Medieval Conspiracy

Medieval Conspiracy Rulebook

Table of Contents

2.0 Game Components
- 2.1 Inventory
- 2.2 Mapboard
3.0 Important Game Concepts
4.0 Setting up the Game
5.0 Sequence of a Turn
6.0 Income Phase
- 6.1 Trade Routes
- 6.2 Wealth
7.0 Event Cards Phase
8.0 Fate Phase
9.0 Movement Phase
10.0 Action Cards Phase
11.0 Turn End Phase
12.0 Victory Conditions
- 12.1 Election of a new Emperor
13.0 Optional Rules
14.0 Appendix

2.0 Game Components

2.1 Inventory

2 Counter Sheets and 2 sticker sheets for 352 wooden blocks consisting of:

Family / Control markers (members of the family) in 6 colors: 23 pieces per color
Mercenaries in 6 colors: 15 pieces per color
Knights in 6 colors: 10 pieces per color

Attention, player gray has 9 Knights and 16 Mercenaries!

Electoral Vote markers in 6 colors: 4 pieces per color
Monastery: 8 pieces
Relic: 8 pieces
Castle: 16 pieces
Reichsstadt (means city of the Reich): 9 pieces
Marker for Income- and Master Tracks in 6 colors: 4 per color
Hit Markers: 23 pieces
Hit Markers Knights: 10 pieces
Captured Markers Knights: 8 pieces
Glory Points Markers: 12 pieces
Money Markers (in Ducats pieces): 98

In detail:

18 x 10 Ducats
18 x 20 Ducats
16 x 50 Ducats
16 x 100 Ducats
16 x 200 Ducats
14 x 500 Ducats

Other components:

Ziplock bags
4 Dice
64 Action cards
38 Event cards
7 Electorate cards
49 Fiefdom cards
3 Master cards
1 Mounted Mapboard
1 Rule Book
1 Active Player Marker (wooden figure)
1 Itinerant Preacher (wooden figure)
1 Combat Chart
352 wooden Blocks

The components are a fixed limit by design. Players should not add any additional components.

2.2 Mapboard

The mapboard depicts the German part of the Holy Roman Empire and its immediate neighbors around the 12th Century. The empire is divided into smaller territories with their respective capital shown. There are profane fiefdoms (colored in yellow shades), which are ruled by Lords. Furthermore there are clerical fiefdoms (colored in dark violet shades) which are ruled by Bishops. Also there are profane electorates (colored in orange shades) and clerical electorates (colored in purple shades), which contain the coat of arms of the territory. Each territory is connected by a trade net, which is represented by red colored roads.

The mapboard contains information tracks for the placement of markers to: Track income, Show Master card status etc. Use the information markers for recording.

Important: Each territory on the map board (either fiefdom or electorate) may contain a maximum of one castle, one monastery, one Reichsstadt and one relic each.

3.0 Important Game Concepts

This summary will help you to understand the important concepts of the game.

Action Cards

Action cards will be distributed at the start of the game and during the Action Cards Phase (4.0, 10.0). They can be used in two different ways; either use the action described on the card, or discard the card and pay 80 ducats to immediately receive a mercenary and place this troop directly on the map in an own controlled territory.

Cards with a black-only text can be played in the player's own turn.

Cards with a red text can be played in reaction to a game situation, the action of another player, or to cancel the card play of another player according to the card text. There are some cards with red text that can be played both in reaction or in the player's own turn. Other cards with red text describe game situations where a card cannot be played even if it is the player's own turn.

Cards may only be played in combat, if the red text on the card explicitly says so. These cards are played in section 4. of the combat phase.

There are cards that may only be played in a certain game situation (combat for example). These cards have a blue text that says so.

Active Player

The active player for the first game turn is determined during the Set-Up (4.0, step 3). This player is the active player in all phases of the first game turn. All other players are called the non-active players; they may take their actions after the active player in Turn Order (see below). The first active player will receive the Active Player Marker, so that all players can recognize him/her during a turn as being the active player. At the start of the next turn, the player to the left of the active player becomes the new active player and receives the Active Player Marker (see 11.0) and now all other players are non-active players.

Auction

Several times within a turn an auction may take place. There are auctions for Event cards (see 7.3), for the succession of Electors (see 8.3), Lords (see 8.4), and Bishops (see 8.5). A player must immediately show his bid to the other players, so cheating is not possible. If a player plays the "Magistrate of Trade" card, he has to show the full bid, before it is cut in half (fractions round up).

Bribing

Bribing is not allowed unless otherwise specified.

Castles

Castles can be built in each territory, maximum of one.

The ruler of a fiefdom (Lord or Bishop) where a castle is built cannot be the subject of a death die roll anymore. Electors cannot be protected by a castle and will die as usual.

Each castle gains an additional 10 ducats during the Income Phase. Also, if an attacker attacks a territory with a castle, -1 is subtracted from all his die rolls during a war.

Child/Heir

To take control of a territory you need a heir in profane education for a profane fiefdom or electorate, or a child in clerical education for a clerical fiefdom or electorate. If you do not have one, you cannot take part in appropriate auctions or wars. Child/Heir markers are represented by Family/Control markers.

Combat

There is no regular combat phase in Medieval Conspiracy. Instead there are procedures that may result in a war between the forces of two or more players, which is resolved by a combat procedure. These are:

Play of a Reichsacht card
Death of a Lord
Death of a Bishop
Death of an Elector
Death of the Emperor

Detailed conditions for a war: see War.

Combat Procedure

Announcement of the chosen territories: The attacker announces the target territory.
Negotiations: If more than two players are involved in a war, they must agree before combat what their stance will be, either attacker or defender. If necessary execute a short negotiations phase. The owner of the defending territory is the defense leader; the owner of the territory from which the attack starts is the attack leader.
Announcement of the chosen troops: The attacker announces the territories from which his troops will attack the target territory (Exception: electorates). Then he announces which troops are attacking.
Defender Reaction: The defending player now has the opportunity to react. He moves any number of troops from his territories which are adjacent to the target territory.
Play of Action Cards: The attacker as well as the defender may strengthen their army by playing Action cards to assist their troops. The following cards are allowed (more than one card is possible):

a) Mercenary for 50 ducats

b) Discard any Action card and pay 80 ducats to receive a mercenary

c) Improvements "Art of Forging" and "Hostler"

d) The cards Defector or Peasant Uprising can be played to remove enemy mercenaries or to let them defect to your side.

