9. Warfare

9. Warfare #

When Diplomacy won’t satisfy your ambitions, Warfare might be your next step. By gaining Claims, forging Alliances, and recruiting military forces at the right time, you can set yourself up for a successful campaign of conquest. Sometimes, you may also have to defend against foreign or domestic attackers.

Warfare against NPRs is described in a separate section in the chapter on Non-Player Realms (page 36).

9.1 Declarations of War (DoW) #

You may enter into a War in one of four ways:

  1. By taking a Declare War Action (p. 16)
  2. By having War Declared against you
  3. Through an Event (p. 40)
  4. By accepting a Call to Arms (p. 32)

The first two, obviously, involve a DoW. The third will tell you who is Declaring War, and on whom.

Accepting a CtA always comes as a direct response to another DoW.

Restrictions on DoW #

You may not Declare War:

  • a. on an Ally
  • b. on a Realm with whom you have a Truce
  • c. on a PR that has Passed
  • d. on an NPR Ally of a PR (b) with whom you have a Truce, or (c) who has Passed
  • e. on an HRE Member at Peace with the Emperor if the Emperor (a) is your Ally, (b) has a Truce with you, or (c) has Passed
  • f. on Distant Realms undiscovered by you
  • g. during an Interregnum

Exceptions to the above restrictions:

  • If you have a Marriage with the DoW target that shows the L side, the Disputed Succession CB (see infobox) lets you Declare War even if the target is your Ally, or during an Interregnum (or both).
  • You may ignore all restrictions if you are answering a Defensive CtA.
  • If the War is triggered by an Event, any exceptions are mentioned on the Event.

Casus Belli (CB) #

To avoid a -2s penalty when Declaring War, you must have a Casus Belli (see infobox).

CtAs and Events that trigger Wars constitute CBs in themselves.

Royal Marriage with DoW target #

When Declaring War on a Realm with whom you have a Royal Marriage, you get a -1s penalty unless you use the Disputed Succession CB or Event CB (see infobox).

DoW triggering Battles #

A DoW will trigger an immediate Land Battle if you have Military Units located in an Area with Enemy Units, or an Area with Enemy NPR Provinces. A Naval Battle will be triggered upon DoW if you have Ships in a Hostile Sea Zone.

If multiple Battles are triggered, all Naval Battles must be resolved before Land Battles, but other than that the Active Player decides the order in which they will be resolved.

Free Activate or Recruit Action #

When performing the Declare War Action (and only then), you may take a free Activate Units or Recruit Units Action if the DoW did not trigger any Battles (see p. 16).

9.2 War Capacities #

Military Capacity (MC) #

Military Capacity is the measure of how many Units a Realm can muster in an Area.

A Realm’s MC for any given Area is equal to the combined Tax Value of that Realm’s own Provinces and their Vassal Provinces in and adjacent to that Area (including Ports facing the same non-Hostile Sea Zone as this Area).

This value is used to determine how many Regular and Allied Units a PR can place into an Area during a Recruit Units Action (Mercenaries are not limited by MC).

Equally important, MC is used to determine how many Units an NPR will use to defend an Area when under attack.

Blocking MC #

Occupied Provinces never contribute to MC.

Provinces in Areas containing Hostile Units only contribute to MC in their own Area, and not to MC in other adjacent Areas, whether calculating NPR defense (see p. 36) or PR Recruitment capacity.

Ports in Areas that are adjacent only by Sea (and not by Land) to the Area for which you are calculating MC do not contribute to the MC for that Area if all Sea Zones separating the Areas are considered Hostile.

Naval Capacity is the measure of how many Ships a Realm can muster in a Sea Zone.

A Realm’s NC for any given Sea Zone is equal to the number of Ports that they Own that face that particular Sea Zone (Large Ports count as 2 Ports).

This value is used to determine (1) how many Ships a PR can place into a Sea Zone during a Recruit Units Action, and (2) how many Ships an NPR will use to defend a Sea Zone when under attack.

Inactive Ports (see p. 5) do not contribute to the NC of their NPR Owners.

Blocking NC #

Occupied Provinces never contribute to NC.

NC provided by Ports facing a Sea Zone containing Enemy Ships can never be used to Recruit Ships into that Sea Zone, since you are not allowed to trigger a Naval Battle during a Recruit Units Action. Military Units in the Area where the Port is located do not affect NC at all.

