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[Iituem]

Character applications should be made in the OOC thread!

(If there was any doubt, yes this is taken from You are a Lord and directly inspired by the game that evolved there whilst unmanaged.)

The first person to respond to the questions below is the King.  Every other poster takes on the role of an advisor, citizen or the like.

"What is the name of your kingdom?"
"What sort of terrain is your kingdom located in?"
"What year have you ascended to the throne in?"

Note that your kingdom will start out very small, a barony by comparison to larger states.  You have what a barony does not, however; independence.  The stats of the Kingdom are described later and will apply whatever terrain/location the king determines for the kingdom.

Everything is in the king's hands - this is not a democracy.  The general direction of the game is determined by the king.  Unless I as GM decree otherwise, the king has freedom to determine the results of actions via the RtD rules described below.  The king is strongly encouraged to follow the Guidelines to the King at the bottom of this post.  Failure to do so may result in the stars aligning against him and the kingdom being beset by all manner of unexpected dangers.

Spoiler: Map of Elbreth, circa 315a (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Known World, circa 315a (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Original Rules (click to show/hide)

Favour System:  Favour is entirely at the King's discretion.

Roll to Dodge:  Anything subject to the hands of chance is determined by a 1d6 die roll.  Standard RtD rules apply: 1 = crit failure, 2 = failure, 3 = minor success, 4 = success, 5 = great success, 6 overshoot with consequences.  Modifiers may be applied to rolls in specific circumstances as described below.
Caveat:  Only natural 1s and natural 6s count as crit fails/overshoots, in the event of modifiers.  Otherwise unnatural 1s or lower are just failures and unnatural 6s or higher are grand successes.

Game Years:  Game years pass when the GM (that is, I) say so.  Time is otherwise fluid, but when a game year passes armies are recruited, taxes are collected and other events may occur.  The king does not need to wait for a game year to pass in order to take actions but the king can always declare he is willing to "wait for year's end", at which time I will (if around) pass a year.  Otherwise a game year will pass when I feel like it.


Deposing the King:  The king can only be deposed by advisors/nobles commanding military strength.  At game start, the king is the only player with military strength (his strength is that of the Royal Army).  Players granted 'noble' status by the king have the right to raise their own troops.  Non-nobles can declare independence and raise an army as per the troop raising rules below, but will probably earn the ire of the king for doing so.

Once an alliance of players has equal or greater military strength to the King and all his supporters, they may stage a coup.  The pretender who declares his opposition may make a 1d6 roll, adding to that roll the difference in strength between his forces and those of the king.  The king may then make a 1d6 roll to oppose the pretender army (without modifiers).  If the king's roll is equal to or greater than the pretender's roll, the king retains his seat.  If the pretender's roll is greater, the king is deposed and the pretender becomes the new king.  The pretender then gains the power of the Royal Army in addition to any troops of his own.

Regardless of whether the coup is successful, all players involved will lose 1 military strength from their armies (per player).  Thus an unsuccessful coup may leave the Royal Army at an advantage (if it is the single largest army).  If there are sufficient armies to attempt another coup, another coup may be attempted immediately.


Declaring a new Kingdom:  If allied independents have enough clout, they can declare independence.  This requires them to own at least five parcels of land within the same province.  Declaring independence is instantaneous, and whoever the independents elect instantly becomes king of the new Kingdom and has all the powers of the original King (pertaining to the new Kingdom).  It is very likely that the old king will attempt to destroy the new kingdom once created.


Annexing a Kingdom:  Simply continue to crush the opposing kingdom with military might until they either have no armies left to oppose you, or you/they are willing to broker a peace settlement.  Diplomacy may then ensue.  Alternately, you may capture every last parcel of land the kingdom possesses, de facto annexing the kingdom.  You will also gain the Treasury of the former king in this manner.



Military Strength:  Military strength represents armies, powerful sorcerers, the aid of church healers, siege engines or anything else that would confer a military advantage.  The main way military strength is gained is by raising armies, though military strength can be gained by events or completing challenges set by the GM or king (see 'guidelines to the king').

Raising Armies
Unless otherwise noted, all regiments/units provide one military strength each.

Personal Guard:  Every player that is either granted 'noble' status or declares independence can raise one regiment per game year as their personal guard.  Raising a personal guard regiment takes no time and happens instantly.  If the regiment is killed it cannot be replaced until a year has passed.  If the regiment is not killed, a noble/independent can continue to increase the size of his personal guard by one regiment per year, subject to maintenance.  Recruiting regiments of the personal guard after the first costs 1 ducat/regiment.  The first personal guard regiment is always free, being composed of loyal retainers and kinsmen.  This regiment still requires upkeep (see below).
Land:  At the start of the game, all land belongs to the king.  The king may grant land to subjects, or it may be taken by independents in battle (see Battles).  Each parcel of land allows half a regiment to be recruited per year by the owner, i.e. you need two parcels of land to recruit a regiment, minimum.  (Half-regiments do not carry through, so you cannot just recruit a regiment every two years.)  Land also provides tax (see Taxes).  Recruiting regiments from land costs 1 ducat/regiment.
Other:  Other methods may be suggested by players to recruit military units, such as training an elite corps of knights.  These may or may not have success, and will be up to the king (or independents) to enact.

Upkeep:  Every mundane infantry regiment (other regiments or military units may have separate costs) costs 1 Ducat to sustain per game year.  This is deducted at the end of the game year, should the regiment still be intact.  If there are insufficient ducats, excess regiments are disbanded.  Other regiments might have other upkeep costs, but as a general rule each unit of military strength will cost 1 ducat/year to sustain.

Provinces:  All armies exist in a physical location somewhere in the world.  Armies therefore need to declare what province they are in.  This is important because if raids or attacks happen in a province in which there are no opposing armies, no battle can happen and the attacker automatically succeeds.



Taxes
Taxes are the lifeblood of the kingdom.  Taxes are necessary to maintain the armies of the nation.  Taxes can also be used to give bonuses to RtD attempts (see Guidelines to the King).  Taxes are taken in Ducats.

