Your players just saved the princess, defeated the evil lich, or retrieved the lost artifact. Now, the king has bestowed upon them a fief and a title. Great! But what happens next? As a DM, how do you make this newfound barony more than just a place to hang their hats? How do you make their lives gloriously complicated (in the best way)?

You could invest in comprehensive systems like MCDM’s Kingdoms and Warfare or the Pathfinder: Kingmaker adventure path, both of which assume players will eventually become lords of their realm. However, you might find at least one aspect you don’t quite like. Or, you could use the rules and mechanics outlined here—a free, minimalist, and narrative-driven approach explicitly tailored for the tragicomic farce that is the Great Game in the Feengrenze.

Table of contents

• Why I Created My Own Set of Kingdom Management Rules
• The Feengrenze Kingdom Rules
• Assumptions
• Building a Realm from Scratch
• Running a Realm
• Holding Court
• Income Generation
• Followers, Servitors, and Vassals
• Military Power
• Diplomatic Influence
• Less Hospitable Interactions
• Major Projects

Why I Created My Own Set of Kingdom Management Rules

I collect D&D and OSR content obsessively, always looking for new ideas and inspirations. While I’ve explored many kingdom-building and realm-management systems, they often fall short for my specific needs in the Feengrenze. Here’s why I developed my own:

• MCDM’s Strongholds and Followers / Kingdoms and Warfare. These books are excellent, but to support a wide variety of organizational types, they abstract away most gritty details into dice tests. Their benefits often boil down to powers and bonuses for the intrigue and warfare systems, which can limit the tangible, world-shaping impact players can have. While clever, these intricate intrigue rules didn’t quite capture the specific blend of political machinations and petty squabbles I wanted for the Feengrenze’s ‘ballet of poisoned words and fragile egos’.
• Kevin Crawford’s RPG Systems (Worlds Without Number, etc.) Worlds Without Number provides a strong, versatile foundation that forms the backbone of several mechanics in this series. However, while it includes powerful tools, it doesn’t sufficiently explain how players establish and run their realms, leaning heavily on DM improvisation and assuming a level of system fluency not all DMs (or players) possess.
• Pathfinder: Kingmaker. This adventure path integrates kingdom-building directly into the campaign. I found the simplified system in the CRPPG version already a juggling act, and I enjoy strategy games! When I reviewed the first edition Pathfinder SRD, I discovered an even more complex web of mechanics. I sought something simpler, more narrative-driven, and less punishing when players inevitably forget to assign a tax collector for a turn.

The Feengrenze Kingdom Rules

If, like me, you find existing rules for running player kingdoms less ideal, here are my homebrewed rules, inspired by the best content in the OSR. The goal was to build on existing TTRPG mechanics—primarily gold and hirelings—to strike a middle ground: simple for the DM, minimal time investment for players, but with ample room for complications and depth.

Assumptions

This system assumes the following about the players’ new realm:

• They have exclusive rights or permission to rule their realm.
• Your player’s realm is mapped using a hex map.

Building a Realm from Scratch

There are three primary ways for players to gain a realm: be granted one as a reward, conquer one, or carve one out of the wilderness. The first two are self-explanatory. Carving a kingdom out of the wilderness is a different beast, as modern D&D editions lack rules for such an endeavor, and alternative systems often handwave the process.

Assuming players wish to carve their kingdom out of unclaimed frontier territory, they can follow these steps:

1. Set up a Stronghold: Players need a base of operations. A multiplayer bastion (using the 2024 rules) or one of the strongholds from MCDM’s Strongholds and Followers works well for this role.
2. Tame their Domain: This is the fun part! Players venture out to clear their new domain of threats and scout for resources. This translates into more adventures. They’ll find resources to develop and monsters to deal with to secure their realm. Encourage creative problem-solving with resources; forging treaties with intelligent monsters can be more impactful than simply eliminating them.
3. Attract Settlers: The next step is to attract an initial crop of settlers to their newly tamed lands. How they do this is up to them: sending out criers, posting notices, convincing allies to move, or seeking out rumors of freemen and knights-errant. This involves a lot of role-playing. Many groups may be wary of settling an untested wilderness kingdom, so players will need to convince them through words or promised assistance.
4. Stat out their Kingdom (Optional): If integrating with an existing faction or political system, the final step involves statting out the player’s kingdom within that system. For example, a newly founded player kingdom might have a Power of 2, a d8 as its Power Dice, and features based on the resources it has discovered and the settlers it has attracted (as in Godbound).

