Bay 12 Games Forum

An Arms Race is a team vs. team game played through a text medium where both sides are pitted against one another in a struggle for survival. The situation at hand changes each turn based on the actions you take during the three player-involved phases - Design, Revision, and Strategy. Teammates are free to collaborate and come up with proposals during the Design and Revision phases. The players then vote for the one proposal that will add to their side's available Armory.

Designs and Revisions are subject to a Difficulty modifier of up to +4/-X based on a number of factors including your current armory, prior fields of advancement, time period, and setting tech level, and final results are determined by a dice roll combined with said modifier. Revisions are more restricted than designs, and are required to be a modification, alteration, or revision to existing equipment.

In the Strategy Phase the teams will determine their plans of actions, often simply broken down into which fronts will be pushed and where the more unique equipment will be deployed.

The final phase is the Combat Phase, where I take both team's armories and write up some glorious war fiction describing the conflict in enough detail for players to figure out what the hell is going on.

While the game starts at a tech level equivalent to the Great War, your technological advancements and successes are determined by dice and creativity, not necessarily real-world advancement. A good example for how to approach this would be the Air War: if you decide you want to try making helicopters immediately, you’ll face the same general level of difficulty as if you’d try to develop biplanes first, and both will help the other slightly when it comes to difficulty thanks to being airframes (but not as much as direct work on biplanes would aid monoplanes, for example). Trying to break into new fields will come with the same general bump in difficulty until you have experience creating designs that provide, well, experience in a related field.


There are a lot of rules and shit for Arms Races that have been slapped on haphazardly over the years, so don't worry if there's a lot here to absorb. You don't have to memorize the rules, that's my job.

The Design Phase is your primary means of advancing the capabilities of your nation. Teammates work individually or together to determine what is needed most in the moment and write up proposals to choose between. A vote is held to select the proposal to push forward, and at that point the process leaves your hands. A proposal should include a name and/or designation, and any desired details should be included.

From there, I determine the difficulty of the proposal based on the setting, scale, tech available to the nation, how far of a leap in development it is, if there are any previously completed projects that could provide enough knowledge to ease the tasks, and a light dose of research. Difficulty Ratings break down in the Spoiler below, but don’t take the examples as strict guidelines in case you find inspiration in them. Every writeup is gauged on an individual basis, so attempting my Normal example might end up Very Hard if you Bradley the project (or easier if you cut corners).

Once I determine the difficulty of a project, I submit the poor thing to a roll of 2d6. I use physical dice (and use dice as the plural form of die), and roll the moment I plan on writing. It just feels right. The base results are defined in the Spoiler below the Difficulty Ratings one.

Part of the final write-up I provide includes the Expense Level of the result of the proposal. Every proposal is given an Expense Level upon creation, taking into account material cost and rarity, complexity, and usability of the design in order to determine what level of availability the equipment gets. Expense Levels will be, surprise, covered in a spoiler beneath the Roll Results spoiler!

Once the Design results are posted, the game immediately moves forward to the Revision Phase. This phase is functionally almost completely identical to the Design Phase. The only difference is that proposals for Revisions must be based on an extant entry in your team’s armory.

Simple (+4): Stupid-easy. Throwing some sheet metal onto a tractor.
Trivial (+3): Excessively easy. Flak vests, comfortable flightsuits, and Pit Vipers for pilots.
Very Easy (+2): A familiar subject or smaller project. A new, mildly enjoyable Coke.
Easy (+1): Undemanding or understandable projects. The hop from cars to trucks.
Normal (0): Logical progression with a little effort. Going from biplanes to monoplanes.
Hard (-1): Poking unfamiliar territory within reason. Creating the V2 after the Flying Bomb.
Very Hard (-2): The standard for breaching new concepts. Developing the first tank/mech.
Theoretical (-3): Dabbling in the unknown. The Manhattan Project.
Ludicrous (-4): Prying the unknown open. Fusion power.
Impossible (-X): Kicking the unknown and sanity in the dick. Building the Stargates.

Utter Failure (2): The project results in little else usable besides the lessons learned.
Buggy Mess (3): The design functions, just not too well at all. Some experience is gained.
Poor (4): The design can be used without being a threat to anyone handling it. Usually.
Below Average (5): It works, but there is clear room for improvement.
Average (6,7,8): The design functions as intended.
Above Average (9): The design works, and something about it works out better than expected.
Superior (10): It works much better than intended, and a lot is learned in related fields of research.
Masterwork (11): This is the perfect design.
Unexpected Boon (12): Development of this design goes so well that some sort of extra benefit is provided to the side building it.

Cheap: The design is simple and/or is, well, cheap enough to be used wherever desired. Cheap equipment will often define the backbone of the armed forces.
Expensive: An Expensive design will be seen regularly on the battlefield, but will not be as ubiquitous as a Cheap design.
Very Expensive: Very Expensive designs rarely see use on the battlefield, as the military can only afford relatively small numbers of this equipment.
National Effort: A unique design that can be manually deployed to a front during each Strategy Phase. There is no cap to the number of different National Efforts you can deploy.

Once your revisions are complete, the Strategy Phase begins. In this phase you are generally only responsible for selecting which two of the three available fronts to push on (East, Center, West). It is possible, likely, and even heavily encouraged to develop National Effort-cost wunderwaffen, in which case their deployment for the season would also be determined here. Decisions not directly related to designs or revisions (such as the occasional propaganda contest) will also be determined during this phase.

Fronts will only advance along their lane, so you won't see an attack into the Center from the West. There might be some mild mechanical and flavor text if there’s an extreme overextension going on, but that’s unlikely enough to be a “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” situation.

Combat phases will be written out and posted in this thread by me. You just read 'em. After Action Reports will summarize actions across the front with a mix of in-character narrative and a more analytic summary in order to accurately paint the picture you need to respond to.

The Preliminary Act consists of the opening few turns of the game. These turns will be guided with a heavier hand than the rest of the game, and you will be given a prompt or issue to solve or address in some way through your Design and Revision. These actions will all be used to determine the flavor and style of the starting armory choices and National Identity Perk (a +1 bonus to a specific type of design/revision). All choices will be balanced against one another as well as the other team's choices, so while something might have longevity or be hyper-jank, they'll initially be equivalent enough for government work. While these turns might be quicker on this end, this opening act will be used to frontload as many questions and clarifications as the BPL can, so there might need to be a small level of patience while they loosen their war crime belt.

The key defines the borders of the map first, then the river, and then describes each region North to South and East to West, like reading a book.

The Ice Wall (Eastern Barrier): While borders can be quite fluid in nature, the easternmost extreme of the land is harshly cutoff by a monolithic wall of pure ice, 3000 meters tall. The surface of the wall contains somehow fewer features than the barren cliff face: an everstretching plane of blinding white. No plant or animal dares to brave the blisteringly frigid, cutting winds driving ice and snow constant off the wall and toward the continent below.

The Desert of ‘Amit (Western Barrier): The desert of 'Amit shrouds the west in heaps of dazzling white sand. The evening winds stir up sharp, stinging sandstorms which scatter the light of the setting sun and blast the young Cholades Mountain Range separating it from the rest of the continent. Through the heat haze, you can sometimes glimpse the peaks of the Anti-Cholades mountain range, grasping at the far horizon and further reinforcing the rain shadow cast over the desert.


