In the Halls of Power:
Publisher: Dragon Trove LLC
Over the many iterations of the “original fantasy role playing game”, there have been a good many rules systems written to simulate the political aspects of the game, such as war, the conquest and rule of a barony, kingdom, or other political realm, making alliances, building Provinces, etc. Some of the better known were Birthright©, for Second Edition, which had many clever innovations, such as its card-based warfare system, and Eden Odyssey’s Fields of Blood: The Book of War, for Third Edition, which took a very 3rd ed., “difficulty class” approach to the problem.
However, these systems and others like them all took very similar approaches to the “original fantasy role playing system” politics in the following sense: they were based on the ruler (the player character) issuing orders, usually on a seasonal or monthly basis, then possibly paying out money, and rolling dice to see what happens. Sometimes these systems worked well, other times not so much. However, they all shared a certain abstraction that really was not in the spirit of the role playing genre.
What follows is a role playing game of politics and intrigue, of negotiation, backstabbing and war, that is more based on the conventions of role playing gaming than of board gaming abstractions. In the Halls of Power© is a system that allows the ruler to role play his character’s political actions, as he does with the other aspects of his character’s life.
In the Halls of Power© seeks to achieve this by using the convention of the dungeon adventure, common to most role playing games, somewhat modified, to represent political accommodation and strife. Thus, instead of a dismal dungeon, haunted with monsters and the restless spirits of the dead, the Player Character Noble walks the Halls of Power in the Imperial Palace: more gaily painted and brightly lit than the dungeon, but every bit as deadly. Here he seeks not enchanted swords and ancient gems, but the command of fleets and legions, the rulership of provinces (and the vast wealth that they command), titles, offices, and all the rights and privileges of the ruler. He fights enemies that use the tongue as a weapon more often than honest steel, and, when steel is drawn, it is often a blade in the dark tipped with poison.
Also included is a miniatures wargaming system that is, also, much more in line with the conventions of roleplaying than of board gaming. Battles are fought out, but, as with all great historical and fictional epics, from the doomed victory of Arthur over Mordred at the Battle of Camlann, to that of the Holy League under Don Juan of Austria over the Ottoman fleet under Ali Pasha at Lepanto, to the final battle before the Black Gate that sealed the downfall of Sauron and the reign of Aragorn the great, epic military victories really focus around a critical juncture in the battle. As the vast bloodbath rages around him, it is hero and villain, and a few loyal champions and guards who truly decide the struggle.
Price: $5.00