Taxes from Land:  Every parcel of land owned by the kingdom provides 1 Ducat/game year in tax.  This represents agricultural yields, land revenues or whatever else that serves the basic foundation for land taxation.  Land owned by the king's subjects (nobility is not a requirement) or seized by independents will pay the ducat of tax to the player directly, though the king is free to demand however much of the tax from his vassal.  Note that land can be seized in battle.

Taxes from Trade:  Ports and markets provide a variable amount of ducats/game year in tax, depending on trade and relations with other countries.  These are paid to whomever owns the market/port.  Seizing a market/port in battle also brings 1 parcel of land (the land on which the market/port rests).  The king may gift the port/market to a vassal without also gifting the land upon which it rests.

Taxes from Industry:  Towns provide a variable amount of ducats/game year in tax, depending on the development of the town.  These are paid to whomever owns the town.  Seizing a town in battle also brings at least 1 parcel of land (the land on which the town is built) though larger towns may stretch over multiple parcels, all of which will be seized during a capture.  The king may gift the town to a vassal without gifting the land upon which it rests (essentially granting the right to take rents).

Other Taxes:  The king may attempt to raise extraordinary taxes, such as war taxes.  These may have ill effects, such as causing peasant riots.  It is also possible to gain other sources of revenue not listed here.



Battles
Defence of the Realm is of the utmost importance to a King.  During any battle, the King and his supporters will want to choose how many regiments or other units of military strength (see above) to send out to fight.  All battles consist of a pair of opposed rolls from either side - 1d6 plus the full military strength of the army being brought to bear.  If one side beats the other's score, the battle is a victory for that side; the victor loses 1 point of military strength (i.e. a regiment is killed) whilst the defeated loses 2 points of military strength.  If both sides get even scores, the battle is inconclusive and both sides lose 1 point of military strength.

When regiments are killed in battle, the leader of the side they were on (if a player) gets to choose which regiments were killed.  If an NPC, the King may choose.

  King Heath and his nobles are fighting the Polar Ice Trolls.  The Polar Ice Trolls have brought three tribes to the fight (strength 3) whilst the King has brought the Royal Army (strength 3), his own personal guard (strength 1) and the guards of four of his noble supporters (strength 1 x 4).  The extreme cold of the polar regions grants a -1 modifier to the king's strength (GM decision), leaving the King with a military strength of 7 and the trolls with a strength of 3.

Trolls roll 3 on d6, giving a result of 3+3 = 6.
King rolls 4 on d6, giving a result of 4+7 = 11.

The king is victorious, slaughtering two of the troll tribes at the cost of 1 regiment of a noble's personal guard.  The king, not favouring Lord Ochita, decides that his guard was the regiment sacrificed.  The king could choose which of the troll tribes were wiped out (being NPCs), but there is no real distinction between them.

The GM has not said otherwise, so the trolls retreat and fight no more - the king receives 4 parcels of land by driving the trolls out of the valley.

As well as costing troops, battles in distant locations may prevent troops sent there from defending other positions.  In the above example, King Heath had better have left some of the Royal Army back home, or else he might not be able to get the rest of the Army back before pretenders seized his throne whilst he was away!

Battle Modifiers:  Some things can grant modifiers to battles taking place - in the above example, the frosty terrain granted a penalty to non-trolls fighting in the region.  It is possible for kings to build fortresses and the like to give bonuses to defenders in certain locations.  This is up to the king.

Capturing Open Land:  Capturing land that is not a market, port or part of a town requires a successful attack on whatever party owns it (which might be an enemy country, rebels or even the King himself).  If a victory is secured in battle, 1d6 parcels of land are captured by the victors.  If the land is undefended, no victory is needed - ownership can be claimed simply by moving the army into that region.  You still can only claim 1d6 parcels at a time, due to the need to pacify the peasants.
NB:  If no open land remains (i.e. land that is not covered by a market, port or town) you can only capture markets/ports or towns.

Capturing Markets/Ports & Towns:  Capturing markets and ports requires a successful victory in battle (or moving into the market/port if undefended) and will grant ownership of both the market/port and one parcel of land.  The same rule applies for towns, except that the owner gains as many parcels of land as the town covered.
NB:  Capturing markets/ports and towns in battle leads to looting and pillaging.  Any market/port or town captured in this manner loses 20% of its base yearly revenues from looting.  If you want to take these structures intact, make a diplomatic settlement.

Raids:  If you are unwilling to capture, you can raid a market, port, town or other taxable structure (but not open land) instead.  On a success, you steal 1d6 Ducats from the Treasury of whomever owned that structure.  If the owner's Treasury is empty, money is stolen from next year's tax revenue.  If that is empty, raiding the structure yields no benefits.  You do not gain ownership of the structure with a raid.

Defenceless Targets:  Targets may be considered defenceless if there are either no armies/defenders in that target's province at the time an attack is conducted or the armies present in that province and unwilling/unable to defend the target.  Attacks on defenceless targets always succeed, though this does not necessarily protect you from retaliation.

The Royal Army consists of:
3 infantry regiments (str 1x3)
Total Royal Army Strength:  3

The nation has a total Tax revenue of:
15 Ducats/year.

It is unknown before the kingdom is created how this tax revenue is divided between land, markets and towns.

It is unknown before the kingdom is created how many parcels of land the kingdom possesses.

The kingdom's current treasury stands at:
12 Ducats.

Spoiler: Guidelines to the King for Balanced Play (click to show/hide)

If you create a foe for yourself or others to fight, land or rewards should equal either 1 ducat/year or 3 ducats instantaneously per unit of military strength the foe has.  Be sparing with this; use it if I am not being an active GM.

Any action that will have a definite increase in Taxation power should have an increased difficulty of +1 per ducat/year to be gained, i.e. -1 to your roll.
Any action that will have a definite increase in military strength should have an increased difficulty of +1 per unit of military strength to be gained, i.e. -1 to your roll.

