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Rules to Renaissance 1454; Version 3.0
Topic Started: Nov 4 2009, 10:45 AM (61 Views)
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Rules to Renaissance 1454

Overview

These Game Rules are written in a linear fashion. Rules described in any section assume knowledge of all preceding sections. Players are therefore advised to read this topic at least once over from start to finish, so as to completely understand the many systems used in the game. Subsequently, players can continue to refer to Game Rules for statistical information such as build times and training costs, throughout the course of roleplaying their state.

Also note that while these Rules attempt to describe the structure of 15th century governance and society in the process of explaining game mechanisms, they assume that the player has some minimum knowledge of the period. Good topics to read up on as basic foundation are the Renaissance, the Hundred Years' War, the Wars of the Roses, the Fall of Constantinople and the Wars in Lombardy, among others.

The game administration and players also welcome any questions or suggestions anyone may have about game mechanisms or 15th century Europe in general.

List of Contents

List of Playable States
Section 1: Provincial Management
1.1. Provincial Statistics
Section 2: Financial Management
2.1. Revenue
2.2. Budget
2.3. Loans
Section 3: Military Management
3.1. Types of Army Units
3.2. Feudal and Militia Armies
3.3. Standing Armies
3.4. Mercenaries
3.5. Campaigning and Sieges
Section 4: Naval Warfare
4.1. Types of Warships
4.2. Merchant Navy
Section 5: Actions System
5.1. State Forums and Topics
5.2. Action Submission and Moderation
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List of Playable States

First Tier States

Kingdom of Aragon
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Denmark
Kingdom of England
Kingdom of France
Kingdom of Hungary
Archduchy of Austria
Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Savoy
Republic of Florence
Republic of Venice
Ottoman Empire

Second Tier States

Kingdom of Bohemia
Kingdom of Poland
Kingdom of Portugal
Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Sweden
County of Provence
Republic of Genoa
Republic of Novgorod

Third Tier States

All other states
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Section 1: Provincial Management

One of the key aspects of Renaissance 1454 is managing and organising provinces within a state's domain. Each province on the game map is represented on the forum with its own topic. Provincial topics are organised into State Forums, representing provincial ownership at the beginning of the game, in Winter 1454. This section goes over the information listed in provincial topics and describes how they affect gameplay.

1.1. Provincial Statistics

The title of each provincial topic states its name and serial number. Each provincial topic then has the following information:

Region: This simply indicates the part of the game map in which the stated province lies. Regions exist for game administration purposes and does not affect gameplay in any way. The regions on the map are: Italy, France, Iberian Peninsula, British Isles, Central Europe, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Anatolia and Asia Minor and North Africa.

Serial Number: This allows players to quickly identify the location of their province on the game map. It also aids in game administration.

Capital: The capital city of the province is named for roleplay purposes.

Population: The population of the entire province. This determines the size of the Provincial Regiment and to some extent the Base Revenue of the province. The natural growth of provincial population is updated by the game administration once every ten years, but population change through war, plague or disasters, etc, will be updated whenever necessary.

Culture: The culture of the population in the province. This usually states the majority culture, although every province will have minority groups. Culture plays an important role when states transfer provinces through annexation or other means. Some cultures are very similar to or tolerant of each other (such as North Italian and South Italian), but states that annex provinces with contrasting cultures can face social problems. The culture of a province usually cannot be altered unless large-scale demographic change occurs.

Religion: The dominant religion of the population in the province. This usually states the majority religion, although every province will have minority groups. There are four religions in the game: Catholic, Sunni, Orthodox and Pagan. Religion is especially important in determining how easily a province can be assimilated. States may convert a province with enough effort and investment.

Base Revenue: This represents the amount of money (in florins) that the province contributes to the State Revenue at normal taxation levels. Base revenue can be altered through economic management of the province, or war, plague and natural disasters etc.

Ownership: The current owners of the province. There may be modifiers to this, stated in brackets, such as "(occupied by rebels)". This field is changed when provinces change hands, and the topic is also moved to the new owner's state forum.

Status: This is the general socio-political climate of the province. Status affects population, base revenue and provincial regiment. The available statuses are: Ravaged, Afflicted, Stable, and Flourishing.

Provincial Regiment: This lists the number and type of troops available for levying in the province. In feudal monarchies, they will be feudal troops, while in republics, they will be militia. Examining the size and composition of the provincial regiments in a state's domain can give a rough estimate of its warmaking capability.