Running a Realm

Running a realm is a grand undertaking, challenging even the most seasoned adventurers with responsibilities ranging from governance and defense to maintaining appearances among the nobility. Yet, it also brings immense rewards: a steady income of gold, the power to enact laws and initiate major projects, and a loyal retinue of followers.

Holding Court

Players are busy people, and adventuring sovereigns are doubly so. While medieval fantasy realms require less maintenance than modern ones, and much day-to-day business can be handled by vassals or followers, some matters require a sovereign’s undivided attention. To address these, players must hold court.

To hold court, players must return to their stronghold or residence within the realm for 5-10 continuous days of downtime.

LAWS

When holding court, the player sovereign can introduce new laws. A law outlines how an aspect of the player sovereign’s realm will be governed. Examples include:

• All towns with at least one brewer must appoint an official ale-taster (a real historical law from medieval England!).
• Establish an official festival day on an arbitrary date.
• A bounty on rats: 10 sp per rat tail.
• Exempting clergy members and wizards from local tax laws.
• Placing a special toll on the use of a road or waterway.

The DM determines the law’s effect. This doesn’t need to be complicated; it can be purely narrative (e.g., ale tastes better) or simple (e.g., a few coins added or subtracted from the treasury). Of course, suppose you, the DM, feel a law could have unintended consequences. In that case, you are free to conjure complications: make a law impossible to enforce, easily misused by unscrupulous people (rat farms for bounty, anyone?), or have disastrous outcomes.

Court Events

While holding court, the DM can introduce court events—small vignettes or side quests that task the player with resolving a conflict in their realm. As the DM, aim for court events to be fixable within roughly an hour of play, though they can escalate and potentially cost the realm a stability point. Court events might include.

• Resolving a feud between two vassals or retainers
• Negotiating with a foreign diplomat
• Investigating a strange phenomenon that vexes the court mages and scholars
• Resolve an issue delaying a major project

Holding Court and Stability Points

The player sovereign is expected to hold court at least once every 3 months. Failure to do so will result in an court event escalating into a major issue. The sovereign has 1d4 weeks to return and fix the problem before it escalates further. Failure to correct the issue in a timely fashion or to the satisfaction of all involved will result in your kingdom losing a stability point.

Stability points are an abstraction representing citizens’ faith in their sovereign and the strength of the realm’s institutions. A player’s realm starts with 10 points of stability. As stability decreases, penalties accrue:

Stability	Penalty
10	No penalty; the nation is stable.
8	Recent mishaps are widely discussed. The sovereign has disadvantage on Charisma and Intimidation checks due to a perceived lack of competence.
6	Banditry becomes widespread. Realm income is reduced by 10%.
4	There is a 1 in 3 chance that vassals and servitors may ignore orders from their sovereign as they work to put out fires in the realm.
2	The peasants and/or nobility start open revolts.
0	The nation crumbles into anarchy. Unless a Herculean effort is made to save the ship, the kingdom is lost.

To regain stability, the sovereign must remain in their realm and work to resolve issues. For every two weeks they hold court, the realm gains one stability point, up to a maximum of 25. Beyond the initial 10 points, higher stability also confers benefits:

• 15 Stability: The nation is prosperous and loyal. Realm income increases by 5%, and recruitment time for companies is halved.
• 20 Stability: The realm is a beacon of stability and attracts favorable attention. Diplomatic checks gain advantage, and significant project costs are reduced by 10%.

Regents

If a player sovereign will be away from the kingdom or otherwise unable to hold court for a prolonged period, they can appoint a regent. A regent is a vassal or follower chosen by the sovereign and empowered to make decisions on their behalf in their absence or incapacitation. However, player sovereigns must choose their regents wisely, as an untrustworthy regent could easily usurp control of the realm.

Income Generation

This system, a heavily modified version of the Noble Income Rules from Worlds Without Number, details how a realm generates income after accounting for expenses (hirelings, projects, military companies).

