Version: V ersion: Public BETA 1.0
Dedication Tis book is dedicated to the people o the RPG blogging community. community. Te arguments put orward in the community about elegance o design, importance o player agency, neutrality neutrality o gamemastering, and a host o other topics have had a proound impact on my thinking. Te design o the roleplaying side o this book was strongly inuenced by these ideas.
Furthermore, the Furthermore, the RPG blogging community represents the do-it-yoursel spirit that is an undercurrent to ever ything that I have done. Some things must be done without the support o the RPG industry. industry. Some things are worth doing even e ven i they are not protable. It It is important to remember that we are human beings, not currency robots. Game on! Except as otherwise identifed, all written portions o this book and Statecrat logo ©2010 Greg Christopher, Christopher, all rights reserved. All artwork in this book is in the public domain. Te mention o, use o, or reerence to any company, trademark trademark or product in this book is not a challenge to the trademark or copyright in question. question. Tis book is not or sale. Download a ree copy copy at errantgame.blo errantgame.blogspot.com. gspot.com.
What is Statecrat?
Winning the Game
Statecrat is a Grand Strategy Roleplaying Game designed to simulate international internati onal relations during the early modern period, roughly 1500 to 1900 A.D. Te game can also be used to simulate earlier periods o history i you wish, although some o the game concepts (like Casus Belli) may not be entirely appropriate or the time.
Statecrat is about having un, not accumulating wealth and power. Te game is designed so that it is oten not in your best interest to take the most conservative and sae path. Your reward or taking risks and being ostentatious is Prestige. Tis is your barometer o success in the game. I you are accumulating large amounts o Prestige Prestige,, you have probably been contributing to the un o everyone in the group. Tere are also opportunities to spend Prestige to accomplish even more amazing things in the game.
In Statecrat, the players take on the mantle o a ruler rom history, called a Sovereign. Te Sovereign is represented using a character design similar to those in traditional roleplaying games. Sovereigns Sovereigns will be good at some things and bad at others, just like rulers in real history. Te character design is set up in a way that encourages real lie behavior, including recklessness and shortsightedness, sightedne ss, to create an experience akin to actually commanding nations rom history. Each Sovereign is in control o a nation or country called a State. Te State State is representedd using some basic mechanisms that provide tax revenues, soldiers, represente ships, and other resources or your Sovereign to use in pursuit o their goals. You can use a printed or a digital map as a guide to represent the world you are shaping, but you are not required to do so. Each Sovereign eventually dies and you move on to a new Sovereign, passing down a variety o things including the most important measurement o your success in the game; Prestige. So even i you manage to totally wreck your economy and end up under the heel o your most bitter rival, you can choose to pass on not to your direct heir but to a distant cousin and take up the throne o a dierent State. One o the players does not control a specic Sovereign, but instead takes on the role o the Gamemaster (GM). Te GM is in charge o ru nning all the States in the game that are not controlled by players, as well as pirates and rebels. Te GM also has a lot o tools at their disposal to shape and inuence the game to make it more enjoyable or the players. GMs can introduce events to stir up chaos, like civil wars and religious conicts. GMs can use Prestige as a carrot to send players o to the ar reaches o the globe in search o glory and honor. You do not have to rely upon poorly coded AI. Te GM brings realism and lie to the rest o the world in a way that a computer cannot hope to ever achieve.
I you want to crown someone the winner o the game, you can use Prestige to do so. Simply set a timerame or play, such as starting in 1492 and playing until 1792. Whoever has accumulated and spent the most Prestige at the end o that timerame is the winner. However, you will most likely not be concerned about having a “winner” by the time you reach 1792. Winning is ancillary to enjoying the game. You cannot lose at Statecrat either. I your State is totally destroyed, you can move into a new State with a new Sovereign. You are never eliminated rom play.
What do you need to Play? Statecrat uses six dierent types o dice; our-sided dice (d4), six-sided dice (d6), eight-sided dice (d8), ten-sided dice (d10), twelve-sided dice (d12), and twenty-sided dice (d20). However, since the game is designed to be played on an internet orum or using e-mail to distribute game inormation, you can simply use online die rolling sotware or this. I you choose to play at a table, it will be tricky to keep everything secret and you will need physical dice.
The Sovereign & The State
Te Sovereign: Each player in Statecrat controls a bloodline o political rulers called Sovereigns. A Sovereign lives one lietime, hopeully an exciting and u llling one, but like other mortals they all victim to the ravages o time and damage to the body. When their current Sovereign dies, the player moves on to a new Sovereign. Troughout the game and across the lives o many Sovereigns, you will track a variable called Prestige. Tis is the ultimate measure o your contribution to the game as a player and you should make every attempt to accumulate more Prestige. Each Sovereign is merely a vessel to u se in achieving the goal o maximizing your Prestige. We will talk more about exactly how to do that very shortly. Tis section will walk you through how to create manage your Sovereigns. Each one has eight Attributes and seven Measures which serve or the basis o roleplaying and or interacting with the game mechanics.
Attributes: Attribut es:
Attributes dene the abilities o Attributes the Sovereign to accomplis accomplish h tasks. Tis aspect o the Sovereign is completelyy random and represents completel the hand that ate has dealt or you. Do not worry about whether your Sovereign is good or bad based on whether they can succeed or ail at tasks. Ultimately, you are not rewarded based on your ability to succeed or ail, but i you succeed or ail spectacularly.
Attributes Acumen Ability to Manage
Authority Fertility Fortune Grace Guile Strategy Vigilance
Ability to Inspire Ability to Procreate Te Favor o Fate Ability to Charm Ability to Deceive Ability to Wage War Ability to Anticipate
Each attribute has a value rom 3 to 18, determined by rolling three six-sided dice and adding the results together. You will need to make seven rolls to get a value to assign to each attribute. Rolls must be assigned to each attribute in turn as rolled, not assigned by the players to whatever attributes they wish.
Attribute ests ests Attributes are tested requently requently during play by rolling a 20-sided die. I the die result is lower than the attribute, the test is a success. I the result is lower than the attribute being test, then the test is a ailure.
Many rolls are also aected by several potential modiers. Tese modiers are applied to the attribute, not the die result. Tus i you are making an Authority test with a +2 bonus and you have an Authority o 12, you make the tests as i you had an Authority Authority o 14 instead. Opposed Rolls An opposed roll is when you are competing against another player or the GM in the action you are undertaking. In these cases, simply succeeding succeeding is not enough. You must succeed by a larger margin than your opponent. I you needed to roll a 14 or less and you rolled a 10, your margin o success is 4. I your opponent only succeeded by a margin o 2, you are victorious. I you wish to attempt something not covered by the game rules as writte n, the GM may allow you to test an attribute to determine the action’s success.
Attributes Attribut es (continued): Acumen Acumen is the administrative skill o your Sovereign. Tis is a rough measure o their ability to make organizations unction properly. properly. Acumen not only represents good money management skills, but also the ability to eectively utilize the work o subordinates. Sovereigns Sovereigns with high Acumen have more efcient governments, make more money, and keep their armies better supplied in the eld. Acumen is used or Growth and Decline rolls every year and the amount o supplies available available to your orces on the battleeld. Authority Authority is the social presence o your Sovereign. Tis is a rough measure o their ability to maintain loyalty even in the ace o disagreement. Authority Authority represents both the personal charismatic presence o the individual but also the ability to manipulate others so that they are serving your interests by pursuing their own. Sovereigns with high Authority have more loyal ollowers, more political stability, and ewer rebellions against them. Authority is used or the annual Control roll and in keeping the loyalty o military orces that might otherwise rebel against your rule, either due to your own nancial insolvency or the nearious bribes o others. Fertility Fertility is the natural strength o your reproductive system. It is only tested in one instance, at the death o the Sovereign, to determine i there are eligible heirs to continue ruling the state. Fortune Fortune is the natural luck o your Sovereign. Tis is a rough measure o their ability to come out on top when the chances are against them. Fortune represents your raw talent or survival in the ace o adversity adversity.. Sovereigns with high Fortune have better luck when exploring the world or new regions to colonize, manage manage to emerge rom the jaws o deeat unscathed, and just tend to have longer lietimes. Fortune directly aects your rate o Vitality loss over the years and rolls made when personally commanding armies to avoid injury and death on the battleeld.
Grace Grace is the charm and inuence o your Sovereign. Tis is a rough measure o their ability to get others to see things rom their perspective without resorting to the use o coercion. Grace represents a lightness o social presence as well as a talent t alent or seduction. Sovereigns with high Grace have more riend riend and allies, as well as an easier time negotiating peaceul solutions to disputes. Grace directly aects success at converting the populace to your religion, claiming titles, extracting inormation via royal marriages, and increases the pain a Sovereign endures when reusing generous peace terms that you oer. Guile Guile is the cunning and treachery o your Sovereign. Tis is a rough measure o their ability to deceive and manipulate others. Guile represents talent or manipulating and using others in pursuit o your own ends. Sovereigns with high Guile have an easier time acquiring secret inormation and enjoy the company o spies, thieves, and pirates. Guile directly aects your success in many argeted Actions, such as Inltrate and Piracy. Strategy Strategy is the military prowess o your Sovereign. Tis is a rough measure o their ability to make decisive tactical decisions on the battleeld. Strategy Strategy represents both tactical and strategic competence in military aairs o every kind. Sovereigns with high Strategy have a better chance o winning w inning battles, both on land and sea. Strategy directly aects all combat rolls. Vigilance Vigilance Vigila nce is the awareness and perception o your Sovereign. Tis is a rough measure o their ability to take the initiative and move to deend beore they are even attacked. Vigilance represents the ability to anticipate, to put complex data together, together, and to see the overall picture. Sovereigns with high Vigilance Vigila nce tend to position their armies in advantageous locations on the battleeld and succeed when making tactical retreats. Vigilance directly aects the detection o enemy orces on the march, whether your army can take up an advantageous Position beore a battle, the ability to retreat rom combat successully, and deends against argeted Actions.
