Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 506
The mechanics treat the kingdom itself as an additional character in the party, so players who know how to navigate and level up their own characters should find managing a kingdom relatively easy.
Though these rules use the word “kingdom” to refer to the nation ruled by the PCs, their government doesn't need to be a monarchy. Likewise, titles like “queen” or “king” may differ from the terms the PCs choose for their leaders (and in any case, gender has no mechanical role in the kingdom rules).
Kingdom Creation
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 507
The processes of creating and running a kingdom are similar to creating and playing a character. A kingdom has several different mechanical systems that define and describe it, including ability scores, skills, and feats. These develop throughout the campaign, so you should track them on a kingdom sheet like the one on page 632. The GM and other players should work together to determine how best to keep track of their kingdom. Should the GM keep track of everything? Should one player (perhaps the one in the Ruler leadership role) always be responsible for filling out the kingdom sheet, while other players are responsible for different settlements' Urban Grids? Should the kingdom sheet pass from one player to the next each session or each time the kingdom levels up? As long as all of the kingdom's stats are available to everyone during play, there's no one right answer, so use the solution that works best for your group.
Kingdom Ability Scores
A kingdom has four ability scores: Culture, Economy, Loyalty, and Stability. These function like a character's ability scores, providing modifiers on die rolls and checks. As the kingdom prospers and grows, these scores can increase. And if the nation falls on hard times or goes through corruption, scandal, defeat, or disaster, Ruin will accrue that degrades these abilities (see Ruin).
Kingdom Ability Score Overview
Each Kingdom ability score starts at 10, representing the average, but as a player makes kingdom creation choices in the following steps, they'll adjust these scores. Apply ability boosts (which increase a score by 2) or ability flaws (which decrease a score by 2), in the same way, that boosts and flaws are applied to character ability scores. Kingdom ability scores give the same ability modifiers as character ability scores.
Step 1: Kingdom Concept
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 508
Building a kingdom is a cooperative experience that is enhanced by engaging the entire group. By the time the PCs are granted a charter to explore and settle a portion of the Stolen Lands, the players should be given the kingdom rules and work together to decide the kingdom they want to establish.
Step 2: Select a Charter
Starting a new kingdom is a daunting challenge, requiring significant amounts of funding and support to get everything started. A charter granted by an established entity gives the kingdom a much-needed enhancement right at the start, typically manifesting as boosts to two of the kingdom's ability scores and a flaw to a third score. In effect, a charter bolsters two aspects of a kingdom, but one other aspect is held back to the benefit of the charter's holder.
Most charters apply a flaw to one specific ability, a boost to another specific ability, and a “free” boost, which can be applied to any score that the charter doesn't specifically affect. For example, the conquest charter specifically gives a boost to Loyalty and a flaw to Culture, so the free boost can be applied to either Economy or Stability.
On the kingdom sheet, record the type of charter the PCs chose. On a separate sheet, record which three kingdom abilities received boosts or a flaw in this step; refer to it when finalizing ability scores in step 5.
Step 3: Choose a Heartland
Step 4: Choose a Government
Though the terminology used in the kingdom sections presumes the PCs establish a feudal monarchy in which a queen and/or king rules the land, feudalism isn't the only form of government to choose from. If the PCs decide upon a different type of government, adjust the names of certain leadership roles as you wish. The mechanics of these rules remain the same.
The choice of government grants three boosts to the kingdom's ability scores. Two boost-specific abilities, while the third is a free boost that can be applied to any ability score other than the two that were specifically boosted. The government type also gives the kingdom the trained proficiency rank in two specific skills and grants a bonus Kingdom feat.
On the kingdom sheet, record the type of government the PCs chose, which two skills received training, and which Kingdom feat the PCs received. On a separate sheet, record which three kingdom abilities received a boost in this step; refer to it when finalizing ability scores in step 5.
Making Big Changes
A kingdom's government type cannot be altered once chosen. Should the GM wish to allow a full regime change, it should cause significant events involving an adventure of its own, or at the very least, should force the PC leaders to endure several Kingdom turns of anarchy.
