VASSALS

1. Each Heroes Lands feudal lord from Count has the right to have vassals.
2. An inhabitant having lower rank (excepting landless knights) becomes a vassal if he loses a vassal duel or he wants to become a vassal voluntarily.
3. At first, voluntary consent to become a vassal is given privately and then it is announced by suzerain and vassal in the Tavern and after that both of them inform the Magistrate.
4. Count can have 2 vassals, Marquis – 3 vassals on the continent corresponding to their race. Duke can have 5 vassals on any continent, King can have unlimited quantity of vassals.
5. If a suzerain lowers his rank, he can keep his vassals appropriate to his rank plus one - i.e. baron has 2, count - 3 and so on. Vassals’ release because of lowering of the seigneur rank must be carried out within 7 days after loss of the rank by announcing names of released vassals in the tavern, otherwise all vassals of the suzerain become free.
6. Clan members cannot be vassals; however, they have the right to have their own vassals. A vassal cannot be a clan member.
7. Suzerain having 4 and more vassals has the right to have a flag like king’s one.

Rights:

• The feudal lord having vassals (suzerain) gets with his vassals 15 @ from the Magistrate for participation in Common Tourney of HeroesLands 2, 10 @ in HeroesLands 3 and 20 @ in HeroesLands 4 for each feud of vassals participating in this tourney. If vassals of several suzerains take part in the tourney, the results of these vassals are examined (the first criterion is spent days, if they are equal, obtained points are considered, in case of their equality, quantity of accumulated gold is considered). The bonus of the suzerain whose vassal showed the best result doubles. That means the suzerain gets 20 @ for each feud of vassals taking part in Common Tourney of HMM3, 30 in CT of HMM4 and 40 in CT of HMM. This is done to interest suzerains in improving their vassals play. In order to get the prizes the suzerain writes to the tournament presenter within a week after summing up to add arrobas for his vassals participation indicating vassals nicks and taken places. The suzerain has the right to transfer the prize (completely or partially) to his vassals.
• To draw his vassals into feudal war (look below).
• The suzerain has the right (but he is not obliged) to accept a duel challenge addressed to his vassals by any inhabitant irrespective of his rank (except for those who are in the same clan with the suzerain) and to stand up for his vassal. After victory the suzerain get the feud won in this duel and the vassal gets money.

Duties:

• To help his vassal to improve game’s qualification.
• To share plunder with his vassal but to bear the expense solely.

Rights:

• To ask his Seigneur to accept a challenge to a duel addressed to the vassal (except for cases when challenging player is a clan member of the suzerain).
• To ask his Seigneur to present him just finished tourney playing through.
• To have a part of plunger from feudal wars.
• To challenge his suzerain to a duel to get independence.

Duties:

• To perform military duties in case of beginning a feudal war and to follow all suzerain’s instructions concerning military actions.
• To exert all his powers to participate in Common Tourney successfully and to augment suzerain’s prosperity.

A vassal can get independence in the following cases:

• By voluntary consent of the Seigneur (he announces about it the tavern).
• If vassal loses his last feud and becomes a landless knight.
• If vassal wins vassal duel.
• If vassal’s rank becomes equal to the Seigneur’s rank (provided vassal wishes it), if it becomes higher than the Seigneur’s rank, it occurs automatically.
• When the Seigneur loses his rank and releases his vassal.

The Magistrate must be informed in all cases.

A vassal duel can be initiated in the following cases:

• to make somebody become a vassal.
• to get independence.

A feudal lord can initiate a vassal duel to make another feudal lord (whose rank is lower and who is not a vassal yet or a clan member) become his vassal. The king can challenge a duke, a marquis and a count to a vassal duel; duke can challenge a marquis, a count and a baron; marquis can challenge a count, a baron and a knight; count can challenge a baron and a knight.

Note: this rule concerns only a challenge to a vassal duel.

A knight who became a count’s vassal remains his vassal even if his suzerain becomes a King. It does not concern a voluntary vassalage.

After victory of the initiator of such s duel, the loser becomes his vassal, after defeat or drawn game the initiator pays a fine of 1000 @, 500 @ is paid to his rival and 500 @ to the Magistrate. The feudal lord struggling for his independence in a feudal duel has the right to ask the Magistrate to insert some property into his starting save. But in case of defeat, this property passes into the possession of the Seigneur. It is possible to insert into a starting save 1-3 mines, one artifact (1-2 level) and five units (1-2 level).

