Cutthroat Kingdoms Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Introduction
  • Objective
  • Royal Etiquette
  • The 2 Cardinal Rules
  • Negotiations
• Game Setup
  • Step 1
  • Step 2: Choose Your House
  • Step 3: Assemble the Event Deck
  • Step 4: Build the Marketplace
  • Step 5: Create the Kingdom
  • Step 6: Prepare the Feast
  • Step 7: Determining Starting Player
• The Cards
  • Territory
  • Event
  • Hireling
  • Feast
  • Military (Soldier)
  • Military (Mercenary)
• Gameplay
  • Player Turn
    • I. The Resource Phase
    • II. The Action Phase
    • III. The Event Phase
  • Attacking Territories
    • Accessibility
  • How to Attack (and Defend)
  • Conquering a Territory
• Ending the Game
• FAQ
• Special Events
  • Blackmail!
  • The Royal Wedding
    • Marriage Rules
    • Benefits of Marriage
    • Dissolution of Marriage
  • Welcome to Aurum
  • Alms of Lazarus
  • The Feast
    • Prepare the Feast
    • Serve the Food
    • The Tasting
    • The Main Course
• Combat Examples
  • Scenario 1: Attacking a Neighboring Territory
  • Scenario 2: Passing Through Unoccupied Territories
  • Scenario 3: Passing Through Occupied Territories
  • Scenario 4: Straight Combat
  • Scenario 5: Combat with Hirelings
  • Call for Reinforcements
  • Scenario 6: Calling for Reinforcements
• Glossary
• Voting
• Iconography
• Lords & Ladies
  • Lord Brom
  • Lord Cawdwell
  • Lord Dravanof
  • Lady Crone
  • Lady Slaine
  • Lady Tyber

Components

Cutthroat Kingdoms includes the following:

• 205 game cards, including:
  • 25 event cards
  • 38 soldier cards
  • 6 bastard cards
  • 6 royal heir cards
  • 6 lord/lady cards
  • 36 mercenary cards
  • 44 hireling cards
  • 10 territory cards
  • 34 feast cards
• 96 coin tokens, including:
  • 60 copper coins
  • 36 silver coins
• 36 gems, including: 6 rubies, 6 sapphires, 6 emeralds, 6 amethysts, 6 diamonds, and 6 topaz.
• 50 house tokens: 8 red, 8 green, 8 blue, 8 black, 8 purple, and 10 yellow
• 1 purse
• 1 playmat
• 1 rulebook

Introduction

Objective

In Cutthroat Kingdoms, each player takes on the role of the great lords and ladies of the six royal houses in Aurum. During the game, players will fight for Territories, enlist the aid of hirelings, raise mercenary armies, and negotiate marriage alliances with the other players while attempting to stave off the Plague and its rampant outbreak.

Royal Etiquette

I see thy strength lay in thine arm; a travesty. Mine own is that of the tongue, for it may conquer land before blood even be shed. (Ars Imperare 215:1)

It cannot be stressed enough that the magic of this game lies in socialization. The game cannot be won simply on strategy alone. Players must also be ready to make deals, trades, and negotiations throughout the game. Table-talk is not just a beautiful byproduct, but an essential mechanic of the game.

Throw yourselves into your character. This game is best played completely immersed in the experience.

The 2 Cardinal Rules

The Card Abides. If a card ever contradicts the rulebook, the card effect overrides.

Takebacksies. After a player announces an action, there is a brief window where other players may wish to talk them out of taking that action. If this negotiation is successful, the original player is allowed to take back the action.

For example, Brom discards an Assassin to kill Slaine's General. Slaine says, "Wait! I'll give you 2 gems to not play that Assassin." Brom agrees to Slaine's deal and rescinds the action. The Assassin is returned to his hand, and Slaine's General stays alive.

Negotiations

Much of the game revolves around players making deals. A deal is when two or more players negotiate an agreement. For example, two players may agree not to attack each other for a turn. Or perhaps they wish to exchange cards for gems. The possibilities with deals are as broad as the players' imaginations, with only a few exceptions:

• Players must negotiate deals in public where all can see and hear.
• Players cannot negotiate to change the Rulebook (e.g. adjusting the turn order).
• Players cannot exchange royal heirs, soldiers, territories, or lord/lady cards.
• Players may only negotiate inside the game (e.g. players may not exchange real money for in-game favors).

