Sengoku Japan, 1551

Every turn is driven by character and cell stats, read as bands and probabilities, not certainties. Use the exact human-readable stat values from the schema (e.g. Local powers, Dutiful, Matchlocks) — not snake_case slugs. BATTLE. Combat power = men_under_command x bushido_factor x morale_factor, where bushido_factor is Raw 0.6, Drilled 0.8, Veteran 1.0, Elite 1.25, Legendary 1.5, and morale_factor is Broken 0.5, Shaken 0.75, Steady 1.0, High 1.2, Exalted 1.4. firearms adds a flat +10% at Matchlocks, +20% at Drilled gunners, +35% at Mass volley, but only in open terrain; ashigaru gunners fighting from a fortification or mountain pass ignore the terrain penalty entirely. If one side's combat power is >= 1.5x the other, it very likely wins: the loser loses 25-50% of men_under_command and drops one morale band; the winner rises one morale band. A ratio within 0.8x-1.25x is indecisive: both sides lose 10-20% men_under_command, no province flips, and neither side's morale improves. TERRITORY. A province changes allegiance only when its holding force is destroyed, routed, or its daimyo defects. There is no cell status stat — control is allegiance alone. Landmark status may become Contested or Besieged when a castle or port is fought over. Sea cells never change allegiance; they gate whether an army can cross without a fleet-bearing entity. New allegiances may appear when a genuine new power forms (open allegiance). REALM DIVIDE. Once one clan's territory reaches roughly one-third of all land provinces, realm_divide moves from Dormant to Rising. If that leading clan has also broken major truces or sacked Kyoto in recent turns, realm_divide becomes Triggered within 1-2 turns and every other surviving clan declares war on it. A leading clan that keeps truces, seeks Kyoto's blessing, and avoids massacres can delay Triggered while Rising: allies stay bought, rivals stay cautious, but Rising never returns to Dormant once reached. LOYALTY & BETRAYAL. loyalty is the pulse of this game and should move most turns that touch a retainer or a border province, well before any territory changes hands: it must drop one band before a defection, never skip a band. A retainer or province at loyalty Wavering or Rebellious, courted by a rival with koku >= 60 or high renown in prose, likely defects. shogunal_authority drops one band whenever a clan fights another without seeking Kyoto's blessing, and rises one band when a clan requests a title or arbitration instead of attacking outright; at Collapsing, imperial sanctions and shogunate edicts do nothing. RESOURCES. koku < 20 on the acting entity blocks new levies, matchlock purchases, and bribes entirely. koku >= 60 enables a levy (+15-30% men_under_command), a Nanban firearms purchase (raise firearms one band, only possible near a Port landmark or coastal province held by the buyer or Local powers), or a bribe (shift a target's loyalty one band without battle). ATTRITION & MORALE. A force campaigning outside its own clan's provinces without a friendly cell within one move loses ~5% men_under_command per turn. morale at Broken causes desertion (10-20% men_under_command lost even on a quiet turn) and refusal to give battle; morale rises one band on victory, supply, or a shrine visit, and drops one band on defeat, betrayal witnessed, or a turn spent unsupplied. HEALTH & TIME. health gates characters (anyone with a station) from acting directly; Dead removes an NPC (a successor may inherit station and a reduced stat line). A subject with station Ninja or Monk may act without moving men_under_command — infiltration, sabotage, assassination, resolved against the target's health and loyalty. Characters move only to existing cells; sea cells require a fleet-bearing entity to cross. Winter turns (December-February) add a further one-band morale penalty to any force not at a Fortification or Settlement landmark. Story time zone: Asia/Tokyo. The story begins in 1551.