KINGDOM RULES
A kingdom’s Size reflects the complexity of its governance, its influence on other nations, and its access to resources. A kingdom’s Size also determines its Resource Die and other statistics. The actual total population of a kingdom is a function of its Size as well, but
population numbers do not have direct effect on these rules.
Size: The total number of hexes in the kingdom. When a kingdom’s Sizereaches 10, 25, 50, and 100, it gains
kingdom XP as a milestone award (page 538).
Type of Nation: These are sample placeholder names for the level of prominence of a kingdom, but feel free to adjust.
Resource Die: The type of Resource Die a kingdom rolls.
Control DC Modifier: As a kingdom increases in Size, it grows more
increases a kingdom’s base Control DC.
Commodity Storage: This number indicates the
maximum units of a specific Commodity that can be
stored in a kingdom. Building specialized structures
can increase this number on a per-Commodity basis.
RESOURCE DICE
A kingdom’s economy is based on the sum of the productive activity of its citizens, and that activity is reflected in a quantity of resources that the kingdom can tap into each month. These resources are
represented by Resource Points (see below) which are determined by Resource Dice, with the number of dice being equal to the nation’s level + 4. When a kingdom
is first founded, each Resource Die is a d4, but as the
kingdom advances in Size, its Resource Die increases to d6, d8, d10, or d12 (see the Kingdom Size table).
RESOURCE POINTS
A kingdom’s Resource Points (RP) represent a combination of the work of a kingdom’s citizens and the time spent on jobs, talent, labor, tools, and funds to
handle this toil. Resource points do not directly represent amounts of coins in a treasury, but rather an abstraction of the nation’s total amount of available funds to handle
tasks. Since luck and demand play a part in a kingdom’s
resources, the exact total of RP a kingdom will have
each turn varies; a new total of RP is rolled at the start
of each Kingdom turn (page 538) using Resource Dice.
Any RP not spent by the end of that turn convert to
kingdom XP at a rate of 1 RP to 1 XP.
Whenever the kingdom is forced to spend RP that
would drop it below 0, spend all the RP the kingdom
has and then increase a Ruin of the PCs’ choice by 1.
RUIN
As bad luck, natural disasters, unexpected shortages,
or even warfare damage a kingdom, it becomes
Ruined in one of four categories opposing the
kingdom’s four ability scores. Ruin rises and falls
as Kingdom turns progress, but if it rises too high,
it can cause lasting or even permanent harm to the
kingdom.
Culture
is opposed by Corruption, which represents
citizens falling to debauchery, delving into forbidden
lore, pursuing unethical research practices, or
destroying their own heritage and history.
Economy is opposed by Crime, which includes theft,
smuggling, and enterprises that suffocate prosperity.
Stability is opposed by Decay, representing physical
harm, neglect, or degradation of the kingdom, its
people, and its infrastructure.
Loyalty is opposed by Strife, which includes acts of
treachery, subterfuge, bribery, violence, abuse of power,
and infighting between groups.
Accruing Ruin: As Ruin accumulates, the categories
gain points. These point totals are persistent,
decreasing only in specific circumstances, but most
often when a Ruin’s point total exceeds that Ruin’s
threshold. Other events can reduce or increase a
Ruin’s point total as well—typically as the result of
kingdom activities or events.
Ruin Threshold:
Each Ruin has a threshold; a
point at which the penalties associated with that
Ruin increase. A Ruin’s initial threshold is 10, but
each threshold increases as the kingdom levels up and
becomes more able to withstand Ruin in all its forms.
Whenever a Ruin exceeds its threshold, reduce that
Ruin’s total points by an amount equal to its threshold,
and increase the Ruin’s penalty by 1.
Ruin Penalty: A Ruin penalty applies to all checks
using that Ruin’s associated ability score. For example,
if your kingdom has a Corruption penalty of –4, it
takes a –4 item penalty on all Culture checks.
Reducing Ruin Penalties: When a kingdom reaches
5th level, and then again every 3 levels thereafter, it
gains Ruin resistance (page 512 each time it does so, it
has the opportunity to reduce an existing Ruin penalty
to 0. This is an extremely effective way to manage a
Ruin penalty that’s crept particularly high, but it’s also
an extremely limited resource, as a kingdom will only
get, at most, 6 opportunities to adjust a Ruin penalty
in this way over the course of a campaign. The Repair
Reputation activity can reduce existing Ruin penalties
(page 521), although at a much slower rate. Other
activities or events can reduce Ruin penalties as well,
as detailed in the text for each. Finally, if circumstances
ever allow for a Ruin’s points to be reduced and
that particular Ruin is already at 0 points, instead
of reducing Ruin to a negative value you can instead
attempt a DC 16 flat check; on a success, reduce that
Ruin’s penalty by 1 to a minimum of 0.
UNREST
Unrest represents unhappiness among the kingdom’s
citizens, who show their lack of confidence in the
leadership by balking at edicts, refusing to follow
commands, and disrupting local economies through
boycotts, walkouts, and refusal to talk to emissaries.
Unrest is a persistent value that remains from turn to
turn and can be adjusted during Kingdom turns as
events play out.
Unrest 1: If a kingdom has at least 1 point of Unrest,
take a –1 status penalty to all kingdom checks.
Unrest 5: If a kingdom has 5 or more points of
Unrest, take a –2 status penalty to all kingdom checks.
