Table of Contents
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Strategic Map Rules
This section covers four facets of the Strategic Map: Strategic Turn Phases, The map itself, Officers, and States.
Strategic Turn Phases
The Strategic Turn sees many actions and events happening, but these are structured into a specific order that is followed for every turn. The order is below.
Phase One: Diplomacy Resolution, Events and Stability Rolls
In this Phase, any special Events you've triggered are displayed, and Stability Rolls are made and their effects applied. Diplomacy Actions resolve, and other States' Diplomacy Actions against you resolve as well, with you responding.
Phase Two: Officer Actions
In this Phase, Officers undertake their actions, seen below. In this phase Officers are also attached to armies if necessary.
Phase Three: Collect Resources
In this Phase, ER is deposited into your treasury, your IC capacity is calculated, and Reserve UP is gathered.
Phase Four: Conduct Development
In this Phase, you set down any development for any Territories, and place down any completed military units.
Phase Five: Army and Unit Actions
In this Phase, Military units take their actions, such as moving or invading other Territories.
Phase Six: Resolve Battles
In this Phase, triggered battles are resolved.
Phase Seven: Resolve Diplomacy
Diplomatic Points are spent. After this, the Turn ends.
The Map
Map content is displayed in three ways: Territories, Regions, and Sea Sectors. The following will explain the differences between them.
Territories
Territories are the primary divisions on the map. The entire landmass of the map is divided up into Territories, separated from each other with black lines. Each Territory produces resources, constructs military units and holds armies. All Territories are shaded depending on their owner.
Strongholds
Some Territories, especially wealthy and large ones, have 'Strongholds'. Strongholds sit on the border between that Territory and another Territory. When invading the Territory, any Strongholds in the way must be captured first in a separate battle before moving onto the battle to conquer the entire Territory.
Sea Sectors
A Sea Sector is like a Territory, but on the sea. It does not produce any resources and cannot be owned by anyone, but are important for traveling between landmasses.
Officers
Officers represent the leaders and key individuals of a State. They are its military commanders, developers, spies and diplomats. All Officers have a name, a location, attachment, and the four values of LADS: Leadership (Lds), Administration (Adm), Diplomacy (Dip) and Subterfuge (Sub). They may also have Strategic Skills and finally, Experience. A breakdown of each value will be listed below.
Example of an Officer Entry
Name | Location | Attachment | Lds | Adm | Dip | Sub | S.Skills | Exp |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liu Lin | Shandong | 1st Shandong Army | 10 | 11 | 9 | 6 | L-Army 1, Infantry (1A, 2A), Armored (1B) | 2L, 3A |
Name, Location and Attachment
Name
The Officer's Name.
Location
The Territory or Sea Sector they're currently in.
Attachment
The army they're attached to, if any.
LADS (Leadership, Administration, Diplomacy, Subterfuge)
Leadership
Leadership measures the officer's ability to organise and lead troops in battle.
Every turn, an Officer gains a number of Command Points (CP) equal to twice their Leadership to spend their Mobs' actions.
Furthermore, at creation, Officers gain free Strategic Skills chosen from the Leadership List depending on their Leadership value. At L7, and for every point above, the Officer gains 1 free Leadership Strategic Skill.
Properly statted Officers (such as ODs) can convert their stats into Leadership. Leadership is based on their Intelligence Bonus, and has the following modifiers:
(All Modifiers stack)
Modifier Name | Effect |
---|---|
Command Skill untrained | -5 |
Command+10 | +1 |
Command+20 | +1 |
Talented (Command) | +1 |
Administration
Administration measures the Officer's ability to organise development, whether it be agricultural, industrial or economical.
This Officer, when using certain Strategic Actions (Administrate Territory, Develop Fertility, Develop Industry), adds bonuses. These are detailed later in the 'Officer Strategic Actions' area.
