The Seasonal Turn

The realm runs on a fixed clock. The example calendar counts 12 months of 4 weeks. Seasons are Spring (months 3–5), Summer (6–8), Autumn (9–11) and Winter (12–2). Dates read year-month-week: 1541-08-4. Harvest is month 8.

The monthly tick

1. Advance the date.
2. Every build, research and integration clock moves 1 month.
3. Every thread nobody acted on this month moves +1 (resolves at 6).
4. Pay fielded armies a third of their seasonal upkeep, and move them.
5. Hired mercenaries' contracts tick.

The seasonal turn (end of months 5, 8, 11 and 2)

1. Collect: run the Collect formula (Income, Taxes and the Collect). Refill Authority.
2. Feed: every pop and company eats; spoilage; starvation.
3. Needs: set each category's fulfillment and apply its band.
4. Upkeep: holdings, armies not already paid, officers, research, interest.
5. Act: spend Authority (The Dominion System, Authority table).
6. Rivals: up to four relevant rival realms take their moves (Rival Realms).
7. Events: one d20 for the realm, plus one for each settlement with an open thread, a siege or an occupation (Events, Threads and Omens).
8. Domain: each settlement's unrest drifts (Unrest and Revolt); one faction demand; Lord and higher get one domain matter per domain, played as a scene or delegated (d20, 11+ goes well).
9. Growth: pop growth and promotions.
10. Ledgers: update the files and write one line of chronicle.

The year-tick (month 2, after the winter turn)

• Yearly stipends are paid.
• Aging and death checks: anyone over 40 rolls d20 vs 10 + (age − 40) ÷ 5; rulers over 60 roll with disadvantage.
• Marriages roll d6 (a 6 starts a 9-month pregnancy clock).
• Research advances one year's step.
• Faction loyalty decays 1 toward 0.
• Rival growth rolls (Rival Realms).
• Ranks are rechecked against holdings and Legitimacy.
• Module checks: dragons age and may clutch every 5 years (Dragons).

Example: at 1541-08-4, the harvest turn, the clocks tick and the Coin Ledgers thread sits at 3 (it will be 4 next month if left alone). The armies have already eaten their monthly pay. Collect runs with local Stability +5%, grain Fulfilled, and the Act step opens with 5 Authority.