1) Spamming unsolicited and unaproved advertisements to the list.

2) Playing two nations at the same time in a single game (a BIG no no, which will get you banned from all games).

3) Intentional, malicious insults towards other list participants. We do not rule these lists with an iron first. We prefer they remain open forums for the list members to use and discuss whatever they wish. However, there are a significant number of under 18 aged players within the 1483 Online community, and as the game provider, we must see to it that abusive, and profane speach not be allowed. As a general rule, as long as you avoid commonly-viewed-as profanity, and don't seek to maliciously insult other players, we won't have any problems. As a general rule, a warning to any player in violation of list conduct will be issued on the hopes that such conduct cease before any actions are taken.

4) E-mailing 1483 Online players privately for the express purpose of conducting the above offenses in #3 may also warrant a list suspention or banning. We realize that 1483 Online is a very diplomatically drive game and that regular a constant communications with other players happens. As such we are fairly flexible in this regards, but if another player asks you to stop e-mailing them, then stop e-mailing them. We will only act once requests of that nature have been ignored.

5) Intentional disruptive behavior. If your list behavoir is intentionally juvenile and appears to be conducted not for game play or discussion purposes, but rather just to devalue the utility of the list for other players and/or the moderator, this may warrant not a banning, but a cancellation of the players ability to post to the list. They can still get list e-mails in order to recieve turn updates, but not be able to post messages to the list themselves.

6) Anyone age 13 or younger will require their parents permission in order to play. We require that permission in writing. Letters may be mailed to Guild of Blades Publishing Group, 13620 Ashton Rd, Detroit, MI 48223, or faxed to 1 (209) 315-8453. Any players 13 and younger found to be playing without parental consent shall be removed from the discussion lists and game play.

7) Impersonating the moderator or another player. For instance, if you are playing Germany, it is perfectly ok to lie to them and tell them that you've talked to the Polish player and that Poland intends to attack him. It is NOT ok to fake the Polish players e-mail address, then send fake diplomacy to the German player, or worse yet, try to e-mail Poland's turn to the moderator. We will not issue any warning for this activity. If you are suspected of this, you'll be booted from the game you are in. If we can prove it, you will be banned from all 1483 games.

Due to the large number of different kingdoms and empires represented in 1483 Online, it is important that players know several key mapping elements and symbols in order to effectively read the maps. These map features are detailed below:

Land/Water Boundaries: Thick Line: Thick lines indicate the boundary between land and water. Land units may not cross into a sea zone unless being carried by a transport ship of some type and ships may never cross onto a land territory.

Land Territory Boundaries: Thin Line: Thin lines define the boundaries of any land territory.

National Boundaries: Thick Line: Thick lines represent the boundaries of a nation as it stands at the start of the game.

Sea Zone Boundary: Dotted Line: This marks the boundary between two sea zones.

Land Territory: All non-sea zone territories are land territories. All land territories will have a name marked in normal lettering within its boundaries, or in the water adjacent to the territory in the case of very small territories. Each land territory will also have an assigned Resource Value represented by a black circle with a white number in it.

Special Rule: The Siberian territories in Northern Asia (white with question mark in them) will randomly have the
following units in them when attacked (once placed, these units remain until the territory is conquered). Roll 1d10:
1-3 = 1 infantry, 2-6 = 2 infantry, 7-8 = 2 infantry and 1 cavalry, 9-10 = no defending units. These units represent
local tribes and harsh winter conditions in the zone.

Special Rule: The remote African territories (WHITE with question mark in them) have roaming tribes; therefore
one never knows what is there until entering the territory. Once placed, these units remain until the territory is
conquered. Roll 1d10 and add the territories resource value: 1-2 = no defending units, 3-4 = 1 infantry, 5-6 = 2
infantry, 7 = 3 infantry, 8 = 3 infantry and 1 cavalry, 9 = 4 infantry, 10 = 4 infantry and 1 cavalry, 11 = 5 infantry,
12 = 6 infantry and 1 cavalry.

Special Rule: The Berber territories in Africa (GRAY territories with question mark in them in North West
Africa) have bands of ruthless raiders in them. Going on phase 5, the Berber's are governed by special rules.
They will attempt to raid territories touching any Berber territory. The chance that a raid will happen is 1 in 10
for every point of value the territory has. This means if a territory has a resource value of 3 and it borders a
Berber territory, during Phase 5 there is a 3 in 10 chance that nomadic Berber raiders will attack that territory.
When attacking, the Berber's will attack with 1d10 - 3 cavalry (with a minimum of 1 cavalry). If they take the
territory, it is automatically incorporated into their empire. The Berber's will NEVER try to reach out further than
1 territory away from their original starting territories. If a Berber territory is attacked, it will have 1d10 - 4
cavalry defending it, with a minimum of zero defenders.

Special Rule: The majority of North America is occupied by independant, smaller tribes. When these territories
are attacked a roll is made to determine the size and capabilities of the tribe or tribes currently within that
territory. 1D10 is rolled and the result is added to x2 the resource value of the territory. Consult the chart
below to see what native forces occupy that territory.

Roll Result
1-2 No Units
3-4 1 Infantry
5-6 2 Infantry
7-8 3 Infantry, 1 General
9-10 4 Infantry
11-12 5 Infantry, 1 General
13-14 6 Infantry
15-16 7 Infantry
17 8 Infantry, 1 General
18 10 Infantry
19 11 Infantry
20 12 Infantry, 1 General

Resource Value Marker: Black Dot with White Numbering. This represents the resource value of an individual territory. The resource value of all land territories is marked with a large black dot. Inside the dot, in white lettering, is the resource value of the territory. Naval territories have NO resource value.

Sea Zone: All sea zones are named with Yellow lettering within the boundaries of the zone. Sea zone territories are separated by dotted black lines.

Special Rule: Due to ice flow and icebergs, movement into or out of the Barents Sea Zone costs 2 movement
points. In addition, upon entering, or being built in this zone, the ship has a chance of striking ice and sinking. This
will happen on a roll of 1 on 1d10. This must also be rolled if a ship is being built into the Barents Sea via some
port in a territory adjacent to that sea.

Special Rule: The Barring Straits. This is the water way separating Asia and North America. It is frozen for a
significant portion of the year and thus is very dangerous to navigate by sea. Any ships that enter this sea zone
will have a 1 in 10 chance of being sunk by an iceberg.

Cities: Cities are marked as a small colored dot within the boundary of the land territory they reside. All newly built land units MUST BE PLACED WITHIN A TERRITORY CONTAINING A CITY. (Capital cities have a white ring around them, though this has no game significance, but can boost your ego if you capture someone else's capital). If a nation loses it's last city, then its highest valued "core" (see below for Core definitions) territory will act as a city, allowing them to build units there. They may not, however, build a number of units greater than 2 times the territory's value in a single turn. If a nation no longer has any core territories, then it is considered conquered. If that nation owned colonies, then there is a chance it may continue on with only its colonial possessions (see Colonies for full details). Tribal cities are marked by a black dot with the text "T1", "T2", etc inside them to mark which tribal nation they belong to.

Fortification Factor: All cities contain a number within the colored dot that represents them. This number is the city's fortification value. If the territory containing a city is attacked, all defending infantry may add 1 to their defense value, up to a maximum of 3, for every full 3 points of fortification value a city has.

Core territories provide a nation several benefits that other territories do not. Each of these benefits are listed below.

1) Unlimited Build Potential: Any city or port owned by a nation in one of its "core" territories has an unlimited build allotment. That means that the player may build as many land or naval units out of those territories as they can afford to purchase in any given turn. All other territories may only have a number of units built out of them per turn as the resource value of the territory.

2) Automatic re-incorporation. In game play when a nation conquers a territory, typically they must "incorporate it" (see Incorporation below) before they can collect the resource value from it. If the territory is "core" to a particular nation, then if that nation reclaims ownership of that territory, the territory automatically becomes reincorporated into the nation's empire. No resources need be spent for this to happen.

3) No standard rebellions. Rebellions, either colonial or liberation movements will never break out in a "core" territory. The only rebellion possible within a "core" territory is a "Civil Rebellion" (detailed in Phase 10 below).