Sacrificing ducats should reduce the difficulty of a roll by 1/ducat spent on an action, e.g. spending 5 ducats to improve the conditions in a town would give you a +5 to your roll (before penalties).
Risking armies should reduce the difficulty of a roll by 0.5/unit of military strength, if the action was not originally a battle, e.g. sending 6 armies to coerce peasants not already part of an uprising will grant you a +3 to your roll (before penalties).

Otherwise, critical failures should result in the loss of at least 1 ducat or 1 regiment (unless battles), whilst great successes (but not overshoots) should result in the gain of at least 1 ducat/regiment.  I leave it up to you to determine other success/failure values, unless I should intervene.

Spoiler: Miscellaneous New Rulings (click to show/hide)

The game evolves as we progress and so we acquire additional rules.  All/Most are mentioned below.

No dynastic inheritance by the same player.  By all means get someone else to play your brother/sister/cousin/daughter/slave, but don't just reincarnate as your next of kin should you die.

Inheritance:  You may designate players to inherit your estates or wealth (if you have any) to pass to them on your character's death.  You should do this before you die.  It is up to the King as to whether the law respects that inheritance (if within the kingdom's reach) but otherwise it will be respected.  Regular soldiers can transfer their loyalty in this way, but not personal guards.  You may not pass inheritance on to your next character in this way, and if I see anyone pass their estates on to a patsy who then gives it straight to their new character they will suffer the wrath of fate for playing the system.  If you deliberately play a character who is next-of-kin to another player's character, you will automatically inherit unless the player designates a different heir.
NB:  You can inherit the kingdom this way.  Whether the nobility respect that inheritance is a different matter.  Wars of succession have been known to happen this way.

Trade Potential:  Provinces now get an extra stat that applies to the whole province; trade potential.  This represents the potential ducats to be gained from trade to and within this area.  Building and expanding markets/ports uses up trade potential.  Once trade potential is used up, markets/ports can only get more profitable by taking tax away from other markets (or by taking trade potential from another region).

The base TP of a region may depend on various factors (such as population, geography etc) but every resource the owning kingdom has access to will increase the TP of a region by 1.

Urban Potential:  Town growth is now limited by the number of resources a region can produce.  With 0 Resources, a total of 2 Tax can be derived from the towns in the region.  Each additional Resource adds +3 to the total tax limit in the region.  Manufactured resources count towards this limit.

New towns nominally have a base tax of +2, so their base difficulty is -2.  Some outposts might be founded at -1 difficulty with a base tax of +1.  The difficulty of improving a town thereafter is equal to its present tax rate/2 but limited by resources (see above).

Mines and other such affairs to either count as an improvement to towns (urban industry) or as one-off events.  In this case, setting up a mine to (say) search for ores or other geological resources would be a one-off event.  Success would garner you a cash bonus, resource revealing or both.  Failure might cost you.  Base difficulty for that task would be -2 (-1 for ducat bonus chance, -1 for searching for the first resource in a region).  If a region has no resources of note (like Eelspine), finding the first resource is at a -1 difficulty.  The difficulty increases by -2 for each successive resource to be found.

Military Labour:  Put more soldiers into the effort (+0.5 to roll per regiment) to simulate using your troops as manual labour rather than leaving them on guard duty or spend ducats (+1 to roll per ducat).

Colonising Unsettled Regions usually has a difficulty of -1 per parcel of land attempted to be claimed.  Some harsh regions (such as high mountains) may have higher base difficulty.

Fortifications add structural bonuses to defending armies.  Fortifications increase in order; Walls, Forts, Castles and so on provide defensive bonuses of +1, +2, +3 etc.  The difficulty to create a structure is equal to its defensive bonus.  Upgrading a fortification (say from Keep to Castle) is as difficult as building it anew, but does not require as many engineers to construct (see specialists).  A fortification always requires Defense Level - 1 total engineers invested to construct.

Terrain Defense Bonuses apply to whole provinces in general and provide bonuses to any defending army in the region.  Bonuses tend to be +1 for hilly or heavily forested terrain and +2 for mountainous or swampy terrain.

Asymmetric Warfare Ruling:  If an army can successfully beat its opponent by 5 or more (i.e. the equivalent of rolling 6 vs 1 on an even battlefield) then the victors do not lose a regiment from the fight.  The defeated still lose 2 regiments as normal.  This should allow small armies with terrifying defences to hold out rather than be wiped out in three rounds of attrition by an army that can spare the men.

Player vs Player Combat:  In the event two characters go at each other with weapons, rolls will be as per battles; opposed rolls with the winner highest.  Each character starts with three hitpoints and will lose a hitpoint on a lose or draw (winning a roll, you don't lose a hp).  Having a shield or armour (include it in your preparations) counts as a +1 and having a weapon counts as a +1.  Having guards also counts as (only) a +1.  Other modifiers may be applied by me or the King, depending on who is doing the combat rolls.  First to zero hitpoints is dead or incapacitated (and thus at the victor's mercy).  Beating your enemy's roll by 5 means you inflict 2hp damage instead of 1hp.
Meat Shields:  To stretch combats like this out, having 3 guards gives you a bonus 3hp that you can lose in a fight instead.  Of course, every time you lose one of those hp you'll lose a third of your guards.  Having 2 guards grants a bonus 2hp, 1 guard grants an extra hp.  I'm going to rule that even if you have a whole platoon of guards around you, you can only effectively have up to 3 bodyguards in a given combat.

Player Training/Research:  Players can engage in training or research projects (1 project/year max) such as duelling training, leadership training or mechanical or alchemical research.  These projects require 100 points to complete and as a rule of thumb successes give 10-30 points, overshoots deduct 10 points and critical failures deduct 20 points.  When the project is eventually completed, the player character will usually receive a +1 to rolls relating to whatever skill or knowledge they have acquired.  Such training or research will often have other costs such as Ducats or special tasks attached.

