Kingdom of France

Errata / Updates

Effect Rules

Branch & Claw, Core game - all printings
Errata / clarification on older materials with imprecise wording -- Some earlier game materials use terms that are now ambiguous with the more precise terminology introduced in Jagged Earth. For the most part, they work just as they always have, but in case additional clarity is needed:
- Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares - their Special Rule is a modifier - when your Power would Destroy Invaders, instead generate Fear (and perhaps Push them).
- France lvl 6 - "After the normal Explore Phase," should read "After resolving an Explore Card,"
- Event: Fortification - first sentence should read: After advancing Invader Cards: perform a Build Step for one terrain not shown under any Invader Action.
- Event: Cash Crops Take Hold - first sentence should read: Perform a Ravage Step for one terrain not shown under any Invader Action.
The only mechanical change is that France 6 will behave slightly differently if there are 0 or 2+ Explore cards in a turn, adding one Explorer per card instead of a flat 1.
See also Errata / Clarification on which items are triggered actions and New Nomenclature Roundup.
Tags: Kingdom of France, Fortification, New Cash Crops Take Hold

Frequently Asked Questions

Adversaries

Does the Kingdom of France's "Slave Labor" effect, converting Explorers into Towns, trigger if they don't Build normally?
No, it doesn't. The effect happens "After Invaders Build", so if they are prevented from building (by Disease, or by skipping actions for one reason or another), then it doesn't trigger.
By the same token, if the Invaders get an extra Build for any reason, the effect would trigger then.
(Discussion elsewhere) Tags: Build, Disease, Kingdom of France
When playing against France, if the Slave Rebellion event card causes a victory, can the next Event Card turn it into a sacrifice victory or otherwise undo it?
No. You check for victory after the Main Event ("Small Uprising" or "Rebellion") and after the Dahan Event ("Aid the Uprising"), and never get to the follow-up Event Card if you win.
Even if the 2nd Event Card is interpreted as a triggered action(†), it's not triggered by the Main Event or Dahan Event, so it doesn't need to be resolved before checking victory/defeat. (It's triggered by "finishing the Event Card", which is timing based on the game's structure similar to something like "after the Ravage Step" - not an action proper.)
(†) = And it's not clear if it should be, its wording predates "After" meaning "triggered action".
Tags: Actions, Victory and Defeat, Kingdom of France, Slave Rebellion, 0 more...
How does "Invaders skip all actions" in a particular land interact with a Stage II Escalation affecting that land?
If the Stage II Escalation is an Invader Action (i.e., Ravage, Build, or Explore), it's skipped. Otherwise, it is an Adversary Action and not affected.
Specifically:
- Directly skipped (Invader Actions): Kingdom of England, Habsburg Mining Expedition
- Indirectly skipped (triggered by Invader Actions): Kingdom of Sweden
- Unskippable: Kingdom of Brandenburg Prussia, Kingdom of France (Plantation Colony), Tsardom of Russia, Habsburg Monarchy (Livestock Colony), Kingdom of Scotland.
(Discussion elsewhere) Tags: Skipping Actions, Stage II escalation, A Year of Perfect Stillness (Vital Strength of the Earth), Paralyzing Fright, 9 more...
With the Aid the Uprising part of the Slave Rebellion Event card against <i>Kingdom of France</i>, is damage calculated against each Invader with Strife separately?
Yes, each individual Invader with Strife takes damage according to how many Dahan are present.
Thus, for instance, two Dahan can destroy any number of Towns with Strife.
(Discussion elsewhere) Tags: Kingdom of France, Slave Rebellion
When playing with against France, what happens to Towns that end up somewhere other than on the island (e.g., on the Great River panel)?
They go back into the pool of available Towns for France's loss condition, like if they were removed/destroyed. If the Towns would be used for tracking elsewhere, track that thing with another component. (e.g., swap them for 2 Explorers on the panel for Ocean's Hungry Grasp or use Scenario Markers to represent Towns that escaped in the Great River scenario.)
The intent of France's Town pool is to track how many Towns are on the island; it's just considerably easier to do this with a limited Town pool than by counting the number on the board every time one gets added. In cases where the Towns permanently leave play, it's appropriate to return them to the supply to keep that count correct, even if they'd otherwise be removed from the game entirely (e.g., by the leather sack in Powers Long Forgotten).
Tags: The Great River, Kingdom of France, Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), Ocean's Hungry Grasp, 1 more...
The Kingdom of France's "Frontier Explorers" adds +1 Explorer when Exploring into a land without a Town/City. What happens with the Promising Farmland Event? <i>("When Exploring, on each board, add 1 Town instead of 1 Explorer.")</i>
You add +1 Explorer as normal for France, regardless of whether a given land got a Town instead of an Explorer.
You check for Towns/Cities to see whether Frontier Explorers triggers before the Explore adds new pieces.
Tags: Explore, Kingdom of France, Promising Farmland (Event)
Against France Level 6, can Fear cards destroy Explorers?
Yes.
The Persistent Explorers effect only says it prevents Explorers from being "removed", so Fear cards that "destroy" Explorers work as usual.
(Discussion elsewhere) Tags: Remove, Destroy, Kingdom of France
Can you play against France *(level 2+)* without using the Event deck?
Yes. You just need to track the time to make the Slave Rebellion event come up at the appropriate time, on Turns 4 and 8 and, in unusual circumstances, Turn 12, either by using the Event deck only as a timer or by some other means.
Since the Slave Rebellion is normally in addition to another Event, there are no balance concerns.
If you want to duplicate the "Thematic Rebellion" rules (B&C rulebook, p. 19), make the Slave Rebellion happen on turns 3, 4, or 5: roll a die on turn 3; on a 1 or 2, it happens then. If it doesn't happen then, roll the die on turn 4; it happens on 1, 2, or 3. And if it hasn't happened yet, it will happen on turn 5.
Tags: Playing Without Events, Kingdom of France