Unrest 10: If a kingdom has 10 or more points of
Unrest, take a –3 status penalty to all kingdom checks.
Unrest 15: If a kingdom has 15 or more points of
Unrest, take a –4 status penalty to all kingdom checks.
EXPANDING A KINGDOM
A kingdom grows one hex at a time on the Stolen Lands
map, via Region activities like Claim Hex and Clear Hex.
The PCs can pursue these activities during the Activity
phase of each Kingdom turn (page 539).
Losing Hexes
It’s possible to lose control of a hex. When this happens,
the kingdom immediately loses any benefits from
terrain improvements in that hex, and all settlements in
that hex become Freeholds (page 536). Monsters may
move into an abandoned hex, increasing the chance
for random encounters, and if you wish to reclaim the
hex, you may need to clear it first of hostile creatures.
Each hex lost decreases a kingdom’s Size by 1. This
affects the kingdom’s statistics, such as the type of its
Resource Die.
If one or more hexes are lost in such a way that it
breaks the connection between parts of a kingdom,
so that all of the hexes are no longer contiguous with
other hexes of the kingdom, whatever portion of the
territory contains the capital becomes the primary
territory and the rest of the kingdom becomes its
secondary territory. All Kingdom skill checks made to
resolve issues associated with secondary territories take
a –4 circumstance penalty. When a kingdom starts a
turn with any number of secondary territories, increase
Unrest by 1. Once a secondary territory is connected to
the primary territory via at least one hex, it becomes
part of the primary territory.
If a kingdom is reduced to 0 hexes, whether through
Unrest, a disaster, war with another kingdom, or any
other effect, the PCs are at risk of having their rule
end. On their next Kingdom turn, they must claim
at least one new hex and establish or claim at least
one settlement, or their kingdom is considered totally
destroyed, and they must start over. In this case, you
should have the PCs undertake a new adventure of
your design to secure a new charter.
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS
Diplomatic relations refers to acts of leadership
that engage with other nations. In order to begin
diplomatic relations with another group, PCs must first
successfully Send a Diplomatic Envoy (see page 528)
to the target group. When they establish diplomatic
relations with a group, record the name of that group
on the kingdom sheet. Once the PCs have established
diplomatic relations with a group, they can use the
Establish Trade Agreement and Request Foreign Aid
Leadership activities.
TRADE AGREEMENTS
The PCs can bolster their kingdom’s economy by
Establishing Trade Agreements with other groups with
whom they have diplomatic relations. To do so, they
must first successfully perform the Establish Trade
Agreement activity (page 519). There is no need to
record the actual physical route of the Trade Agreement
on the map, nor does distance play a significant factor.
COMMODITIES
As a kingdom grows, it stockpiles resources beyond
those required for day-to-day life. These resources
are known as Commodities and are used to build
structures in settlements, to trade for RP using the
Trade Commodities activity, or to expend during
kingdom events.
The types of Commodities that are
available include Food, Lumber, Luxuries,
Ore, and Stone. As kingdoms accumulate or
expend these Commodities, track the numbers
on the kingdom sheet. Unless specialized
storage improvements have been built in
its settlements, a kingdom is limited to a
maximum number of stored Commodities in
each category as determined by its Size (see
the Kingdom Size table on page 532).
Commodities gathered in excess of this
storage limit are lost.
Each type of Commodity
can be gathered by special
activities as detailed below,
but Commodities can also be
discovered via kingdom events
or while exploring the Stolen
Lands, earned as rewards for
quests, purchased from allies via
Purchase Commodities (page
529), or acquired via Establishing Trade Agreements
(page 519).
Food stockpiles are expended to pay for
Consumption during the Upkeep phase of a Kingdom
turn (page 537), but also when faced with famines or
other disasters, and to keep armies fed during times of
war (as described in those events). Food is gathered
with Harvest Crops (page 522), Go Fishing (page 522),
or Gather Livestock (page 530).
Lumber is used to build structures during the Civic
Activities step of the Activity phase of a Kingdom turn,
and it is gathered from lumber camps built by Establish
Work Site (page 524).
Luxuries are used to build specialized structures
or are expended during certain encounters, generally
those with high stakes or magical effects. Luxuries
can be found during adventuring, created via Craft
Luxuries (page 522), or earned during certain events.
Ore is used to build structures. Ore is gathered from
mines built by Establish Work Site (page 524).
Stone is used to build structures and is gathered from
quarries built by Establish Work Site (page 524).
TERRAIN FEATURES
Many hexes have features that grant benefits once
claimed. In some cases, certain Region activities must
be taken before a hex’s benefits can be
enjoyed. These terrain features offer
unique opportunities for a kingdom to
add something special to its national
character and may improve one or
more of the kingdom’s statistics. Some hexes offer
one‑of-a-kind benefits which are fully described within
the adventure itself; more common terrain features are
presented here.
A single hex can contain only one terrain feature. If
you want to construct a feature in a hex that already
contains a feature, you must first Clear the Hex unless
otherwise specified in the text.
Bridge: A hex that contains an easy land route over
a river (be it a bridge or a ford) bypasses the normal
increase in RP cost to Build Roads (page 523) in that
hex. A Settlement can be built in a hex with a Bridge;
doing so allows that Settlement to start with a Bridge
structure on one water border.