A realm’s yearly income is the sum of each hex’s gross income, minus the realm’s total expenses (hirelings, experts, military, major projects). A hex’s gross income is its base production in gold multiplied by its population modifier.

Example: Let’s say a baron rules over three 6-mile hexes: two rich agricultural lands and one mostly forest with little farmland. The first hex is the county’s well-patrolled core with multiple market towns, the second is ordinary backcountry farmland, and the third is a frontier.

Using the tables below, the count gains:

• Hex 1 (Rich Agricultural, Dense Villages): 800×2=1600 gp
• Hex 2 (Backcountry, Rich Agricultural): 800×1=800 gp
• Hex 3 (Frontier, Marginal Crop): 300×0.5=150 gp

For a gross income of 1600+800+150=2550 gp.

From this gross income, we subtract the realm’s expenses. Expenses include salaries of hirelings, upkeep of soldier companies, money required for ongoing major projects, and other assorted costs.

The count’s example expenses, excluding army company upkeep, hirelings, or ongoing major projects, break down as follows:

• Administration: 15 gp
• Civil Security (Funding courts and jails): 12 gp
• Messenger and Diplomacy: 6 gp
• Royal Household Upkeep: 6 gp
• Infrastructure Maintenance: 65 gp
• Dealing with Minor Problems: 9 gp

For a total expense of 113 gp.

So, 2550 gp (gross income)−113 gp (gross expenses)=2437 gp in income per year.

Income by Hex Type and Size

Hex Type	6-Mile Hex Income/Year (gp)	3-Mile Hex Income/Year (gp)	1-Mile Hex Income/Year (gp)
Major Mine or Rare Resource	1500	800	200
Rich Agricultural Land	800	450	143
Marginal Crop or Pasture	300	150	83
Poor and Barely Habitable	200	100	47
Wastelands and Barrens	0	0	0
Blighted Land	-100	-50	-17
Active War Zone	-200	-100	-33

Multiplier by Population

Population	Multiplier
Major City	x10
Minor City	x4
Dense Villages & Market Towns	x2
Backwater Population Density	x1
Frontier Population Density	x0.5
Barely Inhabited Wilderness	x0.1
Uninhabited Wilds	x0

Base Miscellaneous Expenses (per Hex Type)

Expense Category	Cost (gp per 6-mile hex)	Cost (gp per 3-mile hex)	Cost (gp per 1-mile hex)
Basic Administration	50	25	8
Justice & Security (Civil)	40	20	7
Diplomacy & Messengers	20	10	3
Royal Household Upkeep	60	30	10
Infrastructure Maintenance	25	23	4
Addressing Minor Problems	30	15	5

Optional Rule – Population Growth and Decline

In the base system, population levels are assumed to be relatively stable—neither growing nor shrinking—so long as the realm maintains a Stability score of 10 and receives no significant outside interference. However, player actions (or neglect) can cause populations to swell or shrink over time.

Default Assumption

A typical realm with average fertility, moderate infrastructure, and few external pressures takes roughly 30 years to naturally grow from one population level to the next (e.g., from Frontier to Backwater). Decline typically occurs at a similar rate, unless accelerated by hardship or misrule.

When growth or decline occurs, adjust the population modifier of affected hexes appropriately.

Player Impact on Growth Rate

Player actions can significantly accelerate or delay population shifts. Use the table below as a guideline:

Condition	Effect on Time to Growth/Decline
Stability > 14	Reduce growth time by 1 year per point above 14
Stability < 6	Reduce decline time exponentially: by 2^X years where X = 10 – Stability
Precious metals discovered in a hex	Reduce growth time by 5 years in that hex
A divine miracle occurs in the region	Reduce growth time by 2 years across nearby hexes
Unpopular or punitive law	Reduce decline time by DM’s discretion (typically 2–10 years)
Popular or beneficial law	Reduce growth time by DM’s discretion (typically 2–10 years)
Major monster incursion	Accelerate decline (DM determines severity)
Successful major project (e.g., road, aqueduct, new market)	Reduce growth time by 2–5 years for connected hexes

Followers, Servitors, and Vassals

With a realm established, players gain new resources in the form of their realm’s people. Their deeds can attract eager individuals who believe in them and serve as loyal followers. They can also hire and retain various professional servitors and advisors. Finally, they can elevate others to vassals by awarding them a fief of land.

