sons of liberty - a roleplaying game

8/19/2019 Sons of Liberty - A Roleplaying Game

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/sons-of-liberty-a-roleplaying-game 1/159



Sons of LibertyA Roleplaying Game of Freedom and Badassery

by Josh Roby

Art byJake Richmond

Anna KreiderLeo Lingas

Playtesting byMark Vallianatos, Judson Lester, jim pinto, Colin Jessup, Arturo

Rubio, John Wick, Paul Tevis, Denys Bakriges, Will Huggins,James Ritter, James Campbell, Brendon Murphy, Meghann Ahern,Laura Bishop, Jesse Burneko, Chris Perrin, Chris Bennett, RachelBennett, Seth Ben-Ezra, Gabrielle Ben-Ezra, Arianna Ben-Ezra,Samuel Ben-Ezra, Crystal Ben-Ezra, Keith Sears, Ralph Mazza,

Jeremy McCabe, Dain Lybarger, Jill, Nance, Maude, Jason Corley,Thomas Deeny, Jennifer, Aaron, Ryan Macklin, Jeremy Tidwell,

Matt Troedson, Aaron Enriquez, and Robert Dushay with the entireMorrisville State College Gaming Guild.



Sons of Liberty is copyright 2008 by JoshRoby. With the exception of the Play Aids at the back of this book, no portion may be repro-duced without the express written permissionof the author.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 - 12 11 10 09 08

For the Johns, George, Alex, Deb, Ben, Ethan,the two Toms, the two Martins, Abigail, Sam,

Francis, Gilbert, Salem, and Fanny.

My heartfelt thanks.



iii

Introduction

I took a vow not to write this book.

Put my hand on the Book of Law, raised myother hand and said the words without equivo-cation, mental reservation or secret evasion ofmind in me whatever. I would not write thisbook.

It hurt to make that vow, to keep the se-crets of Freemasonry, no matter how someonepleaded or begged or bribed me. And trust me, there’s been some of that. (Not so much with the bribing, though. I’m a bit disappointed.) Af- ter all, I chose to be a Freemason because of thebeautiful and intricate symbols and mysteriesof the Order. And learning those symbols anddiscovering those mysteries has been one of themost rewarding journeys I’ve ever undertaken.

But I can’t share them. I can’t write themdown. I cannot write this book.

Of course, there have been other rewards.Rides to work in black helicopters, my month-ly checks from the UN, a dip into the TemplarTreasure when funds get low… a small price to

pay for all the privileges of being in the world’soldest fraternity.

But still… I am a writer. And I took a vow to never reveal any of the secrets of Freema-



iv

Sons of Liberty

sonry… and if I did, the penalties would be…would be…

Well, let’s just say they’re pretty graphic.

But I wanted to write this book. Oh, how Iyearned to write it. And when I saw someoneelse was… well, my reaction may not have been the best.

I got a good look at this game back in early2007, when Joshua was still working out the

kinks and bugs. I got a first glimpse of it evenearlier, in late 2006, in the back of his other bril-liant book. I saw it. He looked at me with hesi- tant eyes. I looked up at him.

I think his first words were, “You don’t have to kill me or anything do you?”

I told him, “Do you think I’d answer that

question honestly in front of witnesses?”

Something like that. Or maybe I’m makingall that up. Like the weekly UN checks and theTemplar Treasure. But not the black helicopters. I wouldn’t make that up. No, siree, Bob.

I started calling it, “Josh’s Magic Mason

Game.” I continued doing so until I got a chance to play it at Orc(sic)Con 2006. That’s when I gota real chance to sit down and play it. That’swhen I got a real chance to see what the gamewas about. That was when I could report back tomy Masonic Masters and honestly say, “He canlive. We don’t have anything to worry about.”

Playing my favorite founding father—Alex-ander Hamilton—was a lot of fun. Not becauseI got to play the Hamilton, but because I got toplay my Hamilton. The way I saw him. The wayI want him to be.



v

Sons of Liberty

Josh’s American Revolution isn’t the realAmerican Revolution. It isn’t even an authenticRevolution. Like Frank Miller’s 300, it is a re-

telling of a historical event through the eyes ofan unreliable narrator. An unreliable narratorwith an agenda. And that’s okay, just as longas we know what we’re getting when we get on the ride.