Propagation of Core: Due to the strategic importance "Core" territories provide over colonial territories, it stands to reason many players shall desire to turn conquered territories into core territories when possible. There a number of conditions that a territory must meet before it may be upgrade to "Core". Some territories, due to their distance overseas, may never be able to qualify for this upgrade.

1) A territory must have been owned *and* incorporated by the nation at the start of the turn. This means a territory may never be upgraded to core on the same turn it is conquered.

2) The propogation of "core" is directly linked to the distance a territory is from an already existing core city. By land, a territory may be up to 4 territories away from a "Core" city in order to qualify for an upgrade to "core" itself. This distance does NOT include the original core city which the trace begins at, but DOES include the territory which will be upgraded.

2A) This distance of 4 (or less) must include a line of connecting territories already owned by the nation, all of which must be core themselves. If a nation can not trace such a line of territories, then the territory in question can not be upgraded to core. Though once a territory is core, if this line is later broken, all core territories cut of in this manner shall remain core.

2B) Core may be extended across sea zones as well. The distance core may extended overseas is 3 sea zones. Both the originating city and the territory which is to be upgraded must be on the coastlines, and both must contain ports.

2C) The ability to extend core inland, from overseas destinations is limited. Only an overseas city, which has been upgraded to core, has the capability of extending core further. The distance such a city may extend core is only 2 territories, not counting itself. Territories beyond the city which are upgrade to core, can themselves, not extend the core further.

Example: The English people conquer Brussels from France. Several turns later they build a port there, then upgrade the city to core. The English then go on to conquer all the rest of France. After the conquests, they decide to start upgrading as much of France into core as possible in order to limit the possibility for a liberation movement (see Rebellions) happening. They begin by turning Paris, Rouen, and Troyes into core. Next they turn Britanny, Aquitaine, Lyon, and Savoy into core. The only two territories that can not be turned ito core, with the only port being in Brussels, are Bordeaux, and Toulouse. However, England could later build a port in Aquitaine, which would then bring both of those territories within range for upgrade.

Example #2: This time England has gone to war with Portugal. The war goes well and an English army invades and captures Portugal itself. They incorporate it that turn, then build a port on it the following turn. The turn after that they pay to upgrade it to core. The territory of Portugal is at the extreme range that English are able to upgrade an overseas territory to core, it being 3 sea zones away from England's core (sea zones of English Channel, Bay of Biscay, and South Altantic Ocean). The English port in Aquitaine is actually only two sea zones two distance from Portugal, but because it is already only an overseas upgraded-to-core territory, Aquitaine can not propogate the core. The war against Portugal comes to a conclusion when England captures Tangiers. Since Tangiers is more than 3 sea zones away from England's original core, it is not possible for England to upgrade it to core.

3) During the Incorporation Phase of the turn a player may upgrade a territory to core assuming it is eligible according to the above rules. To upgrade a city territory the player must pay 10 times the resource value of the territory. To upgrade a non city territory cost 5 times the resource value of the territory.

4) If a non city territory is already core, but then has a city built upon it, it shall revert to non core status. Once this reversian happens this new city shall be treated as a colony, though the player may pay to upgrade it to core again on any future turn.

Colony: A Colony is any land belonging to a nation, where that land is not "core" to that nation. In this manner there can be two types of colonies. Each of these is detailed below. All colonial cities restrict the number of units that a nation may build out of them. A nation may only build a number of units out of a colonial city (or port) equal to the point value of the colonial territory. Also note that colonies are more prone to rebellion than core territories, each of the two below colony types having seperate types of rebellions (see Rebellions towards the bottom of this rules page).

1) Conquered Colonies: This type of colony exists where once there was an independant nation which has since been conquered. The total sum of all lands owned by the conquering nation, that once belonged to the conquered nation, comprise the entirety of this colony. Hence, if Mongolia conquers all of China, all of China that has not been made part of Mongolia's "core" shall be one large colony. If multiple nations partake in the conquest of a single nation, then each conquerer's part of the conquered nation shall comprise its own colony. So if China were conquered by Mongolia, Tibet, and Japan, then China would effectively have become 3 separate colonies.

2) Created Colonies: These are colonies that an imperial power owns that had never belonged to an independant nation. This includes tribal lands. The size of this sort of colony can vary widely. The largest city within a colony shall always be treated as that colony's capital (or more aptly, a provincial capital to the owning imperial power). If two colonial cities are 2 or less territories apart from each other (none or one space between them), then they shall belong to the same colony. Any number of colonial cities may be strung together in this fashion to represent one larger colony. Additionally, the colony will comprise of all non city colonial lands directly next to each colonial city, and all non city colonial lands beyond that, which are still connected to the colonial entity by land via a continous line of adjacent territories. If a non city colonial territory lay an equal distance between two colonial cities/entities, then the territory shall belong to the colony which has the higher resource value between the two cities. If the city resource values are the same, then the non city colonial territory shall belong to the colony with a greater sum of total resources.

1: Master of Terrain: This is the ability to determine the best land area within a territory for which to make a defensive stance. This allows the general to give defending troops a major advantage in combat. In any land territory without a city, infantry with a general with this skill may receive +2 to their defense.

2: Master Tactician: Generals like Napoleon, Alexander The Great, and Hannibal possessed such skill. These generals are masters of the battlefield and are best when attacking. Such a general will give +1 Attack to infantry and +1 Attack to cavalry under their immediate command.

3: The Cautious: These generals always secure their path of retreat before any battle. They think the best defense against an advancing army is to tire them out, and continually harass them as they advance. After the first round of combat has been resolved, this general and any remaining troops with him may retreat to any territory under his nation's control (or allied territory) adjacent to the territory the battle was being fought in. Due to this game being online, players must leave the Moderator instructions to use this ability and under what circumstances. Vague instructions will be completely up to Moderator interpretation.

4: Master Engineer: This general is expert in how to weaken and destroy enemy fortification and gain access to a city quickly. All city fortification ratings automatically receive a -2 when this general is among the attacking army. All Artillery with this general have an attack rating of 7 instead of 5.

5: Master of the Steppe: This is a natural born cavalry leader. They are experts on how to utilize cavalry. Any time such a general is in command of an all cavalry force (no infantry, and no artillery) all cavalry receive +2 to their combat factor. This ability will also work with knights or a combined force of cavalry and knights.

6: Quartermasters: These men know how to make limited resources last much longer and accomplish much more. They are excellent organizers and therefore the best commanders of an army within a city under siege. All defending infantry within a city under attack receive an additional +1 to their defense (still a maximum rating of 9).

7: The Statesman: This person is fluent with the workings of the nation's governing systems. When this general conquers a new territory it only costs half as much to fully bring the territory into the kingdom (Incorporation) if that money is spent while the general is still in that territory.

8: Man of the People: This general is loved by the people and knows how to use that to excellent advantage. When a territory that has been officially incorporated into the kingdom is attacked and this general is leading the defense, he is able to summon forth the peasants to form a militia capable of assisting the army. The general may call forth one militia unit per 4 resource value of the territory (i.e. 1-4 gives 1 militia, 5-8 gives 2, etc). These militia only defend at a 2, but may be taken as casualties. If the territory is successfully defended, any surviving militia simply disband.

9: The Brigand: If this general is in a territory adjacent to an enemy territory and is accompanied by more total units than are in the enemy territory, he can cause the opposing player to lose the resources from that territory that turn. He accomplishes this by taking his troops on "unofficial" raiding parties across the countryside, but always withdraws before confronting actual troops.

10: The Admiral: This general is an expert naval tactician and strategist. If this admiral is on board any ship among your fleet, all vessels in that fleet will receive +1 in combat.

Action 1: Diplomatic Influence:

To start with, all non player nations are considered "neutral" towards all other nations. Many factors may change this, and will be detailed in this section. The "Non-Player Nation Chart" appears as follows:

During this action, a player may perform one or more of the following:

-Influence: For a cost of 5 resources a player may try to influence a non player nation to become friendlier with him. On a roll of 9 or 10, the nation's status will move one box to the right. If the nation he is trying to influence is already in the "At War" box, then only a roll of 10 will move his status to the right. If that is done, it shall end the war between the two nations.