Specialists:  We'll incorporate more of these as we go, but specialists will be a 'people-resource' representing specialised trades.  The first specialists are engineers, needed for building siege weaponry.  You will need to train specialists or hire them from abroad.
Engineers:  Needed for building siege weaponry instead of land parcels, used up on a one-per-unit basis.  I'm ruling that you can't build anything more than a wall in terms of defensive structures without expending an engineer for each level of structure above that.  (Though improving an existing structure would reduce the cost by as many engineers as were already 'invested'.)  Engineers can also be used to construct gunpowder or build and man temporary traps.  Engineers spent to produce units are returned if the unit is voluntarily disbanded (but not if it is destroyed).
Sailors:  Needed for shipbuilding.  Ports produce 1 Sailor/year.

Gunpowder:  Provided you have access to a technology, engineers can be diverted to producing gunpowder instead of being expended.  Any engineers left at the end of the year will produce 1 barrel of gunpowder each, which is stored.  Gunpowder barrels can be used to create one-shot traps (+1 to a single fight, max bonus +1) or provide a +1 bonus (per barrel) to mining-related rolls.

Traps:  An engineer unit can be spent to build and man traps in a specific location at the cost of 1 Ducat.  The traps can be used in a single fight to provide a +1 trap bonus (attacking or defending), after which the engineer unit is released for re-use.  The traps can be reset at the cost of another 1 Ducat.

Spoiler: Units (click to show/hide)

Unless otherwise stated, 1 manpower is equivalent to the manpower provided by 2 parcels of land.  A better way to think of this is that 1 parcel of land provides 0.5 manpower per year.

The base unit for all land regiments is the Infantry Regiment, hired at a cost of 1 Manpower and 1 Ducat, with an upkeep of 1 Ducat/year.  Each unit has two upgrade 'slots' - a unit can be trained up after hiring (or at the same time as hiring) by paying the upgrade cost and it will gain the benefits of the new upgrade.  Upkeep costs will usually increase as well.

Personal guards are automatically hired as Infantry Regiments, with the first personal guard regiment having a -1 Ducat discount to hire and all PG regiments having a -1 manpower discount to hire (but only 1 hire per year).  Thus, hiring cavalry personal guard would actually require 1 manpower to recruit, as the cavalry upgrade has a +1 manpower requirement.

No unit can have more than 2 upgrades, though it might be possible to research expensive upgrades that are simply more powerful than their predecessors.  Replacing an upgrade (when both slots are full) requires the full upgrade cost for the new upgrade be paid.  There is no refund for the upgrade it replaces (except for specialists, who are released as they would be on a unit disband).

Base Units

Infantry Regiment:  Str 1.  Basic land unit.
Hire Cost:  1 Ducat, 1 Manpower
Upkeep:  1 Ducat/year

Siege Tower:  Str 0.  Basic siege unit.  +1 Str vs walled fortifications.
Hire Cost:  0.5 Ducats
Upkeep:  0.5 Ducats/year

Light Warship:  Str 1.  Basic naval unit.  Can transport 1 Unit.  Unless otherwise noted, transported units cannot fight as part of naval battles.
Hire Cost:  1 Ducat, 1 Sailor
Upkeep:  1 Ducat/year


Land Upgrades

Heavy Unit I:  Str +1.
Upgrade Cost:  1 Ducat
Upkeep:  +1 Ducat/year

Cavalry:  Str +1.  +1 Str on plains, steppe or open fields, or when defending a hill (but not where also defending a walled fortress).  Without access to the Horse resource, a maximum of 1 Cavalry regiment can be recruited per kingdom per year.
Cavalry troops conver +1 to Tactics rolls involving them.
Upgrade Cost:  1 Ducat, 1 Manpower  (After the first unit/year, requires access to Horses.)
Upkeep:  +1 Ducat/year

Ambush:  +2 Terrain bonus when conducting attacks or defence using only Ambush-capable troops.  Terrain bonuses are normally provided to defenders of hilly, mountainous or heavily forested regions - terrain bonuses overlap, they do not stack.  Ambush-capable troops can get the terrain bonus when attacking, however.  Note that this bonus applies to the stack as a whole, not to individual units.
Ambush troops confer +1 to Tactics rolls involving them.
Upgrade Cost:  1 Ducats
Upkeep:  +1 Ducats/year

Raider:  Can conduct hit-and-run raids on markets, ports or settlements with a chance of avoiding a fight.  On a simple 1d6 roll of 4+ Raiders may avoid combat and withdraw after the raid with collected loot, unless the defenders also possess Raider-capable troops or Scouts.  In this event a battle involving only the raider-capable troops/Scouts will take place.
Upgrade Cost:  1 Ducat
Upkeep:  (No additional cost.)

Pike/Reach:  +3 Str vs Cavalry-capable units.
Upgrade Cost:  1 Ducat
Upkeep:  +1 Ducat/year

Scout:  Confers ambush immunity (combat vs stacks including scouts negate the +1 terrain bonus enjoyed by Ambush units).  Can defend vs raids, but not otherwise raider-capable.  On a simple d6 roll of 3+, can escape from any combat before battle starts.
If used to boost a scouting check (i.e. the whole unit is split up and deployed for scouting) provides a +2 to the RtD scouting roll, but on a natural 1 enough scouts are captured or lost that the unit is destroyed.
Can pass through enemy territory undetected on a simple d6 roll of 4+.  Does not confer this benefit to non-Scout units.
Can be used to counter-scout (find and eliminate other scouts) within an area, adding a -1 penalty per Scout unit to enemy scouting checks, but these units cannot be used for anything else.
Upgrade Cost:  1 Ducat
Upkeep:  +1 Ducat

Archer:  +1 Str when defending.  Additional +1 Str when fighting on hills or mountains (attacking or defending), or when defending walled fortifications.
Special:  Archer units are naval combat-capable, but due to the high movement of naval combat lose their defensive bonus from archery.  Other bonuses can still remain in effect.
Upgrade Cost:  1 Ducat  (Requires access to High Quality Wood.)
Upkeep:  +1 Ducat

Disciplined:  +1 Str when defending.
Upgrade Cost:  0.5 Ducats
Upkeep:  +0.5 Ducats

Berserker:  +1 Str when attacking.
Upgrade Cost:  0.5 Ducats
Upkeep:  +0.5 Ducats