Farmland: No Farmland hexes exist in the Stolen
Lands at the start of Kingmaker; they must be created
by the PCs via the Establish Farmland activity (page
522). Each Farmland hex reduces a kingdom’s
Consumption score by 1, provided the Farmland
lies in the area of influence (page 542) of one of its
settlements. Settlements cannot be built in a Farmland
hex. Some kingdom events can result in Farmland
being destroyed. When that happens, the hex loses its
Farmland status. To restore it, a PC must successfully
use the Establish Farmland activity on the hex during a
future Kingdom turn.
Freehold:
A Freehold is a special kind of Settlement
one that’s not part of your kingdom. It may be of any
size, from a village to a city. If you can convince the
locals that your leadership is worthy, they may choose
to join your nation and become your citizens. Bringing a
Freehold into a kingdom requires a successful Pledge of
Fealty leadership action. When a new settlement joins
a kingdom, immediately add that settlement and its
structures to the kingdom (as detailed in the encounter
text). The kingdom gains no XP for any improvements
already built there. Any future improvements built
there grant normal XP awards.
Landmark:
A Landmark is a site of great pride,
mystery, or wonder, such as an outcropping in the shape
of a human face, a supernaturally ancient tree, or a lake
with an unusual color. Adding Landmarks to a kingdom
inspires its artists and bolsters kingdom morale. When
the PCs add a Landmark hex to a kingdom, reduce
Unrest by 1d4, and until the end of your next Kingdom
turn, all Culture- and Economy‑based skill checks gain
a +2 circumstance bonus. When a kingdom claims
its first Landmark hex, it gains 40 kingdom XP as a
milestone award (page 538).
Refuge:
A Refuge is a place where people can shelter
in safety, such as a hidden valley, a cave system, an isle
in the middle of a river, or similar naturally defensible
location that can be used as a safe fallback point,
storage location, or even a guard post or prison. At the
GM’s option, creature lairs may function as potential
Refuges when claimed, provided the creatures that
dwell there are defeated or allied with. When you
claim a Refuge hex, reduce one of the kingdom’s Ruins
by 1, and until the end of your next Kingdom turn,
all Loyalty- and Stability-based skill checks gain a +2
circumstance bonus. When a kingdom claims its first
Refuge hex, it gains 40 kingdom XP as a milestone
award (page 538).
Resource: Any hex indicated as being a particularly
dense or lucrative source of Lumber, Ore, or Stone
makes for an excellent place to Establish a Work Site
(page 524). If the PCs Establish a Work Site in such a
hex that focuses on the appropriate type of Commodity
(as indicated in the encounter text), all Commodities
produced are doubled.
Ruins:
Ruins in a hex consist of a partially destroyed
structure, often one that has been claimed by bandits,
monsters, or other inhabitants. If you Claim and Clear
a hex with Ruins in it, you can thereafter use what
remains of the Ruins as the basis of an appropriate type
of Settlement structure (as indicated by the encounter
text), reducing the cost of that structure by half.
Settlement: A Settlement can be a village, town, city,
or metropolis; see Settlements starting on page 540 for
full details.
ACTIVITIES LISTED BY STEP
During a Kingdom turn, the party has the option to perform a
wide range of downtime activities. The specific activities vary
by Kingdom turn phase, as summarized below.
Upkeep Phase Step 1: Assign Leadership Roles
New Leadership (page 520)
Commerce Phase Step 1: Collect Taxes
Collect Taxes (page 530)
Commerce Phase Step 2: Approve Expenses
Improve Lifestyle (page 527)
Tap Treasury (page 528)
Commerce Phase Step 3: Tap Commodities
Trade Commodities (page 525)
Commerce Phase Step 4: Manage Trade Agreements
Manage Trade Agreements (page 529)
Activity Phase Step 1: Leadership Activities
Capital Investment (page 529)
Celebrate Holiday (page 524)
Clandestine Business (page 526)
Craft Luxuries (page 522)
Create a Masterpiece (page 522)
Creative Solution (page 527)
Establish Trade Agreement (page 519)
Focused Attention (page 520)
Hire Adventurers (page 524)
Infiltration (page 526)
Pledge of Fealty (page 520)
Prognostication (page 527)
Provide Care (page 523)
Purchase Commodities (page 529)
Quell Unrest (page 521)
Recruit Army (page 569)
Relocate Capital (page 525)
Repair Reputation (page 521)
Request Foreign Aid (page 528)
Rest and Relax (page 521)
Send Diplomatic Envoy (page 528)
Supernatural Solution (page 526)
Activity Phase Step 2: Region Activities
Abandon Hex (page 518)
Build Roads (page 523)
Claim Hex (page 518)
Clear Hex (page 518)
Establish Farmland (page 522)
Establish Settlement (page 519)
Establish Work Site (page 524)
Go Fishing (page 522)
Fortify Hex (page 523)
Gather Livestock (page 530)
Harvest Crops (page 522)
Irrigation (page 524)
Activity Phase Step 3: Civic Activities
Build Structure (page 518)
Demolish (page 523)
Activity Phase Step 4: Army Activities
See Appendix 3: Warfare
536
Structure:
If the PCs Clear a hex that contains a
Structure, they can automatically add that structure to
a settlement founded there, free of cost. Each specific
hex encounter area in this Adventure Path notes any
types of structure it contains, as appropriate.