The feudal lord who upheld his independence in a vassal duel is immune against attack for half a year. Every vassal can serve only one suzerain, that’s why after losing his independence he cannot be challenged to a vassal duel unless he becomes free again. Another kind of a vassal duel is challenging a Suzerain by his vassal for upholding independence. Such duel is carried out without any roperty. After victory or drawn game the vassal upholds independence, after defeat he pays a fine of 500 @ to his Seigneur and can initiate another duel only in half a year. A challenge to a vassal duel is announced in the Tavern and a letter is sent to the Magistrate and to the rival. A vassal duel can be postponed at challenged player’s request but only for a month. If a player is challenged, no feudal lord can challenge him to another vassal duel. Two players are forbidden to duel to have another player as a vassal.

Magisters and junior magisters are immune against vassal duels and members of Knights of the Round Table are immune while they work in this body. However, voluntary vassalage is allowed.

The Suzerain and his vassals can participate in feudal wars. To initiate this war, the Suzerain, war initiator, sends a letter with the name of his enemy (another suzerain) to the Magistrate. He also should specify the game’s version where feudal war will take place and the number of participants (till 5) engaged in war. The opponents must propose the same number of participants. The personal participation of the Suzerain in war is not obligatory. Each war participant can use some property: 1-3 mines, one artifact (1-2 level), five units (1-2 level). Lost party loses its property which is given to the winners in addition to the main prize. The challenged Suzerain has the right to pay half of the bet and not to take part in feudal war. If 2-3 participants are challenged, he pays off 1 feud; if 4-5 participants are challenged, he pays off 2 feuds from his own property that are given to attacking suzerain within 21 days after war declaration.

If the number of participants of feudal war from each party is equal to 5, the war is carried out by rules of clan war. If both of suzerains take part in war, these rules can be used by common consent. The decision should be sent to the Magistrate from each side within 7 days after war declaration.

Within 7 days after war declaration each suzerain must select participants. Feudal war participants and suzerains cannot challenge or accept challenges while feudal war takes place.

The war begins not earlier than 35 days and not later than 49 days from the moment of the declaration in the Tavern and lasts 35 days without any prolongation. By common consent a feudal war can begin earlier. Defending suzerain has the right to postpone the beginning of war (up to 8 weeks). In that case, he pays a fine of 500 @ for every 2 weeks (whole or short). The announcement and terms of postponing war must be announced within 28 days after the war declaration.

Feudal war bets are feuds or @ - money equivalent of feuds cost. The starting bet in feudal war is feuds amount equal to number of participants; however two suzerains can change bets by common consent. The suzerains get starting saves generated on different maps named save № (save1, save2, ... , save5) and they distribute these saves themselves between the participants. Within 7 days the suzerains can write to the Magistrate and to ask to add necessary property into the save, indicating what profile the property is taken from. The property of the participants and of the suzerain can be used in feudal war. The Magistrate sends out the saves with the property within 7 days.

Saves are created on principle "one save for two players", i.e. two boxes with property of each fighting party are in the save, but the opponent’s box must not be opened. If the opponent’s box is opened, the player loses.

After playing through the save each player sends his victorious save titled Suzerain’s name_save № to the Magistrate. The saves must be sent by the time fixed. The final saves of each 2 players are examined by rules of Blitz-league, i.e. the winner in each pair of players is a player who played through the save for the lesser time (days), if they are equal, the accumulated points are examined. If the players played through the save for the same time (days) and have the same score (points), game is fixed in this pair.

The suzerain who wins more victories wins in the war. In case of the same results the victory is determined by the results of the first save sent in by the attacking party, in case of the same results it is determined by the results of the first save (among remaining ones) sent in by the defending party. And so on. In case of drawn game, the feudal war is considered to be played in a draw.

Feuds being a bet in feudal war are distributed in this way:

• In case of the suzerain’s victory feuds are got by:
  • A vassal if he wins in pair of players or there was a drawn game in his pair.
  • The suzerain if his vassal loses in his pair.
• In case of suzerain’s loss the feuds are given by:
  • The suzerain if his vassal wins in pair of players or there was a drawn game in his pair.
  • A vassal if he loses in his pair.

Feuds won or lost by the suzerain playing for his vassal are added or deducted from the suzerain.

All property of the lost party being in the battle passes into the hands of the won party irrespective of this player’s results.

The winner is allowed to turn over obtained feuds to his vassals as the spoils of war.

The lost party pays 500 @ as costs of war that are transferred to the Magistrate. In case of a drawn game the costs are paid by the war initiator.

The suzerain finishing war (or paying off) is immune to any challenges to the feudal war for 4 Common tourneys, however he can initiate. The suzerain has also the right to initiate the feudal war even if he takes part in the war in these lands.

Axiom

The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal