This page discusses these rules in greater detail. You should read this carefully as "I haven't read the rules page" won't be accepted as a valid excuse.
This game is based somewhat on the Birthright rules by TSR. It set in the world of Mystara, also by TSR.
I would like to put out a thank you to Rob Fry and especially to Aleksei Andrievski as I could not have even begun to get this game started without there previous work on Birthright in Mystara and Birthright simplification. This game is VERY heavily based on their work. Thank you.
Also, I would like to thank Thibault Sarlat for allowing me to link to his wonderful hex maps.
Some major points about the game
1. This is the biggest point. This game will be very slow. I would not be surprised if once it gets going it can be months before a player has to do something. not only am I using some optional rules where I run the game day-by-day of game time (instead of season to season), this game will also be a low priority to me in my already overburdened lack of time. It will probaly even start and stop and sputter from time to time. So be advised that the pace will be excrutiatingly slow.
2. This is another major point. It's going to be very arbitrary. WHATEVER
I SAY GOES, period explanation point. I will probaly be fudging die rolls
left and right, and in both
directions. While a player can debate the choice with me, unless they make
a very good argument, I probally won't even reply to their email.
***Whiners need not apply***.
3. While it is based on the Birthright rules, I will make several changes to it, especially concerning the magic system. This is for two reasons. one I don't have a single birthright product (other than the online stuff) and two I find the BIRTHRIGHT rules a little akward. I'm basically going to completely restructure the magic system since I know next to nothing about how it works in a birthright game, and several other changes regarding RP income and other aspects. So if I lay out a rule, feel free to tell me what the actual rule is, but I probaly will not change it.
4. This will be experimental. I will probaly be making new rules and adjusting old ones left and right all through-out the game as I try new things and attempt to fix old ones that aren't working. So I refer you back to number 2, but feed-back is very welcome.
5. I'm hoping to introduce several new elements to the game such as economics and especially slow lines of communication of a midevil era (Which can be bypassed by magic in somecases). and many other illly defined ideals I currently thave floating around my head. Concerning these I will experiment with them so I refer you to points #4 & #2.
6. I will allow people to play more than one character. They will have a staggered start, but I will allow them up to perhaps 10 characters each, although I will recommend that they keep it to between 1-5.
This game is run one day (of game time) at a time. The deadline for submitting your action will be rather arbitrary and vary depending on several factors, most prominantely amount of my free time and complexity of everyones actions. If you must leave for some reason, let me know in advance and I will run your domain for you. Otherwise if, when it is time for you to do something, and you don't reply, I will take that to mean you do nothing for the day. If you continually don't send me any messages, without informing me in advance, your domain will revert to NPC status.
Communications
Any email sent to me please have the subject line/field precedded by your code in brackets. Any email sent to me without that may be ignored.
About contacting others: I will be slowing down communications to a more realistic level. I will tell you which other players you can contact directly (just cc the message to me) but to contact any other player you must send the message to me, in letter format, and I will then give that message to the other player after an appropriate number of days. You can also hire a mage to send your message instantaneously.
Relaxe!
These following rules will mainly be for my use, basically you'll just have to say what you want to do each day. Reading on though may help you undersatnd a little better, but if this too complex, then don't worry, I'll handle the rules aspects. The only thing else here you really need is the province maps, scroll all the way to the bottom for those.
Law Claims
Law claims are simplified. If your law holding is
greater than or equal to the target taxed holding, you collect 1 GB from the
claim. Law holdings collect nothing from targets greater than themselves.