Measures:
Measures are the changing aspects o the Sovereign’s lie. Tey are uctuating values that change requently as a result o your decisions. In many ways, measures represent the your Sovereign’s personality and how they are perceived. Measures are not rolled against, however they can be spent to accomplish some actions and they can be lost or gained as a result o certain behavior. behavior. Gold Gold represents the total amount o money available in liquid orm to be spend on other expenditures at the Sovereign’s discretion. It is the accumulated result o ax Income over time. Wars and diplomacy are two ways to quickly relieve yoursel o gold. Te GM will give you a starting value or this condition based on the scenario design.
Gold Honor Manpower Prestige Religion Vitality
Measures Te reasury
rust o Your Peers Human Resources Legacy o Greatnes Greatnesss Your Faith Lie Remaining
Honor Honor is a measure o the dignity o the Sovereign. Keeping Keeping your word, deending your allies, and living up to your treaty obligations will raise your honor.. Failure to do so will reduce it. Whenever issues o trust arise, such honor as when writing a diplomatic agreement, your honor will be tested. Honor cannot be greater than 20 or less than 0. Your rst Sovereign begins play with 10 Honor to represent the neutrality o opinion on their behavior.
When a Sovereign dies, their heir inherits hal o accumulated honor, rounded down. Tis is the classic assumption that the apple does not all ar rom the tree. You may notice that this rule will result in a gradual loss o honor over time by your amily i you take t ake no actions to raise it. Tis is because honor is something that must be continually maintained. I the player moves to a new State, honor is reset to 10. Manpower Manpower represents represents the current pool o available men to recruit into the military. It is the accumulated result o Recruitment over time. It will decrease when you raise new military orces. Te maximum amount o manpower you can have is equal to ve times your Recruitment.
Prestige Prestige is a measure o the greatness o the player. Prestige accumulates rom only one source; the GM. Te GM awards Prestige when you engage in great roleplaying. Brilliant successes successes on the battleeld, the signing o great treaties, the construction o great colonial empires, dramatic betrayals, and any other exceptional act should result in the awarding o Prestige, regardless o the negative consequences consequences that might result. A great ailure can be as spectacular as a great success. Prestige Prestige is ully ul ly inherited by the player to their next Sovereign. It can sometimes sometimes be taken away i you cannot pay a price in the traditional way and it must be used to uel some diplomatic actions. It It can accumulate to any value without limit. Your Your rst Sovereign begins play with 10 Prestige. Religion Religion is a measure o the religion that the Sovereign enorces in their State. All All Sovereigns inherit the religion o their predecessors when they are created. Tere are opportunities or Conversion to bring parts o your nation in line with your aith, just remember to prepare to deal with the consequences i the people reuse. Religion is also aected by special rules, such as the Papacy. You can change your personal religion at any time, but you will lose 2d6 Stability doing so. Vitality Vitality is a measure o the lie remaining in your physical body. Roll 1d8 when creating the Sovereign to get the initial Vitality value. Every year, you must make a Fortune test to determine i this measure alls. I you ail the roll, lower your Vitality by 1. It is possible to lose Vitality in other ways, such as deeat on the battleeld. Tis measure cannot be negative. I vitality is reduced to zero, the Sovereign dies and a new one must be created.
Even with a positive Vitality, no Sovereign can cheat death orever. I you are lucky enough to survive long enough to experience it, lie will end on your 80th birthday.
Te Conditions o the State: Te State represents the political entity which is controlled by the Sovereign. It provides all the resources at the Sovereign’s disposal and the means through which those resources can be used. Te State is managed through a set o Conditions. Initial values are always determined by the scenario design provided by the GM. As the game unolds, this data will change signicantly signicantly with the ebb and ow o gameplay gameplay.. Conditions are transerred seamlessly to new Sovereigns.
Capital Centralization Decay Investment Readiness Recruitment Stability ax Income
Conditions Location o the Governmen Governmentt
Degree o Autonomy Delegated to Local Authorities Degree o Economic Decline Percentage o ax Income Invested Internally Military Mobilization and Combat Preparedness Preparedness Annual Military Recruitment Degree o Internal Harmony Annual ax Collection
Capital Every State has a designated capital city. It represents a xed point on the map that must be deended to retain control o your State. Even Even though combat and land ownership is abstracted to a great degree in Statecrat, the Capital represents one particular piece o land that you need to monitor. Te territories around your capital can never be ceded by a treaty.
Centralization Tis condition determines how much autonomy is possessed by lo cal government ofcials, expressed expressed as a value rom 0 to 10. A setting o 0 represents perect eudalism where the central government controls nothing save the military orces and diplomatic services. A setting o 10 represents perect absolutism where the central government makes all possible decisions. Most States lies somewhere between those positions.
Centralized States States have a stronger role in economic development and can grow economically at a rapid rate. However, this comes at a political cost. Highly centralized states create dissatisaction in their so cieties and are vulnerable to political instability. g
g
g
Decay Tis condition is the accumulated result o economic decline. No No State remains on top o the heap orever. Decay is a kind o drag eect that will slowly bring down your State over time. I you are able to grow at a aster rate than you decay, then your State will become strong and prosperous. I you are not, your State will all by the wayside. g
Te capitals o other States may become vital in your eorts to deeat them militarily or annex them completely. Te mere chance that your Army may be on the verge o capturing an opponent’s capital can quickly bring them to the peace table. I your capital alls into enemy hands, your rule can come to an end rather quickly.
Positive Modier to Growth rolls Negative Modier to Control rolls You can change by one unit every ten years at a cost o 1d6 Stability
g
Accumulates rom Decline rolls over the years Subtractedd rom ax Income every year during tax collection Subtracte
Investment Tis condition determines how much o tax income is invested internally, expressed as a percentage rom 0% to 100% in 10% increments. A setting o 0% represents no investment at all and a setting o 100% represents all income being spent on investment. Most States lies somewhere between those positions. Tis policy represents a trade-o between money today and growth or the uture. g
g
Positive Modier to Growth rolls You can change by 10% every year at a cost o 1 Stability
Readiness Tis condition determines how much money is being spent on combat preparedness, preparedne ss, expressed as value rom 1 to 3. Readiness is tracked tracked separately or naval & land units. You can have a high degree o naval readiness while having a low degree o land readiness. Starting Starting land and naval readiness is determined by scenario design.
A value o 1 represents minimal preparedness. Your Your military units exist almost exclusively on paper. While at this setting, your military orces cannot engage in combat and will automatically retreat i engaged. However, you only have to pay hal the normal Upkeep cost o all your units. A value o 2 represents average preparedness. roops roops are engaged in regular training with all o their equipment, ships are on deensive patrols, and everyone is prepared or war. While at this setting, your military orces unction normally. A value o 3 represents extreme preparation or war. roops are prepared or oensive operations, magazines are in place, supply wagons have been requisitioned, requisition ed, ships are in orward or ward combat positions, and everyone is ready to open re at the slightest provocation. While While at this setting, your military orces unction at a +5 bonus to all Combat Rolls. However, you have to pay double the normal Upkeep cost o all your units. You can change by one unit every season at no cost, however changes require a ull season to take t ake eect
Recruitment Recruitment represents the annual addition to the pool o available men or the military. Every year, this value is added to your Manpower to represent the growing population under your control. Some nations have more people at their disposal than they can aord to put on the battleeld while others have so ew men that they must resort to mercenary orces to make up or the shortall. Te degree to which your recruitment value compares with your ax Income value will determine your capacity in this regard. Stability Stability represents the current condition o State loyalty, expressed as a value rom 0 to 10. A value o 0 represents the most chaotic situation short o complete state collapse. A value o 5 represents average average loyalty o the population to the State. A value o 10 represents the strongest imaginable loyalty to the State. A large number o diplomatic and military outcomes lower your Stability. Any incurred loss that would lower Stability below 0 instead triggers a rebellion, as described under Foment. Every year, there is an annual Control roll that can improve the situation or slide urther down. ax Income ax Income represents the taxes collected annually. Every year, this value reduced by Decay, then reduced by your Investment condition, and the remainder is then added to Gold. Tis process is called tax collection.