Followers

Upon establishing a realm, players attract followers—individuals inspired by their deeds who pledge service without requiring a salary. Their minimal needs are typically covered by realm expenses, or they establish businesses within the domain. Unless actively undermined through severe neglect, tyranny, or repeated moral failings, followers remain utterly loyal.

Players can expect to encounter the following types of followers:

• The Master Artisan: A master of a single craft who often arrives with 1d6 apprentices.
  • A master artisan can decrease the crafting time and cost of an item by 25%
• The Master Sage: A wise old man or woman who seemingly knows everything. There is a 50% chance that the sage has 1d4 apprentices.
  • Retaining a master sage reduces the amount of time required to research a topic by 50%. 
  • Furthermore, the sage specializes in one field of knowledge and has a 1 in 4 chance of knowing the answer to a question related to that field.
• The aspiring Adventurer: A realm run by an adventuring sovereign is a natural magnet for newbie adventurers seeking a mentor. Such aspiring adventures make eager lieutenants and sergeants.
  • They can serve as upkeepless replacements for captains, inquisitors, scholars, reeves, court healers, or court mages.
  • Alternatively, that can serve as sidekicks (per the rules in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything)
• The Archmage: A master of a single school of magic who often has at least 1d4 apprentices. One settled in a realm; an archmage builds himself a tower with a teleportation circle at no expense to the sovereign. Furthermore, the Archmage provides one of the following benefits based on their school of magic.
  • Abjuration: The archmage applies a permanent guards and wards spell on the sovereign’s palace at no cost
  • Conjuration: The archmage can cast teleport once per day at no cost
  • Divination: The archmage can cast Commune or scrying once per day at no cost
  • Enchantment: The realm becomes warded so that enemies have a 1 in 6 chance of coming under the effect of the Irresistible Dance spell
  • Evocation: In times of war, the archmage will join the battle using the archmage stat block from the 2025 Monster Manual
  • Illusion: Once per day, 1d6 companies of enemy troops come under the effect of the weird spell 
  • Necromancy: The archmage raises 2d20 skeletons to serve as cheap labor and disposable soldiers.
  • Transmutation: The archmage provides an extradimensional vault for the sovereign’s use. The vault is 20 by 20 feet and warded against teleportation and divination magic.
• The Knight Errant. Oftentimes, when a knight Errant has had his fill of adventuring, he will seek a worthy lord to serve as his liege. A hero sovereign is a prime candidate for such a lord.
  • The players gain a knight (cr3) who will serve the players faithfully
  • If granted a fief as a baron or a manor, a knight errant will raise and lead his own companies into the defense of the realm
  • Furthermore, a Knight Errant can serve as an upkeepless Marshall, Judge, or Regent for the players
• The Merchant Prince: Having a skilled and wealthy merchant and his household in a sovereign’s court is a major boon.
  • The merchant prince can be delegated a task to acquire any mundane item in bulk. The time and Money required for the task is one tier lower than for other servitors and followers.
  • Additionally, they can be delegated a task to acquire any common, uncommon, rare, or very rare magic item.
  • They will also provide the sovereign with 1d12 rumors per week collected from their agents.
• The Minstrel: These wandering bards might seek an upstart lord to serve as patrons.
  • The Minstrel will spread the player’s deeds far and wide, providing advantage on reputation checks, charisma checks, or any other form of check to interact with foreign nobles and officials.
  • Can serve as an upkeepless diplomat or herald.
  • The Minstrel will collect bits of interesting information while out carousing. The Minstrel can provide the sovereign with 1d8 bits of information that they overheard in the pubs.
• The beastmaster: These druids and rangers know the ways of the beasts and can train them for the players. There is a 1 in 4 chance that the beastmaster arrives with at least one cr<1 creature as a companion.
  • If a player character captures a baby animal or monster, the beastmaster can train it for the players.
  • Furthermore, the Beastmaster can heal any beast companion the players have acquired at twice the rate of other healers.
• The One True Consort: The rarest of all followers, the One True Consort is the sovereign’s true love and most trusted companion.
  • The One True Consort can serve as a perfectly competent regent for the players.
  • The One True Consort can distract other nobles from one faux pas made per day.

