Exalted/Rules/Domain

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Creation-Ruling Mandate[edit | edit source]

Policy[edit | edit source]

Motivation[edit | edit source]

Intimacies[edit | edit source]

Structure[edit | edit source]

Subsidiaries[edit | edit source]

Parents[edit | edit source]

Partners[edit | edit source]

Chain of Command[edit | edit source]

Assets[edit | edit source]

Size[edit | edit source]

Size Number
0 10
1 30
2 100
3 300
4 1000
5 3000
6 10 000
7 30 000
8 100 000
9 300 000
10 1 000 000
11 3 000 000
12 10 000 000
13 30 000 000
14 100 000 000
15 300 000 000
16 1 000 000 000
17 3 000 000 000
18 10 000 000 000
19 30 000 000 000
20 100 000 000 000

1 normal Resources = [Size Odd=3, Even=1]xR[Size/2, down]+2

Competence[edit | edit source]

This is now a “super-skill”. Maybe this should be split into several skills? Groups of Skills? Military/Economy/Social? Abilities as Specialties?

Influence[edit | edit source]

List of influences Other Domains. How much Influence can be used in a Domain by this table: Size Influence in Domain 0 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 6 5 10 6 15 7 25 8 40 9 60 10 100 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Wealth[edit | edit source]

List of wealth markers

Reach[edit | edit source]

Who can they reach? Geographic and political.

Special Assets[edit | edit source]

Anything beyond this. Rating too?

Capital[edit | edit source]

Fuel for actions.

Other Example Writeup[edit | edit source]

MAGNITUDE This is an extrapolation of the existing magnitude rules, a rough idea that Nexus has a million people, the information on village, town, and city sizes in Scroll of Heroes, and the rough x5-x10 multiplier mentioned in Mandate of Heaven. 0 - Village, a few hundred people 1 - Small Town, a couple thousand people 2 - Market Town, a few thousand people 3 - City, tens of thousands of people 4 - Large City, hundreds of thousands 5 - Massive City, a million people 6 - Small Nation, a few million people 7 - Large Nation, tens of millions 8 - Empire, hundreds of millions 9 - Massive Empire, half a billion 10 - Entire World, billions

Social Unit Magnitude It is sometimes necessary to target Dominions with charms that use the normal Magnitude system for Mass Combat and Mass Social Combat, which operates on a different scale than Mandate of Heaven. Here is a rough conversion.

Dominion Magnitude - Social Unit Magnitude 0 - 5 1 - 7 2 - 9 3 - 12 4 - 14 5 - 16 6 - 18 7 - 21 8 - 23 9 - 25 10 - 28

Followers and Magnitude One potential way for Exalts to interact with the Mandate of Heaven rules is through the Followers background. At the storyteller's option, the higher levels of the Followers background might allow a player to start in control of a small Dominion. Followers *** - Magnitude 0 Dominion Followers **** - Magnitude 1 Dominion Followers ***** - Magnitude 3 Dominion Follower-Dominions tend to have low Culture, but vary quite a bit.

Cult and Magnitude Another potential way for Exalts to interact with the Mandate of Heaven rules is through religious leadership. Due to the scattered nature of most cults, it may be difficult for the Exalt to control the resulting Dominion directly, but the Dominion might still take actions. Should a Cult be sufficiently organized, determine its Dominion Magnitude thus: Cult ** - Magnitude 0 Dominion Cult *** - Magnitude 2 Dominion Cult **** - Magnitude 6 Dominion Cult ***** - Magnitude 9 Dominion Cult-Dominions tend to have high Culture and low Military.

Resources and Magnitude Some Dominions, particularly mercenary companies, can be hired. Resources *** - Magnitude 0 Hired Dominion Resources **** - Magnitude 2 Mercenary Legion Resources ***** - Magnitude 3-4 Horde (It's generally impossible to find enough people to provide a magnitude 4 group for hire, however) Mercenary Dominions tend to have very low Culture and very high Military. Other hired Dominions, when they exist, tend to have minimal Military.

BONUS POINTS AND STARTING TRAITS Even despite the increased number of Abilities, the number of Bonus Points does not change from the default Mandate of Heaven rules, nor do the bonus point costs. Starting traits are different in one important way, however: because of the greater number of Abilities, double the number of Ability dots granted for any given magnitude. Total Ability Dots per Magnitude 0 - 0 1 - 10 2 - 20 3 - 30 4 - 38 5 - 46 6 - 54 7 - 60 8 - 66 9 - 72

FORMAT Actions are listed as Action Name (cost; difficulty; keywords) - Effects or, in the case of unrolled actions, simply Action Name (cost; keywords) - Effects. Events have Event in place of the cost.

EVENTS Events are seperate from other actions. Notably, they have no cost, so they simply follow the rule that accepting an Event restores 1 Limit and refusing an Event costs 2 Limit. Refusing an Event resisted by the Dominion's Flawed Virtue costs (Virtue) Limit instead, but accepting it still only restores 1, and note that they are typically the easiest Events to resist (since they're opposed by one of the Dominion's highest traits.)

UNUSED ABILITIES These abilities are simply not used by these rules.

Dodge is not generally applicable at the Dominion level, representing the ability of individuals to evade attacks on a personal level. The primary use of Dodge on this scale is the Sidereal Charm 'Neighborhood Relocation Scheme', which is resolved entirely outside these rules anyway.

Socialize is basically meaningless at the Dominion level, effectively subsumed in the Dominion's expression of other social Abilities. Note, however, that the Socialize rating of a savant or sorcerer limits his use of non-Military Abilities in place of the Dominion's.


LIMITER ABILITIES These Abilities aren't rolled at all, but serve to limit the use of other abilities. The total dice from an Ability + Specialty (but not Attribute) on any roll are reduced to the lowest of the applicable Limiter Ability (plus any specialties in that ability that might be applicable.)