Influence may also be done on "Rebel factions" and colonies. For these purposes, any nation which ic conquered will develop an underground rebel faction that will one day hope to liberate the nation from foriegn rule. A conquered nation's rebel faction will only go away of 1) the nation is liberated or 2) all lands that once belonged to the conquered nation have become core territories owned by other nations. See above terms and definitions for colonies. These "rebel factions" and "colonies" may exist on other nations' diplomatic chart, the same as if they were non player nations. It should also be noted that if a player nation goes to war with another player nation which owns one or more colonial entities, that that war shall not effect the diplomatic relations between the first nation and the other nation's colonies. Only if the first nation invades the actual colony's lands shall the colony itself also be "at war" with the other nation, even if it is "technically" at war with it due to its imperial owner being at war with it.

-Negative Influence: For a cost of 8 resources a player may try to influence a non player nation to become less friendly with a 3rd party nation. On a roll of 9 or 10, the neutral nation will move one box to the left concerning it's standing with the 3rd party nation. Note: This tactic cannot be used to cause a non player nation to go to war with another nation, nor may it make a player at war with another nation's colonies. However, a colony may be negatively influenced in this manner against its owning empire. If the colony ever reaches the "at war with" state of diplomacy with its owning empire, the colonial entity will rebel in a bid for independance (see colonial rebellions).

-Use Threat of War: If a non player nation is at war with another nation, then a 3rd party Player nation may use a threat of war to cause the non player to end the war and move to the disfavorable box regarding the nation he is fighting. This will succeed on a roll of 3 thru 10. If the threatening nation has no land border with the nation he is threatening, then success will only happen on a 9 or 10. Regardless how the neutral nation responds to the threat of war, the neutral will move one box to the left on the threatening nation's diplomacy chart. If a nation uses the threat of war on a neutral and that neutral does not stop its war, the major nation must follow declare war on its next turn or else lose all ability to use the threat of war for the rest of the game. A player can not use threat of war against any nation it is currently at war with.

-Finance War: This is where one player finances a neutral nation in a war against another player nation. There are limited circumstances where this option will be possible. A neutral nation will only be interested in receiving such support if they had previously been in a war against one or more player nations *and* lost at least one territory in that war. Any player may place a bid with such a neutral to try and get the neutral to attack a nation which previously attacked and captured territory from it. The target nation must 1) still own at least one territory which had been captured from the neutral nation and 2) have a land border with the neutral nation and/or have a coastal territory and at least one port *and* the player nation has to have at least one coastal territory. To place a bid to attempt to get a neutral to re-instate such a war merely e-mail the Moderator with your bid. The minimum bid is 10 resources. The Moderator will examine the situation to judge weather the neutral nation would have a realistic chance of recapturing its lost territories with the support of the bid.

If the Moderator thinks such a war would benefit the neutral then he/she will accept the bid. If the Moderator accepts the bid the bidding nation MUST PAY the bid amount each and every turn for the duration of the war between the neutral nation and the target nation. The bidding nation can not skip paying the neutral nation even if they find themselves in another war, or even if they are near being conquered. If the neutral nation is conquered, then a per turn payments stop. If the neutral nation manages to recapture all of its original territories which had been conquered by the target nation, then the neutral nation will automatically offer the target nation a peace offer. If the target nation accepts the offer, then the war ends and the financing player nation must pay the neutral nation the bid amount one last turn and then the payments stop. If the target nation does not accept the peace agreement the war will continue and the financing player nation must continue to finance the neutral nation. When the initial bid is placed, should the Moderator decide the decline the offer to finance the war, the minor nation will keep 10 resources from the bid (Bribe money paid to the ruling family), but will return anything beyond that.

If a neutral nation accepts war financing and is successful in regaining its lost territories from the target nation, the neutral nation will automatically shift one slot to the right on the financing nation's diplomacy chart. If a bid offer is rejected no future bids will be accepted unless they are for an amount of resources at least 2 greater than the previous bid.

Action 2: Trade & Economy:

A note regarding Trade resource points. Trade resource points are wealth that is generated by trade transactions and is not represented by resource point markers on the map. Generally this is wealth owned by the nobles and merchants and not the military. If at any time a nation is "conquered", any trade resources it owned are lost. In essence the trade is not lost and is still controlled by the powerful merchants within the land and those merchants will insure it remains unreachable by the conquerers or other outsiders. If at any time a nation regains its independance, those trade resources locked away in this manner shall return. A nation may also opt to "gift" trade resource points to another nation, but not after it has been conquered. This is done by transfering trade contracts, and in some cases by getting important nobles and/or merchants to actually move to the other nation. This transfer of trade will cost 1 resource point for each point transferred and may only be done with nations within the appropriate distance to recieve it, per the steal land and sea trade restrictions detailed below.

Steal Sea Trade: Many nations have several trade routes by sea; each one of these trade routes gives the nation with it an income of 1 resource per turn. It is possible for one nation to steal a sea trade route from another. It costs 5 resources to try this. The base chance of success is 1-5 on a D10. If the nation making the attempt has more total naval vessels that the target nation, then add 1 to the chance of success for the total number of ships greater than the target nation. Example: If Venice has 9 ships and is trying to capture a resource traded by sea from Portugal, who only has 6 ships, then Venice would succeed on a 1-8. The maximum chance for success is a 9, a 10 is always failure. If the nation attempting to capture the resource has less total ships than the target nation, then subtract 1 from the chance of success for each ship less the nation has. The minimum chance of success is a 1. In order for a nation to attempt to steal sea trade from another nation, it must own a port on an incorporated city territory within 4 sea zones distance (port to port) of a port owned by the nation with the sea trade.

Steal Land Trade: Land trade is just like sea trade, except these are trade routes across land. Just like sea trade, it costs 5 resources to try and steal a land trade and success will happen on a roll of 1-5 on 1d10. Unlike sea trade, there are no modifiers to the success of an attempt to steal land trade, however in order to attempt to steal a land trade route; the nation doing the stealing must have a land border with the nation he is stealing from.

Develope Land Trade: Develope land trade allows the player to try and generate new economic growth by opening new trade markets that no one else has yet to exploit. Land trade is more difficult to develop than sea trade since land trade may only be conducted with nations which boarder the nation. 10 resources are spent for the attempt and on a 8-10 the nation will have successfully created a new land trade.

Develope Sea Trade: Nations may also try to develop new sea trade. This is easier than developing new land trade, but then, it is generally more difficult to hang onto.

Trade Reorganization: For a cost of 3 resources, a nation may have the point value of a territory containing a city drop by one and have another raise by one. To do this, there must be a line of controlled territories between the 2 cities. Sea zones can be part of that line as long as the nation has ships in each sea zone between the cities. Only "core" cities may be re-organized in this fashion, and a city may only have 1 resource reorganized (either as the recieving city, or the city transfering the resource out) in this fashion per turn.

Build Economy: This option allows a player to increase the point value of any land territory he owns and is collecting income from. The player will pay an amount of resources per the chart below and roll a d10, on a roll of 1-5, the territory in question permanently has it's income value raised by 1. The cost to economically develop a newly built (not conquered) colonial city is only half (round down) that of the normal cost to build a city's economy.

Build New City: You may chose to build a new city in any territory you own and already have incorporated into your empire. The cost to build a new city is 15 resources. If this territory is within the core of your empire, then the territory shall lose its "core" status and become a colony instead. In this fashion, no matter if a player builds a city in their homeland or in one of their colonies, all newly built cities begin play as a colonial city.

