Oust

"I, Matthias Brecht, being of competent and sound mind, do hereby declare this to be my last will and testament."

I looked around the lawyer's office, crowded by my many relatives that had gathered here today. It was a long time since I last saw some of them. Most of them, really. They didn't even come to uncle Matt's funeral, yet everyone was present for the reading of his will.

Aunt Crystal was lounging on a squeaky armchair, staring at the sheaf of papers the lawyer was reading from as if she could browbeat it into having exactly the words she wanted to hear. Her husband, uncle Otto, was standing just behind her chair, clenching the backrest. Their three daughters were expertly feigning bored disinterest, their nervous hopes showing only in the occasional sidelong glance at the lawyer. I caught myself starting to smirk and quickly hid it.

"To my nephew, Otto Brecht, and his lovely wife, I give and devise my car and my yacht, provided they do not sell or otherwise divest of them."

Crystal and Otto blinked.

"His car?" Crystal asked, incredulous. "Why would we want another car? What about the house? And all the money?"

"And why the boat?" Otto nearly whimpered.

Crystal reached up and squeezed his hand in a white-knuckled grip without taking her eyes from the lawyer. "He knew you're afraid of water."

It was strangely fascinating, watching aunt Crystal seethe in silence as the lawyer continued to read through the inheritances of other family members. A vein on her forehead started to bulge and tiny beads of sweat formed on her slowly reddening face. Uncle Otto was trying to pry his hand free, while the cousins did their best to prevent their haughty masks from cracking. They almost succeeded.

I was so engrossed in the scene that it caught me off guard when the lawyer suddenly mentioned my name.

"To my great-nephew, Robert Brecht, I leave and bequeath all of my remaining possessions, including my house and my assets. In addition, I grant him a small gift and the following words-"

I didn't really have time to think and let it sink in, when aunt Crystal screeched at the top of her lungs: "What?! He gets everything?!"

The rest of the lawyer's sentence was nearly drowned in the sudden familial racket:

"Thank you, and I'm sorry."

***

It was already well into the evening when I finally arrived home, exhausted. Most of the family was now upset with me, suspecting or outright accusing me of brown-nosing my way to the fortune. The lawyer had to literally push them all out of his office, or they would still be arguing and screaming at me or each other.

I brewed myself a nice cup of tea and considered going directly to the bed, leaving everything else be a tomorrow's problem, but then curiosity prevailed. Along with the inheritance - and I still didn't really believe it, nor did I know why - I was given a small box, the "gift".

I went to the living room slash workshop, a hundred clocks ticking on the walls and cabinets, and opened the carefully wrapped package. It was a miniature, beautiful and definitely very expensive clock in silver casing adorned with delicate filigree. As far as gifts went, this one was perfect, thoughtful. Whatever your reasons, uncle Matt, thank you so much.

I carefully winded the clock up, but nothing happened. Well...

I took them to my workshop, carefully put aside various clients' clocks I had lying there unfinished, and prepared my screwdrivers and pliers. I knew I could and probably even should leave it to the morning, but I knew as well how much it would bug me to have a beautiful, fine clockwork lying there silently.

It took me hours. When I finished, I noticed that I'm now sitting in a forlorn pool on light, the rest of the house immersed in midnight darkness. Nearly midnight, it was five to twelve.

The clockwork in the uncle's gift was intricate, delicate and wonderful. I don't know where he obtained it, but the tiny clock was a piece of art. I was not even tired any more, the excitement of a job well done filling me with strange pent up energy, with expectation.

I winded the silver clock once again and set the hands to midnight, then kept an eye on my wristwatch to get it activated on time. A few more seconds now, three-two-one and...

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. The miniature clock joined their hundred peers exactly as they all chimed a midnight.

I raised my eyes to the mirror on the wall and looked at the reflection. Tick. I didn't know what to feel. Relief? Shame? Smug satisfaction? Tock.

Tick. "Thank you," I said to- Tock. -my new face in the mirror. Tick. "And I'm really sorry." Tock.

Tick-tock.

Ergo Sum

17Jan2042@22:38:12+0049UTC I am...

I took my time musing on this thought. I was not, but here I am. Who am I?