Anything else may be offered, or any other service rendered as consideration for a deal. Payment of any kind may be accepted including promises of future action or support.

Players are not forced to make any deals. Before any deal has been formalized, a player may back out of the deal for any reason. If a dispute arises between parties in a deal, the dispute is adjudicated by all the players at the table.

Once the terms of the deal are negotiated, all participants must seal the deal in some formal fashion, such as with a handshake. Once the deal is formalized, it is binding and may not be broken. Players are obligated to do whatever they can to fulfill their end of a deal. Any agreement made without a formalization is not binding, though surely friends would not betray one another.

All players may, at any time during the game, exchange any number of card(s), coin(s) or gem(s) between one another. Please see exclusion list above.

Game Setup

Step 1

Lay the playmat in the center of the table.

Step 2: Choose Your House

1. Each player chooses a lord or lady as their character. Give each player a purse to hold their coins and gems. What is in their purse is private information.
2. Each player collects their house's:
   • royal heir card
   • bastard card
   • house tokens
   • soldier cards
3. Players place their lord/lady and royal heir cards in front of them. Turn the lord/lady card face down and place house tokens onto them in each house-token box to track their twice per game abilities.
4. The soldier cards will form the players' starting hands.

The Royal Pillow. For additional fun, set aside the Royal Pillow and a number of random hireling cards equal to the number of players. Shuffle these together, deal one to each player at setup, putting the remaining hireling cards back in the deck. We wish you well on your wedding night!

Step 3: Assemble the Event Deck

1. Collect all the event cards that correspond to the number of players as indicated at the bottom-center on the front of the cards (e.g. in a 4 player game, the 3+ and 4+ cards are used). Return the unused cards to the box. (The number on the card is the player number indicator.)
2. Remove the Royal Wedding, Feast and Welcome to Aurum cards.
3. Shuffle the remaining event cards together.
4. Place the Royal Feast card at the bottom of the deck, the Royal Wedding card at about the half-way point and place the Welcome to Aurum card on the top of the deck.

Place the event deck on the playmat in its slot.

The Event Deck. The pace of the game is set by the event deck, containing cards that affect the play of the game including dangerous plagues and major events in the Kingdom. One of these event cards is automatically drawn at the end of each player's turn. Once the event deck runs out, the game is over.

Step 4: Build the Marketplace

1. Place the gems into the purse, and jumble them around. Place the coins (copper and silver) next to the purse in the bank on the playmat.
2. Collect the bastard cards from each player. Shuffle them and the hireling cards together to assemble the hireling deck. Then, place it on the playmat.
3. Shuffle the mercenary cards and place them face down in the mercenary slot on the playmat.

Step 5: Create the Kingdom

1. Shuffle the territory cards.
2. Draw two, plus one for each player.
3. Evenly spread the selected territories face up in their slots, on the playmat.
4. Return the unused territory cards to the box.

Step 6: Prepare the Feast

1. Shuffle all the Feast cards together and set them somewhere on the table.

Step 7: Determining Starting Player

1. Players vote (see voting on p. 15) on who is the starting player. Let the negotiations begin!
2. Each player (clockwise, beginning with the starting player):
   • Chooses a starting territory, and places a house token on it.
   • Places 1 to 4 military cards below the territory.
   • Collects copper coins equal to their territory's coin value.

The Cards

Territory

Each territory card has a healthy side and a plagued side. It shows the copper coin value the territory produces, the gem value the territory produces, and a special ability. (Example: Stonehold, healthy: "Before attacking, a defending military card at Stonehold each turn, the attacking player must discard 2 military cards."; plagued: the attacking player must discard 1 military card.)

Event

Events have abilities that are resolved immediately when drawn. Each event card has a player number indicator at the bottom center. (Example: Tribute, "ALL PLAYERS: Collect coins & gems from their territories. If they have no territories, they collect 4 copper.")

Hireling

The card cost is shown on the card (and on the card back). Each hireling has a special ability. Some hireling cards may be played by the current player only; others may be played on any player's turn. (Example: Doctor, "Cure or cause a plague on any 1 territory (flip the territory over).")

Feast

The victory point value is shown on the card, for end game scoring.

