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Lighter Ways to Play

Some people may have been drawn to Allies of Majesty because they are intrigued by the setting, only to find that the game system is a little more detailed than they prefer when it comes to RPGs. Have no fear! The Allies of Majesty tools like the web calculator, and the full companion app are intended to make the game flow smooth as silk. Video game level depth with video game level ease of access.

These tools shoulder the burden of the math and tracking, but some play groups may want an altogether lighter game experience. We want you to stay and enjoy the setting that brought you here! Tweak the rules and homebrew things to your liking.

The following are some suggestions of ways to tweak Allies of Majesty for a simpler and more cinematic flow:

  • Use a theater of the mind style instead of miniatures and measuring.

  • Character Turns are handled by making a list of each character from highest Swiftness to lowest.

  • Reduce Actions Points to 4 AP every Turn.

  • Keep the maximum number of Spiritual Effects and Songs lower.

  • Calculations for Adjustments and damage can be estimated by the Host.

Use a theater of the mind style instead of miniatures and measuring. Gathering and setting out terrain and miniatures can be time consuming, even if it is fun. The same is true of measuring and referencing distances. For some people these things just get in the way of the story. Quite a few RPGs are played as theater of the mind where everything takes place in the groups’ corporate imagination and is narrated by the Host and the players. Distances and Ranges become generalities. Use your imagination and the Host’s verbal descriptions to consider how far away another character is. If unsure, ask the Host clarifying questions like, “Am I close enough to that enemy Warrior to Strike with my sword?”

Character Turns are handled by making a list of each character from highest Swiftness to lowest. At the beginning of each Cycle, give each character 1 Turn Marker for every 7 Speed they have. Have each character take a Turn in order of decreasing Swiftness and when they finish that Turn, they should discard one of their Turn markers. After every character has had a Turn, start the process again except any characters without a Turn marker are skipped. This will cause extremely fast characters to take multiple Turns back to back toward the end of the Cycle.

Reduce Actions Points to 4 AP every Turn. Character Turns can be made quicker by reducing the number of things they can do each time it is their Turn to 4 AP. 4 AP is enough for each character to Strike at least once or perform multiple quicker actions. This reduced number of Action Points is more to other RPGs and take less time to complete.

Keep the maximum number of Spiritual Effects and Songs lower. Resolving and tracking the effects of Spiritual Effects and Songs can take a lot of time. One way to reduce this time is by limiting the number of Spiritual Effects or Songs a character can be using at the same time. Limit Ministering Spirits to using 3 or maybe 5 Spiritual Effects at once. Limit Minstrels to singing only 1 or maybe 2 Songs at a time. This reduction should help with balancing considering that Warriors and Messengers more greatly hurt by the reduction of total AP each Turn.

Calculations for Adjustments and damage can be estimated by the Host. Using the AoM web calculator should make these calculations no problem, but if it still cramps your style, instead the Host can estimate the number of Adjustments using memory and their general knowledge of the characters involved. The effects of percentage changes to damage can also estimated to give a quick result that is close enough. Not pausing to determine an exact numbers in every instance can save a lot of time and help the Host and players to remain in a creative frame of mind over a technical one.

Ultimately, the goal is flexibility. What do the people at the table want out of the gaming experience? Playing in a lighter style may not feel great to players who prefer clear, detailed, and exacting rules. Here are a few keys to making playing in an lighter style run more smoothly.

Remember that the Host and players are all imagining everything. Sometimes one or both may forget something or have imagined something differently.

The Host is the ultimate determiner and so feel free to ask the Host clarifying questions. Using theater of the mind puts some new things upon the Host, but also offers the Host a lot of freedom.

If you think the Host might not have accounted for something, ask the Host once if that information may make any difference. If the Host affirms they did account for the information, don’t continue to ask about the same things each time.

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