EMPIRE! Community World-Building Game III: Prepare Your Inbox! (Messages Are Coming)

**Morph Bark** · 2014-03-04, 06:30 PM (ISO 8601)

If you have reached this thread, continue on to this one. It is the next iteration of this thread and is the one currently in use at the moment I type this message.

Spoiler

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EMPIRE!
Gods, Kings & Adventurers

Current Year: 371-375
IC thread: click!
Dice-Rolling thread: click!

Welcome to EMPIRE! A game of gods, kings and adventurers. In this game, you will play a character, a ruler of a region. And once s/he dies, you will play their heir and so on, continuing on the family legacy. You scheme, discover and conquer your way towards becoming the most-remembered person in history. Respected, loved, feared.

This world will start as a simple one similar to the early Middle Ages, but through the actions of players and random events the scope of the world will expand, science marches on and magic may even be introduced to some lucky ones. For now, magic is nowhere to be found, though monsters may exist in players’ regions or beyond their borders and supernatural phenomena can take place.

Best beware if you want to ensure your legacy.

If you want to become a player and all regions are currently taken, don't worry. New regions can always be added in during play, and we can put you on the waiting list in the meantime should no regions be available at this time.

Be warned! This is primarily a game of world-building, but contains some strategic elements, secretive scheming, and both cooperation and vehement competition between players at times. It's all easy enough to understand once you've read through the rules of this post, and GREAT fun to play in and talk with all your co-world-builders in this thread, but keep in mind that in the game itself, IC, it can be a very bumpy ride. Let us ask questions, help each other, communicate, cooperate, build and have fun OOC, even as we bash each other's brains in IC.

Also, if you have a question, and you can ask a player (about their region or people, for instance), ask them instead of the GM. If you can ask it in the thread, do that instead of via PM. The GM's PM inbox is regularly cleared and thus things can easily get lost, so try keep it to secret stuff and (IC) reactions to stuff you get in your own inbox.

Atlas and Player List

Spoiler: Atlas

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Natural Map (so outdated, but eh)

Regional Map

{table=head]

Region Number

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Player

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Region Name

Spoiler: Stuff Already Determined

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Some regions are already partially determined in what resources or terrain features they have.

Region P3 has been discovered by Sympolemou! It has 4000 people and a Good amount of true ice.

Region P8 has been discovered by the United Lacertian Dominion! It has 8000 people and a Good amount of blue fire.

Region 30 has been discovered by Grmanhil! It has 18000 people, a Good amount of grain, and one other Good resource to be determined by the first successful colonizer.

Region 39 is claimable, though marked as "NPC" on the table. It is occupied by people formerly from Celero. New players may claim this region if they agree to take over these occupants, or if they feel okay starting by trying to throw them out.

Region 41 has been discovered by Alydaxis! It has 25000 people, a Good amount of giraffes, and one other Good resource to be determined by the first successful colonizer.

Region 42 has been discovered by Alydaxis! It has 19000 people, a Good amount of limestone, and one other Good resource to be determined by the first successful colonizer.

Region 43 has been discovered by Ashenia! It has 39000 people, a Good amount of voidbeasts, and one other Great resource to be determined by the first successful colonizer. It is currently ruled by Hartigan Biûrkahâd, who rules from Heartgouger's Tower, where allegedly Crown Prince/King Hazael III is being held for ransom. Hartigan Biûrkahâd has an army of 4000 warpainted men and women.

Region 53 has been discovered by Guilder and Qarimos! It has 24000 people and a Good amount of magnetite.

Region 54 has been discovered by Guilder and Qarimos! It has 16000 people and a Good amount of athletes.

A region number with an A after the number is an aboveground region that has another region situation below them, an underground region with the same number with a B (A for “above”, B for “below”). Regions marked “inactive” or "not yet active" are either not yet finished by the claiming player, or are up to be claimed (if no name is in the “player” column for that region).

Regions remain reserved for two weeks from the moment of reservation, after which the prospective player is taken off the list again.

Due to high amount of interest, there is now a waiting list. If you wish to be put on this list, simply post to say so. If a player becomes inactive, you can take over their region, or if new regions are discovered through exploration. Later in play, certain "special" regions may be added as well.

{table=head] ___WAITING LIST___
ShadowFireLance
AsteronIronhoof
___________
___________ [/table]

Game Masters
Head GM: Morph Bark
Duties: Handling secret actions, technologies, region acquisition, new players, inactive players, NPCs and Events. Introduces new game elements to enhance the game or changes rules if deemed necessary for game balance.

Assistant GM #1: TheWombatOfDoom
Duties: Handling ruler attribute scores and increases, succession laws, countries and races, alliances, resources, trade and imports, the FAQ.

Assistant GM #2: WaylanderX
Duties: Tracking population, army sizes and army composition, Winning Tactics.

Assistant GM #3: zabbarot
Duties: Handling religion and keeping track of (Great) Projects.

