War

Overview

The generals of the Imperial Military Council oversee the military campaigns on behalf of the Empire. Working with the Civil Service they give orders to the Imperial armies for the months between events to direct the ongoing military campaigns against the enemies of the Empire.

A campaign refers to a clash of armies in a territory when one or more of the armies there attacks. Campaigns stretch over three months and encompass multiple encounters between the Imperial armies and the barbarian enemies. Each general issues a single set of orders to determine the strategy their army will pursue during the campaign. The orders create a narrative for the campaign; they communicate the aims of the Imperial armies and shape the results of success (or failure) at each stage of the campaign.

Campaign

• A campaign takes place if one or more opposing armies attacks another
• If no general submits an order to attack then no fighting occurs

If any army from two or more opposing sides in the same territory issues orders to attack, then a military campaign takes place there. A campaign is not a single "battle", it is a prolonged period of warfare that takes place over the whole territory in the three months between events. If no amy on either side has submitted an order to attack then no fighting occurs and no campaign takes place.

A campaign will normally incorporate every army present in a territory. Armies may be spread throughout a territory, or concentrated on defending one region, but they are all assumed to act in concert, so the total strength of all forces is compared to determine the outcome, regardless of the distribution.

Outcome

• The side with the largest fighting strength wins

The outcome of a campaign is found by comparing the total effective army strength of both sides in the territory. The effective strength of each army is adjusted based on the orders their general has submitted for them. Even though individual armies are given specific orders, the outcome of the entire campaign as a whole is determined by all the armies on both sides. The side with the higher effective army strength wins.

The basic outcome can be significantly affected by any battles or skirmishes linked to that military campaign that take place at the following event.

Attacking Unopposed

• Territory is gained 50% faster than normal

Armies that attack a territory that contains no defenders are considered to be attacking unopposed. They do not take any casualties and receive a significant bonus to the attempts to conquer regions in the territory. A single fortification in a territory is sufficient to negate this advantage.

Supply Lines

• The first region in a territory is twice as difficult as normal
• Attacking a region that is not adjacent to a region in the territory that you control is twice as difficult as normal

Trying to take the first region in a territory is twice as difficult as normal. The same penalty applies if you try to take another region which is not adjacent to a region in that territory that you control. These rules are designed to reflect the difficulties presented by extended and exposed supply lines.

This is one of the reasons the Empire and barbarians alike take pains to conquer an entire territory rather than permit their enemies to keep control of one or more regions.

Victory

• If one or more victorious armies are attacking then their side will take territory
• Victorious armies that are defending have their casualties reduced

The total army strength of each side present in a territory is calculated and compared. The side with the largest army strength is considered to be winning, the scale of the victory is proportional to the difference in the two sides army strength.

If the winning side have submitted orders to attack their enemies then then their victory translates into territory captured. They may gain control of one or more regions within the territory the campaign is taking place in.

If the winning side has submitted orders to defend the territory then their victory translates into reduced casualties taken. It is possible for a victorious defending side to reduce their casualties to zero if their scale of their victory is large enough.

Casualties

• Each sides inflicts casualties on the enemy side equal to a tenth of their fighting strength
• Casualties are divided up between the armies on a side based on the orders submitted

Each side engaged in a campaign will inflict casualties equal to one tenth of their fighting strength. Both sides in a campaign take casualties, not just the side that loses the campaign.

Casualties are divided up between the side based on the orders submitted by the generals. The final casualty figures an army incurs are then adjusted based on the orders submitted by their general.

Battles and Skirmishes

• Battles and skirmishes can significantly affect a campaign outcome

At the Equinox and the Solstice, the opportunity exists to intervene in a military campaign and influence the outcome. The Sentinel Gate allows bands of Imperial heroes to travel instantly to key locations to try to turn the tide of a campaign. The civil service prepare briefings for opportunities that they judge will make a difference to the ongoing military campaigns, and present them to the military council.

Battles and skirmishes can have any number of outcomes, but a common result might be to improve the outcome of a campaign to help complete a specific campaign goal, or to achieve specific goals in that territory. For example, eliminating a specific barbarian command group might spread confusion among the enemy during the coming season increasing their casualties, or it might prevent predicted casualties to the Imperial armies engaged in that territory. Destroying a key bridge might mean that the casualties to a retreating Imperial army are significantly reduced, or cut off a barbarian army from reinforcements.

Even a small number of player characters might influence the outcome of a campaign during an event. A small band of scouts who penetrate a barbarian-held wood to assassinate a Druj messenger and steal the orders she carries could give a significant bonus to the campaign goal of trapping or out-manoeuvring the barbarian forces in that territory. Providing an army fighting in filthy, disease-infested marshes with valuable supplies of Imperial Roseweald might significantly reduce the casualties that army will suffer.

Philosophy

• The maths expressed on these pages can be considered an IC "rule of thumb"
• The fog of war is sufficient to make it impossible for anyone to predict the actual outcome with certainty

We have a simple system to determine which side is winning in a campaign. Most of the effects are expressed as simple fractions to ensure that most generals will be able to work out roughly what will happen in a campaign - if they know what the barbarians are doing - without needing to use any detailed maths.

We have deliberately kept the system simple; Empire is intended to be a game in which characters make difficult, political choices. For that to work the decisions the generals take should be well informed choices, ones where they can make reasonable predictions of the outcomes provided they have sufficient knowledge of the barbarian's plans.

As a result it is perfectly reasonable for generals to make reference to these numbers during in-character conversation. Numbers such as the one tenth ratio for casualties an army will inflict are considered to be a rule of thumb that is widely employed by the Imperial civil service and anyone who has studied warfare in the world of Empire.

In reality, it would not be possible to make a prediction for a given scenario that was as accurate and precise as the simple framework allows. However in practice in Empire it is not possible to precisely predict the actual outcome of a campaign anyway, since the numbers involved are dependent on factors obscured by the fog of war such as the plans of barbarians and the orders submitted by players for their military units.

Further Reading

Core Brief

• Military Council Overview
• Muster
• Council Session
• Powers of the Imperial Military Council
• General
• Imperial army
• Imperial navy

Additional Information

• War
• Council Address
• Appointments to the Military Council
  • The Throne
  • Warmage
  • Herald of the Council
• Imperial Roll of Honour
• Appointments by the Military Council
  • Field Marshal
  • Imperial Fleet Master
  • Imperial Huntsmarshall
  • Imperial Master of Works
  • Imperial Warcaster
  • Legate of the Imperial Auxiliaries
  • Quartermaster General of the Imperial Armies
• OOC Design