The terms and statistics introduced in this section will be elaborated in the subsequent sections of the Rules.

In addition to generic information and statistics, Infrastructure is also listed in each provincial topic. Different infrastructure provide additional gameplay functions to provinces. Through roleplaying your states, investments can be made to upgrade or expand provincial infrastructure. These are the various areas of infrastructure in each province:

Fortress: This number represents the strength of the capital city's defences. There are four levels for Fortresses, from level 0 (no fortress) to level 3 (star fort).

Harbour Facilities: These facilities allow trading ships to dock, or the construction of warships. Expanding this area of infrastructure will increase base revenue and merchant fleet size. There are four levels for harbour facilities:
- Lvl 0: No port
- Lvl 1: Docking facilities only
- Lvl 2: Shipyard facilities for construction of small vessels
- Lvl 3: Shipyard facilities for construction of large vessels

Workshops: This upgrade represents the introduction of industry to the province, and may raise base revenue.

Firearms Factory: This upgrade grants the province the ability to produce firearms (arquebuses and cannon).

In addition to constructing infrastructure, players may submit actions to alter base revenue, population, fortress level, provincial regiment etc, or any component of the provincial topic. Read Section 5 for more information on action submission.
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Section 2: Financial Management

Players have to create a State Finances topic in their respective state forums, and be responsible for posting one budget post per game year (i.e. 4 days) in the topic. This section describes the components of state finances and explains how players can manage their money.

2.1. Revenue

To calculate total state revenue, simply add up all base revenues from all the provinces in your domain. This total revenue is multiplied by a Tax Modifier. The tax modifier represents the level at which the monarch is currently taxing his population. At 100% taxation, total state revenue is simply the sum of provincial base revenues. Therefore, there are effectively two ways of increasing state revenue. One is through improving provinces by submitting actions. The other is to raise the taxation level (to 130%, for example). Note that constantly fluctuating or exceptionally high taxation levels can cause adverse side effects.

The following list shows taxation level for each first and second tier state at the start of the game, in Winter 1454:

Kingdom of Aragon
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Denmark
Kingdom of England
Kingdom of France
Kingdom of Hungary
Archduchy of Austria
Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Savoy
Republic of Florence
Republic of Venice
Ottoman Empire
Kingdom of Bohemia
Kingdom of Poland
Kingdom of Portugal
Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Sweden
County of Provence
Republic of Genoa
Republic of Novgorod

2.2. Budget

When posting the annual budget, players need to list out their total revenue. Provincial breakdown is not required but state taxation level is. Following which, a breakdown of areas of expenditure is required. There are several areas of expenditure, which are explained here.

Military: This is the sum of army and navy recruitment, construction and upkeep. A brief breakdown is required.
Court: Monarchs splurge on their courts, hiring hundreds of servants, artisans, etc. Court expenditure is in percentage of total revenue. 5 to 10 per cent of total revenue is normal.
Administration: This area of expenditure, also listed in percentage of total revenue, maintains the domain and provinces, contributing to stability, infrastructural maintenance, etc. Administration expenditure of 5 to 10 per cent of total revenue is normal.
Debt Service: This is the interest paid to service a state's debts.
Miscellaneous: Any other expenditure that cannot be classified into the above categories.

Organising your State Finances topic into these five areas of expenditure will greatly help game administration.

2.3. Loans

When raising taxation to increase revenue is not desirable or difficult to carry out, state rulers may be forced to take loans to support their expenditure. Banking systems were first developed by the Italian states in the middle ages, allowing their rulers to take out large debts from the public. Throughout Europe, however, it was normal practice for monarchs to take loans from their gentry, or even from the Church.

The following list shows debt level and interest rate in brackets, for each first and second tier state at the start of the game, in Winter 1454:

Kingdom of Aragon
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Denmark
Kingdom of England
Kingdom of France
Kingdom of Hungary
Archduchy of Austria
Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Savoy
Republic of Florence
Republic of Venice
Ottoman Empire
Kingdom of Bohemia
Kingdom of Poland
Kingdom of Portugal
Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Sweden
County of Provence
Republic of Genoa
Republic of Novgorod
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Section 3: Military Management

This section discusses the military aspect of roleplaying a state.

3.1. Types of Army Units

There are nine types of army units available in Renaissance 1454, regardless of method of recruitment (which will be discussed in 3.2., 3.3. and 3.4.).

