10.0 War Rules

[Xarkly 17299]

Hello chat.

Admins have now approved the final draft of War Rules for 10.0.

 

Warclaims will go live following an Admin announcement after the test Warclaim this Saturday, February 7th, at 3PM EST/8PM GMT.

 

This post contains the full text of the new War Rules -- the official 'Rules' section of the website will be updated shortly, which will be an easier format to read each sections of the Rules. This is an update rather than a rewrite, meaning most of the framework of last map's War Rules are still going to play a central role on 10.0, so this project's main goals were to (i) adapt to any changes to 10.0's other systems (i.e. less/larger Tiles), (ii) iron out or remedy any issues that became evident with how the Rules worked on the last map, and (iii) introduce as many quality-of-life changes as we could, which were mostly aimed at making War more expedient and less-drawn out.

 

Like any system of this scale, chances are, over time, some issues or shortcomings will emerge. Rules are meant to facilitate and enable RP for the whole community, so if there's any ideas for changes or improvements, or any design problems you think we overlooked, just hit us up and we can have a chat.

 

But yeah, that's it, hope to see most of you at the test Warclaim on Saturday. 

FULL RULES TEXT

Conflict is essential to any story.

 

On the Lord of the Craft, large-scale conflicts are told through War: massive clashes between nations where they vie for supremacy, glory, or survival. Often involving well over 200 players, Wars are the pinnacle of collaborative storytelling, and their scale and scope require these War Rules to function smoothly. While War might require this framework of rules and systems to function to work, the core principles of War remain the same as any other kind of roleplay:

 

Respect for your fellow players, on both sides of a War.

 

Commitment to acting in good faith. 

Prioritising fun and good storytelling over winning.

 

I: OVERVIEW 

 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF WAR

Community: Realm Leaders engaging in War will assume an active role in fostering quality roleplay & camaraderie -- Wars must be grounded in mutual OOC respect. 

 

Simplicity: Follow the spirit of the rules, not the word of law -- these rules create an environment for fun and organic War, so loopholing won’t be tolerated. 

 

Dynamism: You can run Wars any way you choose -- if all participants agree, they can (within reason) add, remove, or update any of the rules below before the first Warclaim. Amendments after the first Warclaim should be approved by Moderation to ensure all parties remain on the same page. 

 

WAGING & DECLARING WAR

 

Warclaims

War on Lord of the Craft is fought via ‘Warclaims’, where Realms rally their players and clash in large-scale PvP, in either a Field Battle or a Siege. 

 

Unless both sides agree otherwise, Warclaims are usually held on Saturday or Sunday afternoon between 1PM EST/6PM GMT - 4PM EST/9PM GMT. 

 

Starting a War: To declare a War, a Realm must make a ‘Warclaim Post’ that sets out the narrative of the War, their Wargoal, and their Warpath. The Warclaim Post should be made in the Warclaim Subforum. 

 

Justifications for War: War is often cruel and arbitrary. Realms may declare and wage War freely at their own peril. 

 

II: WAR RULES

 

STATE OF WAR

You can declare a War at any time by posting a Warclaim in the Warclaim Subforum, which highlights the Tile (the land within an enemy Realm) you’re targeting, and the route your Realm (and any of your allies) are taking to that Tile. A state of War continues until neither side of a War initiates a Warclaim for two weeks. 

 

WARPATHS

The route an army travels from their starting location (a Core Tile within their Realm’s territory) to the enemy Tile being attacked is called a ‘Warpath’. 

 

When posting a Warclaim Post, you must include your Warpath in the same post. Allies joining the War - on either side - must also post their Warpaths as a reply to that post at least 72-hours before the Warclaim is scheduled to happen. Defenders do not need to post a Warpath (their allies do, though). Here’s an example of a Warpath: 

 

 

Target Tiles

Realms can only attack Tiles that they can reach without passing through another one of the Defender’s Tiles (or other hostile territory). For example, if the Attackers want to conquer Tile A, but Tile B blocks their Warpath to Tile A, then they first need to Warclaim Tile B. 

 

Warpaths Between Warclaims

After the first Warclaim - and while a State of War persists - all participating armies are ‘still on the march’ -- this means they don't reset their Warpath between Warclaims. Therefore, if there is a follow-up Warclaim on a Tile adjacent to where the first Warclaim was, then Warpaths must simply move only one Tile. 

