Adding the Bot to Your Server

This guide is for Discord server administrators who want to add AoEM Historian to their empire's Discord server.

Add Bot to Your Server →

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• Administrator permissions on your Discord server
• A Discord server for your empire (if you don't have one, create one first)

Step 1: Understand Required Permissions

Before inviting the bot, it's important to understand what permissions the bot needs and why:

Required Permissions

The bot requires these Discord permissions to function properly:

Permission	Why It's Needed
Manage Roles	Create and assign the "AOEM Historian Leader" role to empire leaders
Manage Channels	Create category and channels during /jumpstart setup
Manage Nicknames	Granted to the leader role so Discord shows leader-only commands to leaders but hides them from regular players. The bot itself needs this permission in order to assign it to the leader role.
Send Messages	Post activity announcements, MGE posts, and respond to commands
Send Messages in Threads	Respond to interactions and post in proof threads
Create Public Threads	Create threads for activity proof submissions
Embed Links	Display rich embeds for activity announcements and command responses
Read Message History	Validate proof submissions in threads
View Channels	Access configured channels to post announcements
Use Slash Commands	Enable all bot commands (automatically included)
Mention @everyone, @here, and All Roles	Notify players about important announcements

Why These Permissions Are Safe

• The bot never deletes messages, channels, or kicks users
• The bot only creates/manages the "AOEM Historian Leader" role
• The bot only creates channels when you run /jumpstart
• All bot actions are logged and reversible by server administrators

Important

If you don't grant all permissions, some features won't work:

• Without Manage Roles: /leader add/remove won't assign the leader Discord role
• Without Manage Channels: /jumpstart won't be able to create channels
• Without Manage Nicknames: Leader-only commands won't be hidden from regular players
• Without Send Messages: Activity announcements won't post
• Without Create Public Threads: Players can't submit proof for activities

Step 2: Invite the Bot

Use our setup page to add AoEM Historian to your server — it walks you through the process and has the invite link ready to go.

The setup page will:

1. Let you add the bot directly to your Discord server
2. Explain the permissions the bot needs and why
3. Walk you through next steps after the bot joins

tip

The Add Bot page is the easiest way to get started — it has everything in one place.

When Discord opens, it will ask you to:

1. Select a server — choose your empire's server
2. Review the permissions the bot needs
3. Check all permission boxes (all are required for full functionality)
4. Click Authorize
5. Complete any CAPTCHA if prompted

Step 3: Verify the Bot Joined

After authorizing, you should see:

• The bot appear in your server's member list
• A system message that the bot has joined (if enabled in your server)

Step 4: Configure Empire Details

Register your server and configure your empire information:

/empire config

This opens a form where you'll enter:

• Empire Number - Your empire's number in Age of Empires Mobile
• Empire Name - A display name for your empire
• Starting Credits - How many credits new players start with (default: 25)

tip

Only users with Discord's Administrator permission can run /empire config. This is the first command you should run after adding the bot.

Step 5: Quick Setup with Jumpstart (Recommended)

Set up your Discord server with one command:

/jumpstart

This command will:

• ✅ Create the "AOEM Historian" category
• ✅ Create organized channels:
  • #activities - Activity announcements (bot-only posting)
  • #mge - MGE event announcements
  • #bot-chat - Player discussion and commands
  • #empire-leaders - Private leader coordination
• ✅ Create and assign the "AOEM Historian Leader" role
• ✅ Link all channels to your empire automatically
• ✅ Post welcome messages explaining each channel

One Command Setup

Running /jumpstart handles all the channel and role setup automatically! You can skip the manual channel configuration in the Initial Setup guide.

After running /jumpstart, you'll see a detailed report showing what was created and configured.

Step 6: Add More Leaders (Optional)

By default, only the server owner is set as a leader. To add more leaders (R4s, officers, etc.):

/leader add @username

This command will:

• Add them as an empire leader in the database
• Automatically assign the "AOEM Historian Leader" Discord role
• Grant access to the #empire-leaders channel
• Enable them to run all leader commands

Leaders can:

• Configure activities and credit values
• Award bonus credits
• Manage MGE applications
• Access all leader commands

See Managing Leaders for more details.

What's Next?

After setup, you're ready to:

1. Configure activities - Set up the activities your empire tracks
2. Announce to members - Let your empire know about the new system
3. Start tracking - Have players register and claim activities

Continue to the Quick Start Guide for next steps.

Troubleshooting

Bot isn't responding to commands

• Make sure the bot has permissions to read messages and send messages in the channel
• Check that slash commands are enabled for your server
• Try running /empire config if you haven't yet
• Verify the bot is online (green status in member list)

/jumpstart fails or shows permission errors

The bot needs specific permissions to run /jumpstart:

1. Check bot permissions:

   • Right-click the bot in your member list
   • Click "Roles" or go to Server Settings → Roles
   • Verify the bot's role has these permissions:
     • Manage Roles
     • Manage Channels
     • Manage Nicknames
     • Send Messages
     • Create Public Threads

2. Re-invite the bot with correct permissions:

   • If permissions are missing, kick the bot
   • Use the official invite link (which includes all required permissions)
   • Re-add the bot to your server

3. Role hierarchy:

   • The bot's role must be higher than the "AOEM Historian Leader" role
   • In Server Settings → Roles, drag the bot's role above other roles

"Permission Denied" errors for commands

• Only users with the correct permissions can run certain commands
• Server administrators can run admin commands like /empire config
• Empire leaders (added via /leader add) can run leader commands
• Everyone can run player commands after registering

Channels created by /jumpstart aren't working

• Verify the bot has "Send Messages" permission in those channels
• Check that the bot's role can "View Channel" for those channels
• If issues persist, run /jumpstart again (it's safe to run multiple times)

Bot can't assign leader role

• Make sure the bot's role is higher than the "AOEM Historian Leader" role in Server Settings → Roles
• Verify the bot has "Manage Roles" permission
• The bot can only manage roles lower than its own role

Need more help?

• Check the Initial Setup Guide for detailed configuration steps
• Contact your empire's leadership
• Review the bot's permissions in Server Settings → Integrations → AoEM Historian