~ ~ GM Data Collection ~ ~
All the information on rulers & regions

Chapter 1: Rulers (Wombat)

Chapter 2: Trade & Resources (Wombat)

Chapter 3: Alliances (Wombat)

Chapter 4: Military & Population (Waylander)

Chapter 5: Technologies (Morph)
Chapter 5.5: Technology Bonuses

Chapter 6: Religion & Great Projects (zabbarot)

Appendix I: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions (Wombat)

Appendix II: History of Telluris (Rain Dragon)

Extra Player Resources (For the Players, By the Players)
Heraldry Generator (thanks, Logic!)
Family Tree Builder (thanks, zabbarot!)

Should there be anything incorrect or not updated yet about any of the above tables it’s always possible that the GM or co-GM in charge of that has missed it. If so, please feel free to inform us with the proper, most updated information.

~ ~ Them's The Rules ~ ~

Below in all the spoilers are the rules, with headers describing their general contents. Newly added rules are put in Green text.

Starting: The Basics

Spoiler: The Basics

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In EMPIRE! you start play as the ruler of a country, the head of their family that rules one of the regions. You perform actions to improve your ruler and country and their position in the world through alliances, trade, finding your children suitable spouses, researching new technology and waging war. Once your ruler dies of old age, disease, accident or murder, their heir takes over, becoming your new ruling character controlling the nation.

Describing Your Country
When a new player enters the game, they first must claim a region and describe it in fluff. If there currently aren’t any claimable regions, or there are people on the waiting list, prospective new players are put on the waiting list to await their turn. Some regions are of a special type, which you can find below under "regions and region types".

Population: A new region starts with a population of 30,000 + (10d10 x 1,000). Underground regions start with 15,000 + (8d10 x 1,000). Polar regions start with 3,000 + (3d10 x 1,000). If you take over an existing country from a retiring player, you don’t have to reroll Population. Population is increased by the GM every few rounds.

Terrain: Describe the physical features of your selected region, including three major landmarks—no more, no less.

People: Describe what the people in the region generally look like. You are free to throw in little details about their culture as well.

Resources: Describe three major resources that can be found in the region, as well as at least one resource the people will have to import from outside out of necessity or desire (for religious rituals or cultural reasons). You can have something that doesn't exist in the real world as a resource, such as special metals like mithril or adamantium, or things that would be great for alchemy or chemistry or certain technologies, but to start using these requires a technological advance of its own. It can prove hard to get it at first, but most things that are hard to acquire are very much worth it. These three resources start at [Good] quality. The import necessity will not be automatically satisfied; you have to strike a deal with a player who has it as a resource to trade it with you.

You can trade resources with other players. If a resource is Good you can trade it resource with up to 3 other players and if the resource is Great you can trade it with up to 6 other players. Effectively, this means a Good resource has 4 ‘stacks’ of that resource, whereas a Great resource has 7 ‘stacks’ of that resource that can be used in that round. If you trade with other players, you effectively give them one stack of your resources every round in return for one stack of one of their resources (or in return for a service). One of these stacks always remains in the region it originates from. You cannot stockpile resources for later rounds.

Religion: Religion is very important in EMPIRE! When a player enters the game, their people are either pagans (animist, shamanist, druidist, unorganised religions involved with spirits, ancestor worship) or adherents of the Lord of Fire. The Lord of Fire is the god of a monotheistic religion with the Blazing Avatar as its head, who resides in a temple city in the mountains. The Blazing Avatar is said to channel the Lord of Fire himself and is an important figure throughout the continent, but cannot directly interfere. Gaining his support can be helpful or have unusual effects. Players can introduce their own religions with a special action if they have a Faith score of 5 (see below), raising an existing spiritual cult to official status, introducing something entirely new, or making a major change to an existing religion in their region.

Besides these things, regions also have a list of Technologies available in the region. The technology level at the start of the game is roughly early Medieval times, so things like plate armor, book-presses and complex siege weapons don't exist yet. Players can introduce new technologies through their actions (see below).

Creating Your First Ruler
All player characters have the following attributes: Diplomacy, Military, Curiosity, Faith and Luck. When a new player starts, they roll 1d4 for each attribute, and then place them where they want. They may add 1 point to two of their attributes beyond that.

You can make your rolls in this linked thread. Be sure to read the guidelines in the opening post there, and link to it in your compilation post with the ruler and country info.

Changing Rulers
Changing rulers is a non-action. If your current character dies or abdicates the throne, their heir takes their place. Usually this is the oldest child, but other succession laws may be in place (oldest son or oldest daughter, for instance). Roll 1d4 for their attributes, in order. They get a +1 in any attributes that their parent had a 4 or higher in; and a +2 in any attributes their parent had an 8 or higher in. Children who are adopted also receive these bonuses (children are always adopted at a young age and thus their new parent has a profound effect on their education).

If the new ruler is not a child of a previous ruler, they only get a +1 to two attribute scores (chosen freely), but may arrange the rolled scores freely, as with the first ruler of a new player. Regents who rule while the heir waits to come of age fall under this category as well. Regents cannot perform Special Actions. Regents can become legitimate rulers through a coup d'état and ridding themselves of the heir who would otherwise become the next legitimate ruler. This will enable regents to perform Special Actions.

If you change rulers during a round, use your former ruler’s attribute scores for this round. Effectively, their decrees and commands for the current period are still in effect. If you decide to change rulers before the round starts, you can change them at the start of the turn, in which case you will use your new ruler’s attribute scores. If you want to change rulers before a round starts, you must note in the post of the previous round that you will be switching rulers. You must do this before that round ends, because posts edited after that round has ended will not have their actions be counted.

