Blood In The Snow - Canberra Kriegspielers DBA Campaign 2011

[Macbeth]

Once again I am running a DBA Campaign at my club. This year the setting is the Baltic in 1280 - session 1 gives us 5 kingdoms.

Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order - IV/30 Teutonic Orders
Sudovian Confederation - IV/28 Prussians
Principality of Lithuania - IV/18 Lithuanian or SamogotianGrand
Duchy of Malopolska III/62b Early Polish
Republic of Novgorod IV/44a Post Mongol Russian

1280 Winter - Teutonic Order invades Malopolska. Poles are supported by Sudovians. Battle of Lukow sees the Teutonic Order defeated when the Prussian contingent outflanks them and plunders their camp.

1280 Winter - Novgorod attacks the crippled Teutonic Order. Riga is beseiged and falls to the invaders.

1280 Spring - Novogorod's offensive continues into Ordenstatt territory. The Russians besiege Memel with the Order's army trapped within. The city falls and the Order's forces are wiped out.

1280 Summer - Lithuania swoops like a vulture on the Ordenstatt. Fort Christburg is besieged but holds out.

1280 Summer - Malopolska turns its attention upon Novgorod and invades. Battle of Pskov sees the Russians routed and Pskov falling to the Poles.

1280 Summer - Novogorod rallies and counter attacks. Second battle of Pskov is a bloody affair - the Poles are driven from Pskov.

At the end of 1280 the prestige table stands at:

Sudovian Confederation - 5.4
Principality of Lithuania - 3.0
Grand Duchy of Malopolska - 3.0
Republic of Novgorod - 1.9
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order - 0.0

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001B 1280.JPG

Cheers

[timurilank]

The Baltic campaigns were always fascinating, but I miss the Danes?

[Macbeth]

I have at least one more player joining for the next session (in two weeks time) and at that point the Swedes (IV/54d Medieval Scandinavian - Other) will take to the field. This particular campaign won't include Danes, but I am working on a new set for a later era (cica 1400) which will have both Union and Swedish MedScans, along with a host of other heavyweights - the Prussians will fade from view.

Cheers

[Sun of York]

Sounds like lots of action to start the campaign off. I will be interested to see the map.

[Macbeth]

Sounds like lots of action to start the campaign off. I will be interested to see the map.

I should have the map up and running this weekend :)

Cheers

[Macbeth]

We managed a second year over the weekend - a new player joined adding Sweden to the map (but they took no action this year). Russia was run by a proxy player and the Teutonic Order was left vacant. Still an action packed year ensued

1281 Winter - Lithuania begins a long war with Novgorod. Battle of Pskov sees the Russians defeat the Lithuanians and their Prussian allies by killing both generals.

1281 Winter - Malopolska attacks Novogorods conquests in the Ordenstaat. Memel surrenders after a brief siege

1281 Winter - Novogorod pursues the Lithuanians. First battle of Mogilev is a bloody affair, the Russians lose three elements but win after killing two of the Lithuanians and the Prussian general - the remaining Prussians flee. The main Russian weapon (the WWg) was overwhelmed by the Prussians so the Russian army is somewhat crippled.

1281 Spring - Lithuania promptly counterattacks and once again has Prussian assistance. Second battle of Mogilev sees the Russians soundly defeated.

1281 Spring - Malopolska continues its own offensive into Novogorod's conquests. Riga is beseiged but holds out.

1281 Summer - Lithuania renews its invasion of Novgorod. The Russians fall back and Pskov is besieged. The city surrenders.

1281 Summer - Polish seige of Riga continues but fails to make any progress. The Poles fall back as autumn approaches.

At the end of 1281 the prestige table stands at:

Republic of Novgorod - 11.1
Sudovian Confederation - 9.6
Principality of Lithuania - 6.9
Kingdom of Sweden - 5.0
Grand Duchy of Malopolska - 4.0
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order - 0.0

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001C 1281.JPG

Cheers

[Macbeth]

Over the weekend we managed to rip through two full years of the campaign - admittedly Russia was once again vacant but after the battering they took last session they were probably happy with the break ;)

1282 - Winter. The emboldened Teutonic Order attack Riga to recapture it from Novgorod. The city falls after a breif seige.