Court Costs
Court level will not affect the success of diplomacy
with PC or NPC regents. However, the court level will affect the success roll of
the following actions: Create (not trade routes), Investiture, and Rule. Actions
involving sources will not depend on court level though. Additionally, the base
costs of the Decree actions will change depending on your court. The exact
modifiers are listed below:
| Court Level | Description | Success Modifier | Decree Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 GB | No court at all. Diplomacy and decree actions are nearly impossible. | -4 | 4+ GB |
| 1 GB | Court maintained at a minimal level. Facilities equal to a common inn, a few servants, no specialized retainers such as musicians, tutors, or falconers, no events such as feasts or balls. | -4 | 3 GB |
| 2 GB | Court maintained at a minimal level. Facilities equal to a common inn, several servants, still no specialized retainers, nor any events. | -3 | 3 GB |
| 3 GB | Barely acceptable court, with 'quaint' facilities, and a scattering of retainers. No affairs of state. | -3 | 2 GB |
| 4 GB | Barely acceptable court, with 'quaint' facilities, and a couple of retainers. Affairs of state are rare. | -2 | 2 GB |
| 5 GB | Almost acceptable court, with 'quaint' facilities, and a few retainers. Occasional affairs of state. | -1 | 2 GB |
| 6 GB | An average court with good facilities, plentiful servants and retainers, and regular galas and festivities. | +0 | 1 GB |
| 7 GB | An above average court with good facilities, plentiful servants and retainers, and regular galas and festivities. | +1 | 1 GB |
| 8 GB | A good court with fine facilities, abundant numbers of servants and retainers, and regular galas and festivities, and more. | +2 | 1 GB |
| 9 GB | An opulent center of power - the envy of nearby kingdoms. Art, literature, and sports are celebrated. Guests are waited on hand and foot. Every day brings a festive event of some kind. | +3 | 1 GB |
| 10 GB | An over opulent center of power - the envy of all kingdoms. Art, literature, and sports are constantly celebrated. Guests are waited on hand and foot, and head and neck. Every hour brings a festive event of some kind. | +4 | 0 GB |
Court level cannot be set higher than 10 GB. Also, you can only shift your court costs a maximum of 1 GB per month (i.e. a court of 6 GB could be shifted anywhere from 5 to 7 GB next month) with your very first month being an exception (that is because, to simplify the preparation for the game, all court levels are set to 0, so your first turn you can pick whatever level you want).
Actions: there are four types of actions, Free, Domain, Realm, and Character. Each month you can do one Domain or one Realm or one Character action. You can do how ever many free actions you want each month (time allowing).
Realms and Realm Actions: actions involving holdings can be performed either on any/all holdings of the same type found in different provinces (which don't have to be in the same realm), or on any/all holdings of any type within a single province (e.g. all holdings in Selenica). Note that lieutenants cannot perform realm actions, only domain, Character, and Free actions. Some of the realms in this game are quite spread out - a realm is defined as all lands under the control of a single regent - so in the case of colonial powers, their colonies count as being part of the same realm as the mother country.
Character Actions: On the other hand, if a lieutenant is not used for a domain action on any given round, he may perform a character action (such as Research) without using the one free lieutenant action per season. Any/all lieutenants not performing a domain action can be assigned to a character action every season. No extra RPs can be added to such actions, either. Lieutenants also cannot hire other lieutenants.
Critical Failures and Successes: A roll of 1 on any action is an automatic failure, regardless of spent RPs. Additionally, if the roll is 1 and 10 or more points below the required success number, the result is a critical failure, with some minor bad thing related to the action happening to the regent's domain. On the other hand, a roll of 20 is an automatic success, and if it is also 10 or more points above the required success number, the result will be especially good, with a small bonus gained.
Supporting and Opposing: Actions that can be supported or opposed by certain regents have this fact mentioned in their descriptions below. Additionally, only such regents can spend additional RPs supporting or opposing the action. Thus, a source holder cannot affect another regent ruling a temple, so he cannot spend RPs on it, either. For most actions, the regent attempting them can support himself with additional RPs.
Class Bonuses: Some character classes receive bonuses to their
actions as follows:
Fighter: Declare War or Raid Province once/season as
a free action.
Paladin: Declare War or Agitate once/season as a free
action, but usable only against direct religious enemies.
Ranger: Special
Ranger Espionage once/season as a free action.
Priest: Agitate once/season as a
free action.
Thief (except Guilder): Espionage or Piracy once/season as a free
action.
Guilder: Finances once/season as a free action or Espionage*
*=only if the DM agrees that such an espionage usage would bu 'in-character'. I recomend asking the DM in advance by at least a day of game time.
