THE KING'S CASTLE
House Rules for KINGMAKER
by George Sauer
from THE GENERAL, 24, #5, pp 41-42
For years members of our gaming group has been reading about how bloodless KINGMAKER can be. We have been reading about new event cards, adding town mercenaries, taking defeated enemies Crown cards to make the game more combat oriented; yet at the same time we were shedding our Nobles' blood from the Warden's Northern Domain to Penzance, Land's End. As our Nobles fell time and time again, we wondered what we were doing wrong.
The rule changes that follow are ones that have crept into our play, either through misinterpretation or design. The new rules for the Commission card, and the Revised Nobles Killed Table and Loyalty Table are probably the biggest reason for the increased bloodshed in our games.
The following rule suggestions are structured in the same manner as the current KINGMAKER rulebook. Some suggested changes are ones that have been expounded in these pages before; when such is the case, the issue and author is noted. All the rules--Basic, Optional, and Advanced--are in effect unless otherwise noted.
I. Setting Out Counters:
A. The advanced game Royal Heir (Edmund, Earl of Rutland) should be used.
B. The Heirs should be set-up randomly, following the guidelines in the fine article by Tim Williams, "The Hazard of the Draw" (Vol. 20, No. 4).
C. Note that the Heirs are not set-up until afrer the deal and after each player's Nobles have been set-up.
II. Sequence of Play:
The order of the first round is the order that all future rounds will follow. Do not alter the player sequence after the first round even in the event of changes in Offices or Bishoprics.
III. Royal Heir Movement:
A Royal Heir may never stack alone, nor move alone with a Plantagenet.
IV. Combat:
A. The two turn siege resolution system found in Vol. 14, No. 2, "And Still More KINGMAKER Surprises”, by Mick Uhl should be used instead of the normal one turn resolution system.
B. The Basic, simple odds combat system is to be used (not the advanced battle system described in the rules). Reason: Our gaming group includes many non-wargamers who would be at a disadvantage when using the advanced banle system and would become discouraged and/or no longer play. Game time increases considerably when using the Advanced game. For those game clubs that include a number of non-wargamers, we'd advise that you use the simple odds system.
C. Ambushing is allowed (and is a must).
1. The ambusher must have a 1-4 attack or less on the stack it ambushes.
2. Titled Nobles may not ambush. Reason: Plantagenets would ambush with impunity as they always return to the faction that controlled the Heir. Example: Neville cannot ambush, nor can a titled Scrope.
3. Once the above criteria are met, the mbusher may select the stack as the target, or a single Noble or Heir (he need not have a 1-4 or less on the Noble selected, only the entire stack). Example: Hastings has no chance against Mowbray (50), Neville (50), and Roos (20), so he elects to ambush. The odds are 10 to 120, 1 to 12; nor is he is titled. He can select Roos as his target if he wishes, he has met the criteria for ambushing a stack.
4. A surviving defending Noble must be in the ambushed area for the ambusher to be captured. Example: Percy with Marge is in Wells; Berkeley ambushes, is successful, kills Percy and takes control of Marge as there are no surviving, defending Nobles in the ambushed area.
D. The Advanced Nobles Killed Table, instead of the Basic system, is used as modified.
E. Use the Loyalty Table, as modified.
F. Sea Combat, as described in "And Still More KINGMAKER Surprises" by Mick Uhl, should be used with the following change.
1. To blockade a port, the fleet that blockades must be at least as strong as the fleet that is being blockaded.
2. If the above rule is not used then the blockaded fleet may set sail and need only leave an equal amount of ships in the blockading fleet's sea zone. The remainder may sail on normally.
V. Parliment:
The advanced Parliment rules are used with but one change. Offices, Titles and Bishoprics are all returned to the Chancery if not allocated. Reason: Players would often not cooperate if not given what they wanted. They would rather rely on the random draw. This change makes cooperation imperative and makes control of Parliment a crucial power as offices are not returned to play if not allocated.
VI. Transfers:
The Advanced Ransom and Executive rule is used.
VII. Trades and Gifts:
A. The Optional Trade and Gift rule is a must. Reason: The Free Move card is a very powerful card; not being able to trade it is a mistake, sometimes two or three lesser cards can be had for a single Free Move. Too, this ability to trade cards livens up the game for the non-wargamers, who universally enjoy this aspect.
B. Traded cards can be used on the turn they are acquired. This will slow the combat phases slightly as players try to wheel and deal some mercenaries to prevent that majority victory, or reduce that 2-to-1 to a 3-to-2. However, the players will soon know if the dealing with be successful or not and the combat can be resolved with little extra hassle.
VIII. Commission:
A. This proves to be the biggest change of all, and the most important. (It comes from playing the game the day you buy it, and having four guys impatiently waiting for you to read the rules.) The new rule is rewritten below in our current form.
