HIS SECTION DESCRIBES ALL THE COMMANDS available to you in Blood Royal.  To help you, the commands are grouped according to the three areas (diplomatic, military and economic) discussed in the previous chapters.

For each command, the following information is given: the name, a description, and the costs in money and influence.  The cost indicated is the minimum required; you can choose to spend more on an order to increase the effect or chance of success; although this is not always guaranteed.  Some commands may also temporarily lose you status, if the outcome will be unpopular.

Many of the commands can be used in several ways; for example, Spying can be used against an army, a province, a court, etc..  You can specify the 'target' when using the command.

Abdicate
Renounce a character's claim to a specified title or throne held by that person (note that this is distinct from Renounce Claim to Throne, which applies to a 'claimed' throne, not one held).  The nominated successor will take over; if there isn't one, you may be setting your domain up for a period of unrest or even civil war, as rival claimants come forward.  In game terms, the nominated successor will still, in all probability, be controlled by the same player; this action is still useful however, as a lord or king who has lost the confidence of his vassals and people may be replaced by one with a 'clean slate', albeit with an initially reduced level of influence.
Money:	Influence:
Accept Parole
Allow a nobleman taken captive in battle to return to his home, in anticipation of his ransom being paid (see Offer Parole).  Only a true villain would break their parole, of course.
Money:	Influence:
Acknowledge Natural Child
Acknowledge an illegitimate child as one's own issue.  Not exactly a prestigious thing to do, but otherwise the resentful b*****ds may grow up to lead rebellions, or cause you grief in other ways.
Money: 600	Influence: 50
Advance Claimant
Put forward a challenger for a title (vacant or not).  Can be a real claimant, such as an exile or bastard sheltering at your court, or a pretender.  A pretender is a non-existent character used mainly for the purposes of confusing the succession.  Producing a pretender can cause a rebellion. The nearest male relative, or a declared heir, is always a claimant, and will gain much support automatically.  The claimant with the most support (see 'Support claimant' below) succeeds to the title.
Money: 2,400	Influence: 250
Annex Territory
You can attempt to permanently add a captured town, province or castle to your domain with this task.  This involves persuading other kings or nobles to recognise your ownership of the disputed land, and may cost you status.  If however, the previous owner uses the 'Yield Territory' command to cede you the conquest at the same time you annex it, the handover may be a lot smoother, and much less painful.  Annexing gives you the de jure ownership; the de facto ownership is by right of conquest.  Conquests held and maintained over a long period may become yours without formally annexing them in this way.
Money: 240	Influence: 100
Announce Tournament
Announce that the following year you will host a tournament at a specified castle or town.  A tournament is an opportunity for manoeuvring and manipulating your allies and enemies, and for adding to both those lists, as well as enhancing your prestige.  An announcement allows those who wish to attend to plan their visit (Attend Tournament).
Money:	Influence:
Annul Marriage or Betrothal
Arrange a divorce or the breaking-off of an engagement.  If there has been issue to a marriage, this can affect the difficulty (and therefore cost in prestige) of obtaining an annulment or divorce.  A betrothal is somewhat easier to terminate, but ending either will affect the relationship between you and the other house.
Money: 7,200	Influence: 75
Appoint Adviser
Appoint a favoured member of your court as a military or diplomatic adviser.  This should make them even happier and more loyal than merely being in favour, but other people at the court may be offended or gratified by this action.  A person so appointed will have an influence on the outcome of your decisions.  The meaning and effects of the various statuses are discussed in Appendix Five.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Appoint Ambassador
Appoint a nominated (see Seek Ambassadorship) character as ambassador to another, specified, realm.  There can only be one (or no) ambassador to each realm from your own kingdom - appointing a new ambassador will automatically relieve the previous ambassador of his post, if not his influence.
Money:	Influence:
Appoint to Court
Appoint a character nominated to the court (see Seek Court Office) to a position at court.  Every royal court has an vast array of positions with which to reward hangers-on, some which command a great deal of status and influence, others which are but the first step on the ladder.
Money:	Influence:
Arrange Betrothal
Agree terms for a future marriage between a member of your family and a relation of a friendly player or NPC lord.  Friendly relations must exist in advance.  An agreed betrothal will be effective from this year.
Money: 1,800	Influence: 25
Arrange Marriage
Agree a marriage between a member of your family and a relation of a friendly player or NPC lord.  Friendly relations must exist in advance, and both partners must be adults; a previous betrothal is not essential, ut increases the chances of success.  A dowry should also be agreed using 'Settle Gift'.  The marriage, if agreed, will take place the following year.
Money: 2,400	Influence: 50
Ask Ally for Support
Use your influence to ask a friendly noble or royal house (who may be a player or an NPC) for support in one of your current diplomatic tasks, e.g. agree to a marriage, or to undertake a task on your behalf, such as support your claimant to a title.  Success depends on the affinity between you, and on the amount of money and influence spent.  This is a very powerful task; another player's orders can be overridden by this task, if successful.  For example, a player may cast a vote for one candidate in an Imperial election, but find that his vote has been changed by a request for support from another candidate.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 50
Attainder
Pronounce an individual held under arrest or in prison guilty of - well, whatever you want really, but it's almost certainly treachery of some sort - and confiscate their estates and wealth.  A quick way of gaining control of lands and money from vassals you don't trust or just find inconvenient.  If their past behaviour has been unruly, you will find support for this; if not, not.  Execution will almost certainly have to follow for someone so attainted; and beware their heirs, who may hold grudges.
