So I was playing BattleLore the other day, and I know there are gripes here and there about the game, but as I looked down at the game board and saw my armies spread out with raised banners and a very cool looking hydra bursting through some trees, I thought..."this is a **** cool game!"

I thought about something that I think would really take this game to the next level and make it super cool. Here's my idea: as battles raged across Medieval Europe, it became important for lords and kings to hold specific lands and territories. Wouldn't it be cool if we had a campaign map (kind of like the campaign map used in Descent, Road to Legend) that depicted the Brittish isles, Western Europe, and parts of Eastern Europe (like Hungary, Romania, etc.). We could have markers on this map representing armies, and these markers could be moved into different locations on the campaign map (kind if like in a game of Risk or the Medieval: Total War PC games). Battles could then be fought using normal BattleLore rules and map-board, and the winner could claim certain townships, fiefdoms, countries, etc. on the campaign map. This would add a new dimension to BattleLore, as winning and losing battles would have an effect in a larger world. Rules could be devised (contemporeanous with the Call to Arms set-up) allowing kings to shore up their defenses and bulk up armies in certain locations, so that if you were not careful, you might march one of your armies against a vastly superior force, leading to a drastically mis-matched battle (much like was often the case in real Medieval conflicts). Just an idea. What do you guys think?

You should talk with Maimed from the forum...reference the "Battlelore Campaign book!" thread from a little while back. Perhaps get your respective creative juices flowing?

I think it is an excellent idea I've been a part of a couple such "campaigns" played out on Vassal. Neither really came to a conclusion, but both were a ton of fun while they lasted. Not sure if you, Interceptor, are a member of that vassal group ( http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/battlelorecalltoarms/ ), but here are the rules and some game files, etc., for those two campaigns:

Uchronia

Middle Earth

I believe one will need to be a member of the yahoo group to access those, but it is still an active (if marginally so ) group. Don still moderates it. I still hope for a resurgence Activity on the BL vassal modules has increased quite a bit in the past few months - happy to see more join in. Would love to get some multi-player campaigns started back up...

Well you're more than welcome to take what I've done and spin it in your own direction (or just plunder for ideas or what not). It's got a simple board that will allow a campaign to play out in a day (small board), weekend (large board) or goodness knows how long ('huge' board covering Europe). There's even a board that is based on HYW maps which uses 12 (or is it 13 now) home brew races.

There isn't very much in the way of resource management, as in you take area A you get x number of cavalry, area B gets you Y infantry as I personally don't have much real life time for that sort of thing (and I don't really have the where with all to make such a thing simple elegant and more importantly fun).

I'd second getting involved in Maimed campaign book idea too.

Chris

I've played several campaign type games over the years, but primarily games workshop- or birthright-based systems. It would probably be more complicated to convert battlelore into a "grand strategy" type campaign, but I'm sure some of you folks who are smarter and more creative than myself would have no problem solving that issue.

We had set up a Campaign Game World using SPI-Empires of the Middle Ages but never got it to the table as we would need at least the Elf & Undead Expansions that never happened.

OD

I think have a campaign book with games tied together would be a fantastic idea. The carry over from scenario to scenario is what I love most about the Heroes expansion. It would be great to run them in a campaign of somesort. I like the story type like Memoir 44, but a campaign map system with variable strengths depending on where you attack would be awesome too. I would like to see this sort of expansion as a book with printouts you can make to make it easy to pack up and so the game remains about the battles between sides.