Blood Royale
Power is Wealth – Wealth is PowerDesigned by Derek Carver
Published by Games Workshop, 1987
Game No. 002243
What it’s about
“Blood Royale is a game of treachery, double-dealing, power-politics, dynastic aggrandizement and open warfare, set in the world of 14 th century Europe. It is a strategic-level political "wargame", with a high-level of player interaction, and almost unlimited scope for co-operation and deception, alliances and treachery. It is also similar to conventional board games, whereby players can pursue objectives based on trade, finance and planning. Since the game is played out with individual characters, it is even a game of roleplaying with each player representing the abstract concept of a Royal Dynasty.Each player’s object is to increase the power of his realm and his exchequer, and to secure his Dynastic line. This is done by trade, military adventuring and by arranging marriages for his children.”
Components
1 8½” x 11½” x 3” Detergent Box1 24-page 8”x11” Rules booklet
14-page 8”x11” Rules Summary booklet
13”x4” pad of Marriage Certificate forms (approximately 100 sheets)
13” x 4” pad of Individual Characteristics character sheets (approx. 100 sheets)
12” x 4” pad of 100 Crown Bearer Bonds (approx. 50 sheets)
18” x 11” sheet advertising Blood Royale miniatures (and rules for their use) from Games Workshop
64 1½” x 2½” Event Cards
30 plastic shields (6 per country)
60 full colour shield stickers
1 21½”x23½” mounted 6-piece map 4 dice: 1d10 and 3d6
5 2cm x 4cm diecut single-sided Capital Counters (1 each for Germany [red], Italy [purple], Spain [gold], France [blue] and England [green])
20 2cm x 3cm diecut single-sided Fleet Counters (4 per country)
248 2cm x 2cm diecut single-sided counters
100 Army counters (20 per country)
5 Flag counter (1 per country)
25 Control counters (5 per country)
1 Year turn counter
15 Cloth Resource counters (11 with blue, 4 with black, background*)
15 Food Resource counters (11 with yellow, 4 with black, background)
15 Metal Resource counters (11 with yellow, 4 with black, background)
10 Semi-Luxury Resource counters (8 with yellow, 2 with black, background)
5 Luxury Resource counters (4 with yellow, 1 with black, background)
15 Neutral Province counters
10 Neutral Army counters
2 Mercenary Captain counters 1 8 Rebellion counters 1 2 Famine counters
96 plastic coins: 4 x 50 Crown silver coins 12 x 25 Crown silver coins 16 x 10 Crown silver coins 24 x 5 Crown bronze coins 16 x 3 Crown bronze coins 24 x 1 Crown bronze coins