Money:	Influence:
Attend Tournament
Attend a tournament previously announced (see Announce Tournament) by another lord.  Attending a tournament enhances the opportunities for the attending characters to influence other attendees and increase their own standing in those eyes.  Attending a tournament is not the same as competing in one.
Money:	Influence:
Banish from Court
Show considerable displeasure with an individual at your court by banishing them; this can be considered as a step below being Out of Favour.  The person concerned will either retire to their estates, or attach themselves to an army, and will, of course, be very unhappy at your decision.  Other people at the court may be offended or gratified by this action.  Events outside your control may also result in NPCS being banished.  The meaning and effects of the various statuses are discussed in Appendix Five.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Bestow Favour
Show favour to an individual at your court (not a member of another court).  Can have a variable effect on the person concerned - if currently Out of Favour, their status may change to In Favour or merely to Neutral.  This should make them happier and more loyal, but other people at the court may be offended or gratified by this action.  Bringing a cloistered relative (see 'Cloister Relative') back into favour will get them out of the convent.  Events outside your control may also result in the status of characters changing.  The meaning and effects of the various statuses are discussed in Appendix Five.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Bestow Province
Grant the overlordship of a province to a vassal lord (for monarchs only).  The overlord of a province gains in status and title, as well as having power to govern the territory as they see fit.  A noble may seek the overlordship of a province with Request Province.
Money:	Influence:
Call Election
Initiate process for electing an Emperor.  Takes place at the Imperial Court, with all the nobility voting.  Passing the status threshold for eligibility to be crowned Emperor is not enough; an election must be called (and won) to achieve victory.  The electoral process takes three turns.  Firstly, an election is called; on the following turn, candidates are declared (see 'Declare candidacy' below); on the next turn the voting is done (see 'Cast vote for emperor' below).
Money: 7,200	Influence: 500
Cast Vote for Emperor
When an Imperial election has been called, the head of each house may vote for any declared candidate.  You may abstain, but if you are closely tied to any of the candidates, not voting may harm your relationship and your status.  The importance of your vote is directly related to your prestige and influence - you can in fact split your vote by assigning a percentage to each of several candidates, as long as the total is no more than 100.  A lord needs to achieve a simple majority of all available voting power to be elected emperor.
Money: 240	Influence: 5
Claim Throne
When the throne of an existing kingdom falls vacant (whether by fair means or foul) you can put yourself forward as a claimant to the throne.  Being able to demonstrate a dynastic connection to the ruling house will be a help.  If you prefer to support another claimant, either real or spurious, see 'Advance Claimant', 'Support Claimant' and 'Disavow Claimant'.
Money: 12,000	Influence: 500
Cloister Relative
Have a relative put out of harm's way by sending them to a monastery (or nunnery, as appropriate).  While there, the chance of being involved in intrigues against you is minimised.  There is, of course, a chance they'll run off looking for shelter elsewhere if they get wind of this.
Money: 120	Influence: 25
Compete in Tournament
Take part in the jousting and other events at a tournament previously announced (see Announce Tournament) by another lord.  Those competing may win or do well, thus increasing their status, and their chances of influencing other lords; there is also a chance of injury or death, however.
Money:	Influence:
Create Province
A monarch may create a new province from their existing territories, allowing them to bestow the title for the new province on a noble.  The new province will be assigned honours, castles, towns, etc., from existing provinces, as specified by the creator.
Money:	Influence:
Declare Capital
In the early medieval period, kingdoms did not have capital cities - government was where the king was, which often meant a gradual progression around the realm.  Increasing bureaucratisation and centralisation of administration led to a single city (and it must, in the game, be a city, not a town) being recognised as the capital, where opportunities and dangers were greater.  Declaring a city to be your capital may increase the efficiency of your administration and improve your chances of surviving rebellions and revolts; at the same time, the loss or sack of your capital will have a greater negative effect on morale and happiness.  The decision is yours...
Money:	Influence:
Declare Appanage
An appanage is a territory, or collection of territories, which are associated with a specific title or position.  For example, in real life, the (British) Prince of Wales automatically receives the Duchy of Cornwall, with all its estates and revenues, as an appanage on reaching his majority.  You may declare any position (heir apparent, Lord's wife, eldest brother, etc.) to have a specified appanage which will be automatically transferred to whoever holds that position. You may also, as part of the command, designate a name for the position (e.g., the heir to the throne of France was called the Dauphin).
Money:	Influence:
Declare Heir
Declare which of your relatives will be your heir.  If no declaration is made, normal rules of primogeniture will apply, but there is a greater chance of other claimants coming forward.  You don't have to make your eldest son your heir, although he might be unhappy if you don't.
Money: 2,400	Influence: 75
Declare Imperial Candidacy
On the turn after an election has been called, any noble may be declared as a candidate for the Emperor's crown.  Only declared candidates can be voted for on the following turn (see 'Cast Vote for Emperor').
Money: 12,000	Influence: 1,000
Declare Kingdom
If your domain has grown large and powerful, you may wish to declare yourself a king, rather than wait to try and take the crown from your existing king.  This can be very costly, initially, in status, honour and money, and your king won't give you up lightly.  Success will bring great benefits, however...
