The World Map, Terrains & Buildings

The Living Map: Population & Army Distribution

Your kingdom is not a monolith. Your population is dynamically distributed across your lands based on logic and strategy. This is a critical concept to understand.

• Civilians (The Workforce): Your civilians are automatically drawn to centers of economy and society. They will naturally concentrate in regions with high-level Cities, Markets, Farms, and Courthouses, or on resource-rich terrains like Fertile Plains.
• Soldiers (The Garrison): Your army does not sit idle in one place. They are automatically garrisoned across your kingdom based on strategic importance. Soldiers will concentrate heavily at the Capital, along the borders of your kingdom, and in regions with high-level military structures like Fortresses.

Expanding Your Borders: Colonization

Colonization is the primary way to expand your kingdom's influence by claiming new, unclaimed tiles on the map. To colonize a new region, you must meet several requirements.

• Adjacency: You can only colonize land that is directly adjacent to your existing territory. You cannot claim a tile that is disconnected from your kingdom.
• Resource Investment: Expansion is a significant undertaking that requires a combination of resources to establish a new settlement:
  • 9,000 Gold to fund the expedition.
  • 150 Soldiers to act as settlers and guards.
  • 8% Stability representing the social strain of integrating new land.

Upon successful colonization, the new land becomes part of your kingdom, and the AI will generate a unique name and story for your newly acquired region.

Terrains: The Foundation of Strategy

Each tile has a terrain type that provides powerful, unique advantages.

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  Plains

  A standard terrain that slightly penalizes the defender, making it an ideal battleground for aggressors. Mechanics: -10% strength for the defending army.

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  Fertile Plains

  An economic powerhouse that attracts civilians and boosts growth. While ideal for agriculture and commerce, its open nature makes it difficult to defend.

  • Defensive Penalty: The defending army suffers a -10% strength penalty.
  • Population Bonus: +0.3% population growth per day per tile.
  • Farming Synergy: Doubles the effectiveness of Farms.
  • Commerce Synergy: Provides a +100% effectiveness bonus to Markets.
• 

  Hills

  A key defensive terrain. Provides a significant bonus to the defending army and attracts soldiers to be garrisoned there. Mechanics: +30% strength for the defending army.

• 

  Forest

  The perfect ambush location. Imposes a crippling penalty on any attacking force. Mechanics: -30% strength for the attacking army.

• 

  Lakefront

  A highly strategic terrain offering both unparalleled defense and a unique economic advantage.

  • Defensive Chokepoint: Imposes a severe -20% strength penalty on any attacking army.
  • Economic Hub: The prime location for commerce. Triples the effectiveness (x3 Bank Power) of any Bank built upon it, massively boosting the Alliance Economy bonus.
• 

  Desert

  A harsh environment that penalizes attackers and most buildings. However, it is the ideal location for an Alchemist's Tower; the arcane energies of the desert doubles the effectiveness and duration of any buff created by the tower. Mechanics: -20% strength for the attacking army. Reduces the effectiveness of most buildings by 50%.

• 

  Snow Valley

  A beautiful but harsh landscape. The biting cold and difficult terrain hinder invading armies, but the frozen ground is not suitable for large-scale agriculture. However, the isolation and serene atmosphere strengthen the local faith.

  • Attacker Penalty: -30% strength for the attacking army.
  • Farming Penalty: Reduces the effectiveness of Farms by 50%.
  • Faith Bonus: Doubles the effectiveness of Churches.
• 

  Gold Mine

  A purely economic terrain. Provides a direct income boost to your treasury. Mechanics: +12 Gold per tick.

• 

  Iron Mine

  Reduces nationwide construction and recruitment costs, and attracts a small garrison to protect it. Mechanics: -0.9% nationwide recruitment and construction cost.

• 

  Ancient Ruins

  The knowledge of the ancients hidden in these ruins helps accelerate your research. Mechanics: -2.1% nationwide technology upgrade cost.

  Special Event: Occasionally, a powerful Guardian Golem will awaken in these ruins. Its presence will increase construction costs and decrease stability kingdom-wide until it is defeated. Conquering the Golem grants the Golem's Aura buff, greatly reducing construction costs for a limited time.

• 

  Swamp of Lost Souls

  A cursed land that drains stability and population. It is also the origin of deadly plagues. Its negative effects can only be countered by building a Shrine upon it.

  • Cursed Penalty: -9 stability/day and -0.9% population growth per swamp.
  • Attacker Penalty: -30% strength for the attacking army.

  Special Event: Occasionally, a deadly Plague will emerge from a Swamp. This plague is a kingdom-wide debuff that causes your population to decline every tick until it is cleansed. The only way to cleanse a plague is by using a 'Guardian Spirit' charge from a Shrine built on the very same Swamp where the plague originated.

• 

  Dragon's Lair

  A dangerous but potentially rewarding land. A fierce dragon will sometimes rampage, causing widespread instability. Suppressing it yields great rewards.

  • Rampage Event: Can trigger a "Rampaging Dragon" event, inflicting a severe -20% Stability penalty per day while active.
  • Suppression Reward: Successfully defeating the dragon grants the powerful "Dragon Scale Battlecry," a nationwide +200% attack buff lasting for 3 days.

Special World Events & Blessings

The world is dynamic and unpredictable. From time to time, special events may occur on your lands, granting temporary but powerful effects.

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  Gaia's Blessing

  A rare, divine blessing from nature itself may descend upon one of your natural regions (Forests, Hills, Lakefronts, or Fertile Plains). A kingdom can only have one Gaia's Blessing active at a time.

