10.4.2.2 Divisions

The Ministry of War and its soldiers are the life blood of the city war machine. Without them, a city has no hope of defending its walls against invaders, or pushing its agenda on those of the world. Officers of the city militia possess the authority to command these divisions with direct orders, pitting them against other soldiers or capturing land for the city.

Commanders
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When you issue an order to a newly recruited division, you will become their commander. Anyone with an equal or lower militia rank will be unable to issue orders to that division while you remain its commander. Commanders can be reassigned with powers available to the Ministry of War.

Division Types
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There are currently four division types, each a little different from each other. Which division you might wish to form depends on what your city needs in the moment.

MILITIA:
These are generic units that offer no unique bonuses or penalties.

ARCHER:
The archer division type will automatically fire a volley upon enemy divisions in an adjacent location when war is declared, or when an enemy division is marched into an adjacent location to them during war. They are slightly weaker then other division types in actual battle.

In order for them to fire, they must be in formation after marching, and only one archer division per room can fire (multiple can fire if they're spread out in different rooms).

They only fire a single volley, but can fire multiple times if the conditions are met again.

SOLDIER:
The soldier division is the bread and butter of the military. Only this division has access to the FORTIFY, CAPTURE, OCCUPY, and CHARGE orders, and the associated orders that go along with them.

CAVALRY:
The cavalry division is unique in that it can march an extra 10 rooms before having to rest. They also enter into formation after marching quicker than other types (three minutes) and suffer no malus to their march speed. These divisions make for quick strikes against the enemy.

Attacking Divisions
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Attacking a division is generally done by an opposing division being ordered to enter battle with them. During such a battle, neither division will be able to receive orders until one of them is wiped out.

While it is possible to attack a division as a player, it will be quite difficult to do so. Divisions will only be vulnerable while not in formation, which is generally only possible for a limited time after they are ordered to march or are newly recruited.

Once a division takes 20 losses to players, they will quickly enter formation and no longer be vulnerable.

It is possible for players to attack a division while it is in battle with another, as such it is wise for an attacking force to be ready to defend their division from others.

Ordering Divisions
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There are many different orders that you can give divisions. It is up to the officer in command to understand the advantages and pitfalls of doing so.

You can give the following orders to a division under your command:

ORDER <division> MARCH <direction>
 - Orders a division to march in a particular direction. Due to the time
   it takes to get a division moving, you will lose equilibrium for a
   few seconds depending on certain scenarios.
 - You can only march a maximum of 20 locations before your division
   will need to rest. They will recover in one hour after the last
   marching order given to them.
 - If they are left resting on captured land, then the recovery
   is shortened to 50 minutes.
 - After the last marching order, the division will assemble into
   formation in five minutes, giving them immunity from adventurer's
   that try to attack them from that point onward.
 - Ordering them march again will cause them to lose formation.

   SPEED BONUSES:
     * Division is marching upon a road.
     * Division is marching during the day.

   SPEED MALUSES:
     * Division is marching through a watery environment.
     * Division is marching during rain, snow, or a blizzard.

ORDER <division> REPORT STATUS
 - Have your division report on its current status and strength,
   as well as informing you of any timers that might be relevant.

ORDER <division> ATTACK <enemy division>
 - Orders a division to attack another division. Once engaged in battle,
   they will no longer take orders until there is a victor.
 - Issuing this order on another will be considered an act of war.
 - Declaring your attack first has the natural bonus of first strike and
   lowering the enemy numbers before they can retaliate.
 - Each member of the division has a low chance to kill a single enemy in
   battle upon an attacking blow, making higher numbers better for victory.
 - There are certain advantages that can be gained that will boost the
   chance scoring a kill for each soldier, with bonuses being updated and
   applied upon each and every attack made by EITHER division during the
   battle.

   ATTACK BONUSES:
     * Attacking commander is present during battle.
     * Division is blessed by the Cardinal.
        - Note: blessing fades after a battle.

   DEFENCE BONUSES:
     * Defending commander is present AND division is fortified.
     * Division resides within captured land (check via SURVEY).
     * Division resides within its home city.

