1.  STARTING OUT

        Refer to the STARTING Menu in the Tables thread.

        Establishing your nation:  Choose 2 or 3 domains for your temples, and 2 or 3 attributes.  They must total 5.  Then select a race. If we get enough players, more race options will be opened up.

These choices will determine what your nation starts with.  Certain combinations will provide special units and abilities. These are secret.  As an example, if you have both Mahouts and a War domain or a Warrior Ethic, you will have War Elephants at the start.

Name and describe your nation, and your leader.

You will be assigned starting military forces, non military units, heroes and locations- these will appear on your NATION SHEET.

        You can prepare a list of town names for your nation, which the GM can use to name towns on the map that belong to you, or you can opt to leave this to the GM and take what comes.  Name at least five to start with.  You probably won't start with five, but this way we'll stay a few towns ahead
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:12, Thu 15 Apr 2021.

2. NATION SHEET
See the tutorial Nation Sheet for the Gnomish land of Wumbly Bay.

It lists all sorts of things, your starting domain and attribute choices,
Your cities, and the income you are getting from them, your military and your heroes, for example.

We are not going to worry about the purpose of every last building in every city.  For our purposes, most construction in cities falls into the three categories on the sheet.
Fort:  Military defenses.  The higher the number the harder the city is to attack.
Culture:  The higher the number, the higher the quality of life in the city.  People are happier, the military has higher morale, and immigrants are attracted to the nation.
Commerce:  the higher the number, the better the economic infrastructure of the city.  Think markets, warehouses, factories.

Your tax policy is listed here.  It is given as Oppressive, High, Moderate, Low, or None.  Everyone starts at Moderate for their first turn, and can adjust from their.  It's noted on your Nation Sheet.  If you change it, it changes the money you will have next turn.  You won't know how it affected things until that turn... thats the way it goes.  Lower taxes are naturally preferred by your people.


Skills
Your nation might also have special skills listed here.  Skills can't be traded, because it's one thing for a few people to know "the secret to..." and another for a nation's carpenters, masons, and architects to have sufficient experience collectively  for the nation to qualify for "Engineering 2".
The primary effect of most skills is to enhance something, or allow you to have a certain kind of thing.  Engineering allows you to build cheaper.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:04, Tue 13 Apr 2021.

TURNS
The Annual turn order is essential.  The Seasonal turn order, if skipped, will be interpreted as "keep doing pretty much what we were doing".
Announcements made outside of turn orders may or may not have effect.  That is, if you tell other players your troops will garrison a place, and do not back this up in your turn order, it might not happen!

Annual Turn Orders should include what you are spending money on, and any important policy changes.  The one policy decision at the game start is Tax rate, we can add other options later.

Don't worry about spending all your money- if it's not spent its put into the treasury for savings.
Tax rates are chosen from:  Oppressive, High, Moderate, Low, and None.  Everyone starts at Moderate for their first turn, and can adjust from their.  It's noted on your Nation Sheet.

Your Nation Sheet has a list of military units you can build and their costs.  This is unique from player to player, and is based on the initial choices, and the capabilities acquired.  In the Wumbly Bay example, note a cost to build "Alchemical Troops"- this is something special available to this Nation, and will probably not appear on yours.   Simply list any new ones you want to build, and their cost.

List anything you want to build and its cost.
List where you want your units, whether military, hero, or non-military, to go and what you would like them to do.

How to order your military units around:  Note the map in the Tutorial Thread.  Let's assume the player wants his Infantry, Scouts and Frostmage to attack the Norkers headed for the town of Billimo.  The player could either say exactly this "Infantry, Scouts, and Frostmage to attack the Norkers near Billimo" or specifiy the exact route they are to take.  "Frostmage and Scouts move to 12-11, the infantry to  13-11, and then attack the Norkers in 13-10."  Being more specific can help if you want them to take a certain route.

Units attack by moving into hexes occupied by enemy units.  It is possible to look for the enemy, and miss, though.  This is especially likely when the enemy is small and stealthy and dense terrain.  Elf scouts in forest can be difficult to see.  Elephants on open plains, not very hard at all.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:17, Wed 14 Apr 2021.

Diplomacy

Diplomacy between players is on a player to player basis.  These rules are generally applicable to player-to-NPC diplomacy.

