Orcs and Humans Continued

Wars of Warcraft

Introduction

This is a continuation of EQ's Orcs and Humans NES which he had to end due to outside circumstances. After discussing things with him, and getting a fairly decent grasp on the idea behind the NES we both feel I am suitable to mod this NES for him so it doesn't have to end so soon.

A Quick Start to Selecting Your Faction

There's a lot of text going to follow this sentence, and some of you may want to quickly pounce on a reservation for a nice looking blob. Here is a quick guide of which races I recommend for varying degrees of experience, though if a bright light shines upon you and demands you take a race, go for that too. Now, of all races there are multiple factions, except for gnomes and elves. The elves I would consider an "ultra-easy" mode for the NES, while the gnomes would be "ultra-hard." The rest are outlined below:

Humans: Human Kingdoms are middle of the road and probably the second easiest to play overall. Most kingdoms will also have plenty of time to gain strength before they are called to war.
Orcs: Orcs have the largest armies to start and the most powerful units overall, but suffer from an inability to easily recoup any losses.
Dwarves: Think of these as the "hard" version of humans.
Trolls: Think of these as the "hard" version of orcs, since most have few resources and are surrounded by hostile enemies.

EQ's First Word

This is an NES based on Blizzard's world they created with the Warcraft RTS games and the following MMORPG, World of Warcraft, of which you might have heard. I hope to stay truer to the spirit of the RTS games rather than the RPG, and the map and rules have been focused to emphasize grand strategy rather than personal role-playing. Despite this, it is not a 100% faithful retelling of that world that Blizzard created, despite the similar beginnings. I have no intention of keeping to the exact lore, mostly because frankly, with NESers, no plan works forever. Therefore, I have kept in mind only the broader strokes of the lore of the game that takes place behind scenes, which will be recalculated based on the actual events of the NES. Furthermore I have every faith that you NESers will find ways to manipulate the world for your own profit and gain, and look forward to witnesses the threats to the world that you create outside of the writ of Blizzard's story. I especially encourage those of you not actually familiar with the World of Warcraft franchise to join in, as there is so much to be discovered for you especially, in a rather rich fantasy world. Before I conclude this paragraph, I just feel that I should say that the map is entirely handcrafted based upon my maps in the World of Warcraft game and internet sources. Therefore it is quite frankly one of the greatest maps I have ever made, in my own humble opinion. Beyond that, enjoy this NES, I know I will.

The Story so Far

Over one thousand years ago the united humans and elves under the kingdoms of Arathor and Quel'Thalas, respectively won great victory over the united troll tribes of Azeroth. The trolls were scattered across the continent and their cause was shattered beyond all repair. Over the next centuries, an untold era of peace and prosperity emerged, as the elves and humans coexisted within their grand empires, expanding and populating the continent, and living peacefully, with only the occasional skirmishes with the remaining trolls. The discovery of the dwarves and gnomes brought more friends to this peaceful sphere of trading, and only two hundred years ago would the peace finally be broken. The Kingdom of Arathor, without a legitimate heir, fell to internal squabbling, as the various great cities of the realm declared their independence, while the remnants of the loyalists moved south to found the mighty Kingdom of Stormwind. Despite the growing tensions and petty wars and skirmishes among the kingdoms and races, major war has been unknown throughout the continent, until now. A great army has swept out of the southeast, of ferocious beasts known only as the orcs. They attempted to topple the great fortress of Stormwind Keep, and only through the valiant efforts of its defenders, were the orcs repulsed, but not beaten. The orcs have rallied new strength and more clans have joined them, as the age of war has once more descended upon the world of Azeroth.

Sample Stat Formats

Sample Kingdom Stats

Alterac
Race: Human
Ruler: Aiden Perenolde (Level 1 Warrior)
Heroes: None
-Aiden Perenolde: No inventory.
Gold: 0 (+450 Gold)
Lumber: 0 (+20 Lumber)
Mana: 0
Army: 200 Warriors, 50 Archers
Navy: Landlocked
Towns and Cities:


Sample Horde or Mobile Nation Stats

Blackrock Clan: Blue Bacon
Clan Color: Red
Ruler: Blackhand (Level 2 Warrior)
Heroes: Orgrim Doomhammer (Level 6 Warrior)
-Orgrim Doomhammer: The Doomhammer
Gold: 0
Lumber: 0
Mana: 0
Army: 5,000 Warriors, 500 Spearmen, 50 Catapults

