Territory
Overview
The world of Empire is divided up into territories, each of which is sub-divided into several regions. A region is an abstract division that represents a significant area of similar land. A region could be a large forest, many square miles of rolling hills, the area around a town or fortification, a marsh, an area of plains or farms or any number of other combinations of terrain and important features. A region might be large enough to contain a dozen villages, or represent the environs of a single large castle, or part of one of the great cities of the League.
Territories
A military campaign takes place across a whole territory over the three months between events and it incorporates all the armies present in that territory. The movement of Imperial armies is defined by the territory they move to, and the outcome of a campaign is determined by the armies present in a territory.
Territories are divided into regions based on their geography and military significance. The winning side in a campaign will often gain control of a region as a result of their conquest. If the Empire controls more than half of the regions in a territory, then the territory is considered to be under Imperial control. If a Barbarian power controls more than half the regions then they control the territory. If no single power controls more than half the regions, then nobody controls the territory.
Resources controlled by characters are located in a territory (even fleets and military units have barracks and a home port). Although individual regions or the territory may be controlled by the barbarians, this does not affect the players with resources in that territory. If the entire territory falls into barbarian control - if the Empire loses control of all regions in a territory - then the production of all Imperial resources in the territory is reduced.
Regions
Regions are important for the orders issued by the generals. A region may have one or more keywords that describe the terrain and the presence of special features. These keywords automatically benefit whichever side controls the region, but the opposing side may also gain the benefit if they issue appropriate orders to attack the region.
You can claim a keyword bonus in two ways – if you are directly fighting to try to conquer the region in question, or if your ‘side’ controls a region with that keyword in your territory. So if the Empire has conquered the Forest of Shadows, then an Imperial army with the forest keyword in that territory will gain the forest keyword bonus.
Keywords are activated under two conditions:
- Your side controls the region with the keyword
- Your side attacks the region with the keyword
Movement in a territory
An army can move anywhere within a territory as part of the orders issued by the general in command. Experienced generals should note that the orders they issue for movements within a territory can affect the outcome. For example, if Castle Perilous is surrounded by four Druj armies then a Dawn army that pushes through to the castle will need to fight through the besieging force. This narrative does not affect the total casualties experienced by the Imperial forces in the territory - but it certainly would be reflected in the allocation of those casualties between the Imperial armies.