To initiate diplomacy with an NPC you must visit it with a Hero with a Diplomat ability.  While Diplomats specialize in this, some other hero types are good at it.  Bards, Paladins and Clerics can be  well received, for example.  So can spies, unless the are found out.  See the Hero Chart.  Be careful, sending a Hero with a poor ability to do a critical negotiation might be worse than delaying the negotiation until someone better is available!

Your direct your diplomat to use a specific style.  You can dazzle them with your wealth (often including generous bribes/gifts), awe them with your cultural prowess (Happiness) and good reputation, or intimidate them with your mighty military.  You can switch, contact to contact, turn to turn.  If you don't give your diplomat a direction, your diplomat will make something up.  For game purposes we will assume that during negotiations, the NPC nation will know your nation's reputation, happiness, wealth, and military power.

After the initial contact, you must revisit with a diplomat OR keep a mission their for future diplomacy.  You cannot put a mission (or anything) in an NPC territory unless they agree to it, so if you expect to talk to an NPC often, arranging permission for a diplomatic mission should be part of your first contact.

You can have as many requests as you want with a diplomat in a season.  In the course of a single negotiation a diplomat could, for example, request permission for a mission, request free trade, and request a mutual defense treaty all at the same time.  A diplomat hero can visit as many NPC's as is possible in a turn with movement, spending 2 additional points for each negotiation.  If traveling by ship, the diplomat gets a free negotiation wherever the ship spends an action.  The negotiation does not count as the ship's action.  Thus, a ship could, in one action, conduct exploration and have the Diplomat on board do a negotiation with an NPC in the area.  If the ship is traveling to a distant sector, the diplomat gets one free negotiation in a sector passed through or in the home sector.  Thus, two sectors distant, a seagoing diplomat could conduct negotiations in two ports, plus one in one port in one sector the ship passes through, in addition to the ships actions.

When the diplomat conducts a negotiation, the results will be sent back to the capital for approval.  Often this will include some kind of requirement imposed by the NPC nation.  At that point, if you accept and meet the terms, the result is in effect.  If you wish to make a counter proposal it is next season. For example, you find a small kingdom and propose mutual defense.  Word comes back, yes, if you will send troops right away to deal with the nasty hobgoblins on their border.  If you agree, the deal is on.  If you make a counter proposal "We have no warriors available but we will be willing to send you gold to build up your defenses" the NPC will respond next season.  Or perhaps their hobgoblin conquerors will respond.

You can authorize your diplomat to unilaterally propose some gift or boon to improve your chances.

Once you have a Diplomatic mission in place, that mission can conduct a negotiation at any time.  Having an actual Diplomat will give you a bonus to chances of success.

Through Diplomacy, you can create the following agreements with NPC nations:

Accept our Diplomatic Mission
Accept a Trade Deal
Allow us to pass through your territory
Sign a treaty of friendship with us.
Sign an alliance with us.
Become a protectorate or vassal of our powerful nation.
Help us defeat a named foe.
Unify with us as citizens of our nation.  (this would require a long period of close association, it's not something you ask of strangers!)
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:52, Mon 03 May 2021.

TRADE AND RESOURCES

Like Diplomacy, Trade between players is free form.  Make whatever deals you want.
The map shows regional resources.  It does not show specific amounts being produced, nor does it show what is being manufactured in a city.  A single "Fish" symbol might appear near a city, while the city's entry on your Nation Sheet shows 2 Fish 1 Jewelry 1 Leather.  That is what you have to trade with.

The Nation Sheet entry always rules.  You might have local resources on the map that you don't see on your Nation Sheet.  In this case, the resource is simply not being used.  You might not have enough people, or your people might be gainfully employed doing other things and have neither desire nor need to work that resource.

If your people are merely doing other things, you can order them to change.  They might not like this.  But if you have nearby iron and really need it, you can tell them to stop fishing and start mining.

Generally, Trade deals with NPC's will be simple 1 for 1 things.
Trade deals can arise WITHOUT a diplomat creating them.  If you place a Trading Post near an NPC or even another player nation, things could occur on a "trader to trader" basis without needing a formal treaty.  This is especially true, virtually automatic, if each side has products the other does not.  If you need wine and put a trading post near a wine producing nation, PC or NPC, a flow of wine will likely begin.

Trading Posts can bring in money even without an exchange of resources.  It is simply assumed in this case that other goods and services are being exchanged.  The benefits will usually be lower, however, "miscellaneous" trade with a wealthy state can be more lucrative than a resource exchange with a poor one.