The Interbarrial River Network: The Interbarrial River Network is birthed from two points: the geysers and healthy water table in the Wild Savannah and the runoff and melt flowing off of The Ice Wall. These networks of streams join together to form large, slow moving rivers that steadily meander toward the center of the continent. A veritable (relatively shallow) inland sea forms where the rivers meet in the Vale of Waters and proceeds to divert both toward the north and south. Tributaries and distributaries line the entire calm, slow-flowing river, providing the only real navigational issue along the equally calm riverbanks. The arterial river flowing north and south empties into the Northern and Southern Oceans. The Great Lake manages to regulate flow during the wetter northern seasons, providing a steady and reliable flood pattern across the continent and keeping the extreme wet or dry seasons from impacting the reliability of the River Network throughout the region.


THIS IS YOU Monsoon Point (North Capital/Bay12): This area point is bounded by its impressive coast containing multiple natural harbours. Monsoon Point is so named because winds that come off of the coast, off of 'Amit north of the Cholades, and off of the Icewall contact to create a spectacularly broad storm network which ensures Monsoon Point is constantly lashed with rain. An extremely rainy season dominates nine months out of the year, followed by three months of the year that can't accurately be called a dry season as much as a "less rainy season". The landscape in Monsoon Point itself is surprisingly dramatic as a result - a hilly region has been carved out into a land of beautiful red cliffs, with intense and verdant greenery blooming across the slopes - the sole exception being the incredibly wide Interbarrial River Network and the gentle, flat lands that follow it.


Choladaic Rainforest (West Front, North):  This region is absolutely dominated by a tropical rainforest. While most definitely less waterlogged than the areas to the northeast and east, it is still a rainforest - you can still expect to get soaked. The tropical rainforest rolls across gentle hills, fed by the Monsoon Point rainstorms which gather here and bowl against the Cholades. While the rain is certainly an obstacle, the unsettling nearly endless twilight beneath the canopy should not be underestimated.

Evergreen Riverway (Center Front, North): The hills in the surrounding regions flatten immensely within the Riverway. The Evergreen Riverway is a temperate pine rainforest - unbelievably lush, unbelievably green, fed both by brunt of the rainstorms coming down from Monsoon Point and the wide, fast-flowing arterial continental river flowing up from The Vale of Water, central Evergreen Reach is... well, it's wet as hell. The riverine environment leads to plenty of mud, fallen logs, ponds, small lakes, and streams, but other than that it's actually quite a pleasant place to be in, if humid.

Frosthollows (East Front, North): Temperatures drop dramatically in this uneven, rough, but beautiful alpine forest terrain. Bitter snowstorms hamper that beauty, driven west by the powerful and biting wind blasting off of The Ice Wall. The deep valleys in this region tend to catch these winds, creating absolutely unbearable conditions within the crags and ravines that crop up in the area. These ravines open up into the foothills and lowlands that dot the area, pummeling them with frigid temperatures rivaled only by the surface of The Ice Wall itself. These Frosthollows, open areas where even the pines refuse to grow, are treacherous, but often the safest and most direct way geographically to navigate the region.


Wild Savannah (West Front, Center): Resting against the shadow of the Cholades and ‘Amit, the land is a savannah of tall wildgrasses and scattered acacia copses. The climate is warm here, but not prone to drought due to a high water table fed by geothermal heat. When one spots a little hillock on this savanna, it is a geyser as often as it is a termite mound. The biodiversity in this region is staggering: giraffes and dwarf elephants in the patches of thin forest, great wildcats and wildebeest patrolling the grasslands. A river cuts this land too, fed by the water table and rare torrential downpours, flowing west to east. The geological activity here has left behind kimberlite pipes, the source of elusive diamonds and other precious gemstones, as well as a fair few rare earth metals.

Vale of Waters (Center Front, Center): The Vale of Waters is where the fresh waters sourced from the east and west join to run north and south. A great lake sits here, relatively shallow but broad. Its waters are flush with freshwater fish and waterfowl. The terrain beyond the lakeshore of brown sand and clay beds is some of the most supremely fertile earth in all the world, a temperate country of low hills and beautifully green grass. The summers are warm but mild to crops, the winters thinly blanket the land in snow for a month or so before melting. Little of the wildlife is dangerous; foxes, burrowing rodents from shrews to beavers, hares and the like.

Glacial Taiga (East Front, Center): The freshest remnants of The Ice Wall’s glacial activity can be identified here; gravel beds, moraines and the like. This land is a taiga of warmly-colored shrubs and sedge grasses intermixed with the occasional copse of spruce and birch, grazed by herds of caribou that alternately can be found migrating to the Evergreen Riverway. In summer, multicolored wildflowers blossom from the earth, areas of which are warm enough to tolerate agriculture. The morning sun lights the crags of the Ice Wall like a bonfire, and sends a glut of meltwater to swell the banks of a river heading west. Beneath the permafrost are vast beds of anthracite coal and petroleum.



Great Dry Sea (West Front, South): Once an ancient inland ocean, the Great Dry Sea is a massive salt flat that exists in a depression stretching from the edges of the Painted Land outward toward the 'Amit desert, where the ground begins to elevate once more and transfers from salt into sand. While outwardly unremarkable, the Great Dry Sea holds a unique characteristic of a deceptively active groundwater environment, forming and dissipating subterranean rivers at will. This results in turning the Great Dry Sea into an invisible minefield where one false step can send a man plummeting into a thick brine pool if he's lucky, or a many dozen foot drop to his death if not. The reprieve for these hazards is the rises in the flats that ages ago were once islands surrounded by water but now are encased in salt, dotted across the Dry Sea like freckles.

Sandoras Thornsea (Center Front, South): This entrance to the Painted Lands is host to a myriad of cactus families and hardy flora that take advantage of the presence of running water - thousands of species ranging in size from a child's fist to taller than a man, interspersed among a splattering of cork oaks and stunted juniper trees. The cacti mainly stick to the banks of the river and the distributaries that break off from it, creating thick bands of cactus that form the main hazard in crossing this region.

Motoro Conelands (East Front, South): Volcanic energy in this region is just powerful enough to breach the surface before running out of energy and forming the squat towers of basalt known as “splatter cones”. Ranging from only one meter in height to over twenty, these miniature volcanoes pocket the land in the thousands. Many of them are still active, needing only a slight disturbance to ooze molten rock from the ground. Despite the danger, the Conelands have long been a source of intense mining efforts - splatter cones contain high concentrations of metals across the entire range of metals available beneath the surface. In the areas populated by inactive or dormant vents, there is a large coverage of greenery that feeds off the rich volcanic soil and the Interbarrial River Network.



Painted Lands (South Capital, BPL): The riverway flowing south from the Vale reaches its southern terminus in the Painted Lands. What began as a clear flow of babbling water has been transformed into an even wider, slower thing laden with sediment. Millions of years of river action have carved a canyon through the country's soft rock strata, sharp and jagged at first but growing as broad as the horizon by the time it reaches the sea. Wandering distributaries branch off of the river, leaving winding shallow bands of fertile soil behind when they inevitably wander off again or dry up between flooding seasons. The land takes its name from the bands of rock exposed by the river to form a panoply of color: white limestone, black shale, and sandstones in pink, red, yellow, and every color in between.

The fertilized highlands beyond the water-carved walls (a distinction less marked as one proceeds southward) are relatively arid, with hot summers and cool winters. Groundwater is exposed to the highlands by limestone sinkholes, or cenotes. Papyrus reeds and olive trees grow in abundance and alligators sun by the riverbanks with regularity as one travels further south. The coastal bay experiences a cooler climate, with sea breeze coming off the ocean to regulate temperatures year-round and provide gentle winter rains.

