OF GODS AND GLORY

A RESEARCH PROJECT BY

Mark Scott

&

Kristy Bieber

Special Thanks to Ashley Jung for her photoshop efforts.

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OF GODS AND GLORY

Table of Contents Page

Introduction 2

Components 2

Build Story 3

Turns 4

Card Description 5

Turns in Review 6

Quest Card 7

Combat Card 8

Fate Card 9

Hero Card 11

Point System 12

Ending the Game 12

Bibliography 13

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Introduction

Of Gods and Glory, a board game which attempts to encapsulate the ideals of Moira (fate) of mortal heroes in the Homeric world, and the Gods who control it. In the ancient world of Homer’s epics, great men set out to attain Kleos (Glory) and gain favor of the many Gods and Goddesses of Olympus. These celestial beings each have their own agendas, they use men to achieve their goals by twisting the actions and desires of Heroes; driving them to journey, conquer, and kill to fulfil their fates. This game will place each player in the position of one of Olympus’ Gods working with or against other Gods(players). You will issue orders and gives signs to heroes on the board to either complete your celestial desires or hamper others. Heroes will move around the board, by land or sea. Each location may hold allies, enemies, monsters or even Gods, which will create the story of hardships and glory each hero will fulfill while they attempt to complete your desires and their fates.

Components

One board

Minis

Tokens

Cards

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Set-up

Of Gods and Glory can be played in a few ways. All game modes will require each player to decide the God/Goddess they want to play as well as the hero they wish to lead to their fate. To be noted Zeus is not playable. After a story or fate is chosen for each player or chosen for all if players wish to play a more co-operative game. Depending on how players wish to play the game, the board allows for multiple types of games.

Historical: This game type is meant to give players a style of play which is more in line with how this ancient world is represented in Homer’s work. For the sake of this game this will be represented by placing Heroes and monsters in locations which corresponds with Homer’s vision. Each hero will have their location printed on their cards to make this setup as easy and fast as possible. Random: Representing a world recreated by the God’s to alleviate the boredom of modern life. In this game mode Heroes and Monsters are drawn at random, making the world constantly different. This style will allow for the quickest game mode and is suggested for players not looking for a more in-depth game.

Monsters should be placed on the board at the start of the game, or added later as a quest or spawned through some sort of mechanic involving cards. Examples…. centaur invasion, colossus, Cyclops, Scylla, Amazons or many other ideas.

Build Story

The story or quest will dictate the shape and direction of the game. The improvising of the story represents oral tradition. Stories could be selected for each player/God, or an over aching theme that all players must compete to achieve victory. Stories could involve the will of Zeus or be simply a desire of each God/Goddess.

Players will move about the board to complete their destiny, each city or area will be full of characters, monsters or other heroes which will add to, or potentially get in the way of completing a task. As this game is about competing with other celestial beings with their own agendas the road will not always be smooth. There will be a variety of cards and effects that each player will be able to utilize to both assist their own hero, or throw another off course.

With each success, a reward will be added to each player’s story, this could be in the form of a card. For instance, player one is playing as Hera, they fight the Hero Paris and successfully defeat him in combat. This will grant the player points awarding glory as well as influence points for Gods. These points and glory will be tallied up at the end of the game to determine the victor of the game.

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Turns

Each player will have a few options to maneuver heroes around the board, gather allies and claim glory. The game will have 10 turns, each representing a year. Each player will take turns giving a Hero or Army (Multiple heroes) 3 actions per turn. These actions are as followed.

1. Land Movement: Move a unit or force one space, at the end of movement fulfill any action of this location.

2. Sea Movement: Move a unit or force one nautical unit Fulfill any action of this location. Note, nautical units will grant Heroes greater distances but also open Heroes to more dangers.

3. Acquire allies or challenge rule: When at a city heroes can be acquired to assist in completing a quest, some allies will require payment in the form of glory to join. For instance, if Paris is ruling a city, Agamemnon will require some form of payment to convince Paris to join his cause. Players can also request their heroes to challenge a ruling hero and attempt to defeat which ever hero is at the city. Defeating the hero will gain the hero glory, favor or disfavor of other Gods.

