The rules are based on the CATAPHRACT ruleset by Sam Sorensen. Lightly revised to fit with metric measurements and Gunpowder and Age of Sail gameplay. v1.0.1 on the 3rd of April 2026.

The map is composed of 10 kilometer hexes (5 kilometers to a side, about 65 square km). Hexes have a terrain (such as flatland, hills or forest) and a settlement score. A hex's settlement score equals its population per square kilometer, and is given in multiples of 10. Thinly-populated, near-empty hexes have 10 settlement, densely populated hexes close to cities have 40 settlement.

The basic unit is the Army. Armies are made up of infantry, cavalry, artillery, noncombatants and wagons. Armies are composed of at minimum 100 soldiers, led by a commander–a player character.

By default, noncombatants add an additional 25% to the army's total personnel count. An army of 1 000 soldiers travels with an additional 250 additional people: support staff, sutlers and their like, officers' personal retinues, and other followers.

Armies may be split at a commander's choosing, but bear in mind each new army requires a new, subordinate commander–you may select new players at your choosing.

You can raise armies from the areas surrounding Strongholds you control. It takes one month to raise an army, which rallies at the stronghold or another nearby point of your choosing. A stronghold can raise troops from hexes closer to it than another stronghold, with larger strongholds taking preference in case of ties. Your referee will tell you how many troops you raise.

Recruiting from the same area a second time within a year carries a 1-in-6 chance of triggering a revolt; double if recruiting in newly conquered territory. Revolts produce 500-10 000 basic infantry led by a local military commander.

Cannons/artillery is purchased separately and staffed with basic soldiers. For the sake of simplicity a cannon requires a crew of 10 and a Battery, the smallest unit of cannon is 5 cannons.

Quick GM reference chart:

• 10 Settlement: 25 soldiers
• 20 Settlement: 50 soldiers
• 30 Settlement: 75 soldiers
• 40 Settlement: 100 soldiers

After summing the total soldiers, round to 100. Add 25% of that number as Cavalry and 5% as Wagons.

Each infantry, artillerist and noncombatant eats 1 Supply per day. Each cavalry and wagon's riders and animals eats 10 supplies total per day. Each cannon consumes 20 supplies per day, and additionally comes with 10 noncombatants to make powder and shot. By default, an army can carry 15 supplies per infantry, artillerist and noncombatant, 75 per cavalry and 1 000 per wagon. Armies may deliver supplies to and from one another as commanders order.

An army can spend a day foraging its current hex and adjacent hexes. A hex produces foraged supplies equal to its settlement rating × 1 000. After being foraged five times, a hex cannot be foraged again until next spring.

Foraging a second time within a year of the last carries a 2-in-6 chance of triggering a revolt; 3-in-6 if foraging in unfriendly territory. Revolts produce an army of 1d20 × 500 infantry, led by a local revolutionary commander.

An army can spend a day to torch its current hex and adjacent hexes, removing the possibility of foraging until next spring. 1-in-6 chance to trigger a revolt when torching, as above; double if torching hostile territory.

Armies with cavalry detachments may also forage (and torch) up to 2 hexes away.

Each day without supplies, an army reduces its morale by 1, then checks morale. After two weeks without food, an army dissolves completely.

Armies are made up of detachments, composed of soldiers of the same type (infantry, cavalry, or artillery), often from the same region, plus their attached wagons and noncombatants. When dividing armies, detachments cannot be split. Thus, the 1st Free City Line Regiment (1 000 infantry) could be separated from the 2nd Free City Line Regiment (another 1 000 infantry), but each Line Regiment could not be divided further.

It is crucially important each detachment (or type of detachment) is given fancy uniforms in bright colours and magnificent hats.

Detachment compositions vary by faction, but are usually 500–1 000 infantry, 200–500 cavalry or 50-100 artillerists. As detachments earn victories, commanders may bestow upon them names and honors. And give them ever fancier uniforms and magnificent hats and medals.

On roads, armies move 20 kilometers per day, marching up to 5 days per week, for a total of up to 100 kilometers per week. Off-road, reduce the speeds by half. Wagons and artillery cannot travel off-road.

A forced march increases this to 30 kilometers per day, marching up to 7 days per week, for a total of up to 210 kilometers per week. Armies of exclusively cavalry double their forced march pace. Once per cumulative week of forced march, lose 1 morale, then check morale.

