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™

Compiled for the CROSSROADS of EMPIRE Campaign

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’ve spent well over a year preparing for some iteration of this

campaign. I was hoping to play it as a regular game, but when that didnot seem feasible, doing it as a play by email seemed to be the way togo. Besides, the epic scope and sheer scale of ruling your own dominionlends itself to the slower, more methodical pace of an email campaign.Also, the capacity for intrigue will be much greater since nobody involvedin the campaign will know who the other players are, and allcorrespondence is routed through me (or your ambassadors, if you will…)

These rules have been gathered from the Birthright Rulebook ,Havens of the Great Bay, Cities of the Sun, The Book ofMagecraft, and The Book of Priestcraft , and collected here forthe convenience of the players in the CROSSROADS OF EMPIRE Campaign.I highly recommend everyone pick up copies of BIRTHRIGHT if they canfind them. I think it was the best “traditional European” RPG campaignworld developed by TSR, with a rich history and culture, and whichfocuses on politics, intrigue, and role playing-- not on “roll playing” super-powered heroes armed with swords +10 who throw around fireballs likesling stones. This is a thinking person’s campaign world.

Of course, this is just one humble DM’s opinion. Read on, dear friend!Perhaps you will agree with me, and you too will want to call Cerilia home!And perhaps we can all meet around a gaming table someday…

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Many of the characters encountered in the BIRTHRIGHT game aremembers of an established bloodline: a noble house that has the blood of one ofthe Old Gods who was slain at the Battle of Mount Deismaar flowing in theirveins. Members of these bloodlines are granted certain blood abilities andpowers that separate them from the peasants and commoners they hold swayover.

While many scions wander the continent of Cerilia with noble heritagesand potent blood abilities, their powers have little significance without a domainto control. Blooded characters that control dominions are blessed with a mysticalconnection to the land-- a right to rule that infuses them with supernaturalpowers, responsibilities, and benefits.

No one knows how this bond between ruler and domain occurs, but somescholars believe it is connected to the powers of confidence and belief-- in effect,the power of the ruler is derived from the fealty of his subjects. Something in thesemi-divine blood of a noble scion responds to the allegiance of his followers inthe same way that a deity gains strength from worshippers. Kings and noblesaren’t the only rulers blessed with this mystical ability. Charismatic priests derivethe same kind of power from the confidence of their congregations. Merchantprinces and guildmasters enjoy the confidence of those who work for them or paythem tribute. Even wizards gain power from the respect of the masses.

Because every ruler and every domain is unique, the people of Ceriliarefer to these individuals as regents. In this sense of the word, they’re stewardsof power who hold both the trust of the people and responsibility for the land. Themystic power that blooded regents derive from their stewardship is known asdivine right, karma, or nobility-- but most commonly and correctly called regency.

In game terms, regency is measured by a Regency Point (RP) score, justlike hit points and bloodline strength. Not all blooded characters gain RegencyPoints-- only blooded regents amass a Regency Point score. Scions who choosenot to control holdings do not gain Regency Points, nor do regents without adivine bloodline.

A ruler’s RP can be used to increase the power of his bloodline, expandhis domain, affect events occurring in the region, or to increase the success ofruling his domain.

A regent’s heir need not be his child; the heir may be a lieutenant or evena commoner who lives up to the ideals of the bloodline. Regents should alwaysactively choose their heirs. Their have been cases in the long history of Cerilia, inwhich a regent has died without an heir, and the land itself chooses who will ruleit; a worthy commoner suddenly finds himself imbued with a bloodline and theresponsibilities of regency.

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When two scions meet in battle and one dies, special circumstances mayallow the slayer to gain part of the victim’s bloodline power.

If a blooded character dies a natural death or perishes at the hands of acommoner, his bloodline is unaffected, and all his bloodline characteristics diewith him. If a regent character dies in a similar manner, his heir assumes theregent’s domain and his Regency Point score. The heir does not gain any bloodstrength or abilities (but may still gain material possessions).

If a scion or regent dies as a result of another blooded character piercinghim through the heart, the victim’s heir assumes his domain, but the victim’sRegency points are lost. In addition, the slayer increases his bloodline strength.

The rarest cases of bloodtheft occur when a scion is killed with a weaponmade of bloodsilver, called tighmaevril (tih-MEE-vril) by the elves. Bloodsilver is arare alloy created by Ghoigwnnwd over two millennia ago. This legendary elvenweaponsmiths forged a handful of weapons with tighmaevril, which becamescattered across the continent after the arrival of humanity and the Fall of theSidhe Court. The weapons were first prized by for their strength and beauty.Their unusual properties remained undiscovered until one such weapon; thesword of the elven warlord Rhuobhe Manslayer was used to kill a Rjurik chieftainduring the fighting immediately following the cataclysm at Mount Deismaar.

When a regent is killed with a bloodsilver weapon, the killer’s bloodlinestrength increases and the tie between land and king is severed. The victim’sdomain thus becomes uncontrolled, and his heirs gain no Regency Points.

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Domains take many forms. Typically, the type of domain a character rulesis associated with the character’s class. Warriors are usually titled nobles whorule baronies, duchies, and kingdoms. Priests tend to control clerical hierarchiesand temples and occasionally hold lands under theocratic rule. Rogues tend tocontrol the craft guilds, the merchant companies, and the underworlds of theirdomains, while wizards’ domains include all places where they have magicalinfluence. Wizards can even rule lands. Domains are rarely made up of one kindof holding, and usually include several different elements.

A character’s domain comprises any or all of the following:

• the province(s) he rules• holdings in his own province(s)• holdings in provinces ruled by other characters• Assets such as roads, castles, and armies

The term realm refers to any domain that includes one or more provinces.A province ruler is a recognized lord or political entity capable of making laws,executing justice, and performing other duties expected of a head of state. Adomain composed entirely of guild, temple, or source holdings is not a realm--only domains with provinces can be called realms.

It’s important to first understand the basics of the domain rules and whatactually comprises a domain. Domains are composed of provinces, holdings,and assets.

A province is a political division like a county or city-state. Generally, thedivisions are the result of terrain, economics, and loyalties. In the days of theAnuirean Empire, a hierarchy of nobility was created, with counts ruling individualprovinces, barons ruling several counties, dukes ruling several baronies, princesor archdukes ruling several duchies, and the emperor ruling all. Since thecollapse of the Empire five centuries ago, this system has evolved into the feudalsystem that now exists, where individual kings and dukes will have barons andcounts as vassals.

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The vital characteristic of a province is its level; this is an overall measureof its population, prosperity, and importance. Province levels are abbreviated forgame play by placing the level number in parentheses behind the holding; thus:Baron Alfred rules a level 2 province.Baron Alfred rules a province (2).

• Level 0 provinces are wild, unsettled, or untenable, home to nothingmore than widely scattered homesteads or tiny villages. The overall population isusually less than 1,000 people.

• Level 1 to Level 3 provinces are thinly settled rural regions, with smallvillages and one or two towns of 1,000 people or less. The population may rangefrom 2,000 to 10,000 people.

• Level 4 to Level 6 provinces are settled farmlands with small industries.Major towns may have populations up to 5,000 people, and the overall populationranges from 10,000 to 40,000 people.

• Level 7 or greater provinces are densely settled, with well-developedindustries and major cities. Population may be as high as 100,000 people.

Provinces are also described in terms of terrain. Terrain determines themaximum level of the province. For example, a mountainous province cansupport a maximum level of 5, a lightly wooded province an 8, or plains a 10.Terrain is also important when moving troops during wartime.

On the province map, you see will see each province named with twonumbers divided by a slash. The first number is the province level, the second isthe province’s source rating (the maximum rating a wizard’s source holding inthat province can be). Thus, Tinsouf is a province (2/3), which means it has aprovince level of 2 (and can contain 2 levels of law, guild, and templeholdings—see below), and a source level of 3. As the province level increases,the source level immediately drops. However, if the province level decreases, thesource does not automatically increase, special steps must be taken by a wizardor other interested party to restore the mebhaighl to the area.

Provinces are also described by the establishments within them. Fourtypes of holdings exist: guilds, law, sources (magic holdings) and temples.

A province is limited to the number of holdings it can support. Eachprovince is considered to have a number of slots equal to its level available formost types of holdings. Thus, a province (4) can accommodate up to 4 slots oflaw holdings, 4 slots of temples, and 4 slots of guilds. (The number of magicsources is determined by the province’s source rating- the second number listedon a map after the province name). Normally, the ruler of a province controlssome of the holdings in his province. Other regents may also claim guilds,temples, law, or sources in the domain. This means that several regents mayhave influence in the same province, even though only one rules it.

Not all available slots need to be filled.

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It is important to track both the type and level of the holdings thecharacters possess in provinces. Likewise, players should keep track of the titledrulers in the provinces in which their characters control holdings.

Guilds tend to be the building blocks of thief and guilder domains,although any class of regent may control guild holdings. In Cerilia, hundreds ofartisan guilds and merchant companies control trade and industry. Guild holdingsalso represent the natural resources present in the province-- agriculture, lumber,fur trapping, mining, etc.

