Combat Rules

========== Combat in Noble Builder ==========
For centuries since the time of Veloden the First, the Empire has enjoyed a period of safety and internal protection known as the Stone Peace. There have of course been wars with bordering kingdoms (and a pair of short-lived rebellions), but for the most part the lords of the Empire have seen little conflict. Unfortunately, as the Throne's power wanes and the enemies of the realm grow more ambitious, the threat of invasion looms. The pagan seers of the north predict a coming time of great strife, and every lord would do well to understand the arts of war.

- Every fighting force, no matter how big or small, is comprised of Units. A unit represents a single group of soldiers with the same weapons, armor, training and commander.

- Units are commanded independently, but can be organized into Formations. Each unit in a Formation must take the same action as the rest in a turn, but different Formations can provide certain benefits. Just declare what kind of formation you want (Shield Wall, Pike Square, Spearhead, etc) and the GM will accord you relevant bonuses and proportional penalties.

- Each unit has five base stats: Strength, Toughness, Speed, Morale, and Range (see below). Players can modify these outside of combat by upgrading their units with different weapons, better armor, new commanders, etc.

- A player can have a maximum of 30 unique units under their control. Once a player reaches this limit, they can no longer take an action to form new units, but can spend an action to increase either the Strength, Toughness or Morale of an existing unit by 1 without a roll.

- Players can build or take control of Fortifications, in which Units can be garrisoned. Fortifications impose unique rules on combat (see below).

=== Unit Stats ===

- Strength represents the unit's offensive capability and/or its numbers. The more individuals in a unit, the more potent it's going to be. On a successful attack roll, the unit deals damage equal to its Strength to the defending unit's Toughness.

- Toughness is the unit's defensive capability and their endurance. Units in combat suffer loss to Toughness, and when Toughness reaches 0 the unit is destroyed.
Toughness also calculates how many rounds in a row a unit can fight before it must recuperate. After fighting for (Toughness) rounds, a unit must spend 2 rounds regathering its strength before it can fight again. If pressed beyond this, the unit takes a cumulative -10 to attack rolls and a -1 to Morale for each round it fights.

- Speed is, well, how fast the unit goes. Speed determines how many turns it takes a unit to pass through a territory, and also how far they can move in one turn on the battlefield.
Every turn that a unit advances towards another unit, it subtracts its Speed score from that unit's Range score. if a unit's Speed equals or exceeds the defender's Range, it closes the distance that turn.

- Morale is the unit's cohesion and leadership skill. Units in combat suffer loss to Morale, and when Morale reaches 0 the unit either surrenders or is routed. Morale also determines how loyal the unit is to their lord or commander.
Players can make a roll to force enemy units that have lost at least 2 Morale to rout. They take a penalty equal to 10x the unit's Morale score to this roll (thus, a unit with Morale 10 will never run or surrender). If successful, the enemy unit flees the battlefield, but is not destroyed.

- Range is the effective distance that the unit can attack from. Lower Range applies a penalty to attack rolls against higher Range scores equal to 10x their difference. Likewise, Higher Range applies a bonus to attack rolls against lower Range scores equal to 5x their difference.

=== Fortifications ===
Combat in open terrain is one thing, but fighting your enemy when they're holed up behind thick walls of stone and earth is another. Fortifications add their own qualities to a battle and give defending forces a considerable advantage.

- Each Fortification may be garrisoned by a single Unit. No more than one Unit may benefit from a Fortification, and Units in Fortifications cannot join Formations.

- Units garrisoned in Fortifications add their Strength score to that of the Fortification, and use their own Morale. The Fortification has its own Toughness rating, and has a Speed and Range of 0.

- Fortifications can be outfitted with artillery and defensive weaponry to increase their Strength or give them a Range score.

- Attacking units must reduce a Fortification's Toughness to 0 in order to destroy it. Alternatively, they can reduce the garrisoned unit's Morale to 0 to force a surrender.

- Unlike regular Units, a Fortification can fight indefinitely without need of recuperation. However, besieged Fortifications can be starved out or exhausted of supplies. Each month cut off from aid reduces the garrisoned unit's Morale by 1.