CRP WAR | The Army of the Living vs. The Black Church

[Nectorist 12869]

Introduction:

 

In the past, conflict between magic groups and nations have often forced resolution to come via a warclaim. While this is understandable (warclaims are basically the only avenue for rules-backed conflict resolution between larger groups), it’s quite unideal for building an interesting narrative. The strength of magic groups lay in the power they harness through lore, which cannot be feasibly represented in PvP, while nations have such large numbers that any PvP that comes is likely to be minimal and boring. Therefore, the more successful model to have a conflict play out on the server, while providing a fulfilling resolution, is through CRP, despite the many issues it may have.

 

After a few weeks of consultation, the leadership of the crusading forces and the Black Church have come to an agreement on a set of common rules that will try to provide the interesting sort of conflict that the server lacks, while playing to the strengths of pitting crusaders and demons against each other. 

 

I struggle to remember the last time a CRP war not run by the ST ever happened. Because we are walking into this without much precedent, besides one-off events and pre-arranged PvP vassal wars, there will undoubtedly be things that these rules miss, get wrong, and/or need to have changed. At the end of the day, I envision this to be primarily an experiment on how a CRP war system might work best, so all feedback is appreciated!

 

Rules:

 

I) Be wholesome chunguses.

 

II) Involve staff only as needed to help things flow, mostly to mediate the rules/CRP and ensure fairness.

 

III) While this is not a mandatory PK eventline, players willing to PK are to be given priority at all times (do the most things, have the most aura moments). Everyone else is to be a grunt.

i) Accordingly, anyone who doesn’t want to PK will still be locked out of the event for a week if they’re killed IRP.

IV) No raiding or banditing between 12am-12pm EST (12am-8am EST on Saturday and Sunday). Agreed-upon encounters are permitted.

 

V) Killing/PKing should be, if not a last resort, done in good taste. While you don’t need to go out of your way to make everyone die in some blaze of glory, players should not be subjected to troll or meme RP if they’re facing death.

 

VI) Everyone knocked out of the event, whether ‘killed’ or injured or otherwise, will be allowed to participate in the assault phase (i.e., the warclaim proper) if they so wish.

 

VII) There will be a limitless timer for prisoners of crusader leadership or people of significant note. Mediocre prisoner RP is forbidden, and requires a rescue raid, or some RP for saving.

 

VIII) Both sides will have open channels of communication and Moderation arbitration when needed. However, the CRUSADERS retain the right to turn the war to PvP and go through the normal warclaim process if this war is stonewalled to an unreasonable degree. This is basically the nuclear option, in the event of a total breakdown in cooperation and a disregard for the spirit of what this war system is supposed to achieve.

i) If players on the CRUSADERS fail to adhere to the spirit of this war system on a widespread and egregious level, I (Nectorist) will unilaterally forfeit and declare a victory for the BLACK CHURCH.

 

Pre-War:

 

Both the CRUSADERS and the BLACK CHURCH will establish rosters for who is participating in the event. The BLACK CHURCH is allowed to divide their forces how they wish. The CRUSADERS will establish two large pools of players:

 

I) The Vanguard - This will be about ~60 of the more dedicated, PK-willing players with the most narrative stakes. They will be the ones doing the majority of the combat.

 

II) The Reserves - Everyone else. They will be able to partake in certain events, as well as the general fighting that happens outside of pre-arranged fights, but will mostly just be there for the final, big fight.

 

Phase 1: Vanguard Travel (1 week)

 

Sorry for it being hard to see, but basically 3 different army groups (Red - Burgundy, Green - Idunia+Koyo-Kuni, Blue - Norland+Caurost+Others) travel south to establish different camps (might just mechanically build one for expediency).

 

Before the traveling begins, the CRUSADERS will choose how to divvy up the vanguard. Because of poor road and supply conditions in the south (it’s desolate and whatnot), the total vanguard will be no more than 60 players divided into 3 armies. The exact number of soldiers each army has is to be determined by the CRUSADERS. Maybe we divide it evenly, 20-20-20, maybe we go 10-30-20, maybe we do 1-1-58, it’s up to us. 