A regent who controls mostly guilds is likely to be a merchant prince, aninvestor, or an underworld figure, although a guild is almost always a legitimatebusiness. The type of guild (artisan, thief, teamster, merchant fleet, etc.) is neverspecified in the rules, but a PC regent may designate the type of guilds hecontrols for the sake of flavor.

Each level of guild holding represents control of a similar amount of theprovince’s wealth; a guild (2) in a province (4) is thus responsible for about 50%of the economy of the province.

A regent must control guild holdings in order to create trade routes(described later under Assets).

Law holdings are any entities (ranging from the king’s royal guard tomarauding vigilantes) that affect a ruler’s ability to control a province and theloyalty of his government servants, including bureaucrats and constables. Whena law holding belongs to a regent who is hostile to the province’s ruler, itrepresents bandits and terrorists that seek to undermine the ruler’s power. Wiserulers try to control most of the law holdings in provinces they rule, since thisimproves the ability to control rebellious areas.

Sources represent the magical power of a province. Unlike otherholdings, a source’s level is much lower in highly-developed areas, since theclearing and settling of the land weakens natural magical forces. Untouchedlands hold the most magical power; thus, the potential of a source variesinversely with the level of the province in which it lies. A plains province (8) maybe able to support no more than a source (1) or (2).

Characters other than wizards may control sources, but only wizards reapthe benefits of controlling a source. Wizards who control a source can use itspower to cast realm spells-- spells of colossal range and power that can effectentire provinces. Mage regents sometimes delve into the secret High Magic ofthe sidhe or the forbidden lore of the ancient Adurians for use in the rituals ofrealm magic.

Temple holdings are monasteries, shrines, groves, temples, andcathedrals of the character’s faith. Naturally, they’re vital to priest characters. Thelevel of a temple holding reflects its share of worshippers in that province; apriest with a temple (1) in a province (4) has about 25% of the populationattending his churches. Any class of regent character can control Temple

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holdings, but only priests can use to devotional power represented by templeholdings to cast realm spells.

Anything a regent controls that is not listed above is known as an asset.The regent controls the expenditure of money, the building of castles, and themovement of armies. Assets don’t contribute to a character’s regency, but theycan be a major factor in the success of the regent’s domain. Nine types of assetsexist: armies, courts, fortifications, ley lines, lieutenants, roads, ships, traderoutes, and treasuries.

Armies are the military forces at a character’s disposal. Generally, aregent can raise an army, draft a levy, or create a militia as he sees fit, as long ashe rules the province in which he does so. Regents who control only holdingscan raise armies only if the province ruler allows it, but can skirt this restriction byhiring mercenaries or using the treasury to support the military actions of anallied realm.

Courts are centers of power, settings in which the regent can engage inthe business of the realm. Each domain turn, the regent decides how large andelaborate (and expensive) his court will be. Courts affect the use of thediplomacy action; an impressive court may allow a regent to be more persuasive,while a sloppy, unruly court will probably harm his reputation.

Fortifications make a province more difficult to attack. Two types offortifications are possible: castles and fortified holdings. A castle protects anentire province, while a fortified holding makes one holding resistant todestruction. Fortified holdings might be defensible monasteries or cathedrals,secluded wizard towers, or hidden bandit strongholds.

Fortifications are rated by level, just like provinces and holdings. The levelof a fortified holding cannot exceed the level of the province it protects. A castle,however, can be built up to level 10 regardless of the province in which it is built.

Ley lines are conduits created by wizards to carry magical power fromone province to another. Realm Magic requires enormous amounts of magicalpower; a ley line allows a wizard to carry magical energy from a strong magicalarea to a weak one in order to wield Realm Magic.

Lieutenants are loyal and competent followers who can help a regentaddress the numerous daily problems that arise. If a regent doesn’t have time toride over to the borderlands and hunt bandits, he can appoint a lieutenant tosettle the problem. Lieutenants aren’t really assets in the physical sense, but theyare as important as castles or armies.

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Roads, not surprisingly, allow easy movement between provinces forarmies. They’re particularly important in regions of rough terrain, such as heavyforests, mountains, and swamps. Roads are also necessary to support overlandtrade routes.

Ships allow the transport of goods and troops along the coasts of Ceriliaand across the seas to distant lands… Ships are necessary to support sea traderoutes, and engage in naval warfare.

Trade routes generate income for a domain. Like fortifications, traderoutes are rated by level to reflect their value. Two kinds of trade routes can becreated: routes between two provinces, and routes within a single coastalprovince to represent sea trade. In the latter case, the province in question mustbe level 4 or higher. Roads and guild holdings must support trade routes.

The treasury of a domain is critical to a regent’s success, since castlesand armies cost money. Although most regents have extensive lands andproperties under their control, a treasury consists of only coinage and other hardassets. A wise regent keeps a close eye on the state of his treasury-- it’sembarrassing to start a war and then run out of money to pay the troops.

All provinces are considered to have a loyalty level. Holdings are notgranted a loyalty level. Law holdings, however, can help a ruler control the loyaltyof his lands.

Loyalty is divided into four grades: high, average, poor, and rebellious.Taxation, wars, random events, and hostile or friendly manipulation affect loyalty.

A blooded character’s Regency Point score is closely tied to his successin managing his domain; his domain’s success, conversely, is tied to theRegency Point score. A ruler with a great number of RP can accomplish difficulttasks in the face of severe opposition, but a ruler with a low RP score may havetrouble managing even routine affairs. At the same time, a ruler with a powerfuland prosperous dominion gains more Regency Points than a lord with a weak ordecadent realm.

Every domain turn, a regent increases his Regency Point score by anumber equal to his bloodline strength OR the sum of his Domain Power,whichever is smaller. (A character’s Domain Power is the amount of regencyall of his provinces and holdings generate; it is the sum of all the levels of

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holdings and provinces controlled by the regent.) The regent can accumulatethese points or spend them as he wishes during the domain turn.

Regency Points can be spent or lost in a number of ways. First, if acharacter’s domain or bloodline is weakened for any reason, he collects lessregency in the domain turn. Second, the character may spend RP on variousactions during the domain turn. Third, regency may dissipate at the end of adomain turn if a ruler violates the tenets of his alignment. Regents must becareful to act in accordance with their beliefs.

A regent may choose to increase his bloodline strength by spendingRegency points. This can be done at any time. The regent must spend a numberof RP equal to the score he is trying to reach; a regent with a bloodline strengthof 25 may raise it to 26 by spending 26 Regency Points. A character can raisehis bloodline strength by no more than 1 point per domain turn in this fashion.

If a character’s Regency Point score ever falls below zero through lossesin the domain turn, his bloodline strength is immediately reduced by one point.

When a regent takes the rulership of a province or holding away fromanother regent, he must undergo a ceremony of investiture to add the provincesor holdings to his domain. This ceremony magically shifts the power of the landor holding to the new ruler, so that the ruler is tied to it and can affect and benefitfrom it. Until a priest regent performs this ceremony, the province or holding isnot counted toward the regent’s Domain Power and he gains no Regency Pointsfor controlling it.

Investiture is also used to create vassalage arrangements and tovoluntarily transfer the rule of provinces and holdings to another regent.Investiture should not be confused with bloodtheft, the mystical absorption of thebloodline of a defeated character by another scion of the blood. Investituregenerally applies to domains, whereas bloodtheft refers only to bloodlines.

Domains need not be ruled absolutely. A weak regent often will pledgeloyalty and support to a stronger regent in exchange for peace. This arrangementis known as vassalage.

By taking oaths of vassalage, a weaker regent agrees to donate some ofhis Regency Points to the stronger regent. The stronger regent receives morepower, and the weaker one preserves his domain and his life. Both charactersmust participate in a ceremony of investiture in order for the agreement to takehold.

Vassalage can also reflect an arrangement among the nobles of akingdom. The king may create secondary rulers beneath him who areresponsible for smaller parts of the kingdom. For example, a powerful lord with a

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kingdom of 20 provinces will need to accomplish a great many tasks. Since hecan only take three actions in a domain turn, he might find himself unable togovern effectively. By installing regents as barons loyal to him, he manipulatesthe ability of his kingdom to react to events.

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Domains aren’t static; from year to year, the fortunes of a county or atemple wax and wane with the tide of history. These great events and trends arereflected by the domain turn. A single domain turn lasts for three months (oneseason) of game time; four domain turns make up one year.

During a domain turn, a regent directs his domain’s growth in severalways: by working to increase the ratings of provinces and holdings; engaging indiplomatic or mercantile ventures; waging war; building fortresses; and applyinghimself to the affairs of the domain. In addition to the actions a regent may planto take, events may force him to respond to the actions of other regents,monstrous incursions, or natural disasters.

Each domain turn, the regents involved must determine the state of theirdomains, the resources they have available, and whether any unusual eventshave developed that requires their attention. Once the bookkeeping aspects havebeen performed, both PC and NPC regents will probably have a variety ofactions they’ll want to take in their domains.

1. Receive News and Rumours for the Season Just Beginning

2. Determine Domain Initiative

3. Collect Regency Points

4. Taxation, Collection, and Trade

5. Pay Maintenance Costs

6. Declare Free Actions

7. First Action Round

A. Domain Actions

B. War Moves*

C. Fight Battles*

D. Occupation or Retreat*

7a. Receive News and Rumours for the Month Just Ending

8. Second Action Round (repeat A-D)

8a. Receive News and Rumours for the Month Just Ending

9. Third Action Round (repeat A-D)

9a. Receive News and Rumours for the Month Just Ending

10. Adjust Loyalty and Regency

*Optional

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1. Receive News and RumoursEvery domain is subject to a random event at the beginning of each

domain turn. Regents will be given the News and Rumours at the beginning ofeach season, in which the events that have transpired in his domain (and indomains he has intelligence assets in) are revealed. Of course, this being amedieval land, news travels slowly and is often rife with falsehood andexaggeration. They’ll be forced to treat every event with equal importance andwill always wonder about the significance of events...

2. Determine Domain InitiativeDomain turns are conducted one event at a time, in order of domain

initiative. The DM determines domain initiative by a random roll with modifiers.You will be notified when it is your turn. You may take your actions then, or putoff your actions until later (the regent with first initiative can opt to go last, theregent with second initiative can go second to last, etc.). Initiative order lasts foran entire domain turn.

3. Collect Regency PointsIn this step, regents add up their Domain Power (the sum of all their

holdings’ levels plus the ratings of any provinces they rule). This number iscompared to their bloodline strength. The lower of the two numbers representsRegency Points; it is added to the character’s current Regency Point score.

Some holdings provide regency only for regents of certain classes, asdetailed below. Characters who cannot collect RP from certain holdings are stillable to collect gold and perform other actions with them.

Holding Type Classes That Collect RegencyGuild Thief, Guilder, Ranger, Bard*Law Warrior, Priest*, Thief*Source WizardTemple Priest, PaladinProvince AllTrade Route Thief and Guilder (1 RP per GB collected)

*Characters of this class collect regency equal to half the holding’s level,rounded up.

4. Taxation, Collection, and TradeRuling a domain is expensive. Fortunately, regents can collect money

from their subjects. Rulers levy taxes, guilds generate income, and priests collectofferings. Regents may have great responsibilities, but with care, they canmuster the resources to meet them.

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In this step of the domain turn, all regents collect money from theirdomains. Because of the potentially large sums involved, it’s easiest to work withblocks of money called Gold Bars, or GB. (Don’t confuse these with gp, or goldpieces.) One Gold Bar is worth about 2,000 gp. (See the finances action for moreinformation.) Gold Bars can be gained in five different ways.

First, province rulers can declare taxation. The regent decides for eachprovince whether to impose light, moderate, or severe taxation. The DM willthen tell you how many GB have been collected this round in tax revenue. Ofcourse, severe taxation doesn’t win the regent much support among his subjects,but light taxes generally make a regent more popular.

Second, regents may collect gold from holdings. Rulers of temple or guildholdings can collect funds from their networks. Rulers of law holdings in aprovince may attempt to claim a portion of money generated by taxation orcollection from a holding within that province through tariffs, duties, or outrightbanditry. Sources do not generate taxes or collections.

Third, trade routes generate money for the regents who create them. Seethe Land Trade Route, Sea Trade Route, and Trade Chain domain actions forinformation on the amount of Gold Bars generated by certain types of traderoutes.

The fourth method of acquiring money is through tribute. The regent maydemand tribute as part of a diplomatic agreement, by threatening a weakerneighbor, or by demanding it from holdings that lie within his provinces but areruled by other regents. The amount of tribute depends on the attitude of the otherregent. Tribute can be used to reflect a continuing trade or pay-off agreement(“I’ll let you keep that trade route if you cut me in...”).

Fifth, a regent can declare war to raid or pillage his neighbors. If hisarmies are unopposed in a province, he can order them to pillage that area as ifhe were performing severe taxation. See Part V for more information.

5. Pay Domain MaintenanceThe strength of a kingdom is measured not only by the power of its ruler

and armies, but also by its economic health. Many regents have ruined theirlands through careless fiscal policies. Each domain turn, the regent must coverthe expenses of his government.

Regents must pay the maintenance costs of any military units under theircommand. If a unit goes unpaid, it disbands unless the regent spends 5 RegencyPoints for each GB he owes it. If mercenaries are unpaid, they desert andbecome brigands, as described for the random event. See the Armies andWarfare section (Part V) offers more details.

Note that a regent can pay units higher maintenance costs in order tobetter equip them and garner bonuses in warfare (see Part V: Armies andWarfare for more details).

Each castle, fortified holding, and occupied province (a foreign provinceheld by the regent’s troops) costs 1 GB; if the regent fails to pay, the castle orfortification’s level drops by one or the province rebels. The regent must also paya maintenance cost for his provinces and holdings. You will be informed by the

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DM at the start of the domain turn how many GB you must spend on provinceand holding upkeep that season.

Each domain turn, characters must pay a maintenance cost for the shipsthat comprise their navy or merchant fleets, based on a formula determined bythe total troop capacity of their fleet (again, you will be informed by the DM). Aregent can also pay higher maintenance costs on his navy to improve theirwartime capabilities (see Part V: Armies and Warfare).

If a regent can’t meet expenses, he must disband army units or sell someships (commanding a price of between 30% to 80% of its normal purchase price)to meet his domain’s demands.

Regents don’t live like paupers. Each regent must spend money to holdcourt and support his staff each domain turn. The regent decides how much hewants to spend, between 6 and 8 GB being the average amount. But generally,the more he spends, the more opulent and impressive his court is, and the betterdisposed dignitaries and VIPs will be to his diplomatic overtures. Likewise, if lessis spent on the court that domain turn, diplomacy or decree actions attempted willsuffer.

6. Declare Free ActionsA regent can attend to dozens of administrative actions without sacrificing

a valuable domain action. Activities such as ordering road improvements andengaging in routine social activities can happen with just a word. Free actionsinclude:

Agitate* Build Decree Espionage**Grant Finances Muster/Disband Move Troops

*One free action per domain turn for priest regents only**One free action per domain turn for thief regents only

Free actions are described under Actions in Part IV. Like all actions, theymay be opposed or supported by other regents if circumstances apply.

As a rule of thumb, a regent can take any action that isn’t a domain actionduring this phase (for example, ordering a new crown or redecorating the castle).

Characters are free to discuss plans and issues with each other before theaction rounds begin. All communication is passed through the DM to ensureanonymity of players. Also, unless the characters are in the same location, it isassumed that such conversations are taking place through routine messengersor magical means. These messages may be intercepted by means of asuccessful espionage action. As a result, any time characters communicate bymessenger or magic, the DM may reveal the contents of the message to otherplayers.

Communicating routine threats, offers, or remarks to regents doesn’trequire the use of a diplomacy action, but if the player wishes to try and force aconcession from the other party, he must use an action to perform diplomacy.

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Similarly, if a player receives a routine communication, he can make a briefresponse-- i.e. accepting or declining a proposal-- without forfeiting an action.

At the beginning of each domain turn, players decide where their regentcharacters should be located. Regents can relocate to any province or holding intheir domain at the cost of 1 GB (to cover the cost of taking guards, courtiers,and servants along).

Bards and rangers have the special ability to travel to any location in thecampaign region at no cost, regardless of whether it is part of their domain or not.These characters have a knack for traveling quickly and being near the center ofaction. Whether they remain incognito or not is a different story...

7, 8, 9 Action RoundsWhen free actions have been completed, the regent who won initiative can

take his first action or choose to go last in the round. Play goes in initiative order(highest to lowest), with each player setting and resolving their action before thenext character’s turn.

If a regent declares war, the domain turn continues until all charactersfinish the current action round. Then four War Moves are resolved (see Armiesand Warfare). Note that if a regent declares war on a character who has alreadyexpended his action in the round, the victim can’t counterattack (but he candefend) until he can declare war himself.

The second and third action rounds are played just like the first. Theregent with domain initiative retains it for all three action rounds.

7a, 8a, 9a Receive News and Rumours for the Month Just EndingAt the end of each month, regents will receive the News and Rumours for

events that have transpired in the region. Note that the further away from hisdomain the news item is from, the older (and the more inaccurate) the item willbe.

10. Adjust Loyalty and RegencyThe loyalty of a province affects the ability of the ruler to collect taxes and

perform realm actions in that area. Loyalty is rated in four grades: high, average,poor, and rebellious. Loyalty has no affect unless it drops to poor; at that point,the Regency Point and Gold Bar costs of all actions in that province increase by1 each. If the province turns rebellious, it doesn’t generate taxes and does notadd to a regent’s Domain Power, and Gold Bar and regency costs of all actionsdouble in that province.

A regent who holds his lands in an iron grip can tolerate some discontent.Law holdings control changes in loyalty.

