Fleet
A Governor without ships is a Governor without reach. The fleet is the lifeline of any domain. It carries trade goods between settlements, ferries troops to distant shores, scouts enemy harbours, and stakes claims on uncharted islands.
Combat
Colonisation
MarketplaceShips in Harbour
The Fleet ledger opens to the harbour roster: every vessel currently docked and idle. Ships at sea on active missions do not appear in this count; they return to the roster once their voyage concludes. The harbour is divided into three classes of vessel, each serving a distinct purpose in the Governor's operations.
Merchant Vessels
Merchant ships are the workhorses of the fleet. They carry resources between settlements, resupplying distant colonies, provisioning allies, and moving surplus to where it is needed most. Resources are loaded immediately upon departure, deducted from the source's stores, and delivered when the convoy makes port.
Each merchant can carry a fixed tonnage. Larger shipments require more vessels; if the cargo exceeds the fleet's total capacity, the harbour master will refuse to load.
| Vessel | Cargo | Speed | Troop Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
 Small Merchant Ship | 80 | 1 | 5 |
 Large Merchant Ship | 200 | 0.7 | 10 |
War Fleet
Warships are the teeth of a Governor's navy. They carry troops into battle, escort merchant convoys through hostile waters, and form the backbone of any assault or defense. Ground troops, stone throwers, spearfighters, archers, swordsmen, and catapults cannot cross open sea on their own; they board warships as passengers, limited by each vessel's troop capacity.
| Vessel | Attack | Defense | Speed | Troops |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Small Warship | 10 | 10 | 1.2 | 5 |
| Large Warship | 30 | 30 | 0.8 | 10 |
| Colonisation Ship | 0 | 5 | 0.5 | 0 |
Spy Ships
Spy ships slip past harbour patrols under cover, gathering intelligence on enemy stockpiles, fortifications, and garrisons. They carry no cargo and fight no battles; their value lies in the knowledge they bring home. For a full account of reconnaissance operations, consult the Espionage chapter.
| Vessel | Speed | Defense |
|---|---|---|
 Spy Ship | 2 | 2 |
Missions
The Missions ledger tracks all ships at sea: convoys, spy missions, attacks, expeditions, and returns. Battle fleets are dispatched from the world map; expeditions are chartered from the Harbour tab in a settlement.
Expeditions
Expeditions are island charters. A Governor assigns idle ships, troops, coins, and any required goods from one settlement, then waits for the captain's reports as the route unfolds. Ships and troops sent on an expedition are unavailable for other orders until the expedition ends, and poor choices can cost lives or hulls.
Some expeditions pause mid-route for a decision. The Harbour tab shows the current report, the choices already made, what was sent, what remains, and any losses recorded so far. Finished expeditions file a report in Reports & Dispatches.
Resource Shipments
Goods are deducted from the source when the convoy sails and added to the destination on arrival. Excess beyond the destination's storage capacity is lost at sea, so verify storehouse room before sending large shipments. Merchants return automatically; the round trip takes twice the outbound voyage time.
Support Missions
Merchant convoys can also ferry troops to a friendly settlement, where they disembark and take up garrison duty. Infantry and siege units require merchant ships with sufficient troop capacity for passage; the harbour master will refuse to load soldiers without berths.
Once garrisoned, these forces fight alongside the local defender if the settlement comes under attack, shielded by the settlement's wall fortifications. However, stationed troops depend on local forges, fletchers, and armories for arms and resupply; their combat strength reflects the host settlement's research, not their homeland's. A master archer is only as deadly as the arrows the local fletcher can provide. They remain stationed abroad until recalled by their Governor.
Successive support missions to the same settlement add to the existing garrison. Multiple Governors can station forces at the same island, each contingent tracked separately.
Garrison Recall
A Governor may recall garrisoned forces at any time. Recalled troops return instantly. Only the units belonging to the issuing Governor are withdrawn; allied garrisons at the same settlement remain in place.
Recalling Many Fleets at Once
The realm Fleet view offers a bulk Recall order. A Governor may turn back every outbound fleet of a chosen kind — transports, attacks and raids, settlement fleets, spies, or support — in a single command. Only fleets still sailing outward answer the order; convoys already heading home are left to their course, and merchant runs to the bazaar are never recalled. As with any single recall, a fleet turns around only before it makes landfall.
Common Missteps
Most naval losses come from preventable logistics errors rather than enemy action.
- Overloading destination stores: Overflow is discarded on arrival. Check storehouse room before sending full holds.
- Sending troops without enough berths: Infantry and siege units require merchant capacity. If berths are short, the order is delayed or refused.
- Ignoring return-time bottlenecks: Ships in transit cannot serve elsewhere. Stagger long routes so the harbour is never left empty.
Sending Resources
The Send ledger is the Governor's dispatch desk for outbound resource convoys. Eligible destinations include the Governor's own settlements, alliance members, and personal contacts marked as friends. A Governor's own settlements may be selected directly; allied and friendly Governors appear first by name, and opening their entry reveals the settlements under their authority. Each cargo requires enough merchant ships to carry the load. The ledger shows how many are needed and how many sit idle in port.
A voyage estimate appears before the order is confirmed, showing travel time and arrival window based on the distance between settlements and the merchant fleet's speed.
Fleet Templates
A Governor who sends the same dispatch again and again should not rewrite the manifest every time. A fleet template is a saved preset: a named mission with its cargo or its troops already chosen. You build and keep templates in the Fleet ledger of your Realm.
Each line is either a fixed amount (50,000 lumber, every time) or a max line. A “max” line is not your whole stockpile: it fills the most your ships can actually carry on this voyage, just as choosing Max by hand would.
A template never sails on its own. Once you have chosen a destination, the Send ledger offers to load a matching template, and the manifest fills itself in. A transport template brings resources, food and coins, and any troops; an attack, raid, or colonise template brings the troops and auto-picks the smallest warship escort that can carry them. You review what will sail and confirm. Nothing leaves harbour until you give the word.
Templates are a late-game convenience, not a starting tool. They unlock once your capital's Laboratory is well advanced, the same hall of charts and ledgers that quickens your scouting.
Voyage Speed
Every voyage is governed by three things: the distance between settlements, the speed of the slowest vessel in the fleet, and the pace of the world itself. Each world runs at its own tempo. Some archipelagos see ships arrive in a fraction of the time a slower world would demand.
Merchant convoys move at the merchant ship's rating. Support missions and attack fleets sail at the pace of the slowest naval vessel; infantry and siege ride as passengers aboard the warships and do not slow the convoy. A Governor's sail research permanently quickens every vessel in the fleet, while a settlement whose people have lost heart launches its ships sluggishly. Low happiness drags naval speed until the ledgers are set right.
Population and the Fleet
A settlement's population tally includes troops garrisoned locally and units in training. Forces stationed abroad at allied settlements are not counted against the home population. Sending troops to garrison an ally frees room for further recruitment at home.
Soldiers carried as cargo on a merchant convoy are treated differently. They remain on the home rolls until the ships make port, because a convoy can be recalled mid-voyage. The quartermaster holds their quarters until delivery is confirmed at the far harbour.
This distinction matters most when approaching the population cap on a long voyage. The rolls wait for word from the destination, not for the empty ships to return home.
For trade logistics handled through the marketplace, consult the Marketplace chapter.
Reference
Which speed matters for a voyage?mission types
Merchant convoys use merchant speed. Support missions and attacks use the slowest naval vessel in the selected fleet. Land units ride as passengers and do not slow the voyage.
Sail research raises vessel speed, while low happiness at the launching settlement can drag naval operations down until morale is restored.
Common questions
Does loading a fleet template send the mission?
No. A template only fills the manifest. It resolves against the island you are sending from, shows the result, and waits for you to confirm. You can adjust anything before the fleet sails.
Which ships carry troops for support?
The Send ledger uses merchant ships for friendly convoys. Their troop capacity decides how many land units can travel with the cargo, or travel alone as a garrison shipment.
Can cargo and troops sail together?
Yes. A convoy may carry resources, troops, or both, as long as the selected merchant ships have enough hold space and troop berths.
What happens if the destination is captured before my convoy arrives?
If a different alliance has taken the settlement, the convoy bounces: cargo and troops are carried home rather than handed to the new owner. If the new owner is a fellow member of your alliance, or the original Governor still holds it, the delivery lands as normal.
Is it safe to ship lumen?
Not entirely. A convoy carrying lumen may be lost at sea before it reaches port, and a lost convoy takes everything aboard with it. The risk rises with the amount of lumen in a single hold, so move large hoards in several lighter runs rather than one. If you change your mind, recall the convoy before it is lost and it comes home safely. To move a large amount safely, press it into Lumen Crystals at a Relic Workbench first — crystals are goods and cross the water without sea risk, at the cost of a small conversion loss and the time to craft them.
When do stationed troops leave the home population count?
They leave the home rolls once they arrive and join the allied garrison. Troops still sailing with a convoy remain counted at home until delivery.