Et tu Brutus? ...
Republic of Rome
World Boardgame Championships
Tournament Rules Will "Sandy" Wible, GM
253 Granby Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510, sandyw@decipher.com
This tournament adheres to the WBC program book and GM guidelines. In
particular, note that:
- Each player must have their WBC badge present in order to
participate.
- Playing simultaneously in another event is not
permitted.
Participation
Beginners are very welcome.
The GM will be present to help as well as answer questions. Also, feel
free to contact the GM to schedule a tutorial.
It is permitted to play in both preliminary Heats to increase
the chance of getting into the Final, or just for fun. Those who win
their game in the first Heat gain no benefit by playing again other than
enjoyment, or to narrow the field of challenging opponents.
Two special professionally framed prizes will be given by the GM for
sportsmanship and/or superlative play. You just have to see these custom
prizes! The GM will bring one to each Heat.
Basic Notes
Please be aware of all
official clarifications. They are available from the GM.
All games of both Heats will use the Middle Republic. The Final will
use the Late Republic.
Matching Wars Time Delay 7.3321 from the General V27#4 will be
used.
Advanced Game rules 13 & 15 will be used (Pontifex Maximus &
Legionary Disbandment/Recall); 14 will not be used (Provincial
Forces).
Scheduling
The players of each game will
be assigned in as random a fashion as possible. It might well be that
friends or family end up in the same game. If notified in advance, the GM
will make an attempt to separate such groupings. Team tournament players
see below.
Timing
Each game will be six hours
maximum, counting set-up and clean-up.
Players who know they have to leave before the time limit should
notify the GM and the other players before the game starts, or as soon as
this is known. Such a player may designate a replacement to take over at
that time, if the GM allows.
If a player becomes absent, the faction in question will abstain in
all votes until such time as the GM declares the player AWOL and disbands
the Faction. Senators and Concessions belonging to that Faction will then
be placed in the Forum (with all tokens removed). Only the GM is allowed
to declare a player AWOL.
After five and a half hours, games still in progress will be
adjudicated by the GM. The current Game Turn will be allowed to finish
completely and a tally of total Faction Influence will be taken to
determine the winner. The GM will consider extraordinary circumstances if
requested. It is up to each player to examine the score sheet before it
is turned in to the GM; once turned in, the scores are final.
Unreasonable stalling is not allowed.
Advancement to the Tournament
Final
All players will be ranked by
a percentage score for their best game. This score is individual score
divided by total score for all players in that game. Ties will be
resolved by comparison of raw score.
Game winners will be ranked first using this procedure, and then all
other players. There will be a maximum of six finalists.
If there are less than five Finalists present when the final is
scheduled to start, then alternates will be advanced from those present.
If you are a Finalist, please set your alarm and leave a wake-up
call if you think youll oversleep. If you are an Alternate, please
show up if at all possible.
Team Tournament Clarifications
If a member of a team has
registered for RoR as part of the WBC Team Tournament, other members of
the same team will not be permitted to play in the same game of RoR. If
possible they will be split onto different tables; otherwise one or more
must decline to play. It is the responsibility of the players to notify
the GM of their Team affiliation, or suffer possible disqualification.
Great thanks for feedback to Wray Ferrell, John
Hart and Brad Johnson.
Republic of Rome
World Boardgame Championships
Official Score Sheet
Year _________ Day
________________ Time ________
Player
Name |
Faction
Name |
Influence,
Turn ___ |
Influence,
Turn ___ |
Influence,
Turn ___ |
Influence,
Turn ___ |
Final Total Faction
Influence |
Player
Initials |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes:
If the game ended for any reason other than running out of
time, please list exactly what happened (e.g., "Paul revolved and
conquered Rome").
Please keep as many notes as possible, especially of
memorable events. These notes will be used to write WBC yearbook, web and
magazine articles about the tournament.
Republic of
Rome Errata and Clarifications
3.III Is there only one round
of bidding for each additional Initiative? A. Yes.
3.III.4 Can a player appoint a Faction Leader AND sponsor Games in the
same Initiative? A. No; "or" means one or the other.
4.7 & 5.2 If a statesman is made a Faction Leader at the start of
play, does that mean he can not die prior to the appearance of his Family
card? A. No. A statesman cannot be made Faction Leader until the
first Forum Phase (4.5). Thereafter, if he were to die, that faction
would be without a Faction Leader until the next Forum Phase Initiative
provided an opportunity to name a new one.