An army undergoing a night march travels 10 kilometers per night, or 20 kilometers at a forced march. At the end of the night, check morale. If the road forks, 2-in-6 chance to take the incorrect path. Armies cannot night march off-road.

Marching armies stretch 1 km of road per 3 000 infantry and noncombatants, 1 250 cavalry, or 30 wagons and artillery. Armies (or groups of armies marching in a single column) stretching longer than 10 kilometers travel only 10 kilometers per day, for a total of 50 miles per week, or 20 kilometers per day at a forced march (for a total of 140 km).

When fording a river (rather than crossing a bridge), each mile of infantry in the column requires a half-day to cross. Cavalry ford at their regular speed. Wagons and artillery cannot ford rivers.

Armies march and camp in formations ordered by their commanders.

During the day, an army’s scouts see everything in its hex and adjacent hexes. An army with a cavalry detachment increases this to 2 adjacent hexes. In bad weather, this is reduced by 1 hex. In very bad weather, this is reduced by 2 hexes.

Morale is the will to fight and general spirit of the army. Morale moves up and down according to events: victory, pillage, and time off raise morale; defeat, bad conditions, and forced marches lower morale. By default, armies have a resting morale of 9 and a maximum morale of 12.

Certain events call for a morale check: roll 2d6 equal to or under the army’s morale. On a success, your army holds; on a failure, consult the table below, using your roll as the result.

2. 	Mutiny. 19-in-20 chance each detachment joins a new commander.
3.	Mass desertion. Reduce the army's size and supplies by 30%. 
4. 	1d6 random detachments defect to another army. 
5. 	Major desertion. Reduce the army’s size and supplies by 20%.
6. 	Army splits in half. 3-in-6 chance each detachment begins moving to join the closest non-faction Commander. Bribes may be in order.
7. 	Random detachment defects to another army.
8. 	Desertion. Reduce the army’s size and supplies by 10%. 
9.	1d6 random detachments depart from the main column for 2d6 days, then return. 
10. 	Camp followers. Army picks up an extra 5% noncombatants. 
11. 	Random detachment departs from the main column for 2d6 days, then returns. 
12.	No consequences. 

Certain detachments have special rules. All detachments can benefit from a commander’s sound tactics.

A new and otherwise faction-less commander may start with one detachment of Grenadiers, one of Lancers and two of Skirmishers. They may buy any amount of artillery as long as they can afford it and have one detachment of infantry for each battery.

Troops can be retrained and refitted to these three standard special detachments by the expert soldiers at Fortresses, which takes 1d6 weeks and costs at least 10 doubloons per soldier.

Skirmishers are infantry, but act as cavalry for the purposes of scouting, foraging, and fording rivers. Armies of exclusively skirmishers ignore rough terrain, can travel off-road at full speed, and reduce their noncombatant count to 10%.

Grenadiers (heavy infantry) count double for the purposes of determining numerical advantages in field battles. Lancers (heavy cavalry) count quadruple.

There are two types of cannon to equip your artillerists with, available for purchase at most Strongholds:

• 6-pounder: it costs 200 doubloons, is crewed by 10 artillerists, and having at least 20 counts as +1 to sieges.
• 18-pounder: it costs 1 000 doubloons, is crewed by 10 artillerists, and having at least 10 counts as +1 to sieges.

To calculate the effect of artillery in battle, compare the number of cannon on each side (18-pounders count quadruple). Having more cannon than the opposing side gives +1, then an additional +1 for each 100% more cannon.

You cannot have more detachments of artillery than detachments of infantry. Undefended artillery gets overrun.

Factions may have their own special rules and detachments.

Commander: Sir Generic Example, Duke of Exemplia (37, Stubborn)
Infantry 4 600, Cavalry 600, Wagons 25, 10 6-lb Cannon, NC 1 400
Morale 9/9, Supplies 105 000/147 500, Supplies/day 12 450
Detachments:

• 1st Shandarsher Grenadiers “The Guards of Negrava” 800, 10 wagons
  
• 2nd Shandarsher Line Regiment 750, 10 wagons
  
• 3rd Shandarsher Line Regiment 750, 5 wagons
  
• 1st Free City Grenadiers 800
  
• 1st Exemplia Line Regiment 800
  
• 1st Exemplia Rifles 600
  
• 1st Shandarsher Lancers “The Emperor's Hussars” 200
  
• 2nd Shandarsher Horse Regiment 200
  
• 1st Exemplia Horse Regiment 200
  
• 1st Exemplia Artillery Battery 100, 10 6-pounder cannon.
  

