Birthright Actions

Adventure

Type: Special
Success: Special
Base Cost: None

A Regent may, of course, spend their time pursuing their own adventures. Adventures effectively are a waste of a domain turn, however - an Regent cannot issue orders while they are away. They can, of course, leave orders to be executed in their absence, but there are rarely specific orders that can be planned more than a domain turn (3 months) in advance.

Agitate

Type: Realm/Domain/Free
Success: 10+
Base Cost: 1 RP, 1 GB

A Regent with any holdings in a Province can use their influence in that Province to agitate the Loyalty of that Province either in favour of or against the local ruler. Priests can do this once per Domain Turn as a Free Action. The success number is increased (made more difficult) by the difference between the level of the Province and the level of your Holdings in that Province - if you have less influence in a Province, it's harder to agitate there. Furthermore, the level of the ruler's Law Holding in the Province is either added to (if you are agitating against) or subtracted from (if you are agitating for) the success number. Finally, the success number can be modified by spending additional gold bars, at a rate of 1 per point.

If the attempt to agitate in a Province or Provinces is successful, the Loyalty of the Province increases or decreases by one step. If the check is passed by 10 or more, the Loyalty of the Province increases or decreases by two steps.

Build

Type: Free
Success: 5+
Base Cost: 1 GP+

This is a catch-all for all kinds of civil construction, from a palace to a guardhouse to a guildhall. This does not apply to castles or other military fortifications - use the Fortify action for that. This order does not count as an action unless the Regent personally oversees the work. If they do and they make the relevant NWP check, the success score is reduced by 2.

Building in remote or difficult areas increases the cost of construction. Building anything in a Province of Level 0-1 costs 200% of the normal price; building in a Province of Level 2-3 costs 150% of the normal price. Building in extreme conditions, such as mountainside or swamp, doubles the price again. Construction proceeds at a rate of 1d6 gold bars per domain turn. For example, if the price is set at 12,000 gold pieces (6 GB), it would take on average 2 domain turns to complete.

Wood or Stone Building: This may be a village council hall, customs house, silo, chapel, ministry building, or a seat of government. Costs range from 1 to 30 gold bars.

Bridge: A wooden bridge over a moderate river costs 1d4 gold bars. A stone bridge costs 1d4+1. Larger rivers cost twice or three times as much. Ceremonial, very wide, or very ornate bridges cost even more. Bridges are convenient for enabling trade routes or the movement of troops.

Road: Roads are required for overland trade routes, and they also speed troop movements and general travel. In mountainous or heavily wooded areas, roads can be crucial. Constructing a road costs twice the movement cost of the Province - for example, building a road through a Province of hills costs 4 GB. Regardless of the length of the road, the full cost must be paid.

Palace: A Regent who desires a luxurious residence may construct a palace. Palaces cost 5-30 GB, depending on size and extravagance. Maintaining the operation of a palace costs an additional 1 GB per domain turn, but it confers a bonus to their court. For every 5 GB spent on a palace, it adds a +1 bonus to the ruler's court. A 25 GB palace, then, turns a 3 GB court into an 8 GB court.

Contest

Type: Domain/Realm
Success: 10+
Base Cost: 1 RP

By contesting another Regent's Holding in a Province, you can temporarily neutralise it. If the attempt is successful, that Holding generates no RP or GB for this domain turn. A Level 0 Holding is destroyed if successfully contested. Holdings remain contested until the instigator relents, the instigator loses their own Holdings/Provinces, or the defender succeeds in a Rule action. Of course, contesting a Holding is an act of provocation. The High Priest of Belzor, for example, will not take kindly to the Army of Candles proclaiming the illegitimacy of the Temple in the streets of Solamnus. If a Province or Holding is fortified, those fortifications "protect" its income up to the level of fortification, even while it is contested.

