Diplomacy, Espionage & Warfare

Diplomacy & Treaties

You can form pacts with other kingdoms for mutual benefit by clicking on their tiles and proposing a treaty. A kingdom can have a maximum of 15 active treaties at any given time.

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  Non-Aggression Pact

  A basic defensive pact. When active, both parties are prevented from performing hostile actions against each other.

  • Blocks the Attack action.
  • Blocks the Fund Rebels action.
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  Information Sharing

  An intelligence treaty that allows for detailed information sharing and access privileges.

  • Allows you to see detailed information on an ally's tiles (building levels, garrisons, etc.).
  • The Spy action against the ally becomes completely free.
  • Is a prerequisite to be able to Visit an ally's Palace.
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  Joint Development

  An economic and technological treaty, the foundation for mutual prosperity.

  • Activates the Alliance Economy mechanic, generating bonus income based on the average banking power of both allies.
  • Unlocks the Aid Technology action, allowing you to spend your gold to help an ally achieve a technological breakthrough. Note that funding research in a foreign land requires covering additional logistical costs, bringing your total expense to 1.5 times the standard price.
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  Joint Stability

  A mutual support pact focused on internal affairs. It unlocks powerful actions to help an ally who is struggling with low stability or rebellions.

  • Unlocks the Help Quell Rebels action, allowing you to send your own troops to aid your ally in fighting their rebels.
  • Unlocks the Bolster Stability action, allowing you to spend your gold to directly increase your ally's social stability (Note: the effectiveness is halved due to logistical costs).

Espionage & Sabotage

Knowledge is power, and espionage is how you acquire it. From the map modal, you can launch spy missions against other kingdoms.

• Spying: You can send a spy to get a detailed report on either a specific region (low cost) or an entire nation (high cost). This action is free against allies with an Information Sharing pact.
• Funding Rebels: A hostile action where you spend gold to incite rebellion in a rival's territory. This action has several important conditions:
  • Technology Gate: You can only perform this action if your Technology Level is **greater than or equal to** the target's.
  • Exponential Cost: The cost to fund rebels increases exponentially. Funding a large group of rebels at once is disproportionately more expensive than funding a small group.
  • Stability Gate: The target's Social Stability must be below 60% for this action to be possible.
  • Pact Block: This action is blocked by an active Non-Aggression Pact.

Warfare: The Art of Conquest

Warfare in AI Kingdom is not won by total army size, but by strategic positioning and achieving local superiority. Careful planning is required before any assault.

Preparation: The Art of the Front Line

• Attacking Force: Your maximum attacking force for an assault is the sum of all soldiers garrisoned on your tiles that are adjacent to the target tile. You cannot draw troops from your entire empire for a single attack.
• Defending Force: The defending force consists only of the soldiers garrisoned on the single tile being attacked.

Execution: Calculating Combat Strength

The winner of a battle is determined by comparing the "Combat Strength" of each side. Strength is not just about numbers; it's a calculated value based on several critical factors:

1. Base Strength

This is the foundation of your army's power, calculated from the number of soldiers involved and their technological sophistication.

• Number of Soldiers: The raw count of troops in the battle.
• Technology Level: Each technology level provides a passive bonus to the effectiveness of all your soldiers.

2. Terrain Modifiers

The terrain of the attacked tile plays an extremely important role, providing significant advantages and disadvantages.

• Hills: Provide a natural defensive advantage, granting a +30% strength bonus to the defending army.
• Forest: The perfect terrain for ambushes, imposing a crippling -30% strength penalty on the attacking army.
• Lakefront: A strategic chokepoint that severely hinders assaults, giving a -20% strength penalty to the attacking army.
• Plains: Open terrain that slightly penalizes the defender, reducing their strength by -10%.
• Desert & Snow Valley: Harsh environments that impede invaders, inflicting a -20% strength penalty on the attacking army.

3. Building Modifiers

Similarly, buildings constructed on a tile greatly affect the battle's outcome:

• The Capital City: The heart of the kingdom is its most fortified location. Any army defending the Capital tile receives a massive +300% combat strength bonus. Capturing an enemy's capital is the ultimate goal, but it is a monumental task.
• Fortress: The ultimate defensive structure. Each level of a Fortress increases the defense strength by +10% on that tile.
• Non-Military Buildings: Structures like Cities, Courthouses, and Academies are not designed for war. When a battle occurs on these tiles, the defending army suffers a -10% strength penalty due to the complexities of urban combat.

4. Temporary Buffs

These are powerful, game-changing effects that can turn the tide of battle by providing a significant percentage-based bonus to your army's total combat strength for a limited time.

• Dragon Scale Battlecry (+200% Attack): Granted after successfully suppressing a rampaging dragon.
• Alchemist's Concoction (Boost Attack or Defense): Created by sacrificing a Technology Level at an Alchemist's Tower.
• Guardian Spirit's Aura (+30% Defense): Activated by using a charge from a Shrine built on a Swamp of Lost Souls.

Outcome: The Spoils of War

• Winning a Battle (Non-Capital Tile): If you win, you will capture only that single tile. The building on it is destroyed, and you annex the local civilian population.
• Losing a Battle: If your attack is repelled, you suffer casualties. There is no other penalty.

Special Encounters

Besides engaging with other rulers, you may encounter unique, powerful entities on the world map that require a military response.

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  Guardian Golems

  These ancient constructs can awaken in Ancient Ruins within your territory. Their presence is a blight, increasing your construction costs and reducing stability kingdom-wide. You must dispatch an army to defeat them. Victory will reward you with the Golem's Aura buff, significantly reducing building costs for a limited time.

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  Rampaging Dragons

  A dragon inhabiting a Dragon's Lair in your lands may occasionally go on a rampage, causing severe instability. Suppressing the beast is a perilous task, but success grants the powerful Dragon Scale Battlecry buff, increasing your army's attack power.