The Rookery Isles Wargame
Wargame System. Nation vs Nation. 25 mi/hex. The Rookery Isles Wargame is the strategic layer beneath the realm's politics. Houses field armies, fleets, and special pieces across a hex map of the Isles, and the dice decide who holds the line and who breaks. This page explains how the game is played: the turn structure, the unit stats, the combat phases, and the rules of the Abyssal waters.
The live battle map and war room are run with staff during scheduled war sessions. To take part, set up a battle, or follow an ongoing war, reach the Second Life team on Discord.
The Map and the Turn
The wargame is played on a hex map of the Rookery Isles. One hex equals 25 miles. Each hex is land or water, belongs to a nation or stands unbound, and carries its own terrain and temperature. Roads, capitals, terrain, temperature, and the Glooms Maw can each be shown or hidden as overlays on the war map.
Play proceeds in turns. Place units, move them to engage, and combat resolves on contact. Each turn begins in sequence, and the war room tracks the current turn number from Turn 1 onward.
Houses and states hold territory across the Isles. Pieces are placed by their house, default to the capital of their state, and are moved across the hexes to bring them into contact with the enemy.
Unit Stats
Every war piece carries a set of stats. These drive every roll in the game.
| Stat | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ATK | Attack. Added to the attacker's d20 roll in combat. |
| DEF | Defence. Added to the defender's d20 roll in combat. |
| POW | Power. The piece's magical or special might. |
| MOR | Morale. Added to the d20 roll on a morale check. |
| MOB | Mobility. Added to the d20 roll for initiative, and governs movement. |
| INF | Influence. The political weight of spies, bards, and diplomats. |
| HP | Hit points. Tracked as pips. When they reach zero, the piece is removed. |
Unit Types
Army
The standing land forces of a house. The backbone of most expeditions.
Fleet
Ships and naval power. Required to dominate the seas and cross open water.
Special
Dragons, elementals, champions, beastmasters, and other extraordinary pieces.
Support
Healers and supply, which keep an army standing rather than dealing damage.
Defence
Walls, citadels, force domes, and fortifications. High defence, no movement.
Political
Spies, bards, and diplomats, who fight with influence rather than steel.
Initiative
At the start of a round, each side rolls for initiative. Each rolls a d20 and adds its Mobility:
- Initiative for each side is d20 plus MOB.
- The higher total acts first this round.
- The defender wins ties, so on a tie the defender acts first.
Combat
Combat is resolved round by round. The attacker rolls to attack, the defender rolls to defend, and the margin between the two totals decides the outcome.
- The attacker rolls d20 plus ATK.
- The defender rolls d20 plus DEF.
- The margin is the attacker's total minus the defender's total.
Resolve the margin as follows:
- If the margin is greater than zero, the attacker wins. The defender takes 1 wound, or 2 wounds if the attacker won by 10 or more.
- If the margin is zero or below, the defender wins. Ties go to the defender. If the defender won by 10 or more, the attacker takes 2 wounds. Otherwise the defender holds and no wounds are dealt this exchange.
Each round advances the count. Combat continues while both pieces still have HP remaining.
Morale
A morale check is rolled for any piece that has taken wounds. Each such piece rolls a d20 and adds its Morale:
- The total is d20 plus MOR.
- Below 10, the piece is routing, taking a penalty of 2 to all rolls next round.
- From 10 to under 15, the piece holds but is shaken.
- 15 or above, the piece holds firm.
The Glooms Maw and Abyssal Rolls
The Glooms Maw is the Abyssal Trench that scars the seas of the Isles. Its hexes run cold and deep, and something vast waits beneath them. Any piece that is not House Darkcliff or House Sunpeak must roll a d20 when it enters this zone. Darkcliff and Sunpeak cross the Abyssal zone safely and roll nothing.
When a piece enters the Glooms Maw it rolls the Abyssal d20:
- 1 to 3, Catastrophe. The token takes 2 wounds. Something vast stirs.
