Stratagem Design Project

Rule and Game Design have now reached so far that it's time to start developing the first draft for the Rule Book. The Rule Book will be publish as a digital E-book initally, with possibilty to offer customers a print-on-deamnd version as aan option.   The Rule Book will be richly illustrated, with some background facts along with rules example and table with stats of units, infrastructure and abilities. 

At the moment a lot of playtesting is focused on getting the In-game Resolution right - keeping it fun, managing the complexity and taking care of the replayability. It's looking good - things are moving in the right directions... And simultaneously another aspect of the game is being tested - the diplomacy/foreing policy mechanims where friendly or hostile neighbours of the empire become a part of the internal power struggle - use the tribes to your advantage, keep them satisfied and let them act as tools for your political ambitions... And yes, those placeholders are unit icons from a well known PC-game, you're correct... One of the games that will be possible to use for resolving the Tactical Battles of the Campaign/Boardgame in fact.   Trying different situations - what are the choice in this instance? Are all option covered in the current rules, do they have to be clarified? Can they be made even more simple?  Next step will be to playtest the diplomacy with live pla...

Artwork and digital reconstruction by History in 3D The Architectural world where Patrimonium Imperii takes place is painstakingly and vividly reconstructed by the company History in 3D. Be sure to check out their site; the team has done quite a few impressive projects to bring the ancient buidlings to life.  Their main focus recently has been a reconstruction and visualization of Rome - the Rome in 3D project, where the aim is to "create the most complete, reliable and detailed reconstruction of the great city". 

Step by step the Game Pieces take place on the game table, right now the protoyping focuses on honing the In-game Battle Resolution to the best balance possible. Patrimonium Imperii primarily provides a Campaign Layer for your tactical battles - using miniatures or PC games - but it also offers the possibility for "in-game" resolution of battles that you and your opponents maybe don't find interesting. The In-game Battle Resolution will also let you decide outcomes quickly from engagements, if your gaming session wishes to focus on the more strategic challenges of the game. Note that artwork in the screenshots is still wip - there will be changes in the near future - but the "feel" of the design won't change very much.

Patrimonium Imperii is set in late antiquity, in the immidiate aftermath of the death of emperor Constantine the great and the struggle of power among his relatives that rippled through the empire following his demise.  The game lets you take on the role as one of his relatives and trick, deceive and fight your way to the position as the last claimant standing.  The  Constantinian dynasty  is an informal name for the ruling family of the  Roman Empire  from  Constantius Chlorus  (died 306) to the death of  Julian  in 363. It is named after its most famous member,  Constantine the Great  who became the sole ruler of the empire in 324. The dynasty is also called  Neo-Flavian  because every Constantinian emperor bore the name Flavius, similarly to the rulers of the first  Flavian dynasty  in the 1st century. The family tree of Constantine the Great. Characters coloured are included among the Claimant Characters...

Next step in the development of Patrimonium Imperii - the Board Game that also will offer a campaign layer to your favourite tactical wargame - has finally started; prototyping to be able to do the first playtest is now under way. At this moment a lot of the art work is still placeholders and the size can and will be adjusted to get the optimla game set up layout. All Character Cards of a player arranged in the way they will be laid out - on the respective Court and Diocese Boards of course, but none the less - this will be the ultimate goal to achieve for a player.  You won't be playing in an environment of old roman ruins when the game is released - but it's a nice background when play testing ;-)

Right now development has been focused on the - as I'm hoping - final steps to catch the right feel and character for the game. Logotype and themes will be used in all sorts of situations, so it's important to pin the right style, since this will be so important to a lot of other elements. The Game Ui will be closely connected to this style, so there are a lot of variables to keep in mind. 

A few more words on the background of the Board Game... As one of the players of Patrimonium Imperii you find yourself in the tumultuous struggle for power in the summer of 337, just after the great emperor Constantine has passed away. You and your relatives (i.e. the other players) will have to fight for your claims to the throne. Think "Game of Thrones" set in the Late Antiquity! Historically, only the three biological sons of Constantine survived the Summer of Blood 337, and most evidence points to Constantius as of one the chief instigators of the massacre within the family. A thorough investigation is presentedin this  fascinating thesis on the events , eminently written by R.W. Burgess. It's like looking into the details of a crime investigation! Following the death of his father in 337, Constantine II initially became emperor jointly with his brothers Constantius II and Constans, with the Empire divided between them and their cousins, the Caesars Dalm...