When a special resource appears on the map it has regional effects:  it applies to that hex and all hexes of that terrain type adjacent to the hexes of that resource. Cities do not have to be in a producing hex, they can be adjacent to one, thus, your city (or nomad) can be up to two hexes from the symbol and still claim it.

As an example, see the tutorial map.  The fish northeast of the town defines the entire bay as a good fishing area.  Sugar appears near the town of Binfi.  The nearby Nomads can also harvest sugar cane, as the "Sugar region" is adjacent to their hex.  Unlike the townsfolk, though, the nomads might move on.  The nomad must stay in the hex a full season to gain the resource.

Special products produced by your citizens in your cities are not resources and are not shown on the map.  These are listed with your cities.  Ships (as products and not units), for example, would not appear on the map.  No one goes out to collect wild ships.  If you have a shipyard and can export ships, it will appear on your Nation Sheet but not on your map.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:50, Tue 27 Apr 2021.

Construction

We are not going to get into great detail about where each building is.  Instead, you can build from a limited list:

Roads and Bridges, to improve movement. Note that when you build a road, we assume it is from the middle of a hex to the middle of a hex.  You pay for BOTH hexes, so that with no skill, a road from a Wooded hex to a Wooded hex costs 2.

You can build Trading Posts, Diplomatic Missions, Outposts and Provincial Palaces, to spread your influence.

         Trading Posts are used to form permanent economic ties with distant locations.  They appear on the map. They do not necessarily claim land as "yours", several trading posts can share a hex.  A string of trading posts may be used to create a long overland trade route.
         Diplomatic  Missions are built in capitals of other nations. They are an exception to the engineer/continuity requirement.  You are using the locals to build.  If you have Diplomatic relations with a nation, you have a trading post in it as well.   Diplomatic Missions never appear on the map as they only exist in foreign cities.

         Outposts claim a hex as yours, and function as trading posts as well. They are fortified and may grow up into towns.

         Provincial Palaces serve as additional capitals, extending the benefits of Capital City to other locations.  It's possible that some regions will only join your nation if a Provincial Palace is built for them.



Within Cities Only:   Fortifications, Culture, and Commerce.  These increase, respectively, the defensive value of the city (fortifications) the glory, beauty and happiness of the city (culture) and the economy of the city (commerce).

The cost to build these things is on the construction table, in the Tables thread.

Within or adjacent to cities you can build without having an engineer unit present.  Otherwise you need an Engineer.

An Engineer can build at any distance but must have Continuity.  You can even have your engineer operate in foreign territories.

You might have nation specific things you can build.  This will appear on your nation sheet.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:06, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

Military Units

Heroes, military forces and non military are represented on the map by color coded boxes.

The number of figures in a military unit box determine how many population points are needed to provide for that unit. This is typically between one and three.  If you have more figures than population points (adjusted for certain other factors) you must disband units, or your economy will suffer as there will not be enough people working.  For some players, this might be an acceptable tradeoff.

Militia has been removed from the rules.  Instead, all Cities and Nomads have a built in "defense" score that appears on your Nation Sheets.  This is derived from the population, the Fortification score, and the Domains and Attributes of your people.  It is assumed that all cities will have some of their citizens providing defense in an emergency but some (for example, if you have the War or Protection Domain) will be better than others.

        Garrisons are small, light infantry units typically used for guarding places, and Infantry are your "regular" military units- you can convert one to the other buy paying the price difference if the new unit has a higher build cost.  You do not get money back going the other way.  You cannot convert in this way to get your special units.

Garrisons will typically not appear on the map, being "embedded" in their location. They will appear when required.

Military Units have two scores that represent them:  The movement rating appears on the Token, and tells you how many Movement Points it has.  Different types of units pay different costs to cross hexes.  Each unit also has a Power Rating that gives you a guide to its total strength.   It factors in skill, equipment, and raw numbers and it can change as a unit gets more experience.  A is the highest rating, M is the worst.    This number does not appear on the Token.  It is reflected on your Nation Sheet.  You can discover the ratings of foreign units with scouts, spies, rogues, etc,

Most typical Military units must be supplied.  If they are in your area of Continuity, not a problem.  If they are outside of it, they will start to forage to sustain themselves if not supplied, and their speed and power will be reduced.  This does not happen to all units- certain units are able to self sustain in some environments.  (Nomad horsemen, for example, in any grass, steppe, woods or hills).  Nor does it happen if the troops are being supplied by allies, or are just beyond your borders.  For long distances you will need ship actions to support them, or Supply units.   Supply units represent baggage trains, or laborers, or pack animals, etc, carting food and other goods to the distant outposts and military units.   For longer trips you may  need to make chains of them.

