Heirs are a new unit type for S9 Complete. They are not part of the standard unit count, they are not part of standard combat mechanics, and they only ever reside in Supply Centers. Heirs start in their controllers’ Capital cities but may be relocated via marriage. Successful marriages create new Thrall powers and Vassal powers.
Heir mechanics are based partly on the 2018 rules for Diplomacy of Ice & Fire (based on the works of George R. R. Martin, with original variant & map design by Alex Maslow & Matt Kremer), a play-by-forum variant adapted and GM’d by Chris Helwig.
Heirs’ primary purpose is to act as a weakness. They provide means of more quickly eliminating players from the map. If we draw an analogy to a game of Capture the Flag, for instance, the Heirs and Capital are the flags. Marrying heirs spreads flags across the map. An S9 Complete player that never orders a successful marriage for their Heir will only ever have one such “flag” in their Capital city, and that Capital can be said to be that player’s Achilles’ heel.
10.1 - Building & Killing HeirsEach Major power starts the game with one unmarried Heir in their Capital city. As seen in the build rules for S9 Complete, a player may build a new Heir during a Winter phase only if:(§ 8.3)
- That player currently controls their own Capital.
- The Capital does not currently contain an Heir.
- That player did not build an Heir during the most recent prior Winter phase.
If the SC where an Heir is located is captured, the Heir is
killed during the Autumn Census and removed from the board. This is true even if the Heir belongs to the player doing the capturing (
i.e. if a Major power captures its own controlled Thrall power or the capital city of a controlled Vassal power, the Heir is still killed).
During the Autumn Census (§ 3.3), if a player has no living Heirs and has lost control of their power’s Capital City, then that player is immediately eliminated.
10.2 - Marrying HeirsHeirs start unmarried and reside in the Capital city of their Major power. Only one unmarried Heir may reside in the Capital at a time. They can be relocated to other supply centers on the board using the
Marry order. They may be married to the heirs of other major powers OR to any minor power on the board.
In order to be successful, Marry orders must come in
pairs and must be given during the same Orders phase. The procedure differs on whether the marriage is between two Major powers’ heirs or between a Major power’s heir and a Minor power.
Once an heir is married, they may not remarry or divorce. Effectively, they will remain at the supply center where the marriage took place until the end of the game (or until they are killed).
The genders of the Heirs are unimportant and left to the imaginations of the players.
10.3 - Marriage to Minor Powers: Thrall PowersMarriages to minor powers may be issued in either spring or fall turns and create Thrall powers. The marriage requires the following:
- At the start of the applicable orders phase, the Capital city where the unmarried Heir currently resides must not contain a unit belonging to anyone other than that heir’s Major Power.
- At the start of the applicable orders phase, the Minor Power must still possess an army or fleet at its location.
- The Heir must be given the order to Marry the minor power at the chosen SC.
Example
Aesir Orders
Heir Aesir Marry Permyak
- The Minor power unit must be given a corresponding order to Marry the Major power’s heir. As detailed previously (§ 9.1), this order is not set directly by any one given player but rather must be the succeeding result of DP allocations.
Example
Aesir DP Allocations
2 DP to F Permyak Marry Heir Aesir
Dokkalfar DP Allocations
1 DP to F Permyak S Svartalfheim - Ylg
Resulting Order for Permyak
F Permyak Marry Heir Aesir
- The Minor power’s unit must not be dislodged during that orders phase.
If one or more of the above requirements are not met, the marriage fails, and the Heir remains at the Capital.
If the requirements are met, however, then the marriage succeeds! During the retreat phase that immediately follows the successful pair of Marry orders, move the Major power’s Heir to the Minor power’s supply center. That Minor power converts into a new
Thrall power.
Thrall powers are “controlled” by the player whose Heir resides there, and that player may count the Thrall’s SC toward their total for victory purposes. However, that control is indirect. The orders given by a Thrall power’s unit are still set via DP allocations, though each DP allocated to a Thrall by its controller’s is worth 3 times its normal value (§ 9.1).
Thrall power units, like those of Minor powers, are stationary and may not retreat. They are also to be considered separate powers from their controller; a Thrall may cut their controller’s support order as well as support a dislodging move targeting their controller. A Thrall power is eliminated (and the residing Heir killed) if any other power, including their controller, captures their supply center.
10.4 - Marriages between Major Powers: Vassal PowersUnlike marriages to Minor powers, marriages between the Heirs of two Major Powers can ONLY occur during
Autumn orders phases. If they succeed, they will create a new Vassal power during the subsequent Autumn Census.
In a marriage between two Major powers, the two players whose Heirs are to be matched must decide on a
Marriage Location where the new Vassal power will have its own new Capital. This location must be a supply center belonging to one of the Major powers, and it may not be one of the starting Home centers of either Major power. This SC is considered to be the dowry (or bride price) for the marriage. For the rest of the game, or until the Vassal is eliminated, the player that donates this SC will be that Vassal power’s
Dowry Giver, and the other player in the marriage will be the Vassal power’s
Dowry Receiver.