Please link the rolled stats for your new ruler in your IC post in which they first come into play.

Regions and Region Types

Spoiler: Regions

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The standard type of region is a land region. Land regions can have a large variety of terrain types and resources. Regions have a default limit of 4 resources per region, 2 of which can be Great resources. However, this can be expanded by using miracles (if appropriate to the religion), a Great Project using a technology that could help with the resource you want to add or upgrade, or a highly specific spell. Or GM-adjudicated event.

Besides this standard region type there are several others:

Underground Regions
Underground regions are regions that occupy the same area as a land region, but are situated below them. They are noted in the tables by adding "below", "belowground", "underground" or simply a "B" behind the number. Not all land regions have an underground region below them. Check the atlas and region name table listing to see which regions have a known underground region below them. Some land regions may have an underground region below them without it being known yet. You can send explorers to check if there is one.

Underground regions count as adjacent to adjacent underground regions and the region they are situated below, but not as adjacent to their aboveground companion region's neighbours. Underground regions have no hard restrictions on resources as of yet, though it makes more sense for them to more often have mined resources.

Island Regions
Island regions are easy to recognize from the map, as they are a region completely surrounded by sea (or near-completely, in case of a peninsula/island region combo). Island regions can be attacked and defended by any unit type (land, naval, aerial).

Polar Regions
Polar regions are regions that are near the North or South Pole. Polar regions have a hard cap on the amount of resources they can have. Namely, they can have no more than two resources native to the region and food resources cannot rise above Good quality.

Rounds

Spoiler: Rounds

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Each round will take (roughly) one OOC week (5 years in-game) and will be announced by the GM when it starts. The GM will close the previous rounds first and use the intermediate time between closing a round and starting the next to update information and create Events. During each round you have five actions you can spend doing things.

Rounds are one week. If players haven't posted by the end of that week, their round is considered wasted. If all players have posted before the end of that week, the next round may start sooner. Rounds start on Sunday morning. Some players may only have time on weekends, and I figure they still might not have all weekends available. This way, they can post one round's actions on Saturday, and the next round's actions the day after, not needing to worry about it until Saturday two weeks later (unless they have conversations standing with other players).

Important to note is that the effects of actions don’t kick in until the end of the round. Armies raised in a round can therefore not be used until the next round, attribute increases only are added at the end of the round, and newly discovered resources or newly acquired technologies cannot be used until the round after they were introduced in your region. This is primarily because it makes keeping track easier for the GM and co-GMs.

Secret Actions
You can spend one of your five actions in a turn doing a secret action. This secret action can be anything you want to keep secret from other players, such as a secret Great Project, spreading (false) technology, covert religious conversion or sending spies to another region to discover secret plots, for example. You have to send this secret action to the GM for verification, otherwise it will not be counted. Secret actions can be revealed at a later date, either by the player, the GM, or through the actions of other players.

Secret actions only count for attribute increases if you note what kind of action the secret action is in the IC thread (with a [Diplomacy], [Military], [Curiosity] or [Faith] tag). This means you can decide yourself whether you want to reveal what type of action your secret action is to gain the benefit of attribute increase with it, or keep it entirely secret, but not gain the benefit of it.

Projects
Some things may take more than one round to complete. These are called ‘projects’, and you need to spend one action per round on them. Some take only 2 rounds, like making the roads a little better between your cities. Some are Great Projects that take 5 rounds, like making a road network between all your towns, cities, fortresses and bordering countries, a Great Wall, an Underway or some amazing wondrous building.

Magic
Magic is not available to the players.

Acquiring New Regions
New regions can be acquired and come under your control in several ways. Conquest is one of the simplest ones (detailed under Military below). Another is by marrying yourself or your heir to the heir of that region, as long as the marriage makes it so that they become part of your family (instead of your heir becoming part of theirs, which would mean game-over unless you change who your heir is). This might be easy with NPC-controlled regions, and likely very hard with player-controlled regions.

Another way is by exploring and finding other regions and colonizing them through conquest or diplomacy, setting up trading posts or puppet rulers under your control in those regions.

Increasing Attributes
Every turn a player has completed their actions, they list at the end of their post what attributes they increase. Players’ rulers get a +1 increase if they dedicate two actions to actions related to a particular attribute, so if you use two actions to raise army units you have spent two actions on Military actions, for example. This would mean you then increase your Military by +1 at the end of the round. Since you have five actions, you can therefore increase two scores by +1 or one score by +2 if you spend four actions doing things related to a single attribute.

Please note clearly at the end of your post in the IC thread which attributes you increase so that co-GM TheWombatOfDoom can clearly note it in his tables. Attribute scores are capped at 10 and each provides special kinds of actions at scores 5 and 10, some of which can only be performed once per ruling character.

Diplomacy

Spoiler: Diplomacy

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A higher Diplomacy score decreases chances of riots and rebellions in any lands you hold and chances of finding a good spouse. It also increases the chances of NPCs agreeing to proposals you offer.

