Land Squares
In the "A Lord of Bretonnia" game, the size of your Lord’s lands are measured in Land
Squares. Land Squares show the actual size of your Lord’s domain, and allow him to
put his lands to good use.
Land Squares(including those you purchase later on in the game) begin as Free Land
Squares, which represent lands owned by your Lord, but not being put to any use.
You could imagine these Land Squares as lands of untouched rolling hills, verdant
forests and pleasant rivers. Nice as they are though, they are of no real use to your
Lord.
A Free Land Square costs 40 Revenue to buy. Since your realm is situated on the
borders of Bretonnia, you may not actually be buying it off of anybody, but instead
clearing unclaimed land and claiming it as your own. Newly bought Free Land
Squares may be upgraded on the turn they are purchased, or any following turn (but the Revenue to upgrade the Land Square to the new type of Land Square is still needed). Only Land Squares
adjacent to one of your already owned Land Squares (or a road) may be purchased.
You may upgrade your Free Land Squares into other, more useful types of land. They
are all listed below.
Shelter Squares represent sections of your Lord’s land dedicated to housing the
populace. Each Shelter Square may house 50 Townsfolk. Shelter Squares themselves
have three different types:
- Hovels are those Shelter Squares that are made up of clustered together,
poor-quality housing that is neither comfortable or practical to live in. To upgrade a
Free Land Square to a Hovel-level Shelter Square costs 10 Revenue. Hovels cost 1
Revenue per turn to Upkeep. If 25% or more of your Shelter Squares are Hovel-level,
then Subject’s Loyalty cannot raise above 60% due to the poor condition of your
peasantry’s lives.
- Serf Housing, is the normal level for Shelter Squares. Serf-level Shelter Squares
cost 20 Revenue to build from a Free Land Square and 2 Revenue per turn to Upkeep.
- Tenancy Housing is houses for those of greater wealth than the normal peasantry,
such as merchants, minor noblemen and others. No more than 25% of your Shelter
Squares may by Tenancy-level, but each Tenancy-level Shelter Square in your lands
increases Subject’s Loyalty by 1% per turn. Tenancy-level Shelter Squares cost 40
Revenue to build from a Free Land Square and 4 Revenue per turn to Upkeep.
It is possible for a lesser Shelter Square (like Hovels and Serf Housing) to be
upgraded to a better type. To do this, merely subtract the original Revenue cost to
build the current type of Shelter Square from the new Shelter Square type’s build
cost. If the lord can (and does) pay this cost, the lesser Shelter Square is built into a
newer, better form.
Farmstead Squares are different from Shelter Squares because, instead of
representing large areas of clustered housing, they represent small farmsteads on the
outskirts of large farmlands. To upgrade a Free Land Square to a Farmstead Square
costs 20 Revenue, and costs 2 Revenue per turn to Upkeep. Each Farmstead Square
can support up to 2 Field Squares. A Farmstead Square may house up to 10 Farmers.
Field Squares represent those parts of your lands dedicated to the growing of
foodstuffs. A Field Square must be worked by 5 Farmers to produce anything. Idle
Farmers are automatically assigned to Fields when you build them. Like all Land
Squares, a Field Square can only be built from a Free Land Square. It costs nothing to
upgrade a Free Land Square to a Field Square (and does NOT take a Season to perform),
but a Field Square must pay a certain cost (listed below) each time crops are sown.
Fields must be sown in Spring, and Harvested in Summer. Fields lie fallow (do
nothing) in Autumn and Winter. The lord may chose from the below three types of
field to sow on each Square, when the time comes to plant the crops:
- Inferior Fields are of bad quality and produce sub-standard food stuffs for your
Townsfolk to consume. It costs 5 Revenue and 10 Food Stocks to sow an Inferior
Field. Inferior Fields yield 50 + 3d3x10 Food Stocks when Harvested. However, a d6
roll must be made before any Food Stocks are added to your stockpile. On a roll of 1
or 2, the Inferior Field failed, and absolutely no Food Stocks are produced!!!
- Normal Fields are the normal standard for farms in Bretonnia. A Normal Field costs
10 Revenue and 25 Food Stocks to sow. A Normal Field yields 200 + 1d100 Food
Stocks when Harvested.
- Agricultural Fields are of fine quality and make use of the cutting edge in
Medieval farming technology. It costs 25 Revenue and 25 Food Stocks to sow a
Agricultural Field. An Agricultural Field yields 250 + 1d10x10 Food Stocks when
Harvested.
Market Squares are those sections of land that are not filled with housing or fields,
but of commercial buildings such as tailors shops, cobblers, coopers, butchers, bakers,
candlestick makers, leather workers and the list goes on. Each Market Square you
own employs 40 Townsfolk as Workers. Every 5 Workers who work in a Market
Square produce 1 Revenue. To upgrade a Free Land Square to a Market Square costs
20 Revenue and costs 2 Revenue per turn to Upkeep. Market Squares must be built
adjacent to Shelter Squares. As a side note, the first Market Square built in a realm is where that estate's Gallows is situated, although it has no effect on the game.
Mining Squares represent areas of land devoted to the extraction of valuable
minerals from the earth. It is assumed that all Lords have a single valuable mineral
(weather it be copper, iron ore or gold does not matter) to be mined. It costs 30
Revenue to upgrade a Free Land Square to a Mining Square and costs 2 Revenue per
turn to Upkeep. However, not all Land Squares are in suitable areas to mine. So, when
a player declares he is going to build a Mining Square (and which Land Square he is
going to build it on), but before the Revenue is deducted from the lord’s stockpile, the
GM rolls a d6. On a 5 or 6, the area is suitable for mining, the mine is built (and the
Revenue is deducted from the lord’s stockpile). On a 1, 2, 3 or 4, however, the area is
simply unable to be mined (due to none of the valuable mineral being present), from
this point forward, no Mining Squares may be built on that Land Square on that turn,
or any following turn.
A Mining Square may employ 1 to 20 Miners (player’s choice). Every 2 Miners
working a Mining Square produce 1 Revenue, but there is a catch. Each lord has a
limited amount of the valuable mineral in the earth (and he shall not be informed of
the exact amount), when this mineral has been exhausted, all mines cease to produce
ANY Revenue, and become Ruined Squares. It is therefore advised that it is unwise to
build a town solely on the Revenue of your Mining Squares, as they will fail if
exhausted.
Ruined Squares represent those unfortunate Squares which have been destroyed by
fire or other natural disaster, been destroyed by raiders or succumbed to Disrepair.
Ruined Squares must be cleared before they can be returned to proper use. It costs 40
Revenue to clear a Ruined Square of ruins and return it to a Free Land state.
Infested Land Squares also exist, but they are explained in a later section, as a lord may not own one.
This game is only fan rules, and no challenge is intended to any of the rights of Games Workshop. As I said, these rules are merely fan rules. Enjoy!