Capitals, Research and the Palace

One settlement is your capital. Its features work across the whole realm while you hold it; lose the capital and they go silent until you retake it or name a new capital (a grand decree, which costs −5 Legitimacy).

The capital gets +1 to its holdings' tier cap (The Dominion System).

Capital features

Build like holdings (1 Authority each). Cost and upkeep scale by the capital's size rank.

Feature	Cost / upkeep (× size rank scale)	Effect
Grand Granary	2,000 / 200 gp	grain transit loss halved realm-wide
High Chancery	3,000 / 300 gp	+1 Authority per season
Great Mint	4,000 / 400 gp	+10% to the tax modifier; −1 realm Stability (Coinage Standards tier 3 removes this)
Courier Relays	1,500 / 150 gp	orders travel twice as fast
Muster Fields	2,500 / 250 gp	recruit at the capital without spending Authority, once per season

The Palace

A Palace (Duke or higher) has room slots by its tier: 3 at T1, 7 at T2, 13 at T3, 17 at T4, 20 at T5. Each slot holds one dedicated room, and every dedicated room is active.

• Dedicating a room (tier 1) costs 1 Authority and 500 gp.
• Raising a room to tier 2 costs 1 Authority and 2,000 gp, and needs a Palace T2. Tier 3 costs 1 Authority and 8,000 gp, and needs a Palace T4.
• A higher tier replaces the lower tier's effect.
• Rededicating a slot to a different room costs 1 Authority and 500 gp, and the new room starts at tier 1.

Each room is a Palace Room file in the compendium. On the capital's sheet, list each room you hold with its tier.

Room	Category	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Vault	Economy	+10% to the tax modifier.	+15% to the tax modifier.	+20% to the tax modifier; intrigue against the treasury −1 stage.
Counting House	Economy	Trade modifier +5%.	Trade modifier +10%.	Trade modifier +15%; your loans cost 2% less.
War Hall	War	+1 Authority per season.	+1 Authority per season; the Marshal +1 rating.	+2 Authority per season; the Marshal +1 rating.
Map Room	War	Armies march +1 mile a day.	Armies led from the capital +1 to battle rolls in their first battle of a campaign.	+5 war score for every siege you take.
Armory	War	Arms kits −10%.	Oathsworn blades and temple guard +1 Power.	The capital's garrison room +50%.
Chapel	Faith	−5 unrest in the capital per season.	−5 unrest and +1 local Stability in the capital.	−10 unrest in the capital per season; +5 Favor per season with the established faith (Faith and Oaths).
Throne Room	Court	+2 Legitimacy per year.	Rank deals +1.	+5 Legitimacy per year.
Great Hall	Court	+2 court seats.	+3 court seats; a feast costs one luxury for −5 unrest realm-wide.	+4 court seats; elite unrest weight −1.
Council Chamber	Court	Bargaining with council demands is DC 10.	You may hold one more council seat.	Council stipends +50%.
Embassy Wing	Court	+1 to negotiation rolls.	Your relationships never decay.	Each year, +1 relationship with two realms of your choice.
Royal Apartments	Court	Royal marriages give +1 more relationship.	A prestige hostage housed here counts as a prestige good.	Dowries cost half.
Pleasure Gardens	Court	+1 realm Stability.	Elite luxury needs −25%.	—
Archives	Knowledge	+1 research slot.	Research costs −10%.	+2 research slots.
Scriptorium	Knowledge	+1 Legitimacy per year.	Integration clocks need 1 fewer segment.	Each Ultimate Work stage or won war gives +2 more Legitimacy.
Observatory	Knowledge	Each season, learn one rival's next move before it resolves.	Once per year, reroll one event roll.	Research +10% speed.
Menagerie	Court	+1 on gifts and deals with foreign courts.	Luxury gifts give +1 more each.	Counts as one prestige good while held.
Cells	Intrigue	Hold one prisoner securely.	Hold three prisoners; ransoms +25%.	Each prisoner held gives +1 stage per season to one intrigue against their realm.
Whispering Gallery	Intrigue	+1 intrigue op slot.	Counter-intel ops strip +1 extra stage.	Your ops start with +2 secrecy.
Sanctum (High Magic)	Arcane	+1 vial per season.	The capital +1 Defense (wards).	One portal end in the capital costs no gold upkeep.
Wyrm Hall (Dragons)	Dragons	Houses +1 dragon.	Bonding rolls +2.	Dragons give +1 more Authority each (cap +5).

