War Accord
The War Accord is a formal system governing conflict between noble houses, formalized through Concordia, the Goddess of Pacts, and the Adventurer's Guild. It establishes rules of engagement that prevent unchecked chaos while still honoring Kratos's mandate that the strong should conquer the weak. Nobles can pursue power aggressively, but with clear boundaries of escalation that cannot be crossed without facing consequences.
Breaking the Accord constitutes breaking a pact with Concordia, the penalty for which is public execution of the offending parties, enforced by the Adventurer's Guild. The Adventurer's Guild also assigns a sufficient number of War Auditors (designated scouts and handlers) to observe and report on the war, ensuring that the Maidens responsible for overseeing the war are kept informed about its events.
Declaration of War
Nobles have the authority to declare war at City Parliament against other noble houses, which triggers the War Accord between the Aggressor's House and the Defender's House. In keeping with Kratos's philosophy, no moral or political justification is required to declare war. This aspect of the War Accord acknowledges the reality that ambitious nobles will pursue power for its own sake, and that strength, not moral righteousness, ultimately determines who rules in Endros.
Once a war has been declared, a Maiden is chosen and assigned as a "War Maiden" to handle official rulings and oversight of the war. The Defender's House has 24 hours to respond with their own war declarations to the War Maiden or her chosen delegates. They can declare up to three "Modified Terms of War," which impact how the war will be conducted. They are also permitted to choose the date to initiate the war, which must begin no later than two months' time, and no sooner than three days' time.
Wars are one week long unless altered through the Modified Terms of War, or unless both parties sign a truce.
War Code
The official "War Code" rules apply to all wars, and their terms cannot be modified. Breaking any of the rules within the code constitutes a war crime, and most war crimes carry very severe penalties. The Adventurer's Guild has a powerful reputation for correctly identifying war crimes and enacting justice accordingly; even for crimes that were well concealed by their perpetrators.
War crime penalties always apply to the individual responsible for inflicting the crime, but can also carry extreme penalties for the noble house that recruited them. This includes loss of wealth, territory, titles, and permits. A single war crime may even negatively affect the terms of war for the faction that perpetrated the crime.
War Auditors
War Auditors are hired elites who are assigned to observe and report on the war. This includes Archivists, Silver and Gold-ranked Adventurers, and other Guild Specialists who are trained for handling these situations. Their primary responsibility is to identify and report all war crimes to ensure proper war etiquette. Many tactics are employed to ensure this: mindshard recordings, secret informants, Archivist powers, telepathy, extreme senses, scrying, psychic detection and investigations, scouting with familiars, enhanced memory, tracking magic, and many others. Magical artifacts are regularly used to assist with these efforts.
Most War Auditors who operate directly within the warzone wear uniforms to clearly distinguish them from soldiers. They remain close enough to conflict to report on it, but otherwise are instructed to stay out of harm's way. If a war crime is committed, they have the authority to call an immediate ceasefire and to conduct any actions they feel are appropriate.
War Auditors are bound to neutrality and a code of conduct within the War Accord. They are strictly forbidden from taking any actions that would intentionally favor one side. However, it is a matter of public record that if someone attempts to bribe or blackmail them, they are supposed to play along as though they're dirty in order to extract as many details as possible before reporting them.
Intentionally harming a War Auditor or attempting to exploit their presence as an unnatural shield is grounds for public execution for the offender, in addition to significant consequences for the offending faction.
Public Protections
City and Guild property is protected ground, even when located within a noble's domain. No acts of war or destruction are permitted on or against these grounds, including civic sites, guild property, city infrastructure or utility systems, etc. Violations of this term will be severe. These are considered safe zones for citizens, but any uniformed soldier who enters these locations during wartime is to be stripped of their uniform and forfeits their involvement in the war, carrying whatever consequences that entails.
Adventurer Participation
Adventurers lose their insurance benefits when participating in house wars to disincentivize their participation. Hunters are not allowed to participate unless they are a noble within the house territory itself. Their value in protecting society from demonic threats is considered to transcend these wars.
War Treaties
House wars can be ended or modified if both parties negotiate a truce in the presence of the War Maiden. Truces can include terms of peace, surrender, exchanges of wealth or favor, temporary ceasefires, or other modifications that both parties agree to.
Guild Ceasefires
The War Maiden, her delegates, Archivists, and top positions within the Adventurer's Guild have the authority to enact an official ceasefire for any reason, generally to conduct local investigations or handle guild activity within the territory. This pauses all warfare between the houses until the Guild has completed its business.
Standard Terms of War
Military Uniforms
Each noble house is required to outfit their soldiers with military uniforms to distinguish themselves from citizens. Soldiers must wear their uniforms at all times while participating in war, and may not participate in combat unless the appropriately designated uniform is equipped and clearly visible. It is permitted to use simple layers for a uniform, such as a representative cloak, cape, scarf or other light accessory as long as it is clearly visible and covers a substantial portion of the body. Uniform choices must be approved by the War Maiden to ensure they are sufficiently recognizable.
Citizen Protections
Somewhat counter-intuitively, citizens have more protections during war. Citizens cannot be specifically hunted down or used as human shields, at the risk of a Misdemeanor for each infraction. However, it is the citizen's responsibility to avoid combat, and they can be disposed of if they are interfering.
Conquering Territory
Territory can be conquered by holding the area for a period of 24 continuous hours, as determined by the War Auditors observing and reporting on the war; with any high-level arbitration handled by the War Maiden. Control and ownership of the area passes to the noble house that conquered it. The opposing house must then hold it for 24 hours to reclaim it. Deeds are transferred at the conclusion of the war.
Marking Soldiers
During war, noble houses can employ scouts, informants, suppliers, and other citizens in non-uniformed roles. By not wearing a military uniform, they are granted citizen protections while also being of potentially great benefit in gathering intel, moving critical supplies, etc. It is possible for the opposing house to "mark" those citizens as soldiers, removing their protections and forcing them to wear a military uniform. This is done by naming a citizen to the War Maiden in a way that can be verified.
Once a target is "marked," they are now treated as a soldier and must wear a military uniform at all times if they choose to remain in the territory. You can only "mark" targets that are materially contributing to the enemy's welfare.
Capturing Enemies
Soldiers can be captured safely (without death) if the captor accepts the official gesture of surrender; head bowed with a fist on the forehead, and one hand behind the back. If the captor accepts the surrender, the captive is "eliminated" from the war without further violence. The captive must flee the warzone peacefully through the most convenient path available, without disruptions. They are barred from returning to the war for any reason.
Capturing occurs for many reasons. Houses may not want to have civilian slaughter, and agree to terms that favor capture. It is also often safer to accept capture than continue with combat attrition.
Modified Terms of War
Noble houses can agree to modified terms of war before the war begins, including:
- The duration of the wartime.
- Daily windows when the war can commence legally.
- Protected territories that are off-limits.
- Keystone sites that represent capture of larger areas.
- Specific days where a ceasefire is enacted.
- Modified rules on conquering territory.
- Citizen warfare or capture.