Step 5: Finalize Ability Scores
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 510
Once the players have chosen their kingdom's charter, heartland, and government, finalize the kingdom's ability scores. First, choose two different kingdom abilities to receive additional boosts. Then, total the boosts and flaws the kingdom has received for each ability, and record the final ability score and its associated modifier on the kingdom sheet. Remember that ability scores start at 10, boosts add 2, and flaws subtract 2. For example, if a kingdom's Loyalty received two boosts and a flaw, its Loyalty ability score is 12 (10+4-2), so its Loyalty modifier is +1.
Step 6: Record Kingdom Details
The PCs should choose a name for their kingdom. Record it on their kingdom sheet along with the following initial statistics.
The kingdom's level is 1, and its maximum level is equal to the party level.
The kingdom's Size is 1.
The kingdom's Resource Die is a d4, and its Resource Dice total is 5.
The kingdom's Control DC is 14.
The kingdom's Consumption is 0.
The kingdom's Unrest is 0.
All four Ruins start at 0, and each Ruin's initial threshold is 10.
The kingdom's initial commodity stores are 0, and its maximum storage limit for each is 4.
Step 7: Choose Leaders
Every kingdom needs leaders, and the assumption is that those leaders include the PCs (though if the party has more than eight PCs, not all PCs will have leadership roles).
First, assign each PC to a different leadership role. It's best if the party works together to assign these roles. Then, assign any remaining roles to NPCs whom the PCs have allied with and who are capable and willing to serve in a leadership role.
Next, choose four leadership roles to invest. Investing a role provides a status bonus to Kingdom skill checks based on that role's key ability (see Key Ability under Leadership Roles). Invest roles assigned to PCs first (so if your party has fewer than four PCs, you'll invest only enough NPC roles to make up the difference).
These initial leadership assignments happen as part of the founding of the kingdom and do not require a kingdom activity to occur. Once the kingdom is established, adjusting leadership requires using the New Leadership kingdom activity.
Then, each of the four invested leaders chooses to apply the trained proficiency rank to a different Kingdom skill. You may not choose skills that already received training from your choice of government type. These proficiency ranks cannot be reassigned later.
On the kingdom sheet, record the leader you assigned to each role and indicate the four roles you invested. Record a +1 status bonus to the skill associated with each invested role's key ability, and record the four skills that your nation received training in.
Step 8: First Village
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 511
Somewhere in that heartland hex lies the kingdom's first village—the capital. Rules for founding settlements begin on Founding a Village, but the players can skip Step 1 and Step 2 of that process when founding this village. Since this is their first village, the PCs gain 40 kingdom XP as a milestone award; record it on the kingdom sheet, along with the capital's name. If the site the PCs have chosen has any established structures listed in the hex's resources in Chapter 2, place them in blocks of the PCs' choice on an Urban Grid. (The PCs won't add new structures to the settlement before their first Kingdom turn.)
Step 9: Calculate Skill Modifiers
With the big decisions made, it's time to calculate modifiers for each of the kingdom's skills. Each skill is associated with a specific ability, and the initial modifier for each skill consists of the ability modifier for the associated ability, plus a proficiency bonus, plus a status bonus for skills that receive them from invested leadership roles. (There are several other types of bonuses and penalties that can affect skill modifiers later in the campaign; leave those boxes empty for now.)
Initial modifier = modifier of the skill's key ability score + proficiency bonus + status bonus
If a kingdom is not proficient in a skill, the proficiency bonus is +0; if a kingdom is trained in a skill, the proficiency bonus is that kingdom's level plus 2. (It's not possible to attain proficiency ranks beyond trained until 3rd level.) Calculate the initial modifiers for all skills and record them on the kingdom sheet.
Step 10: Fame or Infamy?
