(1) Kingdom Building

Congratulations on receiving a charter granting you lands and the right to build and rule a kingdom!

"But how do I go about undertaking this daunting task?" I hear you cry.  The below has been compiled in order to give you the information needed to start up your very own kingdom:

 

Step 1 - Obtain the lands and rights so as to start your own kingdom (or steal someone else's!).

 

Step 2 - Obtain Build Points, these are needed to buy the resources, time, materials and workforce to start construction on your kingdom [see Kingdom Funding].

 

Step 3 - Decided where to build your first settlement, this will be your kingdom's capital and so is a critical choice.  It needs to have access to various nearby commodities and shouldn't be too close to the borders of neighbouring lands (in case they attack!).  You must have explored and cleared the chosen hex before you can begin building upon it and need to spend 1 BP for setting up the basic infrastructure on this hex.  In the lands you have explored so far there are several hexes that provide benefits should you choose to build your capital there:

Oleg's Trading Post - Located in the northern most reaches of your lands and thus very close to Brevoy's borders, this hex can use the already existing buildings to create either a free Shop, Stable or Watchtower.

Temple of the Elk - Located close to the Western border of your kingdom, the ruined temple will halve the initial cost of the first Temple you build in this hex.

The Stag Lord's Fort - Located in the middle of your kingdom close to a good water source, there is only a minor problem regarding a finite number of undead sleeping within the hill.  The fort halves the initial cost of building a Castle in this hex and grants a +1 bonus to Economy, Loyalty and Stability for extra incentive (these stats are very important for any kingdom).

Step 4 - Choose your kingdom's alignment.  The alignment will affect your kingdom's outlook and behaviour (and thus it's statistics) and choices may be restricted depending on which religions or group you accepted BP from during Kingdom Funding in Step 2.  Pick two non-opposed alignments:

Chaotic grants +2 Loyalty

Evil grants +2 Economy

Good grants +2 Loyalty

Lawful grants +2 Economy

Neutral grants +2 Stability

 

Step 5 - Fill the leadership roles for your kingdom [see Kingdom Leadership Roles].

There are 14 roles which will have an important effect on your kingdom and on its three stats (Economy, Loyalty and Stability).  It is recommended that each PC takes up a role that they are comfortable with, with one of you becoming the Ruler - however this should be decided by the group as a whole.  You should then locate suitable NPCs to try and fill as many of the remaining roles as possible, as a number of the roles will incur penalties if not filled when you start building your capital.

 

Step 6 - Construct your capital's first buildings.  You should start with either an Inn, Shrine, Monastery or Watchtower and can add either a House, Mansion, Noble Villa or Tenement, paying the BP costs for each.  There are a number of different buildings you can add to your kingdom's capital and other future settlements along with various terrain improvements, all of which affect something within your kingdom or your capital [see Kingdom Buildings and Improvements]

 

Step 7 - At the end of each in-game month of kingdom building you will have to follow the Kingdom Turn Sequence [see Kingdom Turn Sequence] to see how things proceed in your kingdom; whether you maintain a stable kingdom, generate unrest amongst your populace, gain or lose BP from the treasury, or generate interesting, lethal or prosperous encounters [see Kingdom Events].

 

Kingdom Building takes place at the end of every month in-game (to begin with) and it can be several years before you have a n established capital you are happy with.  The important thing to remember when building is to not claim hexes too quickly; each hex you claim escalates the difficulty for making checks during the Kingdom Turn Sequence.


The gaming group should decide after a session or two of kingdom building who of the group likes and dislikes city building.  Those that like it could then arrive early or meet on a different day to handle the more minute details and smaller decisions, whilst events and various important decisions can be agreed upon and handled by the group in-game.


Kingdom Terminology

Alignment: Your kingdom has an alignment, which you decide when you form the kingdom. The kingdom's alignment represents the majority outlook and behaviour of the people within that kingdom when they're considered as a group. (Individual citizens and even some leaders may be of different alignments.).  A kingdom's alignment rarely changes, though at the GM's option, it can shift through the actions of its rulers or its people.

Build Points: Build points (or BP for short) are the measure of your kingdom's resources—equipment, labour, money, and so on.  They're used to acquire new hexes and develop additional buildings, settlements, and terrain improvements. Your kingdom also consumes BP to maintain itself.

Consumption: Consumption indicates how many BP are required to keep the kingdom functioning each month.  Your kingdom's Consumption is equal to its Size, modified by settlements and terrain improvements (such as Farms and Fisheries).  Consumption can never go below 0.

Control DC: Some kingdom actions require a check (1d20 + modifiers) to succeed—this is known as a control check. The base DC for a control check is equal to 20 + the kingdom's Size in hexes + the total number of districts in all your settlements + any other modifiers from special circumstances or effects.  Unless otherwise stated, the DC of a kingdom check is the Control DC.

Economy: This attribute measures the productivity of your kingdom's workers and the vibrancy of its trade, both in terms of money and in terms of information, innovation, and technology. Your kingdom's initial Economy is 0 plus your kingdom's alignment and leadership modifiers.

Kingdom Check: A kingdom has three attributes: Economy, Loyalty, and Stability. Your kingdom's initial scores in each of these attributes is 0, plus modifiers for kingdom alignment, bonuses provided by the leaders, and any other modifiers. Many kingdom actions and events require you to attempt a kingdom check, either using your Economy, Loyalty, or Stability attribute (1d20 + the appropriate attribute + other modifiers). You cannot take 10 or take 20 on a kingdom check.  Kingdom checks automatically fail on a natural 1 and automatically succeed on a natural 20.

Loyalty: Loyalty refers to the sense of goodwill among your people, their ability to live peaceably together even in times of crisis, and to fight for one another when needed. Your kingdom's initial Loyalty is 0 plus your kingdom's alignment and any modifiers from your kingdom's leadership role.

Size: This is how many hexes your kingdom has claimed. A new kingdom's Size is 1.

Stability: Stability refers to the physical and social well-being of the kingdom, from the health and security of its citizenry to the vitality of its natural resources and its ability to maximize their use. Your kingdom's initial Stability is 0 plus your kingdom's alignment and leadership modifiers.

Treasury: The Treasury is the amount of BP your kingdom has saved and can spend on activities (much in the same way that your character has gold and other valuables you can spend on gear). Your Treasury can fall below 0 (meaning your kingdom's costs exceed its savings and it is operating in debt), but this increases Unrest.

Turn: A kingdom turn spans 1 month of game time. You make your kingdom checks and other decisions about running your kingdom at the end of each month.

Unrest: Your kingdom's Unrest indicates how rebellious your citizens are. Your kingdom's initial Unrest is 0.  Unrest can never fall below 0 (anything that would modify it to less than 0 is wasted).  Subtract your kingdom's Unrest from all Economy, Loyalty, and Stability checks.  If your kingdom's Unrest is 11 or higher, the kingdom begins to lose control of hexes it has claimed.  If your kingdom's Unrest ever reaches 20, the kingdom falls into anarchy.