The sedimentary rock of the Painted Land bears countless karst caves, connected by underground rivers and home to strange species of eyeless fish and cave-adapted lizards.

This is a group game choose your own adventure thing where you will be making decisions that affect multiple people at a critical juncture in their lives. Vote for the choice you want. Or in some cases the choice that is least bad. Unless you want the bad choice. Decisions will always affect the lives paired with it, but may have further reaching consequences.

None!

Capital
Northern States Administration: 2/0

Western Lane
Administrative Forest: 2/0
Northern Plain: 3/0
NO MAN'S LAND: NEUTRAL
Southern Plain: 0/3
Southern Star Mountains: 0/2

Central Lane
Administrative Forest: 2/0
Northern Plain: 3/0
NO MAN'S LAND: NEUTRAL
Southern Plain: 0/3
Southern Star Mountains: 0/2

Eastern Lane
Administrative Forest: 2/0
Northern Plain: 3/0
NO MAN'S LAND: NEUTRAL
Southern Plain: 0/3
Southern Star Mountains: 0/2

Capital
Kingdom of The Southern Star: 0/2

Everyone wants Influence. It represents how much sway a family has expressed over their people. Influence can be gained in quite a few ways, and with alarming regularity. Any proposal that is accepted by the tribe grants (or in very unlucky cases, loses) the Family that proposed it a flat amount of Influence. Events may occur based on a number of factors during the course of gameplay that will also result in an opportunity for Families to gain (or lose) influence. Influence resets when the civilization advances to a new age.

Everyone wants Prestige. Prestige represents the legacy a Major Family has left behind and is what determines the winner at the end of the game. Prestige is only gained by Major Families in position when your people pass into a new Age. Prestige cannot be lost.

The Master List is the scoreboard for the game and will track each players Influence and Prestige, as well as any notable events that may have occurred due to their actions. If you want to give your family an in-universe name I won't stop you - roleplaying is fun, but the list will use your forum username for ease of reference. Your character details can and will probably be copied and pasted alongside your other information for posterity.

The first Major Families will be selected at the end of the first turn based on Influence. There will be three Major Families selected regardless of the spread of Influence, however ties (ex. a spread of 3/2/1/1 Influence) or spaces filled at random (i.e. only one or two players with influence resulting in a roll between everyone else) will impact the development of your people. This will continue to be the case throughout the entirety of the game at every Age advancement, with the civilization seeing more beneficial ages the closer the number of Major Family candidates is to three and the general spread of influence at the transition to the new age.

Major Families and Minor Families are only functionally different in how they vote on proposals each phase, but this one difference is significant.

Major Families have a great amount of power and utilize their own votebox where their votes count in their entirety.

Minor Families vote is a votebox separated from the Majors’, and upon concluding a vote the winning proposal from the Minor Families has a singular vote cast to represent them in the Major Families’ votebox. Everyone, whether they join at the start or come in later, is initially a Minor Family.

In the case of a tie vote the proposal backed by the Minor Families will always win. Tie votes within the Minor Families will be resolved as God intended - via coin flip.

All votes are equal throughout the first turn, as there will be no Major Families in play.

Ages are clear partitions in the history of your people, representing periods of great change and an evolution of culture. Ages provide bonuses to appropriate actions, such as Bronze Age providing bonuses to actions involving bronzework, or The Unending Season giving military-based action bonuses. Ages are defined by the actions that drove the civilization into said new age, and their impact is affected by how many Major Family candidates there are as well as the distribution of influence. The most stable ages occur the more evenly Influence is distributed and the closer the number of Major Family candidates is to three. Note that, for the sake of calculating the influence of Influence, players with no influence for the Age will not be taken into consideration when judging distribution. Stacking the deck isn't necessarily bad though - the more ahead of the Influence pack someone is, the more their proposals will stray from average for better or worse (via background modifiers on rolls), and could result in accelerated Age advancement as a result.

While most Age advancements will occur after the Experimentation Phase, extreme circumstances could see a mid-turn Age change.

The Exploration Phase is the first phase and lets you propose plans for exploration of the world or developments to specifically enhance and advance exploration. Early on your people will only be able to explore 1 Space from settled territory, but as time goes on and your explorers can cross multiple tiles you will need to chart an exact course. Sea-based exploration needs to have a course charted that starts and ends on a settled coastal tile. Should trade become a possibility for some reason, it will also be taken care of in this phase.

Exploring Land and Shallow Water will reveal any resources available that your people would be able to identify, acquire, and utilize at the time. Details of Land terrain will also be revealed upon exploration. Exploring Deep Sea for the first time will result in a number of rolls to represent exploration into the great unknown. This "random generation" can provide boons or maluses to your exploratory efforts, wipe them out in a mysterious storm, discover new lands, and much more! If nothing of a more permanent nature is discovered, Deep Sea will be converted to a plain Ocean tile. Both Deep Sea and Ocean tiles represent much larger areas than other tiles, making progress through them slower if not properly prepared for. Tiles with a mix of Land and Shallow Water are considered to have Coastal Waters, which function similarly to Shallow Water with a lower bar of entry. A technology that allows only Coastal travel can cross from one landmass to another so long as they are not separated by a complete water tile.

You may decide to develop new techniques or equipment to improve their scouting or prospecting abilities in lieu of exploration during this phase. These proposals need to have a basis in presently available Resources and Technologies, and may reveal new Technology upon their creation depending on what is available and how well their rolls end up. Proposals for advancements are developed and integrated into society based on a roll of 1d10, where a 1 represents terrible construction, craftsmanship, execution, or adoption, and a 10 results in a brilliant final product with a major impact on the nature of future exploration...and perhaps the direction of your people as a whole. These developments may require resources for upkeep in order to continue gaining benefits from them, but can be "defunded" and "refunded" for no penalty during any Exploration Phase based on current needs.

 The Expansion Phase is where you directly influence civilized society (if you consider yourself "civilized" or "society"). You can choose to spread your people to a grid square with a Resource upkeep cost based on the terrain and your people's own skills, technologies, and equipment. Distant settling and colonization will also occur in this phase if you develop means to do so. If, for some reason, you'd need to fight a war, decisions on where to strike would occur here.

Instead of expanding your borders you can use this phase to develop your people and their society in a wide variety of ways. Things like spears, hospitals, and a code of laws can all be proposed during this phase. You can also create techniques to refine base materials into a more refined resource, such as developing an alloy after figuring out how to use metals and getting your hands on a few of them, potentially expanding the potential of your technological and societal advancements. These proposals need to have a basis in presently available Resources and Technologies, and may reveal new Technology upon their creation depending on what is available and how well their rolls end up. Proposals for advancements are developed and integrated into society based on a roll of 1d10, where a 1 represents terrible construction, craftsmanship, execution, or adoption, and a 10 results in a brilliant final product with a major impact on the nature of future expansion...and perhaps the direction of your people as a whole. These developments may require resources for upkeep in order to continue gaining benefits from them, but can be "defunded" and "refunded" for no penalty during any Expansion Phase based on current needs.

The Exploitation Phase allows you to grow your economic capabilities. At the start you are able to choose one additional known resource in controlled territories to gather every Exploitation Phase.