Money: 24,000	Influence: 750
Diplomatic Alignment
Apply one's influence to alter your diplomatic position relative to a specified house.  Can incline you towards a more hostile or friendly stance, affecting your (and the other house's) ability to undertake other activities.  The more you wish to change the alignment by in a single step, the more it will cost.  A war can only occur when the two houses are hostile, so by transforming to a more friendly alignment, you can end a war, even if it was started by your enemy.  Of course, he may be altering the alignment from his side as well.
Money: 240	Influence: 25
Diplomatic Manoeuvring
This task lessens the potential of other diplomatic tasks.  By using your diplomatic and legal experts, you may be able to prevent another lord from persuading you to support him ('Ask Ally for Support'), delay a marriage, etc..  The more important the task you're trying to prevent, the more it will cost you to have some chance of success.
Money: 240	Influence: 75
Disavow Claimant
Renounce your support for a challenger you had previously advanced to claim a title (see 'Advance Claimant').  Once you have caused sufficient trouble to someone else, or if you see that you may be causing yourself more problems than you anticipated, or if the claim is becoming a losing cause, you may drop your support for a challenger to a title. The claimant may disappear (especially if a pretender), or may continue to press their claim if enough support has been found elsewhere.
Money: 2,400	Influence: 250
Divest Province
Remove the overlordship of a province from a vassal lord (for monarchs only).  This will obviously not be pleasing to the person who loses the title, but does mean you can give the title and power to someone else more favoured.
Money:	Influence:
Execute Prisoner
Hold a trial, direct the judge to find the prisoner guilty, and execute them.  Simple really.
Money:	Influence:
Exile
Show extreme displeasure with an individual at your court by exiling them from your domain; this can be considered as a step below being Banished from Court, and equivalent to Imprisoned.  The person concerned will seek refuge elsewhere, although any lands possessed will still be held by their families, and they will, of course, be very unhappy at your decision.  Other people at the court may be offended or gratified by this action.  Events outside your control may also result in NPCS being exiled.  The meaning and effects of the various statuses are discussed in Appendix Five.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Foment Rebellion
Attempt to undermine the loyalty of a province or town by sabotage, spreading vicious rumours, etc..  If the loyalty gets low enough, the province or town will actually rebel.  It is beneficial to have a rival claimant for the lordship sheltering at your court if you want to try this.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 100
Foster Child
Take a young child from another noble family into your household (for a period of some years), where they will learn courtly manners, the necessary arts and skills of a noble, and enhance relationships between your two houses.  The lower-ranked house will also gain prestige by doing this, or by having a child accepted for fostering by a superior house.
Money:	Influence:
Foster Child Out
Send one of your children to another noble family into your household; see Foster Child, above, for more details.
Money:	Influence:
Grant Elevation
For monarchs: grant a petition to elevate a noble to a higher degree of the peerage.  See the section on Titles for more information.
Money:	Influence:
Heraldic Court
Appoint a herald who will report on the territories, fiefs and titles held by members of a specified noble or royal family.  The usefulness of the results are enhanced by holding a parallel heraldic inquiry.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 10
Heraldic Inquiry
Obtain an analysis detailing all living members of a specified noble or royal family, including their ages, the line of succession, etc..
Money: 600	Influence: 25
Hold Court
Dispense justice in a specified town or honour.  Similar benefits to holding a progress (as below), but not as effective, as less people are likely to be present.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 25
Hold Progress
Visit an honour (or several) and its people, dispensing justice, largesse, etc..  Can have a beneficial effect on the loyalty and productivity of the populace, and the administrative organisation of the region.  Although a character must be specified to make the progress, it need not be the leader of your house (it might be a son, brother, etc.), but the effect will be enhanced if it is.  From one to three honours may be visited.
Money: 1,800	Influence: 50
Host Tournament
Host a tournament you have announced the previous year (see Announce Tournament for details).
Money:	Influence:
Imprison
Show extreme displeasure with an individual at your court or otherwise in your power by arresting and imprisoning them in one of your castles or gaols; this can be considered as a step below being Banished from Court, and equivalent to Exiled.  Any lands possessed will still be held by their families, and they and the person imprisoned will, of course, be very unhappy at your decision.  Other people at the court may be offended or gratified by this action.  Events outside your control may also result in NPCS being imprisoned.  The meaning and effects of the various statuses are discussed in Appendix Five.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Invest Title
Assign a title to a named character; possibly a minor relative, or a noble of another house you are trying to curry favour with.  Will increase loyalty or affinity as appropriate.  The title maybe vacant, or you may have to take it away from another character (who might well feel aggrieved by this).
Money: 240	Influence: 50
Kidnap
Attempt to kidnap a character, either to demand a ransom, to use as a bargaining chip, or to get them somewhere quiet to dispose of them  The chances of success will depend on where they are located, and will be greater if they are travelling from place to place.  Depending on circumstances, this may hurt or enhance your standing
Money:	Influence:
Murder Prisoner
Fairly self-explanatory.  The victim must be in your clutches at a castle; there is little chance of failure with this.  As with assassination, if you get the blame, it can affect your standing in the community.  This can be used against hostages, and, assuming you have a justifiable grievance, you should lose no prestige.
Money: 120	Influence: 5
Name Child
Give a name to a child born this year.  Unnamed children will be assigned names by the GM.
Money: 120	Influence: 5
Nickname Character
Give one of your household a nickname, e.g. Richard the Lionheart, John Lackland, Louis the Saint, Ethelred the Unready.  Can be anything, and costs nothing.  The GM may see fit to give a character a nickname, if something of suitable importance happens involving the character.
