Kingdoms: Overview of the Game System

Kingdoms: Main Page -> Kingdoms: Overview of the Game System

Game Concepts

The Courts and Seelie Nature

There are two Courts, each representing the followers of a different King.

The White Court is led by the Seelie King. White Courts tend to have a strong emphasis on honour, discipline, loyalty and noble behaviour. The White King rules because his subjects choose to follow him, and because they feel it is right and correct to do so.

The Black Court is led by the Unseelie King. Black Courts tend to be rife with intrigue, passion and freedom. The Black King rules because his subjects dare not disobey him, or are bound to his will by sorcery or manipulation.

Seelie characters are those that, by their nature, are inclined towards honour, lawfulness and ethics.

Unseelie characters are those that, by their nature, are inclined towards covert means, ambition and domination.

Note that while the White Court is always led by a Seelie King, his followers are a mix of Seelie and Unseelie. Likewise, while the Black Court is always led by an Unseelie King, his followers are also a mix of Seelie and Unseelie.

Its also worth being aware that concepts of good and evil are not directly applicable to either the white/black or the seelie/unseelie axis. A White King, for example, could be an overzealous legalist who punishes minor crimes with excessive force, or he could be a noble gentleman who is fair and even-handed. A Black King could be an unholy tyrant who rules through mind control charms and torture, or he could be a revolutionary who believes that all men are born equal, and spits at the hidebound strictures of Fae society.

The Players and The Adjudicator

By default, it is assumed that five people will be playing Kingdoms. For ease of reference, we'll refer to these players as Players A, B, C, D and E.

• Player A is the Adjudicator. The Adjudicator prepares and runs the game, makes judgment calls and fulfils the traditional role of a GM.
• Player B plays the White King. He also controls three other pieces on the White side: The Seelie Knight, The Seelie Bishop and the Seelie Rook. Collectively, these four pieces are called the Dominant Actors of the White Court.
• Player C plays the White Queen. He also controls three other pieces on the White side: The Unseelie Knight, The Unseelie Bishop and the Unseelie Rook. Collectively, these four pieces are called the Shadow Actors of the White Court.
• Player D plays the Black King. He also controls three other pieces on the White side: The Unseelie Knight, The Unseelie Bishop and the Unseelie Rook. Collectively, these four pieces are called the Dominant Actors of the Black Court.
• Player E plays the Black Queen. He also controls three other pieces on the White side: The Seelie Knight, The Seelie Bishop and the Seelie Rook. Collectively, these four pieces are called the Shadow Actors of the Black Court.

Note that players A & B are both aligned to the White Court, so they are allies with the same agenda. However, Player A represents the Seelie pieces in the White Court and Player B represents the Unseelie Pieces in the White Court.

Likewise, players C & D are both aligned to the Black Court, so they are allies with the same agenda. In the Black Court, Player C represents the Unseelie pieces in the Black Court and Player D represents the Seelie Pieces in the Black Court.

This may seem counterintuitive at first... you may question why there are Unseelie Pieces serving the White and Unseelie Pieces serving the Black.

The answer to this is that whatever the Nature of the King, he must eventually rule over all Fae, both Seelie and Unseelie. Thus it is only appropriate that he has servants of both natures. Of course, the White King would rather leave the underhanded sides of warfare and politics to his Unseelie White Queen, while the Black King happily delegates that high society and formalised warfare nonsense to his Seelie Black Queen.

Regardless of personal nature, every Piece is ultimately loyal to his or her own King, and to that King's Court. Every Piece will do all that he or she can to attain victory for his Court.

Game Structure

Game Length

Kingdoms is a heavily structured roleplaying game - a necessity to reflect the nature of the game!

The duration of the game is referred to (in character) as The Game of Succession. This is a period of twelve years, filled with highly ritualised warfare and politics, during which dominance must be achieved.

The Adjudicator must track the passage of time, from Year 1 to Year 12, moving through the Seasons in order...

Priority

In each year, either the White Court or the Black Court will hold priority.

In the First Year, and in every odd numbered year (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11) the White Court holds priority.

In the Second Year, and in every even numbered year (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) the Black Court holds priority.

This is an important game concept that effects many actions elsewhere in the game.

Secrecy

As the Two Courts are separate and in opposition, generally they will plan and declare their actions in secret and closed session.