For example, i you have a ax Income o 120, 20 points o Decay, and an Investment Investm ent o 60%, then you will add 40 to your Gold each year.
g
Ex: 120 - 20 = 100 * (100% - 60%) = 40
Example o Sovereign Creation: Charles I: King o England Example Attribute Assignment: Roll 1 : 6 + 5 + 3 = 14 Roll 2 : 2 + 2 + 6 = 10 Roll 3 : 4 + 5 + 4 = 15 Roll 4 : 3 + 2 + 3 = 8
Roll 5 : 5 + 2 + 5 = 12 Roll 6 : 5 + 6 + 2 = 13 Roll 7 : 4 + 4 + 2 = 10 Roll 8 : 2 + 6 + 3 = 11
Example Measures: Gold : GM gave out 120 based on scenario design Honor : All rst Sovereigns begin with a value o 10 Manpower : GM gave out 70 based on scenario design Prestige : All rst Sovereigns begin with a value o 10 Religion : Te English people may be Protestan Protestant, t, but Charles is Catholic Vitality Roll : 5 Example Conditions: All Determined based on Scenario Design provided by GM
Attributes Acumen 14
Authority Fertility Fortune Grace Guile Strategy Vigilance
10 15 8 12 13 10 11
Measures Gold 120
Honor Manpower Prestige Religion Vitality
10 70 10 Catholic 4
Conditions Capital London
Centralization Decay Investment Readiness Recruitment Stability ax Income
5 0 40% 2 40 6 85
Lie and and Death o Sovereigns: Sovereigns: Eventually a Sovereign’s Vitality will run out. Death claims us all. When this occurs, you must make Fertility test. Tis is the only time in the entire game when you will test this attribute, but it is o v ital importance to the stability o your dynasty. Add a +1 bonus to this test or every ve years o power enjoyed by your sovereign in their lietime. I you succeed on the test, you become your Sovereign’s eldest child and seize power. Play continues normally. I you ail this test, you experience a Succession Crisis. Succession Crisis A succession crisis is an invitation or other States to intervene in your dynastic transition. Te death o a Sovereign without a clear successor creates an opportunity or any other Sovereign with the slightest claim on your throne to do so. Any State with which you share a Royal Marriage can make a Claim against you or hal the normal cost, rounded down. Tis may result in the loss o control over your State. In that case, you must change States as described to the right.
Once any claims have been resolved, you may roll up a new Sovereign and play continues normally.
Changing States You will likely have worked hard to improve the State which you are ruling and you probably have a lot o diplomatic agreements in place. However, sometimes things do not go as you wanted them to. Perhaps your State is on the verge o collapse or has been reduced to a low political status that you are unwilling to accept. Perhaps you simply yearn or a change o pace. Perhaps you are being orced to change States due to a succession crisis. Whatever the case, you may choose to abandon your current Sovereign lineage and move to a dierent State which you do not currently control. You become a distant cousin o your Sovereign that has risen to power elsewhere.
You will need to negotiate with your GM about which alternative State you would like to play. Preerably, you should have these discussions beore your Sovereign actually dies, so you do not waste a lot o valuable game time discussing it. In general, you should be moving to a State with less power and resources than your current one. It It should also not be a State that you have been overly generous with in the past, nor should it be a State that is too ar away rom the rest o the players. It should be a viable State, but with a lot o work necessary to bring it up to speed as a great power. For example, you may eel that England is no longer a State that you want to play. You still want to play a naval-oriented nation, but England is getting too complex or you to enjoy. You talk to the GM and decide that Denmark is a good transition State or you. It has a similar style o play to England, but it is both militarily weaker and has a smaller economic base. When your Sovereign dies, you inorm the rest o the group that your cousin has inherited the throne o Denmark and you are now the King o Denmark instead o the King o England. From that point on, England would be ruled by a Sovereign under GM control. Becoming A General A nal path beyond death is to take up serv ice under another monarch as a General. Tis should probably be negotiated beorehand so that there is a smooth transition.
Economics
Te Flow o ime: Statecrat is a game that is played out over very long periods o history history.. Te basic unit o game time is the Season, which represents the natural weather cycles o the year year.. Te Season is primarily a unit o accounting and perorming actions in the Spring instead o the Fall usually does not occur o ccur any dierently. dierently. Te one exception to this is Supplies, which can be prooundly impacted by weather. Most actions that occur during a Season are related to unit u nit movement and combat. Most economic activity is resolved on an annual basis. O course, diplomatic activity will occur at all times.
Seasons Spring
Summer Fall Winter
Order o Seasonal Activity:
Loans:
• Pay Upkeep on all Military Units • Submit Movement orders or all Military Units in secret to GM • Resolve Combats that occur • Calculate Supplies and remove units lost to Attrition
It is possible that a Season may begin and you lack the unds to pay or your military.. So make up or this shortall, you can take out loans rom capital military markets, which in this time period means primarily banking amilies. Tese markets will loan out money in increments o 100 Gold with an interest rate determined by the GM based on an assessment o how risky you are based on your previous nancial management. management. Te standard starting interest rate is 5% per year. Interest Interest is paid every year out o your Gold. I you cannot pay the loan interest with available gold, you must take out another loan to pay or it.
Activity that can occur at any time: • All diplomatic activity, including argeted Actions • Funding o Explorers
Order o Annual Activity: • Resolve the entire Winter Season rst • Accrue Gold • Accrue Manpower • Make a Growth roll • Make a Conversion roll (optional) • Make a Control roll • Make a Decline roll • Make a Death roll • Pay interest on all Loans • Begin Spring Season
You can repay the loan principle at any time to te rminate the loan.
Bankruptcy: I you eel that you can no longer aord to pay the amount o interest that you owe, you can deault on all your debts instead o pay. Tis is called Bankruptcy. When you declare bankruptcy, you must make an Authority test with Decay applied as a penalty. I you ail this test, the GM may have some armies and navies under your control rebel against your command. Te degree to which this happens is based on your margin o ailure. Armies Armies that rebel in this manner unction as i they have just been created by Foment. Navies that rebel in this manner become Pirates. Even i you succeed on your Authority test and retain control o your military, military, declaring bankruptcy always causes 2d20 Decay. Bankruptcy is a powerul blow to even the mightiest o empires and a bellwether o decline.
Annual Ann ual Calculations: Gold: At the end o every winter season, a State gains Gold equal to ax Income multiplied by Investment. Manpower: At the end o every winter season, a State gains Manpower equal to Recruitment. Te Growth Roll: Every year, you make an Acumen test called a Growth roll. For every 10% spent on Investment that year, you get a +1 bonus to this test. I the test is successul, raise your ax Income or Recruitment by the margin o success. You may elect to not make a Growth roll, instead using your economic growth to create a Colony in an undeveloped part o the world that you have already explored.
For example, i you had an Acumen o 12 and 60% investment, you you would make a roll as i you had an 18. With a die result o 11, that would be a margin o success o 7. Tis would raise your ax Income or Recruitment by 7 or you could have built a Colony in newly discovered Madagascar. Madagascar.
Te Conversion Roll: Each year you have a chance to convert a portion o your populace to your own religion. Tis process increases control over your populace, but at a steep nancial cost. Te conversion process involves making a Grace test. I you succeed by a margin o 5 or more, you gain 1 Stability but lose an amount o ax Income equal to the margin o success. I I you succeed, but not by 5 or more, you lose ax Income equal to the margin o success but do not gain any Stability in the process. I you ail, nothing happens except in the case o extreme ailure in which the GM may decide that a religious uprising occurs, creating an army as described under Foment. Tis roll is entirely optional. Te Control Roll: Each year, year, you may gain or lose avor in the eyes o your populace due to the accumulation o minor slights or kindnesses. Te Control Control roll is an Authority test to represent this shit. I you succeed on the test by a margin o 5 or more, your Stability improves one step (e.g. rom 3 to 4). I you ail by a margin o 5 or more, you lose one point o Stability. I you are in between these two extremes, nothing o importance really changes.
Te GM can apply penalties to this roll i you have a large portion o religious minorities within your State. For example, the Ottoman Empire should suer a penalty or controlling lots o Orthodox Christians and not Sunni Muslims. However, over successive Conversion rolls the GM should reduce this penalty. Te Decline Roll: Te Decline roll is an Acumen test you must make a roll every year to determine the change to your nation’s ortunes that occurs rom the normal passing o time. For every 10% that was not spent on Investment that year, you get a -2 penalty to this test. I you succeed on the test, you lose Decay equal to the margin o ailure. I you ail the test, you gain Decay equal to the margin o ailure. Te Death Roll: Te Death roll is a Fortune test. Failure reduces your Vitality by 1.
Exploration: All States have access to knowledge about what is called the Known World. Tis may be an actual map that the GM maintains and updates or the group as a whole or it may simply be the ability to ask the GM questions about what is going on in the world at the moment. At the start o the Age o Exploration scenario or example, the Known World is limited to the European continent, the shoreline o North Arica, and a portion o the Middle East. Everything beyond this area are considered unexplored. Te players have no inormation about it at all. Te only way to acquire inormation inormation about the regions beyond the Known World is through exploration. As States explore these areas over time, they will become common knowledge and eventually appear in the Known World.
Finding New Lands: A Sovereign who wishes to explore the world beyond their current knowledge can commission an Explorer to venture into the unknown. Te player simply declares their desire to do so and a rough cardinal direction in which to travel, such as West or Southeast. Te GM will quote them a price in Gold to do so. I the Sovereign is willing to pay the price, the GM will make a secret Fortune roll on behal o the player. player. Based on that roll and their judgment, a ew seasons later the GM will provide the player with inormation inormation on what new lands were discovered by their explorer. Sometimes Sometimes this may include knowledge o new oreign states. For now, the player can keep this inormation to themselves or share it as they wish, however it is the only record o what lies beyond the Known World. Te GM will not inorm other players about what has been discovered. Undeveloped parts o the world, such as the Americas, can be developed as Undeveloped Colonies though Growth rolls. Until the knowledge o the region spreads into the Known World, World, these developments can remain secret (unless revealed through espionage or a royal marriage). Multiple Sovereigns may have secret knowledge o the same locations or oreign States and not even realize it.
