Bound by Common Cause

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 10 minutes of roleplaying. If the ritual is cast using the Imperial Regio it requires at least 5 minutes of roleplaying instead.

This ritual targets an Imperial army. The general responsible for the army (or the egregore if the general is not at Anvil) must be present throughout.

This ritual is an enchantment. A target may only be under one enchantment effect at a time.

Effects

This ritual dramatically increases the logistical cohesion of a campaign army. The target campaign army gains a boost to its combat ability but only for purposes of determining victory - that is, the army does not inflict additional casualties. The bonus is dependant on the number of additional military units that are assigned to fight alongside it. The bonus is subject to diminishing returns. The first 15 units add 50 military strength each; the second 15 add 40 military strength each; the third 15 add 30 military strength each; the fourth 15 adds 20 military strength each and the final 15 add 10 military strength each to a maximum bonus of 2,250 additional strength for 75 additional military units.

As with any enchantment on an army or navy, the additional army strength granted by this enchantment may be reduced by the orders issued by the general While the effect is expressed as being equivalent to additional soldiers, this enchantment never reduces casualties suffered by the army.

While the enchantment persists, the general responsible for the army experiences a roleplaying effect: you are never satisfied with the size, strength, military readiness or agreed tactics of your army, band, nation or Empire; you seek to improve things, doubting the opinions of others and being driven to find new ways to strengthen your army and the capacity of the soldiers under your command.

The effect lasts until the start of the next Profound Decisions Empire event.

Additional Targets

This ritual can affect additional armies from the same Empire. The general responsible for each army must be present throughout the ritual. Each additional target increases the magnitude by 60.

Description

This ritual empowers and enhances an army, using the Imperial general as focus. The enchantment improves the internal logistics of the campaign army, and harmonizes it with the logistical needs of smaller units. The net result is that it becomes easier for independent units to join that campaign army and fight alongside it with enhanced ability. Nobody misses a meal, nobody goes hungry, everyone has dry clothes, good boots, sharp weapons, clean armour... the ritual serendipitously arranges things so that temporary auxiliaries fight effectively alongside the main body of the army. It even serves to minimize and quell inter-unit rivalries, or at least turn them towards a desire to fight the enemy better than a rival, rather than engage in drunken fistfights. Consequently, this ritual is something of a boon to mercenary commanders, whether serving as generals or leading smaller units. The ability to integrate disparate military units into a larger body helps keep the Imperial troops cohesive and this magic enhances that even further.

This ritual is both weak and powerful when it comes to enhancing the effectiveness of an Imperial army. Weak because it provides no advantage at all to an army that has no auxiliary units attached to it; strong because with enough negotiation or money, an army can gain a significant increase to its effectiveness not only due to the enchantment but due to the presence of all the additional military units.

Common Elements

This ritual enhances a campaign army, and the general of the target army serves as a vital focus for delivering the magic. It is common to include a banner or standard that will be used by the target force as a focus for the ritual. Other common elements include the invocation of Paragons and Exemplars of Wisdom and Loyalty. Other elements include girding or crowning the military leader, the rhythmic beat of military drums, the presence of warriors from as many different nations as possible as witnesses - especially if those warriors swear oaths to fight alongside the general in battle.

The rune of bargains, Lann, is favoured for this ritual as the Day rune Aesh which represents thought and clarity. The constellations of The Chain and The Three Sisters might be invoked, as might the character of The Prince, especially in a scene set on The Battlefield or The Counting House.