Money: 0	Influence: 5
Nominate Regent
Name a character to be regent or protector to your heir should you die an unexpected death while the heir is still too young to rule.  As with declaring an heir, the failure to provide for the future may lead to problems with different factions vying for control of your domain.
Money:	Influence:
Obtain Information
Buy or otherwise obtain information about a province, town, army or castle held by someone else.  Similar to spying, but the type of information obtained will usually be easily obtainable, e.g. obtaining information might give the size of an army, whereas spying could tell you the strategy the army is undertaking.
Money: 120	Influence: 10
Offer Hostage
Send a named individual to another lord as a hostage to an agreement.  The hostage must be in good odour at court (e.g. not exiled or out of favour) - you can't get rid of turbulent relatives this way!  The recipient must accept the hostage (see 'Take Hostage' below).  Giving a hostage will have a beneficial effect on the alignment between your houses.  If an agreement between you is not fulfilled, you attack the hostage-holder, or the affinity between your houses drops dramatically for any other reason, the hostage-holder will be quite within his rights to have the hostage executed.
Money: 120	Influence: 75
Offer Parole
A nobleman taken captive in battle is normally held in the captor's domain.  While waiting for his ransom to be collected, such a captive may offer his parole to his captor.  If the parole is accepted (see Accept Parole), he may return to his own lands on condition he undertakes no acts against his captor until the ransom has been paid over.  So, no waging war, no supporting those waging war, and so on.
Money:	Influence:
Order Assassination
Attempt to kill off an individual, who may be a player, or an NPC.  Obviously, the higher the rank or prestige of the proposed victim, the harder this will be.  Remember that killing off the head of a rival player house will not end that player's activity - he or she will have an heir somewhere!  An assassination, successful or not, may be traced back to instigator.
Money: 1,800	Influence: 75
Pardon
Pronounce a pardon for a prisoner held in your gaols - who will consequently be released - or for someone previously found attainted, who will henceforward be held to have had their good name restores, and their lands restored to them or their heirs.
Money:	Influence:
Ransom Prisoner
Noblemen captured in battle - or elsewhere - may be ransomed back on payment of a fine by their family or overlord.  This action allows you to specify what ransom you would require to release a prisoner - the payment would be made with 'Settle Gift' (below).  Once the ransom has been paid, use the Release Prisoner to set the specified person at liberty.  Mistreating a captive taken in battle is a very dishonourable act...
Money:	Influence:
Receive Settlement
Accept a gift or dowry being offering by another house (using the 'Settle Gift' command: see this command for more details of what can be offered).  This command must be used on the same turn as the gift is offered.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Recognise Kingdom
Used by a monarch to recognise a newly-declared realm (see 'Declare Kingdom') seeking independence from an existing kingdom. Can help support the existence of the new state by improving its status in the eyes of others, but will not please the monarch who has just lost a sizeable portion of his territory.  A monarch using this command (only when forced, naturally) to support a vassal declaring himself a king, recognises the vassal's independence.
Money: 600	Influence: 75
Release from Wardship
Release a widow or minor from wardship (see Take into Wardship).  The released person will accede to their domains, revenues and titles, if any.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Release Prisoner
Release a prisoner on receipt of a ransom.  See Ransom Prisoner for more details.
Money:	Influence:
Renounce Claim to Throne
Renounce your claim (previously made with 'Claim Throne') to a vacant throne.
Money: 12,000	Influence: 500
Request Province
Petition your ruler to grant you the overlordship of a province.  The overlord of a province gains in status and title, as well as having power to govern the territory as they see fit.
Money:	Influence:
Reveal Subversion
Declare subversion of character.  If a state of war exists, declaring a character as subverted allows him/her to openly join your side, together with all domains.  There is little chance of reconciliation between the subverted character and his former family, unless the family actively attempt to bring the character back into favour.  Another lord may now begin to try to subvert this character from within your household, of course...
Money: 0	Influence: 25
Royal Alignment
Like all nobles houses, each royal house is nominally united against the rest of the world.  In reality, however, each house is split into factions; for the royal family, their relative power can mean this makes a significant different.  A vassal may choose which member of the royal family they align their fortunes and loyalties with; the king or his heir is the safest option, but aligning with other members can bring greater opportunities as well as greater risks...
Money:	Influence:
Seduce
Seek to exert influence over a character by having another character seduce them.  Normally the characters would be of different gender, but if your spying uncovers information about someone's preferences, you might find more success otherwise.
Money:	Influence:
Seek Ambassadorship
Petition your king for a specific character to be appointed as ambassador to another court.  Obviously this will give the character a greatly-increased influence over the relationship between the two realms, but requires that person to travel to the other country to take up their post.  There can only be one (or no) ambassador to each realm from your own kingdom.
Money:	Influence:
Seek Court Office
Petition your king for a specific character to be appointed to an office within the court.  The character, if successful, would have greater opportunities and abilities to influence the monarch's decisions, but must be based at the court.  Appoint to Court is the task used by the monarch to approve such a nomination
Money:	Influence:
Seek Elevation
Petition your king to be elevated to a higher degree of the peerage.  Such an elevation will increase your status, even without increasing your territorial holdings.  See the section on Titles for more information.
Money:	Influence:
Seek Overlord's Consent
This is similar to 'Ask Ally for Support', but is more limited in its effect.  Using this command, you may try to obtain the formal approval of your king for you to marry off one of your children (or other dependants), or to invest a title in another character.  Usually, this will be a formality, unless the character benefiting is an outright enemy of your lord.