When two or more hostile armies meet, the referee provides each commander with their current information and the lay of the land. Commanders draw up a brief plan of battle, then each roll 2d6, adding the follower modifiers:

• Numerical advantage: +1 per 100% more total soldiers. Cavalry count double. Capped at +5
• Cannon advantage: +1 for having more Cannon, additional +1 per 100% more Cannon. 18-pounders count quadruple. Capped at +5.
• Morale advantage: +1 per point of morale difference.
• Chosen battlefield: +1
• Surprise: +1
• Advantageous terrain: +1
• Tactics: +0–3

• Rough terrain: -1
• Undersupplied: -1
• Sick or exhausted: -1
• Bad weather: -1
• Out of formation (foraging, resting, etc.): -2
• Tactics: -0–3

The higher of the two rolls is the victor and achieves their objective; the loser does not. Then, compare rolls and apply the difference as result:

0.	Defender, if there is one, holds the objective. Attacker, if there is one, loses 1 morale. Both sides suffer 5% casualties.  
1.	Both sides suffer 10% casualties. Loser loses 1 morale. 
2–3.	Victor suffers 5% casualties, loser suffers 10% casualties. Loser loses 2 morale, victor gains 1.
4–5.	Victor suffers 5% casualties; loser suffers 15%. Loser loses 2 morale, victor gains 2. 1-in-6 chance loser commander captured.
6+.	Victor suffers 5% casualties; loser suffers 20%. Loser loses 2 morale, victor gains 2. 2-in-6 chance loser commander captured. 

The losing army retreats 1 hex (or as appropriate), then checks morale. On a failure, it routs: lose 1d6 × 10% of your supplies, the army retreats a further 1d6 hexes away (as much time as that takes) out of control, then regroups. If retreat is impossible, reduce the army’s size and supplies by half, spend 1d6 days out of control, and stay in place. Lost supplies may be acquired by victorious commanders.

When more than two armies fight in battle, divide the armies into sides. Calculate each side’s total troop counts as if they were one army for numeric advantage bonuses, but apply separate individual bonuses for each army (including morale, tactics, commander traits, and so on). Each army makes its own battle roll, and the side with the highest single roll wins.

The winning side uses its highest single roll to determine morale consequences, but otherwise each army on each side compares its result to the highest result on the enemy side and suffers consequences accordingly. Thus, one side might win the day but suffer heavier casualties than their opponents, including possibly their armies routing or their commanders being captured.

A stronghold is a fortress, city, or fortified town. Strongholds maintain small garrisons: by default, player-held, fortified towns keep 250 infantry, cities 500 infantry, and fortresses 250 infantry and 50 cavalry. Neutral Strongholds are manned at the referee's discretion, proper reconnaissance is in order.

You can garrison your army in a stronghold. You can also split detachments from your army to garrison the strongholds of hexes you travel through.

Strongholds control hexes closer to it than any other Stronghold, with the larger Stronghold winning ties. Distance is counted in whole hexes. Control does not extend across water.

When an army nears a stronghold, the referee provides commanders with their current information and the lay of the land. Commanders draw up a brief plan, then the siege begins.

At any time, commanders can launch an assault against the stronghold. Assaults function as battles, but the attacker suffers -1 to their roll, while defenders gain a bonus equal to their defenses. By default, towns add +3, cities +4, and fortresses +5. If the stronghold’s gates are open, this bonus is reduced to 0. In assaults, the losing side takes an additional 10% casualties. In assaults, cavalry do not count as double for the purposes of determining troop totals.

The garrison of a stronghold has a threshold. By default, towns have a threshold of 10, cities 15, and fortresses 20. Each week under siege, modify the stronghold’s threshold, then roll 2d6: if the result is over the stronghold’s threshold, someone—a traitor or negotiator—opens the gates.

1. Default: -1/week
2. Disease: -1/week
3. Resupply: +2/week
4. Siegers attacked: +1/week

A detachment of 10 siege engines such as ladders and battering rams takes a month to construct. Once built, each detachment of 10 reduces the stronghold’s defensive bonus by 1 per week. After a siege, you can spend a week to break down the engines and load them onto empty wagons. Deconstructed siege engines take a week to reconstruct.