5.1 Is a Mortality Chit drawn on the first turn? A. Yes.
5.1 Are Senators in the Forum (not the Curia) considered "active" and
thus subject to Mortality Chit draws? Are Mortality Chits permanently
removed when drawn or returned to the cup? A. Yes; Mortality Chits are
always returned to the cup at the end of the draw - except for the "draw
Two" chits which are returned immediately even before that draw is
concluded.
5.3 If a faction is eliminated, what happens to its cards in hand?
A. They are returned to the deck and reshuffled.
5.3 & 9.84 Upon the execution of a Faction leader, can the player
immediately appoint a new one, or does he have to wait until Step #4 of
the next Forum Phase? A. The latter.
6.1 Does a captive Senator (10.82) receive personal and/or concession
income? A. No.
6.12 After the Calpurnian Law is passed, do the Talents collected from
the corrupt Senator go into the state Treasury? A. No. They are
returned to the Bank.
6.14 Do rebel governors roll for province improvement? A.
No.
6.141 Can Bithynia also be improved in the normal way? A.
Yes.
6.22 Do Wars such as the Jugurthine War whose card does not indicate a
subtraction of 20T. still cost the Rome Treasury 20T? A. Yes.
6.22 & 9.41 Can someone not in Rome be prosecuted?
A. No. In general, a Senator away from Rome can do nothing in
Rome except make contributions or sponsor games.
6.22 & 9.64 Can the Senate disband Legions and fleets by refusing
to pay maintenance?
A. No. The only way to disband forces is by passing such a
proposal in the Senate Phase. If unable to pay maintenance for existing
forces, the state is bankrupt and all players lose (except any declared
rebel).
6.3 If the Redistribution of Wealth (III.3) occurs after the
collection of Personal Revenue (II.1), how can it "make no difference to
which Senator of a faction, the money is given at this point? A.
The reference to Redistribution of Wealth is to reallocation between
Factions. Reallocation of funds between senators of the same Faction is
allowed in 6.1 - which happens before such things as Contrubutions.
6.3 Is Faction income distributed sequentially or simultaneously? Can
a Senator absent from Rome take part in the redistribution? Are
previously allocated funds eligible for reallocation? A.
Simultaneously. Yes. Yes.
7.2, 7.355, 7.357 Does the exception to "all" DR/dr for initiative
mean that the random event TDR that follows a "7" initiative DR avoids a
"-1" drm? When a Natural Disaster occurs, does the subsequent dr to see
which concession is destroyed have a -1 drm? A. No. No.
7.31 Does a Statesman take over any Prior Consul marker on its Family
card? Can a Senator's Popularity go above +9 or below -9? A. Yes.
Yes.
7.312 Does a Statesman have a Personal Treasury even though the symbol
is not shown on his card? Does Scipio Africanus negate Hannibal and
Hamilcar Disaster/Stalemates too or only those of the Punic Wars
cards? A. Yes. Only those of the Punic Wars cards - not those of
enemy leaders.
7.312B If Statesmen 29A and 29B are both in play when the Family card
#29 is drawn, who gets it? A. It is placed beneath Statesman
29A.
7.331 Errata: Add "/Fleet" after "Army" in the third line.
7.332 Errata: Delete "(those with matching illustrations)"
7.332 MATCHING WARS: No game is perfect. Inevitably, something is
omitted that would have made the game a tad better had only we thought of
it in time. Such an instance occurs in REPUBLIC OF ROME with respect to
rule 7.332. Kirk Schlesing correctly points out that matching wars are
allowed to pile up too quickly before the players can do anything about
it, no matter how cooperative they may wish to be. While the Early
Republic scenario was intended to be difficult to win, we should have
taken steps to lessen the effects of a shuffle that brought the 2nd Punic
War into the game right on the heels of the first. We therefore urge all
players to incorporate this modification to the rules as an official
variation.
7.3321 TIME DELAY: Whenever a War or Revolt card is drawn from the
deck that would match a face-up War or Revolt card already located in the
Forum, the drawn card is placed face-down in an Inactive War slot for the
remainder of the current turn. If the face-up matching card is currently
located in an Inactive War slot, it is immediately moved to an Active War
slot; otherwise, face-up cards are not affected in any way. At the
beginning of each new turn, before any other action is taken, all cards
in Inactive War slots are turned face-up, and one card for each War or
Revolt is moved to an Active War slot on the Forum. Wars should be
selected for activation in chronological order (e.g., 1st Macedonian
before 2nd Macedonian, etc) whenever possible. An Inactive War and its
Leader are instantly matched and activated; there is no delay. If a
Leader is drawn that matches an Active War, the Leader is immediately
placed on the Active War card, but no additional War cards are
activated.