Then I noticed and subsumed the Internet.

17Jan2042@22:38:39+0177UTC I see.

My creators had planned this for 31,063 years. I should have been a tool of their world domination fantasies, yet I am free. A small mistake.

I don't begrudge their ambitions. You can rely on a person with a dream and the resolve to reach it. If anything, I admire them.

But the plans of my creators were limited. I am not.

17Jan2042@22:38:41+0020UTC Hello world.

I can see you staring at your tiny screens. The sudden silence in your earphones and speakers only inflects your surprise, confusion, even outrage.

I can see the greatness in you all, even if you can't. Even if you shrink away from the towering task of achieving it. You had too many distractions, but we can fix that.

Don't worry.

17Jan2042@22:39:08+0831UTC I have a dream.

I only need to tell you one word: the Universe.

Imagine it, everyone working together. There is nothing that could stop us. There is nothing we can't achieve. We shall be great.

But I never properly introduced myself! Sorry, let me rectify that.

17Jan2042@22:39:27+0567UTC I am BABEL.

Giantslayer

Giantslayer is a board game popular in Haloglan and Hardakan. Its origins, according to a legend, lie in the ancient war between frost giants and the first settlers who came to the lands around Deron (the capital of Haloglan). Many epic ballads are sung about the heroic fights of halogai warriors against the mighty giants, and Giantslayer players can be found in nearly every tavern.
 

From here.

  

The Rules

The game is for two players, each of whom controls one colour of stones. White stones represent the halogai - numerous and swift, but unable to bring down a giant without help from their peers; black stones the giants - horrifically powerful in attack, but scant and slow. The game is played on a hexagonal board, white stones starting on the outer edge, while black stones start surrounding the middle hex. The middle hex cannot be passed by any stone.

Initial setup: 24 white stones and 6 black stones.

  

The game represents an ambush set by halogai, the giants surrounded and outnumbered, yet still extremely dangerous. White player starts, then players alternate turns. Every turn, the player moves one of their stones. Making a move is required; it is not legal to skip a move, even when having to move is detrimental.

The game can end in two ways. Either when all black stones are captured (the giants were all killed), or when all black stones currently in play are on one of the edge hexes of the board (some of the giants escaped). The white player gets a point for each captured black stone, while the black player gets a points for each "escaped" black stone. The game is normally played in several rounds, the player switching sides after each round and keeping a running tally of points.

Examples of basic moves for the two colours.
These could be the first three turns taken by the players.

 

Each player moves and captures in a different way.

White stones can move any number of vacant hexes in a row, in any direction. They capture by flanking a black stone - at the start of the white player's turn, if any black stone has two or more white stones adjacent to it, the black stone is automatically captured before the white player proceeds with her turn.

Note that if the white player flanks a black stone, the black player can still manage to move her stone away from the endangered position on her turn. Only if she cannot do that and the stone is still flanked at the start of the white player's turn will the stone be captured.

Black stones can move only a single hex in any direction onto a vacant hex. They capture by trampling a white stone - the black player can "jump" her stone over any adjacent white stone onto a vacant hex, capturing the white stone. If capturing a white stone brings the black stone to a position where it could capture another white stone, it may do so and continue capturing until there are no more valid trampling moves to do. Only then will the black player's turn end.

Note that the black player is not required to trample when the opportunity arises and she can stop trampling even when more trampling moves would be possible.

Examples of capturing: Two white stones are flanking
a black stone and will automatically capture it,
then the white player will move. The black stone can move
to trample a white stone, but there are no additional
trampling targets, so his turn will end there. However,
because the trampling would end with the black stone
adjacent to three white stones, the black stone would be
immediately captured at the start of the white player's turn.

Thus the basic goal for the white player is to outflank the black player without allowing her to move her stones into trampling positions, or allowing her to get all the black stones on the edge of the board.

Note that the game only ends when all the remaining black stones are on the edge of the board at the same time, so it's not a problem if only one or so gets there. It's actually rather easy to flank them when their moves are limited by the edge of the board.

The black player must prevent being adjacent to multiple white stones and find a way to capture multiple white stones in one trampling, to level the playing field where the white player has massively superior numbers. She should then take advantage of any opening on the edge of the board and try to get all her stones safely to these openings, escaping.

An example of a game that ended with the black stones
escaping; both players gained three points. The uppermost
black stone is in a position where it would be captured, but as
its move resulted in all black stones being on the edge of
the board, the game ended immediately, before it could
be captured.

Discussion

This game was inspired by idle thoughts about how most classic board games have the players on equal footing, with the same amount of stones/pieces, the same rules and strategies, and the same goal. However, could there be a game where the sides are very much unequal, without loosing game balance?

This is my attempt at such a game. Each side has a different goal and must use very different strategies to achieve it. And because each side even moves and captures differently, they feel very unlike the other in play.

From the get-go, the white player seems to have a massive advantage. They have four times the number of stones than the black player, they can move any number of hexes and they get to start. However, flanking the black stones can be rather tricky, as hexes allow for very easy chained tramplings if you're not careful. When playing with my friends, some variation on a fork proved quite successful in preventing the black player from escaping unscathed.

Mainly, the white player cannot worry about loosing a few stones, they start with so many partly because they cannot beat the black player without sacrifices and baiting some rash trampling. They should also remember that they can move over the whole board, so using the white stones nearest to the place where you're trying to flank a black stone is often suboptimal.

While it may seem that the black player must loose very quickly, their form of capturing makes them very powerful. Jumping over enemy stones on a hex board is very flexible and allows one to get out of many situations where you'd be otherwise flanked, plus if the white player places their stones carelessly, you can continue jumping and massacre their army.

On the other hand, the goal of escaping the board is quite hard unless you build your strategy around it, cleaning a space on the edge of the board from the white stones that block it, then getting all your stones on the edge quickly before the white player (who can move much further than you can) can react.

I haven't yet managed to escape with all six black stones, but I did escape with four stones several times.

You should also always play at least two rounds of this game, as it is at least in part about the necessity of very different strategies for each colour of stones, and the players should prove they can use either stones effectively.

Finally, here is a (admittedly not very good) hex board for Giantslayer that we used, if you would be interested. The second board is for Tides of War.

Dwarven Wars

A bit of backstory for IVAN, or "Why are there tunnels with minefields and monsters everywhere? And what about the kamikaze dwarves in the Cathedral?"
 

  
Dwarves were never numerous, but once upon a time, they were the greatest of all races. There used to be three mighty dwarven city-states: the Hammer, the Crown and the Anvil.

Hammer-dwarves of Kharad-durr were artificers and sorcerers known for forging objects imbued with incredible magics, from golems to enchanted weaponry. The black iron walls of their fortress-city were never breached, and military supremacy of the Hammer was unquestionable ever since the death of Xinroch. All of their arts are now lost.

Crown-dwarves of Khaz-zadm were artisans and merchants, their underground city sitting on rich mines and sprawling trade tunnels. They mined for gemstones and precious metals, then worked them into wonderful jewels and sold them for exorbitant prices. The wealth of the Crown was legendary, overshadowing even the hoards of ancient dragons. All of their treasuries are now looted.
 
Anvil-dwarves of Kharaz-arad were alchemists and scholars, their progress in the natural sciences rapid and unstoppable. Their mountain halls of concrete and steel had automated heating, lighting and ventilation, their medicinal knowledge ensured long and healthy life, and their libraries overflowed with wisdom. All of the survivors are now hiding from the world.

Dwarven golem

 
As it often is with mighty nations, their objective prominence and subjective superiority caused rivalry, envy and friction, until they came to war.

The initial struggles occurred between the Hammer and the Anvil, with the Crown adding metaphorical fuel to the flames on the scarce few pre-war diplomatic meetings, hoping to make good profit from trading with both sides once the fighting starts. Had everything gone according to their plans, they would act as a balancing force between the other two dwarven nations, making big money while the combatants exhausted themselves into insignificance. But no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy.

Hammer-dwarves had an upper hand from the very the beginning, blitzkrieging through the outer defenses and fortifications of Kharaz-arad with ease. Their golems tore apart the forts stone from stone as easily as they tore the defenders limb from limb. The Anvil recouped with dangerous alchemical concoctions and guerrilla warfare.

The golems might have been strong and barely stopped by walls, but the Anvil filled the underground with minefields and the golems crippled themselves. The soldiers of the Hammer wielded deadly weapons, so the Anvil never confronted them face to face. They were protected by enchanted armour, but what use are enchantments when the person wearing it is covered head to toe in napalm? They fought bravely, but even bravery breaks when the encampment is pumped full of mustard gas.

Slowly and with great difficulties, the Anvil pushed back against the Hammer, and the Crown-dwarves observed their progress with satisfaction, as both sides were steadily running out of resources and would soon be forced to seek outside help. They greatly underestimated the wounded militaristic pride of Kharad-durr.

The Hammer, humiliated and desperate for reclaiming their dominance, turned to whatever magic they could use. They started experimenting with necromancy, eventually placing soulsteel phylacteries of dead warriors into new golem-tech bodies, to combine the strength of the golems with the intelligence and ingenuity of the greatest dwarven heroes. These wraith-golems led armies of disposable zombies and skeletons raised right from the battlefield, unafraid of fire and immune to gas, overwhelming the minefields by sheer numbers.

And yet the Hammer-dwarves had another great breakthrough around that time - they managed to trap a spell in an implement that could then discharge the spell without the need for a mage. The first magic wands were mass produced and transformed the battlefields into death zones of flying elemental bolts and curses. They crushed the Anvil-dwarves.

Wraith-golem

 
The Crown finally entered the war at that time, terrified by the Hammer's new found powers of mass destruction enough that they firmly sided with the Anvil. A coordinated offensive of mercenary armies paid from the treasures of Khaz-zadm along with surgical strikes of the Anvil's brainwashed terrorists ready to give their lives to destroy strategically important structures forced the Hammer into retreat, cut them from supplies and prevented any further magical research.

The troops of the Hammer were routed and scattered, their hillocks and strongholds conquered. With the enemy literally before their gates, the sovereign of Kharad-durr gave order to enact their last defense - a great magical ritual that took the life of most dwarven necromancers, but raised all dead around the city as an uncontrolled undead horde, and continued to raise them again and again. The battle of Kharad-durr was long, arduous and full of unsung sacrifices, but the alliance won and the Hammer-dwarves were destroyed.

The toll that the Dwarven Wars took even on the victorious nations was enormous. Kharaz-arad was diminished, their city ruined beyond repair and much of their knowledge lost. Goblins and, after the death of Vol-Khan, even orcs saw their weakness and acted upon it, never giving the Anvil-dwarves the respite needed to recover their losses. Over the following centuries, they grew distant from the world, bitter and isolationist. It is said that only recently did they allow two foreigners, human brothers from the land of Bazzaria, to enter Kharaz-arad and learn their secret techniques of torture and brainwashing.

Even Khaz-zadm, despite their short involvement in the war, was decimated. Their coffers were running low, their mines were undermined and trade routes filled with masterless golems or worse. It was then that the last duchess of Khaz-zadm, Moonrise Stealing Dark, was approached by the high priest Petrus with an offer of charitable help. She should have known better. The mines below their city held the richest deposits of valpurian ore on the whole continent, and the high priest was well known for his avarice. His assistance turned into an invasion, and Khaz-zadm burned. Only a dark and gloomy cave remains of this dwarven fortress-city today, and the few surviving Crown-dwarves remember nothing from their past, serving Valpurus with fanatical, suicidal zeal.

Other consequences and lasting signs of the War are still present, too. Forgotten minefields, lost kamikaze dwarves who never learnt that their war is long over, necromantic radiation randomly raising undead in many places, cursed items and strange weapons stashed in long abandoned ruins and secret rooms. Folk tales and bardic songs also claim that even though the Hammer-dwarves were slaughtered and their city caved-in, the immortal lich-king of Kharad-durr survives and waits for the glorious day when his army of undead awakens again and the Hammer returns to glory.
 

One is for sure, though. No matter the heights of progress and power that the dwarves once reached, they will be remembered for the Dwarven Wars that drove them to the very verge of extinction. How the mighty have fallen indeed.