Aedilred
2016-12-19, 05:07 AM
EMPIRE 3!
Gods, Kings & Adventurers
A Community World=Building Game by Morph Bark
Running on Giantitp since January 2014!
Empire 2 since September 2015 by QuintonBeck, and Zayuz since August 2016!
Empire 3 since December 2016 by Aedilred
Current OOC: OOC Thread I (www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?509382-EMPIRE3!-I-A-Community-World-Building-Game)
Current IC: IC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?510772-EMPIRE3-IC-Thread)
Current Dice Rolling: Dice Thread I (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?509386-Empire3!-Dice-Rolling-Thread)
~ ~ The Rules ~ ~
Below in all the spoilers are the rules, with headers describing their general contents. This first post should contain all the information necessary to get started and play Empire! The second post shall contain the more complicated and in-depth rules, many of which are only used by the GMs but are publicly available for purposes of transparency. Others concern more acute areas of play and may be relevant to some, but not all players.
Starting Up
The Basics
In EMPIRE! you start play as the ruler of a country. You perform actions to improve your ruler, the state, and your position in the world through alliances, trade, marriage, research, and war. Once your ruler dies of old age, disease, accident or murder their heir takes over, becoming your new ruling character controlling the state.
Your Ruler
All player characters have the following attributes:
Diplomacy
Military
Economy
Intrigue
Faith
These attributes have a score of 1 to 10, reflecting the ruler's personal abilities and the governmental institutions they maintain to support them.
When a new player starts, they roll 1d4 for each attribute, and then assign the rolls as they wish. They may assign a bonus of +1 to any two separate attributes.
You can make your rolls in this thread ( ) once approved. If you roll more than one 1, you may reroll any 1s beyond the first for your very first ruler. If you have more than two 1s after the reroll, those subsequent 1s become 2s (you are still left with two 1s). This option to reroll is only available to newly joined players so as to avoid a terrible first ruler.
Changing Rulers
Changing rulers is a non-action. If your current character dies, or abdicates, their designated heir takes their place. In the case of the heir being raised and tutored by the previous ruler their stats are rolled in order with 1d4 for their attributes, receiving a +1 bonus to any stats their predecessor had a score of 4 or higher in, or a +2 bonus to their roll for any attribute their predecessor had an 8 or higher in.
If the new ruler was not raised by the previous ruler, they roll stats as a new player's first ruler with flat d4s and two floating +1 modifiers. Unlike rulers who were children of a previous ruler, the rolls may be assigned freely to the various attributes.
Regents, those who rule in the place of a designated heir should they be too young to begin rulership themselves, roll attributes as non-related rulers. Unlike legitimate sovereigns, Regents cannot perform special 10 actions or resolution actions but can perform special 5s.
Rulers must be changed the round prior to the round in which you wish to use their attribute scores. The round in which a ruler is changed the previous ruler's scores will still be in play although bonuses accrued by their actions will be applied to the new ruler for the subsequent round.
Please note any changeover of ruler and link the rolled stats for your incoming ruler in your IC post in which the changeover occurs and the new ruler first comes into play.
Creating a Region
Describing Your Region
When a player enters the game, they first must claim a region and describe it in fluff.
Terrain: Describe the physical features of your selected region, with at least one major landmark or more at the player’s discretion. Players are encouraged to divulge a bit more on general landscape, the populated and underpopulated areas of the region, and/or the names and locations of towns or cities within the region.
People: Describe what the people in the region generally look like. What do they wear? What race are they? What is their culture like? What do they do in their daily lives? It might be a good idea to see what your neighbours’ people are like, because yours and theirs may be similar in some ways, or at least have some interesting interaction possibilities or history. A region might have the same general type of people as a region neighbouring it and similar culture can exist beyond a single region.
Resource: Describe one resource that can be abundantly found in the region as well as at least one resource the people will have to import from outside out of necessity or desire. You can have something that doesn't exist in the real world as a resource, such as special metals like mithril or adamantium, or things that would be great for alchemy or chemistry or certain technologies, but to start using these may require advances to be made in-game.
A resource in your starting region begins play at [Great] quantity. The import necessity will not be automatically satisfied; you have to find a way to acquire that resource through a deal with another player, seizing foreign trading posts, or discovering distant lands to extract tribute from. If the resource requirement of a region goes unmet for too long there may be revolts or rebellions.
There are three trading posts in your region, of which your ruler controls one at the start of the game. The other two are vacant. Feel free to describe and name the trading posts in your writeup.
You can trade resources with other players. The mechanics of trade are discussed under Base Mechanics.
Religion: Religion can be very important in EMPIRE! When a player enters the game, their people and rulers are either adherents of the Shishiyan Church, or are followers of minor, unorganised religions. More information about the state of religion at the start of the game is given in the World section. Gaining the support of organized religions can be helpful or have unusual effects. Players can introduce their own religions with a special action if they have a Faith score of 10, raising an existing spiritual cult to official status, creating a new schism of an existing religion, or creating something entirely new.
Your region contains three Religious Centres at the start of the game. These could be major temples, monasteries, universities, sacred groves, or any number of other religious hubs which have influence over the region. In your writeup, note whether each of these is under the control of a particular religion, or whether they are currently not occupied at all. They do not all have to belong to the same religion, although for obvious reasons if different religions own holy sites within the same region this might have an impact on the rest of your writeup.
Rounds
Each round will take two real-life weeks and will be the equivalent of 3 years in-game.
During each round you have a default of five actions you can spend doing things. If players haven't posted actions by the end of that round, their round is considered wasted. Rounds close and open on Sunday. Because of the possibility for abuse, any action posts that are edited after the round closes will be ruled completely invalid unless proof can be provided (i.e. datestamped screenshots or equivalent) that the actions are unchanged from before the round closure.
Actions do not take effect until the end of the round. Armies raised in a round can therefore not be used until the next round, attribute increases are only added at the end of the round, newly acquired technologies cannot be used until the round after they were introduced, etc.
Actions
Actions are the major things happening in your state over the course of the three in-game years each round covers. Is construction happening on a massive monument to a god or ancient king? Are armies being raised to answer the call of their sovereign? Perhaps your state is hosting or sending its finest diplomats to an international event to mingle with world leaders? If you want your state to do something and have an impact on the world, use an action. There are a few specially defined actions discussed below.