That’s why I’m here. I’m here to let youknow exactly what you’re getting. A roller

coaster ride that has no intention at all of be-ing “historical” or “accurate” or “authentic.” Butit is everything you want in a ride. Fast, furi-ous, curves, dips and loops, spies and soldiers,mechanical men, steam and punk, freedom and tyranny, bullets, blood and revolution.

And, of course, there’s magic Masons.

I took a vow not to write this book. Evenstill, I wanted to. Or, at least, something verysimilar. I may still, one day. But I’m happysomeone wrote it.

I’m even happier it was Joshua.

John Wick—

JOHN WICK is a game designer and a Mas- ter Mason. He does indeed get to ride around inblack helicopters, gets a monthly check from

the United Nations and knows the secret location of the Templar Treasure. With Jared So-rensen, he is also the co-owner of the WickedDead Brewing Company at http://www.wicked-dead.com. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona.



vii

Table of Contents

Introduction iii

Who are the Sons of Liberty? 1 Playing Sons of Liberty . . . . . . . . . 3

Patriots 5Abigail Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8John Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Sam Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Ethan Allen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Fanny Campbell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Benjamin Franklin . . . . . . . . . . . . 18John Hancock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Alexander Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . . 22Thomas Jefferson . . . . . . . . . . . . 24The Marquis de Lafayette . . . . . . . . 26Francis Marion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Rachel and Grace Martin . . . . . . . . 30Thomas Paine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Salem Poor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Paul Revere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Deborah Sampson . . . . . . . . . . . . 38George Washington . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Tories 43 Major John André . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot . . . . . . . 46Benedict Arnold . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Buckongahelas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48“Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne . . . . . 48Captain Joseph “the Monster” Brant . . 49Dr. Benjamin Church . . . . . . . . . . 50General Henry Clinton . . . . . . . . . . 50



viii

Sons of Liberty

Colonel Charles Cornwallis . . . . . . . 51Lord Dunmore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52John Enys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Major Patrick Ferguson . . . . . . . . . 54William Franklin . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54General Thomas Gauge . . . . . . . . . 56John Howe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Thomas Hutchinson . . . . . . . . . . . 58Samuel Seabury . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Peggy Shippen-Arnold . . . . . . . . . . 59Colonel Mary Stuart . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Major Banastre “Bloody Ban” Tarleton . 61Major Benjamin Thompson . . . . . . . 62William Tryon “the Wolf” . . . . . . . . . 64Colonel Tye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Battle Mode 67 Sequence of Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

At the Grand Lodge of the Americas . . 69Table of Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Decipher the Whist Code . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Table of Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Table of Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Table of Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Reveal Identities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Play the Travel Hand . . . . . . . . . . . 79Start the Travel Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Tory Plays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Patriot Plays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Call the Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Direct the Cut Scene . . . . . . . . . . . 92Exploit Opportune Objectives . . . . . . 95

Abuse and Usurp — Tory Tactics . . . . . . . 96Break the Rules — Patriot Tactics . . . . . . 99Call the Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Attempt the Primary Objective . . . . . 104



ix

Sons of Liberty

Campaign Mode 107 The Stages of the Revolution . . . . . . 108

Intolerable Acts (1760-1769) . . . . . . . . . 109Shot Heard Round the World (1770-1776) . . 112The Fires of Adversity (1777-1781) . . . . . . 115The New Republic (1782-1800) . . . . . . . . 119

The Secret Objective . . . . . . . . . . . 119Creating the Secret Objective . . . . . . . . 120Embedding the Secret Objective . . . . . . . 120Accepting the Secret Objective . . . . . . . 122

The Final Battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Versus Mode 127 Choosing Patriot Figures . . . . . . . . 127

Support Decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

At the Congress of the Confederation . 128The Issue at Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129The New Whist Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Ready? Fight! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

The Victor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Options Screen 137 Replace Awesome with Clever . . . . . 137Tory Three-Card Handicap . . . . . . . 138Seed the Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Patriot Tag Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Finish Him!... Fatality! . . . . . . . . . . 140Tory Oppression Points . . . . . . . . . 141Largest Army on the Planet . . . . . . . 142The Benefits of Tyranny . . . . . . . . . 142

Appendices 143 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Objectives Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Patriot Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Tory Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148Versus Bout Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

http://-/?-

http://-/?-



x

Sons of Liberty



1

Who are theSons of Liberty?