 

THE COST OF WAR 

 

Participant Base Cost

Attackers, their allies, and the Defender’s allies all pay a Base Cost, which is determined based on the type of Wargoal (see below) a given War pursues. These Base Costs are charged per player, per Warclaim, and consist of: 

• Pillage Warclaims: 25-mina per player, per Warclaim.
• Raze Warclaims: 40-mina per player, per Warclaim. 
• Conquest Warclaims: 50-mina per player, per Warclaim. 
• Subjugation Warclaims: 100-mina per player, per Warclaim*.

 

*Capital Tiles require two Warclaims, but Base Costs are only charged once and are calculated on the numbers at the Warclaim with the larger attendance. 

 

Travel Cost

Attackers, their allies, and the Defender’s allies all incur a Travel Cost of 15-mina per player, per Warclaim, for each Tile their Warpath passes through to the target Tile. This applies on top of the Base Cost, and the target Tile for the Warclaim is not counted towards this. 

 

If Attackers are defeated in a Warclaim and the Defenders do not counterattack, the Attackers do not need to repay Travel Costs to attack the same Tile again while a State of War persists.

 

RISKS

 

Joining a War as an Ally

If you involve yourself in a War, you risk reprisal from the main Attacker or Defender -- don’t be surprised if they pivot to Warclaim you!

 

Interception

Travelling armies need to be on their guard.

 

If your Warpath passes through the Tile of a third-party Realm without their permission, that Realm can try to ‘Intercept’ your army -- this means you need to fight the intercepting Realm in a Warclaim to pass through their Tile unimpeded. A Realm declares their intention to Intercept by posting on the Warclaim Post within 48-hours after their target posts their Warpath; it doesn’t matter if the intercepting Realm has been uninvolved in the War until that point. 

 

Interception Warclaims are usually 1v1, except where multiple allies are using the same Warpath. 

 

If you win an Interception Warclaim, you can pass through the Tile to your destination. If you lose an Interception Warclaim, you face the following penalties: 

• Resubmit a New Warpath: This new Warpath can’t pass through the Tile you were intercepted on; if this is impossible (i.e., you were intercepted at a bottleneck), then you can’t participate in the main Warclaim -- your army can’t reach the battlefield!
• Travel Costs: These costs are recalculated based on the new Warpath, and they’re charged on top of the Travel Costs you incurred before you were intercepted.
• Intercepting Realm: If the Realm that intercepted you goes on to participate in the main Warclaim by posting a Warpath, then their army is no longer able to intercept you, meaning you can pass by any bottlenecks -- but only after the first Warclaim. 
  • Conversely, this means if the intercepting Realm doesn’t participate in the main Warclaim, their army is able to attempt to intercept you - and other Realms - indefinitely. 

 

Note that intercepting is a complex system to make Wars dynamic, but to avoid Wars being dragged out, a marching army can only be intercepted once per week. 

 

WARGOALS 

When a Realm declares a War, they must do so with an objective called a ‘Wargoal’.

 

Conquest

‘Conquest’ is where an Attacker seeks to annex a Tile and directly absorb it into their Realm. 

 

Conquest Warclaims have an increased base cost of 50-mina per player, per Warclaim. If you win a Conquest Warclaim, the conquered Tile will have a 7-day Eviction Notice before it is added to the conqueror’s Realm. 

 

Razing

‘Razing’ is where an Attacker seeks to destroy a Tile and drive off settlers without annexing it as part of their own Realm. A razed Tile becomes unclaimed, and any builds on the Tile are destroyed or turned into ruins by Staff; Realms who have one of their Tiles razed can’t repurchase the Tile for a minimum of 4-weeks after the Raze Warclaim. 

 

Raze Warclaims have a base cost of 40-mina per player, per Warclaim. If you win a Raze Warclaim, the razed Tile will have a 7-day Eviction Notice before it becomes unclaimed. 

 

Pillaging 

‘Pillaging’ is where an Attacker seeks to plunder the treasures of an enemy for themselves. Only Core Tiles can be pillaged. 

 

Pillage Warclaims have a base cost of 25-mina per player, per Warclaim. If you win a Pillage Warclaim, you gain the following: 

• 20% of the Enemy Treasury: You steal a flat ⅕ of the defeated Realm’s Treasury as of the date that the War was declared (not the Warclaim). Realm’s won’t be allowed to unreasonably lower their Treasury in advance of the Warclaim, and Moderation will always check Treasury payments around a Pillage Warclaim. 
• 20% Tile Resources: Your Tile resources are buffed based on the resources of the Tile you have Pillaged -- i.e., if you Pillage a Tile with 10 Netherite Nodes, 2 Netherite Nodes can be added to one of your Netherite mines. This buff is temporary, lasting for 3-months, and it can be stacked if you Pillage multiple Realms. Pillaging does not remove Nodes from defeated Realms. 