Trade Caravans: You may to create a Trade Caravan during this phase. A trade caravan is a non military unit that has been designed to transport resources from a city within your empire to somewhere else on the board. When creating a trade caravan a player must decide how many resources to place into it. Once decided, those resources are subtracted from the nation's saved resources and the trade caravan is placed on the map within a "core" city of port territory owned by the nation. Trade caravans are placed on the map during the Place New Units action within the turn. During the movement phase of any turn which the trade caravan was in play at the beginning of the turn, the nation may move the trade caravan like a unit. It has a movement of 7. The trade caravan may board ships and travel through enemy, neutral, and friendly territories. Once it reaches a "core" city or port belonging to the nation meant to recieve the resource, those resources are automatically added to that nation's saved resources. If, however, a trade caravan ever runs into a unit with instruction to steal the resources from that trade caravan (or any trade caravan), then the nation owning that unit shall then destroy the trade caravan and take all of its resources for itself.

Trade caravans may be placed on any ship. If a ship carrying a trade caravan is sunk, then all resources being transported by the caravan are lost. If a ship carrying a trade caravan is captured, then all of those resources are also captured.

Action 3: Build New Units:

During this action, a player may spend any or all of his saved resources to purchase land units, sea units and/or ports. Units purchased will not be placed on the board until the Place New Units Action.

Action 4: Naval Movement:

A player may now move any or all of his sea vessels. It is also during this phase that land units and/or trade caravans would board a vessel for transport. It is possible for several nations to occupy the same sea zone and not have a naval battle break out. Unless a player has specific instructions to attack ships entering a sea zone he occupies, movement into and through an occupied sea zone is possible. If a navy is attacked while moving, and IF they successfully defend themselves, any surviving ships may continue on to the destination they had intended to move to. If two nations are currently at war, by default ships belonging to one nation will attack ships belonging to the other if its ships enter a sea zone controlled by the other.

Merchantmen & Transporting Units: Merchantmen have 2 transport points. Ships of the Line have one transport point. Generals, Admirals, and Trade Caravans require zero transport points, Infantry one transport point, and Artillery, Cavalry, and Knights two transport points to carry. In the event a ship is picking up more than one unit in the same turn it may do so as long as both its are in territories adjacent to the sea zone the ship is in. Units may be dropped off to 1 land territory only in a single turn. Land units with more than one movement may NOT move after being dropped off from any ship. Any ship dropping off units can not move any further after dropping off those units.

Deep Sea Naval Movement: Instead of standard naval movement a player may have a ship or group of ships enter into deep sea movement. During any turn where ships are doing deep sea movement they may not pick up any units. They may also not seek to engage in a naval attack. By default this means they may not enter into any sea zone containing ships belonging to a nation they are at war with. Deep Sea movement allows ships to move at 4 times their normal rate. Hence Ships of the Line and Merchantmen have up to 12 movement points and Frigates up to 16 movement points. If at any point during that movement if the ships are stopped by an enemy fleet and enter combat, those ships which survive the combat are done moving for the turn. Also, because the ships are sailing in order to make the best time possible they are not in military formation and are thus at a combat disadvantage if they are intercepted and forced into combat. Ships of the Line and Frigates both receive a -2 to attack, and Merchantmen receive a -1.

Action 5: Naval Combat:

Naval Combat may happen in one of two events. The first is where you intentionally move ships into another sea zone with the declared (to the moderator) intent to attack an enemy fleet there. The second is where your ships are simply trying to move through a sea zone and a player with ships there has left instructions with the moderator to fight your ships if they try to enter. In both cases the ships entering the sea zone are considered the "attacker" for combat purposes. Before the combat begins, apply any additional combat points from an Admiral evenly among all the ships present, 1 point going to Ships of the Line first, then Frigates, the merchantmen. If an Admiral has more points than ships to distribute the points among, all other points are added to the highest combat value ships, up to to a combat value of 9. Attacking ships roll (the moderator rolls) to determine how many hits (a hit is where a ship rolls equal to or under its combat factor on a D10) they inflict upon the defender. Each hit will remove 1 ship from the game (except for Ships of the Line which can take 2 hits before being sunk). The defending ships roll their defensive rolls (including ships sunk this round of combat), and hits are applied to the attackers vessels in the same way. Hits for a combat round are applied simultaneously. The attack will then continue on to the next round. The attack will continue until one side or the other is victorious. The attacker may choose to put a condition for retreat, in which case if the condition is met, the Moderator will retreat the attacker into the nearest sea zone not occupied by enemy vessels.

Unless specified to the Moderator by either combatant, the Moderator will automatically apply naval loses to each combat force is the following order: 1) Merchantmen, 2) Frigates, 3) Merchantmen carrying units, 4) Ships of the Line, 5) Ships of the Line carrying units.

At the conclusion of any naval battle, the victorious fleet has a chance of having captures some of the enemy vessels rather than having sunk them. But this is only in cases where the victorious fleet sank *all* the ships they had fought and where non of the enemy ships were able to retreat. There is a 1 in 10 chance that a Ship of the Line would be captured. If captured, it shall be a damaged Ship of the Line. There is a 2 in 10 chance of Frigates being captured, and a 5 in 10 chance of Merchantmen being captured.

Action 6: Land Movement:

The active player now decides to move any to all of his land units. All Infantry and Artillery may move one space into any adjacent land territory. Cavalry and Knights may move two spaces, but only if the first space they move through is not occupied by enemy troops. If the movement of the land units has moved them into a territory owned by another nation, then one of several things will happen. Normally this will be an attack unless the player moving his units declares otherwise. If such a declaration is made, then the owner of the territory may decide to either allow the units to enter or try and prevent them from entering (if he has troops there to stop him with). (Player nations are assumed to NOT allow other player's troops into their territories unless the Moderator receives an email from them allowing a specific nation passage through their lands). If they chose the second, then land combat occurs. Cavalry moving through 2 enemy territories may capture the first unoccupied territory and move into a second enemy territory in the same turn. Non-player nations will never allow player nation troops to enter their territory. During this action, troops aboard transport vessels may also offload and/or beach land for a naval invasion. (see below).

Acquiring Territory: Once land units have entered a vacant enemy territory, or destroyed all the defending units (see Land Combat) in a territory, that nation becomes the new owner of the territory. However, before the player is able to collect any resources from their newly acquired territory, they must spend resources to (Incorporate) effectively extend their nation's government into it in order to control the populace. This can be paid for during the Incorporation Action later in the turn with any saved money, or paid for in any future turn. Until a territory is incorporated the nation owning it will not receive the resources from that territory. Any non-city territory costs two times (x 2) its listed resource value in order to incorporate it into the kingdom. A territory with a city in it cost 4 times (x 4) its listed resource value. (The territory will change color to that of the incorporating nation, letting everyone know he is now collecting resources from it. Until then ownership will be marked by listing the new owning nation's name in text). If a nation is recapturing one of their "core" territories, incorporation automatically happens for the cost of zero resources.

Action 7: Land Combat:

Land combat occurs whenever the active player moves land units into an enemy controlled territory containing land units. Land combat, like naval combat, is resolved in several easy steps.

Step 1: Artillery and Fortifications: Attacking Artillery now roll to see if they can lower the Fortification factor of a city, if the territory under attack has a city in it. If there is no city, then artillery may attack like normal units with a 1 attack value. 1D10 is rolled for each Artillery unit. For each Artillery that rolls equal to or under its attack value, the Fortification value of the city is lowered by 1 point for the duration of the battle. The remaining Fortification points add it's defense bonus to defending Infantry (1-3 = +1, 4-6 = +2, 7-9 = +3).

Step 2: Combat: Both sides roll 1D10 for each of their units, trying to roll equal to or under their combat values (attack value for the attackers, defense value for the defenders) to score a hit against the opponent. Each player assigns one hit to their own units for each hit scored by the enemy. Since all land units only require one hit to destroy, any units assigned a hit are removed from play. The attacking player then has the option to retreat the rest of his units and end the combat. Any retreating land units must retreat to an adjacent land territory that was friendly prior to action 6. If the attacker chooses to stay, then repeat steps 1 & 2.

Unless otherwise specified by either combatant, the Moderator will automatically apply loses in the following order: 1) Infantry, 2) Cavalry, 3) Artillery, 4) Knights. If a General is present the Moderator will automatically evenly divide its bonuses among the troops it is with unless the player assigns those bonuses specifically to certain units.

