Domains are any towns, castles, strongholds, and other assorted areas that may be conquerred, developed, and run by players. Taking a very broad view, domains are the FFO equivalent of guilds and clans in other games, but in reality, domains are much more complex. Having some knowledge about domain functionality will help you to build a given location into your ideal domain.

Domain Options:

The vast majority of your direct interactions with domains will take place through the Domain Options menu. To access the menu, type "domain-options" in the console while standing within a domain.

Related Post: Domain Information (Domain Options)

Becoming a Citizen or Lord:

There are two ways to become involved in a domain - either as a citizen or as a lord. Citizens gain the use of Domain Say and Domain Who (explained below), receive science bonuses (if applicable; explained below), receive the domain's insignia next to their names when displayed on the map (if applicable), will be taxed by the domain (if applicable), and may receive other bonuses (as applicable). Lords get all of this plus a number of other options related to domain mechanics.

A player may apply to become a citizen by using Domain Options, selecting "Citizenship Options", and choosing "Apply" for citizenship. If the domain is not currently accepting applications, you will be notified as you try to join, otherwise you may either may be immediately accepted or placed in an approval queue, depending on the lord's preferences. If you log out while in the queue, your application will be destroyed, and you will have to reapply at a later time.

Lords may take control of domains in one of two ways. A current lord who holds two or more domains in a feudal hierarchy may enfeoff you as a vassal and offer you possession of a subordinate domain. Alternatively, you may attempt to conquer a domain and claim the newly independent domain as your own.

Related Post: Domain Information (Conquering)

Communications:

Having joined or taken control of a domain, you will receive two additional verbs: "Domain Who" and "Domain Say". These can be accessed via the expanded HUD or by typing "dwho" or "dsay" in the console.

Domain Who and Domain Say work similar to Party Who/Say with some important differences. Domain Who will only list players who are in your domain and, if your domain is part of an extended feudal hierarchy, the players within the feudal hierarchy to which your domain belongs. Domain Say will also allow you to communicate with any players in your domain or within the feudal hierarchy. For lords with multiple domains in different feudal hierarchies, Domain Who will list players from all included hierarchies, and Domain Say will communicate with players in all included hierarchies. Citizens within different hierarchies will be unable to communicate with each other using Domain Say regardless of a common lord.

Improvements:

Lords have the option to build structures of various types within their domains. Each improvement confers a different bonus or ability upon the domain that possesses it.

Related Post: Domain Information (Improvements)

Military:

Since domains can be conquered, there is a mechanism for setting up defenses. Domains are protected from hostility by both guards and special military units that require certain improvements as prerequisites for training.

Related Post: Domain Information (Military, etc.)

Taxes:

Lords have the option of setting General Taxes and Intrest Taxes for their domains. Intrest taxes are taken directly out of intrest gains from bank accounts within the domain, and gold taxes are received any time a player picks up gold or receives gold from a treasure chest. The original source of the gold does not matter; if you are within a domain with a gold tax, picking up gold that you yourself dropped will result in a personal net loss, as a portion of the gold will be sent to your domain as tax.

Taxes apply to the lords of domains as well as citizens. If a lord possesses multiple domains, the lord's "home" domain will receive any applicable taxes.

The gold tax also applies to NPCs and is a major factor in determining NPC happiness, and thus morale and productivity.

Subordinate domains within a feudal hierarchy may also be taxed. In this case, a percentage of the subordinate domain's tax gains will be funneled to the higher domain. This only applies for newly taxed gold and/or experience, as the subordinate domain's treasury is unaffected.

You can also stop at an domain within the fuedal hierarchy and set it as your spawn point, meaning when you are to log out you'd log in there instead of your home domain.

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Domain Options
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Almost all interactions between players and domains are carried out through Domain Options (DO). To access DO, type "domain-options" in console while standing within a domain. You will only be able to access available options for the domain you are standing within.

