Introduction: What is the Game of Shields?

Many players love the political intrigue of novels like 'Wheel of Time' or 'Game of Thrones',
and would like to include politics into their role-playing games. But playing at politics in
RPGs is notoriously difficult. Without a clear system it's hard to keep track of everything.
That is why I created the Game of Shields:

"The Game of Shields is a complete system for introducing politics into your campaign."

Here are some highlights:

• Works with any gaming system

You can use the Game of Shields with any gaming system. It works both with systems
that require preparing stories like Dungeon & Dragons or Pathfinder, and with game
systems that have a 'play to find out' type of gameplay, like Faith Core, and
Dungeonworld.

• A visual system
When players do a dungeon crawl, they have maps to keep an overview. When they
play out an epic combat, terrain pieces and miniatures help them keep track of
everything. But when playing a political campaign there are no visual aids to keep an
overview. In fact, most role-playing games don't even have a system for doing politics.

The Game of Shields uses a set of 81 Heraldic Shields that allow you and your players
to instantly see what the political landscape looks like. Players will know right away
who can make an alliance, and who isn't even in the same political arena. This saves a
lot of time because the DM doesn't have to explain the hundreds of possible
interactions between political parties. A unified set of rules helps players and DMs
know what to expect, which helps with making informed decisions. The visual system
also makes it much easier for the DM to track events.

• Generate a complex political landscape

Just by placing a set of shields on the gaming table, DMs can create a complex
political landscape in seconds. No two political arenas will be the same and players
can encounter an endless variety of political factions to align with, manipulate, bribe,
blackmail, or anything else they set their minds to.

Keeping track of complex scenario's is easy. Simply take pictures of the political
landscape with your phone, as things change. This drastically reduces the need to
make notes and allows you to focus on the action.

In short, introducing politics into your campaign is easy with the Game of Shields. It's a
simple system that allows for a lot of variety.
Chapter 1: Setting up a Political Landscape
In the next paragraphs we will first look at Heraldic Shields and their meaning. Next, we'll
look at tying shields to political factions. And we'll discuss using multiple shields to create a
political arena.

Factions and Aspects

The Game of Shields uses Heraldic Shields to represent different political factions. Any group
or person who gains enough power to matter in politics is called a faction. Be it a thieves
guild, a village council, a lone dragon, or a religious order. Every faction gets one Heraldic
Shield that represents their four most important aspects.

These aspects tell players something about the type of leadership, source of income, outlook
on life, and temperament of its bearer. So, just by looking at a single shield, players can
instantly learn much about where any faction stands politically. The aspects also tell players if
alliances are possible between factions and who would not work together.

The Four Aspects

Each Heraldic Shield has four aspects: shape, type of symbol, number of symbols, and colour.
For each aspects there are three options to choose from that each have a different meaning.
The four aspects represented on any Heraldic Shield are:

1. Leadership
The number of symbols on a Heraldic Shield represents a faction's leadership.
• A single symbol represents a single person who has climbed to a position of power or
a single leader of a group.
• Double symbols represent a couple or counsel that rules a larger group of followers or
members.
• Triple symbols represent a democracy where the group holds the power. A democracy
may have a chosen leader but the leader serves the group and can be replaced easily.

2. Source of Income
The colour of a Heraldic Shield represents a faction's source of income or primary activities.
• Blue is the colour of scholars, magicians, religious factions, entertainers, and any who
primarily produce non-physical services.
• Green is the colour of farmers, traders, miners, blacksmiths, bankers, and any who
primarily produce or trade physical products.
• Red is the colour of warriors, guards, bandits, the city watch, and any who use combat
as a means to gain an income.
3. Outlook on Life
The shape of a Heraldic Shield represents a faction's outlook on life.
• An arrow-shaped shield represents an action oriented person or group.
• A heart-shaped shield represents a passionate person or group.
• A circle-shaped shield represents a harmonious person or group.

4. Temperament
The type of symbol on a Heraldic Shield represents a faction's temperament.
• A wolf represents a chaotic person or group; acting according to their conscience or
impulses.
• A Unicorn represents a neutral person or group; acting with pragmatism.
• A Griffon represents a lawful person or group; acting according to a moral code.