Actions
Settling a treaty with one or more players for trade, forming alliances, arranging a marriage or betrothal for your character or their children, changing laws.

Diplomatic Colonization
Colonizing new regions can be done either through military force or diplomacy. Diplomacy does not require the presence of military units, but if another player's military units are present in a colonization attempt of their own, the military units' presence supersede any diplomatic attempts at colonization.

Sometimes, more than one player is trying to colonize the same region through Diplomacy. If this happens, either one of the players decides to stop and go look elsewhere, or they both make an opposed Diplomacy check (1d6+Diplomacy) to see who is more successful in the colonization. They do this during both rounds of the colonization process. The person who wins the first check gains a +2 bonus on the opposed check during the second round. The winner of the Diplomacy check during the second round is the one who successfully colonizes the region entirely. Of course, a player may choose not to continue colonization if they lost the opposed check during the first round.

This also means that if someone starts colonization in a later round than someone else, they’ve already lost, unless they bring military troops instead. (Military force will thwart diplomatic missionaries, but will certainly be opposed by the people there, who may ally themselves with the diplomatic missionaries’ country of origin.)

The person who discovered the region gets a +3 bonus to the Diplomacy check. This is so that explorers do get a bit of an edge, but don’t start the actual colonization process yet and may still be thwarted by more diplomatically successful colonizers.

Pressing Claims on Other Countries
A situation has arisen! Another country is without a ruler! Or perhaps they have a ruler that you simply don't like very much, while you do like their land?

In case they happen to be a player, you can stake your claim and press it in an act of war! Don't forget to send your declaration of war to them!

In case they happen to be an NPC, you're in luck! It's pretty easy to press claims on them. In the world of Telluris, nobody knows why some just happen to be easier to press against. Perhaps the Weave of Fate simply weaves more strongly around those who might alter the course of history.

You can press a claim if you:

Have a relative of your ruler married to a direct descendant of one of the target region's earlier rulers. The more recent that ruler ruled, the stronger the claim!
Have ancestral ties to the target region. These claims are generally less strong than a marriage claim, unless a large amount of your people can trace their lineage back to that region. [This only works for regions, not full countries.]
The target country used to be part of your country, but they split off due to either revolution or peaceful splitting on part of either the people or previous rulers of your country.
You've fabricated a claim in an earlier round that was still during your current ruler's rule.

To press a claim, you must:

Spend an action on it, of course!
Roll a Diplomacy check and link it in your actions post (just like all other rolls should be).
If the result is at least 6, there is some support for your claim. If the result is at least 9, there is a lot of support for your claim. If there are other players pressing claims at the same time, the highest roll wins.

If you have some support (check result of at least 6) and have rolled the highest, you must spend another action next round to gather more support for your claim (requiring another Diplomacy check result of at least 6). If you have a lot of support (check result of at least 9) and have rolled the highest, you'll have claimed the target region or country by the end of this round.

Other claimants (players with a claim) who lost may attempt to create rebellions in the target region or country in a revenge attempt--or a final resort to get the target region or country for themselves should the rebellion prove successful somehow.

Claimants may also forfeit their claim to support another claimant, providing a +2 to the other claimant's Diplomacy check result.

Diplomacy 5 Special
If you have a score of 5 in Diplomacy, you can spend an action to stabilize a single region. This will prevent riots or rebellions from breaking out, which are common if you aren’t importing your people’s Import Necessity from another region, there are other claimants to the throne, the ruler is of a different religion than the people, or the country is being wrecked by natural disaster. The stability will last until the end of the ruler’s reign.

Diplomacy 10 Special: If you have a score of 10 in Diplomacy, you may combine regions that you control into a bigger one and claim a higher title.

4 or more adjacent regions combine into a Great Kingdom, becoming a Great King. Great Kings have one bonus action per round. You lose the title if you ever control less than 4 adjacent regions.
3 or more Great Kingdoms (not necessarily adjacent) into an Empire, becoming an Emperor. Emperors have two bonus actions per round. You lose the title if you ever control less than 3 Great Kingdoms.

Military

Spoiler: Military

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Military actions are things that involve training or using armies, navies and aerial units in both offense and defense.

Actions
Raising a military unit (1000 soldiers; whether it’s an army unit, naval unit or aerial unit), training militia, defending your land or invading another region, building fortifications.

Unit Types
There are three unit types: land units (army units), naval units and aerial units. Land units can attack land regions and underground regions. Naval units can attack coastal regions, and if they do they can also be attacked by land units. Naval units can be used in defense of a region only against attacks by naval units. The exception to this is island regions, which naval units can also defend against land units and aerial units. Aerial units can attack land regions, but if they do they can also be attacked by land units.

Units cannot go through countries that aren’t allied or specifically allow it, so if you wish to attack a specific country that you can only reach by going through countries you aren’t allied with and that haven’t specifically allowed you to go through, then you’ll have to fight them first. If the regions you’d have to go through do not have units, you can just march on through with no resistance.

Training and Using Military Units
When one of your armies clashes with that of another player or those of an NPC, both sides roll 1d10 and add their leader’s Military score and the armies’ size (+1 per unit of 1000). The controller of the region may get a bonus based on defensible terrain in the region. Either side may get a bonus if they have technology that the enemy does not if that technology can be practically used in war. You must specify in this action whether they are land units (army), naval units (navy at sea) or aerial units. Also, if you have control over multiple regions, you must specify in which region you train them.

