Conquest

You can only conquer castles with Senators from your Senate. A senator marches along with an attack. If your troops win, he talks the inhabitants round and the castle's approval drops. Once it reaches zero, the castle is yours.

Requirements

• An escort: a senator never marches alone, always together with other troops. Only one senator at a time can be on his way from the same castle to the same target.
• Victory and no wall: the attack has to be won, and after the battle the target's Wall must be down to level 0. Your Battering rams can tear it down in the same attack (Siege: rams and catapults).
• A strong enough senator: each senator level only works up to a certain total building level of the target castle – the Senate page shows you the range. A higher Senate trains better senators. You buy senators instantly, without a queue; their price depends only on their level – the cost per level is listed on the Senators page.
• Deed of conquest: once you own ten castles (not counting special castles), every further conquest of a normal castle uses up a deed; special castles can be taken without one. You buy deeds with emeralds (Gems) under Military → Deed of conquest; the price is shown there and rises the bigger your empire gets. Without a deed, the senator refuses to work. A deed is only used up by a successful takeover. You can destroy a deed you do not need – without a refund.

Castles you cannot conquer

No senator can take over main castles or amber castles (Special castles). On a continent under Frost Breath, no takeovers are possible except for castles that are currently contested. Under an apocalypse, a takeover becomes much harder (Dragon might: spells with scales).

Approval

Every castle has an approval level among its inhabitants – a successful spy report shows it. Each successful senator visit lowers it by a random amount that is shown in the battle report; the higher the Senate of the castle the senator comes from, the more persuasive he is. Approval recovers over time, so several senators should arrive in quick succession. The amber Blessing of Protection makes approval more resistant (Amber).

After the takeover

The castle is yours straight away, but its approval is only partly filled and grows back slowly. Gems in its treasury are lost in the takeover. For 14 days the castle counts as contested – a counter in the game shows you for how long. During that time, even players outside your attack range can attack it (Beginner & attack protection), and you cannot capitulate (Capitulation). You may demolish a conquered castle after two days, a conquered special castle after seven. The alliance tab contested castles shows both deadlines for every freshly conquered castle.