* There is no indication in the rules why some counters have black backgrounds
Event Card Manifest
01 Rebellion02 Pope Claims Supremacy
03 Free Companies
04 Hanseatic League Formed
05 Italian Civil War
06 Jacquerie Peasants’ Uprising in France
07 Peasants’ Uprising in England
08 Dynastic Split in Spain
09 War with the Scots
10 War with the Welsh
11 War with the Swabians
12 War with the Burgundians
13 War with Aragon
14 War with the Moors
15 German Cities Demand Trade Powers
16 Rebellion
17 Rebellion
18 Italian Pretender!
19 Spanish Pretender!
20 German Pretender!
21 English Pretender!
22 French Pretender!
23 Plague!
24 Plague!
25 Famine!
26 Famine!
27 Famine!
28 Famine!
29 Famine!
30 Portugal Offers Hand of Heir
31 Denmark Looks for Bride for Heir
32 Aragon Offers Hand of Daughter
33 Poland Looks for Bride for Son
34 Rebellion
35 Rebellion
36 Rebellion
37 Rebellion
38 Bastard
39 Bastard
40 Rebellion
41 Rebellion
42 Baron Demands to Marry in Royal Family
43 Baron Demands to Marry in Royal Family
44 Baron Demands to Marry in Royal Family
45 Prince Demands Title
46 Prince Demands Title
47 Prince Demands Title
48 Baron Offers Daughter’s Hand
49 Baron Offers Daughter’s Hand
50 Baron Offers Daughter’s Hand
51 Albigensian Crusade
52 Famous Mercenary Captain Offers Services
53 Famous Mercenary Captain Offers Services
54 Rebellion
55 Rebellion
56 Trade Boom
57 Trade Boom
58 Trade Boom
59 Trade Boom
60 Trade Boom
61 Crusade!
62 Opportunity to Found New University
63 Opportunity to Found New University
Blank
Player’s Value
Blood Royale is an intriguing game. In play it is reminiscent of Kingmaker, Empires of the Middle Ages and designer Derek Carver’s own Warrior Knights. A typical turn consists of diplomatic overtures, strategic marriages and matings, trade and limited military campaigns. The winner of the game is whoever holds the most money at the end, not necessarily he who holds the thrones (although, obviously, all three are firmly linked).For fans of medieval strategy games, Blood Royale offers quite a bit. By concentrating on the fortunes of the great royal dynasties of 14th century Europe, the game allows players to experience a few of the decisions faced by the rulers of that time. Diplomatic ties, strategic marriages and trade treaties are at least as important to a kingdom’s survival and success as military might.
However, one of the complaints about this game, is its length and its open-ended nature. Since military campaigns are difficult to mount and expensive to prosecute, few kingdoms will ever be defeated completely. So each player will be around for each turn. This results in long turns where each player spends several minutes at the beginning of his turn checking on the arrival and health of heirs, survival of each member of his dynasty and collecting taxes. The rules of the game even mention that turns typically last 20 to 30 minutes each, and that the players should decide how many turns the game will last.
Collector’s Value
In the 1980’s and early 1990’s, Games Workshop was known for putting out games with remarkable components. Detailed plastic figures, full-color cards and thick, sturdy counters were the hallmarks of GW titles long before the current Eurogame wave. However, once GW decided to focus its efforts on their cash cow, Warhammer, their production of individual board games, unfortunately, dwindled to nothing.Today, the bulk of the GW line of games is quite collectible. Titles on eBay are often sold for $50 - $75, and Blood Royale usually falls squarely into this range. Boone lists low, high and average prices of 12/91/42.80 at auction and 11/ 50/36.20 for sale.
Other games of this type
Games about the struggles between the different families, religions and kingdoms of Medieval Europe have traditionally been fairly popular. Some of the better known are:Warrior Knights (GW); Empires of the Middle Ages and A Mighty Fortress (SPI); Kingmaker and Age of Renaissance (AH); Europa Universalis(AWE); Jihad (SimCan).
Other games by the designer
Showbiz and New World (AH); Dr. Who and Warrior Knights (GW);Whirlwind (FASA).Articles about this game
An article and a review in Space Gamer Issue 82.The following article from White Dwarf Issue 93 by Paul Cockburn and Jervis Johnson.
Bounden To The See Of Rome Religion in Blood Royale By Paul Cockburn & Jervis Johnson
[H]ere are some rules for adding the Church, the Papacy. and a lot more scope to your game…
Setting Up
At the start of the game, one player should make up a character sheet for a ‘Pope’ character born in 1250. The Pope is not controlled by any player at the start of the game. In addition, each player receives a ‘Cardinal’ character (assumed to be the Uncle of the King) born in 1365, with Strength and Charisma scores of 0 and a Constitution of +2. See below for rules on Cardinals. The players will need to prepare a deck of Vote Cards for use if a Conclave is held. Use an ordinary pick of playing cards and sort out 3 ‘fives’, 2 ‘tens’ and one ace from the deck, representing 5, 10, and 15 point Votes respectively.1 . The Clergy
When a male character reaches the age of 15, the controlling player may decide to have him join the clergy. Older characters may also join the clergy, as long as they are not married. This should be recorded by writing a C next to the Prince number space on the character sheet. Characters who have joined the clergy may not marry, and do not receive a Prince piece when they reach the age of 20 (if they already have a Prince piece, it should be removed from the board). Any titles they may have are retained and the character still modifies rebellion rolls, taxation, and so on for the Province that goes with the title. Neither the King, his eldest son or his son’s eldest son may join the clergy. A character in the clergy may not become king and must be passed over. There is no penalty for passing over a character in this way. Any character, as long as he is not the Pope, may renounce the clergy and return to being a ‘normal’ character at any time. Characters who have renounced the clergy may rejoin later.i. Bishops
A male character in the clergy may be made / into a Bishop during the Marriages part of the Dynastic Sequence. The player controlling the character pays 30 crowns to the Papal Treasury to make the character into a Bishop, and can then record the fact in the Titles space on the character sheet. In the taxation part of the Interphase, each Bishop receives 5 crowns (plus or minus the character’s Charisma) which may be added to the controlling player’s treasury.
