[The Resistance] Game 35: The Great Plain War
The Setting:
(Roleplaying background only, skip to the non-coloured part if uninterested)
The situation looks hopeless. The republic has fallen, the doge lies dead, and the Werrima Kingdom has shown its true face. The empire is preparing to turn its attention westward. While the Kingdom in the north remains safe in its natural mountainous fortress, the weak and fractured Rherildan confederation must fight for its existence. We, however, will have no part in that fight. No direct part, that is. The wide open plains make for perfect cavalry fighting grounds. In that territory, both the empire and the Rherildans greatly outmatch us.
We will once again be operating in the Kingdom of Werrima. While the King himself remains a puppet of the emperor, we do have allies in that nation. Allies which we shall use, to sabotage the empire's supply lines, to feed them false intelligence, and to give the Rherildans as much of a strategic edge as possible.
The Setting:
(Roleplaying background only, skip to the non-coloured part if uninterested)
The situation looks hopeless. The republic has fallen, the doge lies dead, and the Werrima Kingdom has shown its true face. The empire is preparing to turn its attention westward. While the Kingdom in the north remains safe in its natural mountainous fortress, the weak and fractured Rherildan confederation must fight for its existence. We, however, will have no part in that fight. No direct part, that is. The wide open plains make for perfect cavalry fighting grounds. In that territory, both the empire and the Rherildans greatly outmatch us.
We will once again be operating in the Kingdom of Werrima. While the King himself remains a puppet of the emperor, we do have allies in that nation. Allies which we shall use, to sabotage the empire's supply lines, to feed them false intelligence, and to give the Rherildans as much of a strategic edge as possible.
Players and Roles
This is a game for 5 to 10 players. Normally, the players handle the organisation of the game themselves, but for a number of reasons this is not possible on a forum. Therefore, the game will be held under the auspices of a GM.
The players will be given a Role through PM, either Resistance or Spy. The Spies will be informed of the identities of the other Spies. Distribution of the Roles depends on the number of players:
| Players | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Resistance | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Spies | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
The GM will also randomly determine the order in which players will become Leader and assign the first Leader in a public post.
Game Play
The game consists of between three and five Rounds; each Round is comprised of a Plot Card phase, a Team Building phase and a Mission phase. For this game the Team Building and Mission phases are resolved simultaneously.
Distribute Plot Cards
The GM randomly selects a number of Plot Cards, depending on the amount of players:
| Players | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Plot Cards drawn | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
These Plot Cards are revealed publicly. The Leader then publicly handles the effects of the Cards as he sees fit.
Please note the reduced number of plot cards in a 9-player game.
Build the Team
The Team Building phase consists of the Leader picking the players that he would like on the Mission Team followed by all the players Voting to Approve or Reject the Mission Team.
For each Mission, the Leader chooses a predetermined amount of players, possibly including himself, according to the following table:
| Players | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 1st Mission Team | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2nd Mission Team | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 3rd Mission Team | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 4th Mission Team | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 5th Mission Team | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Once the Leader posts his proposal in public, all players must vote to either APPROVE or REJECT. the proposed Team in public. Players may vote in secret by PM, though, if they prefer. The stated intentions do not have to agree with the vote sent to the GM, but the latter is the one that counts if there is a discrepancy. Again, players have the option to vote by PM, but they may also state something about their intentions regarding the current vote in the the thread. Players must provide a Mission action through PM if they are on the team, regardless of their allegiance or whether the team is likely to be approved.
The Mission Team is approved if the majority of Votes approved and fails if a majority rejected the assignments; a tied vote is also a rejection. If the Mission Team is approved, the Mission will be resolved and play moves on to the next round. If the Mission Team is rejected, the Leader passes to the next player in line and the Team Building phase is repeated.
The Spies win the game if five Mission Teams are rejected in a single Round.
Conduct the Mission
Each player on the Mission Team must Vote to either SUPPORT or SABOTAGE the Mission through PM to the GM. Resistance players must SUPPORT the Mission, Spies may choose either to SUPPORT or to SABOTAGE.
The Mission is successful only if every player on the Team supports it; if one or more sabotages occur, the Mission fails. Note that with games of 7 players or more, the 4th Mission requires at least two sabotages to fail, but the fifth only requires one.
The GM announces the result of the Mission shortly after the deadline in an update without revealing who did what. However, the number of SABOTAGE orders, if any, will be noted. The Leader passes to the next in line and the next Round starts.
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Example of a Round
Round Begins:
1. The new leader distributes cards, if there are any. Only the first leader per round receives cards to distribute. *See Special Note on Card below for more information about cards.
2. The leader proposes a team.
3. Players vote on whether to APPROVE or REJECT the team proposed by the leader.
4. Members of the proposed team pre-load their SUPPORT or SABOTAGE orders to the GM via PM.
5. At deadline the team will be either approved or rejected. A tie is considered a rejected team.
6. If the team was APPROVED, GM will state in the update whether or not the mission was SUCCESSFUL or FAILED based on the team members' pre-loaded orders. A new round begins with a new leader who has new cards to distribute and proposes another team.
7. If the team is REJECTED, the game stays in the Team Building phase. The next leader in line then proposes a team. The cycle repeats until a team is APPROVED. Once a mission is completed, whether SUCCESSFUL or FAILED, a new round starts.
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Victory
The cycle of Team building and Mission continues until one side scores 3 missions: the Resistance must have 3 successful missions while the Spies want 3 failed missions. Remember that the Spies also win if they have 5 Teams rejected in the same Round.
Plot Cards
The contents of the Plot Card deck depend on the number of players. The first numbers before the card name indicates how many of this card there are if there are 5, 6, 7 or 9 players, the second number indicates how many for 8 or 10.
2/2 - Strong Leader – One time use - The player who receives this Card may keep it and use it later to become Leader for the next Team proposal. If the next Team proposal is the first of a new Mission, they will also be allowed to distribute the Cards for that Mission. Once this proposal is handled, the next Leader is the player whose place the user took in the established order. The use of this Card must be declared in public before the next Leader does anything or before Cards are revealed. This may be preloaded.
1/2 - Overheard Conversation – Use immediately – The player to whom the Leader passes this card must publicly choose one player adjacent to tehm on the player list. This player's role will be revealed to them through PM by the GM.
2/2 - Keeping a close eye on you – One time use - The player to whom the Leader passes this card may use this card to learn whether a player SUPPORTED or SABOTAGED a Mission. The player holding it may ask, by PM to the GM during the team approval or mission phase, to use it on a player on the Mission team, and when the mission has concluded will learn whether the specified player supported or sabotaged. A player's mission order may not be checked by more than one player.
2/3 - No Confidence – One time use - The player to whom the Leader passes this card may use this card to reject an approved Mission team (successful Vote). Using this card counts as a failed Vote.
1/2 - Opinion Maker - Use immediately - The player to whom the leader passes this card must vote publicly for the remainder of the game, and may not change their vote once their decision is made.
1/1 - Take Responsibility – One Time Use – The player to whom the Leader passes this card may take one Plot card from any other player.
0/1 - Establish Confidence – Use immediately – The Leader must choose one other player publicly. The GM will reveal the Leader's Role to that player in PM.
0/1 - Open Up – Use immediately – The player to whom the Leader passes this card must choose one other player publicly. The player chosen by the Leader will have their Role revealed by the GM through PM to the player that they chose.
1/1 - In the Spotlight – One time use - The player to whom the Leader passes this card may use this card to force a player to play their Mission card face up. The player playing this card must declare its use and the target player immediately after Mission Team selection.
Original card rules here.
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Special Note on Cards
Cards can be played publicly or privately unless otherwise stated in the description of that card. Players may play a card by stating so in the thread or through PM. Please bold card use if done in the thread.
Cards for immediate use will be played as soon as the player to whom it is passed is able. GM will reveal the results of such cards as soon as is practicable.
If a No Confidence is played, the team will be considered REJECTED, and no information about the mission orders will be revealed. Any cards played relating to the mission will therefore be considered unplayed and players will continue to hold any such cards. Playing a No Confidence card does count towards the 5 rejection limit.
No Confidences and Strong Leaders will be treated one a first come, first served based on the time they are played. That is only, the first one played per day goes into effect and if any other of the same card is unplayed and the player keeps it.
Regarding Immediate Use cards (17/10/14):
Immediate use cards must be played before the leader makes his team proposal. The game will not proceed until the results of the card have been agreed upon.
A No Confidence or Strong Leader Card can be played at any time before plot cards are drawn.
The effects of No Confidence are immediate and GM will state that leadership has passed as soon as is practicable.
Use of a card is considered final and cannot be undone.
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General Information on Voting and Mission Orders
Each player must Vote in during Team Building phase.
Each player on the Mission must Vote by PM to the GM in the Mission phase.
If there are Votes missing at the deadline, the GM will take the necessary actions to move the game forward. Vote is final regardless of whether or not all players have voted, but everyone should try to vote. Deliberately not voting is very frowned upon and goes against the spirit of this game.
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Deadlines, Voting, and Mission Resolution
The deadline in this game will fall when all the players have voted. Players can vote publicly in the thread or privately via PM. All players' votes will be revealed at the final count. Players should try to not miss any team approval votes.
For this game, there will not be a phase for order-sending-in unless a plot card requires that there be one. Default orders shall be used - for a Spy, their order defaults to sabotage. If you are a spy wishing to support, send your orders by PM during the voting phase.
If a team is not approved, nothing regarding the mission orders for that team will be revealed.
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Formalities
All communication between players must occur in the public thread. PMs between players are NOT allowed, neither are phone calls, talking in another thread, letting things slip while having a drink, etc. No private conversations about this game, period.
Each player is solely responsible for clearly communicating to the GM and the other players. This is especially crucial for the Leader. He has a number of statements to make in public, like who gets what Plot Card and his Mission Team proposals. Both of these may be discussed in public beforehand, however, at some point a clear and final statement must be made.
Important notes?
Most of the post is a direct copy of my last game's introductory post. There won't be a deadline, we will not use roleplaying traits, and the proposal limit is 5. Note however that we will be using a different version of Strong Leader.