1282 - Winter. Lithuania continues its attack on Novgorod with an attack on its capital. The Russians fall back and the city is captured making Novgorod a vassal of Lithuania.

1282 - Winter. Malopolska invades Sweden and besieges Kalmar whilst the Swedish army remains at Wisby. The city holds out.

1282 - Spring. Teutonic Order continue their campaign to recover territory with an attack on Polish held Memel. The Poles opt to continue their own seige of Kalmar. Memel resists the Order.

1282 - Spring. Polish seige of Kalmar continues. The city surrenders.

1282 - Summer. Memel surrenders to the Teutonic Order. They have successfully regained their lost territory.

1282 - Summer. Poles react and attack Memel. The Teutonic Order gives battle supported by Sweden and the Sudovians. Battle of Memel is a bloody affair with the outnumbered Teutons almost overrun by an ambush. The timely arrival of Prussian and Swedish contingents tips the battle in favour of the Ordenstaat effectively crippling the Poles.

At the end of 1282 the prestige table stands at:

Sudovian Confederation - 14.5
Principality of Lithuania - 12.9
Republic of Novgorod - 11.1
Kingdom of Sweden - 9.9
Grand Duchy of Malopolska - 4.0
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order - 0.0

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001D 1282.JPG

1283 - Winter. Lithuania switches its attention towards Malopolska and invades with Teutonic Order support. Battle of Lukow sees the Poles narrowly defeated but inflicting heavy losses to the Lithuanians.

1283 - Winter. The Sudovians then attack this newly taken piece of Lithuanian territory. The Liths fall back leaving Lukow to resist as best it can. The city holds out.

1283 - Winter. Despite their losses the Poles launch a raid into Ordenstaat territory. Battle of Memel sees the Poles defeated again as the Order's Knights crash through their line. A contingent from Novgorod arrived to assist the Order (on direction from Lithuania) but did not get close enough to contribute.

1283 - Winter. Sweden moves to recapture Kalmar. The remnants of the Polish army move into the city to bolster its defence and thus hold back the attackers.

1283 - Spring. Teutonic Order invades Poland and besieges Danzig. The city holds out.

1283 - Spring. Seige of Lukow continues. The Prussians make no headway.

1283 - Spring. Swedes breach the wall of Kalmar and wipe out the Polish defenders.

1283 - Summer. Teutonic Order's seige of Danzig continues. The city remains defiant.

1283 - Summer. Lukow falls to the Prussians.

At the end of 1283 the prestige table stands at:

Sudovian Confederation - 17.5
Principality of Lithuania - 15.9
Kingdom of Sweden - 13.9
Republic of Novgorod - 12.1
Grand Duchy of Malopolska - 4.0
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order - 2.4

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001E 1283.JPG

[Sun of York]

The number of land borders in comparison to the last campaign seems to increase the action - no sitting around waiting for safe passage. Although I was always a very defensive player. I look forward to more reports.

[Macbeth]

The number of land borders is slightly deceptive though ;)

The green spotty parts of the map represent swamp/forest of the type that kept the Prussians safe for some time. This area is passable only in Winter when the marshes freeze. This means that Prussia is like an island and Poland has only the one complete land route (Lukow to Mogilev) Making the Russians the best connected country

Of course by running the campaign year as Winter, Spring, Summer we begin the year with swamp travel safe and end the year with ocean travel safe. It makes the middle season the quietest :D

Cheers

[Macbeth]

After our break last month for "The Reactor" we picked up again last weekend and managed to get in another years campaign time.

