[top]UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Still to come:
  • Army Combat Rules
  • Navy Combat Rules
  • New Fortification Rules
  • New Rules, Used Rules, and Tweaked Rules

[top]Introduction

Please note that the following rules are designed and play-tested in accordance to the BRCS 3e book and designed for a non-Cerilia based Birthright play by e-mail campaigned called Bersia.
I have made changes to the following, which can be found below: Armies, Assets, Blood Deities, and Methods of War. I have also added in new Deities and Faiths to the gameplay as well as new languagest to replace the old ones. Some of them may feel familiar to Cerilian deities, but in actuality, many of them are simply old PC characters from another campaign that elevated themselves to God-hood through years of game play.

[top]Armies

As you will quickly see, there is a slight difference between how one goes about mustering a unit in Bersia and how it is done in Cerilia based on the textbook method. In Bersia, almost all of the units are custom-made (though the same genre of unit is usually mustered again and again). This gives the player the freedom to accessorise his units as he chooses, giving each of the distinct factions their own twist on how their armies operate. For those of you use to the 3rd edition formate of training or creating non-book descript units, there's nothing new here. For those of you not use to that system, you construct a unit by using the following charts:
  • The Races

RaceAbbrvRacial TrainingRestrictionsSpecial
DwarvesDwDef+Not Cav or Marine Training+2 Mrl vs Magic
Elves, AvarielElfAScoutNot: Art, Cav, Inf, Irr, or PikeUnlimited Training at Veteran Exp
Elves, DarkElfDScoutNot: Art or IrrUnlimited Training at Veteran Exp
Elves, HighElfHScoutNot: Irr or PikeUnlimited Training at Veteran Exp
Elves, WoodElfWScoutNot: Art or PikeUnlimited Training at Veteran Exp
HumansHuNoneNoneNone
LizardfolkLzBesOnly: Achr, Cav, and IrrAlways Veteran
GnollsGnBesOnly: Inf and IrrAlways Veteran
GoblinsGoNoneNoneNone
OgresOgDef+, ToughOnly Cst and Irr+1 Muster Cost, +2 Atk vs Non-Ogres
OrcsOrToughNot CstNone
UndeadUdOnly: Archr, Cav and Inf+2 Muster Cost, Immune to Subdual, Always Standard. Always Active
  • The Units

Unit NameAbbrvMeleeMissleHitsMoveMoraleMuster Cost
ArchersAchr+0+2 (Range 2)21+21/2 GB
ArtilleristsArt-2+4 (Range 4)21+23 GB
CastersCst+0+011+42 1/2 GB
CavalryCav+2+023+22 1/2 GB
InfantryInf+2--21+21/2 GB
IrregularsIrr+2+021+01/2 GB
PikemenPike+2--21+21/2 GB
TribalTbl+0+012+00 GB
  • Unit Special Traits

Unit TypeSpecial Trait
Archers+2 versus Cavalry
Artillerists+4 versus Fortifications, x2 Damage versus Units
CastersBegins with 2 Spells, Considered to have Battlecaster Feat
Cavalary+2 Charge Bonus with Double Damage
Infantry+2 versus Irregulars and Pikemen
IrregularsNone
Pikemen+2 versus Cavalry, Double Damage versus Charging Units
TribalCannot wear Heavy Armour, Cannot be Mustered, Cannot take Special Training (Excluding Racial)
  • Unit Armours

Armour LevelAbbvDefenceMissle ModMove Mod Muster Cost Special
None10+0 GB
LightLt12+1/2 GB
MediumMd14-2-1+1/2 GB
HeavyHv16-4-2+1 1/2 GB+2 Charge
  • Unit Experience

LevelAbbvAttack and Morale ModHit ModMove Mod Muster Cost Special Training
Green(-)+0+0+0+0 GB0
Standard+2+1+1 GB1
Veteran(+)+4+1+2+2 GB2
  • Special Training

