A major part of the Kingmaker Adventure Path is the PCs’ creation of a kingdom and the cities within its borders. Here are the rules for creating kingdoms and cities. Check out the Kingdom Health page for the current health of the kingdom.

CORE CONCEPTS:

1. Size: The number of hexes your kingdom controls. This affects a kingdom’s Consumption and its Control DC.
2. Control DC: 20 + Size. This value is the target number for most kingdom trait tests.
3. Kingdom Traits: Scores used to resolve most kingdom events by rolling 1d20 and adding your modifiers against the Control DC. A ‘1’ always fails and a ‘20’ always succeeds.

• Stability: You make Stability checks during the Upkeep Phase to determine whether the kingdom remains secure.
• Economy: The checks are made during the Income Phase to generate revenue.
• Loyalty: The checks are used to maintain the public peace and manage political crises.
• Unrest: An indication of how rebellious a kingdom’s people are. The Unrest Score is applied as a penalty to all kingdom trait tests. A kingdom with an Unrest Score greater than 10 will lose hexes.

4. Treasury: A kingdom’s prosperity is measured in Build Points (BPs).
5. Consumption: Size + City Districts – Farms + Modifiers. This many BPs must be spent to keep the kingdom functioning. If unable to pay, Unrest increases by 2.
6. Leadership Roles: Player characters and loyal NPCs are able to assume certain roles in the kingdom to increase the Kingdom Traits, enact policies, and gain benefits.
7. Policies: Ways to increase Kingdom Trait scores.

• Propaganda: increases Stability by increasing Consumption
• Taxation: increases Economy by lowering Loyalty
• Festivals: increases Loyalty by increasing Consumption

8. Reputation: PCs each have a Reputation Score, reflecting their influence, relationships, and popularity. Reputation is used for some events. A Reputation point can be also exchanged for 50 gold. They can also be traded with other players in exchange for support. Whenever Unrest increases, all leaders lose that much Reputation.

DETAILED RULES:

Leadership Roles
Here is a list of leadership roles available to the party. Note that all of them do not need to be filled, and in fact can’t be without finding and cultivating trusted NPCs (though those have their own agendas and risks). Some positions have penalties if unfilled. If a character is not within the kingdom fulfilling their duties for at least 1/4 of a Kingdom Turn, their role counts as being vacant. A player absent on a day when we are resolving a Kingdom Turn will also have their character’s role as being considered vacant.

This section also introduces some new skills. There are several new Leadership skills – Charismatic, Empathetic, Organizational, Strategic, Magical, Prowess, Physical, Discipline. Each Role uses two of these skills. Generally, you use the better skill for a role, but some situations may specify which skill to use.

Leadership	Hiero	Josephine	Nigel	Silvanos	Verbot	Wort
Charismatic	-1	+1		-1	+0		+1	-1
Discipline	+1	-1		+0	+0		+1	+2
Empathetic	+0	+3		+2	-1		+2	+2
Magical		+3	+2		+3	-1		-1	-1
Organizational	+1	+1		+0	+2		-1	+2
Physical	+0	+0		+0	+0		+3	+1
Prowess		+0	-1		+1	+3		+0	+0
Strategic	+2	+1		+1	+2		+0	+0


Role		Skills		Bonus			Vacancy
Ruler		Cha		Varies			No growth; +4 Unrest
Councilor	Cha, Emp	Loyalty			-2 Loyalty; No Festivals; +1 Unrest
General		Dis, Phy	Stability		-4 Stability
Grand Diplomat	Cha, Str	Stability		-2 Stability; No Propaganda
High Priest	Emp, Mag	Stability		-2 Stability; -2 Loyalty; +1 Unrest
Magister	Mag, Str	Economy			-4 Economy
Marshal		Emp, Pro	Economy			-4 Economy
Royal Assassin	Phy, Pro	Loyalty, -1 Unrest	None
Spymaster	Org, Pro	Varies			-4 Economy; +1 Unrest
Treasurer	Org, Str	Economy			-4 Economy; No Taxation; Cannot collect Income
Warden		Dis, Phy	Loyalty			-4 Loyalty, -2 Stability

Ruler

Figurehead, or primary ruler of the kingdom.
Benefit: Each character has a favored Kingdom Trait. The Ruler adds their Charismatic Leadership bonus to that Trait. The Ruler may also have some decision-making rights. The Ruler also gets to make all Kingdom Dice rolls not specifically claimed by other roles (the Ruler’s Luck rerolls can be used on these!).
Vacancy Penalty: Kingdom cannot claim new hexes, new farms, new roads, or new city districts without a Ruler. In addition, Unrest increases by 4 every Kingdom Turn.
Best PCs: +1 Josephine & Verbot; +0 Silvanos