Servitors

Servitors are specialized hirelings, crucial for managing the realm in both peace and war. Unlike followers, they require regular salaries and are primarily loyal to their purses; unpaid servitors will quit. Choose them wisely.

Players can hire the following servitors:

• Accountant or Treasurer: Without one, the sovereign must disburse money in person, severely hampering adventuring. A skilled accountant can reduce all realm-related expenses by 10%.
• Captains: Required to raise companies of soldiers. Every company needs at least one captain.
• Court Mages: Any type of mage serving the sovereign’s court. Can cast various spells on request.
• Court Healer: A doctor, priest, or druid who tends to the sovereign’s wounds. When resting in a domain, players regain hit points twice as fast.
• Engineer or Architect: Oversees construction and fortifications. Reduces time and cost for construction-related major projects by 10% and upkeep for infrastructure maintenance by 5%.
• Herald or Diplomat: Trained in etiquette, negotiation, and travel. Necessary to engage with other nobles beyond the most basic level.
• Inquisitor: Skilled in all forms of investigation beyond rooting out heresy. When an inquisitor is delegated a task involving investigations, time and monetary expenses are one tier lower. Can be tasked to root out foreign agents and spies.
• Judge or Lawmaster: Skilled in law interpretation and adjudicating cases. Without a judge, the player sovereign must personally adjudicate all criminal and civil cases.
• Majordomo: A must-have for a sovereign’s household. The majordomo ensures the household runs smoothly. A sovereign with an experienced majordomo has advantage on Charisma checks to impress fellow nobles when hosting an event.
• Marshall: When players need to levy an army, the Marshall does the work. A marshall is required to raise levies and will automatically levy and lead an army for the realm’s defense in the player’s absence.
• Reeves: Oversee a lord’s holdings to ensure taxes are paid and laws are followed (the word “sheriff” comes from “shire reeve”). If a player’s realm grows to at least two hexes, they must hire at least one reeve. Failure to do so results in a 20% loss of income as the realm descends into lawlessness.
• Scholar: A sage trained in a specific topic of lore. Can perform research and has a 1 in 8 chance of knowing the answer to any reasonable question about their specialization.
• Spymaster: A shadowy figure with many “friends” in useful places. Their network can deliver 1d6 useful bits of information about surrounding kingdoms and countrysides per month. Can also arrange “accidents” in foreign realms at one tier lower cost.

Servitor Costs

Servitor Role	Monthly Salary (Gold Pieces)
Accountant/Treasurer	100 gp
Captain	50 gp per company
Court Mage	150 gp
Court Healer	75 gp
Engineer/Architect	120 gp
Herald/Diplomat	80 gp
Inquisitor	130 gp
Judge/Lawmaster	90 gp
Majordomo	110 gp
Marshal	140 gp
Reeve	60 gp per hex
Scholar	70 gp
Spymaster	160 gp

Vassals

Historically, during the Viking era, kings divided vast territories among trustworthy commanders to effectively protect and rule them. This practice, based on solemn vows of tithes, adherence to law, and levies for the army, gave rise to feudalism.

As sovereigns, players can elevate followers and servitors to vassals if they control an area equivalent to at least two 6-mile hexes (e.g., 60 3-mile hexes or 120 1-mile hexes). A vassal fief’s minimum size is one 6-mile hex or an equivalent continuous area.

Once elevated, a vassal gains independent control over their fief, assuming responsibility for its management and defense. The player sovereign loses direct authority over that territory, unable to enact laws or commission projects, except by suggesting courses of action. In return for this autonomy, hexes controlled by a vassal only contribute 15% of their net income as a tithe, freeing the player sovereign to focus on grander strategic matters and broader dominion.

Delegating Tasks

A key benefit of having followers and servitors is the ability to delegate time-consuming tasks, freeing players for grander endeavors. Instead of spending days researching obscure lore, players can delegate to court sages. Crafting magical items accelerates with skilled artisans. Intelligence gathering and other forms of intrigue become streamlined by employing professional spies.

However, delegation is not without its costs. Retainers become unavailable for other duties, and tasks often incur monetary expenses. Additionally, it is assumed that there is some chance of failure or other risk in a task that the players felt needed to be delegated to a retainer rather than a random hireling.

