Building a Domain is the process of carving out an undeveloped swath of land, taming it, and turning it into a bastion of civilization.
To found a Domain, the party must secure a wilderness hex with a fortification and a garrison, and then establish a settlement. To expand a domain, the party must build additional fortifications, invest in infrastructure to attract more citizens, and deal with any threats and setbacks as they develop.
In return, the party becomes a political player on the regional stage, pays no Upkeep costs while in their Domain, receives taxes (though not income) in the form of goods and services, and can enlist the populace in work or military service.
Treasure spent to found and grow a Domain always earns XP.
Territory
Territory is the land that a Domain can defend and control. A Domain’s maximum potential territory is determined by its fortifications, which have Influence over the surrounding hexes, and by their garrisons, which defend the territory from external threats.
Fortifications
Fortifications are the bedrock of a Domain. They project Influence into surrounding hexes, which have the potential to be part of its territory. Influence spreads a number of hexes radially from a fortification, but may be slowed or blocked by difficult terrain, natural barriers, and competing claims. Influence scales with the size of a fortification, but so does the size of the garrison required to defend it.
| Influence | Min Garrison | Max Garrison | |
| Wooden Fort | 0 | 1 Squad | 4 Squads |
| Manorhouse | 1 | 2 Squads | 1 Regiment |
| Stone Tower | 2 | 2 Squads | 1 Regiment |
| Stronghold | 3 | 1 Regiment | 2 Regiments |
| Minor Castle | 4 | 2 Regiments | 1 Company |
| Major Castle | 5 | 1 Company | 3 Companies |
Garrison
Influence alone is not enough to claim a hex for a Domain’s territory. It must also be cleared of any local threats and defended by a garrison. Each type of fortification has a minimum garrison size to defend its territory. Additional garrison beyond this serves to decrease the territory’s Hazard Penalty of the territory, depending on the Domain’s Development Level.
| Min Garrison | Half Garrison | Max Garrison | |
| Wilderness | +3 Hazard | +2 Hazard | +1 Hazard |
| Borderlands | +2 Hazard | +1 Hazard | 0 Hazard |
| Civilized | +1 Hazard | 0 Hazard | 0 Hazard |
In general, only a Mounted garrison can effectively patrol all the territory within a fortification’s Influence. Non-mounted garrisons can defend a range 1 hex less than the maximum Influence. However, if the range of a fortification’s Influence has been reduced (by terrain or otherwise), a non-mounted garrison is sufficient.
Settlements
Settlements are the population centers within a Domain’s territory, where its people live and work. When a settlement is founded or upgraded, it attracts migrants looking for new opportunities. The most basic settlement is a Hamlet, home to 50-100 people who work the land. Settlements can be gradually upgraded into larger Market Classes by investing in their infrastructure.
A hex can contain 3 Hamlets and up to 1 Village, Town, City or Metropolis.
Economic Zone
While Hamlets can be founded anywhere within a Domain’s territory, larger settlements must be supported by smaller ones. The territory around a larger settlement is its Economic Zone.
A settlement is only eligible for an infrastructure upgrade if its future Economic Zone contains a certain number of settlements exactly 1 Market Class lower. The size of a settlement’s Economic Zone is dependent on its Market Class, is reduced by difficult terrain, and is extended by roads.
| Economic Zone | By Road | Max Travel Time | |
| Village | 0 | 0 | — |
| Town | 1 | 2 | <1 day |
| City | 6 | 12 | 3 days |
| Metropolis | 16 | 32 | 1 week |
Settlements cannot be double-counted if they are in multiple overlapping Economic Zones. Settlements in other polities can be counted within an Economic Zone only if the polities have a trade agreement. Settlements in non-contiguous territories must be connected by a road or other safe passage.
Infrastructure
As a Domain grows, the party may invest in additional infrastructure projects to found new settlements and grow existing ones. The cost and time to upgrade a settlement’s infrastructure vary with its size. Additionally, larger settlements require a certain number of smaller settlements within their Economic Zone.
