Napoleonic Wars Online

Rule Book

Last modified December 6, 2018

This document provides the rules of the Napoleonic Wars OnLine (NWOL) game. NWOL is divided into four game modules. The first module, Gathered In Their Masses (GITM), is the land warfare component of NWOL. The second module, Placed Alongside The Enemy (PATE), is the naval warfare component of NWOL. The third module, Revolution and Reaction (RAR), is the diplomatic component of NWOL. The fourth module, Sinews of War (SOW), is the financial and economic component of NWOL. Each module has its own rules, which are linked from this document. This document contains the rules that apply to all four modules and establish the framework in which each module is played.

Note: NWOL-6 is being played as a single war; the rules in section 3 and 5 about multiple coalition wars are suspended for the duration of NWOL-6. See the Guild board for the victory conditions for NWOL-6.

1. Nations and States

1.1.  NWOL contains thirteen nations, divided into three types: major powers, minor powers, and fragmented nations.
  • Major powers: France, Great Britain, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Spain
  • Minor powers: Portugal, Holland, Naples, Sweden, Denmark, Poland
  • Fragmented nations: Germany, Italy

1.2.  NWOL also contains states. At the start of the game, each major and minor nation except for France contain one state; thus, Prussia and Holland are both nations and states. Each fragmented nation is divided into more than one state. For example, Bavaria and Mecklenberg may be states within the German nation, and Venice and Sardinia may be states within the Italian nation. France contains the French state and the Bourbon French state.
1.3. France may create revolutionary states that are paired with existing states in minor and fragmented nations. Example: France may create a Revolutionary Holland state or a Revolutionary Sachsen state. To create a revolutionary state that is paired with an existing minor nation state, France must be hostile to that state and control one-third or more of the nation's cities. Revolutionary states may only be created between seasons, not during campaigns. To create a revolutionary state that is paired with a state in a fragmented nation, France must be hostile to that state and control one-third or more of the cities that that state owns permanently. France must then post to the Diplomatic Record, announcing that it is creating the state and the city or cities it will transfer to the new state. It must do this at least 48 hours before the deadline for the pending turn. It must then contact the GAs and provide the name of the player (not necessarily a French citizen) to serve as its monarch. The French monarch may serve as the monarch of the revolutionary state if he wishes; otherwise the GAs must approve the identity of the monarch. The new player can change his citizenship or retain his French citizenship as s/he prefers, unless s/he is serving as monarch of a non-Revolutionary state, in which case s/he must retain the citizenship of that state. One player may be the monarch of more than one revolutionary state. When Revolutionary states are created they are neutral to all other states. If they wish to declare war or form alliances, they must follow the same procedures for doing so as other states. Other nations may declare war on the Revolutionary state on the turn it is created (but not on any later turn) without the usual 48 hour lead time required.
1.4.  The Bourbon state is a special state in the French nation with no citizens. At the start of the game its monarch is the British monarch who controls the Bourbon state normally, except that the Bourbons start the game at war with France, and may never make peace with France, nor ally with a nation allied to France. The British retain control of the Bourbons as long as they do not sign a peace treaty with France, are not vanquished by France, and do not spend one game year (four consecutive seasons) without going to war with France. If either of those things happen, the Bourbons change come under control of a new state, and the monarch of the new state becomes the monarch of the Bourbons. This new state keeps control of the Bourbons until they either make peace with France, are vanquished by France, or spend one game year not at war with France. If the British lose control of the Bourbon state, control of it moves to the other major power powers in the following order: Austria, Spain, Prussia, Russia. If the Russians gain and then lose control of the Bourbons, and the game has not ended, then the Bourbon state ceases to exist.
1.5. A revolutionary state is destroyed if it does not control a city, and either does not have a unit or ship or has no money in its treasury. Its citizens may transfer to another state if this happens; they will be transferred to France unless they wish to transfer to another state and the monarch of that state approves their transfer. Non-revolutionary states cannot be destroyed. A non-revolutionary state can be left without a monarch if its last player transfers to a revolutionary state. If so, a new monarch can be appointed by any major or minor power that takes control of one of that state's original cities. The monarch of the appointing power may appoint himself, or the original monarch of the state; otherwise the GAs must approve the identity of the new monarch. If the monarch appoints himself, the fragmented state's score is thereafter added into his state's score. The French monarch may not be the monarch of a non-revolutionary fragmented state, and the monarchs of other states may not be the monarchs of revolutionary states.
1.6.  Each player of NWOL is a citizen of one state. It will be possible for a limited number of players to change states during the course of a game; frequent changes of state will not be possible. Players changing states are required to keep confidential all confidential information learned in the service of the former state while playing for the new one. A player is not limited to serving with the armies and fleets of that state, but may serve in the armies or fleets of any state in the game. On a player's position reports, units and ships will show red, blue, or gray depending whether they are allied with, hostile to, or neutral to the player's home state. A player who is commanding units for another state may request that his position reports instead show units as red, blue, or gray depending whether they are allied with, hostile to, or neutral to the state for which he is commanding. If so, he will show on the census as a citizen of his home state but playing for the other state. Contact the GAs with such requests. A player may also command units and ships for another state and continue to see the colors determined by his home state.
1.7.  Each city and port in NWOL is permanently owned by one state. In major and minor nations, the permanent owner is the state of that nation, and does not change throughout the game. In Germany and Italy, a city's permanent owner initially is the state that originally controlled the city at the start of the game. In Germany and Italy only, if a different state in the same nation (other than the revolutionary twin of the original owner) takes control of the city and keeps control for 15 consecutive campaign turns or for one full peace/truce turn, then that state may take over permanent ownership of that city. Requests for permanent control should be made to the GAs.

