Playing a General

Overview

Military command in Sengoku is fast-moving, political, and dangerous. Generals lead armies across the Main Map during the Action Phase, directing campaigns, defending territory, negotiating ceasefires, conducting sieges, and managing the consequences of war.

Unlike many strategy games, warfare in Sengoku is not isolated from politics or governance. Every campaign affects the stability of the realm. Armies that move too aggressively, fight too often, or devastate the countryside may trigger instability, rebellion, economic disruption, and political backlash.

A successful General must balance military ambition against political legitimacy, logistical endurance, clan coordination, and the long-term stability of conquered territory. Winning battles is only one part of command. A General who captures territory but leaves it ruined, unstable, or politically indefensible may have weakened their clan more than strengthened it.

Military leadership is also highly social. Battles are resolved quickly, often through direct negotiation, clear communication, and player coordination rather than lengthy rules arbitration. Generals are expected to work in good faith with other players and Map Control, resolve disputes efficiently, and keep the pace of the campaign moving during the limited Action Phase.

What Makes a Successful General?

The greatest Generals are not necessarily those who fight the most battles. A successful commander understands when to commit force, when to preserve strength, when to negotiate, and when stability matters more than conquest.

An army may win every battle it fights and still lose the political future of Japan. Reckless victories can create instability, provoke coalitions, exhaust the clan’s economy, and leave newly conquered territory vulnerable to rebellion or diplomatic reversal.

A strong General thinks beyond the immediate battlefield. They ask whether the battle is necessary, whether the objective is worth the cost, whether the clan can hold what it takes, and whether the political consequences of victory will help or harm the clan’s larger strategy.

The Rhythm of Campaigning

Each turn represents a season and contains a 20-minute Action Phase followed by a 10-minute Discussion Phase. During the Action Phase, armies maneuver across the Main Map, battles are fought, sieges are conducted, raids disrupt infrastructure, and military diplomacy unfolds in real time.

Every General receives three opportunities to act during each Action Phase. These actions represent the flow of a seasonal campaign: marching, probing, fighting, withdrawing, besieging, raiding, reinforcing, or negotiating as conditions change.

Because the Action Phase is time-limited, military operations are intentionally fast-paced. Generals should prepare plans ahead of time, coordinate with allies before the Action Phase begins, and resolve military actions efficiently when orders are revealed. A General who spends too long negotiating, arguing, or reorganizing may lose opportunities to act before the season ends.

This pressure is intentional. Sengoku warfare is designed to feel chaotic, reactive, and politically unstable. Commanders rarely have perfect information, unlimited time, or full control over their allies.

Armies and Military Presence

Armies on the Main Map represent organized military forces operating in the field. Most armies are expected to remain relatively small, with local campaigns, raids, escorts, patrols, and border conflicts being common. Large armies usually require multiple Generals coordinating together and are intentionally more difficult to manage efficiently.

A General’s presence on the battlefield matters politically as well as militarily. Sending too many important clan members into the field may leave diplomacy unattended, governance neglected, or political rivals unopposed elsewhere. At the same time, refusing to commit leadership to an important campaign may weaken battlefield coordination or damage clan prestige.

Military presence is therefore a strategic choice. A clan must decide not only where its armies go, but which characters are willing to be seen leading them.

Military Objectives

Military campaigns in Sengoku are rarely fought solely for destruction. Armies may fight to seize Locations, secure Resource Nodes, protect trade routes, defend allies, pressure rivals, capture administrative hubs, force political concessions, support legal claims, or demonstrate strength.

Control of territory exists on several levels. A clan may occupy a Location militarily while another still possesses legal authority, court recognition, or political support. Winning a battle does not automatically guarantee legitimacy, and many conflicts are resolved politically after military victories rather than through total destruction.

A General should therefore understand the purpose of each campaign before committing troops. Taking a Location may be useful. Taking the right Location at the right time, with a defensible political justification, may be decisive.

Warfare and Stability

War has consequences beyond the battlefield. Military activity increases instability across the realm. Repeated battles, raids, sieges, and devastation may contribute to economic collapse, disruption of taxation, peasant uprisings, religious unrest, and the rise of new local powers.

