Ple-Sen
What does attack and defense actions mean — is that written somewhere?
In the figure sheet on the faction page. For example, Lester's action list looks like this:
Available actions:
- Repeat the city action.
- Advance.
- Defend.
- Diplomacy with a character from a region bordering the current location.
- Change the current location to a neighboring region.
Attack and defense = advance and defend, respectively.
So what's the point in the end — can I "recruit" (for free, or for 1 AP? or how?) a "squad" (of what size?) wherever I want and send it to die?
Squads aren't recruited, but created. For free. By itself, a squad is created as an empty shell (except for figures, which you may or may not place at the moment of creation), and there will be no units in it until you recruit them separately. They can only be created in locations under your control. A squad will only be able to attack on the turn after its creation, unless its leader's action is refreshed (for example, by Mariarnelia's ability).
And what are the limits on recruitment? I could recruit a thousand soldiers if I wanted to.
Units are recruited separately. One unit = one action. If you happen to get an ability for accelerated unit production, like Kabocha's or Estellia's, it will depend on its description. Kabocha, for example, cranks out three per action. Estellia two. Provided, of course, that gold and equipment suffice.
What is a "figure"? Just a person written into Nebos's file?
The pretty portraits in the faction posts that have an action list.
And overall, should we generate our hired guards using the generation from the capital?
Yes, like an ordinary non-Knight schmuck.
What kind of "action", and who owns it?
Actions belong to the city and to figures. You can read the list of actions available to a figure in the faction post. For example, Lester can refresh a city's action so it can recruit a unit. Mariarnelia cannot refresh a city's action, so alas. But Mariarnelia can refresh Knights' actions so they can then refresh city actions. One action per turn, unless stated otherwise (for example, the aforementioned refresh by a third party).
I'll be able to change the unit template as I please, right? I see these guards every day in RP.
Changing the template costs the action of the city where units are produced. All units produced under the changed template are disbanded in the process.
And where do I get gold to maintain a unit of a thousand soldiers?
You have starting capital listed in the faction post. Additional gold can be obtained by spending a city action on it.
But like, can I recruit a thousand guards in any city? And what stops me from recruiting ten thousand in one turn?
To recruit a thousand guards, you'd need to spend one action on each of them. Each one will also cost equipment and, in some cases, gold for recruiting, plus will inevitably consume gold every turn for upkeep. Furthermore, the faction's unit limit is capped, as already mentioned in my post. In total, Kanamia can have no more than 25 units at any one time, regardless of whether those 25 are split across different squads or all in one.
Where do we get this income then? And where is the general income and reserve, and what does it depend on?
There is no "general income." There is the income of an individual city. To get that income, the city spends an action. Your current finances are listed in the faction post.
Who are the figures — the Knights?
Knights. Rulers. Sometimes third parties as well, like Karnarez or Emsia. Listed in the faction post.
And without some jackass in the garrison, all of Kanamia will surrender to Shitcutter, who just flew by into the salt?
If Kanamia and the locations bordering it have no squads of hers or her allies, and no figures capable of defending, then even Zedil Mox will take it. Of course, he'd need to be on territory bordering Kanamia to do so.
Action = using a stock global ability (move somewhere, like the description of our idiots)?
Yes. Or some special event, like a quest to bring a Knight back into service.
And how do I get proper actions?
Unknown. Revan mentioned that events can remove and add new actions to figures, but without specifics.
Can I just capture a neighboring province and push the default map further red?
On the turn after creating the squad, yes. If you win, or if the province itself and the cells adjacent to it have no defenders. But that would count as an act of war. Though you've got hostile Estellia over there plus an almost-hostile Olivus anyway.
Like, can an attack hero only travel along the road to the next point or what?
Well, like, Lester went off to conquer Tayo. Successfully conquered it. If he then wants to go conquer Indominus or Oliva, he'll first need to spend a turn moving back to Kanamia.
And what are the risks?
What Lyon Vermgrace did to Milik, for example.
Astral subjugated an entire region without even RP, just by showing his jackass with one action along the way, and with a snap of his fingers automatically moved dih ridersson to himself, and nothing was required.
Dick Ryderson was already subjugated by the Sithian paintings, plus Astral spent an action not on simple diplomacy but specifically on subjugation. If you send an NPC to do diplomacy, Revan might just describe the dry result. If you send a player, you'll have to play out the negotiations.
Does that mean AP?
No. It means actions. Each figure, unless stated otherwise, has only one. AP exists completely separately from this and doesn't affect this mechanic in any way.
Like, if a guy with some RP-ragtag initiates in the same turn, how did he spend it? Then that's understandable, otherwise no.
Well, look at it this way. Kanamia's turn begins when its turn comes up in the order. And so your turn arrives. You spend your AP. Next comes Revnland's turn. Right after yours. He attacks. You have no AP.
Ah, I should've demanded a plus to Alaria's trainability from Revan for these explanations...