Naval Invasions: A naval invasion occurs whenever units attempt to disembark from transport vessels into a territory that is enemy controlled. The beaches of these territories are naturally fortified. Coastal defense forces in small numbers use these natural defenses to form a suitable defense. The coastal defense force forms an imaginary unit with a defense rating of 1. This unit gets to defend the territory along with any "real" units. The coastal defense unit is always assigned the first hit scored by the attackers. There will always be 1 coastal defense unit defending against a naval invasion no matter what has previously transpired in that territory or how many other coastal defense units have been destroyed. Beach landing troops are at a severe disadvantage in combat. Invading infantry receive a -1 to their attack rating, and invading Cavalry (and Knights) receive a -3. Artillery may accompany the invaders, but not participate in a beach landing. Beach landing troops may retreat back to their Merchantmen at the end of a combat round, but if done the defenders get one free round of fire against them.

Action 8: Place New Units:

All units built during Action 2: Build New Units, are now placed on the map. The player must place all land units within an incorporated city or cities under that player's control at the start of the their nation's turn. Newly captured cities may not be used to place new troops. Additionally, no troops may be placed in any city that belongs to a territory that has not been incorporated (paid 4 times its resource value) into the player's nation. All newly built ships must be placed into a sea zone that is adjacent to a land territory containing a port belonging to the player's nation. Any newly built Ports may only be placed in a territory that was under the nation's control prior to its active turn. A Port can NOT be built in any non core territory unless the territory has a colonial city in it. In such a case any ships built out of that port would count against the maximum number of units per turn allowed to be built out of the colonial city. In the event that newly placed ships end up in a sea zone containing ships belonging to another player, an immediate naval conflict may occur, if the player with the existing ships has left orders with the Moderator to attack any newly built ships or the two nations are at war.. The ships may NOT, however, move beyond the sea zone they are placed in until the player's next turn.

Action 9: Incorporate Territories/Upgrade Core:

The player may no incorporate newly conquered territories and/or upgrade to "core" any territories which qualify for such an upgrade.

Action 10: Collect Resources:

The player now receives the resource values of all the territories currently under their nation's control that have also been incorporated into the nation. Added to this, they add the total number of resources from Sea and Land Trade as well as from Colonies. Lastly, the player adds any resources gained that turn from Tribute (neutral nations that surrendered). The total of these figures is the amount of resources (money) collected that turn. These resources, combined with any resources not spent that turn, are available at any time the player chooses to spend them.

Action 11: Treaties:

At this point any peace treaties agreed upon during the course of the player's turn now officially take effect. The player may also offer surrender options or other peace treaties at this time. Any that are agreed to, also take effect during this phase. If a surrender calls for the payment of Tribute, the victorious nations do not collect said tribute until Action 9 of their next turn.

Surrender: Player nations can agree on any surrender terms they choose; however in regards to the surrender of a non-player nation, there are certain guidelines. If a non-player nation has actually gained more territories than it has lost, it will not surrender unless under the threat of war (see action 1). Otherwise the chance of a non-player nation accepting surrender is as follows:

Base chance: 3 in 10

For each territory lost: add 2 chances in 10

Over 50% of nation lost: 9 in 10 chance of surrendering (never will the odds become better than 9 in 10).

If a non player nation surrenders to a player nation it will pay a tribute to that player for the next 5 turns. The Tribute amount will be 2 resources for each territory the minor nation lost during the war, to a maximum of 1/2 of the resources still belonging to the minor at the end of the war. Also, should a player nation offer to surrender to a non player nation, as part of the surrender treaty the non player nation will demand tribute; tribute to be on' the same terms as listed above.

Non-Player Nation Alliances: A player nation involved in a war against another nation may enlist the aid of a non-player nation he is allied to. In order for this to happen, 2 things must occur. The player must ACTIVELY be at war and have had at least 1 battle (either naval or land, but NOT simple stealing of trade) with the nation he is at war with. The non-player nation must have a land border with the nation he is asked to go to war with or have merchantmen in the water to transport troops, or at the very least a port that is within a 4 sea zone distance of the potential enemy. The non-player nation allied in this fashion will still not allow any other nations troops within it's borders.

In such a war, the neutral nation will seek peace with its enemy if one of two event happen. The first is the neutral nation's player ally has sought peace. If for some reason the neutral's player nation ally makes peace with the opposing player, yet the opposing player does not accept peace with the neutral, then the neutral will instantly fall to a disfavorable status with its former ally. If the war ends with the enemy player making peace with the neutral and its player nation at the same time (the opposing player simply tells the moderator it is seeking peace with the neutral as well), then the neutral nation will keep any territorial gains it achieved during the war. Also the neutral will demand a tribute of 2 resources per turn for each territory it gained in this fashion for the standard duration of 5 turns. If the opposing player refuses to pay such tribute, the neutral nations player nation ally has one of three choices: 1) Refuse the peace treaty and continue the war, 2) Accept the peace treaty and pay the neutral nation whatever portion of the tribute the opposing player is unwilling to pay or, 3) Accept the peace treaty and refuse to help pay the minor nation its tribute. If the minor nation's ally opts for #3, then the neutral nation will instantly become disfavorable towards that nation. If the war ends with the minor nation losing territory or gaining no territory, then it will become neutral towards its former ally.

Lastly, a neutral nation will only enter into one war at a time on behalf of its player nation ally. If the player nation is engaged in a war against several foes, the player may still only ask the minor nation to declare war on one of them. If another player nation were to declare war on the neutral it will instantly submit an offer for peace with any nation it is at war with so it may focus on the new threat.

Marriage with Neutrals: In order for a marriage to be attempted, the non-player nation must be either "Favorable" to or "Allied" with the player nation making the marriage attempt. An attempt cost 10 resources and can be made once per turn. If the neutral nation is "Allied" to the player the marriage will be successful on a 9 or 10. If "favorable" the marriage will only be successful on a 10, though a roll of 9 will move the neutral into the player's "Allied" box. A roll of 2 or 3 will move the neutral nation one slot to the left on the diplomacy chart and a roll of 1 will make the minor declare war on the player nation (abusive marriage; stolen properties & titles, etc). If at any time during the game a marriage attempt results in a war, no further marriage attempts may be made with that minor nation for the duration of the game. If a marriage is successful all territories, units, and saved resources belonging to the minor become part of the player nation which married the minor. This happens instantly, though the player nation can not command those units till the following turn. Territories gained from the minor due to the marriage are automatically incorporated into the player's empire.

Marriage between Player Nations: Two player nations may opt to have a marriage between their two empires. If this should occur, they must decide which of the two players shall continue on to rule the united lands. If no such union of thought is communicated to the moderator by both players, then no marriage shall transpire.

The cost for such a marriage is 5 resource points and must be paid by one of the two nations entering into the marriage. It does not matter which pays. Upon a successful marriage the two lands shall become united as one, with all lands owned by both being rules by the player selected to continue on. The "core" lands of the larger of the two empires remain "core" for the united empire. The lands belonging to the smaller of the two empires become a colony owned by the larger empire. All saved resources are merged, and all troops become the army of the unified land. All colonies ruled by both empires remain colonies, and all trade resources are merged.

If the 1483 game being played is a competition game being hosted for prizes, then the unified empire assumes BOTH nation's benchmark rating requirements, adding the starting income of both nations together, and adding the required resource increases together as well to achieve the next benchmark ranking.

However...a marriage between two player nations is not without its risks. There is a 1-10 chance that the nation being played by the player that would be stepping down from game play will suffer the worst kind of Royal Rebellion (see Rebellions below) where 100% of the nation is taken over by a new civil faction. In this event, the entire nation becomes a neutral nation. Its diplomatic ranking with the other nation automatically drops to disfavorable, however, a new player shall be sought to take command of the new regime within that nation at first opportunity.

On a roll of a 5-9, the nation with the player stepping down will encounter a standard royal rebellion (detailed below), with the larger of the two factions continuing on with the marriage and the opposing faction/s becoming neutral nations at war with the merged nation. If either of these factions are sufficiently large, they shall be assigned to a new player. If Royal rebellion of this nature breaks out, then as per standard royal rebellion rules, each colony belonging to that nation shall need to roll to see if it opts for independance.