ii. Cardinals
To become a Cardinal, a character must already be a Bishop and must be at least 30 years old. Cardinals are appointed by the Pope in the Marriage part of the Dynastic Sequence. If the pope is controlled by a player, that player decides which eligible characters become Cardinals. If the Pope is not controlled by a player, use the following procedure to find out if a character becomes a
Cardinal:
1. All the players should record which of their characters they nominate to become a Cardinal. This information should be written on a piece of scrap paper and revealed simultaneously.2. Players must roll two six-sided dice for each character they have nominated, and need a 10 or greater to succeed. This dice roll can he modified by +1 or -1 by each Bishop who was not nominated that turn, and by each Cardinal. Any player can influence the dice roll, but for each character whose influence is used they must pay 5 crowns to the Papal Treasury before the dice are rolled.
3. If the player succeeds with the dice roll, the nominated character becomes a Cardinal, which should be recorded on the title space of the character sheet. In the taxation part of the Interphase, each Cardinal receives 5 crowns (plus or minus the character’s Charisma) which may be added to the controlling player’s treasury.
2. The See of Rome i. The Papal Treasury Money given to the Papal Treasury should be recorded on a piece of scrap paper. The total is not secret, and any player may look at it at any time. In addition to money received from the players for Bishops and Cardinals, the Pope receives 2 crowns from every Province on the board during the Taxation part of the Interphase (unless the player controlling the Province decides to keep the money for himself; see 4. Heresy!). After taxes have been collected, one player should roll a six-sided die and multiply the score by 10. This total is then subtracted from the Papal Treasury (to a minimum of 0) to represent the expenses incurred in running the Papacy (those missionaries cost money, you know!).
ii. The Pope
The Pope is treated just like any other character, except he may not marry or be given titles. The Papacy never controls any territory, and may never trade. When the Pope dies, a Conclave must be held to elect the new Pope, which may result in the Pope being a character controlled by one of the players. Such Popes are known as Controlled Popes. Controlled Popes obey all of the rules that apply to normal Popes. In addition, they must renounce any and all titles they hold. A player who has a Controlled Pope can do any of the following in the Marriages part of the Dynastic Sequence:
· The Controlled Pope may decide which eligible characters become Cardinals.
· A Controlled Pope can refuse to ratify a coronation. Until the new monarch pays 50 crowns to the Papal Treasury, he suffers a -1 penalty to his Charisma.
· A Controlled Pope can refuse to ratify a marriage if one of the characters getting married has been married before. The marriage cannot take place (and the marriage contract will not come into effect) until the marriage is ratified.
· A Controlled Pope can allow characters with the same Dynastic name to marry, with the exception that children may not marry either of their parents, grand children may not marry their grandparents, and brothers and sisters may not marry each other. Both characters in such a marriage suffer a -1 modifier to their Charisma, and any children they may have suffer a -1 modifier to their Constitution.
Ignore the Crusade event card while there is a Controlled Pope. Instead, the Controlled Pope may call a Crusade as and when he wishes. If a Controlled Pope calls a Crusade, he may not call another for at least 10 years. The Crusade works in exactly the same way as the Crusade on the Event Card.
iii. The Conclave
When a Pope dies, a Conclave must he held immediately to elect the new Pope. Use the following procedure:
1. Each player may nominate one Cardinal character he controls who is at least 40 years old to be the new Pope. In addition a ‘non-player’ Cardinal character sheet should be drawn up, rolling characteristics as normal. This character will be 45 years old.
2. The players may bid for either the 10 or 15 vote cards. Each player should record which card he is bidding for (either 10 or 15) and how much he is bidding on a piece of scrap paper. Reveal the choices simultaneously. Players may only make one bid each, but do not have to bid if they do not want to. The player who bids the most for the 15 vote card receives it, and the two players who bid the most for the 10 vote cards receive one each. In the case of a tie, roll a die to see who gets the card. Any cards which were not bid for and the three 5 vote cards are arranged in a stack, with the highest value card on the top and the lowest value card on the bottom.
3. The players must now decide the order of popularity of the nominated candidates. Roll a six-sided die for each candidate and add his Charisma. The character with the highest score is the most popular candidate, the character with the second highest score the second most popular and so on. In the case of a tie, decide randomly which character is more popular.
