Kinstrife Gunboat Pairings

General
#1

It occurred to me we have not yet run a Kinstrife Gun boat game.

Then I thought, what would the parings be for the nations to produced a BALANCED game?

So please make suggestions for FP/DS gunboat pairings, guess it would have to be 2,2,3 with 1 neutral going each way.

Or 2,2,2,1 with the the 1 player having first dibs on picking up a dropped nation.

Q1: 2,2,3 or 2,2,2,1?
Q2: List pairings!

Dean

#2

Sign me up please Dean.

The combinations below are pulled together quickly without in-depth analysis to get the ball rolling, the objective was to:
• Combine more character based nations with more military ones
• Keep combos in separate regions
• Pair more desirable nations with less desirable ones

Since KS is so customisable many nations can be setup to be character or military based (for example Eldacar, described as an agent based nation, can have the hire for free - a premium military SNA), nation desirability is very subjective and since 3-4 Loyalists and Usurper nations are in close proximity (Eldacar, Rhovanion, Horselords and Rebels / Castamir, Morlaen, Elendin and Southron), keeping regions separate is not straightforward. That being said the 2,2,2,1 combinations could be:

Loyalists combos with neutral
Line of Eldacar & Line of Tirkhor
Rebels of Ered Lithui & Kingdom of Arnor
Quendi & Rhovanion / Horselords
Rhovanion / Horselords

Usurper combos with neutral
Line of Castamir & Khazad
Line of Morlaen & Hithlum
Line of Elendin & Witch-realm of Angmar
The Southron Kingdoms

Personally I wouldn’t like a single nation in an otherwise 2 nation GB game, but on the other hand the quality of the player running a 3 nation combo would have a huge influence on its outcome, so is either option ideal? Also, as Loyalists can Tirkhor’s starting cavalry (2800hc equivalent) actually be stopped by Usurpers without coordination and very focused setups by many Usurpers? Perhaps these challenges just highlight that the GB format is for the more experienced player for all scenarios…
I know this suggestion would mess up the historical thing and many interesting characters would be lost, but would a 6 V 6 be possible?

Loyalists 6 nation combos
Line of Eldacar & Horselords
Rebels of Ered Lithui & Kingdom of Arnor
Rhovanion & Quendi

Usurper 6 nation combo
Line of Castamir & Hithlum
Line of Morlaen & Khazad
Witch-realm of Angmar & Line of Elendin / The Southron Kingdoms

Loyalists:

  1. The Line of Eldacar: The Line of Eldacar is an agent-based nation in Rhovanion, whose capital is, of necessity, hidden.
  2. Rebels of Ered Lithui: The Rebels of Ered Lithui are located around the northern mountains of Mordor. Many of the Rebels are possessed of stealth, whilst the location of population centres are flexible, allowing them to be moved during game set-up.
  3. Rhovanion: The nation of Rhovanion takes its name from the lands its people call home, and is a character-based nation that also has many population centres.
  4. Horselords: The Horselords roam the plains of Rhovanion, and are a cavalry-based nation.
  5. Kingdom of Arnor: The Kingdom of Arnor covers a huge expanse of land to the west of the Misty Mountains. With many population centres to protect, their few armies are stretched thin.
  6. Quendi: The Quendi are scattered across the lands of Middle-earth. A character-based nation, a number of their population centres are hidden.
  7. Line of Tirkhor: The fourth nation in Gondor, the Line of Tirkhor have sought to remain neutral in the conflict, an attempt made possible by their strong mages, and the finest cavalry force in Gondor.

Usurpers:
11. Line of Castamir: The Line of Castamir has many characters and population centres. However, they must share the lands of Gondor, and its resources, with the Lines of Morlaen, Elendin and Tirkhor.
12. Line of Morlaen: The Line of Morlaen is the second of the three Usurper nations in Gondor, whose leaders command Gondor’s secret police, the Cor Aran. It has many agent- and emissary-based characters.
13. Line of Elendin: Responsible for maintaining the outposts of Gondor, The Line of Elendin is the third of the Usurper nations in Gondor, and can move their turn map to aid them in this task.
14. Southron Kingdoms: The Southron Kingdoms, whose lands spread below Gondor and Mordor, are safe in the knowledge that at least their southern borders are safe from the possibility of attack.
15. Hithlum: The five tribes of Easterling men boast fine cavalry armies.
16. Witch-realm of Angmar: From the mountains of Angmar, the Witch-king wages war on Arnor with skilled mages and commanders.
22. Khazad: The dwarves of Middle-earth, scattered like the Quendi throughout the land, are renowned for the strength of their cities’ walls, defended with great military might.

#3

These are good musings Klub. Another short missive by PM as that the nations in KS are large enough to play 1,1,1,1,1,1,1 ie no pairings but with the option to pick up a second in the advent of a drop?

Simple, but with less tactics and you still need the full 14 players to kick a game off?

I will think more!

Dean

#4

Single nations could be a very good approach