Imperial conquest
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Imperial conquest, sometimes styled as Imperial Conquest, is a Vudran1 strategic board game for up to four players.23 It is popular among tacticians, as well as monks and courtiers.3
Gameplay
The rules of imperial conquest are simple but strategically deep. Players act in turns by placing tokens on squares marked for the number of points they award. If a player's tokens flank the tokens of other players or form chained flanking lines, the player can claim large swaths of territory.3
A match takes up to 30 minutes per player to complete and exercises its players' tactical planning.2 It is possible for a game of imperial conquest to be forced to end in a draw.1
Construction
A typical well-crafted imperial conquest set includes an elaborately decorated board of ebony with detailed pieces of ivory, and while the game can be played with cheaper sets, a proper board and pieces are required to enter the appropriate mental state to benefit from its tactical exercises.2 Such a board typically weighs about four pounds and can cost 2502 to 500 gold pieces,1 with variants of equal or greater quality containing pieces made of other high-quality materials, such as onyx.4
On Golarion
While originating in Vudra,1 imperial conquest is most passionately played in the Padishah Empire of Kelesh, where playing it is considered to be an intellectual pursuit.2
It is also among the tactical board games that have maintained popularity in the Five Kings Mountains. In Highhelm, it is played in local taverns or in long-running matches on boards stationed outside of homes where players make moves while commuting past each others' residences each day.5
In espionage
Imperial conquest is one of several board games, alongside king's chess and elemental stones, used in Highhelm to craft the spycraft communication devices known as Liar's Boards, which unlock a hidden compartment when pieces are moved in an encoded sequence.6
In the Great Beyond
The shoki psychopomp Kisokish is fond of imperial conquest and owns a table with an inlaid board and integrated storage for its tokens.4
References
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 . “Tomorrow Must Burn” in Tomorrow Must Burn, 53. Paizo Inc., 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 . “Equipment from Abroad” in Adventurer's Armory 2, 29. Paizo Inc., 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 . “Pastimes” in Travel Guide, 59. Paizo Inc., 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 . “The Dead Roads” in The Dead Roads, 31. Paizo Inc., 2019
- ↑ . “Chapter 1: Introduction” in Highhelm, 29. Paizo Inc., 2023
- ↑ . “Chapter 2: Gazetteer” in Highhelm, 59. Paizo Inc., 2023