Special actions are actions you can only take when your ruler has at least a 5 or a 10 in the attribute in question. Special actions are limited to a single-use 5 and a single-use 10 per attribute per ruler. Special actions need not be used immediately upon attaining a 5 or 10 but may be held (or never used) at the discretion of the player. A 10 special may be used as a second 5 special if desired by the player but will count as a full use of the 10 special action.
Resolution actions can only be used when you have a 10 in the given attribute, and apply to a single dice roll. This represents expenditure of a great deal of money, resources and other capital on a single venture. You automatically roll the maximum possible on that roll; however, the attribute in question is reduced to 1 for the next round of play. Resolution actions may be used an unlimited number of times per ruler, though only once per round.
All actions take effect at the end of the round (unless they have an effect that is delayed even longer). So, for instance, if you set up a trade route for another resource, you will not have the resource until the following round. If you pursue an investigation, the results will be announced in the round opener for response in the next round.
Projects: Some things may take more than one round to complete. These are called ‘projects’, and take multiple actions to complete. Some take only two actions, like making the roads a little better between cities. Some are ‘Great Projects’ that take 5 actions, like making a road network between all your towns, cities, fortresses and bordering states. Building a great wall, renovating a large port city, or gathering the books to create a massive library are examples of 5-action Great Projects.
Other players may assist with completion of a project or Great Project. Great Projects have no mechanical effect by themselves, but can be used as justification for technologies and in order to introduce more dramatic locations for events.
Sub-actions are where a single action can be taken that has the effect of several other actions. The most common occurrence for this is at events, where a player can perform several diplomatic actions such as betrothals or treaty signings for the cost of one action.
In general, unless specified otherwise in the rules, if an action must be rolled for or has a mechanical effect, it probably can't be a sub-action and will take a full action of its own.
Secret actions are actions which are known only to you and the GM. Such actions need to be sent to the GM for verification, otherwise they will have no effect. Secret actions count towards the Intrigue attribute for the purposes of increasing scores, and will use this score in determining success. Only one secret action can be taken per round. Special actions (5s and 10s) cannot be secret unless using the Intrigue attribute’s special actions. Other players cannot investigate what you have been/are doing with your secret actions directly (e.g. “ Investigate Kingdom A’s Secret Action”), but the results of a secret action may be investigated and your hand in them discovered. Secret actions can be countered if correctly, or mostly-correctly, deduced by an opposing state. Secret actions are always full actions, rather than sub-actions or non-actions, and count as Intrigue actions for purposes of increased attributes. Moving armies and attacking other players with military units can not be secret actions.
Non-actions are anything that a player does in their turn that does not cost an action. A player can take any number of these, some of which may have a mechanical effect. Changing rulers is a non-action, as is allowing foreign troops passage, and resisting conversion attempts.
Non-actions take effect at the end of the round along with regular actions.
Increasing Attributes
For every two actions spent in an attribute in a single round, they receive a +1 bonus to their ruler’s score in that attribute, starting from the following round.
The bonus will be applied to whichever ruler the player is using the following round for purposes of attributes, even if that is not the same ruler who took the actions that resulted in a bonus.
Every turn once a player has completed their actions they list at the end of their post what attributes they increased. e.g 2 Military Actions, 2 Diplomacy Actions, and 1 Intrigue Action = +1 Military and +1 Diplomacy.
A ruler's score in any attribute cannot increase beyond 10.
Please note clearly at the end of your post in the IC thread which attributes you increase so that it can be identified and noted in the tables.
New Player Bonus Actions
For players joining after the close of Round 2 an additional action will be granted and one extra action again for every 2 round closes after the end of Round 2 to a cap of 10 bonus actions after the close of Round 20. These actions and their attribute increases will all take effect at the same time as your regular round actions at the end of the round. These bonus actions may not affect other regions or players. They represent some of what your realm has been up to prior to entering the world stage.
The Attributes
Diplomacy
A higher Diplomacy score will help mitigate or solve any potential rebellions in any lands you hold and influences the chances of NPCs agreeing to proposals you offer.
Actions
Forming alliances, arranging marriages or betrothals for your character or their relatives, changing laws or imposing order on an unstable region, are broad purposes of Diplomacy. Great Projects intended to draw the attentions of lawyers, politicians, and nobility would fall under Diplomacy. Diplomacy represents a state’s political acumen and skill at negotiation.
[I]Diplomacy 5 Special: Cultural Identity
If you have a score of 5 in Diplomacy, you can spend an action to create a “Cultural Identity” for your state. A Cultural Identity will grant an increase in die size (2d6 to 2d8) on a specific set of rolls chosen by the player that are not related to Military actions. A particularly agnostic or faithful Faith focused state might adopt an identity granting a bonus to Faith rolls resisting conversion attempts. A cutthroat Economy focused state might adopt an identity that granted its bonus to rolls to buyout trading posts.
A Cultural Identity lasts until it is changed by a subsequent Diplomacy 5 action or until the end of a state if it is made permanent with a Diplomacy 10 special action.
Diplomacy 10 Special: Permanent Cultural Identity
If you have a score of 10 in Diplomacy you may choose to make your existing Cultural Identity, created by an earlier Diplomacy 5, permanent. The Diplomacy 5 Cultural Identity may be introduced in the same round it is made permanent with a Diplomacy 10 action. A Permanent Cultural Identity stays with a state until the end of the state or until specifically replaced by a subsequent Diplomacy 10. A state can support as many Permanent Cultural Identities as it can establish.
Diplomacy 10 Special: Diplomatic Unity
If you have a score of 10 in Diplomacy and the requisite regions you may choose to unify holdings that you control into a more distinct entity through legal means.
[*If you control four or more regions you may declare yourself a Great King. Great Kings have a sixth action per round. You lose the title (and the action) if you ever control fewer than 4 regions. A player may form a Great Kingdom if they are already a Merchant Prince or Holy Land, but do not gain additional actions from doing so, although they lose the restriction on their sixth action.
If you have 12 or more regions (including vassals)you may declare yourself an Emperor. Emperors have a seventh action per round. You lose the title (and the action) if you ever control fewer than 12 regions (including vassals)
Economy
A higher Economy score will help in establishing prosperous trade routes and invigorating local output beyond its standard measure.