Spreading Map Knowledge: wenty years ater being discovered, the other Sovereigns are inormed that new land has been ound. Tey are not given the exact lo cation or the ability to build Colonies in the area, but they are aware that the lands exist. Tis allows them to make directed attempts to discover them with Explorers that should usually succeed, subject to GM judgment. Fity years ater being discovered, a location is added to the Known World.
Colonies: Colonies can be built using Growth rolls. Each attempt to build a colony triggers a Fortune roll against a difculty set by the GM based on the suitability o the terrain. Te presence o land units in the area may result in a bonus rom the GM. I you ail this roll, the colony is lost. Building colonies in Western Australia is signicantly harder than in Cuba.
I this Fortune test succeeds, it is ollowed by a Discovery roll. Te GM will inorm you o a number o dice to roll based on the inherent wealth o the area you are colonizing. For example, 3d6 might be a value or a colony in Virginiaa while a colony in Greenland may only net 1d4. Te result o the Virgini Discovery roll is added to your ax Income. Once a colony is built, the area is considered a part o your State.
Diplomacy
Diplomacy: Te majority o gameplay will typically be spent engaged in diplomacy diplomacy.. A large portion o this will be conducted in secret by sending secret messages to the GM or other players.
Maintenance o Honor: Honor is gained rom upholding treaties. It represents your word in the eyes o the internati international onal community. community. Relations between Sovereigns and States is highly dependent upon trust and reliability reliability.. A Sovereign needs to b elieve that their ally will come to their deense, that terms o treaties will b e upheld, and that they can depend upon certain things to occur that have been promised.
I you do not stand by your word, you will not be trusted. Te GM and other players will use your Honor as a measure o your truthulness. You You can gain Honor by taking actions that are expected o you. You You can lose Honor by ailing to take those actions. Oten, there is no middle ground to tread. You must stand up or yoursel or be viewed as a coward. o o ail is a better ate than to have never tried.
Te Papacy: I appropriate or the time period, the Papal State is a State which is always under GM control unless annexed by a player. Te Papacy can coner Fidei Deensor status on a single Sovereign at a time. Fidei Deensor is a Latin term meaning Deender Deender o the Faith. Te Sovereign who has this status gets +2 on their Conversion rolls and +1 to all combat values while engaged in battles against States o a dierent religion. Te Papacy can also Excommunicate Catholic States that are acting against the expressed will o the Pope. Tis causes the loss o 5 Stability and the Papacy Pap acy will not discourage war against that State until the Sovereign dies. Further, the Papacy can declare a Crusade against a non-Catholic State o their choice. All Catholic nations nations are considered to have a Casus Belli on that State while the Crusade lasts. Te Pope can end the Crusade at any time, but it cannot last longer than 10 years. O course, i the targeted State is annexed then the Crusade will end naturally.
Casus Belli: Casus Belli is a Latin expression meaning the “cause or war”. It implies that there are reasonable and unreasonable causes or war, legitimate legitimate grievances that justiy war, and ingrained with a concept o honor and respect between States. I I you have a Casus Belli, you can declare war on another nation at a much reduced Stability cost. You You typically gain a Casus Belli against someone who violates a treaty they signed with you or when someone commits some act o espionage against you. Te GM can also grant a Casus Belli to any Sovereign that they eel has a legitimate grievance against another State that would not normally be granted by the game mechanics. o protect their personal honor, any Sovereign with a Casus Belli should declare War in an attempt to right the wrong that has been done to them. Tis represents a social obligation to redress grievances, thereore a Sovereign declaring war with a Casus Belli will receive 2 Honor and all Stability losses rom declaring war are ignored. Failure to declare War within a year o receiving the Casus Belli will result in the loss o 1 Honor and 1 Stability, because no one respects a coward. Te Casus Belli is removed immediately ater use and rendered unavailable or uture declarations o war.
Annexation: I you control a State’s Capital, you may attempt to Annex that state. Tis involves an opposed Authority test against the other Sovereign. You may only make one such attempt per year. I successul, you will lose Stability based on GM judgement o the relative size o the territory being annexed. At the time o annexation, any portions o that nation under your control are immediately transerred transerred to your ownership. Any Any portions that you do not yet control either declare their independence as new States, subject to GM judgment, or also transer transer to your ownership. ownership. For example, you may annex Great Britain, but i you do not control their American colonies colonies they might reuse to join you, instead choosing to orm their own new State; the United States o America.
reaties: reaties are the method o ormalized diplomatic relations. A treaty must be actually written out and ormally signed by all parties involved to be valid. Once signed, the GM is the sole arbiter o what is a violation o the terms. I a treaty is v iolated, the GM will then reduce both Stability in the State and the Honor o the Sovereign by the amounts listed in the reaty Conditions chart as a penalty or violating the treaty. I the State lacks the Stability or Honor to pay the ull price or the violation, excess is taken out o Prestige Prestige. Violating Violating secret treaties is not a public disgrace and thus carries no mechanical costs, however it absolutely destroys any trust extended rom the parties to the treaty.
reaty Conditions:
Sovereigns are ree to write treaties using any language they wish, so long as that language does not violate the rules o the game. Tese conditions conditions may include requirements to use argeted Actions against specied States (or to abstain rom them). However, the conditions listed here have specic consequences to violation. Any Any terms that are agreed to by the players are subject to GM judgment regarding what specic game obligations are involved and how they aect Honor, Prestige, and Stability. Coalition: A Coalition is when more than two States enter into a collective agreement to wage war against a common enemy. Tis enemy must be specied in the treaty. One State in the coalition is designated the Coalition Leader and the Sovereign o that State negotiates with the chosen enemy on behal o the entire coalition. Te treaty may provide stipulations that limit the ability o the Coalition Leader to negotiate, however they cannot demand active oversight by the Coalition members. For example, the treaty in a war to restore a State that has been annexed by the enemy may speciy that the Coalition Leader cannot sign a peace treaty that does not restore that State.
Te treaty does not immediately result in war when signed, nor does it provide a Casus Belli. Each member must declare war separately. Te timing o these declarations and size o orces committed may be specied in the treaty. Te coalition automatically dissolves once a Peace treaty is signed. Members may leave the Coalition at any time, including to avoid signing a peace treaty that the Coalition Leader has secured, however this is considered a violation. When the Peace is signed, the coalition members vote on whether or not the Coalition Leader lived up to their promises. I the majority agrees, the Coalition Leader is awarded 3 Honor.
rea reaty ty Con Condit ditions ions Coalition
Viola Vi olatio tion n Pena Penalty lty (St (Stabi abilit lityy & Hon Honor or)) 1d6
Deense Pact Exchange Military Access Non-Aggression Pact Peace Protectorate Royal Marriage
1d6 1d6 1 2d6 2d6 2d6 1
Deense Pact: A Deense Pact is a bilateral agreement involving two States. Each State must make a reasonable attempt attempt to come to the deense o the other i a third party declares war on either o them. Once signed, both parties will always have a Casus Belli to declare war on anyone attacking the other. Stipulations can be added to limit application (e.g. will not b e orced to ght against France). France). I violated, the other party to the treaty gains a Casus Belli on the violator. Exchange: An exchange is the immediate transer o land ownership, money, military units, or manpower between two states. Stipulations may be amended to the treaty that control the return o these resources. For example, a State may give another State several military units to assist in a war with the stipulation that they are return once peace is signed or i the lending State is itsel attacked, provided they survive the war intact. Te exceptions to this is manpower, which can never be returned, and mercenary units which can never be traded between States under any circumstances. Since the exchange is generally done immediately, the only way to violate this treaty is to ail to l ive up to any stipulations added. Note that you can only exchange land that you own. Military Access: Military Access Access is the right o one State to move military units through regions belonging to another State. Tis may be limited to only naval access to ports or resupply or only land access or armies i desired. Access Access may also be urther limited to specic lands, such as allowing another States to only move troops through Normandy.
Non-Aggression Pact: A Non-Aggression Pact is a bilateral agreement involving two States. Te terms stipulate that each State will rerain rom taking any oensive action toward the other. Certain targeted actions that are exposed can sometimes be considered violations o these terms (e.g. Destabilize). A Sovereign who upholds the treaty even when greatly tempted, subject to GM judgment, will receive 1 Honor. A great temptation might be the other Sovereign suering major deeats in an ongoing war and presenting an easy target. I v iolated, any other State that also has a Non-Aggression Pact with the violator gains a Casus Belli on them. Peace: A Peace term in a treaty ends a War. Violation o any other conditions attached to a Peace treaty are considered violations o the Peace as well and render the entire agreement void i violated.
Tere may be times when you are making what you eel are reasonable oers o peace that are being reused by your opponent out o stubbornness. You can attempt to override the Sovereign and appeal to their population instead. Inorm the entire gaming group that you are going to make generous terms and lay out those terms in public. Te other players then vote by submission o a secret ballot to the GM whether they believe you are oering generous terms or not. Anyone involved in the war is not given a vote, including the player oering the terms. Te GM always gets their own vote as well, regardless o their involvement in the war. I a majority believe the terms are generous considering the degree o your victory on the battleeld, the GM inorms the player being oered the terms that they are generous and reusal will carry a penalty. penalty. Te player being oered the terms can either accept them or reuse them, however reusal results in Stability loss equal to hal your Grace attribute. Tis represents the internal dissent against the Sovereign caused by reusing generous oers. Te GM will also award Prestige and Honor to the generous Sovereign in proportion to the actual generosity o the act.