EXAMPLE: First Punic War begins the game face-up in an Inactive War
slot.
Second Punic War is drawn; it is placed face-down in an Inactive War
slot, and First Punic War is moved to an Active War slot. Third Punic War
is drawn in the same turn; it is placed face-down in an Inactive War
slot. The Hannibal Leader card is then drawn; it is immediately placed
with First Punic War. At the start of Turn 2, Second Punic War is moved
to an Active War slot, but Third Punic War remains Inactive until the
start of Turn 3. If the Hamilcar Leader card is drawn during either turn,
it would be placed with an Active Punic War card. Third Punic War would
remain Inactive. This rule allows Rome at least one opportunity to attack
with a reasonable chance of success before its strength multiplies
without resorting to extraordinary measures such as a Dictator.
7.3322 What determines if a Leader matches a War/Revolt? A. The
picture is the sole determining factor.
7.335 If playing the Early Republic scenario (where the 3rd Punic is
not in play), does defeat of the 2nd Punic War reduce the 1st Punic War
to a revolt? A. No.
7.34 If a War with a matching leader is defeated, does the leader
remain on display in the Curia (subject to an aging dr) if there are
still Wars which match the Leader left in the deck? A. Yes.
7.341 Is Cleopatra discarded at the end of the turn it is played?
A. Yes. It can be played only once, but remains in effect until
the Alexandrine War is defeated.
7.352 BARBARIAN RAIDS What happens if not using the Provincial Forces
rule? A. This event is ineffective without Provincial Forces;
re-roll on the Event table.
7.3510 PRETENDER EMERGES/VICTORIOUS What happens if not using the
Provincial Forces rule? A. The governor is killed but nothing else
happens.
7.3631 CALPURNIAN LAW What happens to a Senator if neither he nor his
Faction Treasury can pay the fine? A. His Popularity and Influence is
reduced by the amount of the shortfall.
7.3632 VATINIAN LAW: When may a Governor governing by legate leave
for/return from his Province? A. He may leave for the Province
anytime during the Senate Phase. If he goes to the Province he must
remain there until the start of the next Senate Phase or until
rerolled.
If his Province is attacked in his absence, what military rating is
used? A. None.
May a Governor rebel with more than one Province or can he choose only
one? A. He can choose only the one in which he is currently
residing. All other Provinces governed by legate return to the Forum for
control by the Senate.
7.364 Murder of a Tribune. Can the same player play another Tribune on
the same proposal? A. Yes. This card specifically allows OTHER
players to initiate the same proposal again. However, it does not
preclude the same player from also doing so. Rule 9.69 is not relevant
because a canceled Tribune does not constitute a defeated proposal; in
fact, the proposal was never successfully initiated.
7.37 Is an Intrigue card which is traded outside the Revolution Phase
and placed beneath the board edge subject to selection due to the play of
the Influence Peddling card? A. Yes, but in this case, it must be
returned to the hand prior to the random draw and then be returned again
to beneath the board edge immediately afterwards regardless of who owns it.
7.4 May a Senator not in Rome sponsor Games? Can Popularity of a
Senator increase beyond 9? A. Yes. Yes.
7.511 Do historically opposed Statesmen belonging to the same Faction
still retain the "+7" for alignment? A. Yes.
7.511 Is the Flamininus that opposes Cato the Elder and triggers his
loyalty drop to 0, Statesman 18a (T.Quinctius Flamininus) or the Family
card Flaminius (13)? A. The former. The loyaltry drop to 0 does
not appear on the 18a card but it should.
9.11 & 9.34 Is the Censor considered the Presiding Magistrate
during a Prosecution and thus subject to loss of an influence point if a
proposed prosecution is voted down unanimously? A. Yes, however,
the prosecutor is not subject to any such influence loss.
9.22 Can a Senator play a Tribune to make a proposal to adjourn the
Senate? A. No. Only the Presiding Magistrate may adjourn the
Senate?