1284 Winter - The resurgent Teutonic Order attack the Lithuanians. Battle of Vilna sees the Teutonic Order narrowly defeated. Their Sudovian allies arrive but fail to contribute. The contingent from Novgorod fails to arrive to help thier Lithuanian overlords.

1284 Spring - Malopolska makes a play to recover Lukow from the Sudovians. The city surrenders and is Polish once more.

1284 Spring - The Sudovians invade Lithuania. Second Battle of Vilna sees the Sudovians with Teutonic Order allies defeated by a Lithuanian/Novgorod/Malopolska coalition.

1284 Summer - Malopolska foments a revolt in Novgorod.

1284 Summer - Sweden invades Novgorod and besieges Ladoga. The city immediately opens its gates and surrenders.

1284 Summer - Teutonic Order makes another attempt at the much weakened Lithuanians. Third battle of Vilna sees the Lithuanians soundly defeated by the Teutonic juggernaut (but their victory costs them their commander). The Ordenstaat was ably assisted by both the Sudovians and Novgorod. The Suodvian contingent is wiped out in the swamps on thier return journey.

At the end of 1284 the prestige table is :
Principality of Lithuania - 24.7
Kingdom of Sweden - 19.9
Sudovian Confederation - 17.5
Republic of Novgorod - 13.6
Grand Duchy of Malopolska - 4.0
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order - 3.4

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001F 1284.jpg

[Macbeth]

Our fifth session ran very smoothly with only one absence. We managed to get through two full years.

1285 Winter – Sweden attacks and besieges Lithuanian held Pskov. The city holds out.

1285 Winter – Teutonic Order invades Lithuania with support from Sudovians. The Order suffers some losses crossing the swamps. Battle of Mogilev sees the Lithuanians soundly defeated when the Prussian warriors fall on their flank.

1285 Winter – Poles invade Sudovian territory. Battle of Grodno sees the Prussians beaten when it becomes apparent that the Poles have guides to lead them through the hidden trackways of the forest and swamp.

1285 Spring – Swedish siege of Pskov continues. The city surrenders.

1285 Spring – Poles continue their offensive into Prussia with an all out attack on the capital Lida. The Sudovian army marches into the city to bolster its defence and keep the invaders out.

1285 Summer – Swedes march on Novogorod. The defending army remains inside to stiffen the defence but is wiped out when the Swedes sweep over the walls. Novgorod becomes a Swedish vassal.

1285 Summer – Poles mount an all out assault on Lida which fails. The Polish army is all but wiped out.

At the end of 1285 the prestige table is :
Kingdom of Sweden – 26.9
Principality of Lithuania - 24.7
Sudovian Confederation – 18.2
Republic of Novgorod - 13.6
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order – 7.8
Grand Duchy of Malopolska – 6.8

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001G 1285.JPG

1286 Winter – Sweden takes on the Ordenstaat. Battle of Riga sees the Swedes with Russian support fight a long and bloody battle against the Teutonic Order and their Prussian Allies. Most of the action is centred on the fight between the two contingents on the Swedish left flank. The Russian contingent is wiped out and the Swedes flee after losing an element.

1286 Winter – Teutonic Order attack Polish held Grodno. The Poles retire before them and a siege ensues.

1286 Spring – Lithuania makes a play to recover Mogilev while the Ordenstaat is occupied in Prussia. The city is besieged but holds out.

1286 Spring – Teutonic Order’s siege of Grodno continues. The city surrenders when it becomes apparent that no relief will come from Malopolska.

1286 Spring – Lithuanian siege of Mogilev continues with the city finally surrendering.

1286 Summer – Poles attack the Ordenstaat. They besiege Memel but fail to breach the defences.

1286 Summer – Sweden gambles again against the Ordenstaat. Second battle of Riga sees a straight fight between the Swedes and the Order. The Order’s knights ride down the Swedes killing their commander and chasing them away from Riga. A second defeat for Sweden breaks the overlord vassal relationship between Sweden and Novgorod - not that the Russians, without an army can do anything ;)

At the end of 1286 the prestige table is :
Kingdom of Sweden – 30.9
Principality of Lithuania - 24.7
Sudovian Confederation – 23.5
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order – 19.9
Republic of Novgorod - 13.6
Grand Duchy of Malopolska – 6.8

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001H 1286.JPG

[Macbeth]

Our sixth campaign session was fully attended, there was no need for the programmed leader rules. Once again we managed to rip through two full years.

