"Kingmaker Unusual Situation - What Would You Do?" Topic

ubject: Uncertain of What Should Happen?
We had a battle where one player with a single noble counter and a large mercenary card attacked two nobles in a field battle. Drew a card in case bad weather stopped the attack, nope.

He had the defenders outnumber 4-1 and next card said 3-2 winner so he won. We were playing the version where you roll dice for killed nobles. His being the bigger force he rolled and then his noble died on a 2 (snake eyes with two dice). His opponents both made their rolls (they would have been killed on 2, 3, 12).

Anyhow so he wanted to kill or ransom the two nobles he had defeated but we ruled he could not as his lone noble did not survive the battle but died during the fighting. He argued he still gets to execute his prisoners. We felt he could not.

We checked all over in the rules and if it's covered specifically somewhere we could not find it.

Experienced players or Kingmaker experts – what would be your ruling on this?

I'd love to see what others would have done.

Thanks!

Probably would have executed the prisoners, as there was no nobility to stop them…

I agree with Bill, execute the prisoners.
In the end it would prove the losers´ tough luck that their opponent was killed, kind of realistic of the era in my opinion.

I love that game but haven´t played it in years!

Disagree w/execute. Given the large mercenary force
on the winning side, my opinion is that the Merc
leadership would insist on ransoming the surviving
nobles to make sure they'd be paid, since their
'sponsor' died in the engagement.

Mercenary cards usually go away after the battle.

In the game your playing pieces are the nobles. They don't decide what you do. You do.
So, do what you want.

I must have an early version of the game. Some of the options are unfamiliar.

The two nobles go rogue, take the Mercenaries and invade Spain, or the Netherlands, or France. Treat them as killed.

I would go execute, but could see the argument for ransom. You just have to demand a large ransom.

Kingmaker rules p3, Battle section, #5.:
"… Nobles killed … Loss of Nobles incurred in this manner does not alter the battle or the results."
PDF link

Yup, sorry for those two Nobles because some loyal retainer would have killed them due to their Noble dying.