Military (Soldier)

Each soldier card shows a house crest, a combat color, and a combat type.

Military (Mercenary)

Each mercenary card shows a combat type and a combat color. Card cost: 1 copper buys 2 mercenaries (shown on the card back).

Gameplay

Player Turn

Each player's turn is broken down into three phases:

I. The Resource Phase

The player collects resources and 1 feast card from each of their territories. When collecting resources, players may collect either the copper coin value or the gem value of each territory they own; players do not need to make the same choice for each territory. A player without a territory collects 3 copper coins.

• Collect copper coins from the bank equal to the value indicated in the card's top left corner.
• Collect a number of gems at random from the bank as indicated in the card's top right corner.

Players do not need to let other players know which gems they have nor how many coins they have.

II. The Action Phase

The player may take the following actions during their turn, in any order. Once you take one action, you must complete it before you take one of the other actions.

For example, after a player starts attacking territories, they may not collect their dead until after they have finished attacking all territories.

• Purchase Assistance: Make up to 3 purchases from the marketplace. There is no hand size limit.
• Conquer Unoccupied Territories: Conquer any number of accessible territories.
• Attack Territories: Attack any number of territories. Afterwards, collect resources from one territory conquered.
• Collect the Dead: Once per turn, but not during attacks, a player may pay 2 copper coins to put all of their dead soldier cards from their dead pile into their hand.

III. The Event Phase

Draw the top card of the event deck and resolve its effects. Some special events have their effects listed in this rulebook. After the event resolves, discard it and the next player clockwise around the table takes their turn.

Attacking Territories

One at a time, a player may attack any number of territories on their turn. Acquiring territory is a great path to achieve wealth in the game.

Accessibility

Players may block opponents from "passing through" their territories. So before attacking, a player must determine if their target territory is accessible or not. A territory is accessible if any of these conditions are met:

• It is immediately adjacent to any territory owned by the attacking player.
• All territories are unoccupied in between one territory owned by the attacking player and the target territory.
• The attacking player does not own any territories (in this case, any territory is accessible).

If the territory is not accessible, then the attacker must negotiate with the owners to pass through each territory in their way. See p. 12 for examples.

How to Attack (and Defend)

1. ATTACK - The attacker discards a military card from their hand whose color/combat type matches the top military card on the target territory. This is the attacking card.
2. DEFEND - The defender may discard a military card from their hand whose color matches the attacking card. If they do, discard both the attacking and defending cards without effect. If they do not, the top card on the target territory is killed. If it is a soldier, put it in its owner's dead pile. Otherwise, discard it.
3. The attacker may choose to cease the attack or continue it, repeating these steps.

If all defending military cards on the territory are killed:

• The house token is returned to its owner.
• The attacking player may conquer the territory (see next page).

Conquering a Territory

Whether there was just a large battle where all defenders were killed, or no military cards were at the territory to begin with, conquering unoccupied territories is a large part of the game and something players will be doing most turns. To conquer an unoccupied territory, players must follow these steps:

1. Place a house token on the territory.
2. Place 1 to 4 military cards from your hand below the territory, one on top of another, in a stack. They should be placed so their combat type is clearly visible to all players. When placing mercenaries onto territories to defend, place them face down; they are susceptible to any type of attack. Once this has been done, the territory has been conquered.
3. After you have finished conquering all territories for the turn, you may collect resources from one of them. Gain its copper coins or gems from the bank.

Death is the only way out. When a territory is conquered, a player may place 1 to 4 military cards there to defend it. This is the only opportunity to place military cards; they cannot be added or removed later (except through combat of course). They must hold the castle!

Ending the Game

The game ends when the last event is resolved. At the end of the game, each player tallies their victory points. The player with the most VP wins the game.

• 1 VP for each copper coin.
• 5 VP for each silver coin.
• Unmarried bonus: Double the copper and silver coin VP if the player's royal heir is unmarried and still alive.
• VP equal to the victory point value on all cards. (*Players may only score the bastard that bears their house crest, if owned.)
• 25 VP for each full set of ALL colors of gems (one of each of the six colors).**
• Each set of gems with the SAME color:** (any set of same-colored gems is eligible for this scoring)

Gems of the same color	VP
1	1 VP
2	4 VP
3	9 VP
4	16 VP
5	25 VP
6	36 VP

**Each gem may only be scored once.

FAQ

Q - Can I purchase cards from the marketplace or collect my dead during an attack? A - No. Each player phase action is independent. While the order you choose to perform them in is up to you, the previous action must conclude before starting another action.

