| This module
was ispired by the comic "300",
written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colors by Lynn
Varley; the comic was adapted into a film with 2007's 300. |
The module contains
- Two specialized armies, representing the
Spartan and Persian forces
- A new desktop, with a
special map
composed of a central area 7 cards wide
- 26 new cards (units and specials)
- new skins for themain Hoplites windows
- Special
victory conditions (see below)
To play with this module you need the
module
archive (608K, updated 7 nov 07); unzip the archive on your Hoplites directory:
all the 300-specific graphics will be put on a special directory (named 300) under the base Hoplites root.
No special install action are required: after unzipping the module the next time you'll run Hoplites the 300 button
will make the module available automatically.
This
is the first version of the module, so i can expect that some
elements are not yet tuned and other components could be added or
modified: let me know your ideas/comments about it.
300 is not
an historical module: the
idea is to re-create some of the
epics of the combat between Leonidas an Xerses at the Thermopylae as
depicted in the comic, so do not expect historical accuracy or detail.
This module is a lab for some new features of the Hoplites engine: the
most important changes are
- The Victory
conditions for the Spartan player in this module are
different from the standard: there's no way to route the Persian army,
so the duty of Leonidas is to keep control of the gates for 50 turns;
at the end of the 50th turn, if the Spartan army is still on the field
(i.e. not routed) the Spartan player wins. The Persian player wins only
by routing the Spartan army in less than 50 turns.
- The
map has only 7 central zones, the
wings being protected by the Hot Gates
- The 7 central areas of the Spartans are considered
to be "walled", with a positive modifier in Shock; no terrain cards are
used to represent this feature of the battlefield (but the help on the
card will display the relevant details)
|
|
- The Immortals are represented by HI, not the
standard archer MI, following the comic interpretation of this soldier
- Elephants are considered as War Beasts, more
oriented to the melee than the standard elephants.
- The Spartan Army has two custom special cards,
both usable in the Missile Phase, representing some of traps set by
Leonida (in the comic); one Stratagem card inflicts 2COH to an enemy
while the second Stratagem is capable to eliminate a card.
- The
Spartan Army has a new special rule, DISCIPLINE, that allows the
Spartan player to move the LI to the second line and to use the
combined movement replacing an LI with a PH or HI unit.
- The
Persian Army has one custom special card
(Fear), used to boost the melee combat of a unit: when this card is
selected the persian CRT roll is modified with a +3, but at the same
time the attacking unit suffers an automatic 1 COH.
- The
Persian Army can always deploy two units in the Play phase
| |
As
a result of these changes Hoplites is now able
to support
- Different wings/center area combinations (2+5+2,
1+7+1, 3+3+3...)
- Initial setup of the cards
- Specialized cards/rules to re-create a Battle
These features will be fully documented in the
future releases of the game so stay tuned.
References
The
Wikipedia
Entry
The
300 DVD
The
complete
works of Frank Miller