Decrees, Laws and Introduction to this Game

[unmerged(2461)]

- RULES -​

Introduction
1) [anchorlink=1]WHAT IS THIS GAME?[/anchorlink]
2) [anchorlink=2]WHAT ARE THE RULES?[/anchorlink]
3) [anchorlink=3]WHAT OTHER THREADS ARE IMPORTANT?[/anchorlink]
4) [anchorlink=4]WHO ARE THE MODERATORS?[/anchorlink]
5) [anchorlink=5]HOW DO I SIGN UP?[/anchorlink]
6) [anchorlink=6]HOW DO I TALK TO THE OTHER PLAYERS?[/anchorlink]
7) [anchorlink=7]GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING YOUR HEAD OF STATE[/anchorlink]

Wartime and Resources
8) [anchorlink=8]DECLARATIONS OF WAR[/anchorlink]
9) [anchorlink=9]MORALE MODIFIERS[/anchorlink]
10) [anchorlink=10]NATIONAL STATISTICS[/anchorlink]
11) [anchorlink=11]PREPARING FOR WAR[/anchorlink]
12) [anchorlink=12]TURNS AND ORDERS[/anchorlink]
13) [anchorlink=13]BATTLE SYSTEM[/anchorlink]
14) [anchorlink=14]SIEGES[/anchorlink]
15) [anchorlink=15]THE AFTERMATH[/anchorlink]
16) [anchorlink=16]THE SETTLEMENT AND RETURN TO PEACE[/anchorlink]
17) [anchorlink=17]VASSALS[/anchorlink]
18) [anchorlink=18]LOANS[/anchorlink]

Events
19) [anchorlink=19]REQUESTED EVENTS[/anchorlink]
20) [anchorlink=20]REACTIONARY EVENTS[/anchorlink]

Appendix
21) [anchorlink=21]DOS AND DON'TS[/anchorlink]
22) [anchorlink=22]GLOSSARY OF TERMS[/anchorlink]
23) [anchorlink=23]CREDITS[/anchorlink]

INTRODUCTION

1) [anchor=1]WHAT IS THIS GAME?[/anchor]
This is a role-playing game set in late 14th century Europe; a time when the word of the Church was law, noble families ruled all of Europe and peasants were thought of as tools to attain greater glory for one's self or realm.

You, the player, control the leader of one of these realms, but you can create, mould and use as many lesser characters as you like. These could be your diplomats, members of the clergy or even everyday foot soldiers or serfs.

This is not a wargame, although it does have a basic battle system. Primarily, the rules are here as a catalyst for creative writers, so that their efforts have substance and lasting effect. If this does not appeal to you, do not apply to join.

2) [anchor=2]WHAT ARE THE RULES?[/anchor]
The RPG is played in a way that makes the most of the vBulletin forum, thread and post means of messaging. Most of the time you only need to know which other realms are playing, which realm you're playing, and to treat the other players with respect.

The only real, hard-and-fast rules are those governing economics and battle. They can be found further down, in this post. All of the rules are all open to interpretation by the moderators as they see fit.

Take things easy for the first few days - there's no need to rush. Be sure to read through all the rules at least once, but don't try to take it all in straight away. You can always come back and read them again later if you need to remember an exact rule.

3) [anchor=3]WHAT OTHER THREADS ARE IMPORTANT?[/anchor]
The Inscriptions and General Questions is where to submit your application to join the game and also where to ask the game's moderators and it's more experienced players if you need help understanding aspects of the game.

The National Statistics, Events and Map over Europe thread will show you all the vital statistics of the realms covered by the game.

4) [anchor=4]WHO ARE THE MODERATORS?[/anchor]
Chief Moderator: Ladislav
I run this intraweb, though I have some help from these guys!

Events Moderator: N Katsyev
See the EVENTS section below for more details and here to see some past Eventmeisters’ work.

Battles Moderator: N Katsyev
You'll need to get your battle orders in every week you're at war. More on that in the WARTIME AND RESOURCES section below.

Statsmeister/Moderator: interregnum
3c runs the National Statistics in the thread of the same name.

Protocol Moderator: Ladislav
I have to make sure players play fairly and to a consistently high standard. If you have a complaint about another player's actions on the forum, please contact me via PM

Treaties Manager: Longinus
The treaties manager keeps track of all the treaties players have signed with each other. Treaties are signed and posted in the Treaties Thread, but the Treaties Manager posts a concise version of them in theNational Statistics thread for the Stat.Moderator to update the statistics of each realm.

Joustmeister and Impartial mod: Rebelodicus
Every so often and if you're very lucky, Reb provides us with all the fun of the Medieval tournament - send your realm's finest champions to test their mettle! See here for details.

Keeper of the Hall of Fame: Interregnum
Vote in the RPG Hall of Fame thread for your favourite forum members every month!

5) [anchor=5]HOW DO I SIGN UP[/anchor]?
Go to the first page of the National Stats thread and look through the list of available countries for an NPC realm that takes your fancy. These realms aren't played by anybody, and - in general - until someone picks them, no one can attack or communicate with them. Quite often, NPC realms have been played by previous players. This means you are picking up a realm that already has a history behind it. When a realm becomes NPC again, its funds are restored to give its new player a starting boost.

When you have found a realm you like, post a message in the Inscriptions and General Questions thread asking the moderators for control of that realm. Once you receive consent to have this realm, you can begin to play the game.

Your first act as an approved player should be to post in the National Stats thread to confirm the realm for which you have been approved. Then you may open a new thread with the name of your realm's seat of government as its title. e.g.: Royal Court of Sicily

In your thread starter, try to flesh out your realm and role as much as possible. Creating a splendid (but tasteful ) court-thread starter has become an art form in itself. Have a look at other players' court-thread starters to give yourself some inspiration.

6) [anchor=6]HOW DO I TALK TO THE OTHER PLAYERS?[/anchor]
Heads-of-State usually address each other via letters or diplomatic envoys, except when they travel to other realms where they can talk face-to-face with each other. Once you have a court created and want your characters to talk to another player's characters, find the thread of their realm and, in that thread, post a message like this:

A messenger arrives from Spain with a proclamation for the King.

"My dear Rupert, You are a noble people - pious and just, I would like to befriend your proud realm."

"I offer a generous trade agreement and a pair of hunting falcons for your amusement as a sign of good faith.

In God's name,

King William of France"

Remember that monarchs, princes, dukes and clergymen like to be addressed by their proper titles. To address the other player’s HoS (Head-of-State) in an extremely impolite manner can be accepted as a potential Casus Belli (A reason for war), so avoid insults without basis.