Finally, the PCs should decide if they want their kingdom to aspire to fame or infamy. A famous kingdom seeks to bolster its citizens, forge alliances with neighbors, or oppose the rise of cruelty, while an infamous kingdom uses its citizens as resources, undermines and sabotages its neighbors, or actively seeks warfare. It's an oversimplification to call a famous kingdom a “good” kingdom or an infamous kingdom an “evil” one, and disruptive elements like crime or corruption will harm an infamous kingdom as surely as a famous one. As such, kingdoms do not have alignments to track. The choice here solely determines whether the kingdom uses Fame or Infamy points and the influence certain structures might have on the kingdom. Fill in the box for the type of points you won't be tracking.
Leveling Up your Kingdom
Kingdoms increase in level by gaining kingdom experience points (XP). At each new level, a kingdom improves attributes and focus areas beyond those provided by its basic background and the specific choices made at the time of its founding.
At the end of a Kingdom turn, if the kingdom has at least 1,000 XP and has not yet reached its maximum level (see below), increase the kingdom's level by 1 and deduct 1,000 from its current XP total. (The kingdom's level can't increase by more than 1 on a single Kingdom turn.) Note the kingdom's new level on the kingdom sheet. If the kingdom has any leftover XP, they are retained and count toward gaining the next level.
The kingdom's maximum level is equal to the party's level; it can never exceed the level of the PCs themselves. So, for example, if the PCs are still 1st level when the kingdom reaches 1,000 XP, the kingdom cannot level up yet; it will level up at the end of the first Kingdom turn after the PCs have reached 2nd level. (It's possible for a kingdom to accumulate a large reserve of XP, at which point the party's level effectively determines when that kingdom levels up rather than just XP accumulation. This is fine.)
When your kingdom gains a level, each army you have gains a level as well.
As the kingdom advances, it gains the abilities described on these two pages. Abilities gained at levels higher than first list the level at which they are gained next to their name.
Control DC
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 512
The more powerful a kingdom grows, the more difficult it becomes to control it. The base Control DC for your kingdom is set by the kingdom's level—fortunately, as you increase in level, your ability to successfully utilize your skills grows as well.
Charter, Government, and Heartland
Your kingdom gains the benefits of your selected charter, government, and heartland.
Initial Proficiencies
At 1st level, a kingdom receives the trained proficiency rank in two Kingdom skills gained from your initial choice of government and in up to four additional Kingdom skills determined by your invested leaders, giving you a proficiency bonus to checks using these skills equal to your kingdom level plus 2. Proficiencies cannot be changed, even if the kingdom's government or leaders later change.
Favored Land
Your heartland's terrain becomes your kingdom's favored land—the wilderness terrain that your people feel the strongest emotional ties to and to which your resource gatherers tend to flock. Once per Kingdom turn, during the Region Activities step of the Activity phase, you can attempt two Region activities simultaneously as long as both activities take place in the same hex and that hex contains the same terrain as your heartland. You take a –2 penalty to Kingdom skill checks made during these two activities.
Settlement Construction
You can establish villages in your kingdom immediately. At 3rd level, you can expand villages into towns. At 9th level, you can expand towns into cities. And at 15th level, you can expand cities into metropolises.
As villages grow into larger settlements, you not only gain more room to build, but the maximum item bonus you can gain from that settlement's structures increases as well (see Settlement Types).
Kingdom Feats
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 513
The kingdom gains a Kingdom feat at the 2nd level and then every 2 levels thereafter.
Skill Increase
Your kingdom gains a skill increase at 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter. You can use this to increase your rank to trained in one skill in which your kingdom is untrained, or to increase your rank to expert in one skill in which your kingdom is trained.
Starting at 7th level, you can use your skill increases to increase your kingdom's proficiency to master in a skill in which your kingdom is already an expert. Beginning at 15th level, you can use them to increase your proficiency to legendary in a skill in which your kingdom is already a master.
Kingdom Skills
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 515
Every nation has its own distinct areas of specialization, the things in which it invests its time, talent, and treasure, and the pursuits and features for which the nation becomes renowned for—these are tracked as a kingdom's skills. At 1st level, the maximum number of skills in which a kingdom can have trained proficiency is six: two determined by the kingdom's initial choice of government and up to four others determined by leadership roles. As a kingdom levels up, it can acquire training in additional skills and increase proficiencies to expert, master, or legendary. Choices about proficiencies cannot be changed after they have been made.
