Kingdoms: Springtime - Growth

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Springtime - Season of Growth and Renewal

In the first season of the year the bare branches begin to show greenery once more and animals come our of hibernation. As the days begin to lengthen the Kingdom is filled with a surge of energy and activity.

Just as a farmer sows the seeds for the coming year, so too must a King plan for the seasons to come. The seasons of war, harvest and intrigue are yet to begin, so now is the time to make preparations!

Springtime Events

Before the Season begins properly, the Adjudicator may declare that one or more Events has occurred. Common events might include:

• A Mercenary presenting himself for Hire (only if you are using the optional Neutrals and Outsiders rules).
• Early Spring rains increasing both King's Dreaming ratings for this season only.
• A prolonged icy Winter decreasing both King's Dreaming ratings for this season only.
• A surge of pacifism increases the cost of renewing armies.

Almost anything can happen, but generally events will be inherently neutral, giving the same obstacles or benefits to both sides. Also, as discussed later in the Adjudicator's section, these events will have been be prepared and planned ahead of time, to ensure they are impartial.

The King in Springtime

In Springtime, the King must always act first in his kingdom. After all, it is the movement of glamour and the wakening of the King's dreams which triggers springtime in his realm.

Glamour and Dreaming

The King's actions in Springtime all consume Glamour - a precious and limited resource. If he doesn't have Glamour to spend, then he can't do anything!

Additionally, the King's ability to spend this Glamour is limited by the power of his Dreaming. He can never spend more Glamour in one Springtime than his Dreaming rating.

For example if the King has 10 Glamour and Dreaming 5 (as is the case at the start of the game, barring complications), then he can spend no more than 5 Glamour in total over this Springtime, inevitably leaving him with no less than 5 Glamour remaining in his pool.

Renewing Armies

By spending 1 Glamour, a King can Renew a Broken Army. The Renewed army can now be used again as normal, and is no longer considered Broken.

This is a game concept we'll revisit later, but for now it can be summarised simply:

• Armies are usually Broken when defeated especially badly in War.
• Armies can also be Broken by certain other game effects, such as certain intrigue or magic actions.
• Armies that are Broken are no use - they can't attack or defend in war.
• Renewing an army removes the Broken status. This represents rallying, recruiting, rearming and reorganising.

It's generally worth Renewing armies as your first priority for spending.

Apportioning Boons

By spending 1 Glamour, a King can grant a Boon to an Army.

By spending 2 Glamour, a King can grant a Boon to a Knight, Rook or Bishop.

By spending 3 Glamour, a King can grant a Boon to the Queen or to himself.

These Boons are chosen from the same list as in character generation, except that now it is the King Player that decides what Boon to give, and not the Adjudicator. Also, a Boon bought in this way isn't balanced by a Drawback - the only cost is the Glamour it takes.

As you can imagine, over the course of the 12 years it is possible to greatly increase the effectiveness of your pieces, though they'll never seem to be enough Glamour to go around!

The King Player should think about what each boon represents in narrative terms. Is the boon a gift of weapons or magic items? Is it a reflection of growing experience? A boon can be anything you like, so long as the description fits the bonus.

Building Improvements

By spending 1 Glamour, a King can build an Improvement.

Rather than affecting one piece, Improvements enhance the kingdom itself. Because Improvements are quite complex, we explore them on their own page: here.

Bid For Mercenaries

If you are using the optional Neutrals and Outsiders rules, then a King can also participate in auctions for the services of a Mercenary. This is explained in greater detail in the linked page above.

Note that as a specific exception to the rules, bidding for mercenaries isn't limited by the King's Dreaming rating - he can bid as much or as little as he likes, limited only by how much Glamour he has remaining.

The Queen in Springtime

Once the King's Springtime actions have been completed, the Queen can choose to either Research a Magic Ritual, or Perform a Magic Ritual.

The cost of casting Ritual is paid for from the King's Glamour, but it is the Queen's choice whether to cast or not, and what spell she wishes to cast.

Crafting Magic Rituals

The Queen does not start the game with any Rituals. While it is certain she knows a multitiude of magics, these are reflected in her Sorcery score, which contributing to her general effectiveness.

Rituals, on the other hand, are far more powerful effects, achieved through synchronicity with the life-energies of the Kingdom. She must first research them before she can cast them.

Researching a new Ritual takes the whole of Springtime for the Queen, and she cannot do anything else that season. When she researches she should name the spell, describe what it does and how the ritual is performed.

The types of spells that can be cast depend on what sort of Sorceress the Queen is. A Pyromancer, for example, could summon fireballs to incinerate enemies, while a Necromancer could raise undead armies.

The Adjudicator then assigns an in-game effect to it.

The following effect examples give an idea of the sort of scale of power a spell should achieve.

Ultimately its up to the GM to decide how well spells work:

• Damage one enemy army, immediately rendering it Broken.
• Permanently create an Improvement for the Kingdom.
• Destroy an Improvement in the enemy Kingdom.
• Renew an Army you control.
• Create three Armies (with no Boons but 1 Drawback) that will last till the end of this year.
• Create three Improvements that will last till the end of this year.

Once the spell is researched, it is added to the Queen's character sheet, and she can cast it in later Springtimes.

Performing Magic Rituals

Performing a Magic Ritual always costs 3 Glamour which is paid for from the King's Glamour pool.

The Ritual does not require a dice roll to take effect and cannot normally be opposed or prevented. Refer to the page: The Queen: The Sorceress for more guidance on what sort of sorceries she might command.

Performing a new Ritual takes the whole of Springtime for the Queen, and she cannot do anything else that season.

Escaping Captivity

A Piece that has been Captured is little use to his or her king. In fact, the only action that a captured piece may attempt is to Attempt Escape.

Attempting Escape takes the whole of Springtime for that piece, and he or she cannot attempt any other actions that season.

The player of the would be escapee rolls a six-sided dice, and adds the character's primary trait. If the total is ten or more, then the escape is successful! At the end of Springtime, the piece is no longer considered to be Captured, and can be used again as normal!

If the roll is nine or less, then the escape fails. The piece remains Captured, though he can still try to escape again next year...

The only piece that can never attempt to escape is the King! This is because if the King is captured, then the game is over!