2. Government of States

2.1.  Each NWOL state has a government. The government has six positions: Monarch, Prime Minister, War Minister, Naval Minister, Foreign Minister, and Treasury Minister.
2.2.  The Monarch of each state is initially selected by the NWOL game administrator. If a Monarch resigns his position he may designate his heir, subject to the approval of the game administrator; if the Monarch designates no heir, or the heir is not approved by the game administrator, the game administrator will select a new Monarch. The Monarch will normally be a citizen of the state but in unusual cases may not be. The Monarch's primary power is to appoint the state's ministers.The Monarch may appoint any NWOL player to any ministry, including the Prime Ministry, including citizens of other states, and a player may serve as a minister for more than one state. A player may serve in more than one ministry, and the Monarch may appoint himself or herself to any of the ministries he or she wishes to occupy. However, the Monarch has the power to carry out any action that any of the ministers can carry out, even if the monarch is not assigned to that ministry. When two or more states have the same monarch, that monarch cannot resign one monarchy and keep the other(s), and if s/he resigns all positions, the same person must fill all positions. Any change of monarchy must change in all of the states, so that they continue to have the same monarch throughout the game. (This is necessary for scoring; see rule 4.7 below.)
2.3.  The Prime Minister of each state is in charge of the operation of the government of that state, and of coordinating the activities of the other four ministers. When tasks of the government involve more than one module (for example, colonial garrisons and amphibious operations) the Prime Minister assigns responsibility for those tasks among the other ministers. In addition, the Prime Minister may take any action that any of the other four ministers may take.
2.4.  The War Minister is in charge of the state's activities in GITM, the NWOL land warfare module. The War Minister  makes assignments of commanders and deputy commanders for brigades. The War Minister also forms the units into divisions, corps, and armies, and appoints commanders of these formations. The War Minister may appoint a commanding general, or the War Minister may command the armies himself or herself. Last, the War Minister manages the supplies of the armies, getting them from the home country to the forward depots in the field. Some of these powers can be delegated to commanders of army headquarters units; see the GITM rules for further information.
2.5.  The Naval Minister is in charge of the state's activities in PATE, the NWOL naval warfare module. The Naval Minister makes assignments of commanders and deputy commanders for ships. The Naval Minister also manages those frigates which report directly to the naval ministry instead of to a fleet commander. The Naval Minister forms the ships into squadrons and fleets, appoints commanders to those formations, appoints a commanding admiral or serves in that capacity himself or herself, and manages the naval stores of the nation.
2.6.  The Foreign Minister is in charge of the state's activities in RAR, the NWOL diplomatic module. The Foreign Minister negotiates and activates alliances, and declares war. He may also appoint ambassadors to other nations at his discretion and may designate some of his powers to those ambassadors.
2.7.  The Treasury Minister is in charge of the state's activities in SOW, the NWOL finance module. The Treasury Minister controls the state's finances and spends it on armies, navies, and monetary portions of diplomatic agreements. Details await the development of the SOW module.