Provinces can also be contested; but just as contesting a Holding is an act of provocation, contesting a Province is almost always an act of war. Provinces can only be peacefully contested if their Loyalty is poor/rebellious and the ruler has a Law Holding of 0 and the instigator owns Holdings in the Province. Otherwise, Provinces can only be contested while occupied by your troops; conquering a Province in war allows you to make a free Contest action on the spot. Contested Provinces generate no RP or GB for the ruler, but they do not transfer ownership until the ruler is divested of the Province. Divestiture can happen by surrender or peace treaty only. If you cannot secure a formal surrender of the Province, it remains contested until you can take control of it by reducing the ruler's Law Holding to 0, acquiring Holdings of your own, and reducing the people's loyalty to the ruler to poor or below.

Besides denying income from RP or GB, contesting a Holding makes it possible to seize power. Once the Holding is successfully contested, you may make additional Contest actions - each one being a domain action, i.e. 1 month. Each successful Contest action made against an already-contested Holding reduces its level by 1 permanently. You can continue doing this for as long as the Holding is contested - eventually it will reach Level 0 and be destroyed. Reducing a Holding in this way will, of course, free up slots to take advantage of with a Create Holding or Rule action.

The roll to contest a Holding or Province is simple; it is only modified by the difference between the instigator's Holding and the defender's Holding. Of course, contesting a Holding/Province will almost always start an RP bidding war, as it has serious implications. Most Regents will exert whatever influence they have to avoid losing their Holdings.

Create Holding

Type: Domain
Success: 10+
Base Cost: 1 GB

At any time, a Regent can attempt to establish a Holding in a Province where they do not own one. If they succeed, they will gain a Level 0 Holding in that Province. This can be done even in Provinces with no slots available for the type of Holding, although the Holding obviously cannot be increased beyond Level 0 until there is space to do so (i.e. by contesting another Regent). Examples include establishing a new guild, introducing a new monastic order, or creating a mercenary organisation.

Creation of a Holding can be opposed or supported by Regents who possess any similar Holdings or by the ruler of the Province. They do not need to spend any RP to do so; they simply add or subtract their Holding/Province level to the success number. Of course, RP may be spent to improve/worsen the score by any concerned party, as is usual.

The same procedure can be used by Regents to create new Provinces in unclaimed territory. The cost to create a Province is tripled to 3 GB if it does not already adjoin a Province under the Regent's control.

Declare War

Type: Domain
Success: Special
Base Cost: None

Any Regent can declare war, even one with no Provinces. However, a Regent with no Provinces must ask permission from the local ruler in order to mobilise troops; otherwise this will be interpreted as an act of war by the local ruler. Once war is declared, the instigator is allowed four turns of War Moves to mobilise his troops (see Move Troops below for more information on War Moves). Other Regents can Declare War in their own rounds to get their War Moves. A Regent who only wishes to defend without counter-invading is not obliged to Declare War; he can make War Moves in response as long as he doesn't leave his domain. If the target of a declaration of war has already acted this round, he must wait until the next round to make his counter-declaration.

Decree

Type: Free
Success: Special
Base Cost: 1 GB

This action is a catch-all for special missions or courses of action a Regent wants his subordinates to take. A decree cannot affect another Regent's domain in any way, nor can it affect the Loyalty or Level of any Province or Holding. Use other actions for that. Besides this, the decree can have any effect that DM deems reasonable. For example:

Decrees are one of the most open-ended actions that can be taken by a Regent. However, you cannot know what the effect of a decree will be until it is passed: every action has consequences. Furthermore, Regents who have a habit of making sweeping, autocratic decrees frequently tend to be unpopular with their subjects. No more than 2 decrees can be made in a single domain turn, and you must have a court to make Decree actions.