NameAbbvMuster CostEffect
Additional SpellAd++2+1 Spell for Caster Unit
Advanced FormationsPform+2+4 Defence versus Melee, Move reduced to 1
Sform+2+4 Defence versus Missle, Move Reduced to 1
Advanced TrainingDc++1+2 to Assault Spell DC's
Def++1+2 Defence
Mel++1+2 Melee
Mis++1+2 Missle
Mrl++1+2 Morale
BeserkerBes+1+2 Melee, -2 Defence, +2 Morale
Magical SupportMgk+1Allows Battlecasters to Affect Unit
MarineMrn+1+2 Melee and Missle when at Sea, May board naval vessels
ScoutSct+1-2 Melee, +2 Missle, -1 Hit, +2 Move. Ignore Terrain
ToughnessTough+1+1 Hit, +2 Morale
  • Caster Spells

ClassNameCasting TimeTargets Range(Squares) PrimarySecondaryUses
Assault (DC 12)
Acid SplashImmediate121 HitDestroys Armour2/Battle
FireballImmediate222 HitsNone2/Battle
Ice RayImmediate121 Hit-2 Move for Battle2/Battle
Lightning BoltImmediate131 Hit, 2 Hit vs Hv UnitsNone2/Battle
Magic MissleImmediate1No Save1 Hit2/Battle
Defence (DC 12)
HealImmediate1MeleeHeal 1 HitHeal to Full2/Battle
Mage ArmourFull Round1Melee+2 DefenceDuration: d4 Rounds2/Battle
Magic ArrowFull Round1Melee+2 MissleDuration: d4 Rounds2/Battle
Magic WeaponFull Round1Melee+2 MeleeDuration: d4 Rounds2/Battle
WarcryImmediate1AdjacentUnit gains BeserkDuration: d4 Rounds2/Battle
WindwallFull Round1AdjacentMissle Immunity (Directional)Duration: 2 Rounds1/Battle
Conjuring (DC 14)
Alter BattlefieldRound/Square4 joined squaresSightChange TerrainPernament1/Battle
Animate Seige WeaponFull Round1 Slain ArtilleristMeleeArtillerist continue firingDuration: d4+1 Rounds1/Battle
Animate UndeadFull Round1 Slain UnitMeleeCreates Undead UnitDuration: d4 Rounds1/Battle
Create ArmourFull RoundSee EffectMelee1 Hv, 2 Md, or 4 Lt Units ArmouredDuration: d6 Rounds1/Battle
EntanglementImmediate12Holds UnitDuration: d4 Rounds1/Battle
Recall UnitImmediate1SightMove Unit to Adjacent SquareNone1/Battle
Summon MonsterFull RoundUnoccupied Adjacent SquareNoneCreates Monster UnitDuration: d4 Rounds1/Battle
A Note on Spellcasting: For Assault Spells, the listed DC for the Unit is the DC for the opposed unit. The DC for Defence and Conjuring Spells is the DC that must be beaten by the Casting Unit.

[top]Navies

Similar to Army Unit construction, Naval Vessels follow a similar building guideline, but are not racially specific. Warfare at sea in Bersia is much more intense than the generally land-based campaigns of Cerilia. Biaca and the Empire, for example, have made good use of extensive navies to support their campaigns abroad. The standard rules for shipbuilding apply (Court Action: Build, double the shipyard level is the maximum building cost allowed of the ship intended), but to construct a vessel, you follow the guidelines as before, using the following:
  • Basic Ship Stats

ClassAbbrvMeleeMissleHullCrew HitsCargoSailManuverMorale'''Build Cost
Light1+0+0212101+2+1 GB
Medium2+0+242683+2+2
Heavy3+0+463865+2+4
  • Ship Armour

LevelAbbrvDefenceSail ModManuver Mod'''Build Cost
None10+0 GB
LightLt12+1 GB
MediumMd14-2+1+2 GB
HeavyHv16-4+2+3 GB
  • Ship Upgrades

NameUpgradeBuild CostEffect
Advanced EquipmentDefence+1 GB+2 Defence
Melee+1 GB+2 Crew Melee
Missle+1 GB+2 Missle
Morale+1 GB+2 Morale
Sail+1 GB+2 Sail
Keele and RudderManuver+1 GB-1 Manuver
Magical SupportSpecial+1 GBAllows Battlecasters to affect ship
Re-enforced HullHull+1 GB+1 Hull
TowbargeCargo+2 GB+4 Cargo, -2 Sail , +1 Manuver
Special Note on Towbarges: This upgrade is considered an additional unit and is always treated as attached to the selected ship. It shares the same sail/manuver stats as the parent ship, and is always in an adjacent square. When the ship moves, it follows accordingly.

