6. Action Cards

Action Cards work very much like Basic Actions. Playing an Action Card takes up a whole Turn (unless otherwise specified), not counting Minor Actions.

The Monarch Power (`d`) cost of playing an Action Card is indicated in the card's top left corner, and is always of the type associated with the deck that the card belongs to. Some cards also have a Ducat cost that must be paid. The cost of playing an Action Card (or Action on a Display Card) can never go below 0; that is to say, you may never gain `d` by playing an Action Card.

When playing a card for its Action, resolve its effect right away and then discard that card (unless it is a Display Card).

All Action Cards are dual-purpose. You may play the card to take its Action, or to ***Appoint*** the character in its bottom section.

### Characters (Leaders & Advisors)

Each Action Card depicts a character, either a Leader (round portrait) or an Advisor (square portrait). Take the ***Appoint Advisor/Leader*** Action (see p. 13) to make use of them. See more in section 7.2.

### Cards in Hand

Cards in hand should be kept secret from other players until they are played.

The hand size limit for Action Cards is 5, but this is only checked in Phase 5, Step C.

### Decks and Discard Piles

The Action Card decks are placed next to each other at the side of the board as shown in the setup. Discard piles are created as needed, placing discarded cards face-up. The discard piles are public information.

If a deck is empty when you need to draw a card, shuffle its discard pile to form a new deck, but leave out the top 5 discards and let them remain as a discard pile. If the discard pile has 5 or fewer cards when the deck is empty, shuffle the whole discard pile.

## 6.1 The Three Decks

### Administrative Deck (``)

The Administrative Deck is in many ways the most varied Action Deck; these cards will help you develop your Realm, increase your Stability, improve your economy, reduce Religious Dissent, and facilitate Research.

### Diplomatic Deck (`›`)

Cards in the Diplomatic Deck will be useful when you need to put pressure on your Opponents through less costly and more subtle means than War. They are also necessary if you wish to expand your Realm peacefully. Many cards require a minimum of `I`.

### Military Deck (`ç`)

Unsurprisingly, the Military Deck contains cards that will give you an edge in the event of War. They can give increased mobility to your forces or provide direct bonuses in Battles, such as additional Battle Dice.

## 6.2 Special Cards

### Display Cards (`™`)

Display Cards are marked with a `™` icon in the top right corner. They act differently from other Action Cards in that they are placed face-up on display when played, and charged up with a number of your `z` from your Supply matching the squares depicted on the card. They rarely have any other effect on the Turn in which they are played.

In subsequent Turns, when on display, a Display Card makes the Actions listed on the card available to the player who played it. These Actions work just like any other Actions in the game, have a `d` cost, and normally take a Turn to perform. However, some of them are marked as *Battle Actions* or *Reactions*, and are treated as such.

Each time you take one of the Actions on a Display Card, remove a `z` (or more if the text says so) from the available uses on that card.

Once the last `z` on a Display Card has been spent, discard the card.

**Note:** You can have a maximum of 2 Display Cards, and never 2 of the same card, in play at any given time. If you play a Display Card when you already have 2 in play, discard 1 of the cards in play.

### Battle Actions (`€`)

*Battle Actions* are cards (and Actions on Action Cards) meant to be played during Battles in the "Play Battle Actions" step. These Actions are marked with a `€` icon and can be used in any Battle in which you are involved, even if it is not your Turn.

In each Round of Battle, each side may only benefit from one use of any particular *Battle Action*.

**Battle Dice** gained from *Battle Actions* remain in your dice pool for the duration of the Battle. For each Battle Die icon depicted (see icons on p. 27) on a *Battle Action*, you may add one additional die of that type to your dice pool. A die icon with a "**?**" on it allows you to add 1 Battle Die of any type.

### Reactions (`£`)

Action Cards that are marked as *Reactions*, with a `£` icon, are used to interrupt play just like other *Reactions* (see p. 13).

### Covert Actions (`∞`)

The Diplomatic Deck has a number of Action Cards (and Actions on the ***Spy Network*** Display Card) that are marked as *Covert Actions*, with a `∞` icon. Just like other *Covert Actions* (see p. 15), these can be countered by a ***Counterespionage*** card.

If a card is countered, it is discarded and its cost must still be paid. If a *Covert Action* on a Display Card is prevented, the indicated number of uses (`z`) is still spent.