Tactician:  +2 to Tactics rolls involving this unit.  A skilled captain commands this regiment.
Upgrade Cost:  0.5 Ducats
Upkeep:  +0.5 Ducats


Siege Upgrades

Catapults:  Str +1.  +1 Str vs walled fortifications, +2 Str defending walled fortifications.
Upgrade Cost:  1.5 Ducats, 1 Engineer
Upkeep:  +1.5 Ducats/year

Ballistae:  Str +1.  +1 Str defending walled fortifications.  Str +1 vs cavalry, ships or siege.
Upgrade Cost:  1.5 Ducats, 1 Engineer
Upkeep:  +1.5 Ducats/year


Naval Upgrades

Heavy Ship I:  Str +2.  (Carracks are a heavy ship.)
Upgrade Cost:  2 Ducats, 1 Sailor
Upkeep:  +2 Ducats/year

Offensive Drill:  +1 Str when attacking.
Upgrade Cost:  0.5 Ducats
Upkeep:  +0.5 Ducats

Defensive Drill:  +1 Str when defending.
Upgrade Cost:  0.5 Ducats
Upkeep:  +0.5 Ducats

Tactician:  +2 to Tactics rolls involving this unit.  A skilled captain commands this regiment.
Upgrade Cost:  0.5 Ducats
Upkeep:  +0.5 Ducats

Oar Banks:  +1 Str when attacking.  +1 to Tactics rolls involving this unit.  Banks of oars for higher ramming speed during attacks and manoeuvres.
Upgrade Cost:  1 Ducat
Upkeep:  +1 Ducat/year

Sea Raider:  On a victory or draw, sea raider units capture the Sailor specialist that was crewing the ship (if multiple specialists were crewing the ship due to upgrades, potentially all the Sailors can be captured), any non naval combat-capable units being transported (i.e. anything not able to fight in a sea battle) and any Cargo Goods being transported.  Each Sailor, Cargo Good or Unit captured takes up 1 Transport space on the ship.  If insufficient space exists, excess loot is left to the mercy of the sea.
Sailors not intended to be used in recruiting new ships and Units that the new owner does not desire to pay upkeep for can be sold as slaves for a return of 1 Ducat each.  Cargo goods are typically worth 1 Ducat each, but this may vary.
Upgrade Cost:  1 Ducat
Upkeep:  +0.5 Ducat/year

Cargo Hold:  Adds +1 Transport space to a ship.  Transport space is used to ferry units or cargo across the sea.
Special:  This upgrade can be taken twice.
Upgrade Cost:  1 Ducat
Upkeep:  No additional cost/year.

Spoiler: The Kingdom of Elbreth (click to show/hide)

King: King Erik (Thatkid)

Advisors
Terenos d'Avistral (Terenos) [FAVOR:3] - Diplomat
General Kaguro (KaguroDraven) [FAVOR:1] - Former Commander of Second Royal Regiment, Current General
Lord Trubaldsome of Miring (Yoink) [FAVOR:0] - Third Son of the King of Miring
Sir Taric the Just (Taricus) [FAVOR:2] - Knight in Service to the Court
Grand Master Knavston Black (Knave) [FAVOR:2] - Grand Master of the Order of the Burning Circle, Cyclist
Kain Vadud II (filiusenox) [FAVOR:2] - Son of The Black Knight who served King Erik's great grandfather

Landed Nobles
Aulon yl Marchis (Digital Hellhound) [FAVOR:0] - Son of Duke Belon yl Marchis, Swordcoast
General Kaguro - See above
Sir Taric the Just (Taricus) [FAVOR:2] - Knight in Service to the Court
Grand Master Knavston Black (Knave) [FAVOR:2] - Grand Master of the Order of the Burning Circle, Cyclist
Kain Vadud II (filiusenox) [FAVOR:2] - Son of The Black Knight who served King Erik's great grandfather

Minions
Jester Armok [FAVOR:0]
Drua (Little) [FAVOR:1] - Royal Herbalist/Chemist/Alchemist
Hubris Pontmercy (Hubris_Incalculable) [FAVOR:0] - Royal Chef
Mahtan Darwin Elensar (The_King_of_Weasels) [FAVOR:0] - Alchemist, imprisoned for 1 month
Unnamed Brewer - Mediocre in Skill
(more)

Executed
Hikaru Shizume (adwarf) - Burned upon the Iron Circle for the crimes of rebellion and banditry

Rebels
Sir Jormund (Jormundur) [IRE:1]

Independents
The Z'tah Raiders [IRE:0]

Armies in the Realm
The Royal Army  [The Crown]
6 infantry regiments (Crown: Elbreth Province) - 5 in Eelspine, 1 in Elbreth
1 infantry regiments (Drua: Diplomatic Mission) - Returned to Elbreth

General Kaguro's Noble Forces - [Crown]
1 personal guard regiment [KaguroDraven]

Lord yl Marchis' Noble Forces - [Crown]
1 infantry regiment [Digital Hell Hound]

Sir Taric's Forces - [Crown]


Lord Trubaldsome of Miring's Noble Forces - [Crown]
1 personal guard regiment [Yoink]

Kain Vadud II's Forces - [Crown]
1 personal guard regiment [filiusenox]

Grand Master Black's Crusaders - [Crown]
1 personal guard regiment [Knave]

Lady Drua's House Guard - [Drua]
1 guard regiment [Drua] (just beyond Elbreth borders)

Land

Kingdom Resource Access:  Wool, Iron, (Fish)

The Province of Elbreth
Trade Potential: 5/10
Resources: Wool
Urban Potential: 4/5

Open Land
6 Parcels [The Crown]: 6 Ducats/year
2 Parcels [Lord yl Marchis]:2 Ducats/year
2 Parcels [Cyclicism/Order of the Burning Circle/Grand Master Black]:2 Ducats/year - Tax Exempt
1 Parcel [Kain Vadud II]: 1 Ducat/year
1 Parcel [Sir Taric]: 1 Ducat/year