Actions
Establishing trade, extracting more complex resources, or improving the basic standard of living within a state are broad purposes of Economy. Great Projects intended to draw the attentions of economists, merchants, or the wealthy would fall under Economy. Economy represents a state’s general wealth and the vigour of its economic activity. Some things like education and construction that may not fall into other branches would fall into this category as well.
Economy is used to buy out or take over trading posts (see Trade rules).
Economy 5 Special: Upgrade Resource Quantity
If you have a score of 5 in Economy you can spend an action to upgrade a region’s resource quantity and establish a control of the associated new trading post. A region can support up to three trading posts equivalent to the region’s resource quality of [Minor], [Good], or [Great]. You do not need to own the region to improve a resource’s quantity.
Economy 5 Special: Upgrade Resource Quality
If you have a score of 5 in Economy you can spend an action to change the resource into a more complex version of itself , e.g. Wood to Ships. You must own the region to use this Economy 5 special action. Doing so will reduce the number of trading posts in the region by 1.
Economy 10 Special: New Technology
If you have an Economy score of 10, you are able to introduce a new technology in your regions. This requires that you already have prerequisite technologies and any resources that are necessary for a technological creation either through trade or as a Minor, Good, or Great Resource in one of your regions. This action can only be done once per ruler.
The use and bonuses of technologies are generally determined on a per-country basis. However, some technologies may specifically apply only to certain regions.
Prerequisites can be technologies or resources.
Economy 10 Special: Economic Unity
If you have a score of 10 in Economy and the requisite trading posts you may choose to elevate your state’s status into a more recognizable entity through economic means.
If you control ten or more trading posts, you may take the title of a Merchant Prince. Merchant Princes have a sixth, Economy only, action per round. You lose the title (and the action) if you ever control fewer than 10 trading posts. Rulers with Holy Lands may declare themselves Merchant Princes, in which case they gain no new actions, but may choose whether their sixth action is Economy or Faith.
Faith
A higher Faith score will help in enforcing religious doctrine and resisting the destabilizing influence of foreign faiths as well as granting boons to the especially devout.
Actions
Holding religious gatherings, defining divine law and truths, or dealing with the heads or priests of your religion or those of others are broad purposes of Faith. Great Projects intended to draw the attentions of holy men, pilgrims, and religious leaders would fall under Faith. Faith represents a state’s piety and adherence to a higher power and associated teachings.
Converting People
Each region contains three Religious Centres. These may be shrines, churches, schools, universities or even religious groups in their own right. A religion’s influence in a given region is represented by its control of these centres.
A player may attempt to take control of a Religious Centre either in their own regions or in those controlled by other players. Roll 2d6 and add your Faith score plus any relevant bonuses. If the owner of the region wishes to try to stop the conversion, they should also roll 2d6+Faith and any relevant bonuses. If the converting player rolls higher, they take control of the religious centre.
If a player is trying to convert a centre in their own region, or the region’s owner does not wish to oppose their conversion, they may still face opposition by the existing owners of the centre. A conversion will be successful if it rolls higher than 12 (plus any relevant bonuses to resist conversion).
Opposing conversion is a non-action, but the player must specify that they are doing so in their actions post and make the roll.
Players may attempt to wipe out followers of a religion in their region through use of military force by launching a Religious Purge. If doing so, roll 2d6 and add Military score plus any relevant bonuses. If the result is 12 (taking into account any defensive bonuses) or higher, the religion loses control of that religious centre, but control does not pass to the conquering player. The religious centre is left vacant until converted, and the region may become unstable due to the violence of the action. Note that Religious Purges are Military actions, but are listed here since they concern Faith.
If you do not wish to have a certain holy order in your region you may attempt to replace it with a competing holy order, or exterminate the holy order through military means. To remove a Holy Order militarily a ruler must spend an action to attack the holy order destroying it and causing unrest in the region.
Faith 5 Special: Holy Order
If you have a score of 5 in Faith you can spend an action to establish a regional holy order. These could be warrior priests bound to righteous crusade, a monastery for wise and reflective monks, or a distinguished collection of devout nobles committed to their faith’s cause. A region can only support one holy order, however a holy order may be established in any region, even those you do not directly control, if you already control two Religious Centres in that region. Holy Orders may only be established by organised religions.
A Holy Order counts as an additional religious centre for purposes of achieving Unity. If a Holy Order is present in a region it gives a +4 innate defensive bonus to all other centres in that region which share its religion should anyone attempt a conversion or purge against those centres. Holy Orders cannot be converted, but can be exterminated in a purge or replaced by another Faith 5 action.
Faith 10 Special: Organise Religion
You may use a Faith 10 Special action to establish your faith formally. Your ruler establishes a new church separate from the authority of existing religious heads. This may be a schism with an existing organised religion, or a new faith of your own devising. Your ruler is treated as the head of this new faith by default, although you may designate another character as the head.
In each region you control, one Religious Centre is automatically converted to the new faith. These will normally be taken from those owned by your ruler’s former faith, although if that religion controls no religious centres in a region, the one converted to the new faith will be determined randomly. Holy Orders are not converted and remain faithful to their existing religion.
Although rulers may only take one Faith Special action in their reigns, they can combine the organisation of a new faith with a miracle in a single action, in which case the miracle is the event which triggers the establishment of the new religion.
Faith 10 Special: Miracle
If you follow a recognized religion, you may request a miracle from the power that you worship. The miracle must fit with their theme and portfolio.
Miracles can bless holy orders, uncover new or enhance existing resources, create holy artifacts of power, and so on. A Miracle may grant individual characters increased abilities or strength, such as immortality or reincarnation or a bonus in certain types of rolls involving that individual. A Miracle may be used to create a “Blessing” which grants a bonus to a selected roll type for regions containing a Holy Order of the religion used to create the Blessing.
Faith 10 Special: Religious Unity
If you have a score of 10 in Faith and your faith controls sufficient religious centres, you follow you may choose to elevate your state’s religious standing to a more respected place through faithful means.
20 or more religious centres belonging to the religion your state follows allow you to declare your region a Holy Land. Holy Lands may take a sixth, Faith only, action per round. You lose the title (and the action) if there are ever fewer than 20 religious centres owned by your ruler’s Faith. Merchant Princes may declare themselves Holy Lands, in which case they gain no extra actions, but may choose whether the sixth action they take each round is Faith or Economy.