Supporting Rebellion: It is now that a player may attempt to support a rebellion within another player nation. A player may pay to support 3 distictly different kinds of rebellion. Each of these is detailed below.

1) Rebellions of Liberation: This is where a rebellion is sponsored within a conquered colony. A territory is selected for the location where any successful rebellion will break out, if any rebellion breaks out. The supporting nation may pay higher amounts for an increased chance of a rebellion happening. The table below tells how much to spend for a "base chance" of a rebellion starting.

The base chance of a rebellion starting in this modified by a number of factors. +1 if the sponsoring nation is "friendly" with the "Rebel Faction" and +2 if the sponsor is "allied" with it. -2 chance if the sponsor is on unfriendly terms with the Rebel Faction. Subtract 1 from the base chance for each unit the conquering nation has within the target territory. Count a general as a unit as well and count Knights as 2 units. The number remaining is the chance on a D10 that a rebellion will break out, with there always being a minimum chance of 1 in 10 of it breaking out.

If a rebellion breaks out the rebellion will begin with 3D10 resources to buy troops with, plus an amount of resources that had been spent to support the rebellion. If the rebellion began when the base chance of that rebellion beginning had been 4 or higher, that rebellion will also begin with a general. This general does not count against the resources the rebellion has to spend on troops. Also, the general will add 10 resources points to troop spending for each factor of the general's skill. If the rebellion also began in a city territory, add an additional 10 resources to the rebellion for each resource point of the city. The starting troops for rebellion begin play in the territory in which the rebellion was sponsored. They must fight any troops belonging to the conquering nation, as attackers, to first capture that territory. If they fail to capture the territory, the rebellion is over. If they do capture the territory, the rebellion will automatically incorporate that territory, as per the automatic incorporation for core territories. The rebellion is in essence the people of the conquered player nation sprung up to try and liberate the nation. As such, after the turn they pop up, control of the rebel forces shall be turned over to the player which originally owned that nation.

If no such player can be found, the rebel army shall continue to fight against the conquering nation until such a time that it has linerated all of its original lands, minus those which have become "core" to another nation. If the nation had been conquered by several different nations, once it has liberated all of the territories owned by the nation the rebellion began against, the rebel movement will then move on to wage war against the other nations still occupying land originally owned by the rebels. The moderator may chose not to declare war on those other players right away, but the end goal of that neutral would be the complete liberation of its lands. Once it has liberated all of its lands, then it shall be like any minor nation at war with a player nation and subject to the standard rules for such a war.

2) Colonial Rebellions: A colonial rebellion is when a colonial entity strives to gain independance from the empire which owns it. The sponsoring nation must pay an amount of resources equal to the total resource value of the colonial entity for a 1 in 10 chance of a rebellion starting. Multiple accumulative chances may be purchased for the same turn. The base chance of the rebellion is adjusted up or down according to the sponsor's diplomatic standing with the colonial entity. The sponsor picks the colonial city where the rebellion is to start. Reduce the chance of rebellion by 1 point for each city within the colony which is heavily garissoned. Heavily garissoned for these purposes shall be a minimum number of units there equal to 1 + the resource value of the city. If all cities within the colony are heavily garissoned, reduce the chance of rebellion an additional 2 points. If these adjustment lower the base chance of rebellion to 0 in 10, then no rebellion will happen.

If a rebellion does happen, all troops within the target city become the core of the army owned by the colony. That city automatically recieves a general unit to lead the rebellion. Also roll 1D10 for every territory within the colonial entity that had an equal to or less than number of troops as the target city where the rebellion begins. Roll a 50/50 chance for each territory of having all the troops in those territories also join the rebellion. Those which do not join remain loyal to the imperial nation. Lastly, the colonial rebellion gets 10 resource points for each point of skill of the general to buy additional troops. Those troops are then placed within territories owned by the colonial rebellion.

All territories within the colony are considered "core" to the colonial nation. The colonial army shall fight against the player's armies only until it has achieved the complete independance for all of the territories belonging to the colony. At such a time the colony shall be recognized as an truly independant nation and shall offer the empire peace (not a surrender). If the empire accepts, then the colony becomes a neutral nation, disfavorable to its previous owning empire and keeping the same diplomatic stance it had with all other nations of the world as it had when it was a colony. If the emperial power declines peace, then the colony shall remain at war with that nation until such a time that peace if had, or a surrender from either side is issued. If a colony with 10 or more total resources rebels, that colony will be assigned a player if possible.

Royal (civil) Rebellions: A Royal Rebellion is very different from the other types of rebellions. These represent an internal faction within the core of an empire trying to attain rule of the empire. The resulting effect is most often a civil war. Or, a Royal Rebellion can also represent the ruler of a mighty empire leaving the inheritance of the empire to 2 or three sons, thus splinting the empire among them. Once every 10 turns the moderator will roll for this, checking to see if any of the world's leaders have passed on and divided the empire among several sons. The smaller an empire is, the less likely a leader would think this a viable option.

1-24 resource point nations: No chance for Royal Rebellion.
25-39 resource nations: 1 in 10 chance of Royal rebellion. (only a 2 way split)
40-54 resource nations: 2 in 10 chance of Royal Rebellion. (only a two way spit)
55-99 resource nations: 3 in 10 chance of Royal Rebellion. (if happens, 20% chance of 3 way split)
100-250 resource nations: 4 in 10 chance of Royal Rebellion. (if happens, 40% chance of 3 way split)
251+ resource nations: 5 in 10 chance of Royal Rebellion. (if happens, 60% chance fo 3 way split)

If a Royal Rebellion happens due to a splitting of the empire such as this, the empire shall be divided between the inheriting sons. The favored son, which will be representive of the current player of the nation, shall stand to inherent 50-70% of the nation, with his capital (and central concentration of territories) being the nation's original capital. The other 1 or 2 nations to spring up due to this shall have their capitals based in the two highest resource value cities remaining unclaimed by the core of territories given to the current player. Any new nation created due to a Royal Rebellion which has a resource sum of 12 or greater shall be assigned to a new player.

The other way a Royal Rebellion can break out is a civil war. This is the scenario a player is investing in when they try and support a royal rebellion. The player makes a bid. That bid should be in increments of 5 resources. For each five resources spent, there is a 1% chance that a Royal Rebellion will break out, up to a maximum of 10%. The bid amount also represents the amount of resources the pledging nation is proposing to support the rebelling faction with each game turn. If a rebellion break out, if the bid amount is not given to the rebelling faction each and every turn starting with the second turn of the rebellion, the rebel faction shall assume they were betrayed and spend whatever resources and military might they have remaining trying to destroy or hurt their betrayer. If a rebellion does break out, the rebellion shall begin with approximately 33% of the nation's territories and the troops on those territories. The goal of the rebellion will be the complete conquest and take over the home nation. Though any Civil factin which begins with 12 or more total resources shall be assigned a player if possible, and that player will have the option of negotiating a peace settlement with the originating player, which would effectively cause a perminant split of the original nation.

In a civil rebellion all territories that were "core" for the original nation will act as core for both the original natio and the civil faction. Additionally, upon the beginning of the civil war, there is a chance that conquered lands share rebel and that colonies shall chose that time to strive for independance.

Roll once for each conquered land. The moderator will automatically chose the territory with the least number of troops on it. The base chance of the rebellion starting will be 4 and be adjusted by normal means. If the rebellion begins, it shall fight either or both factions in the civil war as needed to achieve complete liberation.

For colonies, the city with the largest number of troops on it will be selected. The base chance of rebellion would again be a 4. If a colonial rebellion begins, the colonial forces shall only fight the faction which has claim to those colonial lands, and only fight them long enough to achieve indepedance, then strive for neutrality in the civil war thereafter.

In both cases, for the duration of the civil war, any Liberation of Colonial rebellions sponsored against either faction shall have a +1 to their base chance of success.

Lastly, in the event that any nation of 25 resources or greater finds itself without a rule (the player has left the game), the nation will automatically suffer a Royal Rebellion of the first kind, where the empire is spit among two or three new rulers, each to be assigned to new players.