Many players will have special units unique to them.  You can only build what appears on your nation sheet.  However, you may be able to gain allies and a wider variety from player and NPC nations.

Surrounding enemy forces entirely or partially in a battle gives you an advantage.

Defending in rougher terrain gives you and advantage.

Certain unit types gain advantages from different circumstances or terrain types.  Attacking a fortified town without archers, engineers or others able to give you a bonus against fortifications is very difficult.

Opposing Military units (and heroes!) running into each other may not even meet!  A weaker but stealthier side might elect to hide.   Goblins are notorious for dispersing, stealthily retreating past superior foes, and rallying somewhere else.

        The Stealth and Detection ratings of various military units is not shown on the unit, but may be inferred from their type.  Heavy cavalry is very obvious.  Elves are skilled at hiding in their home terrain.  Perhaps the best of all are Elven Shadow Warriors, hand picked for their skills at camouflage and infiltration, they are rarely seen in a forest unless they want to be.

Naval Units

Ships are so mobile given the season long turns that they can reach almost anywhere. They are assigned to a port, and also given a sector in which they operate in.  They are given a number of actions depending on the distance.  A standard ship in its home port sector has

A ship is considered to be at its port, in the Sector in which it is performing actions, and in all sectors in between.  Thus, if a ship is performing an action three sectors away, it can be attacked by enemies in its home port sector, in its action sector, and the two sectors it must travel through.

If you want to, you can split a ship's actions between sectors, pro-rating the number of actions available and rounding down.  Thus a standard ship could have one action two sectors away and 2 actions in its home sector, in the same turn.

Units, creatures, and heroes that can move on water but are not ships do not have these features.  They act normally, but for the ability to move on water.

Naval units can act on Rivers, but are slowed down.  When rivers are on hex sides, count each hex side.  If the river cuts through the hex, count it as one hex side.  1 Sector of ocean travel is 12 hex sides equivalent.

RIVER units must remain on Rivers and count 16 hexes or river hex sides as a sector.

COASTAL vessels count 16 hexes or river hex sides as a sector.  They cannot enter all sea hexes that are not adjacent to land.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:46, Fri 07 May 2021.

CONTINUITY
You will see this term pop up in the rules.  Basically, Continuity holds nations together.
Continuity:  When settlements are too far away and not connected by roads or sea lanes, they are not part of your economy and will not contribute to you.  Also, they are in danger of slipping away politically and culturally.  They may become independent, or even align with another nation!  To keep Continuity, keep them within 8 movement points of a port, town, road, outpost etc that is itself in Continuity.  Note that different races spend movement points differently; Humans will be able to extend Continuity across 2 hexes of wood, while Elves and Gnomes can extend across 4.  Ports (any town on a major river or sea hex is considered a port) can trace Contnuity by sea if they do not have a land route.  Any port can trace Continuity over 4 hexes for free.  Beyond this requires a ship.  This takes one of the ship's actions each season.  Thus, if you have an outpost on the far side of the game, you may  need to commit a ship just to keep it connected to the rest of your nation!

You can use the assets of any nation, including non player nations, minor tribes, etc, for the purpose of Continuity if they agree to it.

8:  HEROES

You cannot buy heroes.  They appear.  Occassionally,  free lance "uncommitted" heroes will appear.  Getting them to join you is a diplomatic task!

Heroes represent people of exceptional ability.  They have a level rating of 1-5 shown in Roman numerals.  (These do not map to DnD levels.  All heroes are exceptional.  Low level characters would be simply mixed in to military units, appear in "adventurer" units, or ignored entirely)

Heroes are distinguished by a different color for their titles.

Heroes may travel with military units and may also be given special assignments.   They are much more flexible than military units.