MC/NC only counts once per Turn #

A Province can only contribute to MC once per Turn, and to NC once per Turn (but it may be used for both MC and NC).

This means that if you Recruit Units in two (or more) locations that have overlapping MC/NC, you must decide in which one of those locations you wish to utilize the capacity provided by each Province (see the Recruit Units example on p. 17).

Similarly, if 2 or more Battles are triggered against the same NPR on a single Turn, that NPR only gets to take advantage of the MC/NC provided by each Province for 1 Land Battle and 1 Naval Battle. How this is worked out is described in detail in chapter 13.4 (p. 36)

9.3 Manpower (m) #

Manpower is the maximum number of Regular Units that you may have Deployed – this number is equal to the total of the highest number revealed on each of the Town Tracks and the Vassal Track on your Player Mat (½ of Tax Income on each track). The combined total of Regular Units Deployed and in the Manpower Reserve (Available m and Exhausted m) must equal this number. To field Land Units exceeding your m value, you must use Mercenaries or Allied troops.

m values may be modified (e.g., by Ideas or from Increase Manpower on the Military Reforms card); this is indicated by placing +1m tokens in the Manpower Reserve.

Player Mats have Manpower Reserves that hold Available and Exhausted Units. When m increases, add more Units from your Supply to the Available m area. When m decreases, move Units back to your Supply (from Exhausted m, Available m, or Deployed Units).

Changes to m are applied during Phase 5, Step A2.

Manpower can never rise above 20.

Exhausted Manpower #

Casualties (see p. 27) are returned to the Exhausted m area of the Manpower Reserve and are not available until Refreshed.

9.4 Military Leaders #

Armies and Fleets may be assigned Leaders from Action Cards (or your current Ruler), using the Appoint Advisor/Leader Action. An Army Leader is called a General, and a Fleet Leader is called an Admiral. Slide these cards underneath the associated Army and Fleet Mats, so that only the Leader (and not the card’s Action) shows.

Appointing a Leader costs 1 or 2c, as indicated in the card’s bottom right corner.

Generals and Admirals in Battle #

Leaders add Battle Dice to any Battles in which they are involved (Leaders’ Battle Dice are indicated on their name banners).

Only 1 Leader on each side may add dice to the Battle; if a player has more than 1 Leader in a Battle, they decide which one to use. If there are Armies/Fleets from 2 or more players fighting on the same side, see the ‘Fighting multiple Enemies’ Section on page 27 for how to determine which Leader will provide their Battle Dice.

For every 2 g results your Enemy rolls in a single roll of Battle Dice (land or naval) your Leader receives a H token.

Rulers in Command #

You may use your Ruler as a General (but not as an Admiral) without having to pay any c, but you risk him being killed in Battle. Use an Appoint Advisor/Leader Action to assign your Ruler to (or remove him from) an Army. Place the “Ruler General” token next to that Army’s General slot when your Ruler is in command.

Action Terminology #

An Activate Units Action is sometimes more colloquially referred to as an Activation. When this chapter speaks of a Land Activation or a Naval Activation it means an Activate Units Action taken for its Land or Naval Activation option (see ‘Military Actions’, p. 16).

Similarly, a Recruit Units Action is sometimes just called a Recruit Action.

9.5 Movement #

All Military Unit movement is performed during the Action Phase, except for Retreats during Phase 3, Step C, relocating Units in Neutral Areas during Phase 3, Step D4 (see p. 29), and returning Ships to Port during Phase 4, Step A.

Armies, Fleets, and single Units are moved by using the Activate Units Military Action, or by playing certain Military Cards (e.g., Forced March or Naval Maneuver). The Explore and Trade Actions also let you move 1 Ship (with some restrictions).

Land Movement #

A Land Activation may be used to activate and move a single Army or Regular Unit. An Army/Unit may move up to 2 spaces (Areas), but must end its movement if it enters a Hostile, Neutral, or Distant Area.

When entering an Area containing Enemy Units, a Battle takes place immediately.

Land Units may cross Sea Zones containing Friendly Ships, as described in the ‘Naval Transport of Land Units’ section below.

