Research

A sharp blade outlasts a dull army. The scholars of the Laboratory study the craft of war: improvements to spear, shield, bow, siege, and sail that strengthen forces fighting from that settlement. Research is slow and costly, but no raid can undo what has been learned.

The Laboratory

The structure required to conduct all research.

Island Prestige

Research standing counts toward an island's overall development.

Units

Military forces strengthened and unlocked by research.

Combat

How research bonuses affect battle outcomes.

The Scholar's Bench

Only one advancement may be studied at a time per settlement. Research costs scale with each level. Patience and a well-funded treasury are both required. Higher advancements demand a more advanced Laboratory before the scholars will undertake them. The effects are cumulative and permanent: a Level 5 Spear study does not replace Level 4. It builds upon it. Every completed level also raises the island's prestige, because learning is counted alongside masonry in the council's ledger.

Master Quill: Margin note

Research is the slowest pillar of governance, but the most enduring. Every level completed is a permanent advantage that no raid can take away.

Knowledge Bound to the Bench

Research advancements belong to the settlement where they were achieved, not to the Governor's domain at large. Each Laboratory houses its own instruments, prototypes, and calibration records. None of them survive a voyage across open water. When a Governor founds a new colony, the scholars there must begin their studies from the first principle, with fresh materials and an unfamiliar shore beneath their feet. Terrain, local ore, and even harbour currents differ between islands, and an advancement perfected in one settlement's forge may not apply until it is re-derived under new conditions.

In practice, this means every colony requires its own Laboratory and its own programme of study. A Governor who expands quickly should expect to fund research anew at each outpost, and should plan the order of advancements carefully, since a young colony rarely needs the same studies as an established stronghold.

Master Quill: Margin note

A breakthrough earned on one island cannot simply be crated and shipped to another. The bench, the instruments, and the conditions are inseparable from the knowledge itself.

Weapons & Armour

The core of the research programme. Spear sharpens infantry striking power and is the gateway to Spearfighters, a Governor's first real defenders. Shield hardens the garrison, and at Level 3 unlocks the elite Swordsman. Bow arms Archers for ranged offence, while Catapult research enables the devastating siege engines needed to break walls and claim new territory. Guard raises Guard Hounds at the Kennels from Level 1, and each further level hardens their defence.

Spear

military

Trains the levy in the long-spear drill that breaks a charge before it lands. Season after season of it, your spearfighters push harder into the line.

Effect: +10% spearfighter attack per level

Max Level: 10

At Max: +100%

Requires: Laboratory Level 1

What does each Spear level cost?10 levels

Lv	Gold	Stone	Lumber	Research Time	Cumulative Bonus
1	100	50	80	3m	+10%
2	150	75	120	4m 30s	+20%
3	225	112	180	6m 45s	+30%
4	337	168	270	10m 7s	+40%
5	506	253	405	15m 11s	+50%
6	759	379	607	22m 46s	+60%
7	1,139	569	911	34m 10s	+70%
8	1,708	854	1,366	51m 15s	+80%
9	2,562	1,281	2,050	1h 16m	+90%
10	3,844	1,922	3,075	1h 55m	+100%

Shield

military

Drills the wall behind the wall — locked shields, braced feet, the patience to hold. With every drill, each rank stands its ground a little longer than the last.

Effect: +10% infantry defense per level

Max Level: 10

At Max: +100%

Requires: Laboratory Level 1

What does each Shield level cost?10 levels

Lv	Gold	Stone	Lumber	Research Time	Cumulative Bonus
1	50	100	80	3m	+10%
2	75	150	120	4m 30s	+20%
3	112	225	180	6m 45s	+30%
4	168	337	270	10m 7s	+40%
5	253	506	405	15m 11s	+50%
6	379	759	607	22m 46s	+60%
7	569	1,139	911	34m 10s	+70%
8	854	1,708	1,366	51m 15s	+80%
9	1,281	2,562	2,050	1h 16m	+90%
10	1,922	3,844	3,075	1h 55m	+100%

Guard

military

Schools the kennel-masters and arms the watch hounds with studded collars. Each lesson leaves the hounds at the gate harder to put down.

Effect: +15% guard_hound defense per level

Max Level: 10

At Max: +150%

Requires: Laboratory Level 1

What does each Guard level cost?10 levels

Lv	Gold	Stone	Lumber	Research Time	Cumulative Bonus
1	90	60	70	2m 40s	+15%
2	135	90	105	4m	+30%
3	202	135	157	6m	+45%
4	303	202	236	9m	+60%
5	455	303	354	13m 30s	+75%
6	683	455	531	20m 15s	+90%
7	1,025	683	797	30m 22s	+105%
8	1,537	1,025	1,196	45m 33s	+120%
9	2,306	1,537	1,794	1h 8m	+135%
10	3,459	2,306	2,691	1h 42m	+150%

Bow

military

Schools the fletchers and the bowyers together so the shaft and the draw match the hand that holds them. Keep at it and arrows find their mark from further off.