Work Site: A Work Site generates commodities each
Kingdom turn once you establish it via Establish Work
Site (page 524). A Work Site established in a regular
hex generates 1 Lumber, 1 Stone, or 1 Ore, depending
on what type of site it is. Unlike most features, a
Work Site can be constructed in a hex that already
features a Resource, provided the Work Site is focused
on harvesting that specific Resource. A Work Site
established in a Resource hex doubles its Commodity
production to 2. Work Site Commodities accumulate
during the Upkeep phase of a Kingdom turn. Some
kingdom events can result in Work Sites being
destroyed. When that happens, the hex loses its Work
Site status; to restore it, you must successfully perform
the Establish Work Site activity on the hex during a
future Kingdom turn.
FAME AND INFAMY
Fame and Infamy represent a kingdom’s reputation
as it’s regarded by its neighbors. When the PCs create
their kingdom, they must decide if their kingdom aims
to become famous or infamous—the choice is largely
cosmetic but does impact where and how you gain
points in either. For example, some structures can grant
these points when built, but only if their Fame/Infamy
trait matches that of the kingdom.
Kingdoms initially have a maximum of 3 Fame/
Infamy points at any one time. These can be used in
one of two ways. Neither of these is an action, but the
entire party must agree to spend the point. All Fame/
Infamy points left unspent at the end of a Kingdom
turn are lost.
Spend 1 Fame/Infamy Point to reroll a Kingdom skill
check. You must use the second result. This is a fortune
effect (which means you can’t use more than 1 Fame/
Infamy point on a check).
Spend all your Fame/Infamy Points to stave off the
effects of anarchy or ruination. You can do this if a
kingdom’s Unrest would result in anarchy (in which
case your Unrest is instead set at 1 point below the
value at which anarchy occurs), or if an increase to a
Ruin would increase the ruin penalty (in which case
the Ruin is instead set at one point below the value at
which a ruin penalty would accrue).
Earning Fame or Infamy Points
You earn 1 Fame or Infamy point (as appropriate)
automatically at the start of each Kingdom turn. You
can earn additional points in the following ways.
Achieve a Critical Success: Whenever you roll a
critical success on a Kingdom skill check, gain 1 Fame/
Infamy point.
Build a Famous/Infamous Structure: Certain
settlement structures grant 1 Fame or Infamy point
when they are built. If your kingdom builds a structure
that opposes your Fame or Infamy, you lose 1 point.
Create a Masterpiece: Once per Kingdom turn, you
can attempt to Create a Masterpiece (page 522) to
potentially gain points, at the risk of losing points.
Undertake a Noteworthy Act: At the GM’s discretion,
a noteworthy act taken by a PC during play grants
an additional automatic Fame or Infamy point (as
appropriate) at the start of the next Kingdom turn.
RUNNING A KINGDOM
Running a kingdom plays out as Kingdom turns that
occur at the end of each in-game month. Each Kingdom
turn is divided into phases, and these phases are divided
into steps. The table on the previous page lists the
Kingdom activities available to use during each step.
UPKEEP PHASE
During the Upkeep phase, you adjust your kingdom’s
statistics based on activities you have taken during the
previous month. Remember that you earn 1 Fame or
Infamy point at the start of your turn.
Step 1: Assign Leadership Roles
To assign or change characters associated with
leadership roles, do so now using the New Leadership
kingdom activity (page 520). You can perform this
activity as often as you wish during this step.
Next, determine if any vacancy penalties apply (page
515). Any unassigned roles incur their vacancy penalties.
Also, if a character assigned to a leadership role hasn’t
spent the required week of downtime on that role (page
515) since the end of the last Kingdom turn, they must
either give up one of the three kingdom activities they
would perform during the Leadership Activities step
of the Activity phase of this Kingdom turn or apply
the vacancy penalty for their role until the start of the
next Kingdom turn. (NPCs cannot perform kingdom
activities, so in the unusual case that they were unable
to spend the required downtime—see Leadership Roles
BUILDING ARMIES
Building and maintaining armies dovetails with
the Kingdom turn, but these rules can be largely
skipped over during times of peace. During wars, a
fourth step—Army Activities—occurs at the end of the
Activity phase. Rules for armies and warfare begin
on page 566. on page 515—they must apply the vacancy penalty.) If
a leader was replaced between Kingdom turns due to
an unexpected vacancy, as long as a character currently
holds the role and any characters assigned to the role
collectively spent the required downtime, the vacancy
penalty does not apply.
Step 2:
Adjust Unrest
On your first Kingdom turn, your kingdom’s Unrest
score is 0; skip to the next step.
On all other turns, adjust your Unrest score: Increase
it by 1 for every settlement in your kingdom that’s
Overcrowded (page 543). If you are at war, increase it
by 1. Other ongoing events may have ongoing Unrest
adjustments as well; make them at this time.
After making all adjustments, if your kingdom’s
Unrest is 10 or higher, the kingdom gains 1d10 points
to its Ruins (page 533). Distribute these points in any
way you wish among the four Ruins. In addition,
attempt a DC 11 flat check. On a failure, one hex of
your kingdom is lost; the PCs choose which hex. See
Losing Hexes on page 534 for more information.
If your kingdom’s Unrest is 20 or higher, the entire
nation also falls into anarchy. While in anarchy, you
can only attempt Quell Unrest activities, and the results
of all kingdom checks are worsened one degree.
