Equality in Arms

A Fair Game of Empires in Arms

This is a variant campaign under construction for Empires in Arms, see also the design commentary and the bidding sheet. My web page also provides access to further Empires in Arms material.

Concept

This is a bidding procedure for selecting the capability of major powers, to participate in a game of Empires in Arms. This all happens, therefore, before the actual game begins.

Setup

Each player starts with a number of bid points equal to some mutually agreeable number that isn't too small: say, 100. Bid points are represented using garrison factors.

Bid Sheet

The bid sheet is attached as a separate page. It contains a large number of boxes, that during play will contain bid points. These boxes are listed and described below.

Turns

Randomly select a first player (it makes very little difference), thereafter play passes clockwise around the table. Each player's turn consists of a resolution phase, and a bid phase.

Resolution Phase

If at the start of the turn the active player has a more bid points than anyone else in any particular box then the active player has won the bidding for that box.

The active player is declared the winner of this box. If other players have already been declared the winner then the active player is declared the second, third, or whatever winner in this box.
All bid points of the active player in that box are permanently eliminated.
Other players may remove bid points from the box if they wish, returning them to their hand.

If the active player shares with one or more players the honour of having the most bid points in a particular box, and the active player did not put any points in that box last turn, then randomly determine a winner from amongst those players sharing the equal lead. Apply the effects of winning to the winning player as above.

Bid Phase

During the bid phase the player may transfer bid points from the hand to any box. A player may not bid in a box in which that player has already won.

Consequences of Victory

In principle, each player will eventually win in each box. Major power capabilities are determined by the order in which the players win each box.

Duration of Game

I guess there's no special reason we should play for eleven years: after all, all the rest of the history has gone out the window. Just choose a victory target and go for it.

Boxes

This section describes the boxes on the bid sheet, along with the benefits to the winning player of each.

