Kingdoms: Queen - The Sorceress

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The Queen: Advice to the Adjudicator

The Queen, even more so that the King, is the most powerful and complex piece in the game. The Game of Succession may be won or lost with the King's capture, but it is generally how the Queen is used that will determine victory.

With the Queen, it is likely the Adjudicator will have a lot more information to work with than with most pieces. Reflect this by making her more complex rules-wise! It is perfectly reasonable for a Queen to have as many descriptors as needed at the start of the game. At the very least, all Queens should have a Sorcery Style trait, plus at least two other descriptors.

As always, bear in mind that this list is not and never be exhaustive! If you need a new descriptor, then just add it on! Bear in mind that descriptors with drastic effects should normally be placed in Traits rather than Boons, as Boons are very easy to come by in-game.

When applying descriptors to the Queen, bear in mind that the descriptors can also be used to reflect her relationship to the King as well as her personal traits. For example, if the King is besotted with the Queen, then it is the Queen who takes the Devoted Couple boon.

Boons for the Queen

Aggressive

During Summer Campaigns and Intrigues, temporarily add +2 to Sorcery.

Defensive

During War Defences and when part of Internal Security, temporarily add +2 to Sorcery.

Devoted Couple

If the Queen is the named target of an Intrigue, the King gains +5 to his Internal Security rating. If the Queen is leading a War Defence against a Checkmate attempt, the Queen temporarily gains +4 Sorcery.

Dowry

The King receives an additional +5 Glamour at the start of the game.

Escape magics

The Queen gains +2 on Escape Attempts.

Innocence

The Queen is immune to Manipulation Intrigues.

Intrigue Magus

During winter, temporarily add +2 to Sorcery.

Pillar of Strength

In Summer and Winter, as long as the Queen is not captured, temporarily add +1 to the King's Dreaming.

Puissance

Permanently add +1 to Sorcery.

Ritual Caster

Reduce cost of casting Rituals by 1 Glamour.

Ritual Researcher

When the Queen researches a Ritual she may cast it in the same Springtime (cost paid as normal).

Terrifying

When this piece is acting as a War Commander in a Summer Campaign, each opposing Army temporarily has -1 to Battle Strength.

War Magus

During summer, temporarily add +2 to Sorcery.

Drawbacks for the Queen

Bound to the Kingdom

The Queen can never be an Attack Commander nor an Agent.

Disloyal Motivation*

Select one Victory Condition. If the Kingdom wins by this Victory Condition then the Queen Player is considered to have lost, even while the King Player is considered to have won.

Distracting beauty

Reduce the King's Dreaming rating by 1.

Extravagant

Increase cost of casting Rituals by 1 Glamour.

Fuelled

This piece needs Glamour to be operational. For this piece to take any action or participate in any defence costs 1 Glamour.

Guileless

During winter, temporarily deduct -2 from Sorcery.

Headstrong

It's the front, or nowhere at all! If this Queen is the Attack Commander on a Summer Campaign, that Campaign must be the first one in your Campaign List.

Helpless

The Queen cannot make Escape Attempts.

High Maintenance

Reduce the King's Harvest rating by 1.

Inexperienced

Permanently deduct -1 from Sorcery.

Loveless Match

The King may not invoke the Treaty of Love and Sacrifice. If the Queen is part of a War Defence against a Checkmate attempt, temporarily reduce her sorcery by -4. This drawback cannot be taken if the Queen has the Boon Devoted Couple.

Proud

If this Queen is the Attack Commander on a Summer Campaign, that Campaign must have at least three Armies.

Untrained in War

During summer, temporarily deduct -2 from Sorcery.

Traits for the Queen

Sorcery Style

All Queen must take this trait. When this trait is taken, select a single style of magic which the Queen can practise, based on her description. The queen can cast a multitude of spells in this style. The range of styles is limited only by imagination! For example, one Queen might specialise in Pyromancy (control and creation of fire), another in Healing (mental and physical restoration), and another in Arachnomancy (control, enhancement and summoning of spiders).

Sorcery style has two main effects in game:

• A roleplaying hook.

First, and most importantly, the style defines how the Queen Player describes her magic. It is assumed that the Queen knows many hundreds of spells, and can improvise as well, so it is acceptable for the Queen to cast magic freely within her style, without any need for an exhaustive list of effects. Note though that this is just for roleplaying - making up spells in this way doesn't have any direct effect on the dice rolls or on the game system. It is presumed that general sorcerous effectiveness is represented with the numerical Sorcery attribute.

• Flavour of rituals

Rituals (as described in the Springtime section) allow the Queen to actually effect the game directly with magical effects. Ritual must, of course, remain within the Queen's magical style. It is acceptable, for example, for a Pyromancer to summon an intercontinental fireball that seeks out and incinerates an army, but not for a Healer to do so. Generally though, with a bit of imagination as to how to manipulate various special effects, most Queen Players should be able to achieve most game effects through rituals.