The cards "Campaign against the Slavs" or "Crusade" apply to the troops of one territory only and cannot be played in combat.

The cards are selected secretly and will be revealed simultaneously. There is no additional card play allowed in combat hereafter.
Combat Pairing: The troops from both sides are positioned in a row, knights first then mercenaries. Placing troops in this manner creates pairs for combat. If one side outnumbers the other, the additional troops support other friendly troops.

Find a very detailed Combat Example at 14.3.

Death of a Bishop

During the Fate Phase a Bishop of a clerical fiefdom could die, if chosen by a player (see 8.5).

Death of an Elector

An elector will die if a "Death of an Elector" event is drawn during the Event Cards Phase or if a player chooses this during the Fate Phase. Determine this elector by drawing the top card from the elector deck. If this deck is exhausted, reshuffle it. Later if all electors belong to players, collect all elector cards and draw one card randomly to determine the appropriate electorate.

The procedure to replace an elector is described in 8.3.

Death of the Emperor

After the death of the Emperor a period of anarchy begins. The players can now try to expand and consolidate their power.

First determine if one player will become Emperor (see 12.1) and finish the game. If this is not the case, each player may build one castle for 150 ducats. Additionally, in turn order, each player may announce an own territory to start a feud to any one adjacent territory of his choice (Exception: electorates) and try to occupy it. These attacks are disturbing the Reichsfrieden. All territories from which a feud starts fall under the ban. These territories may be attacked immediately by any player with troops in adjacent territories.

If the player who starts a feud survives this war, he may then advance into the announced territory above and occupy it. If there are enemy troops, start another war. All wars are resolved in turn order (i.e. first the active player announces the order of wars, then the next player and so on). After the end of all wars, each player places a Family/Control marker, either from profane or clerical education accordingly.

Death of a Lord

During the Fate Phase a Lord of a profane fiefdom could die if chosen by a player (see 8.4).

Electorates

The 7 electorates are the most powerful territories in the empire. The 3 clerical electorates are: Mainz, Cologne and Trier. The 4 profane electorates are: Bohemia, Palatinate, Brandenburg and Saxony.

The electorates can be purchased by auction after an elector died. In case of the Emperor's death, electors decide who will be his successor. In addition an electorate counts 5 Glory Points for the owner during the election procedure of the new Emperor. Furthermore electorates may not be attacked (i.e. by "Ban of the Empire" or a feud).

Electoral Votes

After gaining possession of an electorate, place an Electoral Vote marker in the appropriate place on the elector board. Electoral Votes can become player controlled by an auction or indirectly by use of a Master card. Electors not marked with the Electoral Vote marker of a player are neutral and vote for the neutral candidate.

Event Cards

See 7.1 how to handle the Event cards at start and later during the game (7.2). Auctions of Event cards are described in 7.3.

Family / Control Markers

Family / Control markers represent the members of a family. In the game they are also used in a double function as Control markers of the territories.

Glory Points

Electorates always have a worth of 5 Glory Points. Master cards have a number of Glory Points depicted on the card. The more points a card has, the more important it is during the election of the Emperor (see 12.1). Also see optional rule 13.2.

Heir

See Child/Heir.

Imperial Immunity

A player that has his territories reduced to the game minimum of 3 cannot be attacked and cannot be subject of a Reichsacht and cannot be subject of death die rolls.

Information Marker

Information markers are used for statistical purposes on the different tracks. Record the appropriate information with them. Use the side without a number to indicate amounts within the track's numbered range. Use the reverse side to indicate higher amounts.

Use ducats markers to increase that number if needed.

Example: The graphics on the map show the levels for 3 players on the Master of War Track. Player Yellow has 2 Knights and 5 Mercenaries and so scores level 9. Player Green has 4 Knights and 3 Mercenaries so scores level 11. This is indicated by 6 on the track and +5 from the marker. Player Brown has 6 Knights and 11 Mercenaries, for level 23, indicated by 8 on the track, +5 from the brown marker and 10 from a ducats marker placed underneath it. Player Brown is the Master of War at this time.

Example: Player Red has an income of 470 ducats. He uses the +200 side of his Income marker and a 200 ducats marker and places them on the 70 space of the income track. Alternatively he can place his +400 income marker there.

Itinerant Preacher

The Itinerant Preacher will be auctioned during the Event Phase. If he is already in play, the winner of the auction will be the new owner or keep him (if he/she is the current holder).

In the unlikely event that both Itinerant Preacher cards are in the same auction, discard the second one and draw the next event card.

If the Itinerant Preacher is placed for the first time or changes hands during the Event Phase, he is placed in any own territory. The Itinerant Preacher may move during the Movement Phase to any territory without restriction.

The Itinerant Preacher will count as one relic for getting the Master of Faith. The player in possession of the Itinerant Preacher will add 10 ducats during the Income Phase. The defender of the fiefdom who controls the Itinerant Preacher will add a +1 to all die rolls made in combat. If the defender loses and withdraws, the Itinerant Preacher will retreat/withdraw with the other friendly troops. The Itinerant Preacher does not roll a die for hits in withdrawal.

If the defender loses and is completely eliminated, the Itinerant Preacher is captured and placed near the mapboard (in prison). During the Turn End Phase, players may negotiate a ransom for the captured preacher.

Master Cards

The rulebook illustrates a Master card ("Master of Trade", 2 Glory Points, "May influence one Elector", with the printed figures 80 and 20 beside the "Income" and "Minimum level on Mastertrack to get it" symbols).

The symbols as shown above are the same on other types of cards and have the same meaning.

It is possible to influence a neutral elector with a Master card. There are 3 Master cards in the game which will be given to the appropriate player if a special condition is fulfilled. Record points for these cards on the appropriate tracks on the map with Information markers.