You may opt to propose new techniques and equipment to improve the exploitative measures of your people. More advanced means of identifying and gathering resources is the quickest and easiest way available to identify new useful resources. Your proposals can be general, but more specific creations will have the potential to provide much more potent benefits. For example you may choose to create iron tools to provide a general benefit to your people, but proposing an iron pickax instead will potentially greatly improve extraction of ores and perhaps discover new ones. These proposals need to have a basis in presently available Resources and Technologies, and may reveal new Technology upon their creation depending on what is available and how well their rolls end up. Proposals for advancements are developed and integrated into society based on a roll of 1d10, where a 1 represents terrible construction, craftsmanship, execution, or adoption, and a 10 results in a brilliant final product with a major impact on the nature of future exploitation...and perhaps the direction of your people as a whole. These developments may require resources for upkeep in order to continue gaining benefits from them, but can be "defunded" and "refunded" for no penalty during any Exploitation Phase based on current needs.

The final phase of every turn is the Experimentation Phase. This turn does not have a variety of actions to perform, and is instead used solely to propose new Technologies, techniques, tools, social constructs, just about anything you could make in the previous three phases and then some. Unlike the designs proposed in other phases, the proposals in the Experimentation Phase do not necessarily need to be based on existing Technologies. Straying further from your existing baseline will make the action less likely to have major successes. Both positive and negative outcomes leave more extreme marks on your society than advancements proposed in other phases.

Proposals for advancements are developed and integrated into society based on a roll of 1d10, where a 1 represents terrible construction, craftsmanship, execution, or adoption, and a 10 results in a brilliant final product with a major impact on the nature of future experimentation...and perhaps the direction of your people as a whole. These developments may require resources for upkeep in order to continue gaining benefits from them, but can be "defunded" and "refunded" for no penalty during any Experimentation Phase based on current needs. Proposals in this phase will grant the Family 2 Influence when chosen as opposed to the 1 attained in other phases.

The Experimentation Phase ends with a summary of your peoples progress as well as any changes in Founder status or the Age.

Until your people decide on a location to set up a more permanent home, if they ever do, they will be considered Nomadic. The Exploration, Expansion, and Exploitation phases all have extra considerations when playing as a Nomadic Tribe.

Exploration: Nomadic tribes travel together. When Exploring as a Nomadic Tribe, the entire tribe can, but does not need to, relocate themselves during the Exploration Phase to the Explored area.
Expansion: Nomadic tribes still grow, so it may eventually be deemed necessary to expand and split the tribe into two groups. You can use your Expansion action to develop a new group of Nomads in an area adjacent to their parent group.
Exploitation: While Nomadic tribes don't cost much in the way of direct upkeep, they still need and use resources. Nomads will automatically exploit the available resources on their current tiles. The downside is you will have to choose one resource in each area occupied by a Nomadic group to temporarily exhaust every Exploitation Phase until the tribe leaves the tile, with a one turn grace-period when the tribe moves in (so you can actually, you know, actually use all the resources for a turn). There is an additional risk of permanently losing chosen resources, although that chance is initially <0.1%. Note that if, for example, a resource that provides both food and gunpowder is affected by exhaustion when you decide to exhaust gunpowder it will not remove the Food unless/until food is the selected resource. The same is true for materials providing multiples of the same resource.

Nomadic tribes automatically exploit all exploitable known resources in the zone they occupy. Borders can be expanded but are not automatically exploited, although these resources can be selected for exhaustion.

Nomadic Tribes benefit from lower upkeep costs in general, but suffer due to less dramatic advancement and reduced resource stability.

Settling is not required, and while downsides will never disappear, you won't be directly punished for remaining nomadic for as long as you feel. You may also revert to a Nomadic civilization once you settle should you and your people decide that living in one place is not their cup of tea or tea-adjacent drink. The transition will likely include growing pains in either direction.

Settling a tribe is a large step in the progress of your civilization, with hardships aplenty to join the benefits. You are now considered Settled and some rules have adjusted accordingly.
Exploration: Your tribe is no longer able to migrate during your exploration.
Expansion: Settling is no longer restricted to spawning another group adjacent to an existing one, and you can instead found a new settlement anywhere within the tribe's borders.
Exploitation: There is no longer mandatory resource exhaustion, although passive exhaustion still exists.

Settlements incur an upkeep cost based on the developments in use, and at a more noticeable (that is, extant) rate than nomads.

Technological advancements will have a much greater impact on society, with more widespread potential effects than the advancements made by a nomadic tribe.

Semipermanent Resources are now permanent/treated normally.

The tribe may choose to revert to Nomadic at any point, however there will likely be issues resulting from such a decision based on your internal and larger geopolitical situations.

All proposals require a name to identify them as well as a plan detailed enough to be comprehended by the GM and other players. Proposals for technologies, equipment, and the like should clearly describe the desired outcome of the project. Adopted proposals in every phase grant 1 Influence, save for the Experimentation Phase which gives 2 Influence instead.

There will be two voteboxes active after the first turn, and you are only allowed to vote your singular vote in the proper box depending on your standing as a Major or Minor Family. A votebox is a quote box listing the proposals being voted for during that phase where you add your name next to the project you support as well as adjust a number representing the amount of voters supporting said item. Major and Minor Founder voteboxes will likely appear very similar, so they should be clearly labeled to prevent confusion. Provided below are two examples of acceptable voteboxes and one example of what not to do:

Owl Ranch (2): Birdman, Manbird
Money (1): Fedboy
Help We're Dying (1): Minor Families

Floorpills (2): Dr. Floorpills, Doc Galactic
Monkey Translator (1): Rathen
Help We're Dying (3): Shitsec, Checkers, The AI

In the above examples the victorious proposal would be the Owl Ranch. Help We're Dying was the winning proposal among the Minor Founders, so a vote was tallied for it in the Major Votebox. Note that both examples have clear titles indicating which group they are for.

Egg Scrambler (4): Larry, Moe, Curly, Joe
Scramb Eggler (4): Pinky, Brain, Moe

This is a bad votebox. It does not clearly identify which tier of Family it is associated with, the numerical tally of voters does not match the amount of voters, and Moe has voted twice!

While there is a vast multitude of resources to discover, uncover, and create, these can generally be broken down into three groups:

Food is any resource that provides sustenance for your people. This can include but is not limited to game, fish, wild berries, and crops. Food is usually used to pay upkeep for settled territories.
Economic Resources are most other resources used in the development and maintenance of your society. Examples of some Economic resources are tin, marble, clay, wood, and cotton. Certain Economic Resources, such as tobacco and opium, will (de?)buff your civilization with passive effects while they are being Exploited. 
Special Resources are resources only found in large concentrations in very specific areas of the world. These Special Resources defy our own laws of the physical universe and can lead to very creative and interesting advancements. Special Resources have undefined reactions, allowing players to come up with unique solutions to whatever problems might arise. The base form of a special resource does not mean other forms would be ineffective or impossible: it is up to you to define what the liquid form of your special gas can do. Special Resources are the only ones you will be made aware of before you have the capacity to gather or utilize them.

Water, while not technically a Resource, is not available in some territories. Any action taken within them will be more likely to fail until a means of bringing water to distant lands is developed.

Resources you know of but do not have the means to exploit or can exploit but have no Technology to use them for will be identified by their red text in the Resources spoiler. A resource marked with ?? denotes a resource with unknown or variable products based on how you decide to approach exploitation.