1287 Winter – Novgorod makes a bold attempt to recover some of its territory. The pitifully small army attacks Ladoga only to find the Swedes waiting for them. The brief battle of Ladoga sees the Russians defeated when their general is killed.

1287 Winter – The Sudovians strike out at Sweden and attack Helsingfors. The Swedes cannot get back to the city and so it is besieged.

1287 Winter – The Teutonic Order attacked Swedish held Ladoga. Second battle of Ladoga sees the Order soundly defeated and forced back.

1287 Spring – Lithuania launches an attack on the weakened Ordenstaat. The Order moves to intercept but after losing some troops marching across the swamps they fall back. Vilna is placed under siege.

1287 Spring – Sudovian siege of Helsingfors continues but the city holds out.

1287 Spring – Malopolska invades Ordenstaat territory and places Memel under siege. The city holds out.

1287 Summer – Lithuanian siege of Vilna continues but fails to breach the city’s defences.

1287 Summer – Helsingfors finally surrenders to the Sudovians. The Swedish kingdom is now cut off from its conquests.

1287 Summer – The Poles breach the defences of Memel and take control of the city.

1287 Summer – The Swedes attack the Ordenstaat city of Riga. The defences are quickly overwhelmed.

At the end of 1287 the prestige table is :
Kingdom of Sweden – 38.9
Sudovian Confederation – 25.5
Principality of Lithuania - 24.7
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order – 19.9
Republic of Novgorod - 13.6
Grand Duchy of Malopolska – 6.8

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001I 1287.jpg

1288 Winter – Malopolska launches an attack on Sweden. Kalmar is besieged but holds out.

1288 Winter – Sweden moves against Polish territory with an attack on Memel. The city is besieged but resists.

1288 Winter – Lithuania makes another attempt to recapture Vilna. The small Teutonic Order army marches up to fight. Battle of Vilna sees the outnumbered Ordenstaat army effectively wiped out.
1288 Winter – Sudovians attack the Swedes at Riga. Battle of Riga sees the Sudovians soundly defeated by the Swedes.

1288 Spring – Malopolskan siege of Kalmar continues. The city surrenders.

1288 Spring – Sweden attacks Polish held Riga and puts the city under siege. The city holds them off.

1288 Spring – Novgorod attempts to recover Pskov while the Swedes are otherwise occupied. They besiege the city but cannot force their way inside.

1288 Summer – Malopolska attacks the Swedish capital. Battle of Stockholm sees the Swedes defeated and forced to become a vassal of the Poles.

At the end of 1288 the prestige table is :
Kingdom of Sweden – 41.6
Principality of Lithuania – 31.3
Sudovian Confederation – 25.5
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order – 19.9
Grand Duchy of Malopolska – 17.3
Republic of Novgorod - 13.6

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001J 1288.jpg

[kontos]

Go Poland!!! :2up

[Macbeth]

I can tell you this much,

My Prussians and I will not be standing in the way of Polish expansion :eek

An army of Wb and Ax does not play well with others when the others have at least 3xKn :(

I tried to give Sweden a bloody nose but couldn't crack open the wall o Bd.

Cheers

[Macbeth]

Our seventh campaign session ran well with only the Teutonic Order missing. Another two full years were ripped through. Kontos will be pleased to see Poland on the rise.

1289 Winter – Sweden attacks Lithuanian held Riga. It falls after a brief siege.

1289 Winter – Novgorod makes a bold attempt to retake Pskov from Sweden. The Swedes come back and demolish the small Russian army.