Table of government actions and ministers who may act

3. Game Sequence

3.1.  NWOL is played as a series of games, each representing a single War of a Coalition; that is, the War of the First Coalition, War of the Second Coalition, and so on. Each game is in turn divided into seasons; winter, spring, summer, and fall. The series of games begins in Fall 1793 with all nations at peace except France and the Bourbons. A given season can be either a peace season, a truce season, or a campaign season. If at the start of a season, there is is no state at war with another state, then that season is a peace season, containing one peace turn. During a peace turn, nations may conduct diplomacy, and may reposition their armies and fleets within their own territory and the territory of their allies. They may not send their forces into neutral territory without a declaration of war against some state and the initiation of a campaign. If two or more states are at war, then any state that is at war may choose to initiate a campaign, except that the Bourbon state may never initiate a campaign, nor may any state that is only at war with the Bourbon state. A state that wishes to initiate a campaign must do so at least 120 hours (five days) prior to the scheduled peace/truce turn. If no state chooses to initiate a campaign, then the season is a truce season containing one truce turn. A truce turn is exactly like a peace turn except that naval combat may take place between states at war. If at the beginning of a season, any nation which is at war chooses to initiate a campaign, then that season is a campaign season, which is divided into 15 campaign turns. The GAs will announce the identities of the nation (or nations) requesting campaigns when announcing the beginning of the campaign season. A campaign can end before 15 turns if all nations at war make peace, or all nations which do not make peace agree to a truce. If, at the end of the campaign, the war has ended, or no nation remaining at war wants to initiate another campaign, then the next season runs as a peace or truce season, depending on whether any nations remain at war, and so forth until the next war begins.
3.2.  Normally campaign turns will be run twice a week, and peace or truce turns once a week. There will be a week's pause in the game at the end of each campaign, and pauses for holidays as necessary during the game. [More details on turn schedules]
3.3.  At the start of each game/Coalition War, there are four special turns, a diplomatic turn, an assignment turn, a build turn, and a deployment turn. Each state begins with a starting army and navy which is not as large as the army and navy that state can afford. During the diplomatic turn, the only players assigned to states are the monarchs of the states (major state monarchs may also receive one assistant). States can form alliances, but no money is spent and no income is earned, and no units move. At the end of the diplomatic turn, each major and minor state (except France and the major controlling the Bourbons) decides whether it wishes to be active and participate in this Coalition war, or be inactive. A decision to be inactive must be posted to the Diplomatic Record on the Guild Board; states which do not make such posts are active for that Coalition war. France, the Bourbons, and the major power controlling the Bourbons can never be inactive, nor can fragmented states be inactive. If a state decides to be inactive, then it is automatically neutral during the game, and no other nation may declare war on it. Its territory cannot be entered by any other nation, and it cannot activate its units. It receives income normally but cannot spend it except to maintain its existing units and ships, and it cannot transfer anything to other nations. States that are active may nonetheless remain neutral, but they are subject to declaration of war and their territory may be violated. At the end of the diplomatic turn, all other players are assigned to states that are active, and those players that were assigned to inactive states are reassigned to active ones.
3.4.  On the assignment turn, players can be assigned to command the starting units and ships of active states, but nothing else is done on this turn.
3.5.  On the build turn, each active state can build additional units to complete its starting forces. On a build turn, new units and ships can be built, supplies and stores can be purchased, units can be reassigned, players can change their passwords, and units can be rebuilt and ships recrewed (though this is usually not necessary). At the end of the turn, ministers receive updated ministry reports, but position reports are not sent.
3.6.  On the deployment turn, units and ships of active states can be moved according to the peacetime move rules, using the peacetime unit and ship orders forms. Active states can also move stores and supplies under the peace/truce turn rules for movingthem. Units of inactive states must move to the territory of their home state, or another state with the same monarch (that is, if the monarch of Tuscany is the same as the monarch of Austria, then Austrian units can be on Tuscan soil while inactive, and vice-versa). If they do not they will be moved to the city in which they were raised. Units of active states cannot be on the territory of an inactive state. If they are, and do not move to the territory of an active state or an unowned strategic square, then they will be moved to the city in which they were raised. Also, units can be reassigned and players can change their passwords. After the deployment turn, the first game turn is scheduled as a peace turn, one week after the deployment turn. It changes to a campaign season if a declaration of war is received and a campaign is initiated more than 120 hours before the orders deadline, as per rule 3.1.