 

On the day of the march, the BLACK CHURCH will roll a 3d20 to scout the three approaching armies in order to determine their size:

 

20 - The identity of everyone in the army group is revealed.

17-19 - The exact number of people in the army group is revealed.

14-16 - A range of people, within five, is revealed.

10-13 - A range of people, within ten, is revealed.

6-9 - A range of people, within fifteen, is revealed.

2-5 - Nothing is revealed.

1 - The CRUSADERS can give whatever number they want.

 

The BLACK CHURCH can then choose if they want to ambush one of the columns with a roughly equal-sized force (within 5 players, counting summons) and where it will occur (we can do the sea if we want a naval fight). If so, an arranged CRP encounter will take place under the following rules, which will apply to every arranged CRP encounter:

 

1. Both sides will be given a 50x50 area to set up in. Defenders will be allowed to add makeshift defenses in addition to what is already present.
2. A turn order will be established, with a coinflip made to determine who begins first. Each side will have 4 minutes to emote. Anyone who doesn’t emote within that time will lose their action for that turn. The timer can be extended if certain actions need to be clarified.
3. An effort will be made to keep the CRP around 90 minutes at most. This means about 22-23 turns, which I feel like is fine to reach a workable conclusion. Not every battle has to be a decisive encounter where everyone on one side dies.
   1. The win conditions for CRP are:
      1. FOR ATTACKER: wiping the defenders out, driving the defenders from a fortified position, forcing the defenders to retreat away from a location they were trying to reach.
      2. FOR DEFENDER: wiping the attackers out, repulsing the attackers from a fortified position, reaching a specified location to ‘escape’ the attack.
4. Mediation of the CRP will be handled by both sides, with efforts made to not require Moderation oversight. CRP will operate on a ‘good faith’ clause, where players are expected to avoid argument and adhere to proper redlines. If a contested action cannot be resolved within five minutes, it will be permitted to stand.
   1. Any players who abuse the ‘good faith’ clause will be removed from the event entirely. 
5. Any mana (or equivalent) limitations on spellcasting will be modified. All other CRP timers/movement counts remain in place.

 

If the BLACK CHURCH wins this encounter and either destroys the convoy or prevents it from ‘escaping’ south, the siege phase will require 3 successful weeks in order to progress into the assault phase instead of 2. The travel lane that the ambushed column was using will be closed off for the duration of the event.

 

If the CRUSADERS win this encounter and either destroy the ambushing force or escape to the south, the BLACK CHURCH will lose a counter-action on their first turn of the siege phase.

 

Phase 2: Siege (2 week minimum, 12 week maximum)

 

After the travel phase, a siege camp will be built around the BLACK CHURCH to serve as the forward base of the CRUSADERS. The siege phase will center around the besieging force trying to break into the fort (duh) while the besieged force tries to stop them. Each irl week will function as a turn, with the besiegers being forced to do three regular actions each week:

 

I) Bring supplies and reinforcements in from the north using one of the available supply lines. 15 reinforcements can be brought down each week, counting replacements for those who have been injured/killed in the fighting. (This allows the army to grow/replenish).

 

II) Forage for supplies in the surrounding area to sustain a growing and active siege camp. (This allows the siege camp to sustain itself for longer, starting at 5 weeks and extending by one week with each ‘successful’ foraging expedition).

 

III)Maintain the camp itself and fire upon the fort. (This allows for progress to be made towards the assault, which requires 2 (or 3) weeks of successful bombardment).

 

These three tasks correspond to the three armies that were sent down in the first phase. Like before, each army will be assigned to one of these tasks and have its composition chosen by the CRUSADER leadership each week. Additional reinforcements can be added to any of these armies at the start of each week, but rosters must be locked in every Sunday.

 

The BLACK CHURCH is allowed to conduct 2 counter-actions each week to try and disrupt the CRUSADERS. While they are not held to the same ‘army group’ rules as the CRUSADERS, players from the BLACK CHURCH are only allowed to participate in 1 counter-action per week. The actions that can be taken are:

 

I) Attack supply lines, preventing reinforcements from arriving at the camps. (Will require ‘guessing’ which route the reinforcing army is coming down, to be handled by each side informing a neutral staff member white route they are taking).

