by rolling on the CRT:

Starting Attributes

Each warlord begins the campaign with the following resources:

• One 5HD warlord with five 3HD bodyguards
• Two 4HD sub-chiefs with three 2HD bodyguards
• One 3HD spellcaster
• For CRT purposes casters fight as a 10HD combatant
• For AD&D purposes, spellcasters act as a 3rd level caster
• Players should specify whether the caster uses the cleric (shaman) or magic-user (witch) spell list at the start of the game
• 150 orc warriors at 1HD each
• 2,000gp

We will run an autodraft to supplement these numbers and add additional flavor to each tribe.