4. Battle monsters: Hero or army fights a monster at the current space, if successful hero will gain glory, if defeated hero may retreat if possible or must continue to battle until there is a victor.

5. Battle other heroes: Like battling monsters, a God/Goddess may request a Hero to battle the chosen Hero of another God. Winning will earn Glory as well as set back the completion of a competitor’s fate. Fighting another player is not required for this game, but as in Homers epics, the desires of the God’s may come at the cost of men.

6. Enlist Troops: Living in a world of rival heroes, vicious monsters and vengeful gods takes it toil on the men who follow your chosen hero. Enlisting troops at a city allows to recuperate losses.

7. Pray: If at a temple a turn may be used to acquire a card(assistance) from the patron God/Goddess. Though some cards will require more favor to use and may back fire. A God/Goddess may have agreed to assist you, but they have their own agendas; this is represented by failing to use a card and suffering the cost of failure.

8. Sacrifice: Gain 10 favor points for any God/Goddess, doubled if performed at the corresponding temple.

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Card Description

Card use: Cards in this game represent each god’s abilities to use their celestial power to effect and control the mortal realm. Each God/Goddess has unique ways of influencing the world of men. Of Gods and Glory captures this feeling by allowing players to interact with and control both. In this game, each God/Goddess has access to two types of powers or card types.

Fate: Fate cards represent each God/Goddess abilities to affect the world outside of combat. These cards range from simple directional influence to forcing Heroes to engage in combat when they may others want to avoid bloodshed. Players may only play three fate cards per turn, all cards are placed into each player’s respective discard piles after use.

Combat: Combat cards represent each God/Goddess’s influence over Heroes while they battle for Glory. Combat cards can only be used during combat, and each player may only use one card per combat action. Each player places a card face down at the start of combat, each simultaneously reveals these cards and then both forces tallies their total strengths. Zeus: Zeus is the only main God of the Olympus family not useable by players. In Of Gods and Glory, Zeus will act as the grand arbiter of justice deciding any ties in the form of a dice roll which will also take into account any favor, plus and negative each player has earned with Zeus. There are some effects which may sway Zeus rulings such as Hera’s Zeus’ ear effect. Zeus also has cards he may grant to players like any other God/Goddess, though these effects will vary depending on each Heroes favor, just because the lord of Olympus has agreed to grant assistance, does not mean it will be beneficial.

Other Gods: In Addition to the powers of the Patron God chosen by players, each player

will have the chance to acquire assistance from the other various members of the Olympus family. These power or cards can be acquired and added to each player’s respective card pools by visiting various temples or acquiring favor points. For every 10 favor points acquired by a player’s hero 1 card may be drawn from the top of the gods/goddesses’ deck and added to the player’s card pool. Be warned like Zeus if a player loses or does not meet the required favor to use supporting gods cards it cannot be used.

Temples/Shrines: Throughout the world of Of Gods and Glory various cities and

locations will contain temples and shrines for the Gods/Goddesses of Olympus. Players may take an action while at these locations to pray/sacrifice to a specific god, gaining 10 favor. Players may alternately desecrate these sacred locations which will result in a loss of 40 favor. Players may not actively desecrate temples/shrines though various effects such as losing control of troops while looting a city may cause this action.

Combat: Combat in Of Gods and Glory is determined by adding up the total combat

strength of each force and determining the difference in strength. Strength is determined by adding all heroes, leader, God/Goddess, or monsters combat strength, current troop health and any effects provided by a god/goddess. Once the totals are tallied the loser takes a loss of troop health totaling the difference, the winner losses half this value. If a force or monster is completely defeated add its card to the winning players Glory pool, if defeated flip the card and add the negative effects to this pool.

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Landing at a City or space: After resolving a move action the active player must take their next action interacting with the current displayed character/Hero/Monster. If there is no card currently in this space draw one from the Character deck and similarly resolve the action required.

