After tweaking the rules somewhat, I've decided to play another solo Primavera Occulta game, and document it a little more thoroughly on the blog. This time I'm going to go real slow, only playing one or two turns a night so I have plenty of time to take notes and consider the rules as I go. To refresh you memory, Primavera Occulta is a game I am writing for small-scale skirmishes in the Italian Wars, with a period-specific supernatural element.
So, this post covers the set-up, or perhaps the pregame phase.
I started with the two opposing sets of Initiates. These are the core of the warband, the nobles and veteran warriors united in their search for esoteric knowledge. Each warband has three initiates, one of each Archetype: The Warrior, the Scholar, and the Apprentice. These correspond to the King, Queen, and Jack card respectively. Each player distributes 8 special rules across the three Initiates, no more than 4 per character
One the left is Kaspar von Hahn, accompanied by Father Schmidt and his squire Dieter. Kaspar has the Leader, Armor, and Heavy Armor rules. Schmidt has rule Orator, and the spells Stupefaction and Speculative Masonry. Dieter has the Ranged Weapon and Armor rules.
One the right, Astolfo has the Armor, Heavy Armor, Big Blade and Bad War rules. Arturo Marenghi has the Leader rule, and the spells Blasting Force and Enticing Visions. His wife Adelaide is a Healer.
Next, the players are each dealt 10 playing cards. They bid up to two cards each on the Recruiting subphase (the winner get more hirelings or more powerful spirits), and the Scouting subphase (winner has more control over terrain placement and deployment. Higher cards are more valuable here, as opposed to lower cards in the actual battle. Certain suits are better in one or the other.
Having won the Recruitment subphase, von Hahn obtains the services of two halberdiers (hirelings with the Big Blade rule), and summons a minor spirit in the form of a young piper from Ancient Greece. Arturo Marenghi summons a spirit as well, his taking the form of a great hound. The former spirit is an aid to magic, and the latter helps claim treasures, but they are otherwise identical ruleswise.
While Marenghi was less successful in recruiting, he was able to scout more effectively, and set up the terrain to his advantage. He has placed a strong defensive position in the center of the board, which he will occupy in the next post.
To be continued...
Very interesting.
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