Faction Rules

[Dreadheart]

There are two different types of Factions that can be created in AoD. Guilds, and Realms. Although both options are considered Factions, and all contribute in the dynamic environment of Terra Firma, the experience is significantly different between them.

GUILDS
Guilds are organizations that engage in any form of economic, or social activity on the world, but they are yet not in a position, or intentionally aren’t holding dominion over any province. Instead, Guilds control either individual locations, which may be scattered across the map, or remain entirely fleet-based or nomadic. Ranging from craftsmen and merchant consortiums, to nomadic tribes and mercenary bands, to shops and inns, and secret societies, the Guilds can be formed by any number of players, and are not necessarily attached to specific provinces, instead, can freely appear at any point of the world, with no expressed need to defend or maintain any stronghold, as far as the world’s grand geopolitical changes are concerned. Of course, this does not mean that a Guild's establishment or property, may not face damages or be narrativelly threatened, by a conflict.

Creating a Guild
The process of creating a Guild is rather simplistic. After filling the Guild Application form, the Guild is formed and can begin its journey on the world.

Guild Application
Name:
Type:
Brief Description:

REALMS
Unlike the Guilds, the Realms are factions that are heavily invested in territorial gain, and have specific borders that appear on the World Map. The Realms can pursue expansion, as well as defend against rival factions that seek to deprive them from their domains. A member of AoD can be associated with any number of Realms, but can only own one.

Creating a Realm
To create a Realm Faction, a player may fill the Realm Application, which will enable them to claim territory on the World Map, from which to begin their journey. AoD hosts an active and player-driven Conquest experience, which revolves around the World Map. The map itself is split in Countries, which in turn are split on Provinces. Upon creation, a Realm Faction should consider certain fundamental elements, such as the Technological level and Magic sensitivity of its population. To demonstrate the uniqueness of the faction’s civilization, the Tech v Magic (TvM) table is utilized:

Realm Application
Name:
Starting Provinces: (Each Realm starts with 5 adjacent provinces on the map, or in line of sight, if they are split by Sea)
Brief Description:
TvM: [1-5]-[1-5]

TECH V MAGIC TABLE
The purpose of the TvM table is to determine the level of technology and magic of a specific Realm. Upon creation, each Realm must fill a TvM score, as part of the Realm Application form.
The table is divided between Technology and Magic, with each having a score of 1-5. A Realm can spend 4 points on either or both categories, as per below guideline, with both Technology and Magic having 1 point at minimum:

TECH

Technology	Type	Description
1	Stone Age	Equipment and Weaponry made by Bone, Stone, Wood or such materials.
2	Bronze Age	Equipment and Weaponry made by Tin, Bronze, Copper, Obsidian or such processed materials.
3	Early Iron Age	Very limited iron plating, very rare use of steel, no sophisticated designs.
4	Medieval Age	Full plate armours and advanced engineering, including early firearms, Da Vinci-styled machines.
5	Steam Age	Sophisticated equipment, Flintlock weapons, Steam engines.

Magic	Type	Description
1	No Magic Sensitivity	Only Player Characters can Wield Magic
2	Rare Magic Sensitivity	NPCs Can Wield Magic
3	Average Magic Sensitivity	Units can have Defensive Magic (Magic Armour/Speed)
4	Strong Magic Sensitivity	Units can have Aggressive Magic (Magic Weaponry)
5	Mighty Magic Sensitivity	Embued Vehicles/Beasts

Spoiler: Important Note

Although Magic is strong on the world, mass-destruction spells, or, in technology, mass-destruction weaponry, is only attainable through certain mechanics and not claimable without undergoing approval in the Library.

Research and Development of Realms
A Realm can choose to alter their TvM score, through Consolidation threads. Should a Realm proceeds to a research, or an arcane awakening, depending on the post count of the Consolidation Thread, they can alter the TvM stats. Always bare in mind, the relevance of the Thread's topic is highly important for the Consolidation Thread's mechanic to work.

Realm Growth
The Realm Factions all begin with 5 provinces. However, as they continue their journey in the histories of AoD, they can expand and grow far and wide. Depending on the number of the provinces ruled, and which those are, different bonuses and titles can be gained.

Province Number	Realm Type
1	Earldom
3	County
5	Duchy
7	Grand Duchy
10	Arch-Duchy

• Royal Status
  • The World map is divided into Countries, which consist from 6 to 8 provinces in size. In the case a Realm achieves control over two entire Countries, they can petition for the title of Kingdom.
  • Ruling over 6 different Countries, enables a Realm to petition for the High Kingdom title.
  • Ruling over 12 different Countries enables a Realm to petition for the Empire title.