Bounties and Outlaws:

You can see the current outlaws of a domain by selecting "View Wanted List" from DO. Selecting "View Outstanding Bounties" will allow you to see a list of bountied players and how much is currently being offered for each. Bounties are awarded for killing a marked player (after respawn). A message will appear when you kill a bountied player, telling you that an award is available. To claim a bounty, visit the domain that issued the bounty and select "Claim Bounty" from DO.

DO for Citizens and Non-Citizens:

Citizens and non-citizens may select "Citizenship Options" from DO for access to several additional options (listed below). It is also possible to make a friendly donation to a domain using "Donate Gold" in the DO. Citizens may view the domain's current tax rates and science bonuses by using the DOs "View Tax Rates" and "View Current Bonuses", respectively.

DO for lords:

In addition to "Citizenship Options", "Donate Gold", , "View Tax Rates", and "View Current Bonuses", lords have several additional options. Lords may withdraw gold directly from the domain's trasury using "Withdraw Gold" from DO. Tax rates are set directly from DO by choosing "Set Tax Rates", and for domains with subordinate fiefs, taxes for individual fiefs can be set by using "Set Fief Tax Rates". For domains with banks, lords have the option of taxing interest earned by players; this is also set using "Set Tax Rates".

"Set Home" allows lords to set their "home" domain. By default, the lord's home domain is set at login as the highest-ranking domain within a hierarchy, or the first obtained domain if there are several with the same standing. The lord always respawns within the home domain, and the home domain receives any taxes taken from the lord's personal gains. "Set Home" will allow a lord to change home domains. The lord must be within a domain to set it as home.

Options for building or repairing improvements are accessible through "Build Improvement" from DO. "Demolish Improvement" allows a lord to destroy an improvement when standing next to and facing it.

Selecting "Domain Information" from DO will give an extensive summary including just about anything you could possibly want to know about your domain. "Domain Information" provides information about the domain's standing within a feudal hierarchy, NPC morale happiness and productivity, daily income from NPC taxes, daily upkeep costs, numbers of PC and NPC citizens, number of guards and military units, any players waiting for approval to join, amount of gold in the treasury, tax rates locally and for subordinate domains and for being a subordinate domain, science bonuses and investments, and a list of all improvements that provide bonuses for your domain (with brief descriptions of the bonuses).

Lords can select "Citizenship Options" from DO to set a number of preferences and may also choose either "Political Options" or "Military Options".

Citizenship Options:

Non-citizens can select "Apply" to submit an application for citizenship. Depending on the lord's preferences ("Set Application Stringency"), it may either be rejected automatically ("Reject All"), approved automatically ("Approve All"), or put in an approval queue ("Selective Approval"). If your application is added to the queue, you have the option to "Withdraw Application" by using DO and Citizenship Options. If you log out before being approved, your application will be destroyed and you will have to reapply later.

Citizens have the option to "Forfeit Citizenship".

In addition to "Set Application Stringency", lords may grant citizenship to or reject applications from players in the approval queue and can revoke the citizenship of any current citizens.

Political Options:
(explained in the following post)

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Political Options:

Lords may use "Declare Outlaw" and "Grant Amnesty" to manually modify the domain's "wanted" list.

"Set Bounty" is used for obvious reasons. Bounties may not be posted for less than 1000 gold. Money is set aside for bounties once posted to prevent players from offering more money than the domain can afford. If necessary, use "Withdraw Bounty" to return to the treasury any gold currently offered for a bounty.

"Grant Impunity" allows lords to declare any players "off limits" to guards and NPCs and gives similar status to being the lord of a domain. Players with impunity are never attacked by domain NPCs. "Revoke Impunity" nullifies the effect.

"Set Guard Activity" is used to determine how guards will react in various situations. "Default Activity" causes guards to behave as observed in non-domain areas, with guards rushing to defend players from hostility, etc. "Defend Only Citizens" will cause guards to ignore any transgressions except those against citizens (and the lord). This is useful for 'evil' domains that may wish to take advantage of non-citizens who happen to stop by (e.g. - unrestricted filching and stealing). "Only Attack Non-Citizens" is slightly different. With the previous setting, guards could potentially attack an aggressive citizen who attacks another citizen. This is prevented by "Only Attack Non-Citizens". "Attack All Non-Citizens" will cause guards to attack any non-citizen that sets foot within the domain.