Each unit of soldiers occupying a foreign province counts as one lawholding for purposes of loyalty and taxation. See Armies and Warfare for moredetails on occupation. Thus, occupying a province (4) with four units of troopsallows a regent to perform severe taxation without pushing the people intorebellion.

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When a province becomes rebellious, the ruling regent cannot collect anytaxes there, and all of the ruler’s holdings in that province are consideredcontested. On the following action round, the province raises the largest levypossible and is allowed to declare a war action to attack the offending forces ordefend itself from any counter-insurgency attacks. Raising the levy permanentlylowers the province level by one step (it can be restored through normal meansafter the rebellion is resolved). If the levy is defeated, the rebellion ends and theprovince loyalty returns to poor. Other actions such as diplomacy or agitate mayalso end the rebellion.

At the end of the domain turn, random events or actions that result inlosses of regency take effect. Provinces or holdings that have been reduced invalue or bolstered begin the next turn with their new ratings and loyalties. Aregent who fails to address an event or a hostile action, or violates his alignmentmay lose some of his accumulated RP and makes the adjustment at this time.

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The foundation of the domain turn lies in the regent’s choice of actions.Does he start a war, or does he carefully build up his resources peacefully? Doeshe try to destabilize powerful neighbors, or maneuver enemies into attackingeach other? Does he withdraw from public life and spend his time in solitude andstudy? Is there a heroic quest for him to embark on? As a regent, a PCpossesses great control over his own life and the direction of his domain.

Actions are resolved during the three action rounds of the domain turn.Every regent may perform three actions per domain turn (not counting freeactions), following the sequence of the domain turn.

Actions are not automatically successful. Many require a success roll:1d20 is rolled by the DM, and if the roll is equal to or higher than the action’ssuccess number, the regent’s action succeeds. If the roll fails, the action iswasted.

Success numbers can be modified in two ways. First, the action mayrequire the province or holding rating to be used as a modifier to the roll. Forexample, repeatedly raising a province’s level becomes increasingly difficult, sothe success number for a rule action (a 10) is raised by the province’s rating.Thus, a regent trying to rule a province (5) to a rating of (6) must succeed a rollverses 16, not 10. The action descriptions that follow note modifiers that apply.

Second, by sending Regency points, a Regent can lower the action’ssuccess number. Each RP spent lowers the success number by one point. In theexample above, if the regent spends 10 Regency points, his success numberdrops from 16 to 6.

Other regents who may be affected by the action made spend RP toincrease or decrease the acting regent’s chance of success. A regent whowishes to affect the roll must either rule the province in question or have aholding there. In the example above, the domain ruler could spend RP to reducethe success number even further. A success number can be reduced only to aone, never lower.

When a domain action is opposed by other regents, a bidding processensues and continues until all regents wish to spend no more Regency points. Inthe example above, if any regent with a holding in the same province maycontribute as many RP as he wishes to raise the die roll for success; if hecontributes 5 RP, the success number becomes 11.

After all regents finish bidding, the DM rolls for the acting regent’ssuccess. You will be notified of the regent’s success or failure.

Domain actions directly affect a regent’s domain. Most requireexpenditure of Regency Points and Gold Bars for success. Domain actions counttoward the three actions allowed in one domain turn.

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Character actions are personal undertakings that don’t affect a wholekingdom. Character actions count toward the three actions allowed in onedomain turn.

Free actions don’t count against a regent’s three actions. A regent cantake as many free actions as he wishes at any time before the action roundsbegin. After that, free actions must be declared during the regent’s last turn of theaction round.

Realm actions: Some domain actions can be applied to a number ofprovinces at once to count as a single realm action. For example, a priest regentmay order every temple holding in a kingdom to agitate against the evil ruler. Aregent attempting to affect multiple provinces with the same action must meet theGold and Regency costs for all the provinces. The priest above would have topay 3 GB and 3 RP to agitate in three provinces at once.

A realm action can be targeted at any or all provinces in a single realm (allprovinces ruled by one regent), or at all holdings in a single province. The regentusing a realm action is limited by normal restrictions on the use of the action. Inthe example above, the priest regent could not attempt to agitate in provinces inwhich he has no temple holdings, even if they’re part of the same evil kingdom.

The following actions can be designated as realm actions: Agitate,Contest, Espionage (reports on military units only), Fortify, Investiture, Rule,and Trade Route.

The regent attempting a realm action can choose to spend RP to affect hischance of success, but he must spend separately for each province or holding tobe affected (i.e., in order to improve the success roll by 1 point, the priest mustspend 3 RP since he is agitating in three provinces). Each action is bid andcounter bid normally and resolved individually by the DM.

AdventureType: CharacterSuccess: SpecialBase Cost: None

A regent can don his armor, mount his warhorse, and set out to explore anearby dungeon or find a dragon’s lair. For every domain turn (three months) headventures, he will gain experience and treasure (both of which are determinedby the DM) However, while he is away, his domain remains inactive; no actionscan be taken while the regent is away from his court for such an extended time.

AgitateType: Domain, Free (Priests), RealmSuccess: 10+Base Cost: 1 RP, 1 GB

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A regent with a holding can use his influence to agitate or stabilize aprovince’s loyalty toward its ruler. A ruler can agitate in favor of himself. A priestregent can do this once per domain turn as a free action.

The success number in increased by the difference between the activeregent’s holding and the province rating (it’s easier to agitate when you havesubstantial influence in a region). If the ruler supports the effort, the ruler’s lawholding is subtracted from the success number; if the ruler is opposed, add thelaw holding’s number to the success number. The success number also can bemodified by spending Gold Bars, at a rate of one per point. If the agitatorsucceeds by a margin of 10 or more, the province loyalty changes two stepsinstead of the normal one.

Example: The Patriarch of Haelyn wants to strike at the Duke, who rules aprovince (6). The Patriarch controls a temple (4), so his success number is 10plus (6-4), or 12. The Duke opposes the Patriarch’s agitation with a Law (3),worsening the success number to 15. The Patriarch spends 10 Regency Pointsto improve the number to 5. The Duke spends 3 RP and 3 GB in defense,resulting in an 11. Neither regent wishes to continue bidding, so the DM rolls forthe Patriarch’s success. He rolls a 19, which drops the province’s loyalty fromaverage to poor.

Agitate can be declared as a realm action and used in several provinces inthe same realm at once.

BuildType: FreeSuccess: 5+Base Cost: 1 GB+

This is a catchall for the construction of buildings, palaces, halls, bridges,roads, lighthouses, and so on. This action cannot be used for a castle orfortification. (Castles and fortifications require the fortify action.) This orderdoesn’t count as an action unless the character personally designs andsupervises the effort. This supervision increases the success roll to a 2 if thecharacter succeeds in the appropriate non-weapon proficiency checks.

Building in remote areas or difficult terrain adds to the cost of construction.As a rule of thumb, building anything in a province (2) or (3) costs 150% ofnormal; building in a province (1) or (0) costs 200% of normal. The cost isdoubled again for extreme conditions, such as building on a mountainside orbuilding in the winter.

Construction proceeds at the rate of 1d6 Gold Bars per domain turn. Inother words, if the DM decides that a lighthouse will cost 26,000 gp (13 GB), theregent spends 1d6 GB each domain turn until the project is completed. Theregent needn’t have 13 GB on hand simply to start the project, since he will earnGB as time passes. Examples of such projects follow.

Wood or Stone Building: This may be a village council hall, customshouse, warehouse, silo, chapel, or great ministry building or seat of government.Costs range from 1 to 30 Gold Bars, depending on the size and grandeur of thebuilding.

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Bridge: A wooden bridge over a moderate river costs 1d4 GB; a stonebridge costs 1d4+1 GB. Bridging a large river costs two to three times as much.An especially strong or ornate bridge costs even more. Bridges are handy forensuring rapid movement of troops.

Palace: A regent who desires a luxurious residence may choose to build apalace. Palaces cost 5d6 GB, depending on the size and extravagance. A palacecosts an additional 1 GB per domain turn to maintain, but it adds a bonus to theregent’s court expenditures. For every 5 GB the regent spends on a palace, hegains +1 bonus to his court expenditures. For example, a 25 GB palace adds 5GB to the amount the regent spends in presenting his court, so a 3 GB courtbecomes an 8 GB court. The bonus applies after the palace is completed.

Roads: Roads are required for overland trade routes, and also speedtroop movement. A road can be crucial in mountainous or heavily wooded areas.A road costs double the province‘s Terrain Movement Cost; thus building a roadthrough a province of hills costs 4 GB.

Regardless of the length of the road, the full cost must be paid, even if theroad only cuts across the corner of a province. A road can follow any reasonablepath through the province, however, so two towns on opposite ends of theirrespective provinces can be linked as easily as two towns cross the border fromeach other.

Build MonumentSuccess: SpecialType: DomainBase Cost: Special

Like a Holding, Monuments may be built up to the current province level,but a Monument must have its level set when it is first planned. A Regent can notRule up a Monument once it is finished, and the province (or possibly the entirecountry) does not gain any bonus from the Monument until it is completed.

When a Regent decides to build a Monument he must work with the DM inpicking its form (tomb, lighthouse, library, temple, etc.), and what its effect will be(improved Trade Routes, increased Loyalty, improved Diplomacy, improvedUnits, etc.). Once that is done, the level is determined by the DM.

The level should be equivalent to the effect the Monument is going to have(DM's discretion). The Player then picks an appropriate province that he/she hasa level 1 or better Holding in. Note: It also costs the Regent a Build Action to startthe Planning and Construction of a Monument. For each level of the Monument ittakes 1 domain turn (3 months) to plan, hire the workers (or gather slaves),gather the resources, etc. The planning Regent must spend 1 RP per level of theMonument, and 1 GB per level of the Monument until the Planning Phase iscomplete. For example, a Regent wants to make a gigantic fountain made ofsilver dedicated to the goddess Nesirie. With it the Priest Regent wants to gain afree Realm Spell Action every other domain turn. The DM decides this Monumentwill have to be level 5. The Player agrees and picks a level 6 province to build itin. For the first 5 domain turns the Regent must "Plan" and this costs him/her 5

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RPs and 5 GBs (coming to a total of 25 RPs and 25 GBs). Once the PlanningPhase is completed the actual construction can begin.

Construction of a Monument is very time consuming (and can eat up quitea bit of gold too). While a Monument doesn’t become effective until it iscompleted it is still built in levels. Each level takes as many domain turns to buildas the Monument's eventual final level. And each domain turn the Regent mustpay out RPs and GBs equal to its final level. Using the above example, it wouldtake 5 domain turns to construct each level of the Monument until it was finished.For a total of 25 domain turns (or 6.25 years). Each domain turn would cost theRegent 5 RPs, and 5 GBs. For a grand total of 125 RPs and 125 GBs.

Don't let the numbers stun you. A Monument's level is directly related to itseffect. The same Monument described above could have been made faster, andcheaper if the Regent had lessened its effect (because the DM would have givenit a lower level). Of course some Monuments would still be costly and take a longtime to build if the actual Monument was a complicated structure (like a GreatWall). Again this is up to the DM.

After completion a Monument requires 1 GB per domain turn to maintainit. At the end of any domain turn that the Monument is not maintained the DMshould roll 1d1--if the DM rolls over the Monument’s level it degrades a level(losing any bonus it gave). For each consecutive domain turn that it is notmaintained a +1 should be added to the die roll (+1 after 2 turns, +2 after 3 turns,etc.) If a Monument reaches 0 it becomes ruins. Until then it can be repaired bypaying GBs and RPs equal to its normal level every turn until it reaches itsmaximum again. A Monument can be repaired 1 level per turn. Others can alsoContest a Monument just like a Holding. After 2 successful Contests a Monumentis reduced to ruins. Once made into Ruins the entire Construction Phase must berepeated in order to regain the Monument.

ContestType: Domain, RealmSuccess: 10+Base Cost: 1 RP

A regent can neutralize another regent’s holding by contesting hisinfluence. If the attempt is successful, the contested holding does not generateRegency Points or Gold Bars for its owner. Being contested destroys a level 0holding. The success number is modified by the difference between theattacker’s holding (or province rating, if he is the ruler) and the contested holding.

The holding remains contested until:

• the attacker relents• the attacker loses all of his own holdings or rule of the province• the defender succeeds in a rule action

If a contested holding is contested a second time, its owner loses theholding and its slots become uncontrolled.

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Example: Two thief organizations are rivals in a province (5). TrueshieldTrading Praikos controls a guild (3), the Black Hand controls a guild (2). IfTrueshield contests its rival’s holdings, their success number is 9 or better. If theOrder of the Black Hand contests Trueshield’s guild, their success number is 11or better.

Rulership of a province can be contested as well. A province is contestedautomatically if the province is conquered during a war. As long as the rulerhasn’t been divested (divestiture refers to severing a ruler’s connection to hisland) but the conqueror remains, the province generates no regency or GB foreither party.

Provinces can be contested peacefully under certain conditions. If a ruler’slaw holding is at (0) and the province’s loyalty is poor or rebellious, any regentwith a holding there can use this action to contest the province. The provincethen generates no regency and no gold until its ruler is divested, ends the contestby gaining a law holding, or increases the province’s loyalty.

Create HoldingType: DomainSuccess: 10+Base Cost: 1 GB

A regent wishing to establish a holding in a province where he has noholdings may create holding. This gives the regent a holding (0). He is then freeto rule or contest in order to increase the influence of his holding.

Creation of a holding can be opposed or supported by any regent with asimilar holding in the province, or by the province ruler. The interfering regent’sholding or province rating is added to or subtracted from the success numberwithout spending RP. Any concerned party can spend RP to influence thesuccess roll.

Declare WarType: DomainSuccess: SpecialBase Cost: None

Any regent can declare war. A regent must declare war before he canmove military units into provinces that don’t belong to him; if he doesn’t declarewar he may only make troop movements within his own realm. A regent whorules no provinces must obtain permission from the province ruler before movingtroops from holding to holding; otherwise, he must declare war.

When war is declared, the regent is allowed four turns of War Moves tomove his troops. (These are resolved at the end of the current action round, afterall other actions are resolved.) Other regents can declare war during their actionrounds to be eligible for War Moves. Note that any regent that wishes to onlydefend his territory without counter-invading need not declare war; he can makeWar Moves in response to an attack as long as his troops don’t leave his realm. Ifthe target of a declaration of war has already used his action this round, he must

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wait until the next action round (one-month game time) to launch a counter-offensive.

DecreeType: FreeSuccess: SpecialBase Cost: 1 GB

This action is a catchall for special missions the regent wants hissubordinates to undertake. A decree cannot affect another regent’s domain inany way, and it cannot change the loyalty or level of any province or holding.Beyond these guidelines, a decree can have any effect the DM deemsappropriate. Some possible effects include:

• Generate 1d6 GB for the domain’s treasury by seizing assets, passing atariff, etc

• Inflict a –1 to –4 penalty to another regent’s success number in an actiontaking place in the PC’s domain by interfering or arresting persons involved inespionage, agitation, etc.

• Create a minor random event for another regent (driving monsters orbrigands into his lands, sending a diplomatic mission, etc.)

DiplomacyType: DomainSuccess: SpecialBase Cost: 1 GB, 1 RP

Negotiations with other domains fall under this action. Regents areassumed to maintain basic contact with their neighbors and pass routinemessages back and forth. However, diplomacy as a domain action is a full-courtaffair designed to achieve a specific goal. Diplomacy can have the followingeffects:

• Create or break an alliance• Create an agreement to allow trade between two kingdoms• Force concessions such as tribute or territory from another regent• Respond to a random event such as feud, unrest, or brigandage• Anything the DM doesn’t specifically disallow

DisbandType: FreeSuccess: Automatic (5+)Base Cost: None

A regent is always free to dismiss army units or mercenaries from hisservice. Regular army units simply break up and return to their homes.Disbanding a mercenary unit requires a success roll however. If the regent fails,the mercenaries become brigands and begin raiding the province in which theydisbanded.

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A regent can also choose to disband any holding or castle,although his regency and gold bar production may suffer. The only advantage tothis action is to save on the maintenance cost involved.

Establish ContactSuccess: 10+Type: DomainBase Cost: 1 GB

This action allows a regent to create a contact in a given province that makesespionage actions a little easier. Contacts are individuals and small groups thatcan provide information and support espionage by hiding and feeding spies, etc.Such a contact can report (the regent must ask, the DM should not be expectedto report it) on the basic conditions of the given province, including loyalty to theruler, who owns what holdings (except source), and basic knowledge of militaryunits (approximate number and whether mounted or not), at the beginning of aturn without requiring a domain action. Additionally, a contact acts as a level 2guild holding to improve the chances of an espionage action by 2. This aspect isnot cumulative with actual guild holdings, however.

Because contacts consist of "private" citizens, they will not knowinglysupport assassinations. Contacts are inherently secret, and are thus unknown toother regents in the province, unlike holdings, which are known. However, in theevent that an espionage action fails by 10 or more points, the contact is revealedand eliminated. Also, if the province is occupied by an army, communication withthe contact is cut off. It will be restored, though, at the end of the occupation.

Creating a contact is handled exactly like an espionage action, but thesuccess roll is a 10+ (instead of 20+). Contact, like holdings, cost money tomaintain. The maintenance cost for contacts is the same as that of a holding,and thus added to the number of holdings when figuring out maintenance cost.

Example: Baron Boris wishes to establish a contact in an enemy'sprovince (3), where the enemy has a law (2). Establishing the contact costs 1GBand requires a roll of (10-3)+2 = 9. Once the contact is established, Boris canfind out who owns what holdings, basic knowledge of the armies there, and howloyal the people are. When Boris decides he wants more detailed informationabout his enemy, he makes a standard espionage action, but with a bonusmodifier of 2 to his success roll, as if he had a guild (2).

EspionageType: Domain (Thief: Free)Success: SpecialBase Cost: 1 GB

Espionage includes any kind of spying or covert action. A thief regent mayperform this once per domain turn as a free action. Espionage can:

• Reveal the nature of diplomatic agreements between any two domains.• Catalog troop movements and strengths in a foreign province.

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• Create a random event such an assassination, intrigue, corruption, orheresy in another domain.• Trace the responsibility for another espionage operation.• Rescue prisoners, secretly move important people or messages, oranything else the DM doesn’t specifically disallow.

The success number of an espionage attempt is a base of 20 improved bythe level of the target province and the level of any guild holdings there controlledby the spying regent. If the operation is aimed at the province ruler, his loyal lawholdings worsen the chance of success.

Example: Tiery the Guilder wants to spy on Gael’s capital in a province(6). Tiery controls a guild (3) there, but Gael controls 4 levels of law holdings in hiscapital. The success number is (20-6-3)+4, or 15.

Both the spy and the target regents can commit GBs and RPs to affectespionage. If the action fails by a margin of 10 or more, the target learns the spy’sidentity.

Espionage can be performed as a realm action to affect several provincesat once, but in this case, only enemy troop strengths and movements can beobserved.

Exploratory TradeType: Domain, CharacterSuccess: 20+Base Cost: 1 RP, 5 GB

Any regent with a guild holding in the same province as a seaport (acoastal province rated 4 or higher) can use this domain action to take aspeculatory leap into the unknown realm of exploratory trade. The regent loadstrade goods (represented by the total number of GB invested) onto a ship orgroup of ships and sails away or sends them off, hoping to encounter someoneon a distant shore who is willing to trade for goods that are rare and valuable tothe guildholder. A regent can engage in exploratory trade no more than once infour domain turns (one game year) from a single province (a regent with guildholdings in multiple seaports may attempt this once per four domain turns fromeach province).

Certain modifiers apply to these efforts:• Members of the guilder subclass receive an automatic +1 to the success

roll for this venture. This action represents what guilders do best.• If the regent accompanies the voyage, he gains a +2 to the roll.• If a guilder lieutenant accompanies the ship, add a +1. This only applies

if the regent does not travel with the ship. Multiple lieutenants do not increasethis modifier further.

Unlike most domain actions, many outcomes are possible. The regent canspend RP and GB to help ensure success, but the action is quite risky.

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The exploratory trade domain action requires two months to be resolved.The ships must travel great distances to make such expeditions pay off, andsometimes must stop several times to bargain, restock, and refit. As a result, if aregent accompanies a voyage personally, he should be considered out of touchwith his domain during that time. He cannot perform domain actions or resolverandom events for two months. His lieutenants and vassals can act on his behalf,however.

Example: Theofold, guildmaster of Müden’s Brecht Seelundkaufen,decides to hire a ship and send his wares on an exploratory trade mission. Hesends his ship out of Allesrecht, a province (6). Theofold can afford to fill astandard Brecht roundship with 6 GB of cargo. He spends his initial 5 GB and 1RP to initiate the voyage, 6 GB on cargo, and another 10 RP to ensure success.Theofold also sends a guilder class lieutenant on the voyage. He adds a total of10+1 (or +11) to the success roll. He needs a 9 or higher to succeed.

Two months later, his lieutenant returns with a ship packed full of rareherbs, silks, and gemstones- all unheard of in Brecht lands. The DM informsTheofold that this voyage to parts unknown has netted him 36 GB of raremerchandise. Considering he invested 7 GB and 11 RP in the project, that’s ahealthy profit.

FinancesType: FreeSuccess: AutomaticBase Cost: None

Regents can convert personal wealth into Gold Bars at a ratio of 2,000gpfor 1 GB. Similarly, a regent can convert 1 GB to 2,000gp of personal cash. Aregent may perform this action only once per domain turn; if he attempts toconvert funds too often, he devalues his currency and reduces the value of histreasury.

With this action, a regent may convert as many as 5 GB (10,000gp), plus1 GB per level of guild holdings he controls; a regent with four levels of guildholdings in his domain could convert 9 GB or 18,000gp per domain turn.

Loans: Regents can obtain loans from anyone with sufficient money tolend (usually powerful merchant princes who control vast guild networks). Theterms of interest and payment are left to the players and DM to negotiate; aninterest rate of 10-20% for one year is fair. If a regent defaults, the characterholding the debt has little recourse to force the regent to pay, but it is doubtfulthat anyone will lend the regent money again.

Forge Ley LineType: DomainSuccess: 5+Base Cost: 1 GB, 1 RP

Wizards may use this action to create a magical link between twoprovinces. Many realm spells require a minimum source level in the province tobe affected, but a ley line acts as a magical conduit, allowing the wizard to treat

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the weaker province as if it had the source level of a higher connected provincefor purposes of casting realm spells.

For example, consider a wizard who controls a source (7) in one province,and a source (1) in another. The source (1) is too weak for most realm spells, butby forging a ley line between the two, he can cast any realm spell in the provincewith the source (1).

Ley lines cost 1 RP and 1 GB per province crossed; thus, linking to aprovince three moves away costs 3 RP and 3 GB. Ley lines can be forged fromother ley lines the wizard controls; it is possible to save effort by creating localnetworks stemming from one major ley line. The construction of a ley line can beopposed or supported by any wizard with a source holding in any province theley line crosses.

A ley line costs 1 RP per domain turn to maintain, regardless of its length.This is paid in the Adjustment Step of the domain turn.

A wizard may only access the mebhaighl flowing through a ley line only inthe provinces at either end of the line. In order to access the ley line in a provincethe line passes through, a wizard must create a hook-up. Creating a hook uprequires the use of a Forge Ley Line action at a +3 modifier to success. Unlikecreating a standard ley line, creating a hook-up does not cost any RP or GB.

FortifyType: Domain, RealmSuccess: 2+Base Cost: 1 RP

Building stronghold in a domain is a good way to deter attack and tie upenemy forces in a war. A regent can fortify a single holding or a castle; the latteraffects the entire province.

Holdings: Any type of holding can be fortified. A fortified holding remainsunder the regent’s control even if the province in which it lies is occupied byhostile forces.

Fortifying a holding costs 4 Gold bars per holding level. Work proceeds atthe pace of 1d6 GB per domain turn (refer to the Build action); fortification of agreat cathedral may take years. A regent may pay 5 GB per level of fortificationto make work progress at2d6 GB per domain turn.

Castles: Fortification of a province creates a new holding for that area: acastle. Castles cost 8 GB per level. Work progresses at 1d6 GB per domain turn,but the regent may pay 10 GB per turn for work to progress at 2d6 GB per turn. Acastle can accommodate a garrison of one military unit per level.

When a regent builds a castle, he automatically fortifies any holdings hecontrols in that province, up to the level of the castle. If the ruler builds a castle(3) in a province where he controls a law (4), three levels of the law holding areconsidered to be fortified by the castle.

Castles can exceed the level of the province, but the cost doubles oncethe castle is greater than the province level. It’s expensive to build a fortress thatexceeds the nearby resources.

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Fortification can be opposed by other regents who have holdings in theprovince. By spending RP, they can affect the success number of this action. Afailed success roll indicates that no progress was made on the fortification in thatdomain turn.

Although construction of a fortification can last for many domain turns, itrequires an action only on the turn that construction is begun. The costs for thefirst domain turn are paid at this time; in later domain turns, the costs are paid inthe Domain Maintenance phase and the success check is made in the free actionstep.

Several fortifications can be started at the same time by using a realmaction.

GrantType: FreeSuccess: 10+Base Cost: Varies

A regent may bestow promotions, gifts, or titles any time he chooses. Hecan sponsor the arts or sciences, fund an expedition, elevate a commoner to anoble rank, or give another regent money. A grant can:

• Increase the loyalty of a non-rebellious province one grade.• Respond to a random event.• Create a minor role-playing effect such as an increase in popularity.The success number for this action indicates whether someone is angered

by the regent’s use of power. The success number worsens by 1 for each GoldBar the regent spends in grants and for each noble title the regent bestows. If theregent fails the roll, an appropriate random event occurs only if the regent isobviously not acting in the best interest of the domain. Donating 5 GB to anorphanage isn’t likely to anger anyone, but giving that amount of money to apersonal friend might encourage corruption, intrigue, or unrest in the domain.

Hold ActionType: FreeSuccess: AutomaticBase Cost: None

A regent always has the option to delay his action until the end of thecurrent action round. The advantage of waiting is simple: the regent can react toanything that occurs. If war is declared on the regent or a random event comesalong, the regent can address it immediately. However, the held action must beused to respond to some provocation or situation. If no one provokes the regent,he loses the action. If the regent doesn’t use this held action at the end of thataction round, it is forfeited.

InvestitureType: DomainSuccess: SpecialBase Cost: Special

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The ceremony of investiture allows one regent to pass control of part or allof his domain to another scion. The investiture must be performed by a priestwho can cast the investiture realm spell (a free action for the priest). At least oneof the two regents involved must be physically present (this counts as a domainaction). A priest may invest himself, and must use a domain action to do so.Once the investiture is complete, the provinces or holdings in question becomepart of the invested regent’s domain. It is possible to invest an unwilling recipient.