Furthermore, at creation, Officers gain free Strategic Skills chosen from the Administration List depending on their Administration value. They gain 1 free Administration Strategic Skill at L8, 9 and 10.
Properly statted Officers (such as ODs) can convert their stats into Administration. Administration is based on their Intelligence or Perception Bonus, whichever is higher, and has the following modifiers:
(All Modifiers stack)
Modifier Name | Effect |
---|---|
Scholastic Lore (Administration) untrained | -5 |
'Logistics' Talent | +2 |
SL (Admin)+10 | +1 |
SL (Admin)+20 | +1 |
Talented (SL (Admin)) | +1 |
Diplomacy
Diplomacy measures the Officer's ability to negotiate with others and meet a suitable conclusion, as well as stabilizing troubled regions.
This Officer, when using certain Strategic Actions (Improve, Negotiate with foreign State), adds bonuses. These are detailed later in the 'Officer Strategic Actions' area.
Furthermore, at creation, Officers gain free Strategic Skills chosen from the Diplomacy List depending on their Diplomacy value. They gain 1 free Diplomacy Strategic Skill at L8 and 10.
Properly statted Officers (such as ODs) can convert their stats into Diplomacy. Diplomacy is based on their Fellowship or Perception Bonus, whichever is higher, and has the following modifiers:
(All Modifiers stack)
Modifier Name | Effect |
---|---|
Charm untrained | -5 |
Deceive untrained | -5 |
Charm or Deceive+10 | +1 |
Charm or Deceive+20 | +1 |
Talented (Charm or Deceive) | +1 |
Subterfuge
Subterfuge measures the Officer's ability to commit espionage or sabotage on other States, as well as how to protect their own State from such tactics.
This Officer, when using certain Strategic Actions (Destabilize Territory, Espionage, Sabotage, Secure Region), adds bonuses. These are detailed later in the 'Officer Strategic Actions' area.
Furthermore, at creation, Officers gain free Strategic Skills chosen from the Subterfuge List depending on their Subterfuge value. They gain 1 free Subterfuge Strategic Skill at L8, 9 and 10.
Properly statted Officers (such as ODs) can convert their stats into Subterfuge. Subterfuge is based on their Agility or Perception Bonus, whichever is higher, and has the following modifiers:
Modifier Name | Effect |
---|---|
Concealment untrained | -5 |
Security untrained | -5 |
Concealment or Security+10 | +1 |
Concealment or Security+20 | +1 |
Talented (Concealment or Security) | +1 |
Strategic Skills
Strategic Skills offer special benefits to Officers, allowing them to specialise in some specific area. For example, whereas the Administration value might assist in all Administration actions, an Officer might buy a Skill that enhances their Develop Economy actions, but not Develop Industry.
A list of Strategic Skills is offered below.
Officer Experience
Officers gain Experience as they use their abilities.
Every time an Officer uses an Action, they gain Experience relating to that Action's category. For example, if an Officer uses the "Administrate Region" action, that Officer will gain 1 Administration Experience, noted down as "1A". If they use it again, they gain another point of Admin Experience, which then becomes "2A".
Experience can be spent to buy Strategic Skills, and can be spent to improve LADS values.
Gaining Experience
The chart below lists how one gains Experience for the different values.
EXPERIENCE CHART | |
---|---|
Action | Value XP gained |
Participate in Battle | 1 Leadership |
Conquer a Territory | 1 Leadership |
Destroy 200 UP in a single Battle | 1 Leadership |
Administrate Territory | 1 Administration |
Develop Fertility | 1 Administration |
Develop Industry | 1 Administration |
Improve Stability | 1 Diplomacy |
Negotiate with foreign Power (Success) | 2 Diplomacy |
Negotiate with foreign Power (Failure) | 1 Diplomacy |
Destabilize Territory (Success) | 2 Subterfuge |
Destabilize Territory (Failure) | 1 Subterfuge |
Espionage | 1 Subterfuge |
Sabotage (Success) | 2 Subterfuge |
Sabotage (Failure) | 1 Subterfuge |
Secure Region | 1 Subterfuge |
Spending Experience
Experience is spent on improving LADS values, and purchasing Strategic Skills.
