Rules update 2026

Overview

Every year we carry out a review of some part of the game looking to see what we improve. This process of continuous review allows us to keep the game fresh and ensures we remain happy that we're running the very best game we can. We don't have many updates this year, but the ones we do have are important for the players who are affected. This page summarizes and explains the changes so that players can identify and understand the changes easily.

We try to include a section after each update to explain the reasoning behind the change, as well as providing an in-character rationale for what has changed where appropriate. As ever, it is important to remember that the rationale is there purely to provide a way for characters to explain any changes, it's not an actual plot development.

Fortifications and Citadels

We've changed the rules for fortifications so that a single fortification now has a bastion which makes the region it is in harder to take, and a garrison of troops who will protect the territory. The new rules replace the old rules for fortifications, and the previous rules for citadels have been completely dropped - they no longer apply at all, as they are completely superseded by the new rules.

Reasoning

The simplicity of the original rules published for fortifications contained a number of problems. It was hard to create convincing narratives around the idea that a large fortification on one side of a territory would somehow protect the entire territory. Not least because it would do that without inflicting any damage on invading armies (unless they attacked the fort directly). Fortifications tended to fall down almost immediately if they were attacked, encouraging players to try and build them as far from the front lines as possible, neither of which is what we want from a game design point of view.

Last year, we attempted to resolve those difficulties by creating citadels, originally intending them to replace fortifications. Howeve,r because it made no sense to put a citadel in the location that the forts were in, that proved impossible. Having realised that error late, we opted for a partial implementation and ran the new rules alongside the old rules. That didn't work either, because citadels were simply not as good as fortifications.

So this winter, we've gone back and started again with a fresh set of rules for fortifications. The new rules mean that the fortification helps to make a region more difficult to take - which is one of the things we wanted forts to achieve. They are also much more resilient, meaning they are more likely to change hands and be captured rather than simply fall down when an army attacks them. Finally, having each fortification include a distinct garrison means that we can be clear in the narrative of a campaign about what is happening (the garrison is sallying forth to attack invaders) while also having the garrison take and inflict damage, reifying the fact that the garrison is fighting the invaders.

Explicitly separating the bastion (the castle that makes the region harder to take) and the garrison (the soldiers who staff the fortification and defend the territory) allows us to reference them directly in the game, both in the narrative and with plot opportunities.

Changes

• Several recent winds of fortune have been updated
• Many rituals dealing with fortifications have been updated

Several recent winds of fortune have been updated to bring them into line with the new rules:

• Outside the wall and the accompanying Senate motion - is now an opportunity to ward the walls of the fortification in Delev.
• Golden magicians fayre - the Rimebound quality would now affect any mortal fortification in the region, making rituals cast on it more effective.
• Our eyes in Spiral - is now an opportunity to build a fortification in Screed to protect and contain the Black Plateau.
• Eight for a wish - has been updated to be an opportunity for the sodality to build fortifications.
• The war of thorns and flowers - the section introducing citadels has been removed. Attacking vallorn forces will usually target a fortification if the bastion is adjacent to a vallorn heart.
• For those in peril on the sea - now an opportunity to build a powerful fortification in Oranseri

We've also made changes to many of the rituals that deal with fortifications, either by enchanting them, cursing them, or creating temporary defenses. They include:

• Stone's Unyielding Defiance and Ramparts of Ashlar provide additional force to the garrison of a fortification
• Thunderous Tread of the Trees and Mountain Remembers Its Youth affect both the bastion and the garrison, and how their damage is inflicted has been adjusted slightly.
• The Wolves of Winter, a ritual not in Imperial Lore, provides additional strength to the garrison of the enchanted fortification, but only for purposes of inflicting casualties.
• The four "citadel" rituals - Frozen Citadel of Cathan Canae, Forge the Wooden Fastness, Dripping Echoes of the Fen, and The Basalt Citadel have been changed significantly, and each provides different benefits.

Some of the rituals have also had their magnitude adjusted.

Arcane Projections

• Arcane projections that effect fortifications are likely to be impacted by these changes

If you have an arcane projection that targets a fortification, its likely its effects have been impacted by these changes. An email sent to rules@profounddecisions.co.uk along with the name of the arcane projection will allow us to update the effects if neccessary, and provide you with a replacement physrep at your next event.

Further Reading

• Rules update 2026
• Rules update 2025
• Rules update 2024
• Rules update 2023
• Rules update 2022
• Rules update 2020
• Rules update 2019
• Rules update 2018
• Rules update 2017
• Rules update 2016
• Rules update 2015
• Rules update 2014
• Rules update 2013