After a stronghold falls, commanders can allow the army to pillage: reduce the location’s held loot and supplies by half, the army gains 2 morale, and earns the ire of locals. Alternatively, check morale to keep the soldiers in line. Taking some action to calm your troops adds the appropriate SMART score to the Current Morale value. Either way, 3-in-6 chance commanders (and other important individuals) inside escape capture.

After a stronghold falls, the victors add to their noncombatant count: fortresses add 5%, towns 10%, and cities 15%.

Captured strongholds can provide supplies, where X equals the number of weeks the stronghold underwent siege before capture. Towns provide 1d6-X × 10,000, fortresses provide 1d6-X × 1,000, and cities 1d6-X × 100,000.

A detachment may harry an army within scouting range. When a detachment spends a day harrying, choose whether to focus on killing soldiers, torching supplies, or stealing loot and supplies. By default, a detachment has a 2-in-6 chance of success: Killing soldiers reduces enemy numbers by 20% of the harrying detachment’s numbers. Torching supplies reduces the enemy supplies by an amount equal to 2d6 × the harrying detachment’s numbers. Stealing loot or supplies captures loot or supplies equal to 1d6 × the harrying detachment’s numbers.

On a failure, the harrying detachment suffers 20% losses and does not accomplish their objective. Skirmishers add +1 to their roll (both the initial roll and the results). Cavalry add +2.

Harried armies move at half speed, and cannot rest.

You cannot harry armies garrisoned in a stronghold.

Money is carried like supplies, is counted in doubloons, and is essentially weightless. Moving large amounts of money around will be adjudicated on a case by case basis.

When taking an enemy Stronghold, Commanders may choose to hold it at ransom. This provides the Commander a 25% cut of their Held Loot in exchange for a 1-in-6 chance the battered Stronghold rises up in rebellion, creating a hostile army of 1d6x(population/10) soldiers led by a local commander.

Friendly Strongholds may be Taxed once every six months. Raising taxes takes two weeks and provides doubloons equal to 10 times the Settlement Rating of the hexes controlled by the Stronghold, as well as additional money depending on the population of the Stronghold itself.

• a population in the hundreds: 1d10x100
• a population in the thousands: 1d10x1 000
• a population in the tens of thousands: 1d10x10 000
• a population in the hundreds of thousands: 1d10x100 000

The Held Loot of a Stronghold is ten times its tax value.

Additional attempts to raise taxes within the same timeframe carries a stacking 1-in-6 chance of causing a revolt, 1d20x500 yada yada. I.e. second tax is 1-in-6, third is 2-in-6 and so on.

Mercenary companies take payment in doubloons: by default, they usually charge 1 doubloon per infantry per day and 3 doubloons per cavalry per day. Mercenaries are recruited as whole companies with their own commander.

Commanders can give doubloons to their armies, raising morale by 1 per doubloon per soldier (any less does not affect morale). Note that soldiers must still carry their doubloons.

In Towns and Cities, Doubloons can be used to purchase sundry goods and services at your referees discretion.

Operations are activities undertaken by individuals or small teams outside the purview of an army, including intelligence and espionage.

By default, an operation costs 1 000 doubloons. More difficult or complex operations may cost more.

Examples, though keep in mind every Operation is unique:

• Scouting party sent to a hex within messenger distance (80km by road). High likelihood of success, low cost. Reconnaissance roll.
• Recruiting a spy to join another commander’s retinue. Medium chance of success, medium cost. Likely Tomfoolery or Maneouvre roll.
• Sending a party to a Stronghold to convince them to join your faction. Low likelihood of success, high cost. Could be any roll depending on approach.

The referee determines possible outcomes for the operation, then rolls 2d6 and adds the relevant SMART ability score. Safer operations, such as simple intelligence-gathering, have a high likelihood of success; more dangerous operations, such as assassination of a commander, have a low likelihood of success. Detailed plans and additional funds may change these odds.

For all intents and purposes, the Imperial Navy is arbitrarily large and is willing to provide players with ships, for a price. You can also end up with prize ships taken in combat. Transport ships can be hired in any number at any Port for 100 doubloons a day (plus their normal running cost of half of Crew doubloons per day).

