Scions and Agents

Scions are versatile resources that can be used in a variety of fields, mostly as diplomats, spies or generals.

A Scion may be dispatched as a diplomat. To do so, name a character of any type, they will get the opportunity to accept or deny your request. If they accept, you and the target of your diplomat may converse in private and your Scion is ensconced at their court (Ladies receiving a diplomat may choose to keep them in their personal court, or the Monarch's court).

After a turn spent in a court as a diplomat, a Scion, may perform Acts of Intrigue as a spy. These can be overtly hostile or simply investigative, depending on the inclinations of their controller.

After each turn spent in a foreign court, a Scion also provides some basic intelligence back to its controller regarding significant but non-secret events, as well as the presence of other guests in the court (though not who is hosting them).

On the military side, a Scion may be attached to a Cohort, doubling its effectiveness. In large armies consisting of Cohorts from multiple Nobles, there is a limit to how many Scions can provide benefits. At the largest scale, in an army with troops from a Monarch, Lords and Knights, this maximum bonus is six, up to one from the Monarch's Scions, up to two from Lords ' Scions and up to three from '''Knights' Scions. No Noble can benefit from more than one Scion in a given battle, so in the above example, six individual Nobles would have to have allocated Scions''' to the army.

A Scion may also be appointed regent, if a Noble wishes to take the field themselves. In this circumstance, a Noble 's communication is restricted either to their liege, for Ladies and Knights, or to a Lady of their choice for '''Monarchs. A Noble may perform any function of a Scion, but does so with greater effectiveness (gaining full access to a foreign court as a diplomat, enjoying higher likely hood of success as a spy, and tripling the effectiveness of an attached Cohort'''). While in the field, a Noble's demesne and soldiers (other than attached Cohorts) fall under the command of the Noble their communication is restricted to)

Lastly, a Scion who has spent a turn in a foreign court may be married or arrange a marriage for their controller's other Scion to any of their host's Scions. Marriage allows permanent private communication between the married Scions controllers.

Agents function similarly to Scions, but have only one possible action that they can perform (determuined at the time of their recruitment). Diplomats can be sent to foreign courts to provide communication, Spies can be sent to provide information and perform Acts of Intrigue and Generals can be attached to Cohorts with the same limitations as Scions. Agents may not serve as Regents.