Rome: Republic at War

The Rome test board uses 213 fixed geodata cells across Gaul, Italy, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the eastern frontier. A land cell may be a Polygon or a MultiPolygon when one named territory is physically fragmented, as with Greece. Territory is represented by each cell's allegiance stat; cells do not split during play. Water is represented by coarse sea cells. The active subjects are a small cast of characters, plus a few fixed cities and strongholds.

52 BC. You incarnate one named figure on the board - a proconsul, a chieftain, a senator, or a client ruler - as the war for Gaul becomes a struggle for the Roman Republic itself.

Every turn is driven by character and cell stats, read as probabilities, not certainties. BATTLE. Combat power = men_under_command x martial_factor x (morale/100), where martial_factor is poor 0.6, seasoned 0.8, veteran 1.0, elite 1.25, legendary 1.5. The defender gains up to +30% on favorable terrain implied by the cell and when the contested cell's allegiance already matches them. If one side's combat power is >= 1.5x the other, it very likely wins: the loser loses 25-50% of men_under_command and drops 15-30 morale; the winner gains 5-15 renown and 5-10 morale. If the ratio is within 0.8x-1.25x, the clash is indecisive: both lose 10-20% men_under_command, no control flips. A commander at health wounded or worse fights at half combat power. TERRITORY. A settlement/fortification/port/territory cell changes allegiance only when the holding force is destroyed, routed, or defects. status is contested when opposing forces share the cell, besieged when an enemy force sits on a stronghold it does not hold, held otherwise. When many cells change allegiance together, update allegiance and status on every affected cell; territory changes never create new cells. BETRAYAL & POLITICS. Loyalty must drop one band before control changes; never skip bands. A character at loyalty wavering or rebellious, courted by a rival whose influence >= 70 or renown >= 80, is likely to defect: drop loyalty a band now, change allegiance only once it reaches rebellious. A Senate motion carries when the mover's influence exceeds the summed influence of active opponents times 0.6. Renown >= 80 pulls neutral adjacent cells toward that leader over time; renown <= 30 risks losing wavering allies. RESOURCES. wealth < 20 blocks reinforcements, bribes, and resupply (no men_under_command gain, no influence purchase). wealth >= 70 enables levies (+men_under_command) and bribes (shift a target's loyalty one band without battle). Plunder, tribute, and blockade move wealth visibly. ATTRITION & MORALE. A force unsupplied in hostile cells loses ~5% men_under_command per turn. morale < 20 causes desertion (10-20% men_under_command lost on a quiet turn) and refusal to give battle. Victories, supply, and omens raise morale; defeats and exhaustion lower it. HEALTH & TIME. health gates direct action; dead removes a non-player character from play (a successor may inherit station). Travel costs time by distance and era; rivals act from their stats each turn, on or off the player camera. Characters move only to existing cells. MultiPolygon cells (e.g. Greece) remain one logical subject.