Empire
Basis
Survive – Prosper – Achieve – Rule
Theme
Any theme which supports the idea of empire building
Board
The playing area is infinite, but players are restricted to starting within a minimum distance of another player. The playing area is divided into hexagonal tiles, each of which is coloured according to whether a player or ‘nature’ controls it. A black outline is drawn around groups of tiles directly controlled by the same player.
Players
A player starts off controlling a single tile of territory with an initial ‘town’.
They can make an allegiance with a neighbouring tile, or they can subjugate the neighbouring tile. They can even destroy the neighbouring tile.
Activities
Resource Gathering (hunting, mining, farming, herding, etc.)
Manufacturing (tools, factories, vehicles, technologies, etc.)
Defence (castles, traps, walls, mines, etc.)
Military (armies, ships, tanks, aircraft, reconnaissance, etc.)
Diplomacy (alliance, subjugation, defection, instruction, etc.)
War
Player advancement
Control of territory: direct, delegated, and diplomatic
Level in control hierarchy (chain of command)
Ranking in any statistic (resources, buildings, armies, territory, etc.)
Diplomacy
In order to clarify and simplify the complex diplomatic interactions that can occur between many different players and factions, we introduce the idea of ‘alignments’. Without alignments, there is a great communication burden created on each faction to advertise its values and the principles by which it operates. If we introduce an artificial and highly simplified set of alignments then it makes it easy to see at a glance (on an empire map say) the lie of the land.
A player can be one of six alignments. Nature is a seventh. Colours correspond to each alignment.
These six alignments govern the basis on which players can interact.
|
Name |
Alignment |
Colour |
Description |
|
Pure/White |
Independent, peaceful |
White |
Peace loving - saintly |
|
Insular/Grey |
Independent, neutral |
Grey |
Introspective, assured – determined |
|
Dark/Black |
Independent, warlike |
Black |
Expansionist, domineering – aggressive |
|
Fierce/Red |
Aligned, 1st primary |
Red |
Vibrant and ferocious - fearless |
|
Earthy/Green |
Aligned, 2nd primary |
Green |
Harmonious, nature loving - protective |
|
Serene/Blue |
Aligned, 3rd primary |
Blue |
Confident and inspired - righteous |
|
Natural/Pastel |
Unaligned |
Yellow, Cyan, Magenta |
Nature |
Alignments
Alignments are basically, of two forms: Independent and aligned. The independent alignments are intended to represent players who are as yet undecided as to their final alignment, or who wish to remain outside of the main empire building process. The aligned alignments are to facilitate interactions between different factions, but by being restricted to a set of three, force factions to choose their alignment out of topological necessity.
Because of the different fighting permissions between different alignments, any world map gives a fairly good visual indication of the relationships between different factions.
Where there is solidarity or a good level of mutual tolerance between factions, all the faction will be of a single colour. If the factions are part of an empire they are likely to be of a primary colour, if they are a collection of individuals then they will be of an independent colour, white or grey if peaceful, black if war-like.
Where there is a stark division in ideology between two factions there will be two colours. Where war is required, these two colours will permit war.
Ultimately, we are limited to maps in which the arrangement of ideologies or alignments can be expressed in only six colours (with a seventh representing unaligned territory). More complexity requires reusing a colour. For example, where there are three primary factions at mutual odds with each other, if there arises a fourth faction at odds with the other three, then either grey must be used (which risks disintegration because of its inherent lack of a fealty system), or one of the existing three colours must be used, probably the one that most accurately reflects the interface between factional differences.
As you can see in the example above, if the left hand continent wishes to split, it will probably choose the colour red in order to best represent its differences with its neighbours. So both red areas may yet be opposed, but their relations with their more immediate neighbours must be resolved first.
White
Players always start off as White. They can remain in this alignment for as long as they please, but may not engage in any offensive activities. Walls are permitted, but not weapons. No explicit alliances are possible.
The choice available to White is to remain independent and unable to fight, or to convert. White is the only colour able to convert to a primary colour without fealty.
Thus White can opt to remain independent but able to conduct warfare by converting to Grey. Alternatively it can convert to a primary colour (Red/Green/Blue) without needing to offer a fealty to an allied player.
Black is the only alignment that may fight white.
Grey
The grey player has maximum freedom, but cannot build up an empire. They pay no fealties. Grey may not fight grey.
If a grey player converts to a primary then they must pay a 10% fealty to a particular player of that alignment.
If a grey player converts to black, no fealty is required.