Step 3: Resource Collection
The exact amount of resources you have to draw upon
each Kingdom turn varies, as each month there are
countless unexpected boons and setbacks throughout
each citizen’s life that can impact how they can bolster
your national plans.
First, determine the number of Resource Dice you
are entitled to roll for the current Kingdom turn by
adding your kingdom level + 4 to any bonus dice or
penalty dice you gained from the previous turn. You
cannot have fewer than 0 Resource Dice.
Resource Dice = kingdom level + 4
+ bonus dice – penalty dice
Next, roll your Resource Dice to determine how
many Resource Points (RP) you have available during
this turn. Your RP is equal to the roll result. (RP
remaining at the end of your turn can be converted
into kingdom Experience Points.)
Finally, if you have any Work Sites established in your
kingdom, gather Commodities. You gain 1 Commodity
from each Work Site, or double that if the Work Site
is in a Resource hex. Any Commodities gathered in
excess of your storage capacity (page 532) are lost.
Step 4: Pay Consumption
Your settlements and armies require a certain amount
of provisions, supplies, and funding, as well as all the
basic necessities of life.
On your first Kingdom turn, your kingdom’s
Consumption score is 0; skip to the next step.
On all other turns, calculate your kingdom’s
Consumption score. This is the total of your
settlements’ Consumption scores (page 541) plus
your armies’ Consumption scores (page 569) minus
the number of Farmland hexes you have within
influence range of your settlements (page 535), plus
any modifiers from kingdom events.
Kingdom Consumption = settlement Consumption
total + army Consumption total – Farmland hexes
influenced by settlements + modifiers from
kingdom events
Spend Food Commodities equal to your kingdom’s
Consumption. If you can’t or choose not to spend this
Commodity cost, you can either spend 5 RP per point
of unpaid Consumption or increase Unrest by 1d4.
COMMERCE PHASE
The Commerce phase is when the kingdom generates
revenue or makes trade agreements.
Step 1: Collect Taxes
You can Collect Taxes (page 530) once per Kingdom
turn to attempt to bolster your Economy-based checks
for the remainder of the Kingdom turn. If you don’t
attempt to Collect Taxes, you can instead attempt a
DC 11 flat check; on a success, reduce Unrest by 1.
Step 2: Approve Expenses
You can draw upon the kingdom’s funds to enhance
the standard of living for its citizens by attempting
the Improve Lifestyle activity (page 527) or you can
attempt a withdrawal from the kingdom’s funds using
the Tap Treasury activity (page 528).
Step 3: Tap Commodities
If your kingdom has any stockpiles of Commodities, you
can attempt the Trade Commodities
activity (page 525) to bolster your
RP for the turn.
Step 4: Manage Trade Agreements
If you’ve established trade
agreements, you can use the
Manage Trade Agreements
activity (see page 529).
ACTIVITY PHASE
The Activity phase is when you
make proclamations on expanding
your kingdom, declare holidays,
and manage your territory and
settlements. It’s during this phase
that the bulk of your kingdom’s
growth occurs.
Step 1: Leadership Activities
If your kingdom’s capital has a Castle, Palace, or Town
Hall, each PC in a leadership role may attempt up to three
Leadership activities (these are listed on page 536). If your
capital has none of these structures, each PC can take no
more than two Leadership activities during this step.
Your party chooses the order you go in when
taking Leadership activities. Unless an activity states
otherwise, a leader cannot attempt the same Leadership
activity more than once per Kingdom turn.
Step 2: Region Activities
The PC leaders may now collectively attempt up to
three Region activities (listed on page 536). The players
decide who rolls any skill checks needed to resolve
these activities.
Step 3: Civic Activities
Your party may now attempt one Civic activity (listed
on page 536) for each of the kingdom’s settlements.
You determine the order in which these activities are
attempted and who rolls any skill checks.
EVENT PHASE
Events affect entire kingdom, single hexes, or a
settlement. Some are harmful, while some are beneficial.
Certain events continue for multiple turns, and only
come to an end once they’ve been properly handled by
the PCs or their kingdom.
Step 1: Check for a Random Event
Attempt a DC 16 flat check. On success, a random
kingdom event occurs (see Kingdom Events on page
553). If no random event occurs, the DC for this check
in the next Kingdom turn is reduced by 5. Once an
event occurs, the DC resets to 16.
Step 2: Event Resolution
Random events present opportunities to go forth
in exploration or encounter mode to deal with a
rampaging monster or the like; these are handled now.
In some chapters of the Kingmaker Adventure Path,
specific story events are introduced outside of Kingdom
turns; these are resolved when they occur.
Step 3: Apply Kingdom XP
The GM now awards any kingdom XP earned during
that turn. If the kingdom experienced a random event,
it receives 30 XP. The first Kingdom turn that your
kingdom spent 100 RP, gain 80 kingdom XP as a
milestone award (page 538).
In addition, any RP that remains unspent is now
converted to kingdom XP on a 1 to 1 ration, to a
maximum of 120 XP per Kingdom turn.
Step 4: Increase Kingdom Level
If your kingdom’s XP total is above 1,000, and your
kingdom isn’t at its maximum level (page 512), increase
your kingdom level by 1 and subtract 1,000 from your XP total. See Leveling Up Your Kingdom on page 511
for the full rules for leveling up.
GAINING KINGDOM EXPERIENCE
A kingdom gains experience (XP) by claiming hexes,
reaching milestones that occur during the course of
a campaign, enduring random kingdom events, or
converting surplus RP at the end of a Kingdom turn.
