Battlegame Components

Rules of Play

These are the individual pieces that make up how a game works. These parts can be mixed and matched to create any number of possible different games. A game essentially has seven parts:

Lives

How many times players can return to life. This can be a fixed number per player, a fixed number per team, unlimited, or something else.

Respawn

Where and when players return to life. This can be after a period of time, instantly, in groups of a minimum size, at base, where they died, in a central location or something else. Players who Respawn do so with all of their carried equipment intact, Wounds healed, non-Persistent Enchantments removed, and all States and Ongoing Effects removed. When designing a game keep in mind that dying should generally be the worst thing that can happen on the field. For instance when designing a Full-Class game your Respawn counts should not be shorter than the longest negative field effect (60 seconds because of Magic Balls). Alternatively dying can be penalized by having a finite life pool for the team as a whole.

Base

Some abilities refer to ‘returning to base’ or otherwise reference the location of a base. Determine what the bases will be for these abilities for each teams. This can be a fixed location, a team reeve, or something else. A player who remains at their base for 30 seconds may heal a wound; repair a weapon, bow, or shield; or repair all armor in one location.

Game Type

The Game Type refers to the set of rules used to play a Battlegame. The common Game Types are:

• Ditch: No classes, no armor, no projectiles, no siege, shields are unbreakable.
• Militia: No classes, armor is used, projectiles are used, shields are breakable.
• Full-Class No Magic: Classes are used except for Magic Users.
• Full-Class: All classes are used.
• Quest: See Quests.
• Other: See your group leaders for the rules for Jugging, Orcball, Phoenix League etc.

Teams

The number of teams that play in the game. This is commonly two or three, but may also be:

• By Size: Players divide into any number of teams with no more than X players per team
• Free For All: Every player for themselves

Objectives

The win condition for the teams. This can be eliminate the other team, eliminate a specific player, score points, survive, or something else.

Refresh

How and when per-Refresh abilities are returned to full uses in Class games. This could be none, every 30 minutes, when teams rotate, when a point is scored, or something else. Refreshes should be infrequent in order to encourage players to use their per-Refresh abilities tactically and thoughtfully.

Scenario Rules

Any specific rules that modify the way the game is played. This could involve monsters, ruling out specific classes, creating off-limit areas, creating special-effect areas, or anything else. The battlegame designer may also adjust ability durations, modify ability effects, add/remove abilities, or add magic items as needed to suit the scenario and ensure fun.
Combine different components in different ways to create entirely different game types to suit the needs of the group. A good battlegame is fast-paced and focuses on providing constructive conflict for all opposing teams. Combat is a means of resolving conflict, but should not be a goal in and of itself. Downtime for players should be minimal, but killing an opponent should still provide a meaningful advantage to the killer or their team.

Rulebook 8.6.3

See Also

• Playing in Battlegames Made Easy