Map and movement
A world is a map of hexes and regions. Each guild's homeland is walled by mountain, water and forest, with a few passes in and always a slow way round over the hills: closing your passes buys 4 to 24 hours, never a wall. Homelands and guilds →
Every figure here is at a world's normal pace, speed 1. A faster world scales them: at speed 2 every time halves and every rate doubles.
How cities are founded
Your first city lands on one of your homeland's marked hexes; landing in an empty homeland founds its guild, and you lead it. Every city after is founded by an army, which becomes its garrison.
Economy sets how many cities you may hold — 2 at Economy 0, one more every 2 levels, 7 at 10. Cities you capture count too: at the limit you can't found, though what you take always stands, and a city razed frees its place.
The newest city you founded must reach Keep 15 before the next — your first city, before you found any other. A founding costs nothing but the army.
How armies march
An army moves hex to hex at the average speed of its units. One open hex takes:
| Speed | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One hex | 30 min | 20 min | 15 min | 10 min |
- Woodland and scrub take ×2 as long, hills ×3; mountains and water can't be crossed. Hills can't take a city.
- Past 1,000 units an army slows: ten thousand march ×1.5 as long, never more than ×2.
- Roads (Economy 5) march woods, marsh and hills within 3 hexes of your cities as open ground; Forced march (Military 5) gives every unit +1 speed.
- A city with its gates closed stops every army but its owner's and their guild's.
Sight
The map outside your sight is fog. A city sees 5 hexes at Keep 1, 7 at Keep 20, 9 at Keep 40; an army 2, one with an elite in it 3; settlers not yet landed 3. Your guild sees what you see, and your homeland is in sight from the start.