King of Kings - Lord of the Kings scenario game

King of Kings is a completely computer moderated play-by-email game.
Each player is incontrol of a faction in this world, governing all decisions and leading it to either victory or defeat.
As a tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece novel "The Lord of the Rings" and the recent films, the Lord of the Kings scenario has been adopted for this game to allow fans all over the world to replay the Great Ring War.

As a player you can play one of the following 10 factions:

Dwarves 
Elves 
Men of Gondor 
Riders of Rohan 
Servants of Saruman
Minions of Mordor 
Corsairs of Umbar 
Hobbits 
Dunedain 
Independent People

Not necesserily all factions must be player-controlled, but for a proper game it is recommended that the first seven factions are player-controlled.

The game map is tiled into square provinces. Provinces may be occupied and conquered by troops.
The victor is the player who remains at game end or by consent of the participants (i.e. when the other "bow" to the new master of Middlearth). 

New games are set up on a different site:

http://www.spod-central.org/~jontom/ 

There runs the UNIX server of the game which executes all player orders and generates the turn report for each game.
The newest rules version 4.8 is now available in English. They can be obtained from the files section of the KoK newsgroup:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/King_of_Kings/ 

Amount of time and effort needed to play: 
Of course in the beginning one has to read the rules and regulations for email submission of orders (ca. 1 hour).
Once you grasp the game mechanics you can complete your turn in about 10 to 20 minutes.
All games are on a weekly schedule, i.e. the results are processed once a week. You have to submit orders before the deadline.

These rules are valid for non-moderated games, i.e. without a gamemaster.
For moderated games, it is possible to include a fellowship unit with the Ring, rules for its destruction and capture by one of the factions.
As moderation of such a role-playing adventure is time-consuming, moderated games are only opened when and if a person volunteers as gamemaster.
Non-moderated games start as soon as the required minimum of players have signed up. They run completely automatic.

To play you need a valid email account. A PC compatible computer is recommended to view the turn reports with the TurnViewer, a graphical user interface. However it is possible to view the reports as an html or text file without the nice graphics.  The most recent TurnViewer is also available from the newsgroup.

Remember that playing and all software provided is free of charge.

How to play

To play, fill out the below form and send it to the game host. He will set up a new game as soon as the required number of players has signed up.

Signup-form for LoK Game

------------------------

Player Name :    

Player Email:    

Choice of faction

First choice :

Second choice:

Third choice :

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cut and mailto:jens@sepic.org 
 
 

Quick Rules and Orders overview

Each turn your provinces will produce gold and food. Gold is used for producing new units, food for maintaining these. By issuing orders your troops are instructed where to enlist, where to move and how to attack or defend. Your units have specific characteristics such as a "to hit" chance or a movement rate that determin how they move, fight and be supplied. Provinces differ by their terrain which in turn determines how much gold or food they produce, how many movement points it costs to cross them, and whether they provide additional cover (advantage in combat) for the defender or not. It is also possible to build ships and transport units by sea. For details refer to the complete rules.

The game contains the following orders:

1. Place Units
Format: PLA [X-C Y-C Type]
Description: Up to three units may be placed into three different provinces. Gold must be paid for the units to be placed.
Example: PLA 7 18 FOOT 8 18 CASTLE
One foot soldier will be placed into province 7/18 and one castle will be built at 8/18. 

2. Sea Movement
Format: SEA X-C Y-C {AT} [Type Amount] [Direction]
Description: Units starting at the location given by the co-ordinates will move by sea on the route given by a series of directions.
Example: SEA 12 7 BOWMEN 3 SHIP 3 W W S W S W W N
This order moves 3 bowmen embarked on 3 ships, starting at 12/7 to 7/8. 

3. Land Movement
Format: LAND X-C Y-C {Tactic} {AT} [Type Amount] [Direction]
Description: This order moves troops overland. If the player fails to state the tactics his forces will use in a possible battle, the tactics used by the province where the troops began their movement will be used. "AT" means all troops.
Example: LAND 8 18 T FOOT 1 E E
One Foot Soldier located in 8/18 will be moved two provinces to the east. Should a battle occur over the destination province, the force will use a standard tactic, as stated by the ‘T’ expression.

4. Defensive Orders
Format: DEF [X-C Y-C Tactic]
Description: Gives retreat orders for a province, i.e. state the tactics which will be shown by units defending this province. Similar to the PLA order, up to three provinces may be given retreat orders. This order may always be given to isolated provinces.