 

Subjugation

‘Subjugation’ is where an Attacker tries to forcibly vassalize an enemy Realm. Subjugation Warclaims can only be done on Capital Tiles, and only after all Tiles surrounding the Capital are held by you or your allies. Uniquely, Subjugation Warclaims consist of two Warclaims -- first, Attackers must win a Field Battle in order to Siege the Defender’s city. If the Attackers are defeated in the Siege, then they must once again win a Field Battle in order to progress. 

 

Subjugation Warclaims have a Base Cost of 100-mina per player, per Warclaim (while Capital Tiles require two Warclaims, the Base Cost is only charged once). 

 

If you win a Subjugation Warclaim, the defeated Realm is forcibly made your vassal -- for a period of 1-month, you can’t remove citizens or leaders from the subjugated Realm. After this 1-month period, you can either keep the subjugated Realm as a vassal with their own Realm Status or incorporate them into your own Realm (meaning the subjugated Realm will lose their Realm Status and all associated privileges, and instead become your direct territory). 

 

During the 1-month period, the subjugated Realm can’t rebel or revolt against you. 

 

TIDE OF WAR

When an Attacker wins a Warclaim and achieves their Wargoal, they can continue the War by posting a follow-up Warclaim within 48-hours of their victory with another target, Warpath, and Wargoal. Remember that armies are ‘stationed’ around the Tile where the last Warclaim took place, so Warpaths don’t need to restart in their territory. 

 

When a Defender wins a Warclaim, they seize the initiative and can post a counterattack Warclaim within 48-hours of their victory. Alternatively, Defenders can choose to gain a 1-week cooldown from being Warclaimed, after which the initiative reverts back to the Attacker. 

 

The only exception to this is in the case of Capital Tiles. In order to triumph over a Realm’s Capital, an Attack needs to win two Warclaims; one of these will be a Field Battle, and the other a Siege of the city itself. In the same way that the Attacker must win both Warclaims consecutively to succeed, the Defenders must win both before counterattacking.

 

TILE TYPES

 

Uncored Tiles

An ‘Uncored Tile’ is a Tile that a Realm has not upgraded to a Core Tile and does not have any vassals, forts, or major builds on it. An Uncored Tile can be Conquered, Razed, and Pillaged by winning one Field Battle on it. 

 

Cored Tiles

A ‘Cored Tile’ is a Tile that a Realm has upgraded and likely contains vassals, forts, or major builds. When a Warclaim occurs on a Cored Tile, the Defenders can choose whether they want to fight the invaders in a Field Battle or a Siege. If there are multiple fortifications on a Cored Tile, the Defenders can also choose which one to fight a Siege from. 

 

Capital Tiles

A ‘Capital Tile’ is the heart of a Realm and its final frontier, and a Capital Tile can only be targeted by Pillage or Subjugation Warclaims. 

 

There are two unique mechanics for Capital Tiles:

• Surrounding a Capital: In order to launch a Subjugation Warclaim on a Capital Tile, all Tiles surrounding the Capital need to be conquered by you or an ally (or unclaimed).
• Two Warclaims: Capital Tiles require two Warclaims to Subjugate -- a Field Battle and a Siege, and an Attacker needs to win both consecutively to succeed in their Wargoal. If an Attacker wins the Field Battle but loses the subsequent Siege, then the War reverts back to the Field Battle stage again. 

 

Upgrading Tiles During War

You can’t upgrade/Core an Uncored Tile during a State of War, even if the Tile you want to upgrade is not the target of a Warclaim. You also can’t purchase any new Tiles during a State of War.

 

This is true for Attackers, Defenders, and their allies. This is because the course of War could shift to any of their territories depending on how the War unfolds. 

 

ELIGIBILITY

In order to participate in Warclaims, every player needs to meet the following requirements:

1. You need at least 20-hours of playtime in the last 30-days. 
2. You need to be a member of a participating Realm for at least 14-days before a Warclaim.
3. You need to have reasonable roleplay activity; in order to prevent ‘shadows rallies’, PvP alts, or off-server recruits, players who may meet the above requirements but have little-to-no roleplay activity can still be barred from participating. 

III: INTERNAL CONFLICT

 

An ‘Internal War’ is a civil conflict within one Realm, and operates with different mechanics. 

 

Costs: There are no Base Costs or Travel Costs in an Internal War.

 

Allies: As the name indicates, outside Realms can’t participate in Internal Warclaims (but they can assist with raids, supplies, etc.). 

 

Eligibility: In order to participate on either side of an Internal War, players must be a member of the Realm for at least 14-days before the outbreak of War. 

