Gateway
Gateway is a boardgame created by Cathak Cacek in RY466 during his time attending the House of Bells. The game uses several boards and a variety of pieces, demanding great skill to master. Its popularity within the Realm exploded soon after its Creation, and it now stands amongst the pillars of Dynastic skill, with every Great House Dragonblooded expected to have at least some skill.
The original copy of lord Cacek's rules was stored in a place of honour in the Cathak wing of the Imperial Palace until the night of the 23rd Descending Earth RY768, when a Sesus officer of the 4th Legion put it to the flame.
RULES
[The following system is based off Bodhisattva's ruleset on the White Wolf Wiki].
A game of Gateway consists of several Rounds, each taking approximately 15 minutes, between two players. Players roll off to determine who begins the game as the attacker, the remaining player beginning as defender.
Each round, the attacker rolls Int + War + Gateway specialty vs. a difficulty equal to the defender's War. The defender then rolls Wits + War + Gateway specialty vs. a difficulty of the attacker's threshold successes on the previous roll. If this roll fails to EXCEED the threshold then the attacker scores 1 Point against the defender. If the roll succeeds, no point is gained. If the roll has threshold successes equal or exceeding the attacker's Int, then the defender becomes the attacker for the next round.
For each Point scored against a player, that player suffers a -1 die penalty to subsequent rolls during the game, as pieces are lost and captured.
The game proceeds until one player has accumulated at least 5 Points against the other, and also has at least 2 more Points than the other player. If at the end of a round both players have at least 5 Points AND the same number of Points, the game ends in a draw. If either player botches a roll, their opponent immediately rolls Wits + War + Gateway specialty, winning the game automatically if they score even a single success as as the botched player leaves themselves open and vulnerable. A botch on THIS roll means embarrassment for all involved, that will set Dynasts giggling at the thought of it for years to come.
Variants
Gateway is a complex and robust set of rules, which have given rise to several variants emphasizing different approaches to the art of war.
Hunting Cat: Hunting Cat is a fast-paced variant of Gateway for between two and six players, with each round lasting 1 minute. It is played as above, substituting Wits with Dex and Int with Wits. As it may involve more than 2 players, each round the attacker nominates another player as defender against their move that round. Instead of winning after accumulating 5 Points and 2 over one's opponent, instead players are eliminated when a total of 5 or more points are scored against them, with the last remaining player the victor.
Guardian Gate: A defensive, methodical variant of Gateway for 2 players, though not quite so complex as the original, with each round lasting 10 minutes. It is played as above, substituting Wits with Int, and players take turns being attacker and defender one after the other, without need to seize the role.
Spirit Frog: A single-player game of Gateway, each round lasting 10 minutes, designed to teach basic Immaculate concepts. To play, a player rolls Int + Lore + Immaculate Doctrine specialty vs. difficulty 5. Each round, the difficulty drops by 1. To win, the player must accumulate 5 successes. If difficulty reaches 1 before this happens, the player loses the game.
Training
One of the major reasons for Gateway's popularity is the game's use as a training tool, honing skills with great effectiveness.
1 game of Gateway (except Spirit Frog) counts as 4 hours training a War (Gateway) specialty. If played against an opponent of equal or greater War, counts as having a tutor for that period of training.
1 game of Spirit Frog counts as 4 hours training with a tutor for a Lore (Immaculate Doctrine) specialty (maximum Lore 2) or an Occult (Gods) specialty (maximum Occult 1).
