YuanRong

“Ten great war chariots led the way in front.”— The Book of Songs, “Sixth Month”

Yuanrong: Princeps Militum is a 2D turn-based tactical RPG. Choose one of four cultures and lead a fledgling company across a procedurally generated continent. Visit settlements, take contracts, recruit troops, organize your forces, and deploy them on a hex-grid battlefield when battle is joined.

The land changes from campaign to campaign. Manpower is local. Every battlefield has its own terrain, and both victory and defeat carry consequences. Your route, your soldiers, and the army they become are shaped by every march and every battle.

The Land Changes with Every Campaign

Each campaign begins on a continent shaped by its seed. Coastlines, mountain ranges, lakes, passes, regions, and settlements take on a new arrangement, changing the routes along which armies can move.

Travel, scout, pursue enemies, and visit settlements on the world map. The shorter road may cross dangerous ground; the safer road costs time and provisions. Read the land before you decide where to march.

Four Cultures, Four Traditions of War

China, Mongolia, Europe, and the Middle East each field their own troops, formations, and military traditions. Chinese armies favor mutually supporting lines; Mongolian forces rely on horse archery and sudden charges; European troops break fronts behind shields and heavy armor; Middle Eastern forces combine protective formations, ranged pressure, and incendiaries.

Culture is more than appearance. It determines who can be recruited in a settlement, which formations are available, the composition of enemy parties, and the tactics they favor.

Each Settlement Serves a Purpose

Settlements are where a company rests and prepares. Visit the tavern, market, recruiters, and notice board to buy what you need, find new hands, and take local contracts.

Each settlement has its own culture, size, stock of recruits, market goods, and available work. As your renown grows, lords will entrust you with their contracts, better goods will appear in the market, and more capable leaders will become available for recruitment.

No Two Battlefields Alike

When you engage an enemy on the world map, the game generates a hex-grid battlefield from the location and encounter seed. Plains, forests, swamps, hills, and arid ground create different terrain profiles, while elevation and obstacles change from one battlefield to the next.

High ground favors ranged troops, while attacking uphill carries a penalty. Narrow ground constrains deployment, while open lanes must be held or contested. A formation that serves well on one field may need a different deployment on the next.

Troops Are Local, and Manpower Is Finite

Each settlement offers local troop types at its own prices, drawn from a finite recruitment stock. A Chinese city does not provide Mongolian horsemen, and a small frontier settlement may have no elite troops to spare.

New recruits can reinforce an existing formation or wait in reserve. Losses do not replace themselves, and local stocks can run dry. Decide what troops you need, where to find them, and whether replenishing your ranks is worth the detour.