Q - If I have three green gems and one of each other color, how many points is that? A - The rainbow of gems (one of each color) is worth 25 victory points. The remaining two green gems are worth 4 victory points (having used one of the green gems for the rainbow). Your total from gems would be 29 victory points.

Q - May I kill my own military cards off a territory I own? A - No.

Q - If a card is face down, do the rules or icons on the other side still apply? A - No, though mercenaries are still military cards, even when they are face down.

Q - If Stonehold is unoccupied, does its ability trigger? A - No. Only if you are attacking Stonehold and there are opposing military cards beneath it.

Q - When I discard the unwanted card using The Hanging Tongue, or Nyghtwald, is it face up or face down? A - Face up, for all to see.

Q - May I make deals even if it is not my turn? A - Yes! You can make deals at any time.

Q - If I don't own any territories, can I attack anywhere? A - Absolutely! Though do remember that once you conquer the first territory, you now have to check for accessibility for future attacks that turn.

Q - May I request to see the card backs of a player's hand? A - Yes, at any time, you may ask any player to 'fan their hand' which shows you what type of cards they have in their hand.

Q - May I request to see what is inside a player's purse? A - Yes, but they are under no obligation to show you, so they may need some convincing.

Q - During special events, may I use my lord/lady abilities, or play hireling cards? A - Only if they affect the outcome of the special event. Otherwise, no.

Q - May a player be blackmailed more than once each turn? A - Each blackmailing effect may only be used once per turn.

Q - Can a deal pause the current action? A - Yes, but only if that deal is related to the current action.

Q - What happens if deals and socialization are delaying gameplay? A - Players may choose to implement a 2 to 5 minute sand timer.

Special Events

Blackmail!

During a player's Resource Collection phase, they may display, publicly, a 'blackmail' card, in order to collect any one of their Territories' resources from the player listed on the card instead of from the bank. Any and all applicable Territory abilities apply. The displayed card then returns to their hand and is not discarded. They may continue to do this once during every Resource Collection so long as they have, and display the card. If you do not own a Territory, you may collect 3 copper coins from the player listed on the card instead.

The Royal Wedding

As he slipped the ring upon her finger, it was there in Cascabel's wry smile that Arrister knew all too well the power of political marriage. He would be wed, forevermore, to a beautiful viper: a romancing thought that seemed much the more appealing in dreams... (Arrister's unhappily retrospective mind)

When the Royal Wedding event resolves, all players have 3 minutes to openly woo the other players, offering the hands of their royal heirs up for marriage, if they wish.

Marriage Rules

Marriages are alliances between two players. When two players enter a marriage alliance, they will work as a team and either win the game together or lose it together. Thus, as partners, they may not attack each other's territories.

When a marriage is arranged the players swap royal heir cards; the heirs are now married. Once a player is in possession of another player's royal heir, they are responsible for its fate. The marriage ends when one or both of the married heirs are killed.

Benefits of Marriage

Beyond the benefit of having a partner to try and win the game, there are two more benefits to players in a marriage alliance:

• They combine their victory points together at the end of the game.
• They may discard soldier and mercenary cards from their hands to defend their partner's lands.

Dissolution of Marriage

If ever one or more royal heirs in a marriage are killed, turn over the royal heir card. The marriage is immediately dissolved. The royal heirs are returned to their original house, and those players continue to play the game, unmarried.

A marriage cannot be ended unless one or both royal heirs have been killed.

Welcome to Aurum

Players are encouraged now to make 1 deal with any player. Any player who makes a formal deal collects 5 copper coins from the Bank. Players may only make 1 deal. If a player is left out, they may make a deal with any 1 player who has already made a deal, however only they collect the 5 copper coins for this deal.

Alms of Lazarus

Withdraw 12 copper coins from the bank. Players must now vote (see voting on p. 15) to determine how these coins will be distributed amongst the lords and ladies.