Military
A higher Military score will help in conquering or subjugating those in the world who can only be expected to listen to might or in defending yourself from those who view you in such a light.
Actions
Raising a unit of troops, utilising their services, or constructing fortifications are broad purposes of Military. Great Projects intended to draw the attentions of strategists, soldiers, and conquerors would fall under Military. Military represents a combination of fighting prowess and tactical knowledge possessed by a state.
Training Military Units
You can raise one military unit in one action. These units function as the standing armies and navies of your state although are not specifically defined in makeup or number of active fighting men and women. A single unit is generally considered to be equivalent in combat effectiveness to about 1,000 regular human troops, and these terms are used interchangeably throughout the rules, even if for fluff reasons the actual units in a particular state or a particular engagement are somewhat smaller or larger.
The maximum number of troops you can raise is 10 units by default, plus 1 per additional region beyond your capital that you control. If you lose enough territory that you no longer have enough regions to support the number of troops you have raised, your army total will be reduced to the maximum you can currently support.
Military Actions
A state’s military can be used in a number of ways:
Troops may be used to invade other regions. Using troops to invade or conquer a region requires a distinct action per region being attacked. Defending one's own regions requires a distinct action per region. In order to attack or defend a state must possess at least one applicable military unit.
Where players defend against an invasion, the battle is settled with an opposed Military roll on 2d10, with each side adding the number of units they have deployed and any relevant technologies. The rules for battles are described in detail in Advanced Military Rules.
Players may use their military to sack trading posts. Rules for this are described in the section on Trade.
The military may be used to suppress or exterminate unwanted religious groups or holy orders in a Pogrom. Rules for this are described in the section on Faith.
Military 5 Special: Recruit General
If you have a Military score of 5, you may recruit a general to lead your armies. Generals are secondary commanders who may lead armies in the absence of your ruler, using their own Military score. A general enters play with a Military score of 5+1d5, although this value will never increase. There is no limit to the number of Generals a state may have in play, but they may be lost in battle and, like all people, are susceptible to ailments and the ravages of age. To deploy a General, the player must indicate that they are doing so, and which battle they are commanding, in the relevant actions post.
Military 5 Special: Military Specialization
If you have a Military score of 5, you can introduce a Military Specialization. A Military Specialization grants a player an increase in die size (2d10 to 2d12) in certain types of military endeavors. Such endeavors might include, caravan guards to defend trade routes from attack, raiders granting a bonus in the conquest of trading routes, stalwart defenders granting a bonus on defense in their homeland or other appropriate specializations. A military specialization lasts until it is replaced with a subsequent Military 5 or made permanent with a Military 10. A country can only support one Military Specialization at a time.
Military 10 Special: Military Technology
If you have a Military score of 10, you have the ability to introduce a new military technology in your regions. This requires that you already have any prerequisite technologies and any resources that are necessary either through trade or through native ownership. This action can only be done once per ruler.
Military technologies include technologies such as weapon/armor design and smithing, fortifications, cavalry, military vehicles, beasts of war, and other technologies utilized by the military.
Prerequisites can be technologies or resources.
Intrigue
A higher Intrigue score will help in staying ahead of your fellow states through subterfuge and investigation, or countering such attempts made against yourself.
Actions
Spying on a neighbor, monitoring rumors and communication, and plotting or foiling a scheme are broad purposes of Intrigue. Great Projects intended to draw the attentions of spies, saboteurs, and detectives fall under Intrigue. Intrigue represents a state’s spy craft and investigative ability related to other states’ actions.
Investigation
The actions of competing states, both subtle and overt, may at times give rise to mysteries or plots that can only be accurately unraveled by those trained in avoiding detection.
Investigation of a political event involves a check (2d6+Intrigue). The degree of success the investigation meets with will be dependent on the result, and it may be that the investigators meet with only partial success or fail altogether if the roll is not high enough. Note that some investigations may be simply impossible if you have no leads or evidence to go on in-character. A sufficiently high roll on an Investigation action does not guarantee a positive result if there is no basis for the action in the first place.
Assassination, Kidnapping, and Theft
Players may attempt to assassinate each other’s characters. If the target is a named character, make an opposed roll against your target’s Intrigue score, including all relevant bonuses. If the target is not a named character, make an opposed roll against half the Intrigue score of the target, including all relevant bonuses. If the assassin’s roll is higher, the target is killed. In the event of a tie, the target survives, though may be wounded or otherwise inconvenienced.
Kidnappings function as assassinations, except that the target is taken alive rather than killed. Defences against kidnapping attempts receive an automatic +2 bonus due to the greater difficulty of abducting rather than killing them.
Players may attempt to steal technologies, artifacts and other items of value from other players. These function as assassinations, except that in the event of success the item is stolen. In the case of technologies the thief duplicates the technology without depriving the owner; in the case of unique items, the item itself is taken and the previous owner no longer possesses it.
States which are frequent victims of assassination, kidnapping or theft attempts will naturally become more wary. If you target the same state in successive rounds with the same type of Intrigue action, they gain a +2 bonus to their defence roll. This bonus is cumulative if attempts are made over three or more rounds, but only applies to attempts made by the same perpetrator.
Intrigue is also used for Raids (see Trade rules).
Intrigue 5 Special: False Flag
If you have an Intrigue score of 5 you can choose to perform a False Flag operation. A False Flag Operation simulates a conversion or buyout action in the name of another state. False Flag operations can be used to “frame” other states without their knowledge or agreement, or could be done with the agreement of the benefiting party as part of a wider deal.
To use the False Flag action, choose a religious centre or trading post belonging to another state, and a third state to which you wish to transfer ownership. Roll 2d6+Intrigue and bonuses to take over the religious centre or trading post. This is opposed as normal by the centre’s current owners, using their Faith or Economy scores plus relevant bonuses. If you are successful, control of that centre or trading post passes to the third state you named, or their religion, if applicable.
Intrigue 10 Special: Sabotage
By use of an Intrigue 10 action, your agents infiltrate a trading post or religious centre and destroy it, rendering it unusable for the foreseeable future.
Choose a trading post or religious centre. The trading post or religious centre is destroyed and removed from the game. It cannot be used again unless it is reinstated by a player taking an action to create a new trading post or religious centre in that region.