Granting Independence: Through the course of play, there are several reasons a nation may decide to grant independence to a nation it had previously conquered. Independence may be granted to end a conflict with a rebel army or colonial rebellion. In this case, it must be full independence. This means the conquering nations returns all territory that originally belonged to the newly liberated nation, that the conquering nation still controls. The other two reasons for granting independence are an enemy nation may mandate in negotiations that the nation grant independence to a nation it had previously conquered. In this case, all the territory originally belonging to the conquered nation does not have to be restored to the original nation's control. Any number of territories, with a minimum of one city territory, may be returned during a grant of independence. How many and which territories are granted independence is purely a matter of politics between the players. The last reason to grant independence to a nation is a matter of strategy. There could arise situations where it is better to have a neutral nation with newly built armies in those territories rather than maintaining conquest over them.

When independence is granted, the newly liberated nation will build up some form of army from rebels and peasants. The nation may spend a number of resources equal to the total sum of all the territories gained from the liberation, times two. These may be spent on land units, naval units, and ports, but not diplomacy, stealing trade, or other non-military applications. These units are instantly placed on the map anywhere the liberated nation controls. In the case of liberation due to rebellion, the liberated nation gets the standard money to spend on units, plus gets to keep all remaining units from the rebellion. When a nation is granted independence, it can only be granted to territories it originally control at the start of the game.

If the nation being granted independence had been a player nation, then a couple of possibilities exist. Firstly, if there had first been a rebellion, then see rebellion rules regarding if the original player assumes control of the rebel forces or if they become a non-player nation. If the original player is not available to resume control of the newly liberated nation then the Moderator will assume control and the nation will be treated as a neutral nation. However, the nation is considered an open position which anyone, may join the gain and assume control.

Action 11: Trades & Gifts:

Being a multi player game each player will have the opportunity to conduct private diplomacy with the other players via e-mail. The players may develop any sort of agreements they wish. However, in many cases there will be no game mechanic to force a player to follow through on those agreements. That means that for such an agreement to be viable, the other player will simply have to trust the player for which the agreement was made. Examples of such agreements could be non aggression packs, promises of financial support in a war, negotiations to maintain troop levels along a common border at agreed upon numbers, etc. Players are free to make whatever arrangements with other players they wish, but are also not bound to keep those arrangements. So who you care to deal with should be influenced by how trustworthy the other player/s prove.

Trades: Official trades are a means to conduct a "safe" transaction with another player. Any assets may be traded, except for Generals. These include 1) Resources, 2) Units (including Ports), 3) Trade Resources, and 4) Ownership of territories. To conduct an official trade with another player simply, first make your arrangement with that other player. Then e-mail the Moderator AND that other player clearly stating what is being traded for what. When the Moderator receives confirmation from that other player, only then will the Moderator go ahead and process the trade. Trades are the very last thing a Moderator does on a turn update.

The trick with trades involving money is that the money must somehow be able to reach the nation the trade will be happening with. That means a trade caravan shall already have needed to have been created and dispatched. When the resources arrive to a certain location, a trade agreement can be "I will trade Germany Bohemia in exchange for 5 resources. During Germany's turn, Germany would have to send a previously created trade caravan into Poland territory (a Polish core city) and upon arrival, the trade would then take place and ownership of Bohemia would peacefully switch to Germany. If the resources are not in a position to be delivered when a trade is suppose to happen, then the trade can non happen. But its possible, if you trust your trade partner, to arrange things more easily through Gifts (see below).

Action 12: End of Turn Conditional Orders::

At this point the player leaves the Moderator any standing orders to cover the duration of other phases until the player's turn rolls around again next turn.

1) Military Co-Operation. You can chose to allow or disallow another player's units to enter a territory which you control. This applies to sea zones and land territories. Such an order could be lodged for naval units, allowing certain units passage while contesting passage for naval units from another player. Or permission can be left to allow another player's land units to enter a territory you control.

A more complicated scenario might include you have ships in the same sea zone as another player. During a later phase in that same turn a third player might try moving ships through or into that same sea zone. You can leave an order with the Moderator where if those two fleets were to fight, your ships would join one side or the other. A similar scenario could also happen on land (though its fairly unlikely), where your units are sharing the same territory as another player.

In the event a player attacks a territory containing troops from two or more players, the default assumption is that all troops within the territory will fight for the defense of that territory. It is also assumed that the attacker is trying to destroy all units within the territory. But this does not have to be the case. If the attacker declares to the Moderator that he wished to avoid combat with units belonging to one nation AND that nation has left instructions with the Moderator that if the first nation attacks the territory that they don't wish to fight the attacking forces. Or they can JOIN the attacking forces against the other defenders.

The game will be divided up into 4 phases, with 11 players per phase. The phase each nation acts on is listed on the Nation Standing chart at the Guild of Blades website. In each phase update, the Moderator will post when the turn deadline is for the next group of players. All non player nations go on phase "5" which is updated along with the phase 4 update, but calculated after all phase 4 events. Non-player nations are played by the moderator. They spend all of their money, or save it, depending on the defensive strategy the moderator uses. The only time a non player nation will become active in the affairs of the players is if they are attacked, or if they join a player as an ally in a war per the diplomatic rules.

There are a total of 15 Tribal Nations in the game. These are:

Tribal Nations 1-5 are in Africa
Tribal Nations 6-12 are in North America
Tribal Nations 13-14 are in South America
Tribal Nation 15 is in South East Asia

Tribal Nations each begin with 2 Tribal Cities. A Tribal City is a mobile city that is worth 5 resource points. Tribal players may move a Tribal city like it was a unit, but with the following restrictions. A Tribal city may not move into a territory not already owned by the tribe. On any turn that a Tribal City moves, no units may be built out of tha tribal city. Tribal cities may also be transported overseas by a merchantmen. If this is to happen, the merchantmen needs to load the Tribal City up on the turn before the merchantmen is to begin movements. Two tribal cities may not exist in the same territory.

When starting game play, Tribal Nations get to select their starting locations within the continent of their origin. Each player will make their selections in order listed. Tribal players may place their two tribal cities in any territory not already claimed by another nation, or another tribal nation. They may then select up to 3 additional territories. The Tribal player begins play with 55 resources to spend. Those resources may be spent on any units allowed to the tribal nation (North & South American nations have several restrictions. See the New World info below). Once purchased the Tribal nation may place those unit anywhere within the 5 territories they have selected. Tribal cities have a fortification value of 1.

Tribal nations work differently that other nations. The differences are detailed below:

1) Tribal Nations automatically incorporate for free any territories they conquer.

2) The Tribal Cities are automatically considered "core" to the tribal player, but no other territories they own can ever be core. When a tribal city is within a territory, that territory has a resource value of 5, and not whatever the original resource value of the territory was. That value reverts back if the tribal city is moved off that territory.

3) A tribe may decide to "settle down" into a city by disbanding a tribal city. If they do this the city selected becomes a "core" city to them, but the tribal city is destroyed.

4) When a territory with a tribal city is captured, the tribal city within the territory is destroyed. If at any time a Tribal nation has no "core" cities at all, they will no longer be able to collect resources from any lands they have remaining. If at any time a tribal nation has no tribal cities remaining, but have turned at least one regular city into a "core" city, then they cease to be a tribal nation and become a standard nation subject to all standard nation rules.

5) Tribal nations can have no diplomacy with non player nations, rebel factions, or colonies.

6) A tribal nation may only collect resources from a land if it has a tribal unit or a tribal city on it during the resource collection action portion of the turn.

7) Tribal units may not be gifted or traded. Nor may tribal cities. Ports, however, can be.

8) Tribal nations shall never suffer a "Royal Rebellion" nor a "Colonial Rebellion", but are subject to liberation movement type rebellions. Rebellions may even be supported in lands that were original not belonging to any nation, being representative of supporting the local subjugated tribes there.

9) Tribal players may build additional tribal cities for a cost of 60 resources apiece. During the unit placement action of the turn these new tribal cities may then be placed into any territory owned by the tribal player, excepting those already with tribal cities in them.