Ships are entire detachments on their own, and have their own stats: Cannon, Speed, Crew, Hull and Capacity.

Cannon is how many guns the ship has and is used for combat.

Speed is the distance a ship covers in an hour at full tack. Ships do not track supply or size¹⁾.

Crew is how many people are needed for the ship to function optimally. Ships have a running cost of Crew/2 doubloons per day. A ship’s Skeleton Crew is 1/4 of the given Crew, and a ship with a Skeleton Crew cannot fight, only sail. Lost Crew can be replaced by infantry at sea, or regained at port cities for 1 doubloon per Crew.

Hull is how many hits the ship can take. When it reaches 0, there is a 2-in-6 chance the ship is lost with all hands and a 4-in-6 chance it strikes the colours and surrenders to the enemy fleet.

Capacity is how much the ship can cram into the cargo hold after its own needs are met.

Ships have morale 9. When a ship fails a morale check, it does not suffer additional consequences but instead ejects all non-crew on the nearest land, then sails away for 3d6 days before returning. If doubles show, it does not return at all.

Ships should have fanciful names like Dauntless, Thunderchild or Mistake not…

A Fleet (ie a collection of ships) moves at the speed of the slowest class of ship in the fleet. Ships are loaded and unloaded at ports, which takes a day. Rarely, they can embark and disembark at coastal hexes, which takes two days as the ship’s boats row back and forth. Fleets have a running cost of half their Crew in doubloons per day.

Divide the number of Cannon in a fleet by 25, rounding down, to find its Fleet Damage.

There are four default classes of ship. Other classes may exist:

• First-rate.
  • Value: 100 000 doubloons.
  • Cannon: 100
  • Speed: 10 km/hr
  • Crew: 800
  • Hull: 12
  • Capacity: 10 000 supplies.
• Third-rate.
  • Value: 50 000 doubloons.
  • Cannon: 74
  • Speed: 15 km/hr
  • Crew: 500
  • Hull: 8
  • Capacity: 10 000 supplies.
• Fifth-rate or Frigate.
  • Value: 15 000 doubloons
  • Cannon: 36
  • Speed: 20 km/hr
  • Crew: 250
  • Hull: 2
  • Capacity: 25 000 supplies.
• Transport ship or Merchantman.
  • Value: 25 000 doubloons
  • Cannon: 12
  • Speed: 15 km/hr
  • Crew: 100
  • Hull: 4
  • Capacity: 250 000 supplies.

A soldier and their equipment takes up 100 supplies of capacity, as does a non-combatant. Cavalrymen and their mounts take up 1 000 supplies of capacity. Wagons and cannon take up 5 000 supplies of capacity.

When two or more hostile fleets meet, the referee provides each commander with their current information and the lay of the land. Commanders draw up a brief plan of battle, then each roll 2d6, adding the follower modifiers:

• Numerical advantage: +1 per 100% more total Cannon.
• Morale advantage: +1 per point of morale difference.
• Surprise: +1
• Tactics: +0–3

• Rough seas: -1
• Undercrewed: -1
• Sick or exhausted: -1
• Tactics: -0–3

The higher of the two rolls is the victor and achieves their objective; the loser does not. Then, compare rolls and apply the difference as result:

0.	Defender, if there is one, holds the objective. Attacker, if there is one, loses 1 morale. Both sides suffer 5% Crew casualties and 25% Fleet Damage.
1.	Both sides suffer 10% Crew casualties and 35% Fleet Damage. Loser loses 1 morale. 
2–3.	Victor suffers 5% Crew casualties and 25% Fleet Damage, loser suffers 10% Crew casualties and 35% Fleet Damage. Loser loses 2 morale, victor gains 1.
4–5.	Victor suffers 5% Crew casualties and 25% Fleet Damage; loser suffers 15% and 50%. Loser loses 2 morale, victor gains 2. 1-in-6 chance loser commander captured.
6+.	Victor suffers 5% Crew casualties and 25% Fleet Damage; loser suffers 20% and 75%. Loser loses 2 morale, victor gains 2. 2-in-6 chance loser commander captured. 

Fleet Damage taken may be distributed among available ships at commander leisure. When a ship is thus reduced to 0 Hull, there is a 2-in-6 chance it is lost with all hands and a 4-in-6 chance it strikes the colours and surrenders to the enemy fleet.