1289 Winter – Lithuania invades Swedish territory in Russia. Battle of Pskov sees the Lithuanians routed when their commander is cut down by Swedish knights.

1289 Winter – Sudovians attack Swedish possessions. Battle of Riga sees the wild Prussian warbands crash through the Swedes and take the town.

1289 Winter – Poles are unable to get through Riga to attack the Lithuanians so instead march on the Teutonic capital. Marienberg is under siege but holds out.

1289 Spring - Lithuania makes another attack on Swedish possessions. Pskov is besieged but holds out.

1289 Spring – Polish siege of Marienburg continues. The besiegers suffer serious losses in an assault but continue their blockade.

1289 Summer – Lithuanian siege of Pskov continues. The citizens surrender.

1289 Summer – Poles break into Marienburg and massacre the Order’s army. The Teutonic Order become the second Polish vassal.

At the end of 1289 the prestige table is :
Kingdom of Sweden – 45.4
Principality of Lithuania – 33.3
Sudovian Confederation – 30.4
Grand Duchy of Malopolska – 21.3
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order – 19.9
Republic of Novgorod - 13.6

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001K 1289.jpg

1290 Winter – Lithuania attacks Swedish held Ladoga. Battle of Ladoga sees the Lithuanians with Novgorod and the Sudovians as allies crush the Swedes. The fleeing Swedes suffer more losses crossing the Baltic back to Stockholm.

1290 Winter – Malopolska takes on Lithuania. Battle of Mogilev sees the Poles narrowly defeated in the swamps and forests of Lithuania by the Lithuanian army with their Prussian allies.

After two such bloody battles in winter the various armies spent the rest of the year posturing but were not prepared to fight.

At the end of 1290 the prestige table is :
Kingdom of Sweden – 44.4
Principality of Lithuania – 41.8
Sudovian Confederation – 34.4
Grand Duchy of Malopolska – 25.3
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order – 19.9
Republic of Novgorod - 13.6

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001L 1290.jpg

[Macbeth]

Our eighth and final campaign session with a full roster of players. The rise and fall of great empires played out.

1291 Winter – Poland invades Sudovia. Battle of Lida sees the Poles soundly defeated by a spirited Prussian defence. This defeat causes the Polish vassals (the Ordenstaat and Sweden) to break with their overlord.

1291 Winter – Lithuania makes a token attack on Novgorod, after a short siege they pull back.

1291 Summer – Poland switches its focus to Lithuania. Battle of Mogilev sees the Lithuanians routed and Mogilev captured.

1291 Summer – Sweden attacks Prussian held Helsingfors. The city is besieged but holds out.

1291 Summer – Novgorod attacks Ladoga, now that the Lithuanians are weakened. The city surrenders.

At the end of 1291 the prestige table is:
Kingdom of Sweden – 44.4
Principality of Lithuania – 41.8
Sudovian Confederation – 41.0
Grand Duchy of Malopolska – 31.1
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order – 19.9
Republic of Novgorod - 13.6

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001M 1291.jpg

1292 Winter – Resurgent Teutonic Order make a play for their old territory by attacking Polish held Memel. Battle of Memel sees the Ordenstaat with help from Novgorod crush the Polish army and retake Memel after a long and drawn out battle.

1292 Spring – Lithuania takes advantage of the weakened Poles and attack Mogilev with assistance from Novgorod and the Sudovians. Battle of Mogilev is short with the Poles retreating after their commander is killed.

1292 Spring – Ordenstaat make an attack on Helsingfors. The city is placed under siege but holds out.

1292 Summer – Lithuania attacks Polish heartland. Lukow is besieged with the Polish army trapped within. The city holds out.

1292 Summer – With the Ordenstaat committed, the Sudovians make an attempt on Grodno. The city holds out.

1292 Summer – Sweden invades Poland. Danzig falls to the Swedes after a brief assault whilst the Polish army is locked up in Lukow.

