Structure and PlacementStructures are an integral part of home bases and troop production. Most structures are built in a home base and occupy a space on the city grid. Structures may theoretically be built on any accessible tile and many places that are not tiles, but are typically of limited use and greatly reduced security compared to structures built in a home base.
Within each home base is a grid of spaces called the city grid. The city grid is five spaces wide and five spaces tall, making a square of 25 spaces total. Each space may support one structure, and adjacent structures may sometimes have an effect on each other. The center space is especially important, as building a structure on it will generally provide a bonus to the entire city related to its central structure's function.
Home bases also start off with a default set of troop-producing structures. These structures may not be upgraded and do not take up space on the city grid.
Purpose and ProductionThe function of structures varies widely. They can offer healing, buffs, items for sale, or other advantages to visiting heroes, amplify other aspects of a base's function, or otherwise do anything that might be reasonable for a staffed building to provide.
One of their most common and fundamental purposes, however, is to provide additional soldiers for the waves that constantly spawn from each base. By increasing production of soldiers, structures can empower their faction's forces, allowing them to triumph more often and meaningfully in battle, push the enemy back, and eventually sack their base and achieve victory.
Level and TierStructures possess a Level and a Tier. Level is a measure of how advanced the building's construction is, and can be upgraded. Tier is a measure of the value and utility of a structure's materials, and cannot be affected once created. A Tier 1 Level 1 building might be a simple grass hut, for instance, while a Tier 5 Level 5 could be an elaborate palace made largely of gold. Tier 1 Level 5 might be a magnificent mud brick communal center, and Tier 5 Level 1 could be a solid silver hut.
Tier 1 is generally grass, mud, or some other very basic, readily available material. Tier 2 is generally wood or some similarly common but functional material. Tier 3 is generally stone or some other sturdy but somewhat difficult to acquire material. Tier 4 is typically iron or some other clearly exotic, special material. Tier 5 is typically gold or some other extravagant, opulent material.
Level 1 is typically a hut or other very simple, basic construction. Level 2 is typically a small house or other small but respectable construction. Level 3 is typically a large house or other fairly large structure. Level 4 is typically a respectable mansion or other very large, elaborate structure. Level 5 is typically a palace or other very large, advanced construction.
Tier affects the quality and purpose of a structure's output. Higher is generally "better" to a point, but especially past Tier 3, higher Tiers also tend to mean more specialized and complex products, not simply outputs that give higher bonuses. The specifics of what this means tends to vary from purpose to purpose, but each Tier can generally be expected to either strengthen an existing or add a new special ability or effect related to a building's use.
Level affects the magnitude of a structure's output. Higher is always better unless the product in question has side effects, and usually each Level produces one unit of a building's effect.
Soldiers and AbilitiesStructures designed to produce soldiers generally add their produced unit type to each wave of fresh troops. The type of unit produced by a given structure is a function of several different factors.
The Level and Tier of produced units is equal to that of its producing structure. Remember that for each Level, a unit receives an additional +2 HP or +1 Att.
Tier affects a unit's special abilities and specialization. It is much easier to make a unit's combat stats lie the way you want them to with higher-Tier units.
Tier 1 units usually have negative special abilities.
Tier 2 units usually have no or very slight special abilities.
Tier 3 units often have a useful special ability that fits their purpose well.
Tier 4 units often have a powerful or even purpose-changing special ability.
Tier 5 units are often so specialized or peculiar that they don't function well outside a specific situation.
Construction and RequirementsBuilding a structure requires a sufficient number of Gold Coins or materials to pay for it, and access to a tribe to inhabit the structure. It also requires the hero be present at the construction site.
Access to a population usually means that a given tribe resides in reasonable numbers at the location in question. Any other structure staffed by a given populace is generally sufficient to satisfy this condition; no population is expended or reduced by this process, nor are any discrete units of population necessary. In addition, the primary races of a faction are generally assumed to be on hand enough to count as present. Should a tribe be lacking but desired at a given point, a source of them must generally be brought in, often in the form of mercenaries or other discrete, transportable units. Some groups may also be willing to inhabit any structure of a certain type constructed explicitly for them, usually as an offer of limited time and/or quantity. Such an offer counts as access for the purposes of their stated conditions, as they will readily move themselves when able. The exact effects of a working population are sometimes purely cosmetic, but especially for higher-Tier structures, the unique abilities and quirks of a race or tribe may have interesting effects.
Units of appropriate material may be used in place of Gold Coins at a rate equal to their Tier in Gold Coins. The Tier of the building must be the same as the material used, and since a building's cost is normally Tier times Level per additional Level, this means a structure can be upgraded or built using one additional unit of material per cumulative Level. Note that the type of material a structure is made of can have an influence on its function, and that a structure must generally be composed entirely of the same material, though any combination of Gold Coins and actual materials may be used.
Gold Coins are generally acquired through battle. Below is a table of the requirements of all Levels and Tiers, both per level and cumulatively. For instance, upgrading a Tier 1, Level 2 building to Level 3 costs 3 Gold Coins, while producing a Tier 1, Level 3 building from scratch requires 6 Gold Coins total. Remember that appropriate building materials can reduce these amounts by their Tier per piece.
Individual
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 5 |
Level 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Level 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Level 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Level 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
Level 5 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
Cumulative
| Tier 1 | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 5 |
Level 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Level 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Level 3 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
Level 4 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
Level 5 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 60 | 75 |