The losing fleet retreats 6 hexes (or as appropriate), then checks morale. On a failure, it routs: lose 1d6 × 10% of your supplies, the fleet retreats a further 3d6 hexes away (as much time as that takes) out of control, then regroups. If retreat is impossible, reduce the army’s size and supplies by half, spend 1d6 days out of control, and stay in place. Lost supplies may be acquired by victorious commanders.

When more than two fleets fight in battle, divide the fleets into sides. Calculate each side’s total Cannon counts as if they were one army for numeric advantage bonuses, but apply separate individual bonuses for each fleet (including morale, tactics, commander traits, and so on). Each fleet makes its own battle roll, and the side with the highest single roll wins.

The winning side uses its highest single roll to determine morale consequences, but otherwise each fleet on each side compares its result to the highest result on the enemy side and suffers consequences accordingly. Thus, one side might win the day but suffer heavier casualties than their opponents, including possibly their fleets routing or their commanders being captured.

If a Fleet contains at least one First-rate or Third-rate, it may choose to Blockade a coastal Stronghold. This works like a naval Siege. An accompanying detachment of Infantry (or more) is needed to Assault in this case.

A commander can allow an army to rest for a specified duration. Armies reset their current morale towards their resting morale by 1 per week. With a week of rest in a town or city, an army’s soldiers deposit all carried doubloons, thus freeing up their supply. Additionally, in a town or city, each week of rest resets the army’s noncombatant count by 5% until it reaches 25%.

If a rest ends before its specified time—by will or necessity—the army loses 2 morale.

At the end of a period of rest, the army checks morale.

Commanders are, by default, 2d20+20 years old (i.e. 22-62 and on average 41).

Usually, but not necessarily, commanders have titles. The empire is flooded by Dukes, Counts & Viscounts, Barons & Baronets, Margraves & Landgraves, etc—all dutifully listed in the Almanac d’Armagnac. But a wealthy merchant may style themselves Lord Merchant (it’s not a protected title, after all) and a commoner may take up a title like High Headsman to inspire fear in the nobility.

One thing that is required, however, is a name. The Empire spans a vast area and is home to many conquered ethnicities so names can take many forms and few names would raise eyebrows.

They have Ability Scores that are used for certain rolls:

• Shock, for things like bayonet charges or a curse-laden speech.
• Manouevre, for things like finding a quicker route or adding a rhetorical flourish to an argument.
• Artillery, for things like firing a cannon accurately or adding a calculated insult during discourse.
• Reconnaissance, for things like spotting the tracks of enemy outriders or reading an opponent’s bluff.
• Tomfoolery, for things like infiltrating a fortress at night or making a convincing lie.

You get +2 to one Ability Score, +1 to two, 0 to one and -1 to one. Assign them as you wish!

Commanders can be any gender, including none, so long as they remember to feed their troops. If someone misgenders you, simply remind them you have an army, if not more, at your command.

For your first trait, gained at 20, you get to pick. Subsequent traits are rolled, re-roll if you already have the trait.

1. Beloved. Your army gains +1 resting morale.
2. Brutal. Strongholds you besiege lower their threshold by an extra -1/week.
3. Commando. You can designate one detachment in your army as skirmishers.
4. Crusader. Your army gains a +1 bonus in battles against armies led by commanders that don't share your faith.
5. Defensive Engineer. When you defend a stronghold in an assault, add +2 to the garrison’s defensive bonus.
6. Duelist. You gain a +1 bonus to duels, and win ties.
7. Guardian. Your army suffers 5% fewer casualties in battle. -1-in-6 chance to be captured in battle.
8. Honorable. Your army never pillages unless you order them to. -1-in-6 chance to spark a revolt when foraging, torching, or raising additional armies.
9. Ironsides. When you defend a stronghold in a siege, add +5 to its threshold.
10. Logistician. Your army can carry 20% more total supplies. Your army stretches half as long on the road.
11. Outrider. With a cavalry detachment, your scouting and foraging range expands to 3 hexes.
12. Poet. Your morale rolls count as 2 higher for the purposes of determining failed morale consequences.
13. Raider. 20% extra loot found in captured strongholds. 10% extra supplies foraged.
14. Ranger. Bad weather does not reduce your scouting ranges.
15. Magic Touch. You can memorize spells like a wizard.
16. Siege Engineer. You can construct a detachment of 10 siege engines in a week.
17. Spartan. Your army has only half as many noncombatants attached. When you acquire new noncombatants, you pick up only half as many.
18. Stubborn. Your army does not lose morale on defeat in battle.
19. Vanquisher. You deal an extra 5% casualties to the enemy in battle. +1-in-6 chance to capture enemy commanders in battle.
20. Veteran. Your army never routs upon defeat in battle.

