Diary: [[ The 40 Days Campaign ]]

Premise

War has been declared by the Mineosi Empire. As the Empire stretches into the Eastern Great Sea region, Argot has begun rallying its troops and calling in its allies to mount a defense against the Deathless One’s hordes.

Over the course of the 40 days that the Damage Sluts have been in the demiplane of the Haunted Sea, Leandro Damaskenos, Armand Colodrise, Hespero, and the City Council have fought against the invasion, and you will determine what choices they made and how their fortunes turned during the days you were gone.

Taking command of the navies, armies, and embassies of Argot, you will use diplomacy and military might to stave off the Mineosi menace. Each day will be a new round as you send fleets and embassies across the seas and march your armies into the field. It will be costly, but freedom has its price.

On day 30, you know that Zulon will appear on the material plane. Hespero knows this, informs his confidantes Leandro and Armand, but does not know where he will appear.

State of the Map

The eastern cities of Zagari, Adurgari, and Podana are Mineosi territory. The western cities of Pontia, Lunfardo, and Minderico are Werriadi territory.

All other city-states are neutral.

Playing the Game

Initiative

Each player will take full control of all of the units every 5 days. The team must decide among themselves the order in which they will go. Since it is 40 days, one player will have to go twice. To simulate the fog of war and lack of communication lines, and to remove the risk of analysis paralysis, each player must act alone in their decisions and pass it off to the next.

The DM will move Mineosi units throughout the board secretly until an Argoti unit encounters one. The DM does not roll any dice.

Action economy

There are once per day actions and per unit per day actions.

Once per day actions

Once per day actions are Borrow and Werriadi Military Aid. These do not require a unit to use and are considered an action undertaken by the city.

Borrowing means taking on debt from foreign or domestic banks or states.

Werriadi Military Aid means taking aid from the Werriadi Republic.

Per unit per day

Embassies, navies, and armies take as many actions per day as they want to (taking into account all penalties). Their actions are limited to:

For embassies:

• Diplomatic Mission

For navies and armies:

• Battle
• Pillage and Forage

Units and Resources

The Argoti faction starts with

• 40 resources, representing the war budget for the city
• 4 armies
• 5 navies
• 5 diplomats
• 3 Oret’s Aid tokens
• 3 Hespero Influence tokens
• 3 Werriadi alliance tokens

Deployed Naval and Army units consume 1 resource per day. A combined Army-Navy ferry consumes 2 resources total. A Naval or Army unit is considered deployed when it is not in a hex with a friendly settlement (that is, on the open sea, in the field, or in a hex with a hostile or neutral settlement).

Embassies do not consume resources.

One of the navies is actively engaged in combat with the Mineosi navy in Aurochs Island and that will be where we start the action.

Movement

• Navies move 90 miles per day
• Armies move 8 miles per day
• Embassies by sea move 120 miles per day
• Embassies by land move 12 miles per day

Land speed is halved through rough and/or hostile terrain. Navies may ferry armies across the water.

Stats

The stats start as follows:

• Military: 0
• Diplomacy: 0
• Morale: 0

These stats may not go higher than +3 or lower than -2. If they would reach +4 or -3, they instead reset to 0.

Moves

Per Unit Per Day

Diplomatic Mission

When you ask a faction to join the Argoti cause against the Mineosi, roll +diplomacy. You may spend 1 resource to a max score of +4.

On a 10+, both; 7-9, nothing happens (on a second 7-9, choose one):

• Military support against the Mineosi (gain 1 army or 1 navy unit)
• Financial support against the Mineosi (gain 3 resources)

On a fail, take a -1 penalty to your next diplomacy roll. If you fail, you may choose to succeed instead by expending 1 Hespero influence to turn the roll into a 12. However, this makes the faction personally beholden to Hespero himself.

You may only attempt to send a diplomatic mission to a city-state once.

Battle

When you battle a hostile faction, roll +military.

On a 10+, choose 2; 7-9, the battle is at a standstill:

• Gain +1 to your next diplomacy roll
• Gain +1 to your next military roll
• Gain +1 resource

On a mixed success, the enemy army does not retreat. There is a standoff until the next day where the two sides lick their wounds.