Income is simplified in this game. There are 4 tax levels: none, Light, Moderate, & Severe. tax level will be one factor effecting Loyalty. While it is possible to set different tax rates for different provinces, it is not recomended that you do so as the people will not like it. Provinces produce taxes as follows (at max):
| Province Level | Light Tax | Moderate Tax | Severe Tax |
| 1 | 1 GB | 1 GB | 2 GB |
| 2 | 1 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB |
| 3 | 2 GB | 3 GB | 5 GB |
| 4 | 2 GB | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| 5 | 3 GB | 5 GB | 8 GB |
| 6 | 3 GB | 6 GB | 9 GB |
| 7 | 4 GB | 7 GB | 11 GB |
| 8 | 4 GB | 8 GB | 12 GB |
| 9 | 5 GB | 9 GB | 14 GB |
| 10 | 5 GB | 10 GB | 15 GB |
Temples and guilds produce income as follows:
| Province Level | Holding Level | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4-5 | 6-7 | 8-9 | 10 | |
| 1 | 1 GB | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 1 GB | 2 GB | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | 1 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB | - | - | - | - |
| 4 | 2 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB | 4 GB | - | - | - |
| 5 | 2 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB | 4 GB | - | - | - |
| 6 | 2 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB | 4 GB | 6 GB | - | - |
| 7 | 2 GB | 3 GB | 4 GB | 5 GB | 7 GB | - | - |
| 8 | 2 GB | 3 GB | 4 GB | 5 GB | 7 GB | 8 GB | - |
| 9 | 2 GB | 3 GB | 4 GB | 5 GB | 7 GB | 8 GB | - |
| 10 | 3 GB | 4 GB | 5 GB | 6 GB | 8 GB | 9 GB | 10 GB |
The below table lists some of the more popular actions available in this game, as well as any clarifications and modifications, if any. These actions are not the only ones available however, these are just the most commonly used. If there is something else you want to do that is not listed here, then just tell the DM what you want to do and I will decide what action is appropriate (or create a new action for it).
| Action | Type | Base Cost | Base Success | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adventure | C | - | - | Adventures are possible in this game. Note that adventures are risky - your character could well be killed or captured during the course of an adventure. There are 2 types of advtures possible. You can either just describe what you want to accomplish or do or you can partake in a random, wandering type adventure. Whith the second type, we will start a sub game using traditional AD&D 2nd ed (pre S&P) game with your character until such time as you are done. While these will probaly be the most fun, they will probaly also slow down the game. But your still welcome to do them if you want. | |
| Agitate | DR(F) | 1 RP, 1 GB | 50% | Used to raise or lower province loyalty. Agitation can be supported or opposed by any law holdings in the province. Priests can perform this once per season as a free action. | |
| Bombardment | D | 1 GB | Automatic | Some warships and some cannon type units (as well as a few other odd units) can choose to bombard a province. Bombardment costs 1GB per bombarding unit. When bombarding, add up the missile ratings of all the units involved. Every 10 points reduces a random holding or castles level by one. Every 50 points reduces the province level by one also. Bombarding Renaissance technology castles is dangerous, such a castle can inflict a number of automatic hits equal to its level on the attacking fleet, which could sink several ships. | |
| Build | F | Var | Auto | This is a catch-all action that can be used to initiate various normal construction projects. Most projects are built at the rate of 1d6 GB per season (rolled randomly), though if you are short on money you can suspend any projects until further notice. You may rush a project to 2d6 GB per season, but the cost rises by 20%. Remember also that building in provinces of level 3 or less increases the build cost. Some specific constructions are discussed below. | |
| Build City | F | 5 GB | Auto | With this action, the realm ruler doesn't actually build a whole city, but rather places the foundations for one (town hall, guard barracks, etc.). A city can only be built in a province of level 3 or higher. Upon completion of the foundation, the next Rule Province action performed in the affected province will receive a +3 bonus, cumulative with any other modifiers. This is a one-time bonus, regardless of the success or failure of the Rule action. There are some cities already existing at the start of the game. A city may have the same name as the province it is in, or you can make a different name, or allow the DM to pick a name that fits in the setting. Cities also cannot be built in some provinces. | |
| Build Monument | D | Var | Auto | Builds a great monument in your realm. A monument can provide some sort of bonus to your domain. Before building monuments, submit them to the DM for approval. | |
| Build Palace | F | Var | Auto | A palace is normally built in the capital province. It costs from 5 to 30 GB. For every 5 full GB of the palace, the regent gets a bonus of +1 GB to his court (the court still cannot exceed 10 GB). Thus, with a 30 GB palace, the regent would have an average 6 GB court without the need to pay for one. A palace costs 1 GB to maintain per season however. This structure need not necessarily be a palace for non-landed regents, e.g. it could be a great temple for priests, a villa for guilders, or a tower for wizards. | |
| Build Road | F | Var | Auto | A road is built between two provinces. Its cost is double the movement cost of each connected province (see below under Terrain). A road can only be built in a province if the province ruler gives permission for it. Note that building cost for roads is increased in the same manner as the general build action (above). | |