"Set Chancellor Access" is only necessary when the lord has selected a chancellor, but can be changed beforehand. Using this option will bring up a list of powers that can be toggled on or off; this will limit the chancellor's powers by the lord's specifications. The following powers can be allowed/removed: Domain Information, Citizenship: Applications, Citizenship: Revoke, Citizenship: Stringency, Politics: Outlaws, Politics: Bounties, Politics: Impunities, Politics: Guard Activity, Military Options, Improvements: Build, Improvements: Demolish, Set Tax Rates, Set Fief Tax Rates, Invest in Science, Withdraw from Treasury. There are also options to toggle all powers on or off. Select "Done" when you are finished setting powers.

"Appoint Chancellor" allows a lord to select a second-in-command, or chancellor. After selecting this option, the lord must then select the player to become chancellor: the player must be a citizen and in viewing range to be selected. Chancellors are given powers by the lord and can use them just like a lord can, so long as they have those powers available to them. In addition, "Resign Chancellorship" is an added option, which allows to chancellor to willingly remove himself from the position and return to being a citizen of the domain.

"Remove Chancellor" is used to dethrone the current chancellor from power. This option is only available when there is a chancellor currently residing in the domain.

"Subordinate Domain" is used to create a feudal hierarchy and may be used to subordinate either of any two domains ruled by the same lord and with the same standing and position within a hierarchy. It can also be used to link two independent domains or subordinate an independent domain to one already within a hierarchy. Use this option in the domain to be subordinated.

When a lord possesses two domains, one of which is subordinate to the other, two additional options are available within the subordinate domain. The first is "Elevate Domain", which places the subordinate at the same standing as the one it was previously under. This can produce two domains that are equally subordinate to a third, or two independent domains (or hierarchies), depending on the original hierarchy. "Enfeoff Vassal" allows a lord to pass leadership of a subordinate domain to another player. Players may possess multiple domains. If the player being enfeoffed is currently a citizen of a domain, the citizenship is automatically renounced if the offer is accepted.

"Bestow Domain" may be used to transfer control of a top-level domain to another player. A domain passed in this manner retains its independence and is not considered a fief. This options does not upset feudal hierarchies; fiefs of a bestowed domain will remain subordinate to the domain even after it has been passed.

Lords of subordinate domains in hierarchies have the option to "Relinquish Domain" and return control to the player to whom they are currently enfeoffed. This option is not available for a subordinate domains that aren't enfeoffed to another lord.

Finally, "Claim Independence" will allow you to break your feudal contract with any domain to which yours is subordinate. Again, this only applies if you are enfeoffed to another lord. Great care, thought, and consideration should be taken when using this option, as it has the potential to cause major diplomatic upheaval.

Military Options:
(Explained in the following post)

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Lords may use "Military Status" for a summary of military affairs. This includes a list of all military units, guard levels, and upkeep costs.

"Mobilize Army" is used to call the military into action. Military units will appear to fight any and all mobs considered to be threats within the domain (as determined by the guard activity setting). While the military is active, no improvements can be built and no military units or guards can be trained. The army remains mobilized for about 10 minutes after the most recent perceived threat has been removed.

"Add Guard", "Add Soldier", "Add Ranger", and "Add Mage" allow you to train NPCs of various types. "Remove Guard", "Remove Soldier", "Remove Ranger", and "Remove Mage" release NPCs from duty.

You've just managed to conquer a domain, and now you need to keep it under your control. Read on to find everything you need to know about defending your domain.

To manage your defenses, type "Domain-Options" in the console while within your domain and select "Military Options".

Guards:

I'm sure you've seen or had a run-in with an NPC guard at some point. Guards are essentially paladins, as they will periodically heal themselves and others between melee attacks. All domains have at least one guard, and the last remaining guard is the final target during a conquest.