Campaign turn sequence and Peace/truce turn sequence
Timing of orders

4. Scoring and Campaign Victory

4.1.  Each state receives victory points for winning battles and controlling territory. Each state loses victory points for casualties taken. States can also purchase victory points using funds from their treasuries.
4.2.  States receive victory points for winning battles; 1 point for each 40 enemy casualties inflicted in GITM or PATE in victorious battles (including losses from units that shatter or surrender), and 50/40/20 points for sinking or capturing enemy flagships/ships of the line/frigates in victorious battles. They received 10 victory points for damaging shore batteries or 20 for destroying them (10 if already damaged).
4.3.  States receive victory points each time they take control of a city or offmap port in battle and lose points each time they lose control of a city or offmap port in battle; 60 points times the city level for a city in the state's home nation, and 30 points times the city level for a city in any other nation. Polish cities count as outside the home nation for this purpose, hence are worth 30 points times the city level in all cases. When units from multiple states jointly attack and capture a city, one unit present in the city tactical square at the end of the battle is randomly selected and its side takes control of the city (and receives the VPs for doing so). If a state transfers control of a city or off map port to another state in diplomacy, then the state receiving the city gains 40 points time the city level for a city in the state's home nation and 20 points times the city level for a city in any other nation, and the state giving up the city loses 40 points time the city level for a city in the state's home nation and 20 points times the city level for a city in any other nation.
4.4.  States lose 1 victory point for every 100 battle casualties suffered in GITM or PATE (regardless of whether they win or lose the battle), and 20/16/8 points for losing (to sinking or capture) a flagship/ship of the line/ frigate (regardless of whether they win or lose the battle, or if the ship is lost in storms). When a transport is lost, the losing state loses 1 point for every 1000 capacity of the transport (rounded up). They lose 10 points for having a shore battery damaged and 20 for having one destroyed (10 if already damaged).
4.5.  States may purchase victory points at a price of 50 Cr per point.
4.6.  States can transfer victory points from one state to another (see RAR rules 3.3 and 3.4 for details).
4.7.  The score of France includes the scores of all revolutionary states created by France, and the scores of other major or minor powers whose monarch is also monarch of a fragmented state includes the score of that fragmented state, except that the Bourbon state is never included in the score of any other power. Scores are tracked and reported both separately and collectively.
4.8.  A major nation that loses control of the Bourbon state loses VPs equal to one-third of its starting score.
4.9.  Each state's campaign score is measured as a percentage increase or decrease from its score at the start of the campaign. At the end of the campaign, the major powers are ranked first to fifth based on their campaign score (including the scores of any associated fragmented states), the minor powers are ranked first to sixth based on their campaign score, and the fragmented states (including those associated with major powers) are ranked first to the number of fragmented states based on their campaign score.