Money: 600	Influence: 10
Settle Gift
Declare that specified territories, goods, and/or money will be given to the recipient.  This can be a one-off gift, or be used to provide a dowry when agreeing a marriage.  Note that, if an honour or province is part of the gift, the castle that is the seat of the territory will be part also.  If you have an overlord (as you will at the start of the game), his agreement must be obtained using 'Seek Overlord's Consent'.  When used to give a dowry, the gift should be settled on the woman you are giving in marriage, not her prospective partner.  As this command admits only one item as a gift, you may need to use several 'gifts' if the transaction involves many items.
Money: 0	Influence: 25
Shelter Exile
Announce that a named character (whether exiled, out of favour, or just an unacknowledged bastard) can take refuge at your court.  Such people can come in useful when trying to start rebellions, or otherwise influence events, in an enemy's territory.
Money: 120	Influence: 50
Show Disfavour
Show disfavour to an individual at your court (not a member of another court).  Can have a variable effect on the person concerned - if currently In Favour, their status may change to Out of Favour or merely to Neutral.  This may make them unhappier and less loyal, but other people at the court may be offended or gratified by this action.  Events outside your control may also result in the status of characters changing.  The meaning and effects of the various statuses are discussed in Appendix Five.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Spread Scandal
Attempt to bring a member of another family into disgrace by spreading rumours. Whether the rumours are true or not is immaterial, really...
Money: 240	Influence: 50
Spy
You can spy on a province, town, army, castle, court or a lord's council.  Spying on territories will give you similar information to the reports you receive on your own provinces, towns, armies, etc..  Spying on the court may provide information on characters, diplomatic relations to other houses, etc..  Spying on the council may give you information about the orders he has been giving this turn.  Unlike "Obtain Information", spying may well give you information the target might wish to keep secret.  On the other hand, the information is less likely to be completely accurate - you just don't know. Note that using this command on one of your own towns, etc., allows a measure of counterespionage, and may reveal subverted characters or enemy spies in your midst.  If you spy on your own people too often, however, they may start to notice - sorry, feel as if - they're living in a police state.
Money: 600	Influence: 50
Subvert Character
Attempt to recruit a member of another family as a secret ally by bribery, coercion, blackmail, etc..  Cannot be the leader, his/her spouse, or his/her children.  Gives assistance to spying and assassination attempts. If discovered, character is automatically banished and loses all titles.
Money: 2,400	Influence: 100
Support Claimant
Add your support to an existing claimant to a vacant throne or title, advanced by someone else with either the 'Advance Claimant', or 'Claim Throne' commands.  Obviously, if a claimant gathers enough diplomatic support, he/she will have little trouble taking the throne or title.  A monarch using this command with regard to a vassal title grants the title without contest to the named claimant.
Money: 600	Influence: 75
Swear Fealty
When a new king accedes to the throne, or a new lord succeeds to a title, his or her vassals are expected to renew their vows of loyalty.  All immediate vassals should Swear Fealty, or face disfavour and suspicion.  Note that this is different to transferring your allegiance to another monarch or overlord.
Money:	Influence:
Take Hostage
Accept a character offered by another lord as a hostage to an agreement.  You may also specify a castle or town where the hostage will be held, or a character of your own who will act as a warden (the hostage will remain with the warden at all times). This task can also be used to transfer a hostage from one location or warden to another.
Money: 0	Influence: 25
Take into Wardship
When one of your dependants dies, declare their widow, child or other relative (in their minority) to be a ward.  The person concerned is considered to be In Favour and cared for at your court.  They may or may not be happy with this decision, as may other people at court.  Failing to take a minor into wardship may cause problems, however, as they may look for other protectors, or may become the target for others, with less benign motives.  Note that you may involuntarily become the guardian of such a person petitioning for wardship to protect themselves from others.  The meaning and effects of the various statuses are discussed in Appendix Five. The income from territories held by the person made a ward will accrue to yourself as if part of your domain.  Holding a person as a ward after they reach the age of majority (or beyond a decent period of mourning in the case of a widow) may harm your prestige, and cause them, and others, to become unhappy with such n injustice.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Transfer Allegiance
You may renounce your allegiance to your current overlord or king, and transfer it to another.  Your overlord will not take this lying down, and it may harm your standing in the eyes of your peers, so it is advisable to arrange this with your prospective new overlord first.
Money: 24,000	Influence: 750
Transfer Character
On your turn report, each character is given a location, which is the 'base' from which he or she will operate this year.  This task allows you to move an individual from one location to another.  Note that this is a purely administrative task, and is not necessary when a character is attached to an army on campaign, holding a progress, etc..  You might use this to relocate non-combatants from a castle or town which is vulnerable to attack, and so on.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Transfer Seat
Nominate a particular castle as the seat of a province or honour.  Has little effect, but should be used if the existing seat has been captured, or if you are making a gift of the honour but wish to keep for yourself the castle that is the current seat.
Money: 0	Influence: 25
Treat with Neutral
Attempt diplomatic negotiations with a non-player lord.  Can result in an increase in affinity.  You must have a friendly alignment towards the NPC beforehand.
Money: 1800	Influence: 50
Yield Territory
Formally recognise the right of another noble to a town, province or castle.  Using this task eases the operation of the 'Annex Territory' command, normally by agreement with the lord concerned, after they have captured the territory.