Research

You get one research slot to start; Universities, Archives and an Academy add more. Each slot works on one tier of one project at a time.

• Cost: a tier costs its listed gold × the capital's cost scale (×1/2/4/8/16 by size rank), paid up front. Standard costs are tier 1: 1,000 gp and 2 seasons; tier 2: 2,500 gp and 3 seasons; tier 3: 5,000 gp and 4 seasons.
• Upkeep: while running, a project costs 10% of its tier cost each season. It advances only in seasons you pay.
• Order: you must finish tier 1 before tier 2, and so on. "Needs" means tier 1 of that project must be done before you start this one.
• Speed: an Academy at T3+ halves research time (round up). (High Magic) An Arcanum takes one season off any project in the Arcane field.
• Effects: a project's effects add up as you climb its tiers, unless a tier says it replaces an earlier one.

Each project is a Research file in the compendium; track the tier your realm has reached on it.

Agriculture

Research	Needs	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Irrigation	—	Farms +10% output.	Farms +25% output; drought penalties halved.	Farms +40% output; immune to drought.
Crop Rotation	—	Yeomen grow 1.75 Food each.	Yeomen grow 2 Food each.	Yeomen grow 2.25 Food each.
Animal Husbandry	—	Ranch output +25%.	Each Ranch gives +1 mount per tier.	Cavalry upkeep −10%.
Granary Science	—	Granary capacity +50%.	Spoilage halved everywhere.	Granaries also store luxuries without loss.
Land Reclamation	Irrigation	+1 rural holding slot in villages.	Farms on Poor deposits count as Standard.	+1 rural holding slot in towns.
Fisheries Charter	—	Fishery output +25%.	Saltworks +25%; food stores +10%.	Fishery output +50%.

Industry

Research	Needs	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Deep Mining	—	Mine output +20%.	A survey reveals two deposits at once.	Poor deposits count as Standard.
Smelting	Deep Mining	Ironworks +20% iron.	Arms kits −10%.	Iron needs −25%.
Masonry	—	Build costs −5%.	Fortifications cost −10%; Walls T3+ give +1 Defense.	Build times −1 month (minimum 1).
Carpentry	—	Timber needs −20%.	Holdings under construction need half the timber.	Shipyards build +1 hull per season.
Water Mills	—	Mill bonuses +10%.	Each Mill adds +500 gp of flour trade.	Clay-pits and Sawmills +25%.
Glassworks	Guild Standards	Each Guildhall tier makes 1 luxury per season.	Academies research 5% faster.	Cathedral pilgrim income +25%.
Guild Standards	—	Guildhall output +10%.	Promotion costs −20%.	+1 promotion charter per Guildhall.

Commerce

Research	Needs	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Coinage Standards	—	Treasurer gives +1% more per rating.	Mint +5% to the tax modifier.	Writ penalties halved.
Double-entry Ledgers	—	All upkeep −3%.	Intrigue ops against your treasury −1 stage.	Treasurer gives +2% more per rating.
Trade Fairs	—	Market output +20%.	Trade route cap +5% (to +30%).	Luxuries sell at ×2.25.
Letters of Credit	Double-entry Ledgers	Loan interest −2%.	You may borrow up to 1.5× your Collect.	Bank fees doubled.
Caravan Roads	—	Transit loss −5% per band.	The bandits event no longer cuts trade.	Overland routes count as sea routes for Port bonuses.
Maritime Law	—	Port trade +15%.	Piracy ops against you −1 stage.	Blockades cut only half a route's trade.
Insurance Houses	Letters of Credit	Ships lost to storms are refunded at 50%.	The fire event costs nothing.	—