[top]New Assets

After some initial play testing with the group, I found that the overall assets were lacking in a real shaping ability of the domains. For the most part, I felt that the assets were simply implied; an easy necessity, and if you had the money, simply a way of tipping the scales. Having unique assortments of assets (seaports, shipyards, forts, etc) just sort of gave a general bland feel if you owned multiple provinces across multiple similar locations.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am all for an easy system, but if there is one thing my game testers were, it was that they were finicky about details. They loved customization, and they loved cool new features that just made roleplay all the better. As a result, I added a few additions: the Estate, the Dungeon, the Subterranean Tunnels, and I re-added the Castle option under Fortifications from 2nd edition (which will have their own section as I get into the grizzly details about war later on).
The Dungeon
  • Cost: 4 GB x Level
  • Upkeep: 1/3 GB x Level


Promo: War is all fine and everything, in fact, most deities (such as Ceremon, Judgment, and the Hunter) often encourage war, but the nasty reality of war on the civilized scale is that you are often plagued by prisoners of this dirty affair. What do you do with these prisoners? Where can you hold them? Well thanks to revelations made by the temple of the Honourable Blade of Ceremon, nobles can now purchase these convenient dark, dank, unforgiving stone cellar assets to toss prisoners of war into. Naturally you'll have to feed them, but as despair and propaganda... Or religious zeal... Kicks in, you'll slowly twiddle away their foolish allegiances to their former masters, and instill your own righteous authority over them! Glory to... Whatever you want them to say!
Specs: Dungeons are assets that can contain captured enemy units (see House War Rules below) at a rate of 2 Gold Bar muster value per level. Enemy units that are tossed into these dungeons are considered unarmoured and garrisoned. Cavalry units are considered Infantry. So long as you continue to keep the enemy unit in the dungeon, the unit will make a Morale check of a DC 10 + the Dungeon level versus sustaining subdual damage. When an enemy is brought to 0 hits, you may muster this unit as your own. (Ideally, this means you can capture a different species, twiddle away their morale, and turn them over to your side.) Naturally, stronger, veteran units are harder to break. Morale checks are made at a rate of three times per season (or once per month) with the DC gaining +1 per season that the unit remains imprisoned. This ensures that the units will eventually break, it is just a matter of time.

The Estate
  • Cost: 2 GB x Level
  • Upkeep: 1/6 GB x Level


Promo: Hey, everyone's seen an Imperial Palace, and quite frankly, what's the point when Alas Tirith has the biggest one on this side of the Mistine? Its good and all to hold yourself this nice, big fancy court, but what do you do when you are courting the local High Elf WarPrince's daughter, but you don't want your nosy and untrustworthy Court to find out? No, not arrange for a total dictatorship by slaughtering them! You build yourself a private estate! These relatively cheap and affordable land grants allow regents of all denominations to localize their power bases and create for themselves a small city of their own within the structure of the province, without having to upkeep a populace: only the base staff. Estates are handy too: because they are holdings (albeit, not money generating ones) you can throw up some big ol' stone walls, and anyone that comes knocking has to knock on another stone wall to get to your stash. Why bother fortifying individual holdings when you can cram 'em all together and stump that marauding Orc from stealing your family jewels! Plus, it gives you the comforts of having a snazzy, personal bubble where politics can stay at the door (if you so choose).
Specs: Estates are large land grants that only the province ruler (or the major Law holder) can issue and build. They allow the owner to localize their owned holdings into one particular vicinity and create a much easier-to-defend power base within the province. Ideally, this also allows the regent to fortify the estate, rather than worry about fortifying individual assets. Naturally, however, the more assets and levels that you designate to the estate, the higher the estate's effective level (and upkeep) becomes. For each level of estate, you can place one level of any asset or holding within. So, Regent A has a level 3 estate in Coastal Plains Province A (2/3). He decides to place his two Law holdings and his seaport on the estate and respectively fortify the estate as a holding to better protect his assets with a Holding Fortification 1. Now, anyone that wants to lay siege to his Law holdings or Seaport have to break the estate's fortification before they can loot the assets. Later on (after his paranoia has subsided) Regent A wants to add a recently acquired Guild Holding to the estate. He either has to remove one of his previous holdings, or he has to upgrade his estate by a level to push the Guild holding in.