The Rules of the Game

Government, Diplomacy, and Stability in Azeroth

The governments in Azeroth are quite simple, all steered by absolute and wise rulers and kings (See the hero section below for more on them). Notions such as democracy, republicanism, and communism are nonsense to the people of Azeroth, and they are quite content to let their rulers lead them to glory or oblivion. Unlike other NESes of my own, you have no stability stats to worry about, and there will never be a call for internal political reform, so don't do it. While there is no stability stats, there may still be plots among the ranks, but these will be solely justified by events, and as long as you don't make any catastrophic blunders, you will be fine. There are some exceptions in plots that are laid out behind the scenes from the beginning for various nations, and the world as a whole, but you will have to deal with these as they come.

For diplomacy, you'll note that almost all factions have "natural enemies" and "natural allies." Prolonged conflict both before the start of the NES and during the course of the NES will put various factions into the different slots. Natural Enemies cannot and should not be negotiated with under any circumstance. Natural Allies curry the favor of your people, who would be most disappointed if their kingdom was allowed to fall. No nation has natural allies to begin with, but all have natural enemies.

A Kingdom's Economy

All kingdoms are built on three key resources: Gold, Lumber, and Mana. Gold is used to pay for the training and recruitment of all types of units, and is by far the most important resource to possess. Gold is produced from dedicated mines and the larger communities, and the largest cities typically provide the most wealth to their kingdoms. Lumber, while not used in every unit, is still essential for a fully equipped military force, being used for siege equipment and warships. Mana is used by five of the six starting races to help train and deploy spellcasters of all types and varieties. Only gnomes do not use mana, using expertise instead to train their skilled engineers and devise their clever inventions. For information on what places produce what, see the map section at the bottom of the post.

Gold, as already stated, is the most important resource, and thankfully is also the most plentiful. It is produced in large amounts by mines, but the best source of wealth is inevitably wealthy villages, towns and cities. Gold can also be found on the field of victorious battle, dropped or abandoned by your defeated enemy.

Lumber, is found almost exclusively at the lumber mills and camps scattered across Azeroth. Some larger cities and towns along produce some lumber locally for the shipping industry, but the most plentiful amounts inevitably come from the lumber mills.

Mana, is an unique resource in that it is NOT produced by most sites on the map. Instead, the amount of mana you produce is chiefly determined by the amount of spellcasters you have present in your military force. A faction not steeped in mysticism will find it very difficult to establish a magical arm for his military, as most factions possess only the smallest of magical powers. Mana is used not only for recruitment of casters, but also the casting of Great Spells of power.

Expertise is used by gnomes and goblins to help them create radical new inventions that spur their own war machines. The gnomes and goblins with plenty of expertise have brought many new inventions to Azeroth, including gunpowder, rifles, cannon, and mortars for the dwarves. Expertise is also needed to train new gnomish or goblin engineers in the arts, and, like mana, Expertise is generated by those who need it for recruitment.

Gold and Lumber are the only resources that can be traded among kingdoms, as mana and expertise is linked more to the individuals involved. The economy of your nation is laid out in the stats provided in the third post on the thread, and different communities will provide different types and amounts of the resources. The resources of a town or other community CANNOT be used if the community is captured by a faction of another race. Lumber mills and mines will continue to produce, regardless of what race occupies them at any given point. Lastly, there's no such thing as deficit spending, what you have is what you have.

Projects and Great Spells

Every once in a while the resources of an individual or nation must be directed to a massive greater good. This comes in three distinct forms. The first is the traditional project, which is a program dedicated to some material goal accomplished through traditional means. These are civil works projects which would be completed with gold or lumber, nothing more or less. All you must do is determine what sort of project you'd like to begin, and I will direct you to the cost for the plans, and you can pay it out as slowly or quickly as you choose.

Great Spells are a far more powerful thing than mere civil works, though theoretically they can be used to accomplish similar goals. Great Spells only use mana in their casting, and typically have a time requirement to be cast. Truly powerful spells and incantations may take months, maybe years, to prepare and cost, and be prepared for extensive commitment in this respect. The flip side is that through the use of magic, you can accomplish pretty much anything you can imagine. There are very few spells I will outright turn down or reject as moderator, though you must be prepared not only for the benefit but whatever moral or physical toll the spell may cost your mages.

