Sthenios War
Sthenios War is a two-player strategy game famous in the world of Regnum Aetern. It borrows chess's core logic of positioning and piece elimination, but layers in morale, fatigue, hidden roles, and command cards.
This game was created by a legendary historical figure, Sthenios Curor Rurikvel, known throughout history as The Grand Orchestrator.
He was one of the key individuals who helped in winning the Great Southern War and unifying the Valcarion Empire.
The rules of the game are simple. Whoever defeats all of their opponent's pieces first wins.
But unlike other strategy games, Sthenios War focuses more on mind games, paranoia, and high-stakes decisions. Much like its creator, who was known more for his manipulation skills and mind games than his strategic mind.
Sthenios created Sthenios War with the intention of training the future generation in the art of war. It depicts a war where one must defeat their opponent's army using their own.
Rules of Sthenios War
The game is played on a board similar to a chess board. The only difference is that the squares are colored red and black instead of black and white.
Both players have one commander piece and fifteen soldier pieces, sixteen pieces each in total.
Note: The commander is the most vital piece. Protecting it should be the top priority.
The players take turns moving pieces. The number of moves a player gains per turn depends on their current state, but under normal circumstances, a player receives three moves per turn. They can spend all moves on one piece or split them across as many pieces as they like.
Every piece moves one terrain block per move in any of the four cardinal directions: up, down, left, right. No diagonals.
For combat, if a player moves one of their pieces onto a block that an enemy piece is already standing on, that enemy piece is defeated and removed from the board.
Note: Just like chess.
Command Cards
Each player starts with one copy of each command card. A player can use any number of them on their turn, and doing so does not cost any of their moves. Each card can only be used once per game.
Assign Archer
This command card allows a player to assign the role of archer to one of their soldier pieces.
Archer: Gains an extended range for attack (+1 terrain block). The moment an enemy piece gets within range, it is considered perished.
After killing one enemy piece, the archer is inflicted with the curse Last Arrow and loses its attack ability.
Note: The only way to defeat an archer piece without the curse Last Arrow is to use another archer piece against it.
Assign Assassin
This command card allows a player to assign the role of assassin to one of their soldier pieces.
Assassin: This piece can travel multiple terrain blocks in one move, but it can only travel in a straight line and can only move if no enemy piece is blocking the path, except the commander piece.
The assassin can only kill the commander. It cannot attack any other enemy piece. The assassin piece can only be used once per turn for one move. If the assassin's path is blocked by enemy pieces from two opposite sides, it will be considered perished.
Note: The assassin piece is extremely lethal for an unprotected commander piece since it can move through multiple terrain blocks in a single move.
Assign Champion
This command card allows a player to assign the role of champion to one of their soldier pieces.
Champion: Has the chance to dodge the first attack from a piece. If the dodge is successful, the attacking player's move is consumed yet their piece returns to its previous position.
The success or failure of a dodge is decided through a coin toss. The champion cannot dodge if the same piece attacks again.
Assign Traitor
This command card allows a player to assign the role of traitor to any existing piece on the board besides the commanders, including enemy pieces.
Traitor: The identity of this piece remains hidden due to the blessing Masked. The player does not need to announce the use of this command card when assigning the traitor. The traitor piece can be commanded once for one turn.
The moment the traitor is commanded, its identity is revealed and it is inflicted with the curse Identity Discovered.
Note: This creates a paradox. If a player protects their commander by placing other pieces nearby, they risk the commander being killed by a traitor piece. But if there are no other pieces nearby to protect the commander, it becomes vulnerable to the assassin. This results in paranoia, doubt, and confusion, since a player cannot even trust their own pieces.
Morale Boost
After using this card, the blessing Positive Morale will be locked for the player's next three turns, regardless of whether the commander is alive or not.
If the commander dies within those three turns, the curse Negative Morale will be suppressed for the duration of this command card.
Note: Can save a player in desperate situations if used strategically.
Blessings
Blessings are positive effects that apply to a player's army under specific conditions.
Positive Morale: Applied as long as the commander is alive on the board. The player gains three moves per turn as long as they have Positive Morale.
Masked: Applied to the traitor piece as soon as it is assigned. The traitor's identity and existence remain hidden as long as it is not commanded.
Rage: Triggered when the commander is killed by a traitor. Every piece gains the ability to move one additional terrain block per move.
The Blade That Serves Justice: Triggered when the player kills the traitor piece within one turn after it has killed their commander. Every piece gains the ability to move one additional terrain block per move. The effect can stack with Rage.
Rampage: Triggered when a player has three blessings at once: Positive Morale, Rage, and The Blade That Serves Justice. All pieces gain the ability to move two additional terrain blocks per move. This does not stack with the individual effects of Rage and The Blade That Serves Justice. If the player kills an enemy piece within their turn, the enemy's turn will be skipped once. This cannot stack and only triggers once per turn.
Curses
Curses are negative effects that hinder a player's pieces, triggered under specific conditions.
Negative Morale: Triggers the moment the commander is defeated. The player is reduced to 1 move per turn for the rest of the game. There is no way to recover from this.
Last Arrow: Triggers when the archer defeats one enemy piece. The archer loses their ability to attack permanently. They remain on the board but can never kill again.
Identity Discovered: Triggers when the traitor is commanded. The traitor's identity is immediately and permanently revealed.
Fatigue: Always present on every piece from turn one. If a piece goes 25 consecutive turns without visiting a shelter tile, it dies. After visiting one, the count resets and starts again. Fatigue is never cured permanently. It always comes back.
Terrain Effects
Boons that are triggered when a player fulfils specific conditions related to terrain blocks.
Shelter: A small number of special terrain blocks scattered across the board. Any piece that steps onto one has its Fatigue count fully reset. Pieces on shelter tiles can still be attacked and defeated normally.
Encirclement: Triggered when a player places four of their pieces, excluding the commander, on all four corners of the board. As long as the pieces maintain their position, killing an enemy piece will skip the opponent's turn once. The effect does not stack and only triggers once per turn.
Notes
The Morale system is the spine of the game. If commander falls while the enemy commander is still alive, the player will be put in a significant disadvantage due to the difference in moves per turn. Thus, protecting the commander is considered vital.
Traitor piece is a wildcard that can flip the game in one move. This requires significant insight to use and defend against. It also makes it so that the player cannot trust their own pieces completely. This results in manipulation and mind games between the players, trying to bait or identify the traitor piece through various strategies.
Fatigue system makes sure that the player is punished for dragging the game longer. The shelter terrain blocks are limited, so the player needs to fight with the enemy to occupy and defend them.
Things like luck also play a part in this game, but only if the players are proactive. Mechanics like Champion's ability to dodge, as well as the morale boost card, can save the player from desperate situations if they know when to use them.
Sthenios Curor Rurikvel had spoken a few words when he introduced Sthenios War to the nobility.
"War is not completely about strategy or force, it also has luck as well as unpredictable elements mixed in. It's not simply a battle between your soldiers and the enemy soldiers, its a battle between you and the enemy commander.
"Deceiving and reading the enemy are the most important things in war. One must also know when to take risks and gamble.
"As I present this game before you all, I hope that my teachings aren't lost to time."