The Dominion System
This chapter holds the master tables: how rank is earned, what Authority buys, how big a settlement is, and what you can build.
(a) The rank ladder
| Rank | Holdings required | Typical income per season (a guide, not a rule) | Court seats | Authority per season | Legitimacy needed | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landless | none | — | 0 | 2 | — | serve as an officer |
| Landed (Knight) | 1 village + tower | ~2,000 gp | 2 | 3 | — | Tower, levy |
| Lord | 1 town, or 2 villages + hall | ~4,000 gp | 4 | 4 | 20 | Hall, men-at-arms |
| Baron | 1 town + keep, or 3 villages | ~8,000 gp | 6 | 5 | 20 | Keep, archers, light horse |
| Viscount | 1 city, or 2 towns + keep | ~15,000 gp | 8 | 6 | 40 | Castle, heavy horse, trade charter |
| Count | 2 cities, or 1 city + castle | ~30,000 gp | 10 | 7 | 40 | knights |
| Earl | 3 cities, or 1 great city | ~45,000 gp | 12 | 8 | 40 | Citadel, siege |
| Duke | 5 cities, or 2 great cities + citadel | ~75,000 gp | 14 | 9 | 60 | royal knights, war edicts |
| Archduke | 8 cities, or a great-city capital + 3 cities | ~120,000 gp | 16 | 10 | 60 | vice-regal decrees |
| King | 12 cities, or a supercity capital + 5 cities | ~200,000 gp | 18 | 11 | 70 | royal decrees, supercity charter |
| Emperor | a supercity capital + 3 vassal kings | ~350,000 gp | 22 | 12 | 70 | imperial edicts, tribute pacts |
A realm whose holdings or Legitimacy fall below its rank's requirement keeps the title, but loses 1 Authority per season until it is fixed. One deal lifts at most one rank (Thrones and Councils).
(b) Authority
Authority is your realm's actions for the season. It refills at Collect to your rank's value plus bonuses: Hall, High Chancery, the War council seat, a War Hall palace room, Leader perks. It can never exceed 20, and unspent Authority is lost.
| Cost | Actions |
|---|---|
| Free | set tax policy (once per season), Collect, Feed, Upkeep, answer a faction demand |
| 1 Authority | start or upgrade one holding · recruit at one settlement · march one army · negotiate (one mission) · decree an edict · fund research · start or push an intrigue · file a Trial · survey a deposit · promote pops · hire mercenaries · open a trade route · close a thread (plus its cost) · rededicate a palace room · handle a revolt |
| 2 Authority | declare war · change succession law · a grand decree (annex, raze, grant a fief, charter a supercity) · a rank deal |
(c) Settlement size
Size comes from population, never from a stored number. Size rank is the "tier" of a settlement wherever a rule scales by tier.
| Size | Pop | Size rank | Holding slots | To grow past this size you need |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Village | 1–9 | 1 | 3 | a Market (to become a Town) |
| Town | 10–49 | 2 | 6 | Walls + a Guildhall or Temple |
| City | 50–149 | 3 | 9 | an Aqueduct |
| Great City | 150–399 | 4 | 12 | a supercity charter (King or higher, 2 Authority) |
| Supercity | 400+ | 5 | 15 | — |
Without the requirement, the settlement's pop stops at the top of its band. Its growth spills into the realm's other settlements of your choice.
Tier cap: a holding's tier can't exceed the settlement's size rank. The capital gets +1; rural holdings (farm, ranch, orchard, fishery and every extractor) get +1; the maximum is 5. A holding's prereq rank applies to building it at tier 1 only. After that, size is the only limit.
(d) Holding catalog
Building costs the T1 line; upgrading costs the difference to the next tier and takes one season (Castle, Citadel, Palace and Bloodworks take two seasons per tier above 3). Output scales ×1/3/5/8/16 and upkeep ×1/2/3/5/8. Defense is flat and adds to the settlement's Defense (0–10, cap 10).
