Post by Admin Bob on Feb 2, 2023 19:29:49 GMT
The Basics - Who, what, where and when.
The game will take place on a map made and shaped by community members (Say hi to Tunis from me). Every player will be randomly given a number, and will pick his lands based on that number (unless a player has picked the FIRST!!! trait).
The game will take place within an early-to-mid medieval era timeline, and as the game progresses new elements may be added to reflect technological change, giving certain advantages to nations that manage to embrace new technology.
One turn represents one year. Each turn is processed month by month depending on umpires processing of that turn. If there is very little happening, a turn will progress faster. If armies are maneuvering, the turn progresses slower. The turn is usually divided into three distinct phases: pre-campaigning, campaigning and post-campaigning. Medieval armies would do their upmost to only campaign during suitable weather, and as such were rarely seen (outside of sieges) formed up during the cold months of the year. At the end of campaigning season, any army not engaged in a siege will be automatically disband for the post-campaigning season, and must be reformed for the next campaign season. During all three seasons, the imperial college can meet and formulate laws, this however remains up to the players.
As noted above, every player is assigned a random number and then installs his kingdom upon the map in order. Every player receives 20 points to do so. Every tile chosen has a cost associated with it. All player territory must in the end be connected, and exclaves/enclaves are not allowed at game start. Islands connect via the nearest bordering land hex. Players by default gain 2 level 1 cities and 1 level 1 castle, which they can place however they like within their chosen territory. One of the cities will be chosen as your capital.
Hex costs:
Plains, Forests, Swamps, Hills: 1 point.
Any Hex with a resource except Au or Ag: 2 points.
Any Hex with Au or Ag: 5 points.
Some empty land will be parceled out to NPC kingdoms that will functionally not do much, but can be interacted with. A strip of land will also be devoted to the Papal States, and finally an off-map area will be designated as “The Holy Lands” for your Deus Vult needs. Any remaining empty land can be "claimed" by settling cities near them. The amount of tiles claimed will correspond with the hexes that city or castle creates of farmable land around it.
Income
Income is derived from cities and to a lesser extent castles. Income can also come from inter-player trade. The income statistics, at a basic level, look like this:
Level 1 City: 120 florins a turn
Level 2 City: 240 florins a turn
Level 3 City: 360 florins a turn
Level 1 Castle: 20 florins a turn
Level 2 Castle: 40 florins a turn
Level 3 Castle: 60 florins a turn.
Undeveloped hex: 2 florins a turn.
Agricultural hex: 10 florins a turn.
This income is additionally augmented by buildings added to the castles and the cities. For example, cities “spread out” farming tiles around them, converting plains, hills and forests into farmed land, which yields a certain amount of florins a turn. With successive upgrades, the farming tiles can be spread further out, adding greatly to a city’s income.
Each farming tile provides 10 florins a turn, with a level 1 city receiving 6 hexes around the city, a level 2 receiving 12, and a level 3 receiving 18. Farmland tiles will not spread into ocean tiles or mountain tiles, which are both natural barriers to growth. If cities are placed too close to each other and farmland overlaps, only 1 city receives the benefits of that tile, not both.
Example of how farm-hexes "spread" from a city. They haveto radiate out as on the picture, and cannot be snaked or spaghetti'ed in any other way.
In addition to being a boon to your economy, farming tiles also come with feudal benefits. Specifically the landed gentry which reside on the land, who are obligated to give you troops in times of war. Every farming tile provides 10 light cavalry, which through a castle upgrade can be transformed into heavy cavalry. Each tile also provides the possibility to raise a levy of 50 low-quality but still useful light infantry. This costs 10 florins per hex, a non-recurring cost that can only be done once per turn, per hex. There is therefore an advantage in having as much arable land as possible.
Every player must maintain a “kingdom” thread wherein all details of their polity is written down. Traits, what hexes are owned, what income is available, what modifiers are in use, and what the potential army looks like, as well as the cap on heavy cavalry.
Resources
Some areas of the map will yield special resources that give bonuses if the player has 1 of said resource. Each resource node gives 2 resource “chits”, which the player can trade freely with other players. You must however keep track of these chits, as you do not derive bonuses from the resources if you yourself do not have a chit, and you cannot trade more chits than what the node provides. Each node must be purchased separately within the specified areas. Each chit can only be used once, that is to say the effects are not stackable. There is therefore no inherent advantage in having 7 iron, or 3 lumber.
Resources:
Iron - All potential unit recruitment is increased by 15%. So if you can recruit 50 light cavalry, with iron it is 57.
