25.0 Costs

25.1 A cost is a payment necessary to cause an effect to happen or to stop an 

effect from taking place. To pay a cost, a ruler must carry out the instructions specified in the action, resource, ability, or effect that contains that cost.

 

25.2 A ruler can pay a resource cost (either showing a symbol of one of the six 

resources 6.1 or written out the name “plant,” “bug,” “meat,” “wood,” “stone,” or “crystal.”), by spending resources from their resource pool or playing additional resource cards from their hand.

 

25.2a When an effect produces a resource, that resource goes in a 

ruler’s resource pool. From there it can be used to pay costs immediately, or it can stay in a ruler’s resource pool. Each ruler’s resource pool empties at the beginning of their dawn phase.

 

25.2b Resources can be tracked through verbal announcement or by 

using tokens so that the amount is clearly known by all rulers. If resources remain in a ruler’s resource pool after spending some of it on an effect or when passing to other phases of a turn, it should be announced clearly to all other rulers.

 

25.3 A ruler can pay a fealty cost (showing a number inside a fealty symbol, 

see rule 6.2) by spending any type of resource from their resource pool on a 1-for-1 basis - or - by discarding cards from your hand on a 1-for-1 basis.

 

25.3a Many cards have a season symbol (see rule 6.3) which allows a 

ruler to discard that card during the same season on a 1-for-2 basis. Example: The card “Bovine Senator” is a beast with the summer season. During summer, that card can be discarded from a ruler’s hand to add 2 fealty.

 

25.3b Seasonal is a special ability on cards that allows a ruler to discard 

it from their hand when paying a fealty cost on a 1-for-2 basis. 

 

25.4 A ruler can’t pay a cost unless they have the necessary resources to pay 

it fully. For example, a ruler with one beast in their city cannot pay a cost 

requiring them to bury two beasts. Also, a ruler with 1 vitae cannot pay a cost of 2 vitae.

 

25.4a Paying a cost is done by removing the indicated resources from 

the ruler’s resource pool. If excess resources remain in that ruler’s pool after making the payment, the ruler announces what resources are still there.

 

25.4b Paying vitae is done by subtracting the indicated amount of vitae 

from their vitae total. (A ruler can always pay 0 vitae.)

 

25.4c Some Actions, Resource, or Activated Abilities require payment for 

them to be played. That requirement is always printed before the colon in the text. Some effects will resolve only if a payment has been made, this is indicated with the text, “If” something was paid, then the following effect occurs.

 

25.5 Variable costs are costs that include an “X.” X can be zero, and the cost 

will be considered to have been paid. If X is equal to a number that is impossible for the ruler to pay, then the cost is not considered paid.

 

25.6 Cost reducing effects can never pay a cost down to below zero. Paying a 

cost reduced by an effect counts as paying the original cost.

 

25.6a If a cost is reduced by a resource type, that cost does reduce the 

fealty cost. If a cost is reduced by a number of fealty points, that cost does not reduce the resource requirement.