- 4 to 7, Disaster. The token takes 1 wound. The deep noticed you.
- 8 to 12, Close Call. The hull groans. Crew morale is shaken, a penalty of 1 to Morale next round.
- 13 to 17, Passage. Something watched but did not act. Continue.
- 18 to 20, Clear Passage. The deep is quiet. For now.
The Houses and Their War Pieces
Each house fields its own roster of pieces, each with its own stats, and carries a set of special traits that set it apart on the battlefield. Stats are listed in order: ATK, DEF, POW, MOR, MOB, HP. Political pieces also carry INF (influence), and support pieces carry a heal value.
House Dawnstar
Pieces: Dawnstar Army (ATK 6, DEF 5, POW 2, MOR 7, MOB 3, HP 3); Dawnstar Vanguard (ATK 7, DEF 4, POW 1, MOR 8, MOB 4, HP 3); Gryphon Knights (ATK 5, DEF 3, POW 1, MOR 6, MOB 5, HP 2); Dawnstar Healer (ATK 0, DEF 2, POW 1, MOR 5, MOB 3, HP 2, heal 3); Frosthold Walls (ATK 0, DEF 8, POW 0, MOR 10, MOB 0, HP 4).
Special: Skjaldor Never Breaks; Mountain Fortress; Dawnstar Steel; Grudge vs Mudae; Horde of the North with Emberwave.
House Emberwave
Pieces: Gryphon Knights (ATK 6, DEF 4, POW 2, MOR 7, MOB 5, HP 3); Emberwave Army (ATK 5, DEF 5, POW 1, MOR 6, MOB 3, HP 3); Supply Wagon (ATK 0, DEF 2, POW 1, MOR 4, MOB 2, HP 2); Citadel (ATK 0, DEF 7, POW 0, MOR 10, MOB 0, HP 4).
Special: Gryphon Dive; Aerial Unit; Aerial Superiority; Grain Weapon; Old Blood Calls; Horde of the North with Dawnstar.
House Mudae
Pieces: Dragon (ATK 8, DEF 6, POW 8, MOR 10, MOB 5, HP 6); Dragon Elf Army (ATK 5, DEF 5, POW 3, MOR 5, MOB 4, HP 3); Mudae Healer (ATK 0, DEF 3, POW 2, MOR 5, MOB 3, HP 2, heal 3).
Special: Dragon Fire; Terror of the Skies; Aerial; Cannot Be Broken; Fallen Reputation; Lirams Choice.
House Sandstinger
Pieces: Mage Corps (ATK 3, DEF 3, POW 2, MOR 5, MOB 3, HP 2); Earth Elemental (ATK 5, DEF 6, POW 4, MOR 8, MOB 2, HP 3); Water Elemental (ATK 4, DEF 4, POW 5, MOR 7, MOB 3, HP 3); Fire Elemental (ATK 6, DEF 3, POW 5, MOR 6, MOB 4, HP 3); Storm Elemental (ATK 5, DEF 4, POW 6, MOR 7, MOB 4, HP 3); Force Dome (ATK 0, DEF 10, POW 0, MOR 10, MOB 0, HP 5).
Special: No Standing Army; Arcane Barrier; Ley Line Blast; Tesla Counter vs Sunpeak; Resummon.
House Darkcliff
Pieces: Merchant Fleet (ATK 5, DEF 4, POW 2, MOR 6, MOB 4, HP 3); Combat Fleet (ATK 6, DEF 5, POW 2, MOR 7, MOB 4, HP 4); Darkcliff Army (ATK 4, DEF 4, POW 2, MOR 5, MOB 3, HP 3).
Special: Fastest On The Water, 3 squares; Center Sea Dominance; Abyssal Knowledge; Abyssal Call; Supply Lines; Everyone Owes Us.