ORDER <division> MERGE WITH <division>
 - Orders a division to merge with another division. If the new division
   would have more than 100 members, then the new division will have
   whatever is left over (minimum 20).
 - Both divisions must have a blessing in order for the new division
   to inherit a blessing.
 - Marching timers are reset and the highest number of marched
   locations between the two is inherited by the new division.

ORDER <division> SHED <number>
 - Orders a division to shed a specified number of members into a new
   division (minimum 20).
 - Marching timers are reset and the marched locations and blessings
   are inherited by the new division.

ORDER <division> BASH <direction>
 - Orders a division to destroy a locked door in the given direction.
 - Can only be done within a city you are at war with, and there must
   be an enemy division behind the door.

ORDER <division> DISBAND
 - Disbands the division and adds the soldiers back to the reserves.
   Only the Minister of War may do this.
 - You can disband a division in the barracks of another city,
   allowing you to aid an ally. This will add the soldiers to their
   reserves instead of your own.

Soldiers Only
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ORDER <division> FORTIFY
 - Orders a division to entrench in their current position, preventing
   a non-allied division from marching past them. This takes the
   division roughly 15 minutes to fully settle in.
 - Once fortified, the division will not be perform any action other
   then REPORT STATUS, ATTACK, BLOCK, or MOVE OUT.
 - Multiple divisions may not be fortified in the same location, unless
   it is the city barracks.
 - If fortified on the route a caravan takes to reach a city, it will
   prevent any caravans from departing for that city on that route,
   unless that city has alliance or peace relations with yours.

ORDER <division> BLOCK <direction>
 - Have your division prevent adventurer's from moving past your troops
   in the specified direction. Your division must be fortified first and
   you cannot perform this action on captured foreign land.
 - Officers of your militia and those that are following will be able
   to move past the division without issue.
 - In order to cease blocking a direction, you must have your division
   move out and give up their fortifications.

ORDER <division> MOVE OUT
 - Instructs a fortified division to strike fortifications and prepare
   to leave their position. This takes roughly 5 minutes.

ORDER <division> CAPTURE HERE
 - Orders a division to begin capturing a location, claiming it for
   your city and providing a bonus in division battles that occur
   upon it. It will take approximately thirty minutes to claim the
   spot.
 - If you are at war with anyone, then the time it takes will be
   reduced to ten minutes instead.
 - Only a location that is either inside your city or adjacent to a
   supply line may be captured. A supply line is defined as a series
   of locations you have captured that connect a direct path to your
   city's war room.
 - Capturing land from another city does not instigate a war. As such,
   land can be stolen if you are not vigilant, so keep an eye on your
   logs.
 - Maintaining captured land requires the upkeep of gold from the
   city, as per HELP WAR.

ORDER <division> OCCUPY LAND
 - Orders a division to begin occupying a territory so that it is held
   under your cities control. It will take approximately ninety
   minutes to succeed.
 - You may only perform this order at the town square of the territory.
 - If the territory is controlled by another, you will not be able to
   begin occupying the land until all forces of the opponent are first
   removed.
 - You may not try and occupy multiple territories held by the same
   organization at a time. Once properly held, you may occupy another
   territory again.
 - Issuing this order on territory held by another will be considered
   an act of war.
 - Please see HELP TERRITORIES for more information.

ORDER <division> CHARGE <city>
 - Orders a division to begin an invasion of the specified city. To
   begin an assault, the division must be just outside the gates of
   the city.
 - The division will split up into individual units and begin to make
   their way into the city, fighting any guards or citizens they
   encounter.
 - If there is an enemy division in the same location when you attempt
   to charge, you won't be able to begin an assault.
 - Issuing this order on another will be considered an act of war.

Mock Battles
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Within the Dyisen-Ashtan Memoryscape lies the Ashtan Colosseum, where one can practice mock battles with troops formed of memories, minus the bloodshed. You can find the door to the Colosseum at v72321, which you can then get into by using ENTER DOOR.

Within there are two gateways and two separate sides; the ghost army and the spectral army. You can take control of either side and practice battles to learn how they work. You can PROBE the gateways and divisions to learn how to take control of them. 

The ghost army additionally has some captured land if you wish to see how those bonuses play out.

Right now it only offers the ability to battle other troops. The capturing of land and territory isn't possible in the Colosseum right now.