Each Resource will be persistently tracked in their own spoiler alongside the amount of the resource you have available and the amount of the resource total (Ex. Iron (2/4))

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Grandson to Emperor Qianlong and son to the late Gaozong. Hongli is well-known for his deep wells of strategic aptitude. His left arm is covered in patches of dragon scales and ends in a thoroughly scaled hand complete with claws. The Blessing of The Dragon is not only apparent physically: he has shown immense skill and potential when it comes to manipulating Fire as well. He is fearsome, even in his youth, and believes it is his destiny to see The Burning Empire finally bring the world together under their banner.

As mentioned, he is a powerful Pyromancer, and he has some skill with a sword.

Hongli is in control of the forces occupying the Continental Ring in the south between The Fish Head Bog and The Eight Passes. He currently uses the city of Taotie as his base of operations.

General Wonha's family is well-regarded in the Empire, which leads many to initially believe her to have a title purchased by her family through wealth or favors, an opinion usually influenced by her hubris and seemingly overconfidence. Observing her on the battlefield or in the command tent quickly fixes that. She tends to favor caution when it comes to the orders for her troops, but thrives in and yearns for the chaos of melee combat herself.

Wonha expertly wields a glaive, and in astoundingly violent fashion, earning herself the nickname of The Whirlwind. She does not have any magical ability, which she uses both as a means to get opponents to underestimate her as well as a way to relate to the more common soldiers in her army.

General Wonha is currently in command of the forces in control of The Gateway Bridge.

Admiral Himilco used to lead a group of incredibly successful Water Tribe raiders responsible for harassing Imperial supply shipments to The Gateway Bridge. Depending on who is telling the story, he either had his loyalty purchased by The Burning Empire or saw the near-chaotic "organization" of the Water Tribes as unviable and wishes to see them uplifted to a level most other civilizations have already reached. The truth is both. Himilco finds himself in the unenviable position of being despised by the entirety of his people, and works hard to prove to the Imperials under his command that he is worthy of his position. He has adopted the nickname his people have (understandably) given him, and is unbothered by his subordinates referring to him in the same manner.

Himilco is a very skilled Hydromancer, and tends to favor hit-and-run and boarding tactics when it comes to naval engagement.

Admiral Himilco is currently commanding the Imperial Fleet in the Inner Sea.

Admiral San was brought up among the Admiralty, with both parents having distinguished themselves during the last Imperial offensive. Cunning and merciless in equal measure, San made a name for themself after taking command of a ship after a Water Tribe ambush decapitated the command structure in their small task force. Not only was order swiftly returned to the panicking crew, but they managed to repel the attackers and chase them down (on a limping ship no less) to their hideaway cove, executing each and every offender once they were cornered and forced to submit. San worked their way up the command ladder rapidly and became well-known for their ability to sniff out Water Tribe plans before triggering, subverting, and countering them. Their brutal efficiency has led to their assignment to the Outer Sea and the blockades of the Floating Cities.

San is a fairly average Pyromancer, but has incredible skill with a wide variety of one-handed blades. They prefer smashing their opponents in grand fleet actions, leaving no doubt as to who will be victorious.

Admiral San is currently in command of the Imperial Fleet in the Outer Sea.

Emperor Qianlong is the aging leader of The Burning Empire. He sees no greater purpose than to expand the borders of the Empire to the edges of the world. He is a fearsome and adept commander, and personally commands his handpicked Imperial Guard. He uses no weapons of his own, but is capable of the most impressive and devastating displays of Pyromancy thanks to an extensive well of experience and training as well as the Blessing of The Dragon flowing through his blood. Even in his old age he is fairly nimble and definitely not to be underestimated - his Imperial Guard protect the Palace, only he protects himself, and so far this has proven well more than enough.

The center of The Burning Empire's Imperial Isle is The Sacred Temple, a deceptively large complex built into the volcano dominating the Imperial Isle. Surrounding The Sacred Temple is the Royal Palace, a veritable fortress in itself, which has access to the Courtyard District to the south and east. Large stone tiles pave a majority of the Courtyard District, broken up only by the scattered properties of the upper class and nobility. Large gates provide access to the periphery Quarters, with the Industrial Quarter to the north, The Dockyards Quarter to the east, the Market Quarter to the south, and the Residential Quarter to the west. The southern shore has been militarized for years, and is considered a de facto Military District. There are no issues within The Imperial Isle.

The Stepping Stone Archipelago was a Water Tribe territory, but has been under Imperial control for a number of years now. The native Tribesfolk were either killed in conquest or fled in the following months and years, resulting in a very strong grip on the area for the Empire. Most of the islands maintain humble villages with small civilian populations, with the old Tribal docks repurposed to station Imperial ships. Control of the archipelago effectively reduces the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdoms' abilities to freely traverse the Inner Sea. 

The Occupied Region of Taotie and Hulijing is largely flat plains, with a forest to the east acting as a border between Hulijing Village and The Fish Head Bog. A large section of the coast acted as a staging ground for military operations in the area until recently. Now it largely acts as a supply hub, utilizing the paved road to Taotie City's Inner District to rapidly move soldiers and supplies into the walled city. The road is frequently used by the military, with small outposts sprinkled along the way and regular patrols between them. Taotie's Outer District is where a majority of the populace resides, and while there have been rumors of meetings between "freedom fighters" in the night, nothing of substance has materialized yet. The Inner District contains the city's barracks and housing for the old ruler's closest advisors. A couple of these advisors remain, now under the administration of General Hongli as intermediaries between himself and the locals. General Hongli himself is quartered in the Royal Tower, a six story cylindrical tower with the Royal Bedroom taking up the top floor. Hongli has established this as his headquarters and used his vantage point to effectively counter organized resistance both within and beyond the city walls.

Hulijing Village is a humble settlement home largely to lumberers and hunters. The people living here begrudgingly provide the Empire with their trades and wares, and it is clear that many villagers are unhappy with the recent occupation. However, as they are effectively cut off from the rest of the world after the fall of Taotie, the Hulijing Villagers do not seem to believe in a possibility of victory against the Empire. Over time this dissension should fade away.

Two staging areas have been set up for future conquest stemming from this region, one for The Eight Passes and another for The Fish Head Bog. The Fish Head Bog staging area, deep in the forest separating the Bog and Hulijing Village, is split between the Northern Jaw and the Southern Jaw. General Hongli will be directing the forces heading both north and east unless he is relieved from one or both commands.

The Gateway Bridge and surrounding ridgelines controlling the pass are garrisoned by Imperial forces under the command of General Wonha. Two fortresses control access to The Gateway Bridge itself by land on either side of the valley, and from there they can also raise and lower the giant iron gates that provide passage for ships traveling between the Inner and Outer Seas. The surrounding high ground is also heavily militarized, with encampments scattered about everywhere and no civilian presence to speak of.

The Jade King has "allowed" The Burning Empire to maintain control of The Gateway Bridge without much pushback until very recently. The villages in the west have seen very poor harvests year after year, and are now entering a point where winter all but guarantees overwhelming malnourishment and starvation. There was an appeal to allow shipments of food across The Bridge, but Wonha refused - she was effectively besieging an entire portion of the Great Earth Kingdom and wasn't about to give away the opportunity to weaken an entire enemy front. As a result, the Kingdom has raised its forces, preparing a fairly unimpressive levy force in the west and staging their actual military in the east.

If The Gateway Bridge were to fall, the Outer Sea would once again be lost to the Empire.