When Heroes travel, assume the same number of movement points as one of your typical, appropriate military units.  For example, if you have Elven scouts, and you have a rogue or ranger or similar Hero, you can move the Hero as if it was an Elven scout.  If you have cavalry, you can assume the Hero has a horse available.  If you have both you have a choice!  Once you choose a movement mode for the Hero you can change it on any turn when the Hero is in your home territory, OR it may ditch the faster mode for slower mode- once.  (That is, when you are home you can stable the horse, when you are far you can turn it loose, but then you can't get it back!)

They are individuals, so they do not count against the carrying capacity of a ship.  They can be transported to any point where a ship spends an action point, or at any place along the way.
A Hero has a class.  Classes tend to be better at some things, worse at others.  See the Hero Chart for more information.  As an example, note the qualities of a Knight:  Poor at battling magical or supernatural foes, they prefer a straight fight- they are Very Good at fighing mundane foes.  They are Good at supporting troops- soldiers will be inspired by their courage and leadership.  They are poor at detection and stealth- they can neither hide well nor detect hidden things.  Do not use a knight to sneak somewhere.  They are fair diplomats, though, aided by their association with the ruling class, and leadership skills.

Heroes can have additional skills, which are denoted with letters on the unit and can include:
D:  Diplomat.  The Hero has a Diplomatic ability better than the listed column rating.  A Knight with a Diplomat skill will be Good, not Fair.
E:  Engineer.  The presence of an engineer means things can be built with a skill one level higher than the nation as a whole.  They are also value for seige warfare.
L:  Leader:  The Hero is better than normal with tactics and leading troops in battle.
M: Manager.  The Hero is good at directing things, and provides a bonus to the city the hero is stationed in, if there for the year.
S: Seafarer.  The Hero can give bonuses to ships in battle.  The Hero can also act as a River or Coastal unit even without a ship, as it is assumed the Hero will acquire some personal small craft to use.

X: Spy.   This skill allows a character to blend into a foreign population and learn things.  Or, the spy may be used to hunt down foreign spies, thieves, etc.


T:  Trader.  The Hero has a Trade skill, and can be used to set up trade deals, sent on trade journeys to earn money, or left in a city to manage a trade empire.
V:  These are mountaineers.  They can enter snowcapped mountains, and have movement bonuses in mountain terrain.  They can give a movement bonus to units they are with.
U:  Underworld.  The hero is capable of stealing, smuggling, etc, and can organize groups to do this.

Specialist Heroes are of little help in battle, but have a strong additional skill.  Think of them as civilians.  A specialist Diplomat will be very good or excellent at diplomacy but have no other useful abilities.

Heroes can be instructed to do a variety of things:
They can explore a place or a hex.
Join troops in a battle.
Attend court and assist in the administration of the nation.
Provide security, routing out spies and thieves.
Making diplomatic contacts.
Escort and protect others.
Lead non military units.
Lead Adventurers
They can scout ahead for armies
Use their special skills- spying, counter spying, directing engineer projects, etc.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:46, Mon 10 May 2021.

Population Units
Settlers, Immigrants, Refugees, and Nomads

These units will generally appear to represent your population growth.  If you can build one and you do, it comes out of your existing population!  When they appear do to population growth, it is spontaneous and you do not have to pay for it.

Each of these units represents a single population point.  The entire point.  Thus, unlike a military unit, it is not drawn from population, it is population.  Despite the number of figures on the unit, it is one population point.  It is therefore vastly larger than a military unit.  For purposes of sea transport it is eight units, twelve if horse mounted.   It may take a ship multiple seasons to move a population unit!

These units cannot attack, but will defend themselves and are surprisingly survivable due to sheer numbers.  If destroyed or captured it represents a serious loss.

Settlers:  these are large groups of people equivalent to one population point.  They travel over land or water, and can establish new towns when they reach a suitable place.  They prefer locations already made secure by a garrisoned outpost, or something similar, or a place with an attractive resource.  For some nations, the leaders will be able to direct settlement.  Others, such as those who embraced Freedom as an attribute, where they go, they go.  Settlers do not attack, but do to sheer weight of numbers they are able to offer some self defense.  Sometimes.

Their speed is often enough to leave their starting point and settle a new town in the same turn.  Those settlers may never even appear on the map!  Note also that unlike Civilization and similar games, they have no other functions.  They do not build roads- engineers do.