 

[Dreadheart]

WARFARE IN TERRA FIRMA
​

Ever since the dawn of time, the lands across Terra Firma have been plagued with the oldest disease of all: War.
Regardless the reason why they were ignited, wars require a tremendous amount of manpower in order to be unfolded, with some of the commited troops, not surviving the confrontation. There are many different ways within a Realm that the call to arms is responded. Feudal realms rally their vassal Noble Houses, who muster their own household troops, and levy from the peasantry and the townfolk. Industrialized realms conscript from their main population, or field large numbers of professional troops. Tribal realms gather in hordes, drawn from the entire population of their tribes or nomads.

In AoD, to allow for balance within the spectrum of warfare, a point system is utilized, accessible by both Realms and Guilds.

Realms Warfare
The major boon of any Realm in AoD is the fact they hold dominion over Provinces on the World Map. This grants access to entire populations, which can serve as the bulwark of the military of each Realm. Each province provides for 100 Points. When the call to arms is issued, the owning Realm can muster any number or quality of troop, vehicles, ships or assets (POIs excluded), of which the combined points spent in Attributes are 100 or less. The more the provinces controlled by the Realm, the more the points available to be spent on troops and resources.

Upgrading the Provinces
If a Realm seeks to gain additional Points for their armies, the Provincial Defense Level is the answer. For each Defense Level upgrade a province has, 100 additional points are added to the Province's capability of mustering.

Spoiler: IMPORTANT NOTE

It is recommended, during a War thread, such as a Raid or an Assault, to include in one's post the list of the troops deployed, for clarity.

POIs and Guilds Warfare
Unlike the Realms, Guilds do not hold control over Provinces. This, however, does not render them unable to muster forces! The POIs, which are serving as Headquarters or Chapters for Guilds, provide for points which can be spent on assets for Warfare, according to the below table:

POI Level	Warfare Points Yield
4-8 points spent on Attributes	30
9-12 points spent on Attributes	40
13-16 points spent on Attributes	50

For the Warfare mechanics to apply on a POI, a submission in the Library must exist, in which there is explicit focus on the capabilities and nature of the military contribution the POI can provide (A submission of a druidic shrine, or an Inn, does not classify for appropriate submission to be applied in Warfare)

On the topic of POIs, the Realms can also benefit from creating POIs that follow the same rules and guidelines as per above explainations, to add additional points in their military. A naval base, a castle, or a city submission, flavoured appropriately for Warfare mechanics, can provide additional points to a Realm's Warfare lists, besides the Provincial Defense Level, or addition of more provinces in their domain.
After approval of the POI submission in the Library, the respective POI will be added on the World Map, to represent the strategic impact it can inflict in military affairs.

Should a guild wishes to establish one such outpost or Headquarter within a province that is already ruled by a Realm, a Diplomacy thread must be conducted between the two sides, in which the Realm grants authorization to the Guild to establish within their territory.

 

[Dreadheart]

COLONIES​

When establishing a Realm, the provinces that are claimed are considered the "home territory" of the said faction. Any provinces claimed that are adjacent to the Home Territory are considered also part of it. However, there is the ability for a Realm to claim provinces far beyond their Home Province. These become what is known as "Colonies".
Colonies can be major assets to a Realm, as they allow access to a whole different ground of opportunity and interaction. Whether they are military outposts, trade centres, or supply depots, the Colonies may allow expansion as well as geopolitical benefit if the owning Realm can afford sustaining them.

Establishing a Colony
To establish a colony a Realm must target a province that is accessible (not deep in another Realm's cluster, or more than 4 Neutral or Allied Provinces away from the Realm's Home Territory.). During the capturing of one such province, in the case an Assault thread is used, then the Attacker suffers a -1 penalty due to overextended supply lines. After capturing a Colony, a -1 penalty applies to the defence level of the province should it becomes target of an Assault or Raid.

Distant Colonies
If a colony's distance from the nearest Home Territory of the owning Realm is 7 or more provinces and to connect via sea requires crossing of one, or more of the Major Straits (See below), then for each of the Straits crossed, an additional -1 penalty is added to the total Defense of the Colony.

• World's Major Straits
  • Erova
    • Adasalia-Maorkisharra (Black Sea - Western Erovan Sea Passage)
    • Gerth-Picara (Black Sea - Kraken Sea Passage)
    • COMING SOON (Kraken Sea - Dragon Sea Passage)

Spoiler: Connected via Allied Provinces

If a Realm establishes a Colony that is separated from the Home Territories only by Allied provinces, then the Defense penalty due to overextended supply lines does not apply.