When the King of Spain’s player wants to, he will post a response. If he’s making a reply to an ambassador you sent, he’ll make it in his thread; if he’s sending a letter or ambassador to your realm, he’ll make it in your court-thread.

Powers of arrest
It is possible to arrest other players' characters in your court. See the powers of arrest clarification for details.

7) [anchor=7]GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING YOUR HEAD OF STATE[/anchor]

IMPORTANT: Check the National Stats thread for the name of your Head of State. Unless your realm is a republic, you may not change your ruler without explanation. This may mean you need to ask the other players for advice. This is to create continuity between different players of the same realm. You are of course free to kill or marry off characters as you choose, provided a minimum level of roleplay is maintained. For feudal realms, you will need to justify any HoS change. For example, if a King dies, his son may become the new King. Realms with a long RPG history are not encouraged for newbies.

A few simple tips on creating personas:

• Get a copy of an encyclopedia or search online for information on your realm. Claiming to be the King of Austria or the Duke of France won't do your credibility any good.

• Your ruler is not immortal and at some stage will die. Plan for this by introducing a few potential heirs into the game. It can be fun to change rulers at reasonable intervals and change your game style to suit this.

• See if you can find historical characters near the time the game is currently in. A fictional but authentic name, or the name of a person from 20 years in the future is fine; but using a figure from the 1920's might make you stand out more than you would like to.

• Consider a distinct style to go with your ruler. A few questions to ask yourself are:

a) Am I a very religious ruler?
b) How do I view the Christians?
c) How do I view the Muslims?
d) How do I view my neighbours?
e) Do I have any countries I view as my enemy?
f) Do I have any countries I view as my friend?
g) How do I treat those who visit my court?
h) What major goal(s) do I want to achieve?

WARTIME AND RESOURCES

This is where things get slightly more complex.

If this is the first time you have read through this thread, it is not necessary to read through the warfare rules until your realm goes to war for the first time. Our currently active players are urged not to bully newcomers, so you should have time to find your feet diplomatically before the ugly spectre of war arrives on your doorstep. Rest assured, there will come a time when you will want to be able to marshal your forces competently, though.

8) [anchor=8]DECLARATIONS OF WAR[/anchor]
Before attacking a realm, you must make a roleplayed post in your foe's court thread in which a Declaration of War (DoW) is delivered in character. Then, so the mods can keep up with what's going on, you need to make another post in the Nat Stats thread telling us exactly which realm(s) your realm is now at war with, and a brief explanation of your casus belli, or cause for war.

Generally speaking, you can only issue DoWs before the deadline of midnight Wednesday/Thursday, according to GMT forum clock time, if they are to be valid for the end of turn: the Sat/Sun midnight after. However, if you really want to issue a DoW after then, in order to catch the turn ending, see here for details.

Casus Belli
You must have a valid Casus Belli (case for war) if you wish to declare war. This is mostly based on how you roleplay the situation. More than the quality or quantity of your writing, it is the justification you present that counts. When you post in the Nat Stats thread, include a brief outline of your CB and links to any relevant posts.

9) [anchor=9]MORALE MODIFIERS[/anchor]

Every nation at peace starts with (more or less) the same morale level. This will vary in wartime depending on the conditions under which the war is declared or fought. The modifiers that are immediately applied, lasting for the duration of the war against that party, follow. Currently cccino is responsible for validation of CBs and determining which modifiers apply.

Declaring war upon another (cumulative for each nation DoW'd upon, exceptions noted), mutually exclusive (choose one that best fits DoW type) effects:

+0 Morale - Declaring war with roleplayed Casus Belli, ie the 'default' war effect. Religion does not count as a CB.
+1 Morale - Declaring war with very strong CB (regardless of quantity & quality, roleplay is alone not enough. Must have also have a strong argument, eg target's backstabbing, theft, murder of diplomat, historical CB... all with very conclusive RP justification, etc. May even be commuted to +2 in extreme cases -- to be discussed.)
+0 Morale - Declaring (offensive) war as part of alliance (ie alliance is your CB. DoW must take place within 2 weeks of first partner, ie before the second DoW deadline).
+1 Morale - Declaring war in support of a defensive (see below) ally. ie the same as having war declared against you (DoW must take place within 2 weeks of first partner, ie before the second DoW deadline). NB only one instance per alliance DoWed against.
-1 Morale - Declaring war with poor alliance CB or late alliance DoW. Includes having joined alliance shortly before war (within 3 weeks (two ends-of-turn have passed) of first partner's DoW)). Also includes alliance DoW when partner you are supporting has no CB.
-2 Morale - Declaring war with no CB (includes obvious CB tricks trying to avoid penalty for unjust war.)​

Having war declared upon you (cumulative per alliance (alliance defined as per use of alliance as CB)), mutually exclusive effects:

+1 Morale - Defensive war (having war declared against you).
+0 Morale - Counter-DoW'd by your enemy's ally.
+0 Morale - Provoking war to be declared upon you. Usually the legitimate tactic of having a CB and acting aggressively, short of a DoW.
-1 Morale - Provoking war to be declared upon you in an attempt to unfairly get the defensive bonus. Usually when you provoke the war without having a CB.​

Effects applied in addition to instances above (one instance per DoW against alliance):

+1 morale - Being at war with a religious opponent (only Shi'ite vs Sunni & Christian vs Muslim - not Catholic vs Orthodox).
-1 Morale - Declaring war when your nation is already at war (nation is only considered 'already at war' after the first end-of-turn).
-2 Morale - Declaring war after the deadline (does not include alliance counter-DoWs if applicable before end of first turn of the war). Reducible to -1 or 0 in extenuating circumstances; application to mods prior battles posted (preferably before DoW).​

These are all suggestions and open to comment.

Aragon roleplays a CB against Naples, and DoWs them.
Venice has only just signed an alliance with Aragon, and DoWs Naples.
Sicily, as an ally of Naples, declares war on Aragon and Venice.

Aragon has +0 morale (regular DoW) for the duration of the war.
Venice has -1 morale (late/poor alliance DoW) for the duration of the war.
Naples has +2 morale (small nation defensive) for the duration of the war.
Sicily has +1 morale (alliance defensive, ignores size) for the duration of the war.

In a few turns time, Hungary, seeing an opportunity, DoWs Venice, with a very weak CB.
Croatia, as an ally of Hungary, DoWs Venice.
Aragon, as an ally of Venice, DoWs Hungary and Croatia.

Venice has an additional +1 morale (defensive) for the duration.
Aragon has an additional +0 morale (+1 defensive alliance, -1 already at war) for the duration.
Hungary has -2 morale (no CB) for the duration.
Croatia has -1 morale (alliance no CB) for the duration.