“They nourished up by your indulgence! They grewup by your neglect of them. As soon as you beganto care about them, that care was exercisedin sending persons to rule them . . . men whosebehavior on many occasions has caused the bloodof those Sons of Liberty to recoil within them.”

Isaac Barré, British Member of Parliament

On April 19th, 1776, there was a tussle in aNew England town called Lexington. No more than a handful of local militiamen traded firewith a very small portion of a British regimentfrom Boston. It was a short fight, and decidedlyone-sided. The militiamen fled the field almostas soon as the fighting started. It should havebeen a blip on the radar screen of history.

By the end of the day, though, the entirecolony of Massachusetts Bay was up in arms.Wave after wave of colonials beat the Britishback to Boston, and then lay siege to the military capital of the colonies for nearly a year. By the end of that year, the disparate town militiaswere the Continental Army, led by a plantationowner from Virginia, 500 miles away.

Impersonal historians like to claim that theAmerican Revolution “just happened” — that the tensions between Britain and its colonies just boiled over to Revolution. But can imper-sonal historical forces really explain how thegreatest army on the face of the planet got bot- tled up in a dinky port town overnight? Can they explain how the citizens of thirteen bick-ering colonies abruptly snapped together andformed up ranks in mutual defense? Certainly,something else was at work.

—



2

Sons of Liberty

That something was the Sons of Liberty.

They contacted each other through networks of correspon-

dence—through the mail. Theycommunicated in plain sight innewspapers and pamphlets. Theymet cloaked and cowled to pro- tect their identities lest they wereinfiltrated, and made their plans. They wentout into the world and installed themselves in

city and colonial governments. They nurturednetworks of informants and suppliers. Theyinfiltrated the ranks of the British occupiers.They trained and studied, preparing for the daywhen their skills would be needed. Then, when the time was right, they set their plans in mo- tion.

But who were the Sons of Liberty?They were patriots. They

were geniuses. They were heroes.They were cunning and strongand brilliant and connected. Butmost of all, they were regularmen and women who stepped out

of the roles laid out for them. Every fantasticdetail of their storied lives stems from the onedecision: the refusal to live bound by the me-diocre dictates of someone else’s will. It was their insistence on living free that made themstrong. It was their demand to take the helmof their own lives that gave them brilliant in-sights. It was their simple, stubborn refusal to

go home, shut their doors, and do as they were told that brought them together. And together, they were stronger than any tyrant’s army ofblind followers.



3

Sons of Liberty

You know some of their names: GeorgeWashington, Paul Revere, Ben Franklin. Oth-ers, you may not have heard of. In this game,

you take on the roles of these patriots and standagainst the depredations of an Empire over-ac-customed to mute obedience. AsWashington, as Franklin, as Fan-ny Campbell, and as Salem Poor,you take the field against theforces of mediocrity and greed.

Who are the Sons of Liberty?When you play this game, you are.

Playing Sons of LibertyYou can play Sons of Liberty in three differ-

ent modes: Battle Mode, Campaign Mode, andVersus Mode. Additionally, you can customize

how your game plays using the Options Screen.Each mode is described in its own chapter in the book.

In Battle Mode, you and three or morefriends play through one secret “battle” of theSons of Liberty. One player takes on the role of the Tories, while everyone else picks a Patriot

figure to portray. A single battle takes two to three hours to play.