Linguistics limits External non-Military actions that target Dominions that don't share a native language.

Occult limits External actions that target Supernatural Dominions or Dominions in another realm of existance (such as Yu-Shan, Malfeas, the Underworld, or even the Wyld.)

Ride limits External actions that target Dominions seperated by land. Very close Dominions, such as neighboring territories or city districts, can ignore this limitation.

Sail limits External actions that target Dominions seperated by ocean. If both Dominions are not on the coast, Ride is also required to account for the overland travel. Sail may optionally be used to represent travel across deserts (sandships) or frozen wastes (iceships) as well.

War limits External Military actions that target Dominions with equal or greater Magnitude. Note that War also allows some actions, as a Military Ability. The War rating of a savant or sorcerer also limits his use of Military Abilities in place of the Dominion's.


MILITARY ABILITIES These are abilities whose actions are rolled using the Military attribute.

Archery represents a Dominion's siege capabilties. Destroy Fortifications (2 lim, 1 wp; Mil+Tem; Instant, External, At War) - Using siege engines, fire arrows, carefully targetted sniper attacks, and ambushes on supply chains, a Dominion's military can attempt to weaken the defenses of a target dominion. Success on this action removes any Fortifications bonus the target dominion has.

Melee is the direct strength of arms of the Dominion's military. Attack Military (2 lim, 1 wp; Mil+Val; Season, External, At War) - The simplest manner of waging war is to attack an opponent's armies. Success on this action reduces the target Dominion's Military by 1, and a further 1 for every full three threshold successes. Oppress Population (Event; Cul+Tem; Instant, Internal) - A powerful military may become a dangerous presence for the Dominion's own civilians. Increase the Dominion's limit by one if this actions succeeds, plus one per two threshold successes.

Presence is the boldness and patriotic force of personality the Dominion's military can project. Demand Tribute (2 lim, 2 wp; Gov+Con; Season, External, Not Ally 3(d) Duration) - A powerful Dominion can cow a weaker one into paying tribute. If this succeeds, the acting Dominion can take from the target Dominion one dot of improved Culture, Government, or Military from the 'Improve (Attribute)' actions, plus one dot per three full threshold successes. These stolen dots have their duration reset to 3(d) for the acting Dominion. Declare War (3 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Com; Instant, Internal, At Peace) - Before a Dominion can apply its full military might to a hated opponent, it must declare war and mobilize its forces. Success allows a declaration of war against one Dominion, plus one per two full threshold successes. For each Dominion that war is declared with, the acting Dominion gains 1 additional Limit. Reduce Government (Event; Gov+Tem; Season, Internal) - Powerful militaries sometimes end up being the true rulers of a nation, with the government reduced to mere figureheads. This action reduces the Dominion's Government by 1 if successful.

Resistance is the sheer toughness, endurance, and refusal to quit of the Dominion. Establish Fortifications (2 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Com; Year, Internal, 6(d) Duration) - A Dominions people can erect new walls, stock supplies, establish outposts and patrol routes, and otherwise prepare to hunker down in a defensible position when attacked. Success on this action provides +1 Fortifications, to a maximum of +3 or the Dominion's Magnitude, whichever is lesser(Fortifications adds an external penalty to any military action other than 'Destroy Fortifications' that targets the Dominion.)

Thrown is used to represent smaller-scale military capabilities, such as skirmishers and raiders. Plunder Resources (2 lim, 1 wp; Mil+Con; Season, External, At War) - A useful application of military might is the taking of an opponent's resources. For each threshold success on this action, reduce the target Dominion's available unspent bonus points by one, taking external first, then internal if any threshold successes remain. If at least two threshold successes remain beyond this point, the target Dominion must lower a trait raised with bonus points and pay one bonus point per two full additional successes, repeating until all successes have been accounted for. Stolen bonus points add to the attacking Dominion's external bonus points, though this cannot exceed the normal maximum of (3 x Magnitude) total external bonus points.

War represents overall strategy and the Dominion's capability in applying the full power of its military to a single goal. Improve Military (1 lim; Cul+Com; Season, Internal, 3(d) Duration) - This action, if successful, increases the Dominion's Military rating by 1. Crush Dominion (4 lim, 3 wp; Mil+Val; Year, External, At War) - Rarely, a Dominion will simply want to annihilate or absorb another Dominion. Each threshold success transfers 1 wp from the target Dominion to the acting Dominion. If this would reduce the target Dominion's willpower below 0, it is destroyed at end of turn unless the Dominion that used this action enters Limit Break before then, in which case the target Dominion is merely reduced by one Magnitude.


GOVERNMENT ABILITIES These abilities are rolled with the Government attribute for their actions.

Awareness is the Dominion's knowledge of its surroundings. Plant Spies (1 lim, 1 wp; Gov+Val; Season, External, 5 Duration) - Success on this action plants one Spy in the target Dominion, to a maximum of three. External actions against that Dominion have their difficulty reduced by 1 per Spy, to a minimum of one, and Espionage actions become possible against that Dominion. Adding new Spies resets their duration to 5 again.