Master of Faith (4 Glory Points) Is given to the player with the most relics (the Itinerant Preacher counts as one relic) under his control if he has at least 2. Use the Master of Faith track for recording.
Master of War (3 Glory Points) Is given to the player with the highest troop value if he has at least 8 points (knights count as 2 points, mercenaries count as 1 point). Use the Master of War track for recording.
Master of Trade (2 Glory Points) Is given to the player with the highest income from trade routes (see 6.1) if he has at least an income of 80 ducats from trade routes. Use the Master of Trade track for recording.

As soon as a player receives a Master card, he places one of his Electoral Vote markers on the elector board. It has to be an electorate, which is not owned by another player, i.e. a neutral one. If any player later gains this electorate, the influence of the master is void, but the player can immediately choose to place his Electoral Vote marker into another neutral electorate. Thereby he may replace a master with fewer Glory Points. If applicable the replaced master may also choose another electorate and restarts the procedure above.

If the number of neutral electors is reduced to two, the "Master of Trade" loses his influence, because he has the fewest Glory Points. The last neutral elector can only be influenced by the "Master of Faith". The Glory Points still remain. In case an elector dies and no player can afford to bid for this auction, an eligible player may use his Master card again to influence this elector.

A player who loses a Master card has to remove the marker immediately and loses the vote. A new owner may then place an Electoral Vote marker on the elector board if possible.

If two or more players are leading and have the same values on the respective master tracks, then the original master keeps the card. Only when another player outnumbers the original owner does he/she become the new owner.

Monastery

The monastery always includes a church where a relic may be placed. The monastery gains an additional 10 ducats during the Income Phase. They can only be placed in profane fiefdoms and are stationary.

Reichsfrieden (Peace in the Empire)

During the Reichsfrieden it is possible to move between territories without impact. Furthermore war is only possible if a "Right of Succession" exists or a "Ban of the Empire" is spelled on someone. During the Reichsfrieden it is not possible to start a war without a reason (see War). The Reichsfrieden may be broken during the interphase between the death of the old Emperor and the election of a new Emperor (see Death of the Emperor). Players who break the Reichsfrieden may be attacked by their neighbors.

Reichsstadt (City of the Reich)

A fiefdom can be upgraded with a Reichsstadt by an Event card. A Reichsstadt doubles the income of any trade routes connected with that territory (see 6.1) and the territory itself.

Relics

The player holding the highest number of relics (at least 2) becomes the "Master of Faith". Relics will be auctioned during the Event Phase and must be placed in clerical fiefdoms or clerical electorates or a monastery. Relics can be moved to another owned fiefdom or clerical electorate or monastery once in a turn during the Movement Phase. The territory holding a relic gains an additional 10 ducats during the Income Phase. In addition the defending troops of this fiefdom gain a +1 die roll modifier during a war.

Right of Succession

If a Lord dies the family of the dead Lord can automatically claim a "Right of Succession" by placing a Family marker from profane education into the vacant area. Another way to claim the vacant area is the Right of Succession card. More details see 8.4.

Stacking

Any number of troops may be stacked in one fiefdom, but only one monastery, relic, castle or Reichsstadt each.

Territory

A territory is a profane or clerical fiefdom or an electorate.

The rulebook illustrates the territory card types with examples: a profane fiefdom (labelled "Gft. Baden", with "Bm. Augsburg" and the figure 10), a clerical fiefdom (figure 20), and an electorate (labelled "Kgr. Böhmen", with figures 5 and 50). The card's income figure is the one shown on the card (see 6.0).

Troops

There are mercenaries and knights. Mark the first hit on each with a hit marker.

Mercenaries die after taking 2 hits. Knights can take 2 hits (mark a hit knight with a specific "Second Hit on Knight" marker). On a 3rd hit the knight is captured by the player who inflicted the hit (place the Knight Captured marker). On a 4th hit he is dead.

Turn Order

The first player is the active player; the player on his left side is the second player and so forth.

War

The following situations will lead to a War:

If a Lord of a fiefdom dies, the winning player of the auction gets possession, but other players who took part in the auction may immediately attack, after placement of troops.
A "Reichsacht" card is played.
If the Emperor dies, the Reichsfrieden is broken and players can start a feud.

Conditions to take part in a War (all of the following must be fulfilled):

If a Lord dies, the attacker must have bid at least one time in the auction for the territory.
The attacker needs a Family/Control (heir) marker in profane education if a profane fiefdom is under attack, or a Family/Control (heir) marker in clerical education if a clerical fiefdom is under attack.
The attacker must have troops in at least one adjacent territory.
The attack must be announced immediately after the occupation of the territory by your opponent, or after a Lord has been set under the ban.

Follow the Combat Procedure for how to execute the War.

Exception: A player that has his territories reduced to the game minimum of 3 cannot be attacked, see Imperial Immunity.

4.0 Setting up the Game

One player is designated to take over the duties of the bank.
Each player chooses a color and gets Family/Control markers, information markers, electoral vote markers, and his/her troops.
The first active player is determined by any method (dice-rolling, youngest player etc.) and receives the Active Player Marker.
All profane fiefdom cards (electorate and clerical fiefdom cards are put aside) are shuffled and distributed among the players depending on their number:
- 2 or 3 players: 5 cards
- 4 or 5 players: 4 cards
- 6 players: 3 cards
Mark your territories using your Family/Control markers. You can locate a territory on the map by the mini map inside the card.
In turn order each player chooses a clerical fiefdom and marks it using the Family/Control markers.
Players record their income on the appropriate track with information markers. The income of each fiefdom is also indicated in the lower right corner of its card.
Also distribute 2 mercenaries and 1 knight marker secretly. To do so place your territory cards hidden on the table, including clerical fiefdoms. Put the troops on the chosen fiefdom cards. If all players have finished this step, reveal all cards simultaneously and place the troops in the appropriate fiefdoms in turn order.

Designers Note: If you place troops on the clerical fiefdom, the other players can watch this, because those cards have a different background.
Each player distributes 4 Family/Control markers between the profane and/or the clerical education areas.

Clerical Education Area / Profane Education Area (the setup diagram).

5.0 Sequence of a Turn

One turn is divided into 6 phases:

Income Phase
Event Cards Phase
Fate Phase
Movement Phase
Action Cards Phase
Turn End Phase

The active player goes first in each phase; other players follow in turn order. If one phase is finished with the action of the last player, proceed to the next phase.

6.0 Income Phase

In turn order every player collects income for the following:

per profane fiefdom: 10 ducats
per clerical fiefdom: 20 ducats
per electorate: 50 ducats
per Master card: 20 ducats
per monastery: 10 ducats
per relic: 10 ducats
per castle: 10 ducats
possession of the Itinerant Preacher: 10 ducats
per trade route (see 6.1)

A player will always collect at least 60 ducats, no matter how bad his economical situation actually may be.

Record any income change during the game immediately! This will help you to keep an overview during the game!

6.1 Trade Routes

A trade route exists between the capitals of two adjacent territories or to a connecting foreign country. If a player owns adjacent territories, which are connected by a route, he/she will get an income bonus. The bonus is further enhanced if a capital is upgraded to a Reichsstadt. Furthermore a trade route exists between an owned territory and an adjacent foreign country.

The income is received as follows:

2 adjacent capitals connected by a trade route: 10 ducats
1 Reichsstadt in one of the 2 territories involved: 20 ducats per trade route
2 Reichsstädte involved: 40 ducats per trade route

Example: The territories Oldenburg and Osnabrück are adjacent. If the green player owns both, he receives 10 ducats. If there is a Reichsstadt in Oldenburg, he receives 20 ducats. If both Oldenburg and Osnabrück are Reichsstädte, the player will receive 40 ducats.

6.2 Wealth

Players should keep their wealth secret from the other players. Exception: a bid in auctions should be made public.

7.0 Event Cards Phase

7.1 Preparing the Event Cards Deck

Remove the Events "Death of the Emperor" (x2) and "Death of an Elector" (x2) from the deck.
Shuffle the remaining cards and distribute them into 3 piles with 12 (1st pile), 11 and 11 cards respectively.
Shuffle one "Death of the Emperor" and one "Death of an Elector" card into the second pile.
Shuffle one "Death of the Emperor" and one "Death of an Elector" card into the third pile.
Form a deck with the third pile at the bottom, the second pile in the middle and the first pile on top.
This procedure is done only before starting the game. If the Event deck will be exhausted and reshuffled later, just shuffle all cards together.

7.2 Event Cards during the Game

During the Event Cards Phase a number of Event cards are drawn from the deck according to the number of players and placed face-up on the appropriate slots on the map. If the Event "Death of the Emperor" is drawn, it will be resolved first (see Glossary). If the event "Death of an Elector" is drawn, it will be resolved next (see Glossary). In the unlikely case that more than one of these cards is drawn, they will all be resolved before any other Event. Even if this means resolving them twice in the same Event Cards Phase. Exception: If 2 Itinerant Preacher cards are drawn in this case, discard the second one and replace it with a new card.

Other remaining Event cards are sold by auction (see 7.3). The winner of an auction decides in which territory, if applicable, the Event will take place. The Event is resolved immediately.

If there are not enough Event cards during the placement of cards according to the number of players (Example: there are only 3 cards remaining in a five-player game), the Emperor dies immediately. Resolve the Death of an Emperor procedure.

Next all Event cards are shuffled into a new deck (even the just placed ones) and a new draw will be resolved.

7.3 Auction of Event Cards

The illustrations show the example event cards "Reichsacht" (select a fiefdom that is now affected by the "Reichsacht"; all adjacent forces can now attack it without breaking the "Reichsfrieden") and "Knight Army" (place a knight into a fiefdom you control).

Event cards are sold by auction. The active player starts the bidding (if he is interested) for the first card with at least 10 ducats. In turn order all other players can raise the bid in steps of at least 10 ducats until the winner is decided. If a player passes at an opportunity, he may not bid again until a new auction starts. The effect of the Event card is resolved immediately (see 7.2).

In turn order the next player starts the auction for the second Event card and so forth until all available Event cards are auctioned. The money has to be paid to the bank. Use a die to indicate the player who is to make the first bid for the actual event card.

All bids are placed in view for all the players on the table.

8.0 Fate Phase

In turn order the players will roll one die.

Die roll result:

1, 2, 3: one Lord or Bishop of your choice dies, or you choose an elector, in which case a random elector dies (see 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5)
4, 5: birth of a child (see 8.1)
6: birth of twins (see 8.2)

8.1 Birth of a Child

If a player rolls a 4 or 5, a new member of the family is born. Place a Family/Control marker in profane education (to become a Lord) or in clerical education (to become a Bishop).

8.2 Birth of Twins

If the player rolls a 6, the same result as birth of a child applies, except that two Family/Control markers can be placed as above in one or both locations. If a Death in the Cradle card is played now, only one of the twins dies.

8.3 Death of an Elector

An elector dies either by an Event card (see Glossary) or by being chosen in the Fate Phase. The appropriate electorate goes into auction. In turn order players bid for the electorate like for Event cards. A Family/Control marker must be available in the profane education area if the auction is for a profane electorate and a Family/Control marker in clerical education if the auction is for a clerical electorate. Furthermore, due to their importance, there is a minimum bid, even if you are the only player in the auction, depending on the number of players in the game:

Number of Players	Minimum Bid
2 players	600 ducats
3 players	500 ducats
4 players	400 ducats
5 players	300 ducats
6 players	200 ducats

After this auction no military intervention and no death die roll in that electorate is possible.

Clarification for the electors deck: After the Event "Death of an Elector" take the topmost card from the electors deck. This electorate will be auctioned. If there is a bid, give the card to the appropriate player. If there is no bid, place it on a discard pile. When the electorates pile is exhausted, reshuffle the discard pile and form a new electors pile. Repeat this procedure until all electorates have been auctioned. Afterwards, if the Event "Death of an Elector" is drawn, collect all electorate cards from the players, shuffle them into one pile and determine an elector to die by drawing a card randomly.

8.4 Death of a Lord

If a Lord dies, and there are two or more players who can claim a "Right of Succession", the appropriate territory will be auctioned. If there is only one player, he can move a Family/Control marker from profane education into the territory immediately.

The family of the dead Lord automatically has the "Right of Succession", but it will also need a Family/Control marker in profane education as usual. Additionally each player placing the "Right of Succession" Action card may take part in the following auction.

If the territory is neutral, there will be no family automatically claiming their rights. Now "Right of Succession" can only be claimed by a card, and only players that possess and play such a card can take part in the auction. If nobody claims a right, each player can join the auction.

Before the auction starts one player may bribe the others to get the territory by agreement. This can only be done if all eligible players with a Family/Control marker in profane education agree to be bribed.

If an auction starts, eligible players in turn order and with a Family/Control marker in profane education may start bidding for this fiefdom. The procedure is the same as for auctioning an Event card (7.3). The winner moves a Family/Control marker from profane education to the appropriate territory.

If there is only one eligible player for the auction, he gets it without a bid.

After the decision is made to whom the territory will go, either by auction or by agreement, all castles, monasteries, Reichsstädte and relics belonging to the territory will stay. All enemy troops and the Itinerant Preacher have to retreat to any own territory. In all cases the new owner may move up to two mercenaries and one knight from his own territories to the new one as guards.

Afterwards all other players with troops in adjacent territories may intervene using the War procedure, if they made at least one bid in the auction for this territory earlier.

8.5 Death of a Bishop

If a Bishop dies the appropriate territory will be auctioned too. But due to the celibacy, Bishops have no heirs who can claim legacy after their death. The "Right of Succession" card cannot be played. In turn order all players with a Family/Control marker (heir) in clerical education are allowed to bid for this clerical fiefdom. The auction procedure is the same as for an Event card (7.3). The winner moves a Family/Control (heir) marker from clerical education to the appropriate territory.

As above, all enemy troops have to retreat from the territory. Afterwards other players with troops in adjacent territories may intervene after the auction using the War procedure, if they made at least one bid in the auction for this territory earlier.

Furthermore, instead of an auction one player may bribe the others to get the territory by agreement as above (8.4).

All castles, Reichsstädte and relics belonging to the territory will stay and become possession of the new Bishop. All enemy troops and the Itinerant Preacher have to retreat to any own territory.

9.0 Movement Phase

Players, in turn order, move their Itinerant Preacher and/or as many troops as they like an unlimited distance between territories due to the Reichsfrieden. The move must end in an own territory.

In this phase relics can also be moved. A relic may move between clerical fiefdoms, clerical electorates and profane fiefdoms with a monastery.

10.0 Action Cards Phase

All players now take one Action card, in turn order. The hand limit of Action cards is 5. If a player already has 5 Action cards in hand he has to play/discard one card immediately after drawing the next Action card. There is no limit to the number of Action cards that can be played per phase. Any Action card can be discarded to buy a mercenary for 80 ducats at any time, except during a combat (see combat).

On request each player must reveal his number of Action cards in hand.

Used Action cards are placed into the discard pile. If the deck is exhausted, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new draw deck. Sometimes the timing of playing an Action card is decisive. The last card takes precedence over the second last one and so forth.

Therefore in turn order players can react on an action of the active player or card play of any player. Finally the active player has the opportunity to play a card in reaction.

Example A: During the Fate Phase, player A rolls a 2. A Lord dies and after a territory was chosen, player B does nothing, player C plays the Action card "Right of Succession" concerning the succeeding, player D does nothing though he also has a Right of Succession card on his hand. Afterwards player A, who lost his Lord, plays the Action card "Miracle Healer". Now the Lord is not dead and the "Right of Succession" card is discarded without impact.

Example B: A Reichsacht card is played in the Event Phase. Player A who is affected has a Reichstag Edict on his hand. He can play it immediately to cancel the Reichsacht. Waiting how things develop and playing the Reichstag Edict later is not an option because it must be played immediately.

11.0 Turn End Phase

Players may negotiate ransoms for captured knights and the captured Itinerant Preacher. If an agreement is reached, the appropriate knight/preacher will be placed into an own fiefdom.

Now all troops with step losses return to full strength.

Next the active player will pass the Active Player Marker to the player on his left. Start a new turn.

12.0 Victory Conditions

The game ends in one of two ways:

During the game the Emperor will be deposed as soon as a player controls 4 electors. This player wins immediately.
If after an election a player is elected for Emperor (see 12.1).

If one player is elected to be the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire after an election, the game ends immediately and this player is the winner!

To be elected, a player needs the majority of the 7 electorates or by winning ties.

12.1 Election of a new Emperor

If the Event card "Death of the Emperor" is drawn the electors have to vote for a new Emperor, then build castles and resolve all feuds (see Death of the Emperor).

Votes will be gained in two ways:

Direct Vote (elector) through owning the appropriate territory and having an information marker on the electorate board.
Neutral Vote through the possession of a Master card (as long as there are neutral electorates).

Neutral electors always vote for a neutral candidate. Electors controlled by a player must vote for that player. If an elector is influenced by a Master card, he must vote for the owner of the Master card. Now count your votes and add together all Glory Points. The candidate with the most votes will be elected and wins the game. In case of a tie the player with the most Glory Points wins. If this is a neutral candidate, the game continues.

If the election ends in a draw, the player owning the most direct elector votes wins. If still a draw, the player controlling the Master card with the highest number of Glory Points wins ties.

For better understanding this procedure, some examples follow:

Example 1:

Red Player: 1 neutral vote (Master of War, 3 Glory Points) = 3 Glory Points
Green Player: 1 vote (elector) + 1 neutral vote (Master of Trade, 2 Glory Points) = 7 Glory Points
Yellow Player: 3 votes (elector) = 15 Glory Points
Blue Player: 1 vote (elector) = 5 Glory Points

Result: Yellow Player wins.

Example 2:

Yellow Player: 1 vote (elector) = 5 Glory Points
Green Player: 1 vote (elector) + 1 neutral vote (Master of Faith, 4 Glory Points) = 9 Glory Points
Neutral Player: 2 votes (elector) = 10 Glory Points
Blue Player: 2 neutral votes (Master of War, 3 Glory Points + Master of Trade, 2 Glory Points) = 5 Glory Points

Result: Neutral Player wins, game continues.

Example 3:

Neutral: 1 vote (elector) = 5 Glory Points
Green Player: 1 vote (elector) + 1 neutral vote (Master of Faith, 4 Glory Points) = 9 Glory Points
Yellow Player: 1 vote (elector) + 1 neutral vote (Master of War, 3 Glory Points) = 8 Glory Points
Blue Player: 1 vote (elector) + 1 neutral vote (Master of Trade, 2 Glory Points) = 7 Glory Points

Result: Green Player wins.

Example 4:

Red Player: 1 vote (elector) + 1 neutral vote (Master of Faith, 4 Glory Points) = 9 Glory Points
Green Player: 2 votes (elector) = 10 Glory Points
Yellow Player: 2 votes (elector) + 1 neutral vote (Master of War, 3 Glory Points) = 13 Glory Points
Blue Player: 2 votes (elector) + 1 neutral vote (Master of Trade, 2 Glory Point) = 12 Glory Points

Result: Yellow Player wins.

Example 5:

Blue Player: 1 vote (elector) = 5 Glory Points
White Player: 1 vote (elector) + 1 neutral vote (Master of Faith, 4 Glory Point) = 9 Glory Points
Red Player: 1 vote (elector) + 2 neutral votes (Master of Trade, 2 Glory Points + Master of War, 3 Glory Points) = 10 Glory Points
Green Player: 2 votes (elector) = 10 Glory Points
Yellow Player: 1 vote (elector) = 5 Glory Points
Blue Player: 1 vote (elector) = 5 Glory Points

Result: Green Player wins.

13.0 Optional Rules

13.1 Special Rule for Two Players

Before the game is set up, players agree on which side of the partition line they want to play. The partition on the other side of the green line may not be used in a 2-player game.

Clarification: In the map image above, the Gft.s Nassau, Hessen, and Thüringen are north of the partition line. Würzburg and Mainz are south of the line.

13.2 Stronger Emphasis on War

Each military victory earns one Glory Point. These Glory Points resolve ties in the Election of a new Emperor.

13.3 Rules for a Quicker Game

The following rules affect the game length and lead to a shorter game compared to the standard rules:

Increase the number of start fiefdoms for every player by 1.
Decrease the minimum bid for Electorates by 100 ducats, compared to the list in 8.3.
Alternate Game End: After all Event cards have been played, the game ends immediately after the Turn End Phase of that turn. The winner is the player with the most Glory Points. Highest number of relics wins ties, then number of troops, then trade income. Players may also agree that the game ends after a pre-agreed time, or a pre-agreed number of turns, with the same conditions as above.
An alternative way to obtain a child: pay 200 ducats and discard 2 Action cards. The designers of this game recommend that cost. Players may agree on a lower cost before the game starts to increase game speed.
Honorable Retreat: Instead of suffering casualty checks because of a retreat after a combat round, the victorious side can grant an honorable retreat to the losing side. An honorable retreat will not cause a casualty check for the withdrawing side. An honorable retreat may be granted for free or for bribing the victorious side, depending on short negotiations.

14.0 Appendix

14.1 Historical Background (by the designer)

The Electorate and the election of the German Kings.

The monarchist tradition in Germany was based on the tradition of the Frankonian Kingdom which was formed in Central Europe during the 5th Century. In the 8th Century the Carolingian family replaced the Merovingians. Charlemagne (768-814) invaded Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III to be the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire after the Western Roman Empire collapsed (476). Although Charles crowned his son Ludwig to be Emperor (814), Ludwig established the tradition that the Pope had to crown the actual King to be Emperor. After the division of the Francia (843), Arnulf of Carinthia wins the honor of the title for the eastern part of Francia (896). In 911 the line of the Eastern Carolingians ended with the death of Ludwig the Child. After declining the right of succession of the Western Carolingians, the high nobility met in Forchheim and voted for Konrad, Duke of Frankonia, to be their new King. Due to the civil war with Saxony and Bavaria he was not able to win the title of Emperor in Italy from the Pope. His successor Henry I, Duke of Saxony, was voted in 918. He tolerated the powerful nobility and expanded his own power against the Kingdom of France. He won the Dukedom of Lorraine for the German Kingdom. He was able to enforce the other Dukes to vote for his son Otto to be King (929) after his death.

Otto the Great (936-973) was able to unite the German Kingdom (955) after the battle against the Hungarian invasion. In 951 he had been on his first journey to Italy and was crowned King of Italy in Pavia. In 961 he came to Italy on his second journey and was crowned in Rome to be Emperor by Pope Johannes XII. After this coronation the German Kings were able to defend the right of being crowned until 1814.

In the German tradition the King had to be voted by the high nobility of Germany. Strong Kings, as the Saxonians (918-1024) and the Salians (1024-1125), were able to crown their own sons during their own lifetime. But later in the 12th Century the Lords became more powerful and were able to establish their right to vote for the King. Frederik, Duke of Swabia, was not able to succeed King Henry V. Instead Lothar III, Duke of Saxony, was voted for and with the help of the high nobility he was able to defeat Frederik and his brother Konrad. The same took place in 1138. Not the heir Henry the Black, Duke of Bavaria, became the new King, but Konrad III, Duke of Swabia, by the votes of the Lords. The voting Lords in the 12th Century were the Dukes of the great dukedoms and leaders of the powerful and gentile families in the Kingdom: Saxonia (Supplingburger, Northeimer, Billinger, Askanien), Frankonia, Bavaria (Welfen, Andechser, Wittelsbacher), Swabia (Staufer), Lorrain (Ezzonen), as well as the Bishops of the great bishoprics, especially the Archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, Trier.

During the 13th Century the balance changed and a smaller circle of powerful dukes was able to reduce the influence of the other nobilities. The noblest Lords had a right to name the candidate. These were the three Archbishops and the Lords of Saxony, Brandenburg and the Palatinate.

After the death of Frederik II and his son Konrad IV, the empire went into the interregnum. No family was powerful enough to claim the throne against the will of the electors, who started to take control over the crown lands and to incorporate it into their own territories. To reduce the influence of the King, they voted for the foreign candidates Alfons X of Castile and Richard of Cornwall. Both never visited the empire. During this time not only the power of the Lords was rising, but also civil war and feud spread in the empire. Pope Gregor X requested the electors to vote for a new King. At this time the 7 electorates were established as the only institution to vote for the King. It was enlarged after 1230 by the King of Bohemia, who ruled Bohemia, Austria, Styria, Schlesia and Moravia since 1261. They voted for Rudolph I of Habsburg, an Earl in Swabia. He defeated King Ottokar II of Bohemia and won Austria, Styria and Carantia for the house Habsburg. After his death the family of Habsburg became too powerful to the electors, so they voted for Adolph of Nassau. After his death the family of Luxemburg won the crown and Charles IV gave the empire the first constitution, "Die Goldene Bulle", in which the electors and their right to vote for the King was fixed. This constitution had importance up to 1806 when the empire ended.

Currencies in the Medieval Holy Roman Empire

The game's currency shows the Reichsducate, the currency of our choosing. In reality there was no common currency, each fiefdom had its own currency. There were Gulden, Taler, Groschen and many more.

14.2 Tutorial

To learn Medieval Conspiracy, set up a game as described below and follow the instructions.

A 3-player game is started with players green, brown and gray. Player gray plays the bank. By dice rolling, player green is determined to go first and gets the Active Player Marker. Each player gets 5 profane fiefdom cards.

Green: Oldenburg, Mecklenburg, Braunschweig, Berg, Bayern Brown: Brabant, Luxemburg, Breisgau, Steiermark, Görlitz Gray: Holland, Nassau, Troppau, Württemberg, Österreich

Clerical Fiefdom: Green chooses Münster, brown Lüttich, gray Salzburg.

Comment: Green and Brown concentrate where they are strong, gray chooses to stay out of trouble and places outside the main concentration area.

Players record income. Each player has a base income of 70 for territories (50 profane + 20 clerical) plus the value of the trade routes. Green (1 trade route between Oldenburg and Münster) 80 total; Brown (3 trade routes: Brabant-Lüttich-Luxemburg) 90 total; Gray (1 trade route from Troppau to Krakau outside the map, and 1 from Österreich to Ofen) 90 total. There is no trade income between Österreich and Salzburg because there is no road connecting these territories.

Master tracks: Trade: Green 10, Brown 20, and Gray 20. For War and Faith no player meets the minimum requirements to place a marker.

Players distribute troops:

Green: Knight in Münster, Mercenaries in Berg, Braunschweig
Brown: Knight in Lüttich, Mercenaries in Brabant, Luxemburg
Gray: Knight and one Mercenary in Salzburg, one Mercenary in Österreich

Child/heir placement: Green and Brown 2 profane, 2 clerical. Gray: 3 profane, 1 clerical.

Each player gets 100 ducats and 2 Action cards.

Green: Campaign against the Slaves, Emperor Intervenes
Brown: Witch in the Woods, Pestilence
Gray: Right of Succession, Death Abroad

After preparing the Event card decks as described in 7.1, place them and the Action, fiefdom and Master cards close to the mapboard.

Now the game begins with the Income Phase. Green gets 80, Brown 90, and Gray 90 ducats.

Event Card Phase: The following cards are taken from the top of the deck: 1st Master Builder, 2nd Knight Army, 3rd Reichsacht. Player Green starts bidding for the Master Builder card and bids 10 ducats. Brown bids 20. Gray wants the card and bids 60. Green passes, Brown bids 70, Gray 80, Brown passes, and so Gray gets the card for paying 80 ducats to the bank, leaving 100 ducats in Gray's treasure. The card is played immediately and Gray places a castle into Salzburg. Gray's income marker is forwarded to 90.

The right to bid first indicated by a die is now forwarded to Brown. He bids 60 ducats for the Knight Army. Gray passes, Green wants to make a bid, but Brown interrupts and plays Pestilence against Green so she cannot make a bid. That way Brown gets the Knight Army for a very cheap price and pays 60 ducats to the bank. He places a Knight in Brabant.

The first bid is forwarded to Gray. Gray bids 80 ducats for the Reichsacht. Gray knows that he probably cannot win the auction and tries to increase the price. Finally Green gets the Reichsacht for a bid of 120 ducats. Before playing it, Green would like to play her Campaign Against the Slavs on Brabant, because she feels threatened by Brown. She may do so because it is her turn. One knight and one mercenary are removed from Brabant and added to Brown's available units for purchase again.

Now Green considers playing the Reichsacht on Geldern, then she thinks of Köln, but that is not allowed, for Köln is an Electorate. So she plays it against Osnabrück because that earns more income than Geldern. Green attacks Osnabrück with her knight. Since there is no other player able to interfere, Green takes possession of Osnabrück by placing a child marker from clerical education there. Green's income increases by 20 for the new clerical fiefdom and by another 10 for the trade route to Oldenburg, to a total of 110.

Green is now the first who can make a die roll in the Fate Phase. Green rolls a "4" and places a child marker into clerical education.

Brown rolls a "5", but he thinks he has enough children in education, so he uses his Witch in the Woods to turn this into a death die roll. He considers using it against Green or Gray. But if a death die roll is used against another player he could simply place a child from the current education to replace the dead lord. So Brown plays the death die roll against a neutral in Bar. He hopes to get it in an auction. Unfortunately for him his opponents have cards. Gray has a Right of Succession but chooses not to play it because he wants to concentrate in the southeast. Green, not knowing that Gray has a Right of Succession, and she could cancel it with her Emperor Intervenes, plays it on Bar. This is the highest card that can be played so Green gets Bar and places a child from profane education there. Green's income increases to 120. Finally Gray rolls a 2, and chooses that the lord of Kärnten will die. He plays his Right of Succession card. No other player can play a card, and Gray wins Kärnten. He places a child from profane education there. Gray's income increases by 10 for the fiefdom and another 20 for the trade routes, to 120 total.

