Mechanizing and Unmechanizing Different Cataphract Tactics Options
I’ve spent a while exploring different directions for Cataphract Tactics, as a minigame, as a writing prompt and as a bonus to be removed. In this post I’ve compiled a series of rules changes trying to encompass a large spectrum of ideals to best fit into your game.
Bloody Tactics:
At Game Start with help of the Referee, propose a series of complex tactics to train your detachments in. These tactics may include bonuses when attacking strongholds, hastened retreats written as one would in base Cataphract. These are the tactics your commander understands deeply enough to successfully implement. They are classified with the referee as Offensive, Defensive or Special
Commanders may train new detachments in these for X loot
At Battle Start Declare your Objective to either be Offensive or Defensive and choose 1 of your pre-written tactics to Prepare your detachments in.
Offensive players may either may a calculated (+1) or a reckless assault (+2) with calculated always beating reckless.
Defensive players choose to target one of the two types, cancelling its bonus.
At any moment either player may instead choose to use their prepared tactic instead getting its effects. If the Defensive player chooses to defend agaisnt calculated agaisnt this, deny the bonus but the effect still triggers.
Provisionary Tactics:
Your Supplies now include various subversive weaponry and traps that may enable tactics for your army
Every 3k supplies is assigned a category in a 5 way RPS triangle
Before the RPS tactic roll, each player may wager up to 3,000 supplies to gain a bonus to their Tactics roll. 1,000 supplies = +1 Tactics 2,000 supplies = +2 Tactics 3,000 supplies = +3 Tactics
The player who wins the RPS determines the tactic used, regardless of how much either player wagered.
If both players choose the same tactic in the RPS, the player who wagered more supplies wins the tactic.
Improvised Tactics
At Game Start with help of the Referee, propose a series of complex tactics to train your detachments in. These tactics may include bonuses when attacking strongholds, hastened retreats written as one would in base Cataphract. These are the tactics your commander understands deeply enough to successfully implement. This develops the Commanders Playbook.
As an order a Commander may choose to do drills to train one of those tactics to their detachments at a deeper level. Roll 1d6 for how long this will take. If Spartan -2 to that roll. This will make your detachments more experienced and less susceptible to tactics that directly counter them. Each drill is roughly equivalent to a more likely +1 at Referee’s discretion.
Commanders may also Improvise a Tactic that is not in their playbook. These will be judged more harshly and and will lose more agaisnt tactics the other side has experience with.
Timely Tactics
Roll 1d? where ? is equal to morale (+1 if spartan). This is how effectively the commanders detachments heed their tactical choices.
When submitting battle plans, commanders may assign fractions of that number to emphasize specific parts of the tactic. Emphasized sentences have their detachments more committed to carrying it out. The higher number the more effective it is.
Referee will assign the tactics bonus at their discretion after taking these into account.
Mechanized Habitual Tactics
Every Commander trait is now classified as having one of three tendencies. The first trait rolled is the tendency the commander has. This cannot be changed for the rest of the game.
Oppressive Protective Urgent
Oppressive beats Urgent. Urgent beats Protective. Protective beats Oppressive. Beating the other provides +1 tactics.
Habitual Tactics
Every Commander trait is now classified as having one of three tendencies. The first trait rolled is the tendency the commander has. This cannot be changed for the rest of the game.
Oppressive Protective Urgent
In a rubric when declaring objective in a battle if the tactic plays into one of these tendencies it is evaluated with a higher likelihood of succeeding.
Warned Tactics
Detachments have a limited capacity to juggle multiple priorities. Detachments are given one tactic and three warnings. The warning is a statement to look out for whatever action’s the other commander may put in their tactic. These warning strongly must be specific fairly specific.
Any successfully warned off actions are discarded and the Referee rules for who wins the tactic.