Behemous

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What if a mouse was like 14ft tall


fennaixelphox
@fennaixelphox

TABLETOP SIMULATOR MOD IS LIVE, COME AND GET IT

I call it Deicide Chess because god is dead and I looked him square in the eye as I pulled the trigger.

Beginning setup looks like this:
Beginning setup for Deicide Chess.

That might seem like a lot, because it is! There are a whopping 25 different piece types here, over FOUR TIMES as many as regular chess, and the board is 16x16. That's TWICE the side length and FOUR TIMES the area. However, the goal remains exactly the same: Checkmate your opponent's King before they checkmate yours.

So how does each piece move?

First, some terminology.

The Glossary

Step - Movement to an adjacent square. Notated with a dot in the destination square, or an X for capturing-only steps.
Slide - Movement along a straight path of unoccupied squares to reach a square that is not adjacent. Notated with an arrow that follows the path of squares.
Jump - Movement directly to a square that is not adjacent, ignoring any pieces that may be in the way. Notated with an arrow.
(X, Y) jump - When a piece makes an (X, Y) jump, it moves X squares in one orthogonal direction, then Y squares in a different, perpendicular direction. X and Y can be swapped freely, so an (X, Y) jump is equivalent to a (Y, X) jump.
Orthogonal - Forward, backward or sideways, perpendicular to the edges of the board.
Diagonal - An equal amount of movement along two perpendicular orthogonal directions.
Forward - Towards your opponent's side of the board. (Backward, similarly, is towards your own side of the board.) For White, this would be moving towards the 16th rank of the board, while for Black it would be moving towards the 1st rank.
In any direction - Orthogonally or diagonally.

(Unless otherwise stated, and with the exception of the above definitions, "move" specifically refers to non-capturing moves, while "capture" specifically refers to capturing moves. "Giving check" refers to capturing moves that can only target a King.)

The King

The King.
Moves or captures by stepping one square in any direction.
Royal - If your King is threatened with capture, you are in check, and you MUST remove the threat. If you cannot remove the threat, you are checkmated and you lose the game.
Castling - Castling is done by having the King move two squares towards its Rook, then the Rook jumps to the square the King passed through. The King may not castle into, out of or through check, all squares between the King and Rook must be open, and neither the King nor the Rook used may have been moved this game.
The King's movement.

The Queen

The Queen.
Moves or captures by sliding any number of squares in any direction.
The Queen's movement.

The Rook

The Rook.
Moves or captures by sliding any number of squares in an orthogonal direction.
The Rook's movement.

The Bishop

The Bishop.
Moves or captures by sliding any number of squares in a diagonal direction.
The Bishop's movement.

The Knight

The Knight.
Moves or captures by making a (2, 1) jump.
The Knight's movement.

The Pawn

The Pawn.
Moves by stepping one square straight forward. Captures by stepping one square diagonally forward.
Head Start - May slide up to four squares forward the first time it moves. (For white Pawns, this only works if done while on the 4th rank, for black Pawns, only from the 13th rank.)
En Passant - If an opposing Pawn uses its Head Start to move past a square where your Pawn could have captured it, you may move your Pawn into that square, then capture the opposing Pawn anyway.
Promotion - A Pawn that reaches the other side of the board (the 16th rank for white Pawns, or the 1st rank for black Pawns) becomes any piece except for a King, another Pawn, a Drunk Pawn, or a Rookie.
The Pawn's movement.

The Archbishop

The Archbishop.
Has all the movement capability of both the Bishop and the Knight.
The Archbishop's movement.

The Chancellor

The Chancellor.
Has all the movement capability of both the Rook and the Knight.
The Chancellor's movement.

The Cannon

The Cannon.
Moves like a Rook, but cannot capture like one. Instead, to capture a piece, there must be a hurdle of either color between the Cannon and its target, which the Cannon jumps over to reach the target. The Cannon may not jump if not capturing.
The Cannon's movement.

The Archer

The Archer.
Moves like a Bishop, but cannot capture like one. Instead, to capture a piece, there must be a hurdle of either color between the Archer and its target, which the Archer jumps over to reach the target. The Archer may not jump if not capturing.
The Archer's movement.

The Time Machine

The Time Machine.
Moves and captures like a Queen, but three turns into the future. To do this, declare a valid square that the Time Machine will land on, then remove it from the board with three time counters. Every turn, after you make your move, remove a time counter from the Time Machine, then if there are no time counters left, return it to the board on the square that was declared three turns ago. Any piece in that square is captured, even if it's a friendly piece. The Time Machine threatens the square it's about to land on. Kings who are standing in that square are in check, and if a Sumo Wrestler could push a King onto the square a Time Machine is about to land on on the next turn, the King is in check.
The Time Machine's movement.

The Champion

The Champion.
Moves and captures by stepping exactly one square orthogonally, or jumping exactly two squares in any direction.
The Champion's movement.