10) [anchor=10]NATIONAL STATISTICS[/anchor]
A list of all the realms in the game and their statistics is on the first page of the National Stats thread. Each realm has 5 main traits, which are used to represent its resources during wartime.

Here's a sample realm:

Nation: Albania
Head of State: Gjon I Kastrioti, King of Albania
Player: NPC
Religion: Catholic
Culture: Albanian
Stats: 1/1/7/10/2 --> [1/1/7/10/2]
Provinces: 2
Ports: 1
Owned: Durazzo(2), Albania(1).
Realm’s statistics highlighted in yellow

Durazzo(2), Albania(1).
Province Values = a reflection of wealth in terms of assets and infrastructure of that province, affecting tech and fortress size & garrison strength in sieges and assaults. In the modern era, the government is responsible for outfitting and maintaining the army. By contrast, in the middle ages, it is the nobles' responsibility, and that depends on the local wealth and non-convertible assets like horses and equipment. Province values affect LM, Eco, Tech and Fortresses. To all intents and purposes, zero value provinces are irrelevant, affecting neither tech, LM or eco.

1/1/7/10/2
Land Mil = Your realm's land armies: foot, cavalry, seige engines, etc.

1/1/7/10/2
Sea Mil = Your realm's navies.

1/1/7/10/2
Tech = Your realm's technology level, a measure of the training and quality of the armies. In essence, it is the wealth of the nobles that are relied upon to raise and maintain the realm's troops that determines the technology of those nobles' divisions. Tech is relative, that is, you will inflict more and suffer fewer casualties the greater your tech level is than your enemy's.

1/1/7/10/2
Morale = Your realm's morale and stability level, a measure of both the discipline and determination of the army. High morale does not make an army 'suicidal', rather it makes it less likely to rout. When both sides have low morale, neither side will take as many casualties as when both sides have high morale.

1/1/7/10/2
Economy = Your realm's funds. For simplicity, this can be considered the realm's treasury. Historically, though, the amount of pure cash available to the monarch was insignificant (in terms of the immense cost of war, that is) compared to the distributed wealth (mostly assets which cannot easily be converted into money) of the aristocracy, and the freely moving monies of the merchant middle classes. To fund war, the monarch relied upon the service of the aristocracy, loans from the merchants or from abroad, and special taxes on the people of the realm in general, or rich cities in particular. While these taxes cannot be represented in the stats, you could consider the eco to be an approximation of the amount of funds available through internal loans and war taxes.

Each of these five traits or 'stats' are measured as a number ranging from 0 to 20, although your land and sea mil and economy may theoretically be sometimes higher.

1/1/7/10/2 --> [1/1/7/10/2]
Starting Stats highlighted in yellow

STARTING STATS are the values your realm starts out with and what it usually returns to at peacetime. These are only altered by very significant events and are based on the number and wealth of provinces and ports you own.

1/1/7/10/2 --> [1/1/7/10/2]
Current Stats highlighted in yellow

CURRENT STATS can fluctuate very frequently, either due to your wartime actions, or the wartime actions of other realms. Where your starting stats represent your realm’s potential in many ways, your current stats represent what resources your realm has at its immediate disposal.

11) [anchor=11]PREPARING FOR WAR[/anchor]

When your realm is at war, you can spend your current economy points (the fifth of the stats in the square brackets) to boost any of the other four stats. These boosts last until you return to peace.

Purchasing Land Military Points
If you spend eco to purchase LM, you are hiring mercenary LM - not mobilising the realm's own forces (we assume the cost of raising troops is statistically hidden). Mercenaries are not affected by battle result modifiers, and have their own special tech/morale levels. When a mercenary army is hired (technically - when eco is spent on LM), it will take on the following stats:
1 eco = 1 LM.
Tech = 10 +/- 1
Morale = 8 +/- 1
Tech and morale are determined by 1D6 roll: {1,2} = -1, {3,4} = 0, {5,6} = +1. If more LM is purchased it is added to the first army with the same stats - that is, you cannot purchase LM in separate turns to get multiple armies of different stats. These stats apply to the mercenary army until the nation returns to peace and the army is dispersed.

Mercenaries are represented in the stats as:
Stats: 1/1/7/10/2 --> [1/1/7/10/0] +[2LM @10/8]

Purchasing Sea Military Points
For 1 eco, you may acquire 1 SM. You do not need to own any ports to purchase SM, however you do need at least 1 province adjacent to the sea. SM purchased in this way are not mercenaries, they behave as the realm’s natural navy.

Purchasing Tech/Morale
For 1 eco, you may increase your tech or morale stat by 1. Money spent on tech/morale is applied to the national army only, not mercenaries.

Managing Reinforcements
Every Spring (March - May) turn, a nation that is at war can regenerate as much as 50% (rounded up) of its base LM, to bring its current LM up to maximum. The total amount regenerated over the course of the war is drawn from a limited pool of 2x the realm's base LM (hence it can continue to raise new recruits for about 4 years). The number of LM remaining in the pool is recorded. Once the pool is exhausted, no more LM are replaced until the return to peace.

A nation at peace regenerates LM until its manpower pool and current LM returns to maximum. This regeneration applies to the pool first, and current LM will not increase until pool is full. If a nation has no LM and a partially-depleted pool and is forced to return to war, it cannot use those reserve LM until the spring turn, when they are converted to current LM.

The manpower pool will not appear in the stats until the realm is at war. It will appear as:
Manpower Pool: 3 of 8 remaining.


12) [anchor=12]TURNS AND ORDERS[/anchor]
If you are at war and wish to use your forces, every turn you will need to send your orders to eumbattlemod@yahoo.com.au. Get them in by midnight Saturday/Sunday night CET (GMT +1), the deadline for the end of the turn. The battles moderator has the right to ignore your orders unless they are very specific and contain all of the following:

• BATTLE-ORDERS TEMPLATE

• Nation: The realm you play. You may not issue battle orders for other realms unless you have explicit permission from the moderators.
  
• Enemy: Any and all realms with whom you are at war.
  
• My stats: Copy and paste the national stats of your realm from the national statistics thread.
  
• Expenditures: Note here the expenditure of any econ you have on land-mil, sea-mil, morale or tech
  
• Provinces: The name of the province to which you are moving your forces and the amount of forces you’re sending. You may travel up to three hostile provinces, list all three if appropriate.
  
• Right of Passage: If your troops have a long distance to travel, give details of how you are routing the movement. Also give full details, with as much proof as possible, of any Right of Passage agreements you have secured, in order to reach your destination.
  
• Special Orders: Any special orders you need to give your armies. This includes blockading, transporting and assaulting. You do not need to specify if you want to beseige a province.
  