The Water Tribes, while not necessarily under any singular leadership structure, do hold their priesthood to a level of reverence, so their holy sites on Kun Island make it the capital of their culture. The Sacred Pool in the south is largely considered to be the well from which the entirety of the Water Tribes draw their power. The Water Temple to the west is a labyrinthine structure with flooded hallways, corridors, chasms, tunnels, and rooms generally only traversable by highly skilled Hydromancers. It is rumored that The Water Temple was where the first Hydromancers were gifted with their powers after successfully navigating the natural maze and striking a deal with some Water Demon within. An invasion of Kun Island would be extremely costly in almost any circumstance, as Hydromancy's natural opposition to fire is amplified extensively by close proximity to The Sacred Pool, only made worse by their fervor.

Serpent's Isle is split between two tribes and indicative of the issues the Water Tribes have as a whole. Feuding over some unknown affront has been occurring between the two of the Water Tribes' largest, uh, tribes for generations, and when faced with external threats they only barely manage to put their differences aside. South Serpent's Isle is controlled by the Surya, while the Chandra control North Serpent's Isle. Not much else about the situation is know at this time due to a general lack of Tribal eyes and ears willing to emulate The Betrayer. Serpent's Isle has the second-highest concentration of Tribal population behind Kun Island. Without more intel, it's hard to judge exactly what the situation in Serpent's Isle is and how any military actions would go.

The Shark's Teeth is a long island chain with alternating triangular islands resembling shark's teeth. Many of these small islands have small village populations at best, but the number of islands and their dense jungle from shore to shore provides the natives with a significant advantage when defending themselves. Water Tribe raiding fleets tend to make their homes here, applying pressure to the surrounding region that is practically unrivaled anywhere else. They are less effective after Himilco turned coat, but they are still a potent threat to shipping.

The Shark's Teeth will likely prove to be a slow campaign as island after island has to be cleared. There will undoubtedly be heavy naval fighting.

The Four Fingers and the nearby coasts are the Water Tribe's biggest crime against the Empire and world as a whole. The Swamp Hermits and Kings (they weren't Nomads and Bandit Kings back then), threatened by an earlier attempt at expansion by the Empire, requested the Water Tribe's help in preventing Imperial "influence" from even reaching their shores. With a sword practically to their throats, they were forced to submit to the demands. With the entirety of trade and travel between the southern portion of the Inner and Outer Seas under their absolute control, the Tribes on these islands and shores have been able to collect a "passage toll" - or an extortion fee - from endless waves of traders, promising the funds go toward maintaining their intense military presence in the area. To protect them from Imperial Aggression, of course.

As with any society with no structure, funds from these tolls and access to many of the world's finest goods before they reach their actual destinations has provided some of these Tribals with lives of opulent luxury. But they haven't lied about funding their military. The islands and shores are heavily garrisoned by conventional soldiers and some small Hydromancer units, with forts and towers guarding the handful of ports scattered across the region. Their only weakness appears when you check the payroll - each island and the shores are all governed by a different Tribal, and the local forces are funded by the governor out of their own coffers. This has led to competition between the governors for dominance of trade in order to buy as much loyalty (and equipment) for their own personal armies. For their mutual defense, of course.

Invading The Four Fingers will be an incredible undertaking, and at the moment would result in heavy losses for Imperials both on land and sea (and almost certain defeat).

Originally small groups of Taotie settlers looking to find a new home, only to find themselves forever lost in the Fish Head Bog. The Swamp Hermits kept themselves isolated from the rest of the world (hence their name), but there was evidence of settlements deep within the swamp, not just surviving, but thriving. Outsiders would inevitably follow the settler's route into the Bog, but few ever left. Those that didn't die of disease and the local flora and fauna often chose never to leave the villages they came across. While isolated, the Hermits didn't necessarily oppose adding to their population.

Unfortunately for the Swamp Hermits, a virulent plague spread throughout the population. A small group of Geomancers who had been studying means of manipulating the local plant life (and in doing so discovering means of manipulating themselves) were the only ones to survive. Legends state that the group chose to become guardians of the Fish Head Bog, not to protect it from outsiders, but to protect outsiders from it. Whether or not this is true, there were definitely people in the swamp capable of manipulating the local environment as a whole for their needs. Not much is known about the Swamp Nomads, since they leave no witnesses beyond who they can scare off with simple spooky tactics (a series of loud strange roars and faces in trees vs. a mutated tangle of bear and plant devouring someone or the faces in the trees spitting venomous spines).

Attacking the Swamp Hermits will be a draining process. Attrition from the environment is inevitable, and the local defenders are a practically unknown factor save for the fact that they are a major threat.

The mountains north of Taotie cut across the continent from sea to sea. Eight valleys snake their ways through the mountains north to south. Running from the peaks of the largest mountains in the center of the range, two rivers divide the mountains and passes into north and south halves. While the mountains themselves were unfriendly terrain to say the least, the lush, fertile valleys proved to be perfect for settling and developing into flourishing tribes. With access to the wealth of the mountain, The Eight Passes saw an explosion of income as they sold vast quantities of raw resources and high quality goods crafted from them.

The eight passes, and the cities at the center of them, are each named for their original settling families.

Bai-Ulgan and Esege Malan were the first two to be settled, in the east and west respectively, with explorers and settlers following the coasts and heading through the first path through the mountains. These are the oldest (obviously) and wealthiest families of the Lords of The Eight Passes.

Tung-ak Valley sits east of Bai-Ulgan, and Erlik was settled west of Esege Malan soon after that. Both of these tribes had issues with their neighbors initially. After all, the newcomers were settling along their supply of water. Tung-ak and Bai-Ulgan settled their differences peacefully, but Erlik and Esege Malan have been feuding for their entire existence. This has only recently settled since The Eight Passes were all actually settled and unified.

Ot and Daichi, neighboring Tung-ak and Erlik, were settled next. Once again, the western settlements were able to overcome their differences - through marriage this time - while Daichi and Erlik engaged in more overt violent actions. As with the Erlik-Esege Malan conflict, this one was settled by the unification of The Eight Passes.

The central two passes were settled by two branches of the same family, with Zaarin in the west and Tengri in the east. Both tried to deal diplomatically with their neighbors, but the Tengri were forced to deal with the violence typical of the east.

The Unification of The Eight Passes occurred when a Tengri chieftain traveled to the top of the highest mountain after, legends say, a dream told him to seek the solution to his problems there. While we cannot be sure what happened at the peak, we do know that when he came down, this Chieftain possessed some foul imitation of Pyromancy. Instead of drawing inward from oneself, they pulled like leeches from the outside world. Their "Heliomancy" didn't produce much in the way of sacred flames, but they do have significant control over the light and heat produced. Or removed.

The Tengri spread the knowledge of this "gift" to the western passes and used it to travel through the caves and caverns running through the mountains. Armed with "Sunblades", some of the sharpest, sturdiest weapons in the world, the western passes overthrew the leadership in the eastern passes, installed claimants who were amicable to peace, and then, once the fighting stopped, shared Heliomancy with them as well.

Ever since then, The Lords of The Eight Passes have seen an even more dramatic increase to their wealth and resources. While there are some eastern citizens who feel as though there was a wrong that needs righting, the Lords are generally unified in their response against outside aggression.

The Watcher is a spire jutting out of the Inner Sea. The Lighthouse, a temple dedicated to the Heliomantic Arts, sits atop the rocky spine.