Attempting Kingdom Skill Checks
During a Kingdom turn, the PCs attempt Kingdom skill checks. Such checks determine the effects of many things that affect the kingdom, including enduring a hardship, completing a task, impressing a visiting band of dignitaries, fighting off monsters, building a structure, or expanding into a new hex.
A skill check for a kingdom works just like a skill check for a PC. One of the players—typically the one playing the PC whose key attribute or role is most appropriate—rolls 1d20 and adds the appropriate skill modifier, which consists of the kingdom's ability modifier for the ability associated with the skill plus any other applicable modifiers, including the kingdom's proficiency bonus in that skill and any other situational bonuses and penalties that might arise.
Check result = d20 roll + skill modifier Skill modifier = key ability score modifier + proficiency bonus + other bonuses – penalties
It is a success if the check result equals or exceeds the Difficulty Class (DC) of the check. If it exceeds the DC by 10 or more, it's a critical success. If the check result is less than the DC, it is a failure. If it misses the DC by 10 or more, it's a critical failure. Critically succeeding (or failing) still counts as succeeding (or failing), but if the situation that required the check describes specific results for criticals, apply only the more specific result.
If a player rolls a natural 20, the result is improved one degree; for example, turning a failure into a success or a success into a critical success. Also, if the player rolls a natural 1, the result is worsened one degree, turning a success into a failure or a failure into a critical failure. (The result cannot be improved or worsened beyond critical.)
Whenever a Kingdom skill check results in a critical success, the kingdom gains 1 Fame/Infamy point. A kingdom cannot acquire Fame/Infamy beyond its maximum allotment.
The five different types of modifiers (bonuses or penalties) that can apply to Kingdom skill checks are described below. When different types of modifier apply to the same check, add them all. But when multiple modifiers of the same type apply, use only the highest bonus and the worst penalty of that type—in other words, modifiers of the same type (except bonuses granted by structures—see below) don't stack. For instance, if both a proficiency bonus and an item bonus could apply to a check, add both to the die result, but if two item bonuses could apply, add only the higher of the two.
Proficiency bonuses are modifiers determined by a kingdom's proficiency with a skill, using the Proficiency Bonuses table below.
Circumstance modifiers are the result of something that happens during a kingdom event, of an activity, or of an ability granted by the kingdom's level.
Item modifiers are granted by settlement structures or Ruin penalties. Item bonuses granted by structures are typically very specific in their application and only apply to events that take place within the influence area of the settlement in which they are located, although structures in a capital apply their item bonuses to the entire kingdom. Item bonuses granted by structures have special rules for stacking; see the Settlement Types table and Item Bonus. Ruin can inflict long-lasting item penalties to a kingdom.
Status modifiers come from leadership expertise in skills related to their role, Kingdom feats, and long-term events. Unrest is the most common status penalty for a kingdom.
Vacancy modifiers are always penalties. They occur when leadership roles are left vacant, or when leaders don't spend the necessary time attending to their duties.
Basic Skill Checks
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 517
Many activities call for a basic skill check, where the DC is your kingdom's Control DC.
Kingdom Feats
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 531
A kingdom gains feats as it increases in level. Some feats are general-purpose abilities that apply all the time. Others grant benefits to specific kingdom activities or events or allow kingdoms to perform special activities. Each time a kingdom gains a feat, players can select any feat whose level does not exceed their kingdom's level and whose prerequisites their kingdom satisfies.
Kingdom Rules
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 533
A kingdom's Size reflects its governance's complexity, influence on other nations, and access to resources. A kingdom's Size also determines its Production Die and other statistics. The actual total population of a kingdom is a function of its Size as well, but population numbers do not have a direct effect on these rules.
Size: The total number of hexes in the kingdom. When a kingdom's Size reaches 10, 25, 50, and 100, it gains kingdom XP as a milestone award.
