Player Guide

1. Join or create a game: Either join an existing game or create a new one.
2. Claim a land tile: after joining a game, claim an unowned land tile. Claiming land spawns a starter group of units and resources. Your claimed tile becomes your homeland.
3. Interface: from the map you can inspect any land, or access your own land to start making decisions and recording your planned actions.
4. Ending turns: you can end your turn at any time using the end‑turn button. Once all players have voted to end their turn or the timer expires, the game processes all queued actions. If you are the creator of the game, you can choose to end the turn at any time for all players.

Map Legend

Resources

Lands and units interact through a handful of resources:

Wood and trees

• Each land has 100 spaces that can hold either trees or farmland. Trees generate wood, which is needed for tools, building walls and ships, smelting bronze and increasing population growth (farmers start with wood to accelerate farming).
• Woodcutters harvest wood at roughly one per three population and can convert trees into cleared land.
• Trees regrow over time depending on the amount of rainfall in each land. Trees cannot overgrow occupied farmland.

Food and farmland

• Food is produced by farmers working cleared land. Production is influenced by rainfall and farmland: farmers grow food at rain (anywhere between 120 and 200) × 0.01 and the effective number of farmers is limited by cleared land before tool bonuses are applied.
• Farming output also has an 80–120 % random variance and consumes a small amount of tools; farmers spawn with some wood to boost initial output.
• Food consumption happens automatically at turn end. In lands you own or control as a king, all units are given enough food from the land’s stockpile to feed them fully; any leftover food stays held by the land’s “administration”.
• If food is insufficient, each unit receives food proportionally to its size, which means populations will shrink next turn.
• When units are in neutral or enemy lands, food they produce is only distributed to units from their own kingdom.

Metals: copper, tin and gold

• Land tiles are seeded with deposits of copper, tin and gold between values of 0.050 – 1.200; however, roughly 4% will have a maximum value of 2.200.
• Mineral deposits degrade the more they are mined and may become less and less profitable to extract, however, will never disappear entirely.
• Copper miners: Each worker’s effective strength is min(population, wood) (you need wood for tools). Output is (strength / 2) × copperMultiplier and each worker consumes one wood.
• Tin miners: Output is (strength × 0.1) × tinMultiplier, consuming one wood per worker.
• Gold miners: Output is strength × goldMultiplier, consuming one wood per worker.
• Mining always requires wood for tools and uses the calculate Unit Strength function before applying the multiplier.

Bronze and smithing

Bronze is produced by bronze smiths who convert one wood, one copper and one tin per population into bronze. Production is limited by the smallest input and uses the same strength‑calculation and random variance rules as other work. Bronze is valuable for combat because it gives the largest strength bonus (+3 per unit carried).

Rainfall

Rainfall is stored per land tile and influences tree regrowth and farming. Higher rainfall increases food production but reduces how much cleared land you can farm effectively (because wetter land takes longer to clear). The map also displays water and beach tiles; these cannot be farmed but sailors can move through them with enough wood (see Unit movement).

Population and growth

Every unit has a population value. At turn end, unit population increases slightly (fractional growth) but only whole numbers are shown and used in calculations. Splitting units does not speed up growth because fractional increases remain attached to the original unit.

Lands and hex grid

• Hex map: Terra Dominus uses a pointy‑top hexagonal grid. Lands store axial coordinates (hex_q, hex_r) and helper functions convert between axial and offset coordinates. Each land has up to six neighbours. Movement and distance measurement respect these hex neighbours.
• Terrain: Land types include grassland, forest, mountain and water. Beach and mountain edges draw based on adjacent hex terrain. Water tiles require boats for movement; mountains block movement for most units.
• Productivity multipliers: Each land tile’s copper, tin and gold multipliers are rolled at game creation. Lands also store rainfall and an initial tree density (yielding wood). Land multipliers diminish as you mine.
• Walls: A land has a wall value representing fortification strength. Wall units add ceil(strength / 2) to the wall each turn while siege units remove the same amount. Units can only toggle the within_wall state when a wall exists; sheltered units cannot perform work actions. Defenders within their own wall add the wall value to their population during combat.
• Ownership and colours: Lands display the owner’s emblem and colour. When conquering or becoming a vassal, the land name changes to show the kingdom it belongs to.