Markets/Ports
Sheepstead Market [The Crown]: 3 Ducats/year
+ 1 land parcel [The Crown]: 1 Ducat/year
Sheepy Hollow Market [General Kaguro]: 2 Ducats/year
+ 1 land parcel [General Kaguro]: 1 Ducat/year

Towns
Sheepstead [The Crown]: 2 Ducats/year
+ 1 land parcel [The Crown]: 1 Ducat/year
Sheepy Hollow [General Kaguro]: 2 Ducats/year
+ 1 land parcel [General Kaguro]: 1 Ducat/year


North Eelspine
Mountains:  +2 Terrain Defense
Trade Potential: 0/3
Resources: Iron
Urban Potential: 2/5

Open Land
1 Parcel [The Crown]: 1 Ducat/year

Towns
Lonemind [Kain Vadud]: 1 Ducat/year
+ 1 land parcel [Kain Vadud]: 1 Ducat/year
Stonewood [Sir Taric]: 1 Ducat/year
+ 1 land parcel [Sir Taric]: 1 Ducat/year

Other
Cyclist Temple [Order of the Burning Circle]:  2 Ducats/year (tithes)
- Built on barren land.


Tax
Crown Lands:  9 Ducats/year
Market Taxes:  3 Ducats/year
Urban Taxes:  2 Ducats/year
Vassalage:  4 Ducats/year - Kaguro:1, yl Marchis:1, Taric:1, Kain:1
Total Taxes:  18 Ducats/year

Expenses
Military Upkeep:  7 Ducats/year

Events
Overpopulation:  -1 Ducat

The Treasury:
16 Ducats

Spoiler: Jarl Manskinner's Clan (click to show/hide)

Jarl:  Corv Manskinner

Advisors:
Donald McMurray [NPC, available for adoption by a player.] (2 infantry regiments)

Minions:
Dr Turock McJohnston  (1 personal guard regiment)

Executed:
Too many to count.

Trade Paths:
Weyland Highlands East - Weyland Highlands West

Armies in the Realm:

The Jarl's Forces [Jarl]
1 Personal Blôdvindr Regiment [Jarl] - Personal, Infantry, Raider

The McMurray Clan [Jarl]
1 McMurray Clansmen Regiment [Donald McMurray] - Infantry

McJohnston's Guard [McJohnston]
1 Guard Regiment [McJohnston] - Infantry

Munro Clan [Munro]  - Enemy of the Jarl
[Munro]

McKinley Clan [McKinley]  - Enemy of the Jarl
[McKinley]

McEwan Clan [McEwan]  - Enemy of the Jarl
[McEwan]

Recuperating Armies

1 Blôdvindr Raider Regiments [Jarl] - Infantry, Raider

Land

Jarldom Resource Access: Coal, Tin

Weyland Highlands, East:
Trade Potential: 0/8
Resources: Coal
Urban Potential:

Open Land
6 Parcels [Jarl]: 6 Ducats/year
? Parcels [Munro]: ? Ducats/year
? Parcels []: ? Ducats/year - Uknown Amount of These

Market
High Fane [Munro]: 4 Ducat/Year - Fort (+2 Defenders Rolls)
+ 1 Land Parcel [Munro]: 1 Ducat/year

Weyland Highlands, West:
Trade Potential: 0/10
Resources: Tin
Urban Potential:

Open Land
6 Parcels [Jarl]: 6 Ducats/year
? Parcels [McKinley]: ? Ducats/year
? Parcels []: ? Ducats/year - Unknown Amount of These

Markets
Weybridge Market [McKinley]: 2 Ducats/year
+ 1 Land Parcel [McKinley]: 1 Ducat/year

Towns
Weybridge [McKinley]: 3 Ducats/year
+ 3 Land Parcels [McKinley: 3 Ducats/year

Treasury:
6 Ducats

Spoiler: Private Citizen Records (click to show/hide)

General Kaguro:  4 Ducats, (town+market+land), 1 regiment guard (+)
Lord yl Marchis:  0 Ducats, (land), 1 regiment guard (+)
Kain Vadud:  1 Ducats, (land+town), 2 regiments guard
Sir Taric:  0 Ducats, (land+town), 1 regiment guard, 1 regiment infantry (Stonewood)
Order of the Burning Circle:  3 Ducats, (land+temple), 1 regiment crusader guard (+)
Lady Drua:  0 Ducats, 1 regiment house guard
:

Sir Jormund:  0 Ducats, 1 regiment guard, 2 regiments nomads (loaned)
Ztah Raiders:  0 Ducats, 1 regiment nomad guard
Corm McRiar:  2.5 Ducats, 4 parcels land (East Weyland), 1 regiment raiders, 1 reg guard

Citizens marked with a (+) can recruit additional personal guards this year.

Spoiler: Other Lands (click to show/hide)

Brighthall:  Not much is known due to a fire in the Royal Library.  Monarchy.  Extends over (at least) the provinces of Silverbranch, Brightwatch and Brighthall.  West of Elbreth, north of the Ztah Steppe, south of the Weyland Hills.

Weyland Highlands:  Unruly, disparate clans.  No single leader.
Est. ~30 parcels land between 2 provinces (East & West Weyland).
East Weyland
Coal.  Trade Pot: 8.
1 settlement, Weybridge.  Approx 6 Ducats tax value.
1 market, Weybridge Market.  Approx 3 Ducats tax value.
West Weyland
Tin.  Trade Pot.: 10
1 market, High Fane.  Approx 5 Ducats tax value.  Fort (+2 to defenders' rolls).

Eelspine Mountains  Few settlers.
Unknown quantities of land, largely barren or extremely difficult to settle.  At least 2 provinces, stretching southward and bordering the Ztah Steppe.

Ztah Steppe  Nomadic tribes.  Many clans, largely familial ties.
Unknown quantities of land, likely arid but arable.  Land claims hotly contested by natives.  5 known provinces.