Mountain Borders #

A Land Activation lets you move up to 3 Units across a Mountain border into a Hostile or Neutral Area. For every additional c spent, you may move 3 more Units across the Mountain border. Movement into Friendly Areas is not restricted.

Military Access #

You can always move Units into Areas with at least 1 Province whose Lawful Owner or Controller is either Friendly or your Enemy.

To move your troops into Areas where there are only Neutral Provinces, you must be at War, and either remove 1I from the Area in question or pay 3D.

Military Access is not available in Neutral Areas in which you have a G.

If Opponents Own every Province in a Neutral Area, you may not move troops into that Area without verbal permission from one of those Opponents.

Reorganizing Armies #

During a Land Activation, an Army can pick up or drop off Units at any point during its Movement, and it may be split up or merged with another of your Armies.

Only Regular Infantry Units may be dropped off in an Area, but other Land Units may be shifted between different Armies.

A Naval Activation has two options: you may Undock to move any number of Ships out of Port to their adjacent Sea Zones, or you may perform a Naval Movement to move any number of Ships to a single destination (Sea Zone or Port) within those Ships’ range. A Ship may move up to 2 spaces (Sea Zones or Ports), but must end its movement if it enters a Hostile or Distant Sea Zone.

Activated Ships may only enter a Hostile Sea Zone if that Sea Zone is the end destination of all Ships being moved. Moving into a Hostile Sea Zone immediately triggers a Naval Battle.

Occupying Trade Protection Slots #

Light Ships that end their Movement in a non-Hostile Sea Zone may be used to occupy any vacant Trade Protection Slots in that Sea Zone.

Reorganizing Fleets #

During a Naval Activation, a Fleet can pick up or drop off Units at the start and/or end points of its Movement. Only Light Ships may be dropped off in a Sea Zone or Port.

During a Trade or Explore Action, you may move 1 of your Light Ships to a non-Hostile Sea Zone, using otherwise normal Movement Rules, with these exceptions:

  • During a Trade Action, the Ship that was moved may be used to displace an Opponent’s Ship from a Trade Protection Slot in its destination Sea Zone if no free slots.
  • During an Explore Action, the Ship has to end its Movement in a Sea Zone on a Distant Continent.

Ships in Port #

A Port is a space that can be entered just like a Sea Zone, but by Friendly Ships only. Ships in a Port cannot be attacked by Enemy Ships.

A Port may normally hold up to 2 Ships. The Port of a Large Province/t (a Large Port) counts as 2 Ports, but may hold up to 6 Ships, if they are part of the same Fleet.

Damaged Heavy Ships are automatically repaired if they end a Turn or Round in a Port.

Ships in Ports that cease to be Friendly when an Alliance ends must immediately move to any non-Hostile adjacent Sea Zone if possible, or else be disbanded.

Ships at sea form a “bridge” across the Sea Zones they occupy. This is called a Naval Bridge, and it may extend across any number of Sea Zones as long as an unbroken chain of Ships connects these Sea Zones.

Each Sea Zone in a Naval Bridge may be crossed by up to 3 Land Units for each Friendly Ship present in that Sea Zone.

Land Units may cross any number of Sea Zones as long as a Naval Bridge connects the Areas where they embark and disembark.

A player may use Ships belonging to their PR Allies, but only if there are no Enemy Ships in any of the Sea Zones in question.

Land Units may disembark in Hostile Areas; this may result in an immediate Land Battle. To disembark in a Hostile Area when using Allied Ships for Naval Transport, those Allies also need to be at War with one of the Enemies present in that Hostile Area.

During Land Movement #

When Naval Transport is performed as part of a Land Activation, treat the Areas on either side of the Naval Bridge as adjacent during movement. The bridge itself does not count as a space while moving, but movement must always end in the Area in which the Units disembark.

During Naval Movement #

During a Naval Activation, following Naval Movement (after any Naval Battles have been resolved), you may transport an Army/Unit across a Naval Bridge that includes any of the just-moved ships. This requires that the Army/Unit to be transported be located in an Area adjacent to the Naval Bridge.

Movement on Distant Continents #

On the Distant Continents, Land Units move between Areas along the white lines connecting them on the map.

Land Movement on the Distant Continents is only allowed in Friendly Areas, Areas containing an Enemy Province, and vacant Territories containing your own or any Enemy’s G. Movement into Neutral Areas on the Distant Continents is not allowed.