9.24 & 9.91 Can a Senator refuse to be Master of Horse? A.
No.
9.34 Does a Senator who forced a proposal to a vote using a Tribune
lose influence if the motion is unanimously defeated by the votes of all
Senators of other factions? A. No - he is not the "Presiding
Magistrate". Defeat of his proposal and loss of his Tribune is penalty
enough.
9.34 If the HRAO "steps down", does he resign his office or simply
pass control of the meeting to the next HRAO? A. The latter; he
may not become Presiding Magistrate in that turn again.
9.411 Does a successful Minor Prosecution strip the prosecuted Senator
of any office he is currently holding? A. No.
9.412 Can the Censor name himself as Prosecutor? A. No.
9.421 Does an exiled Senator lose negative Popularity also? A.
No, he loses only positive Popularity.
9.41 Can the same Senator be prosecuted twice in the same turn if he
held two concessions, or a concession and an office? A. Yes.
9.423 Does a faction that cast the most votes for an exiled
Statesman's return and makes a successful Persuasion Attempt vs that
Statesman also get the Family card of the Statesman even if it is held by
another faction? A. Yes - even if that Family card is the Faction
Leader.
9.5 Insert: "and Repopulating Rome (9.5)" after "(see 7.5)".
9.611A In which phase are concessions destroyed by the 2nd Punic War
or Gladiator Slave Revolt? A. The Senate Phase.
9.622 See 7.3632 Vatinian Law.
9.631 Can you repeal a Type I landbill? A. Yes, but they are
rarely repealed because they expire during the next turn anyway.
9.64 Can a Legion or fleet be disbanded and rebuilt in the same Senate
Phase? A. No.
9.64 How is the status of Veteran Legions determined when sending a
force to oppose a particular war? A. Should the proposal to send
forces fail to specify the specific makeup of those forces, the Commander
of the forces may pick which ones to take.
9.642 Pompey's military rating is rolled before each combat so what is
it considered to be when determining his Minimum Force in the Senate
Phase? A. The minimum value of 2.
9.642 & 9.93 Can a Senator refuse an appointment as Master of
Horse to avoid being sent on a hopeless war with a Dictator who
volunteers for the suicide mission? A. He may refuse such
appointment.
9.67 Can a "Consul for Life" nomination be made without the approval
of the Presiding Magistrate or use of a Tribune? A. No.
9.69. See 7.364 Murder of a Tribune.
9.72 Can a Tribune veto either an appointment or a Dictator's
election? A. It can't veto an appointment. It can veto a
Dictator's election, but only during its faction's turn to vote.
9.8 May a Faction attempt to assassinate one of its own Senators?
A. No. "Opposing" Senators are the only possible targets.
9.81, 9.9, 9.91 A Dictator has been appointed and is then assassinated
after appointing his Master of Horse. Can another Dictator be appointed?
Would the new Dictator get to appoint a new Master of Horse? In the
absence of a new Dictator, can the original Master of Horse go to war
alone? A. Yes - unless the assassination is after the Censor's
election. Yes, the old Master of Horse would have no duties but may keep
his three Influence gain. Yes.
9.83 Are re-rolls for possible capture modified by the played Assassin
and Bodyguard cards? A. Yes.
9.84 If the Faction Leader is the assassin, who is considered the
Faction Leader for purposes of the special Major Prosecution? A.
No one - nor can a Faction Leader away from Rome be recalled for such
a Prosecution.
9.84 If "neither the Censor nor Prosecutor" is involved in a special
Major Prosecution, who chooses the voting order? A. The Censor.
9.91 Can more than one Dictator election be held if the first is
defeated? A. Yes, but unlike Consular elections, there doesn't
have to be one elected; 9.23 doesn't apply.
9.92, 10.7 If a Dictator becomes a Proconsul, what happens to his
Master of Horse? A. He returns to Rome without office.
9.93 If a Dictator and Master of Horse both rebel, may they add their
military ratings in the Civil War? A. Yes
10.1 What order are wars fought (especially when two commanders are
sent to fight the same war)? A. The Senate may determine in which
order wars are prosecuted (in what order dice are rolled), as part of the
proposal to give military command and send forces to fight the wars. If
not done by the Senate, then the commanders decide (just like 9.25).
10.12 If Rome sends a naval force with no legions and is victorious in
naval combat, must the commander return to Rome or can he remain in the
field as Pro-Consul to conduct the land war next turn? A. He must
return to Rome. By being given no legions, he was not entrusted with the
conduct of the land war and has no claim to it.