If you want to have naval units with boats, you need to have access to wood. If you want to equip your armies with weapons, you need to have access to appropriate materials (wood, certain metals, etc). For aerial units, you need some method of flight (flying creatures, appropriate technology, magic, etc).

Armies can never be larger than 10% of the total population of all regions you control (at which point you have enlisted half of the able-bodied adults, both men and women, or all able-bodied men, or all able-bodied women, depending on your people's culture). Raising one army unit (1000 soldiers) requires one action.

Allies can help attack or defend a region they have army units in. If a battle takes place between more than two armies, allies only use the highest Military score available to them. However, all sides must take an action to partake in the battle. The players who lead the armies must each make a Military check (1d10+their Military score+number of units under their command in that region+amount of technologies they have that are applicable).

If you have multiple battles going on at the same time, you have to decide which one your ruler is leading. All other battles your country is involved in, but your ruler is not leading personally, only get half the ruler's Military score as a bonus.

The loser of a battle loses an amount of units equal to half the difference in roll results, rounded up. If the results were 11 and 6, that means the loser loses [{11 – 6}/2, rounded up] units, so 3 units. The winner of a battle loses 1d2 – 1 units, so a 50% of no losses, 50% of 1 unit lost. If you win two battles in a row (one in one round, the second in the next) against the same opponent in the same region, you drive them out of that region or rout their forces. If you are the invader, that means you seize control over that region. In the next round, you will probably have to spend the Diplomacy 5 Special Action on that region, though the rebel leader can still fight back against you (see Second Chances below).

Training Militia
You can train militia members to defend against invasions or help attack regions adjacent to the one they live in. With one action you can raise all your potential militias. Your potential militias are equal to one 20% of your total population minus your military units, so if you have the maximum amount of military units raised, you can only raise 10% of the population from that region as militia. If you are being invaded at the moment you try to train militia, a lot of people will be too occupied with getting their families to safety, so you will only be able to raise half the amount of people that would otherwise be available as militia. Every 2 units of militia (so every 2000 militia members) give a +1 bonus to Military rolls, making them only half as effective as normal military units. Militias only remain active until the end of the next round. For example, if you trained militia in round 4, they would remain active until the end of round 5.

Military 10 Special
If you have a Military score of 10, you can introduce a Winning Tactic. A Winning Tactic gives you a +4 bonus to all Military rolls in one specific kind of terrain.

Winning Tactics apply to one type of area only, as determined at the time the player introduces their Winning Tactic or until they change it with a new Military 10 action. They can only be utilized in regions that actually have the type of area. The following area types are examples of possibilities:

Mountains
Hills
Plains
Desert (hot and dry; does not include arctic desert)
Forest (includes underground [mushroom] forests)
Swamp
Inland Waters (lakes, rivers, etc.)
Coastal
Open Sea
Deep Ocean (underwater)
Underground (excluding underground forests and waters)
Arctic
Sky (requires aerial units)

Attacks with naval units on a region can be coastal battles or take place in an area immediately adjacent to the coast or part of the coast. Coastal cliffs, for example, count as mountains in such a scenario, though from a land attack they wouldn't.

Underground regions can benefit greatly from an Underground Winning Tactic, but underground battles can also take place in underground forests or near underground lakes or rivers.

Curiosity

Spoiler: Curiosity

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A lot of people are naturally inquisitive. Some like inventing things, other like exploring things for the sake of knowledge, some others find new ways to improve doing things people do every day. Curiosity is basically how a character handles things like science and economics. Creating new things, such as buildings, roads, fleets, mines and so on, takes time and effort. Clever people know ways to make it easier, quicker, and better. However, creating defensive structures or building things with the army is a Military endeavor rather than a Curious one.

Actions
Searching for new resources, inventing new things, changing education systems, building schools.

Acquiring Technology
You can get new technologies three ways: invent it with a Curiosity 10 Special Action, get it from a friendly player, or steal it.

If another region that you don't control has access to technology that you don't, you can send people to acquire that technology for you, either by force or by diplomatic agreement with the other player. They can just give it to you, but otherwise you can make an opposed Curiosity check, rolling 1d6+your Curiosity against 1d6+their Curiosity. If you roll higher, you acquire the technology (but only one kind of technology per action).

Curiosity 5 Special
If you have a Curiosity score of 5, you become able to introduce a new resource in one of your regions (either previously unknown or only a Minor Resource) or upgrade existing Good Resource to a Great Resource. A Good Resource can be traded to up to 3 other regions. A Great Resource can be traded to up to 6 other regions. You can find unique resources (such as mithril, adamantine, etc) in your region, but you must be able to reasonably justify it. Such special resources require you to research technology to really utilize it. This action can only be done once per ruler.

Players are allowed to use the same action that gets them the resource for making trade treaties or changing existing trade treaties that ONLY involve that resource and none of their other resources. Other players of course need to still use an action of their own for that trade.