The King speaks with his Queen, and they decide what they are going to do. They then secretly pass that information to the Adjudicator. The King and Queen of the opposite Court will do the same.

The Adjudicator then refers to the rules and resolves the actions. Usually the resolution of actions is NOT secret, and happens in the open in front of all players. There are a few specific exceptions to this, detailed in the rules.

The above process is repeated four times in each game year - once for each Season.

Turn Structure - The Four Seasons

Spring - Season of Growth

Each year starts with Spring, the Season of Growth and Renewal.

During this phase the King can strengthen his kingdom, through various means:

• He can recruit new Armies to replace losses, though he can never have more than eight.
• He can apportion Advances to his armies and his court, expending Glamour to achieve this.
• He can build Improvements to his realm, again at cost of Glamour.
• If available, he can hire Mercenaries, bidding Glamour for their service for the remainder of the year.

The Kings are the main actors during Springtime.

Other Pieces have only a few specific actions they can attempt:

• Captives can try to Escape and return to their courts.
• The Queen may be able to perform rituals, spending her Court's Glamour to achieve impressive sorcerous effects.

Summer - Season of War

Next comes Summer, the Season of War.

During this season the courts assemble their armies and launch them on Summer Campaigns. A Summer Campaign always consists of one Commander (usually a Queen or Knight) and at least one pawn. A Court can launch multiple Summer Campaigns in one year, but each uses a separate Commander and its own pawns.

When the Summer Campaigns are revealed, the Courts can mount War Defences. A War Defence consists of one leader (usually a King, Queen, Knight or a Rook) and at least one pawn. A Court can only mount defences from the troops and leaders who didn't themselves Campaign - thus a balance between attack and defence must be struck.

Of course, the game system favours those who throw caution to the wind and attack, as it is slightly easier to win in attack than in defence.

There are various sorts of Summer Campaigns that can be attempted, but common ones include:

• Pillage - Destroying an Improvement.
• Plunder - Stealing Glamour.
• Rescue - Rescuing a Captive.
• Checkmate - Capturing the opposing King.

Autumn - Season of Harvest

In Autumn the Harvest is gathered!

While the people of the kingdom harvest their crops, the King gathers Glamour - an invaluable resource that is the source of his authority and power.

Autumn is also the season of gathering back lost members of the Court - Ransoms for Captives are negotiated and paid.

Winter - Season of Intrigue

As the cold long nights draw in, politicians and subversives have a chance to work - this is the Season of Intrigue.

During this season the courts assemble dispatch their agents on Winter Intrigues. A Winter Intrigue is always executed by a single Agent (usually a Queen or Bishop). A Court can launch multiple Winter Intrigues in one year, but only one per Agent.

Alternatively, the courts may place their agents on seeing to Internal Security, allowing them to potentially counteract Winter Intrigues against the kingdom.

When the Winter Intrigues are resolved, they may or may not remain covert and secret. A successful Intrigue will often have hidden effects, and the targetted courts may remain none the wiser. On the other hand, an Intrigue that runs into Internal Security will usually be pulled into the open.

There are various sorts of Winter Intrigues that can be attempted, but common ones include:

• Espionage - Spying to reveal useful intelligence.
• Poisoning - Attacking opposing characters through covert means.
• Propaganda - Disrupting the population and morale of an opposing kingdom.
• Charm - Subverting opposing characters.

Victory Conditions

Checkmate: Capture the King

The most direct way to win is to capture the enemy King! This is achieved in the Season of Summer via a Summer Campaign with that specific objective.

Checkmate Campaigns are not easy to pull off though, and tend to require a combination of overwhelming military force and a talented commander, plus some luck in timing.

If the enemy King is captured, then the game immediately ends. The victorious King can now do as he pleases with his brother, whether this be summary execution, exile to the outer realms or lifelong imprisonment. The victorious King is also crowned High King and has a thousand years of rule before he must be sacrificed, and the game of succession may begin anew!

Inevitable Victory: Dominance at Twelve Years

At the end of the 12 years, if neither King has been captured then the game of succession must nonetheless end. Each Court then calculates its total Dominance using the following formula:

• +1 Dominance per point of Glamour the King possesses.
• +2 Dominance per Improvement in their Kingdom.
• +4 Dominance per enemy Knight or Bishop that they hold captive.
• +8 Dominance per enemy Rook they hold captive.
• +9 Dominance if they hold the enemy Queen captive.