As a DM you can customise aspect choices to better fit your campaign. If you play a
campaign that has only orcs, elves, and humans in it, you might choose to symbolize them
with the wolf, unicorn, and griffon symbols respectively. Create aspect choices that make the
most sense in your campaign world, or pick the default ones above.

Naming Heraldic Shields

Make sure each different faction in your game has a different Heraldic Shield. If factions are
totally similar consider making minor changes to create more variety. It is the differences
between factions that causes the political tension which drives the story forward. With 81
shields to choose from, creating variety shouldn't be difficult.

Heraldic shields are named in a specific way:

[ Number of symbols ] [ colour & shape] [ type of symbol]

Double BlueHeart wolves

The acronym for this shield would be 2BHW. Using acronyms in your notes allows you to jot
down different factions quickly.

Of course, you can still give factions a cool in-game name like 'the nightwatchers' or 'the
order of the Sun'. Just pick whatever name you like and assign them a shield.
Creating a Faction
If you have already created a faction or person of political influence, you can choose a
Heraldic Shield that most represents the faction's aspects. Of course, some factions will have
multiple aspect options that would fit their description. For instance, a mayor of a small town
may represent all three sources of income. In that case, choose one aspect that most closely
fits the faction.

You can also use the Heraldic Shields as a source of inspiration for quickly creating new
factions. Just pick a random shield and explain why the different aspects go together. Let's say
you pick Double BlueHeart Wolves. The four aspects of this shield are: A couple, non-
physical services, passionate, and chaotic. You could spin the following faction:

Double BlueHeart Wolves

"Astrid and Tobias are a passionate couple that have won the hearts of their people. They
believe in free love and worship the goddess of freedom and youth. Their people travel the
lands in caravans; never planning where their travels may take them. They excel in
performing weddings, creating love potions, and providing relationship advice and
entertainment of all kind. To help out one of their people is considered good luck."
Let's review two more examples:

The RedArrow Unicorn

"The town of Bellhaven sits at the cross point of two trading routes. It is run by the Mayor:
Master Bell, a stout halfling with a fair face. Master Bell leads the town guard, which also
patrols part of the surrounding trade routes. Caravan travellers pay premium for a safe place
to stop and rest without having to worry about bandits or thieves stealing their merchandise.
Master Bell can often be found patrolling the roads around Bellhaven trying to root out
criminals. Some call him just but those closest to him know he's in it for the money."

Triple GreenCircle Griffons

"Appealing to a great number of farmers' communities, the triple greencircle griffons are a
highly regulated self-governing faction. Every year farmers choose new representatives
among their people to serve the greater good. Considering the needs of the community above
any personal ambitions is very important to its members. Any display of wealth or personal
gain is frowned upon. Members must lead a simple life of service and even when invited to
political functions representatives wear simple farmers' clothes."

The aspects help you create different factions fast and immediately give players a general idea
of what a faction is about. You can give factions other names, but they do respond to their
shield names.
The Political Arena
Politics really becomes interesting when different factions start to interact with each other,
forming and breaking alliances, bribing, blackmailing, and positioning themselves to gain
more power.

All the different factions that interact with each other in a certain area are represented in the
political arena. An arena might consist of all the factions in the small town of Bellhaven, or it
could represent the major factions of a kingdom.

Not all political arenas are created equal. What goes on in the small arena of Bellhaven, might
not be of much consequence for the arena of its Kingdom. To keep track of things it is best to
select an arena first, and then use between 8 and 12 factions to represent the political
manoeuvring in that arena.

A group of factions smaller than 8 usually doesn't create enough political intrigue, and a
group larger then 12 is hard to keep track of. Choosing the right number of factions for your
arena really helps players keep track of things. But you can have multiple political arena's for
different regions and so on.

A cluster of shields forms a political arena.

Chapter 2: Playing at the Game of Shields
Players always start out with a given political landscape. The powers that be will have already
found some kind of balance with deals struck and alliances made. More often than not, this
landscape is not be to the players liking. But how do you change things?

There are three ways to change the political landscape:

1. Forming an alliance
2. Breaking an alliance
3. Forming or inviting factions

In politics forming and breaking alliances in order to gain a position of power, is what it is all
about. The Game of Shields has a system for forming an breaking alliances. First, we'll take a
look at how you can form an alliance.

1. Forming an Alliance
Any two factions can form an alliance in theory. But alliances that just consist of two factions
are insignificant in power compared to alliances that consist of three factions. Within the rule
system of a Game of Shield an alliance always consists of three factions. Of course, a faction
can be part of multiple alliances, but the standard unit of a single alliance is always three.

But what if you want seven factions to come together in one large alliance? When so many
factions come together, there will always be political manoeuvring between factions. In terms
of the Game of Shield system, such a group would really be a new political arena. (Even if
they call themselves an alliance in character). So in character you might speak of the 'Great
Alliance of the Seven Kingdoms', but in technical terms those factions form a political arena
in which the real three-faction alliances are made.

Having just three factions to work with helps players keep the overview of a political
situation. It also supports a logical rules system for forming alliances.

Alliances can only be formed between three factions if there is a fair balance between aspects.
This means that in order to form an alliance, each faction must either:

1. All have the SAME aspect.

OR
2. All have a DIFFERENT aspect.

Never can an alliance have two aspects that are the same and one that is different. In order to
maintain balance either all factions agree on an aspect, or they must all disagree.
For instance:
The RedArrow Unicorn, Double BlueHeart Wolves, and Triple GreenCircle Griffons are
all a part of the same political arena. Each of their aspects are different from each other.

The RedArrow Unicorn is action oriented, Double BlueHeart Wolves represent passion and
Triple GreenCircle Griffons stands for harmony. Because they all differ a balance is
maintained so no one looses political power.

But if two factions were to represent harmony and one would represent action, the action
oriented faction would lose ground. Votes within the alliance would be skewed too much in
the direction of harmony over action. And no faction will enter an alliance where it loses
ground.

With all different aspects these three factions can form an alliance.

Alliance Strength Score

Alliances can be formed between three factions when each aspect is either all the same or all
different. But differences are not as powerful as commonalities.

For instance, the previously mentioned alliance is based on all differences. The factions have
found a balance, but only because they almost agree on nothing. Such an alliance isn't very
strong and can be broken more easily.

Conversely, an alliance that has more aspects that are all the same, will be much stronger.
Factions that agree on most things gain more power because everyone is moving in the same
direction.

Alliance strength is measured as follows:

An alliance gains 1 point for making the alliance in the first place plus 1 point for each aspect
that is all the same.

Nr. of aspects that are all the same Alliance strength

0 aspects all the same 1 point
1 aspect all the same 2 points
2 aspects all the same 3 points
3 aspects all the same 4 points
There are no factions that have all 4 aspects the same. It is better to maintain at least some
differences between factions to create political tension. (You won't have much to work with
story wise if factions agree on everything.)

With 2 aspects all the same (symbol & shield shape)

this alliance has an Alliance Strength of 3.

Political Power Score

Alliance strength only applies in the political arena in which the alliance is made. Factions
can be represented in multiple arena's but they have to form alliances in each of those arena's
in order to gain political power.

To calculate the political power of a faction in an arena, add the alliance strength of all the
alliances that faction has made. For instance, Master Bell has made two alliances. The first
alliance has strength 1 and the second alliance has strength 3. His political power score is 4.

Alliance strength 1

Alliance strength 3

Master Bell (The RedArrow Unicorn) is a

member of two alliances of strength 1 and 3,
and his Political Power score is 4.

The faction that holds the most political power in an arena becomes the leader. For instance, a
King would probably be the leader of a country. But he might lose that position if he doesn't
tend to his alliances carefully.
Secret Alliances
By looking at the alliances players can calculate the strength of each alliance and find out who
the leader is in an arena. But not all alliances are common knowledge, and alliances made in
secret could shift the power balance drastically. A king might only be a king in name, while
the real power resides behind the throne.

2. Breaking an Alliance
Forming alliances is all good and well, but the real fun starts when players get to break
alliances and claw their way to power. There are countless ways players can break an alliance.
The only limit is their imagination. Here are some tried and tested ways to break an alliance.

Offer a stronger alliance

Any faction can voluntarily break an alliance they are a part of. When negotiating a new
possible alliance, players can demand another faction breaks with a previously formed
alliance. Of course, other factions will only be inclined to do so if the newly offered alliance
is stronger. For instance:

"Players have discovered that the alliance between Master Bell, Astrid and Tobias, and the
farmers' community is very weak. They agree on nothing and the alliance has an alliance
strength of 1. The players also have found that they can create an alliance with a strength of 3
with the farmers' community and one other faction. They set out to negotiate and convince the
farmers' community that they should abandon their old alliance in favor of a more powerful
one."

Factions won't automatically abandon old alliances in favor of stronger ones. It's up to the DM
how they want to roleplay the faction. But factions never abandon an alliance in favor of a
weaker one willingly.

Assassinate
Players can assassinate the leader of a faction. Often, a new leader will be chosen, but the
faction aspects might change because of it. If an aspect does change, old alliances are broken.
Killing all members of a faction in an all out war, eliminates the faction completely.

Set up
Alliances are built on trust and common interests. If players can frame a faction and make
other factions in the alliance believe they don't truly represent their aspects, an alliance can be
broken.

Bribe
Some factions can be bought for the right price. But it is often very steep.
Blackmail
Finding some dirt on a faction and threatening to expose them if they don't either leave an
alliance, or secretly act against an alliance technically counts as breaking an alliance.

Destroy influence
A faction must gain some power on their own to matter in politics. If the farmers' community
can no longer produce goods, they lose power and their faction is dissolved. And if Master
Bell can't keep his town safe, he can no longer be considered a faction.

Manipulate
Life experiences can cause factions to change one or more of their aspects, thereby breaking
old alliances. If the farmers' community choose to stop growing food and become a militia
instead, an aspect and their Heraldic Shield changes. Clever players can manipulate events to
create experiences that change a faction.

How easily an alliance breaks and whether players are successful is up to the DM. But the
alliance strength should give some indication of how easily alliances break.

3. Forming or Inviting Factions

Besides creating an breaking alliances, players can shift the power balance by forming new
faction or inviting a faction into the arena.

"We cannot form an alliance with any faction in the current political arena. If only there were
a faction bearing the shield of the Triple BlueArrow Wolf. Several mad warlocks have been
terrorizing the countryside. They certainly possess the blue, arrow and wolf aspects. But they
are loners and do not wield enough power on their own. If they could somehow be shaped
into a cabal, they might become just the faction we need."

- Naveem Thundercloud -

Other factions can be invited with the promise of power, and sometimes step into the arena
uninvited disrupting the players carefully laid plans. After all, the political landscape is
dynamic and players are not the only ones who plot.
Moving to a Bigger Political Arena
We've discussed how to set up a political arena, and how players can gain political power
within an arena. But there are many arena's - big and small - throughout your campaign. Some
will be easily accessible, like the town of Bellhaven, while others require players to gain more
political power to even be considered as a noteworthy faction, like the Kings Court.

Players who are just starting out and have little or no political power jet, must first gain such
power before they can access a larger political arena. There are two methods DMs can use for
moving players to a bigger political arena:

Method 1: Arena Leader

With the first method players must gain the most political power in arena. Only when
they control an arena, are they ready for a bigger arena. This ensures players can't
move into the biggest arena's before they have gained enough political clout in a
smaller arena.

Method 2: Political Power Thresholds

With the second method DMs assign a political power threshold to all arena's. If an
arena has a political power threshold of 10 point players can only enter it, if their
faction has gained a political power score of 10 in a previous arena. Having no
alliances in the new arena, they start out with a political power score of 0.

Low level players must first find smaller arena's they can conquer, and then use their political
power to be accepted into new arena's. When players have become arena leaders and move on
to the next arena, they no longer have to tend to the previous arena. They are now so powerful
that they delegate tasks to followers who take care of the day to day business of the smaller
arena. Making players keep track of the details of arena's they are already leader of, slows
down the game immensely. Generally speaking, DMs want to keep the focus on the new
challenges that lie ahead.

Political Arena's make up the Political Landscape.

