Espionage

Knowledge wins wars before the first volley is fired. Spy ships slip past harbour patrols, count stockpiles, sketch fortifications, and tally garrisons — returning with the intelligence that separates a decisive strike from a costly blunder.

Combat

Apply intelligence to pick favourable engagements and avoid disaster.

Fleet

Voyage timing rules that also govern spy fleet travel.

The Art of Reconnaissance

A spy mission dispatches one or more Spy Ships to a rival settlement. The ships sail under cover, attempt to gather intelligence, and return with whatever they observed — or nothing at all, if detected. More ships and deeper Espionage research improve the odds, while the target's Watch Tower and Kennels work against the mission.

Reconnaissance may be conducted against any foreign settlement, with one exception: Governors still under sanctuary cannot be spied upon, and launching a spy mission while under sanctuary forfeits that shield. Beyond that, alliances and friendships offer no shelter from secret scrutiny — only political consequences.

Marshal Voss notes

Never commit a war fleet without first sending scouts. The cost of a spy mission is trivial compared to the cost of a failed assault.

Shore Surveys

Spying on an uninhabited island produces a Shore Survey rather than a standard espionage report. Instead of enemy garrison counts, the survey catalogues the island's natural stores and wildlife.

Each resource is assessed by abundance — Scarce, Modest, Plentiful, or Overflowing — relative to the island's overall reserves. When one resource clearly dominates, the report names it outright: "Lumber appears to be this island's chief bounty."

These labels are not the same as an island's resource tier (barren through abundant), which is a permanent classification visible on the chart. A survey label of "Overflowing" means one resource is unusually high compared to the island's other stores — not that the island itself is top-tier.

This is the only reliable way to discover an island's specialisation before committing a raiding fleet or a colonisation convoy. Every island in the archipelago favours one resource, but the chart reveals nothing — only boots on the ground will tell you which shore holds the timber you need.

Master Quill notes

A single spy ship is enough to reveal an island's stores. Chart a course through unclaimed waters and survey every shore you pass. The cost is trivial. The knowledge is not.

Success Chance

The probability of a successful mission is always between 5% and 95% — no mission is guaranteed, and no target is impenetrable. Base chance starts at 50%, improved by additional spy ships and Espionage research, but reduced by the target's Watch Tower (3% penalty per level) and Kennels (1% penalty per level).

Morale adds another layer. Low happiness at the launching settlement weakens spy execution (about 10% at the first penalty tier), while low happiness at the target weakens local counter-intel (about 10% at that tier).

Quick Chance Table (Espionage 0, Kennels 0)

Spies \ WT	WT 0	WT 3	WT 5	WT 8	WT 10	WT 15	WT 20
1	50%	41%	35%	26%	20%	5%	5%
2	58%	49%	43%	34%	28%	13%	5%
3	66%	57%	51%	42%	36%	21%	6%
4	74%	65%	59%	50%	44%	29%	14%
5	82%	73%	67%	58%	52%	37%	22%
6	85%	76%	70%	61%	55%	40%	25%

Intelligence Depth

Not all spy reports are equal. The depth of intelligence gathered depends on the number of ships sent and the level of Espionage research — more capable missions reveal more about the target.

Intel Level	Reveals	Requirement
1	Resources	Any successful mission
2	Resources + Buildings	Espionage research 3+ or 3+ spy ships
3	Resources + Buildings + Units	Espionage research 6+ or 5+ spy ships

Common Missteps

Most failed spy networks break for predictable reasons. Correcting these early saves ships and prevents costly blind assaults.

Sending a lone spy into a fortified harbour — High Watch Tower levels punish small probes. Send additional spy ships or wait for better timing.
Attacking on stale intelligence — Garrison counts and stores change quickly. Run fresh reconnaissance before committing a war fleet.
Ignoring settlement morale — Low happiness weakens espionage at launch. Stabilise morale before high-value missions.

Kennels & Guard Hounds

The Kennels serves a dual purpose.

Spy detection: Each Kennels level reduces enemy spy success chance by 1%, stacking with the Watch Tower penalty.

Guard Hounds: The Kennels raises Guard Hounds — war dogs that cannot board ships or leave the island, but bolster a garrison cheaply. Each Kennels level supports up to 30 hounds.

Early Warning — Watch Tower

While spies gather intelligence abroad, the Watch Tower provides early warning at home. Higher levels reveal progressively more detail about incoming threats, giving time to muster a defense or evacuate resources.

Watch Tower Level	Incoming Intelligence
0	No warning — fleets arrive unannounced
1–5	Arrival time detected
6–10	+ origin settlement identified
11–15	+ approximate fleet strength
16+	+ exact unit composition revealed

Master Quill notes

A failed mission is still instruction. Track where detection occurred, adjust ship count or target order, and send again with purpose.

Spies \ WT	WT 0	WT 3	WT 5	WT 8	WT 10	WT 15	WT 20
1	50%	41%	35%	26%	20%	5%	5%
2	58%	49%	43%	34%	28%	13%	5%
3	66%	57%	51%	42%	36%	21%	6%
4	74%	65%	59%	50%	44%	29%	14%
5	82%	73%	67%	58%	52%	37%	22%
6	85%	76%	70%	61%	55%	40%	25%

Spies \ WT	WT 0	WT 3	WT 5	WT 8	WT 10	WT 15	WT 20
1	50%	41%	35%	26%	20%	5%	5%
2	58%	49%	43%	34%	28%	13%	5%
3	66%	57%	51%	42%	36%	21%	6%
4	74%	65%	59%	50%	44%	29%	14%
5	82%	73%	67%	58%	52%	37%	22%
6	85%	76%	70%	61%	55%	40%	25%

Spies \ WT	WT 0	WT 3	WT 5	WT 8	WT 10	WT 15	WT 20
1	50%	41%	35%	26%	20%	5%	5%
2	58%	49%	43%	34%	28%	13%	5%
3	66%	57%	51%	42%	36%	21%	6%
4	74%	65%	59%	50%	44%	29%	14%
5	82%	73%	67%	58%	52%	37%	22%
6	85%	76%	70%	61%	55%	40%	25%