War!

When involving multiple kingdoms in the same continent, war is almost inevitable. Whether it be over land disputes, invasions over religion, or other reasons which give a valid claim for war. There are, however, universal rules when waging wars which most if not all kingdoms follow which are detailed below.

Casus Belli

Casus Belli is a Latin expression roughly meaning "a cause for war". Another version is a Casus Foederis against an ally in a defense pact. For the sake of the game, all mentions henceforth will just be a Casus Belli.

In Nations, a Casus Belli is necessary to legally start a war with another nation. Initiating a war without the use of a Casus Belli will mark your nation as a Tyrannical Expansionist (see below). Casus Belli can be gained through many different means, some legitimate and others more illegitimate.

The following acts are considered aggressive and grant other kingdoms valid Casus Belli to wage war against you:

- Invasions: Troops of an non-allied kingdom marching through your squares without first establishing permission to do so.
  - The non-allied kingdom is not marked a Tyrannical Expansionist for marching through, but is if they begin attacking before you exercise your Casus Belli against them.
- Raiding: Some kingdoms (especially those of tribal origin) have the capability to raid other nations in order to steal their goods and supplies. The country has a valid Casus Belli to wage war against the raiding kingdom. If the kingdom being raided uses their Casus Belli to wage war against the raiders, both sides are considered both the Attacker and Defender for the purposes of traits.
  - Raiding kingdoms without appropriate traits marks them as a Tyrannical Expansionist.
- Contested Land: Land which is adjacent to two different kingdoms are considered contested. For example, a piece of land which separates two kingdom's borders from reaching one another. Diagonal spaces are also considered contested squares. Pressing a Contested Land claim against an ally dissolves the alliance.
- Independence: If you are the vassal to a larger kingdom or empire, you can declare independence as a valid Casus Belli against your lord. Doing so is incredibly risky, as failure means the dissolution of your kingdom. Success means becoming your own kingdom.
- Overthrow Ruler: If you are the vassal to a larger kingdom or empire, you can declare war to overthrow the ruler as a valid Casus Belli against your lord. Doing so is incredibly risky, as failure means the dissolution of your titles. Success means usurping his title.
- Infidels: Against rival kingdoms of another religion, a valid Casus Belli can be initiated to purge the land of infidels. This works against heretics of your religion as well.

Forge Casus Belli

Casus Belli can also be forged by a crafty kingdom, though doing so has additional risks. Forging a Casus Belli is an Intrigue check versus a DC 30. On a failure your fake is unconvincing, and other kingdoms are disgusted by your underhanded actions costing you 30 Prestige. If you are successful however, the Casus Belli is convincing enough, and is valid for 2d6 months, and must be acted upon within that time frame.

Tyrannical Expansionist

Upon attempting to enact war against another kingdom without the use of a Casus Belli you are marked by others as a Tyrannical Expansionist, incurring long term ramifications on your standing with others. Other NPC nations will refuse to ally with you, all other kingdoms have valid Casus Belli to start a war with you, and you cannot trade with other kingdoms. This trait lasts 1d4 years, and is reduced by a number of months equal to your Negotiations attribute (minimum of 4 months).

Civil War

When a kingdom erupts into so much unbridled chaos that the citizens or other nobles revolt, a civil war occurs. This could be due to crime being too high in the kingdom, taxes being overwhelmingly high, or other factors.

If Crime reaches 100 or above, Civil War breaks out.

When a Civil War occurs, divide your Size by half (rounded down), and the GM designates which squares count as the enemies' territory. These squares cannot include the capital, or completely surround the kingdom loyalists squares. These squares become a hostile enemy nation and this functions like any regular war, save that the Troops being used are composed of half of your available Troops plus an untrained group of peasants for every two squares controlled by those initiating the Civil War.

Until the war's resolution, both the kingdom loyalists and separatists are treated as separate kingdoms for effects.

While a Civil War occurs, Unrest is set back to its original score before it had been modified by other means.

Winning a Civil War decreases Unrest by 25, and losing the Civil War causes the other kingdom to declare independence or usurp your title. Losing a Civil War increases Unrest to the maximum minus 1 (however a Civil War cannot occur again for another years AKA 12 turns).

After losing a Civil War if the opposing side chooses to usurp your titles, you are reduced to only owning one square of land, and this small piece of land can't be surrounded by the new kingdom's squares. The kingdom can declare war to invade and take this land (effectively killing your kingdom) however this can't be done within 5 months (aka 5 turns) after a Civil War had occurred.

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