Introduction

In the last article we introduced some of the main modeling choices in Vijayanagara, in particular the concepts of Tributary and Independent Provinces, and Obedient and Rebelling Units. Having identified three major actors in the region during this period of Indian history, we set out to identify the central features representing their distinct goals and their asymmetric means of attaining them. The game is won by the player whose Faction’s victory condition is highest at the end of the game, with ties broken by comparing Resources. (A second, optional tie-breaker is a short match of Aadu Huli Aata, an ancient asymmetric hunting game found etched into temples where Vijayanagara once stood. This will be the topic of another article, and a copy of the game will be contained in the Vijayanagara box.) Each faction in the game has a set of standard Commands and special Decrees  which they may choose at different times in the game. We will now explore the unique goals and actions available to each faction in turn.

The Delhi Sultanate

In July of 1296, upon murdering his father-in-law and crowning himself Sultan, Ala-ud Din Khalji ascended the throne of the Delhi Sultanate. Though seen as a scandal by the nobles of Delhi, the new Sultan rapidly began raiding the Deccan and sharing the plundered gains with Delhi’s elite influential class, whose outward discontent appeared suddenly to vanish. No rural rebellions were recorded during the years when Ala-ud Din Khalji sat in the throne. Of the limited written history we have of this time, an important source is the work of Ziya al-Din Barani, a chronicler in Delhi in the service of Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq some decades later. According to Barani, Sultan Ala-ud Din succeeded in eradicating the Mongol menace and brought under complete control territories far and wide. The Delhi Sultanate player is faced with defending India from Mongol invasions in the northwest, while securing the steady arrival of tributary funds from the south. The Delhi Sultanate’s Commands are:

• Conscript new troops (augmented by Qasbahs),
• March any number of Troops and Governors from region to region,
• Attack any Rebelling opposition, and destroy opposing symbols of sovereignty, and
• Govern to remove Obedient opposition with powerful Governor pieces, and construct Qasbahs, useful for Conscripting new Troops.

Its Decrees are:

• Collect Tribute to collect resources from all Tributary Provinces,
• Campaign to redeploy large forces across very long distances, and
• Demand Obedience to force Independent Provinces which are Controlled by the Sultanate back into Tributary status.

The Sultanate’s victory points are given by the total Value of Tributary Provinces, which begin the game at its maximum of 18. The Delhi Sultanate player may well find the country slipping away from them throughout the game and the Sultanate player wins if the Delhi Sultanate collapses slower than it did historically!

The Bahmani Kingdom

The Dynasty following that of the Khaljis, the Tughlaqs, would see the Delhi Sultanate’s grip on India beginning to slip. Rebellions in the south were accelerating in frequency, and the Tughlaq Sultan could not hold them all at bay. In 1345, in order to send a message to other potential rebels, 89 amirs (military rulers) were seized, accused of causing all of the rebellions across the south, and executed. The amirs of Daulatabad, Gujarat, and adjoining districts revolted in unison, uniting as the Bahmani Kingdom in 1346. The Bahmani Kingdom is composed of former Governors of the Delhi Sultanate and other minor rulers who have conspired to organize around the Bahmani flag. The Bahmanis are faced with potential opposition from two directions, with Delhi to the north and a new rival, the Vijayanagara Empire, to the south. Sitting in such close proximity to Delhi, they are vulnerable to the Sultan’s wrath, and must initially begin their conspiratorial planning in secrecy, perhaps continuing to send tributes to Delhi while waiting for just the right time to enact their rebellion. The Bahmani Kingdom will eventually rise as a major cultural center, attracting merchants, artists, and soldiers from Iran and Central Asia, and they will defend themselves with the construction and control of large Forts. The Bahmani Kingdom’s Commands are:

• Rally other minor rulers and kingdoms to join the Bahmani Kingdom,
• Migrate up to 3 Amirs from region to region to begin anew,
• Attack any opposing forces (augmented by Forts), and
• Rebel to assert their independence in a Province where they outnumber all enemies.

Its Decrees are:

• Trade to benefit economically from engagement with other factions and foreign powers,
• Build to construct powerful Forts, advantageous in both attacks and defense, and
• Conspire to form new bonds with Delhi’s aggrieved Governors, and perhaps even a Raja of Vijayanagara if the Bahmani Kingdom’s origin stories are gaining traction in the land.

The Bahmani Kingdom’s victory points are given by the total Value of the Bahmani-Controlled Independent Provinces, plus the number of Forts on the map, plus any Foundational Myth points earned. To control a province the Bahmanis must first Rebel to break the tributary relationship to Delhi, and then their own pieces must remain in the majority there. Foundational Myth points speak to the propagation of the origin stories flooding the Deccan and drawing more allies to the kingdom, to be introduced in a future article. In the beginning of the game the Bahmani Kingdom is but an idea, and the faction begins the game with one victory point (one Fort starts on the map).