Units

Unit types

The game includes various unit types. Each unit is described by its type, population and carried resources. Some unit types have special behaviour:

Unit type	Purpose	Notes
Farmer	Produces food by converting cleared land into farmland.	Farmers can create farmland by cutting trees; they need wood tools and benefit from rainfall. They spawn with wood to boost initial production.
Woodcutter	Harvests trees to produce wood.	Effective workers = ceil(pop/3) before tool bonuses. Cannot cut the last tree on a land.
Copper miner	Mines copper ore.	Requires wood as tools; output (strength / 2) × copperMultiplier.
Tin miner	Mines tin ore.	Requires wood; output (strength × 0.1) × tinMultiplier.
Gold miner	Mines gold ore.	Requires wood; output strength × goldMultiplier.
Bronze smith	Produces bronze from wood, copper and tin.	Converts one of each resource per population; limited by smallest input. Bronze grants +3 strength bonus.
Wall unit	Increases a land’s wall value.	Each turn adds ceil(strength / 2) to wall.
Siege unit	Decreases enemy walls.	Each turn subtracts ceil(strength / 2) from wall.
Soldier	Ground combat unit.	Uses combat strength; can attack or defend; receives tool bonuses.
Navy unit	Sea‑going combat unit.	Moves like a fishing/sailing unit and fights like a soldier.
Sailor / Fisherman	Moves across water; fishing units collect food from water.	Sailors must carry at least two wood per person to enter water tiles and can convert into fishing units that harvest food each turn.
Envoy	Used for diplomacy and messaging.	Required to send messages; messages page uses envoys to compose new threads.
Military units	Catch‑all for soldiers, siege units, navy etc.	When attacking, can target any unit including your own; friendly fire is allowed but non‑military defenders inflict only 20 % damage and military attackers deal double damage.

Unit management

• Splitting and merging: Units can split into smaller units or merge. Splitting prompts you to choose the new unit type; merging lets you select multiple units and form a single unit of a chosen type. Be aware that splitting does not accelerate population growth because fractional growth remains attached to the original unit.
• Carrying resources: Units can carry wood, copper, tin, bronze and food. Carried resources provide strength bonuses: bronze +3, copper +2, wood +1 per resource unit (priority bronze→copper→wood). At the end of each action, 5 % of the used bronze, copper and wood degrades.
• Transfers: Units may transfer resources or food to any unit occupying the same land. Kings can transfer resources between any land or unit within their kingdom and vassal lands.
• Sheltering: Units may shelter inside walls for protection but cannot work or mine when inside.

Unit strength calculation

Before executing an action (mining, farming, woodcutting, combat etc.) the game computes unit strength using the population and carried tools:

1. Base strength = effective workers (population for farming/mining or ceil(pop/3) for woodcutting) plus tool bonuses (bronze +3 per unit, copper +2, wood +1). For mining, base strength is capped by available wood tools (min(pop, wood)).
2. Random variance: multiply base strength or production by a random factor between 80 % and 120 %.
3. Tool degradation: after the action, 5 % of the assigned bronze, copper and wood tools are consumed.

The resulting strength is used in resource production, wall construction or combat.

Actions and turn system

Each unit can queue one action per turn. The action queue ensures that units act in the order they were queued and that only one action of each type is processed per unit per turn. Actions include move, attack, build wall, siege, transfer resources, split/merge units and others. When a unit has multiple actions queued, later actions execute on subsequent turns. If a queued action fails (e.g., insufficient resources or target moved), remaining queued actions for that unit are cancelled.

At the end of the turn, all queued actions are processed. Attack and movement actions are processed in random order so that units may escape before being attacked. Processed actions are recorded in the action log for review.