The marriage also requires the following:
- The two players seeking to marry their Heirs must not already share joint control of another Vassal power.
Players may create multiple Vassals over the course of the game, but each pair of players can only share control of one Vassal at a time.
- At the start of the applicable orders phase, neither Capital city where the two unmarried Heirs currently reside may contain a unit belonging to any power other than each heir’s Major Power.
- At the start of the applicable orders phase, the Marriage Location must not contain a unit belonging to anyone other than the Dowry Giver.
- Each Heir must be given the order to Marry the other Heir. Each order must also include the Marriage Location (e.g.Heir Jotnar Marry Heir Zwergar at Thule).
- The Marriage Location may not be captured during that Autumn Orders phase or its subsequent Retreats phase. If it is, the marriage fails.
- Neither of the two Major Power’s Capital cities may be captured during that Autumn Orders phase or its subsequent Retreats phase. If either is, the marriage fails.
Assuming the above stipulations are all met, a new Vassal Power is created. At the start of the Autumn Census, control of the Marriage Location SC is transferred from the Dowry Giver to the new Vassal. Next, the previously unmarried Heirs of both Major Powers are relocated from their respective Capital cities to the Marriage Location.
The Marriage Location now becomes the new Vassal’s own Capital city. If the new Capital contains no army or fleet, the Vassal power may build a new unit there during the subsequent Winter. If the Dowry Giver possessed a unit at that location, it converts to a unit of the same type belonging to the new Vassal. The two married Heirs residing in the Capital still belong to their respective Major powers, though they will be given no further orders and will remain there until they are killed (or the game ends).
At the GM’s discretion, the players may optionally select a new name for the Vassal. References to that new power may be abbreviated as...
vGR...with the
G above replaced by the first initial of the Dowry
Giver and the
R above replaced by the first initial of the Dowry
Receiver.
Example
Assume Dokkalfar has captured Permyak on a prior turn and has a fleet there. Assume that both Aesir and Dokkalfar have unmarried heirs in their respective Capitals. The following are orders that could lead to a marriage between their two heirs.
Aesir Orders
Heir Aesir Marry Heir Dokkalfar at Permyak
Dokkalfar Orders
Heir Dokkalfar Marry Heir Aesir at Permyak
F Permyak Hold
Assume the marriage succeeds. A new Vassal power, vDA, is created in Permyak during the Autumn Census. Permyak’s SC ceases to belong to Dokkalfar and belongs to vDA instead. Likewise, the fleet in Permyak now belongs to vDA. Both players’ unmarried Heirs are moved to Permyak.
For the rest of the game, or until the Vassal is eliminated, vDA’s Dowry Giver will be the Dokkalfar player, and vDA’s Dowry Receiver will be the Aesir player. Permyak is now vDA’s Capital city. If Permyak’s SC is ever captured by any power, vDA will be subject to Early Elimination (§ 3.3).
10.5 - Vassal Power Orders & GameplayA Vassal power’s units and controlled territories are represented by icons and graphics that incorporate the colors and/or symbols of the two players that jointly control the Vassal.
Unlike Minor Powers and Thralls, which cannot move their units, Vassal powers may move their units, retreat, and capture SCs. They may even capture SCs belonging to either of the players that jointly control them. It’s even possible for a Vassal power to deliver the killing blow that eliminates either its Dowry Giver or Dowry Receiver.
Like a Major power, a Vassal power maintains a unit count of fleets and armies that corresponds to the total number of SCs it possesses. If that unit count permits, a Vassal power may build during Winter, but may
only do so in their Capital city. Vassals may
not produce their own new Heirs and may not engage in further marriages.
The SCs belonging a Vassal power count towards the victory condition for
both players that control the Vassal.
If a Vassal power ever loses control of its Capital city SC, the two Major powers’ heirs residing there are killed, and the Vassal power is subject to Early Elimination (§ 3.3).
Orders PhasesVassal powers’ units orders are still set via DP allocation (§ 9.0-9.1), similar to those of Minor powers or Thrall powers. However, Vassal powers’ units are
not stationary. Their move orders are not to be treated as sorties, they may retreat, and they are not subject to the
Attacking & Allocating Rule (§ 9.0). The only players that may allocate DP to a Vassal unit’s orders are the two players that jointly control that Vassal power.
Retreat & Winter PhasesEither player may issue retreats or build/disband orders to the Vassal power without spending DPs (as DPs are not used during Retreat phases or Winter). However, if the orders of the two players conflict, the GM must give preference as follows:
- If only one player submits orders, those orders stand.
- If one player submits legal orders, and the other submits illegal orders, then the legal orders stand.
- During a Retreat phase, if both players submit legal retreats (or both submit illegal retreats), then the orders given by the Dowry Receiver override those of the Dowry Giver.
- During a Build phase, if both players submit legal adjustments (or both submit illegal adjustments), then the orders given by the Dowry Giver override those of the Dowry Receiver.
