Political Intrigue

The Political Intrigue Option was introduced in the Shards of the Throne Expansion for Twilight Imperium Third Edition and expands greatly on the Political System 
The Political Intrigue Option is incorporated into the game by using the Political II or Assembly II Strategy Cards 
== Setup ==
During game setup, each player receives:
* The 3 Representative Cards for their respective faction (Represent their race at the galactic council) 
* The 5 Promissory Notes that match their unit color (Used to create binding contracts) 
* 2 Political Cards (If using Political II Strategy Card) 
== Council Steps ==
=== Using the Political II Strategy Card ===
When the Active Player executes the Primary Ability of the Political II Strategy Card, they choose 1 of their 2 available Political Cards to resolve. All players then follow these steps:
(1) Choose Representatives: Each player can choose to send a Representative to the Galactic Council by placing the Representative Card face down in front of their Player Area
(2) Resolve Spies
* Starting with the Speaker and going clockwise around the table, each player who chose a Representative with the Spy trait reveals it and resolves its special ability
* After all Representative with the Spy trait have been revealed, remaining unrevealed Representatives are turned face up
(3) Resolve Bargaining and Promissory Notes: Players may offer Trade Goods or Promissory Notes to other players in order to convince them to vote in their favor. Trade Goods and Verbal agreements are non-binding. however Promissory Notes are binding
(4) Resolve Voting and Outcome: The active player reads the agenda out loud and players may vote 
* A player may not participate in the vote if they did not send a representative or their representative was assassinated 
* Trade Goods may be used as bribes but are not binding 
* Starting with the player to the left of the Speaker and going in clockwise order, voting occurs one player at a time.
** Each player has as many votes as the total combined influence value of all of their unexhausted planets plus the bonus votes provided by their Representative, with a minimum of 1 vote.
** When voting, a player must cast all their votes or none (votes cannot be split). Voting does not exhaust the planet cards 
** A player may choose to abstain from voting during any agenda (Their votes do not count) 
** The option with the highest number of votes is the option chosen by the players to resolve
** If there is a tied vote, the Speaker breaks the tie
(5) Draw New Political Card: The Active Player draws a new Political Card to replace the one chosen during this Council.
=== Using the Assembly II Strategy Card ===
(1) Choose a player: The Active Player may choose any player to resolve 1 Political Card from their hand. The chosen player must select 1 of their Political Cards to be resolved for this Council
(2) Give the Speaker Token to another player: The Active Player may give the Speaker Token to any player other than the player chosen to resolve their Political Card
(3) Choose Representatives: As above 
(4) Resolve Spies: As above 
(5) Resolve Bargaining and Promissory Notes: As above 
(6) Resolve Voting and Outcome: As above 
== Promissory Notes ==
Each player has access to the same 5 Promissory Notes:
* Monetary Concession: Play as an action: You may force me to give you all my Trade Goods 
* Promise of Protection: Play after I target a Representative with a Spy: You may force me to target a different representative 
* Support for the Throne: You require 1 less Victory Point to win 
* Territorial Concession: At the start of a combat round in a Space Combat: You may force me to retreat from the battle
* Voting Concession: Play during the 'Bargaining' step of a council: You may force me to vote in your favor 
Starting with the Speaker, each player follows these steps to offer a Promissory Note:
* The offering player may offer 1 Promissory Note, face down, to another (receiving) player and asks them to vote a specific way for the upcoming Political Card
* The receiving player looks at the Promissory Note and either:
** Agrees to vote the specific way the offering player asked for and keeps the Promissory Note (must adhere to the agreement) 
** Refuses and returns the Promissory Note to the offering player.
Each player may only offer 1 Promissory Note per Political Card
A player cannot reveal the Promissory Note to other players
When a player plays a promissory note, the other player must comply to its effects 
== Representatives ==
Representatives may have a number of bonus votes they contribute to a vote in the Council (listed on their card). There are 3 classes of representatives with different abilities: 
* Spies: Revealed before other Representatives and resolve their abilities before voting begins 
* Bodyguards: Cannot be assassinated
* Councilors: Have more bonus votes
Representatives may be assassinated (at which point their card is removed from the game)
== Representatives by Faction ==
===The Arborec===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Letani Miasmiala	Spy 	0 	Choose another player. If they chose a Councilor, you may kill this spy to control their Councilor during voting
Dirzuga Ohao 	Councilor	3 	If killed, this Representative returns to your hand after voting is resolved
Dirzuga Mantasa 	Councilor	4 	Other Councilors do not receive bonus votes during this vote
===The Barony of Letnev===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Darktalon Treilla	Spy 	0 	Assassinate a Representative. If they are killed, you gain votes equal to their bonus votes
Captain Lassir 	Bodyguard	2 	If you do not like the result of this vote, place 1 free Dreadnought in a friendly or empty system but you must abstain from all future votes (i.e. may no longer chose a representative for the remainder of the game)
Legate Erran 	Councilor	4 	You cast your votes after all other players have voted
===The Clan of Saar===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Elder Gurno 	Spy, Bodyguard	0 	Choose an unrevealed Representative. That representative may not choose your Representative to resolve any of their abilities