Protectorate: A Protectorate is a bilateral agreement involving the domination o one State by another. Te dominating state is called the Suzerain and the dominated state is called the Vassal. Te Vassal is not able to sign reaties without the consent o their Suzerain. Any Any declaration o War on the Vassal is also considered a War on the Suzerain. Tis eect does not work in reverse and the Suzerain may be engaged in a war without involving the Vassal. Tis treaty condition is almost always attached to some orm o Exchange as well, such as a regular monetary payment. Te only way to escape rom this status is via the terms o a treaty or by the Vassal Vassal declaring war on the Suzerain, which costs an additional 2 Honor beyond any other Honor loss that occurs rom the violation v iolation o related treaty conditions. However, However, you will probably gain a lot o Prestige Prestige i you can break ree o your vassalage.
A Sovereign may release a piece o land as a new State that begins play as a Protectorate. Tis costs 1 Prestige, 1 Honor, and 1 Stability per region released in this manner, since it implies that you lack the power to govern the territory properly by yoursel. However, it can be useul or managing religious issues. For example, Austria may eel that Protestantism is hurting their Stability in the long term, so they release Bohemia as a vassal. Te exact ax Income In come loss or perorming this action is up to the GM. Royal Marriage: A Royal Marriage is a bilateral agreement to a marriage involving one inuential member o the ru ling elite rom each nation. Tis provides each side o the agreement with an advocate inside the other nation to ensure their views are presented more accurately. Each State receives a +3 bonus to any attempt to Destabilize, Foment, Inltrate, or Inuence the other. Whenever a secret treaty or discussion takes place that involves one State, but not the other, the GM may allow the uninvolved Sovereign to make a Grace test, perhaps with a penalty or really secret inormation, to learn what happened. Te only way o violating v iolating this condition is by declaring war on the other State. Doing Doing so is an egregious oense o honor and causes double the Honor loss rolled instead o the same amount ( Stability loss occurs normally).
Te act o signing a Royal Marriage results in a gain o 1 Honor to both Sovereigns. When When ormed, a Royal Marriage receives a random Vitality value that alls as i it were a Sovereign. When it ends, both sides gain 1 Honor.
argeted Actions: Sovereigns can take argeted Actions at any time, though they cost resources to perorm, usually either Stability or Prestige. I you lack the ability to pay the cost, you cannot perorm the action. For example, you probably will not be able to declare War on anyone at 0 Stability nor can you make a Claim with zero Prestige. Some actions carry a risk o being caught. I you are caught perorming these actions, you lose Honor equal to the amount listed in the chart to the right. Te State being targeted will also receive a Casus Belli against you. Any costs paid to take actions is not returned i the action ails. Other eects may be listed in the descriptions. Claim: A Claim is an attempt to grab the title o a deceased Sovereign or yoursel or one o your amily members. Whenever a Sovereign dies, you can claim that someone else is the true inheritor o their State, either yoursel or someone in your royal line. Multiple Sovereigns can make claims against the same State.
I you are claiming the title or yoursel, you must pay an amount o Prestige determined by the GM, based on the strength o the title you are attempting to claim. For example, making a claim against Spain should cost more than Portugal. Portugal. I you are making the claim on behal o one o your amily members, you only need to pay hal this amount. However, the amily member will be rolled up by the GM and their newly rolled Grace will be used in the next step o the process. I you are making a claim during a Succession Crisis, you only have to pay hal the normal amount o Prestige required, rounded down. Once a list o claimants is assembled, they must all make an Grace test. Ater dice rolls are made, any Sovereign may pay Prestige voluntarily to support one o the claimants, adding adding the same amount to the claimant’s Grace as Prestige paid. Tese payments can be made multiple times as a kind o bidding war. In the end, the Sovereign with the highest margin o success is allowed to Annex the targeted State. All other claimants gain a Casus Belli on the inheritor.
ar arge gete tedd Act ctiion onss Claim
Disc Di scov over eryy Pe Pena nalt ltyy (H (Hon onor or)) -
Destabilize Foment Inltrate Inuence Piracy War
1d6 2d6 1 1d6 Special
Destabilize: Destabilize is an attempt to reduce Stability in a target State. Tis is done by declaring your intent to the GM via a secret note. Be sure to list your Guile and the amount Prestige you are paying on your note. o Prestige Te GM will announce there has been an attempt to destabilize that State and ask the Sovereign how much Prestige they are willing to spend to stop the attempt. Te GM will then make a Guile test on your behal against the opposing Sovereign’s Vigilance, adding spent Prestige to the attributes as bonuses. Results are adjudicated as indicated on the below table: Destabilize Roll Results Both tests succeed, but the defender has a lower margin of success Attacker succeeds, Defender fails All other results
Outcome Deender loses Stability equal to the dierence between the two margins o success Deender loses Stability equal to the attacker’s margin o success Nothing happens
Foment: Foment is an attempt to raise a rebel army inside another State to topple their government. You must pay an amount o Prestige equal to ten minus the Stability o the target State, though you can choose to pay more. You must urther make a monetary payment in Gold to give to these rebels. Tis is done by declaring your intent to the GM via a secret note. Be sure to list your Guile and the amount o money and Prestige you are paying on your note.
Te GM will announce there has been an attempt to oment rebellion that State and ask the Sovereign how much Prestige they are willing to spend to stop the attempt. Te GM will then make a Guile test on your behal against the opposing Sovereign’s Authority, adding spent Prestige to the attributes. I their margin o success is at least twice yours or you ail your test, the GM will reveal you were making the attempt. I you are successul, the GM will roll up a new Sovereign and purchase an army or them using the money you have provided. Tis army will then be placed in an appropriate location (never the capital) by the GM and unction as any other army. Tey are immediately declared a new State with their capital located within the initial lands that they control. Other Sovereigns can being diplomatic relations with them, including exchanges to assist them in their war. Tey are automatically automatica lly at war with their ormer owner and do not have to declare war. Te new State has Conditions determined by the GM and Gold equal to the remaining unspent money.
Inltrate: Inltrate is an attempt to acquire inormation rom a targeted State. Tis is done by declaring your intent to the GM via a secret note. Be sure to list your Guile and the amount o Prestige Prestige you are paying on your note. Te next time a secret treaty or discussion takes place that involves that State, but not the inltrating State, the GM will roll a Guile test against the deending Sovereign’s Vigilance to learn the secret inormation. I I successul, the GM will reveal the inormation. I their margin o success is at least tw ice yours or you ail your test, the GM will reveal you were making the attempt. You receive a number o chances to learn inormation equal to the amount o Prestige paid. Once you have used up your chances, the GM will no longer make tests or you. O course, you can re-inltrate by spending more Prestige. Inuence: Inuence is an attempt to aect the decisions o any other Sovereign. Tis represents the personal appeal appeal o the Sovereign to their peer. At any time and with respect to any decision in the game, you can declare that you want to inuence another Sovereign. Express how you would like to see the decision made and declare how many points o Prestige you are willing to pay to the Sovereign i they change their mind. Tey may propose a compromise solution or wrangle over price or duration o the eect.
For example, England’s Sovereign may see that France is declaring war on the Netherlands, yet wish to stop it. Tey oer 5 Prestige to France to not declare war on the Netherlands, either now or or the next 10 years. France’s Sovereign could counter, asking or 7 Prestige to hold o or so long. Tey might agree upon 6 in the end. Once an agreement has been reached, the Prestige is transerred. I the terms o the agreement are ever violated, subject to GM judgement, double the original amount o Prestige Prestige is removed rom the violating v iolating Sovereign and the amount paid is returned to payor.
Piracy: Piracy is an attempt to cause mayhem in a sea using pirates. You must pay 1 Prestige per attempt. You must urther make a monetary payment in Gold to outt the pirate eet. Tis is done by declaring your intent to the GM via a secret note. Be sure to list your Guile, the amount o money you are paying on your note, and what general area you wish to cause piracy in (ex. Greater Antilles in the Caribbean or the Western Mediterranean).
Te GM will announce there has been a surge o piracy in this area and ask the Sovereigns with regions neighboring that that area i they are willing to spend 1 Prestige to discover the source o the attempt. I I so, the GM will then make a Guile test on your behal against the opposing Sovereign’s Vigilance. I a deending Sovereign’s Sovereign’s margin o success twice your total or more. Otherwise, they learn nothing. Te GM will construct a eet o pirates using your money and place that eet in the area. While present, the pirate eet reduces the ax Income o all States neighboring that that area by an amount equal to the number o ships in the pirate eet. Any navy can engage the pirates as any other hostile naval orce and thereby remove the penalty.
War: War is the most extreme diplomatic action available. Declare war in ront o the entire game group and speciy the target o the declaration. Te GM will then determine the total Stability and Honor loss rom violating any applicable applicab le treaties. I the nal costs cannot be paid, Prestige is paid instead to make up the dierence. A Casus Belli may negate these losses.
Te GM will then give all States that would be obligated to join the war the chance to do so. I two treaties contradict, contradict, such as when a State with a Non-Aggression Pact with another State declares war on a third State that has a Deense Pact with the other State, the Sovereign must make a choice o which treaty to honor. Penalties or violating the other treaties are then applied. Let this serve as a stern warning to avoid signing too many treaties that could potentially overlap. Once war is declared, you may move your armies into land controlled by your enemies and engage in combat. Any opposed navies that meet at sea engage in combat. Tis condition remains in eect until ended by a Peace.