• DoW: Declarations of War posts in the National Stats thread are your key to being able to issue battle orders each week.
  
  You must include a cut-and-pasted copy of the DoW post, which is only valid if it is posted clearly within the National Statistics thread that began the war in which you are involved including two things:
  
  1. A copy of the post in which either you declared war, or war was declared upon you.
  
  2. The real-time date when the DoW post was submitted. (Do not bother with the exact time, as the forum clock is a bit dodgy).

• BATTLE-ORDERS EXAMPLE
Here’s how a player for war-ravaged Albania should send his orders:

Nation: Albania

Enemy: Ottoman Empire

My Stats: 1/1/7/10/2 --> [1/1/7/10/0]

Expenditure: spending 2 econ on land mil, to give me the 3 I need for the attack.

Provinces: 3 land-mil to Thrace via Macedonia.

Right of Passage: Macedonia is neighbouring my land, so I can march directly there.

DoW: Here's the DoW I issued on 6th August, which I believe is still in the Nat Stats: "I declare war upon the Ottoman Empire".

Since during one turn (one week real-time = three months game-time = one turn), three months pass in the game, you can assume that your troops can move through any territories through which you have Right of Passage (see below) and can attack any neighbouring enemy province. You can penetrate up to THREE provinces through which you DO NOT have Right of Passage, including NPC realms and enemy territory. You may also pass through province of played realms, however, this will constitute a valid Casus Belli. The three invaded provinces do not need to be sequential, but the army must stop in the third one.

Also, if the army crosses a river (see the Map Over Europe) or a strait (see the list in Nat Stats) and does not have Right of Passage through BOTH provinces, it cannot travel any further that turn, even if it has RoP through the next adjacent province. Straits can be blockaded by a hostile navy (see blockades, below) so that an army at war with the navy cannot pass across it.

Similarly, your navies can move to any sea-square that you can see in the Map Over Europe. For those of you who own a copy of Crusader Kings or Europa Universalis II, the names of each sea zone are the same as in the computer game. However, if you don't have the game (buy it, you mad fool!), a description of a sea-zone is perfectly acceptable (IE: "That bit of coast off the province of Rome").

Make sure you send fresh orders every week without fail whilst you are at war. Even if your realm is continuing a previous beseiging action, your orders need to be crystal clear and complete every time.

Right of Passage
Your troops may move freely through provinces if:

• They are part of your realm. (You own them).

• You control them (You have taken them during wartime).

• They are owned or controlled by your allies or vassals (see the "Vassals" section).

• You have secured a Right of Passage (RoP) agreement with the owner of the province. Please note: the moderators will acknowledge your RoP only if the owner of the province has posted notification of it in the National Stats thread.

Battles
If two hostile armies come into contact (by stopping in the same province, or by crossing paths) a battle will ensue. For the battle on home soil, for field battles only, the owner of the territory (not allies) receives a +1 morale bonus (whether attacking or defending). After a battle is fought, the victor ends the turn in that province and cannot continue to move or fight. The defeated army "retreats" - it remains in the province but is considered routed. An army that was involved in a battle may siege but any assault orders are ignored that turn.

HINT: Do not order an assault unless you have superior numbers (at least 2 to 1), for you will most likely suffer heavy casualties.

Base and Capital Defence
All land provinces have a base defence "garrison" equivalent in size to the province value. Capitals have a base defence of double the province value. Garrisons do not take part in battles between opposing armies, but may be involved in sieges and fortress assaults. When an enemy army ends a turn in an enemy province, it automatically begins to besiege it. Generally it will take several turns to capture a province this way.

Head of State
If your Head of State is up to it, you can send him/her to battle alongside your forces. If your HoS is with either land or sea mil forces, they will gain +2 to morale for that turn's battles. However, if your force takes casualties, there is a chance that your HoS could also be killed, which has a disastrous effect upon your realm!

Blockades
If you state clearly in your battle orders that you're giving your forces orders to blockade the zone they'll be in, they will blockade and attack any enemy that moves through it. This can also be used to prevent an army from crossing a strait. This is not 100% effective, however, depending on the size of the blockading force.

Sea Battles
There is a chance that opposing navies may come into contact and fight if their routes intersect, even if their distination zones are different. Since medieval sea battles primarily involved boarding, land mil carried on board has a significant impact on the result.

Using Sea Mil as Transport for Land Forces
Your realm can use its sea mil to transport one land mil per sea mil. In the medieval world this was a long and complicated operation. It takes two full turns to pick your troops up from one province and drop them at foreign shores.

In one turn, you can do one of two things:

EITHER
Load troops onto ships. Enemy ships moving into the same sea-province in this turn will engage your fleet. If you lose the sea-battle, your troops will be unharmed and will remain on land.
Sail those troops to their destination
OR
Sail ships with troops already loaded to their destination.
Unload/Assault enemy province. Enemy ships moving into the same sea-province in this turn will engage your fleet. If you lose the sea-battle, the troops on the ships which haven't been sunk will be unharmed and will remain aboard ship. Note, you may march troops from their landing point to a province further inland, as long as you or your allies control all the provinces along the way.
It is possible to transport another, allied realm's land mil if both parties make it very clear in their battle orders what they're trying to do.

Attrition
In general, armies are not subject to formalised attrition. However, in special cases there may be an attrition event run after the battles, with a chance of losing land military points or other penalty. These circumstances are:

Winter - Fighting battles during wintertime (the December-February turn) is not advised! Your troops will be extra vulnerable to attrition in the harsh conditions, if you force them to fight.

Distance - Fighting to far from your home is likewise not encouraged. Any army a large number of provinces away from its own nation will suffer attrition as supplies from home gets harassed, and the local population cannot be expected to simply allow the army to live of the land.

Massed Forces - Soldiers must forage and pillage the lands through which they pass in order to survive. Extremely large armies will suffer starvation, disease and desertion, depending on the size of the force and the value of the province. Note especially allied forces.

13) [anchor=13]BATTLES SYSTEM[/anchor]

If mathematics make you nauseous, then I suggest you skip this section, as it explains how the moderators resolve the battles. However, understanding the battle system may give you a strategic edge against an opponent who does not...

A) Each side rolls a single D10, which is adjusted by a modifier based on the difference between the two realms' technologies. This result is multiplied by the number of LM in the army (ie it is as if the exact same number was thrown for each LM). This total result is recorded.

Modifier chart for tech. (Note that the Tech Difference (TD) for nation X is X's tech - Y's tech. The TD for nation Y is Y's tech - X's tech.)