The Subterranean Tunnels
  • Cost: 4 GB (Highway), 2 GB (Mine)
  • Upkeep: 1/3 GB (Highway), 1/6 (Mine)


Promo: Stoopid hoomans. Des thin dey cun com in 'ere. Tunnels too small! Stoopid hoom-- ~The goblin's mutterings are cut short as a Dwarf pummels his axe into the Goblin's skull, spattering spit and black blood all over the stones before him.~
Specs: The Tunnels are the masterwork insurance plan of the Mountain Dwarves and the Goblins of the Northern Jayn Belt. These two equally short nemeses of Bersia have both accepted one thing: their tunnels will always be only tall enough for their kind to walk in, and so long as they find one of the other within clobbering distance, there shall be war! The tunnels are the life's blood of the Mountain Dwarves and Goblins that dwell within the shadowy darkness of Bersia's core. Because of their long standing tradition of tunneling to mine, but also tunneling as a defensive move, both sides have somehow mutually agreed that they will keep the tunnels impossibly small, denying any of their medium-sized brethren from the surface the ability to really delve into the mines. The Dwarves do it to avoid being conquered by the Elves or Humans, and the Goblins do it to avoid the wrath and persecution of Orcs. However, the two races are forever land-locked to fight over these now ancient pathways, and although they are relatively cheap to initially construct, the Subterranean Tunnels do not double as highways: no, these tunnels must be widened and enlarged to allow large traffic and wagons, mules, and other beasts of burden necessary for trade flow. Because of this, two different tunnels exist:
  • Mine Shaft: Mine shafts are the cheaper version of tunnels, requiring little upkeep, but do not allow trade. They do, however, prohibit anything larger than small sized (Mountain Dwarves are considered small in this case) from entering them, giving the Dwarves and Goblins a unique war of their own.
  • Tunnel Highway: The more expensive of the two, the Highway is treated the same as a standard highway, but it negates the defensive bonus that the Mineshaft grants to the subterranean species.

[top]The Blood Deities

The Blooded Scion Deities of Cerilia did not exist in Bersian history. However, a similar tale has been told through the myths that were passed down to the first lords of the Elven Dominion of a great collision of Good and Evil. According to this myth there was once, in eons long before the existence of Humanity, a titanic battle between Good and Evil, and in the ending chaos of the destruction of these ancient forces, the blood of these creatures was spilled upon the lands.
Initially, the Blooded Scions were numbered among the Dragons of Bersia who dominated the world at the time of this cataclysm. However, as time wore on, and as the Dragons slowly thinned in number, their blooded gifts were imparted to the lesser creatures of Bersia through either bloodtheft or by rites of Designation.
The deities which existed at this time are as follows (and their respective Cerilian deities that they take the place of when rolling abilities).
  • Lucas the Father of Evil (Azrai)
  • Murdoc the Father of Nature (Reynir)
  • Rae the Dragon Mother (Basaia)
  • Aurok the Worlds Warrior (Masela)
  • Daru the God of Travel (Brenna)
  • Vadianna the Elf Mother (Vorynn)

[top]The Languages of Bersia

NOTE: Please note that all bolded languages are the predominant language in that area.
The Imperial Heartlands
  • Imperial (Imperial Common)
  • Coli (South Imperial)
  • Durani (Elven of Desseux)


The Elven Dominion
  • Durani (Elven of Desseux)
  • Galtic (Elven of Gallic)
  • Imperial (Imperial Common)
  • Miashys (Elven of Recluse)


Thurungrad Mountains
  • Dwarven
  • Galtic (Elven of Gallic)
  • Imperial (Imperial Common)
  • Miashys (Elven of Recluse)


The Jayn Heartlands
  • Low Orc (Orc Common)
  • Fellik (Northern Goblin)
  • Giant
  • Gnoll
  • Sulkin (Southern Goblin)
  • Tribal (Regional Specific)