Improving LADS Values
Improving LADS value costs an amount of XP equal to the LADS rank you want, plus half of the amount you currently possess rounded down. You must spend the corresponding XP type to improve a LADS value, ie. to improve Leadership, you must spend Leadership XP. You must improve LADS values one by one, ie. you can improve Leadership from 5 to 6, but not from 5 to 7.
Example://Zhang Yanmei has a Leadership of 5. She wants to expand it to Leadership 6. To do this, she must spend Leadership Experience. She has to pay an amount equal to the value rank she wants (6) as well as half the value she currently has (5, halved into 2.5, rounded to 2). Thus, to improve her Leadership value to 6, Yanmei must spend 8 LXP. //
Strategic Skills
All Strategic Skills have a specific cost in XP that must be met before the Skill can be purchased. The cost is noted in the S. Skill's profile.
Officer Actions
Every Strategic Turn, the Officers of a State act. Each Officer is permitted one Action, chosen from the list below.
General Actions
Move
The Officer moves to a different Territory. This does not have to be an adjacent Territory; it can be any Territory in their State, or any foreign Territory that isn't at war with their own. Once in a Territory, an Officer may attach to an Army without using an action.
Administration Actions
Administrate Territory
The Officer administrates the Territory, seeing that it runs smoothly. For every point of Administration, treat the POP amount in the Territory as though it were .1 higher.
Only one Officer can Administrate Territory in a Territory at once.
Develop Fertility
The Officer turns to expanding the agricultural capacity of their Territory. For every point of Administration, any Fertility expansions in the Territory the Officer is in have their Money costs cut by 5%.
Only one Officer can Develop Fertility in a Territory at once.
Develop Industry
The Officer turns to expanding the industrial capacity of their Territory. For every point of Administration, any Industry expansions in the Territory the Officer is in have their Money costs cut by 5%.
Only one Officer can Develop Industry in a Territory at once.
Diplomacy Actions
Improve Stability
Through a combination of welfare programs, rebuilding efforts, emergency relief development, charming speeches and propaganda, the Officer improves the stability of their Region.
For every point of Diplomacy, any Stability improvements in the Territory the officer is in have their Money costs decreased by 5%.
Note: Improving Stability cannot begin or proceed unless an Officer is in that Territory using the Improve Stability action. If an Officer is forced to halt their Improve Stability action, then progress cannot be completed unless that same Officer continues it.
Only one Officer can improve Stability in a Region at once.
Diplomatic Work
The Officer cultivates ties with other states, trains new diplomats and ensures resources are allocated to diplomacy.
The Officer generates 1 Diplomacy Point per 5 points of Diplomacy Value. Furthermore, they may select one nation and roll 2d10 (3d10 if that nation's Attitude is negative). If the result is below their Diplomacy Value, that nation's Attitude is improved by 1 step.
Subterfuge Actions
Destabilize Territory
The Officer moves into a foreign Territory and begins to cause trouble. By financing dissident movements, organising labour strikes, whipping up paranoia and fear and disseminating propaganda amongst the populace, the Territory's support can begin to erode.
The Officer is immediately moved to the Territory in question and stays there for five turns. They may be recalled, but any progress made is lost and must be restarted from scratch.
At the end of the five turns, the Officer rolls a 1d5+Subterfuge against the Territory's Security value. On a success, the Territory loses 1 Stability. On a failure, the Officer immediately relocates to your nearest Territory.
Regardless of success or defeat, after a Destabilize Territory action is completed, that Territory is immune to any Destabilize Territory actions for the next 5 Turns as the local authorities clamp down on foreign agitators, disrupting information networks and shutting down propaganda cells.