TD...Modifier
+5 = +3
+4 = +2
+3 = +2
+2 = +1
+1 = +1
+0 = +0
-1 = +0
-2 = -1
-3 = -1
-4 = -2
-5 = -2

B) Each side also rolls a D10 for each LM present in the battle. Each throw is adjusted by a modifier based on the realm's morale. The total result is recorded.

Modifier chart for morale. (M is simply the actual morale of the nation at the time of the battle.)

M....Modifier
15 or greater = +5
14 = +4
13 = +3
12 = +2
11 = +1
10 = +0
9 = -1
8 = -2
7 = -3
6 = -4
5 or less = -5

C) The sum of all the results for both sides is called the Combined Power (CP). In other words, the CP equals the (A) and (B) results for nation X plus the (A) and (B) results for nation Y.

The Combined Damage (CD) is the CP converted into a scale that actually means something to us - ie, landmil. This is the total number of casualties, in LM, that are lost by both sides in the battle.

D) The result! Nation Y loses as many LM as nation X's proportion of the CP, and vice versa. In other words, if nation X contributed two-thirds of the combined power, then nation Y will lose two thirds of the combined damage.

Confused? The examples will make more sense. Note also that the situation differs slightly for naval battles and assaults against fortresses.

Timurids 12LM, Tech 10, Morale 10
vs.
Jalayirids 4LM, tech 7, morale 11

Timurids.
TD = 3, so the tech modifier is +2.
The Timurids roll 1 d10, and it is a 1
Result A = (Roll * LM) + (TechModifier * LM)
Result A = (1 * 12LM) + (+2 * 12LM) = 36

Mle = 10, so morale modifier is +0.
The Timurids roll 12 d10's, totalling 67
Result B = (Rolls for each LM) + (MleModifier * LM)
Result B = (67) + (+0 * 12LM) = 67

Jalayirids
Tech modifier = -1
The Jalayarids roll 1 d10, and it is a 10
Result A = (10 * 4LM) + (-1 * 4LM) = 36

Morale modifier = +1
The Jalayarids roll 4 d10's, totalling 19
Result B = (19) + (+1*4) = 23

Combined Power = (36 + 67 + 36 + 23) = 162

For land battles, CD = CP/20.
Combined Damage = (162 / 20) = 8.1

Timur inflicts 107/162 = 5.35
Jalayirids inflict 59/162 = 2.95

Timur is victorious, losing only 3 LM
Jalayirids are utterly defeated, losing all 4 LM

Timurids 9LM, Tech 10, Morale 10
vs.
Baghdad, level 5 province. Tech and Morale both equal 10 + province value.
Garrison 5LM, Tech 15, Morale 15.

Timurids
Tech Modifier = -2
Tech Roll = 6
Result A = (6 -2) * 9LM = 36

Morale Modifier = +0
Morale Roll, 9 d10's = 53
Result B = (66) + (0 * 9LM) = 53

Garrison
Tech Modifier +3
Tech Roll = 6
Result A = (6 +3) * 5LM = 45

Morale Modifier = +5
Morale Roll, 5 d10's = 22
Result B = (22) + (+5 * 5LM) = 47

Combined Power = 181
For assaults, CD = CP/20.

Combined Damage = 9.05 LM

Timurids inflict 89/203 of CD = 4 LM
Jalayirids inflict 92/203 of cD = 5 LM

Timurids are repulsed with only 4 LM remaining.
Baghdad Garrison is victorious, with only 1 LM remaining.

Naval Battles
This is the same except that we now consider LM carried on board. Each side rolls an additional d10 for each LM on board the navy, modified for morale, as in result (B). The Combined Damage for naval battles is CP/30.

Only SM are lost in casualties. LM are lost in proportion to the SM casualties and the original ratio. For example, if 8SM are carrying 4LM, and 4SM remain after the battle, there will be 2LM remaining on board.

 

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14) [anchor=14]SIEGES[/anchor]

If battles are the meat of medieval warfare, these are the bread and butter.

Provinces must be sieged before they can be captured. Sieges take place automatically and do not need to be specified by player orders. The duration of siege will be affected by province value (ie size of fortress(es) in province). 0 value provinces will be captured if at least 1 LM ends its turn there.

An army ending its turn in hostile territory automatically begins to besiege the province. The besieging army size must be greater or equal to the fortress (province) size for a result to be rolled for in that turn (a single LM may still be used to "cover" the fortress, ie prevent the duration counter from being reset). At the start of the siege, garrison size equals the province value. For capitals, the garrison is double.

Modifier Chart for sieges:
+3 if Attacker tech - Defender morale > 9
+2 if Attacker tech - Defender morale = 6 to 9
+1 if Attacker tech - Defender morale = 2 to 5
+0 if Attacker tech - Defender morale = -1 to 1
-1 if Attacker tech - Defender morale = -5 to -2
-2 if Attacker tech - Defender morale = -9 to -6
-3 if Attacker tech - Defender morale = < -9
+1 For each previous siege turn rolled (ie not including any turns where LM was < fort size) without siege being lifted.

A result for the siege turn is found by adding to a D6 die roll the Tech/Morale modifier and the siege duration, and subtracting the size of the remaining garrison.

This result will lead to the following effects:
< 0, No effect.
0 to 3, 1 Garrison Lost (temporary, garrison is reset if siege lifted or won)
4 to 7, 2 Garrison Lost
> 8, 3 Garrison Lost

When there is no garrison remaining the province surrenders to the besieging army.

In any turn, the impatient player can request to assault the fortress. For this reason garrison strength must be recorded over the duration of the siege.

Hungary (Tech 8) besieges level 6 province, Constantinople (OE Morale 6).

Attacker tech - Defender morale = 2, a modifier of +1. (Note that often this will change between turns. For this example we will take these numbers as constant).

Initial garrison is 6 LM.

Jan-Mar 1450.
Roll = 3. Result = Die roll, 3 + Tech/Morale modifier, 1, - Defender Strength, 6, + Siege Duration, 0.
3 +1 -6 +0 = -3, no effect.

Apr-Jun 1450.
Roll = 2. Result = 2 +1 -6 +1 = -3, no effect.

Jul-Sep 1450.
Roll = 6. Result = 6 +1 -6 +2 = 3. 1 garrison lost, 5 remaining.

Oct-Dec 1450.
Roll = 4. Result = 4 +1 -5 +3 = 3. 1 garrison lost, 4 remaining.

Jan-Mar 1451.
Roll = 1. Result = 1 +1 -4 +4 = 2. 1 garrison lost, 3 remaining.

At this point, if the besieger decided to assault the fortress, it would face a defender of 3LM at Tech/Morale 16/16

Apr-Jun 1451.
Roll = 5. Result = 5 +1 -3 +5 = 8. 3 garrison lost, 0 remaining. Province captured after 6 turns duration.