Civic
| Holding | T1 cost / time / upkeep | T1 output → T5 | Defense T1→T5 | Prereq |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granary | 3,000 gp / 3 mo / 200 gp | stores 50 Food without spoilage → 800 | — | Lord |
| Aqueduct | 6,000 / 6 mo / 300 | +1 local Stability, drought −25% → +3, drought-immune | — | Lord |
| Road | 4,000 / 4 mo / 200 | +500 gp trade, march +2 mi/day → +8,000 gp, +8 mi | — | Lord |
| Walls | 10,000 / 8 mo / 500 | — | +1 → +5 | Baron |
| Temple | 6,000 / 6 mo / 300 | +1 local Stability, tithe 500 gp → +3, 8,000 gp | — | Lord |
| Cathedral | 60,000 / 18 mo / 3,000 | +1 realm Stability, pilgrims 2,000 gp → +3, 32,000 gp | +1 → +3 | Earl |
| Academy | 30,000 / 12 mo / 2,000 | 1 research slot, +10% speed → 3 slots, +50% | — | Count |
| Palace | 200,000 / 24 mo / 8,000 | 3 room slots → 12 (3/5/7/9/12), each holding one tiered room | +2 → +4 | Duke |
Agriculture and food
| Holding | T1 cost / time / upkeep | T1 output → T5 | Prereq |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farm | 2,000 / 2 mo / 150 | 10 Food + 200 gp → 160 Food + 3,200 gp | Knight |
| Ranch | 3,000 / 3 mo / 250 | 6 Food + 1 mount → 96 Food + 16 mounts | Lord |
| Orchard | 4,000 / 6 mo / 250 | 4 Food + 4 luxury → 64 + 64 | Lord |
| Mill | 3,500 / 3 mo / 200 | this settlement's farms ×1.25 → ×2, flour trade up to 4,000 gp | Lord |
| Fishery (coast or river) | 3,000 / 3 mo / 200 | 12 Food + 300 gp → 192 Food + 4,800 gp | Knight |
Extraction (graded deposits)
A survey (Marshal or Chancellor, DC 12, 1 Authority) reveals a deposit's grade: Poor (yield ×0.5, cost −25%), Standard, or Rich (yield ×2, cost +50%). Grade is fixed and multiplies every tier.
| Holding | T1 cost / time / upkeep | T1 output → T5 (Standard) | Defense | Prereq |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mine | 10,000 / 6 mo / 600 | 20 ore → 320 | — | Lord |
| Ironworks | 14,000 / 8 mo / 900 | 15 iron, arms kits −10% → 240, −40% | +1 → +2 | Baron |
| Quarry | 5,000 / 4 mo / 300 | 15 stone, fortification cost −10% → 240, −40% | — | Lord |
| Lumber-camp | 2,500 / 2 mo / 150 | 12 timber → 192 | — | Knight |
| Sawmill | 3,000 / 3 mo / 200 | this settlement's timber +25%, build cost −10% → +100%, −40% | — | Lord |
| Clay-pit | 2,000 / 2 mo / 150 | 8 goods, civic build cost −10% → 128, −40% | — | Knight |
| Saltworks (coast) | 6,000 / 4 mo / 350 | 10 salt, food stores +10% → 160, +50% | — | Lord |
Military
| Holding | T1 cost / time / upkeep | T1 output → T5 | Defense | Prereq |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower | 2,000 / 3 mo / 150 | garrison room 10 Power → 160 | +1 → +2 | Knight |
| Watch-post | 1,500 / 2 mo / 100 | scouts 20 mi, +1 ambush warning → 60 mi, +3, signal relay | +0 → +1 | Knight |
| Hall | 8,000 / 6 mo / 500 | +1 Authority (T1–2), +2 (T3–4), +3 (T5) | +0 → +1 | Lord |
| Keep | 25,000 / 12 mo / 1,200 | garrison room 50 → 800 | +2 → +4 | Baron |
| Castle | 100,000 / 24 mo / 4,000 | garrison room 200 → 3,200 | +3 → +6 | Viscount |
| Citadel | 400,000 / 36 mo / 12,000 | garrison room 500 → 8,000 | +4 → +8 | Earl |
| Barracks | 12,000 / 6 mo / 800 | trains 1 company per season (militia or regular) → 8 | +0 → +1 | Baron |
| Stable | 8,000 / 4 mo / 600 | 1 mount per season, cavalry upkeep −10% → 16, −40% | +0 → +1 | Baron |
| Arsenal | 20,000 / 8 mo / 1,000 | kits −10%, siege companies +1 Power → −40%, +3 | +1 → +3 | Viscount |
| War-college | 60,000 / 18 mo / 3,000 | trains 1 elite company per season, commanders +1 rating → 6, +3 (rating cap 5) | +1 → +2 | Earl |
| Spy-nest | 8,000 / 4 mo / 600 | +1 intrigue op slot, op costs −10% → +5 slots, −50% | hidden | Viscount |
Economic
| Holding | T1 cost / time / upkeep | T1 output → T5 | Defense | Prereq |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market | 4,000 / 4 mo / 250 | +1,000 gp trade, 1 promotion charter → 16,000 gp, 3 charters | — | Lord |
| Port | 15,000 / 9 mo / 800 | +2,000 gp trade, sea routes → 32,000 gp | +1 → +3 | Baron |
| Shipyard | 20,000 / 12 mo / 1,200 | 1 hull per season → 8, warships from T2 | +1 → +2 | Viscount |
| Bank | 25,000 / 8 mo / 1,000 | +500 gp fees, your loans cost 5% → +8,000 gp, writs of credit | +1 → +2 | Count |
| Mint | 40,000 / 12 mo / 2,000 | tax +10% → +30%, allows writs | +2 → +3 | Count |
| Guildhall | 15,000 / 8 mo / 800 | +2,000 gp craft, 1 promotion charter → 32,000 gp, 5 charters | +1 → +2 | Viscount |
(modules): the Arcanum and Bloodworks (High Magic) and the Roost (Dragons) are listed in their module chapters.
Build clocks go on the realm's Works and Clocks tracker as "name: months left".