Monsters: Monsters and creatures are mentioned often in Homeric traditions. Whether it

be Nestor reminiscing about the centaur wars, or Odysseus having run ins with a Cyclops. Of Gods and Glory will feature many options of mythical beasts to encounter and assist in bringing your chosen hero Glory, or doom a rival. If a hero ends a movement action in a square containing a monster it’s next action must be combat. If victorious the player gains glory points awarded by the monster, if defeated or if the hero must retreat subtract the according glory.

Turns: Of Gods and Glory is played out in a suggested 10 round game with three turns

per god for each round. A round represents a year of campaign or quest for the Heroes moving about the world. The first player will choose an action, other players will have an opportunity to play fate cards to assist or deter that heroes progress. Once all players have had a chance to respond, the action is complete, and the next player takes a turn. This is repeated three times per round, once the last players complete their final turn the round is complete and player to the first player’s left takes the new rounds first turn.

Turns in review

1. Start of Round, each player Draws cards up to 7 cards.

2. Declare action, Land/Sea Movement, Combat, Pray/Sacrifice, Recruit troops, Recruit Heroes.

3. Other gods have a chance to use a fate card.

4. Player to the left takes an action.

5. Repeat 3 times per round.

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Quest-

Founding a Nation: Historical/Random. Individual Quest. The fate of your chosen Hero is to found a new great nation and bring glory and stability to their people. You send a message down from Olympus filling your hero with purpose and duty to complete their task. Completing this task grants 100 glory points, chosen hero must be at the chosen area of the new nation (chosen through some form of draw) and in control of the city/space. Failing to complete this goal by the end of the last turn gives a negative 50 glory points.

“Wars and a man I sing- an exile driven on by Fate, he was the first to flee the coast of Troy, destined to reach Lavinian Shores and Italian soil, yet many blows he took on land and sea from the gods above- thanks to cruel Juno’s relentless rage- and many losses he bore in battle too, before he could found a city, bring his gods to Latium, source of the Latin race, the Alban lords and the high walls of Rome.” Aeneid 1.1-8

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Combat Card-

Apollos Plea: Apollo reasons with target Hero to back down from combat, target hero must disengage from combat till the end of the turn.

“… the archer who strikes from worlds away shrieked out- a voice of terror- “Think, Diomedes, shrink back now! Enough of this madness- striving with the gods...” Iliad 5.505-508

Combined assault: Apollo and Neptune strike together tearing down target Heroes defenses, target Hero loses half of its attack power for the turn.

“…then, at last, Poseidon and Lord Apollo launched their plan to smash the rampart, flinging into it all the rivers’ fury.”

Spirited from death: Aphrodite wades through a battle and plucks target Hero who is about to die from the battle.

“… back at his man he sprang, enraged with brazen spear, mad for the kill but Aphrodite snatched Paris away, easy work for a god, wrapped him in swirls of mist and set him down in his

bedroom filled with scent.” Iliad 3.438-441

Heroes demise: Zeus decides the time has come for target Heroes fate, Hero will battle in current space till they are completely defeated or there is no longer an opponent to battle. Any opposing monster or Hero doubles it’s combat value till this action is complete.

“Death cut him short. The end closed in around him. Flying free of his limbs his soul winging down to the House of Death, wailing his fate, leaving his manhood far behind, his young and supple strength.” Iliad 16.1001-1005

Zeus’s favor: Zeus sends a sign down to target hero displaying his favour and promise of glory. Targeted Hero gains double combat values till the end of the action.

“… I will hand Hector the power to kill and kill till he cuts his way to the beached ships and the sun sinks and the blessed darkness sweeps across the earth.” Iliad 2.225-227

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False Comrades: Athena tricks target hero with images of a comrade in arms. Unless countered by another God card this hero cannot retreat while in combat.

“At last the gods have called me down to death. I thought he was at my side, the hero Diephobus- he’s safe inside the walls, Athena’s tricked me blind.” Iliad 22.351-353

Battle Presence: Athena Grants Target Hero a boon of Strength and daring, add half of targeted heroes’ strength to their total and becomes immune to negative effects for the rest of the turn.