Inventions are a project only available to goblins and gnomes. These are sort of a combination of Great Spells and projects. For this, your people work on devising new inventions that can help expand the power of your cause and people. As with magic, your imagination is the only limitation, though of course a veto is more likely, simply because in some cases, it's just not possible even in a fantasy world. Be reminded, though, while a moderator veto is possible, it quite definitely isn't a likely outcome of your plans.

Travel, Armies, and Units

One of the key components of Blizzard RTS games is that they provide a variety of races with different feels and strategies. This is one element that I hope I have successfully brought to this NES from the games. To begin, there are six different races, and they feature a variety of different units, with differing uses and styles of play. The full details of the costs of each unit for the races is detailed in a post below, along with a handy picture of the race for those of you unfamiliar with the World of Warcraft, though I have excluded a picture of a human for hopefully obvious reasons.

In wartime, each turn is approximately a month, so if campaigning across a large distance not within your own territory, expect journeys to take a while and for your forces not to arrive immediately. Your armies will be marked by a square of your color in whatever region they are in. Armies can pass through other nations without actually waging war, and will only be considered an aggressive act if the NPC or PC who's lands you are crossing through dislike you immensely. Within your own territory, the familiar grounds allows you quickly transport forces anywhere across your realm over the course of the turn. Remember, the distances are long, and it will usually take multiple turns to travel to other nations. This will give an advantage to a defender, thanks to the fog of war, but do not expect such advantages even defending allied territory. Your forces will be present on the map and their make will be reflect in your stats as well.

Mages are unique because they can teleport from one friendly city to another en masse, but be warned, this takes a lot of effort, and they will be useless for the rest of the turn. If you are unfortunately enough not to have any mana at the beginning of the NES, the only ways to acquire it are either by creating a mana producing hero, being given a mana producing unit by another nation with the same race as yours, or by capturing a site which produces mana all on its own. Remember, not all the factions are meant to be able to do anything, mages are rare and hard to come by, hence by they are typically hoarded by the few.

Building and Expansion

It should be clearly stated that it is NOT possible to build new towns, lumber mills, or mines. This is an absolute statement, with no negotiation on this matter. What's there is there. Villages may turn to towns and towns into cities, and towns and cities will grow with what they can produce in time. There is only one type of structure which can clearly and plainly be built onto the map. That is the fort/stronghold. Forts and strongholds can be built for the flat price of 300 Gold, 200 Lumber each. You must select where the fort will be built in your orders, otherwise I'll place it as best as I can determine based on the wording of your orders or the needs of your nation. Forts are also the only way to expand your color into "white" territory. All expansion and nations are based on the control of resources, forts, and towns, and forts are the way to expand your influence into unclaimed territory. This will not add any resources to your production. The good news is, that with time, a fortification can very well turn into a village, and things beyond, thus adding to your long-term potential.

Heroes and Rulers

Heroes function as a key part of driving stories and battles. There are a number of prescripted heroes that have and will emerge, and some nations will start with multiple ones. They will obey your commands in service to their liege. You can also summon forth a hero of any unit that your race can build for the mere cost of 500 Gold. As an added boon, you can also name any hero you create however you want, assuming it's not obscene. To make things even better, they gain experience with each battle they participate in, growing in power from Level 1 to Level 20. Everything their class does, they do it that much better, and they grow even more powerful if they obtain legendary weapons or artifacts to increase their strength. Be warned, no matter how strong they are, they can still fall if they are overwhelmed. Should they fall, it will be a costly defeat for your cause, especially since any artifacts they may hold will go to your enemy.

Now a major part of almost all nations is the great heroes and commanders that lead their armies in this world. All kings and rulers are that way because they have earned it through their chosen field, and are typically some of the mightiest warriors in their own realms. You can use your king in combat whenever you choose, and like all heroes, he is essentially a supercharged version of whatever unit he is designated as. Most rulers will typically be warriors, meaning they are heroically great soldiers, who bring swathes of enemies down before them. Be warned, they can die, and if they do, you will not only lose one of your strongest soldiers, there will quite likely be a quick power shuffle to replace him which could lead to unexpected turmoil on the home front.

As previously stated the heroes you can create can only be created from the units available to your race. There is a single exception to this. For 750 Gold, you can hire a special Assassin Hero. These heroes are used both skillfully in stealthed raids and combat, but also to discretely eliminate other heroes or kings. The higher the level of the Assassin, the more likely their attempt to kill their target will succeed. Be warned, if they are caught, they will be executed, so only move to assassinate someone if your either desperate or certain of your assassin's success.