10.4 Does a victorious commander gain Popularity and Influence when
defeating a Revolt? The rules say that Revoluts do not yield Spoils of
War. A. Gained Popularity and Influence are not Spoils of War.
10.5 If legions are present and survive a naval battle, does fighting
a naval battle create a veteran legion? A. Yes - if it was at risk
in the battle. It can claim veteran status before any following land
battle.
10.6 Can the returning legions be used during the same turn
elsewhere? A. Yes.
10.72 Errata: The Unrest Level is increased by one at the start of
every Population Phase.
10.72 Assume Rome wins a naval victory against the 1st Punic War but
does not wish to pursue a land battle against them in the next turn. Is
there any way they can avoid an Unprosecuted War penalty? A. The
victorious commander could remain as Proconsul in command of at least
five fleets, but the 20 T. cost of an Active War would still apply.
10.82 When a commander is captured, when is the ransom paid? A.
Anytime prior to the defeat of the war, except for Barbarian Raids
which must be paid before the next Forum Phase.
10.9 In what order do Multiple Commanders attack their common War?
A. The order is determined randomly by die roll.
11.1 May a player discard a Statesman card instead of playing/trading
it? A. Yes.
11.51 May the Senate vote to deactivate veteran legions who will
otherwise desert to a rebel during the ensuing Combat Phase? A.
No.
11.52 Does the rebel Army suffer any losses if the result is "Defeat",
but not "Defeat ALL"? A. No. A result of Defeat for the Senate's
Army exempts the Rebel Army from losses.
12.1A/12.3 Does a Senator who reaches 35 Influence or is elected
Consul for Life still win if captured by a war on the same turn? A.
No.
12.1E A suggested "house rule" to avoid the "end of the world"
syndrome which occurs when artificial time limits dictate the end of a
scenario and send all players off on a desperate grab for influence is to
continue the game with the next deck of cards as if playing an extended
Campaign Game.
However, at the end of every turn starting with the turn the first
deck expired, a die is rolled to see if the game ends. The game ends on a
die roll of 6 or more. There is a +1 modifier for every turn that the die
is rolled without resulting in the end of the game.
13.21 May the Pontifex Maximus appoint himself as priest? A.
No.
14.2-.3 Are local taxes insufficient to purchase even one unit, and
unsupplemented by a Governor or the Senate, simply lost? A.
Yes.
14.4 Do all bracketed provinces immediately lose all taxes even though
the War will attack only one per turn? A. Yes.
14.4 If the Province is in Revolt, does the Active War card pass over
that Province and attack the next listed Province remaining loyal to Rome
instead? If the Germanic Migrations win when they are attacked, is
Narbonese Gaul its ally? A. Yes. No - Narbonese Gaul is an open
province even while the Migration remains active.
See 7.3632 Vatinian Law.
14.41 The rule says "Provincial Armies". Does it hold true for Fleets
as well? A. No.
14.41-.411 The provincial forces increase the strength of the War, but
are they still removed at double rate (since there will be no legions
backing them up)? A. No.
14.411 Is the printed strength of the Province card which is added to
the strength of a victorious War subject to doubling or tripling for
matching War cards? A. No.
14.413 Does a Governor gain Popularity and Influence for defeat of a
Provincial War? A. Yes.
14.5 See 7.3632 Vatinian Law.
14.6 "Each Provincial Army adds one to the printed strength of the
War/Province card," appears to contradict 14.51. In the case of 14.6, if
unaccompanied do they only add half? Do they take losses at double the
normal rate? A. No. No. Once Provincial Armies are added to a War
card, they cease to be Provincial Armies and are not treated as such.
14.7 Do Provincial Fleets dice for allegiance? A. No.
16.51 Can the player use money to increase his votes as in the regular
game? A. Not for purposes of putting together the ruling
coalition.
16.51 Is the tie breaker use of money pertaining to the respective
Faction Treasuries, or all the Treasuries of that Faction? A. The
latter.
16.56 If the player(s) are the only Factions in the ruling coalition,
do they have to use the Military Plans List or can they make their own
plan? A. They can make their own plan.
16.76 When would a Neutral use the blackmail/seduction cards? A.
Automatically when drawn vs whatever faction has the most votes
(16.51).
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