Terminology
Throughout this page and the rest of this site the following terms are used:
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Faction: One of the 4 playable spy organizations: The Pale Raven, Cult of the Rat, The Supplicant Spider, and The Endless Serpent.
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Empire: One of the 5 empires in the game: The Bear Empire, The Eagle Empire, The Elephant Empire, The Lion Empire, and The Horse Empire.
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Loyalty: A position on a faction's loyalty board. Possible loyalties are Devout, Dutiful, Affiliated, Unallied, and Opposed.
Shuffling Methods
There are 9 methods to choose from when creating a new game:
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Completely random: There are no constraints.
This is similar to the base game's method of setting up loyalties.
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Balance empires support: The loyalties will be detemined in such a way that each empire's total support from all players will be balanced.
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"Devout" must be unique: Guarantees that the "Devout" (1st) loyalty is different for each player.
This is similar to the variant proposed by the designer here.
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"Devout" and "Opposed" must be unique: Guarantees that both the "Devout" (1st) and "Opposed" (5th) loyalties are different for each player.
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All factions have at least 2 unique loyalties: Each pair of factions will have at least 2 loyalties that are in different positions.
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All factions have at least 3 unique loyalties: Each pair of factions will have at least 3 loyalties that are in different positions.
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All factions have at least 4 unique loyalties: Each pair of factions will have at least 4 loyalties that are in different positions.
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Cyclical - 3 or 4 players only: Each faction's "Devout" loyalty will be the "Opposed" loyalty of another player, forming a circular relationship between all players. Whether you are using 3 or 4 players will determine which other loyalties will be cyclical. Some loyalties will be identical for all player.
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Teams - 4 players only: The players will form 2 teams, where each team has the same 2 empires in it's "Devout" and "Dutiful" loyalties, and the same 2 empires in it's "Unallied" and "Opposed" loyalties. The team members will have different loyalties within this setup. The "Affiliated" (3rd) loyalty will be identical for all player.