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+ An entry marked with this has additional sections within it.Source Ultimate Campaign pg. 229
There are four types of optional special edicts: Diplomatic, Exploration, Trade, and Vassalage. Each turn in the Edict phase, after you have issued your Holiday, Improvement, Promotion, and Taxation edicts, you may issue one of these special edicts.Source Ultimate Campaign pg. 228
Diplomatic edicts are special edicts that allow you to establish an embassy, treaty, or alliance with another kingdom. You must have an official representative of your kingdom, such as an ambassador or leader, present in the other kingdom to make this edict (though the GM may allow magical communication to handle most of the edict’s details and bypass this requirement). Using this edict costs 1d4 BP in travel and other expenses.
Your representative must attempt a Diplomacy check. The DC is determined using the following formula: DC = 10 + your kingdom’s Infamy + the target kingdom’s special Size modifier + your kingdom’s special Size modifier + alignment difference modifier + relationship modifier + the target kingdom’s attitude – your kingdom’s Fame – BP you spend on bribes or gifts
Special Size Modifier: This is equal to the kingdom’s Size divided by 5.
Alignment Difference Modifier: This is based on how close your kingdom’s alignment is to the target kingdom’s alignment, according to the following table.
Table 4-12: Diplomatic Alignment Difference Modifier
| Alignment Difference* | DC Modifier |
| Same | +0 |
| 1 step | +5 |
| 2 steps | +15 |
*Per alignment axis.
Relationship Modifier: This takes into account your treaties, alliances, and conflicts with the target kingdom’s allies and enemies. If you are friendly with the same kingdoms, the target is more interested in diplomacy with you. If you are friendly with the target kingdom’s enemies, the target is less interested in negotiating with you. Modify the DC as follows for each third party you have in common.
Table 4-13: Diplomatic Relationship Modifier
| Relationship | DC Modifier |
| You and the target kingdom both have an alliance with a third party | -8 |
| You have a treaty with the target kingdom’s ally | -4 |
| You and the target kingdom both have a treaty with a third party | -2 |
| You have an embassy with the target kingdom’s enemy | +2 |
| You have a treaty with the target kingdom’s enemy | +5 |
| You have an alliance with the target kingdom’s enemy | +10 |
Attitude: Much like the starting attitude of an NPC, the target kingdom’s initial attitude toward you is indifferent, though the GM may modify this based on alignment differences, your shared history, culture, warfare, espionage, racial tensions, and other factors in the campaign world. These factors may also influence the Diplomacy DC for using this edict (generally increasing the DC by 5 for every attitude step worse than helpful).
The act of making this Diplomacy check takes place over several days, with the emissary socializing with representatives of the target kingdom, discussing common interests and the benefits and goals of entering a diplomatic agreement with your kingdom. Because this check is not a singular event, abilities and spells that modify a single roll have no effect on this check unless they last at least 24 hours (for example, glibness does not affect this check).Source Ultimate Campaign pg. 230
Exploration edicts are special edicts that allow you to commission explorers to map unclaimed hexes and prepare them for your kingdom. You may choose to accompany the explorers or let them explore on their own.
When commissioning an expedition, you must determine the length of time and plan the route in advance. Financing explorers costs 1d4 BP per month of the expedition, paid in advance. The explorers start at your capital, and spend the agreed-on time traveling to, exploring, and mapping unclaimed hexes. At the end of the contracted period, they return to your capital. Table 4–6: Terrain and Terrain Improvements for travel and exploration times. Each expedition requires a separate Exploration edict.
Explorers note obvious terrain features and resources on the first day in a hex. Each day spent in the hex allows Knowledge (geography) and/or Survival checks to locate hidden landmarks, lairs, or resources, with a DC ranging from 15 for things that are relatively easy to find or well known in local lore to DC 30 for those that are well hidden or generally unknown.
Explorers have the same chances for random encounters and other dangers that you would if you traveled through or explored the hex yourself. If you are not traveling with the explorers and they have a hostile encounter, you may have the expedition attempt a Stealth check (DC 10 + twice the encounter’s CR), using the worst Stealth modifier among the expedition members. If the check fails, you may attempt a Stability check (DC = Control DC + twice the encounter’s CR). If you succeed at the Stability check, the explorers escape and survive but are temporarily scattered and make no more progress that month. If you fail the Stability check, the explorers are killed; Unrest increases by 1, and the remainder of your BP investment in the expedition is lost.Source Ultimate Campaign pg. 232
Trade edicts are special edicts that allow you to create a trade route with another kingdom, increasing the BP you gain every month, as well as possibly increasing your Fame and other kingdom statistics.
To plan a trade route, select another kingdom as your trade partner and determine the distance in hexes from a settlement in your kingdom to a settlement in the target kingdom, tracing the path of the trade route rather than a direct line. A trade route can pass through grassland, desert, or any terrain that has a road or highway. If your settlement contains a Pier, the trade route can pass along rivers and coastal hexes. If your settlement contains a Waterfront, your trade route can pass through water hexes.
Longer trade routes are harder to maintain than short ones. To determine the effective length of your trade route, hexes with roads or rivers count normally. Grassland and desert hexes count double. Water hexes and hexes with highways count as half. This total distance is the Trade Route Length (TRL). Divide the Trade Route Length by 10 to get the Route Modifier (RM). Subtract the TRL from your kingdom’s Size to get the Length Modifier (LM), with a minimum LM of 0.
