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Divine Right
TSR (1979, $10.00)
Designed by Glenn & Kenneth Rahman
Players: 2-6
Playing Time: 2-4 hours
Period: Fantasy
Scale: Strategic
-- Turn: not stated
-- Map: hexes, scale not stated
-- Unit: Army or Fleet
Box: 11x9" thin bookcase box
Components: 22x34" unmounted mapsheet, 20 page rulebook with two
perforated pull-out reference sheets (second edition), 280 die-cut
counters, 4 sheets of identity and personality cards, sheet of
diplomacy cards, and 2 six-sided dice.
Card manifest: 36 large cards (14 identity cards, 20 personality
cards, 2 blanks), 45 small diplomacy cards.
Counter manifest: 280 counters, 38 of which are blank.
TSR says: "[C]ombines combat, diplomacy, and role-playing . . .
as each player attempts to build and hold together an alliance of
kings long enough to defeat the other players and win the game.
The kingdoms of humans, elves, goblins, dwarves and trolls are
pawns in the power games that absolute monarchs play.
Ambassadors vie for the attention of the kings whose favor they
curry. Assassination and backstabbing are popular pastimes, and
loyal allies may leave your side in the heat of battle at the
drop of a hat . . . The magicians, too, get their arcane fingers
into things, and the gods intervene as they will."
The reviewers say: "A fantasy boardgame a bit out of the usual
mold. While there is some magic in it, it is essentially a game
of military and political strategy. Thirteen states are
represented on a mythical continent, and one of them is assigned
to [each player] at random. Each of the players is `on
the board' in the form of a monarch piece, which, if killed or
captured, knocks the player out of the game . . . Play is fast
moving, as usually few units are in play and lengthy discussions
between players are not as important as in other multi-player
games." Steve List in Ares Nr. 1
"Overall, this is an excellent game; no two play sessions are
alike. The challenge of playing a different kingdom keeps
players thinking, and the variety of special units can alter
events quickly. It will be a long time before players grow bored
with Divine Right; I give it my highest recommendation."
Doug Traversa in The Space Gamer #29.
"There are, included among the components of the game, a deck of
personality cards that are applied to the non-player monarchs.
As a non-player monarch is contacted and an attempt is made to
win him over, you select, at random, a personality card . . .
with 20 cards, and far fewer monarchs, one can immediately see
the possibilities of endless scenarios, never duplicating
previous ones, as well as a constantly changing face of the game
as a given monarch is killed or is replaced, and a new one
replaces him with a new personality. The political face of the
game can shift, radically, with the death of a non-player
monarch, and his replacement with a new personality." Tim Kask,
early Divine Right playtester, in The Dragon #28
Comments: The first time I saw a friends copy of Divine Right
some time in the early eighties, my reaction was 'wow'. The first time
we played it with six players, my reaction was 'WOW!' Unlike
many other games which prove that nostalgia is wrong more often
than not, Divine Right still delivers a high quality gaming
experience today.
There are a number of reasons that Divine Right has held up over
the years. It was a game you could set up and just start
playing. The random assignment of starting kingdoms had the
effect of making each game feel somewhat like a new "scenario."
The variety of units presented different strategies and options
for each kingdom. And most importantly, the game has a fantasy
world overflowing with depth and character.
While there are other fantasy wargames that present a fictional
world as vividly as Divine Right, I don't think there are any
that do it in as clean and straightforward a manner. Tom Wham's
assessment sums it up: "a game on the order of SPI's War of the
Ring and Chaosium's White Bear and Red Moon . . . only better."
Collector's Notes: Back in 1997 I learned that there were plans
to publish a new edition of Divine Right and an expansion/sequel
called Scarlet Empire. Unfortunately neither project has reached
publication [The 25th Anniversary edition had not yet been released when
this article was written.] Until a new printing materializes, be
prepared to pay dearly to acquire a copy. Boone's Internet Wargames
Catalog (3rd) lists low/high/average auction prices of $40/$155/$79.82
and low/high/average sale listings of $15/$150/$81.88.
Literature: Divine Right received a great deal of attention in
TSR's Dragon magazine. The most notable issues were #34 and #46.
Issue #34 contains a treasure trove for Divine Right fans -- the
official second edition rules, changes from the designer,
ambassador personality cards, siege engine rules/counters, and
several other variant rules. Issue #46 featured six variants
from the designer. Finally, you can find the designers' notes in
issue #27.
Designer Glenn Rahman also wrote a series of "Minarian Legends"
articles detailing the fictional history of the countries and
personalities featured in the game. These articles appeared in
The Dragon issues 34-39, 41-42, 44-46, 48-52, and 54-57.
The good news is that all of the articles and variants are
available for "one low price" on The Dragon Magazine CD-ROM
Archive, a digital collection of the first 250 issues of The
Dragon.
Other designs by the Rahmans: Down with the King (AH), Knights of Camelot (TSR.)
Individually -- Glenn Rahman: The Trojan War (Metagaming.)
Kenneth Rahman: Dark Cults (Dark House.)
(This article was originally published in issue 7 of Simulacrum, April 2000.)
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Posted Sun Aug 5, 2007 11:34 pm