Military Units
Military Units: Wars must be ought with orce o arms. Military units represent these orces. Tere are two types o units; Land and Naval. Te only real dierence between the types rom a mechanical perspective is that they operate in mutually exclusive spheres. Obviously, naval combat can only occur at sea and land combat can only occur on land. Other than this distinction, the two types operate identically in the game. A group o land units moving around on the map is reerred to as an Army. A group o naval units moving around on the map is reerred to as a Navy. Te number o actual soldiers per unit is let to the GM and may change over the course o play, usually increasing in size over time. In the early medieval period, a single unit may represent only a ew hundred men. In the Napoleonic Napole onic period, a single unit may number in the thousands. Te exact ratio has no real bearing b earing on the game mechanics and is purely or adding avor to the game experience experience..
Recruiting Units: Units are created by a recruitment process takes two seasons to complete (e.g. units constructed in the Spring will be ready at the start o the Fall season). Each unit costs 2 Gold and 2 Manpower. Tis price must be paid at the beginning o recruitment. Additionally,, the creator must speciy to the GM a city in their territory Additionally where the units are being constructed. Obviously, or naval units this must be a coastal city city.. I the city is captured by the enemy beore recruitment is complete, the attempt ails but any Gold and Manpower paid is still lost.
Upkeep: At the start o every Season, you must pay 2 Gold per unit in Upkeep. For example,, i your entire armed orces consisted o 12 units, you would have example a total upkeep o 24. Tis value is modied by two actors; your Readiness condition and whether a unit is a mercenary.
Mercenaries: I you lack the manpower to create land units but have excess money to spend, you can purchase Mercenaries on the international market. Each mercenary unit costs 5 Gold to recruit. Te number o Mercenari Mercenaries es that you can purchase and the amount o time it will take or them to relocate to your desired location are let to the GM. Mercenaries charge double Upkeep, so be prepared to pay signicant sums to keep them in the eld. Note that the doubling eect o Mercena Mercenary ry status is applied ater the Readiness modication. Naval units cannot be raised in this manner.
Privateers: Naval units that you have already recruited by normal methods can be converted into Privateers to attack enemy shipping lanes. Privateers unction as i they were Pirates in terms o damaging the tax incomes o other States with their presence in neighboring areas and in operating under GM control. However, your naval units can only be converted into Privateers during wartime and they return to your control when the war is over. Privateers are most useul when you have a sizeable eet that you do not w ish to risk in direct naval battle with the enemy, but that you would like to use to harass the enemy as much as possible instead.
Military Leadership:
Military Intelligence:
By deault, all Armies and Navies are led by generic unnamed Ocers. Until these ofcers engage in a combat, they do not have any attributes. At the beginning o their rst battle, the GM will roll two attributes or them, assigning them in the order rolled to Strategy and Vigilance. Tese values will then be used or the combat. Ofcers use a 1 or their Acumen when calculating Supply or their orces. While engaged in combat, the decision to retreat or keep ghting will be let to the GM. Once the combat is over, you can choose to remove the ofcer rom command or keep them in place. Ater every battle, the GM rolls makes a Fortune test on their behal using their Sovereign’s’s attribute. Sovereign attribute. I they ail this roll, the ofcer is killed. I their orce is destroyed, they are killed automatically without a roll.
Once per year, a player may tell the GM they want to look into a particular region, make a Guile test, and the GM will tell them what they believe is going on in that region rom a military standpoint. Tis inormation will not be perect, but it can be u seul. No unit can remain completely completely hidden rom view unless it is outside o the Known World.
Alternatively, you can appoint a General or Admiral to command an Army or Navy respectively, i you have a player to take that character. Tese commanders roll up a ull character as i they were preparing a Sovereign, however unlike a Sovereign they can assign their two highest rolls to Strategy or Vigilance i they so choose. Tese commanders can make decisions to retreat or keep ghting when that issue arises in combat. Additionally, these commanders use their Acumen to assist in providing Supply or their orces. Like a generic ofcer, they must also make a Fortune test ater every battle to determine i they are injured in battle. Tey use their own Fortune instead o yours and even i they ail this test, they only lose 1 Vitality . I their orce is destroyed, they are not killed automatically like an Ofcer. Instead, they merely make the standard Fortune test or a lost battle. A Sovereign may choose to award a General or Admiral their own State as a reward or excellent service. Tis may even b e negotiated beorehand to secure service in the rst place. Tis new State must be released as a Protectorate. Normal Prestige and Stability costs or releasing a Protectorate do not have to be paid in this instance. Te General or Admiral then leaves the service o their ormer Sovereign to become a Sovereign in their own right. Finally, the Sovereign can command armies personally just as i they were a Finally, General or Admiral. However, this does place them at risk o being injured or killed using the same rules.
Awareness: Aw areness: Whenever a large amount o units is recruited, a large amount o units is on the move, or there is a major battle, the GM will inorm other players that this is occurring. Complete secrecy during the time period covered by the game is essentially impossible. You cannot hide an army o 100,000 men marching through an area. However, this inormation inormation will not be 100% accurate.
Field Intelligence: A General, Admiral, or Sovereign can acquire active intelligence about the surrounding areas when they are commanding rom the eld. Tis can be highly accurate, but is limited in geographic scope. Once again, it involves making a Guile test and the GM will tell them what they believe is going on around them. In act, while commanding rom the eld, a Sovereign may have a much better grasp o what is going on in their immediate vicinity compared to other parts o their nation. Tey may receive delayed reports rom subordinates with updates on the homeront. For example, a French Sovereign that has invaded Italy may receive a report rom Paris in the Fall inorming them o an English army landing in Aquitaine earlier that Summer.
Military Movement:
Supply:
All movement orders are submitted to the GM in secret. Armies can generally move up to 500 kilometers every Season. An army may only be able to move hal as ar, or perhaps even less, through Deserts & Jungles. Navies can generally move up to 5,000 kilometers every Season. Te maximum distance you can travel and what region you ultimately reach is up to the GM.
All units are dependent upon Supply to unction. Supply represents the availability o essential materials such as gunpowder, shot, ood, water, and horses. Units Units without access to these things can suer casualties simply out o hardship. I I the GM eels that your army is operating in a manner that would result in supply shortages, they can call or a Supply roll. Tis is an Acumen test subject to a modier provided by the GM representing the challenge o the environment. For example, an Army operating in Champagne would have a much easier time than one in Algeria. Due to the unorgiving nature o the sea, naval orces should roll or supplies on any trip o signican signicantt distance. Land orces should generally only roll when operating in enemy territory or in extreme physical environments like deserts.
Naval Nav al ransport: ransport: Naval units can carry a number o land units equal to hal their number. Tus a Navy consisting consisting o 6 naval units could carry up to 3 land units. Land Units can only board and disembark while in a coastal city.
Devastation: When an Army stands essentially unopposed in enemy territory, they can choose to devastate it. Tis is an Strategy test with the number o land units in the Army applied as a bonus. I successul, the enemy State is temporarily denied ax Income equal to the margin o success or the next 2 annual tax collections. Additionally Additionally,, the Sovereign o the devastating army gains hal the amount stolen in Gold. Tis represents the process o essentially stealing everything you can carry with you. Te GM may impose a maximum amount that can be gained rom devastating a particular area, regardless o the roll result, based upon the inherent value o the region. For example, example, no one can loot the Scottish Highlands or vast sums o money. It just isn’t there or the taking.
Blockades: A Navy can blockade the ports o an enemy by positioning themselves in the adjacentt seas and declaring their intent to blockade. Tis is an unmodied adjacen Strategy test. I successul, the enemy State is temporarily denied ax Income equal to the margin o success or the next tax collection. As with devastation, the Sovereign o the blockading orce gains hal the amount stolen in Gold and the GM may also impose a maximum amount to be gained. Any navy attemptingg to leave port while under a blockage is automaticall attemptin automaticallyy detected and the blockading navy always gets the Weather Gauge in such an engagemen engagement. t.
I you ail the Supply roll, your orce takes casualties equal to the margin o ailure. Tus a General with an Acumen Acumen o 15 could roll a 19 on the test, and with no modiers ail it. Tis would cause that Army to lose 4 units. I you succeed on the Supply roll, your orce takes no losses. Te below chart is provided merely a guidepost or you and the GM, not the last word. Circumstances dictate supply supply.. An army taking reuge in a burnedout snow-covered Moscow could experience a penalty o epic proportions. Example Supply Modiers Spring
+0
Summer
+1
Fall
+2
Winter
-3
Plains
+2
Forests & Lowlands
+1
Mountains & undra
-3
Deserts, Islands, & Jungle
-5
Surrounded by Enemies
-10
Battle Adjudication: Contact:
Retreat:
It is possible that two armies or navies may cross paths during movement. I the GM eels like contact is likely between two orces, they will have each orce make a Vigilance test. Use the below table to determine results.
Beore the battle even begins or at the end o each round o combat, either commander may decide to retreat rom battle. Tey make an opposed Vigilance test against their opponent (the Position bonus applies to this roll). I the orce remaining on the eld succeeds on this test by a higher margin than the retreating orce, they inict pursuit damage on the retreating orce equal to the dierence between the two margins.
Contact Roll Results Both tests succeed: Each orce notices the other One test succeeds: Successul orce can choose to either initiate or avoid combat Neither test succeeds: Forces do not notice each other
Outcome Highest margin o success gains Position bonus equal to dierence between the two roll results I they choose to initiate, successul successul orce gains Position bonus equal to margin o success rolled.