15) [anchor=15]THE AFTERMATH[/anchor]

The results of a battle can have a number of effects upon the realms involved:

For winning a battle, a nation gains +1 morale for 4 turns.
For losing a battle, a nation takes -1 morale for x turns, where x = the number of friendly LM (or SM) destroyed.
For death of a HoS in battle, a nation takes -2 morale until end of war.
For losing the capital, a nation takes -2 morale until regained.
For losing control of a province, a nation takes -1 morale for 2 turns.
For capturing an enemy province, a nation gains +1 tech for x turns, where x = province value.
For capturing an enemy capital, a nation gains +1 tech until the end of the war (in addition to above bonus).

For annexing a capital province (or realm), +1 tech for 5 years/20 turns.

16) [anchor=16]THE SETTLEMENT AND RETURN TO PEACE[/anchor]

When you believe you have achieved the goals you wanted by military force, you will wish to open up diplomatic channels with your enemy in order to discuss terms. Quite what you wish to either cede or claim from your enemy is up to your imagination (i.e.: vassalisation, territorial gains, money, etc.). The terms of the peace settlement only become official when both sides clearly agree to it within the Nat Stats thread.

• If you control all the provinces of an enemy realm, you may force-annex it, whereby all the provinces of that realm become part of yours. The enemy player is now out of the game, but can re-apply.

• When a realm returns to total peace, its tech and morale stats return to their starting value. If either it's land mil or sea mil stat is higher than it's starting value, then they too reset.

• Also, your STANDING army (the starting landmil value of your nation) is reset back to your capital province upon going to total peace, as are your STARTING seamil. If your capital has no port, the seamil are reset to the port closest to your capital.

• For each turn that a realm enjoys total peace, it regenerates 1 econ point until it reaches its starting stats' limit.

• A realm may buy land mil and sea mil during peacetime up to it's starting stats' value. Beyond that, a realm may only buy land and sea mil, and invest in morale and tech during wartime. Remember:

• DURING WARTIME
  Send all your econ expenditures with your Battle-Orders to Tracid
  
• DURING PEACETIME
  Send all your econ expenditures to National Stats

• The spoils of war:

When a realm forcibly-annexes another, the annexing realm receives none of the annexed realm's econ, or land or sea mil.

When a realm diplo-annexes another, if the annexed realm has any spare econ, or land or sea mil, the annexing realm receives all of them, up to, and not exceeding it's new starting stats value, whether it remains at war or not.
Diplo-annexations are granted very rarely.

17) [anchor=17]VASSALS AND TRIBUTARIES[/anchor]

Vassals
Vassals are to be considered feudal subjects of their overlord, autonomous but owing allegiance and service. Vassals:

• Give no money to the overlord.

• Are obliged to join their overlord's wars as allies (if asked), or sever vassalship.

• Will, if they are NPC, raise an army (upon event) to support their overlord or enter the war as fully substituted allies, or possibly offer no meaningful support at all.

• Are only be able to break vassalship by entering war against overlord, or else are granted independance.

• Joining their overlords' war and subsequently conquered can have ownership transferred as part of war treaty (ONLY if agreed upon by both vassal and overlord), but cannot be annexed. Disloyal vassals reconquered cannot be annexed by their former overlords, but can be made into tributary-vassals.

• Can be created diplomatically, and it is possible (but extremely difficult) to be diploannexed by the overlord.

Tributaries
Tributaries are generally conquered lands, although in some cases the tribute may represent something else, like a trade domination (see for e.g. Hanseatic League). Unlike vassals, they are not considered integral territory of their overlord, but rather subjugated realms. They pay tribute, but do not owe service. Tributaries:

• Give one third of their economy to the overlord.

• Are under no obligation to join their overlord's wars.

• That are NPC will not interact with their overlord, but continue to pay tribute.

• Can cease paying tribute at any time, but this will be grounds for a casus belli.

• Disloyal tributaries reconquered are able to be annexed as any other state.

• Can be created by being conquered in war, but cannot be diplo-annexed by their overlord.

Tributary Vassals
Some vassals have a very close relationship with their overlord, and are very much considered to be integral territory of the overlord. These vassals are generally subject to direct governance and taxation by the overlord, and have only limited autonomy. They behave exactly as vassals (see above), except that they also pay a tribute of one-third of their economy to the overlord. Vassals which pay tribute to a third party are subject to the both sets of rules for their respective overlords.

Personal Unions
Sometimes a monarch, through inheritance or election, becomes ruler over more than one realm, although the realms remain distinct and independant of each other. In these cases one realm will be designated the "senior" realm, and will have RP control of the monarch. The "junior" realm will be ruled by a regency, etc. Unlike a vassalship, the union can be broken without an automatic war, provided the [anchorlink=7]guidelines for change of HoS[/anchorlink] are observed.

NPC Interactions
Overlords of vassals can RP every facet of his NPC vassal he wishes, including dictating its HoS. Overlords of tributaries have no automatic RP rights on the subjugated realm, although the mechanics of the tribute may be roleplayed. Monarchs of a personal union (senior realm) may RP the governance of either realm provided the independance of the junior realm is respected.

18) [anchor=18]LOANS[/anchor]
• It is not possible to give your econ points to other realms. It is your realm's tax money, and the nobles who have paid it to your HoS character will not thank you for sending it abroad, knowing they'll never see it again. You may loan the money to other realms, on promise of its eventual repayment.

• Send all your requests to send loans to other realms to National Statistics. The benefactor of the loan must make also make a post there, accepting the loan.

• Secret loans are not possible.

• It is not possible to lend armies or navies.

• When a realm lends money, as an anti-inflationary measure, it cannot regenerate the money until the loan has been repaid.

• Taking vast sums of money from other realms can cause your realm to suffer inflation. Spending it will not help either, as flushing the money into your economy makes no difference, if not creating worse problems.

EVENTS

19) [anchor=19]REQUESTED EVENTS[/anchor]
If you want to do something that the game's mechanical rules don't cover, you might want to contact our current Event Mod who can help you change an idea for a plot device or other one-off occurrence into an event which he will post up on the forum.

When you're ready to, email the Event Mod at medievalevents@yahoo.co.uk detailing your event idea. See the very first post in the Events thread for details on how to do this.

20) [anchor=20]REACTIONARY EVENTS[/anchor]
Our Events Mod will also keep an eye on the game as it unfolds. If he thinks a player does something rash or foolish, he could well penalise them with a negative event. Help the game by keeping the Event Mod abreast of questionable in-game moves by other players' characters by sending the Event Mod an email.