When a new resource comes into play, the head GM will decide whether it is a special resource that requires getting a technology upgrade (Curiosity 10 Special Action) first to start meaningfully using it, like for things like the military. Aerial unit creation always requires a technology, for instance. Using the special abilities of supernatural creatures also requires a technology to create the appropriate training programs.

Curiosity 10 Special
If you have a Curiosity score of 10, you become able to introduce a new technology in your regions. This requires that you already have prerequisite technologies and any resources that are necessary either through trade or as a Good or Great Resource in one of your regions. This action can only be done once per ruler.

Be sure to check if any other players already have technologies you might use to help you, either because it's exactly what you want, or because it's a step in the right direction to help you make the technology you want.

Faith

Spoiler: Faith

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Your relations with the Temple of the Lord of Fire (or the head of your new organised religion) is determined by your Faith score instead of your Diplomacy score.

Actions
Maintaining ties with the head of your religion, creating unity among your people, maintaining morale in times of trouble, building temples or tombs.

Converting People
If there are regions that you are allies with, trade with (or through) or have an army in, you can spend an action to make a minority of the people there take on your religion (if it is organized). Roll 1d6+your ruler’s Faith against 1d6+their ruler’s Faith (+3 if there is a holy order of a different religion in that region). If your result is higher, you introduce a religious minority of your religious to that region. If there is already a minority present from an earlier round, you can increase this to a majority with the same kind of check (but add another +2 to the “defender”). Only one religious majority can be present in a region at a time.

If the ruler of that region does not oppose your conversion with a Faith check of their own (opposing conversion does not require an action, but must be noted in their post with a link to the roll), or if they simply forget to make the check, you instead check against the population's base resistance of 5+defensive bonuses (including Holy Order bonuses).

If you do not wish to have a certain religious minority (or majority) in your region, you can wage Holy Civil War on them or re-convert them. Make either a Military check or a Faith check (1d6+your relevant attribute). If you roll an 8 or higher (11 for a religious majority), they are converted to your primary religion. If you used Military, many of them are exterminated (1d3x1000 for a minority, [1d4+1]x1000 for a majority).

Rulers may spend an action to convert to a new religion, but this may upset the stability of any regions they control that don’t have a majority following that religion.

A religious majority in a region can be made to be the only religion in that region with another successful Faith check, but the "defender" gets a +4 bonus to their check.

Faith 5 Special
If you have a Faith score of 5, you become able to start a new religion and appoint a head of the religion. At least half of the people in your capital region and most of those in the regions you control will convert, turning it into the religious majority of your capital region and a religious minority in all other regions you control. This can only be done once per ruler, and you should probably do it no more than once--unless you want to make some really big changes to the religion.

Faith 5 Special
If you follow an organized religion, you may form a Holy Order in one of your regions if you have permission from the head of the religion (the player who created it). If you are invaded by someone of a different religion, regions with a Holy Order in them give you an extra +½ to your Military rolls. This can only be done once per ruler and they cannot have been the one to create the organized religion.

Faith 10 Special
If you follow an organized religion, you may request a miracle from the deity/spirit/force or one of the deities/spirits/forces that you worship. The miracle must fit with the deity/spirit/force’s theme and portfolio. Miracles can destabilize enemy regions, help win battles, uncover new or increase existing resources (from Minor or nonexistent to Good, or from Good to Great), and so on. The GM makes the call on what actually happens (and it will not happen until the start of the next round), but you are free to request nearly anything as long as it fits the one from whom you request the miracle.

Luck

Spoiler: Luck

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The effects of Luck are currently unknown.

Game Over and Second Chances

Spoiler: Game Over and Second Chances

Show

It's Game Over for you if your character dies without an heir, or if their heir is married into another family.

If all your regions have been lost, your ruling character (or their heir if your ruling character dies in an invasion) can become a rebel leader. They can try to take back their lost region (or acquire a new one) until their death, but while they have rebel leader status they have only two actions per round. This allows a player a second chance when they lose their last region.

As an alternative, a player for whom it’s game over may re-apply for a new region as any other new player can. They are then put on the waiting list, unless there are new regions already available. They then start anew, fluffing the new region (unless it comes pre-fluffed) and making a new ruling character to start with.

Inactive Players

Spoiler: Inactive Players

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If a player goes absent, I'll PM them three rounds later, and if they haven't posted by the fourth round afterwards, the region can be re-claimed by a new player for one week. If nobody claims it (feel free to invite someone to), then it becomes an NPC nation. If a new player claims it they may decide to simply take over the region as it is the way the old player left it, unless the old player gave note that they want their region to go away if they leave. However, if the old player had any marriages with other player's families, they can lay claim to it, and I won't make the old region go away. Instead, it becomes a free-for-all for all those who have a claim to it, plus whatever rebel forces there may be.

Sometimes a player can be only temporarily absent. If a player does not post during a round, but others are using actions to make and confirm deals with the temporarily absent player, and the GM knows about it beforehand, then the action holds without the absent player having to spend an action on it. (I mean, they couldn’t anyway, because they’re absent at that time.) If the absent player gives a note about their absence for that week (or more than a week) beforehand, it should be completely fine. If a player is attacked during such a time, they are assumed to be spending an action to commit all their forces to the defense of their country for that round.