Bureaucracy deals with the internal workings of government and helps in establishing and manipulating treaties. Improve Government (1 lim; Mil+Com; Season, Internal, 3(d) Duration) - This action, if successful, increases the Dominion's Government rating by 1. Cancel Treaty (2 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Tem; Season, Internal) - Sometimes it is necessary to break treaties. This action affects one treaty, plus up to one treaty per two threshold successes. Affected treaties have their durations reduces to 1. Renew Treaty (1 lim, 1 wp; Gov+Con; Instant, External) - This action allows up to one Treaty per threshold success with a remaining Duration of 4 or less to be reset to a Duration of 5. The renewed treaties must all be with the same target Dominion. Violate Treaty (1 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Val; Instant, Internal, 5 Duration) - Sometimes the lengthy process of wiggling out of a treaty just isn't worth it, and it is more expedient to break it outright. Success on this action breaks one treaty, plus up to one treaty per threshold success. This effect increases the difficulty of External Diplomatic actions by one for each broken treaty with the dominion the action targets until this action's duration expires. Request Peace (1 lim, 1 wp; Mil+Val; Year, External, Diplomatic, At War) - War can be unpleasant for both sides. If this action succeeds with zero to four threshold successes and the target Dominion accepts it, the war ends. If the action succeeds with five or more threshold successes, the war ends regardless of the target Dominion's wishes. Surrender (4 lim, 3 wp; Mil+Val; Year, External, Diplomatic, At War) - Sometimes a mere request for peace isn't enough. Succeeding at this action forces a war with the target Dominion to end, but allows the target Dominion to take an immediate and free 'Plunder Resources' action at -2 Difficulty against the acting Dominion. Peace Agreement (2 lim, 2 wp; Gov+Con; Season, External, Diplomatic, Treaty, 5 Duration) - Rivals must sometimes agree not to fight, to save their resources for other applications. If this action succeeds, a Nonaggression Pact Treaty is created with the target Dominion, preventing both Dominions involved from Declaring War with each other while the treaty holds. Form Alliance (3 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Val; Year, External, Diplomatic, At Peace, Non-Ally, Treaty, 5 Duration) - An Alliance can be formed as an extension of a Nonaggression Pact. If this action succeeds, the two Dominions enter an Alliance Treaty. The Nonaggression Pact is extended to indefinite duration until the Alliance ends, at which point it is reset to Duration 5. External actions targeting Ally Dominions have their difficulties reduced by 1. Reduce Culture (Event; Cul+Com; Season, Internal) - Overly strict laws can suffocate a society. This action reduces the Dominion's Culture by 1 if successful. Corruption (Event; Cul+Tem; Season, Internal) - Corrupt officials can use the government as a tool to acquire wealth from the people. If this action succeeds, the Dominion must reclaim one of its spent bonus points, plus one per threshold success. External bonus points are always recovered first. If there are not enough unclaimed bonus points, they may and must be immediately unspent until this action's cost can be paid.

Investigation primarily serves as a counter to espionage. Uncover Agents (1 lim; Gov+Con; Season, External) - This action, if successful, removes one Spy from the acting Dominion that was planted by the target Dominion, plus one more Spy per three full threshold successes.

Larceny is the government's ability to acquire resources, bypassing the military methods. Steal Resources (2 lim, 1 wp; Gov+Con; Season, External, Espionage, At War) - When the opponent's military is too strong or his fortifications too great, sometimes it is still possible to sneak in and take his stuff. This functions exactly as 'Plunder Resources' save that it is a non-Military Espionage action. Levy Taxes (4 lim; Cul+Com; Year, Internal) - This functions exactly as 'Plunder Resources' save that it is an Internal action.

Medicine is the Dominion's ability to provide aid to its allies. Send Aid (1 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Val; Year, External, At Peace) - A Dominion undergoing strife can cause problems for other Dominions, so sometimes it is useful to provide aid. Each threshold success on this action reduces the target Dominion's limit by one. Adopt Dominion (2 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Val; Year, External, Ally) - A Dominion can elect to provide a lesser ally with limited access to its resources. Success on this action provides the target Dominion with the Patron background at a number of dots equal to (Acting Dominion's Magnitude - Target Dominion's Magnitude) - 1. A Dominion cannot target a Dominion of Magnitude greater than (its Magnitude - 2) with this action. Empower Dominion (3 lim, 3 wp; Cul+Val; Decade, External, Ally) - A Dominion can opt to funnel its resources directly into an ally. Success on this action provides the target Dominion with the Patron background at a number of dots equal to (Acting Dominion's Magnitude - Target Dominion's Magnitude) + 1, or Legendary if this would result in more than five dots. A Dominion cannot target a larger Dominion with this action.

Stealth is the government's ability to subtly influence other Dominions. Spread Propaganda (2 lim, 1 wp; Gov+Tem; Season, External, Not Ally) - To undermine an opposing Dominion's government, a Dominion can wage a war of words and ideals. Success on this action reduces the target's Government by 1, and a further 1 per three full threshold successes. Incite Discontent (1 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Tem; Season, External, Espionage) - Spies can actively attempt to spread propaganda, start riots, and aid insurgencies against a Dominion's government. Success on this action increases the target Dominion's limit by 1, plus 1 per threshold success.


CULTURE ABILITIES The following actions use the Culture attribute for their dice pools.

Athletics represents the personal prowess of the people of the Dominion, and how much respect they have for such prowess. Sponsor Games (1 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Val, Year, External, Diplomatic, At Peace) - Dominions that get along sometimes hold friendly sporting events to show off their capabilities. Success on this action increases the target Dominion's limit by 1 and restores 1 wp for the sponsoring Dominion, plus 1 wp for every two full threshold successes. Failure instead restores 1 wp for the target Dominion. This action cannot target Dominions more than one magnitude smaller than the acting Dominion.

Craft is, as would be expected, representative of the various works of art and culture that the Dominion creates, as well as more practical applications. Improve Culture (1 lim; Gov+Tem; Season, Internal, 3(d) Duration) - This action, if successful, increases the Dominion's Culture rating by 1. Open Trade (1 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Tem; Year, External, At Peace) - This action opens temporary trade between two Dominions. If this action is successful, both the acting Dominion and the target Dominion gain a number of external bonus points equal to the smaller Dominion's Magnitude, though these cannot exceed the normal maximum of (3 x Magnitude) for external bonus points.

Integrity is the patriotism and sense of identity of the Dominion's people. Maintain Peace (0 lim; Cul+Com; Instant, Internal) - A stressed and upset populace benefits from the calming influence of predictable, reliable routine. Reduce the Dominion's Limit by 1 for every threshold success on this roll. Export Culture (2 lim, 1 wp; Cul+Con; Season, External, Diplomatic, At Peace) - A sufficiently impressive Dominion's culture slowly spreads outward, weakening lesser cultures as they idolize the greater. Success on this action reduces the target's Culture by 1, and a further 1 per three full threshold successes.