The Wizard

The Wizard.
Moves and captures by stepping exactly one square diagonally, or making a (3, 1) jump.
The Wizard's movement.

The Kitsune

The Kitsune.
Moves and captures by making a doubly-bent sliding move; first, the Kitsune steps one square in an orthogonal direction, then turns 45 degrees left or right and slides any number of squares (including 0) in the resulting diagonal direction, then turns 45 degrees left or right again and steps one square in the resulting orthogonal direction. The Kitsune cannot capture until the final orthogonal step.
The Kitsune's movement.

The Werewolf

The Werewolf.
Moves and captures by making a doubly-bent sliding move; first, the Werewolf steps one square in a diagonal direction, then turns 45 degrees left or right and slides any number of squares (including 0) in the resulting orthogonal direction, then turns 45 degrees left or right again and steps one square in the resulting diagonal direction. The Werewolf cannot capture until the final diagonal step.
The Werewolf's movement.

The Centaur

The Centaur.
Has all the movement capability of both the Prince and the Knight.
The Centaur's movement.

The Fool

The Fool.
The Fool has no movement capability of its own.
Joker - Copies the movement and capturing capabilities of whatever piece your opponent moved last, but not any special abilities, such as the King's Royal ability, or the Pawn's Promotion, except for another Fool's Joker ability.
The Fool's movement.

The Sumo Wrestler

The Sumo Wrestler.
Moves by sliding up to two squares in any direction, but cannot capture normally.
Kimarite - If an enemy piece is in the Sumo Wrestler's path and could otherwise be captured by it, the Sumo Wrestler can instead push that piece one square in the direction in which it is moving. If the Sumo Wrestler is able to push the enemy piece off the edge of the board, the enemy piece is captured.
The Sumo Wrestler's movement.

The Sorceress

The Sorceress.
Moves by jumping to any unoccupied square. Captures by stepping one square in any direction.
The Sorceress's movement.

The Rookie

The Rookie.
Moves by stepping one square straight forward. Captures by stepping one square horizontally.
Head Start - May slide up to five squares forward the first time it moves. (For white Rookies, this only works if done while on the 3rd rank, for black Rookies, only from the 14th rank.)
En Passant - If an opposing Rookie uses its Head Start to move past a square where your Rookie could have captured it, you may move your Rookie into that square, then capture the opposing Rookie anyway.
Promotion - A Rookie that reaches the other side of the board (the 16th rank for white Rookies, or the 1st rank for black Rookies) becomes any piece except for a King, a Pawn, a Drunk Pawn, or another Rookie.
The Rookie's movement.

The Drunk Pawn

The Drunk Pawn.
Moves by stepping one square diagonally forward. Captures by stepping one square straight forward.
Head Start - May slide up to five squares diagonally forward the first time it moves. (For white Drunk Pawns, this only works if done while on the 3rd rank, for black Drunk Pawns, only from the 14th rank.)
En Passant - If an opposing Drunk Pawn uses its Head Start to move past a square where your Drunk Pawn could have captured it, you may move your Drunk Pawn into that square, then capture the opposing Drunk Pawn anyway.
Promotion - A Drunk Pawn that reaches the other side of the board (the 16th rank for white Drunk Pawns, or the 1st rank for black Drunk Pawns) becomes any piece except for a King, a Pawn, another Drunk Pawn, or a Rookie.
The Drunk Pawn's movement.

The Prince

The Prince.
Moves and captures by stepping one square in any direction.
The Prince's movement.

The Princess

The Princess.
Moves and captures by jumping up to three squares in any direction.
The Princess's movement.

The Bomber

The Bomber.
Moves and captures by stepping one square in any direction.
Bomb - If the Bomber captures or is captured, both the Bomber and the piece it captured or by which it was captured are destroyed.
Big Bang - If one Bomber captures another Bomber, a Big Bang is triggered, destroying pieces in the eight surrounding squares as well.
The Bomber's movement.

The Snail

The Snail.
Moves and gives check by stepping one square in any direction.
Snail's Pace - On your opponent's turn after you move the Snail, your opponent may move an additional time. They may not put you in check with any move except the final one made on their turn. This ability does not apply on extra turns, but if you move a Snail on an extra turn, it costs two moves instead of one.
Immortal Nemesis - May only capture the King, and cannot itself be captured.
The Snail's movement.



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in reply to @fennaixelphox's post:

Any situation in which you could activate the Big Bang that would destroy either King counts as check. You cannot move your King next to your own Bomber if there is an enemy Bomber next to yours, and if you move your own Bomber next to your opponent's Bomber while it's adjacent to their King, that counts as check.

It has to be exactly one. Cannons work exactly like they do in Xiangqi, and Archers are a generalization of that piece concept from the Rook to the Bishop. (In the Piececlopedia, they're referred to as the "Vao", but that seemed to me like too much of a nonsensical word, so I made them Archers instead to fit with the ranged weaponry theme.)