Lumber - Save 10% on all buildings within cities.
Granite - Save 20% on building castles and upgrading castles.
Fish and Salt - Add 20 to all siege pools kingdom-wide..
Grapes - Remove 2 from any Kingdom event roll.
Pitch and tar - Any roll against you in a siege add 2.
Warhorses - All cavalry adds 1 to equipment.
Silks and spices - Unique resource in that it can only be gained via establishing trade with off-map entities. Removes 5 from any kingdom roll. Also adds 5% extra to your yearly income.
Gold - A very rare resource that straight up augments your overall yearly income by 10%.
Silver - A somewhat rare resource that augments your overall yearly income by 5%.
Resource extraction:
Resources, sans Silks and Spices, must be extracted via a building. The same building applies to all resources, and has to be “placed” on the tile in question, invalidating any farmable land or other building. A resource extraction building cannot be inside a city or castle, and as such cannot be stacked. (Note: This does not count for game start placement, but going forward). A resource extraction tile may however be included in a castles defense zone. A resource extraction building costs 200 florins, and has an upkeep of 50 florins a turn. In return, it provides 2 resource chits (3 with trait), which can be used, traded or ignored however the player wishes. There are no formal rules for what the pricing of resources between players are, and this will be settled via diplomacy or be set in stone via the Imperial College. Resources have the ability to drastically change the strategic situation, as such you should carefully consider when and where to build them.
Game Aspects
About technology:
New technology will be added as the game proceeds. It will be a rare event, but will give those who adopt the technology a distinct advantage. This could mean gunpowder, advanced siege weaponry, new forms of hand-held weaponry, armor, agricultural practices, or even exclusive trade opportunities. Technology will not be added on any set schedule, but intermittently and depending on the World Event roll. When a new technology appears, all players will roll a D20. If they roll above an 18, they adopt the technology. Every turn afterwards, this roll improves by 1 (so turn 2, its 17, turn 3, its 16 etc).
About buildings:
Buildings inside cities or castles are not built instantly. They take a predetermined amount of turns before they are finished. Cities and castles are also not instant, and upgrading either will also take time. Cities take 6 turns to build (6 ingame years) and 5 turns (5 ingame years) to upgrade. Castles take 6 turns to build, but 8 turns to upgrade.
About castles:
Castles, through their strategic importance, extend a defense zone around them, meaning that armies cannot pass through the zones without first sieging the castle. These zones can be placed by the player when building or placing the castle at the beginning of the game. Castles at level 1 provide none, at level 2 they provide 2 and at level 3 provide 6. Enemy armies can enter the zone if they intend to besiege the castle, but must vacate through the same hexes they entered if the siege is given up on or fails. Defense zones do not interfere with farming tiles or resource extraction.
About cities:
As mentioned previously, cities primary function is to provide taxable income and extend a web of agricultural fields. The cities also feature optional upgrades that the player can purchase and build, and will be the main way that players hire mercenaries, please or displease the Church, as well as being trade centers. Cities theoretically have an unlimited amount of building slots within them, but remember not to put all of your eggs in one basket. Someone might take the basket. Only certain buildings can be built repeatedly, as such you cannot build 4 mercenary offices, or 3 sewage systems. The following buildings can be built in cities.
Upgrade costs:
Upgrading a city from tier 1 to 2: 1500 florins
Upgrading a city from tier 2 to 3: 3000 florins
Upgrading a castle from tier 1 to 2: 2000 florins
Upgrading a castle from tier 2 to 3: 4000 florins
Constructing cities is different from constructing other things in the game. They can only be placed (other than during the land claim phase) so that there are 3 hexes between the city placement and the nearest other city. That way cities cannot be "spammed". Capturing cities that, through pre-game placement, are within this limit does not affect the cities.
Constructing a level 1 city: 1000 florins
Constructing a level 1 castle: 1500 florins
(C) indicates that it can be built in cities
(Ch) indicates it can be built in castles
Church (C)- 600 florins - Build time 3 turns - add 1 to Church Relationship Score at completion. Can be stacked.
Cathedral (C)- 3000 florins - Build time 10 turns - Add 10 to Church Relationship Score at completion. Adds 30 florins in pilgrim income a turn.
Mercenary office (Ch)- 600 florins - Build time 3 turns - Gives you the ability to hire mercenaries from the mercenary list.
Extensive fortifications (C)(Ch)- 800 florins - Build time 6 turns. - Adds stronger walls and ramparts to your city. Increases the siege pool by 40.
Royal Keep (C)- 3000 florins - Build time 6 turns - Comes automatically with whatever city you pick as your capital. Without one you are incapable of recruiting heavy cavalry.