Espionage
The Officer moves into a foreign Territory and begins to collect data.
The Officer is immediately moved to the Territory in question. Once in place, the Officer immediately rolls a 1d5+Subterfuge against the Territory's security value. On a success, the Officer reveals all data about that Territory, including Officers within the Territory and military units for a number of turns equal to their Subterfuge value.
If the Officer succeeds and has Subterfuge 8 or higher, they also reveal all data from the foreign State's adjacent Territories as well. For every point of Subterfuge beyond this the Officer may reveal the data of another foreign Territory, so long as its adjacent to a Territory whose data is already revealed.
Sabotage
The Officer moves into a foreign Territory with the intent to cause material damage to the State. By bombing convoys, sabotaging factories and flooding a territory with counterfeit currency and computer viruses aimed at banks, they can reduce the Territory's contribution to the State.
The Officer is immediately moved to the Territory in question and stays there for five turns. They may be recalled, but any progress made is lost and must be restarted from scratch.
At the end of the five turns, the Officer rolls a 1d5+Subterfuge against the Territory's Security value. On a success, the Territory loses .5 Real Fertility or Industry of the Officer's choosing. On a failure, the Officer immediately relocates to your nearest Territory.
Regardless of success or defeat, after a Sabotage action is completed, that Territory is immune to any Sabotage actions for the next 5 Turns as the local authorities raid guerrilla groups, round up terror cells and drive the criminal element into hiding.
Secure Territory
The Officer uses their shady expertise to protect their own borders.
The Territory the Officer is in increases its Security by a value equal to half the Officer's Subterfuge rate.
States
States are the main drivers in the Strategic Scenario. States raise the armies, states conduct development and direct Officers.
States are divided into two broad forms: Minor States and Major States.
Minor States
Minor States are light yellow on the map, and represent either States which have limited influence beyond their own borders, or territories where central authority has collapsed. Minor States might have some military forces, but they do not expand their economy or raise extra troops. Diplomacy is possible with Minor States, unless the Minor State has the 'Collapsed' trait.
Major States
Major Stars are the primary engines that drive the Strategic Scenario, and are denoted on the map with unique colours. Major States take turns, gather resources and raise new armies and have their own goals.
All Major States have a 'Profile', which is a single table that records their name, their total Real ER and IC, their used Supply and total Supply, their Treasury, their Reserve Unit Power, Diplomatic Points and Disposition. Note that for foreign states, not all information will be available.
Example of a Major State Profile
State Name | Real ER | Real IC | Used Supply | Total Supply | Treasury | Reserve Unit Power | Disposition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jinan Military District | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 ER | 6 | - |
All of these values are self explanatory or explained elsewhere- except Disposition. Disposition is a field that lists a Major State's attitudes and general ideals, and is used in Diplomacy, which is illustrated below.
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is how States interact with other States. Deals are brokered, alliances forged and war declared.
There are three major facets to Diplomacy: Relationship, Attitude and Diplomatic Actions. Each will be explained below.
Relationship
Relationships define the official ties between States; legal agreements between the two States to cooperate, for example- or alternatively, hostile policies such as sanctions or denunciations. Relationships can be changed through Actions.
The list of Relationships is below. Note that the only Relationships a Major and Minor State can have are 'None', 'Protection', or 'War'.
War
This Relationship occurs when one State uses the 'Declare War' action on the other State. In this Relationship, the States may freely invade the other. Any attempts to Negotiate with the other side automatically fail until both sides use the 'Peace Talks' action. All other Relationships between the States are cancelled by War.
Any State who is allied with the declarer will declare war as well. Conversely, any State who is allied with the defender, or has a Defensive Pact with them, will declare war on the invaders.
Note: It is possible to invade a foreign State without declaring war. However, on doing so, the Attitudes of all other States towards the Aggressor decreases by 4.
