15. Religion & Faith #
All Areas and Realms on the Main Board must belong to one of the following faiths:
- Catholic/Counter-Reformed Catholic
- Protestant (from Age II onwards)
- Orthodox
- Muslim
- Diverse Faiths
- Revolutionary (only in Age IV)
The Religions of Realms and Areas on the Distant Continents are outside the scope of the game mechanics of this game.
Catholicism (Christian) #
At the start of Age I, Catholicism dominates all of Western Europe. In Age II, with the advent of Protestantism, Catholicism will lose some ground; the Council of Trent Event will then enable Catholic PRs to embrace the Counter-Reformation.
Counter-Reformed Realms and Areas are still considered to be Catholic, and are affected by all things that fall under the definition of being Catholic. As an Infectious Faith (see below), the Counter-Reformed version of Catholicism can limit the spread of Protestantism by spreading itself.
Catholic Abilities #
Catholic PRs have access to Papal mechanics. Using Man of the Church Action Cards, Catholic PRs may take control of the Papal Curia and thereby gain access to certain bonuses as well as the Papal Actions (see p. 46).
From Age II onwards, PRs with Catholic State Religion may convert to Protestantism.
Protestantism (Christian) #
In Age II, a number of Events (particularly The Reformation Spreads) will introduce Protestantism to Western and Central Europe.
Protestantism is an Infectious Faith.
Protestant Abilities #
Protestant Realms receive a discount of 1a on the Convert Area Action, and the cost of playing the Development Action Card.
PRs with Protestant State Religion may convert to Catholicism.
Orthodoxy (Christian) #
The Orthodox Christian faith dominates most of Eastern Europe.
Orthodox Ability #
Realms with Orthodox State Religion get a discount of 1a when Increasing Stability from -1 to 0, or from 0 to +1.
Islam (Muslim) #
Islam dominates most of Anatolia, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. Areas with Provinces Owned by Muslim Realms may be targeted by Crusades (see p. 46) in Ages I and II.
Muslim Ability #
In any Land Battle, Muslim PRs may replace their basic 3 Infantry Dice with 3 Cavalry Dice.
Diverse Faiths #
Sometimes an Area simply has a Diverse Faiths token because none of the other faiths dominate in that Area.
Diverse Faiths cannot be adopted as a State Religion. Areas with Diverse Faiths are always considered to be in a state of Religious Dissent (see below) for all PRs, regardless of their State Religion. Any NPRs in such Areas keep the State Religion they are listed with on the Realm Player Aid.
Revolutionary Ideology #
Deluxe Ed. / Fate of Empires expansion only
In Age IV a new “faith” enters the picture, and springs up across Europe via certain Events. This works like any other Religion, but instead of replacing an Area’s existing token, you place the Revolutionary token (^) on top of any Religion token already in that Area. When a Revolutionary token is removed, any revealed Religion will once again be active.
Revolutionary Ideology is considered an Infectious Faith, but its spread is triggered by a separate symbol.
Revolutionary Ideology Ability #
If a Revolutionary Realm Researches a Government Form Idea other than “Revolutionary Regime”, they remove any ^ in their Capital Area and then change their State Religion to match the Religion of their Capital Area.
15.1 Infectious Faiths #
Protestantism and Counter-Reformed Catholicism are considered Infectious Faiths, and will spread to new Areas when the Event symbol is resolved (see p. 41).
Revolutionary Ideology likewise will spread when the Event symbol is resolved.
15.2 State Religion #
Each playable Realm has a State Religion, which is defined at the start of the game. A PR’s State Religion sets limits on certain Actions, such as Royal Marriages (see p. 32) and gaining control of the Papal Curia (see p. 45).
The State Religion of NPRs at the start of the game is defined by the Realm Player Aid.
Changing State Religion #
PRs may convert State Religion from Catholic to Protestant, or the opposite, from Age II onwards by taking the Change State Religion Basic Action (see p. 13).
State Religion may also change as a result of an Event, or as a result of Peace Terms in which another Religion is forced upon your Realm (see p. 31).
NPRs change State Religion if the Religion of their Capital Area changes.
15.3 Religion of Areas #
Religions apply to Areas, rather than Provinces. In other words, a Province belongs to the Religion of its respective Area.
For some peripheral Areas, Religion is governed by the Religion slot of a neighboring Area (with an arrow indicating this).
For visibility, we recommend that players place Religion tokens on each of their Areas not belonging to their State Religion, even if that Religion is printed on the board.
All Areas on the Main Map are considered to belong to one of the listed Religions.
Converting Areas #
PRs may convert Areas to their State Religion by performing the Convert Area Action (see p. 14), or by playing the Man of the Church card or the Missionaries Action on the Development card.
Any existing Religion tokens (incl. Revolutionary tokens) in the Area are removed when the Area is converted. The exception is when converting the Area to Revolutionary Ideology (in which case the token is just placed on top of any existing token).
Religious Dissent #
When a PR holds Provinces in an Area with a Religion other than that Realm’s State Religion, that Area is considered to be in a state of Religious Dissent for that PR.
During Phase 3, Step G (see p. 9), players must add u to 1 of their own t in each Area where they face Religious Dissent, and either remove 1 I, or add u to 1 of their v in 1 Area with Religious Dissent where they have v.