Armory (Ch)- 500 florins - Build time 3 turns - Increases your cap on heavy cavalry by 50. Can be stacked.
Marketplace (C)- 240 florins - Build time 6 turns - Adds a new market square to your town, adding 20 florins to the cities income per turn. Can be stacked.
Port (C) - 400 florins - Build time 4 turns - Adds a port to your city that can claim 1 hex of coastal territory a turn up to 2 hexes away from the city. The port itself generates 40 florins in income, while each hex claimed by the port provides 5 florins a turn in fishing.
Merchants Guild (C)- 700 florins - Build time 6 turns - Unlocks the ability to place spies within enemy cities, unless the opposing player closes all trade.
Sewer System (C)- 1000 florins - Build time 8 turns - An ancient relic of a bygone era resurrected, adding a functioning drainage and sewage system to your medieval town reduces the financial impact of any disease or plague event by 50%. Adds upkeep of 50 florins per turn.
Quarantine System (C)- 1000 florins - Build time 8 turns - Sick sailors getting you down? Send them out to your quarantine island to prevent the spread of diseases. Reduces the financial impact of any disease or plague event by 20%. Adds upkeep of 35 florins per turn.
Ambassadorial Suite (C)- 500 florins - Build time 4 turns - Every Ambassadorial Suite provides you with the ability to send 1 ambassador abroad. These ambassadors will give you up to date news from the court where they are placed. Ambassadors can be refused or evicted from Kingdoms at players discretion. Can be stacked.
Winter Granaries (C)- 1000 florins - Build time 8 turns - Offsets financial impact of famines by 50%. Adds upkeep of 50 florins per turn.
University (C)- 4000 florins - Build time 8 turns - When, rarely, a new technology appears on the international scene, all players will roll a D20. If they get 18 or above, they adopt the new technology. Every turn afterwards, this roll improves by 1 (so turn 2, its 17, turn 3, its 16 etc). However with a university, the roll will be above a 5 or above to adopt any new technology. Adds upkeep of 300 florins per turn. Humanists are expensive, don’t you know?
Hex buildings:
These are buildings that apply directly to hexes, and not cities or castles.
Royal Road - 300 florins, 10 florins in upkeep per turn - With the use of a Royal Road, your army can march twice as fast as long as it stays on the road
The game will take place on a map made and shaped by community members (Say hi to Tunis from me). Every player will be randomly given a number, and will pick his lands based on that number (unless a player has picked the FIRST!!! trait).
The game will take place within an early-to-mid medieval era timeline, and as the game progresses new elements may be added to reflect technological change, giving certain advantages to nations that manage to embrace new technology.
One turn represents one year. Each turn is processed month by month depending on umpires processing of that turn. If there is very little happening, a turn will progress faster. If armies are maneuvering, the turn progresses slower. The turn is usually divided into three distinct phases: pre-campaigning, campaigning and post-campaigning. Medieval armies would do their upmost to only campaign during suitable weather, and as such were rarely seen (outside of sieges) formed up during the cold months of the year. At the end of campaigning season, any army not engaged in a siege will be automatically disband for the post-campaigning season, and must be reformed for the next campaign season. During all three seasons, the imperial college can meet and formulate laws, this however remains up to the players.
As noted above, every player is assigned a random number and then installs his kingdom upon the map in order. Every player receives 20 points to do so. Every tile chosen has a cost associated with it. All player territory must in the end be connected, and exclaves/enclaves are not allowed at game start. Islands connect via the nearest bordering land hex. Players by default gain 2 level 1 cities and 1 level 1 castle, which they can place however they like within their chosen territory. One of the cities will be chosen as your capital.
Hex costs:
Plains, Forests, Swamps, Hills: 1 point.
Any Hex with a resource except Au or Ag: 2 points.
Any Hex with Au or Ag: 5 points.
Some empty land will be parceled out to NPC kingdoms that will functionally not do much, but can be interacted with. A strip of land will also be devoted to the Papal States, and finally an off-map area will be designated as “The Holy Lands” for your Deus Vult needs. Any remaining empty land can be "claimed" by settling cities near them. The amount of tiles claimed will correspond with the hexes that city or castle creates of farmable land around it.
Income
Income is derived from cities and to a lesser extent castles. Income can also come from inter-player trade. The income statistics, at a basic level, look like this:
Level 1 City: 120 florins a turn
Level 2 City: 240 florins a turn
Level 3 City: 360 florins a turn
Level 1 Castle: 20 florins a turn
Level 2 Castle: 40 florins a turn
Level 3 Castle: 60 florins a turn.