Diplomacy

Type: Domain
Success: 10+
Base Cost: 1 RP, 1 GB

Regular meetings and passing of messages back and forth between Regents is a commonplace occurrence, but a Diplomacy action is full-court affair designed to achieve a specific goal. Diplomacy cannot take the place of other actions - if a Regent wants to declare war, they should Declare War. Diplomacy can have the following effects:

The success number is modified by the difference between the Regent's capital Province/Holding and the target's capital Province/Holding. As noted above, the Regent's court also applies a modifier to their Diplomacy attempts. The Regent can also spend GB to improve their success number, at a rate of 1 per point. Finally, the DM may choose to apply a bonus or penalty of 1 to 8 points, depending on exactly what the Regent is trying to achieve and how amenable their target is.

Note that when a player character is the target of Diplomacy, it still counts as an action but no success roll is made. Whether or not you succeed in persuading them is entirely down to roleplay. You must have a court to perform Diplomacy actions.

Disband

Type: Free
Success: 5+
Base Cost: None

A Regent can disband any of his retinue at any time. Regular army units and levees simply break up and go home. Mutinous units or mercenaries require a success roll to peacefully disband; failure means that they become brigands and begin raiding in the Province where they are located.

Regents can also disband any Holding or Asset at their discretion, though this may harm their RP/GB production. The only real reason to do so is to avoid paying the upkeep cost.

Espionage

Type: Realm/Domain/Free
Success: Special
Base Cost: 1 GB

Any kind of covert activity falls under this action. For most Regents this is a Domain Action, but thieves & bards can perform Espionage as a Free Action once per Domain Turn. Espionage can:

Espionage is difficult; the base success number of any Espionage attempt is 20. This is reduced by the Level of the target Province (Espionage is easier in more-developed areas), and reduced by the Level of any Guild Holdings possessed by the instigator in that Province. Both the instigator and the target can spend both RP and GB to improve the chances of success. If the attempt is failed by 10 or more, the target learns the identity of the instigator. For 'ad hoc' Espionage events, such as an assassination, the DM may apply an additional penalty for difficulty.

Espionage can be performed as a Realm Action, but only for the purpose of observing troop movements.

Finance

Type: Free
Success: Auto
Base Cost: None

A Regent can convert his personal wealth into GB at a rate of 2,000 gp for 1 GB, and vice versa. He may only perform this conversion once per Domain Turn, and he can only convert a certain amount. If he tries to convert more than this in a single season, he runs the risk of devaluing his currency. In a given domain turn, a Regent may convert 5 GB, plus 1 per level of Guild Holdings he possesses.

Forge Ley-Line

Type: Domain
Success: 5+
Base Cost: 1 RP, 1 GB

This action constitutes a form of ritual magic, and can be performed only by wizard Regents. It is an attempt to create an artifical ley-line, a conduit by which natural magicla energy flows, between two Provinces. By creating ley-line between a Province with a high Source Holding and a Province with a low Source Holding, the wizard can treat the latter as though it had the Source Holding of the former, for the purpose of casting ritual magic and realm spells.

Forging a ley-line costs 1 RP and 1 GB for each Province it crosses. Ley-lines can forged from other ley-lines that you control, making it possible to create a network of ley-lines to carry magical energy throughout your domain. Maintaining a ley-line costs 1 RP per domain turn; if the cost ever goes unpaid, the artifical ley-line ceases to exist.

Fortify

Type: Realm/Domain
Success: 2+
Base Cost: 1 RP

Building strongholds in a domain is a good way to deter attack and tie up enemy forces in times of war. Fortifications are a kind of Asset; there are two types of fortification that can be constructed. While constructing a fortification, the success roll must be made every domain turn. Failure indicates that no progress was made this turn.

Fortified Holdings: Any type of Holding can be fortified. A fortified Guild, for example, might be a network of secret Thieves' Guild Safehouses. A fortified Temple Holding would be a religious stronghold. Holdings fortified in this way will remain under the Regent's control even if the Province is occupied by hostile forces, and will continue to generate GB and RP. Fortifying a Holding costs 4 GB per level of fortification, and the process proceeds at a rate of 1d6 GB per domain turn. If they wish, a Regent can raise the price to 5 GB per level, which will speed up construction to 2d6 GB per month.