Condemnation
This Relationship occurs when one State uses the 'Condemn' action on the other State. In this Relationship, any attempts to use the 'Negotiate with foreign State' Officer Action take a -3 penalty, and all Diplomatic Actions fail except 'Revoke Condemnation' and 'Declare War'. This stat ends whenl both sides use the 'Revoke Condemnation' action. If two States have both condemned (or been condemned by) the same State, then these two States receive a 1 Point discount if they seek an Invasion Pact with each other targeted at the Condemned State. Conversely, any States who have Friendship, Defensive Pact or Alliance Relationships with the Condemned State will add 1 Point to any Actions you aim at them.
Invasion Pact
This Relationship occurs when one State uses the 'Seek Invasion Pact' action with another State. In this Relationship, two or more States select a mutual enemy and promise to all declare war on them in a certain number of turns. Once the number of turns pass, the States are expected to declare war. If a State doesn't declare war, the Attitudes of all other States in the Invasion Pact towards the Pactbreaker decreases by 2… Unless those other States -also- didn't declare war.
None
This is the default Relationship. In this Relationship, the two States do not have anything tying them together, nor driving them apart.
Friendship Agreement
This Relationship occurs when one State uses the 'Seek Friendship Agreement' action with another State. In this Relationship, the two States are considered friendly and share common interests. Each State may send ER to the other, and may move military units through each others' Territories. Furthermore, each State receives a flat +10% to ER.
Protection
This Relationship occurs when one Major State uses the 'Declare Protection' action on a Minor State. In this Relationship, anyone who invades the Minor State will automatically be at war with the Protector.
Defensive Pact
This Relationship occurs when one State uses the 'Seek Defensive Pact' action on another State. In this Relationship, the States are expected to come to the aid of the other if either is attacked. A Defensive Pact can be general (aimed at all invaders), specific (aimed at a specific invader), or general with exceptions (aimed at all invaders except named exceptions). If a State in a Defensive Pact is attacked, and others with a Pact with them do not declare war on their invader, then the Defensive Pact is broken and the Attitude of the betrayed State towards the Betrayer decreases by 3.
Alliance
This Relationship occurs when one State uses the 'Seek Alliance' action on another State. In this Relationship, States freely share ER, Officers and information. It also functions as a Defensive Pact, with the same consequences if the requirements of the Alliance are not upheld.
Attitude
An Attitude represents the more informal relationship between two States. It doesn't define anything like Relationships do but its effects are felt nevertheless.
Attitudes run from -5 to +5. Certain Actions require Attitudes to be at a certain threshold.
Diplomatic Actions
Diplomatic Actions are how States change their Relationships with one another, as well as their Attitudes. Diplomatic Actions are done at the end of a turn and do not resolve until the start of your next turn. Many Diplomatic Actions require you to spend Diplomatic Points,
States typically respond to Actions based on their needs and attitudes. States do not have to accept an offer. That said, offers can be sweetened by adding incentives. Offering ER, DP or other resources to increase the chance of success.
Before choosing an Action, the player will be told if the State is partial to the agreement at all; if so, they'll be given a general estimate of what they have to offer for the offer to be a guaranteed success. They have the freedom to offer less and run the risk.
Declare War
Requirements: None
DP Cost: None
You declare war on the State. Your Relationship is instantly set to "War" and all other Relationships are scrapped. Diplomatic Points with this State are set to 0, Attitudes are set to -5. You can declare War on Minor States, but Collapsed States are considered to be at war with everyone.
Peace Talks
Requirements: War
DP Cost: None
You offer Peace Talks to an enemy State. Unlike other Actions, this one does not have the usual response of accept/decline. Instead, Peace Talks are a 'persistent' action, refreshed every Turn until you decide to drop it. Nothing happens unless the other State also uses the Peace Talks Action on you. Once that happens, the two States will offer terms- financial transfers, return of land, disarmament, so on- until both sides find something they can accept.
Condemn
Requirements: Attitude -1 or lower. Major State only.
