Theme:
Focus on Class Conflict within the framework of the kind-of-magical medieval society of KotC.
Interaction between roleplaying and gameplay: winning regions will affect the Kingdom’s stats at the start and end of every reign; players will be able to influence gameplay between games via Edicts.
Political and Social Background:
The Kingdom comes from a period of famine. The previous reigning lineage died as a consequence of the food scarcity.
Arald III came to power as the uncle of the young monarch, last heir of the lineage, sickly and weakened by the famine, who died of consumption.
Arald III did nothing in particular to help the peasants, and just focused on keeping the Kingdom as stable as possible in order to survive the famine. His political choices were effective, but didn’t help his popularity.
At one point he supposedly said “If you put on a scale commoner blood and noble blood, the noble blood will weigh more and be more valuable”. It’s debatable whether he actually said it or whether it was badly paraphrased. In any case, it sparked outrage, criticism, and revolts.
His comment on the value of peasant blood was the straw that broke the camel’s back: at the first signs of an unusually long and harsh Winter in 947, the common folk of the Capital revolted. The King was assailed while moving through the City in his carriage, and was gravely injured, to the point of falling ill and dying a few weeks later.
Luckily winter drew to a close soon thereafter, the common folk quieted down, and the King’s daughter, Mirabella Bloodscale, was able to take the throne.
Mirabella has a mixed Eastern and Southern heritage, and was raised by a Coastal tutor.
The three regions are characterized by distinct cultural trends in regards to how to treat the commoner lot:
The Counts believe that the nobles have absolute primacy, and that the commoners exist to be exploited for the benefit of the noble class. They believe the commoners exist to serve, and their existence is to be used for the advantage of the aristocracy.
In the East there are persistent rumors of a “bloodletting tradition”, where the Counts drink the blood of peasants in special ceremonies. The practice is rooted in old customs and is publicly denied, but it’s still whispered about, and some suspect that some or all Counts might be vampires. During these ceremonies, being bloodlet is viewed as a great honor, and the peasants receive generous gifts in compensation.
The Grandees advocate for the advancement of commoners, yet they do so in a paternalistic way. They believe that nobles should guide peasants to a better place in society.
The Patricians promote self-determination, they believe in a more liberal society in which commoners can rise through hard work and sacrifice. In the Coast it’s not uncommon for peasants to rise in the ranks of society and earn their place in the world.
The three regions faced the famine in different ways:
The Counts exploited their peasants and were almost untouched by the food shortage, maybe due to large stocks, but some say because, you know, vampires. The eastern peasants on the other hand died in droves.
The Grandees tried to help their peasants and suffered themselves as a consequence of using their own resources to sustain the population. This led to the Grandees being the ones who suffered most during the famine among the nobles. Even though they lent a helping hand during the food shortage, it was always with the attitude of “I need to be safe myself before I can help you”.
The Patricians suffered slightly less due to being reliant on fishing and trade with other nations. They left their commoners the freedom to self-regulate and help each other; this led to some people faring better than in the other regions, while others being absolutely miserable and dying worse deaths than in other parts of the Kingdom. During this time many merchants got so rich that they ended up entering nobility, so the Coast is the only region in which there is a significant percentage of nobles with commoner origins.
Regional Mechanics
Once a region wins the throne, a penalty will be assigned at the start of the next reign. If the region manages to successfully keep the throne, a bonus will be applied at the end of the reign.
If a region that is already on the throne wins the game, thereby replacing the Monarch, that region will still count as having kept the throne and the bonus will still be applied.
Counts:
Initial Penalty: Rebellions can now start when Defiance is one point below Authority and Stability, instead of the usual one point above.
Victory Bonus: The Counts gain +1 in all stats except Faith; ALL regions lose -1 Faith.
Grandees:
Initial Penalty: The Treasury always starts at the minimum; the Grandees lose -500 Gold.
Victory Bonus: ALL regions gain +1 Farming; the Kingdom gains +1 Authority and +1 Stability.
Patricians:
Initial Penalty: Reigns always start with 2 Authority and 5 Stability.
Victory Bonus: ALL regions gain +1 Trade; the Treasury and the Patricians both gain +1.500 gold.
Edicts
Edicts are a special gameplay option that allows players [Not characters!] to interact with the game directly. They represent a way for players to modify certain aspects of gameplay between episodes, based on their personal preferences.
Players are not supposed to follow “what their character would do” in order to make a choice, but rather they are encouraged to think of edicts as a way to push the game in a direction they want to see. Discussing and voting for an Edict is not an In-Character decision, but rather it’s an Out-Of-Character decision!
After every reign, players from the winning region gain the right to vote on a resolution before the next reign starts. This gives them the chance to:
Proclaim an Edict: enact a new rule that alters gameplay;
Repeal an Edict: remove an active Edict that was previously passed by another faction or by themselves.
These actions can be performed between reigns spending Edict Points; players must hold a vote and reach a consensus on how to spend their Edict Points.
Edicts Points
At the end of a reign, players from the region currently controlling the throne collectively gain 2 Edict Points, which can be spent to Proclaim and Repeal Edicts before the start of the next reign.
Edict Points are not cumulative, and reset at the start of every reign.
Each Edict costs a specific amount of Edict Points to be proclaimed.
Repealing an Edict always costs 1 Edict Point.
List of Edicts
Anti-Corruption Act: Golden Choice cannot be selected anymore. [1 EP]
Cautious Finances: Royal Gamble cannot be selected anymore. [1 EP]
Strong Council: Iron Choice cannot be selected anymore. [1 EP]
Financial Support [Region]: The Monarch must bribe the selected region during the first tax season. (This cannot coexist with Financial Oppression [Region]. To enact one, players must repeal the other first.) [2 EP]
Financial Oppression [Region]: The Monarch must cruel tax the selected region during the first tax season. (This cannot coexist with Financial Support [Region]. To enact one, players must repeal the other first.) [2 EP]
Emergency Funding: The Monarch must cruel tax ALL regions during the first tax season if the Treasury is below 2000 gold. [1 EP]
Anti-Tyranny Act: Authority cannot be selected as the Monarch’s Ambition. [1 EP]
Pacifist Kingdom: Military cannot be selected as the Monarch’s Ambition. [1 EP]
Secular Rule: Faith cannot be selected as the Monarch’s Ambition. [1 EP]