When a player delegates a task to a retainer, they pay the required gold for the task to be done, and the retainer becomes unavailable for the specified time. At the end of that time, the GM makes a check with whatever skill they think appropriate, given the task using the appropriate DC from the table. The following table provides a general guideline for delegation. However, no single rule fits all tasks:

Tier	Example	Time	Cost in Gold	DC
1 (Routine)	Deliver message, collect tribute, file paperwork	1-3 days	0 gp (or minor consumables at DM’s discretion)	12
2 (Moderate)	Spy on a baron, translate old text, supervise repairs	1 week	25 gp	15
3 (Difficult)	Investigate cult, negotiate treaty, appraise arcane relic	2–4 weeks	100 gp	18
4 (Heroic)	Locate legendary item, infiltrate enemy court, gather proof of treason	1–3 months	300–500 gp	20

Military Power

While a magic longsword has its limits even in the hands of a hero, many challenges become significantly more manageable with a battalion of armed soldiers, supported by archers and mages. As a sovereign, players can levy soldiers to help them in war and adventure. While a sovereign typically maintains a standing guard, the bulk of their forces will consist of soldiers levied from their domain’s population, supplemented by mercenaries. This assumes a typical medieval fantasy setting; other campaign styles may vary. To maintain compatibility with popular Mass Combat systems (like MCDM’s Kingdoms and Strongholds, Pathfinder Kingmaker, or WOTC’s experimental Unearthed Arcana rules), all soldiers are assumed to be levied in companies of about 100 men. These companies can be combined into battalions and regiments. It is believed that the population of each 6-mile hex can provide 10% to 20% of their population as conscripts and volunteers. Furthermore, a hex with a population of at least 2,000 people can muster a company or two of knights or mages. For each special company specified on the table, players can choose a unique unit.

Companies Levied by Hex Population

Population	Number of Levy Companies (Pikemen/Archers)	Number of Special Companies (Cavalry, Knights, Mages, etc.)
Major City	10-20+	2-4
Minor City	4-8	1-2
Dense Villages & Market Towns	x2	0-1
Backwater Population Density	1-2	0
Frontier Population Density	0-1	0
Barely Inhabited Wilderness	0	0
Uninhabited Wilds	0	0

Diplomatic Influence

Upon becoming members of the aristocracy, players’ relationships with other nobles undergo a fundamental change. No longer mere adventurers, they are now potential allies or rivals. As sovereigns, they can, within reason, gain audiences with nobility of lesser or equal rank, and even interact with higher nobility who previously would not have granted them an audience.

However, this influence comes at a cost. Players are expected to adhere to aristocratic norms and customs to maintain their standing, which includes entertaining visiting nobles or allies and participating in the realm’s social season (balls, hunts, feasts). Failure to uphold these customs, or making a public faux pas, can swiftly erode their standing. This might lead to revoked invitations, refused aid, or increased scrutiny from other nobles. A reputation for being miserly, aloof, or ungracious can severely damage alliances or provoke rivals, as nobles are deeply obsessed with overt displays of wealth, glory, and power. Such failings can have tangible in-game consequences, which the DM can determine based on the severity of the diplomatic blunder.

Event / Obligation	Description	Typical Cost (per occurrence)	Notes
State Banquet	Hosting a feast for local nobles or foreign dignitaries	100–300 gp	Required once or twice per year for mid-rank nobles
Royal Ball Attendance	Traveling, dressing for, and attending a grand ball	20–100 gp	Add +500 gp if attempting to impress or upstage others
Private Dinner Party	Intimate dinner for a few influential guests	300–800 gp	Add +200 gp for musicians, rare wines, or gifts
Hunt Weekend	Hosting or attending a noble hunt with proper sport, lodging, and prizes	500–1,500 gp	Required for military credibility in martial courts
Seasonal Gift-Giving	Sending appropriate gifts to powerful allies or overlords	100–1,000 gp per gift	Varies by the target’s status and expectations
Dowry or Engagement	Matching noble marriage customs or negotiating alliances	200–1000 gp+	Exceptionally high among Successor States
Court Appearance	Attending court proceedings or ceremonies with proper attire	100–400 gp	Needed to show face at least quarterly
Cultural Sponsorship	Supporting bards, artists, or events in one’s name	500–1000 gp	Gains minor Influence bonuses
Damage Control	Making amends for an insult, snub, or faux pas	50–300 gp	Often requires rare gifts, elaborate apologies, or favors
Hosting a Rival	Extending forced hospitality to a peer or enemy	100–400 gp	Required by custom in some realms