Biaca Islands
  • Low Biacan (Biacan Common)
  • Coli (South Imperial)
  • Durani (Elven of Desseux)
  • Dwarven
  • Galtic (Elven of Gallic)
  • Gnoll
  • High Biacan (Biacan Noble)
  • Imperial (Imperial Common)
  • Kasslic (Doska Regional of High Biacan)
  • Low Orc (Orc Common)
  • Merchant's Code (Written only)


Andora
  • Anruin (Andoran Common)
  • Coli (Southern Imperial)
  • Durani (Elven of Desseux)
  • Imperial (Imperial Common)
  • Giant
  • Gnoll
  • Miashys (Elven of Recluse)
  • Sulkin (Southern Goblin)
  • Vell (Elven of Vellond)
  • Zrek (Andoran Orc Common)


The Hassim Wastelands
  • Hassim (Hassim Common)
  • Giant
  • Gnoll
  • Sulkin (Southern Goblin)
  • Tribal (Regional Specific)


Doska
  • Low Biacan (Biacan Common)
  • Draconian (Racial specific only)
  • Gnoll
  • Kasslic (Doska Regional of High Biacan)
  • Tribal Dialects (Region Specific)


Universal (Avaible Cross-Continental)
  • Abyssal
  • Auran
  • Celestial
  • Draconic
  • Infernal
  • Necromanic

[top]Faiths and Pantheon of Bersia (Unfinished)

Bersia is home to many different faiths, some of them familiar (as found in the Player's Handbook, 3rd edition) some are not. The following faiths from the standard faiths can be found on Bersia (as of thus far):
  • Corellan Larethian
  • Flarlanghn
  • Gruumsh
  • Heironeous
  • Moradin
  • Pelor


The following deities are recent additions. Some of them are created by the DM, but the bulk of them are actually retired PC's from another campaign that managed to elevate themselves to God-hood. Please note that they are no longer played by their respective PCs, but said PCs are the ones who designed their respective churches, rites of worship, etc.

Ceremon LN (LG, LN, NG), Greater Deity
Noble God, The Sword King

Ceremon is the patron deity of the Curic Empire, the Grand Marshal of all noble war, and is the lord of many powerful generals. The Sword King's faithful preech war upon the battlefield; not within the church or the markets. All of their clerics usually mutli-class as Paladins or Fighters freely. Ceremon's faithful almost always cooperate with those of Judgement, but indeed many Paladins of Ceremon have crossed paths with Judgement's darker kin, whose who view Law as the ultimate, and because of this, some schisms have occured between the two faiths.

Elinena NG (NG, CG, CN), Intermediate Deity
The Moon Goddess, The Silver Mistress

Elinena is the goodly aligned patron deity of elves on Biaca. She is the Queen of Elven nobility and the guiding light to their actions. She almost always conflicts with the Hunter, whose belief rests solely upon the annhilation of one's enemies, whereas Elinena would seek peace and diplomacy. The followers of Elinena naturally cooperate well with the followers of Judgement, but are most often dragged into conflict with the followers of Ceremon due to their loyalty with the Hunter. Like Judgement, Elinena's faithful hold considerable power within elven courts.

Essan CG (NG, CG, CN), Greater Deity
The Gold Master, Bold Fortune, Tradesman of the Gods

Essan is the dominant, goodly aligned deity of Biaca Major who favors honourable deals and hard earned profits. His people preech peace in Biaca and trade with the Empire, but are strong loyalists to the cause of independence. They find conflict with the Imperial deities that preech the necessity for war; whereas Essan believes that there is no cause that cannot be subverted by strong words and diplomacy. His followers count the most numerous on Biaca Major; especially within the Republic.

Ivenlar N (N, NG, NE), Intermediate Deity
Oaken Father, Wood Lord

Ivenlar is the patron deity of Wood Elves, Druids, and Nature alike. He is the father of healing, the bringer of life, and the protector of the world's essence. His Priests and Druids preach peace and harmony among Nature's creations, and they strive to preserve the Sources of the world against the wanton destruction of civilization. Although many races are known to pay homeage to the Oaken Father, Wood Elves number among the greatest of his pantheon. Ivenlar's followers often bow down to the wisdom of combat to their peers of other deities, but are often called upon to assist in the aftermath. This is a task Ivenlar dictates that cannot be ignored, as if one is to preserve life, one must do it in all forms, good or evil.