Money: 240	Influence: 100

Appoint Army Leader
Name a character to lead a previously-mustered army.  An army can act without a named leader (that's what career generals are for), and the character's own military rating will only have a small bearing on any battles; your own military rating is more important.  It's a good idea to send sons off to war, however; they should learn from it, standing them in good stead when (if!) they inherit.  An army can have several leaders simultaneously, with characters commanding sub-units.  Characters may even go along spontaneously, if you have assigned them nothing else to do.  If you have subverted a member of another house, you can use this task to make them join one of their house's armies, for spying, etc., and to their nominal overlord it will appear that it is a spontaneous NPC decision.
Money: 240	Influence: 10
Appoint Garrison Commander
Assigns a character to command the garrison at a specified castle or town.  As 'Appoint Army Leader' above: all notes on that task apply equally to this task.
Money: 120	Influence: 10
Begin Campaign
Once an army has been mustered, and targets and strategies decided, the campaign can begin.  The army is on its own until the end of the campaigning season, when your generals will be reporting their successes (hopefully) to you.
Money: 7200	Influence: 250
Build Castle
Build a new fortification in an honour or protecting a road.  Often has a beneficial effect on local loyalty, and helps defence against any invaders (these two facts are not entirely unconnected).  Castles built on roads also allow you to impose a toll on travellers much more effectively.
Money: 1,800	Influence: 50
Campaign against Pirates and Outlaws
Reduces the effect of raids on a specified territory from outlaw elements, by land or sea.  The effect will persist for some time, but the raiders will return eventually if the area is relatively rich.  Improving the administrative structure of an area (see 'Improve Administration') reduces the likelihood of raids.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 25
Demoralise Army or Garrison
The opposite of 'Inspire Army or garrison', a subverted character in an enemy army can use this task to try and demoralise the troops to which he is attached.
Money: 600	Influence: 50
Designate Army Strategy
Army strategy can be designated on the same turn that the army is mustered.  The strategy assigned determines what objectives the army will attempt to achieve when sent on campaign.  A successful campaign will usually provide enough loot to show a profit. Most strategies (such as capturing territory) require a target or targets to be specified; this is done using the 'Designate Campaign Target' command. Available strategies are : Name Target Description Besiege Town Castle Capture a settlement by surrounding it and starving out the defenders; cheaper than a conquest, but takes longer. Conquer Province Town Castle Attempt to take immediate control of the territory by engaging and defeating defending forces. Defend Province Town Castle Engage any hostile army entering territory gained this year.  An army with Capture as its strategy will automatically defend any gains made. Devastate Province A 'scorched earth' policy, reducing agricultural production.  Usually used as a defensive strategy, often a last resort, to deny an enemy supplies. Engage Army Bring an enemy army to battle. Garrison Town Castle Temporarily strengthen the specified garrison, and defend against any attacking forces. Guard - A passive defence of your own territory against attacking forces.  Less aggressive than the Intercept strategy; after all, they may just be passing through. Intercept - Attack any army entering your territory, whether or not they appear aggressive. Pillage Province Town Raid the target, providing loot, but no lasting control. Pursue Army Follow and attempt to engage an army you have sighted. Relief Town Castle Relieve a settlement being besieged.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Designate Campaign Target
An army on campaign must have an objective in mind.  This can be an army, town, fortification, or province.  Each army may be given a primary target, and up to three secondary targets (each target must be designated separately).  Secondary targets add to the cost of a campaign, and will only be attempted if either the primary target is achieved very easily, or if it is too difficult to achieve (no one likes coming back empty-handed, especially generals).
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Disband Army
The opposite of 'Muster army' below.  A feudal army, even if solely composed of knights and mercenaries, cannot be maintained indefinitely.  When no longer on a war footing, you can save money and maintain morale by disbanding the army.  Until the next time they are needed...
Money: 600	Influence: 10
Disband Mercenaries
Releases the specified number of mercenary troops from contracts of service.  If no army is specified, unattached (reserve) mercenaries will be disbanded.
Money: 600	Influence: 25
Guard
Place a guard on a character to protect them from kidnap, assassination or subversion.  Can be especially useful when a character is travelling from one place to another, or even to prevent someone you suspect of working for an enemy from sending intelligence back to their friends.
Money:	Influence:
Incite Mutiny
Similar to 'Foment Rebellion', but aimed at causing discontent amongst the troops of an enemy.  Having friendly individuals or spies in the target army will help.
Money: 1800	Influence: 75
Inspire Army or Garrison
Any leader attached to an army can try to raise the morale of his troops by making stirring speeches, socialising with the men... all right, by giving them money.
Money: 600	Influence: 50
Muster Army
The first step to war is to assemble your troops, and all the supplies, transport, etc., they will need while campaigning.  This takes time, so you have to muster an army at least a year/turn before you plan to send it out.  Other activities required, such as strategy, targets, leaders, can be performed at the start of the year when actual campaigning is to take place.  The muster will specify knights and mercenaries to join the army; fyrd numbers can be specified later at the start of the campaign season.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 75
Put Down Rebellion
No army is required for this; the local knights will handle this with any luck.  Don't allow a rebellion to get out of hand; these things spread like social diseases.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 50
Raid
A raid is a small-scale expedition into neighbouring territories intended to gather plunder and spread fear and doubt.  A raid does not require an army, but will be undertaken with the garrison and locally-mustered troops.  A raid will often appear to the victims to be the action of brigands or outlaws, but your status may be harmed if the truth is discovered.