Less Hospitable Interactions

Medieval and Renaissance politics were cutthroat. Everybody was aggressively trying to claim more power and land for themselves. Wars between vassals were fairly common so long as the combatants could find a casus belli to support their claims. Plots were common, and vassals often chafed beneath their liege. Likewise, you can use such conflicts to enhance storytelling.

The Liege Lord

The players likely acquired their realm by being granted a title from another nobleman, who has since become their liege lord. As vassals of the liege, there are certain expectations the players are expected to meet.

• The players will pay a tithe to the liege lord from the income of their holdings. This can be anywhere from 5% to 30% of their income.
• They are expected to marshal their army when the liege goes to war
• They are expected to abide by any laws the Liege created.

A liege lord NPC is a great way to introduce complications into the story. Is the Lord an evil tyrant who makes the players’ lives miserable? Or is the Lord a good-natured moron who, despite good intentions, causes problems? Or the lord is a child with an adult regent who may or may not have the good of the charge and realm in mind. Also, make sure to play up how overwhelmingly powerful the liege’s entire holdings are compared to the player’s little holdings.

War between Vassals

It has been a common theme in the history of feudalism that vassals of the same liege may not get along. The players might have to settle feuds between vassals at court. However, they should be careful when they do so; if they favor one vassal feud over the other too many times, the tension could boil over into a full-scale war. If this happens, the DM should play the situation by ear and let the player try whatever they think could resolve the situation.

Intrigue

The late Middle Ages and the Renaissance were awash with plots and schemes of all descriptions, from the Pazzi conspiracy to destroy the Medicis to the Southampton Plot. Player-led intrigue is a form of delegated task where the players task agents via one of their followers to go to a foreign realm and cause mischief. The converse is also true; foreign powers can also send agents to spy, sabotage, or steal from the players’ realm. All realms have an intrigue saving throw that they can make to resist the activities of foreign agents. For NPC realms, this value is the DC for the intrigue delegated task(see the delegated task section). For the player realms, this is a D20 roll plus any modifiers in the realm that help resist spies. A large number of things could potentially help resist agents.

Having an inquisitor, minstrel, or archmage of divination in a retinue adds 1 to the saving throw result per member.

Specific laws can modify the value per the DM’s discretion.

Specific major projects can also modify the value per the DM’s discretion

If you want to have a foreign realm target the players’ realm for intrigue, select NPC stat blocks that represent the agents the foreign realm sent. These agents will make a group DC 20 check against the player’s saving throw.

Major Projects

Becoming a noble grants players unprecedented power to shape their world. With newfound human resources and wealth, they can undertake substantial endeavors, such as building roads through wilderness, constructing fortifications, or permanently sealing defeated monster lairs. These ambitious undertakings are collectively known as major projects.

Each project has a weekly cost in gold and a specified completion time, which must be paid for each week of construction. Players can pause or restart construction at any time.

Example Major Projects

Project	Weekly Cost (gp)	Time to Complete (weeks)
Infrastructure
Simple Road (per mile)	10	5
Improved Road (per mile)	25	8
Bridge (small river/creek)	50	6
Bridge (large river)	150	10
Canal (per mile)	200	10
Defenses
Palisade Wall (per 500 ft)	80	5
Stone Wall (per 500 ft)	150	10
Guard Tower	100	8
Small Fort	500	10
Large Fort	1,000	20
Settlement Improvements
Upgrade Existing Building	Varies	1-4
New Simple Building	60	5
New Complex Building	100	10
Marketplace	150	8
Well/Water Source	40	5
Resource Extraction
Mine (small scale)	250	10
Logging Camp (establishment)	100	5
Farm (new, moderate size)	80	5
Other Projects
Establish a Library	300	10
Found a School	200	10
Clear Wilderness (per sq mi)	100	8