Black
The black player is part of a single empire. Fealties and allegiances can be changed upon a whim, but only within the black alignment. Black is the only alignment that can fight itself.
Black is always available as a choice to any other alignment, but once the conversion to black has been made, it is irrevocable – once black, always black.
Primary (R/G/B)
The aligned player belongs to one of three alignments. An alliance or fealty can only be changed by the player converting to another alignment first.
Primary alignments represent strong empire building tendencies.
|
Alignment |
May
Convert to |
May
fight |
Fealty
upon |
|
White |
Grey, R/G/B, Black |
None |
None |
|
Red |
Grey, G/B, Black |
Grey, G/B, Black |
G/B |
|
Green |
Grey, R/B, Black |
Grey, R/B, Black |
R/B |
|
Blue |
Grey, R/G, Black |
Grey, R/G, Black |
R/G |
|
Grey |
R/G/B, Black |
R/G/B, Black |
R/G/B |
|
Black |
None |
Any |
N/a |
Defection (Voluntary Conversion)
At any time, a player may voluntarily convert to a different alignment (where permitted). However, if one is converting to a primary and ones territory is adjoining one or more tiles of that primary colour, then fealty must be given to each distinct owner of each of those tiles. One can of course, relinquish the tiles in question prior to the conversion. In general, though, players owning adjoining tiles of the same colour always have a fealty relationship of some sort (even if indirect). Players that are mutually independent, but have tiles of the same colour, can thus not have adjoining tiles. Before that can happen one must make fealty to the other. This fealty is of the form of 10% of all total resources at the time of conversion, and 10% of all resources obtained each round thereafter. Note that a fealty does not have to be accepted, and therefore it is not necessarily a foregone conclusion that one can convert to a neighbouring territory.
Subjugation (Involuntary conversion)
When threatened (typically by destruction) a player may concede to the superior player (if given the option). This involves giving up 50% of all resources, and then the standard fealty which is 10% of total remaining resources and then 10% of all resources obtained each round thereafter.
Summary of conversion costs
|
Convert to/from |
To White |
To Grey |
To Red |
To Green |
To Blue |
To Black |
|
From White |
N/a |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
Free |
|
From Grey |
N/a |
N/a |
Fealty |
Fealty |
Fealty |
Free |
|
From Red |
N/a |
Free |
N/a |
Fealty |
Fealty |
Free |
|
From Green |
N/a |
Free |
Fealty |
N/a |
Fealty |
Free |
|
From Blue |
N/a |
Free |
Fealty |
Fealty |
N/a |
Free |
|
From Black |
N/a |
N/a |
N/a |
N/a |
N/a |
N/a |
Fealty
The making of a fealty is part of the feudal process whereby an inferior liege lord submits to another. In effect, one player pays a tax and submits to another player. At the making of a fealty 10% of the submitting player’s total resources are offered as an up-front fee, with a 10% tax on all resource income thereafter.
The fealty is not only financial, but also one of command. The submitting player also undertakes to carry out any future orders. These may take the form of invasion instructions, or demands for resources. The player has the option of complying with these extra demands, but the alternative is to risk the superior player’s option to Grey one out, i.e. to force the inferior player to convert to Grey. This is particularly disagreeable, because not only does it mean that relenting after all is additionally expensive (another one-off 10% tithe must be coughed up), but it also breaks any fealty relationships that the inferior player might have had with other players. It is quite a severe penalty for disobedience as it is likely to be difficult to persuade one’s previous subjugates to remake their previous relationships. It is thus more likely that a player intending disobedience will act pre-emptively to defect and take their sub-empire with them intact.
Re-assignment
A player may re-assign any of their direct fealties to one of their others (effectively a demotion of one and promotion of the other in the same act).
Orders
A player may issue orders to one of their delegates or to all of them.
Destruction
When a player has no territory left to control (their territory no longer has any resource generation capability) their record is terminated and they must rejoin as a new player.
Level
The number of generations of inferior players (subject to fealty) a player has under them, determines the hierarchical level of a player. There is no maximum level, but it is likely that hierarchies will tend to flatten out.
Chain of Command
When fealties are made, they are always made to the highest player in the chain of command responsible for a particular tile who has not delegated responsibility for fealties. Thus the ruler of a very large empire will rely on their delegates to sort out fealties.
When one player converts it is implicitly an order for all their delegates to make the same conversion. This doesn’t apply in the case of black however. In this case the delegates get converted to grey.