 

TYPES OF INTERNAL WARS

 

Rebellions 

A ‘Rebellion’ is where a vassal within a Realm declares independence. 

 

When this happens, a Realm needs to post a Warclaim to contest the Rebellion within 14-days, which will be a Siege on the rebelling vassal’s region. If the Realm doesn’t try to quash the Rebellion after this time, it will succeed automatically.

 

If the Realm defeats the Rebellion, all rebel vassals may be put under an uncontestable 3-day Eviction Notice. If the Rebellion succeeds, the Tile on which the rebels are on becomes independent (other vassals on that Tile are at the whims of the victorious rebels). This Tile can either become its own Realm, or join another. 

 

Rebellions cannot happen on a Capital Tile.

 

Revolutions

A ‘Revolution’ is a civil war to usurp control of the entire Realm.

 

Launched from a vassal region, a Revolution requires revolutionaries to fight their way to the Capital. Revolutionaries need to fight their way to the Capital, which requires them to fight either a Field Battle or a Siege on each Tile they need to pass through (the type of Warclaim is chosen by the Defender), unless the vassals on a given Tile defect to assist the Revolution (if there are multiple vassals on a Tile, this is determined by majority i.e. 2 out of 3 vassals side with the Revolution - in the event of a tie, the Tile must be Warclaimed). 

 

If the revolutionaries reach the Capital Tile, they must win a Siege in order for the Revolution to succeed (in this context only, Capital Tiles do not require both a Field Battle and a Siege in order to expedite civil wars so that a Realm can return to normality sooner rather than later).

 

To quash a Revolution, the Realm needs to turn the Tide of War and fight their way to the revolutionaries headquarter and fight through each hostile Tile on the way, unless the majority of Vassals on those Tiles have affirmed their loyalty to the Realm.

 

If the Revolution succeeds, the leader of the Revolution becomes the new Realm Leader. If the Revolution is defeated, any vassals who fought for it may be put under an uncontestable 3-day Eviction Notice.

IV: LAIRS

‘Lairs’ are hidden communities of Magic Users or Creatures, which are regulated by the Story Team. 

 

If a Lair is on a Realm-owned Tile, the Realm can Warclaim them with a Base Cost of 40-mina per player. A Realm can’t Warclaim a Lair located inside another Realm. Allies can assist with a Warclaim on a Lair, though Travel Costs apply. 

 

If the Realm is victorious, the Lair is placed under a 1-week Eviction Notice. If the Lair is victorious, it becomes immune from being Warclaimed for 2-months. 

 

Important to note is that Lairs are meant to be hidden communities; it’s open to them to abandon the Lair in advance of a Warclaim. The Story Team can, at their discretion, grant a new Lair to those fleeing the Warclaimed Lair. 

V: BUILDING & SIEGE WEAPONS

 

BUILDING

Defences and fortifications should always be made before a War breaks out, not after. As a result, once a State of War begins, participating Realms can only make minor and temporary modifications to any of their builds, which need to be submitted to the Moderation Team 48-hours before a Warclaim.

 

Sieges - Defenders 

Once a State of War begins, Defenders facing a Siege can only modify their keeps with minor changes like wooden hoardings, palisade walls, or earthen ramparts. Substantial additions like new stone walls, towers, or gates are prohibited. In particular, new mechanical doors, gates, and lifts created via the Craftbook plugin are only allowed leading to new platforms for Siege Weapons. 

 

Examples of inappropriate siege defences for Defenders include:

• Anti-Ladder Spam: Stairs, buttons, etc. are allowed to hinder laddering, but need to be well-done, non-excessive, and integrated into the build. Sign-spam isn’t allowed.
• New Gates: In order to preserve the original layout of the build, and to encourage players to build defences with this existing layout in mind, gates can’t be added or removed.
• Moats: Trenches and moats can be dug around builds within reason. 
• Traps: Traps are permitted so long as they aren’t insta-kill or inescapable. Lift-sign traps are not allowed. 
• Berry Bush Spam: Bushes are permitted, but in excess (such as dense rows).

 

Sieges - Attackers

When besieging an enemy castle, Attackers can build siege camps with minor fortifications to protect their Siege Weapons. These forts should be modest, consisting only of wooden palisades and earthen ramparts. Excessive defences like pancake-layering aren’t allowed, and siege camps are allowed a single Craftbook gate at their entrance. 