Refugee:  these are like settlers, but as they left home under duress, they are poor and have little to help them build a new home.  As a result, when they arrive somewhere, it is a Refugee Camp for one year.  Afterwards, they can upgrade themselves to Immigrants or Settlers.  Players generally do not produce these deliberately, but they can create them accidentally by mismanagement or military action.  Refugees do not need support to travel but can die crossing harsh terrain.  Unless one of your cities is in serious trouble, refugees will generally appear as NPC units.

Immigrants:  similar to settlers, but they lack the resources to travel far overland or break new ground.  They are used to add to existing cities.  They are generally not produced by players, arriving from overseas on their own.  Immigrants need support if they are to cross any long distance.   These will generally not appear on the map- they will arrive in a port city and quickly establish themselves.

Nomads:  The permanent population unit.   Wherever they stop is their home.  They bring along more economic capability than ordinary settlers as they are prepared for this life, but they will never match settled populations.  Like settlers, they can fight if they have to, and they are generally better at it than ordinary settlers.  Nomads need no support, they will live off the land.

Nomads work like a mobile town with a population of one.  It cannot have fortifications, but it can have up to two cultural improvements and two commercial improvements.

Nomads contribute to your economy, and they count as population for the purpose of supporting military units.  Thus, each Nomad unit can support one figure.

Nomads will almost always be able to support military units matching their type cheaply.  Thus, horse nomads can easily support light horse cavalry.

Except for Nomads, you can only steer these units with a military unit, a ship, or a Hero.  Otherwise they will go to the first good spot to settle down and move in.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:45, Fri 07 May 2021.

Wandering Monsters

        Hostile NPC's will field units very much like the units of the player character and NPC nations- see the Norkers in the tutorial map in the Tables thread as an example.  Often, they will have their letter rating printed on them- this is your general's estimate of their abilities.  They might be wrong or incomplete- spies or scouts can deliver more exact information.  They may be patrolling, exploring, or in search of conquest, plunder, or even taking slaves.

When a "wandering monster" appears it is more like a Hero in style- the title will be colored.  It represents something more important than the average creature.  Only a handful of the many creatures that exist in the Southlands will appear in the game:  those that Fate has decided have special importance!
Whether opponents, allies, or simply wandering at random, specific monsters are best dealt with by heroes or adventurers.  Conventional units facing monsters alone will often fail to find them, or take unacceptable losses when they do.

        Most wandering monsters can do little harm on the national scale, but their presence will penalize productivity of towns as people abandon outlying farms.  A small town may be abandoned entirely if there are too many monsters!

        Some monsters aren't necessarily evil and may even be amenable to recruitment.  Only the ones that appear in the game can be approached for recruitment- you can't just send a hero to fetch a creature that hasn't appeared in the game.

Likewise, certain special items or places might appear that have some special effect for heroes that find them.

Things like this can be used to increase the level of a hero.

"Adventurers" are odd little units that act like heroes for hire.  They may require some incentive to help out, or they might be recruited by a diplomatic effort, especially if the nation impresses them.

SPECIAL UNITS - more will appear over time. Special Units are available to specific players, and have unique abilities.

The Roving Court - found in Annwyn.
A special Nomad available to Faerie nations.  A Roving Court acts like a normal Nomad, except it can spend half its movement points flying (Crossing any terrain at 1 point per hex), and it is limited to ending it's turn at most 2 hexes from another Fairie unit or city.

Elephants   Found in the Federated Sons. With their work capability, they double as engineers

Shadows - Found in Eosia and Luna Doreith  Elite Elven warriors trained for infiltration.  In forest, they can usually avoid any other force if they choose to, or attack with an ambush.


The Floating Market - Found in Warakan  A Nomad with River/Coastal movement that doubles as a Trading Post.

Reindeer -    Available to the Frost Elves    In winter, the southern boards will be strongly affected by snow, especially the conifer forest region.  Only the Reindeers can move normally. There isn't much Tundra, but it is considered always in winter condition.

Mageguard  - Found in the Infinite Collegium. A mix of magic users and warriors trained to work closely with them.  Capable of some flight.  . 

Witch Scouts  - Found in Leyla.  They scout, and they can fly.

Tortles:  -  Found in Moss Rock.  Amphibious warriors, they pay no extra points to cross rivers.

The Wraith - Found in Luna Doreith.  Anchored to a place, but can fly out over its movement range to attack a target- acts as a warlock in battle.

