Cities and nations

The Derzhavy mod runs cities and nations. Its idea in one line: building and negotiating pay better than fighting. The rules are enforced by the mod itself, and everything important is visible on the map.

Six principles

1. Land costs people and resources. The number of active residents sets how much land a city may hold; resources pay for it once a week.
2. Property is not power. War changes the flag over the land, but a house stays with the one who built it.
3. The world is alive, but not defenceless. In peacetime nobody breaks blocks on other people's plots.
4. No daily chores. Payments are weekly, you can prepay a month, a vacation lasts up to 8 weeks.
5. Empty and abandoned land is cheaper than someone else's.
6. Everything is visible: borders, debts, wars and battle windows are on the map.

Founding a city

• Craft a Foundation Stone: a lodestone, 4 diamonds and 4 gold blocks. (Newcomers: a compass, 4 iron blocks and 4 gold ingots.)
• Place it, then enter the city's name and tag in Latin letters. The city immediately gets 9 chunks around the stone.
• The stone cannot be placed deeper than 20 blocks below the surface or closer than 3 chunks to someone else's territory.
• Right-click the stone to open the city menu. Everything frequent is done in menus; /city commands duplicate them.

How land is held

Two levers work at the same time: people set the ceiling, resources pay for what is under it.

• Land limit = 16 chunks + 8 for every active resident (someone who played at least 2 hours in the last 30 days).
• Upkeep is collected every Sunday at 18:00 server time from the city treasury — real items stored in the Foundation Stone. The mod converts them into upkeep points (a diamond is 8 points).
• To expand, the mayor or an assistant selects chunks with a wooden axe and runs /city claim.

If something goes wrong

The core of a city — the chunk of the stone and the 8 around it — never falls away.

Residents, plots and shops

• A resident is a player accepted into the city: /city invite, then /city accept.
• A plot is whole chunks given to a resident (up to 4 by default). Only the owner and people they trust build, break and open things there — not even the mayor can.
• A district is a large plot for a manager, inside which shop lots can be rented out.
• A shop lot is a rectangle inside one chunk, rented through a [Rent] sign by any player, even a non-resident. See Trade.
• You may hold a second citizenship in one more city, with reduced rights.
• The city tag is shown before your name: [TAG] Name. Choose which one with /prefix.

Absent builders

Vacations and regents

• Personal: /vacation — your personal timers stop for up to 8 weeks.
• City: the mayor prepays half of the upkeep for the chosen number of weeks; the city neither grows, nor fights, nor can be attacked.
• If a mayor disappears, a regent takes over, so a city never stalls because one person left.

Upgrades

An upgrade is a permanent bonus bought with a set of resources. Residents can contribute in parts.

Nations

Three cities, each within 48 chunks of the capital, can form a nation.

• −15% upkeep for all its cities;
• common defence: residents of the whole nation count as defenders on any of its land;
• the right to declare war and sign treaties;
• a flag and a colour on the map.

The ruler is the mayor of the capital and may appoint up to 3 ministers.

Vassals

A city or a whole nation can become a vassal — voluntarily by treaty, or as the mildest outcome of a war.

• The vassal pays a tribute of 20% of its upkeep and is protected by the suzerain's residents.
• A vassal is fully free in its internal affairs: the suzerain cannot touch its plots or take its land.
• Leaving: a declaration of independence with 14 days' notice.

Treaties

Alliances, peace and vassalage are signed in the treaty menu. The mechanical terms are assembled by the mod and shown to every reader in their own language; free text is shown as written.

Relics

A Relic is a legendary chunk that appears on unclaimed land near cities and gives its owner a bonus.

A city benefits from at most 2 Relics, a nation from 3. Relics can be fought over — see War and protection.

Useful commands