War
You can attack each other freely.
- -60 Their opinion of you
- +20 Enemy-of-their-enemy
- -80 Kin characters
- -40 Co-religionists
What each diplomatic state does, how war score and the AI's view of you work, and what every diplomatic action costs.
Diplomatic states
You are in one of these states with every Nation and Tribe. War, Truce and Peace move one step at a time through the actions below. Team is fixed when the game starts.
Truce
You cannot attack each other without declaring War. A Truce cannot be ended by War until 5 Turns have passed.
Peace
The two Nations at Peace cannot attack each other. They are also less likely to declare War on each other, and they can enter each other's territory.
vs Tribes: The Nation and Tribe cannot attack each other. The Tribe will not target your Cities with Raiders (although Raiders Units will still attack you if nearby). They can enter and heal in your territory.
- -40 Enemy-of-their-enemy
- +20 Kin characters
- +10 Co-religionists
- -20% AI war chance
Team
Members of the same team. The state is permanent, so they are always at Peace, share war and peace, and can never change diplomatic state with each other.
War score and war states
War score is tracked per pair of teams; your war state against an opponent comes from the score difference. Tribal wars use a doubled scale.
War states by score difference
| State | Score diff | Truce chance | AI money in deals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Routed | -200 and below | +50% | 0% |
| Losing | -199 to -20 | +25% | 50% |
| Neutral | -19 to +20 | — | 100% |
| Winning | +21 to +200 | -25% | 150% |
| Triumphant | +201 and above | -50% | 200% |
War score events
| vs Nations | Score |
|---|---|
| Kill an enemy unit | +10 |
| Pillage or burn an improvement in their territory | +5 |
| Breach an enemy city (it falls into anarchy) | +50 |
| Take ownership of an enemy city | +100 |
| vs Tribes doubled scale, from your point of view | Score |
| You kill a tribal unit | +10 |
| A tribe kills one of your units | -20 |
| You pillage a tribal improvement | +5 |
| You capture a tribal settlement | +200 |
| A tribe breaches one of your cities | -100 |
| A tribe takes ownership of one of your cities | -200 |
How rivals are described
The diplomacy screen describes a rival's science and army with a word, not a number. Each word is a range of their total compared with yours, so the same rival's word changes as you grow. The AI acts on the distance words and the war chance modifiers below.
Technology their lifetime Science ÷ yours
| Word | Their science, as % of yours |
|---|---|
| Primitive | up to 67% |
| Naive | 68–83% |
| Competent | 84–120% |
| Learned | 121–150% |
| Erudite | above 150% |
This counts all Science ever earned, not the techs you know or your current rate, so it moves slowly and never falls. It is for information only; no AI modifier depends on it.
Military their army strength ÷ yours
| Word | Their army, as % of yours | AI war chance | Truce chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Much Weaker | up to 40% | -50% | +50% |
| Weaker | 41–75% | -25% | +25% |
| Similar | 76–133% | — | — |
| Stronger | 134–250% | +25% | -25% |
| Much Stronger | above 250% | +50% | -50% |
Army strength is the sum of every unit's base strength. A damaged unit counts in full, and a ship counts for less on a map with little water. An AI considers declaring war only from Similar upward, and a Much Weaker tribe never accepts peace.
Distance between nearest cities, in tiles
| Word | Distance | AI war chance | Truce chance | Their opinion of you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very Close | within 12 tiles | — | — | -60 |
| Close | 13–20 tiles | -10% | — | -40 |
| Near | 21–28 tiles | -20% | +10% | -20 |
| Distant | 29–36 tiles | -40% | +20% | — |
| Far | beyond 36 tiles | -80% | +30% | — |
A Very Close neighbour has −60 opinion of you just for being nearby. Only the two farthest bands stop tribes from declaring war outright.
Diplomacy actions
Costs are paid from your stockpile. A cost marked ± changes with the performing character's opinion of you, from −50% at Friendly up to +100% at Furious.
