Templar Intrigue
Templar Intrigue Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setting the Scene
(Read aloud to new players)
King Philip IV of France has extremely ambitious goals for his family and offspring to be rulers all over Europe. Ambitions can be expensive, especially when you add the cost of modern warfare with the English. As a result, King Philip finds himself searching for money.
Philip signs over lands (and their associated rents) to the Knights Templar in exchange for immediate cash. Later, he can recover the lands by giving the cash back to the Templars. A clever way to perform lending in a land where charging interest is against the law.
After many years, King Philip IV of France is deeply indebted to the Knights Templar who now control most of the land that used to belong to Philip. The war with England and his spendthrift lifestyle might be his downfall. In 1306, Philip expels the Jews from France in an effort to recover some of their wealth.
In 1307, there seems to be no hope for the once wealthy King to recover the lands that are in Templar control, but the King of France still wields immense political power. Being a clever man, he sees an opportunity to recover what he has lost.
Historically on Friday the 13th of October in 1307, King Philip had the Knights Templar in France arrested to be later tortured into confessing to the crime of heresy, which is punishable by death. Philip never recovered the lands that he traded to the Templar for the wealth. In this game, we will see if history repeats itself or if it can be changed by the cunning of Philip and his team of monks and Templar traitors.
(Note: the printed rulebook's opening drop cap "K" is a decorative graphic; the first word is transcribed here as "King".)
Roles and Loyalty
Templar Intrigue is a game which focuses heavily on deception, and this deception starts with the cards themselves.
As a player your role card will remain face down in front of you on the table for the duration of the game. This serves two purposes:
- So that the Inquisitor can easily pick up your card to examine your role.
- To show the table whether you are a Monk or a Templar.
Players with a Blue Fleur de Lis card are Benedictine Monks.
Players with a Red Holy Grail card are Templar Knights.
A player's TRUE loyalty is determined by the front of their card. Philip has 2 of his agents disguised as Templar Knights and one of his Monks is actually loyal to the Templar.
The color of the card indicates what the back of the role card displays. The number indicates the number of cards of this type that are included.
Loyal to King Philip
- 1 King Philip IV of France, known to all players
- 2 Templar Traitors, Templar knights who are loyal to the King
- 2 Benedictine Monks, loyal to the King
Loyal to the Knights Templar
- 1 Templar Grandmaster, leader of the Templar Order
- 1 Templar Archivist, a Benedictine Monk loyal to the Templar Knights Templar
- 3 Knights Templar, Knights who are loyal to the Templar Order
Balancing the Teams
Balancing the teams is very important for Templar Intrigue, and certain cards must be removed from the deck before play begins to ensure the Templars can have a fighting chance against King Philip IV and his Monks.
Remove the cards listed below depending on the number of players you have at your table:
- 7 players: Remove 1 Templar Traitor, 1 Knight Templar, and 1 Benedictine Monk.
- 8 players: Remove 1 Templar Traitor and 1 Knight Templar.
- 9 players: Remove 1 Templar Traitor.
- 10 players: Remove no cards. Play with all cards.
Discovering Your Role
A. Choose Your King
Choose randomly who will play King Philip. Much hangs on the King's decision, and some players may not want that responsibility; you might allow those players to opt out of the choice.
Give the King Philip IV card to the player who will play the role of the King. Shuffle the remaining role cards and deal one to each remaining player.
B. Identify Players' Roles
- King Philip identifies himself. Make sure all players know who the King is.
- Identify (by raise of hand) who is a Monk. All Monk cards have blue backs with a Fleur de Lis logo. (Remember, the Templar Archivist is a Monk.)
- Identify (by raise of hand) who is a Templar Knight. All Templar cards have red backs with a Holy Grail logo. (Remember, this only includes the Templar Grandmaster, Knights Templar, and Templar Traitors.)
The King and Monks close their eyes.
- Templars identify their Grandmaster. To prevent the Grandmaster being identified by rustling of clothing or the like, all Templars raise their hands with a closed fist except the Grandmaster. He identifies himself by raising an open hand.
Everyone closes their eyes.
- The Grandmaster and Archivist identify each other. The two players open their eyes and make eye contact. You must not be discovered by Philip.
Everyone opens their eyes.
Playing the Game
Templar Intrigue is a game of social deduction and deception. It is to be played in an open discussion format. So as soon as you start playing, you should be asking questions, making accusations, and trying to help your team be victorious in the hand.
Step 1: The Inquisition
At any time, King Philip IV will pick one of his Monks to be his Inquisitor. The King instructs the Monk to investigate another player of the King's choosing.
The Inquisitor is shown the player's card in secret, then declares for all the Role of the player he investigated. (The card is not revealed to the group and the Inquisitor is not required to be truthful when he reveals the player's role.)
Step 2: Accusation and Misdirection
The group then openly discusses the revealed role. Both Templars and Monks are encouraged to participate in the discussion to aid or confuse the King.
The Inquisitor's loyalty and truthfulness can be brought into question in defence of the accused. Perhaps the King has chosen the Templar Archivist as his Inquisitor without knowing? A Monk can vouch for his brother's loyalty, perhaps he considers himself a good judge of character. A Templar might stare into the Inquisitor's eyes and ask him to pronounce the role again and find he is "unconvincing." All of these things could take place during this phase of the game. Do your best to stir the pot and make people question the assumptions they are making.
When the King has heard enough he will pick a new Inquisitor from his group of Monks and play repeats from Step 1.
Remember, the King can send each Monk as an Inquisitor once and can do so at any time as long as the Monk has not yet seen a card. The King does not need to wait for discussions to end or have a pause. It's good to be the King.
Step 3: Judgement
If all Monks have had the opportunity to be an Inquisitor, then the time for King Philip IV to make his final judgement approaches. After some final discussion, the King will end the current hand by choosing One Templar (red backs) and One Monk (blue backs) to receive swift judgment.
Note: The King is not required to have all his Monks act as an Inquisitor, but if all the Monks have already had their turn then the King must make a decision.
If the King has chosen both the Templar Grandmaster and the Templar Archivist, then he has destroyed the power of the order and recovered the wealth of the Templars. All players loyal to the King score 1 point.
If the King has chosen incorrectly, then all of the players loyal to the Templars score 1 point.
If any players have 3 points, then all of those players win!
If no player has 3 points, then a new King is chosen and a new hand is dealt.
Quick Guide
A. Deal cards. Discover your role.
B. Players identify each other's roles:
- Identify the King and his Monks.
- Identify the Templars.
- Templars identify the Grandmaster in secret.
- Grandmaster and Templar Archivist identify each other in secret.
C. Table discussion begins.
D. The King chooses one Monk as his Inquisitor and picks the player the Monk is to investigate.
E. The Inquisitor is shown the player's role card in secret.
F. The Inquisitor tells the group the role of the player they investigated. (The card is not shown and the Inquisitor does not have to be truthful.)
G. Table discussion continues.
H. Whenever the King wishes, a new Monk is chosen as Inquisitor and play repeats from (step D) until each Monk has been the Inquisitor.
I. The King selects one Templar and one Monk for the final judgment. If correct, players loyal to the King score a point. If not, players loyal to the Templars score a point.
J. If no one at the table has 3 points, a new King is chosen, the rest of the cards are shuffled and play repeats from (step A).