HEX CLAIM XP AWARDS
Each time a kingdom claims a hex, it earns 10 kingdom
XP. If this hex is lost at a later date, the kingdom does
not lose the XP earned from claiming it. Conversely, if
the kingdom reclaims a lost hex, it does not gain XP
from reclaiming it.
MILESTONE XP AWARDS
As the kingdom grows, the kingdom gains XP the first
time it reaches a milestone. These XP awards are given
only once, the first time each milestone is attained.
See the sidebar on page 538 for a list of Milestone XP
awards.
EVENT XP AWARDS
A kingdom earns 30 XP for experiencing a random
event or more for a Story event, regardless of the
event’s outcome.
SURPLUS RP XP AWARDS
Any RP remaining unspent at the end of a Kingdom
turn is converted into XP at a ratio of 1 to 1 (see Step
3: Apply Kingdom XP on page 539).
SETTLEMENTS
A ruler’s territory provides the canvas upon which they
can build a kingdom, but the true art of leadership
is displayed in how one establishes and develops the
settlements where citizens gather and live out their
lives. While individual citizens like trappers, hunters,
fishers, and farmers might dwell alone or with their
families in the outskirts of a settlement, the majority
of a kingdom’s people live within the villages, towns,
cities, and metropolises built for them.
THE URBAN GRID
The Urban Grid presents a simple graphical
representation of a settlement (see page 633 for an
example). The grid divides a settlement into 9 large
districts (blocks) arranged in a 3-by-3 square. Each
district itself comprises 4 individual neighborhoods
(lots) arranged in a 2-by-2 square. It is these
neighborhood lots in which you’ll build structures to
improve your settlement.
While the Urban Grid diagrams your settlement as a
square, this is simply an organizational abstraction—it
doesn’t mean that your settlements are literally square.
If it helps your sense of verisimilitude, feel free to cut
up the Urban Grid and arrange blocks of four lots in
any shape you wish. For a city hugging the shores of a
great bay, you could draw out the bay and simply paste
the blocks in a long row lining the coastline, or in any
other arrangement that suits your taste.
Though the Urban Grid depicts 9 blocks for each
settlement, the number of blocks in which you can
build is limited by the settlement’s category: a village
consists of only a single block (and can thus host a
maximum of only 4 lots of structures), while a city
can expand to all 9 blocks (and can host up to 36 lots
of structures). It’s even possible for your settlement
to become a metropolis, expanding to more than one
Urban Grid! (See Settlement Types on page 541 for
complete details of settlement categories.)
Urban Grid Borders
The four sides of the Urban Grid are where you record
the types of borders your settlement has.
Land Borders: By default, all of your settlement’s
borders are unremarkable transitions from urban to
hinterland—these are known as Land Borders.
You take a cumulative –1 item penalty on Trade
checks for each settlement in your kingdom that has no
Land Borders, unless it has at least one Water Border
with a Bridge (page 535).
Water Borders: When you place a settlement in
a hex that has lake, river, or swamp terrain, you can
locate it so that it has Water Borders. Water Borders
provide natural defenses to your settlement during
Warfare, and some structures can only be constructed
in lots adjacent to Water Borders. However, crossing
Water Borders that lack Bridges takes a long time (see
Navigating an Urban Grid below).
SETTLEMENT LEVEL
In the Pathfinder RPG, a settlement’s level is used
primarily to determine potential jobs on offer for
the Earn Income activity, and to determine what
level of items are commonly available for sale in
that community. For the purposes of Kingmaker, it’s
easiest to assume that a settlement created by the
PCs using these rules has a settlement level equal
to the number of blocks on the settlement’s Urban
Grid that are completely filled, but you should feel
free to adjust these levels as makes sense for their
campaign. The levels assigned to NPC settlements in
this book (such as Restov, Varnhold, and Pitax) have
been set as appropriate for the storyline and are not
determined by the number of full city blocks.
If a settlement has only Water Borders, it is on
an island; until you build at least one Bridge, that
settlement’s influence (page 542) is 0.
Walled Borders: Building Walls (page 553) on your
borders boosts your settlement’s defense in certain
events and in Warfare.
Navigating an Urban Grid
You can simulate travel in a settlement using the Urban
Grid to approximate distances. Since moving through
a settlement requires a character to follow twisting
roads, navigate crowds, or endure minor distractions
along the way, it takes 15 minutes to move from one
lot to an adjacent lot, or to cross a border (including
exiting the settlement). If the settlement has Paved
Streets (page 550), this travel time is reduced to 5
minutes. Crossing a Water Border that doesn’t have a
Bridge takes an hour.
SETTLEMENT TYPES
As your kingdom levels up and your settlements grow,
a settlement’s type can change, providing different
benefits and costs to your kingdom (see the table above
and the descriptions below).
Settlement
This indicates the type of settlement, with the
minimum kingdom level to support such a settlement
in parenthesis.
Village: Settlements start as villages, consisting of a
single block of 4 lots. When you Build a Structure (page
518) in a lot, you must select a lot in that block.
