Clever gamers, assigned the task of, say, mapping the Rufiji River, might be tempted to peruse the nearest atlas and use it as a convenient road map. Those seeking the source of the Nile might head straight for Lake Victoria and proclaim victory. In order to forestall such cunning, campaigns will have to be something other than mapping exercises or elaborate games of hide and seek. To this end I present:

THE COMPLETELY RANDOM CAMPAIGN SYSTEM

The campaign system makes a relatively gross generalization and assumes that all of Africa is divided into tribal territories. The exploration of Africa would have been easy if all it required was marching here and there and making sure you had enough supplies. No, it was the dealings with the native occupants of Africa that made the whole thing such an adventure. Sure, the terrain was challenging in spots, the diseases gruesome and the wildlife annoying, but it was the natives that made things really tough. So, since the game can't be simply a mapping exercise, it is based on interaction with the natives (and in some cases, the wildlife).

This campaign system is based on - get ready for a completely novel idea - a deck of cards! Well, it's a special deck. It's all quite simple - the game is based on "territories". Each territory is inhabited by a particular native tribe. The player roams the territories and interacts with the natives until his mission is complete (or he is served as dinner). The umpire must decide how many territories the player has to roam until his mission is complete - the higher the level of the mission, the greater the number of territories.

There is no mapping necessary, although it can be entertaining to draw a map similar to those in the front of fantasy books, with exaggerated features and only the interesting spots indicated. All maps drawn in such a way must include an area off to the side that says "here be dragons" (hey, it's a rule!). The umpire may prepare the explorer in any way he deems fit. The more background and atmosphere included, the better. To start the game the player draws cards from the deck and does what the card says. When the "end of turn" card is drawn, the player is allowed to move to the next territory, shuffle the deck and start over. Sometimes the player may not be able to move, or want to move.

That's fine, but the deck should still be reshuffled. Some missions, such as those involving mapping or studying natives, might require a player to stay in one territory for several turns. Some missions may have goals that do not fit easily into the action cards that follow. The umpire must decide these kinds of details.

When bearers reach the limit to which they will take you, what happens is this: the bearers will take you in to the territory far enough so that you can make contact with the next group of natives, then they leave you high and dry. You have to negotiate with the new tribal chief to get more bearers. Bearers obtained in this way are usually of dubious quality. The below diagrams show the ranges of dubious and veteran bearers. Note that even if territory three was also adjacent to the home territory, it wouldn't make a difference. The bearers are concerned as much with time away from home as distance from home.

Some events may actually increase the experience of your bearers and askari. If the explorer successfully defeats slavers or an enemy warband in battle, roll for each dubious bearer and askari. On a 1-3 they become veteran. If the party is attacked by a wild animal and the explorer kills or captures it, roll for each dubious askari (no bearers). On a 1-2 they become veteran.

The player should take the cards on the following sheets and copy them. Either copy them directly onto a piece of light cardstock (I think the copier can handle it ... ) or copy onto regular paper then paste to card stock. Then cut out the cards to make a deck. Several of the cards are not event cards and should not be placed in the deck. These cards are so indicated. If you make up your own cards that's fine. However, I want to know what it is, so you have to email me your idea (this is a rule, you have to do it or the game won't work right). This is one of the beauties of open-ended card based systems - you can add and remove cards to your heart's content. Just be aware of the consequences. You don't want too many bad cards in the deck.

More Campaigning

Campaigning in Darkest Africa: Introduction
Campaigning Phase 1: The Mission
Campaigning Phase 2: The Party
Campaigning Phase 3: The Adventure
Campaigning Sample Campaign
Campaigning Cards (very slow: 290K)