With Nations
Changing your diplomatic state with another Nation. Truce and Peace offers are run by your Ambassador; Alliances need a Diplomat leader.
| Action | Result | Performed by | Cost | Time | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Declare War → a Nation you have a Truce with Truce to War. There is no cost, because war only needs the treaty-turn gate. | War | — | — | instant |
|
| Negotiate Truce → a Nation you are at War with War to Truce. Opens negotiation with the three options below, and diplomacy with the target is blocked while the mission runs. | Truce | Ambassador (council seat) | — | instant 🔒 |
|
| ↳ Offer Tribute for Truce Sweeten the deal, because you pay them Tribute for 40 turns. Envoy gains 20 XP | Truce | Ambassador (council seat) | 2  100  ± | 2t |
|
| ↳ Ask for Truce A plain white peace offer. Envoy gains 20 XP | Truce | Ambassador (council seat) | 2 100 ± | 2t |
|
| ↳ Demand Tribute for Truce Press your advantage, because they pay you Tribute for 40 turns. Envoy gains 20 XP | Truce | Ambassador (council seat) | 2 100 ± | 2t |
|
| Make Peace → a Nation you have a Truce with Truce to Peace. They must be at least Pleased with you. Envoy gains 20 XP | Peace | Ambassador (council seat) | 2 200 ± | 2t |
|
| Break Peace → a Nation you are at Peace with Peace to Truce, which is the step back down before any new war. | Truce | — | — | instant |
|
| National Alliance → a Nation able to form an Alliance (neither side already allied) Allied Nations share visibility and join each other's defensive wars; you can move and attack with allied units. One Alliance per Nation. | — | Your leader, Diplomat archetype | 400 2 | 2t |
|
| End Alliance → your allied Nation Dissolve your National Alliance. | — | Your leader | — | instant | — |
| Cancel All Trade → a Nation you are trading with End all trade routes with a trading partner. | — | Your leader | — | instant | — |
| Demand Tribute → a Nation you have a Truce with Demand a Tribute payment (lasts 40 turns) from a Nation you are not at war with. Refusal can mean war; one demand at a time. Envoy gains 20 XP | — | Ambassador (council seat) | 2 100 ± | 3t |
|
With Tribes
The same ladder against the barbarian Tribes, except that tribal diplomacy is paid in Training rather than Civics.
| Action | Result | Performed by | Cost | Time | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Declare War (Tribe) → a Tribe you have a Truce with Truce to War with a Tribe. | War | — | — | instant |
|
| Tribal Truce → a Tribe you are at War with War to Truce with a Tribe. Envoy gains 20 XP | Truce | Ambassador (council seat) | 2 200  ± | 2t 🔒 |
|
| Tribal Peace → a Tribe you have a Truce with Truce to Peace. The Tribe stops targeting your cities with raiders and can heal in your territory. Envoy gains 20 XP | Peace | Ambassador (council seat) | 2 200 ± | 2t |
|
| Tribal Alliance → a Tribe able to form an Alliance (you have no tribal ally, it has no ally) Move and attack with the Tribe's units, and settle near their sites without the ×2 Money surcharge. One tribal ally at a time; Diplomat leaders only. | — | Your leader, Diplomat archetype | 400 2 | 2t |
|
| Break Peace (Tribe) → a Tribe you are at Peace with Peace to Truce with a Tribe. | — | — | — | instant |
|
| End Alliance (Tribe) → your allied Tribe Dissolve your Tribal Alliance. | — | Your leader | — | instant | — |
Third-party Wars
Paying other powers to fight your battles. These target the other ruler directly rather than your own council.
| Action | Result | Performed by | Cost | Time | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ask a Nation to Declare War → any other Nation Schemer leaders only: pay another ruler to declare War on a third Nation. | — | Another Nation's leader (at Peace or Truce with you) | 200 2 | 2t |
|
| Ask a Nation to Join Your War → a Nation at War with you Bring another Nation into a war you are already fighting. | — | Another Nation's leader (at Peace or Truce with you) | 200 2 | 2t |
|
| Ask a Nation to Attack a Tribe → a Tribe not allied with your team Pay another ruler to declare War on a Tribe. | — | Another Nation's leader (at Peace or Truce with you) | 200 2 | 2t |
|
| Ask a Tribe to Attack a Nation → any other Nation Pay a friendly Tribe to declare War on a Nation. | — | A Tribe's leader (Tribe at Peace or Truce with you) | 200 2 | 2t |
|
Treaty and tribute constants
| Constant | Value | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Min Treaty Turns | 5 | Turns you must wait after any war/peace change with a power before declaring war on them again (also no declarations this early in the game). |
| Tribute Duration | 40 | How many turns a Tribute payment (offered or demanded) keeps flowing. |
| Tribute Opinion | 20 | Opinion bonus with a Nation while you are paying them Tribute. |
| Tribal Site Cost (base Money) | 1000 | Money cost to found a city on a tribe-claimed site (+ the per-purchase increase below; modified by the Tribe's opinion of you). |
| Tribal Site Cost (per prior purchase) | 500 | Added to the base cost for every tribal site your team has already bought. |
| Non-ally Settle Multiplier (%) | 200 | The tribal-site cost is multiplied by this (×2) when the Tribe is not your ally. |