“She set the man ablaze, his shield and helmet flaming with tireless fire like the star that flames the harvest, bathed in the Ocean, rising up to outshine all other. Such fire Athena blazed from Tydides’ head and

shoulders, drove him into the center where the masses struggled on.” Iliad 5.4-6

Fate Card-

Eros Sway: Aphrodite sends her son Eros(Cupid) to poison target Hero or character with affection, targeted hero must remain in current location for a turn unless countered with Divine intervention. “Cupid makes for the Queen. Her gaze, her whole heart is riveted on him now, and at times she even warms him snugly in her breast, for how can she know, poor Dido, what a mighty god is sinking into her, to her grief?” Aeneid 1. 856-859

Apollos wrath: Apollo rains down arrows of death infecting target Hero’s army with plague. Target Hero takes 25% damage to remaining troops, can only be used on a Hero with a negative Apollo score.

“Down he strode from Olympius’ peaks, storming at heart with his bow and hooded quiver slung across his shoulders. The arrows clanged at his back as the god quaked with rage, the god himself on the march and down he came like night. Over against the ships he dropped to a knee, let fly a shaft and a terrifying clash rang out from the great silver bow.” Iliad 1.51-56

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Zeus’s ear: Hera influences Zeus to gain an advantage in any choice made by Zeus, one time use per year (or game). Can’t be used if Zeus is deciding a victor.

“Eyes widening, noble Hera coaxed him further.” Iliad 14.319

Aeolus’s Wind. Hera conspires for Aeolus to release his captured wind on target sea bound Hero, Hera may change the destination of Target Heroes movement to a new legal space.

“Now Juno made this plea to the Lord of Winds: Aeolus, the Father of Gods and King of Men gave you the power to calm the waves or rouse them with your gales.

Forced confrontations: Athena moves among a force and causing two target forces in the same area to battle.

“… Athena merged in the Trojan columns like a fighter… hunting for Pandarus, hoping to find the archer. Find him she did… Athena halted beside him, let her challenge fly.” Iliad 4.99-106

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Heroes-

Achilles

Hector

Paris

Aeneas

Dido

Turnus

Pallas

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Point System

Glory points.

Ending the Game

To decide a winner of the game players will recite their tales over the 10 years of journey. They will recount their victories and defeats while tallying points acquired for each feat. Completing your story will grant the most points. For a Hero victory, Glory at the end of the game can be counted and the hero who has acquired the greater glory will be considered the winner. Though being a game controlled by God’s these might not be adequate for deciding a winner. In that case Zeus, will judge each player in the form of a dice roll, make sure to add each players total Zeus favor (still to be added) before rolling. Hera cannot influence this roll. Zeus’ will is final.

Kristy Bieber

Mark Scott

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Bibliography Written Sources Dietrich, B. C. Death, Fate and the Gods: The Development of a Religious Idea oin The Greek Popular Belief and in Homer. London: The Athlone Press, 1965. Erp, Maria van, and Kip, Taalman. “The Gods of the “Iliad” and the Fate of Troy.” Mnemosyne 53, no. 4 (Aug 2000): 385-402.

Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles. London: Penguin Books Ltd, 1990.

Kearns, Emily. “The Gods in the Homeric Epics.” In The Cambridge Companion to Homer, edited by Robert Fowler, 59-74. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Virgil. The Aeneid. Translated by Robert Fagles. London: Penguin Books Ltd, 2006.

Wilson, Joe. “Homer and the Will of Zeus.” College Literature 34, no. 2 (Spring 2007): 150-173.

Image Sources Agamemnon. http://www.greekmythology.com/images/mythology/agamemnon_231.jpg Aphrodite. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/54/7e/84/547e84259e0baf934f0cde4a41a54628.jpg Map. http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks14/1400601h-images/Romulus-08.jpg Athena. http://www.clipartkid.com/images/611/athena-clipart-etc-ShSdhe-clipart.gif Priam. http://leslegendesduhobbit.free.fr/images/mythologiesgrecques/guerredetroie/hector/XG-Priam-Achilles-Ivanov.jpg Hera. http://img14.deviantart.net/cd86/i/2011/212/d/8/hera_by_ithelda-d29l76z.jpg Zeus. http://www.coloriages.fr/coloriages/coloriage-zeus.jpg