Councilor

Represents the citizenry. Also known as the “Smallfolk Advocate”.
Benefit: Bonus to Loyalty equal to Charismatic or Empathetic Leadership.
Vacancy Penalty: -2 to Loyalty; cannot use Festival Policies. In addition, Unrest increases by 1 every Kingdom Turn.
Best PCs: +3 Josephine; +2 Nigel, Verbot & Wort

General

Commands the kingdom’s armies.
Benefit: Bonus to Stability equal to Physical or Discipline Leadership.
Vacancy Penalty: -4 to Stability.
Best PCs: +3 Verbot; +2 Wort; +1 Hiero

Grand Diplomat

Oversees international relations.
Benefit: Bonus to Stability equal to Strategic or Charismatic Leadership.
Vacancy Penalty: -2 to Stability; cannot use Propaganda Policies.
Best PCs: +2 Hiero & Silvanos; +1 Josephine, Nigel & Verbot

High Priest

Guide the kingdom’s religious needs and growth.
Benefit: Bonus to Stability equal to Magical or Empathetic Leadership. As per the party decision, many of the decision-making benefits fall in this role instead.
Vacancy Penalty: -2 to Stability and Loyalty. In addition, increase Unrest by 1 each Kingdom Turn.
Best PCs: +3 Hiero, Josephine, Nigel; +2 Verbot & Wort

Magister

Guides the kingdom’s higher learning and magic.
Benefit: Bonus to Economy equal to Magical or Strategic Leadership.
Vacancy Penalty: -4 to Economy.
Best PCs: +3 Hiero & Nigel; +2 Josephine & Silvanos

Marshal

Organizes patrols and enforces justice in the rural and wilderness regions.
Benefit: Bonus to Economy equal to Prowess or Empathetic Leadership test.
Vacancy Penalty: -4 to Economy.
Best PCs: +3 Josephine & Silvanos; +2 Nigel, Verbot & Wort

Royal Assassin

A catch-all title for the public executioner, headsman, or shadowy assassin.
Benefit: Bonus to Loyalty equal to Prowess or Physical Leadership. Also reduces Unrest by 1 each turn.
Vacancy Penalty: None.
Best PCs: +3 Silvanos & Verbot; +1 Nigel & Wort

Spymaster

Observes the kingdom’s underworld and criminal elements and spies on other kingdoms.
Benefit: Each Improvement Phase, choose a Trait. Until the next Improvement Phase, gain a bonus to the Kingdom Trait of your choice equal to Prowess or Organizational Leadership.
Vacancy Penalty: -4 to Economy. In addition, increase Unrest by 1 per Kingdom Turn.
Best PCs: +3 Silvanos; +2 Wort; +1 Hiero, Josephine, Nigel

Treasurer

Organizes tax collection and manages the treasury.
Benefit: Bonus to Economy equal to Strategic or Organizational Leadership test.
Vacancy Penalty: -4 to Economy; cannot use Taxation policies, nor can the kingdom collect Income.
Best PCs: +2 Hiero, Silvanos & Wort; +1 Josephine & Nigel

Warden

Leads the kingdom’s defense and city guards.
Benefit: Bonus to Loyalty equal to Organizational or Discipline Leadership test.
Vacancy Penalty: -4 to Loyalty, -2 to Stability.
Best PCs: +2 Wort; +1 Hiero & Verbot

Policies

There are three sets of Policies: Propaganda, Taxation, and Festivals. The Grand Diplomat, Treasurer, and Councilor get to specify these Policies, respectively. If those roles are not filled, the policies may not be used. Exception: Players may receive Kingdom Events that allow them to change policies even if they do not occupy the required role or if the role is empty.

Propaganda
Increases Stability but increases Consumption.

• None: -1 Stability, +0 Consumption
• Token: +1, +1
• Moderate: +2, +2
• Aggressive: +3, +4
• Expansionist: +4, +8

Taxation
Increases Economy but decreases Loyalty.

• None: +0 Economy, +1 Loyalty
• Light: +1, -1
• Moderate: +2, -2
• Heavy: +3, -4
• Severe: +4, -8

Festivals
Bread & circuses! Increases Loyalty but increases Consumption.

• None: -1 Loyalty, +0 Consumption
• Token: +1, -1
• Fair: +2, +2
• Extravagant: +3, +4
• Spectacular: +4, +8

RUNNING YOUR KINGDOM

A “Kingdom Turn” is a vague time-period, about roughly one month in length. The important thing is for each Leader to be within the kingdom fulfilling their Role for at least one quarter of this time.