 

II) Ambush the foraging party, resulting in them returning home empty-handed.

 

III) Attack the siege camp, possibly destroying its cannon/siege weapons. (Stalls bombardment until new siege weapons can be brought over in the next successful supply caravan).

 

Aside from the structured events, the area in between the siege camp and the fort will be considered no-man’s-land, where both sides may fight each other freely. Because this area is entirely optional to engage with, pking and/or being knocked out of the event is as well. This is the fun zone for fun fighting.

 

Both the siege camp and the fort will be off-limits to attack, but small groups of infiltrators (1-3 people) can enter to try and assassinate people, map out the area, eavesdrop on RP, etc. In line with this, all decisions made regarding soldier allocations, what armies are being sent where, and other major strategic decisions MUST be conducted through RP the week prior.

 

The siege phase will progress when the CRUSADERS have either completed 2 successful weeks of bombardment (in which case the assault phase will begin) or have run out of time due to a combined of failed foraging and bombardments (in which case it will be an automatic defeat for the CRUSADERS).

 

Phase 3: Assault (CONDITIONAL)

 

If the CRUSADERS have fulfilled the requisite number of successful bombardment weeks to launch an assault, they may do so at any week of their choosing. The specific day and time of the final assault will be planned in advance by the leadership of both sides (I assume it will be a late Saturday morning). The fort will be designed in such a way to allow for multiple points of entry and for access to the entirety of the interior, but it will also be conducive for defense. The win condition for the assault is simple: the crusaders either conquer and occupy the fort, or they are forced to retreat (or they all die ig).

 

Should we approach this point, the specific details will be decided between the leadership of the two sides, but the primary emphasis will be breaking the main assault into smaller fights in order to get through the battle quicker.

 

Victory Results:

 

IF THE BLACK CHURCH WINS:

 

• Caius II will die (if in the final assault) or abdicate out of shame.
• The Church will abandon all attempts to crusade against the dark or even provide support as an institution for any crusade or war for the next 30 weeks.
• The nations participating in the crusade will cap their raid cooldown timer at 2 days for the following 30 days, no matter the size of the raiding force.

 

IF THE CRUSADERS WIN:

 

• The Black Church will be razed and the island freed of any Warlock influence. 
• Those who sided with the Black Church will be unable to raid the lands of those who sided with the Crusade for 8 weeks.
• The Black Church will be unable to raid at all until a new lair is built (they may rebuild/repurpose the old site).

[DarkxWalker 248]

Can't wait to powergame against the Black Church, woo

[Unwillingly 18096]

coolest storytelling device we've seen in years, excited to see how this will go!

[TheIchorDruid 1986]

Fantastic system Nectorist, I look forward to seeing what organic story this shall promote!

[PrimnyaQuorum 3998]

mreeoooooooow

[PolarLoLs 983]

mmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooooooow

[M1919 2298]

[Wizry 1218]

This is cool

[RatFromTheTrash 531]

1 hour ago, Nectorist said:

IV) No raiding or banditing between 12am-12pm EST

i’m australian :c 

[Lortime 1153]

I'm genuinely impressed at how good faith this is, and how much coordination it must've taken. This is unheard of 90% of the time, and I'm super happy to see it. Fantastic job to everyone involved, but especially the leadership of both sides. 

[Frisket 4537]

It’s set up really well

 

will it actually run well?

[ContestedSnow 1435]

On 5/18/2026 at 9:13 AM, RatFromTheTrash said:

i’m australian :c 

australian timezones strike again, when will these dastardly hours be stopped

[Vertigo_Round 323]

So what happens if people start third partying for profit?

[Turnipian 203]

On 5/18/2026 at 9:13 AM, RatFromTheTrash said:

i’m australian :c 

 

This anti-Australian bias CANNOT continue!

[Turbo_Dog 3566]

May we ban Australians?