Melkov 	Spy 	2 	Choose an outcome. Gain 1 Trade Good (from the supply) for each player who votes for that outcome
Elder Sarrig	Councilor 	4 	Gain +3 Votes if you are the Speaker
===The Embers of Muaat===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Hosh Gahloki	Spy 	0 	Assassinate a Representative. If they are killed, draw 1 Action Card
Flaim Haash 	Bodyguard	1 	If this card is targeted by a Spy, the player controlling the spy receives -5 votes (to a minimum of 0)
Moltosh Flae	Councilor	3 	If you have a War Sun in or adjacent to Mecatol Rex, gain +4 Bonus Votes
===The Emirates of Hacan===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Alrung 	Spy, Bodyguard	0 	Assassinate a Representative
Huldran	Councilor 	2 	When voting, each player who did not receive a Promissory note must give you 1 Trade Good or abstain from voting
Garrus 	Councilor 	4 	If any player gives you Trade Goods during the Bargaining steps, gain 1 additional Trade Good from the supply (once per round)
===The Federation of Sol===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Rev. Hendrickson	Spy, Bodyguard	0 	Assassinate a Representative. If the Representative is a Bodyguard, they are not considered targeted
Ronald Wiley 	Councilor 	3 	If you abstain from this vote, gain 2 free Ground Forces on a planet you control
Claire Gibson 	Councilor 	4 	If the Political Card does not resolve the way you voted, you may retrieve one of your Promissory Notes from a player who voted against you
===The Ghosts of Creuss===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Soo Leirah 	Spy 	1 	Choose a player. They may not use their Representative's special ability (unless it has already been resolved)
San Omairo 	Bodyguard	1 	If this card is targeted by a Spy, you may look at the player's hand of Action Cards and take 1 Card of your choice
Sai Seravus	Councilor	2 	Gain +1 Vote for each system you control containing a wormhole
===The L1Z1X Mindnet===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
A6AH3 	Spy 	0 	Choose an outcome. If the result of this vote does not match your choice, kill any 1 Councilor that did not vote for the outcome you chose
44GSI-O	Bodyguard	1 	If this card is targeted by a Spy, the player controlling the Spy must abstain from this vote
R7-82 	Councilor	4 	If you abstain from this vote, gain 1 free Cruiser in your home system
===The Mentak Coalition===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Cador Gim 	Spy 	0 	Assassinate a Representative. If your Spy is killed by an enemy spy, the enemy spy is also killed
Orid Gim 	Bodyguard	2 	If this card is targeted by a Spy, the player controlling the Spy must give you 3 Trade Goods or kill their Spy
S'Ula Mentarion	Councilor	4 	After voting, look at the top card of the Political Deck and place it on the top or bottom of the deck
===The Naalu Collective===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
S'Srool D'Amil	Bodyguard	0 	If a Spy attempts to assassinate this Representative, instead assassinate the spy
S'Sruuk H'Eyra	Councilor	2 	If you vote the same as the current player, they must give you a Promissory note (if they have not already this round)
S'Sruuk G'ella	Councilor	4 	Gain +2 Votes if you are voting "For"
===The Nekro Virus===
Note that as per their faction abilities, the Nekro Virus may not vote but may still resolve Representatives 
Name 	Class 	Ability
Asmodai 	Spy 	Choose a player and an outcome. If they vote this way, copy one of their Technology cards
Wendigo 	Bodyguard	In order for a player to vote "For", they must give you 1 Trade Good or 1 Random Action Card from their hand
Beelzebul	Councilor	After the Resolve Spies step, all Councilors are killed (including this one). Then, discard the political card
===Sardakk N'orr===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Redband R't'an	Spy 	0 	Choose a Representative and an outcome. If the chosen Representative does not vote this way, they are killed after voting
Qui'rek 	Bodyguard	2 	If this card is targeted by a Spy, the Spy is killed
An'grag 	Councilor	4 	If this Councilor is killed, your opponent must place 1 Command Counter from their supply into the system of your choice
===The Universities of Jol-Nar===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Yaluga Huin 	Bodyguard, Councilor	1 	This Representative cannot be killed
Ta Zern 	Councilor 	2 	Gain +1 Vote for each Technology Card you have researched
Deluin Fillac	Spy, Councilor 	3 	Look at an unrevealed Representative. You may force the player to return the card to their hand and choose a different Representative if able
===The Winnu===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Menda Mendala 	Spy 	0 	Assassinate a Representative. Your spy may not be killed by enemy spies
Perdin Perdona 	Councilor	2 	If you vote "Against", gain +3 votes
Berekar Berekon	Councilor	3 	If the Political card does not resolve the way you voted, you may place a Cruiser in a system you control
===The Xxcha Kingdom===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Brothers Qquiar	Bodyguard	2 	If this card is not targeted by a Spy, gain +3 votes
Xxekir Grom 	Councilor	2 	During the Bargaining step, you gain +3 bonus votes if the current player does not offer you a Promissory note
Ggrucoto Rinn 	Councilor	3 	Players who accept Trade Goods from you during the Bargaining step may not receive any Promissory notes. You vote for them during the Voting step
===The Yin Brotherhood===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Imar Yissadar	Spy 	0 	Assassinate a Representative. If they are a bodyguard, then both them and this spy are killed
Rhal Darish 	Councilor	3 	If you give any players a Promissory Note this round, you receive 3 Trade Goods from the supply
Talla Darator	Councilor	4 	If this Councilor is assassinated by a spy, the spy's owner must abstain during this vote
===The Yssaril Tribes===
Name 	Class 	Additional Votes	Ability
Ne Ruk	Spy 	0 	Assassinate a Representative and then return this Spy to your hand. You must abstain from this vote
So Ata	Spy 	1 	Choose a player. Their total votes are reduced by half (rounded up and after adding any bonuses)
Zo Cou	Councilor	3 	When voting, you may discard any number of Action cards from your hand to gain an equal number of additional votes