How to Play
When you are first born, you are most likely a commoner. This guide walks through each of the game's systems to show you how to make the most of the one life you get — and leave a name behind.
1. Time and events
Use the speed buttons in the top right to let time flow. At 1× a year takes about 2.6 seconds; at 8× it takes around 0.3 seconds. Childhood passes quickly, so 2×–4× is perfectly fine at the start.
When an event happens, a window pops up. Under the default setting, Match speed, the game stops for every event at 1×, while at 2× and above it only stops for important ones such as wars, revolts, Crossroads of Fate and quests. Everything else is decided automatically according to your disposition and reported on a small news card in the bottom left of the map.
If minor events that keep coming up get tedious, tick "Handle this kind of thing automatically from now on" at the bottom of the event window. You can clear that list at any time under ⚙ Settings.
2. This year's focus
From the age of twelve you can choose a focus each year. Your focus is what you spend that year on, and you can change it whenever you like.
| Focus | Without land | As a lord |
|---|---|---|
| Martial training | Might rises sharply | Might rises |
| Learning | Wit rises | Wit rises |
| Livelihood / Govern | Earn gold | Tax income ×1.4 |
| Gather strength / Conscription | Gather followers | Troops muster faster |
| Socialising / Court politics | More renown and marriage offers | Better relations with neighbours, higher chance of uncovering secrets |
| Rest with family | Recover health and wait for children | |
As a commoner, the fastest road to knighthood and a good match is to raise your stats with martial training or learning until sixteen, then build renown through socialising.
3. From commoner to lord
There are several ways to win land.
- Knighthood Once you have enough Might and renown, a lord will take you on as a knight. As a knight you answer the call to arms, and distinguishing yourself can earn you a grant of land.
- Crossroads of Fate Life-changing events — a distant relative's inheritance, a reward for saving the king's life, the path of a mercenary captain, an appointment as governor — come along roughly once every six years. Don't let them slip by.
- Marriage and inheritance If you are born into a noble house, you inherit your parents' holdings.
- Hidden bloodline There may be a secret in your blood. If a hermit or an old nursemaid reveals it, you may gain a claim to a kingdom.
4. Ruling your lands
Once you hold land, the Govern tab becomes essential. Development increases revenue, fortification strengthens your defences, and gold buys troops. With 3 holdings you become a duchy, with 8 a kingdom and with 16 an empire.
From duchy rank upward, stability and the court are what matter most. If stability falls below 35, revolts break out and revenue drops. If your Marshal, Steward, Chancellor, Archbishop or Spymaster dislikes you, factions form — win them over with gifts or feasts, and replace the incompetent. Expand too quickly and "Overextension" and "Recent conquest" will eat into your stability while your neighbours band together in a grand coalition.
5. War
- Pick a neighbour in the Diplo tab and declare war. A claim gives you a casus belli and softens the backlash. You can get one by tapping a neighbouring land on the map and choosing "Forge a claim".
- During a war, the lands flashing red on the map are the ones you can attack right now. Tap one and march to choose a tactic: frontal assault, ambush or siege.
- Taking more occupied land raises your war score. At 20 or more you can demand occupied land in a peace treaty — or fight a decisive battle to turn the tide in one stroke.
- Military reforms (training, equipment, siegecraft, standing army) and a capable Marshal greatly boost your strength in battle. Heirlooms such as a legendary sword help too.
6. Adventure: rumors, quests, secrets and heirlooms
When a ? appears on the map, a rumor has surfaced somewhere: ancient ruins, a hermit in the mountains, a monster terrorising a village, treasure from a shipwreck, a library hiding forbidden books, a miraculous spring, a bandit lair. Tap that land in the Quests tab or on the map to set out yourself, or spend gold to send an expedition.
- Setting out yourself begins a journey of one to three years. On the road you may meet ambushes, swollen rivers, wandering knights or a shady map seller. When you arrive, choices that test your Might, Wit and charm await — and the rewards are rich.
- While a lord is away, stability falls and no military action is possible. If you are at war, send an expedition instead.
- Quests (✦) are stories that unfold over several stages: a revenge tale hunting down your father's killer, a torn treasure map, a treasure hunt following three clues, your liege's secret letter, a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, rescuing a captured brother, an alchemist's investment, and recovering a stolen heirloom.
- Secrets are uncovered through the Socialising or Court politics focus, or through your Spymaster. Get hold of a noble's embezzlement or a neighbouring ruler's treasonous letter and you can blackmail them for money, expose them to shake an enemy, or quietly trade the secret to strengthen ties.
- Heirlooms stay in your house for generations and grant lasting effects. The Holy Grail and a fragment of the Holy Lance raise stability, a legendary sword and an eagle standard raise combat strength, and Solomon's gold and the Philosopher's Stone raise income.
7. Death and succession
In the end, you will die. When you do, you choose an heir from among your children or siblings to carry on the house. Passing over the eldest can spark a succession crisis, so it is wise to name your heir in advance from the family tree in the House tab. Build up prestige to buy house legacies, and their effects will carry on from generation to generation.