Fortification
Overview
The world of Empire is littered with walled settlements, fortresses, keeps, castles and fortified bridges. These lesser structures may be the target of a quest or skirmish but they are not important for the calculation of army strength present in a territory. Only mighty fortifications are tracked; sturdy castles, networks of carefully positioned forts; great stone walls with sentinel towers.
Fortification Strength
A campaign fortification is stationary and attached to a specific region. That region gains the fortification keyword. Fortifications have a strength, based on the same scale used for Imperial armies. A small campaign fortification has a strength of 3,000 - equivalent to fighting strength 3,000 raw recruits.
The strength of any fortifications in a territory are added to the strength of the armies present, but only for purposes of determining which side is victorious. Fortifications do not inflict or take casualties unless the orders issued by the generals for the campaign indicate that they are attacking the fortification or the region it defends.
For example, if the campaign is focused on capturing a forest region in Karsk then the presence of a fortification in a nearby region will be important for determining which side is winning, but will not directly affect casualties. If the orders for the campaign involve trying to assault the fortification, then it inflicts and takes casualties just like a campaign army.
Senate Commissions
The Imperial Senate can pass motions to create new campaign fortification or to improve or repair existing ones.
Construction
The cost to create a new fortification is 100 wains of white granite over the course of a year. The project requires a minimum of 25 wains of white granite for each season of construction until the full amount is paid. The campaign fortification is created after four successful seasons of construction.
Improvement
The Imperial Senate can pass a motion to improve the quality of an existing fortification. Improving a fortification takes one year to complete. The fortification must be controlled by the Empire throughout.
- Increasing a fortification from a strength of 3000 to a strength of 6000 requires 120 wains of white granite.
- Increasing a fortification from a strength of 6000 to a strength of 9000 requires 140 wains of white granite.
Further increases in the strength of a campaign fortification follow the same cost increase structure.
Repair
Fortifications are damaged when they are involved in a campaign. The upkeep costs provide for some automatic repair over time, provided the territory is under Imperial control, but the progress is slow. The Senate may pass a motion to pay for emergency repairs.
Automatic Repair
If an Imperial fortification is located in an Imperial controlled territory and is not subject to an attack during that season then it automatically recovers one tenth of it's maximum strength every season. Imperial fortifications in territories controlled by barbarians or which are attacked during a season are not automatically repaired.
Emergency Repair
The Imperial Senate may pass a motion to authorize the use of additional materials - either white granite or weirwood - to speed up the repair of an Imperial fortification. This represents a concerted effort by the Empire to repair the fortification. Emergency repair, like natural repair, takes a season to complete.
In a single season, the first 30 wains of white granite or weirwood restore 20 strength for each wain allocated. The next 30 wains provide an additional 15 strength each. The next 30 wains provide an additional 10 strength - and so on. The rate of emergency resupply resets each season so the white granite and weirwood spent in a subsequent season is not affected by earlier actions.
Upkeep
Fortifications require far less money to pay for their upkeep than an Imperial army - but they are still not free. A basic fortification costs 10 Thrones per season, paid for from the Imperial Senate budget. A 6000 strength fortification costs 18 Thrones and a 9000 strength fortification costs 24 Thrones. Stronger fortifications cost proportionately more.
Fortifications are one of the first priorities of the civil service after the armies are paid for. If there is insufficient income in the Imperial treasury to pay for the upkeep of a fortification then it provides no benefits of any kind that season.
Current Fortifications
There are many lesser fortifications scattered across the Empire, keeps, towers and walled towns. These smaller fortifications are part of the Empire, and form an important protection against bandits and raiders - but they are not large enough to count as fortifications that make a difference for the defence of an entire region or territory against forces the size of an army.