Judgement LN (LG, LN, LE), Intermediate Deity
The Dragon Judge

Judgement is the patron dragon deity of law and order, and was adopted by the Empire some centuries ago. He is not as widely worshipped in Berisa as Ceremon, the Noble God of War, but his law-priests are counted as some of the most powerful of their kind. Indeed, any intelligent and powerful ruler keeps the faith of Judgement close at hand to help guide him down the proper path. Judgement's faithful almost always cooperate with those of Ceremon, but indeed many Paladins of Ceremon have crossed paths with Judgement's darker kin, whose who view Law as the ultimate, and because of this, some schisms have occured between the two faiths.

Octuris NE (NE, N, NG), Greater Deity
The Hunter, Bow of the Elves

The Hunter is the name given to the evil, brooding elf deity who supports the superiority of elvendom across Bersia. He is a vicious, violent individual who inspires his followers to wreak havoc and destruction upon all other races, especially those who have done harm to elves. He holds a particular hate for Orcs and Humans, and his church holds seasonal hunts for these races. The Hunter only listens to those of his race: Elves, and all others are ignored and scorned.

Sasha CN (CN, CG, NG), Intermediate Deity
Lady of the Sea, Mistress of the Oceans

Sasha is the playful, if at times, aloof elven deity who is believed to be the offspring of Octuris and Elinena. She is the patron deity of any who seek to travel the seas, and many sailors of all races pay her homage. Her wild temper changes as swiftly as the winds, and she can be as peaceful as the rising tide, or as howling wild as a brutal hurricane. Her followers preach respect for the oceans and all of their bounty.

Tiamat LE (LE, NE, CE), Lesser Deity
The Dragon Queen, The Queen of Darkness

Tiamat concerns herself with spreading evil and defeating good. She is the villain who lurks in the shadows, her presence is felt but seldom seen. She accepts only evil Priests into her few temples and uses them to extend her power and dominion of evil dragons. The Queen of Darkness is rarely worshiped by non-dragon blooded characters, as those who do make it into her acceptance are often pawns of some form of political power. Like her hated humanoid counterpart, Velnus, The Dragon Queen has few allies and many enemies.

Velnus CE (CE, NE, CN), Greater Deity
Lord of Destruction, Master of Mayhem

Velnus is the patron deity of the most vile of the races on Bersia; the Elves of the Helsh Wilik-Imperia of Biaca Minor. He delights in the madness of battle, emphizes that the strong should destroy the weak, and that only the fittest may survive. Because of this, many of Velnus' smaller faiths were quickly wiped out, and now only one church exists: Velnus' Embrace. The Clergy preeches the necessity of war, supports barbarism, and the rights of the victor over the conquered. Velnus himself is the enemy of all deities, although at times he finds himself in similar goals as the Hunter when it comes to massacring Humans and Orcs. Velnus' goals are often as chaotic as his alignment, and generally avoids sublties of his might. Many of his Clerics cross-class as evil Barbarians.

Vlad N (NG, N, NE), Lesser Deity
The Unknown, The Faceless Lord of Magic

Vlad is an alien entity that arose as a God around the same time the deities Ceremon and Judgement arose within the Empire. Vlad is a scholar deity, a creature who strives to know everything, and is dangerously obsessed with magic. Because of this, many of his faithful are actually Sorcerers and Wizards, Source Regents, or other powerful Arcane spellcasters. They are almost always Loremasters and strive to uncover all of the secrets of Magic. Vlad's church holds no particular interest in politics, but is a strong advocate of the preservation of Source.

[top]Rules of War (Armies)

The rules of combat in Bersia are somewhat similar to the standard rules that are found when you employ the Warcards in standard Birthright for Cerilia. All units, as seen above, have statistics that are used for this dirty endeavor, and as units are given higher experience and training, their stats will reflect that, as will their success in battle.
Do keep in mind, however, Fate does still play its role.
Seasonal War vs Formal War
Battles on Bersia can be grand as they can also be small, they can be decisive, or they can be long, prolonged, and expensive. To reflect the stark differences in styles of engagement, there are two different methods of making war in Bersia. In either case, both units use the standard system of engagement, as found in the Birthright Player's Book for 3rd edition and 3.5 edition.
Traditionally, it is the attacker who decides the fate of the battle, but in the end, it is the military genius of both generals that dictates it. When an army enters a province, the two forces square off in an opposed Warcraft check.