Suul
Poor Lumber, Clams.  TP: 5/9
6 parcels open land.
1 settlement, Suul.  ~4 Ducats tax value.
1 port, Port Suul.  ~5 Ducats tax value.
1 cathedral, Suul Cathedral.  ~11 Ducats in tithes.  Castle (+3 to defenders' rolls).
Trading with Storm Coast, Duchy of Malchor, Republic of Groan

Year 313a
Year 314a
Year 315a

We're out of space!  Even more rules and details on the fifth post of this thread.

[thatkid]

"What is the name of your kingdom?"
The Kingdom of Elbreth
"What sort of terrain is your kingdom located in?"
Mostly rolling hills, though there is the beginning of a mountain range to the far south.
"What year have you ascended to the throne in?"
312a

EDIT NOTES: Only went back to expand upon what I originally wrote as well as bold the questions. Additions were just "The Kingdom of" and also changing "mountains" to "mountain range" Original is below:

Spoiler: Original Post (click to show/hide)

"What is the name of your kingdom?"
Elbreth
"What sort of terrain is your kingdom located in?"
Mostly rolling hills, though there are mountains to the far south.
"What year have you ascended to the throne in?"
312a

[Digital Hellhound]

Yessss, go Iituem. A more organized form of You are a Lord = Funnnnn

[Shootandrun]

Will it keep the aspect a bit "freeform" for you are a lord?

[Iituem]

Spoiler: Even More Rules! (click to show/hide)

Tactical Movement

It may be advantageous in battle to specify using certain units to attack others whilst leaving other units behind, or else to split enemy forces to take them on piecemeal.  Attempting to pull off tactics more complex than a straight charge or holding position as a clump of forces whilst the enemy attacks requires a Tactics roll.  Given the simple success/failure nature of Tactics rolls, these are handled with a simple d6 roll rather than RtD rules.

The base success threshold for any Tactical manoeuvre is 3; i.e. roll 3+ on a d6 to succeed.  Each tactic added to the manoeuvre increases the success threshold, making it harder to pull off but allowing you to combine multiple tactics.  Unit or PC bonuses (e.g. from Training) can provide bonuses to the Tactics roll.  Enemy tactical bonuses decrease the tactics roll.  Failure usually has consequences related to the attempted manoeuvre.

Flank the Enemy:  Attempt to attack your enemy from the sides or rear at the risk of getting caught exposed.  On a success, +1 to the battle roll.  On a failure, -1 to the battle roll.
Difficulty: +2

Split the Enemy:  Split the enemy into two or more portions to engage each part separately.  On a success, can engage fractured army according to own disposition.  On a failure, -1 to battle roll.
Difficulty: +1, additional +1 for each unit in the enemy army that will not be engaged by your own troops.
Special:  Split the Enemy is always checked first, independent of any other tactics combined with it.  On a success, any tactics combined with split the enemy are rolled for each fraction of the enemy engaged.  On a failure, all combined tactics are rolled vs the full enemy army with an additional +1 difficulty.

Negate Terrain Bonus:  Attempt to gain the high ground.  On a success, enemy terrain bonus negated.  On a failure, -1 to battle roll.
Difficulty: +2, but see special.
Special:  If this tactic is combined with a successful attempt to split the enemy, the difficulty is reduced to +1 for the main body of the enemy army and +0 for any other fractions.

Force Rout:  Try to get the enemy to rout with a potentially reckless charge.  On a success, if the fight is a victory (not a loss or draw), destroy 3 enemy units instead of 2.  On a failure, -1 to battle roll.
Difficulty: +2

Conserve Forces:  Hold your men back just enough to avoid unnecessary losses.  On a success, if the fight is a victory (not a loss or draw), lose no units from attrition (normally 1 unit lost).  On a failure, -1 to battle roll.
Difficulty: +2

Scale/Breach Walls:  Try to reduce the effectiveness of the enemy defences by breaching or scaling the walls.  On a success, -1 to enemy structural defence bonus.  On a failure, -1 to battle roll.
Difficulty: Equal to the defensive bonus granted by the structure.

Capture Unit:  Aim to capture a unit instead of outright destroying it.  Unit must be one of the two weakest units in the fight.  On a success, named unit (or if not valid, second-weakest unit) is captured on a victory (any other units that would normally be destroyed are destroyed as normal).  On a failure, -1 to battle roll.
Difficulty: +3


Offensive/Defensive Flipping and Fleeing a Battle

A side may only flee a battle automatically if it has advantage.  Whoever won the last round of combat has advantage (in the event of a draw, advantage is retained, and in the event of a draw on the first round the attacker has advantage).  A side without advantage can try to flee anyway, but will only succeed if the opposing side opts not to chase them.  If the opponent does opt to chase them, the flee attempt fails and the opponent becomes the attacker (gaining any unit bonuses to attack and losing any unit bonuses to defence, including terrain and fortification bonuses) whilst the would-be fleeing party becomes the defender.

The default position of armies is to let fleeing enemies run and to flee once they lose a battle.  Standing battle orders can be given to the contrary.  Be warned that fleeing may destroy your attack advantages, but chasing will destroy your defensive advantages.  It may thus be in the interests of a berserker army to remain on the attack as much as it possibly can, even in potentially ruinous circumstances, whilst a disciplined force in good fortifications might elect to relinquish the opportunity to chase the enemy lest it be lured into a trap.

Spoiler: Original Post (click to show/hide)

King: King Thatkid

Nobles
None yet appointed.

Advisors
None yet accepted.

Minions
None worth mentioning.

Executed
Your reign has thus far been merciful.

Rebels
Your subjects are loyal.

Armies in the Realm
The Royal Army  [Str 3, The Crown]  (Elbreth Province)
3 infantry regiments

Land

The Province of Elbreth

Open Land
8 Parcels [The Crown]: 8 Ducats/year
6 Parcels [Lawless]: No revenue

Markets/Ports
Sheepstead Market [The Crown]: 3 Ducats/year
+ 1 land parcel [The Crown]: 1 Ducat/year

Towns
Sheepstead [The Crown]: 2 Ducats/year
+ 1 land parcel [The Crown]: 1 Ducat/year


Tax
Crown Lands:  10 Ducats/year
Market Taxes:  3 Ducats/year
Urban Taxes:  2 Ducats/year
Vassalage:  0 Ducats/year
Total Taxes:  15 Ducats/year

The Treasury:
12 Ducats

Congratulations on ascending to the throne, King Thatkid!  The country's policy is now yours to determine.  Your country is relatively small, though not tiny, with most of its wealth deriving from the large tracts of hilly land within the province of Elbreth.  The province is large enough that your predecessor was unable to keep firm control over all of it - much of the hills remains lawless and poorly settled.  You gain no tax from these regions, as they are essentially a no-man's land.