It is also a possibility that players leave us during the game, simply because they’re unable to continue due to prioritized commitments or for other reasons. In such a case, the link to the post compiling their information will be stored in case the player might return in the future to take things up again elsewhere. We heartily welcome new players, as well as returning ones.

Additional Role-Play Threads
The following is a list of role-play threads related to the game of EMPIRE! Some are marked [private], which are only for people who are listed in the first post of that thread. Some are to work out in-game actions, others are fluff first and foremost.

Blazing Temple (Any Year, FFRP)
Grand Ball (Year 336)
Grand Conference (Year 336 [private])
Rajurdic Codex (Year 338+, ongoing)
1st Raaneki Games (Year 347)
Scrolls of Prowess (Year 349+, ongoing)
Central Sea Conference (Year 353)
Bestiary of Telluris (Year 354+, ongoing)
A Clash of Nations (Year 356 [private])
First World's Fair (Year 358)
2nd Raaneki Games (Year 362)
Cantus Sai (Year 366, FFRP)
Last Visitation (Year 369, FFRP)
Summit on the Summit (Year 372, FFRP, ongoing)
Zwergkampf (Year 373, ongoing)

Previous Threads
EMPIRE! A Community World-Building Tale of People & Discovery
EMPIRE! A Community World-Building Game II: 2 Quest, 2 Curious

**Zap Dynamic** · 2014-03-04, 06:33 PM (ISO 8601)

Silly Zap... There was a whole page before the last thread got locked!

Gotta lay off the wine.

**SamBurke** · 2014-03-04, 06:34 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Zap Dynamic

Silly Zap... There was a whole page before the last thread got locked!

Gotta lay off the wine.

Is that even possible for a Raneekan?

**Tychris1** · 2014-03-04, 06:40 PM (ISO 8601)

*Shrug*

Maybe?

**BladeofObliviom** · 2014-03-04, 06:58 PM (ISO 8601)

It should be noted that we have more than 15,000 troops. In fact, we have 17,000 troops, if one disregards Crima's navy, the Sulvai (which we really shouldn't be, since they're an allied NPC at this point), and any other allies that might help but haven't yet.

Also, we have three technologies, not two. You say the Printing Press isn't a tool of war? Well, yeah. But it does make Logistics about a billion times easier, considering the huge armies we're talking about. We're sending out more soldiers than some nations have people, after all. Feeding, clothing, leading, and coordinating that many people is a difficult affair when everything has to be handwritten!

Finally, Umajin has a military score of 9 as of this round, not 8. Not a huge difference, but hey.

(Anyway, this invasion is a touch stupid from an OOC perspective, yes, but blood is boiling and tensions are raised!)

**Logic** · 2014-03-04, 07:09 PM (ISO 8601)

Posting my last reply of the prior thread, just in case anyone missed it.

Originally Posted by Lord_Burch

By that I meant within the UN. And, yes, you can hit 22, if you don't mind leaving your back open to the Sympol.

Huh? I fear I am missing a bit of critical information that makes this statement make sense.

Also note that while I have one huge reason to do the smart thing and roll over to the UN (read: survival) it is more OOC than IC. I have a TON of IC reasons to continue my current alliance.

**SamBurke** · 2014-03-04, 07:22 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Logic

Posting my last reply of the prior thread, just in case anyone missed it.

Huh? I fear I am missing a bit of critical information that makes this statement make sense.

Also note that while I have one huge reason to do the smart thing and roll over to the UN (read: survival) it is more OOC than IC. I have a TON of IC reasons to continue my current alliance.

OOC, the GC happens to be better at math.

Though, I must admit, we haven't made any Queen references. So win points to BladeOfOblivion on that score.

**Elemental** · 2014-03-04, 07:26 PM (ISO 8601)

Oh well, it is a shame Celero has decided not to stand aside for us.
That aside, I think we have plenty of in character reasons to defeat your armies and crush your resistance only to simply continue on to our main targets. Sorry we didn't have room for you in the Union back in the day. We still don't, it's kind of a pain to balance the trade agreements.
I would just like to note that I cannot speak for my allies, but Ashenia has always planned to expand West into the unknown to save on time and manpower.
Oh how I wish the old king were still around, he'd sort this out in a jiffy while pretending to sleep at the conference table.

**Tychris1** · 2014-03-04, 07:44 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by SamBurke

OOC, the GC happens to be better at math.

Though, I must admit, we haven't made any Queen references. So win points to BladeOfOblivion on that score.

?

Ok?

I guess the next great project the GC has planned is an AP Calculus course, or a REALLY BIG Abacus?

**SamBurke** · 2014-03-04, 07:52 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Tychris1

?

Ok?

I guess the next great project the GC has planned is an AP Calculus course, or a REALLY BIG Abacus?

OOoooh. Thank you very much... *plots*

**HisHolyAngel** · 2014-03-04, 08:25 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Arkhosia

So, if Eyrecradia falls...
Dragons or cats?

Welllll... You could do cat's, and they could worship Yphine.

**Arkhosia** · 2014-03-04, 08:28 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by HisHolyAngel

Welllll... You could do cat's, and they could worship Yphine.

That's cold.

There's a reason my IRL title according to me is Lord of Wordplay.