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Recruit Mercenaries
Hired troops are the most professional and effective available.  Unfortunately, only hard currency (preferably gold) is good enough for the likes of these.  You can specify how many you wish to obtain, but this is an upper limit, and there may not be enough available in the vicinity.  Recruited mercenaries are put into a reserve pool, whence they can be allocated to armies, garrisons, as required.
Money: 1,800	Influence: 50
Renew Mercenary Contract
Re-employ hired professional troops previously employed using Recruit Mercenaries.  Continuous employment may enhance the effectiveness and loyalty of these troops.  Then again, they aren't called mercenaries for nothing...
Money: 1,800	Influence: 50
Sack Town
Similar to Slight Castle (below), attack a town with the aim of reducing its fortification, as well as damaging trade, driving away the population, and hopefully garner some loot as well.
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Slight Castle
Destroy, or at least damage, a fortification to reduce its effectiveness in protecting an area.  On campaign you may choose to slight a castle belonging to an enemy; or you might want to reduce the defences of a troublesome vassal.
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Summon Fyrd
Peasant foot-soldiers are only required to spend a limited amount of time away with the army, so they can only be required to join an army at the start of a campaign.  At the end of the campaign season, they will go home to harvest the crops, etc.. You can specify the percentage of the fyrd to mobilise, and which army it is to join.  Be aware that if you mobilise too much of the fyrd, economic production may suffer.
Money: 120	Influence: 25
Train Army
Only standing troops (knights and mercenaries) can be trained, but the benefits will filter down during a campaign.  Training cannot be undertaken by troops on campaign.
Money: 240	Influence: 25
Transfer Forces
Transfer specified numbers of knights or mercenaries from one army or garrison to another.  Either the source or the destination of the transfer can be the reserve pool.
Money: 120	Influence: 5
Use Military Influence
Force another house, over whom you have achieved substantial dominance militarily, to make concessions (e.g. cede territory, grant title, sign trade treaty, etc..).  Similar in effect to 'Ask Ally for Support', but, as it simulates the terms of a peace treaty, is targeted at enemies rather than friends; the governing factor is hence not diplomatic affinity, but military influence.  All notes on 'Ask Ally for Support' apply equally to this command.
Money: 240	Influence: 50

Build Road
Build a road between two specified towns.  Increases trade.  And other things.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 25
Charter City
Recognise the growth and prosperity of a town by granting it the rights of a city.  You will, as a consequence, have less power and control over the new city, but hopefully the production and loyalty of the populace will increase in compensation.  Only a city can be declared as your capital.
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Charter Fair
Grant a charter to a town to hold an annual fair for the trade of goods, livestock, etc.. A fair held outside the town itself will build on the towns existing trades and those of the surrounding area, hopefully increasing prosperity.
Money:	Influence:
Charter Guild
Grant a charter to a guild for production of an urban commodity.  Reduces the overall percentage of profits you get by allowing the guild more independence, but productivity should rise, giving you a net gain.  Only one guild can be chartered for any given commodity in each town.
Money: 600	Influence: 75
Charter Town
A market town may be chartered, allowing local producers to become proper industries.  There is no way of determining what commodities the town will become famous for, but you will, of course, receive a share of the profits.  The population of the town, and the provincial prosperity, must be at reasonable minimum levels for the town to succeed, otherwise it will just revert back to market town status after some time.  You can give a name of your choice - within reason - to the town.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 25
Entertain
Social influence can be much advanced by the contacts made at the parties, balls and other gatherings of your peers.  By hosting, or sponsoring, such gatherings, you can gain a temporary increase in the influence you wield.  By using this command, your influence in the succeeding year will be increase by an amount proportional to the amount you spend, although it should be noted that the higher the total amount spent by all houses in a given year, the lower the effect for each house.  This is an appropriate point to reiterate that the money allocated to a command is a minimum, not an absolute value, and can be raised to increase the effect, or chance of success, for a command.
Money: 240	Influence: 10
Establish Mint
A monarch, or a noble granted the right by their monarch (see License Mint), may establish a mint in a specified town to produce coin.  A town's power and prosperity, as will as attractiveness to raiders, will be enhanced.
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Establish Trade
Invest in bringing in workers to set up one of the technical trades (e.g. glass, armour, wine, etc.).  The town or province must be at the necessary minimum level of prosperity, and the cost can be quite high to bribe craftsmen to leave their current employers!
Money: 7,200	Influence: 100
Fortify Town
Build or strengthen fortifications protecting a town.  Often has a beneficial effect on local loyalty, and helps defence against any invaders (these two facts are not entirely unconnected).
Money:	Influence:
Found Hospital
Set up a hospital in a specified town to care for the sick and infirm in and around the area.  Can affect prosperity and trade, and also local loyalty, and may also mitigate the effect of disease. May also have more general and far-reaching effects.
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Found School
Set up a school in a specified town (which must have been granted a charter previously; this includes the existing towns chartered before the start of the game).  Can affect prosperity and trade, and also local loyalty and administrative efficiency, as well as having more general and far-reaching effects.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 50
Found University
Set up a university in a specified town.  Can affect prosperity and trade, and also local loyalty and administrative efficiency, as well as having more general and far-reaching effects.  A university can only be set up when a school has been previously established in the town for at least twenty years.
Money: 1,200	Influence: 50
Grant Lordship of Town
Grant a petitioning vassal title to a town you control, and with it the rights to tax and govern the burghers.