House Skyrider
Pieces: Animal Form (ATK 4, DEF 6, POW 2, MOR 7, MOB 3, HP 3); Beastmaster (ATK 5, DEF 3, POW 2, MOR 6, MOB 4, HP 2); Skyrider Healer (ATK 0, DEF 2, POW 3, MOR 5, MOB 3, HP 2, heal 4).
Special: Beast Surge; Forest Sight; No Fleet; The Guilt with Mudae.
House Sunpeak
Pieces: Ironclad (ATK 5, DEF 6, POW 4, MOR 7, MOB 2, HP 4); Sunpeak Army (ATK 4, DEF 4, POW 2, MOR 6, MOB 3, HP 2); Drilling Platform (ATK 3, DEF 5, POW 3, MOR 6, MOB 1, HP 3); Defences (ATK 0, DEF 6, POW 3, MOR 10, MOB 0, HP 4).
Special: Industrial Production; Sea Dominance; Cannon Range, 2 squares; Burst Speed; Ram; Steam Bombardment; Tesla Cores; Invention.
House Greenscale
Pieces: Spy (ATK 0, DEF 3, POW 0, MOR 5, MOB 5, INF 7, HP 2); Bard (ATK 0, DEF 2, POW 0, MOR 4, MOB 4, INF 7, HP 2); Diplomat (ATK 0, DEF 2, POW 0, MOR 4, MOB 3, INF 7, HP 2).
Special: Soft Power; Spy Forced Movement; Bard Dissonance; Bard Inspire; Diplomat Parley; Senate Vote.
House Seaquill
Pieces: Archer Corps (ATK 5, DEF 4, POW 2, MOR 6, MOB 3, HP 3); Seaquill Fleet (ATK 4, DEF 4, POW 2, MOR 5, MOB 3, HP 3); Ancient Healer (ATK 0, DEF 3, POW 2, MOR 6, MOB 3, HP 2, heal 4); Forest Citadel (ATK 0, DEF 7, POW 1, MOR 10, MOB 0, HP 4).
Special: Ancient Archers volley; Sylvaria Endures; Long Memory; Healers Gift.
House Sunflare
Pieces: Sunflare Champion (ATK 6, DEF 5, POW 3, MOR 8, MOB 4, HP 5); Sunflare Captain (ATK 5, DEF 5, POW 2, MOR 7, MOB 4, HP 5).
Special: Elite 5HP; Realm Authority; Guardian Presence; Champions Challenge; Heroic Surge; Sworn To The Hand.
Regent
Pieces: Regent Guard (ATK 5, DEF 5, POW 2, MOR 7, MOB 3, HP 3).
Wildlands (Seelie Fae)
Pieces: Fae Host (ATK 5, DEF 4, POW 5, MOR 6, MOB 5, HP 3).
Special: Fae Magic; Wild Terrain.
Pirate Haven
Pieces: Pirate Fleet (ATK 5, DEF 4, POW 2, MOR 5, MOB 5, HP 3); Pirate Crew (ATK 5, DEF 3, POW 1, MOR 4, MOB 4, HP 2); Black Cove Guard (ATK 4, DEF 5, POW 1, MOR 5, MOB 2, HP 3).
Special: Pirate Routes, move 2 zones at sea; Plunder, on win roll d20, 10+ steal 1pt from enemy; Chaos Home, +2 DEF in Zindarion; Abyssal Neighbors, roll Abyssal on d20 when entering Glooms Maw adjacent hex.
Unbound
Pieces: Unbound Warband (ATK 4, DEF 3, POW 1, MOR 4, MOB 3, HP 2).
The Nations of the Isles
Every piece on the map answers to a nation, and every nation carries its own story out of the Great War. These are the powers that field the armies.
Suncoast City
Country: Suncoast Plains. House: House Sunspear (Royal House). Ruler: Ashley Love & Trystane Love. Class: No specialty, Power itself. Motto: Rebirth and Eternity. Race: All races welcome. Type: Desert coastal metropolis.
The heart of the Isles. The Celestials rule from the Radiant Palace here. The Council meets here. Where celestial power meets mortal ambition. All are welcome who serve the realm.