Production Die
A kingdom's economy is based on the sum of the productive activity of its citizens, and that activity is reflected in a quantity of resources that the kingdom can tap into each month. These resources are represented by Resource Points (see below) which are determined by Resource Dice, with the number of dice being equal to the nation's level + 4. When a kingdom is first founded, each Resource Die is a d4, but as the kingdom advances in Size, its Resource Die increases to d6, d8, d10, or d12 (see the Kingdom Size table).
Production
A kingdom's Production represents a combination of the work of a kingdom's citizens and the time spent on jobs, talent, labor, tools, and funds to handle this toil. Resource points do not directly represent amounts of coins in a treasury, but rather an abstraction of the nation's total amount of available funds to handle tasks. Since luck and demand play a part in a kingdom's resources, the exact total of Production a kingdom will have each turn varies; a new total of Production is rolled at the start of each Kingdom turn using Production Dice. Any Production not spent by the end of that turn convert to kingdom XP at a rate of 1 Production to 1 XP.
Whenever the kingdom is forced to spend Production that would drop it below 0, spend all the Production the kingdom has and then increase a Ruin of the PCs' choice by 1.
Ruin
As bad luck, natural disasters, unexpected shortages, or even warfare damage a kingdom, it becomes Ruined in one of four categories opposing the kingdom's four ability scores. Ruin rises and falls as Kingdom turns progresses, but if it rises too high, it can cause lasting or even permanent harm to the kingdom.
Culture is opposed by Corruption, which represents citizens falling to debauchery, delving into forbidden lore, pursuing unethical research practices, or destroying their own heritage and history.
Economy is opposed by Crime, which includes theft, smuggling, and enterprises that suffocate prosperity.
Stability is opposed by Decay, representing physical harm, neglect, or degradation of the kingdom, its people, and its infrastructure.
Loyalty is opposed by Strife, which includes acts of treachery, subterfuge, bribery, violence, abuse of power, and infighting between groups.
Accruing Ruin
As Ruin accumulates, the categories gain points. These point totals are persistent, decreasing only in specific circumstances, but most often when a Ruin's point total exceeds that Ruin's threshold. Other events can reduce or increase a Ruin's point total as well—typically as the result of kingdom activities or events.
Ruin Threshold
Each Ruin has a threshold; a point at which the penalties associated with that Ruin increase. A Ruin's initial threshold is 10, but each threshold increases as the kingdom levels up and becomes more able to withstand Ruin in all its forms. Whenever a Ruin exceeds its threshold, reduce that Ruin's total points by an amount equal to its threshold, and increase the Ruin's penalty by 1.
Ruin Penalty
A Ruin penalty applies to all checks using that Ruin's associated ability score. For example, if your kingdom has a Corruption penalty of –4, it takes a –4 item penalty on all Culture checks.
Reducing Ruin Penalties
When a kingdom reaches 5th level, and then again every 3 levels thereafter, it gains Ruin resistance; each time it does so, it has the opportunity to reduce an existing Ruin penalty to 0. This is an extremely effective way to manage a Ruin penalty that's crept particularly high, but it's also an extremely limited resource, as a kingdom will only get, at most, 6 opportunities to adjust a Ruin penalty in this way over the course of a campaign. The Repair Reputation activity can reduce existing Ruin penalties, although at a much slower rate. Other activities or events can also reduce Ruin penalties, as detailed in the text for each. Finally, if circumstances ever allow for a Ruin's points to be reduced and that particular Ruin is already at 0 points, instead of reducing Ruin to a negative value you can instead attempt a DC 16 flat check; on a success, reduce that Ruin's penalty by 1 to a minimum of 0.
Unrest
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 534
Unrest represents unhappiness among the kingdom's citizens, who show their lack of confidence in the leadership by balking at edicts, refusing to follow commands, and disrupting local economies through boycotts, walkouts, and refusal to talk to emissaries. Unrest is a persistent value that remains from turn to turn and can be adjusted during Kingdom turns as events play out.
Unrest 1: If a kingdom has at least 1 point of Unrest, take a –1 status penalty to all kingdom checks.
Unrest 5: If a kingdom has 5 or more points of Unrest, take a –2 status penalty to all kingdom checks.