A clan that conquers territory too quickly may discover that it cannot effectively govern what it has taken. Endless conflict weakens both victors and losers, especially when armies destroy the same lands they are expected to tax, recruit from, or claim as legitimate possessions.

Generals are therefore encouraged to think politically as well as militarily. The question is not only when to fight, but when to threaten, when to negotiate, when to intimidate, and when to withdraw.

Sieges

Not all military conflicts are resolved through direct assault. When attacking a fortified Location, an aggressive army may choose to begin a siege rather than immediately storm the defenses.

Sieges represent encirclement, starvation, blockade, attrition, harassment, and attempts to force surrender over time. They are slower than direct assaults, but they may preserve attacking strength, create political leverage, and force defenders to seek allies or negotiate terms.

Sieges are dangerous for both sides. The attackers suffer from exposure, disease, supply strain, and the burden of maintaining the encirclement. Defenders generally suffer worse attrition as food runs low, morale declines, and the surrounding countryside is cut off. Prolonged sieges also damage local stability and may draw the attention of neighboring clans.

A defending force may remain behind fortifications, negotiate surrender, attempt a breakout, or wait for allied relief. A besieging General must decide whether to wait, storm the defenses, bargain, or risk being attacked by a relief army.

Winter Campaigning

Campaigning during Winter remains possible, but conditions become significantly harsher. Winter warfare may involve attrition, supply failures, desertion, delayed movement, and dangerous mountain travel.

Mountain routes become especially hazardous during Winter and may impose severe attritional penalties on moving armies. Sieges and attacks during Winter are also particularly dangerous, as both supply and morale become harder to maintain.

Generals must decide whether continuing military operations justifies the risks involved. Some clans may exploit Winter offensives to surprise weakened enemies. Others may use the season to consolidate territory, recover stability, rebuild forces, and prepare for Spring campaigns.

Winter does not stop war. It makes war more costly.

Command and Coordination

Large military operations require coordination between multiple players. Allied Generals may combine armies, coordinate invasions, reinforce battles, support sieges, or negotiate joint campaigns.

However, coalitions are often fragile. Command authority, territorial rewards, military prestige, and political ambition can quickly strain alliances even during successful wars. A victorious coalition today may become tomorrow’s civil war.

Generals should communicate clearly with both allies and clan leadership. They should know who has authority to make battlefield decisions, who may negotiate terms, and what objectives the clan considers most important. Confusion between allied armies can be just as dangerous as enemy action.

Diplomacy on the Battlefield

Military conflict does not prevent negotiation. Generals may parley during campaigns, negotiate ceasefires, accept withdrawals, arrange prisoner exchanges, coordinate temporary truces, or settle disputes politically.

Many wars in Sengoku end through negotiation rather than annihilation. A battle may pause if both sides agree to discuss terms, and a defeated army may still bargain from a position of political relevance.

Because battles occur publicly at the Main Map, warfare is also political theater. Other clans observe victories, betrayals, alliances, cowardice, recklessness, restraint, and legitimacy. A single battle may alter the political landscape far beyond the Location being fought over.

A good General understands that what others think happened may matter almost as much as what actually happened.

Casualties, Injury, and Death

Military command is dangerous. After battles, risky actions, or severe attrition, characters may suffer injury or death through a simple roll administered by Control.

Injuries may accumulate over time and can eventually kill a character. Death is not the end of participation. A player whose character dies returns to the game as a newly elevated retainer within their clan.

However, death still matters. Titles may be lost, political influence may disappear, succession may be disrupted, and military reputation may need to be rebuilt. The death of an important General can change the course of a campaign, destabilize a clan, or create opportunities for rivals.

Military ambition in Sengoku always carries personal risk.

Final Advice

A General should never think only in terms of winning battles. A battle is a tool used to achieve political, territorial, economic, or diplomatic goals.

Before committing to combat, ask what victory will actually accomplish. Before pressing an attack, ask whether your army can survive the cost. Before occupying a Location, ask whether your clan can govern it. Before devastating an enemy’s land, ask whether you may someday need that land yourself.

In Sengoku, armies decide what is possible. Politics decides what lasts.