**HisHolyAngel** · 2014-03-04, 08:32 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Arkhosia

That's cold.

There's a reason my IRL title according to me is Lord of Wordplay.

Or you know, dragons work too. Dragons that worship Yphine...

**QuintonBeck** · 2014-03-04, 08:40 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom

It should be noted that we have more than 15,000 troops. In fact, we have 17,000 troops, if one disregards Crima's navy, the Sulvai (which we really shouldn't be, since they're an allied NPC at this point), and any other allies that might help but haven't yet.

Also, we have three technologies, not two. You say the Printing Press isn't a tool of war? Well, yeah. But it does make Logistics about a billion times easier, considering the huge armies we're talking about. We're sending out more soldiers than some nations have people, after all. Feeding, clothing, leading, and coordinating that many people is a difficult affair when everything has to be handwritten!

Finally, Umajin has a military score of 9 as of this round, not 8. Not a huge difference, but hey.

(Anyway, this invasion is a touch stupid from an OOC perspective, yes, but blood is boiling and tensions are raised!)

So around +30 then? Good, it'll be a fair fight then.

**Arkhosia** · 2014-03-04, 09:01 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by HisHolyAngel

Or you know, dragons work too. Dragons that worship Yphine...

Cats!
Because, in case you haven't noticed from my PCs in various games, I love cats.

**HisHolyAngel** · 2014-03-04, 09:02 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Arkhosia

Cats!
Because, in case you haven't noticed from my PCs in various games, I love cats.

So you'll be my friend?

**Arkhosia** · 2014-03-04, 09:07 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by HisHolyAngel

So you'll be my friend?

Do viral videos = 4(Cats) + laughing babies + people falling + 2(hot ladies)?
yes.

**Arutha** · 2014-03-04, 09:18 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by QuintonBeck

So around +30 then? Good, it'll be a fair fight then.

Your figures don't count Pryonia. We still stomp all the things.

**HisHolyAngel** · 2014-03-04, 09:19 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Arkhosia

Do viral videos = 4(Cats) + laughing babies + people falling + 2(hot ladies)?
yes.

How about... my... inclined toward my religion friend?

I'm def not pushing this too hard right?

**Ionbound** · 2014-03-04, 09:21 PM (ISO 8601)

Well...this looks pretty cool...and also a whole lot to keep up with. Anyone mind giving me the short version?

**Arkhosia** · 2014-03-04, 09:23 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by HisHolyAngel

How about... my... inclined toward my religion friend?

I'm def not pushing this too hard right?

Nah.
My cats worship Pewdius, god of lasers and joy.

**SamBurke** · 2014-03-04, 09:24 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by firedaemon33

Well...this looks pretty cool...and also a whole lot to keep up with. Anyone mind giving me the short version?

This game is like they sticky-note version of the Civ series, that's very based on interaction with other players/creativity as opposed to the ruleset.

**Ionbound** · 2014-03-04, 09:26 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by SamBurke

This game is like they sticky-note version of the Civ series, that's very based on interaction with other players/creativity as opposed to the ruleset.

Well, I do love Civ. Give me a few days to get my ducks in a row, RL wise, and I'll probably roll up a ruler. I already have a concept from a different game, though it is unrepentantly evil and full of demon-summoning goodness.

**HisHolyAngel** · 2014-03-04, 09:27 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by firedaemon33

Well...this looks pretty cool...and also a whole lot to keep up with. Anyone mind giving me the short version?

Hey, I only read the most recent round of postings and the first post before I joined. You learn stuff as you play.

**Arkhosia** · 2014-03-04, 09:28 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by firedaemon33

Well, I do love Civ. Give me a few days to get my ducks in a row, RL wise, and I'll probably roll up a ruler. I already have a concept from a different game, though it is unrepentantly evil and full of demon-summoning goodness.

Find Pewdius, my daughter. Only that way can you find enlightenment.

Okay, now I want to make an evil land as well.
More of an "Alucard" evil: Chaotic Neutral Evil.

**HisHolyAngel** · 2014-03-04, 09:29 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by Arkhosia

Nah.
My cats worship Pewdius, god of lasers and joy.

Ugh MOM. You ruin everything.

**Arkhosia** · 2014-03-04, 09:31 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by HisHolyAngel

Ugh MOM. You ruin everything.

His holy symbol is pie...

The Pontifex Maximus is grossly fat.

**SamBurke** · 2014-03-04, 09:31 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by firedaemon33

Well, I do love Civ. Give me a few days to get my ducks in a row, RL wise, and I'll probably roll up a ruler. I already have a concept from a different game, though it is unrepentantly evil and full of demon-summoning goodness.

I would expect nothing less from someone named FireDaemon.

**zabbarot** · 2014-03-04, 09:34 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by SamBurke

OOoooh. Thank you very much... *plots*

Sam, you must build the Giga-abacus.

**SamBurke** · 2014-03-04, 09:41 PM (ISO 8601)

Originally Posted by zabbarot

Sam, you must build the Giga-abacus.

Gibacus, the headshotter of all mathematics.

Thread: EMPIRE! Community World-Building Game III: Prepare Your Inbox! (Messages Are Coming)

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