Effect Rules

When an effect does multiple things "on each board," can each thing happen in a different land?
Yes in principle, but most such effects specify otherwise.
By default, as long as you're resolving everything on a particular board, you can split the effect. For example, "On Each Board: Remove 1 Beasts. Add 1 Disease" (part of the first choice of the "Life's Balance Tilts" Event) can remove a Beasts token from one land and add a Disease token to a different land on the same board. And similarly, "On Each Board: Push up to 2 Dahan" (part of the first choice of the "Hard-Working Settlers" Event) can Push 2 Dahan from different lands on the same board.
Nevertheless, many of these effects specify that they happen in a single land on the board, which means that they can't be split. For example, if "On Each Board: Gather 1 or 2 Dahan into a land with Dahan Setup Symbols." (the "Return to Old Pillars" Dahan Event) moves two Dahan, it must move them into the same single land, since the Dahan are gathered into "a land" (singular).
Tags: Fear Cards, Events, Seek Company, Distracted by Local Troubles, 35 more...

Play Options

When combining Adversaries, how do you handle Escalation on Stage 3 Invader Cards when the Escalation cares about terrain? (France, Sweden)
Choose one of the two land types randomly. (JE p. 19) Don't use "top terrain" or "bottom terrain"; they not equally distributed. If there's no other convenient way, spin the card and use the terrain that's closest to pointing at the Adversary panel.
If you just apply the Escalation to both Explored terrains, Sweden's Escalation becomes much nastier and France's becomes much more lenient.
(Discussion elsewhere) Tags: Combining Adversaries, Stage II escalation, Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Sweden, 0 more...

Setup

What counts as the end of Setup for “During Play” Adversary/Scenario effects? And how are they different from “After Setup” effects?
During Play effects do not affect Setup, but do affect normal gameplay. Setup normally ends with the initial Explore, with normal gameplay starting with the first Spirit Phase, but some Adversaries and Scenarios have Setup instructions that happen after the initial Explore and before the game starts.
There is no difference between During Play and After Setup effects that happen more than once. With Jagged Earth turning "after" into a key word for Triggered Actions, if "after Setup" were interpreted as strictly as possible, it would make the associated effect happen exactly once, between Setup and Spirits choosing Growth Options on the first turn. With the exception of Guard the Isle's Heart, which explicitly adds an extra step to Setup, "after Setup" effects from Jagged Earth and earlier should be interpreted as "During Play."
Tags: Guard the Isle's Heart, Kingdom of France, Varied Terrains, Despicable Theft, 3 more...
Is the initial Explore considered part of Setup *(for, e.g., France Level 1)*?
Yes, the initial Explore is the very last part of setup (unless otherwise modified).
France Level 6 (Persistent Explorers) applies, as does anything else that keys off of resolving "an Explore Card".
(It is not 'the Explore Step', which is a structural part of the Invader Phase.)
(Discussion elsewhere) Tags: Explore, Kingdom of France

Spirits and Innate Powers

Do Adversary effects based on lands (e.g., the loss condition of the Kingdom of England) work in The Endless Dark?
No, The Endless Dark is not a land for Adversaries.
In particular:
- The Kingdom of England can't count The Endless Dark as a "Proud and Mighty Capital" to cause a loss.
- The Habsburg Monarchy (Livestock Colony) can't make Towns Durable there with "Herds Thrive in Verdant Lands."
- The Habsburg Mining Expedition can't match The Endless Dark with its Salt Deposits card, nor can Russia match The Endless Dark to a Ravage Card via "Competition Among Hunters."
However, Towns in The Endless Dark are still not available to be placed against the Kingdom of France.
Tags: Matches, Victory and Defeat, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Kingdom of England, 3 more...
Does Mud’s Offer No Firm Foundations special rule do anything useful against The Kingdom of France Level 2+?
Yes, it still has two uses:
- Since "Slave Labor" only triggers in lands that had 2+ Explorers before Building, the Explorers built via "No Firm Foundations" won't trigger that ability (though they would still be upgraded if the land already had 2+ Explorers).
- At some points in the game, preventing new Cities from being built can be worth adding extra Towns. This is particularly true against Level 4+, when a City that causes "Triangle Trade" would add another Town anyway.
  Tags: Triggered Actions, Offer No Firm Foundations (Fathomless Mud of the Swamp), Fathomless Mud of the Swamp, Kingdom of France, 0 more...
Are pieces in The Endless Dark still on the island?
Yes, they are still on the island for all purposes, even though they aren't in a land or on a board.
In particular:
- Invaders in The Endless Dark block a Terror Level victory.
- Presence in The Endless Dark prevents loss from Spirit elimination.
- Beasts in The Endless Dark count towards preventing a loss against the Tsardom of Russia.
- Towns in The Endless Dark count towards a loss against the Kingdom of France.
- Presence in The Endless Dark can be destroyed by Events and Blight Cards that destroy Presence from each Spirit (but not those that destroy Presence from specific boards).
However, it is not a land, and thus:
- The Endless Dark does not count for loss conditions that are based on contents of a particular land, like Habsburg Mining Colony or the Kingdom of England.
Tags: Victory and Defeat, Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine, The Endless Dark (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), Tsardom of Russia, 14 more...