| Build/Buy Ships | F | Var | Auto | Ships can be built for 80% of the listed price, rounded to the nearest integer. Only port provinces (level 4 and above) can build ships. Each province can build a maximum number of ships at any one time equal to its level, and any single regent can only build ships simultaneously up to the level of his highest holding in the province. You can also purchase ships immediately for the listed buying cost. | |
| Contest Holding | DR | 1 RP | 50% | One successful contest will make the target holding contested and unable to produce any RP or GB. A second successful contest will destroy the contested holding. Contests can be supported or opposed by holdings of the same type as the target holding, and by the province ruler. The same regent cannot support or oppose with more than one holding. Law holdings can contest any other type of holding, but but other holdings can only contest targets of the same type. | |
| Contest Province | D | 1 RP | 50% | Provinces which are rebellious and in which the ruler has only a law (0) or no law at all can be contested. Such province then generates no income and can be divested by the contesting regent. | |
| Contest Trade Route | DR | 1 RP | 50% | A trade route can be contested from both its starting and its ending province, by any regent who has a guild holding in them or by the province ruler. The trade route's "level" for the purpose of contests is equal to its GB income. A contested trade route produces no income to its owner. Contesting it again will eliminate it. A contested trade route can also be invested by the contester if he has a guild in the starting province (see Investiture below). As a realm action, this can be used to contest any/all trade routes starting and ending in a single province. | |
| Counter Espionage | F| Var |
Auto |
This action allows a regent to place resources (RPs and/or GBs) into a special counter espionage pool. These resources can not then be taken back though, and will be spent at varying rates (more so when espionage is attempted against you). Regents can place resources into anyone?s pool. | | |
| Create Buisness | D | 1+ GB, 1 RP | var | This action simply allows a regent to invest money in a business in his realm (Or begin one from scratch). The business is limited by the regents non-weapon proficiencies or one of his henchmen. The business costs whatever the regent decides to invest and will return, once it is built an amount or percentage of that initial investment, either positive or negative, until the regent shuts it down (or pulls hi/her backing, sells the business, etc.). Building of a new business proceeds as per the build rules for any normal build action. | |
| Create Holding | D | 1 GB | 50% | Creates a holding (0). This action can be supported or opposed by province rulers and by any holdings of the same type already in the province (the same regent can use all his available holdings for this). Only true wizards can create source holdings. | |
| Create Province | D | 1 GB/ 3 GB | 50% | Creates a new province in available territory. If the territory does not border the regent's already existing territory, the cost is 3 GB. Some lands may be untamed and may require some military units to bring order. For a list of available territories, see the Holdings pages. Any province rated at 0 without a ruler is fair game. | |
| Declare War | D(F) | None | Auto | This action allows the regent to move troops into enemy territory.
Unlike in the standard rules, a declare war action only allows you to move
your troops 1 province into enemy territory. Every regent involved in a
war wishing to move troops into enemy territory must use this action. This
action works for only one enemy - if you wish to move troops into other enemies provinces on subsequent months, you must spend another action unless they have done this action on you.
Fighters can perform this as a free action once per season (but they must
still spend an action if they wish to join the battle personally). When attacking enemy provinces, remember to send the plan of action for the war moves (troop movement, general battle strategy and tactics, etc.). Any character participating in battle will not be able to perform other actions that month other than those directly related to the battle (including build up and after effects). | |
| Decree | F | Var | Auto | This action is used to pass laws, make official announcements, etc. It cannot affect another regent's domain in any way except indirectly (e.g. by setting a tax on trade). Only one Decree action is allowed per week. The cost of this action depends on your court level. Decrees can also shut down trade routes if the law level of the ruler exceeds the guild level of the trade route creator. | |
| Develop Resources | D | Var | 75% | This action allows either the prospecting of resources in a province or the exploitation of thusly discovered resources. | |
| Diplomacy | F | None | Special | In practice, there is no Diplomacy action in this game. All regents are free to make and break any agreements, public or secret, with anyone at any time. All that is required is a note from the participants detailing the agreement. | |
| Disband | F | None | Auto/75% | This action disbands military units. Disbanding standard mercenary units will require a success roll, with failure indicating that the mercenaries become bandits. You can pay them a severance fee to reduce the likely hood of this. Special mercenary companies won't (usually) become bandits when dismissed, as long as you pay them their fee. This action can also disband holdings, castles, and ships. Castles have a "scrap value" equal to 10% of their normal cost, which will be received upon disbanding. Ships have a scrap value of 30%-80% of their normal cost (rolled randomly). | |
| Establish Contact | D | 1 GB | 50% |
