Battle Report: March 18th

Welcome to the aftermath of another weekend VASSAL game of DIVINE RIGHT. We actually had two games this Saturday but, I am only going to be reporting on one. This is because I ended up goofing up and overwriting the save game for the other. Otherwise what follows are the highlights of a game between an anonymous teammate(as Hothior), Jared(as the Dwarves) and, yours truly(as the Zorn Goblins). 

As a side note: I ended up focusing more on strategy(wanna do a little better this week) than on notes this week so my chronology might be a little off. 

The session this week covered a little over two months of in game time or about 6 turns. In that time, anonymous' Hothior managed to gain the Kingdom of Rombune as an ally; Jared's Dwarve's managed to join forces with Immer's domain and; Zorn managed to add both Muetar and Pon to it's alliance. 

   

The combined Hothior-Rombune alliance decided to attack the capital of the neutral kingdom of Mivior. 

Their sheer numerical advantage made short work of the surprised garrison, plundering the castle. 

Meanwhile in the east, Immer and Zorn play a maneuver game in the Nithmere mountains. Zorn has the advantage due to the difficult terrain of the kingdom but, Immer has the numerical edge on the local Goblin defenders. 

To the south, the Dwarven royal army make a raid on the royal Goblin forces near the siege of Alzak. The goblins end up taking casualties but, the attempt on the life of Zorn's king fails. Fortune favors the Dwaven retreat in the face of counterattack from the allied forces and the Goblin army joins the siege of Alzak. 

Out west in Hothior, Muetarian regular's are slowly making their way to potential targets in the kingdom. As the Goblin's allies lack any form of navy, they are presently unable to beseige either of Hothior's ports meaning Tadafat is their only possible target. 

At the end of the session Minaria stands at the beginning of struggle. The respective Dwarven and Goblin alliances fight across the east and north. Hothior is fresh from it's campaign against Mivior and will likely be able to marshal it's forces against the Muetarian invaders. Things are just starting out, no telling how they will end up. 

Notes

Alright another week, another game of Divine Right. This is likely shaping up to be the best game so far, as we're really starting to get the rules down pat. One of the major reasons we play this every week is not just so we can learn how to play the game but also, so we can improve on our understanding of the rules with each game. Making mistakes and fixing them is an effective way to learn. Although even with this game I've certainly noticed a few mistakes on my part. 

These mistakes are instructive though, when we start following a rule we had previously forgotten it changes the strategies necessary for play. In doing so, we gain a better understanding of the design and the assumptions behind it. Rules like the one against stacking allied armies(which had been largely forgotten in previous games, which explains our "doomstacks"), which necessitated careful attention to how the now differentiated armies could move and attack. Not all of the kingdoms have the same or even similar military power. So this rule actually enhances the movement and positioning based mechanics that have been discussed before, and adds more depth to the strategic thought the game requires.

Otherwise though, things here are just getting started. Hopefully we'll be able to continue this one next week. In any case, I can say for sure, it's not over yet.