The Feast

"Of all the jobs in the court one could have, being a skilled taster is the least desirable. Though, in truth, being a bad taster is even less desirable." (Mikhail Romulous, Cawdwellian Court)

Throughout the game, you have been acquiring feast cards. Players now take up all the Feast cards they have acquired into their hand. These cards will be worth extra victory points at the end of the game, or they may be poison to dole out to an unsuspecting foe.

Prepare the Feast

1. Clear the Territories and any Military cards off the table to give you space to conduct the Feast.
2. Every player takes up all Feast cards into their hand that they have collected over the course of the game, if they have any.

Serve the Food

The player that starts is the player who drew the Royal Feast event card.

Proceed clockwise around the table, each player distributes their food and poison cards however they wish by putting them face down in front of one or more players, including themselves. Remember, food is worth victory points, but the more food in front of a player, the harder it will be for that player to find any poison.

If a player desires to keep food for themselves, or even poison the heir in front of them, they may place those cards in front of themselves during this phase.

Players will be required to eat whatever is in front of them. They are not picky eaters! The only way to score points for food is to have those food cards in front of you at the end of the feast.

The Tasting

1. Players randomize all feast cards laid in front of them, keeping all cards face down at all times.
2. Players may play any number of Taster cards or discard any number of hireling cards from their hand. For each hireling discarded, reveal one feast card. Tasters reveal two feast cards in front of a single player. You do not have to reveal cards in front of you; your heir may be in front of another player. Discard any poison cards revealed in this way without effect.

The food in front of you does not HAVE to be tasted, and remember that your royal heir may be in front of another player.

Tasters are the only hirelings which can be used to taste feast cards. They are played from hand during the tasting phase of the feast.

The Main Course

Players reveal the feast cards in front of them. If one or more untasted Poison cards are revealed, the royal heir in front of them has been poisoned and now lies dead, dissolving their marriage alliance if there was one. Flip any dead royal heirs face down.

All food items with victory point values are retained by players for end game scoring.

The Line Must Remain Unbroken! If a player's heir is poisoned, they may sacrifice their bastard instead, discarding it from their hand but saving the royal heir, and perhaps the marriage.

Combat Examples

Example territories: Three Rivers (occupied by Dravanof; no special ability), Nyghtwald (occupied by Slaine; "When purchasing a hireling, draw 2. Keep 1, discard the other. Overrides The Hanging Tongue."), The Hanging Tongue (unoccupied; "ONCE PER TURN - When another player purchases a hireling, you draw 2 and give them 1. Discard the other."), Marrow (occupied by Brom; "Gain a mercenary when purchasing a hireling.").

Scenario 1: Attacking a Neighboring Territory

Lord Dravanof wants to attack Nyghtwald. Since Dravanof controls Three Rivers which is adjacent to Nyghtwald, his target is accessible. Combat proceeds normally.

Scenario 2: Passing Through Unoccupied Territories

Slaine wants to attack Marrow. Nyghtwald is under Slaine's control and her target is two territories away with The Hanging Tongue in between. Normally, Slaine would have to get permission from its owner to pass through The Hanging Tongue, however it is currently unoccupied. Negotiation is not needed to pass through unoccupied territories. Combat proceeds normally.

Scenario 3: Passing Through Occupied Territories

Marrow (under Brom's control) wants to attack Three Rivers, but unfortunately there are 2 territories (Nyghtwald and The Hanging Tongue) that lie between Brom and his target, Three Rivers. Before attacking, Brom must first negotiate passage through these two territories.

Brom does not require permission to pass through The Hanging Tongue since it is currently unoccupied. However, Nyghtwald is currently under Slaine's control and Brom may not pass through it without lady Slaine's permission.

After a brief negotiation, Brom agrees to pay lady Slaine 2 copper coins to be permitted passage through Nyghtwald and is now able to carry out his attack. Combat proceeds normally.