The War: Led the coalition that ended the Great War. Suncoast stands as the shining example of what the Isles can become.
Valorin
Country: Valoria. House: House Sunpeak. Ruler: TBD. Class: Artificer (Levels 1-10). Motto: The World Must Evolve to Survive. Race: Human. Type: Industrial Republic.
Steam-powered ironclads, factories, inventors. While other houses cling to tradition, Sunpeak builds the future. Their battleships make every other house nervous about what they'll build next.
The War: Factories nearly burned during the war. Emerged stronger. Their ironclads now patrol the seas.
Zindara
Country: Zandara. House: House Greenscale. Ruler: TBD. Class: Bard (Levels 1-10). Motto: Joy and Influence. Race: Human (any welcome). Type: Confederation of city-states.
Bards, diplomats, entertainers, courtesans. The social glue that holds the realm together. Revered everywhere. Never lost a war because they've never been in one.
The War: Went underground during the war. Used political skills to keep houses from fracturing. Did not profit, kept the peace.
Frosthold
Country: Skjaldor. House: House Dawnstar. Ruler: Duke or Duchess of Skjaldor. Class: Barbarian (Levels 1-10). Motto: Strength Through Endurance. Race: Human (Firstborn), Dwarf (Deepfolk), Half-Giant (rare). Type: Noble Duchy, Five vassal houses under the Duke.
We landed on mountains that wanted us dead. We called it home. Built from Dwarven stone and Firstborn stubbornness through the Deepfolk Deal, their ore and engineering for food and tunnel defense. Nobody shook hands. Nobody smiled. Everybody survived. Over centuries that survival pact became Dawnstar metal: the finest steel in the Isles. Every lord who swings a blade worth owning knows where the metal came from. The Frost Wolf bond is older than the Duchy itself, not domestication, something closer to shared instinct. The Crossing Fire has burned without interruption since the first Dawnstar lit it the night the Firstborn came ashore. If it ever goes out, so does Skjaldor.
The War: Ten years of dragon fire. The highland valleys burned. Frosthold never fell. Not once did they bend the knee. The Horde of the North, Dawnstar barbarians and Emberwave cavalry, broke Rhaenor's armies. When the war ended the two forces separated with mutual respect, mutual exhaustion, and mutual relief. The war is over. The scars are not. Liram Mudae has been reinstated. Skjaldor is still counting its dead.
Vassals: Stormrider (heavy cavalry), Ironshield (forgemasters), Frostwolf (hunters and wolfwardens), Seastrider (trade fleet), Skybreaker (eagle wardens). Sigil: A silver wolf beneath an eight-pointed star on deep blue.
Thalor
Country: Thaloria. House: House Emberwave. Ruler: Maria Emberwave. Class: Cavalier/Knight (Levels 1-10). Motto: A Knight Always Pays His Debts. Race: Human. Type: Agricultural Oligarchy.
The landed aristocracy. Controls the realm's food supply and never lets anyone forget it. Gryphon riders, tournament champions, and ruthless calculation beneath chivalric polish.
The War: Fought alongside Dawnstar. Positioned for influence throughout. Remember who fought, who hid, who collaborated.
Marineport
Country: Marinia. House: House Darkcliff. Ruler: Clara Darkcliff. Class: Sea Shepherd (Levels 1-10). Motto: Fortune Favors the Bold. Race: Human. Type: Merchant Republic.
The merchant heart of the Isles. Every trade route runs through their ports. Know every current, every danger, every safe harbor. They cross the Abyssal waters safely, nobody else can say that.
The War: Marinia was DEVASTATED. Sat on the flight path of every dragon attack. Not a target, just geography. Fire rained daily. Rebuilt from rubble through sheer determination.
Sylvaris
Country: Sylivaria. House: House Seaquill. Ruler: None appointed. Class: Ranger (Levels 1-10). Motto: Wisdom Through the Ages. Race: Elven. Type: Elven Monarchy.
