Dancing Between Peril and Glory
“Later, when I asked why they'd plundered the lands of our people—they gave no satisfying answer. And that's just it…war is cruel and arbitrary. Nations declare war freely at their own peril…and as for us, well, now we're just a footnote in the history of conquest.”
- Anonymous Diplomat’s Chronicle
Acts of War
“It was then upon the death of King Enor Sheffield that the first of Humanity’s history of recurrent infighting was conceived. In the absence of a legitimate Orenian ruler, Humanity fractured into several disparate states. This feud culminated in a war between Gaius Marius and Eze’kiel Tarus, the representatives of Hanseti and Galahar respectively, and so began the first of Humanity’s long feuds – one waged over human territorial boundaries.”
- A History of the Phoenix Revolution, by Anne I
How Our Travels Cost Us
“When my army embarked upon the Southbridge campaign, I beheld the combined forces of Haense and Urguan from the hills of Eastfleet. The songs remember the banners streaming in the wind; the tapestries remember the great triumphs and losses; and the survivors remember the blood they shed along the way.
Each soldier's attire, every pair of boots that tread upon hostile soil, carried a hefty price, and each tile of land we crossed demanded an additional 5 minas per soldier for resupplies. All I could remember afterwards was how much the bloody thing cost.”
- Sigismund III, King of Hanseti-Ruska, 10th of Sun’s Smile, 58 S.A
The Gamble of Wartime Alliances
"The moment Urguan's warcry on Imperial Oren echoed across the realm we found ourselves on the edge of a precarious decision. Aligning ourselves with Oren meant risking being caught in the crossfire. There was no guarantee Urguan would not redirect their wrath to our shores. In the end, we stood with Urguan—to do otherwise was a risk teetering on the brink of devastation.”
- Reminiscence of a Haelun'orian citizen
Violating Sovereignty
“When Norland declared war on Imperial Oren during the Tenth Nordling War, we found ourselves unable to reach them to provide support in their offensive. We were essentially trapped by the Orenian Empire, which had a formidable surplus of troops. Stepping onto their sovereign land would have resulted in immediate conflict, hindering our ability to aid Norland. Moreover, they possessed the advantage of defending their own territory. We were uncertain of the location of their forces, leaving us vulnerable to their choice of defensive positions along our path.”
- Norli Starbreaker, Grand King of Urguan, 4th of Grand Harvest, 25 S.A
Victory
“Observe the outer lands of Aeroch’nor. The absence of fortresses and settlements. Should we now advance into their dominion, we may annex their territory now in totality, or plunder their coffers. Doing both, however, is beyond our present means. A tenth of their mina shall immediately become ours, and we shall be able to at the very least ensure our dominion over their realm for two Saint’s months at the maximum.” The balding figure of Emperor John I stroked his pencil chin pensively.
“Annexation of their people will require time, should we plunder Aeroch’nor, we could take a fourth of their treasury in one fell swoop, ruin their fortress, and maintain our control there for eight winters. Perhaps we might snag one of their relics, too, if luck favors the bold.”
An advisor rang out, “But what does it mean to subjugate? Why not simply annex it, Your Imperial Majesty?”
“Annexation,” uttered Emperor John I with clairvoyance, “Will require time. We cannot simply instantaneously assimilate them into our empire with brute strength. Extraction of their citizens and leadership could lead to a guerrilla war that sustains for us heavy losses.”
“Shall we siege the capital then?” Another advisor queried the Emperor imploring him for guidance.
“If we were to do that much, all of their territory would follow suit. However, we must ensure that each strip of their land is taken. Otherwise, we may not have full control over our vassals, they would be able to impose their own terms of sovereignty. As would an exclave, or colony, for instance.”
- The Life and Conquests of John I by Wilfreda Lange
Siege Equipment
“The sun blazed overhead and cast a harsh light on the wartorn city. Márton’s voice ushered a simple authority as he spoke unto the legion, "Prepare the ballistas and man the trebuchets!" With sweat glistening on his brow, he opened his mouth to speak once more, and watched as a certain female legionnaire was crushed beneath the weight of the Josephites’ counter-trebuchet projectile. Then and there, the siege began with a grim reminder – oftentimes battles were decided not at swordpoint, but instead at the summit of larger weapons and the wits behind their organization.”