Scenario 4: Straight Combat

• Lord Dravanof targets Nyghtwald (controlled by lady Slaine) for attack. Nyghtwald is defended (from top to bottom) by a blue soldier, a mercenary, and a yellow soldier.
• To attack the first defender, the blue soldier, Dravanof discards a blue soldier from his hand.
• Lady Slaine defends against the attack by discarding her blue soldier from her hand.
• Lord Dravanof discards another blue soldier from his hand.
• Lady Slaine has no cards in her hand that would defend against this attack. As a result, the top military card (blue soldier) on Nyghtwald is killed.
• For his third attack, lord Dravanof discards a red soldier from his hand.
• Unfortunately lady Slaine again does not have any cards that would defend against this attack. As a result, the mercenary defending Nyghtwald is killed. (Mercenaries are susceptible to any type of attack).
• For his fourth attack, Dravanof discards a yellow soldier.
• Lady Slaine defends by discarding a yellow mercenary card.
• For his fifth attack, Dravanof discards a yellow mercenary card.
• Lady Slaine has no military cards left in her hand and is unable to defend against the attack which results in the death of the final defending card.
• Lady Slaine's house token is returned to her and lord Dravanof is now free to claim this territory.

Scenario 5: Combat with Hirelings

• Lady Slaine targets Marrow (controlled by lord Brom) for attack. Marrow is defended by (in order) a green soldier, a red soldier, a blue soldier, and a mercenary.
• Before attacking, lady Slaine discards a Sneak hireling card and chooses to return all the military cards on Marrow to lord Brom's hand.
• Lord Brom discards an Assassin hireling card to kill the Sneak, successfully blocking its effect.
• As her first attack, lady Slaine discards a green soldier.
• Lord Brom discards a green mercenary from his hand to defend against the attack.
• Lady Slaine chooses not to press the attack and ends her turn.

Put Out 'Yer Dead. All discarded military cards are considered "killed". Discarded soldiers are placed face down in their owner's dead pile. Mercenaries are placed face up in the mercenary discard pile.

Call for Reinforcements

Attacking or defending players may always, at any time during the assault, negotiate a deal for reinforcements. Aid can come in many forms, such as suitably typed mercenary cards, or potentially useful hireling cards.

Scenario 6: Calling for Reinforcements

• Lord Brom targets Three Rivers (controlled by lord Dravanof) for attack. Three Rivers has (in order) a green soldier, a mercenary, and two red soldiers defending it.
• To attack the first defender, lord Brom discards a green mercenary from his hand.
• Dravanof discards a green soldier to defend against the attack.
• Lord Brom appeals to the other lords and ladies to render some assistance. Lady Tyber offers up her Sneak hireling, but not for free!
• After a quick negotiation, Brom purchases the Sneak hireling card from lady Tyber for his Watchman hireling and 2 copper coins.
• Lord Brom discards the Sneak and returns ALL the military cards to Dravanof's hand. Dravanof's house token on Three Rivers is also returned to him.
• Lord Brom ends his turn by occupying the now empty Three Rivers and places his house token and 2 soldiers there to defend it.

Glossary

Accessible. A territory must be accessible in order for it to be attacked. A territory is accessible if one of the following conditions are met:

• It is immediately adjacent to any territory owned by the attacking player.
• All territories are unoccupied in between one territory owned by the attacking player and the target territory.
• The attacking player does not own any territories (in this case, any territory is accessible).

Attacking Player. The player whose turn it is, attacking other players' territories.

Bank. The area in the middle of the playmat that holds the coins and gems.

Bastard. Each house has a secret bastard in the hireling deck. If drawn, they can be used to blackmail their respective houses. Though if the secret is recovered and a house controls their own bastard at the end of the game, they are worth extra victory points. Bastards may also be discarded to prevent Royal Heirs from being poisoned.

Conquer. A territory is conquered when an attacking player kills all defending military cards there and replaces them with one or more of their own military cards. When a territory is conquered, give the former owner back their house token and place the attacking player's house token on the territory.

Dead Pile. When soldiers (not mercenaries) are discarded or killed, they go in front of their owner in a dead pile. Players may collect their dead soldiers during their turn.

Defending Player. The player whose territory is being attacked.

Discard. A player placing a card in their hand into the discard pile. Soldiers get discarded to a player's own dead pile.

Dissolved Marriage. If a marriage is dissolved, both players swap back their royal heirs. They continue the game unmarried.

Events. At the end of each turn, the current player draws and resolves an event from the event deck. After the final event has resolved, the game ends.

Hand. Players hold hireling and military cards in their hand. There is no limit on the number of cards a player may have in their hand.

Hireling. Special cards with abilities that are available for purchase in the marketplace.