This action allows a regent to create a contact in a given province that makes espionage actions a little easier. Contacts are individuals and small groups that can provide information and support espionage by hiding and feeding spies, etc. Such a contact can report (the regent must ask, the DM should not be expected to report it) on the basic conditions of the given province, including loyalty to the ruler, who owns what holdings (except source), and basic knowledge of military units. Additionally, a contact acts as a level 2 guild holding to improve the chances of an espionage action by 2. This aspect is not cumulative with actual guild holdings, however. Because contacts consist of "private" citizens, they will not knowingly support assassinations. Contacts are inherently secret, and are thus unknown to other regents in the province, unlike holdings, which are known. However they can be revealed such as in the event that an espionage action has a critical failure or such. Also, if an army occupies the province, communication with the contact is cut off. It may be restored, though, at the end of the occupation. Creating a contact is handled exactly like an espionage action, but the success roll is 50% (instead of 1%). Contacts cost money to maintain. | |
| Espionage | D(F) | 1 GB | Special | This action covers various subterfuge activities. The success number
will be determined by the DM; the player will not be told the final
success number, however, so that if he receives no information, he won't
know whether he failed or there was nothing to discover. Espionage is made
more difficult the farther the target province is from one of your
holdings. Espionage can also be performed to find out the person
responsible for any Espionage done to you. Thieves can perform this as a
free action once per turn. You must spend at least 1 GB on Espionage, and
any additional GB or RP spent will improve the success chance. Other
things affecting Espionage may be:
Favorably:
Unfavorably:
Ranger Free Espionage: This is a variation of espionage that can be used only by rangers as a free action once per season (although ranger regents and lieutenants can also use it as a domain action, of course). This variation can only be used to locate and catalogue enemy troops. The only other rule-related difference is that the ranger substitutes "province level" for "magic level" for the improvement in success number and rangers get a -3 bonus to their success number. | |
| Exploratory Trade | DC | 1 RP, 5+ GB | 1% | Any regent with a guild holding in the same province as a seaport (any original coastal province of level 4 or higher has a seaport as dose certaint other provinces. Provinces ruled up to level 4 do not automatically get a seaport as they must then be built, see Build above) can use this domain action to take a speculative leap into the unknown realm of ekploratory trade. The regent loads trade goods (GBs) onto one or more ships and sails away or sends them off, hoping to encounter someone on a distant shore who is willing to trade for goods that are rare and valuable to the guildmaster. A regent can engage in exploratory trade no more than once a year from a single province. Certain modifiers apply to these efforts:
Unlike most domain actions, many outcomes are possible. The regent can spend RPs & GBs to help ensure the success as normal, but the action is still quite risky. Example: Lucius Linton (a Guilder), guildmaster of Darokin?s Linton House, decides to hire a ship and send his wares on a exploratory trade mission. He sends the ship out of Athenos and he can afford to fill the darokinian roundship with 6 GB of cargo. He spends his initial 5 GB and 1 RP to initiate the voyage, 6 GB on cargo, and another 10 RP to ensure success. Lucius also sends a guilder lt. On the voyage. He adds a total of 12 (10+1+1) to the success roll so he has a 60% chance of succeding . The random die roll indicates a success. Two months later his lt. Returns with a ship packed full of rare herbs, silks, and gemstones ? all types mostly unheard of in Darokin. The rare merchandise can then be sold for 36 GB. Considering he invested 11 GB and 11 RP in the project, that?s a healthy profit! | |
| Finances | - | - | - | This can be used to change money or to make loans. Loans can be negotiated with other regents. You can also use this to change some of those coins that are overflowing your treasury into a more managable form, such as Gold Bars. | |
| Forge Ley Line | D | 1 RP, 1 GB | 75% | Wizards can create ley lines with this action. Ley lines must start from a source, but can end in a province in which the wizard holds no sources (this is an official rule from Book of Magecraft, p. 25). However, ley lines attached to only one source last for only a turn, dissipating afterwards, unless the wizard creates a source on the other end before the ley line disappears. | |
| Fortify | DR | 1 RP | Auto | A castle can be constructed by province rulers only; it fortifies all their holdings in the province. A fortification can be built by anyone and fortifies only one non-law holding. Building proceeds at 1d6 GB/season. Castles cost 8 GB per level, and fortifications 4 GB per level. A regent may opt to pay 10 and 5 GB per level respectively, to have the work progress at 2d6 GB/season. A province ruler can prevent building of fortifications in any province he rules. | |
| Grant | F | Var | Auto | This action is used to grant something (either tangible or intangible)
to another person. Examples include the granting of gold, noble titles,
etc. Regency points cannot be granted, they have to be transferred via
Investiture; the only exception to this are transfers of RP between lieges
and vassals, which can be performed freely. Excessively large grants for no good reason may result in the regent being seen by his vassals and lieutenants as frivolous and incompetent. Also if a regent grants only a small percentage of his treasury, this will have less effect than if he grants a major part of it. Thus, a guildmaster who constantly grants large amounts of money to another regent may find his underlings attempting to replace him. Tribute established via a diplomatic agreement or vassalage is not a grant and does not cause such consequences. | |