Unrest 10: If a kingdom has 10 or more points of Unrest, take a –3 status penalty to all kingdom checks.
Unrest 15: If a kingdom has 15 or more points of Unrest, take a –4 status penalty to all kingdom checks.
Expanding a Kingdom
A kingdom grows one hex at a time on the Stolen Lands map, via Region activities like Claim Hex and Clear Hex. The PCs can pursue these activities during the Activity phase of each Kingdom turn.
Losing Hexes
It's possible to lose control of a hex. When this happens, the kingdom immediately loses any benefits from terrain improvements in that hex, and all settlements in that hex become Freeholds. Monsters may move into an abandoned hex, increasing the chance for random encounters, and if you wish to reclaim the hex, you may need to clear it first of hostile creatures. Each hex lost decreases a kingdom's Size by 1. This affects the kingdom's statistics, such as the type of its Resource Die.
If one or more hexes are lost in such a way that it breaks the connection between parts of a kingdom, so that all of the hexes are no longer contiguous with other hexes of the kingdom, whatever portion of the territory contains the capital becomes the primary territory and the rest of the kingdom becomes its secondary territory. All Kingdom skill checks made to resolve issues associated with secondary territories take a –4 circumstance penalty. When a kingdom starts a turn with any number of secondary territories, increase Unrest by 1. Once a secondary territory is connected to the primary territory via at least one hex, it becomes part of the primary territory.
If a kingdom is reduced to 0 hexes, whether through Unrest, a disaster, war with another kingdom, or any other effect, the PCs are at risk of having their rule end. On their next Kingdom turn, they must claim at least one new hex and establish or claim at least one settlement, or their kingdom is considered totally destroyed, and they must start over. In this case, you should have the PCs undertake a new adventure of your design to secure a new charter.
Diplomatic Relations
Diplomatic relations refers to acts of leadership that engage with other nations. In order to begin diplomatic relations with another group, PCs must first successfully Send a Diplomatic Envoy to the target group. When they establish diplomatic relations with a group, record the name of that group on the kingdom sheet. Once the PCs have established diplomatic relations with a group, they can use the Establish Trade Agreement and Request Foreign Aid Leadership activities.
Trade Agreements
The PCs can bolster their kingdom's economy by Establishing Trade Agreements with other groups with whom they have diplomatic relations. They must first successfully perform the Establish Trade Agreement activity to do so. There is no need to record the actual physical route of the Trade Agreement on the map, nor does distance play a significant factor.
Commodities
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 535
As a kingdom grows, it stockpiles resources beyond those required for day-to-day life. These resources are known as Commodities and are used to build structures in settlements, to trade for RP using the Trade Commodities activity, or to expend during kingdom events.
The types of Commodities that are available include Food, Lumber, Luxuries, Ore, and Stone. As kingdoms accumulate or expend these Commodities, track the numbers on the kingdom sheet. Unless specialized storage improvements have been built in its settlements, a kingdom is limited to a maximum number of stored Commodities in each category as determined by its Size (see the Kingdom Size table). Commodities gathered in excess of this storage limit are lost.
Each type of Commodity can be gathered by special activities as detailed below, but Commodities can also be discovered via kingdom events or while exploring the Stolen Lands, earned as rewards for quests, purchased from allies via Purchase Commodities, or acquired via Establishing Trade Agreements.
Food stockpiles are expended to pay for Consumption during the Upkeep phase of a Kingdom turn, but also when faced with famines or other disasters, and to keep armies fed during times of war (as described in those events). Food is gathered with Harvest Crops, Go Fishing, or Gather Livestock.
Lumber is used to build structures during the Civic Activities step of the Activity phase of a Kingdom turn, and it is gathered from lumber camps built by Establish Work Site.
Luxuries are used to build specialized structures or are expended during certain encounters, generally those with high stakes or magical effects. Luxuries can be found during adventuring, created via Craft Luxuries, or earned during certain events.
Ore is used to build structures. Ore is gathered from mines built by Establish Work Site.
Stone is used to build structures and is gathered from quarries built by Establish Work Site.
