Abilities
A kingdom has modifiers in four abilities: Loyalty, Stability, Economy, and Culture. Whenever you roll a skill check for one of the kingdom's skills, you add its ability modifier.
Each ability also has a corresponding Ruin that opposes it. Ruins can increase because of mismanagement, natural disasters, warfare, shortages, or just bad luck. While minor problems can be handled smoothly, if a Ruin builds up too much, it will start to impose penalties on all related activities in the kingdom. Each Ruin has a threshold: a point at which the penalties associated with that Ruin increase. Each Ruin’s threshold is 10 to begin with, but each can increase as the kingdom levels up. 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.
When the kingdom reaches 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter, it gains the ruin resistance feature. Each time it does so, it has the opportunity to reduce one existing Ruin penalty to 0. The Repair Reputation kingdom skill action is another option for reducing Ruin penalties. Finally, if there is an effect which would reduce the value of a particular Ruin below 0, instead reduce the Ruin to 0 and roll a DC 16 flat check; on a success, the Ruin’s penalty is reduced by 1, to a minimum of 0.
Loyalty
Loyalty measures the collective will, spirit, and sense of camaraderie the citizens of your nation possess. How much do they trust and depend on one another? How do they respond when you sound the call to arms or enact new laws? How do they react when other nations send spies or provocateurs into your lands to make trouble? If they support the kingdom’s leadership, the kingdom itself has robust Loyalty.
Loyalty is opposed by Strife. This includes acts of treachery, subterfuge, bribery, violence, abuse of power, and infighting between groups.
Stability
Stability measures the physical health and well-being of your nation. This includes its defensive infrastructure, the welfare of its people, and how well things are otherwise protected and maintained under your rule. How carefully do you maintain your stores and reserves, manage your resources, and provide for the necessities of life? How quickly can you mobilize to shield your citizens from harm? A kingdom that can handle both prosperity and disaster efficiently and effectively has robust Stability.
Stability is opposed by Decay, representing physical harm, neglect, or degradation of the kingdom, its people, and its infrastructure.
Economy
Economy measures the practical day-to-day workings of your society as it comes together to do the work of making and building, buying and selling. How industrious are your citizenry? Are they devoted to building more, higher, and better, trading in goods, services, and ideas? If so, your kingdom likely has robust Economy.
Economy is opposed by Crime, which includes theft, smuggling, and enterprises that suffocate prosperity.
Culture
Culture measures the interest and dedication of your nation and its people to the arts and sciences, to religion and reason, and to the subjects that your society chooses to learn about and to teach. Are your people well-versed in rhetoric and philosophy? Do they value learning and research, music and dance? Do they embrace society in all its diverse splendor? If so, your kingdom likely has robust Culture.
Culture is opposed by Corruption. It represents citizens falling to debauchery, delving into forbidden lore, pursuing unethical or harmful research practices, or even destroying their own heritage and history.
Unrest
A kingdom can also experience general unrest, which makes everything in the kingdom more difficult. Unrest represents unhappiness among the citizens of the kingdom. Unrest is a persistent value that remains from turn to turn and can be adjusted during kingdom turns as events play out. If the Unrest value exceeds a given threshold, it takes the listed status penalty to all kingdom checks until the value is decreased below the threshold again. If the Unrest is 20 at the start of a kingdom turn, your kingdom falls into anarchy.
Fame
Fame (or Infamy, in some cases) represents the kingdom's reputation as it is regarded by its neighbors. The initial maximum number of Fame points the kingdom can possess is 3. Fame can be spent in one of two ways:
Famous Revision: After learning the degree of success (but not necessarily the outcome) of a kingdom check, spend 1 Fame point and reroll the check, using the better of the two results. This is a fortune effect.
Famous Reprieve: You rely on your reputation to stave off the effects of anarchy or ruination. If your Unrest would result in anarchy, you may spend all of your Fame (minimum 1) and reduce your Unrest to 1 less than the value at which anarchy would occur. If an increase in Ruin would increase a Ruin penalty, you may spend all of your Fame (minimum 1) and reduce the Ruin value to 1 less than the value at which it would increase the Ruin penalty.
Earning Fame
You earn 1 Fame point (to your normal limit) at the start of each kingdom turn unless otherwise specified. In addition, you may earn Fame in the following ways:
Incredible Leadership: Whenever a PC leader rolls a critical success on a kingdom check, gain 1 Fame.
Incredible Structure: Certain settlement structures grant 1 Fame when they are built. However, certain structures are considered shameful: If your kingdom builds a structure of this type, the kingdom loses 1 Fame.
Incredible Works: Once per kingdom turn, a successful Create Masterpiece activity can grant 1 additional Fame (though a critical failure loses you 1 Fame).
Incredible Deeds: During normal play, if a player who is currently serving in a leadership role critically succeeds at a significant task (at GM discretion), they may be offered the chance to spend a Hero Point to turn that result into an incredible deed, celebrated by their people. At the start of the next kingdom turn after an incredible deed is done, the kingdom gains 2 additional Fame, up to its usual maximum.