| Hold Action | F | None | Auto | A regent may opt to do nothing in a certaint day. This is rarely used though for obvious reasons. | |
| Improve Unit | DR | 1 RP, 1 GB | Special | Available. This action is from the Book of Regency. Before improving units it is recommended that you discuss your desired end result with the DM, as not all improvements will necessarily be allowed. Note that this action creates unique, individual units. For entirely new "standard" units to be created (for example, ironclad warships, rifled cannons, that sort of thing) use Progress instead. | |
| Instigate Rumor | F | 1 GB | 50% | Starts a rumor, which will, if succesfully started, spread across the land, without being connected to your name (unless you want it to be). Rumors can be a potent force in Birthright games. | |
| Investiture | DR | Var | Var | Only one of the two regents involved needs to spend an action for
investiture to occur. Investiture requires a blooded priest with access to
a temple (1); this is a free action for the priest. Investing guilds and
sources does not require a priest. Some of the various types of investiture are
discussed below:
Several ceremonies between the same two regents can be combined into a single action. NOTE: You cannot invest a province in the same season you invade it. You must wait at least until next season. | |
| Ley Link | F | 1 RP | Auto | This action can be used to voluntarily give another wizard one or more of your sources for 2 months. the receiving wizard does not need to already have sources of his own. This is the only way for wizard lieutenants to cast realm spells through their master's sources (they cannot do that otherwise). Remember that the affected sources are not available to the lending wizard for two months, unless he makes another Ley Link action to take them back. | |
| Lieutenant | C | None | Special | A regent may search for a lieutenant with this action. To perform it, specify what kind of lieutenant (race, class, bloodline, whatever) you would like, and I will determine if such is available, maybe even presenting you with several choices (you can specify different types of lieutenants wanted). Finding lieutenants inappropriate to your domain (e.g. elves in human realms) may have a risk of failure. If you want a lieutenant more suited to another domain type (a landed regent seeking a priest, for example), prior negotiation with the domain in question (simple negotiation, not necessarily Diplomacy) will improve your chances of getting the lieutenant. The maximum normal number of lieutenants for each regent is five. | |
| Move Ships | F | None | Auto | Moves ships to anywhere in the sea or along the coast. Ships committed to movement are unavailable for that month's war moves, but can be recalled for 1 GB. When moving ships, you must submit a rough course for your ships to sail and specify it along with your action. In open sea, ships rarely encounter each other unless they have orders to actively seek other ships or patrol a specific area. When moving on rivers, at least one river bank must be friendly (not necessarily allied); permission must be asked from non-allied regents. On rivers, ships are quite likely to encounter each other. | |
| Move Troops | F | Var | Auto | Moves troops across friendly provinces. This costs 1 GB per 10 movement points, which are then spent by units according to terrain (e.g. moving 10 units through plains costs 1 GB, but moving them though hills costs 2 GB). Troops require time to move and are not available for use in that time (even in the war moves!). The regent can recall them to their original province at double speed if his domain is invaded, but any GBs spent on movement are forfeited. | |
| Move Troops by Sea | F | Var | Auto | Moves troops on own or friendly ships. If an ally's ships are used, that ally must give their permission to the DM. Cost is 1 GB per 5 units (or part thereof), regardless of distance. You must plot a course for ship movement as described in Move Ships action. | |
| Muster Armies | F | Var | Auto | Musters military units. Temple regents can muster units allowed by
their holdings without needing anyone's permission. Additionally,
temples may muster their special units (such as Shieldmaidens or
Inquisitors) without permission. Guild holders can only muster mercenaries
unless at the province ruler gives them permission to muster standard
units. Mustered troops are available for offensive actions on the next
season after they are mustered; however, they can be used
defensively in the same season they are mustered. Standard mercenaries can
be mustered by anyone at any time, and are available for any actions
almost immediately. When mustering troops, don't forget to specify the province in which you muster them. | |
| Piracy | D (F) | Free | Special | Allows piracy of enemy sea trade routes. When conducting this action you must select one or more ships to use, and pick a target province which is a start or destination point for one or more sea trade routes. There is a base 10+ chance of pirates being in a position to intercept trade ships. Success means a naval battle with upto d4 trade vessels. Captured ships yield their cargo value in GB to the pirate, and may be kept by the pirate navy. The nation responsible for piracy is not normally obvious, and espionage may be required to track down the culprit. non Merchant Thief regents can conduct one piracy action each season as a free action. | |
| Ply Trade | C | Var | Var | Similar to Create Buisness. A regent can use one of their abilities or skill to make an honest living on the side. | |
| Progress | D | Varies | Varies | Available, but with the following limits.