In Campaign Mode, you and your friendsstring together a series of battles to tell thewhole, secret story of the American Revolution.A campaign may take anywhere from four to ten battles. Each battle features different Patri-

ot figures, and the role of Tory player is traded to a new player each time. To make schedul-ing easier, the group of players need not be thesame for each battle – if Alex can’t make it one



4

Sons of Liberty

evening, there’s just one less Patriot and morebadassery for everybody else.

In Versus Mode, you and one other player

can each take on the role of one of the Sonsof Liberty after the Revolution has been won.Once comrades in arms who founded a nation, the task of actually building that nation oftenset these men and women at odds. It was theirimpassioned struggles with each other thatformed the nation we know today.

Lastly, you can use the Options Screen tocustomize how the game plays. By default, thegame runs in madcap form, with over-the-topaction and a moderate challenge for both Pa- triots and Tories. Players vie for the craziestcard plays, one-upping each other on how far they’ll take their Patriot figure in the fight for

American liberty. Just a few shifts in the rules,however, can turn the game into a thoughtfulexercise of finding the cleverest, most optimalcard plays or can tip the scales to make the Pa- triots scramble for every slight victory.



5

Patriots“A nation reveals itself not only by the men itproduces but also by the men it honors, the menit remembers.”

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

What follows areseventeen of Ameri-ca’s original badas-ses. Drawn from theranks of the Sons ofLiberty, these menand women were thedecisive voices andicons of the Ameri-can Revolution and the forces whichshaped the nation

that was to follow.

When you play Sons of Liberty, you portrayone of these heroes. Don’t worry about histori-cal accuracy (I don’t) or getting things “right”— George Washington doesn’t mind if you get the details wrong. (In fact, I have it on good authority that he thinks the clockwork power ar-

mor thing is rockin’.) What matters is not thatyou play the George Washington or evenmy George Washington, but youplay your George Wash-ington. It’s morefun that way, too.

Each Patriot

figure is describedwith a profile, a pairof specialty suits,and a long list of favored circumstances.

—

2 0

S o n s o f L i b e

r t y

2 1

P a t r i o t s

J o h n H a n c o c k

p o l i t i c i a n a n d

s m u g g l e r

“ T h e r e ’ s o n

l y s o ma n y p

r i o r i t i e s t h

a t

y o u ca n

f u nd. W ha

t y o u

c h o o s e t o

ta rg e t,

y o u n e ed t

o w i n. ”

P r o fi l e

J o h n H a n c

o c k

i s t h e w e a l

t h i e s t

m a n i n N

e w E n g -

l a n d – a t i

t l e t h a t h e

i n h e r i t e d

f r o m h i s

u n c l e a l o n

g w i t h h i

s

m a s s i v e s

h i p p i n g e

m -

p i r e. T o d a

y H a n c o c k

m a i n t a i n s

t h e f o r t u

n e

b y s m u g g l i n g p

r o h i b i t e d

g o o d s a n

d f u n n e l s t h e

c a s h i n t o t

h e c o f f e r s

o f t h e

S o n s o f L

i b e r t y, t h e

r e b e l -

l i o u s M a

s s a c h u s e t t s

C o n -

g r e s s, t h e C

o n t i n e n t a l

A r m y,

a n d a n y b o

d y e l s e w h

o n e e d s

f u n d s t o fi

g h t f o r H

a n c o c k ’ s

c a u s e s. H

e c o n s i d e r

s h i m s e l f

a m a n o f t

h e p e o p l e,

a n d m a i n

-

t a i n s s t r o n

g b o n d s o f

t r u s t a n d

c a m a r a d e r

i e w i t h e v e

r y s e g m e n t

o f s o c i e t y,

e v e n

p o o r S c o t s

i m m i g r a n

t s a n d b l a

c k s. I n r e

c o g n i -

t i o n o f h i s

b r o a d s u p p

o r t, h e h a s

b e e n e l e c

t e d

t h e P r e s i d

e n t o f t h e

C o n t i n e n t

a l C o n g r e s

s. N o t

c o n t e n t t o

s i m p l y s i g

n t h e c h e c

k s a n d p o u

n d

t h e g a v e l,

h o w e v e r, H

a n c o c k i n s

i s t s o n t a k

i n g

t h e fi e l d –

o f t e n t o

d e l i v e r m

u c h - n e e d e d

s u p -

p l i e s s m u g

g l e d i n t o t

h e c o l o n i e

s o n h i s s

m u g -

g l i n g s l o o

p L i b e r t y.

S p e c i a l t y S u

i t s

C o n n e c t e d

( D ) a n d U

n o r t h o d o x

( S )

C i r c u m s t a n c e

s u n d e r t h e

I n t o l e r a b l e

A c t s

i n M a s s a c h

u s e t t s

t r a d i n g

s m u g g l i n g

o n t h e L i b

e r t y

r a b b l e r o u

s i n g

s p e n d i n g m

o n e y

w i t h S a m A d a m

s

o r g a n i z i n g

b o y c o t t s

s p e a k i n g i n

p u b l i c

w i t h f e l l o w

m a s o n s

w i t h b l a c k

s

w i t h S c o t s

… A t t h e S h o t H e a r

d R o u n d t h e W o r

l d

o n t h e r u n

w i t h P a u l

R e v e r e

p i s s i n g o f f

t h e B r i t i s h

a g a i n s t G e

n e r a l G a u

g e

p r e s i d i n g

i n C o n g r e s

s

s i g n i n g h i

s n a m e

c r i t i c i z i n g t h e B r i t i s

h i n p u b l i c

… I n t h e F i r

e s o f A d v e r s i t y

w i t h m i n u

t e m e n

w i t h G e o r

g e W a s h i n

g t o n

m o d e r a t i n g

o t h e r s ’ d i s

c u s s i o n s

S t a n c e s

A n t i - C e n s

o r s h i p, P r

o - E l i t i s m, P r o

- F e d e r a l -

i s m, A n t i - F r a n

c e, P r o - N a

v y, A n t i - W

o m e n, A n t i

-

S l a v e r y

– – – – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – –

– –

– – –

2

2



6

Sons of Liberty

There are four spe-cialty suits in the game:Patriotic (Hearts), Clever

(Clubs), Connected (Dia-monds), and Unorthodox(Spades). Every Patrioton this list is in turns patriotic, clever, connected,and unorthodox — butsome of them are a littlemore unorthodox than

others, some of themhave a special talent atbeing clever, and some of them define patriotism.Specialty suits define notwhat the patriot figurecan do, but what they’re

especially good at doing.The figures’ favored

circumstances are thesettings, company, andsituations in which thosefigures shine. It is a list

of where they are most at home, the skills at

which they are most practiced, their interestsand agendas, and their most trusted compatri-ots. When these patriots are in their favoredcircumstances, asses get kicked and names get taken. Some of these lists are long, but don’tworry. In play, you’ll select four circumstances to highlight at a time.

Patrioticcourage

martial prowess

sacrifices

Unorthodox shady deals

surprisebreak the mold

Connected networkingsocializing

spending money

Clever tinkeringlawyering

writing, wit



7

Patriots

Circumstances are listed in three catego-ries: Intolerable Acts, Shot Heard Round theWorld, and Fires of Adversity. If you are playing

in Battle Mode or Versus Mode, you can ignore the categories and pick whichever you like. Ifyou are playing Campaign Mode, you may onlypick circumstances from stages which havebeen unlocked.

The patriot’s stances are listed last. Theseare used in Versus Mode, when the Patriots face

off against each other to determine what kindof nation their fledgling republic will be.

Seven of Hearts — Deborah Sampson defends the LibertyTree in Delaware.



8

Sons of Liberty

Abigail Adams pioneering feminist — and motorist

“If particular care and attention is not paidto the Laidies we are determined to

foment a Rebellion of ourown.”