 

Examples of inappropriate siege defences for Attackers include:

• Pancake Layering: Siege camps should be limited to 1-block-thick wooden walls with platforms for Siege Weapons. Excessive layering up and across isn’t permitted.
• Anti-Laddering: Stairs, buttons, etc. are allowed to hinder laddering, but need to be well-done, non-excessive, and integrated into the build. Sign-spam isn’t allowed.
• Moats & Traps: These aren’t permitted for siege camps.
• Berry Bushes: These are allowed on the exterior of a fort, provided they’re not in excess.
• Gates: Siege camps are allowed a single Craftbook gate at their entrance. 

 

Field Battle Building

In a Field Battle, Defenders can build minor fortifications such as wooden walls, but can’t include any doors, gates, etc. 

 

Attackers can’t build anything in a Field Battle.

 

SIEGE WEAPONS 

‘Siege Weapons’ are artillery engines that Attackers can use during a Siege to breach enemy defences, and that Defenders can use to bombard enemy encampments. Siege Weapons operate via plugin and include:

• Cannons: High-powered artillery ideal for precision shots aimed at destroying enemy artillery.
• Trebuchets: Destructive engines effective at bombarding enemy strongholds in order to make a breach for invading armies. 
• Ballista: Anti-personnel artillery that does not damage the fortifications, but the enemies defending them.

 

All Siege Weapons need to be calibrated during a Siege using coordinates to determine their accuracy, and Siege Weapons need to be reloaded after at each shot (the speed of which is determined by how many players assist with reloading). 

 

Risks of Siege Weapons: Your artillery might be powerful, but so is the enemy’s -- if hit by enemy artillery (i.e. Cannons) then your Siege Weapons can be destroyed. Armies that neglect to take out enemy artillery might find themselves bereft of their own, and left with no way to breach a keep. 

 

Making Siege Weapons: Siege Weapons can be crafted in-game at a Smithing Table, alongside the required ammunition. Siege Weapons that survive a Warclaim and unused ammunition can be refunded or transferred to a subsequent Warclaim. 

VI: CONDUCT

War is a unique and important part of the Lord of the Craft; given its scope and scale, there is no more ambitious form of collaborative storytelling than War. 

 

Yet War can also be stressful and tense for all sides, given that it can determine the fates of entire communities and in-game history. Conscious of this, all players have responsibilities when it comes to participating in War to make the experience as good as possible for everyone.

 

Of our Realm Leaders, we expect to lead by example - as the figureheads of War, Realm Leaders have a major role to play in making War a cooperative effort. We expect them to be patient, accommodating, and to act in good faith; in the same vein, we expect them to take reasonable steps to keep players in their Realm from acting out. 

 

Of our Shotcallers & Commanders, we expect calm and flexibility. Leading and coordinating combat scenarios can be rewarding but intense, and often Moderators will need their cooperation to resolve issues in PvP. Like Realm Leaders, Commanders also set the tone for the players that follow them, and so they need to discourage bad faith behaviour when they see it. 

 

Of our Players, we expect courtesy and decency. While War can lead to frustration and upset when certain battles might not go in their favour, lashing out or attacking your opponents OOC is never the solution and is never allowed. Similarly, friendly competition and banter is fine; OOC insults and smearing is not. 

 

Good faith is the single most important facet of a successful War for all sides. Roleplay Leadership Guidelines, Community Guidelines, and Roleplay Standards are especially important in War. Though Staff will never seek to actively intervene in War roleplay, this can be necessary in cases of bad faith, such as targeting communities based on OOC grudges, engaging in egregious Metaplay to secure victory, or unfair or underhanded tactics (i.e., mass off-server recruitment for the sole purposes of winning a War). 

[trinn 5128]

everyone cancel ur saturday plans till the summer 

 

 

 

 

 

the guy 2 responses below me has a twink dragon pfp

[Seva 624]

Why can't we just fight these in Mount & Blade Bannerlord?

[squakhawk 14038]

did it all by myself btw + trinn + sppoy + xarkly + sseva + beth + aj + dramatude + tainga + halt + aeus + rose they also helped 

[Spoopy_Duck 3217]

the guy above me has a twink dragon pfp

[Bethinwonderland 2213]

Me when war on LoTC

 

[xDisarray 552]

can we have chiv 2 warclaims? 

 

also +1. Go mod team 

[Dramatude 861]

wait chat... im shaking, is this real...

[Truppler 124]

the time has come... :)

[Jamwill 211]

 

[tilly 5115]

they will tear each other into pieces... jesus christ this will be fun!

[PolarLoLs 984]

Staff lockin the past 2 weeks 

[Beardicuss 486]

I got First page.....Nice

Edited February 5 by Beardicuss

[wowj 9747]

im a mod and i wrote this

[Ramon 5186]

xarkly is the man with a plan. or so it is said.