| |
| Raid Province | D (F) | 1 GB | Special | Sends several units to raid an adjacent province. A successful raid transfers GB equal to moderate taxation of that province from the victim's to the raider's treasury, and will destroy one random trade route present if there are any. Note that any battles happen immediately, not in the war moves. Castles may use their "standard garrisons" to defend against raids. Fortified holdings may only defend if they are the targets of the raid. Fighters can conduct one free raid action per turn. | |
| Realm Spell | D | Var | Special | Used to cast realm spells. Priest lieutenants can cast realm spells through the temples of the regent they serve. Wizard lieutenants cannot cast realm spells through their regent's sources unless the regent first uses a Ley Link action to give them control of the needed sources. | |
| Relocate Capital | D | 1 GB | Auto | This action allows a regent to move his capital (or headquarters for non-landed regents) to another province. This is useful is the former capital has been conquered, for example. Without a capital/headquarters, all domain and realm actions suffer a -4 penalty to success rolls. | |
| Research | C | Var | Auto | This action is used to research various things (mostly spells). For Spells: base cost 1 GB per required caster level or required source level, whichever is higher. Priests don't need to research that as they automatically get all available realm spells. | |
| Rule Holding | DR | 1 GB, Var RP | 50%+ (target levelx5) | Increases the level of one holding (or more if used as a realm action). The RP cost is equal to the target holding level; however, ruling a holding to level 1 does not require any RPs. The success number is worsened by the target level of the holding. The province ruler and any regents with the same type of holdings can support or oppose the action, though the holding being ruled cannot support itself. | |
| Rule Province | D | Var | Var | Increases the level of one province. The action costs 1 GB and 1 RP per target level. The base success number is 20, minus the maximum level of the province being ruled (including any bonuses from oases, rivers, etc.). Thus, the base success number for ruling an inland steppe province without any rivers would be 20-6=14. This number is worsened by the target province level; e.g. ruling the aforementioned province to level 3 would have a success number of 17+. Additional modifiers include +2 to the roll if the province's loyalty is high, and -4 if it is low. Regents cannot spend extra RPs to improve this success number, though any bonuses from court level and founded cities apply. This action can only be opposed by the source holders in the province; if (and only if) such opposition occurs, the ruling regent may spend extra RPs not exceeding the opposing source levels. | |
| Trade Chain | - | - | - | This can be used, just like a create trade route, to link to routes together. Mostly for naval routes but can be used on land also. | |
| Trade Route | DR | 1 RP, 1 GB | 50% | As a realm action this action can create any/all trade routes starting
in a single realm. A maximum of 4 trade routes can be created in a single
month. All of them must be either land or sea (no mixing). The base cost
must be paid for each route, and success is also rolled separately. A
trade route brings the average of the province levels at each end in GB,
every season. A regent must have his own guild at both the route's start and
end; however, an agreement allowing the regent to use a different guild at
the route's end can be concluded. Guilds levels affect the trade route
income. Also, different terrain in
starting and ending provinces is not required but does help as do different cultures.
Note: When a trade route is created, it takes a free slot
from both the starting and the ending province thus counting against the maximum number of trade routes of both provinces. This action can be supported by the creating regent's guild holdings. It can be opposed by others' law and guild holdings in both the starting and ending province (the same regent can use any number of holdings for opposition). Trade routes are neutralized (but not eliminated) if the guild at either end is contested, the trade route itself is contested, or one of the host provinces is occupied. Trade routes are completely eliminated if they are contested twice, or the law holder in either host province suppresses them by decree (his law holding must be greater than the route owner's guild holding in the same province). | |
| Trade Service | DR | 1 RP | 50% | Available. with this action, two regents in the same province (defined as having holdings in the same province and/or the province ruler), who are not already vassal/liege may cooperate together and thus reduce there costs and increase their efficiency. Both regents must agree however. This continues until one regent tells me it ends. |
Racial Modifiers
To reflect the fact that not all races are as adaptable as humanity, some races have penalties when attempting certain actions. If the race does not appear on this list, it has no modifiers. Penalties may possibly be overcome by use of the progress action.
| Race | Modifiers |
|---|---|
| Elf | Progress action has regency cost tripled. Rule province, create trade route and create guild actions have a -5 penalty on the rolls. These penalties cannot be overcome by progress actions. |
| Humanoids | Create trade route actions have a -5 penalty. Progress actions can solve this drawback. |
Running Battles
I will likely use some sort of system quicker
than warcards to resolve battles. However, you should still specify your battle
plans and such, as these will certainly affect the outcome.
