Conquest

**Conquest rules** are optional mechanics which help users on the wiki play through wars and conflicts. They include rules governing things such as troop and fleet movements and battles.

## The Campaign Map

   To help keep track of where everything is, the use of a campaign map is recommended. It outlines major astrographic features, etheric lanes, systems, and choke points.

   Battle maps may be as complex or as simple as the player(s) running the campaign want them to be.

Important astrographical features on the campaign map take into account the etheric geography of the region in which the campaign takes place. Etheric space, the dimensions which ships go to when they engage their quantum breach drives, is not flat; it has features, places which are easier to traverse than others and some which are completely impassible. These features include, **etheric fog**, **etheric walls**, and **etheric clusters**.

### Etheric Geography

Etheric Fog
Etheric fog pervades etheric space, creating regions of space which are more difficult and dangerous to cross than those without it. Regions of etheric space with large amounts of etheric fog have currents, storms, and superstorms. Visibility within etheric space is reduced and navigation is more difficult. The friction that ships have to fight against is increased, reducing the speed at which they can go. Ships traveling through etheric fog also often need to change direction to avoid etheric storms, etheric walls, unfavorable currents, or too-dense regions of fog — if they can see them at all.

On battle maps, the dark spaces between clusters are regions of thick etheric fog. They tend to be very sparsely inhabited and rarely traveled except by the most enterprising, skilled, or desperate spacers. Most traffic tends to stick to the etherlanes, especially with larger ships.

Etheric Walls
Etheric walls are regions of etheric fog which are so dense that they are completely impassible. No ship can pass through them under any circumstance. They must go around them or through gaps in them, which often form choke points.

Etheric Clusters
Etheric clusters are pockets of etheric space where etheric fog is largely absent, allowing populations, goods, and armies to move freely within that region. These are the inhabited and settled regions of Aoshtai. A ship may chart a course in a straight line from one system to another within the same region but must use etherlanes to travel between regions or pass through the fog and assume the associated risks.

## Military power types

There are three types of military power:

* ⚔ **Armies** - Army power is obtained through expenditures on the fiscal sheets. It represents the strength of your faction's armies. Armies are forces which can assault and defend in-system fortifications such as stations and planets, but they cannot move around on their own. They require ships to transport them from place to place (1 capital ship can carry 1 army, while 3 subcapital ships can carry 1 army). Armies which are protected within fortifications gain a 1.5x combat bonus when attacked.
* ✒ **Capital ships** - Capital ships are obtained through expenditures on the fiscal sheets and can be bought with trade power at a ratio of 1 capital ship for every 3 trade power. Capital ships are dedicated warships which are slow to move around due to being weighed down by extensive supply lines and armor, but are matchless in combat. They can take 4 actions every turn. Capital ships can only operate one region away from a base of supply. They can bombard fortifications to weaken them ahead of an assault.
* ✑ **Subcapital ships** - Subcapital ships are ships of light and simple construction which are too small to operate in the line of battle but which are nonetheless useful in roles where their long range, speed, and handling puts them at an advantage. They make perfect raiders, commerce protection ships, and scouts. Subcapital ships can be obtained through trade power (1 for every trade power) or through the fiscal sheets (3 for every naval power). Subcapital ships may raid undefended planets, stations, and space lanes for cubits and loot. They may raid the supply lines of armies and fleets to starve them of essential supplies, degrading their effectiveness in combat. However, in a direct engagement, subcapital ships are worth only one tenth (1/10) of a capital ship, or 0.1 naval power.

## Forces

Forces group together large fleets, armies, and groups of characters into manageable groups which can be moved around the map as single units. Depending on their composition, they will have more or less movement available to them and may have access to certain special abilities.

Forces composed of just subcapital ships, for example, will have the ability to move further and faster, will be able to avoid engaging fleets weighed down by capital ships, and will be able to traverse etheric fog much more easily. Capital fleets, on the other hand, will have much more naval power available to them and will be able to bombard fortifications to wear away at them in preparation for an assault. Forces carrying armies will be able to assault fortifications and planets, but will need ships to carry them.