If 2 player nations are at war then they may NOT trade with each other, but may gifting items to each other. In addition, their naval units cannot share the same sea zone; movement into a sea zone occupied by a nation you are at war with is considered an attack. Lastly, a nation cannot allow passage (see below) to a nation he is at war with.

For many games, there really aren't any victory conditions. 1483 games are an ongoing "campaign" style game, meaning the world continues to evolve and game play continues until somebody conquers the world or everyone decides to stop a particular game. So the ultimate goal is the complete conquest of the world.

However, some games shall be competition games and may include prizes for the highest ranked players. Since all nations in 1483 hardly begin equal, a system called the Benchmark system is used to level the victory conditions for all players. Each nation is assigned a bechmark #1 on the chart below in order to let them guage how well they are ranked. To determine what bencmark ranking your nation is at, first count up the total number of resources you are collecting per turn. This includes lands owned, trade resources, and tribute. This does not include resources traded to you or gifted to you from other players. Take that number and subtract the total number of resources your nation began play with. If that number os negative, you can stop looking; you aren't currently winning. :) . Otherwise, look below to see what Benchmark class your nation is, then see which benchmark level your increase in resources has earned you. The nation with the highest benchmark level is the game leader. If two nations are tied at the same benchmark level, then whichever nation began the game with less total resources is the ranked higher. If they began the game with the same number of resources as well, then they are simply tied for that ranking.

Class 1: Chinese Empire

Class 2: Mongol Empire, Incan Empire

Class 3: Ottoman Empire, Russia, Dehli

Class 4: Germany, Egypt, England, Spain

Class 5: Japan, Mwenemutapa Empire, Songhoy Empire, Eithiopia, Sultanate of Samarkand

Class 6: Poland-Lithuania, Uzbeck Khanate, Cahokian Empire, Empire of the White Sheep Turks, Korea

Class 7: France, Sweden, Jurchen, Herat, Azec Empire

Class 8: Kanem, Benin, Venice, Mali

Class 9: Tibet, Denmark, Siam, all Tribal Nations.

Class 10: Bahamini Kingdom, Portugal, Sultanate of Brunei, Golden Hoarde, Morocco, Vijaynagara Empire

Class 11: Hungary, Manikongo Kingdom, Peublo Empire, Mthethwa Kingdom, Hasfid Caliphate, Yemen, Khemer Empire, Bengal, Teutonic Order, Okayama Clan.

Class 12: Scotland, Nubia, Naples, Khanate of Kazan, Zanzibar, Sofala, Die Vet, Khashmir.

The first turn missed the moderator will email the player asking him if he is still in the game. The second consecutive turn missed, the moderator will email the player as above and perform a move for the nation, building defensive units and shoring up the border (the moderator will perform no attacks). If the player does not respond to that second e-mail, the nation shall become open for play and another player will be found to assume command of it. Of course, emailing the moderator and letting him know you are going to be out of town, etc, etc is always acceptable.

The standard game turn is divided into 4 phases with nations divided Discovering The New World:

Before anyone can travel to North or South America America from Europe, Asia, or Africa, the sea route to the new continent must first be discovered. There are two seperate sea routes that cen be discovered. These are 1) The Atlantic Route, which covers all travel to and from Europe and west Africa to North America's eastern seaboard and vice versa, 2) The Pacific Route, which covers naval movement from Asia to North America's western seaboard. The discovery one one such route does not automatically mean the other route becomes available to anyone.

The First Discovery:

Since no nation knew a safe route to the new world, or even that the new world truly existed, then a nation must invest money to support a search expedition similar to the one Columbus first made. A nation may pay 5 resources and declare that they are sending an expedition. Only Ship of the Line may participate in the expedition and those ships enter Deep Sea Movement in order to travel to the new world. The player moves his ships as normal, selecting one of the sea zones off the coast of North America (excluding Iceland and Greeland -- see below). When the ships arrive at the target sea zone, a roll is made to see if the expedition successfully finds North America.

In case of a roll of 1-4 the expedition will have been successful in the discovery. On a roll of 5-10 all of the ships of the expedition will be lost at sea. Also, the sea routes need not first be discovered by a nation in the old world. Any nation in North America may pay the 5 resource fee and risk their ships on the hopes of discovering the routes across the Atlantic or Pacific and the lands beyond.

Once a nation has discovered a sea route to the new world, that nation will have complete safe passage across the ocean thereafter. Once the first nation has made the discover, rumors of that discover will reach other nations, giving those nations a slightly improved chance to make that discovery for themselves. Once one nation has made the discovery, any nations then funding an exploration of their own will be more likely to succeed. These expeditions will have a 1 in 10 improved likelihood of the expedition being successful. Hence a Ship of the Line will succeed on a 1-5. Once a second nation knows the route, the odds improve yet another 1 in 10 for further searches by more nations funding further expeditions. These improvements only apply to each specific route of discovery. In other words, just because 7 nations have found the route across the Atlantic to North America, this does not effect a nation's chance of successfully finding the route across the Pacific.

Once at least 6 nations know a particular sea route, then the route becomes common knowledge for all nations around the world. Additionally, once a nation knows of one of these routes, that nation may use that knowledge in trade. They may opt to gift or sell that knowledge to other player nations on whatever terms the players involved agree upon.

Native Primative War Technologies:

One of the major advantages that Europeans had when first migrating to North America was they were armed with guns and cavalry, two things the natives simply did not have, nor even understood. This plus the multitude of deseases the Europeans introduced, in advertantly, to the natives, gave the European invaders a major advantage in combat. For the first ten turn after either the Pacific or Atlantic sea route has been discovered, all native troops will be at a dissadvantage in combat and in several other means. All non native troops will recieve a +2 to their combat rating, both on the attack and defense, against native troops for the first ten turns after the initial discovery. This bonus no longer applies once those first ten turns have passed. Also, any native troops which acquire gun technology (see below) will no longer be at this disadvantage against non native troops and will themselves gain that advantage against other native nations without the gun tech.

Additionally, the natives of North America and South America did not know of gun powder, nor did they have access to any horses with which to form cavalry units. This means that the native troops may not build artillery or cavalry units at the start of the game. Once a native nation discovers the old world, or any old world nation discovers one of the routes to the new world, then the natives may attempt to purchase artillery technology and horse stocks from any nation which has these things. This purchase will allow the native nation to begin building cavalry and artillery units. They may also purchase these items from any native nations which have managed to acquire them. The natives may also acquire these items if they capture and incorporate any city territory which had been owned by a nation with these items. It is important to remember these two items (gun powder & horses) may be bartered for individually. But if a city is captured as detailed above, then both are gained.

*Very Important*. Any native nation which acquires gun powder technology during the first 10 turns after the discovery will NO LONGER be at the combat disadvantage against those nations with guns.

Iceland & Greenland:

Iceland and Greenland were settled by Vikings many centuries before the 1492 period. These locations were well known to Europeans, even if rarely visited. Old world nations may visit these lands at the start of play without needing to make any naval discoveries.

Kamchatka:

This is the eastern most territory of siberia. It connects to the Asian map by land to the territory of Anadyr. It is also connected to North America by a straits opposite of Alaska. This can allow troops to walk the ice bridge between Asia and North America while not having discovered the Pacific naval route. In the event an Asian nation does this, they may only conduct trade with those North American nations which they come to have a direct land border with.

The standard game turn is divided into 4 phases with nations divided among the phases. Check the "Player's Contact" page of eacg game to see which phase each nation is moving in. Two phases will be processed per week at 3-4 days intervals. In this fashion the game proceeds at a rate of 1 full game turn every 2 weeks. Some moderators may chose to process turns more regularly than this, while other moderators may only have time enough for 1 phase per week. 1483 games are campaign in nature, meaning they have no set end time. Games will continue until such a time when the Moderator is no longer able to handle the moderation of game play. When or IF such happens we'll poll the players; if the majority of them wish to continue the game, then we'll do our best to assign a new moderator and keep game play going. A Phase "5" happens during the Phase 4 update period, but all Phase 5 activities are processed *after* all Phase 4 turns and events. Phase 5 is the phase where all active non player nations take their moves, build new units, etc.

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