Lore represents the heights of the Dominion's education, and their access to savants and thaumaturges. Perform Research (1 lim; Gov+Tem; Season, Internal, 3(d) Duration) - The savants and thaumaturges of a Dominion can be very useful to its function. This action creates a virtual dot in a specialty of the Dominion's choice for the duration, plus one dot per two full threshold successes, to a maximum of three dots. The virtual specialty can ignore the normal three dot limit on specialties, but the total bonus from specialties to a roll still cannot exceed three dice.

Martial Arts is the non-military representation of the Dominion's population's ability for self-defense. Dominions with higher Martial Arts are more prone to brawls and riots, but also more capable of raising a competent militia if needed. Raise Militia (1 lim; Gov+Tem; Season, Internal, 3(d) Duration) - This action functions exactly as 'Improve Military', at a different difficulty and using a different ability. This action and the 'Improve Military' action cannot be used in the same season. Declare Independence ([Patron] lim, 1 wp; Mil+Con; Instant, External) - It is sometimes necessary to revolt against oppression. Success on this action, which must target the Patron Dominion, reduces the Dominion's Patron background by one dot, plus one dot per two threshold successes. Suffer Discontent (Event; Gov+Con; Instant, Internal) - The population of a society may grow discontent, even to the point of rioting. Increase the Dominion's limit by one if this actions succeeds, plus one per two threshold successes.

Performance is the social influence of the Dominion's own people upon themselves. Hold Festival (1 lim; Gov+Con; Year, Internal) - Sometimes a society needs to celebrate. With this action, the people can celebrate a new holiday. Success on this action regains one point of willpower, plus one for every two full threshold successes. Reduce Military (Event; Mil+Val; Season, Internal) - Peaceful and free societies often argue to reduce their military focus. This action reduces the Dominion's Military by 1 if successful.

Survival is the Dominion's control of its local natural resources. Harvest Resources (1 lim, 1 wp; Mil+Val; Year, Internal) - Dominions improve themselves in a variety of ways. If this action succeeds, the Dominion gains one external bonus point, up to the maximum of (3 x Magnitude). Increase Magnitude (5 lim, [Magnitude] wp; Cul+Tem; Decade, Internal) - Societies eventually grow. If this action succeeds, the Dominion's Magnitude increases by 1 at the end of the turn unless it has entered Limit Break. When Magnitude increases, recreate the Dominion as a new Dominion one magnitude smaller, with all traits assigned at at least the levels they were previously, all bonus points spent exactly as they were before, and all new bonus points unspent. Treaties and other actions with durations remain in effect on the new Dominion. This action cannot be taken within five turns of any Magnitude reduction, but the Decade limit on this action ends if the Magnitude is reduced. Found Dominion (3 lim, 3 wp; Cul+Com; Decade, Internal) - It is occasionally more useful to create smaller tributary Dominions than to expand a Dominion directly. If this action succeeds, it creates a new Dominion two Magnitude smaller than the acting Dominion. The new Dominion may not start with any traits higher than the acting Dominion's base traits. This action can only be performed by Dominions of Magnitude 2 or greater. The acting Dominion may opt to provide the new Dominion with a Patron rating of one dot. If the acting Dominion itself has a Patron rating, it instead automatically grants the new Dominion a Patron rating one dot higher to a maximum of five dots, attached to the same Patron Dominion.

UNIVERSAL/UNROLLED ACTIONS These actions don't use attributes or require rolls.

Maintain Attribute (1 lim; Instant, Internal) - This action resets the duration of 'Increase Culture', 'Increase Government', or 'Increase Military' to 4(d).

Restore Attribute (2 lim, 1 wp; Instant, Internal) - This action increases one of the Dominion's attributes by one point if it's been reduced below its base total.

Prevent Disaster (1 wp; Instant, Internal) - This action prevents the next Event from occuring. It cannot be activated again until the prevented Event has passed.

Reallocate Resources (0 lim; Season, Internal) - A Dominion may use this action to reallocate its bonus points. The Dominion may recover up to a maximum of (Temperance x 3) bonus points, then spend up to (Compassion x 3) of its unspent bonus points.

Reorganize Society (1 lim; Season, Internal) - Society must change with the times. The Dominion using this action may move up to (Magnitude) ability dots, removing any amount from existing totals and adding up to (Compassion) to other totals. No Ability rank may exceed (Magnitude.)

Pressure Dominion (0 lim, Instant, External) - A patron Dominion can threaten to withdraw its patronage. With this action, the Dominion can either reduce the Patron dots of its subordinate Dominion by one, or inflict one point of limit on a subordinate dominion.

Lose Population (Event; Decade, Internal) - After enduring serious losses, a Dominion can collapse to a mere shadow of its old self. This Event can only occur if the Dominion is in Limit Break. Roll the Dominion's (highest Attribute + flawed Virtue) at a difficulty of the Dominion's current Willpower. On a failure, this action has no effect and may not be attempted again until the next Limit Break. On a success, the Dominion is recreated as a new Dominion one magnitude smaller, which may not have any traits higher than it previously had. Treaties and other actions with durations remain in effect on the new Dominion. If the Dominion ever increases in Magnitude, this effect's Decade limit is removed until it is used again. DOMINION BACKGROUNDS These are simply assigned by the storyteller to the Dominion based on circumstances, rather than calculated. The names and effects are derived largely from the Dreams of the First Age: Lords of Creation super-backgrounds, as they seem appropriate for nations.

Arsenal represents the Dominion's access to military artifacts. Each dot of Arsenal adds one success to all External Military actions and increases the difficulty of affecting the Dominion with External Military actions by one. X - The Dominion has no military artifacts and only limited thaumaturgy, if any. In the Age of Sorrows, most places smaller than cities have no Arsenal.