To the south are the Eelspine Mountains, unclaimed by any nation.  To the north the hills continue into the Weyburn Highlands.  To the west the hills eventually smooth into a mixture of forest and plains, all of which is claimed by the large nation of Brighthall but only the westernmost part of which they are able to police.  To the east is the Glimmering Coast, a crescent of lightly forested coastline which is home to three smaller nations; the kingdoms of Preston and Miring and the Archbishopric of Suul.



(As King, I would appreciate it if you kept track of the kingdom's stats as well.)

[Iituem]

Will it keep the aspect a bit "freeform" for you are a lord?

Things are as freeform as your new King Thatkid (or his successors) make them.  I have given you a framework to follow, but I'll probably only interfere where it seems fun or is direly needed.  Otherwise, go nuts as with the earlier portions of 'You are a Lord'.

[thatkid]

OOC:
You got it, boss. I just made a text file on my desktop with all the relevant information. I'll be keeping track of favor in there as well.
As far as freeform goes...you guys are as much players here as I am. As long as things make sense and aren't godmoding or whatever, I'm down for it.

[Digital Hellhound]

Greetings, Thatkid King! I am Aulon yl Marchis, son of the famed Duke Belon yl Marchis! Perhaps you've heard of us? No? No matter!

I hail from the beaches of the far-away Storm Coast. You've never heard of it? A shame. No matter! My father thought it suitable to send me to offer my services to a noble lord, and gave a hefty sum of gold and a company of bodyguards to go with me. After some... misunderstandings in a town just across the mountains to the south there, I was left without a single coin! Such are the winds of fate!

Of course, I was not one to let such a thing stop me. I managed to secure a place in a trade caravan heading this way, after my bodyguards had spent some time convincing the owners. I toured the myriad courts of this land until I came to the conclusion you were the most glorious ruler of them all. So, here I am, to offer my services to you. I will only require quarters for me and my men, and, of course, some gold to pay them after my unfortunate troubles down south.

[Iituem]

I've added in two new rules to the main post, to clarify the concept of raiding and what constitutes a defenceless target:

Raids:  If you are unwilling to capture, you can raid a market, port, town or other taxable structure (but not open land) instead.  On a success, you steal 1d6 Ducats from the Treasury of whomever owned that structure.  If the owner's Treasury is empty, money is stolen from next year's tax revenue.  If that is empty, raiding the structure yields no benefits.  You do not gain ownership of the structure with a raid.

Defenceless Targets:  Targets may be considered defenceless if there are either no armies/defenders in that target's province at the time an attack is conducted or the armies present in that province and unwilling/unable to defend the target.  Attacks on defenceless targets always succeed, though this does not necessarily protect you from retaliation.

In other words, raid for a short term boost of cash from someone's Treasury.  If there are no armies in a province, all targets in the province are defenceless.

Also, I've taken the liberty of providing a map:



Oh King, the limits of your realm are marked out in red.  Sadly, due to the unexpected and sudden deaths of most of the Guild of Cartographers, not much knowledge exists about the world beyond what is on this map.

[ashton1993]

Padding silently though the streets of Elbreth's unnamed capital the elf pulls it's hood low over his face and conceals his pale pointed ears; a wicked dagger at his side. His target tonight is a new trader who has settled in the region, the elf turns down an alley ignoring the blustery wind sweeping rain around the elf, it was not a hindrance but a device too override his victims shrill screams of death. Another quick glance around and the nimble assassin picks the lock to the shop it's painted sign rocking back and forth in the howling wind, he enters slowly and with a soft click heard by none but himself the door latches closed behind him.

No candles burn and not a soul stirs he thinks as he makes his way up the steps, the foul human in it's bed, the pale elf draws his blade holds it above the humans eye and with one hand keeps his victim in place, the other slowly presses the blade through - as slowly as possible - and dying screams did too the elfs delight ring though the biting weather ensured nobody heard, had the helpless soul seen his assalient he would have gasped, he would have recognized the long curving scar down the Elf's face who's name was whispered in hushed tones. The name they whispered was Ashton.

[Armok]

*At some back door of the castle, a witty young man inquires with some servants about any possible employment positions in the areas of entertainment or art for the courts. A jester perhaps?*

[Terenos]

(Damn your eyes Iituem. I want more Fiefdoms at war. That said this sounds fun!)

A simply dressed man approaches. "Good sir King, I am Terenos d'Avistral. I come from a small noble house well steeped in politics and manuevering. I come to offer my services in an advisory capacity, to assist you in the creation of a great kingdom."

[KaguroDraven]

A man dressed in armor waits to greet the king, he is the Commander of the 2nd Regiment of the Royal Army, of which a general has yet to be chosen. He has arrived hopeing to gain favor with the king and the title of General, and perhaps even a Noble title.

[Iituem]

Unfortunately, many of these advisors appear to have come whilst the King is slumbering.  Or possibly wenching, but you decline to ask.  This might be a good time to offer suggestions for action as his future advisors, in preparation for his return.

Rumours from the Town: A prominent merchant in the capital of Sheepstead has been murdered in his sleep.  (roll:1)  The merchant had no heirs and so his holdings have been inherited by the Crown!  Unfortunately, he possessed little real wealth for all his status and in fact was party to crippling debts, which the Crown has now been forced to cover.

Treasury depletes by 1 Ducat to cover inherited debts.

Elbreth Treasury: 11 Ducats

[KaguroDraven]

The Lawless lands in our kingdom must be taken as soon as possible, weakness in our own lands will lead to weakness outside.