The value of the Warlock is difficult to assess.
I agree. It's like a rook but it skips every other square. So 1/2 a rook. But it attacks in two lines in each direction so 2x(1/2) = 1 rook. But it can jump over pieces so maybe more than 1 rook. (value = 6 or 7?)
The warlock would be a great piece to try!
Angel3D: I can't believe you're working on two large format games at the same time. Keep up the good work!
musketeerchess2017 wrote:
The Warlock is a nice piece to try. A colour bound piece but with interesting features.
I'm going to try this. Have a game of Classic Chess but adding 2 warlocks as reserve pieces for each side. These reserve pieces will be introduced when the Knights will first move. This prevents some tactical features and leads to a complicated strategic but also tactical game. The colour bound warlocks are of the opposite colour of it's own Bishop and of the same colour of the opponent Bishop. The value of the Warlock is difficult to assess. This needs some games to be played and to focus on Ralph Betza work which is so far the best way to evaluate fairy pieces.
What i regret is that Ralph Betza is no longer active.
I'll try this and may be i'll post a link here to try this idea if i find the game interesting.
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vickalan wrote:
I agree. It's like a rook but it skips every other square. So 1/2 a rook. But it attacks in two lines in each direction so 2x(1/2) = 1 rook. But it can jump over pieces so maybe more than 1 rook. (value = 6 or 7?)
The warlock would be a great piece to try!
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My reasoning is the next:
The two possible paths and the leaping ability are powerful abilities similar or superior to queen.
However, the change of trajectories each time that this piece is moved, colourbound property and "two squares harmlessness" (access to the half of squares in each path) can reduce its power a lot.
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vickalan wrote:
Angel3D: I can't believe you're working on two large format games at the same time. Keep up the good work!
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I will do it! 
Today I bring you a variant of my creation based on omega chess.
Basically omicron chess is a chess variant that takes reference of the omega chess.
Omega chess was created to equalize the number of "slide pieces" with the number of "leap pieces" (without take in importance pawns).
Omicron chess was created in basis the omega chess structure, in fact, it has a similar shape, its board is of 12x12 with additional squares in vertex.
However, omicron chess wasn't created for equalize the number of pieces, but for equalize or aproximate the sum of leaper pieces values with the sum of slide pieces values, and taking in importance pawns, at least noticeably.
For this function, the wizard of the original piece was replaced by the warlock, a piece of my creation, and the myrmidon (another piece of my creation) was added.
Initial piece positions:
Pieces:
All the pieces of omega chess (pawns, rooks, bishops, knights, queen, king and champions) has been conserved, excepting wizard that was replaced for the new piece "warlock".
Also another piece, the myrmidon, is added.
The warlock is a kind of "wizard-rider", ie, it will move one square in diagonal, and next, it can leap ortogonally and consecutively two squares multiple times.
The warlock is a piece that I created time ago, in parallel with another rider pieces, and this is the first time that I use this on a chess variant.
Warlock, like bishop, is a colorbound piece.
The myrmidon is similar to champion, but can move one square to any direction or leap 3 squares in diagonal or ortogonal.
The myrmidon is a piece of recent invention. I created this in one of my tryings of create a piece with a fractal trajectory or movement.
The movement range of myrmidon remember to the first iteration of a Menger Sponge.
My estimated values (in function of range, number of pieces, leap ability and board size) for these pieces are the next:
- Pawn: 1
- King: 3
- Knight: 3.5 (?)
- Bishop: 4~5
- Rook: 6
- Queen: 9
- Champion: 3.5 (?)
- Warlock: 6
- Myrmidon: 4
Rules of Omicron Chess (diferences to standard chess and omega chess):
Pawn:
- The pawn may slide one, two, three or even four squares in the forward direction, on its first move only, increasing its power.
- Capture, promotion and movement (following the first move) are otherwise identical to the pawn in standard chess.
- The en passant rule also applies. A pawn that moves four squares may be captured en passant on either square. Additionally, this also can be applied for a pawn that moves three squares.
Castling:
The normal rules of castling apply. Also, it is done exactly as in chess, with the king moving two squares to either side.
"Omega chess advanced" analogy (omicron chess additional rules, recommended for omega chess followers):
- Joker piece can be added to the game, it works exactly in the same way as works in omega chess.
Joker will have the same movement range like the previous piece moved by the opponent.
Joker isn't in the board by defect, and can be added to any square of the first row in any moment of the game, if this had a free square.
However joker don't copy piece atributes (it can't promote or be captured in passant like a pawn; it can't do castling like a rook, and it can't be a royal piece like the king).
This is an additional piece original from omega chess advanced.
- New special movement, protection: protection acts in a similar way as castling, but works for queen and rooks instead of king and rooks.
This is a rule original from omega chess advanced.
- New special movement, sickle outlet: two warlocks can exit of its initial squares moving to the positions j and d of the first row (only if these two are empty and there isn't pieces that hinder the consecutive leaps trajectories), to its respective square colours, since warlocks are colorbound pieces.
This is an additional rule original from omicron chess.