  • - The Dominion has access to some basic military thaumaturgy, enchanted or gossamer equipment, or weak artifacts. Several locations in the Scavenger Lands have this rating from thaumaturgy and first-age relics, while Raksha Dominions have this due to gossamer equipment and evoked hazards, and Underworld Dominions manage a similar level due to grave goods.
    • - The Dominion has basic military artifacts such as common warstriders, ashigaru armor, and alchemical weapons. This bonus is sufficient to give the dominion's typical military units +1 Might. The Realm might have this level of Arsenal, approaching the next level.
      • - The Dominion has military equipment such as airships, gunzosha armor, and more advanced warstriders and thaumaturgical weaponry. This bonus is sufficient to give the dominion's typical military units +2 Might. Lookshy maintains this level of Arsenal.
        • - The Dominion has incredibly advanced equipment, such as combat automatons and large quantities of essence cannons. This bonus is sufficient to give the dominion's typical military units +3 Might.
          • - The Dominion has heavy battlecruiser airships, a handful of powerful warstriders piloted by competent Exalts, magitech siege shields, and weapons of mass destruction. This bonus is sufficient to give the dominion's typical military units +4 Might.

Legendary Arsenal - The Dominion has the strongest magical arsenal the world has ever seen, on par with the Solar Deliberative at its height. Titan-Class Aerial Citadels, the Sword of Creation, the Five-Metal Shrike, etc. Treat as Arsenal 5, but if it would fail an External Military action, it instead succeeds with 0 threshold successes. External Military actions that target this Dominion automatically fail. Military units still only have +4 Might.

Artifact and Arsenal - A savant or sorcerer with appropriate equipment can provide a military action with an effective Arsenal rating provided he (or at least his artifact) accompanies the action. The Arsenal rating is considered to be two dots lower than the Artifact rating for that action, unless the Dominion already has greater Arsenal.

Might represents the Dominion's supernatural nature. Each dot of Might adds one die to all External actions. Certain levels also add to the Dominion's Virtue Maximums and Base Virtues - in this context 'base virtue' refers to the usual single free dot in each virtue, which can be increased by higher Might Dominions. X - The Dominion's inhabitants are almost entirely mortal.

  • - The Dominion has a fair number of supernatural inhabitants. Alternately, the Dominion has a few skilled Terrestrial Exalts, or is made up of reasonably powerful wyld mutants.
    • - The Dominion is an even mix of supernaturals and mortal inhabitants. Alternately, the Dominion has many skilled Terrestrial Exalts, or is entirely composed of powerful wyld mutants or beastmen. The max virtue rating is 6 rather than 5.
      • - The Dominion is mostly supernatural. Alternately, the Domion either has many skilled Terrestrial Exalts, including some Elders, or it has a few skilled Celestial Exalts. The max virtue rating is 6, and the base virtue rating is 2.
        • - The Dominion is entirely supernatural. Alternately, the Dominion has many skilled Celestial Exalts. The max virtue rating is 7, and the base virtue rating is 2.
          • - The Dominion is entirely supernatural, and includes some very potent individuals on par with elder Celestial Exalted. Alternately, the Dominion has many skilled Celestial Exalts, including a few Elders. The max virtue rating is 7, and the base virtue rating is 3.

Legendary Might - The Dominion has many powerful beings on par with elder Celestial Exalted. Alternately, the Domion has many Elder Celestial Exalted. At this level, add five successes to all External actions instead of adding dice. The Dominion's max virtue rating is 8, and the base virtue rating is 4.

Leaders and Might - In general, savants and sorcerers don't count toward Might, but their ability to use charms and personal abilities to enhance the Dominion actions make up for it.

Panoply represents the Dominion's access to non-military artifacts. Each dot of Panoply adds one success to all non-Event Internal Actions. X - The people of this Dominion have to make do with only mundane conveniences.

  • - The Dominion possesses some basic conveniences, perhaps the results of many thaumaturges or the few remaining functional relics from a First Age ruin. Alternately, the Dominion may be centered around a single useful manse or contained within a beneficial demense.
    • - The Dominion has many functional magical conveniences or a vast thaumaturgical infrastructure, and includes multiple manses. The Blessed Isle can often but not always maintain this level of Panoply.
      • - The Dominion's magical infrastructure is impressive, on par with some of the smaller First Age cities. This is basically a catch-all level between the 'has magical heating and plumbing' and the 'weather control, geomantic farming, and mass transportation' of the former and following level.
        • - The Dominion has sufficient magical infrastructure to provide mass transportation, fully control the local weather, and easily educate the populace. In the First Age, many cities on the Blessed Isle were at this level.
          • - The Dominion is a magical paradise, where almost every comfort is accounted for by magic. Yu-Shan, the City of Heaven, has this level of Panoply.

Legendary Panoply - The Dominion's infrastructure matches that of Heaven before corruption set in, or the city of Meru at the height of the First Age. Treat as Panoply 5, but if it would fail a non-Event Internal Action, it instead succeeds with 0 threshold successes.

Patron is the Dominion's link to a larger Dominion that supports but also controls it. Each dot of Patron provides the Dominion with three external bonus points. These bonus points do not fade over time, and do not count against the maximum. If they are lost, they recover at the same rate as lost internal bonus points. X - The Dominion is entirely independant.

  • - The Dominion has the direct backing of a Dominion of similar Magnitude, or the support of a Dominon two Magnitudes larger. Note that it is possible for two allied Dominions to Patronize each other as a way to solidify their alliance further, but they can never reach a higher rating than one dot. Notably, the Realm tends to provide this level of support to its satrapies.
    • - The Dominion has the direct backing of a Dominion one Magnitude larger, or the support of a Dominon three Magnitudes larger.
      • - The Dominion has the direct backing of a Dominion two Magnitudes larger, or the support of a Dominon four Magnitudes larger.
        • - The Dominion has the direct backing of a Domion three Magnitudes larger, or the support of a Dominon five Magnitudes larger.
          • - The Dominion has the direct backing of a Dominion four Magnitudes larger, or the support of a Dominon six Magnitudes larger.