  Mechanics: While active, this blessing provides a significant reduction to your kingdom's total army upkeep and a bonus to your population growth rate.

Buildings: Shaping Your Kingdom

A building in your Capital is twice as effective. This powerful x2 bonus multiplier applies to the passive, per-tick effects of most core buildings, including the Market, Farm, Academy, Barracks, Courthouse, City, Bank, Church, and Shrine.

Core Economic & Social Buildings

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  City

  The ultimate civilian magnet. Its primary purpose is to massively increase your population and concentrate your workforce, boosting your tax base. Mechanics: +0.6% population growth per day per level.

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  Market

  Your primary direct income booster. Each Market provides a flat amount of gold every tick. Mechanics: +1 Gold per tick per level.

  Level 6 Unlock: Unlocks the Guildmaster, a shrewd merchant who can provide intelligence on the economic booms of other kingdoms.

• 

  Farm

  Reduces the upkeep cost for your entire army. Essential for maintaining a large military. Mechanics: -0,6% army upkeep cost per level (doubled on Fertile Plains).

  Level 6 Unlock: Unlocks the Old Farmer, a wise elder who can provide warnings about natural events like plagues or dragon rampages in the region.

• 

  Courthouse

  Passively increases your kingdom's social stability each tick and attracts a small garrison. Mechanics: +6% stability per day per level.

  Level 6 Unlock: Unlocks the Chief Magistrate, a specialist who can provide hints about corruption within your council.

Military & Development Buildings

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  Fortress

  The cornerstone of defense. Massively attracts soldiers to be garrisoned and provides a powerful, scaling defensive bonus to the tile it's on. It also unlocks the unique 'Mobilization' action.

  • Defense Bonus: +10% defense strength for this tile per level.
  • Mobilization Action: Allows you to spend gold to temporarily turn the fortress into a military focal point. The more gold invested, the stronger the effect. The effectiveness of your investment increases with the Fortress's level.

  Level 6 Unlock: Unlocks the Garrison Captain, a veteran soldier who can provide intelligence on the army sizes of other kingdoms.

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  Barracks

  Reduces the gold cost of recruiting new soldiers nationwide and attracts a moderate garrison. Mechanics: -1.2% recruitment cost per level.

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  Academy

  Reduces the gold cost of technology upgrades. Does not provide a military bonus. Mechanics: -1.2% technology upgrade cost per level.

  Level 6 Unlock: Unlocks the Headmaster, a scholar who can offer intelligence on the technological progress of other kingdoms.

• 

  Church

  Increases your espionage defense and the cost for others to fund rebels in your kingdom. Mechanics: Increases spy and fund rebel defense modifiers.

  Level 6 Unlock: Unlocks the Archbishop, a spiritual leader who can report on the stability levels of other realms.

Special & Unique Buildings

These advanced structures unlock powerful and unique game mechanics.

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  Palace

  The heart of your alliance and global influence. Only one may be built. Leveling up the Palace is a major investment that unlocks powerful new diplomatic features for you and your allies to use.

  Note: To visit another ruler's Palace, you must have an active Information Sharing pact with them, and you must have constructed your own Palace first.

  • Level 1: Unlocks the Council Chat, a shared chat room for alliance members, and Voting Hall, allowing the Palace owner to create proposals that allies can vote on.
  • Level 4: Unlocks the World Bulletin, allowing you to post announcements visible to all other rulers with a level 4+ Palace.
  • Level 7: Unlocks the World News feed, which reports major global events.
  • Level 10: Unlocks the World Rankings, allowing you to compare your kingdom's power with others.
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  Bank

  The cornerstone of the Alliance Economy. For a full explanation of this high-risk, high-reward mechanic, please see the "Advanced Guide: The Alliance Economy". Mechanics: Generates an identical gold bonus for both players, calculated from the average bank power of both allies in a Joint Development treaty.

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  Tavern

  A unique roleplaying building that allows you, the ruler, to go "incognito" and visit the establishment to meet unique, AI-generated NPCs from across the world. A higher level tavern increases the chance of meeting an interesting NPC.

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  Shrine

  Provides a small nationwide defensive bonus. Its true power is unlocked when built on a Swamp of Lost Souls, allowing it to generate "Guardian Spirit" charges. These charges can be used to either cure a deadly plague or activate a massive +30% nationwide defensive buff. The duration of this buff increases with the Shrine's level.

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  Alchemist's Tower

  Allows you to sacrifice a Technology Level for a powerful, temporary buff to either Attack or Defense. The strength and duration of this buff increase with the tower's level. Furthermore, this effect is doubled if the tower is built on a Desert.

  Level 6 Unlock: Unlocks the Alchemist, an eccentric researcher who can detect powerful magical buffs active in other kingdoms.

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  Fairground

  Allows you to invest gold to host a grand fair. Both the duration and the income bonus increase with the Fairground's level.

  Strategic Note: Only one Grand Fair can be active in your entire kingdom at any given time. Choose the location and timing of your festival wisely to maximize its economic impact.

• 

  Treasure Hunter's Guild

  A unique building (limit 1) that unlocks the ability for your kingdom to discover and claim hidden world treasures that appear randomly across the map.

  • How it Works: Treasures can appear on any tile in the world. To claim the gold when a treasure's timer expires, you must satisfy two conditions: you must be the owner of the tile, and you must have a Treasure Hunter's Guild built somewhere in your kingdom.
  • Reward Scaling: Upgrading the Guild is crucial. The final gold reward from any successfully claimed treasure is significantly increased by the level of your Guild.