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Jeff Horger
United States
Columbus
Ohio
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Tayanna, the land of Crusaders and the Inquisition
The Theocracy of Tayanna is my personal take on a religious theocracy or religious state. The leaders of the church are also the leaders of the government and the state is run under religious laws. The Catholic Church, Orders of Knighthood, the Inquisition, the Crusades, Paladins from Dungeons & Dragons, King Arthur, modern Islamic states and ancient Jewish ones all jumbled together to create the state of Tayanna. Originally I had a working name for the nation of Deseret, but that was swiped directly from Mormon history and, not wanting to offend potential customers I searched for a more suitable name. While doing a mall walk I walked by...wait for it... Teavanna and the idea of relaxation and harmony hit me. I quickly revised the name to roll off the lips a bit better since I didn't have to sell tea in the game and a national identity was born.
In the descriptions below, at the end of each unit is a value listed as X-X/X-X. This represents the Combat-Move/Reduced Combat-Move of that unit on the counter.
TAYANNA UNITS
1st & 2nd Heavy Foot: Nothing fancy or too inspired here. these units represent trained and well-armed units of heavy foot from antiquity to the advent of gunpowder. I did this on purpose to show the common man in the game. These units form the backbone of the army but are not the units that will get the glory. In their cards the foot have good attack and very good defensive values for their heavy armor. They may also build strong points (redoubts in Manoeuvre).
1st Foot: 7-1/4-1
2nd Foot: 6-1/3-1
Nivernois Crusaders: The crusaders were based on, well crusaders. They are as strong as the foot but are able to attack with either standard force or by charging into a battle with a committed attack. Crusaders also may use their cards to aid in defense or to regroup. The crusaders have enough shock value that they can take an objective and hold it for a prolonged period.
6-1/4-1
Akivan Martyrs: The Martyrs simply refuse to give up and when they attack, they do so with fury and a disregard for their own safety. They are not the best armed or armored units but their ferocity makes up for it. They are multipurpose attackers and defenders and players use them both ways. They can build strongholds and have high defense values but they also attack using committed attacks. I based the Martyrs a bit on the Islamic extremists and a bit on the defenders of Masada & Jerusalem.
5-1/5-1. That's right, they lose no effectiveness until they are eliminated.
Sicarian Zealots: This unit represents those troops that are called to fight out of religious fervor. They are under-armored, under-armed and lack training. What they do have is a zeal to close with and attack the enemy. They have an ability to make a Charge Attack (move 1 space and then attack during combat). They can also create strong points and Force March. However they are brittle and once hit are easy to remove on a follow-up attack. They were given Mountain movement because for balance-sake someone in the army needed it and this unit seemed like it would be the least deterred by climbing a mountain to attack the enemy.
5-1/2-1 (Mountain)
Knights of the Old Regime and the Knights of Calatrava: The two cavalry units are based on the mounted Knights of antiquity and legend. Splendidly armed and armored these knights ride to battle and dismount to fight. They have good speed and can make haste if necessary. They attack well but pursue poorly. In defense they can hold their ground using Defensive Valor to ignore "Retreat" results when they occur. These units represent the fist of the army.
KotOR: 8-2/5-2
KoC: 7-2/4-2
The Thirteen Peers: This is an elite unit of mounted Paladins. the concept for this unit comes directly from Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. They have the best attack in the game; 2d10 and Disciplined so they do not have to advance if victorious. Of course they also have Defensive Valor so they can hold their ground as well. If the knights are the fist, the Thirteen Peers are the hammer.
8-2/4-2
Salii Guards: The Guards are the basic garrison force of Tayanna with no combat cards of their own. They are most effectively used as garrisons or screening troops.
TAYANNA HQ CARDS
Nation Cards: Tayanna's cards have small 1d8 or 1d10 Attack Values. Five of the cards allow for a small defensive boost of +3 while others allow for a Withdraw of Skirmishing.The most interesting thing about the Tayanna cards is their unique ability to fortify cities. They may use some of their Nation Cards to create very powerful +5 strong points inside cities.
TAYANNA MAGIC
The magic of Tayanna is holy in nature and focuses on healing and restoration for the most part.
Transference: This spell allows the priests of Tayanna to weaken one unit and imbue a different unit with that strength. This type of spell hearkens back the Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series where healers had to take on the injuries of those they sought to heal.
Gate: This is so common a spell from so many sources that it seems pointless to identify its origins. In the game it allows one unit to pop from one space on the board to any other unoccupied space.
Resurrection: I guess this bit or "magic" has its roots right in the Bible and before. In game terms, a unit that was already eliminated is returned to play at a reduced capacity.
Pain: This spell is a holy protection placed on one of your units that reduces the effectiveness of a unit making an attack on that unit. Pain makes an appearance in Dungeons & Dragons as well as Magic: The Gathering.
Flame Strike: Some Old Testament Wrath of God. I'm sure any old school D&D player knows this from AD&D. Best offensive cleric spell ever. The army needed some offensive spell powers and this is the clearest example I could find.
Hopelessness: This spell causes despair and simply makes the aggressor take his ball and go home. After an attack is resolved this card nullifies all the combat and both sides sit in place. I'm not sure where I got the inspiration for this but probably a Magic card or D&D spell.
Find Path: This spell represents Divine guidance. The Bible again offers many examples of God helping those true believers to find the correct path among the various obstacles laid out in front of them. Finding the path allows a unit to cross any terrain, even a terrain prohibited to them.
Wind Walk: This spell allows a unit to fly a short distance over the battlefield. The idea for this came from the ICE role-playing system's Channeling book.
Heal: Again, this is a typical religious concept and clerical concept in almost any standard fantasy RPG or MMO where the holy characters have the ability to heal allies. This spell allows you to flip a damaged unit back to full strength.
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