Effect: +10% archer attack per level

Max Level: 10

At Max: +100%

Requires: Laboratory Level 3

What does each Bow level cost?10 levels

Lv	Gold	Stone	Lumber	Research Time	Cumulative Bonus
1	80	40	100	3m 20s	+10%
2	120	60	150	5m	+20%
3	180	90	225	7m 30s	+30%
4	270	135	337	11m 15s	+40%
5	405	202	506	16m 52s	+50%
6	607	303	759	25m 18s	+60%
7	911	455	1,139	37m 58s	+70%
8	1,366	683	1,708	56m 57s	+80%
9	2,050	1,025	2,562	1h 25m	+90%
10	3,075	1,537	3,844	2h 8m	+100%

Catapult

military

Sets your engineers to the slow craft of timber, rope and counterweight. The deeper the craft, the heavier the stones come down — and the sooner the walls follow.

Effect: +10% siege attack per level

Max Level: 10

At Max: +100%

Requires: Laboratory Level 5

What does each Catapult level cost?10 levels

Lv	Gold	Stone	Lumber	Research Time	Cumulative Bonus
1	120	100	80	3m 40s	+10%
2	180	150	120	5m 30s	+20%
3	270	225	180	8m 15s	+30%
4	405	337	270	12m 22s	+40%
5	607	506	405	18m 33s	+50%
6	911	759	607	27m 50s	+60%
7	1,366	1,139	911	41m 45s	+70%
8	2,050	1,708	1,366	1h 2m	+80%
9	3,075	2,562	2,050	1h 33m	+90%
10	4,613	3,844	3,075	2h 20m	+100%

Marshal Voss: Field order

Spear first, then Shield. An army that can hold ground survives long enough to learn everything else. Once Shield reaches Level 3, your Swordsmen will make raiders think twice.

Sail & Navigation

Speed on the open water wins wars before they begin. Sail research improves the speed of every vessel in the fleet and unlocks the heavier classes of ship: the Large Merchant Ship at Level 1, the fearsome Large Warship at Level 3, and the Colonisation Ship at Level 5. A Governor with advanced sails strikes faster, trades further, and expands sooner than one without.

Sail

naval

Cuts canvas heavier and lines truer than the yards next harbour over. Under finer rigging your fleets outrun the weather and reach further harbours sooner.

Effect: +10% naval speed per level

Max Level: 10

At Max: +100%

Requires: Laboratory Level 2

What does each Sail level cost?10 levels

Lv	Gold	Stone	Lumber	Research Time	Cumulative Bonus
1	80	60	100	4m	+10%
2	120	90	150	6m	+20%
3	180	135	225	9m	+30%
4	270	202	337	13m 30s	+40%
5	405	303	506	20m 15s	+50%
6	607	455	759	30m 22s	+60%
7	911	683	1,139	45m 33s	+70%
8	1,366	1,025	1,708	1h 8m	+80%
9	2,050	1,537	2,562	1h 42m	+90%
10	3,075	2,306	3,844	2h 33m	+100%

Treasurer Mora: Treasury habit

Faster ships mean shorter supply runs and quicker reinforcements. Sail research pays dividends long before the first Large Warship is even commissioned.

The Shadow Arts

Knowledge of the enemy is as valuable as any weapon. Espionage research trains spies to slip past defences more reliably and return with richer intelligence. Higher levels reveal not just resources but buildings, garrisons, and fleet composition of a target settlement. Consult the Espionage chapter for how spy missions work in practice.

Espionage

espionage

Pays the dockhands, scribes, and idle sailors who notice what other harbours would rather keep quiet. A heavier purse, and your agents slip the watch more often — and come home with cleaner ledgers than they left with.

Effect: +5% espionage success per level

Max Level: 10

At Max: +50%

Requires: Laboratory Level 2

What does each Espionage level cost?10 levels

Lv	Gold	Stone	Lumber	Research Time	Cumulative Bonus
1	100	60	80	3m 20s	+5%
2	150	90	120	5m	+10%
3	225	135	180	7m 30s	+15%
4	337	202	270	11m 15s	+20%
5	506	303	405	16m 52s	+25%
6	759	455	607	25m 18s	+30%
7	1,139	683	911	37m 58s	+35%
8	1,708	1,025	1,366	56m 57s	+40%
9	2,562	1,537	2,050	1h 25m	+45%
10	3,844	2,306	3,075	2h 8m	+50%

Marshal Voss: Field order

A war fought without reconnaissance is a war fought blind. Even one level of Espionage research turns a reckless charge into a calculated strike.

What Research Unlocks

Several advanced units cannot be trained until the relevant research is completed. The following roster shows which advancements gate which forces.

Which units does research unlock?9 units

Unit	Research Required	Level
Spearfighter	Spear	1
Archer	Bow	1
Swordsman	Shield	3
Guard Hound	Guard	1
Catapult	Catapult	1
Spy Ship	Espionage	1
Large Warship	Sail	3
Large Merchant Ship	Sail	1
Colonisation Ship	Sail	5

Master Quill: Margin note

Research can be nudged along at real cost — an old guild seal will shave time off a study in progress — but it can never be fully rushed, and it should never be delayed. Every day without a Laboratory is a day rivals grow sharper while one's own forces remain unchanged.

Common questions