Borders:

In year one, Political Geography is a very inexact science in the Southlands.  No one drew lines on a map; who controlled what was more important.

Hexes with your cities, towns and outposts are yours.
Hexes adjacent to these are yours, except where they contain a city, town, or outpost of someone else.
Hexes adjacent to two different nations can be shared, divided, or taken entirely by one side.

You can have units place flags to mark other borders- these will generally not be respected by NPC's unless you have a diplomat convince them.

Exploration and Detection-

Hexes are areas 60 miles across.  That's a lot of area, and in rough terrain its very easy for things to be hidden.  Merely traveling across a hex will not detect anything in it other than the most obvious- cities and towns, and highly visible military units.  Anything more requires detection, or exploration.

Detection is the function of military units to find other military units.  Some units are better than others- Flyers, Cavalry, Scouts, etc have an advantage in finding.  Some are better at hiding.

Exploration can reveal resources or other special hidden things, including small hidden NPC towns.  (Troglodyte cave towns can be very hard to spot, for example.)

In some situations the GM will simply inform a player rather than put it on the map.  But assume everything will hit the map sooner or later, rumors spread.

This will be updated along with the Maps

North:
The Cloud Kingdom is one of the odder NPC states.  It consists entirely of an archipelago in the sky, a group of permanent Cloud Islands that drifts as a cluster around the North Sector, straying into the Northeast.  They follow a rough clockwise route, spending the winter in the tropical mountains in the upper right region, and summer at lower left.  They can pass overhead without anyone knowing they were every there.

Inhabitants of the Cloud Kingdom include Dragons, who are the monarchs, Sylphs, and a few other mostly flying beings.


Northeast:


Guggish.  The hot, muddy, overgrown tropical swamp town of the Ormyrr:  Reclusive, intelligent, amoral creatures like large slugs with arms.  Known for slavery, alchemy, and a paranoid belief that others want to conquer their swampy "paradise".   They do not consider the laws and morals of others to be of any concern in their territory, thus, their town is a haven for outlaws, exiles and refugees... as long as they live under the rule of the Ormyrr masters.

Troglodytes:  Believed to have underground towns, hidden in the jungle mountains.

East:

Lutra:  Home to the Lutrans- Otterlike humanoids known for a lively, cheerful and curious disposition.

Torvil:  A Tortle community.  The polar opposite of Lutrans in many ways.

Oswigi:  A Euften Town.  Euftens are not lizardmen, and are offended by any suggestion that they might be.  They are amphibians, bearing a resemblance to bipedal salamanders (the swimmy kind, not the firey kind).  They live in fairly simple quiet communities.

Orsi:  Euftens occupied by Goblins.
Boscai:  More Euftens occupied by Goblins.

Whistleport:  A Gnome city state, currently with Goblin problems_


SouthEast:

Ricai:  More Euftens.

Moorlunde and Ziflunde:  Halfing states.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:42, Fri 14 May 2021.

Goblins are the scourge/nuisance of the Southlands, and tend to cluster around powerful bosses who can control them.  As their bosses tend to vary in outlook, so do the Goblins.


The Goblins of the Hag Queen can be found in the Southeast.  These Goblins are her henchmen, bullying and dominating weaker civilizations on the periphery of her forest highland stronghold. In addition to her Goblins, the Hag Queen is said to have more fearsome forces at her disposal.

Also in the Southeast, the Goblins of the Wompy Rumpus.  Among the most peculiar Goblins in the world, these believe that they have already won their "great victory" and are now committed to celebrating in every way possible. They hold loud, wild, drunken parties frequently- but they hold them on other peoples' territory.  Goblin "partiers" arrive, hold their wild "rumpus" and in the course of it deplete the local supplies and cause a lot of damage.  On the whole, less destructive and violent than a classic pillage and plunder raid.  If the locals cooperate, the Goblins almost seem nice about, generally leaving some tokens "in trade" for all the food, drink, and supplies the locals "gave them".  This is never worth more than a fraction of what the Goblins took and destroyed.

"Sorry about your house... hey, here's my hat, take it, you know, now we're good, right?"

No such compensation is ever offered if the locals don't respond with a positive attitude.  It is believed these Goblins have no central leadership, and have intermixed (or interbred?) with one or more types of Fey creatures.  They are adept at making potions, especially extremely intoxicating ones, but Goblin society being what it is, are never able to turn this into a real economy.