Castles: Castles are used to fortify whole Provinces. They cost 8 GB per level of the Province to be fortified, and proceed at a rate of 1d6 GB per domain turn. As with Holdings, the price may be increased - to 10 GB/level - to raise the rate of construction to 2d6 GB/turn. Castles can accommodate a maximum garrison of one military unit per level. Furthermore, castles protect every Holding you own in the Province up to their level, as if those Holdings were individually fortified. Castles can be built above the level of the Province they are in, but this costs double, as it is difficult to build a large fortress if the surrounding resources cannot accommodate it. The garrison of a castle will prevent enemy troops from occupying or moving through the area without besieging or assaulting the castle - there is more information on this on the Military page.

Any fortified Holding or castle is assumed to be garrisoned with enough troops to defend the Holding or castle; these come "for free", and do not constitute an additional upkeep cost. Fortifications will have a garrison of 10 men per level of the Holding or castle. If they are ordered away, the fortification is "neutralised" and has no effect until they return. If they die, a new garrison will eventually be recruited, but this takes a full domain turn.

You can begin several fortifications simultaneously with a Realm Action.

Grant

Type: Free
Success: 10+
Base Cost: Varies

At any time, a Regent can bestow promotions, gifts or titles that are within his or her power to give. They can also sponsor the arts or sciences, make a donation, fund an expedition, elevate a commoner to noble rank, or send a gift to another Regent. Grants can:

Grant actions always succeed, but the success roll indicates whether someone is angered by the Regent's actions. It worses by 1 for each GB the Regent spends on grants and by 1 for each noble title the Regent bestows. Failing the success roll causes an event in response only if the action is not obviously in the best interest of the realm. It is unlikely that any Regent will be persecuted for giving money to an orphanage, but a personal friend is another matter.

Lieutenant

Type: Free
Success: Special
Base Cost: None

Normally, finding a henchman is something that happens only when a hireling demonstrates loyalty and respect for a PC. For Regents, however, it is a little different. As they are in positions of power, they are besieged by people who want to work for them. With the Lieutenant action, as long as a Regent is able to get new henchmen based on their Charisma score, they can automatically find an appropriate henchman. For these purposes, the Regent's Charisma is treated as though it was higher than it is: 1 point for a minor bloodline, 2 points for a major bloodline, and 3 points for a great bloodline.

Once per domain turn, a Regent can assign one of their lieutenants to perform a Domain Action for them. No matter how many lieutenants they have, they can only do this once per domain turn, and they spend their own RP and GB on this. The lieutenant performs the action for their Regent, and effectively the Regent gains another action.

Move Troops

Type: Free
Success: Special
Base Cost: 1 GB

At the Regent's command, any troops loyal to him march to any point in his domain. A Move Troops action grants the Regent four War Moves, each of which lasts one week. If the Regent wants to continue moving them after this point, they must use more actions. Troop movement is expensive: it costs 1 GB per 10 unit-provinces; i.e. moving 1 unit over 10 Provinces or moving 2 units over 5 Provinces both cost 1 GB. In hostile Provinces, the price is doubled to 1 GB per 5 unit-provinces.

Movement is not just limited by expenditure, however - it is also limited by how fast the troops in question can travel. Every type of troop (i.e. cavalry, infrantry) has their own base movement score that dictates how quickly they move under ideal conditions. For example, archers have a base move of 2, so under ideal conditions they can travel 2 Provinces in one War Move. However, movement is affected by the terrain movement cost of the Province. For example, desert Provinces have a movement cost of 2, meaning they take twice as long to move through. Archers, with a movement of 2, would be able to travel through 1 desert Province per War Move. Building roads through a Province is a good way to make sure they are easy to travel through regardless of the type of terrain.