You may have up to 15 guards in a domain, regardless of the domain's size. Initially, you will only have the option to hire low-level guards, but as you hire more and more guards, you will be given the option to hire considerably more powerful guards. Guards are relatively expensive to hire and maintain but are your domain's last defense against its enemies. Guards cannot be hired while a domain is mobilized.

Some guards require that other guards are present before you can buy them. For instance, Sergeants and Lieutenants require four of any of the first three levels of guards in order to be bought and maintained. A Lieutenant requires that a Sergeant be present before he will be hired, and a Captain requires that both a Sergeant and a Lieutenant are in the city.

(Thieves wearing the Highwayman disguise are always considered hostile by guards and military.)

Military:

Military units are unique from guards in that they are only called into action once the domain has been mobilized. Military units are relatively inexpensive to hire and cheap to maintain. You can hire up to 40 military units total. They cannot be hired while a domain is mobilized. Military units come in three distinct varieties:

Soldiers - melee units with high attack and moderate health. They are slightly faster than guards and are roughly equivalent to Lieutenant-class guards (but with much lower health). You can only hire Soldiers after you build a barracks.

Mages - ranged units with elemental magic, low health, and the Sleep spell. They are slightly faster than Soldiers. You can only hire mages after you build a Mages' Guild.

Rangers - ranged units with low attack and low-moderate health. They are the fastest military units and can effectively evade melee damage by keeping their distance from targets. You can only hire Rangers after buildings a Rangers' Guild.

Military units will appear and attack any outlaws or hostile units while a domain is mobilized. Only 20 of your military units may be active at any given time, regardless of how many you have hired. After the threat has been removed, the military will gradually return to inactivity until called upon once more. Each time a military unit becomes inactive, its health is fully restored.



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Conquering
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Since the number of potential domains is limited, the only way to assume control over an independent domain is to conquer an existing one. Domains are conquered when:

- all military NPC units have been killed
- the domains's lord, if present, is dead (or has been driven from town)
- all PC citizens who are present are dead (or have been driven from town)
- all guards have been killed
- seige mode must be active
(When activated Seige mode will give the following message "Commence to the parapets!"

It is important to kill the last remaining guard after all of the other mobs listed above. If you kill the last guard while a citizen is alive in the domain, a new minimum-level guard will be spawned. If any citizens or the town's lord manage to respawn before all of the listed mobs have been killed, then they must either be killed again or be driven from town.

Once the last guard has been killed and the domain has been conquered, the highest ranking party member of the player who killed the last guard will be presented with several options. If the ranking party member is not located within the domain that has just been conquered, then the options will pass to a deputy located within the domain. If no deputies are present or if the player is not in a party, then the player who killed the last guard will receive the options.

Victory Options:

Once a domain has been conquered, the following options will be presented to the ranking party member. In each case, all outlaws are granted amnesty, all players with impunity lose it, all bounties are reset, and guards revert to their default behavior.

Assume Leadership - You become the new lord of the domain. If you are currently a citizen of another domain, you will automatically lose your citizenship.

Pillage and Assume Leadership - In addition to assuming leadership, you also immediately take possession of all of the domain's gold (including all gold players have deposited in the bank, if applicable). This is especially useful for rewarding players under your command such as mercenaries, as they will likely want their payment right away.

Loot and Leave - You immediately take possession of all of the domain's gold, but control is retained by the current lord.

Abandon - You neither take control nor loot the city. This option may seem counterintuitive at first glance, but when you consider domain politics, it may be worthwhile to defeat but not destroy a domain (either literally or financially) .

Seige mode:

Seige mode was created to prevent towns from simply being taken when not enough possible defenders are present to defend the domain. It activates when a certain number of players has filled the threshold (which is currently 20 non newbie players). If seige mode is active, All domains suffer permanent losses to the army when army units are killed. If Seige mode isint active no harm done to towns or the army is Permanent.

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the rest will be posted when i'm a little less tired

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