The total amount of domestic labor a Domain has available for infrastructure projects is capped by its Development Level. Labor beyond this limit must be procured by additional outside workers, at a rate of 1 laborer per 100d value. Construction cannot begin until the entire project is paid for and treasure spent to develop infrastructure will only award XP once the project has completed.
| Price | Time | Economic Zone | |
| Found a Hamlet | 2000d | 1-Clock | — |
| Upgrade to a Village | 10,000d | 2-Clock | 3 Hamlets |
| Upgrade to a Town | 50,000d | 4-Clock | 6 Villages |
| Upgrade to a City | 250,000d | 6-Clock | 12 Towns |
| Upgrade to a Metropolis | 1,250,000d | 8-Clock | 15 Cities |
| Build a Road | 1000d | 1-Clock | — |
| Road over water | 2000d | 2-Clock | — |
| Road through difficult terrain | 2000d | 2-Clock | — |
Development Level
The number and type of settlements within a Domain determine its Development Level. The Development Level in turn determines how safe the Domain is, how much labor is available for infrastructure projects, the amount of taxed goods and services available to the party, and the size of the army it can levy.
| Settlements | Pop | Labor | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Army | |
| D1 (Wilderness) | 1 Hamlet | 50 | 2000d | 1 | — | — | — | — | TBD |
| D2 (Wilderness) | 1 Village | 500 | 15,000d | 1 | — | — | — | — | TBD |
| D3 (Wilderness) | 3 Villages | 3000 | 50,000d | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | TBD |
| D4 (Borderlands) | 1 Town | 15k | 150,000d | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | TBD |
| D5 (Borderlands) | 3 Towns | 50k | 500,000d | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | TBD |
| D6 (Borderlands) | 9 Towns | 150k | 2,000,000d | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | TBD |
| D7 (Civilized) | 2 Cities | 500k | 4,000,000d | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | TBD |
| D8 (Civilized) | 6 Cities | 1.5M | 12,000,000d | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | TBD |
| D9 (Civilized) | 1 Metropolis | 4.5M | 25,000,000d | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | TBD |
Taxes
In general, the party should not expect to earn monetary income from their Domain. Instead, they do not pay any Upkeep Costs while living in their Domain and recieve taxes in kind from their populace.
Each Span the party is in need of certain mundane equipment, there is an x-in-6 chance the Domain can provide it according to its Rarity and the Domain’s Development Level. The Domain cannot provide more taxed goods than a tenth of the Maximum Production of all its corresponding settlements, nor can it provide any goods of a higher Rarity than its largest settlement’s Market Class.
Similarly, each Span the party is in need of certain services or hirelings, there is an x-in-6 chance the Domain can provide it according to its Rarity and the Domain’s Development Level. These services come directly out of the Domain’s total avaiable labor pool.
Armies
TODO
Challenges
Each Span, a Hazard Die must be rolled for every fortification the party controls, with a Hazard Penalty according to its current garrison.
Threat
An external threat demand’s the party’s immediate attention. Assume the garrison is dealing with minor threats at all times. This represents a major external threat such as a monster, natural disaster, or invasion.
Exhaustion
Maintenance costs are due. The fortification’s Influence is reduced by 1 until 1% of its total value has been paid.
Expiration
An internal crisis must be resolved before any settlements in the fortification’s Influence can grow further.
Locality
All infrastructure projects within the fortification’s Influence advance their Clocks by 1 tick.
Clue
A discovery is made within the fortification’s territory.
Retirement
Expanding a Domain requires more fortifications to secure more territory. Managing these, as well as paying to maintain and garrison them, may prove unwieldy for a large Domain. Instead, management of a fortification and its territory may be entrusted to a loyal vassal. Doing so reduces the party’s costs and responsibilities, but also dilutes their control over the development and administration of the Domain as a whole.
Alternatively, control over all or part of a Domain can be entrusted to a character who has reached Level 5 and is ready to retire. Characters who retire as the ruler of a Domain assume full control over its management, locking its development and severely reducing the party’s control over its affairs.
A retired Domain may still provide the party with certain resources and privileges consummate with its Development Level, but this is not guaranteed, especially as the winds of politics shift.
A Domain can support the retirement of one character per fortification.