Birthright Newbie, Almost

[GrimtoothX@aol.co]

Hi all! I'm a Birthright newbie, though I am probably less then that. I have
been to some great sites, and tried the demo game for the PC, and I think I
like it... But I need to know some things.... Like how do the castles work?
Are they modifiers to battle, or do you use them in strategy somehow, sort of
like obstacles and such. And how do you even hold battle? I don't want to
buy a game that seems to be cool, and then has lousy rules, so please help!

[LordSchmit@aol.co]

In a message dated 9/6/98 9:19:29 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
GrimtoothX@aol.com writes:

> Hi all! I'm a Birthright newbie, though I am probably less then that. I
> have
> been to some great sites, and tried the demo game for the PC, and I think I
> like it... But I need to know some things.... Like how do the castles
work?
>
> Are they modifiers to battle, or do you use them in strategy somehow, sort
> of
> like obstacles and such. And how do you even hold battle? I don't want to
> buy a game that seems to be cool, and then has lousy rules, so please help!

Howdy! Castles can be used in a variety of ways.

A castle forces invading troops to stop in that province and deal with the
castle or go home.

On the Battle Map, the Fortification Card works well as an obsticle for the
enemy to deal with. Works great to protect your archers and artillerists.

A Castle automatically fortifies all your holdings in a province, and those
holdings will remaining under your control even if the province is occupied by
enemy forces.

Strategy plays a big part in every battle. Simply throwing your troops forward
will get you dethroned fast. (:

[Oyvind Gronnesby]

At 22:52 06.09.98 EDT, you wrote:
>Hi all! I'm a Birthright newbie, though I am probably less then that. I
have
>been to some great sites, and tried the demo game for the PC, and I think I
>like it... But I need to know some things.... Like how do the castles work?
>Are they modifiers to battle, or do you use them in strategy somehow, sort of
>like obstacles and such. And how do you even hold battle? I don't want to
>buy a game that seems to be cool, and then has lousy rules, so please help!

Birthright clearly states the roles of castles. Though maybe not as detailed
as many would wish. Many have also come up with alternate battle rules for the
game (which are quite often discussed and available at this list).
If you are wondering about buying the campaign I would absolutely recommend
it.
Though the battle system has some problems, this could be quickly remedied,
and
the setting is purely genius.
Good luck with future playing.


Oyvind Gronnesby

[TheMotive@aol.co]

Speaking castles...

I donn't understand one rule on them. Why do they stop troops from moving
through provinces?

I can understand the rule about a province with a castle not being
conquered/occupied until the castle is destroyed/neutralized...but why can't
you simply move troops through the province? Castles are so massive that they
occupy *entire* provinces (which are, like, what? 1,500 square miles?) Could
someone clarify this for me?

- - The Motive

[prtr02@scorpion.nspco.co]

- ----- Begin Included Message -----
Speaking castles...

I donn't understand one rule on them. Why do they stop troops from moving
through provinces?

I can understand the rule about a province with a castle not being
conquered/occupied until the castle is destroyed/neutralized...but why can't
you simply move troops through the province? Castles are so massive that they
occupy *entire* provinces (which are, like, what? 1,500 square miles?) Could
someone clarify this for me?

- ----- End Included Message -----

Supply lines. Castles were usually built astride important supply/communication
routes. IMO a "castle" or fortified holding could also represent more than one
physical structure. The castle level is simply the "fortification level" of the
province. Have you ever played "Empires of the Middle Ages"? I'm sure Rich
took much of his inspireation from the fortify action in that game. Ever play the
'puter game "Heros of M&M II"? How effective is your army in the region of an
enemy castle if you don't beseige it? Do you travel more cautiously in its
vicinity? You bet. RW castles worked the same way and their density was a lot
higher than one per 625 square miles.

BTW, BR castles/fortifications are a real bargain at 8 GB per level.
Then again, the same could be said for troop muster costs so it evens out.

Randax