When an Army, Fleet, or Military Unit moves into any Area or Sea Zone on a Distant Continent, its movement ends immediately. This is regardless of whether movement started on or off a Distant Continent.

If you have no G, t, or v adjacent to a Sea Zone on a Distant Continent, you must take an Explore Action to enter that Sea Zone.

Entering or Leaving a Distant Continent #

Fleets and Ships may enter, leave, and move between the Distant Continents via Sea Zones marked with matching letters.

When moving Ships between the FAR EAST and the AMERICA maps, you must spend an additional d of any type.

Some Areas on the Distant Continents are connected to Areas on the main map, as indicated by the lines marked with the names of those connected Areas.

9.6 Battle Sequence #

For each Round of Battle (Land or Naval), perform the following steps in order:

  1. Battle Preparations (only 1st Round) Determine Main Defender if needed. Appoint Generals. Apply Military Idea effects.
  2. Play Battle Actions Attacker first, then defender.
  3. Roll Battle Dice Both sides simultaneously.
  4. Assign Casualties
  5. Wounded Leaders & Captured Ships
  6. Retreat (or continue fighting) Attacker decides first, then defender. Go back to Step 2 if Battle continues.
  7. Proclaim a Winner Active Player may once per Turn gain 1c for a Battle won in the Action Phase.

Repeat the sequence (skipping Step 1) if both sides decide to continue fighting.

If a player decides to Retreat, they lose 1 additional Unit/Ship as a Casualty.

NPRs Retreat after any Round of Battle if they are weaker (have fewer Units) than their opponent, unless defending their Capital Area, last remaining Area, or a Sea Zone adjacent to their Capital Area (see p. 36).

The effects of a Battle Action last for the duration of a Battle, unless otherwise stated.

9.7 Land Battles #

At any point during the Action Phase or Peace & Rebels Phase, a Land Battle will commence if any of these situations occur:

  • Units Hostile to each other end up in the same Area (Rebels are Hostile to all PRs).
  • Units move into, or are Recruited in, an Area containing one or more Enemy NPR Provinces (see p. 36).*
  • PR Units are located in an Area where, upon a DoW, one or more NPR Provinces become Hostile to the PR (p. 36).*

* No Battle is triggered with an NPR if Units Hostile to that NPR were in that Area prior to the current Turn.

If multiple Battles are triggered on the same Turn, e.g., upon DoW, during Recruiting, or using Logistics Master, the Active Player decides the order in which to resolve them.

1. Battle Preparations #

At the start of the Battle, the attacker has a final chance to take the Appoint Leader Minor Action to assign a General to their Army. Then, the defender may do the same as a Reaction, if they are defending one of the Areas of their Realm. Each side may only use 1 General per Battle. If there are multiple defenders, a Main Defender must be determined (as described in the ‘Fighting multiple Enemies’ section).

The Appoint Leader Action may not be taken again during the same Battle.

Any Military Ideas that take effect at the start of a Battle must now be accounted for (e.g., “Military Drill” or “Noble Knights”).

2. Play Battle Actions (€) #

The attacker must play all the Battle Actions they wish to use, before the defender does so.

3. Roll Battle Dice #

Each side rolls 3 Infantry Dice (white), adding any dice from Generals, who provide the Battle Dice shown on their name banners.

Add additional Battle Dice for any Battle Actions that were played (such as Superior Tactics or Inspired Leadership).

Both sides involved in Battle roll their dice simultaneously, and hits are counted against Units that match the icons rolled on the dice. Infantry hit on a f or g result, Cavalry hit on a h result, and Artillery hit on a i result. You match icons with Units, regardless of the color of the dice.

The outlined Infantry icon on a g result may be counted as an additional Infantry hit only if you have the “Tercios/Janissaries” or “Line Infantry” Military Ideas.

4. Assign Casualties #

You inflict Casualties on your Enemy equal to the number of icons rolled that match your Units in that battle. Each Unit can only inflict 1 Casualty per roll.

If a player taking Casualties has a combination of Mercenary, Regular, and/or Allied Units, they must alternate applying Casualties to Units in each category, one at a time and in that order. If there are multiple Unit types (Infantry, Cavalry, or Artillery) within a category, the player chooses which type to remove.

