Questions about declaring an attack with gods and then calling it off

[Sky God]

I have a question about calling off a declared attack when there is a godswar invloved.

I know that the attacker must attack at least once if they have declared an attack, but does that apply to godswars as well? For example, if a player declares an attack that will generate a godswar and then decides to call off the attack for some reason (I play a sky card), must they go through with the godswar only, the regular battle only, or one round of each?

I ask this because a player attacked me and declared godswar. I then played a sky card that gave me a huge advantage and I certainly would have defeated the attacking god. My opponent knew this and therefore called off the godswar removing my opportunity to kill his god. He said he only had to go through with one round of regular combat to satisfy the requirement that he attack at least once before calling it off.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks

[series]

i THINK only 1 round of each, not sure

[holywolfman]

I would say: you have to go ONE round for the God's war...then you MAY decide to attack with your remaining army or not!

"...Once any godwar battles are resolved, you MAY attack by rolling the dice against the opponent who occupies the opposing territory..."

-pg 10- (top left)

(....I guess that means you can see how the battle pursues in the godswar BEFORE declaring regular battle with the remaining armies.)- :p

[Mike Selinker]

I know that the attacker must attack at least once if they have declared an attack, but does that apply to godswars as well? For example, if a player declares an attack that will generate a godswar and then decides to call off the attack for some reason (I play a sky card), must they go through with the godswar only, the regular battle only, or one round of each?

Basically, the rule's in place to make sure you get to your next decision point (see page 9). There's a couple of things that can happen.

If you attack with a god and defeat the only other god in combat, your next decision point is after your first battle with your soldiers. So you must finish the first man-to-man roll.

If you attack with a god and your god is defeated, the same is true. You must finish your first man-to-man roll.

However, if you attack and the godswar remains unresolved (that is, there is still at least one god on each side), your next decision is whether to continue the godswar. At that point you can jack out.

Mike

[Sky God]

Mike,

Thanks for your post. I guess what I am asking is if the attacker must go through with any godswar at all? Can the attacker skip the godswar entirely and move straight on to the regular fight, fight one round as required, and then cancel the invasion?

Thanks

[Mike Selinker]

Thanks for your post. I guess what I am asking is if the attacker must go through with any godswar at all? Can the attacker skip the godswar entirely and move straight on to the regular fight, fight one round as required, and then cancel the invasion?

No. The godswar must happen first, because the men don't know whose faith is supreme until the gods duke it out. So they wait.

Mike

[deltabob]

My take is that a godswar cannot be called off once set into motion.

Rulebook, page 9:
GODSWAR
When gods are present on both sides of an invasion, a godswar must be resolved to eliminate the gods on one side.


Rulebook, page 9:
If there are still gods remaining on both sides, the attacking player may decide to attack again. When only one side has gods left, then any normal battle between armies occurs.

So, just like a regular invasion, once a godswar has been invoked, at least one round must happen. If the attacker chooses not to continue the godswar after that, then the invasion is cancelled.

[holywolfman]

...I actually thought the same at first but, as MIKE cleared it up for us:
I guess you have to attack One Round as a godwar and if there are NO gods left for the defender then the attacking army (with regular armies) then have to battle for One round THEN haved the option to retreat!

(or) If there is a god on the defending side AFTER one round of the godwar, the attacking god/s can choose to call it off ALL TOGETHER or keep fighting! (If Mike says that's how it goes, that is how it is supposed to go for he is the "Lead Designer" of this game!)- I can respect that! :p

[Sky God]

Hey,

Wow, I didn't realize at first that I was actually in conversation with the game's designer. That is pretty cool.

Having read the previous posts, I will summerize my understanding of the rules at this point:

After the attacker has declared an attack and announced the participation of gods, and after the defender has played sky cards,

The attacker must commit to one godswar.

After that godswar, if there are any gods remaining on either side, the attacker may hold another godswar or quit the battle entirely and not fight any godswar or fight with regular armies. There is no further combat between the two territories this turn.

However, after a godswar if all of the gods have been defeated in one territory then the attacker must fight at least one battle with regular forces.

As I understand it, there is no option to quit a battle after all the gods have been defeated in one territory and before regular armies battle. True?

Thanks

[holywolfman]

...."True!" ;)

[Mike Selinker]

Wow, I didn't realize at first that I was actually in conversation with the game's designer. That is pretty cool.
Happy to help.


After that godswar, if there are any gods remaining on either side, the attacker may hold another godswar or quit the battle entirely and not fight any godswar or fight with regular armies. There is no further combat between the two territories this turn.
It's more accurate as:
After that godswar, if there is at least one god remaining on both sides, the attacker may hold another godswar or quit the battle entirely and not fight any godswar or fight with regular armies. There is no further combat between the two territories this turn, unless the attacker attacks again.

Anyway, it sounds like you've got the rule down.

Mike