DP Cost: 2 DP
You condemn a State. Your Relationship is instantly set to "Condemnation" and all other Relationships are scrapped. Diplomatic Points with this state are set to 0, Attitudes lower by 1. Condemnation expresses your State's deep disapproval of the other State's actions. Condemnation is typically the first step on the road to gathering allies to invade a State.
Revoke Condemnation
Requirements: Condemnation Relationship.
DP Cost: None
You move to revoke previous Condemnations of a State, or try to bridge the divide between your States. Unlike other Actions, this one does not have the usual response of accept/decline. Instead, Revoke Condemnation is a 'persistent' action, refreshed every Turn until you decide to drop it. Nothing happens unless the other State also uses the Revoke Condemnation Action on you. Once that happens, the Condemnation Relationship is removed and replaced with "None".
Improve Attitude
Requirements: None.
DP Cost: 4 DP
You actively try to improve relations with a foreign State. This Action is automatically successful and improves your attitude by +1.
Offer Friendship Agreement
Requirements: Attitude +1 or Higher.
DP Cost: 3 DP
You invite a foreign State to sign a Friendship Agreement with you. On success, Attitude immediately improves by +1, and you add the "Friendship Agreement" Relationship to your relations with that State. If your Attitude ever drops below 1, the agreement automatically breaks.
Seek Invasion Pact
Requirements: Attitude +1 or higher.
DP Cost: 4 DP
You invite a foreign State to join you in invading another State. When using this Action, specify the Turn in which you intend to declare war. On success, you add the "Invasion Pact" Relationship to your relations with that State. If your Attitude ever drops below 1, the agreement automatically breaks.
Seek Defensive Pact
Requirements: Attitude +1 or higher.
DP Cost: 4 DP
You invite a foreign State to join you in a Defensive Pact, promising mutual support in case of an invasion by another State. When using this Action, specify what sort of Pact you want: a general Pact (against all States who invade), a Specific Pact (Against a single State) or a General with Exceptions Pact (All States who invade, except for the Exceptions). On success, you add the "Invasion Pact" Relationship to your relations with that State. If your Attitude ever drops below 1, the agreement automatically breaks.
Seek Alliance
Requirements: Attitude+3 or higher, Friendship Agreement or Defensive Pact.
DP Cost: 10 DP
You invite a foreign State to join you as an ally. On success, you add the "Alliance" Relationship to your relations with that state. If your Attitude every drops below 3, the agreement automatically breaks.
Offer Membership
Requirements: Attitude+5 or higher, Minor State only.
DP Cost: 10 DP
You invite the Minor State to permanently join your State, incorporating the Territory into your fold. On doing so they will automatically accept.
Dispositions
Dispositions are attitudes Major Powers have that inform how they act, what motivates them and what goals they'll strive for. Each State has between two to four Dispositions. The Dispositions and effects are listed below.
Disposition | Effect |
---|---|
Aggressive | The State favours Armored Units and Fixed Wing craft. |
Consolidators | The State is unlikely to expand, and prefers to develop its territories. |
Defensive | The State favours Infantry, Ground Support and Fighters. |
Diplomatic | The State is more likely to use diplomacy over military force. |
Economic | The State will focus on improving its income, and is more likely to accept Friendship Agreements. |
Expansionist | The State will focus on expanding its territory. |
Honourable | The State is more likely to honour its agreements and protect its friends. |
Industrial | The State will focus on improving its industrial base. |
Isolationist | The State is less likely to accept any Diplomatic offer. |
Militaristic | The State is more likely to use military force over diplomacy. |
Naval | The State will focus on possessing a powerful navy. |
Paranoid | The State is less likely to commit to Pacts and Alliances. |
Protective | The State is more likely to commit to Defensive Pacts. |
Treacherous | The State is more likely to break its agreements and attack its friends. |
Tenacious | The State is unlikely to accept peace treaties if it has lost Territory. |