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Impose Custom
A custom is a tax placed on a town or province, and takes the form of a charge on a specified commodity moved into or out of the territory.  Setting the rate at which the custom is charged can be critical to its success as a revenue-generator, and also can determine how badly the negative effects - reducing trade, increasing unhappiness and dissent - take hold.
Money: 120	Influence: 50
Impose Toll
A toll is a tax placed on a road.  Once a fortification has been built on a road, you can extract money from the road users.  A small reduction in the number of travellers is likely, but if there is an alternative and toll-free route, the reduction may be significantly higher.
Money: 120	Influence: 50
Impose Tax
Taxes are imposed on a one-off basis.  Often used to pay for a specific activity, such as the marriage of a son or daughter, ransoming a captive, or financing an upcoming campaign.  As you might expect, it can affect prosperity and loyalty, especially if re-imposed in consecutive years.  Taxes can be imposed on any territory (kingdom, province, honour, town).  A tax imposed at one level will apply to all the vassal territories, e.g. taxing a province level will apply to all vassal honours, towns, etc..  You can specify the percentage you wish to tax at, but the actual income may vary depending on the loyalty, morale and administrative levels in the area.  Be careful when using this; it is important to remember that in the Middle Ages, taxation was rarely more than 10-15% at a time.
Money: 240	Influence: 75
Improve Administration
By improving the local civil service, you should hopefully see benefits in local prosperity and loyalty (and also your share of production).  It may also help when defences must be organised against an attacker.  Too high a level of bureaucracy, however, can be counterproductive.  Can be attempted for an honour, province or kingdom.
Money: 600	Influence: 25
License Mint
A monarch may grant a noble the right to establish a mint to produce coin (see Establish Mint).
Money:	Influence:
Negotiate Trade Treaty
Increases economic affinity between your domain and another kingdom or province, which will then have a bearing on the profits your products earn.  You must have friendly relations with the king, or the lord of the province, first.
Money: 1,800	Influence: 75
Offer Loan
Lend an agreed sum of money to another lord in return for having a specified income assigned to you for an agreed length of time.  The other lord must use the 'Seek Loan' command on the same turn, and you must both stipulate the same parameters for the agreement to succeed. See 'Seek Loan' for more details.
Money: 0	Influence: 5
Patronise Arts
Give support and patronage to artists, musicians, poets, theatres, and so on, hopefully enhancing the prestige and glamour of your court, and attracting people to your towns to enjoy these pleasures and boost your prosperity.  Artists are notorious for their propensity for supporting radical philosophies and opposing the established order, so you may be making a rod for your own back.
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Patronise Sciences
Encourage the learned men of your universities, guilds, and other institutions to delve into the mysteries of nature, engineering, mathematics and philosophy; as well as alchemy, astrology and other nameless arts..., in the hope of achieving advances in technology, trade and warfare to give you an edge over your rivals.  Scientists can enhance your prestige like artists.
Money:	Influence:
Pay Fine
Pay a specified amount of money to another lord - player or NPC, king or peer.  This may be a condition of a treaty, or a gift for some other reason.  The amount of the fine should be entered in the money field.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Proclaim National Language
A monarch may proclaim which language will be considered the 'official' language of their realm.  This will encourage the spread of that language within their realm, but may provoke discontent with speakers of another languages, if in the majority.  Language affects loyalty and trade.
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Reinforce Castle
Improve an existing fortification.  Enhances some or all of the effects described under 'Build Castle'.
Money: 600	Influence: 25
Remove Custom
Remove a tax previously imposed on a town or a province, reducing revenue but increasing happiness, loyalty and traffic.  As an example of where this might be effective, consider a town with several customs in place - removing some of them might attract trade in the town, thus increasing the revenues from the remaining taxes.
Money: 120	Influence: 50
Remove Toll
Remove a tax previously imposed on users of a road, reducing revenue but increasing happiness, loyalty and traffic.
Money: 120	Influence: 50
Research Trade
Spend money on advancing the knowledge about, and production of, a commodity in a territory, which should improve the productivity.  Can be helped if there is a school or university nearby.
Money: 2,400	Influence: 50
Seek Guild Support
Persuade the guild leaders of a town to support you, either in a town you control to allow you to impose or increase taxes or other controls, or in a town controlled by another lord to support your petition to be granted lordship of that town (see Seek Lordship of Town).  Having the guilds on your side can be a major step towards having your actions succeed - they are a powerful force in the towns.
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Seek Loan
Seek a sum of cash from commercial or private moneylenders, even another player.  As with all loans, this will have to be repaid, from the proceeds of trade across your domain.  The loan contract will assign all the revenues from the trade, customs or tolls in a specified town or province, or on a specified road, or for a specified commodity (throughout your domain) to the lender, for a period you stipulate.  The financiers will look carefully at the likely income from your offer to check if it is worth their while to risk giving you the funds.  You may agree a loan with another player; in this case, you must specify the house loaning you the money, and this character must use the 'Offer Loan' command, setting the loan parameters to the same as those specified by you.
Money: 0	Influence: 10
Send Settlers
Move colonists from one part of your domain to another.  As well as increasing population in sparsely inhabited areas, colonists from an area with better technology and organisation will help develop their new home, and will also bring their language with them.  You should note that townspeople will not take kindly to relocating to the backward and windswept countryside, nor will country folk be happy to be pushed into a town, with all its disease and filth.
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Seek Lordship of Town
Petition your overlord for title to a town, bringing with it the rights to tax and govern the burghers.
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Copyright © 2001-03 James Doyle. All rights reserved.