Gods, Kings & Adventurers
A Community World=Building Game by Morph Bark
Running on Giantitp since January 2014!
Empire 2 since September 2015 by QuintonBeck, and Zayuz since August 2016!
Empire 3 since December 2016 by Aedilred
Current OOC: OOC Thread I (www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?509382-EMPIRE3!-I-A-Community-World-Building-Game)
Current IC: IC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?510772-EMPIRE3-IC-Thread)
Current Dice Rolling: Dice Thread I (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?509386-Empire3!-Dice-Rolling-Thread)
~ ~ The Rules ~ ~
Below in all the spoilers are the rules, with headers describing their general contents. This first post should contain all the information necessary to get started and play Empire! The second post shall contain the more complicated and in-depth rules, many of which are only used by the GMs but are publicly available for purposes of transparency. Others concern more acute areas of play and may be relevant to some, but not all players.
Starting Up
The Basics
In EMPIRE! you start play as the ruler of a country. You perform actions to improve your ruler, the state, and your position in the world through alliances, trade, marriage, research, and war. Once your ruler dies of old age, disease, accident or murder their heir takes over, becoming your new ruling character controlling the state.
Your Ruler
All player characters have the following attributes:
Diplomacy
Military
Economy
Intrigue
Faith
These attributes have a score of 1 to 10, reflecting the ruler's personal abilities and the governmental institutions they maintain to support them.
When a new player starts, they roll 1d4 for each attribute, and then assign the rolls as they wish. They may assign a bonus of +1 to any two separate attributes.
You can make your rolls in this thread ( ) once approved. If you roll more than one 1, you may reroll any 1s beyond the first for your very first ruler. If you have more than two 1s after the reroll, those subsequent 1s become 2s (you are still left with two 1s). This option to reroll is only available to newly joined players so as to avoid a terrible first ruler.
Changing Rulers
Changing rulers is a non-action. If your current character dies, or abdicates, their designated heir takes their place. In the case of the heir being raised and tutored by the previous ruler their stats are rolled in order with 1d4 for their attributes, receiving a +1 bonus to any stats their predecessor had a score of 4 or higher in, or a +2 bonus to their roll for any attribute their predecessor had an 8 or higher in.
If the new ruler was not raised by the previous ruler, they roll stats as a new player's first ruler with flat d4s and two floating +1 modifiers. Unlike rulers who were children of a previous ruler, the rolls may be assigned freely to the various attributes.
Regents, those who rule in the place of a designated heir should they be too young to begin rulership themselves, roll attributes as non-related rulers. Unlike legitimate sovereigns, Regents cannot perform special 10 actions or resolution actions but can perform special 5s.
Rulers must be changed the round prior to the round in which you wish to use their attribute scores. The round in which a ruler is changed the previous ruler's scores will still be in play although bonuses accrued by their actions will be applied to the new ruler for the subsequent round.
Please note any changeover of ruler and link the rolled stats for your incoming ruler in your IC post in which the changeover occurs and the new ruler first comes into play.
Creating a Region
Describing Your Region
When a player enters the game, they first must claim a region and describe it in fluff.
Terrain: Describe the physical features of your selected region, with at least one major landmark or more at the player’s discretion. Players are encouraged to divulge a bit more on general landscape, the populated and underpopulated areas of the region, and/or the names and locations of towns or cities within the region.
People: Describe what the people in the region generally look like. What do they wear? What race are they? What is their culture like? What do they do in their daily lives? It might be a good idea to see what your neighbours’ people are like, because yours and theirs may be similar in some ways, or at least have some interesting interaction possibilities or history. A region might have the same general type of people as a region neighbouring it and similar culture can exist beyond a single region.
Resource: Describe one resource that can be abundantly found in the region as well as at least one resource the people will have to import from outside out of necessity or desire. You can have something that doesn't exist in the real world as a resource, such as special metals like mithril or adamantium, or things that would be great for alchemy or chemistry or certain technologies, but to start using these may require advances to be made in-game.
A resource in your starting region begins play at [Great] quantity. The import necessity will not be automatically satisfied; you have to find a way to acquire that resource through a deal with another player, seizing foreign trading posts, or discovering distant lands to extract tribute from. If the resource requirement of a region goes unmet for too long there may be revolts or rebellions.
There are three trading posts in your region, of which your ruler controls one at the start of the game. The other two are vacant. Feel free to describe and name the trading posts in your writeup.
You can trade resources with other players. The mechanics of trade are discussed under Base Mechanics.
Religion: Religion can be very important in EMPIRE! When a player enters the game, their people and rulers are either adherents of the Shishiyan Church, or are followers of minor, unorganised religions. More information about the state of religion at the start of the game is given in the World section. Gaining the support of organized religions can be helpful or have unusual effects. Players can introduce their own religions with a special action if they have a Faith score of 10, raising an existing spiritual cult to official status, creating a new schism of an existing religion, or creating something entirely new.
Your region contains three Religious Centres at the start of the game. These could be major temples, monasteries, universities, sacred groves, or any number of other religious hubs which have influence over the region. In your writeup, note whether each of these is under the control of a particular religion, or whether they are currently not occupied at all. They do not all have to belong to the same religion, although for obvious reasons if different religions own holy sites within the same region this might have an impact on the rest of your writeup.
Rounds
Each round will take two real-life weeks and will be the equivalent of 3 years in-game.
During each round you have a default of five actions you can spend doing things. If players haven't posted actions by the end of that round, their round is considered wasted. Rounds close and open on Sunday. Because of the possibility for abuse, any action posts that are edited after the round closes will be ruled completely invalid unless proof can be provided (i.e. datestamped screenshots or equivalent) that the actions are unchanged from before the round closure.
Actions do not take effect until the end of the round. Armies raised in a round can therefore not be used until the next round, attribute increases are only added at the end of the round, newly acquired technologies cannot be used until the round after they were introduced, etc.
Actions
Actions are the major things happening in your state over the course of the three in-game years each round covers. Is construction happening on a massive monument to a god or ancient king? Are armies being raised to answer the call of their sovereign? Perhaps your state is hosting or sending its finest diplomats to an international event to mingle with world leaders? If you want your state to do something and have an impact on the world, use an action. There are a few specially defined actions discussed below.
