Provinces and terrain
How land is taken and held, and what forests and water do to troops.
Taking a province
Units standing in a province alone swing its bar toward their side. One unit takes a neutral province in 8 s, and the rival’s in twice that. Each extra unit makes it 15 % faster, up to 3 times (15 units).
- Both sides present: the bar holds.
- Nobody there: the bar drifts back toward its owner at 25 % of one unit’s pace.
- The rival cannot take a province while any of its owner’s buildings stand in it: tear them down first.
- Spies take only neutral provinces, and count only where no troops stand.
- Pawns and monsters never count: they take and hold no land.
Terrain
| Forest | Speed -30 % on land that is not yours, -10 % on your own. Fighters in it deal 20 % more damage, take 17 % less, and are seen only 50 % as far. |
|---|---|
| Water | Troops wade across rivers at 50 % speed. Nothing is cut off. |
| Deep water | Only on custom maps (the editor paints it, darker than the rest). No path crosses it, and a unit thrown in — by a slam or a blast — sinks and drowns. Sea creatures swim. |
| Buildings and mines | Walkable, at 50 % speed. |
Tip: Archers in a forest by a river crossing are hard to see, hit harder, and shoot at troops wading at half speed.