Also some pieces that didn't make the cut:

  • Ninja - Moves by making any number of (2, 1) jumps in the same direction, provided all squares it lands on are unoccupied. Captures by stepping one square backward or diagonally backward. (This is intended to evoke the Ninja sneaking up and stabbing its target in the back.)
  • Pirate - Moves and captures by sliding any number of squares in any direction, but the destination square must be on the edge of the board. (That's where the coastlines for it to land its ship are.)
  • Dragon - Has all the movement ability of the Rook, Bishop and Knight. Is the most powerful piece. (This one was cut because it seemed too powerful.)
  • Bard - Moves by making a (2, 1) jump. Cannot capture. Pieces in the surrounding eight squares are immobilized. (They're too busy listening to the bard's song.)
  • Doctor - Moves by sliding any number of squares in any direction. Cannot capture. (First do no harm!) Friendly pieces in the eight surrounding squares, except for the King, are protected from capture.

One more that only didn't make the cut because I didn't have the graphic I wanted for it: The Friend. Visually, it would be represented by a heart. Through the power of friendship, it can copy the movement of any friendly piece that is guarding the square it's standing on (i.e. could capture it if it were the opposite color)

The text implies that the Sumo Wrestler can unconditionally push another piece. Is that right, and if so, what happens if it would push a piece into a square occupied by another piece?

Oh wait hang on I'm a fucking idiot and somehow forgot that you could move your Sumo to the other side of the board to push the opponent's pieces around.

If a piece with Head Start is pushed farther backward than the rank it started on, it can still use its Head Start, but for simplicity's sake, the maximum range stays the same.

And here I thought I was just making a silly little joke piece by having it be so slow it takes two turns to move a single square!

Originally it was a thought I had about "what if there was a piece that only moved half a square at a time?", the answer being that it moves a whole square, but then you had to "borrow" a turn from your opponent to cover the second half of the movement. Them getting a bonus turn is the way I chose to have them "pay it back"

this is so good, i love this lol
also also, is the Kitsune able to slide in a direction, turn and move zero squares, then turn back, stepping again in the same direction? essentially stepping twice in any orthofonal direction? same with the werewolf stepping twice in a diagonal direction
it sounds like it should from the description, but the movement diagram doesn't reflect that. am i misunderstanding?

Does this variant support vertical castling (treating a promoted pawn as a new piece which therefore hasn't moved this game, so promoting a pawn to a rook in the king's column can allow for a castling maneuver, given that the column is clear and the king hasn't moved)?

Fun fact: Japan came up with their own variant of this called Dai Dai Shogi all the way back in the 15th century. Not much is known about it and it's not even clear that it was ever played, but as far as people have been able to reconstruct:

  • It was played on a 17x17 board.
  • There were 64 distinct piece types, and both players controlled a total of 96 pieces at the start of the game. They had such illustrious names as: enchanted badger, free dream-eater, fragrant elephant, cat sword, and square mover.
  • Pieces promoted on first capture, and stayed that way for the rest of the game. Many of the pieces could promote into already existing piece types. (Reintroducing captured pieces wasn't allowed, unlike shogi. The game's long enough as it is.)
  • The movement could get really fucking weird.

Suggested piece shapes for the Sumo Wrestler, Time Machine and Snail, since they're completely original creations:

  • Sumo Wrestler - Like a Pawn but with a bigger head, wearing a mawashi on it.
  • Time Machine - The standard chess piece base, with a clock on it. (Or a TARDIS, if you wanted to be exceptionally based.)
  • Snail - Literally just a snail on a pedestal.

Clarification for sumo - it doesn't specifically say, but can you shove a piece into another piece? I presume not since it's not clear what happens next. Also, when a piece is shoved off the side of the board it is captured. Is there a difference between that and otherwise capturing it normally (since I got the idea that Kimarite is optional and not required each time it can capture, but maybe I read that wrong)? totally missed the part that says it can't capture normally

maybe a more elegant way to phrase this set of interactions would just be "the square that a Time Machine is marked to land on counts as a threatened square for both Kings"? that would prevent them from moving in + make it count as check if they're pushed in, or checkmate if they're pushed into the square right before their own time machine 'lands'!

Aha! It also occured to me you can force an opponent to land their time machine earlier by moving a snail! Or moving a snail to "prolong" your time machine's landing, since you remove a counter each move

Also, time machine doesn't seem to have a labeled ability, it all just seems to describe how it moves. Does that mean a fool can copy time machines properties, or does it just move like a queen?

Also, can a fool cause a check or checkmate? If a fool is in a position where it might be able to capture the king depending on what piece is moved, can your opponent not move certain pieces?

I love this, but it is so much. What I really want is a Really Bad Chess version of this, where these new pieces are put into the RBC algorithm, and you play against another abomination of a team on a regular 8x8 board.