Legendary Patron - The Dominion has the direct backing of a Dominion five Magnitudes larger, or the support of a Dominon seven Magnitudes larger.

Magnitude Changes and Patron Ratings - Dominions often change in size. A Dominion with the Patron background does not gain dots when it decreases in Magnitude, but if the Magnitude increases, it loses one Patron dot per Magnitude increase. Anything paid for with the lost Patron bonus points may optionally be immediately and automatically repurchased using some of the new internal bonus points for increased Magnitude. A Patron Dominion's increase in Magnitude does not affect the dots of the background in the Dominons it is Patronizing, but if a Patron Dominion decreases in Magnitude, all of its Patronized Dominions lose one dot of the Background.

Alliances and Patron Ratings - A group of related Dominion may support each other. If enough Dominions are allied with one another, the storyteller may wish to stat the alliance (such as the Confederation of Rivers) as a Dominion in itself. This Dominion can then use the Adopt Dominion and Empower Dominion actions to provide Patron ratings to its component Dominions.

Wealth represents the Dominion's economic power. At the end of the end of the Dominion's turn before doing any other parts of the Recovery step, if the Dominion's Arsenal or Panoply are greater than its wealth, it must spend 1 wp and gain 1 lim or reduce the offending trait by one dot. If both Arsenal and Panoply exceed Wealth, the highest is reduced first, with ties reducing Arsenal before Panoply. X - The Dominion is dirt-poor and starving. The leader and upper classes have the equivalent of Resources 2, and the lower class has no Resources at all. This is rare, but may be the case for some nomadic tribes or dying villages.

  • - The Dominion is poor, but surviving. The leader has the equivalent of Resources 3, living in a fancy mansion. The upper classes tend to have Resources 2, and most have Resources 1. This is typical for villages.
    • - The Dominion is not incredibly wealthy, but not unsuccessful. The leader and a few others have Resources 4, and many people have Resources 2. This is typical for towns.
      • - The Dominion is small but reasonably wealthy. The leader has Resources 5, wealthy people have Resources 4, and many people have Resources 2-3. This is typical for cities and smaller Fair Folk freeholds.
        • - The Dominion is wealthy. The upper classes live like kings, and the leading body's wealth is immeasurable. The common folk range from Resources 2-4, with most around 3. This is typical for nations. A few economically powerful cities such as Nexus might also reach this level, as can the larger freeholds of the Fair Folk.
          • - The Dominion is incredibly wealthy. The upper classes live like kings and even the common folk live exceptionally well, ranging from Resources 3-5. This is 'typical' for empires, insofar as anything as rare as an empire can be called typical. The Shogunate and the Scarlet Empire both had or have roughly this level, as do the major Courts of the Fair Folk.

Legendary Wealth - The Dominion's wealth is legend. Even the beggars live comfortably by the standards of most of Creation. Effectively nobody has Resources 1, the poor have 2-3, and the wealthy cannot be measured by the Resources system at all. The Heavenly City of Yu-Shan has this level of Wealth; the streets themselves are often paved in gold and jade and even a beggar can eat a daily feast.

Purchasing Wealth - A character may wish to create or purchase Wealth for a Dominion. A Dominion can be provided with Wealth 1 as a Resources 4 purchase, or Wealth 2 as a Resources 5 purchase. Someone with heavenly Salary can provide Wealth 3 with a Salary 4 purchase, or Wealth 4 with a Salary 5 purchase. The Legendary Salary of a Celestial Incarna would be sufficient to purchase Wealth 5 for a Dominion. Wyld-Shaping Technique can create Wealth 1 for 3 successes, Wealth 2 for 4 successes, or Wealth 3 for 5 successes. Extended work Wyld-Shaping can create Wealth 4 for 320 successes. Further levels of Wealth require economic growth on a scale not especially supported with existing rules. The Gossamer background can function similarly to Salary for Dominions in or near the Wyld.


MANDATE CHARMS Various charms have or should have some interaction with these rules.

General Mandate Charm and Essence Use Guidelines

As a general rule, any charm with the Mandate keyword should function as-written unless there's a rule here to change it.

Excellencies can be used to aid savants or sorcerers when substituting their attributes for the Dominion's own. Lunars and other characters with Attribute-based Excellencies can use the relevant Excellency as if their Attribute were the lower of the actual Attribute or the Dominion's associated Attribute, as follows: Physical Excellencies can enhance Military actions. Mental Excellencies can enhance Government actions. Social Excellencies can enhance Culture actions. Linguistics, Occult, and War Excellencies can effectively improve the static totals used to limit other Abilities. Ride and Sail Excellencies can as well, but do not function on Dominions with 0 dots and no specialties in those abilities, as they lack the necessary infrastructure for travel.

Motes spent on enhancing a Dominion Action are committed to the Dominion for the length of the turn unless the Dominion is actually destroyed (thereby freeing up the motes.) Willpower spent is generally irrelevant as it recovers between actions even at the fastest Dominion pace. Thus, motes spent during season-long turns are committed for the remainder of the season, motes spent during year-long turns are committed for the remainder of the year, and motes spent on decade-long turns are committed for the remainder of the decade.

There is no cost to turn a Dominion Action stunt into a scene or session, but it requires the agreement of all the players and storyteller. Depending on the storyteller's judgement of the results, failure may cause the action to fail, merely remove any stunt bonus, or have no effect at all. Success at least changes the stunt bonus dice to successes and may also force the action to succeed with a minimum of (Stunt Rating) threshold successes and maybe even not actually use up one of the Dominion's actions per turn depending on storyteller judgement.