Town: Once your kingdom is 3rd level and you’ve
filled all four lots in your village, as long as your
settlement is not Overcrowded (page 543), the next
time you Build a Structure in a lot, you may choose a
lot in any block adjacent to your current block. As you
do so, your village becomes a town. A town consists
of 2 to 4 blocks of 4 lots each. The blocks must be
contiguous, but they need not be a square—they could
form a T, L, or S shape if you like. When your kingdom
gains its first town, gain 60 kingdom XP as a milestone
award (page 538).
City: Once your kingdom is 9th level and you’ve
filled in at least two lots in each of your town’s 4
blocks, if your settlement is not Overcrowded, you may
choose a lot anywhere on the Urban Grid when you
Build a Structure in a lot. The first time you do so, the
town transitions into a city. When your kingdom gains
its first city, gain 80 kingdom XP as a milestone award.
Metropolis: When your kingdom reaches 15th level
and you have filled at least two lots on each block in
your city, if your settlement is not Overcrowded, you
may expand into a metropolis by adding a second
Urban Grid. (You may instead continue filling in the
remaining lots and remain a city.) At this point, you can
place new structures into any lot you wish in the newly
added Urban Grid. You can add additional Urban Grids
each time you have built at least two lots of structures
in every available block and are not Overcrowded, but
there are no further settlement types beyond metropolis
to achieve. When your kingdom gains its first metropolis,
gain 120 kingdom XP as a milestone award.
Size
This indicates the maximum number of blocks the
settlement can occupy in an Urban Grid.
Population
A settlement’s exact population is intentionally left
abstract, but if you wish to estimate the numbers,
you can use the values here as guidelines. Population
density increases as a Settlement grows. In a village,
each completed lot has an average population of 100
people or less. A town’s average population increases
to 125 people per completed lot, whereas a city’s
average population per lot increases to around 700.
A metropolis can have an average population per
completed lot of 1,000 people or more.
Level
The settlement’s level generally falls within the range
listed here, and is always equal to the number of blocks
that have at least one structure (to a maximum of
20). A settlement level is separate from the kingdom
level and is primarily used to determine potential jobs
in the settlement (Pathfinder Core Rulebook 504). A
settlement’s level also suggests what sort of magic items
might be commonly available for purchase at shops or
the market (subject to GM adjudication).
Consumption
Consumption is a numerical value that indicates the
Food commodities the settlement requires in order to remain viable and functional. The number given here
shows the settlement’s base consumption; specific
structures in the settlements can increase or decrease
its Consumption
SETTLEMENT TYPES
Settlement Size Population Level Consumption Max. Item Bonus Influence
Village (1st) 1 block 400 or less 1 1 +1 0
Town (3rd) 4 blocks 401–2,000 2–4 2 +1 1 hex
City (9th) 9 blocks 2,001–25,000 5–9 4 +2 2 hexes
Metropolis (15th) 10+ blocks 25,001+ 10+ 6 +3 3 hexes
Maximum Item Bonus
Many structures within a settlement grant an item
bonus to specific kingdom activities. Normally,
item bonuses do not stack, but if you build multiple
structures of the same type in the same settlement, their
item bonuses stack up to this limit. In a case where two
settlements have overlapping influences from identical
structures, only the higher item bonus from a single
settlement’s structures applies.
Influence
A settlement’s influence area is the area around a
settlement where meaningful economic and productive
activity can occur, as well as where the settlement’s
beneficial effects extend. The numeric value indicates the
number of hexes that the settlement’s influence extends.
Thus, a village only influences the hex it’s located in,
while a town influences all adjacent hexes. If a settlement
has only Water Borders and no Bridges, that settlement’s
influence is 0 regardless of its settlement type.
Certain activities and the impact of some kingdom
events are limited to a settlement’s influence. Structures
in a settlement that provide a specific item bonus
do so to all of the claimed hexes influenced by their
settlement. (Structures in your capital city provide that
bonus to all of the kingdom’s claimed hexes, regardless
of the capital’s influence.)
Hexes not claimed by your kingdom
are never part of your settlements’
influence areas, even if they are
within the distance noted above.
A hex can be influenced by
multiple settlements.
FOUNDING A VILLAGE
Your kingdom’s first settlement
is automatically founded in Step
8 of Kingdom Creation (see page
511). You can found new settlements
and expand on existing settlements
during the Civic Activities step of
the Activity phase of the Kingdom
turn (page 539).
When you found a village,
follow the four steps presented
below to get started.
Step 1: Select a Hex
Select a Claimed Hex in your kingdom that doesn’t
already have a settlement as the site for your new
settlement. Work with your GM to select the specific
location of your settlement within the hex. If it contains
lake, river, or swamp terrain, take into consideration
the number of Water Borders (page 540) you have in
mind for your settlement.
Step 2: Establish your Village
You must first Clear the Hex (page 518) to prepare it for
your village. Since Clear Hex is a Region activity that
can only happen during Step 2 of the activity phase of a
Kingdom turn, and Establish Settlement is a Leadership
activity that can only happen during Step 1, you have
to wait until the Kingdom turn after you Clear the Hex
to actually found the settlement. This simulates the time
that it takes to prepare, such as setting up temporary
quarters or tent cities, digging sanitation trenches,
gathering materials, and managing all the other small
tasks to get things ready to build.
If your hex contains lake, river, or swamp terrain,
you may choose which of its borders are Land Borders
and which are Water Borders (see Urban Grid Borders
on page 540). On the Urban Grid, check the “Water”
box next to as many of its borders as you like; you
cannot change this decision later.