Movement by water is somewhat different. Troops can travel by sea, or even by major waterways if the local ruler consents. It is more expensive to travel by sea - 1 GB per unit - and it requires a success roll with a base success number of 6, to reflect weather, ship availability, and other factors. Travel by water also requires the troops to embark from a friendly coastal or river Province of Level 4 or higher. The advantage, however, is that it is much faster. Nautical travel covers 100 miles or three Provinces per day, whichever is less. If the troop reaches their destination in less than a week, they are available to take action in the same round when they disembark.

More information on troop movement can be found on the Military page.

Muster Armies

Type: Free
Success: Auto
Base Cost: Special

A Regent can create new troops by mustering troops, raising levies, or hiring mercenaries in a Province they rule or have Holdings in. A single Province can never raise more units than its Level in a single domain turn. The local ruler can bar armies from being mustered in his domain, if he wishes. Once an army is mustered, it must be outfitted, trained and organised, and cannot be used in the same domain turn it was mustered in. There is more information on the specific costs of mustering different units on the Military page.

Levies are a special case - soldiers that can be mustered by the ruler of a feudal Province. They do not cost anything to muster, and you do not have to pay any maintenance costs for the first month. However, because militia levies are composed of normal citizens who have jobs, mustering levies temporarily reduces a Province's Level by 1. If the levies are slaughtered while fighting, the Province's Level is permanently decreased by 1, including any Holdings that exceed the new Level of the Province. Mustering levies will also reduce the Loyalty of a Province by one step if they are sent to fight in a foreign war.

Realm Spell

Type: Domain
Success: Special
Base Cost: Special

Ritual magic is the most complex and scholarly form of magic, and realm magic is the most complex and scholarly form of ritual magic. Realm spells are special ritual spells that can only be cast by Regent spellcasters who have access to the natural magic that flows through the land. Realm spells can be used only in a Province where the Regent has a Temple Holding (if they are a priest) or a Source Holding (if they are a mage). Furthermore, many realm spells have a minimum requirement of the Temple/Source Holding in order to be cost.

For a listing of realm spells, see the Birthright rules.

Rule

Type: Realm/Domain
Success: 10+
Base Cost: 1+ RP, 1 GB

With this action, a Regent can spend their time attempting to advance the causes of their domain. With a Rule action, a Regent can attempt to increase a Province or Holding's Level by 1. In order to do this, there must be room to grow - you cannot improve the Temple Holding to 4 in a Level 3 Province, and you cannot increase a Province's Level above the maximum Level for that terrain type. The Rule action costs 1 GB, plus RP equal to the target level. The Province ruler and any Regent with a similar Holding in the Province can try to impede your attempt by subtracting the Level of the Province/Holding from your success number. This is in addition to the usual RP bidding to improve/worsen a roll.

As a Realm Action, you can attempt to improve multiple Holdings simultaneously. You can only improve one Province at a time, however. For obvious reasons, you cannot use a Rule action to improve a Province or Holding's Level if it is currently contested.

Trade Route

Type: Realm/Domain
Success: 10+
Base Cost: 1 RP, 1 GB

A Regent who controls a Guild Holding can attempt to create a trade route to another Province, increasing the money-making power of his domain. In order to establish a trade route, the following conditions must be satisifed:

Each domain turn, trade routes generate GB equal to the average Level of the two Provinces it links. A trade route over sea instead generates revenue equal to half the Level of the foreign Province. For thief or bard Regents, a trade route also generates RP equal to the GB it produces. When attempting to establish the trade route, the success number is improved by the Level of the Regent's Guild Holding. Regents with Guild or Law Holdings in the same Province can oppose the action, worsening the success number by the Level of their Holding.

Provinces of Level 1-3 are limited to one trade route, Level 4-6 can support two, and Level 7 Provinces can support three trade routes. As such, negotiating a trade route with a foreign Regent is a matter of diplomacy - you must convince them that your trade route is the best choice for them. Trade routes can be neutralised if the Guild Holdings that established them are lost. They can also be neutralised by war and if certain events are ignored - such as brigandry, monsters, corruption or trade disputes. When the suppressing condition ends, the trade route resumes functioning.