Shaping Charms

As noted in the Backgrounds section, Wyld-Shaping Technique (and its mirrors, such as Constructive Convergence of Principles) may be used to give a Dominion Wealth. Doing so is not a Dominion action. Wyld Cauldron Technology may theoretically be used to transform an entire culture into Wyld Mutants, effectively giving them a dot or two of Might if their mutations are significant enough (generally requiring them to at least have Blights or Abominations.) Any charm that creates people or social groups such as Wyld-Shaping Technique can create a Dominion. Determine the Magnitude from the number of people created. All bonus points start out unspent. If the Dominion starts as a disorganized group (such as if the extra success is not spent on Wyld-Shaping Technique to make them a coherent social or military unit) the Dominion begins its first turn in Limit Break. Dominions newly created in this way start with all Backgrounds at zero, Virtues arranges as the creator desires, Attributes arranged as the creator desires, and Abilities arranged as the creator desires but limited to being individually no greater than his Abilities.

Solar Social Charms

Bureau-Rectifying Method can be activated by any Solar to prevent an Event from occuring. This is not a Dominion action and does not require commitment of motes, but the Solar must be present in the Dominion when the Event would occur. This negates the limit reduction for the Event's occurence, however. Foul Air of Argument Technique can be used by any Solar to sabotage a Dominion as described in the charm text. This is not a Dominion action and does not require commitment of motes. The action is opposed by the Dominion's Legitimate Sorcerer or the Dominion's (Government+Bureaucracy)/2, whichever is better (with fractional static values, round up for Dominions with Might, down for Dominions without Might.) Immanent Solar Glory fully recharges after the Solar takes even one Dominion action as a savant or sorcerer. Even if his Dominion action requires him to commit motes, he may still opt to commit those motes from personal or peripheral essence instead. Indolent Official Charm functions as Foul Air of Argument Technique, but instead of sabotaging all of the Dominion's actions, it causes a single action during the Dominion's turn to be wasted entirely. This cannot be used on the last action of the Dominion's turn, and the Solar must be present for the part of the turn he wishes to sabotage. Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe can be used by any Solar as a non-Dominion action that targets a Dominion he is present in. Use the legitimate sorcerer's MDV if there is one, otherwise assume a base MDV of the Dominion's (Culture+Integrity)/2, rounded down. Success allows the Solar to prevent the Dominion from taking certain actions, and careful use may even allow them to remove certain savants and sorcerers from control of the Dominion. Wild Revelry Approach is activated similarly to Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe. Success allows the Solar to inflict Limit Break on the Dominion. Wise-Eyed Courtier Method is activated similarly to Taboo-Inflicting Diatribe. Success allows the Solar to dictate beliefs that the Dominion will assume is true.


SAVANTS AND SORCERERS For the most part, the rules for savants and sorcerers should remain the same.

Stunts - Savants and Sorcerers have the option of using alternate Abilities to perform actions if they can think of a reasonable stunt and the storyteller allows it. They can only do this on their personal Dominion actions.

Legitimacy - The rules for Legitimate Sorcerers need to change to make sense with the changes to this system. The listed options in the book for Legitimate Sorcers no longer apply. Instead, a Legitimate Sorcerer may do each of the following once. Renewing his Legitimacy on the following turns refreshes each of these options as well.

  • Replace a Dominion's Virtue with his Virtue for one action. If he replaces the Dominion's Flawed Virtue, the Dominion gains 1 Limit. If he suffers the Great Curse and replaces the Dominion's Virtue with his Primary Virtue, he gains 1 Limit. This alters the difficulty of an action targeting the Dominion, even an Internal action.
  • Spend motes in place of the Dominion's Willpower. This can only be used to pay for Dominion actions. It costs 5m per wp and the motes are committed as normal. The sorcerer must have an appropriate Excellency to explain how the action was made easier for the Dominion:

- Appropriate Excellencies for reducing the cost of Military actions include: War, Charisma - Appropriate Excellencies for reducing the cost of Government actions include: Bureaucracy, Intelligence, Manipulation - Appropriate Excellencies for reducing the cost of Social actions include: Socialize, Charisma, Manipulation - Appropriate Excellencies for reducing the cost of Unrolled actions include: Socialize, Bureaucracy, Intelligence

  • Spend motes to reduce the Dominion's Limit. This is a special Dominion Action, costing 5m per Limit with the motes are committed as normal. For every 5m, the Limit of the Dominion is reduced by one. The sorcerer must have an appropriate Excellency to do so, such as Performance, Socialize, or Charisma.


BACKGROUND DOMINIONS Many Dominions simply exist in the background of the story, unimportant in a manner similar to Extras. Background Dominions start out with all bonus points unspent, and no duration-based effects active on them. Most of the time, they do not take actions. At the end of a Mandate of Heaven turn after all normal Dominions have taken their turns, a Background Dominion that has been the target of at least one Dominion action may take a turn as if it were a normal Dominion.

GenericVille, a Magnitude 0 Background Dominion A typical farming village, as seen scattered all throughout Creation. Military: 1, Government: 1, Culture: 1 Abilities: None Virtues: Conviction 2, Compassion 3, Temperance 2, Valor 2 Virtue Flaw: Compassion, Current Limit: 3 Willpower: 5 Bonus Points: 0 Backgrounds: Patron (Genericton) 1, Wealth 1

Genericton, a Magnitude 2 Background Dominion A typical market town, founded in a common area between five to ten smaller villages. Military: 1, Government: 2, Culture: 2 Abilities: Linguistics 2, Ride 2, Resistance 2, Thrown 2, Awareness 2, Investigation 2, Medicine 2, Integrity 2, Performance 2, Survival 2 Virtues: Conviction 3, Compassion 2, Temperance 2, Valor 3 Virtue Flaw: Conviction, Current Limit: 4 Willpower: 6 Bonus Points: 10 Backgrounds: Patron (Genericopolis) 1, Wealth 2