The Vijayanagara Empire

In 1336, with the Delhi Sultanate’s grip slipping in the Deccan, brothers Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama family saw an opportunity to assert their own independent control of the region, and held a major ceremony to this end in 1346. Gathering at the important Shiva centre of Sringeri in Karnataka, they celebrated their conquests up to that time, and looked into a near future free from Tughlaq authority. Like the Bahmani amirs to the north, the rajas of Vijayanagara also had aims towards expansion. Calling themselves the Lords of the Eastern and Western Oceans, they envisioned dominance over the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west of the peninsula. There was a clear thrust towards capturing port cities on these great bodies of water, where trade could be controlled, bringing in all-important war horses and elephants which would conveniently block the same economic and military benefits to their regional rivals. Although the two upstart kingdoms would see substantial and mutually beneficial interactions throughout the 14th century, there were also major battles between them, particularly over the fertile region between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, the Raichur Doab. Vijayanagara’s legitimacy was based in part on the weaving of its Foundational Myths into a variety of interconnected cult mythologies present in the region for centuries. The spread of these stories, aided by successes against rival powers, attracted the loyalty of minor families like those of the Nayaka warrior kings. The Vijayanagara player will make key alliances with other Rajas and Nayakas in the region who will raise the Vijayanagara flag. Stunning temples which they will construct are not just religious in intent, but are also symbols of sovereignty, focal points which enhance economic development, provide other logistical/organizational features, and draw other Rajas into the fold. The Vijayanagara Empire’s Commands are:

• Rally other minor rulers and kingdoms to join the Vijayanagara Empire (augmented by Temples),
• Migrate up to 3 Rajas from region to region to begin anew,
• Attack opposing forces, and
• Rebel to assert their independence in a Province where they outnumber all enemies.

Its Decrees are:

• Tax to collect resources from Independent Provinces which they Control (augmented by Temples),
• Build to construct towering Temples, advantageous in both Rallying and Taxing, and
• Compel, to draw the loyalty of minor families like those of the Nayaka warrior kings, and perhaps even assert their authority in the regions overseen by their new allies, if the Vijayanagara Empire’s origin stories are rapidly propagating outward.

The Vijayanagara Empire’s victory points are given by the total Value of the Vijayanagara-Controlled Independent Provinces, plus the number of Temples on the map, plus any Foundational Myth points earned. The Vijayanagara Empire begins the game deep in the long shadow of the Delhi Sultanate, with zero victory points, and only early rebellions will allow them to begin to build to a crescendo of economic and military might!

The Mongol Threat: a player-shared fourth faction

In Vijayanagara, a fourth, non-player faction, the Mongol Invaders, introduces a constant threat to Delhi, and is operated alternately by the Bahmani and Vijayanagara players. Mongol Invasions are initiated periodically but unpredictably throughout the game (as part of the Events deck around which gameplay is organized). When a Mongol Invasion occurs, either the Bahmanis or Vijayanagaris make choices for the Mongol actions, which are:

• Amass Mongol Troops in the Mountain Passes to the northwest of India,
• Advance the invaders deeper into India, either from the Mountain Passes into Punjab, or from Punjab into Delhi, and
• Attack and Plunder to assault the Sultanate forces and plunder undefended villages.

The threat of Mongol invasion presents the Delhi Sultanate with difficult choices and an ever-present sense of impending attack. This in turn distracts their attention and opens the door to rebellions in the south. Had the Mongols not made numerous attacks during these centuries, the Delhi Sultanate may well have consolidated its control of the Indian subcontinent without any serious rivals for hundreds of years. “The people of the adjoining districts all flocked into the fortress of Delhi, and the old fortifications had not yet been built up, so that such consternation among men has never been witnessed, nor even heard of; for all the inhabitants of the city both great and small were completely overpowered with terror.”  -Zia al-Din Barani, historian and political thinker (1285-1358), on the arrival of the Mongol hordes to Delhi.

Historical outcome vs. endgame conditions:

The historical outcome would see the influence of the Delhi Sultanate in the Deccan substantially reduced by the game’s end. With tributes being denied by rebelling provinces, the Tughlaq dynasty would be unable to maintain its large standing army, opening it to further economic deterioration, and a near total incapacity to defend Delhi from the arrival of the great Mongol conqueror Timur. Further south, the century’s end would find a stable Bahmani Kingdom, but one with growing internal divisions that will cause it to falter in the coming decades. And finally, an ascendant Vijayanagara Empire, fast incorporating the military techniques of their rivals to the north into their own defensive capabilities, and growing in population and economic output. If the Delhi Sultanate player wins the game, it is because the player has reduced the speed of the Sultanate’s collapse, even though its future may still look bleak. If the Bahmani Kingdom player wins the game, it is because the player has better leveraged its early advantage in military technologies to claim a wider range of territories, thereby enhancing its economic flexibility, and the narrative of the kingdom’s legitimacy has set more deeply into the cultural landscape. If the Vijayanagara Empire player wins the game, it is because the player has ensured the growth of the southern kingdom through a large population, a strong economy, and the integration of its origin stories into the cult mythologies told throughout the Deccan. In the next InsideGMT article we will cover the game’s new combat system, one which models strength-dependent risk mitigation with minimal rules overhead.

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