Move actions

Units may move one hex in any direction per turn. A directional arrow indicator shows the queued movement. Moving onto water requires sailor units carrying at least two wood per person. When moving into lands you do not own, the game warns you if your food is insufficient for the next turn. Movement into mountains may be blocked or slower depending on unit type.

Attack actions and combat mechanics

Combat occurs when a military unit attacks another unit. The battle resolution algorithm uses each unit’s combat strength (calculated via the unit strength method above) and applies bonuses or penalties:

1. Wall bonus: If the defender is within their own walls, the land’s current wall value is added to their population. Attackers receive no bonus from walls.
2. Strength comparison: Attack and defence strengths are compared. Casualties are calculated proportionally; the losing unit suffers more casualties. Military units deal double damage against other military units, while non‑military defenders inflict only 5 % damage.
3. Friendly fire: You can attack your own units. The game warns you before attacking allied units.
4. Random processing: Because attack and move actions are processed in random order, a unit might move away before being attacked.
5. Aftermath and looting: Units reduced to zero population remain for one full turn so others can loot their resources before removal. Battle reports are recorded and accessible via notifications.
6. Conquering: If a military unit occupies an enemy land with no opposing army (or armies reduced to zero), the attacker may conquer the land. Conquering makes the land a vassal; the new king controls the land’s resources but the vassal still controls its units.

Governance and diplomacy

Terra Dominus includes a lightweight feudal system:

• King: The primary ruler of a kingdom. Kings control their own lands and may command resources from lands that have submitted as vassals. Kings can transfer resources between any land in their kingdom and their vassals.
• Vassal: A land that has submitted to a king. Vassals retain control of their units but allow the king to manage resources. Vassals can reclaim sovereignty when no military forces from their king are present.
• Conquer: Taking control of an enemy land by defeating its defenders in battle. After conquering, the land becomes a vassal.
• Submit / Join Kingdom: A land may voluntarily become a vassal of another by using the Join Kingdom action. A confirmation message appears to prevent accidental submissions.
• Release / Relinquish: A king may release a vassal, returning the land to independent control.

Envoys are required for messaging and diplomacy. Without envoys on a land, the messages page cannot compose new threads. Notifications alert you when turns process, battles occur or messages arrive.

Tips for new players

• Balance resource gathering: Early turns should focus on harvesting wood and food. Maintain a stockpile of wood for tools; insufficient wood reduces miners’ productivity dramatically.
• Exploit multipliers: Check each land’s copper, tin and gold multipliers. High‑multiplier lands (above 1.15) yield double resources; focus mining there but remember multipliers degrade with use.
• Use tool bonuses wisely: Prioritise bronze tools for combat units because bronze gives +3 strength per unit. Copper tools (+2) or wood tools (+1) still help but degrade after each action.
• Queue actions thoughtfully: The action queue only allows one action per type per turn. Plan ahead and avoid queuing conflicting moves (e.g., move then build in the same turn). Cancel unnecessary queued actions to free the unit.
• Defend with walls: Build walls in key lands and shelter units to make them harder to conquer. Use siege units to breach enemy walls. Remember that units inside walls do not perform work and will not harvest resources.
• Manage food: Monitor rainfall and clear enough farmland to feed your population. Prevent starvation by moving excess units to lands with surplus food or transferring food between units. Food shortages shrink population and weaken units.
• Diplomacy: Consider offering vassalage instead of fighting; as a vassal you keep your units but share resources with your king. Conversely, conquering expands your kingdom and gives you access to another land’s resources.
• Watch the turn timer: If you need more time, don’t end your turn too early. But if all players end their turn, the game processes immediately.

Conclusion

Terra Dominus is still in active development, but its core mechanics combine resource management, turn‑based tactical battles and a simple feudal system. Success comes from understanding how resources interact, using tools efficiently, and balancing expansion with defence. Use this guide as a baseline and adapt as the game evolves.