Nothing occurs
One side o the combat may enjoy a Position bonus rom their Contact Roll. Tis represents making the best tactical choices on where the battle takes place. Tis bonus applies to all combat rolls made in the coming battle. I a navy has a Position bonus o +5 or greater greater,, they have the Weather Gauge. Having the Weather Gauge means that you are upwind o the enemy Navy and can choose to engage in battle or not. When you have the Weather Gauge,, your opponent cannot retreat rom battle and must ght to the death. Gauge
Combat: When two or more armies make contact, a battle occurs. Battles are broken into Rounds o combat. Each round, each commander makes a Strategy test and adds the number o units in their orce as a bonus, along with any relevant Position bonus and any other modiers (e.g. Readiness). Margins o success are compared and the dierence is applied to the army with the lower result as casualties, meaning meaning that many units are killed in action. One ourth o the dierence is applied to the army with the higher result as casualties. Nobody escapes combat unscathed. Casualties are removed rom the battle beore moving on to the next round.
A retreating orce moves to a nearby location o their choice. I they have been trapped, such as by pushing them to the tip o a peninsula (or inlet in the case o naval units), the orce is destroyed and all units are removed rom play. An Army that remains ater a battle can keep their Position bonus result as long as it remains in the immediate area. It can use this bonus against any army that attacks that area in the uture.
Gamemastering
Te Role o the Gamemaster: Te primary job o the GM is to adjudicate the rules in a air and neutral manner. Tey are responsible or keeping the game moving orward in time, including including everything rom calling or movement orders every season to overseeing tax collection. collection. Te GM is also responsible or maintaining maintaining the unplayed States and Sovereigns in the game in a believable and realistic manner. Finally, there are some mechanisms by which the GM can proactively intervene in the game itsel.
ime Management: Te GM can conduct their tasks within whatever real time intervals that are appropriate or the group. ypically this involves setting a regular ow o time, such as 1 day o real time to turn in your military movement orders or the season via e-mail. Te game is designed to be played over the internet, so i you want a game with a aster or slower pace, make your own adjustments. adjustments. A Season can technically be resolved in a matter o seconds, i everyone is at peace and all military units are in supply. However, you may want to build in some time or people to discuss basic matters and make proposals to one another. No matter what timetable you are using, a player should have the right to ask or a temporary stoppage so that they can conduct emergency diplomacy.. Te GM must be careul not to let this right be abused as a diplomacy method o stalling.
Setting Diculty: Te GM is given the task in some instances o imposing a penalty to reect difculty.. In these instances, the range o possibilities is so large that it is difculty impossible or us to set a standard in every case. For example, example, the GM can set a difculty penalty or a piece o secret inormation to be learned through a Royal Marriage. Te range o potential secret inormation is massive. Tus, the GM must rely upon their judgment to determine how likely it would be or someone to get access to the secret inormation that is being discussed.
Representing other Nations: Te GM is responsible or all Sovereigns and States that are not run by a player, as well as pirates and rebel armies. Te GM can simply set whatever Conditions they desire in one o their States, they can create Armies and Navies in any unit amounts that they w ish, and they can kill Sovereigns under their control whenever they like. Tey are ree to do essentially anything they want within these States, so long as it is realistic and serves the purpose o the game. In general, these entities should be passive and relatively unambitious unless threatened by unusual circumstances. Te game is about the rise and all o the States played by the players, not a vehicle or a GM’s power trip. Te GM has an ethical duty to run the game so that it is enjoyable to everyone and thus should rerain rom abusing their power or their own amusement. Forces under GM control should generally be used as obstacles, boundaries, and pawns or the players to interact with, not as serious rivals to their existence.. Tere can be exceptions i you have the consent o the players. existence
Te Papacy: Te GM can use the Papacy and its signicant nancial backing to inuence player politics and to encourage religious strie between Catholics and other religions, particularly Islam and Protestantism. Protestantism. Te GM can use the threat o Excommunication to discourage Catholic players rom taking actions that the Papacy rowns upon, such as declaring war on peaceul Catholic minor powers. Te GM can also use the declaration o Crusades to encourage the players to work towards common goals. In general, it should minimize conict among Catholics and encourage it with other religions. Beore Protestantism, Protestantism, the GM should use their power to slightly annoy the players, while being careul not to threaten player autonomy. Ater Protestantism, Protestan tism, the Papacy should become supportive and useul to keep Catholicism strong. As with everything every thing under GM control, exercise appropriate appropriate restraint.
Giving Out Prestige: Te goal o every game should be to have un. Te ability o the GM to give out Prestige is the most powerul tool they have to accomplish this goal. You should give Prestige to players that engage in the kind o play that makes the game more un, even i that play hurts their Sovereign or State. Te guidelines below exist or you to use when making decisions about your own game.
Great Tings to Give Prestige For: g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
Acting on impulse, even when it is to your detriment Doing something unexpected and surprising everyone Doing something extremely sneaky and not getting caught Stunning betrayals betrayals that have been planned or a long time Aggressive deense o your Sovereign’s Honor Good roleplaying o your Sovereign Recovering lost territory because it is rightully yours Coordinating a complex treaty involving many terms and/or multiple states Accomplishing Challenging asks or the glory o having completed them Attempting Attemp ting something despite high risk because it is daring and bold Letting an opportunity pass despite low risk because it is weak and cowardly
Prestige Rewards: Rewards: Te GM can use Prestige Rewards to encourage exciting gameplay. A Prestige Reward is inorming the players ahead ahead o time and you are going to be granting Prestige or accomplishing accomplishing a particular task. Te details o the task are let to the GM’s imagination, but must be ully disclosed in advance to all the player. Te player who accomplishes the task rst gets the reward added to their Prestige.
Ideas or Prestige Prestige Awards: Awards: g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
g
Discover a Sea Route around Arica Discover the Americas Get a colony in the New World built up into a developed region Conquer a particular oreign State (ex. Aztec Empire) Conquer a particularly difcult-to-invade region (ex. Malta) Drive a Religious Enemy out o an area (ex. Moors out o Spain) Consolidate political control control over a large area (ex. Uniy Italy) Discover a ar-o location (ex. Discover Australia) Australia) Build a rading Post in a difcult location (ex. Shanghai) Control trade over a large area (ex. India) Accomplish a seemingly impossible goal (ex. Liberate Israel) Become the rst Protestant State
Events: Events represent represent the most powerul and unique way that the GM can shape and inuence the game. Te GM should come to the table with a number o events prepared ahead o time. Tese events represent a potential situation that could occur in any country, or example a political scandal involving prominent elites. An An event that would only make sense or a ew o the played States, such as only Islamic States, would be inappropriate because everyone gets a chance to receive the event. Many GMs will want to create their own custom events to make their game more interesting. However, you can just as easily rely upon the template events ound in the Events chapter.
echnology: Te advance o technology throughout the game is handled by events. Each event represents a chance to acquire a technological advance rst, beore your opponents can adopt it. It coners a temporary bonus o some kind to represent the leading edge that your State enjoys in this eld. echnology events are always positive and they share some common characteristics. g
g
Every event should be either positive or negative. I I there is a high level o ambiguity about whether the event would ultimately be helpul or hurtul, you should probably not use it. When a player learns o the event, they should be able to instantly discern whether they would want the event to occur to them or not. emplate events are sorted in this way or easy reerence.
Introducing Events: Events: Te GM is ree ree to introduce an event at any time in the game. Introducing Introducing an event in the midst o a moment o extreme uncertainty, uncertainty, such as a ew seasons into a major war, could add an extra layer o tension to the bidding process. Te GM inorms everyone that an event is up or bidding and reads the event description out loud to the group. Players should submit the amount o Prestige Prestige that they want to bid to the GM. Even i they are bidding zero, players should still submit that to the GM. I the event is positive, the players are bidding Prestige to RECEIVE the event. Te event occurs or whichever player bids the most Prestige, with ties broken by an opposed Fortune test. Only the winner actually loses the amount o Prestige Prestige they bid. I the event is negative, the players are bidding Prestige to AVOID the event. Te event occurs or whichever player bids the least Prestige, with ties broken by an opposed Fortune test. All players lose the amount o Prestige Prestige they bid.
g
g
echnology always grants some kind o specic eect, such as a bonus to combat rolls on open plains. echnology eects always last or specic number o years. Ater that time, the technology is assumed to be spreading to other nations and thus no longer coners any special advantage. echnology events are bid upon with Gold instead o Prestige Prestige. echnology events take away all the Gold bid rom all players, in the same way that a negative event takes away Prestige.
Global Events: Certain things occur in history that instantly change things or everyone, not just a single recipient. Tese events are based upon the period o history you are dealing with, but the clearest example is Protestantism. Martin Luther will nail is 95 theses on the church door in 1517. Tis changes the religious climate in Europe permanently. From that point on, a Sovereign could convert to Protestantism, albeit at a social cost. When these events occur, the GM will inorm the entire table about the nature o the global event and what it means or the game going orward.
Scenarios
Scenario Design: Te GM is responsible or providing the scenario or the game. A scenario is the starting point o the game and denes the xed elements rom which the players to make their early choices.
Starting Date: Tis is the year in which play begins. For example, 1492 A.D.
Primary States: Te GM should choose a number o States and present present them as recommended choices or the players. Placing a player in each o these States is essential to having a quality game. For example, the Age o Exploration scenario suggests a choice rom England, Spain, France, and Portugal. Tese nations exempliy the colonial eorts o Europe during this time rame. In the scenario design, the GM should provide a listing o all the details or each State, such as their starting military orces and Conditions.
