War of the Avatar Scenario

A review by Vincent Wong
6th February 1999

War of the Avatars Scenario based on the Forgotten Realms Trilogy of Times of Troubles from TSR is one of the best tactical wargaming PBM I ever played. I started playing FR War of the Avatars Scenario (WAS) in 1995, and is still playing, that itself speaks volumes on what I think this game is good.

If you like me, like the Forgotten Realms so much when I was engaged in RPG I wanted more, and I found it here. As we progress through our carreers we find less time to be able to join in RPG sessions. Playing WAS allowed me to continue enjoying the Forgotten Realms experience. I encourage you to give it a try.

WAS is basically a straight forward tactical and strategic war game ala PBM style. WAS starts with 50 player positions with a close or near accuracy to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Map from TSR's Forgotten Realms Campaign Set. WAS is a closed ended game that ends on Turn 40 or earlier is one of the victory conditions are met. You can have team victory or individual victory. WAS is run on a 28 day turnaround or a fast 14 day turnaround game. And if you survived to 40 turns, thats 3 years of gaming on a slow game, and 1.5 years on a fast game; thats a long time. If you live in an area with good postal service, the 14 day fast game will be nice. Myself, I started with one 28 day slow game, and progressed to running a few slow games simultaneously, it was addictive I couldn't get enough of it because I live in a place mail delivery is not so punctual.

There are interesting features of 600 communities to be conquered this includes dungeons, ruins, and lairs that contains gold and useful treasures that could give a boost to your fledging army. In WAS, as story goes, Times of Troubles arrive, thats when the gods are thrown down to Toril by AO the overgod. The gods must choose a mortal whose body they will possess as their avatar on the Prime Material Plane (Toril in Forgotten Realms Planet). And they will quest to build their power on Toril or seek out the Two Tablets of Fate and return them to the right place at the right time.

So in WAS, there is 2 endings. One being the conqueror of the whole map, second is the success in returning the tablets of fate. Achieving the military victory is the easier goal of the two. Going for the second victory is like a fluke shot as you have to search the entire map of 5000 hexes to look for 2 tablets which moves about on turn 20 onwards. The tablets will arrive only on turn 20 carried by a band of powerful creatures. I myself found and captured one of the tablets in one of my campaigns but couldn't locate the other tablet.

Interestingly, 99% of the victory is achieve through military campaign. The game itself allows for a swing in tides of fate or luck, on turn 20 onwards. Summoning an all powerful being the Avatar of a God, could change the balance of power very quickly indeed. So the faster you bring out your avatar the better you will be. Also with regards to Avatar, there are different powergrades depending on the community type you summon from. Summoning from Waterdeep the one and only Metropolis is the best, while one from a settlement is the weakest of them all. So choices, making the right choice will affect your realm and military might.

The Map itself is varied from plains, forest, tundra, deserts, and whatever terrain you can think about is there. a total of 16 terrrain types of 5000 hexes can give you much varied terrain to battle it out. There are over 170 types of creatures in the game (from Kobolds to Dragons and demons), over 20 different craftable items to boost your amy strengths and over 150 types of unique items and treasures (from enchanted platemail to staff of magi) to be found in the game. Staying alive in the first 20 turns will be challenge enough, reach turn 20 your luck could change.

The map allows for many a varied starting locations, each requiring its own unique approach, thus ensuring a constant challenge, also there are wandering bands of monsters that could join you or fight you depending on your luck. And luck plays an important factor too in the game besides a courages and ambitious strategy.

You start off in the game in one of the 50 locations around the map, your starting communities will give you a total of 1.5 order bonus rounded up to 2 in your 1st turn report (you get a minimum of 10 orders + 2 order bonus making 12; right up to a maximum order number of 50), that is any of the following combinations: 1 town and 1 village; 3 villages; 2 villages, and 2 settlements; 1 villages and 4 settlements. The best is, of course, 1 town and 1 village as you can immediately begin to recruit better quality troops from a town. There are 156 towns out of the 600 communities and the play one of the most important role in winning the game. Capture them the more the merrier. The hardest position is 1 village and 4 settlements, immediately your forces are spreadout and weak. And it is pretty hard to defend too.

This game will allow you to try all the precepts of Sun Tzu's The Art of War and also gives you an opportunity for diplomacy. Negotiations, player interactions, and spying is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game. There are plenty of standby positions in any game, just give RSI a call and ask them if there are any good positions in the game you can almost get into any game before turn 10.

It does appear that I think it is the perfect game, but it is not. I would wished that the game followed more closely to the storyline of the Times of Troubles Trilogy. When the Times of Troubles happens, magic is supposed to be unreliable; but there is no representation in the game mechanics it is the same as before. While Helm one of the Gods in the story will be guarding the celestial gateway back to the heavens, is not represented in the game, he is simply noted and not summonable. Also there are more gods in the Forgotten Realms setting, I wish they were represented in the game. Magic is all powerful, but it should become weaken (unreliable) after the turn 20 when the Times of Trouble begins.

What I would like to see more in FRPBM is more scenarios, and a new map. What we are playing is only a small part of the entire planet of Toril equivalent to the size of Europe. I would like to see other parts of the map of the world of Toril, new campaigns like the Horse Lords from the Empire Trilogy based on Forgotten Realms setting or The Maztica Trilogy, Red Wizards of Thay to name but a few. And perhaps introduce new unit types to allow for sea battles.