5. Game End and Game Victory

5.1.  The game/Coalition War ends when either one of two things has happened; either France achieves a military vanquish over another major power, or the Revolution is overthrown. (Note: After NWOL5, this will probably change to "all active major powers" or to some other thing, as having the game end when France gets a single VQ is not satisfactory.)
5.2.  The French Revolution is overthrown if, at the end of any turn, Paris and at least fifteen other French cities are controlled by states at war with France.
5.3.  France achieves a military vanquish over another major power when the two nations are at war, and at the end of any turn, France or its allies control the vanquished power's principal city and at least one-quarter of its other cities (8 for Austria, 7 for Russia, 5 for Britain, Prussia, and Spain) with France itself controlling more than one-third of those cities (4 for Austria, which is more than one-third of 9, and 3 for Russia, Britain, Prussia, and Spain, which is more than one-third of 8 or 6). The principal cities of each nation are London for Britain, Vienna for Austria, Berlin for Prussia, Moscow for Russia, and Madrid for Spain. France also vanquishes another major power if the two nations sign a treaty agreeing that France has vanquished the other.
5.4.  France can also achieve a negotiated VQ by signing a treaty with another major nation in which that nation concedes a VQ to France. A negotiated VQ does not, however, end the game; only a military VQ can do so. (Note: It's not clear if this should be changed or not.)
5.5. A nation which concedes a VQ by agreement loses 5% of its starting score. France gains the same number of VPs that the nation giving the VQ loses. The treaty agreeing to the concession of the VQ may also contain VP transfers in either direction, subject to the usual rules for VP transfer.
5.6.  France achieves European hegemony if she vanquishes any four major powers, or any three if Britain is one of the three.
5.7.
  At the end of each game, if the game has ended by a French vanquish of another major, but France has not achieved hegemony, then the next game starts in same position in which the previous game finished. If the game ends with France achieving hegemony, or with the Revolution being overthrown, then the sequence of games ends, and the next NWOL series begins in the Fall 1793 position. There may be pauses between games within a given NWOL series.
5.8. Each state's game score is measured as a percentage increase or decrease from its score at the start of the game. The major powers, the minor powers, and the fragmented states are ranked according to their game scores no matter how the game ends. The Bourbon state is not included in the scoring since it has no citizens. Major power rankings are based on the scores including associated fragmented states. 

6. Player Behavior

6.1.  Each player is expected to respond to email from the ministers of his state and states in whose armies and fleets he or she serves, and to officers whom those ministers may appoint to command over him, in a timely and responsive manner. Players who fail to do so may not receive command of units or ships. Players are strongly encouraged to notify their ministers if they must be temporarily absent from the game, and should expect to be temporarily replaced if they do not communicate with their government for several days or longer.
6.2.  Each player is expected to conduct themselves in a manner which does not disrupt the game or reduce the ability of other players to participate in the game. Disruptive and obnoxious behavior will not be tolerated and will result in removal from the game. Forging emails, or altering the content of forwarded emails without acknowledgement of the alterations, will normally result in removal from the game.
6.3.  Each player is expected to serve his home state loyally, and if he accepts a command or a ministry in another state, is expected to serve the state giving him the command loyally in that capacity as well. When conflicts of interest arise (for example, a state which has offered a player from another state command of its units or one of its ministries declares war on his home state) the conflict should be resolved by giving up the foreign command or ministry. Players unwilling or unable to loyally serve their home state should request transfer to a new state under rule 1.5. It is against the rules of NWOL to purposefully act against the interests of one's home state, or to accept command of a unit or ship with the intention of acting in the interests of any state other than the one to which the unit or ship belongs. Violation of this rule will result in loss of the privilege of commanding units for states other than the state of the player's citizenship, or in the case of disloyalty to the home state, removal from the game.

Rules for the four NWOL modules: