5.1 Generic Actions #

Generic Actions are not linked to a particular type of Monarch Power, and don’t necessarily cost Monarch Points to perform. They do however take up a whole player Turn.

Event (mandatory) #

During each Action Phase, each player must take this Action once, and only once, before they can Pass.

When taking this Action, do as follows:

Select a face-up Event from the Event Display, collect any Ducats that are on it, and move your Round Status marker to the Event Taken space.
Place 2D from the General Supply on any remaining face-up Events.
Play the Event and resolve its effects. If the Event offers a choice of effects (such as A or B), choose only 1 to resolve.
Resolve any symbols at the bottom of the Event from left to right (see p. 41).
If the Event is associated with your own Realm, you must replace your current Ruler with any Ruler on this card.
If the Event is associated with another Realm, that player must choose whether or not to appoint the Ruler on this card.
If you are the last player to take the Event Action this Round and there is still an unpicked Event remaining, resolve the bottom row of symbols on that Event using the auto-resolution rules (p. 41).
The Event text itself on the unpicked Event does not take effect. However, if it has a historical Ruler on it, the player associated with that Event may pay 2a to appoint the Ruler on the card.
Turn over a face-down Event, if any remain.

Whenever an effect on an Event says “you,” that effect applies to the Active Player or to the player required to make an A/B-choice.

Player-to-Player Diplomacy #

This Action lets you make an agreement with another player, to conduct various transactions.

You may only have diplomatic exchanges with 1 PR each time you take this Action. You may not perform ‘Monetary Support’ and ‘Buy/Sell Provinces’ in the same Turn, but all other combinations are possible. If either Realm is at War, ‘Monetary Support’ is the only transaction that may take place.

Alliances and Marriages: Entering into an Alliance or Royal Marriage with another PR each costs 1b for the Active Player. Both players must place a A/M on the other PR’s Capital as appropriate.

When entering into a Marriage, both players may draw an Action Card of a type chosen by the Active Player.

Monetary Support: Give or receive D. The Active Player must pay 1b for every 10D (rounded up) that changes hands, whether they are giving or receiving D.

Buy/Sell Provinces: To buy Provinces from another player, the buyer must have G in all Areas where those Provinces are located. The minimum price per Province sold is 3D, and the maximum is 15D.

Both buyer and seller must also pay 1a to take part in such a transaction. A player selling any of their Core Provinces loses 0 equal to twice those Provinces’ Tax Value. Vassal Provinces cannot be bought or sold.

Optional Rule 1: Secret Negotiations

By spending 1 additional b you may have a private, 3-minute conference with another player. All other in-game communication must take place openly.

Explore (1`b` + 1`c`) #

Requires “Quest for the New World” (“QftNW”) Idea to use Ships for Exploring. When taking this Action, follow the steps below in sequence:

If you have “QftNW”, you may move 1 Light Ship (using rules for Naval Movement, p. 25) into a Sea Zone on one of the Distant Continents. The Ship may not enter a Hostile Sea Zone.
Roll the Exploration Die, then either use the result (as described below) or pay 1b to re-roll:
- Result with no j: Discover a Territory matching the number rolled, or a Distant Area with an NPR Province, a t, or a v.
- Result with j: Pay 1b to Discover a Territory matching the number rolled, or: fail Exploration and remove 1 of your Ships on a Distant Continent.
Any Discovery made must be adjacent to your Realm or, if you have “QftNW”, 1 of your Ships. Place a G on the Discovered Area. G placed on vacant Territories are called Colonial Claims. You may pay to re-roll a maximum of 2 times; you must use the result of the last roll you make.
When the first Area on a Distant Continent is Discovered (G has been placed), add all unused Trade Cards matching the number for this continent (see p. 35), and reshuffle the deck.

Research Idea (X `d`) #

To claim bonuses from an Idea card, pay its Monarch Power cost and place one of your Tag chits on the Idea Card.

Apply any immediate effects in the Idea’s description.

Researching an Idea will earn you 2. If 2 or fewer players have already Researched the same Idea, each of those players will receive 1 as well. If 3 or more players have already Researched the Idea, only you earn Prestige from this Research Action.

Change National Focus #

When taking this Action you must perform one or both of the options below, in order. You may only take this Action once per Round. Place a z in the Changed Nat. Focus slot on your Player Mat to indicate that you have done so.

Increase one type of Monarch Power by up to 2d by moving a maximum 1d from each of the other two Monarch Power pools on your Player Mat.
Discard up to 3 Action Cards from your hand (add them to the discard pile after completing this Action). Then draw 1 card fewer than you discarded, from any of the Action Decks.
You may pay 1d and 2D to pick 1 of the new cards from the top 5 discards of the deck matching the paid d type.

Change State Religion #

Starting with Age II, this Action allows a Realm to change its State Religion from Catholic to Protestant (or from Protestant to Catholic). Otherwise, changing State Religion can only happen through an Event, or if Conversion is forced upon you (p. 31).

This Action has no Monarch Power cost, but you must instead face the following consequences:

Lose 2 and 1s
Remove 1M and 5I (in total) from any Area(s) that belong to the Religion that you are abandoning.
Place the removed I into Areas with the same faith as your new State Religion.
Gain 1u in each of your Areas of the Religion you abandoned. Then roll Rebel Dice (see p. 37) for these Areas.

Alternatively, if there is at least 1 Counter-Reformed token on the board (e.g., following the Council of Trent Event), Catholic PRs may pay 3a to embrace the Counter-Reformation and place a Counter-Reformed token in their Capital Area without suffering any of the consequences listed above.