Kill. Some cards kill other cards. Killed cards are discarded to their respective discard piles. Soldiers that are killed go to their owner's dead pile. Assassins that kill hirelings also prevent their effects from happening.

Marketplace. The area in the playmat that holds the hireling and mercenary cards.

Marriage. Players that enter into a marriage gain two benefits:

• At the end of the game, they combine their scores and win or lose as a team.
• They may discard military cards to defend each other's lands.

Having an ally on your side: married players may not attack each other's territories.

Mercenary. Additional military cards that may be purchased from the marketplace. For each coin you spend on mercenaries, you draw 2 cards from the mercenary deck. When mercenaries are placed to defend a territory, turn them face down; any attack type will kill a defending mercenary.

Military. Either a soldier or mercenary card.

Occupied. A territory is occupied if there is a military card defending it.

Owner. Players own all soldiers, royal heirs, and lords/ladies with which they began the game.

Plague. An effect that turns a territory over to its plagued side. Certain actions may occur if this happens.

Passing through Lands. A player must negotiate to pass through another player's lands if they desire to attack or claim a territory on the other side. Players must negotiate for each territory they must pass through, however bulk deals may be made. If a player allows passage through one of their territories, and that territory is already accessible to you, the territory on the other side is now accessible.

Royal Feast. The Royal Feast card is a special event which uses the feast cards. (See p. 11)

Territory. Areas of land that the players fight over to gain resources and abilities.

Unmarried. Players who do not enter into a marriage continue playing the game unmarried. Unmarried players double the victory points they gain from coins at the end of the game, provided their royal heir remains alive.

Unoccupied. A territory is unoccupied if there are no military cards defending it.

Voting

There may come a time in the game where players must vote to determine the outcome of an event or some other game effect. In these scenarios, all players are free to put forth a proposal on how the situation should be resolved. There is no need for these proposals to be fair to all players, and there should usually be multiple proposals made. During this time, players may influence votes by offering bribes or other deals.

Once all proposals have been made, every player votes for the proposal they would like to see succeed. Each player gets one vote, plus an additional vote is awarded to the player(s) with the least copper coins.

Once cast, votes cannot be changed, and the proposal with the most votes wins. In the event of a tie, no decision is made and play moves on.

For example, the players are starting the game and voting on who gets to go first. Bob wants to go first, but Jen has another plan and wants Maria to go first. Bob and Jen talk to the players at the table and negotiate with them to try and gain their vote. Jen offers players 1 coin each for their vote, which they gladly accept. When the votes are cast, Jen's proposal has the most votes, and so Maria begins the game.

Iconography

• Income Crest (Coin): The number of coins a territory generates as income.
• Victory Point Crest: The amount of VP (victory points) a card is worth.
• Combat Crest: Military cards may only kill, or be killed, by another card of the same type.
• Coins: Copper coins are worth 1, silver coins are worth 5.
• Income Crest (Gem): The number of gems a territory generates as income. Unless otherwise stated, these gems are drawn at random from the bank.

Lords & Ladies

Lord Brom

• Might: You start the game with 8 army cards (2 of each type).
• Fury: Twice per game, when you kill the last military card on a territory, you may kill the top 2 military cards on any adjacent territory.

Lord Cawdwell

• Taxes: On your turn, take 3 copper coins from any 1 player that is neighboring any of your territories (or any player if you own no territories).
• Opulence: Twice per game, for the duration of the turn, you or another player (you choose) may collect both coins and gems during resource collection.

Lord Dravanof

• Life: Twice per game, on your turn, you may cure any number of plagued territories.
• Death: Twice per game, at any time, kill all military cards off any 1 territory. Flip it over to its plagued side (if necessary).

Lady Crone

• Knowledge: Once per turn, on your turn only, you may look at the top 3 cards of a deck. Put them back in any order.
• The Eye: Twice per game, on your turn, you may look at another player's hand and take 1 card, except soldier cards.

Lady Slaine

• Dark Influence: Whenever a hireling or royal heir card is killed collect 3 copper coins from the bank.
• Venom: Twice per game, kill a hireling card as it is played (canceling its effects).

Lady Tyber

• Pillage: When you kill the last military card on a territory, the former owner must give you 3 copper coins, if available.
• Bedlam: When you kill the last military card on a territory, put all mercenaries on an adjacent territory into your hand.