Upkeep Phase
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 537
During the Upkeep phase, you adjust your kingdom's statistics based on activities you have taken during the previous month. Remember that you earn 1 Fame or Infamy point at the start of your turn.
Step 1: Assign Leadership Roles To assign or change characters associated with leadership roles, do so now using the New Leadership kingdom activity. You can perform this activity as often as you wish during this step. Next, determine if any vacancy penalties apply. Any unassigned roles incur their vacancy penalties. Also, if a character assigned to a leadership role hasn't spent the required week of downtime on that role since the end of the last Kingdom turn, they must either give up one of the three kingdom activities they would perform during the Leadership Activities step of the Activity phase of this Kingdom turn or apply the vacancy penalty for their role until the start of the next Kingdom turn. (NPCs cannot perform kingdom activities, so in the unusual case that they were unable to spend the required downtime—see Leadership Roles—they must apply the vacancy penalty.) If a leader was replaced between Kingdom turns due to an unexpected vacancy, as long as a character currently holds the role and any characters assigned to the role collectively spent the required downtime, the vacancy penalty does not apply.
Step 2: Adjust Unrest On your first Kingdom turn, your kingdom's Unrest score is 0; skip to the next step. On all other turns, adjust your Unrest score: Increase it by 1 for every Overcrowded settlement in your kingdom. If you are at war, increase it by 1. Other ongoing events may have ongoing Unrest adjustments as well; make them at this time. After making all adjustments, if your kingdom's Unrest is 10 or higher, the kingdom gains 1d10 points to its Ruins. Distribute these points in any way you wish among the four Ruins. In addition, attempt a DC 11 flat check. On a failure, one hex of your kingdom is lost; the PCs choose which hex. See Losing Hexes for more information. If your kingdom's Unrest is 20 or higher, the entire nation also falls into anarchy. While in anarchy, you can only attempt Quell Unrest activities, and the results of all kingdom checks are worsened one degree.
Step 3: Production Collection The exact amount of resources you have to draw upon each Kingdom turn varies, as each month, there are countless unexpected boons and setbacks throughout each citizen's life that can impact how they can bolster your national plans. First, determine the number of Production Dice you are entitled to roll for the current Kingdom turn by adding your kingdom level + 4 to any bonus dice or penalty dice you gained from the previous turn. You cannot have fewer than 0 Production Dice. Production Dice = kingdom level + 4 + bonus dice – penalty dice Next, roll your Production Dice to determine how much Production) you have available during this turn. Your Production is equal to the roll result. (Production remaining at the end of your turn can be converted into kingdom Experience Points.) Finally, if you have any Work Sites established in your kingdom, gather Commodities. You gain 1 Commodity from each Work Site, or double that if the Work Site is in a Resource hex. Any Commodities gathered in excess of your storage capacity are lost.
Step 4: Pay Consumption Your settlements and armies require a certain amount of provisions, supplies, and funding, as well as all the basic necessities of life. On your first Kingdom turn, your kingdom's Consumption score is 0; skip to the next step. On all other turns, calculate your kingdom's Consumption score. This is the total of your settlements' Consumption scores plus your armies' Consumption scores minus the number of Farmland hexes you have within influence range of your settlements, plus any modifiers from kingdom events. Kingdom Consumption = settlement Consumption total + army Consumption total – Farmland hexes influenced by settlements + modifiers from kingdom events Spend Food Commodities equal to your kingdom's Consumption. If you can't or choose not to spend this Commodity cost, you can either spend 5 Production per point of unpaid Consumption or increase Unrest by 1d4.
Commerce Phase
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 538
The Commerce phase is when the kingdom generates revenue or makes trade agreements.
Step 1: Collect Taxes You can Collect Taxes once per Kingdom turn to attempt to bolster your Economy-based checks for the remainder of the Kingdom turn. If you don't attempt to Collect Taxes, you can instead attempt a DC 11 flat check; on a success, reduce Unrest by 1.
Step 2: Approve Expenses You can draw upon the kingdom's funds to enhance the standard of living for its citizens by attempting the Improve Lifestyle activity or you can attempt a withdrawal from the kingdom's funds using the Tap Treasury activity.