Knights/Heavy Cavalry: Knights are the relics of medieval warfare. While very expensive, they are still effective as a shock fighting force. Heavy Cavalry are the professional equivalent.
ƒ6,000 to train (only for Heavy Cavalry; Knights cannot be trained), ƒ12,000 annual upkeep per 100 men

Heavy/Polearm Infantry: These infantry form the mainstay of many Renaissance armies. They have staying power and also shock value.
ƒ4,000 to train, ƒ8,000 annual upkeep per 100 men

Light Cavalry: Some states are able to train lightly armoured and fast cavalry to provdie maneuvrability on the battlefield.
ƒ3,000 to train, ƒ6,000 annual upkeep per 100 men

Crossbowmen: Most European states rely on the crossbow for ranged attacks. They are especially useful when deployed to defend modern fortresses.
ƒ1,500 to train, ƒ3,000 annual upkeep per 100 men

Archers: Archers are the alternative to crossbowmen. They have better range and field of fire, but are more lightly armoured.
(Archers cannot be trained) ƒ2,000 annual upkeep per 100 men

Light Infantry: These hastily armed and almost unarmoured men can be useful in numbers, but are otherwise not good for anything else.
ƒ500 to train, ƒ1,000 annual upkeep per 100 men

Arquebusiers: These men represent the future of warfare. They are armed with an arquebus and armoured in a cuirass.
ƒ5,000 to train, ƒ6,000 annual upkeep per 100 men (includes cost of manufacturing arquebuses)
- ƒ1,000 to train 100 men (if arquebuses are already available)
- ƒ4,000 to manufacture 100 arquebuses
- requires Firearms Factory

Artillery Battery: Artillery to bring down all but the most modern of fortresses, and to skewer men on the battlefield.
ƒ6,000 to train, ƒ6,000 annual upkeep per 5 guns and 100 crewmen (includes cost of manufacturing guns)
- ƒ1,000 to train 100 men (if cannons are already available)
- ƒ5,000 to manufacture 5 cannons
- requires Firearms Factory

Bombard: An earlier variety of cannon, extremely large and cumbersome, but supremely powerful.
ƒ11,000 to train, ƒ6,000 annual upkeep per gun and 100 crewmen (includes cost of manufacturing bombard)
- ƒ1,000 to train 100 men (if gun is already available)
- ƒ10,000 to manufacture bombard
- requires Firearms Factory

Notes:
- all types of troops take 1 game season (1 real life day) to train.

3.2. Feudal and Militia Armies

All states can raise feudal or militia troops from their provinces during times of war. Each province has its own regiment, normally demobilised. The size and composition of each provincial regiment depends on the wealth and population of the province. Two troop types, namely Knights and Archers, are unique to provincial regiments, i.e. they cannot be trained for standing armies.

They can take up to one season to mobilise, so state rulers are advised to plan a large scale mobilisations ahead of time. Once mobilised, they incur upkeep costs according to troop type as described in the previous section. However, all provincial troops incur only 50% of regular upkeep levels.

Once demobilised, provincial regiments incur no upkeep. Note that players are not advised to keep provincial regiments mobilised for long periods of time. Because they are not comprised of professional soldiers, feudal/militia armies also suffer from lower morale and organisation, when compared to standing armies.

3.3. Standing Armies

Standing armies are comprised of professionally-trained troops. To create a standing army, players have to pay training cost according to troop type, and also pay full upkeep in peace and in war. All gunpowder units, namely Arquebusiers, Artillery Batteries and Bombards, can only be trained professionally, and will not be found in any feudal/militia regiment.

Standing armies have morale and organisational advantage over their provincial counterparts, and do not require a one-season mobilisation time, but are far more expensive to maintain.

3.4. Mercenaries

Lastly, players may hire mercenaries to bolster their standing and feudal/militia forces. Different types of mercenaries can be found across Europe. They cost slightly more than regular professionals, but are quick to hire and have a combat bonus when fighting on familiar territory, i.e. the place where they were recruited. Some mercenaries (such as Welsh longbowmen) also provide tactical advantage in battle because of their unique combat abilities.

3.5. Campaigning and Sieges
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Section 4: Warfare
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Section 5: Actions System

This section deals with the topics and posts that players have to make and maintain throughout the course of roleplay, and also the topics made by the administration that players should keep an eye out for.