Profile

The sayinggoes, “Behind ev-

ery great man, you

will find a greatwoman.” While you

may find AbigailAdams behind John

Adams, that is onlybecause that is where

she does her best work.While the men engi-

neering and executing the American Revolutionare fugitives and targets,

the female Adams is quitesafe “on the farm in Brain-

tree” — and it is from thatbase of operations that she

extends her pervasive influ-ence. A consummate politi-

cian, Abigail Adams knowsnearly everyone of import in the colonies, andon both sides. Her extensive networks of cor-respondence are bolstered by her attendanceat social functions across the colonies, whichshe travels to by — scandalously — driving herown horseless carriage.

4

4



9

Patriots

Specialty SuitsConnected (D) and Unorthodox (S)

Circumstances under the Intolerable Actsin Massachusettswith faithful Christiansusing family influencewith John Adamscorrespondingwith womenhosting a levee

expressing her opinionsmotoring

…At the Shot Heard Round the World witnessing fighting and oppressionminding childrenmaking saltpeterretooling

she knows someone in townin the driver’s seat

…In the Fires of Adversitywith son John Quincyon the homefrontmaking alliesswaying supportat high speed

StancesAnti-Censorship, Pro-Elitism, Pro-Religion,

Anti-Slavery, Pro-Women, Anti-Veteran

–––––––

––

––––

––

–––––



10

Sons of Liberty

John Adams The Colossus of Independence

“He means well for his country, is alwaysan honest man, often a wise

one, but sometimes, insome things,absolutely out

of his senses.” Benjamin

Franklin

ProfileJohn Adams isone of the keenest

thinkers among theSons of Liberty. His

piercing legal mindregularly destroys the

foundations of British

exploitation while at thesame time laying a new

foundation for America’sgovernment. He is not

above getting his handsdirty, either. He is the chair-

man of the Continental Con-

gress’ War Committee; withhis office has come a specialsuit of clockwork power armor

specially crafted for his slight stature. In it, he towers ten feet tall and weighs two tons. Fromhis reputation in debate and his silhouette on the battlefield, he is known as the Colossus ofIndependence.

—

10

1 0



11

Patriots

Specialty SuitsConnected (D) and Patriotic (H)

Circumstances under the Intolerable Actspromoting Independence and

Republicanismexposing corruptionperforming civic dutiesarguingwith Harvard menwith Abigail Adams

with Sam Adamsusing historical examplesin Bostonplaying devil’s advocatewith brother masonsdebating procedural questionsbeing long-winded

…At the Shot Heard Round the World with Jeffersonin Massachusettsin Congressimpetuous vehementobnoxious and dislikedagasint those of noble blood

in courtusing extending clockwork limbs

…In the Fires of Adversitywith George Washingtonat seawith Ben Franklinin clockwork power armor

StancesPro-Censorship, Pro-Elitism, Anti-France,

Pro-Federalist, Pro-Navy, Pro-Women, Anti-Veterans

–

–––––

–––––––

–––––––

––

––––



12

Sons of Liberty

Sam Adams conspirator and rabble-rouser

“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquilityof servitude greater than the animating

contest for freedom, go home fromus in peace.”

Profile

Sam Adamshas never been up

to any good, the en-

gineering of a revo-lution being only a

dubious exception.A master in rallying

his compatriots to action, especially if saidaction is risky or liable

to result in injury, SamAdams has been a lynch-

pin of the Sons of Libertysince its inception. He is

no stranger to “secret so-cieties,” having founded

his own, the Whipping PostClub, which serves as a front

organization for many of theSons’ activities in Boston. He

is also a nexus of the Commit- tees of Correspondence, trading

letters with patriots from Georgia to Quebec.Like his potent connections, Adams exists on the very edge of respectability. With one foot in the world of monied gentlemen and another in the back alleys of Boston, he has never hesitat-ed in playing one side off the other to forward the cause of liberty.