Regular Units are placed on the Play Mat’s Exhausted m area. Mercenaries and Allied Units are returned to the General Supply.

5. Wounded Generals #

For each pair of g that a player rolls, any Enemy General in use in this Battle gets 1H, provided that the Enemy also suffered at least 1 Casualty. A General receiving his second H dies. If a dead General is a Realm’s Ruler, see Ruler Death (p. 20).

6. Retreat #

If Units remain on both sides after rolling the dice and removing Casualties, another Round of Battle may occur. Before this can happen, each side has the option to Retreat. The attacker chooses first, followed by the defender. If both sides decide to continue fighting, repeat the Battle sequence starting with Step 2, as described above.

If a player chooses to Retreat from a Battle, they lose 1 additional Unit as a Casualty.

Attacking Units must retreat to the Area(s) from which they attacked. Units which disembarked from Ships immediately prior to Battle must Retreat back across the Sea to the Area from which they embarked.

The defender(s) may Retreat to any adjacent Area that does not contain Enemy Units (the rules for Military Access apply). If there is no such Area, they may not Retreat. When defending, all retreating Units from the same PR must Retreat to a single Area.

7. Proclaim a Winner #

The winner of a Battle is the side who has Units remaining in the Area after all Casualties and Retreats have been resolved. If no Units remain at all, the Battle has no winner.

If the Active Player is victorious in a Battle, they earn 1c. This applies to Battles that take place in the Action Phase only, and not to Battles versus ? in the Peace & Rebels Phase. If multiple Battles (Land or Naval) are triggered on a Turn, only 1c may be earned.

Fighting multiple Enemies #

If a player attacks an Area in which there are Units from two (or more) different Realms with whom they are at War, these Units defend as one united force for the duration of the Battle, whether they are Allied or not, and roll just 1 set of Battle Dice.

NPR Units defending their own Area are not added to the Army Mat of a defending player, and they will be removed from the map at the end of Battle as normal.

If there are two (or more) PRs defending together, the PR with the most Units will be named as the Main Defender. If tied, the player who last took a Turn may decide who will be the Main Defender. Only the Main Defender may use their General in the Battle, play Battle Actions, and roll the Battle Dice.

If multiple defenders are Retreating, they may each pick the destination of their Retreat.

Assigning Casualties to multiple defenders #

When there are multiple defenders, assign Casualties by alternating between these, going from the largest to the smallest faction (number of Units), with the attacker deciding ties.

9.8 Sieges & Occupation #

To initiate a Siege, a Land Activation must be taken for the Siege option. Sieging is required to Occupy and gain Control of Enemy Provinces.

Perform the following steps in order once you have paid the Action cost of 1c:

  1. Pick an Area with 1+ Enemy Controlled Provinces, but no Enemy Units, where you have 1+ Land Units
  2. Calculate the total Siege Strength for the Units you wish to use for the Siege, and pay an additional c for each Unit taking part beyond the first.
  3. The Enemy Provinces you wish to Siege must have a total Tax Value equal to or lower than your Siege Strength.
    • If you wish to Siege an Island Province (blue Port), you need to have 1+ Ships in a Sea Zone that the Port is facing.
  4. Resolve effects of “Defensive Mentality”, if any of the Province Owners has it.
  5. When Sieging:
    • a Rebel Occupied Province, simply remove the Rebel Town (R). Also remove any u from this Province.
    • an NPR Province, place an Occupied token on that Province, and then 1 of your own t, of matching size, with the u side facing up, on top of it.
    • a Hostile PR’s Province, place your own t, with the u side facing up, on top of their t or v. That player must then cover up a corresponding slot on the Town Track or Vassal Track of their Player Mat with a z, to signify that this Province provides no Tax Income.
    • an Enemy Occupied Province, whose Lawful Owner is Neutral or Friendly (including you), simply return the Occupier’s t to their Town Track.
    • a Rebel/Enemy Occupied Province whose Lawful Owner is also your Enemy, replace Occupier’s t/R with your t (u side facing up).
  6. Ships in the Port of a Sieged Province must immediately be moved into an adjacent Sea Zone – if this is a Hostile Sea Zone, a Naval Battle will immediately take place.
  7. Players who regain Control of any of their Provinces that have been Occupied, may remove a matching number of z from the corresponding slots of their Town Track or Vassal Track.