**Characters** may join forces to provide bonuses to them. They must choose whether their military power counts as army, naval, or subcapital power and commit to their choice. Naval characters may participate in naval engagements but not army engagements and vice-versa. Characters involved in the same battle may duel each other.

Template
*View Template:Force*
The forces template is designed to be modular and to give you all the information about your force you need, such as how many actions your force has per month, how much naval and army power it has, how many transport ships it needs to move around, and other information.

## Movement and Actions

Capital ships have 4 actions per month. Subcapital ships have 6 actions per month. Armies use the actions of the fleet which is carrying them.

Forces may take the following actions:

* **Move:** Draw a straight line from the force's location to the next location. If the force can make it there in one jump, the move expends 1 action. Otherwise, the move requires one more action every time the the fleet is required to change direction.
	+ Capital ships can operate 1 region over from where they have a safe harbor and must maintain a supply line to that location.
	+ Subcapital ships may operate 2 regions over from where they have a safe harbor without a supply line.
* **Attack:** Attack an opposing force. You may use an astronaval force (capital + subcapital ships) to attack other astronaval forces, and armies to attack other armies. Armies and army characters may never attack astronaval forces or take part in astronaval combat. Astronaval forces may never directly attack an army except with the capital ship "Bombardment" action.
	+ When such an attack is made, a battle occurs. See Battles for how this works.
* **Embark/Disembark Armies:** A fleet may spend an action to embark or disembark armies to a system.

## Battles

* The round will proceed in turns, with each side working together to take one action per turn. These actions are:
	+ **Duel:** A character or group of characters may duel *one* character from the opposing team.
		- In the case of a one-on-one duel, the two combatants will face off in a dice duel. The attacker will go first and rolls a 1d20 plus their bonus to combat rolls. The defender will then roll a 1d20 plus their bonus to combat rolls to defend. If the defending roll is larger than or equal to the attack roll, it is considered a parry. If the reverse is true, the defender loses 1 HP. Then, the defender will counterattack, rolling a 1d20 plus their bonus to attack. This will continue, the two sides taking turns to attack and defend, until one side hits -1 HP.
		- When a character reaches -1 HP, they are considered to be too wounded to fight. What this represents in RP is up to the player. If the character has the grizzled fighter trait, the character may attempt a retreat while their opponents may attempt to capture or finish them off with another 1d20+(combat bonus) roll.
		- A character may continue to fight on after they reach -1 HP despite their condition. However, if the opponent lands one more hit and the character reaches -2 HP, they will die permanently, regardless of plot armor or the perks they have active.
		- Characters which reach -1 HP must leave the battle and may not re-enter; their stats will no longer help their side in the battle.
		- In the case of a **group duel**, the characters who ganged up on their one opponent will roll to attack as normal (1d20+(combat bonus)). The defender will then roll to defend, though their combat bonus will be divided by the number of people attacking them simultaneously. Then, the defender may choose either to attack one person with their whole combat bonus or attack multiple people and divide their combat bonus between them.
	+ **Intercept:** A character may intercept a duel meant for another person or an attacker headed into a group duel. This initiates a duel which takes place before the first duel.
		- The attacker who is being intercepted always attacks first.
		- The attacker, instead of fighting their interceptor, may choose to initiate a fighting retreat. From the moment the attacker initiates a retreat, they can no longer attack. The interceptor may attack them twice, and the attacker must defend twice. If the attacker is still standing after those two attacks, they have retreated and the duel ends.
		- If the attacker prevails in the intercept duel, they may choose either to press on to their original target or halt their attack.
	+ **Assist:** A character may spend their action to heal a friendly character by 2.

## Systems, Garrisons, and Fortifications

Systems on the map are often listed on the campaign page or directly on the map. Sometimes they will have forces and fortifications within them. We have created the garrisons template to make keeping track of this easier.

Template

```
<!--- This opens the table --->
{{Garrisons Top}}
<!--- Include as many garrisons here as you want --->
{{Garrisons
}}
<!--- This bracket closes the table --->

```