HearthenValeThe Frontier
Out past the walls
The capitals are always safe. Beyond their gates the land is free to gather and settle, but raiders roam the roads and rival Politheums fight over territory. Soldiers are the ones who keep it all standing.
Soldiers fight. Everyone else is slowed.
Soldiers
- Fight raiders and enemy Soldiers. Armour cuts damage by armour ÷ (armour + 40), so 40 armour halves every hit.
- A defeated Soldier is knocked out, not killed: they wake at their city's barracks or the nearest capital. Their gear loses durability, and they lose carried goods by the rule below.
- Driving raiders off earns a bounty (capped daily) and XP.
Everyone else
- Is never knocked out. Attacks only slow you, by 5% for each attacker (10% for a Captain or Marshal), up to 50%.
- Once the attacks stop, the slow fades by 5% every 10 seconds. It ends at once inside any capital or your own city.
- Anyone can wear armour: it shrugs off armour ÷ (armour + 25) of the slow.
Fight back, keep more
When raiders or enemy Soldiers overrun a party on the frontier, how much it keeps depends on how hard it fought. Traders, escorts and anyone who joins in fight as one party, and all their damage counts.
| Damage dealt to attackers | Goods kept | Goods lost |
|---|---|---|
| None | 50% | 50% |
| 25% | 62.5% | 37.5% |
| 50% | 75% | 25% |
| 75% | 87.5% | 12.5% |
| Attackers driven off | 100% | 0% |
Goods lost = 50% × (1 − share of the attackers' strength your party removed)
The rule applies to everything the party carries, caravan cargo included, in the same proportion for every member. Raiders' plunder vanishes from the world; enemy Soldiers carry theirs off.
Caravans
Prices differ from region to region, and caravans are how you profit from it. Hire one at any market stall, load it, and take it out through a gate. Merchants get a larger wagon for free; anyone else can hire a smaller one for a few coins, plus up to three guards.
Caravans attract more ambushes than a lone traveller, so guards, a better sword and good armour all pay for themselves. Before you set out you see your total cargo value and your escort's strength; afterwards you see exactly what you kept.
Watch the hills. Raiders ambush travellers more often in Greyrock Hills, and never near a capital.
The Soldier's life
Duty
Garrison and escort
Soldiers guard their own Politheum's city for a wage from its treasury, and any Soldier can take escort contracts from any player.
Ranks
Sergeant, Captain, Marshal
Soldiers level by defending, patrolling and escorting. Sergeant at level 15, Captain at 30, Marshal at 50. Captains and Marshals command squads.
Supply
Equipped by everyone
Swords and plate from Blacksmiths, padded armour and banners from Tailors, bread from Farmers, barracks and walls from Builders. Gear wears with use.
Defence
Walls never sleep
A city's strength is its Soldiers on duty plus its walls and watchtowers. Offline Soldiers posted to a guard tower still count, at reduced strength.
Politheum wars
Wars are how Politheums take land from each other. They're built so no one loses their home at 3 a.m. and big groups can't bully small ones.
- DeclareThrough the charter, with a fee paid to Goldspire's Charter Court. Fighting starts 48 hours later.
- Siege windowsLand can only be taken during the defender's siege windows: 2 hours, up to 3 times a week, set in its charter.
- Take a districtEvery claim is split into districts. Break through the walls and hold the banner post with more Soldiers than the defenders for 10 minutes.
- Make peaceA war ends by surrender, a peace both charters approve, or automatically after 14 days.
What's never at risk
- Homes, workplaces and stored goods are never destroyed. Only walls, towers and gates take damage, and Builders repair them.
- Bought plots keep their owners when land changes hands.
- Homesteads are never captured.
Fair-fight rules
- No city can be fully conquered at launch: the Town Hall district can't be attacked.
- A Politheum can be at war with at most two others at once.
- A much smaller Politheum can refuse a war once per season.
- The same two Politheums can't fight again for 14 days.
Fair warning
- Push notifications about 10 minutes before a raid reaches your city.
- Alerts when war is declared on you, when a siege window opens, and when a district is under attack.