Different NES Mechanics

The orcish clans and the Horde handle completely different to everything else I just discussed. You may notice that none of the orc clans have their names on the map nor do they possess than villages, towns, or cities. The Orcish clans are constantly acting as a united mobile army and only collect resources when encamped near a mine or lumber mill. Similarly, they can only build warships if they are camped along a coastline. You can however, capture enemy ships in coastal towns and raid for supplies without conquering territory, if you are encamped near the target you wish to raid. A raid will prevent the victim from collecting the benefits of that location for the turn and will enrich your own coffers. This more difficult system is somewhat offset by the significantly high amount of soldiers that all the orc clans possess at the beginning of the NES, but as your casualties mount, you will find it more and more difficult to replace them.

Orcs do not function as a nation and are completely mobile, if they conquer their way through a "civilized" nation or kingdom, they will turn all the lands of that kingdom to "white" territory, leaving the infrastructure rotting behind them. At the order of the warchief and the agreement of the clans, any conquered lands can be distributed and the orcs can settle down as standard nations, but they will not be able to use any of the villages, towns, or cities that were left behind by those they defeated. They will however be able to exploit any lumber mills or mines in their newly claimed realm.

Clan Diplomacy

First to get it out of the way, the Burning Blade Clan is solely a reserve Clan, and will forever remain to protect the Dark Portal until they are destroyed by an enemy. They have no chieftain and remain stalwartly dedicated to their task of protecting the portal from any infiltrators.

More importantly, the Orcish Horde is governed by a Warchief, who commands the de jure loyalty of all orc clans. This was first granted to the Blackrock Clan, where it remains under Warchief Blackhand. The Warchief is responsible for commanding the overall war effort to claim the world of Azeroth for the Horde, and must issue directives and orders to the other active clans. The clan chieftans do not have to follow the instructions, but they would be foolhardy to not, as the Blackrock Clan is by far the strongest and has the support of the elusive Shadow Council. A new warchief will only emerge if the old one dies, appointed by various elements within the Orcish Horde. To summarize, if you are playing as the Warchief, you MUST issue broad directives to all other clans, whether they are players or NPCs. How often you give the directives is up to you, and you can reprimand them for failing to accomplish their goals, but the timelines and objectives of orders will be up to you.

Orders and Updates

Orders and Format

For those not familiar with my other NESes and how I like orders, here's a quick rundown:

1. Label your PM with your nation, it makes it significantly easier to pick them out of a crowded Inbox.

2. Place a summary of your spending orders at the top of your overall orders.

3. Use clear bolded font to differentiate one section of your orders from another.

On the Updates

This NES will be designed to start moving very quickly after the first few updates work the bugs out of the ruleset. Keep this in mind, and be prepared for a rapidly moving game, and multiple updates a week. The NES is supposed to be quick and violent, so play that way, a long game here is still recommended, but, overall stay in the moment as much as possible, as with each moment things get trickier.

Starting World Map and Information

The only note needed about the map itself is that the grey areas on the map are impassable mountains that cannot be cross by any army. Once more: grey area is always impassable.

Production Rates

The following section details how much of each resource a site will produce. Towns and Cities will produce different amounts depending on their race, location, and prosperity. Their wealth can and will change throughout the NES. These production rates are listed within your overall stats individually by community. The capital is not listed individually, but is considered the base part of any production you might have as a kingdom. All other sites are set in their production, regardless of location.

Village: +10 Gold per turn
Lumber Camp: +50 Lumber per turn
Mine: +50 Gold per turn

Places of Power

Places of power are locations of major significance to the world of Azeroth. This list will most definitely change as the NES progresses and Places of Power are destroyed or created by the acts of players.

The Sunwell: A source of immense magical power, it is located right within the High Elven capitol of Silvermoon, providing the elves with the bulk of their magic potential and strength. It was created ages ago with the elven arrival in these lands, and serves as their great bastion against any would-be enemy. As long as it is controlled by the elves, they will receive +500 Mana per turn.

Guardian Runestone: Located at the southern border of the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas, the Guardian Runestone acts as the main barrier to any invasion. Its mere presence confuses and disorients any invading army, causing any assaults against the elves to become scattered and armies move far more slowly through elven lands as long as the Runestone stands.

The Dark Portal: The Dark Portal in the far southeast of Azeroth is the gateway through which the Orcish Hordes have arrived in this realm. The portal constantly has a flow of aid and support to the warriors of the clans on the front lines. As long as the portal remains open and functioning, new clans and supplies will occasionally arrive to the aid of the clans already here.