Alternate States: Te GM may designate certain States as possible alternative choices to the primary selections. Tese States may be inuential in the aairs o the primary states or they may be minor States that present a more challenging game. I you have additional players who wish to join in the game, they can choose rom these States.
Late Emergence States: Te GM may designate certain States as not existing yet, but as uture possibilities. Tese States emerge during play and represent a possible choice or a player in the uture. For example, the Netherlands revolts rom Spain during the late 1500s. A player player may choose to start the game as a General i they know they can move to one o these States later on. Unlike alternate alternate States, descriptions descriptions are not provided or these States in the scenario templates templates and must be drawn up by the GM when the time arises.
Age A ge o Exploration: Exploration: Starting Date: 1492 A.D. Primary States: England, Spain, France, & Portugal
Alternate States: Austria & Venice Late Emergence States: the Netherlands & Brandenburg-Prussia
England Measures Gold 55
Manpower Armies London Calais Navies Bristol London
20 5 2 3 8
Spain
Conditions Capital London
Centralization Decay Investment Readiness Recruitment Stability ax Income
4 0 60% 1 12 7 34
Measures Gold 120
Manpower Armies Castile Naples Navies Cadiz Naples
45 18 5 15 4
France
Conditions Capital oledo
Centralization Decay Investment Readiness Recruitment Stability ax Income
2 0 30% 2 25 5 54
Measures Gold 85
Manpower Armies Paris Gascogne Navies Brest Marseilles
52 15 8 3 12
Conditions Capital Paris
Centralization Decay Investment Readiness Recruitment Stability ax Income
1 0 40% 2 34 5 60
Diplomacy: Ireland is a Vassal, Royal Marriage with Spain
Diplomacy: Royal Marriage with Portugal, Deense Pact with Portugal
Diplomacy: Deense Pact with Scotland & Venice, Brittany is a Vassal, Royal Marriage with Savoy
Portugal
Austria
Venice
Measures Gold 35
Manpower Armies Lisbon Sao ome Navies Lisbon Sao ome
12 1 3 4 6
Conditions Capital Lisbon
Centralization Decay Investment Readiness Recruitment Stability ax Income
3 0 80% 2 8 9 28
Diplomacy: Royal Marriage with Spain, Deense Pact with Spain
Measures Gold 72
Manpower 34 Armies Vienna 12 Flanders 4 Navies
Conditions Capital Vienna
Centralization Decay Investment Readiness Recruitment Stability ax Income
4 0 50% 2 30 6 43
Diplomacy: Holy Roman Emperor, Royal Marriage with Hungary
Measures Gold 150
Manpower Armies Venice Crete Navies Venice Crete
15 10 2 22 4
Conditions Capital Venice
Centralization Decay Investment Readiness Recruitment Stability ax Income
6 0 70% 2 18 8 48
Diplomacy: Deense Pact with France, Royal Marriage with Genoa
Events
Event Design: Te GM is responsible or providing events during the game. An event provides an opportunity to add interestin interestingg avor to the game and take things in new directions i play stagnates.
ypes: Tere are our types o events; Global, echnologies, Positive, and Negative.
Year: For most events, this is a recommendation or when to implement the event. For Global events, this is an exact year in which this event will occur.
Description: Te GM must read this text aloud to the players when introducing the event.
Efects: Whoever receives the event (in the case o Global events, everyone) will experience the listed eects when the event occurs. Te exact eects should NO be read to the players beore the bidding process.
I IS VERY VERY IMPOR IMPORAN O REMEMBER REMEMBER HA HE EVENS IN HIS CHAPER ARE PROVIDED PROVIDED AS AS EXAMPLES EXAMPLES AND HE GAMEMASER IS SRONGLY ENCOURAGED O WRIE HEIR OWN EVENS!
Example Global Events:
Example echnolog echnologyy Events:
Te Conquest o Mecca:
Heavy Cavalry:
ype: Global Year: 629 A.D Description: Muhammed has conquered Mecca with the armies o Islam. Tis is the beginning o a new era o religious ervor. Efects: Any Sovereign can convert to Islam i they are willing to pay the price. Islamic religious events can also occur now.
ype: echnology Year: ~ 100 B.C. Description: Armorers are developing heavy mail that can be used on horses as a orm o barding. When combined with a heavily armorer rider, this allows you to eld a new kind o soldier with unparalleled combat combat strength. Efects: You gain +5 to all Combat rolls. I you do not have a Position bonus, reduce your opponent’s bonus by 2 to represent the ability to charge through an arrow bombardment. Tis eect remains exclusively yours or 50 years.
Te Great Schism: ype: Global Year: 1054 A.D Description: Due to growing irreconcilable dierences, dierences, the Eastern and Western churchs o Christianity have split into two distinctive groups. Efects: All Christian Sovereigns must choose between Catholicism and Orthodox. Catholic and Orthodox religious events can also occur now.
Te Black Death: ype: Global Year: 1348 A.D Description: Te Black Plague has been unleashed on Europe. It will kill roughly hal o Europe’s population and leave chaos in it’s wake. Efects: All European nations lose a quarter o their ax Income Income and hal o their Recruitment.
Te Reormation: ype: Global Year: 1517 A.D Description: Martin Luther has posted his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenburg, Germany. Tis has triggered an unraveling o Catholic intellectual authority. Efects: Any Sovereign can convert to Protestantism i they are willing to pay the price. Protestant religious events can also occur now.
Long Distance Sailing Ships: ype: echnology Year: ~ 1450 A.D Description: Shipwrights are beginning to experiment with long-distance ocean-crossing ships capable capable o exploring previously inaccessible inaccessible parts o the world. Tis has resulted in new designs such as the Caravel and Carrack. Efects: You can send explorers and colonists over considerable distances, such as rom Europe to the Americas or around the tip o Arica. Tis eect remains exclusively yours or 40 years.
Gunpowder Weapons: ype: echnology Year: ~ 1500 A.D Description: Invent Inventors ors are beginning to experiment with using gunpowder to propel bullets over considerable distances. Although in an inant stage now, this technology will become a centerpiece in the uture o warare. Efects: You gain +5 to all Combat rolls. I you have a Position bonus, add +2 to that bonus to represent the shock eect o ring into incoming troops. Tis eect remains exclusively yours or 25 years.
Example Positive Events:
Example Negative Events:
Rising Prosperity:
Economic Contraction:
ype: Positive Year: Any time Description: Your land is prospering under your wise leadership. Harvest yields are increasing, the people are happy, and lie is good. Tere is a palatable sense that things are going very well and the uture outlook is good. Efects: Reduce Decay by 3d20.
ype: Negative Year: Any time Description: Your land is suering through hard times. Harvest yields are alling, the people are unhappy, and the value o coinage is alling. Tere is a palatable sense that something is wrong and the uture outlook is poor. Efects: Increase Decay by 1d20.
Colonial Dynamism:
Civil War:
ype: Positive Year: Any time ater 1450 Description: Your people are yearning or colonial expansion. Tere is a strong desire to go out into the world and nd new lands and peoples. Efects: Reduce all exploration costs by hal. Gain a +5 bonus to all Discovery rolls and all Fortune rolls made in conjunction with colonial development.
ype: Negative Year: Any time Description: Your people are deeply divided over many issues. A prominent military leader has used this as an excuse to rebel against your authority. authority. Efects: A General takes roughly hal o the State’s military and declares himsel the true heir to the throne. Give Give a random portion o Sovereign S overeign’s’s gold is transerred to this general. Use your judgement to pick a General that is a reasonable distance rom the Capital, you don’t want to cripple the Sovereign instantly. I one doesn’t exist at the proper distance, eel ree to create one and provide them with newly recruited orces.
Fortunate Inheritance: ype: Positive Year: Any time Description: Te Sovereign o a nearby State is near the end o their lie. It has been recently discovered that you have a strong supportable claim on the title or yoursel. Efects: Annexati Annexation on o a nearby minor State o the GM’s choice without Stability loss.
Policy Shit: ype: Positive Year: Any time Description: A stubborn local political gure who had been standing in your way has met an unortunate end. Tis has made it possible or you to make some internal political changes without opposition. Efects: Gives the Sovereign their choice o one o the ollowing; +1 Stability, Stability, +1 to Centralization, or shit Investment by 20% in either direction without Stability loss.
Independent itle: itle: ype: Negative Year: Any time Description: One o your lesser land titles has unortunately allen to an individual with only partial ealty to your State. Tis individual has chosen to assert their independence rom your rule. Efects: ake a modest portion o the State and give it to a new title holder. Roll up a new Sovereign or the new State, which which enters play as a vassal o the Sovereign receiving the event. Alternatively, take an existing vassal and make them completely independent.
Player: ______________ ______________
Soverei Sov ereign: gn: __ _____ ______ ______ ____ _ Birth:: ______ Birth __________ ____
Attributes Acumen
Death: _____ __________ _____
Measures
Conditions
Gold
Capital
Authority
Honor
Centralization
Fertility
Manpower
Decay
Fortune
Prestige
Investment
Grace
Religion
Readiness
Guile
Vitality
Recruitment
Strategy
Stability
Vigilance
ax Income
Public Inormation
Coalitions Deense Pacts Military Access Non-Aggression Pacts Protectorates Royal Marriages War Excommunicated Crusade argets echnology Bonuses
State: Sta te: __ _____ ______ ______ ______ ____ _
Casus Belli
State
End Date
Military Forces
Commander
Type Units