Special actions are actions you can only take when your ruler has at least a 5 or a 10 in the attribute in question. Special actions are limited to a single-use 5 and a single-use 10 per attribute per ruler. Special actions need not be used immediately upon attaining a 5 or 10 but may be held (or never used) at the discretion of the player. A 10 special may be used as a second 5 special if desired by the player but will count as a full use of the 10 special action.
Resolution actions can only be used when you have a 10 in the given attribute, and apply to a single dice roll. This represents expenditure of a great deal of money, resources and other capital on a single venture. You automatically roll the maximum possible on that roll; however, the attribute in question is reduced to 1 for the next round of play. Resolution actions may be used an unlimited number of times per ruler, though only once per round.
All actions take effect at the end of the round (unless they have an effect that is delayed even longer). So, for instance, if you set up a trade route for another resource, you will not have the resource until the following round. If you pursue an investigation, the results will be announced in the round opener for response in the next round.
Projects: Some things may take more than one round to complete. These are called ‘projects’, and take multiple actions to complete. Some take only two actions, like making the roads a little better between cities. Some are ‘Great Projects’ that take 5 actions, like making a road network between all your towns, cities, fortresses and bordering states. Building a great wall, renovating a large port city, or gathering the books to create a massive library are examples of 5-action Great Projects.
Other players may assist with completion of a project or Great Project. Great Projects have no mechanical effect by themselves, but can be used as justification for technologies and in order to introduce more dramatic locations for events.
Sub-actions are where a single action can be taken that has the effect of several other actions. The most common occurrence for this is at events, where a player can perform several diplomatic actions such as betrothals or treaty signings for the cost of one action.
In general, unless specified otherwise in the rules, if an action must be rolled for or has a mechanical effect, it probably can't be a sub-action and will take a full action of its own.
Secret actions are actions which are known only to you and the GM. Such actions need to be sent to the GM for verification, otherwise they will have no effect. Secret actions count towards the Intrigue attribute for the purposes of increasing scores, and will use this score in determining success. Only one secret action can be taken per round. Special actions (5s and 10s) cannot be secret unless using the Intrigue attribute’s special actions. Other players cannot investigate what you have been/are doing with your secret actions directly (e.g. “ Investigate Kingdom A’s Secret Action”), but the results of a secret action may be investigated and your hand in them discovered. Secret actions can be countered if correctly, or mostly-correctly, deduced by an opposing state. Secret actions are always full actions, rather than sub-actions or non-actions, and count as Intrigue actions for purposes of increased attributes. Moving armies and attacking other players with military units can not be secret actions.
Non-actions are anything that a player does in their turn that does not cost an action. A player can take any number of these, some of which may have a mechanical effect. Changing rulers is a non-action, as is allowing foreign troops passage, and resisting conversion attempts.
Non-actions take effect at the end of the round along with regular actions.
Increasing Attributes
For every two actions spent in an attribute in a single round, they receive a +1 bonus to their ruler’s score in that attribute, starting from the following round.
The bonus will be applied to whichever ruler the player is using the following round for purposes of attributes, even if that is not the same ruler who took the actions that resulted in a bonus.
Every turn once a player has completed their actions they list at the end of their post what attributes they increased. e.g 2 Military Actions, 2 Diplomacy Actions, and 1 Intrigue Action = +1 Military and +1 Diplomacy.
A ruler's score in any attribute cannot increase beyond 10.
Please note clearly at the end of your post in the IC thread which attributes you increase so that it can be identified and noted in the tables.
New Player Bonus Actions
For players joining after the close of Round 2 an additional action will be granted and one extra action again for every 2 round closes after the end of Round 2 to a cap of 10 bonus actions after the close of Round 20. These actions and their attribute increases will all take effect at the same time as your regular round actions at the end of the round. These bonus actions may not affect other regions or players. They represent some of what your realm has been up to prior to entering the world stage.
The Attributes
Diplomacy
A higher Diplomacy score will help mitigate or solve any potential rebellions in any lands you hold and influences the chances of NPCs agreeing to proposals you offer.
Actions
Forming alliances, arranging marriages or betrothals for your character or their relatives, changing laws or imposing order on an unstable region, are broad purposes of Diplomacy. Great Projects intended to draw the attentions of lawyers, politicians, and nobility would fall under Diplomacy. Diplomacy represents a state’s political acumen and skill at negotiation.
[I]Diplomacy 5 Special: Cultural Identity
If you have a score of 5 in Diplomacy, you can spend an action to create a “Cultural Identity” for your state. A Cultural Identity will grant an increase in die size (2d6 to 2d8) on a specific set of rolls chosen by the player that are not related to Military actions. A particularly agnostic or faithful Faith focused state might adopt an identity granting a bonus to Faith rolls resisting conversion attempts. A cutthroat Economy focused state might adopt an identity that granted its bonus to rolls to buyout trading posts.
A Cultural Identity lasts until it is changed by a subsequent Diplomacy 5 action or until the end of a state if it is made permanent with a Diplomacy 10 special action.
Diplomacy 10 Special: Permanent Cultural Identity
If you have a score of 10 in Diplomacy you may choose to make your existing Cultural Identity, created by an earlier Diplomacy 5, permanent. The Diplomacy 5 Cultural Identity may be introduced in the same round it is made permanent with a Diplomacy 10 action. A Permanent Cultural Identity stays with a state until the end of the state or until specifically replaced by a subsequent Diplomacy 10. A state can support as many Permanent Cultural Identities as it can establish.
Diplomacy 10 Special: Diplomatic Unity
If you have a score of 10 in Diplomacy and the requisite regions you may choose to unify holdings that you control into a more distinct entity through legal means.
[*If you control four or more regions you may declare yourself a Great King. Great Kings have a sixth action per round. You lose the title (and the action) if you ever control fewer than 4 regions. A player may form a Great Kingdom if they are already a Merchant Prince or Holy Land, but do not gain additional actions from doing so, although they lose the restriction on their sixth action.
If you have 12 or more regions (including vassals)you may declare yourself an Emperor. Emperors have a seventh action per round. You lose the title (and the action) if you ever control fewer than 12 regions (including vassals)
Economy
A higher Economy score will help in establishing prosperous trade routes and invigorating local output beyond its standard measure.