On a 10+, the enemy army must retreat and will not be activated for another 5 days. Enemy armies may be pursued until they are destroyed.

Enemy armies that occupy a city revert it to Mineosi rule.

On a fail, take a -1 penalty to your next battle roll. If you fail and your army or navy has the spent condition, it is routed and removed from the game. If you fail, you may choose to succeed instead by expending 1 Oret’s Aid token to turn the roll into a 12. However, this represents a third of Oret’s obligation to Hespero to make good on his deal.

An army or navy that has gone to battle is considered spent. The spent condition is removed after 5 days. Spent armies may be safely disbanded on Argolos Island. Spent navies may be disbanded at any time. Disbanded armies and navies do not consume resources. Spent armies and navies may still do battle.

Armies may be rallied anywhere on Argolos Island, except Pontia, after 5 days. Navies may be rallied in Argot after 5 days.

Pillage and Forage

When you pillage and forage for resources, roll +military. Take -1 on your next diplomacy roll.

On a 10+, take 3 resources; 7-9, take 1. On a fail, you find nothing.

Once per Day

Borrow

At the end of the day, when you take on debt to support your war efforts, name the group you borrow from and roll +diplomacy. Take +5 resources. On a 10+, both; 7-9, choose 1. Fail, neither.

• The terms are favorable
• Take an extra +3 resources

Take 1 debt total and if the terms are not favorable, add the tag usurious. Favorable debts cost 8 resources to pay off. Usurious debts costs 12 resources to pay off.

Werriadi Military Aid

At the end of the day, when you call in military aid via Werriadi Ambassador Kaolina Serrat, spend 1 Werriadi alliance token and add 1 army and 1 navy to Argot, or add 3 resources.

Home Front

At the end of 10 days, roll +morale. On a 10+, none; 7-9, choose 1. On a fail, DM chooses 3.

• +disease: collective heath collapses
• +famine: shortage of food and water
• +anxiety: paranoia, hoarding, seclusion run rampant
• +unrest: factions of people start fighting in the street
• +challengers: challengers to your authority begin campaigning against you
• +reprisals: past victims and enemies start attacking the city
• +desertion: people start fleeing the city
• +desperation: people start turning on each other
• +idleness: people become bored and have nothing to do, no work, and start diverting themselves in other ways
• +judgment: people start blaming you for their troubles
• +obligation: your responsibilities to someone outside the city become urgent and demanding where they’re normally easily fulfilled
• +strangers: security becomes lax and the city loses track of people coming in and out

There is a potential to get all 12 at the end of the 40 days.

Story Implications

The choices during this mini-game will impact the way the final stages of the war will play out as the Deathless One and the Mineosi land on Argolos Island and march toward Argot.

• Whether a faction joins Argot, Mineos, or remains neutral, determines the order of battle in the final conflict
• How much debt Argot has incurred in its war efforts will determine its postwar future
• How many veteran units Argot has created during the course of the war will determine how hearty your units are in the final conflict
• How reliant Argot has been on Hespero’s influence will determine its postwar future
• How good your diplomacy and military scores are will determine Argot’s strength in the final conflict
• How many resources Argot has will determine how long Argot can fight in the final conflict
• How much of Oret’s aid you still have will determine how much luck Hespero has during the final conflict
• The city-state’s condition tags will determine the state the city is in when the heroes return
• How many Werriadi Obligation tokens you spent will determine how much aid you can still accept during the final conflict (and how much of a Werriadi-Mineosi proxy war this conflict becomes) and will determine the postwar fate of Argot

Principals

City Command

• Hespero, underworld boss and influential citizen
• Leandro Damaskenos, general
• Armand Colodrise, influential citizen

Allies

• Kaolina Serrat, Werriadi ambassador to Argot

Rivals

• Calantha Aran, treasurer (got the heroes arrested, defeated Livius in office)
• Odoacer, general and rival of Leandro
• Nestor Domorosi, city attorney (originally sympathized with the Mineosi, prosecuted the heroes for the assault on the Mineosi Ambassador)

Ambassadors from other city-states

• Eleterio of Varak
• Gordios of Kalens
• Isador of Great Sickle
• Jalfrezi of Telens
• Romanos of Bourtias
• Casper Willoughby of Sartos