Civics

Research	Needs	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Sanitation	—	Plague checks +2.	Ignore the plague event; cities and larger +1 local Stability.	Cities and larger grow +0.5% more per season.
Highways	—	Grain transit loss halved; engineers can be recruited.	March +3 miles a day on roads.	Orders travel twice as fast.
Census	—	Manpower +5% (to 30% of yeomen and laborers).	+5% to the tax modifier.	Tax policy unrest −2 (minimum 0).
Civil Service	Census	+1 court seat.	Governors give +1 to their settlement's local Stability.	+1 Authority per season.
Codified Law	—	Trial DCs −1.	Just rulings give +1 more Legitimacy.	The Heavy-tax penalty without a Lord Justiciar no longer applies.
Public Works	Masonry	Civic build costs −10%.	Aqueduct and Road upkeep −25%.	Ultimate Work stages take one season less (minimum 1).
Universities	Codified Law	+1 research slot (needs an Academy T2+).	Tier 1–2 research takes one season less (minimum 1).	Officer search DCs −1.
Printing	Universities	+1 Legitimacy per year.	−5 unrest in the capital per season.	Integration clocks need 1 fewer segment.
Postal Relays	Highways	Orders travel 1.5× as fast.	Vassal loyalty +1.	—

Military

Research	Needs	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Martial Levy at Scale	—	The Martial Levy edict works in towns and larger.	Manpower +5%.	Militia companies muster for free.
Siegecraft	Masonry	Batter rolls +1.	Siege trains cost −25%.	Engineers +2 Power against fortifications.
Drill Manuals	—	Upgrading militia to regular costs −25%.	Armies gain veterancy after any won battle, even in the same season.	Upgrading to elite needs no drill season.
Plate Armor	Smelting	Elite kits −20%.	Men-at-arms, swordsmen and halberdiers +1 Power against missile units.	Knights +1 Power.
Crossbow Craft	—	Crossbowmen upkeep −20%.	Pavise crossbows +1 Power.	—
Longbow Training	—	Longbowmen no longer need a War-college.	Longbowmen +1 Power when defending.	—
Logistics	Highways	Armies carry +1 month of supply.	Fielded armies count one distance band closer.	Armies in enemy land forage: they eat half.
Cartography	—	March +2 miles a day.	+1 on ambush and terrain rolls.	Expedition transit loss halved.
Fortification Science	Siegecraft	Garrison room +25%.	Castles and Citadels +1 Defense.	Siege damage repairs 2 per season.
Field Medicine	—	Winners lose 2% less Power.	Losers lose 5% less Power.	Commanders survive battle death checks automatically.

Naval

Research	Needs	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Shipwrighting	Carpentry	Hull costs −15%.	Warships +1 Power.	Shipyards build +1 hull per season.
Navigation	Cartography	Sea crossings take 1.5 months.	Sea crossings take 1 month.	Overseas counts as distance band 4, not 5.
Fire Ships	Shipwrighting	Galleys +1 Power.	+2 to blockade-running rolls.	—
Harbor Works	—	Ports +1 Defense.	Storms sink a ship only on a 1 (and only one ship per port).	—

Faith (Faith and Oaths)

Research	Needs	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Liturgy	—	Rites cost −25%.	Omen readings DC −2.	Great rites give +1 more Legitimacy.
Monastic Orders	Liturgy	Clergy pop grows +1% more per season.	Each Temple grows 1 Food per tier.	Research +10% speed.
Theology	Liturgy	Heresy Trial DCs −2.	Tolerated faiths' favor cap rises to +75.	The holy cause casus belli costs no Authority.

Arcane (High Magic)

Research	Needs	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Alchemy	—	Vials keep 6 seasons.	+1 vial per season per Arcanum.	War-mages +2 Power.
Wardcraft	Alchemy	Enemy intrigue against your capital −1 stage.	Your capital +1 Defense.	Each portal costs 1 less vial per season (minimum 1).
Gate Theory	Wardcraft	Portal build costs −25%.	Portal gold upkeep −50%.	Your second portal costs no extra vial.

Dragons (Dragons)

Research	Needs	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
Draconic Lore	—	Bonding rolls +1.	Eggs hatch in 9 months.	Drake wings +2 Power.

Example: a Great City capital (size rank 4, cost ×8) starts Irrigation tier 1: 8,000 gp up front, 800 gp a season, 2 seasons; with an Academy T3, just 1 season. Farms then grow +10%, and tier 2 opens.