For example: Negative events are triggered by, amongst many other things, inflation where a player borrows too much money from other realms; attrition where a realm fights wars for too long and in harsh conditions; breakage of vassalage or alliances; or loss of faith in the noble classes when players ignore chivalric codes or other diplomatic protocol.

On the other hand, particularly skillful play may be rewarded by positive modifiers to rolls made on events requested by that player (as above).

APPENDIX

21) [anchor=21]DOS AND DON'TS[/anchor]
Please observe these basic courtesies. Those players who refuse may suffer an in-game penalty:

DO:

• Have fun And respect all other players' right to enjoy themselves, too.

• Remember that this game is primarily a role-playing game, not a war-game simulator. Please try to entertain us all by posting regularly and to a high role-playing standard. Particularly brilliant posting may well be rewarded with bonuses.

• Please adopt the avatar of the realm you've been granted, to help other players to recognise which realm you're now playing.

• Regularly check your Personal Message inbox, which, as a vital game-tool, other players will use to contact you privately. Try to delete old messages so that your PM box never comes close to its 20-message maximum.

DON'T:

• Infringe upon the rights of other players by putting your own words into the mouths of their characters. You can only role-play the speech and actions of your own countrymen, or people directly in the pay of your realm.

Please make a note in a post in the Inscrips and GQs thread before giving permission to another player to RP your characters. If you fail to do so, their posts may be deleted and they may be warned or even penalised for poor conduct.

• Waste both your and the moderators' time by complaining that your national stats are too low. All nations' stats are calculated using the same system.

• Use ooc (Out of Character) comments in any of the in-character threads, such as national court threads, or the Rumours thread.

• Try to involve newcomers in any wars you might be involved in. Give them about a week or so (depending on their natural abilities) to get used to the game first.

• Make references to modern popular culture in your in-character posts. Avoid especially references to the Star Wars films; the Star Trek and Monty Python's Flying Circus programs; and the Second World War. Remember, this is a game set in the 15th Century.

22) [anchor=22]GLOSSARY OF TERMS[/anchor]
• Casus Belli: Literally, a "reason for war". This is a term taken from the computer game.

• CoT: Centre of trade. This is a concept that is only used in the computer game version of Europa Universalis. However, some veterans of the computer game may use the term mistakenly.

• CG: Computer game. Often used as a shorthand reference to the Europa Universalis computer game or its sequel..

• EU: Europa Universalis. If you don't know this, then you're in the wrong forum! This is the computer game that this RPG, and the hosting forum is based upon.

• HRE: Holy Roman Empire. The designation for the political entity that originated at the coronation as emperor (962) of the German king Otto I and endured until the renunciation (1806) of the imperial title by Francis II. The term itself did not come into usage until several centuries after Otto's accession.
source: www.encyclopedia.com

• Game-Time: The time as experienced by your Head of State and friends. For them, each turn lasts three months.

• IC: In-character. i.e.: the opinions and thoughts of your Head of State and his various minions.

• FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions.

• NPC: Non-Player Character. A 'traditional' role-playing term used in the game to denote realms that are not being played by anyone.

• OOC: Out-of-character. Usually used to draw other players up on matters of historical inaccuracy etc. e.g.: "ooc: 3 econ points." Don't use these except to point things out that you absolutely can not put in an IC format or in a PM.

• PC: Player Character: Another role-playing term used here to denote realms that are being played.

• PM: Personal Message. The EU boards allow all of it's members access to a system of private messaging, and we use these PMs to simulate the sending of secret letters to other players. You can access your PM inbox at the bottom of the forum index page.

• Real-Time: The time in the real world. For us, each turn lasts a week.

• RPG: Role-Playing Game.

• TO: Teutonic Order

23) [anchor=23]CREDITS[/anchor]

"1420" CREDITS
Rules originally written by Drakken
Rules clarifications by josefgiven, Drakken, Gryphon and Martinus
Original FAQ by LUDWIG
Joust Thread and Rules by Rebelodicus
Revised Rules thread compiled and edited by josefgiven and Schlieffen.
Minor changes by BzAli

"1383" CREDITS
Map created by cccino.
Modifications to 1420 rules, and new rules, devised by cccino.
Rules and setup analysis by Icarus, Longinus, SaT, and all who contributed to the discussion thread.

RULES UPDATES
Information yet to be added to the body of the rules.

Straights
Lands separated by sea, which armies can march across.

Jylland - Fyn
Fyn - Sjaelland
Sjaelland - Skane
Malardalen - Aland
Aland - Finland
Livland - Dago/Osel
Istria - Dalmatia
Calabria - Messina
Kaffa - Kerch
Constantinople - Ismid
Thrace - Karasi
Karasi - Mytilene
Mytilene - Smyrna
Ionia - Aidin
Ionia - Athenai
Ionia - Thessaly
Geneve - Savoie

 

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Recommended Links

Spare yourself hours trawling internet search-engines and try these links, which come with the RPG’s regulars’ thumbs up!

General Sites

Online Reference Book
For medieval studies: Templars to Saints, it's all there. A wealth of information, cunningly ordered and well presented.

Titles galore.
Ever wondered what to call your HoS when you grow tired of using latin or English titles? The answer is hidden within these pages!

1911 Encyclopedia
The 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Known as the "Scholar's Edition", and accounted by some the best ever. Has more information on many obscure subjects than anything else on the internet, and usually a useful snippet or two that is hard to find elsewhere.

Web Gallery of Art
Exhaustive source of period artwork from the years 1150 to 1800.

(Part of) Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Chock full of Medieval Illustrations! Give it a look if you're after period images to use in your posts. (English version)

Medieval Macabre Gallery
This will be right up your street, you sick freak. A collections of engravings detailing some of the more disturbed outpourings of the medieval mind.

Our Living History
A site set up by historical re-enactment enthusiasts. Ideal source of pictures for use in your posts.

Keradwc’s Medieval Page
Similar to the above link. Another source of pictures to use in your posts.

Castles
Castles! Castles! Castles! Pics galore! Of castles!

The Grey Company Trebuchet Page
[In the words of the site:] Here you'll find a lot of pictures and a few words about these amazing pieces of "leverage artillery" - strange machines referred to variously as trebuchets, traction trebuchets, perriers, petrarias, war wolves, coulliards, bricoles or even "the witch from whose head the ropes hang like hair".

Guide and Index to Lists of Rulers
An awesome regnal chronology site, including some of the most obscure minor Asian Emirates, Italian Principalities, and German entities you’ve ever heard of. And if that doesn’t do it, there’s always the very colourful Regnal Chronolgies

Medieval, Renaissance, Reformation: Western civilisation
A monster pick ‘n’ mix selection of tasty historical websites’ links.