[top]Seasonal War


Seasonal Wars in Bersia often reflect the standard form of battle found in the BRCS. They involve moving units into the province and occupying squares which represent key locations such as towns, geographical points, and fortifications. The primary difference found in a Seasonal War versus a Formal War is usually time, resources required, and units required. Seasonal Wars generally require upkeep for longer durations of time, but in the end provide less casualties and less units required to maintain an effective attack.
The number of squares involved on a Seasonal War's battlemap is twice the province level for width and height; therefore, a level 3 Province is 6 squares wide and six squares tall; and are called Lines of Attrition. in addition to having either side of the map (north and south end) treated as the Re-enforcement Pooling Area. Each square is considered to be some manner of importance in the province, as stated before, and generally contains enough area for two armies to effectively exist. These two units can be either friendly or hostile. In the event they are the latter, they automatically attack one another in either melee or missle without requiring a War-Action dedicated. This is reflective to patrols, military way-points, and garrisoned sectors launching offensives against one another across a dedicated front.
In Seasonal War, each side is given 4 War-Moves per month with allocated Court, Lieutenant, or Character actions involved. Each War-Action, as in standard rules, is considered to be One Week of in-gameplay (One Week an action, four actions a month). If a player wishes to have their character or lieutenant involved in a Seasonal War, then the respective actions are considered taken and certain restrictions should be placed upon that character (for example: a character in a unit that fights during a season cannot ply trade, but can certainly Battlecast, respond to Diplomacy Events within reason, etc.) Players can dedicate as much focus to this as they wish, so if they wish to dedicate their whole Court to the War, then they can, depending on the size of their Court, gain more moves than 4. However, units can only move as many squares as dictated by their training, and can only ever attack once in a round. Units also cannot 'Charge' in Seasonal War.
The purpose of a seasonal war is to successfully move your armies to the opposite side of the map. This generally means that the attacking army has either successfully crossed the province and managed to lay claim to the capital of the province, or the defensive armies have broken through the attacking line and cut off the source of supplies. In either case, when an offensive unit crosses the map, it immediately sets the timer for the foe they are fighting by initiating a choke out on the other army's supplies. When this happens, the suffering army begins to make morale checks versus the enemy presence to flee the field and retreat or surrender, depending how their checks result.
Choke Out DCs begin at 10, and increase per unit on the final line of attrition. When a unit fails this check, it suffers a subdual point of damage. When a unit is reduced to 0 Hits using this method, it immediately begins to flee the battlefield in the nearest direction. Keep in mind that the map of the battle is generally considered to be directional to neighbouring provinces (so if the unit is going to flee, it is going to flee towards the nearest friendly province). In the event that a unit is reduced to -1 Hits by either lethal force or by a failed morale check, the unit surrenders. (Note: when the attacker makes the attack, he can dedicate to 'Take No Prisoners' and the unit is then destroyed rather than captured.)

[top]Formal War


Like Seasonal War, Formal Wars contain squares that follow the same rules as listed above. However, unlike Seasonal War, Formal Wars are much grander in scale, shorter in time, and can prove to be detrimental in the end for the loser. The concept behind a Formal War is that both leading generals have congregated the entirety of the Province's Armies into one location to duke it out: all or nothing. Because of this, some rules are quite different.
First, the number of squares is generally limited to the size the DM decides the battlefield to be. Generally, a battlefield should be no larger than 40 squares by 40 squares, but no smaller than a Seasonal War's map (so a Province 10 will be either 20x20 for Seasonal or anything larger for Formal). The squares in this version follow the same rules as standard, but Artillerists and Archers, as seen in the Unit Creation Section, have a range increase that allows them to fire their missiles farther than other Missile-firing units. (A note: when counting squares for firing, the path must always be linear).
In Formal War, Actions are not relevant to Time, and so only require that one, Court, Lieutenant, or Character action be taken to guide them. In the event that the Court is handling the War-Actions, then a Hero is considered to be generated for the armies equal to the Court's level. However, unlike Seasonal, if the commanding hero's unit is engaged in a melee battle, the player's War Actions are considered null until the Character is able to issue orders once more (IE kill the offending unit or pull back). Similar to Seasonal War, each side is given 4 War-Actions each turn, resulting that each turn they command, move, and attack as they do in standard rules.
The purpose in Formal War is to route or destroy all enemy units. This is accomplished the same way as in standard rules, and routing checks are made when 50% of a total army is destroyed. Similar to standard rules, a unit under duress makes a morale check of DC 10 + the size of the enemy army in comparison to the allied army. So, an army of 2 facing an army of 3 requires a DC 11. An army of 5 versus an army of 10 requires a DC 15, etc.