The forces of The Eight Passes are all extremely skilled warriors, and their Geomancers and Heliomancers are extremely potent. The passes are eight very long choke points, and there is no doubt that each and every valley will be a meatgrinder bloodbath no matter who ends up winning.

The vast frozen waste north of The Eight Passes is the The Shan Hai Tundra where the Forsaken are cursed to remain. The Forsaken were originally a civilization of occult Geomancers. They are cited as the source of The Protagonist Cycle, having been a civilization founded on cruel and evil traditions. The First Protagonist gave them an opportunity to change their ways, but when these people continued to torture and kill in endless cycles The First Protagonist mustered the entirety of their power, killing themselves at the cost of erasing these people from the planet and memory itself.

But as The First Protagonist didn't truly die, these Forsaken did not either.

The Forsaken are cursed to exist without a true form, instead appearing to outsiders as featureless hazes, although their clothing remains unblurred, and whose true names nobody can quite remember. They are also unable to ever leave the bounds of The Shan Hai Tundra. Otherwise, they are entirely normal humans. While their original Geomantic powers were stripped from them, potent magical bloodlines saw an aptitude for Cryomancy appear in the rare individual. Necromancy is still practiced by The Forsaken, but they no longer use unwilling participants in their experiments. This has actually made them a very effective if somewhat frightening source of critical medical care, should one be able to survive the trip.

Anguta is their capital city and is located on the eastern coast facing Kun Island. Amarok Village is settled along a frozen lake southwest from Anguta across the tundra, and in the northwest is Pinga Village. All three settlements are crafted entirely out of ice and would be protected by powerful Cryomancers and Necromancers in the event of an invasion. The tundra is deadly enough on its own, and it can be expected that very few people will care how The Forsaken use their Necromancy against an invading Imperial force.

The scorched grasses of the Thundering Plains make for an extraordinarily frightening land for the unprepared. The surface is constantly battered by permanent roaming lightning storms and tornadoes, providing excellent reason to avoid the area at all costs. Still, even in the face of nature's destructive might, people have found a way to carve out a living. Literally, in this case. Chief Lei Gong was considered an eccentric by his family, who themselves were considered eccentric, but they were known as some of the most potent Geomancers outside of The Great Earth Kingdom and Lei Gong was no exception.

It is said that Lei Gong carved out the covered pits, or "inverted pyramids", that would turn into the Undercities by himself while on a "pilgrimage". He envisioned his people prospering in a land where they could rely on nature to defend them, and he intended to provide. While he didn't think about the fact that his people would be in the dark underground, the earth provided so that he never had to. Large clusters of pink gemstones permeated the rocks in the carved-out Undercities. These stones are sensitive to incoming storms, which are always the case in the Thundering Plains, and emit a soft but bright light. That intensifies as storms get closer. The light shows on the roofs built over the undercities are mesmerizing when a storm strikes them directly. 

With the ability to observe how the energy of lightning channeled through everything in their lives around them, it was only a matter of time before the Underdwellers learned how to channel lightning through themselves. Lightning is not an easy thing to tame so Electromancers are very uncommon, but this relatively new Art is a complete unknown on the battlefield.

The largest Undercity, Raijin, was dug out in the center of the region. Trenches cut into the earth and covered not unlike the Undercities connect the Upper Level of Raijin to the other three Lei Gong Undercities; Fujin in the west on the coast of the Outer Sea, and Omoikane and Suijin along the Inner Sea coast to the south and east. The Undercities "benefit" from the fact that they are the only peoples to have never seen war in living memory. Nobody wants to try to invade four underground pits connected by underground roads while the surface is battered by deadly storms, after all. This results in a small military presence.

This does not mean the army is not potent, however. There is an educational facility, Omoikane University, where both military and intellectual minds come together to collaborate and experiment. Rumor has it that they have been attempting to create a means for people without Magical Arts capabilities to be able to utilize the Elements. With no real idea of the potency of Electromancy in battle, and unknown complications actively being developed, there is no way to be sure about how an invasion would proceed.

The Great Earth Kingdom controls a vast swathe of fertile grassland on the northern portion of the Continental Ring. The Kingdom is currently divided thanks to Imperial Control of The Gateway Bridge.

The Western Great Earth Kingdom is populated by scattered farmlands and divided by a river running east to west. They are currently preparing to face starvation in the coming months, and seem to be preparing to launch an attack on the West Fortress. It would probably be easy enough to break this unprofessional force of farmers, and the rest of their lands should be undefended after that.

The Eastern Earth Kingdom also starts out as farmland neighboring The Gateway Bridge, but is abruptly interrupted by the first wall of Jade City, a ten meter tall behemoth raised in one solid chunk from the earth itself. The wall follows the coast and separates the outskirts of Jade City from the farmlands in their south as well. The Jade City Outskirts are also farmland and pastures so that the city can remain fed in the event of a siege. The Autumn District rests behind the first uniformly square wall, and is where travelers from outside the Kingdom are most likely to be found. Passes are needed to pass into the, again, walled Winter District, which houses the Kingdom's permanent citizens. The Spring District, also walled, contains the Kingdom's military infrastructure and command. Behind yet another wall, the Summer District is home to the royal family. The royal family hasn't appeared in public in a decade after the unexpected death of one of the children, but they seem to be maintaining control of their kingdom well enough for now.

With the Great Earth Kingdom positioning their professional armies in preparation for an assault on the East Fortress of The Gateway Bridge, it is pretty clear that they have the numerical advantage at the moment. But they don't have time on their side, so you can expect violence relatively soon even if Imperial forces don't take the initiative.

The Fenghuang Expanse is a large stretch of desert covering a portion of the eastern section of the Continental Ring. This dry, hot, shifting desert is called home by the four Oasis Tribes. They have generally lived with one another without issue, having agreed to neatly divide the desert between the four of them ages ago. The tribes aren't large by any means, they couldn't sustain themselves if they were, but they do prove to be vital stops on the way through the Expanse. The Oasis Tribes are known for their Arenomancy, and use their ability to manipulate the desert sands to move across the dunes quickly and safely.

This will also make them a potent threat in the event of an Imperial expansion into their territory. They may be few in number, but the Oasis Tribes are well-suited to their environment and have made it known that they will live and die as free men. Imperial forces should be able to overpower them, but losses will probably be higher than desirable at the moment.

The Realm of The Bandit Kings was originally The Realm of The Three Kings. The dense forest is cut through by a road from the coast near the Four Fingers all the way to the sands of the Fenghuang Expanse, with three settlements that developed along the route. A massive unified uprising of nonmagical citizens overthrew their Geomantic Kings and they exiled anyone with magical ability. Without a plan beyond "remove a portion of the population in an ill-advised revolution", the region fell into chaos, with the massive unified uprising quickly splintering into dozens of outfits and warbands, all claiming one or more of the settlements as their own. By this point in the civil war the settlements are little more than ash, so any claims are about pride at this point.

It is unsafe for civilians to travel in the Realm of The Bandit Kings, but an Imperial invasion is obviously not civilian. Pacification of this realm will be a wildly unpredictable process, as criminals of all sorts maraud around the area.

The Floating Cities are four separate massive flying islands that look not unlike upside-down mountains with fortresses built on top of them. For as long as anyone can remember The Floating Cities have kept to their own business. They trade with outsiders and use their Aeromantic abilities to provide them access to the otherwise untouchable Floating Cities.