1292 Summer – Ordenstaat siege of Helsingfors continues but the invaders make no headway.

At the end of 1292 the prestige table is:
Kingdom of Sweden – 49.7
Principality of Lithuania – 46.3
Sudovian Confederation – 45.0
Grand Duchy of Malopolska – 32.1
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order – 22.8
Republic of Novgorod - 14.6

http://grapevine.net.au/~landwaster/index.htm_files/TK1001N 1292.jpg

Once the campaign was over and the final territorial prestige was awarded the final table was
Kingdom of Sweden – 61.7
Principality of Lithuania – 58.3
Sudovian Confederation – 57.0 :up
Grand Duchy of Malopolska – 38.1
Ordenstatt of the Teutonic Order – 34.8
Republic of Novgorod - 20.6

[Dobbie71064]

Awesome campaign, its been a interesting read. Do you have a set of rules for this campaign you wouldnt mind posting? id love to host a campaign at our LGS in the future.

Cheers!

[Macbeth]

Dobbie,

I will get to posting the rules as soon as possible ;)

Although if you trawl through the threads from before the membership meltdown for any thread started by me (I still used the name Macbeth) there might be something already written.

Still - it can't hurt to re do it for the modern era

cheers

[Macbeth]

Dobbie,

I didn't forget that I promised to do this - here are the rules modifications for my campaigns in general. Originally posted on this topic way back in 2004 ;)

Aside from the two tourmanents I run in May and November, almost all of my DBA is played as part of long running campaigns. The club group sets up at the beginning of the year and we play using the strategic movement nodes drawn onto an outline map of the area, so it ceases to be cyclical like the map in the rulebook. I have a series of maps ranging from the very pretty (my 1066 game) through to the more basic one as given in this thread.

As new players show an interest in joining, we add extra countries to the map. The upper limit is 13 players, after that I run out of different coloured pins. At the end of each session we take notes on the location and status of each army and pick up again at the next session.

I have made some minor tweaks to the rules based mostly on personal preference, gut feeling and so forth.

I. The loss of a General, Camp or BUA does not cause the loss of two more elements after the battle. For every battle lost because the general was the first to die, there are two or three where the general was the fourth element to be killed. The loser is then down 6 elements and if the intention is to generate battles then they will not be encouraged at this point.

II. Camps have to be looted in the same way as BUAs and looting does not cease until the capturing side rolls a 5 or 6 for PIPs. The loss of a camp or BUA does not count towards the losses to end thegame until looting has ceased

III. At the end of each year there is prestige awarded for each recruitment point not used ie Player A has 5 cities, allowing for a maximum of 6 elements to be recruited. If they only have 4 losses then they are awarded 2 prestige. There is also an award of 1 prestige for each vassal a player controls.

IV. If a player elects to stand seige with their army inside the city then the besieger is also at risk, if they roll a 1 then they lose 1 dice worth of elements up to a maximum of the size of the besieged force + 1.

V. A BUA on the battlefield does not represent the city. This stops the need to explain the facts that a) the BUA will only allow 1 element inside, but the city can take any number of armies, and b) where the invader loses the battle but captures the BUA and so the city. (It has happened).

VI. When a city is already under seige and a relief force is sent, either by an ally of the besieged, or by the besieged themselves, (as opposed to the initial attack where the defender moves up to give battle, the besieger counts as the defender for the purposes of tactical deployement, but counts as the attacker for the strategic purposes of who can send an allied contingent to the battle.