[top]New Rules, Used Rules, and Tweaked Rules

[top]Corruption Courts

Corruption
Each point of corruption in a province represents the income generated by the civil unrest for the opposing court. Each point is spent by an independent court that has views expressively for dethroning the current province regent and can be spent in any manner that causes chaos in the regent's zone of control. Corruption cannot exceed the populance level of the province.
Fighting a Corruption Court/Score
A regent can combat this corruption by spending 1 gold bar and making a Law Holding check against the opposing Court (the regent rolls 1d20 + Law Holdings owned. DC is 10 + Corruption Rating). Note: the Regent must know that the Corruption exists (see Counter-Corruption Score) before he may take action. Upon successful roll, the Regent effectively eleminates 1d3 Corruption in the province.
Causing Corruption
Requires:
- Spy Network in the Province
- Agitate Action (1 GB) for Corruption Court 0
Civil Unrest (aka Corruption Court 0) manifests at the beginning of the following season. If it is allowed to linger for the whole season, it is treated as having one character action per month (but does not gain any benefits to any of its rolls until it makes the action to form a court. When it does so, it looses its character action but gains the bonus of having a court to its rolls.) In this stage, Civil Unrest is known as a Corruption Court 0. As it progresses on and gains an actual Court level, the number increases (Corruption Court 1, 2, etc.)
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: When in its infancy stages, Civil Unrest can go unnnoticed by the Crown Courts if certain measures are not taken ahead of time (see Counter-Corruption Score)
Civil Unrest can be supported by any faction wishing chaos and corruption in the targetted province. Simply beware the cost of supporting terrorism.
A Civil Unrest Court can make any actions that any other Court can (most notably; contest, rule, and raise armies) but must follow the same rules as any other court (have Law holdings, money, etc.) The largest problem with a Civil Unrest Court being present in YOUR province is that you do not know they are corrupt until their actions speak as thus. Therefore, any non-Crown regent could technically be a member of a civil unrest court.
The Counter-Corruption Score
A player can combat Corruption before it even sets in. This is done through various actions that must be taken ahead of time to ensure that Civil Unrest does not manifest before the Court can notice. In order to ensure that a Corruption Court does not manifest in your province, you must operate and maintain a Spy Network within the Province that can report to your Crown Location (Capital City/Province) on a seasonal basis. This means, if the province in question is under Seasonal attack, your spy network cannot effectively communicate without a Court Espionnage action being taken.
Once you have established the Spy Network, you are given a Counter-Corruption Score equal to your 1/2 Province level + the number of Gold Bars being spent on the Spy Network (the better the spies, the better the Counter Corruption.) Every round a Corruption Court is present, your Counter-Corruption Score is automatically rolled to see if the corruption is noticed. This roll is: 1d20 + Counter-Corruption Score. The DC is 10 + the Corruption Court level.

[top]Fortifications in Seasonal War

Provincial Forts
Province Forts can fortify 1 Square per level and each grants a bonus equal to their respective level. Therefore, a Province Fortification Level 6 grants 6 Fortified Squares that are treated each as Level 6 Forts (Granting the appropriate bonuses).
Holding Forts
Holding, or Asset Fortifications only fortify a single square on the map, and are given a respective fortification level equal to their level. Example: A Holding Fort 4 fortifies a single square as a Level 4 Fort, granting the appropriate bonuses.

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