Undeveloped hex: 2 florins a turn.
Agricultural hex: 10 florins a turn.
This income is additionally augmented by buildings added to the castles and the cities. For example, cities “spread out” farming tiles around them, converting plains, hills and forests into farmed land, which yields a certain amount of florins a turn. With successive upgrades, the farming tiles can be spread further out, adding greatly to a city’s income.
Each farming tile provides 10 florins a turn, with a level 1 city receiving 6 hexes around the city, a level 2 receiving 12, and a level 3 receiving 18. Farmland tiles will not spread into ocean tiles or mountain tiles, which are both natural barriers to growth. If cities are placed too close to each other and farmland overlaps, only 1 city receives the benefits of that tile, not both.
Example of how farm-hexes "spread" from a city. They haveto radiate out as on the picture, and cannot be snaked or spaghetti'ed in any other way.
In addition to being a boon to your economy, farming tiles also come with feudal benefits. Specifically the landed gentry which reside on the land, who are obligated to give you troops in times of war. Every farming tile provides 10 light cavalry, which through a castle upgrade can be transformed into heavy cavalry. Each tile also provides the possibility to raise a levy of 50 low-quality but still useful light infantry. This costs 10 florins per hex, a non-recurring cost that can only be done once per turn, per hex. There is therefore an advantage in having as much arable land as possible.
Every player must maintain a “kingdom” thread wherein all details of their polity is written down. Traits, what hexes are owned, what income is available, what modifiers are in use, and what the potential army looks like, as well as the cap on heavy cavalry.
Resources
Some areas of the map will yield special resources that give bonuses if the player has 1 of said resource. Each resource node gives 2 resource “chits”, which the player can trade freely with other players. You must however keep track of these chits, as you do not derive bonuses from the resources if you yourself do not have a chit, and you cannot trade more chits than what the node provides. Each node must be purchased separately within the specified areas. Each chit can only be used once, that is to say the effects are not stackable. There is therefore no inherent advantage in having 7 iron, or 3 lumber.
Resources:
Iron - All potential unit recruitment is increased by 15%. So if you can recruit 50 light cavalry, with iron it is 57.
Lumber - Save 10% on all buildings within cities.
Granite - Save 20% on building castles and upgrading castles.
Fish and Salt - Add 20 to all siege pools kingdom-wide..
Grapes - Remove 2 from any Kingdom event roll.
Pitch and tar - Any roll against you in a siege add 2.
Warhorses - All cavalry adds 1 to equipment.
Silks and spices - Unique resource in that it can only be gained via establishing trade with off-map entities. Removes 5 from any kingdom roll. Also adds 5% extra to your yearly income.
Gold - A very rare resource that straight up augments your overall yearly income by 10%.
Silver - A somewhat rare resource that augments your overall yearly income by 5%.
Resource extraction:
Resources, sans Silks and Spices, must be extracted via a building. The same building applies to all resources, and has to be “placed” on the tile in question, invalidating any farmable land or other building. A resource extraction building cannot be inside a city or castle, and as such cannot be stacked. (Note: This does not count for game start placement, but going forward). A resource extraction tile may however be included in a castles defense zone. A resource extraction building costs 200 florins, and has an upkeep of 50 florins a turn. In return, it provides 2 resource chits (3 with trait), which can be used, traded or ignored however the player wishes. There are no formal rules for what the pricing of resources between players are, and this will be settled via diplomacy or be set in stone via the Imperial College. Resources have the ability to drastically change the strategic situation, as such you should carefully consider when and where to build them.
Game Aspects
About technology:
New technology will be added as the game proceeds. It will be a rare event, but will give those who adopt the technology a distinct advantage. This could mean gunpowder, advanced siege weaponry, new forms of hand-held weaponry, armor, agricultural practices, or even exclusive trade opportunities. Technology will not be added on any set schedule, but intermittently and depending on the World Event roll. When a new technology appears, all players will roll a D20. If they roll above an 18, they adopt the technology. Every turn afterwards, this roll improves by 1 (so turn 2, its 17, turn 3, its 16 etc).
About buildings:
Buildings inside cities or castles are not built instantly. They take a predetermined amount of turns before they are finished. Cities and castles are also not instant, and upgrading either will also take time. Cities take 6 turns to build (6 ingame years) and 5 turns (5 ingame years) to upgrade. Castles take 6 turns to build, but 8 turns to upgrade.