Movement Phase: Green moves one knight from Osnabrück to Münster and one mercenary from Braunschweig to Bar. Brown makes no moves. Gray moves one mercenary from Salzburg to Kärnten. Gray considers moving a mercenary to Geldern, disturbing Green and Brown, but decides against it, keeping his forces out of the upcoming struggle between Green and Brown. Finally Gray plays his Death Abroad against Green to remove her last child from profane education.

Action Card Phase: In turn order cards are taken from the top of the Action card deck. Green draws Miracle Healer, which cannot be played now, because Death Abroad was played while Miracle Healer was not in Green's hand at the time of play. Brown draws Mercenary; he plays it immediately, paying 50 ducats, and places one mercenary in Brabant. Gray: Hostler, which he keeps in his hand.

Turn End Phase: There are no captured Knights or Itinerant Preachers, so the negotiation phase is skipped and the Active Player Marker is now forwarded to Brown for the next turn. The tutorial ends here. If you like, continue here with your own die rolls and own decisions.

Editor's Note: The examples in this rulebook use photographs of an advanced prototype. The final game material will look slightly different.

14.3 Detailed Combat Example

In the Event Card Phase the card Death of the Emperor is drawn and is executed immediately.

In the resulting feud, player Gray starts a feud from Bremen into Osnabrück. Green could now attack Bremen because the Reichsfrieden has been broken from Bremen, but Green decides not to attack. There are yellow troops in Osnabrück, so a war is started. Gray is the attack leader, yellow is the defense leader. Players Green and Yellow join the attacker, player Red joins the defender. Both sides now move their troops into the target territory Osnabrück.

Now Action cards can be played. Green angers himself because he discarded "Defector" to get a mercenary two turns ago. With that card he could turn 2 mercenaries from Gray or Blue to his side. Gray plays Hostler. The combat factor of Gray's Knights is increased by +1. Green and Blue are not affected. All other players do not play a card in this combat.

Then the forces are placed on the combat chart. Attacker first line: knight from Gray (attack leader), then in turn order Blue knight and Green knight; Gray knight, supporting mercenaries support their own knights. Defender: yellow knight; then it would be Red to place a unit, but he has no knight, so the next yellow knight is placed.

Die roll modifications: Attacker minus one because of the castle, defender +1 because of Itinerant Preacher, the Reichsstadt causes no combat modifiers.

Combat resolution 1st round: We explain the result for the attacker's die rolls; please think yourself about the results of the defender.

Die rolls:

Row 1: attacker 6 hit, defender 8 hit. Castle -1, Hostler +1, supporter +1, total +1; minimum die roll 6 to hit.
Row 2: attacker 7 hit, defender 5 miss. Castle minus 1, supporter +1 unchanged.
Row 3: attacker 7 hit, defender 6 miss. Knight vs mercenary +1, castle -1, unchanged.
Row 4: attacker 5 hit, defender 7 miss. Knight vs mercenary +1, castle -1, supporter +1, Hostler +2, total +2.
Row 5: attacker 7 miss, defender 8 hit. Castle -1, total -1.
Row 6: attacker 8 hit, defender 6 miss. Castle -1, total -1.

Combat round 1 is over now. Gray is pleased with the results and continues combat. Yellow considers retreating because of the high losses, but decides to continue fighting. With a castle, a Reichsstadt and the Itinerant Preacher there is too much at stake in Osnabrück.

2nd Combat Round: We just give the results, except for some examples in this round.

Row 1: attacker 9 hit, defender 11 double hit. Gray knight captured.
Row 2: attacker 7 hit, defender 8 hit. Castle -1, Supporter +1 full vs wounded, total +1.
Row 3: attacker 4 miss, defender 6 miss.
Row 4: attacker 6 hit, defender 6 miss. Red mercenary killed.
Row 5: attacker 8 miss, defender 5 hit. Blue mercenary killed.
Row 6: attacker 7 hit, defender 5 miss. Yellow mercenary killed.

Yellow looks at the outcome of the battle: one enemy knight is captured, one enemy mercenary killed, but 2 friendly mercenaries are lost, other troops except one mercenary are badly wounded. Furthermore the row limit would now require a reorganization of units. The defender must place the 4 units left in the front while the attacker will reorganize and can bring wounded units to the support area because the row limit reduces the combat area to 4 rows max. There are no realistic chances for victory.

Yellow and Red retreat. They roll one die for each of their withdrawing units:

Yellow knights: 2 (no effect), 5 (3rd hit, captured)
Yellow mercenary: 5, killed
Red mercenary: 5 (no effect)
Itinerant Preacher: 4 retreats

Player Gray is now the new owner of Osnabrück, places a Control marker from clerical education and takes over the Reichsstadt and the castle. All surviving forces retreat to where they came from, except for Gray.

In the Turn End Phase players would negotiate for return of their captured knights, but the combat example ends here.

14.5 Overview of Cards

Action Cards in Green (total 64)

Card	Quantity
Alchimist	4
Art of Forging	2
Bad Influence	2
Campaign against the Slavs	1
Conversion	2
Curia intervenes	2
Crusade	1
Death abroad	2
Death in the cradle	2
Death in the vatican	2
Defector	2
Emperor intervenes	2

Event Cards in Blue (total 38)

Card	Quantity
Adoption	2
City Rights	4
Death of an Elector	2
Death of an Emperor	2
Founding a Monastery	4
Itinerant Preacher	2
Knight Army	8
Master Builder	2
Reichsacht	8
Relic	4

Other cards:

Profane Fiefdom Cards in Yellow: 38
Clerical Fiefdom Cards in Violet: 11
Electorates in Red: 7
Master cards in Beige: 3