VII. Goodie Cards - originally designed for a v1.0 Asian campaign where the generic 'Chinese Border Nomad' were very lightweight. The CBN recieved one card each year, and the most disadvantaged player after the first year also recieved 1 (so if the CBN were also the most disadvantaged they recieved 2). I redesigned my Asian campaign several times, first when the WRG 7th Yellow book Lists came out, then again with DBA2.0. With the 2.0 version I picked out one central army (Sung 990AD) - and listed all the opponents and then the opponents opponents, setting limits on distance west. I eliminated from the list any armies that were more than 50% LH or Ps (too light) and those with more than 2 El (too heavy). Eventually settling on 9 armies. Because this was a relatively balanced campaign, when we ran it the first time every player was issued with a goodie card and after year 1 the most disadvantaged player received a second card. Players liked this, it allows for a degree of uncertainty so this is now a standard for my campaign games. The hierarchy for most disadvantaged player is - Least Number of Elements, Least Number of Cities, Lowest Current Prestige.
The Cards We Issue are
1. +1 PIP in Battle - can be used through the whole year
2. +1 to arrival as an allied contingent - used throughout the whole year
3. +1 Element Recuiting - one use at the end of the year
4. Oppponent takes -1 when besieging. The city is sill taken on a 6 unless the besieged are outnumbered by more than 2:1. - used throughout the year. The caveat is designed to ensure survival of an army that is being hammered on many fronts and is down a substantial number of elements, and also to stop gratuitous use of the card when the defending army is relatively strong. This card means that if the besieger rolls a 2 it counts as a 1 (the above risk to the besieged)
5. May cross ocean routes with no penalty. Thus there is no risk of shipwreck in Spring and Autumn - used throughout the year, there is also a card for desert routes (Safe in Spring) and for swamp routes (Safe in Winter) for the appropriate campaigns.
6. May Foment Revolt Once in a Year - one off use, breaks the vassal/overlord relationship between two players. When it is played, the overlord may choose to be at war with the former vassal.
7. Diplomacy. May cancel one war declaration. One off Use at the start of a season. This can stop a planned offensive in its tracks.
May take over a BUA in One Battle Garrison Recoils. - One off use in a year. Allows the capture of a BUA, but the garrison simply recoils outside. This can be a powerful game winning card. Until it surfaces, putting a BUA on the field if you don't have to is dangerous.
8. Ambush. for 1 PIP may deploy one group of up to 4 elements with at least 2 touching either woods, marsh, oasis or a freindly BUA. - used throughout the year. Basically the simplest way to do an ambush without requiring hidden movment or maps. It works the same way as the Littoral Landing Party.
9. Unseasonal Weather - usable throughout the year on one leg of one army or contingent's journey for one given action (battle/seige). It can negate the safe journey cards, subtract or add 1 to the sea/desert/swamp crossing roll or make a standard journey subject to a similar crossing roll. The only limitation is that the holder of the card must be involved in the action somehow (ie attacking, defending, sending a contingent).

VIII. We use my element rating system to work out the relative power of the two sides of a conflict and the prestige scores are adjusted accordingly (actual prestige = Raw Prestige X opponents rating/own rating). An allied contingent adds to the main protagonists rating if they move to within 1 base witdth of the opposing side (including enemy contingents), shoots or is shot at.

IX. During a battle Hd can be regenerated at the cost of 1 PIP. They reappear at the baseline, camp or freindly BUA. Note that if they are casualties at the end of a battle they stay lost. A player must decide if bringing back the Hd at some distance from the action is a good move, or if it merely delays the inevitable so that they lose the battle and lose more important elements.

My observations over a number of years has been that with 6 or less players, the game goes quite quickly but once a player is taken down, they will probably never recover. As you add extra players, there is a corresponding increase in the time it takes to resolve a year, but has the added bonus that a player beaten has the opportunity to recover.

For this particular Teutonic Knights campaign our other modifications are
a) The year runs as Winter, Spring, Summer with autumn as the season where nothing happens
b) The swamp area surrounding the Prussians is safe in winter otherwise treated like ocean travel
c) In Winter and Spring a player can sacrifice weather/safe passage related goodie cards to convert rivers/march/waterways to good going (frozen) however any troops that flee across this good going are destroyed.

Enjoy

Cheers