Introduction to Court Intrigue

Take your first step towards rule by following the path below…

The Four Cardinal Rules of ROIL
He Who Creates a Thing can Destroy a Thing

Basic Mechanics of the Game Turn, Archimedes

A Perfect Court
3’s the magic number–when starting a Court

Using Shadow Court Cards
Using Fate Cards
Using Accord Cards

Download Sample Diagrams and Rules PDF

Quick Start Rules

Major Houses

The four Major Houses–Blue Ravens, Red Flowers, Yellow Goblets, and Green Harps (sounds like breakfast cereal)– are the source of most of your points but are limited do not easily join within a single COURT.

Minor Houses

The Minor Houses are numerous but provide fewer points. They are also mercurial in their support and always display allegiance to more than one Major House.

Accords

Sharing of power is never easy, but occasionally a Major House may find common cause with another. ACCORDs allow two Major Houses to connect within a single COURT.

Shadow House

The hidden weapon of any king maker are the shadowy figures of espionage and intrigue known as the Shadow House. Their members replace figures in a COURT or simply coerce a member of a rival’s court to change allegiance. Shadow Card may act as a wild card for a missing card of equal rank or it may be used to steal a card of equal or lesser rank from another COURT>

Fate

No one is immune to FATE. The vices of the royalty of a court makes them particularly susceptible to Fate. Fate strikes without preamble and removes the powerful from COURT in a blink of an eye. A FATE card identifies who is targeted by rank or class on the face of the card, i.e ‘King’, ‘Queen’, ‘Prince’, ‘Tower’. ‘Royals’ indicates any member of a Major House; ‘Mortals’ indicates any human member of a COURT.

The court is in disarray, no family sits the throne.

The support of the various minor houses are for sale and the Major Houses are jockeying for power. Now is the time for a clever strategist to build a new coalition to seize control and bring the houses and peasants behind a new ROIL Family.

In Roil, you are the power behind the throne, bringing members of the Major Houses, the lords of the Minor Houses, and the Peasants to form a new court before other powers can act. To build your court, you have Accords to bind the Major Houses, the hands of Fate to diminish the Courts of your rivals, and the members of the elusive Shadow House to recruit members of other courts or stand in stead of missing members of your own.

Building your COURT and abusing your neighbors.