4. Each player who bought a vote card must now allocate it to a character. Each player also receives one vote for each Cardinal he controls who has not been nominated. The choices should be recorded on a piece of scrap paper, and revealed simultaneously. Any vote cards which were not bought should be dealt out, one per candidate, in the order of popularity. If any cards are left over once all characters have received one card, deal a second card to each character, starting with the most popular, and so on until there are no vote cards left.
5. Count up the Votes each character has received. If one character has over 50% of the total votes, he has won and is elected Pope. If not go to 6.
6. The character with the least number of votes must drop out. In the case of a tie, decide randomly which character drops out. Any ‘bought’ vote cards allocated to a character who drops out should be re- allocated by the player who bought them, as can any votes from players’ Cardinals. Any other vote cards should be distributed to the most popular remaining candidates, as in 4. Return to 5.
3. Get Thee to a Nunnery
i. The NunneryPlayers controlling female characters who are not married and never have been, must despatch them to a nunnery when they reach the age of 35. At the end of the Marriages part of the Dynastic Sequence, any such characters are sent to the nunnery, and the controlling player must pay 50 crowns the Papal Treasury. All rules that apply to male characters in the clergy also apply to female characters in a nunnery, except that female characters may never become Bishops or Cardinals.
ii. Mother Superiors
A female character in a nunnery who is at least 40 years old may be made into a Mother Superior during the Marriages part of the Dynastic Sequence. The player controlling the character pays 20 crowns to the Papal Treasury to make the character into a Mother Superior, and can then record the fact in the Titles space on the character sheet. In the taxation part of the Interphase, each Mother Superior receives 5 crowns (plus or minus the character’s Charisma) which may be added to the controlling player’s treasury.
4. Heresy!
i. TaxationAny player may decide to keep the church’s taxes for a Province they control for the Crown. The instant they do so they will be declared Heretic by the Pope (even a Controlled Pope). All characters in a Dynasty belonging to the heretical player suffer a -1 modifier to their Charisma. In addition, the Pope must fund any non-heretical player who fights at least one round of combat with the heretical player and does not retreat, by paying them 5 crowns from the Papal Treasury per Army counter that took part in the combat. As soon as a player repays to the Papal Treasury all the Church taxes he has taken, he stops being a heretic.
ii. Schism
At any time during the game, two players may jointly declare a schism and set up an antipope. The anti-pope may be any Cardinal character controlled by either of the players. There may only ever be one anti-pope at any one time. As soon as a schism is declared, all players must back either the Pope or antipope. A player with a Controlled Pope must back him, and the players who started the schism must back the anti-pope. All other players have a free choice. During a schism, characters from a dynasty backing one side cannot marry characters from a dynasty backing the other. Players may not decide to ‘change sides’ during the schism. As long as the schism lasts there are, in effect, two papacies running side by side. All the rules above still apply for the Pope and the antipope, with the following amendments:
1.i Bishops. Players backing the anti-pope pay the 30 crowns to the anti-pope’s treasury. 1. ii Cardinals. Players backing the anti-pope have Cardinals appointed by him, and pay any money for so doing to his treasury.
2. i Papal Treasury. The anti-pope has his own Papal Treasury. The Pope and anti-pope receive Church taxes only from Provinces controlled by players who are backing them. In addition, both Popes only receive 1 crown per province instead of 2. A separate papacy expenses roll should be made for each.
2. ii The Pope. The Pope & anti-pope may only affect characters controlled by players who are backing them. Neither Pope may call a crusade.
2. iii The Conclave. If either Pope dies, a conclave is held but only those players backing the deceased may take part. 3. i The Nunnery. Players backing the anti-pope pay the 50 crowns to the anti-pope’s treasury.
3. ii Mother Superiors. Players backing the anti-pope pay the 20 crowns to the anti-pope’s treasury.
4. i Taxation. Players who withhold church taxes only receive 1 crown per province. The Pope or anti-pope will only fund attacks by players who are backing them. The schism will not end until a Controlled Pope or antipope concedes defeat and declares the schism over
. The treasury of the defeated pope or anti-pope is lost, and all the clergy belonging to players that backed him become ‘normal’ characters. In addition, each player who backed the defeated Pope or anti-pope must pay 50 crowns to the Papal Treasury of the winning side of the schism. Play then returns to normal.
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