Step 3: Tap Commodities If your kingdom has any stockpiles of Commodities, you can attempt the Trade Commodities activity to bolster your RP for the turn.
Step 4: Manage Trade Agreements If you've established trade agreements, you can use the Manage Trade Agreements activity.
Activity Phase
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 539
The Activity phase is when you make proclamations on expanding your kingdom, declare holidays, and manage your territory and settlements. During this phase, the bulk of your kingdom's growth occurs.
Building Armies
Building and maintaining armies dovetails with the Kingdom turn, but these rules can be largely skipped over during times of peace. During wars, a fourth step—Army Activities—occurs at the end of the Activity phase.
Step 1: Leadership Activities
If your kingdom's capital has a Castle, Palace, or Town Hall, each PC in a leadership role may attempt up to three Leadership activities. If your capital has none of these structures, each PC can take no more than two Leadership activities during this step. Your party chooses the order you go in when taking Leadership activities. Unless an activity states otherwise, a leader cannot attempt the same Leadership activity more than once per Kingdom turn.
Step 2: Region Activities
The PC leaders may now collectively attempt up to three Region activities. The players decide who rolls any skill checks needed to resolve these activities.
Step 3: Civic Activities
Your party may now attempt one Civic activity for each of the kingdom's settlements. You determine the order in which these activities are attempted and who rolls any skill checks.
Event Phase
Events affect entire kingdom, single hexes, or a settlement. Some are harmful, while some are beneficial. Certain events continue for multiple turns, and only come to an end once they've been properly handled by the PCs or their kingdom.
Step 1: Check for Random Event
Attempt a DC 16 flat check. On success, a random kingdom event occurs (see Kingdom Events). If no random event occurs, the DC for this check in the next Kingdom turn is reduced by 5. Once an event occurs, the DC resets to 16.
Step 2: Event Resolution
Random events present opportunities to go forth in exploration or encounter mode to deal with a rampaging monster or the like; these are handled now. In some chapters of the Kingmaker Adventure Path, specific story events are introduced outside of Kingdom turns; these are resolved when they occur.
Step 3: Apply Kingdom XP
The GM now awards any kingdom XP earned during that turn. If the kingdom experienced a random event, it receives 30 XP. The first Kingdom turn that your kingdom spent 100 RP, gain 80 kingdom XP as a milestone award.
In addition, any RP that remains unspent is now converted to kingdom XP on a 1 to 1 ration, to a maximum of 120 XP per Kingdom turn.
Step 4: Increase Kingdom Level
If your kingdom's XP total is above 1,000, and your kingdom isn't at its maximum level, increase your kingdom level by 1 and subtract 1,000 from your XP total. See Leveling Up Your Kingdom for the full rules for leveling up.
Gaining Kingdom Experience
Source Kingmaker Adventure Path pg. 540
A kingdom gains experience (XP) by claiming hexes, reaching milestones during a campaign, enduring random kingdom events, or converting surplus RP at the end of a Kingdom turn.
Hex Claim XP Awards
Each time a kingdom claims a hex, it earns 10 kingdom XP. If this hex is lost at a later date, the kingdom does not lose the XP earned from claiming it. Conversely, if the kingdom reclaims a lost hex, it does not gain XP from reclaiming it.
Milestone XP Awards
As the kingdom grows, the kingdom gains XP the first time it reaches a milestone. These XP awards are given only once, the first time each milestone is attained.
Event XP Awards
A kingdom earns 30 XP for experiencing a random event or more for a Story event, regardless of the event's outcome.
Surplus Production XP Awards
Any Production remaining unspent at the end of a Kingdom turn is converted into XP at a ratio of 1 to 1.
Settlements
A ruler's territory provides the canvas upon which they can build a kingdom, but the true art of leadership is displayed in how one establishes and develops the settlements where citizens gather and live out their lives. While individual citizens like trappers, hunters, fishers, and farmers might dwell alone or with their families in the outskirts of a settlement, the majority of a kingdom's people live within the villages, towns, cities, and metropolises built for them.
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