Divine Right (game)
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Divine Right is a fantasy board wargame designed by Glenn A. Rahman.
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[edit] Overview
Divine Right is played on a full-color map of the fantasy world of Minaria, using counters to designate armies, fleets, barbarians, ogres, and other fighting forces. It is a turn-based war game that uses six-sided dice for all rolls. Magical creatures and items are also employed in an attempt to win the game through amassing more victory points than your opponents.
This two- to six-player game incorporates combat, castle sieges, and diplomacy in a fantasy setting. Players use everything from fleets to mercenaries to magical creatures to special military leaders. Players are affected by usual events in war: weather, mutinies, plagues, etc. Victory is obtained by one of two methods: score the most points by the end of the 20th turn, or eliminate all opponents.
To make all this happen, the game includes kingdom cards, personality cards, diplomacy cards, dice, unit counters, a full color game map and complete instructions.
[edit] History
Divine Right was originally released in 1979 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). The second edition was released in 1980 and included several original additions as well as elements from articles appearing in Dragon Magazine at the time. The game was sold for several years and set many precedents in turn-based wargaming. TSR stopped the presses after a while.
The game was updated by Glenn Rahman and was released in 2002 as a 25th-Anniversary Edition by The RightStuf International, Inc. The entire limited run of this version--2,000 copies--was sold.
[edit] Legacy
The author, Glenn Rahman, has continued to make improvements to Divine Right's rules. A new edition is expected to be published online during the summer of 2007 and will be comprised of three volumes:
- VOL. 1: SIXTH EDITION RULEBOOK, a comprehensive manual that will include new and expanded rules, a never-before-published strategy guide, and an index.
- VOL. 2: SCARLET EMPIRE, a spin-off of Divine Right that Glenn Rahman wrote years ago; unfortunately, a publisher could not be found.
- VOL. 3: MINARIAN LEGENDS, a compilation of fiction set in the world of Divine Right. The articles were originally published in serial form between 1980 and 1982 in TSR's Dragon Magazine and were included on a CD-ROM with the 25th Anniversary Edition. A pronunciation guide will also be included.
All three volumes are expected to be published online at the Divine Right Yahoo! group; see the Links section below.
Several PBEM engines for Divine Right are now in development. The one that is known to work and is supported is available as a free download (see links below).
[edit] External links
- Divine Right Online Officially endorsed online game in Alpha test
- MADHAT Divine Right Pages - fan website containing links to PBEM versions and new rules
- Yahoo!'s DivineRightGame group - a discussion site for DR's fans and where the rules are posted
- Divine Right at BoardGameGeek