Captains are Non-Player Commanders without initiative of their own. They do not have traits or stats and can only perform simple orders, such as ”defend here” and ”move there”. This is to avoid having to recruit a new player and roll up a full Commander simply to send a detachment from one army to another. In case anything unexpected happens they will stop, act only defensively, and send a terse message to the closest player of the same faction.

A large part of the map will not be held by players at the start of the game. Instead, they are held by Non-Player Commanders who haven’t yet decided how to deal with the situation. They will be content to sit behind their walls, trying to ride it out, until a Player Commander attempts to siege or bargain with them. Different NPC’s have different temperaments. Talking is nearly always an option.

Time is tracked one-to-one with real life.

As events occur throughout the week, the referee contacts the commanders and offers them decisions: from there, commanders may issue new orders, as appropriate.

Weather changes by the day. As the months change, so too does the weather. Weather can slow or prevent travel, alter rivers and roads, reduce scouting ranges, and otherwise affect logistics and battles.

Through friendly and neutral territory, messengers on horseback can travel 80 km per day. 19-in-20 chance a dispatched messenger delivers their message safely.

In hostile territory, messengers on horseback can travel 60 km per day. 5-in-6 chance of safe delivery.

To send a message to another commander, send your referee your message, and the referee will convey it at the appropriate time.

Commanders in the same location may converse freely.

News otherwise travels roughly 20 km per day overland. Along the coasts, it travels 100 km per day.

The Sinhogi Network charges 1 doubloon per letter sent and stations manned by the Sinhogi Watchmen's Corps will refuse messages that are not in clear text. However, messages are “immediately” (viz. when the referee sees it) published to all players in sight of a semaphore tower, i.e. along a road or in a Stronghold marked by a postal horn–it is assumed their retinue includes signals intelligence Guys.

Contracts and treaties are only as good as the word of their commanders. Assume commanders have sufficient translators.

Complex personal diplomacy may call for a roleplaying session with the referee.

Remember, you can always negotiate.

Wizards function as their own one-person detachments within a larger army. They count as infantry.

Wizards must memorize spells to cast; once cast, they forget the spell. Memorizing a spell requires a wizard to rest with the appropriate spellbooks for 1–4 weeks, depending on the spell. Transported, the spell’s books, accoutrements, and assistants requires space for 1 000 supplies.

A spell’s power is limited roughly by the maxim ”what could 10 properly trained and equipped Guys do in a day”. Examples include:

• reduce casualties by 2d6% after a battle
• blow a breach in a fortress, which makes assaults easier.
• scry (=scout) a hex (any hex!) and its surrounding hexes.
• cause/stop bad weather in a hex and its surrounding hexes.

In single combat between commanders, each rolls 1d100 over their age: if both succeed or both fail, the more experienced fighter wins. Regardless, those who fail roll for death & dismemberment.

A Commander's retinue is assumed to be arbitrarily large and includes any number of staff officers, family members, and so on and so forth, that can be called upon to lead a detached Army. For inspiration, see the table below. After they turn 20, a commander gains a new trait every decade.

1. Child. 14+3d6.
2. Sibling. 20+2d20.
3. Parent. 30+3d20.
4. Niece or Nephew. 16+1d20.
5. Aunt or Uncle. 30+3d20.
6. Cousin. 20+2d20.
7. Roll 1d6 and add “Step-”.
8. Roll 1d6 and add “-in-Law”.
9. Spouse. 20+2d20.
10. Friend. 20+2d20.
11. Rival. 20+2d20.
12. Student. 16+1d20.
13. Teacher. 30+3d20.
14. Priest. 20+3d20.
15. Councilor. 20+3d20.
16. Bodyguard. 20+1d20.
17. Quartermaster. 20+2d20.
18. Creditor. 20+2d20.
19. Favorite. 16+2d20.
20. Stranger. 14+3d20.