5.1. State Forums and Topics

Each playable state in Renaissance 1454 is given its own State Forum on the board. Within this forum, there is a State Actions subforum. While all players can view the main state forum, only the player assigned to roleplay that nation can view the actions subforum. The player should maintain a three key topics in the main state forum:-

State Information:
This topic should be created in your personal state forum so that all players can view your updates and the information that you include for the purpose of roleplaying your state. The state information topic should include key information, organised into as many posts as you wish:
- general information such as leader, brief history, population and culture etc
- military information including OOBs (order of battles) for land and naval forces
- list of provinces owned by the state
- any other interesting or relevant information
The state information topic should be edited whenever information relevant to roleplayer has changed, especially but not limited to military OOBs.

State Finances:
This topic should be created in your personal state forum. One post should be made every game year (i.e. every 4 real life days) to announce your state finances. A handy state finances template is available on the game board for you to use. All states are allowed to collect taxes once every game year, but they are not obliged to collect it at the start of every game year, i.e. in Winter every year. You may collect your taxes in any season of the year but only once a year. When you make a post in your state finances topic, you are deemed to have collected taxes for that game year. However, you may continue to edit the post throughout the rest of the game year for expenditure changes, or if you receive additional revenue from non-taxation sources.
Please note that a new post in the state finances topic is to be created every game year. Players are not allowed to overwrite past-year posts. This is to facilitate audits. The game administration will make random audits on state finances but due to practical reasons cannot check every player's finances every game year. In addition, note that players who are going away and expect to miss a game year should issue an advanced notice. If you fail to post state finances for a game year without prior notice or reason, you may still make backdated posts when you return, but you will lose any budget surpluses.

State Domestic Affairs:
Players should create this topic in their main state forums. In this topic, players can make policy changes or public announcements (such as declarations of war or marriages and alliances), or any other state-related posts that do not require moderator intervention (such as changes in taxation-rate, raising armies or constructing warships). This is to allow all players in Renaissance 1454 to be informed of your state progress. Moderators will read all posts in this topic but not reply to them. All posts that need to be evaluated by a moderator should be posted in the state actions subforum.

5.2. Action Submission and Moderation

Now that we have covered the main State Forum, let us look at the State Actions subforum. Only the player roleplaying the state, and the game administration, can see his own State Actions subforum.

Actions are any roleplays a player conducts, such as infrastructure improvements, economic management, political intrigue, etc. The possibilities are quite endless. Players are free to organise their actions into topics. A good idea would be to maintain one topic each for military, political and economic actions, but you can also post topics in this forum by category. For example, a string of actions requiring moderator evaluation on your Cathedral construction project could be given their own topic. And so on. Because this is your personal subforum, you can organise it however you wish.

After posting an action or actions, go to the Action Processing Center and post in the Pending Actions Queue. A moderator will take a look at your action, reply in its topic, and delete the link in the Pending Actions Queue. All effects of your action(s) will be stated in the moderator's reply to your action post. If statistics are altered as a result of your actions, the moderator will also post in the Official Statistics Change Log in the Action Processing Center, and update your provincial topic accordingly. Of course, all players are able to view statistics changes, but they will not know how or why these statistics have been changed.

If for any reason a moderator cannot evaluate your action (e.g. insufficient information, unclear, etc) they will still process it, i.e. reply to your action post and delete your link post from the Pending Actions Queue. You will simply receive an explanation in the reply and be asked to redo your action.

There is a limit to the number of actions you can submit every game year. This limit is 3 for First Tier States, 2 for Second Tier States and 1 for all other states.

5.3. Campaign Orders Submission and Moderation

If your nation becomes involved in a war, you are generally only able to provide broad strategic objectives every campaign season. Depending on the speed of order submission, and moderator efficiency, there can be up to three campaign seasons every game year: spring, summer and autumn. Each campaign season is complete when all participants of the war have submitted their orders, which are evaluated as a whole by the moderator in charge of the war or theatre.

The game administration will wait a maximum of one game year (4 real life days) for campaign order updates in any war. If orders from a particular participant are not received for an entire game year, the moderator will automatically evaluate his strategy. This is to ensure that war events move along with the game calendar. Of course, you may assign people to submit campaign orders for you if you expect to be away during the course of a war.

Note that campaign orders do not count towards the action submission limit.
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