Tug of War

Tug of War is a scenario with multiple stages: a field stage, an optional intermediate stage, and a defense stage. Inspired by a gamemode in Dungeon Siege, it was first playtested at Andor on March 4th, as conceived by Franziska and executed by Char.

Recommended Play

Teams	2
Players per Team	5+
Field Size	Large
Marshals	2+ Add more to manage obstacles and points, if needed.
Respawn Time	5 seconds per 5 players on team
Invader Respawns	2

Setup

Designate areas of the field as homelands for each team, marking obstacles within them such as huts and castle walls. The homelands should not be near each other. Mark a spawn area inside the homeland far from any entry points to the homeland. Each homeland should be equivalent to the other.

Assign teams in such a way that skill levels are balanced, if possible.

Stages

Field Stage

The scenario begins as a field battle. The teams fight until all living combatants belong to one team. The first team to die becomes the defending team, and the team that lives at the end of the battle becomes the invading team. Unless an invading team can't be determined, the scenario then moves to the next stage.

The edges of homelands are soft edges. Dead combatants should gather in their team's homeland when they clear themselves from the field. Each team gathers in front of the soft edges of their homeland before the battle. There are no respawns.

Intermediate Stage

This stage has not yet been tested.

For prolonged scenarios, an intermediate stage may be included. This is similar to the field stage, but the soft edge of the defending team's homeland may be moved back to put obstacles in play.

If all of the defending team's opponents die, the scenario moves to the field stage. Otherwise, the scenario moves to the defense stage. If the team that lives at the end of the battle is neither defending nor invading, they usurp the role of invading team.

Defense Stage

The defending team retreats into their homeland. The defending team must then defend an objective - such as royalty or a relic - against the invading team, until the invading team can no longer attack. Other opponents do not fight in this stage. If the invading team claims the objective, the defending team loses a point, the invading team gains a point, and the scenario returns to the field stage. Otherwise, points aren't exchanged and the scenario returns to the previous stage.

Each team gathers at their spawn point. The defending team has an unlimited number of respawns. Each invading combatant has limited respawns. Obstacles outside of the defenders' homeland may be disregarded. The invaders' homeland is a hard edge for the defending team. Spawn points create soft edges either behind or near them.