Castle Sieges
Artillerists (or equivalent units) or siege engines (or equivalent units) are required
for castle assaults. If a castle is successfully assaulted, it loses 1d4 levels
(possibly being destroyed) and is captured by the attacker.
Spotting and Identifying
Spotting enemy units (an ability of
scout units) allows to determine the presence and number of enemy units in an
adjacent province, as well as a rough estimate of the proportion of mounted
units within the enemy army. Enemy units in a regent's own provinces are
automatically spotted by him, regardless of his own forces.
Identifying enemy
units (such as the result of Espionage action and some spells) allows to
determine the exact composition of the enemy army in a province. If the regent
has a non-source holding or units in a province, enemy forces moving into it are
automatically identified. You can also gain intel on surrounding provinces as well as your own. Your Domain Power is your effectivness at this. Always specify how many 'points' you are devoting to which province. Success will be modified by several factors: the number of 'points' on a province, distance, friendly (or own) holdings in the province, and other factors. Such actions are always in use and does in no way diminish your domain power.
Occupation and Pillaging
Pillaging will bring GB equal to severe
taxation doubled. A pillaged province is reduced by 1
level.
Occupying the province also gives the option to occupy any/all
unfortified holdings in it. Occupied holdings drop to level zero
immediately.
Prisoners
Units surrounded in battle or ridden down by cavalry
can be taken captive. Of course a regent may give orders to take no prisoners.
Prisoners may be returned through negotiation, but must be either re-equipped by
their regent (for half the muster cost) or disbanded. If a regent ignores offers
to ransom his own units taken prisoner, the loyalty in his provinces may suffer.
Prisoners must be guarded by military units (one unit is enough to guard any
number of prisoners); if unguarded, they have a chance to escape.
Port Blockades
A port province (level 4+) can be blockaded. At
least as many ships are needed as the province's level. Ships without missile
capabilities cannot blockade. A blockade stops all traffic into and out of the
port. Anyone wishing to pass must either get permission or fight. River
blockades are discussed below under Terrain.
Repairing Ships
To fully repair damaged ships, the gold bar cost
is the ship's build cost divided by the number of hits that the ship has (at
full strength), per hit taken (these costs are listed on the Units page). This
takes a slightly modified build action, so you repair 1d6 GBs worth per season and
requires the use of a port (this does count as a ship being built). Repaired
units may not be used in the month(s) that they are being repaired.
The following table indicated the various terrains, their maximum province level, movement cost, and the base road cost.
| Terrain Type | Maximum Level | Movement Cost | Base Road Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plains | 10 | 1 | 2 GB |
| Hills | 9 | 2 | 4 GB |
| Forested Hills | 7 | 2 (1 for elves) | 4 GB |
| Low Mountains | 7 | 2 (1 for dwarves) | 4 GB |
| Medium Mountains | 5 | 4 (2 for dwarves) | 8 GB |
| High Mountains | 3 | 8 (4 for dwarves) | 16 GB |
| Forested Mountains | 5 | 4 (2 for dwarves & elves) | 8 GB |
| Light Forest | 8 | 2 (1 for elves) | 4 GB |
| Heavy Forest | 6 | 3 (1 for elves) | 6 GB |
| Swamp | 4 | 3 | 6 GB |
| Marsh | 4 | 3 | 6 GB |
| Moor | 4 | 2 | 4 GB |
| Highland | 6 | 2 | 4 GB |
| Steppe/Savannah | 6 | 1 | 2 GB |
| Desert | 1 | 1 | 2 GB |
| Tundra | 1 | 3 | 6 GB |
| Glacier | 1 | 4 | 8 GB |
| River | +1 | * | N/A |
| Coast/Lake | +1 | N/A | N/A |
| Oasis | +4 | N/A | N/A |
* A river takes all
movement points to cross, unless there is a bridge (road) going across.
Rivers, coasts, lakes, and oases modify the normal maximum level of the
province. These modifiers are cumulative (thus a desert province with a river
and an oasis can have a maximum level of 8). The maximum level is 10.
Roads
reduce the movement cost of terrain. They can be built into high mountain
provinces, but not across them except at passes. Roads cannot be build across impassable province
borders.
Rivers
For ease of play, rivers cannot be sailed by ships. Only
coastal provinces can harbour ships or conduct sea trade.