Investing Provinces or Holdings: A single province or holding can beinvested without the permission of its ruler if it has been conquered or contestedby the investor. The base success number is 10, and the investor must pay RPequal to the province or holding level. The defender can bid Regency Pointsnormally to affect the success number.

Vassalage: An agreement of vassalage must be formalized by aninvestiture ceremony attended by at least one of the regents involved. Theagreement isn’t binding; the vassal can voluntarily break it any time he wishes.The liege is immediately aware of his vassal’s actions, and may take steps toremind him of the pact.The vassal and his liege agree to a number of Regency Points that the vassal willpay the liege each domain turn. At the time of the agreement, both give up thatamount of RP. Vassalage agreements also often include terms for the vassalproviding military units to the liege’s army, monetary payments, or anotherstipulations agreed to by the parties.

Bloodline Investiture: This ceremony, which is rarely used, transfers allof the power of a bloodline from one character to another. Both charactersinvolved must be present, but the donor need not be a willing participant. Thedonor gives up his bloodline entirely. If the recipient is unblooded, he assumeshis patron’s bloodline derivation, strength, and abilities. If the recipient is blooded,then his strength increases as if he had killed the donor by piercing him throughthe heart; see Bloodtheft in Part I.

Investiture as a Realm Action: An entire domain or realm under oneregent can be invested, but only if the regent to be divested is alive andphysically present at the ceremony. The victim may be under any kind of magicalor physical duress. The recipient must spend RP equal to the Domain Power (thesum of the values of provinces, holdings, and other assets) of the realm heintends to take over. Success is automatic if the target is willing; if the target isunwilling, the success number is a 10 modified by the difference between thebloodline strength of the investor and the victim. If the investiture fails, the victimretains control of his domain.

If an attempt is made to divest an unwilling regent whose provinces havenot been conquered, the provinces are considered contested until the new regentcan defeat any opposition there and occupy them. Similarly, all holdings must becontested or conquered physically, or they remain under the control of thetarget’s heirs. Neither the new regent nor the heirs can gain or spend regency incontested provinces. Only when a province is conquered by the new regent canhe collect and spend RP there.

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Land Trade RouteType: Domain, RealmSuccess: 10+Base Cost: 1 GB, 1 RP

A regent who controls a guild holding can attempt to open a trade route,thereby increasing the money-making power of his domain. A trade route mustbe established between two provinces of different terrain types. Overland traderoutes can’t be created unless a road links the two provinces involved.

Each domain turn, a trade route generates GBs equal to the average ofthe two provinces it links. In addition, thief and guilder regents who control traderoutes collect RP equal to the money generated by the route.

Trade routes are neutralized if the regent’s guild holding in either provinceis contested, if one of the host provinces in conquered in war, or if the ruler of thehost province chooses to suppress it by decree. (The ruler’s law holding must begreater than the regent’s guild rating in the province to do this.) Trade routes canalso be neutralized if the regent ignores certain random events. When thesuppressing condition ends, the trade route resumes operation.

Creation of a trade route costs 1 GB and 1 RP. The success number isimproved by the current level of the regent’s guild holding. Regent’s with guildholdings or law holdings in the same province can oppose the action.Provinces of level 1 to 3 are limited to one trade route; level 4 to 6 can supporttwo trade routes; level 7 or more can support three. A realm action can be usedto create several trade routes in the same realm at one time.

LieutenantType: CharacterSuccess: SpecialBase Cost: None

Normally, a hireling becomes a henchman only when he demonstratesloyalty and respect for a particular PC. Regents are different; they’re besieged bypeople who want to work for them. By spending character action, the regent findsa lieutenant and adds him to his list of henchmen.

Lieutenants are excellent stand-ins when a regent is busy with othermatters. The regent’s Charisma score dictates the number of henchmen who canwork for him. For this purpose, a scion of a minor bloodline can add 1 to hiseffective Charisma score; a scion of a major bloodline may add 2; a scion of agreat bloodline may add 3.

Normally, a henchman can’t exceed his master’s level, but this rule is notin effect when dealing with regents and their courts. Cerilian regents are oftenvery low level characters; matters of state leave little time for adventuring!

Lieutenant Action: Once per domain turn, the regent may assign alieutenant to a domain action. The lieutenant may not be used for any otherpurpose that round, such as responding to a random event or going on anadventure. The lieutenant performs the action for the regent; in effect, the regentgains an additional action that round. Regardless of the number of lieutenants aregent has, he can exercise this option only once per domain turn.

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The regent must pay the gold and regency costs for the action, and noadditional regency can be spent to increase the lieutenant’s success chance. Ifthe lieutenant has no expertise in the action (for example, a fighter trying to builda trade route), the success chance is cut in half.

Move ShipsType: FreeSuccess: AutomaticBase Cost: None

A regent can order a ship he owns to sail anywhere he wants. Since a vessel’smaintenance cost includes provisions, ordering it to move costs a characternothing. Ships can move to support trade by sea, ferry troops, take characters onadventures, or perform other missions.

Note: Once a regent has committed ships to normal movement, theybecome ineligible for use during War Moves that follow that action round.However, if someone else uses the declare war action to attack the regent’sships or provinces, he may choose to return a ship to the position it held at thebeginning of the action round by paying a 1 GB penalty. The ship cancels itsintended move and becomes available for fighting in the war that follows thenormal action round sequence.

Warships that spend more time at sea earn bonuses in naval combat (seePart V: Armies and Warfare).

Move TroopsType: FreeSuccess: AutomaticBase Cost: 1 GB

At the regent’s command, any troops loyal to him march to any site in hisdomain. Moving troops costs 1 GB per 10 units/provinces; i.e. 1 GB can moveone unit 10 provinces, 10 units across one province, five units across twoprovinces, and so on. Troops require one full action round to relocate whenmoving by land; when the move, they’re not available for use until the nextdomain action round.

If a regent’s domain is invaded while troops are marching, he can aborttheir movement and replace them in their original location, but he forfeits any GBspent to move them. A regent must declare war or use diplomacy to move troopsthrough provinces he doesn’t rule.

Move Troops by SeaType: FreeSuccess: AutomaticBase Cost: 1 GB

A regent can use his ships to transport units of troops automatically, up to theship’s normal capacity for troops and movement. (Mounted forces such as

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knights or calvary count as two units each.) The troops must embark at a port,paying 1 GB per five units; the cost doesn’t depend on how far the ships move,since the regent already owns them. (A ship can carry its maximum troop andcargo capacity at once.)

Once the troops are aboard, the regent uses a move ship action (above).The troops can disembark at any coastal province. However, landing troops inenemy-held provinces requires a declare war action and the execution of fourWar Moves, just like a normal land invasion would. Each full week at seaprevents the troops in question from participating in one land-based War Movethat action round.

Ships that move troops by sea face the same limitations imposed by themove ships action; carrying troops during an action round makes a ship ineligiblefor movement during any War Moves later that round.

Rivers: Regents can move troops along rivers, as long as one bank isfriendly or they have permission from the ruler of one bank.

Muster ArmiesType: FreeSuccess: AutomaticBase Cost: Special

A regent can create new army units by mustering troops, raising a levy, orhiring mercenaries in a province he rules or in which he has holdings. A provincecan raise military units equal to its level (never higher) in a single domain turn.The province ruler can bar other regents from raising armies in his province if hewishes. A new unit must be trained and outfitted, and cannot be used in thesame action round as it is created. Mercenaries are an exception to this rule andare available immediately. See Armies and Warfare.

Militia: Mustering a militia unit creates a special condition. Since militiaunits or levies are composed of people who have other jobs, raising militiatemporarily reduces a province’s level by 1. The provinces rating is restoredwhen the militia is disbanded. If the unit is slaughtered in a foreign war, theprovince’s rating is permanently lowered; any holdings that exceed the provinceslevel are reduced accordingly.

Ply TradeType: CharacterSuccess: SpecialBase Cost: None

A character with a useful skill or business interest can earn money. Bardscan entertain, characters with nonweapon proficiencies can pursue their trades,or thieves can engage in larceny. The activity can last for one action round. Thesuccess roll is based on the character’s proficiency score with any appropriatemodifiers.

The DM assigns the character’s activity a profitability rating of marginal,fair, good, or excellent. Reduce the rating by one grade in a province (3) or less,and raise it by one grade in a province (7) or better. Some examples follow:

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Marginal: Farmer, Fisher, Forester, Hunter, Miner, Sailor, Teamster,.Cutpurse, Pickpocket, Servant, Foot soldier. Marginal occupations earn 5d6 goldpieces per action.

Fair: Blacksmith, Bowyer/Fletcher, Leatherworker, Mason, Trapper,Weaver, Woodworker, Bandit, Herbalist, fair Artist or Entertainer. Fairoccupations earn 10d6 gold pieces per action.

Good: Armorer, Brewer, Gambler, Swindler, Jeweler, Limner/Painter,minor Merchant, Scribe, Tailor, Weaponsmith, military officer, or good Artist orEntertainer. Good occupations earn 30-80 (1d6+2)x10 gold pieces per action.

Excellent: Shipwright, major Merchant, Architect, Engineer, superb Artistor Entertainer. Excellent occupations earn 60-240 (6d4x10) gold pieces peraction.

Special: Spellcasters can sell their services for 25 gp per character leveltimes the province level. An 8th level wizard in a level 5 province can sell hisservices for 1,000gp per action round.

A character can also make a specific item for himself if desired. Anarmorer can fashion a suit of armor, a bard can compose a poem, and so on.This worsens the profitability one grade, but gives the character opportunity tocreate a desired item with the normal chance of success.

Realm SpellsType: DomainSuccess: SpecialBase Cost: Special

A priest or wizard regent can spend a domain action to cast a mightyenchantment that affects the entire province. Realm spells are a special type ofmagic that are available only to regent spellcasters; without the power providedby a character’s regency, a realm spell would fail completely. Realm spells canonly be used only in provinces in which the regent has a temple holding (priests)or source or ley line (wizards).

ResearchType: CharacterSuccess: SpecialBase Cost: 1 GB+

Wizards and priests can spend a character action to perform spellresearch or create magical items. All normal restrictions apply. If the character inquestion is a regent, assume he has a laboratory and library at his disposal.

RuleType: Domain, RealmSuccess: 10+Base Cost: 1 GB, variable RP

With this action, a regent spends time and energy advancing the causesof his domain. By ruling, he can increase a province or holding’s level by 1. Aprovince can be ruled only once per domain turn.

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Note that for a regent to increase a holding, a level must be vacant; if hecontrols a guild (3) in a province (3), the province cannot support any more guildactivity.

Ruling a holding costs 1 GB plus Regency Points equal to the target level;for example, improving a guild (3) to a guild (4) costs 1 GB plus 4 RP. Theprovince ruler and any regent with a similar holding in the province can supportor oppose the action by adding or subtracting the level of their own holdings.

Ruling a province costs 1 GB and 1 RP per target level. For example,ruling a province (3) to a province (4) costs 4 GB and 4 RP.

Ruling a holding or province from level 0 to level 1 costs 1 GB, no RPsmust be spent.

Realm Action: A number of holdings may be ruled simultaneously as arealm action, but only one province can be ruled at a time.

Sea Trade RouteType: Domain, RealmSuccess: 10+Base Cost: 1 GB, 1 RP

Ports: Any coastal or river province (4) or higher counts as a port andconstitute one end of a sea trade route. The other end of the route must be acoastal province within one month’s sail of the port and must:

• Have a different terrain type; or• Be occupied by a people of a different culture or race (for example,

Anuire vs. Khinasi).For purposes of this action, assume a ship can travel 30 maritime areas in

one month of sailing.A port can support as many sea trade routes as land routes; so a coastal

province (7) can support three land and three sea routes. The regent of a portwith a designated sea trade route can bar the trade route with a decree action atany time. And remember, a sea trade route can never start from a coastalprovince rated (3) or lower.

Value: A sea trade route is worth the average of the two provincesinvolved, rounded up. For instance, a sea trade route linking a province (4) and aprovince (6) earns the owner 5 GB per domain turn. In addition, thief and guilderregents who control sea trade routes collect RP equal to the money generated bythe route.

Ships: Naturally, sea trade routes require ships capable of carrying cargo.Every ship has a cargo capacity, described in terms of GB. To collect the moneya sea trade route generates, the route’s owner must have ships able to carryenough cargo. Additional Gold Bars’ worth of cargo, in excess of the ships’ cargocapacity, are forfeited until the regent gets more or bigger ships. (A ship cancarry its maximum number of troops and cargo at the same time, if necessary.)

Example: A guilder regent in Ariya, a province (7), creates a sea traderoute to Alcamar, a province (5). The route generates 6 GB per domain turn.However, the regent supports the route with only two dhouras, each with a cargo

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capacity of 2 GB. These ships allow the guilder to collect only 4 GB per domainturn from the sea trade route.

Availability: A regent should allocate ships to sea trade routes during the“taxation and collection” step of the domain turn. These vessels are consideredoccupied with move ships actions each action round to carry out the turn’s trade.If a ship leaves its trade route for another purpose, the regent must repay themoney he collected this domain turn from cargo his ships never actually carriedto port.

Trade ChainType: DomainSuccess: 10+Base Cost: 2 GB, 2 RP

Regents with established trade routes may use the trade chain action toextend their reach across the continent of Cerilia and beyond.

To create a trade chain, a regent forges a new trade route originating fromthe terminus of an existing trade route. This extra link increases the value of thetrade route and may increase the distance a trade route can reach. Under normalcircumstances, a sea trade route cannot extend more than 30 maritime areas,the trade route is limited by the time required to sail between the two points. In atrade chain, multiple ports, each 30 or fewer maritime areas away from eachother, can be linked in a long, unlimited series of trade links.

Example: Theofold has holdings in the seaport province of Allesrecht, inMüden. Leivika, in Svinik (on the western coast of the Rjurik highlands), is a cityabout 30 maritime areas from Allesrecht and roughly the limit of Theofold’s seatrade route. But Theofold wants to trade with the City of Anuire in Avanil (on thesouthern coast of Anuire). He cannot reach the City of Anuire with a conventionaltrade route, but he can create a trade chain.

Theofold forges a sea trade route between Allesrecht, a province (6) andLeivika, a province (4). This nets Theofold 5 GB per domain turn. Theofoldspends his next domain action building a trade chain from Leivika to Anuire. Forthe cost of 2 RP and 2 GB, he has a chance to link the City of Anuire to his traderoute from Allesrecht.

To determine the value of any trade chain, calculate the average of allprovinces involved in the chain, then add 1 GB for every province beyond thesecond. In the above example, Theofold linked three provinces: (Allesrecht (6),Leivika (4) and the City of Anuire (10). The average is 7 (20 divided by 3,rounded up). One province is added beyond the second, so the 7 is increased toan 8. Thus, Theofold (who initiated the route), gains 8 GB every domain turn. Inaddition, the guilders who agreed to the trade routes collect 1 GB per provincebeyond the second each domain turn. In addition, thief and guilder regents whocontrol trade chains collect RP equal to the money generated by the route.

If another province is linked to the three already joined (at an additionalcost of 2 RP and 2 GB), all four province ratings are averaged, then 2 GB areadded to the result.

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Like a simple sea trade route, the provinces involved in a trade chain mustbe of different terrain types or belong to different cultures or races.

Trade chains are vulnerable to conditions in all connected provinces. Ifone of the trade links is eliminated (for example, the guild holding in Anuire iscontested successfully in two consecutive actions), they all suffer. The originaltrade route from the guild regent’s home province would survive, but all forwardtrade links dissolve. In the case of Theofold’s three-link example, the contestingof Anuire would leave the Allesrecht-Leivika route intact. If Leivika or Allesrechtwere contested, however, the entire trade chain would dissolve.

Trade chains must be supported by ships just like a single sea trade routedoes. If not enough ships are available to carry the entire chain’s GB value incargo, then the remainder is forfeited.

TrainingType: CharacterSuccess: SpecialBase Cost: Special

A character can spend an action honing his skills. He may train for leveladvancement, improve a nonweapon proficiency, learn a proficiency, or exerciseto increase his hit point score.

Training for Levels: If the character has earned enough experienceadventuring or through role playing to gain a level, he must train to advance. Hemust find a mentor or instructor and pay nay training costs.

Improve a Nonweapon Proficiency: The character studies a skill healready knows, trying to become better at it. At the end of the action, the DM rolls1d20, if the roll is higher than the proficiency’s current score, he increases thescore by 1 point.

Learn a Proficiency: A character can learn a new skill or the use of anew weapon if a suitable instructor can be found. This option is useful if thecharacter has saved a slot that he now wants to fill. Note that the activity oftraining for levels includes learning new proficiencies if the character gains slotsat that level.

A character can also learn a proficiency even if all of his slots are alreadyfilled. This consumes two character actions instead of one.

Add a Hit Point: A character can exercise and train to add 1 hp to hisscore. He cannot exceed the number he would reach with maximum rolls for hisclass, level, and Constitution bonus; i.e., a 5th level wizard with a 16 CON couldnot exceed 30 hp.

War GamesType: DomainSuccess: AutomaticBase Cost: 1 GB per unit involved in the exercises

With this action, a regent sends his army units on training exercises. Notethat some Move Troops actions may need to be used in order to get the units alltogether in a single province.

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When a regent orders war games, he also declares how many months hewants the maneuvers to last. Obviously, the more the troops train, the better theyare in actual warfare (see Part V for actual game effects of training). At thecompletion of the entire war games exercise, the units involved will get theirbonuses. If the regent calls for a three month exercise and only two months arecompleted before the exercise is interrupted, no bonuses are given.

Note that if the regent personally goes on the maneuvers also, he will stillbe able to conduct affairs of state (unlike the Adventure