Rite of Command is a two-player game played at a formal dueling arena. Each player must stake a wager to begin the game; the winner collects both wagers. The exact wager required is different at each arena, which you can look up in the list of Rite of Command arenas. Arenas in Wepwawet require only a conflict token.
Each player has a deck of cards. The cards in the deck are chosen randomly at the start of the game. Both players receive exactly the same cards, but the order of the cards is different for each. (Order can be very significant, and provides a substantial element of chance to the game.) Players have two minutes to examine their decks before the game begins.
Play begins with a randomly chosen player and alternates subsequently.
There are three rings in the arena. On each turn, a player will draw the top card from his or her deck and choose to play it into one of these rings. There are two types of card: soldiers and weapons. Each type forms a line, left to right, in each ring. New cards played into a ring join the right end of the line. For example, if player 1 plays an axe into ring 1 and player 2 then plays a sword into ring 1, ring 1 will contain an axe and a sword in that order.
After all cards have been played, combat is resolved in each ring based on the cards that have been played into it. The player who wins two or more rings wins the game.
Combat begins with soldiers choosing weapons. Each soldier will choose weapons in turn, starting with the one on the left. Every soldier may have between 0 and 3 hands, and may be restricted to a certain type of weapon. A soldier will take as many weapons as he can carry, always choosing the leftmost appropriate weapons. Soldiers do not care who placed a weapon.
Consider the following example:
| Soldiers: | Shield bearer Hand 1: any | Mace bearer Hand 0: blunt Hand 1: blunt |
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| Weapons: | Club (blunt) | Sword (blade) | Divine Staff (blunt) |
The shield bearer will choose first, and will pick up the first available weapon--the club. The mace bearer will then choose, and will pick up the divine staff. The mace bearer's other hand will remain empty, since no suitable weapons remain.
After weapons are chosen, the soldiers will fight in pairs. The leftmost soldier belonging to player one will fight the leftmost soldier belonging to player two. Whichever soldier has the greatest power wins. If soldiers have equal power, the leftmost soldier wins. The loser is removed from the battlefield. The winner's power is reduced by 3, to reflect battle fatigue.
Every soldier has two power ratings and an "effectiveness condition". For example, a Priest of Osiris has a power of "6/0 (vs non-priest)". This means that a Priest of Osiris has a power of 6 when fighting a non-priest, but a power of 0 when fighting a priest.
A soldier's power is modified by the weapons he is carrying. Weapons, like soldiers, have two power ratings and an effectiveness condition. A chariot has a power of "5/0 (if wielder is priest)", indicating that it has a power of 5 when wielded by a priest, and 0 otherwise.
The winner in a ring is the player with soldiers still standing in it after all combat is done.
At certain skill levels, a Command option appears under your Special menu, giving you the ability to command those of lower level in your presence to do certain actions.
(See also: tests)