Occupied Provinces #

Provinces Sieged from a Realm you are at War with are referred to as Occupied. The Occupied token is used to mark NPR Provinces that are currently Occupied, and thus Controlled, by a PR. As the t or v of the Lawful Owner stays in place underneath the Occupier’s t when a player’s Province is Occupied, the use of the Occupied token is not needed in these cases.

An Occupied Province has both a de jure “owner” (the Lawful Owner) and a de facto “owner” (the Occupant) and is therefore considered to have disputed Ownership. In game terms, this means that such Provinces are not considered to be included in the terms Own or Realm. When determining if a Province is Owned by someone, and thus part of their Realm, that Province has to be both Lawfully Owned and Controlled by the same Realm.

9.9 Naval Battles #

At any point during the Action Phase or Peace & Rebels Phase, a Naval Battle will commence if any of these situations occur:

  • Ships Hostile to each other end up in the same Sea Zone.
  • A PR wishes to fight the Pirates in a Trade Node adjacent to where their Activated Ships ended a Naval Activation.
  • Ships move into a Sea Zone facing one or more Enemy NPR Ports (see p. 36).*
  • PR Ships are located in a Sea Zone where, upon a DoW, one or more NPR Ports become Hostile to the PR (see p. 36).*

* No Battle is triggered with an NPR if Ships Hostile to that NPR were already there prior to the current Turn.

If multiple Naval Battles are triggered upon a DoW, the Active Player decides the order in which to resolve them.

Ships may not transport any Land Units until the Naval Battle has been resolved.

Ships in Trade Protection slots must vacate these slots if they fight a Naval Battle.

1. Battle Preparations #

Defenders may not Appoint Admirals at the start of a Naval Battle. Otherwise, this step works in the same way as in a Land Battle.

2. Play Battle Actions (€) #

Works the same way as in a Land Battle.

3. Roll Naval Battle Dice #

Dice rolling in Naval Battles works similarly to Land Battles, except that you roll 3 Artillery Dice (blue) as a base instead of 3 Infantry Dice, with each Ship inflicting a Casualty on the Enemy if it can be matched with a i result.

Additionally, each Heavy Ship also inflicts 1 automatic hit on the Enemy.

4. Assign Casualties #

Players taking Casualties choose which Ships to remove from Battle; these are returned to the player’s Supply.

Heavy Ships can take 2 hits before being removed as Casualties. Lay a Heavy Ship on its side (or position it vertically for Standard Ed.) if it has been damaged. A damaged Heavy Ship is repaired if it ends a Turn or Round in a Friendly Port.

5A. Wounded Admirals #

For each pair of g that a player rolls, any Enemy Admiral in use in this Battle gets 1H, provided that the Enemy also suffered at least 1 Casualty. An Admiral receiving his second H dies.

5B. Captured Enemy Ships #

After assigning all Casualties and wounds, you may Capture Enemy Ships if you have Ships remaining and you have eliminated all of the Enemy’s Ships.

For each g result you rolled in the final Round of Battle, convert 1 Enemy Casualty from that Round into a captured Ship.

Your Enemy decides which of their Ships are captured and which are sunk, and return those Ships to their Supply. From your own Supply, you may take as many Ships as you Captured and place them into the Sea Zone where the Battle occurred, or on the appropriate section of your Fleet Mat (provided that the Fleet is present or available to be deployed there).

6. Retreat #

Retreats at sea work much like Retreats on land, except that Ships must retreat into adjacent Sea Zones or Ports.

Ships may only Retreat to an adjacent non-Hostile Sea Zone, or into an adjacent Friendly Port, otherwise they cannot Retreat. All retreating Ships belonging to the same Realm must Retreat to a single destination.

A player who decides to Retreat must lose 1 Ship of their choice as a Casualty.

7. Proclaim a Winner #

The winner of a Naval Battle is the side who has Ships remaining in the Sea Zone once all Casualties and Retreats have been resolved. If there are no Ships remaining from either side, the Naval Battle has no winner.

If the Active Player is victorious in a Naval Battle, they earn 1c. Even if multiple Battles (Land or Naval) are triggered on a Turn, only 1c may be earned.

Fighting multiple Enemies #

Works in the same way as in a Land Battle

Calendar May 20, 2023