Weid’s links to the Middle Ages
A selection of links arranged in alphabetical order. Includes everything from art to punishment and torture!

Middle Ages
Links, links, and more links! Come on, you must have found what you were looking for by now!

Periodical Historical Atlas of Europe
(In English and French) Depicting with accuracy the states of Europe every first day of each centennial year, from 1 to 1700 AD.

General Maps and Atlases
This site concentrates more on physical geography.

Flags of the World
Massive and well-known resource of flag images, be they modern, medieval, famous, or obscure.

Birger Jarl's 1420s-era avatar collection
A beautiful compilation of alternative avatar graphics by the EU Forums' very own graphics-master, Birger Jarl and friends. Don't miss the opportunity to use these stunning shields in your RPG posts!

Introduction to Medieval Seals
Finish your characters’ letters with their own, personal seal, because nothing says ‘I’m the boss’ like a nice seal.

Latin Resource Collection
Give your characters a classical education with the help of this accessable and easy-to-use site.

Populations of Urban areas
Details of urban population distribution by settlement over time, from 528 to 1483 AD.

The Code of Chivalry
A comprehensive guide to the code of etiquette binding the members of the noble classes. Ideal for moulding swashbuckling, romantic knight characters.

15th Century Proverbs
Does exactly what it says on the tin!

Manners of the 16th Century
The title suggests the site may be a century out, but the material within contains great details of late medieval methods of formal greeting, traditions and superstitions.

Life in the 16th Century
Again, the dates the site focuses on are a bit beyond the sphere of the game, but there is a wealth of information on areas like Society and Culture, Tavern Life, Entertainment and all other Aspects of Everyday Life.

EU:M RPG Genealogy Site
As laid on by RPGer Kent I Wallmi, this site details the genealogy of players' Heads-of-State past and present. Be a part of it and send your characters' lineage to kehe85@utb.jokkmokk.se, with EU Genealogy in the subject line!

Armour terminology with pictures!

Sites by Sphere of Influence

• BRITTANY/NORMANDY

A brief history of Mont Saint Michael and a Mont Saint Michael Gallery, the second being a series of useful pictures of the ancient walled town.

• BYZANTIUM

Late Byzantine Period: Covers the period from 1204 to 1453, the latter date being the fall of Constantinople and generally considered to be the end of the Empire!

• FRIESLAND

The Frisian Meeting Place: Has a history of Friesland in ‘The Story of the Past’ section.

History of the Frisian Folk: Second of an apparent two-part piece. As a Frisian RPGer, this is the one you’ll need, since this page covers 785 - 1498.

Fryslân Links: Friesland yourself right on up with this bevy of Frisian links!

• HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

The Holy Roman Empire and The Imperial Nobility and the Constitution of the Holy Roman Empire: Both sites include massive amounts of information on the structure, organisation and history of the HRE.

The Golden Bull of the Emperor Charles IV, 1356 A.D.

• HUNGARY

Magyarország 1867-1918: Contains some decent Hungarian coats of arms. Hungarian players may wish to check to see if they apply to our time-frame, though, given the time-frame covered by this site. (In Hungarian (?))

1336 Athens - Huis Eykenbosch: A peculiar Geocities website that nonetheless has pages with great details on Hungarian names. There’s also some items there for Croatian and Baltic States players.

Martyn Rady: Introduction to Medieval Hungarian Law and Instituations: Another site-title that speaks for itself…

Special Aspects of Hungarian Nobility: What more to say?

• IRELAND

Historic Irish Castles: A handsome collection of pictures of Irish Castles, so it is. The webmaster appears to have gone to lengths to avoid including modern objects in his images. Also, the generic nature of some of the castles means this site could be of interest to anyone on the look-out for images of medieval fortifications.

• ISLAM / ARABIC

Internet Islamic History Sourcebook: The jackpot for any Muslim player. Contains info on the pre-Islamic Arabic world; Muhammed; the Islamic faith; the Caliphate; Islamic realms and many more...

The Islamic World to 1600: This is a site with an outline of the Islamic empires and their history up until 1600.

Islamic History in Arabia and The Middle East: The name says it all. Great site!

Islam Page: Stacks of stuff for the Muslim player!

Sudairy.com: Find here hundreds of either feminine or masculine Arabic names. You will never come up with characters enough to use them all!

Encyclopaedia of the Orient [In the words of site:] The Encyclopaedia of the Orient is a one-stop online resource which covers all countries and cultures between Mauritania in the west and Iran in the east, Turkey in the north and Sudan in south.

MSA-USC Qur'an Database The Qur'a online. Browse the Holy Book of Islam, and find a verse to support your ruler in his religious discussions.

• ITALY

Burckhardt: The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy. It all started here, in the Italian city-states. Find out how, who, when, where, why and what with!

• KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN

The Knights on Rhodes: A painfully red, but still good, site containing more in-depth histories of the Knights following their defeats at Jerusalem and Acre. As laid on by the modern day descendants of the Order of St. John, The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta.

S. D. Paramedics: I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it, but this is a superb site containing excellent images for a Knights player, not to mention the consise histories of the Order written on the page, too.

• PAPAL STATES

New Advent: Everything the good catholic player needs; indispensable for the Papal States’ player. Look out for the superb Catholic Encyclopedia

• POLAND

Galeria Malarstwa Polskiego: A nice Polish pictures gallery. (In Polish)

• POMMERN

Die Herzöge von Pommern Apparently this is a great resource for a Pommeranian player, but I wouldn’t know, since I don’t speak the German it’s written in.

• PORTUGAL

The Portuguese Military Orders
[In the words of site:] This page will deal, in a condensed manner, with the history and evolution of the ancient Portuguese Military Orders - Christ, Aviz and St. James of the Sword -, which have their roots in the distant past of the XII th. - XIV th. centuries during the severe conditions of the Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moorish invaders - the Crusades of the West.

• RUSSIA

Russian Military History has a simply ridiculous amount of information on any Russian principality you care to name. Even for a relatively obscure group like Tver, they've got mini-bios on over a dozen rulers and relatives thereof...

• SLAVIC CULTURE

Slavic Knowledge Pages: Details on Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Russia, etc

CONTRIBUTORS
Thanks to the following players who suggested their links:

BzAli, cccino, clandestino, Das Heer, Driftwood, Euro-Maniac, Havard (without knowing it!), josefgiven, Kent I Wallmi, Longinus (best collection so far), PGD1, Rocky Horror, Wulfram, Yoghurt

Please contribute your link suggestions in the RPG’s ‘Paradox Lounge’ thread!
Broken link reports also appreciated