Actions
Establishing trade, extracting more complex resources, or improving the basic standard of living within a state are broad purposes of Economy. Great Projects intended to draw the attentions of economists, merchants, or the wealthy would fall under Economy. Economy represents a state’s general wealth and the vigour of its economic activity. Some things like education and construction that may not fall into other branches would fall into this category as well.
Economy is used to buy out or take over trading posts (see Trade rules).
Economy 5 Special: Upgrade Resource Quantity
If you have a score of 5 in Economy you can spend an action to upgrade a region’s resource quantity and establish a control of the associated new trading post. A region can support up to three trading posts equivalent to the region’s resource quality of [Minor], [Good], or [Great]. You do not need to own the region to improve a resource’s quantity.
Economy 5 Special: Upgrade Resource Quality
If you have a score of 5 in Economy you can spend an action to change the resource into a more complex version of itself , e.g. Wood to Ships. You must own the region to use this Economy 5 special action. Doing so will reduce the number of trading posts in the region by 1.
Economy 10 Special: New Technology
If you have an Economy score of 10, you are able to introduce a new technology in your regions. This requires that you already have prerequisite technologies and any resources that are necessary for a technological creation either through trade or as a Minor, Good, or Great Resource in one of your regions. This action can only be done once per ruler.
The use and bonuses of technologies are generally determined on a per-country basis. However, some technologies may specifically apply only to certain regions.
Prerequisites can be technologies or resources.
Economy 10 Special: Economic Unity
If you have a score of 10 in Economy and the requisite trading posts you may choose to elevate your state’s status into a more recognizable entity through economic means.
If you control ten or more trading posts, you may take the title of a Merchant Prince. Merchant Princes have a sixth, Economy only, action per round. You lose the title (and the action) if you ever control fewer than 10 trading posts. Rulers with Holy Lands may declare themselves Merchant Princes, in which case they gain no new actions, but may choose whether their sixth action is Economy or Faith.
Faith
A higher Faith score will help in enforcing religious doctrine and resisting the destabilizing influence of foreign faiths as well as granting boons to the especially devout.
Actions
Holding religious gatherings, defining divine law and truths, or dealing with the heads or priests of your religion or those of others are broad purposes of Faith. Great Projects intended to draw the attentions of holy men, pilgrims, and religious leaders would fall under Faith. Faith represents a state’s piety and adherence to a higher power and associated teachings.
Converting People
Each region contains three Religious Centres. These may be shrines, churches, schools, universities or even religious groups in their own right. A religion’s influence in a given region is represented by its control of these centres.
A player may attempt to take control of a Religious Centre either in their own regions or in those controlled by other players. Roll 2d6 and add your Faith score plus any relevant bonuses. If the owner of the region wishes to try to stop the conversion, they should also roll 2d6+Faith and any relevant bonuses. If the converting player rolls higher, they take control of the religious centre.
If a player is trying to convert a centre in their own region, or the region’s owner does not wish to oppose their conversion, they may still face opposition by the existing owners of the centre. A conversion will be successful if it rolls higher than 12 (plus any relevant bonuses to resist conversion).
Opposing conversion is a non-action, but the player must specify that they are doing so in their actions post and make the roll.
Players may attempt to wipe out followers of a religion in their region through use of military force by launching a Religious Purge. If doing so, roll 2d6 and add Military score plus any relevant bonuses. If the result is 12 (taking into account any defensive bonuses) or higher, the religion loses control of that religious centre, but control does not pass to the conquering player. The religious centre is left vacant until converted, and the region may become unstable due to the violence of the action. Note that Religious Purges are Military actions, but are listed here since they concern Faith.
If you do not wish to have a certain holy order in your region you may attempt to replace it with a competing holy order, or exterminate the holy order through military means. To remove a Holy Order militarily a ruler must spend an action to attack the holy order destroying it and causing unrest in the region.
Faith 5 Special: Holy Order
If you have a score of 5 in Faith you can spend an action to establish a regional holy order. These could be warrior priests bound to righteous crusade, a monastery for wise and reflective monks, or a distinguished collection of devout nobles committed to their faith’s cause. A region can only support one holy order, however a holy order may be established in any region, even those you do not directly control, if you already control two Religious Centres in that region. Holy Orders may only be established by organised religions.
A Holy Order counts as an additional religious centre for purposes of achieving Unity. If a Holy Order is present in a region it gives a +4 innate defensive bonus to all other centres in that region which share its religion should anyone attempt a conversion or purge against those centres. Holy Orders cannot be converted, but can be exterminated in a purge or replaced by another Faith 5 action.
Faith 10 Special: Organise Religion
You may use a Faith 10 Special action to establish your faith formally. Your ruler establishes a new church separate from the authority of existing religious heads. This may be a schism with an existing organised religion, or a new faith of your own devising. Your ruler is treated as the head of this new faith by default, although you may designate another character as the head.
In each region you control, one Religious Centre is automatically converted to the new faith. These will normally be taken from those owned by your ruler’s former faith, although if that religion controls no religious centres in a region, the one converted to the new faith will be determined randomly. Holy Orders are not converted and remain faithful to their existing religion.
Although rulers may only take one Faith Special action in their reigns, they can combine the organisation of a new faith with a miracle in a single action, in which case the miracle is the event which triggers the establishment of the new religion.
Faith 10 Special: Miracle
If you follow a recognized religion, you may request a miracle from the power that you worship. The miracle must fit with their theme and portfolio.
Miracles can bless holy orders, uncover new or enhance existing resources, create holy artifacts of power, and so on. A Miracle may grant individual characters increased abilities or strength, such as immortality or reincarnation or a bonus in certain types of rolls involving that individual. A Miracle may be used to create a “Blessing” which grants a bonus to a selected roll type for regions containing a Holy Order of the religion used to create the Blessing.
Faith 10 Special: Religious Unity
If you have a score of 10 in Faith and your faith controls sufficient religious centres, you follow you may choose to elevate your state’s religious standing to a more respected place through faithful means.
20 or more religious centres belonging to the religion your state follows allow you to declare your region a Holy Land. Holy Lands may take a sixth, Faith only, action per round. You lose the title (and the action) if there are ever fewer than 20 religious centres owned by your ruler’s Faith. Merchant Princes may declare themselves Holy Lands, in which case they gain no extra actions, but may choose whether the sixth action they take each round is Faith or Economy.
