Each player will control a Ruler who governs a Realm. The Ruler is an individual character, controlled by the player, and the Realm is the total area that player controls. A Realm may be an enduring culture of peoples and ideals, but the Ruler can die. Should this happen, the player still controls their Realm and a new character steps in to govern as Ruler.

Starting Setup

Each player other than the GM, starts with the following:

👑 1 Ruler

🏔️ 1 Region

🌲Values of 1, 2 and 3 to distribute across the 3 Attributes present in their Region (Industry, Agriculture, Commerce) as they choose. Alternatively, they may choose to have 2,2,2 across all 3 Attributes.

🛖 2 Minor Settlements

🏰 1 Major Settlement

This is the Standard Setup, and is the default size of any player Realm. When creating GM controlled Realms, the GM may choose to provide those Realms with more Regions, more Settlements and higher Attributes.

Creating your Ruler

Your Ruler is both their own character, and the avatar through which you as a player act during the game. It is important to remember that what you know as a player, and what your Ruler knows, may be quite different. To the best of your ability, take actions in the game according to what your Ruler would do, based on their own personality and what they know.

• What is their name?

• What are their values?

• What motivates them?

• What do they fear?

• Who do they love?

• Who do they hate?

Ruler age

Roll 10d6+5 and add the results together to determine your Ruler’s age. This has a range of 15-65, with the most likely age of your Ruler being 45. Remember, every 4 Turns in Rulers counts as one year, so don’t forget to celebrate those birthdays. At age 100 your Ruler will die of old age.

Family and Heir

Decide upon a few family members for your Ruler, and which one of them is your heir in the event of your Ruler’s demise. Alternatively, decided on a different method for choosing an heir other than bloodline, and create a few characters who could replace your Ruler after their death.

Establishing your Realm

At the start of play with the standard setup, a player Ruler governs 1 Region, which has a value for each of its Attributes: Industry, Agriculture, Commerce. Choose how to distribute the following values between your Region’s Attributes: 1, 2 and 3.

For each Attribute, choose which of the 4 Locations they reside at within your Region. Each Location can only hold one Attribute. The Locations of Regions you control are abstract concepts that you can define as you wish. They might be mountain ranges or valleys, underground caverns or differing islands within a large lake. If you’re not sure how to define these Locations, you may call them North, South, East and West.

Your Realm also begins play with 2 Minor Settlements and 1 Major Settlement. For all three Settlements, choose which of the 4 Locations they reside at in the Region you control. Settlements may share their Location with an Attribute, and this may be a defining characteristic of that settlement.

This process may leave one Location in your starting Region empty, or leave two locations with either a Settlement or an Attribute but not both.

Now it is time to name your Realm, its Region and its Settlements.

Defining your culture

Your Realm can be filled with its own people, foods, music, and arts. Your culture is for you to define, and how that culture represents itself in every Settlement, Army and Resource is ongoing exercise in worldbuilding.

Here are a few questions to help start your Realm:

• Who are your people?

• What is notable about your culture?

• What do your Settlements look like?

• What do your Armies look like?

• What does Food mean to you?

• What does Wealth look like for you?

• What is your greatest source of your Influence?

• What is a notable natural landmark in your Realm’s starting Region?