Home Provinces
- First winner receives first choice of the usual seven major powers, second winner receives second choice, etc..
- Player with Austria home nation also controls Venetia as a conquered minor, and must designate two corps as insurrection corps (receive +1C) and one as the Tyrolean revolt corps (-1C and half normal I, round up).
- Player with Great Britain home nation receives British (but not colonial) trade.
- Player with France home nation also controls Piedmont as a conquered minor.
- Player with Prussia home nation also controls Saxony as a free state.
- Player with Russia home nation also controls the cossack markers.
- Player with Turkey home nation also controls Rhodes as a conquered minor, and must designate some corps markers as feudal corps
  - if there are not enough corps markers to represent all feudal corps then all corps markers are converted and the player chooses which feudal corps exist.
  - Count up all infantry and cavalry factors that would have existed in the corps that have been converted to feudal corps.
  - Number of cavalry factors in each cavalry corps is just the number of cavalry factors counted above, divided by the number of feudal cavalry corps.
  - Number of infantry factors in each infantry corps is 60% round off of the number of infantry factors calculated above, divided by the number of feudal infantry corps.
Initial Control of Low Countries
- First winner receives Holland as a free state and Flanders as a conquered minor.
Initial Control of North Germany
- First winner receives Hanover, Hesse, Palatinate and Berg as conquered minors.
Initial Control of Italy
- First winner receives Lombardy and Switzerland as conquered minors.
Ottoman Empire
- Ottoman empires created by the first winner have the advantages of Turkish Ottoman empires in the standard game.
- First winner chooses to control one of the following:
  - Morocco and Algeria as free states.
  - Tunisia and Algeria as free states.
  - Syria as a free state, and Palestine as a conquered minor.
Colonial Trade
- First winner receives colonial trade (as received by Great Britain in the standard game).
Gold Convoy
- First winner receives gold convoy money (as received by Spain in the standard game).
- Second winner takes the role of Great Britain with respect to the gold convoy.
Corps Markers
- First winner has first choice of the corps markers (e.g., the corps markers for Russia). Second winner has second choice, etc..
- Player controlling the Prussian corps markers also controls the Prussian freikorps when available.
- Player controlling the Austrian corps markers also controls the Austrian freikorps when available.
Fleet Markers
- First winner receives Great Britain fleet markers, and takes first choice of Gibraltar, Malta or Corfu as a conquered minor.
- Second winner receives France fleet markers.
- Third and fourth winner resolved simultaneously, receive Spanish and Russian fleet markers.
- Fifth winner receives the Turkish fleet markers.
- Sixth and seventh winners resolved simultaneously, receive Prussian and Austrian fleet markers.
Army Morale
- First winner: Guard 5.0, Infantry 4.5, Cavalry 4.0, Artillery 4.5
- Second winner: Guard 5.0, Infantry 4.0, Cavalry 4.0, Artillery 4.0
- Third through fifth winners, resolved simultaneously: Guard 5.0, Infantry 3.0, Cavalry 4.0, Artillery 3.0
- Sixth and seventh winners, resolved simultaneously: Guard 5.0, Infantry 3.0, Cavalry 3.0, Artillery 3.0
Army Movement
- First winner receives French movement privileges (including those for free states).
Naval Combat Modifier
- First winner receives British naval combat modifiers.
- Second through fifth winners, resolved simultaneously, receive no naval combat modifiers.
- Sixth and seventh winners, resolved simultaneously, suffer Austro-Prussian naval combat modifiers.
Chunky Corps
- First three winners choose in order from options below:
- Winner has +5I in first infantry corps, +5I in first quarter of infantry corps, cumulative
- Winner has +5I, +3C in first infantry corps.
- Winner has +4I, +1C in first infantry corps.
Corps Strength
- Possible corps strengths are shown below. I means infantry or militia factors, C means cavalry.
- First winner has first choice of options below, second winner has second choice of options below, etc..
- All rounding is to the detriment of the player
- Choice One
  - Infantry corps: half 14I, half 10I.
  - Cavalry corps: first 8C, others 6C.
- Choice Two
  - Infantry corps: half 15I+2C, quarter 10I+1C.
  - Cavalry corps: half 7C, half 5C.
- Choice Three
  - Infantry corps: all 10I.
  - Cavalry corps: all 4C.
- Choice Four
  - Infantry corps: all 15I+1C.
  - Cavalry corps: half 5C, last 4I+2C, others 3C.
- Choice Five
  - Infantry corps: all 14I+2C.
  - Cavalry corps: all 4C.
- Choice Six
  - Infantry corps: all 14I+3C.
  - Cavalry corps: all 5C.
- Choice Seven
  - Infantry corps: first 10I+2C, others 15I.
  - Cavalry corps: all 5C.
Guards
- Winners choose from options below.
- One infantry corps, not the first, has all I replaced with G on a 1:1 basis. Guard may be committed +1 or +2.
- One infantry corps has all I replaced with G on a 2:1 basis. This corps Guard may be committed +1 or +2.
- One infantry corps has all I replaced with G on a 2:1 basis. Guard may be committed +1.
- Two infantry corps have all I replaced with G on a 3:1 basis. Guard may be committed +1.
- First infantry corps has 2I replaced by 2G.
- First infantry corps has 2I replaced by 2G.
- No guard factors.
Artillery Corps
- No artillery factors initially.
- First and second winners replace weakest "normal" corps infantry with artillery on a one for one basis, and eliminate cavalry factors from that corps.
Leaders
- First winner has first choice of national leader set, etc..
Intrinsic Leaders
- First winner has first choice of intrinsic leadership, etc..
Initial Navy Strength
- First winner starts with enough ships to two-thirds fill fleet markers.
- Second winner starts with enough ships to half fill fleet markers, and takes second choice of Gibraltar, Malta or Corfu as a conquered minor.
- Third winner starts with enough ships to half fill fleet markers, and takes third choice of Gibraltar, Malta or Corfu as a conquered minor.
- Fourth and fifth winners start with enough ships to one-third fill fleet markers.
- Sixth and seventh winners start with no ships.
Initial Army Strength
- This box determines total initial factors. Some will be guard (see above), of the remainder 10% become cavalry, the rest are infantry.
- First winner receives initial factors equal to 70% of total corps capacity.
- Second winner receives initial factors equal to 60% of total corps capacity.
- Third winner receives initial factors equal to 50% of total corps capacity.
- Fourth and fifth winners receive factors equal to 40% of total corps capacity.
- Sixth and seventh winners receive factors equal to 30% of total corps capacity.

As you may have guessed, this is only half-developed, hasn't been tested and may have dodgy bits in the rules. I'd be very happy if you sent me feedback.

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