Establishing a trade route takes 1 hex per day along Roads and Rivers (upstream), 2 along coastlines, and 4 along water or Rivers (downstream). If the journey requires 1 turn or more, you gain no benefits from it until the turn the traders arrive at their destination. You must invest at least 5 BP into the initial trade expedition using this trade route. The first time your traders reach the destination settlement, attempt an Economy check, a Loyalty check, and a Stability check. Determine the DC as follows: DC = Control DC + your settlement’s Corruption + the RM + the LM – your settlement’s Productivity
If all three checks fail, the trade route is a total loss; Fame decreases by 1 and Unrest increases by 1. If one check succeeds, the expedition fails to reach its destination but sells its goods elsewhere for 1d4 BP per every 5 BP invested.
If two checks succeed, the trade route is established; Economy increases by 1 and Treasury increases by the RM + 2d4 BP per 5 BP invested in the initial trade expedition. For example, if you invested 5 BP in a trade route with an RM of 2, Treasury increases by 2 + 2d4 BP.
If all three checks succeed, the trade route is established and is a great success; Economy increases by 2, Fame increases by 1, and Treasury increases by the RM + 2d4 BP per 5 BP invested in the initial trade expedition.
An established trade route provides its benefits for 1 year. A kingdom can have one of each of the following types of trade route. Each type requires certain buildings in your settlement, and each increases the Economy bonus from a successful trade route.
Food: If your kingdom has surplus production from farms and fisheries that reduces its Consumption to below 0, you may export food. A successful food trade route increases Economy by 1 for every 10 Farms and Fisheries in the kingdom; this benefit is lost in any month that Farms and Fisheries do not reduce Consumption below 0. You must have at least 1 Granary and 1 Stockyard in your settlement.
Goods: The trade route transports goods such as weapons and textiles. Count all Guildhalls, Smithies, Shops, Trade Shops, and Tanneries in the starting settlement and divide by 10; a successful goods trade route increases Economy by this amount. You must have at least 1 Guildhall in your settlement.
Luxuries: This trade route carries exotic goods such as art, musical instruments, books, spices, dyes, and magic items. Count all Alchemists, Caster’s Towers, Exotic Artisans, Herbalists, Luxury Stores, and Magic Shops in the starting settlement and divide by 10; a successful luxuries trade route increases Economy by that amount. You must have at least 1 Luxury Store in your settlement.
Raw Materials: This trade route carries common raw materials such as lumber, stone, ore, or metal. A successful raw materials trade route increases Economy by 1 for every 10 Mines, Quarries, and Sawmills in the kingdom. You must have at least 1 Foundry in the starting settlement to count Mines.Source Ultimate Campaign pg. 233
Vassalage edicts are special edicts that allow you to cede a portion of your lands (or unclaimed lands you deem yours to take) to a subordinate leader, sponsoring that leader’s rulership in exchange for fealty. You can also use a Vassalage edict to found a colony beholden to your kingdom. You may also use a Vassalage edict to subjugate an existing kingdom you have conquered without having to absorb the entire kingdom hex by hex. When you issue a Vassalage edict, you must select a person to take the Viceroy leadership role.
Issuing a Vassalage edict requires you to spend 1d4 BP and give additional BP to the Viceroy as a starting Treasury for the vassal kingdom (just as a wealthy sponsor may have granted to your initial Treasury). You may give up to 1/4 of your kingdom’s Treasury to your new vassal as a grant to help found the kingdom.
When you issue a Vassalage edict, you are creating a new kingdom or attaching an existing kingdom to your own. Your vassal functions in most respects as a separate entity with its own kingdom scores. You decide how it is governed; you may give its leaders full autonomy, or give occasional suggestions or commands about buildings and improvements, or control it directly by giving orders to the Viceroy.
New Vassal or Colony: When you issue a Vassalage edict to create a new colony or kingdom, you may immediately establish an embassy, treaty, or alliance (your choice) with your new vassal (see Diplomatic edicts on page 228). You may decide that the treaty and alliance are balanced or unbalanced. These decisions are automatically successful and do not require rolls.
Subjugation: When you issue this edict to subjugate another kingdom, you may immediately establish an embassy, but you must follow the normal rules if you wish to establish a treaty or alliance. If you spend BP on bribes or gifts to reduce the DC and you succeed at forming the treaty or alliance, you may count half of this amount as going toward new improvements or buildings built in the vassal kingdom that turn.
The starting attitude of the vassal kingdom is based on alignment compatibility (as per Diplomatic edicts) and modified by the circumstances under which you deposed the prior leadership per GM discretion—for example, improving if you removed a hated tyrant or worsening if you unseated a popular ruler.
Subjugation may cause friction between your established citizens and the newly conquered. You must attempt a Loyalty check each turn (when you issue the edict, and on future turns during the Upkeep phase), increasing the DC by the subjugated kingdom’s Size divided by 5. Failure means Unrest increases by 1d4. If you succeed at this check three turns in a row, you establish a peaceful equilibrium and no longer need to attempt these checks.
Vacancy Penalty: If the vassal kingdom take a vacancy penalty for not having a Viceroy or a Viceroy not doing his duties, that kingdom also takes the Ruler vacancy penalty. A Consort or Heir from your kingdom may mitigate this penalty if she is touring the vassal state; however, she cannot also mitigate the Ruler vacancy penalty in your kingdom.