You have not heard about Azgh raban you say?
I find it impossible that you have not heard or played the famous dwarven game Azgh raban, also known as War table in the westron tongue. Still a mystery? Well let me enlighten you my friend and may the beard grow and not wither while you read through this.
Azgh raban is a friendly game between two players, but run and ruled by a judicator of good standing. The game has three rounds, defined as first, second and third round and the object is to win two or more of these rounds to be declared a winner. All three rounds will be played. The rounds symbolize different flows of a battlefield, hence the name War table.
So how do we play then?
It's a combination of rolling a dice and adding what we dwarrow's call war points to the dice result.
Before the game, each player has 100 war points (wp) they must divide into three pools, for the three different rounds that they will play. They can be divided up in any way the player desires, as long as the total number is 100. Here are some examples;
0 wp - 46 wp - 54 wp
For the first round, the player will add zero points and hope that combination with this and his dice roll will be enough to win. In his second round, the player will add 46 points to his dice roll and in the third round, add 54 points to the dice roll.
20 wp - 40 wp - 40 wp
Here the player have chosen another approach, with 20 points for the first round, 40 to second and 40 as well for the third round.
And to give a lesser mind some help, it's how you divide up your war points pools that defines your strategy to win this game. Once you have decided your strategy, you will share these war points pools with the judicator before the game starts, by whispering it in his ears.
After that, we are ready to play the game, on the judicator’s command.
The following applies for all three rounds;
The round does not start before the judicator announce it, by the command Azgh RABAN!
Each player rolls his dice once and the judicator will add the result with the war points and announce the total result for both players and the winner of that round. The player with the highest score wins the round. If a player rolls more than once during a round, only the first roll will count.
Simple? Yes? But on all battlefields, the odds might work with or against you, so there are some special rules that might come into play during a round. These are;
The perfect strike
If a player manages to get an even 100 points score total (with the pool of war points, the dice roll and other points awarded in one round), he will get an additional 50 points in his next round. This symbolizes a commander with a perfect tactical movement during a battle, that gives him the upper hand over his opponent, as he pushes on to the next round of the battle.
Durin’s beard!
If the player has added all his war points to one round (100) and he gets a 100 on his dice roll, with a total score of 200 (no more, no less), he wins the game. Any remaining rounds will not be played, since this will symbolize a perfect strategy that has devastated the opponent.
Binaskath!
If a player manages to roll a 1 on his dice, he will get -50 points to his next round. Also, all other points added or taken from the war point pool of that round are forfeited, meaning the player loses the round. This symbolize a commander that has failed miserably on the battlefield and might be overrun by his opponent in the next round.
An dwarrows advantage
It's a dwarven game and if you want to battle us on our terms, you will have a small disadvantage. A dwarven player will always get +5 to his results for all three rounds, if he plays against another race. Many of you will cry it’s unfair, but if you beat us in our own game with these terms, our respect will be higher towards you. Embrace the challenge!
The Cowards way
If a player has lost the two first rounds and refuses to play the third, he or she will be branded as a coward that symbolizes a commander that has ran away from the battlefield and left his soldiers behind. This will be penalized with -50 points in all his rounds, the next game he plays under the same judicator. If attending a tournament, this will apply for all remaining rounds in the tournament.
Before any game, it's customary to eat and have an ale or two before you play. This to remind us all that we are playing on friendly terms. And should somebody's beard go sour during the contest, it is better to have the meal while the spirits are still high for all parts. But there are no rules against another ale after a game, if the parties desire it.
Those with an adventurous mind and coin in the purse, can also do some betting on the side.
Are you ready to play then?
ooc information
As a player I observed in-game some npc dwarfs playing a game in Annâk-khurfu. Intrigued, I wanted to create a similar game for role players and that was the birth of Azgh raban.
It's a simple game of strategy and luck, where the player who acts as a judicator and the two players competing against each other, need to be in a fellowship. There is an in-game function you can use in the fellowship chat, where you type /roll in the chat. The game will then generate a random number from 1-100. This in-game function will represent the role playing for rolling a dice.
As for the war points and how the player will whisper this in the judicator's ears, are done with an in-game tell from the player to the judicator, on the judicator's command, which will be; Share with me your tactics! On that command both players send a tell to the judicator how they have divided up their war points. For example they will say. My war points will be 20-40-40, meaning you will add 20 wp to the first round, 40 wp to the second round and 40 wp to the third round. Remember, you can divide up the numbers as you like, as long as the total score is 100.
Then the judicator player starts the game with the command Azgh RABAN! Both players then do their /rolls and await the result from the judicator. You are ofc encouraged to emote how you feel about the round.
The judicator will announce the results somewhat like this;
Esteemed “player name1” rolled “dice number” and with his war point, gave a result of “the total score”, while esteemed “player name2” rolled “dice number” and with his war point, gave a result of “the total score”. The winner of this round is “player name on winner”.
The judicator will of course add more to the announced results, if the special rules come into play. Other players observing a game should show the courtesy to leave the chatter to a minimum, until the results are clear. If there is too much noise from those who observe, the judicator can hush them or even ask them to leave.
