Kingdoms: King - The Lord and Liege
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The King: Advice to the Adjudicator
The King is, without a doubt, the most important piece in the game. For this reason, any imbalance or poor judgment calls by the Adjudicator here will be magnified greatly. Likewise, any decision to deviate to far from standard descriptions by the players may be game breaking in many ways.
Try to keep the King simple when you assign stats to him - they'll be plenty of decisions and complications for King players, and plenty of opportunities to show tactical finesse. What you don't need is a game that is a foregone conclusion from the outset because of an overpowered or underpowered King.
The traits, boons and drawbacks below which may cause game balance issues are marked with an asterisk. As an Adjudicator, you always have the option to strip out any descriptors that you feel are going to upset the game.
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 King, bear in mind that the descriptors can also be used to reflect the kingdom itself as well as the King. For example, if a kingdom has an exceptionally low population, then the Poor Recruiting drawback may apply.
Boons for the King
Bountfiul Harvests*
The King has +1 to his starting Harvest rating.
Centralised Wealth
Add +3 to War Defence versus Plunder campaigns only.
Defensively Fortified Kingdom
Add +3 to War Defence versus Pillage campaigns only.
Empowered Dreaming*
The King has +1 to his starting Dreaming rating.
Excellent builder*
The King pays -1 Glamour for each Improvement he builds, to a minimum of 1 Glamour per Improvement.
Excellent recruiter*
It costs the King one Glamour to renew two armies.
Inspires Loyalty
Add +3 to Internal Security versus Propaganda intrigues only.
Inspires Paranoia
Add +3 to Internal Security versus Espionage intrigues only.
Secure Palace
Add +3 to War Defence versus Checkmate campaigns only.
Vast Wealth*
The King starts the game with +5 Glamour.
Drawbacks for the King
Bloodthirsty Kingdom
In any Summer where this Kingdom does not launch any Summer Campaigns, the King loses all his remaining Glamour.
Diminished Dreaming
The King has -1 to his starting Dreaming rating. This is a good drawback to apply to King's with very versatile and mutable powers - in effect, the King's imagination is engaged in controlling his powers rather than in his Dreaming.
Diminished Harvest
The King has -1 to his starting Harvest rating. This is a good drawback to apply to King's with increased power levels - in effect, the King has to use up some of his yearly Glamour just to maintain his power.
No Glamour
The King starts the game with 0 Glamour. This drawback is a good one to apply if there is some reason why the King starts without power - perhaps he is rules a kingdom that is on the verge of collapse, or perhaps the backstory had him "buy" his kingdom or his queen.
Pacifistic
No Summer Campaigns or Winter Intrigues may be launched by this kingdom until the enemy has made at least one attack.
Poor builder
The King pays +1 Glamour for each Improvement he builds.
Poor recruiter
The King pays +1 Glamour for each Army he renews.
Rebellious Kingdom
Each Summer the King must select one Army to act as a police force - this Army cannot participate in that Summer's attacks or defences. If the King does not or cannot do this, then he loses D6 built Improvements.
Traits for the King
Hateful
The Kingdom hates the enemy with a terrible intensity. The King may never make or accept Ransom offers, except under the Treaty of Love and Sacrifice.
Inaccessible Kingdom
The Kingdom is hard to reach - for example it is on a string of sea islands, or is underground, or is at the centre of a desert. This trait means that each Campaign launched by or against this kingdom has an additional cost of 1 Glamour per piece involved. Armies and characters may have a Boon to bypass this cost, but the Arbitrator should make sure that both sides have equal access to this Boon at the start of the game to make sure the game is balanced.
Behemoth of War
The King is truly massive - for example, a dragon the size of a castle, or an elemental spider whose stride spans the horizon. This trait adds +3 to the Dreaming of the King in Summer, but applies a -5 penalty to the King in Winter.
Political Leader
The King rules through political canniness but is weak in battle. This trait adds +3 to the Dreaming of the King in Winter, but applies a -5 penalty to the King in Summer.
Strength in Trade
The Kingdom is prosperous from trade - the King's Harvest is increased by one. Unfortunately wealth inevitably flows outwards too! The opposing King's Harvest is increased by one as well.