Generic City, a Magnitude 3 Background Dominion A typical city and center of local trade. Military: 2, Government: 2, Culture: 2 Abilities: Linguistics 3, Ride 3, Sail 3, Melee 3, Resistance 3, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 3, Larceny 3, Craft 3, Performance 3 Virtues: Conviction 3, Compassion 2, Temperance 2, Valor 3 Virtue Flaw: Conviction, Current Limit: 4 Willpower: 6 Bonus Points: 15 Backgrounds: Patron (Genericia) 2, Wealth 3

Genericopolis, a Magnitude 4 Background Dominion A major city, such as a nation's capital. Military: 2, Government: 3, Culture: 2 Abilities: Linguistics 3, Occult 3, Ride 4, War 1, Melee 3, Presence 4, Resistance 3, Bureaucracy 4, Investigation 3, Medicine 4, Craft 4, Integrity 1, Performance 1 Virtues: Conviction 3, Compassion 2, Temperance 3, Valor 3 Virtue Flaw: Temperance, Current Limit: 5 Willpower: 6 Bonus Points: 20 Backgrounds: Patron (Genericia) 1, Panoply 1, Wealth 3 Note: The actual capital of the nation will have Patron (Generica) 3 instead.

Genericia, a Magnitude 6 Background Dominion A small nation of a few million people, with multiple cities. Military: 3, Government: 3, Culture: 3 Abilities: Linguistics 3, Occult 3, Ride 3, Sail 3, War 3, Archery 3, Melee 3, Presence 3, Resistance 3, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 3, Investigation 3, Larceny 3, Medicine 3, Stealth 3, Craft 3, Integrity 3, Survival 3 Virtues: Conviction 4, Compassion 2, Temperance 3, Valor 3 Virtue Flaw: Conviction, Current Limit: 5 Willpower: 7 Bonus Points: 30 Backgrounds: Arsenal 1, Wealth 4


CONVERSION Of course none of the existing statistics for Dominions include these new rules. It is entirely possible to simply rebuild the Dominions from scratch, but these rules are close enough to the original that a simpler conversion is possible:

1. Give the Dominion more points to spend on Abilities, equal to the default points per magnitude. Spread these new points between the thirteen Abilities unused by the original Mandate of Heaven (Linguistics, Ride, Sail, Archery, Melee, Resistance, Thrown, Larceny, Medicine, Athletics, Lore, Martial Arts, and Survival.)

Additional Points per Magnitude 0 - 0 1 - 5 2 - 10 3 - 15 4 - 19 5 - 23 6 - 27 7 - 30 8 - 33 9 - 36

2. Reallocate a few dots of specialty if appropriate.

3. Assign backgrounds as fits the description of the Dominion.

Attributes, Virtues, bonus points (except those from Patron background), Willpower, and Limit and Limit Break remain the same.


ABILITY ALLOCATION With all the extra dots for Abilities in this rule set, it would seem to take longer to generate a Dominion's Abilities. So, here are some guidelines.

Quick Ability Allocation - Magnitude 3 or less 1. Pick ten Abilities and set them equal to the Dominion's Magnitude. 2. Move a few dots around to customize the Dominion.

Quick Ability Allocation - Magnitude 4 to 6 1. Pick ten Abilities and set them equal to three. 2. Add (Magnitude - 3) dots to each of eight Abilities. 3. Move a few dots around to customize the Dominion.

Quick Ability Allocation - Magnitude 7 or more 1. Pick five Abilities and set them equal to six. 2. Pick eight Abilities and set them equal to three. 3. Add (Magnitude - 6) to each of six Abilities. 4. Move a few dots around to customize the Dominion.

Assigning Limiter Abilities Dominions that are centers of trade will tend to have Linguistics, while isolationist Dominions and Dominions deep in a particular direction (where only one language is commonly spoken) will not. Supernatural Dominions and any Dominions that regularly interact with them will have Occult. Dominions located on coastlines will usually have Sail, and Dominions located on large rivers probably will as well. Most Dominions will have Ride unless they are particularly isolationist or they're subsets of larger Dominions (i.e. a district of a large city.) Militarily active Dominions will have War, while Dominions that have been at peace for some time will have tended to move their dots elsewhere.

Assigning Military Abilities Archery represents siege capabilities and tends to be specific to highly warlike Dominions that might wish to crush another Dominion's defenses. Melee is common in any Dominion that keeps a standing military. Presence suits particularly arrogant Dominions, especially those that use military might to influence their neighbors. Resistance is for military Dominions with more of a defensive focus; any walled Dominion probably has a few dots. Thrown is for raiders, pirates, and skirmishers, and is common to tribal Dominions, bandit groups, and some mercenaries. War is for all Dominions that take military action seriously, intending either to fight larger opponents or utterly destroy smaller ones, rather than merely defending themselves.

Assigning Government Abilities Awareness represents the network of contacts and spies that a Dominion might have. Bureaucracy is the complexity of the Dominion's government and its general involvement in diplomacy and lawmaking. Investigation is counter-espionage, and will tend to be present in Dominions near other espionage-based Dominions. Larceny serves as a good general measure of a Dominion's greed and the influence of its merchants and criminals on the government. Medicine is a Dominion's willingness to support its allies and aid lesser Dominions. Stealth is used for more underhanded endeavours, and is common in Dominions with organized crime or many spies.

Assigning Culture Abilities Athletics is the personal prowess and energy of the Dominion, and will tend to be lower in more sedentary societies. Craft represents the Dominion's achievements in architecture and art, and tends to be higher in civilization centers and lower in barbarian camps and the like. Integrity is the loyalty, patriotism, and sense of identity of the Dominion's people. Lore is education. Martial Arts represents the combat abilities of the Dominion's non-military elements, whether due to martial arts schools or simply regular street brawls. Performance is the society's ability to have fun. Survival is the society's access to resources and ability to grow.