If your hex contains Ruins or a Structure, you can
incorporate that building into your settlement at a reduced
cost (for Ruins) or for free (for Structures). The exact
type of structure is indicated in that hex’s encounter text
in Chapter 2—the GM has full information about these
structures and ruins and how they can impact settlements.
Step 3: Name Your Village
Each settlement needs a name. Some leaders name
settlements after themselves or their families, but the
name can be anything suitable for the campaign and
agreeable to the PCs.
Step 4: Start Building!
Your brand new village is now ready to grow! A village
must fill a single block of 4 lots before it can expand,
so select one block on the Urban Grid for your village’s
development. Each Kingdom turn, during the Civic
Activities step of its Activity phase (page 539), your
settlement has one Civic activity, which can be used to
Build Structures (page 518).
STRUCTURES
You build structures using the Build Structure activity
during the Civic Activities step of the Activity phase of
the Kingdom turn.
When you build in a lot within one of your settlements,
you’re rarely literally constructing a single building. While
an arena or cathedral might stand alone as a towering
edifice, most lots represent a number of buildings whose
focus is to support the type of improvement that lot
supports. For example, a brewery could represent a
collection of brewers and bottlers and the families who
support them, while a luxury merchant would represent
several specialized stores. Even sprawling, sizable
improvements like dumps, cemeteries, or parks might
include nearby dwellings or cottages for those who tend
and manage the area or live along its margins.
Residential Lots and Overcrowding: While almost
every structure presumably includes a small amount of
lodging, you need to build Residential lots in order to give
your citizens enough places to live. You do so by building
a structure that has the Residential trait in a chosen lot.
Settlements require a number of Residential lots equal
to the number of blocks that have any structures built
within them, although these residential lots need not
be located one per block. For example, when a village
expands to a town, it initially occupies 2 blocks. It needs 2
Residential lots in total among those 2 blocks, either both
in one block or one in each block. A settlement without
this minimum number of Residential lots is Overcrowded
(mark the “Overcrowded” box on your Urban Grid) and
generates 1 Unrest for the kingdom during the Upkeep
phase of each Kingdom turn (page 538).
Reduced to Rubble: It’s possible for structures in a
settlement to be reduced to rubble by a failed attempt
to Demolish a structure (page 523) or a poor result
from a kingdom event. When a structure is reduced
to rubble, replace the lots the structure once occupied
on the Urban Grid with rubble (page 550). Having
rubble in a lot doesn’t itself impact a kingdom’s Unrest
or other statistics negatively, but it does prevent you
from building in those lots. You must Demolish that
lot before you can build there again. When a single lot
that contains part of a multi-lot structure is reduced to
rubble, each of the lots that contained that structure
are replaced with individual lots of rubble.
Structure Descriptions
Structures are described in the following format.
STRUCTURE NAME LEVEL
A structure’s level indicates the minimum kingdom level
required to build it. Each structure has traits that convey
its properties. The Building trait indicates the structure is a
collection of indoor sites, while the Yard trait indicates the
structure is primarily an outdoor site. Infrastructure indicates
that the structure benefits all lots in an Urban Grid without
occupying a lot. (For a metropolis, this means you’ll need
to build Infrastructure separately for each Urban Grid that
makes up the settlement.) The Edifice trait grants its benefits
to a settlement only once; if you build that structure an
additional time in the same settlement, it’s purely cosmetic.
A Residential structure helps house the settlement’s citizens;
a settlement requires at least one Residential lot per block to
avoid being Overcrowded. The Famous trait increases your
Fame score when the structure is built, while the Infamous
trait does the same for your Infamy score. Some structures
have both Famous and Infamous traits; in this case apply
the one that matches your kingdom’s preference (see page
537 for more details on Fame and Infamy). A short textual
description rounds out the top of the structure stat block.
Lots The number of contiguous lots that the structure
occupies on the Urban Grid; Cost The cost in RP and
Commodities (if any) you must spend before attempting
the Build Structure check.
Construction This entry lists the required skill, proficiency
rank, and DC for the Build Structure check.
Upgrade From/Upgrade To Some structures can be upgraded
into a more advanced form of the existing structure, such as
upgrading a Shrine into a Temple. If you upgrade a structure,
subtract the RP and Commodity cost used to build the
original structure from the cost of the new structure. When
the new structure is complete, its effects replace those of
the previous structure. You can’t upgrade a structure to one
that occupies more lots if there isn’t space in the block for
the new structure’s size. (You do not need to build the lesser
form of a structure before you build the advanced form.)
Item Bonus
This entry indicates any item bonuses the
structure grants to specific activities made within the
settlement’s influence—or within the borders of your
kingdom if the settlement is your capital. These bonuses
are item bonuses, but they stack with those granted by
identical structures within the same settlement, up to that
settlement’s maximum item bonus (page 541).
Ruin Some structures negatively impact society. If this structure
does so, it will increase one or more of your kingdom’s Ruins
when constructed; this increase only happens once, when
the structure is built. Increases to Ruin in this way aren’t
removed if the structure is later demolished.
Effects All additional game effects the structure grants to
your kingdom are listed here. In many cases, these effects
grant item bonuses to PCs while they are in the settlement,
but unlike those granted by the Item Bonus above, item
bonuses found in this section of the stat block do not stack
with other item bonuses. Unless stated otherwise, effects
in this section apply only within this settlement; they
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