About castles:
Castles, through their strategic importance, extend a defense zone around them, meaning that armies cannot pass through the zones without first sieging the castle. These zones can be placed by the player when building or placing the castle at the beginning of the game. Castles at level 1 provide none, at level 2 they provide 2 and at level 3 provide 6. Enemy armies can enter the zone if they intend to besiege the castle, but must vacate through the same hexes they entered if the siege is given up on or fails. Defense zones do not interfere with farming tiles or resource extraction.
About cities:
As mentioned previously, cities primary function is to provide taxable income and extend a web of agricultural fields. The cities also feature optional upgrades that the player can purchase and build, and will be the main way that players hire mercenaries, please or displease the Church, as well as being trade centers. Cities theoretically have an unlimited amount of building slots within them, but remember not to put all of your eggs in one basket. Someone might take the basket. Only certain buildings can be built repeatedly, as such you cannot build 4 mercenary offices, or 3 sewage systems. The following buildings can be built in cities.
Upgrade costs:
Upgrading a city from tier 1 to 2: 1500 florins
Upgrading a city from tier 2 to 3: 3000 florins
Upgrading a castle from tier 1 to 2: 2000 florins
Upgrading a castle from tier 2 to 3: 4000 florins
Constructing cities is different from constructing other things in the game. They can only be placed (other than during the land claim phase) so that there are 3 hexes between the city placement and the nearest other city. That way cities cannot be "spammed". Capturing cities that, through pre-game placement, are within this limit does not affect the cities.
Constructing a level 1 city: 1000 florins
Constructing a level 1 castle: 1500 florins
(C) indicates that it can be built in cities
(Ch) indicates it can be built in castles
Church (C)- 600 florins - Build time 3 turns - add 1 to Church Relationship Score at completion. Can be stacked.
Cathedral (C)- 3000 florins - Build time 10 turns - Add 10 to Church Relationship Score at completion. Adds 30 florins in pilgrim income a turn.
Mercenary office (Ch)- 600 florins - Build time 3 turns - Gives you the ability to hire mercenaries from the mercenary list.
Extensive fortifications (C)(Ch)- 800 florins - Build time 6 turns. - Adds stronger walls and ramparts to your city. Increases the siege pool by 40.
Royal Keep (C)- 3000 florins - Build time 6 turns - Comes automatically with whatever city you pick as your capital. Without one you are incapable of recruiting heavy cavalry.
Armory (Ch)- 500 florins - Build time 3 turns - Increases your cap on heavy cavalry by 50. Can be stacked.
Marketplace (C)- 240 florins - Build time 6 turns - Adds a new market square to your town, adding 20 florins to the cities income per turn. Can be stacked.
Port (C) - 400 florins - Build time 4 turns - Adds a port to your city that can claim 1 hex of coastal territory a turn up to 2 hexes away from the city. The port itself generates 40 florins in income, while each hex claimed by the port provides 5 florins a turn in fishing.
Merchants Guild (C)- 700 florins - Build time 6 turns - Unlocks the ability to place spies within enemy cities, unless the opposing player closes all trade.
Sewer System (C)- 1000 florins - Build time 8 turns - An ancient relic of a bygone era resurrected, adding a functioning drainage and sewage system to your medieval town reduces the financial impact of any disease or plague event by 50%. Adds upkeep of 50 florins per turn.
Quarantine System (C)- 1000 florins - Build time 8 turns - Sick sailors getting you down? Send them out to your quarantine island to prevent the spread of diseases. Reduces the financial impact of any disease or plague event by 20%. Adds upkeep of 35 florins per turn.
Ambassadorial Suite (C)- 500 florins - Build time 4 turns - Every Ambassadorial Suite provides you with the ability to send 1 ambassador abroad. These ambassadors will give you up to date news from the court where they are placed. Ambassadors can be refused or evicted from Kingdoms at players discretion. Can be stacked.
Winter Granaries (C)- 1000 florins - Build time 8 turns - Offsets financial impact of famines by 50%. Adds upkeep of 50 florins per turn.
University (C)- 4000 florins - Build time 8 turns - When, rarely, a new technology appears on the international scene, all players will roll a D20. If they get 18 or above, they adopt the new technology. Every turn afterwards, this roll improves by 1 (so turn 2, its 17, turn 3, its 16 etc). However with a university, the roll will be above a 5 or above to adopt any new technology. Adds upkeep of 300 florins per turn. Humanists are expensive, don’t you know?
Hex buildings:
These are buildings that apply directly to hexes, and not cities or castles.
Royal Road - 300 florins, 10 florins in upkeep per turn - With the use of a Royal Road, your army can march twice as fast as long as it stays on the road