They maintained a generally peaceful outward appearance until the Imperial Navy began the blockades. The entire civilization seems to be gifted with Aeromantic abilites, something no other people can declare honestly, and they used this to consistently raid the blockading fleets. Their potent capacity for Aeromantic Arts should not be underestimated.

Blockades have recently been put back in place with the continuation of Imperial expansion. While the forces blockading Floating City Queqiao, Floating City Fusang, and Floating City Yaochi will definitely be facing resistance, the "blockade" around Shattered City Penglai is there to prevent anyone else from poking around. Gaozong's body was never actually recovered after the blast that destroyed the city, and it is very likely that the Empire is not the only party interested in finding out what actually happened.

Actually invading the Floating Cities at the moment is impossible, thanks to a lack of means to get up to them. While they can put some pressure on the blockading fleets, they are unlikely to be able to hold out forever. It is not likely they are going to be willing to negotiate a surrender after Penglai, so for the moment you will have to wait for however long it takes to starve them out. Without knowledge of what the capabilities of the Floating Cities are, there's no way to tell how long that would be.

Imperial Footsoldier: The standard soldier making up the majority of the Empire's forces. They are armed with a spear and equipped with fairly light armor. Pyromancers can be found throughout the ranks, but are often of limited skill. Imperial Footsoldiers double as law enforcement in occupied territory, and tend to use a one-handed weapon, such as a sword or wooden club, when utilized in this capacity.

Pyromancer Corps: The Pyromancer Corps is a dedicated division of the Imperial Army utilized largely as shock troops. While generally unarmed, the Pyromancer Corps is filled out with better than average Pyromancers trained extensively in their Arts. More advanced Pyromancy techniques developed by the Empire will likely see use by these adept warriors.

Geomancer Auxiliary: A small portion of Geomancers drawn from The Occupied Territories of Hulijing and Taotie. While not incredibly loyal to The Empire, they prefer serving over the potential alternatives. Geomancer Auxiliary are entirely unarmed and unarmored, relying solely on their magic and hand-to-hand capabilities to engage opposing forces. Without the extensive background in training seen across the native Imperial forces (and with the more potent Geomancers killed during conquest), the Geomancer Auxiliary tends to be less organized and less skilled than their Imperial counterparts.

Imperial Warships: Imperial Warships are at the cutting edge of Imperial technology. Pyromancers are utilized to burn the coal that gives a steam engine the ability to rotate the propellers of the Warships. Thanks to this marvel of modern technology, the ships no longer need to cater to every whim of the wind and sea, and their speed is unmatched by all but the most skilled Water Tribe crews. They are multipurpose, with catapults and ballistae capable of firing (usually burning) munitions at their enemies, while also able to safely beach themselves in order to drop a bow ramp and offload their holds full of soldiers or supplies. Iron armor provides significant protection against a wide array of threats (especially compared to wood).

Horsedog Carts: The industrious horsedog is a loyal, sturdy creature used across the empire as a pack animal. The military loads them with canvas bags or uses them to haul small carts full of supplies. Horsedog Carts are most effective when they have roads to follow.

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Land
"Temnaya Vintovka" Semiautomatic Rifle: A 110 cm, 4 kg dark wood rifle. 7.7mm rounds are fed via 15-round box magazine, and can also be loaded with rounds individually through an open bolt. It has an adjustable rear sight with 100 meter increments. Effective out to 800m. It also has a bayonet lug and comes with a bayonet. Padded for operator comfort. Costs 2 Ore and 2 Wood. (CHEAP)
No.3 Fragmentation Grenade: A fragmentation grenade with a lethal radius of 5m and debilitating within 15m, but can cause injury out much further if you're (un)lucky. Has a cap that can be pulled off for a 7 second fuse or twisted and pulled for impact. Shaped like an egg, but can have a stick screwed into the bottom if desired. Costs 2 Ore. (CHEAP)

Pulemet No.4: An 8.5mm automatic machine gun utilizing 20- or 40-round box magazines. Rate of fire is sacrificed for an effective range of 1200m. Costs 4 Ore. (EXPENSIVE)
Bol'shoy 108mm: A 108-mm artillery piece on a split-tail carriage and easily towable with a barrel that can be pulled back to reduce profile. Currently fires HE and smoke rounds out to 16km. Has a gun shield for some protection. Costs 6 Ore. (VERY EXPENSIVE)

Salviosi Jacks: Steel beams welded together to provide obstacles for vehicles. Only usable during defense. Costs 2 Ore. CHEAP


Sea
Okhotnik-Class Destroyer: A 115m long ship with 120mm belt armor and 100mm elsewhere. Travels at 35 knots. Armed with a triple torpedo mount and 3x2 120mm rapid firing guns capable of firing AP and APHE. Costs 5 Ore and 3 Oil. (VERY EXPENSIVE)


Air
Sakonet Fighter: A three-bladed propeller aircraft capable of reaching speeds of 690km/h. Has a high rate of climb, but suffers when it comes to horizontal maneuverability. Armed with four 23mm cannons. Costs 3 Ore and 3 Oil. (EXPENSIVE)

Lizing Li-4 Strategic Bomber: A large high-altitude bomber powered by four propellers for a maximum speed of 558 km/h. Can protect itself with 10 23mm cannons paired in four turrets and the tail barbette to provide almost total coverage. Can haul up to 6000kg of bombs or a nuclear device. Costs 4 Ore and 5 Oil. (VERY EXPENSIVE)


Other
Fabricated Papers: False identification papers that should allow relatively easy access to enemy territory across The Wall. Costs 2 Wood. (CHEAP)

Enriched Uranium Bomb: A fission bomb utilizing 64kg of Uranium-235 in order to achieve an explosive blast equivalent to 15 kilotons of TNT. Can be deployed via Strategic Bomber. Two Available [Availability based on available Fissile resources].

Ore: 2
Wood: 2
Oil: 2
Fissiles: 2
Gavrillium: 2

Dusty Mesas: None x3
Lowlands: None x3
Desert: None x3
Volcanic Heights: None x3
Hills: None x3
Badlands: None x3
Southern Range: None x3
Southern Scar: None x3
War-torn Savannah: None x3

SFS
Tonngaza Refinery: A fuel refinery built on the southernmost tip of the Fortress-City. Provides an Expense Credit each turn. NEUTRAL
Loz and Sons Law Firm: A building housing all the knowledge of law (and peoples secrets) that one might need. Provides an Advantage Credit each turn. NEUTRAL
Harren University of the Sciences: The most prestigious education center on the island. Provides a Research Credit each turn. NEUTRAL
Glaza Private Detective Agency: A popular investigative service among locals. Provides a Sabotage Credit each turn. NEUTRAL

UNSA
Abbera Central Allied Banking: A bank in the walled upper-class community in the east of the Fortress-City with ties to the defunct monarchy that ran the northern island for a few years. Provides and Expense Credit each turn. NEUTRAL
Westlan Broadcast Center: A tall building used for both radio and television broadcasts locally. Provides an Advantage Credit each turn. NEUTRAL
North Point Observatory: A building used to study the skies. Provides a Research Credit each turn. NEUTRAL
Tri-Dream Telecoms: A telecommunications business that provides service to the (northern half of the) Harren Islands. Provides a Sabotage Credit each turn. NEUTRAL

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Key:
Red=SFS Territory
Green=UNSA Territory
Grey=Neutral Nations
Orange=Old World

Key:
Red=SFS Territory
Green=UNSA Territory
Dark Grey=The Wall
Blue=Ocean