Chapter 3: Introducing The Game of Shields
There is a bit of a learning curve for both players and the DM to using the Game of Shields
system. That is why I've created two easy ways of introducing the Game of Shields to your
players; a Card Game, and Political Puzzles. (Playing this game by yourself will also help
you to quickly familiarise yourself with the system.)

The Game of Shields Card Game

As a card game, the Game of Shields is played by commoners in local taverns and nobility in
high society alike. The party of heroes might just be invited to a game or two. The rules are
simple:

1. Place nine random shields on the table.

2. There are no turns. The player who first spots an alliance picks those three cards and
places the alliance in front of them.
3. Add three new shields to the table and repeat until no more alliances can be made.
4. If at any point the nine shields on the table do not yield an alliance, shuffle the deck
and place nine random shields on the table.
5. When there are no more possible alliances, the player who has the most alliances wins
the game. In case of a tie the player who has accumulated the highest total of alliance
strength wins the game.

Having your players roleplay they are in a tavern or gentle-orcs club, to play a few hands of
Shields, is a great way to introduce them to the general rules of the system. From there it is
only a small step to tying factions to the shields. Practicing the game by yourself will also
help you identify possible factions much quicker.
Political Puzzles
When players first encounter a new political arena, they must first find out what all its
factions are. Some factions might not operate in the open and DMs don't have to openly
include these on the gaming table.

When players manage to uncover all the factions, their Heraldic Shields, and existing
alliances, they can start solving the political puzzle.

Players can calculate how powerful alliances are, and who currently holds the most political
power. But they can also learn what new alliances are possible, how powerful those alliances
would be, and which ones should be broken to shift power in their direction. Solving this
political puzzle, will help players set their plans in motion.

When introducing the Game of Shields to players, you might assign a mentor who trains their
characters at playing the 'Game of Shields' by presenting them with political puzzles. After
all, politics is a skill characters must first master.

1. Political puzzles consists of nine shields that make up an arena.

2. To solve the puzzles players must find all possible alliances in an arena.

I've included 20 Political Puzzles and their solutions in a separate pdf file.

Finally, there are many situations where the DM would like to know all possible alliances
well before the players do. You can use the puzzles to create an arena, and read the solution to
gain an overview of all possible alliances. By using these games players will quickly learn
how to create alliances. Both the card game and the puzzles should only take a couple of
minutes.
Chapter 4: The Art of Playing a Political Campaign
In the previous chapters you've learned about the technical side of running a political
campaign. But the system is only there to help you craft a better story. This chapter contains
general tips and things to consider when playing a political campaign.

Before we get into details, let's consider the case of Master Bell. He has made two alliances
with an alliance strength of 1 and 3. But what do these mean story wise? What is he really up
to? An example:

"Under the pale moonlight Master Bell carefully steered his pony between the gaps in the
derelict south road. Among the maple trees to his left a hooded figure led a gray gelding by
the reigns, stooped in baggy clothes to hide his real height. But with those great strides and
low dangling stirrups, the southlander wasn't fooling anyone. Or perhaps working in the
mines had bend his back. Bell couldn't imagine there would be many places to stand up
straight for a tall miner; not even for one who was on the miners' council of the double green-
arrow unicorns.

The next figure to appear, stepped out of a hallow of blue light, seeming completely unaware
that this was supposed to be a secret meeting. But then again, who knew what Magicks a
Wizard of Ell would employ to keep them from prying eyes? Bell knew better than to insult the
triple blue-arrow unicorns. Still, he could not completely keep annoyance from his voice when
he greeted the wizard. Not after all he had done to keep this alliance a secret. Plans years in
the making.

----

It was four years ago when Master Bell was elected mayor of Bellhaven. With such a name
one might think he'd lived there all his life, but those commoners had named that fleapit after
him and thought it an honour, the fools.

Bellhaven sat on the northern trade route that hardly saw any traffic, which wasn't surprising
since most of the traffic came across the well maintained south road. So Bell sought out some
bandits and promised them a new life as town guards with money in their pocket and the
respect of the people. It's amazing what desperate men will do when you promise them the
semblance of self-respect.

The greencircle griffons farmers' community living around Bellhaven was harder to convince.
They simply would not believe Bell could bring more traders over their north road. And they
certainly weren't about to pay him taxes before they saw proof. So Bell turned to a most
unlikely of allies.
Astrid and Tobias had little means of an income and no protection. But - being a peaceful
people - they were welcome everywhere. For a little coin in their pocket and the promise of a
safe place to lie their heads, they were more than willing to spread false rumours about the
dangers traders would face while travelling the south road. One would think caravan-
devouring dragons and trader-murdering giants were a common sight to hear them tell the
tale. And Bell's bandits made sure some of those rumours rang true.

It wasn't long before the south road was no longer thought safe to travel and traffic among
the north road picked up. A cautious alliance was struck between the farmer's community who
would sell their produce to traders, Astrid and Tobias to keep the fear mongering going, and
Master Bell and his 'town guards' to keep the bandits and monsters at bay. With trade picking
up, there was money to be made on all sides.

-----

Bell's pony stepped into a pothole in the south road and nearly swung the halfling from his
saddle. As much angry with himself for not watching the road as for letting his mind drift, he
focused on his secret allies, but the stooping miner and the Wizard did not seem to notice his
near tumble.

All that work, directing every bit of traffic to the north road, just to keep the south road clear
from prying eyes. And to keep curious ears from hearing the miners work as they blasted ever
deeper into the bedrock alongside the road. It had worked. No one used the 'accursed' south
road anymore. And the digging had gone unnoticed.

The Wizards of Ell had assured Bell the crystal was there, hidden under miles of earth. And
they left no doubt as to the power their secret alliance would possess once they unleashed the
crystal's powers. For a moment Bell stared at the cracked paving stones covered with weeds
and creepers in grim satisfaction. The first thing he would do with that power was level
Bellhaven to the ground. His name was meant for bigger things and surely the King would not
be able to refuse him once he possessed that kind of power."

In this example Master Bell's weaker alliance only serves to aid his second secret alliance.
Players encountering such a situation could discover Bells plans and oppose or aid him,
depending on what their goals are.

As a DM, you can use shields to come up with plots. But it's also possible to use the system to
describe alliances in general terms and fill out the backstory when it becomes relevant. There
could be hundreds of alliances across a nation, and you only explore what they mean when
players encounter them. How much you want to work out before you play a game depends on
your style of play.
Putting Players at the Heart of the Story
There are unlimited plots and alliances a DM can play of. But how do the players fit in? One
of the biggest pitfalls of political campaigns is making players feel like they are spectators.
This is especially true when the DM prepares complex plotlines that don't include the players.
So how do you put players at the heart of the story?

Players can all be members of the same faction, follow different faction, lead factions of their
own or be free agents who have no political ties. Whatever their choices and factions they
encounter, the game should always be about the players and their characters.

The Game of Shields system provides the DM with a basis to create their own stories of
political intrigue. But the system is only there to facilitate role-playing. Playing a political
game doesn't mean characters no longer get to act. Combat, infiltration, exploration, and so
on, are still very much a part of a campaign centred around politics. For instance:

"Bart is the DM of a D&D campaign. The characters enter the town of Bellhaven. They talk
to the locals and get some idea of the political situation in town. The alliance between Master
Bell, Astrid and Tobias, and the farmers' community is well known.

The characters belong to their own faction and seek to gain a political foothold in Bellhaven
by creating their own alliances. After analysing the shields in the arena, they find there is one
alliance possible.

The DM decides that in order to form a new alliance players must gain the trust of the other
two factions. Players think that helping out another faction might be the quickest way to
gaining their trust.

Of course, actions have consequences. If players break up Master Bell's alliance, he might
retaliate, which could lead to the players discovering his secret alliance."

Helping out the first faction to gain their trust can be an action packed adventure in itself.
Perhaps the faction is being harassed by goblins and our heroes help them out. Perhaps the
characters secretly create a problem for the other faction by hiring the goblins, and then chase
them of looking like heroes.

Whatever the players choose to do should be handled with all the action and drama of any
good RPG. The Game of Shields system helps players make political choices. But those
choices should always be tied to adventures where the players are at the heart of the story.
Don't let them become spectators, but let politics be the tool for creating new and exciting
adventures.
Reactive and Pro-active Plots
When playing political campaigns it's good to distinguish between reactive and pro-active
plots.

In a reactive plot players follow a predetermined storyline. The DM makes the plans and
players must react to prevent disaster. For instance, a dungeon crawl usually contains a
reactive plot where the DM has already laid out all the rooms, monsters, traps, and other
challenges ahead of time.

In a pro-active plot players make the plans and the DM must create challenging obstacles. For
instance, players might want to expand their political power and discuss amongst themselves
how to create or break alliances.

Political campaigns can contain reactive plots. Players might work for a leader who orders
them to undertake several adventures the DM has prepared. This can work fine and lots of
players like having clear goals to accomplish.

But other players are drawn to political campaigns so they can come up with their own plans
and plots. For them, the utter freedom of discussing ideas with their party is halve the fun.

Both reactive and pro-active plots work well in a political campaign, but it is important for
DMs to know what players prefer before you start a campaign. Otherwise pro-active players
might feel railroaded, and reactive players might feel like the DM isn't offering a story.

Using Pro-active plots

Most DMs are very familiar with creating reactive plots. But pro-active plots are less
common. So here are some tips for using pro-active plots:

1. Ask players about their GOALS, personally and as a party.

In pro-active plots, players have goals and aspirations. Maybe they want to found a new
religion that should lead all political arena's. Or they might want to destroy a faction that has
somehow wronged them. Whatever the goal is, it should be something the players come up
with that also fits their backstory.

2. Ask player HOW they PLAN to achieve their goals.

Even though players make their plans, the DM controls the world and gives players
information on what plans are possible. Whatever their plans are, they should be challenging.

3. Get into the habit of saying YES, BUT...

"Yes, your plan might be possible, but it is going to be difficult." Then make a list of
challenges players must face in order to achieve their goals. If you are comfortable
improvising, you can go right ahead and play out these challenges. If you like to prepare
challenges, ask players to come up with their plan before the end of the gaming session. And
then have your prepared adventure ready the next session.

4. Create challenges and obstacles

A good challenge provides opportunities for characters to use their abilities or powers. This is
where the action is. If players succeed they are one step closer to achieving their goal.

For instance:
Party goal: Overthrow the King.
How: Destroy his finances. The King earns most of his wealth through trade and taxes. Hit
those and he won't have the finances to pay his army.
Challenges:
• Create an avalanche to cut off trade on the south road.
• Provide commoners with illusionary gold to pay their taxes.
• Destroy alliances with the Kings business partners.

Each challenge can be a separate adventure.

Rewards
Player characters having too much money can be really disruptive in role-playing games. That
is why the currency of politics should be more about favors, than about money.

When players become members of a faction, give them certain perks and tasks that reflect
the faction. For instance:

"Issandre is a member of the local thieves' guild. She gets free boarding, a safe house, and
apparel, but is expected to hand over 50 percent of everything she steals and to act as the
guild's eyes and ears."

When players form a faction they must generate an income through offering services,
creating or trading goods, or providing combat. Players can have followers of their faction
work for them to generate an income. But there are also costs to being a faction and instead of
making money, they might run into debt. The DM can let the story circumstances reflect if
players are successful. In general, when not actively attending their faction, it only makes a
minor amount of money. Players can focus on trading favors as part of creating alliances.

When players become arena leaders they get a small part of the earnings of other factions in
the arena. They can get other favors associated with factions in their arena. For instance, if the
arena has a blacksmiths' guild and a wizards' guild, the players might find it easier to create
the magic weapons needed to form an alliance in a larger arena.
Final Words
With the Game of Shields you can built out a campaign that is as large and sweeping as
anything you read in Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones. But even those books deal with one
arena at a time. Almost never do all arena's come together at once, because readers won't be
able to keep track of so many interactions happening at once.

Having a limited political arena to work within really helps you keep an overview. For most
campaigns you won't need all Heraldic Shields. Even a set of nine shields could be enough to
create a great story. So don't feel obliged to everything at once.

That concludes my tips for doing politics in RPGs.

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As always, Have Fun!

- Paul -