- An accounting by Adalbert de Villeneuve from the Siege of Helena on the 12th of Tobias' Bount, 1716.
Eligibility
“As it stands, Valentin, we will need a Saint’s month before our soldiers will truly be ready to see battle. My legions from abroad can not participate, it is unfeasibly expensive. We need to ensure that we’re not just throwing our boys in red into the meat grinder. Give me twenty days and twenty nights and that should be enough to teach them the basic formations, equipment tactics, and call-outs. Even our greenest soldiers will be able to send the Pennyduke’s forces to an early grave. Hell, Maude should be able to kill some of those bastards!”
- Sir Paul Montalt, Battle of Valfleur, Petran Civil War
State of War
You may declare a state of war at any time by posting a warclaim with an indication of your target tile, and your nation and allies route to the target. A state of war will continue until there has been no initiative to set up a warclaim for two weeks.
Acts of War
Buying a tile or founding an exclave directly adjacent to a realm’s capital tile is considered an act of war, unless your capital was also next to that tile. As such, they may pursue conflict as the defender.
Participant War Cost
Attackers, defenders, and their respective allies all pay a base cost of 25 0 mina per player at the time of the warclaim.
Participant Travel Costs
As the defender, attacker, or ally of either, each tile your army travels through to the target tile incurs an extra 5 mina to the per player war cost. Attackers must start from a core tile, defenders may start from anywhere in their territory, and allies of any side must start from a core tile.
If the war is continued with another warclaim, travel costs are calculated from the last fought on tile.
Risk of Joining a War as an Ally
If you involve yourself in a war, expect reprisal by the main aggressor — they may choose to alter their war path and choose you as the target.
Risk of Traveling Armies
Passing through sovereign territory without permission may result in a 1v1 warclaim posted by the territory owner within 24 hours, on one of the tiles on the warpath to stop your army from traveling through their lands for free. If they lose, you may travel through their territory uninhibited. If you lose, your travel costs start back at your main territory.
*Warclaims that are different instances are treated as separate wars.
Tile Victory Conditions
Exterior Tiles
Upon victory in a skirmish in an exterior tile, you may annex or pillage it. When pillaging, you may take 10% of the realm’s mina*, and/or occupy the tile’s resource for a period of two months.
Core Tiles
Upon victory in a core tile, you may subjugate or pillage it. When subjugating, the core tile becomes part of your realm and can be annexed after two months. During this time, you may not add or remove citizens and leaders. New realms cannot be created by the subjugated group until this period is over. The capital tile is subjugated last of the core tiles, and once it is, all exterior territory is annexed.
Unconnected Land
Land that is not connected to your capital when annexed is declared an exclave.
Tide of War
In the event of a warclaim loss, the enemy is granted the right to take the offensive by posting a warclaim within 48 hours of the previous one ending. Conversely, in the case of a warclaim victory, the winner must post a new warclaim within the same timeframe. After this period, it is left to whoever posts first to initiate the next action.
Mechanisms of War
Building
Once war initiates, the hazards of battle permit only meager barricades and aesthetic changes to current builds in core and exterior tiles. New fortifications, products of shoddy and rushed workmanship, are subject to destructive weather or other forces that return them to their original state.
Upgrading Tiles
You may not purchase or upgrade tiles until the State of War has concluded.
Siege Equipment
You may craft siege equipment and ammo through an in-game voucher, and bring it to the war server.
Eligibility
You must have 20 hours of playtime as a realm member for the past month by the time of warclaim. Only your two most active personas with the highest number of hours within a realm are eligible.
Dynamic factors such as potential alts or participants with no roleplay reason basis for fighting may result in denial.
New players may be granted exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
*Roleplay activity within realms will be monitored by the realms plugin.