"A writ card now assumes an additional function besides its use in Parliment. As a commission, a writ card may be utilized by a player to substitute a Noble in his faction or in another faction, for any Noble in his faction responding to a raid or revolt. The commissioned Noble must be equal to or greater in strength than the specific Noble, Title or Office card being summoned. If a bishop or archbishop has been summoned, only a Noble with a bishop or archbishop attached card can be sent. One writ card is used for each Noble named on the event card." Notice the change. The lowly writ is now a powerful weapon. Examples in our game abound as to the power of this change. One that actually occurred: Neville, Chamberlain of Chester, was hiding in Wales with King Henry. The Marshal of England and the Constable of the Tower of London were in London, with the only other Heir, a crowned Richard of York, wondering how to get at Neville, when low and behold ... "PEASANT REVOLT: Constable of the Tower of London to St. Albans; Marshal to Barnet". Victory is almost assured. The Constable stays in London, and the Marshal writs Neville to go to Barnet in his sted. Neville must come to Barnet. Neville with 50 troops and being the Chamberlain with 50 out of Wales meets the 100 strength required by the event. The odds are overwhelming, as Neville has the misfortune to be in the Shadow of the Tower', falls to the attack, and the game is won.
Writ cards assume awesome power; a player with great power or a great opportunity, but without a writ, will often trade his soul for a writ. (Remember, trade cards CAN be used on the turn they are acquired.)
B. Notice that it is no longer Noble(s) but Noble.
C. One cannot writ a writ (i.e, once writted you must go, there is no way out of a writ).
D. Use the same rules for who can be Commissioned as you use for who can be writted to Parliment.
IX. Alliances:
A. Discard all rules pertaining to Alliances.
B. Alliances can be formed or terminated before any phase of a player's turn.
C. Each player retains control of his or her own nobles, no leader is selected.
D. Division of spoils is decided by the allied players. If an agreement cannot be reached, the cards are discarded, the Heir~erminated, the Noble executed, etc.
E. No counter can exceed its normal one turn capabilities when allied. Example: On one player turn Percy ducks into Scotland; a ship meets him there, also on this player turn. On the next player's turn, Percy allies before the movement phase. In our games, Percy normally cannot move to sea because the ship and Percy have moved this round. (However, there is still a way for Percy to move. The ship has not ‘Free Moved' this round. A free move is played, Percy sails to Ireland and grabs Edmund.) The rule of thumb we use is that if it could have been done in one player turn, then you can do it in two, or more.
Another example: Cromwell and Hastings ally before movement and move to Black Heath to attack Clifford. Cromwell breaks the alliance before the combat phase, tum ends. Cromwell and Clifford ally during the next combat phase and well ... These examples do not happen too often. Every gaming group has a player no one would ever ally with because of distrust and we all have others you would let your 16-year-old sister date because you trust them that far. The following line from the THIRD REICH rulebook is appropriate here (and for all diplomatic games): "The only penalty for breaking an agreement is to ensure the offended player's distrust for the remainder of that, and possibly future games."
X. Revised Nobles Killed Table:
A. Each Encounter or Siege
1. Larger force Noble & Heir 2--killed
2. Smaller force Noble & Heir 2,3,12--killed
B. Ambush
1. One selected Noble or Heir 2,3,4--killed
2. Each Noble & Heir in stack 2,12--killed
C. Raid and Revolt
1. Each Noble & Heir responding 2--killed
D. Plague
1. Each Noble and Heir in the afflicted town/city: 2 through 12--killed. Getting caught by a plague, by not counting the cards, is unpardonable; you deserve all you get.
XI. Revised Loyalty Table:
A. Titled Nobles killed or executed in battle, siege, plague, town fighting, ambush or Raid and Revolt: 2 through 7--Loyal
B. Crowned Royal Heirs that are killed are just that. The game is long enough already. A Crowned Beaufort is considered a Titled Noble not a Royal Heir.
XII. Changes in Event and Crown Cards:
This topic has been the subject of several other fine articles. We have implemented most of the suggested Event deck changes discussed in earlier articles. The biggest problem is that there have been more new cards suggested than there are blank cards. You must be selective until Avalon Hill decides to sell blank cards. Example: Do not put Dublin on the board if you cannot plague it. Do not add the Scottish Mercs, unless they can be recalled. And so forth, each event usually requires two cards.
XIII. Conclusion:
A. Make things simple for new players and nonwargamers; none of the above rules are overly cumbersome. Keep it simple. KINGMAKER can be a fast and furious game. Bogging the game down with the advanced battle system, for instance, detracts from the fun of the game.
B. Add your own rules and cards. Try different things. However, be at least semi-historic in your imaginings. Do not add "Turkish Invasions" or "Embassies from Venus".
C. Remember that KINGMAKER is supposed to be fun. Arguments, lengthy discussions on the moral implications of breaking alliances, or justifications for back stabbing, can wait until after the game.
Updated 19 Jan 08.
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