Territory war against goblins and orcs¶
Edition scope — 9 September 2026: Chapter One focuses on frontier advancement, basic parties, three tutorial lessons, repeatable timed gathering and crafting anywhere. Deeper RPG systems are disabled but retained for the full MMO. Six-frontier, naval, custom-equipment and extended-story designs below describe that larger world. The current roadmap takes precedence over earlier milestone/group-size wording.
Status: Frontiers I–II implemented for alpha · Frontiers III–VI remain design scope · 8 September 2026
The war keeps moving while the server runs. Players hold and supply territory against NPC armies. Goblins dominate the earlier fronts; orcs introduce heavier forces and naval threats later. The armies are enemies of the players; goblin-versus-orc diplomacy or a simulated civil war is not required for this beta.
Greyfen is the only permanently safe haven. All six frontiers can be retaken. A captured fortress, mine, dock, road or forward camp creates an advantage players must maintain.
Playable now¶
Reedwatch Crossing → Ironroot Quarry → Fenline Fortress is the connected Frontier I route. The player guide explains costs, tactics and controls. The live map reports actual server ownership, raids, gathering sites and supplies. Percentages count the three equal holdings; the Greyfen and unopened frontiers are excluded.
The six-node alpha includes a Drowned Reach supply convoy, forward garrisons and crafting access tied to control. Broader node services, naval routes and external alert subscriptions below remain beta design direction.
The ground boundary and live map use one connected control footprint. Each capture adds its territory and supply-road link, removing the old internal line along the route. Losing an earlier holding withdraws the line; isolated holdings retain their ownership but do not extend it. Green marks connected control and amber marks an attack. This display does not expand the permanent haven safety rules. Boundary geometry is rebuilt only when ownership, connectivity or attack status changes.
Hostile creatures cannot spawn inside allied holdings or their connected supply roads, including after a server restart. An isolated allied castle also keeps this protection. Captured ambient spawn sites stay dormant until their land is lost. Counterattacks and convoy ambushers assemble outside the controlled boundary and approach on foot, so held territory can still be invaded. Guards occupy distinct reachable posts, patrol short routes and return after combat instead of saving a pile of overlapping positions.
The shared loop¶
Scout an adjacent objective → gather and transport supplies → attack its defences → capture it → establish a garrison → exploit its resources → defend against a counterattack → advance or reclaim losses.
A frontier is a connected set of nodes. Each node records owner, contested state, supply, fortification, garrison, resource availability and current event. Controlling a mine, crossing and fortress has different consequences. A progress bar must agree with the visible enemies and completed objectives; standing near a flag alone should not win every kind of place.
| Node | Why capture it | What loss changes |
|---|---|---|
| Watch / road junction | Earlier warnings, scouting reach, protected travel | Enemy routes reopen and convoys need escorts |
| Mine / grove / quarry | Better crafting materials and dependable extraction | High-yield harvesting shuts down; risky recovery sorties remain possible |
| Forward camp | Rally point, limited repair and temporary respawn | Players withdraw to the nearest supplied camp or permanent haven |
| Fortress | Removes a reinforcement source and opens the next frontier’s strategic route | Enemy muster capacity returns; an isolated forward force becomes harder to supply |
| Dock / sea lane | Launch, resupply and landing access | Orc ships can interdict transport; the permanent haven harbour remains usable |
| Dungeon entrance | Unlocks a cooperative objective, tools and rare components | Access becomes contested; completed personal rewards are not revoked |
Real-time attacks with fair warning¶
- Muster: a reachable enemy source spends a finite supply budget. A scout report names origin, target, estimated arrival and severity.
- March or sail: a bounded force travels through connected nodes. Players can intercept scouts, destroy supplies or attack the column/ship itself.
- Assault: real combat and an authored objective decide control. Garrison strength buys time but does not provide permanent invulnerability.
- Resolve: record the result once, including casualties, supplies, damage and affected services.
- Regroup: the source rebuilds supplies; survivors regroup. A recovery objective opens for the players.
The current M3 trial uses one active six-goblin raid at a time. That is a prototype cap, not the final six-frontier army size. Strategic decisions run at a slow cadence; nearby combat stays responsive. Every represented force has an identity. Distant simulation and visible combat must reconcile without duplicating troops, spawning armies on players or bypassing defended nodes.
When nobody is logged in¶
Zero players does not pause the war. On a running server, existing raids continue and new legal counterattacks may muster. Unattended battles resolve against the supplied NPC garrison using the same versioned rules and finite budgets. Over enough time, enemies can push the players back through all six frontiers to Greyfen.
Current accelerated alpha tuning: a capture delays the next muster by at least 100 seconds; a muster warns for 40 seconds; later musters are at least 180 seconds apart. Each raid costs six reserve supplies, with a ceiling of eighteen and regeneration of one per thirty seconds. Three watchguards have 110 health each. One supply pack adds six garrison stock, capped at thirty; stock drains by one every thirty-five seconds. These are playtest values, not final live-service pacing. This slows an implausible instant collapse but does not create permanent protection for frontier holdings. Players supply and fortify positions to buy time. They should not need to set an alarm to preserve their character or bank.
If the server itself is stopped, the war clock stops. On restart, restore the same event stages and remaining durations; do not invent months of missed attacks. Continuous hosting and zero logged-in players are distinct states. Restarting must never duplicate victories, reset enemies to full for free, or grant repeated rewards.
Losing is a playable state¶
Defenders can hold long enough to evacuate, save a convoy, rescue allies or preserve supplies even when the territory falls. A retreat provides a contribution summary and a clear reclamation target. Death does not drop the player’s entire inventory in this PvE beta. Current death cost is ten equipment condition. Inventory, bank and equipment are retained. One iron ingot repairs equipment at a haven; crafted bonuses stop at zero condition. There is no cargo drop in M2.
A lost supply link isolates forward holdings, reducing services and replenishment over time. It does not erase their ownership instantaneously or teleport their players into enemies. Reconnect and death choose a valid supplied rally point, with a permanent haven fallback. If the campaign is pushed back entirely, the haven stockpile and baseline starter resources allow recovery without needing gear from the lost frontier first.
Alerts and the war map¶
Show who is attacking, where, how soon, what can be lost, how to join and which roles are needed. Provide a map highlight, restrained audio cue, rally action and journal objective. Escalate from scout report to under attack to outcome. Coalesce repeated reports; let players follow a party, frontier or all major battles.
Alerts are in game by default. Optional external notifications can be designed later with explicit opt-in; this plan does not schedule or send them now. Returning players get “While you were away”: gained/lost nodes, defended holdings, the current rally point and useful available jobs.
Completion evidence¶
M3 must prove one complete capture/defend/loss/reclamation loop and a zero-player interval. M8 must demonstrate that loop across the six-frontier network, including island access and supply regression. Verify outages during muster, travel, assault and resolution; late joiners; multiple parties; failed defence; no defenders; persistent garrisons; and recovery after all temporary territory is lost. A load test alone cannot prove a fun 10–20-player strategy battle.