Military
A higher Military score will help in conquering or subjugating those in the world who can only be expected to listen to might or in defending yourself from those who view you in such a light.
Actions
Raising a unit of troops, utilising their services, or constructing fortifications are broad purposes of Military. Great Projects intended to draw the attentions of strategists, soldiers, and conquerors would fall under Military. Military represents a combination of fighting prowess and tactical knowledge possessed by a state.
Training Military Units
You can raise one military unit in one action. These units function as the standing armies and navies of your state although are not specifically defined in makeup or number of active fighting men and women. A single unit is generally considered to be equivalent in combat effectiveness to about 1,000 regular human troops, and these terms are used interchangeably throughout the rules, even if for fluff reasons the actual units in a particular state or a particular engagement are somewhat smaller or larger.
The maximum number of troops you can raise is 10 units by default, plus 1 per additional region beyond your capital that you control. If you lose enough territory that you no longer have enough regions to support the number of troops you have raised, your army total will be reduced to the maximum you can currently support.
Military Actions
A state’s military can be used in a number of ways:
Troops may be used to invade other regions. Using troops to invade or conquer a region requires a distinct action per region being attacked. Defending one's own regions requires a distinct action per region. In order to attack or defend a state must possess at least one applicable military unit.
Where players defend against an invasion, the battle is settled with an opposed Military roll on 2d10, with each side adding the number of units they have deployed and any relevant technologies. The rules for battles are described in detail in Advanced Military Rules.
Players may use their military to sack trading posts. Rules for this are described in the section on Trade.
The military may be used to suppress or exterminate unwanted religious groups or holy orders in a Pogrom. Rules for this are described in the section on Faith.
Military 5 Special: Recruit General
If you have a Military score of 5, you may recruit a general to lead your armies. Generals are secondary commanders who may lead armies in the absence of your ruler, using their own Military score. A general enters play with a Military score of 5+1d5, although this value will never increase. There is no limit to the number of Generals a state may have in play, but they may be lost in battle and, like all people, are susceptible to ailments and the ravages of age. To deploy a General, the player must indicate that they are doing so, and which battle they are commanding, in the relevant actions post.
Military 5 Special: Military Specialization
If you have a Military score of 5, you can introduce a Military Specialization. A Military Specialization grants a player an increase in die size (2d10 to 2d12) in certain types of military endeavors. Such endeavors might include, caravan guards to defend trade routes from attack, raiders granting a bonus in the conquest of trading routes, stalwart defenders granting a bonus on defense in their homeland or other appropriate specializations. A military specialization lasts until it is replaced with a subsequent Military 5 or made permanent with a Military 10. A country can only support one Military Specialization at a time.
Military 10 Special: Military Technology
If you have a Military score of 10, you have the ability to introduce a new military technology in your regions. This requires that you already have any prerequisite technologies and any resources that are necessary either through trade or through native ownership. This action can only be done once per ruler.
Military technologies include technologies such as weapon/armor design and smithing, fortifications, cavalry, military vehicles, beasts of war, and other technologies utilized by the military.
Prerequisites can be technologies or resources.
Intrigue
A higher Intrigue score will help in staying ahead of your fellow states through subterfuge and investigation, or countering such attempts made against yourself.
Actions
Spying on a neighbor, monitoring rumors and communication, and plotting or foiling a scheme are broad purposes of Intrigue. Great Projects intended to draw the attentions of spies, saboteurs, and detectives fall under Intrigue. Intrigue represents a state’s spy craft and investigative ability related to other states’ actions.
Investigation
The actions of competing states, both subtle and overt, may at times give rise to mysteries or plots that can only be accurately unraveled by those trained in avoiding detection.
Investigation of a political event involves a check (2d6+Intrigue). The degree of success the investigation meets with will be dependent on the result, and it may be that the investigators meet with only partial success or fail altogether if the roll is not high enough. Note that some investigations may be simply impossible if you have no leads or evidence to go on in-character. A sufficiently high roll on an Investigation action does not guarantee a positive result if there is no basis for the action in the first place.
Assassination, Kidnapping, and Theft
Players may attempt to assassinate each other’s characters. If the target is a named character, make an opposed roll against your target’s Intrigue score, including all relevant bonuses. If the target is not a named character, make an opposed roll against half the Intrigue score of the target, including all relevant bonuses. If the assassin’s roll is higher, the target is killed. In the event of a tie, the target survives, though may be wounded or otherwise inconvenienced.
Kidnappings function as assassinations, except that the target is taken alive rather than killed. Defences against kidnapping attempts receive an automatic +2 bonus due to the greater difficulty of abducting rather than killing them.
Players may attempt to steal technologies, artifacts and other items of value from other players. These function as assassinations, except that in the event of success the item is stolen. In the case of technologies the thief duplicates the technology without depriving the owner; in the case of unique items, the item itself is taken and the previous owner no longer possesses it.
States which are frequent victims of assassination, kidnapping or theft attempts will naturally become more wary. If you target the same state in successive rounds with the same type of Intrigue action, they gain a +2 bonus to their defence roll. This bonus is cumulative if attempts are made over three or more rounds, but only applies to attempts made by the same perpetrator.
Intrigue is also used for Raids (see Trade rules).
Intrigue 5 Special: False Flag
If you have an Intrigue score of 5 you can choose to perform a False Flag operation. A False Flag Operation simulates a conversion or buyout action in the name of another state. False Flag operations can be used to “frame” other states without their knowledge or agreement, or could be done with the agreement of the benefiting party as part of a wider deal.
To use the False Flag action, choose a religious centre or trading post belonging to another state, and a third state to which you wish to transfer ownership. Roll 2d6+Intrigue and bonuses to take over the religious centre or trading post. This is opposed as normal by the centre’s current owners, using their Faith or Economy scores plus relevant bonuses. If you are successful, control of that centre or trading post passes to the third state you named, or their religion, if applicable.
Intrigue 10 Special: Sabotage
By use of an Intrigue 10 action, your agents infiltrate a trading post or religious centre and destroy it, rendering it unusable for the foreseeable future.
Choose a trading post or religious centre. The trading post or religious centre is destroyed and removed from the game. It cannot be used again unless it is reinstated by a player taking an action to create a new trading post or religious centre in that region.