A Kingdom Turn consists of the following steps:
1. Upkeep Phase

• Determine Kingdom Stability
• Pay Consumption
• Fill Commerce Slots
• Unrest

2. Improvement Phase

• Appoint Leaders
• Claim Hexes
• Establish/Improve Cities
• Build Roads
• Establish Farmland
• Set Policies
• Player Action/Events

3. Income Phase

• Deposits
• Withdrawals
• Commerce
• Generate Income

4. Event Phase

• Kingdom Event Roll
• Player Settlement Actions

5. “Card” Phase

• Discard
• Draw

Upkeep Phase

(skip this phase during the 1st turn)

1. Determine Kingdom Stability
Make a Stability Check to determine your kingdom’s overall security for the month.
• Success: reduce Unrest by 1. If Unrest is already at 0, gain 1 BP from surplus goods and increased trade.
• Fail: No effect.
• Fail by 5+: Increase Unrest by 2.

2. Pay Consumption
Deduct Consumption from the Treasury. The Treasury can go negative in this step, but if it does, Unrest increases by 2.

3. Fill Commerce Slots
If any buildings in cities produce Commerce Items, refill empty slots at this time by succeeding an Economy Check per slot.

4. Unrest
If Unrest is 11+, the kingdom loses a hex of the Ruler’s choice. Any improvements in that hex are lost and must be rebuilt if the hex is reclaimed. Settlements in that hex become Free Towns and must be annexed.

If the Royal Assassin role is filled, reduce Unrest by 1 at the end of this phase.

Improvement Phase

The number of improvements that can be made per turn varies with the size of the kingdom. For small kingdoms (<11 hexes), only one hex, one district, one road, and one farm can be added per turn.

1. Appoint Leaders
The High Priest may appoint players and trusted NPCs to leadership roles.

2. Claim/Abandon Hexes
Spend 1 BP to add an adjacent hex to the kingdom. Increase the kingdom Size (and therefore Consumption and Control DC) by 1. Hexes can be abandoned to reduce Size, but this increases Unrest by 1 (4 if the hex included a settlement).

3. Establish/Improve Cities
A hex may contain a city, and cities may have up to 4 districts. Creating a district varies by terrain:
• Grassland: 1 BP, Instant
• Hills: 2 BPs, 1 month
• Forest: 4 BPs, 2 months
• Swamp: 8 BPs, 3 months
• Mountain: 12 BPs, 4 months

Place Buildings, pay BPs, and earn Reputation. Determine the kingdom’s “natural” development of buildings. The people of the kingdom will build these structures if the players do not build up to the limit for the turn. Kingdom-built structures only cost ½ BPs from the Treasury.

Each district can hold up to 36 small, 18 large, or 9 giant buildings (or any combination thereof).

Build Roads
Roads reduce travel time and link farms and resources to your cities. The cost varies by terrain:
• Grassland: 1 BP
• Hills/Forest: 2 BPs
• Swamps/Mountains: 4 BPs
• River (Bridge): x2 BPs

Establish Farmland
Farms connected by roads to your cities reduce Consumption by 2.
• Grassland: 2 BP
• Hills: 4 BPs
• Rivers: -1 BP

Set Policies
Councilor, Grand Diplomat, and Treasurer may adjust their Policy levels.

Player Actions/Events
If players have Kingdom Action/Events available to them, they may play them now.

Income Phase

1. Deposits
Players may donate funds to the Treasury. Gain 1 BP per 1000 Gold.

2. Withdrawals
Players may remove funds from the Treasury. Gain 1000 Gold per BP. However, Unrest goes up by 1. In addition, make a Loyalty Check (Command DC + BPs withdrawn). If it fails, Unrest goes up by an additional 1 per BP withdrawn.

3. Commerce
May make one Economy Check (minor: 20, moderate: 35, major 50) per district to attempt to “sell off” a Commerce Item. Success increases the Treasury (minor: 2 BPs, moderate: 8 BPs, major: 15 BPs).

4. Taxation
Make an Economy Check (Command DC). If successful, divide the roll by 4 and round down. Gain that many BPs.

Event Phase

If a plot-driven scripted event occurs, resolve it now. Otherwise, roll to see if a random event occurs.

1. Kingdom Event Roll
25% chance of an event. If no event occurred on the previous turn, it increases to 75%.

2. Player Settlement Actions
Players may visit one of their cities as if it were a Settlement visit, as per the RPG rules. Resolve all settlement actions, shopping, events, etc. per normal rules.

“Card” Phase
Buildings and Player Actions/Events are limited to their Kingdom Cards.

1. Discard
A player may opt to discard a Kingdom Card.

2. Draw
If a player has fewer than 3 cards, that player draws a card from the card pool of his choice. For each 2 Reputation a player spends, reveal an extra card and choose which card to draw.