Ancient. OLD. When others speak of ancient history, Seaquill remembers it firsthand. Libraries hold knowledge other houses forgot existed. Measure time in centuries.
The War: Watched with the perspective of ages. Sympathetic to impossible choices, harsh toward those who betrayed ancient values.
Azuris
Country: Azura. House: House Sandstinger. Ruler: TBD. Class: Wizard (Levels 1-10). Motto: Knowledge is Power Eternal. Race: 90% Human Variant. Type: Council of Magi.
They ARE magic in the Rookery Isles. The Force Dome over Azura has never fallen. Ancient libraries, ley lines, arcane academies. No standing army, they don't need one.
The War: Isolated behind magical barriers. Saw the prophecy and waited. When they intervened, their magic helped end the war. Dawnstar still says: "You hid while we bled."
Elarian
Country: Elaria. House: House Mudae. Ruler: Lucaemion Mudae. Class: Dragonrider (Levels 1-10). Motto: Fire and Blood, Shield Not Sword. Race: High Elf. Type: Principality of Dragon Lords.
Dragon elves who chose to protect rather than conquer, until Rhaenor. Now a fallen house seeking redemption under Prince Liram, who lost an eye fighting his own father.
The War: Rhaenor started the Great War. Liram stood against his father. Most houses still watch them with suspicion. Every action is a chance to rebuild or destroy what remains.
Drakheim
Country: Drakoria. House: House Skyrider. Ruler: Loche Skyrider. Class: Druid (Levels 1-10). Motto: Nature's Voice, Blood on Our Hands. Race: Wood Elf. Type: Principality / Druidic Council.
Druids who speak with every creature that has claws, scales, or fangs. Former best friends with House Mudae. Cooperated during the war to protect their beasts. Carry that guilt now.
The War: Enabled Rhaenor's dragon experiments to protect their own creatures. Survived, but at a moral cost. Now fiercely protect nature, perhaps to prove they've learned.
Chavana
Country: Zindarion. House: Pirate Haven. Ruler: Power shifts constantly. Class: Sea Shepherd, Pirate Variant. Motto: No law but the tide. Race: All races. Type: Lawless pirate haven.
Tropical paradise surrounded by the Abyssal Trench. Isolated, politically unstable, thick with pirate activity. Black Cove is the primary pirate stronghold, narrow alleys, hidden docks, raucous taverns. Power changes hands frequently.
The War: The chaos that defines Zindarion predates and outlasted the Great War. Pirates aligned with whoever paid. Deals struck with cutlass and pistol.
Hanwood Keep
Country: Unbound / Hanwood. House: Unbound. Ruler: No central authority. Class: N/A. Motto: N/A. Race: Mixed. Type: Unbound Territories.
The Great Alliance maintains close ties with the mainland while preserving its own identity. Dense forests cover the island. Outsiders call it Hanwood, locals prefer the Great Alliance.
The War: Kept to themselves. Watched. Waited.
Sidbury
Country: Suncoast Annex. House: House Sunflare. Ruler: The Hand of the Crown. Class: All classes to Level 7. Motto: Merit Over Bloodline. Race: All races, any background. Type: Elite Guardian force.
Not a nation. Not a bloodline. A CHOICE. Anyone worthy can join. Royal Guard of the Radiant Palace. Elite adventurers who take on what other houses fear. Founded after the Great War by the Celestials.
The War: Founded after the war. Proof that the Celestials wanted a force that served the REALM, not family interests.
Fomyard
Country: Summer Court. House: Wildlands (Seelie Fae). Ruler: The Seelie Court. Class: Fae magic. Motto: Ancient before memory. Race: Fae. Type: Fae Court.
The Summer Court operates outside mortal politics. Ancient powers who were here before the houses and will be here after. They make bargains with mortals foolish enough to accept.
The War: The Fae Courts watched the Great War as they watch all things, from outside it.
Ready to march? War sessions, battle setup, and the live map are run with staff on Discord.