Managing the Round Table is a unique moment you'll often return to, that allows you to manage multiple aspects of your kingdom and your knights. Today, we'd like to dive into parts of that feature!
What can be done at the Round Table?
The Round Table will offer quite a few options: gathering court news from Guinevere, preventing an unconscious knight from dying, recruiting new knights to fill your vacant seats, managing horses in the stable or your equipment in the character sheet, or even attempting the Perilous Challenge of sitting on the Siege Perilous (which we'll tell you more about soon).
During the year, all knights remain active. They can either go on adventures (optionally) or engage in knightly occupations. Knowing that you can't go on an adventure with more than 6 knights, the others will inevitably have an occupation.
What's the difference between occupation and adventure?
Occupations benefit the knight and their personal progression, while adventures grant Glory points that benefit the Kingdom and the Round Table. These points allow for recruiting more troops for the Great Battles.
You'll need to find a balance between sending your knights on adventures and assigning them to an occupation. Additionally, certain circumstances must be considered: a wounded knight would be better off resting, another one in disgrace might be better off going on a pilgrimage, etc. It's also worth noting that the richer a knight is, the less available they are for adventures (yes, managing one's domain takes time!).
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Every year, a Solo Quest can be triggered randomly, related to one of the chosen occupations. During these narrative quests, you'll face major choices and challenges just like in adventures. You can earn more Vocation and Inspiration points, as well as weapons, armor, horses, etc. depending on the occupation related to the quest. But beware! If you fail, your knight could be injured, weakened, dishonored, or worse!
What are the knightly occupations?
Let's cut right to the chase! There are eight of them:
Rest: Nothing better than rest to heal injures! This doesn't mean they'll stay in bed all year, but rather that they won't engage in activities that could exacerbate their wounds.
Manage their domain: Taking care of their domain is crucial for a knight. They oversee crops and the construction of roads, bridges, as well as presses and mills to increase the overall productivity of their fief. This increases their income and, ultimately, their Opulence.
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Hunting: Hunting is the preferred pastime of nobles. They don't hunt to survive but rather for the entertainment and social aspects of it! And to offer sumptuous banquets to friends, of course. It's a way to acquire Inspiration points in Largesse.
Start a romance: Knights must accomplish feats and face challenges to win the love of a lady, whether inside or outside of marriage. It's a source of Inspiration points in Love.
Train: By training in knightly arts – Melee, Cavalry, Courtesy, and Strategy – a knight accumulates Vocation points, allowing them to eventually level up their vocational traits.
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Compete in tournaments: Tournaments are sporting events where knights engage in mock battles to show their worth. They're not so much jousts on horseback as they are real skirmishes that bring together up to several thousand warriors divided into two teams, facing each other with blunted weapons under the watchful eye of the kingdom's nobles. It's the perfect opportunity to accumulate Prowess Inspiration points.
Serve the royal host: Serving the royal host involves getting involved in the king's armies, which in times of relative peace means organizing the garrison of the kingdom's castles, or patrolling along the borders. This provides Loyalty Inspiration points. Â
Go on a pilgrimage: A pilgrimage involves visiting a sacred place for the character, which allows them to purify their soul and regain their honor. It gives them back valuable Honor points they had lost.
We hope this sneak peek at the various occupations and Solo Quests your knights will partake in was an interesting read to you and until next time!
Clélia & the Artifice Studio teamÂ