2

2



13

Patriots


Circumstances under the Intolerable Actsin Massachusettsrabble rousingwritingwith John Adamsdoing war whoopswith Harvard menin a brewery

working with businessmenwith members of the Whipping Post

Clubacting as tax collectorworking via Committees of

Correspondenceinstigating civil disorderlocking doorsin a rage

…At the Shot Heard Round the World leading Patriotsin Congresswith John Hancockunifying Patriotspreparing the military

on the runwreaking havoc

…In the Fires of Adversitywith son Sam Junior (a doctor)womanizing

Stances

Anti-Elitism, Anti-Federalist, Anti-France,

Pro-Urban, Anti-Religion, Anti-Women

–––––––

––

––

–––

–––––

––

––



14

Sons of Liberty

Ethan Allen The Green Mountain Man

Captain Delaplace, atop the battlements ofTiconderoga: “By whose authority do you act?”

Ethan Allen, below: “Jehovahand the Continental

Congress!”

ProfileFrom the

Green Mountains

at the northernreaches of the re-

bellious coloniescomes the apotheosis

of rebellion. Not content to rebel againstBritain alone, Ethan

Allen stands in rebel-lion against both Britainand the fledgling United

States, determined to se-cure the life, liberty, and

property of his fellow set- tlers in the independentRepublic of Vermont. Allen

and his moose-riding GreenMountain Boys are a power-

ful and potentially dangerouswild card in the fight against

tyranny.

6

6



15

Patriots

Specialty SuitsUnorthodox (S) and Patriotic (H)

Circumstances under the Intolerable Acts

(not active)

…At the Shot Heard Round the World in Vermontwith the Green Mountain Boysleading a rebellionspeaking his mind

with Benedict Arnoldin a fortin a taverncrossing watersurprise is on his sideusing light cannon

…In the Fires of Adversitycaptured & mistreated

disdaining the United Stateswith desertersplaying two sides off each otherwith Thomas Rowleysingling out Vermont

Stances

Anti-Elitism, Anti-Federalist, Anti-Urban,

Pro-Religion, Anti-Slavery

––––

––––––

–

–––––



16

Sons of Liberty

Fanny Campbell female pirate captain

“All right, ya clod-footed swabbies: double booty for whoever gets me Gauge’s hat!

Avast!”

Profile

F a n n yCampbell’s en-

try into the rev-olution is as un-

orthodox as herexploits. Her lover

William kidnappedby the British, she

did the only sensi-ble thing she could

— disguised herself

as a man, signed ontoa British ship’s crew,led a mutiny, and as-

saulted the prison inCuba where he was be-

ing held. Now back in the colonies, she has tak-en a letter of marque from

the Continental Congressand has been inducted into

the Sons of Liberty. Withcutlass in one hand and pistol in the other, sheprovides her compatriots with discreet oceanpassage, smuggled materials, and a small armyof pirates.

K

K



17

Patriots

Specialty SuitsClever (C) and Unorthodox (S)


(not active)

…At the Shot Heard Round the World on the Constancecaptaining a shipin Massachusettsdisguised as a man

leading a mutinypiratingrescuingat sea

…In the Fires of Adversityon a shipleading a ship’s crewwith William Lovell

stealing British assetsmanipulating the system

Stances

Pro-Navy, Anti-Religion, Pro-Veterans, Pro-Women

––––

––––

–––

––



18

Sons of Liberty

Benjamin Franklin tinkerer and diplomat

“If you’d have it done, Go; if not, Send.”

ProfileA celebrity in

the United Statesand in Europe,

Franklin may becalled an Interna-

tionalist, but he isas American as they

come: willfully inde-pendent, insatiably cu-

rious, and intent in fol-lowing a code of ethics

of his own construction.His efforts have been re-

warded with recognitionand acclaim across the

world – and an extensivelandscape of colleagues,

comrades, owed favors, andformer protégés. He is the

founder of Junto, a freethink-ers association, and the Ameri-

can Philosophical Society. Hiscountless inventions can be

found throughout the colonies inhomes, on streets, and on roofs – but the besthe reserves for use in the fight for liberty.

8

8



19

Patriots

Specialty SuitsClever (C) and Connected (D)

Circumstances under the Intolerable Actswritingpolitickingprintingusing electricityplaying the diplomatsatisfying curiosityin London

in Pennsylvaniaspending moneyestablishing civil serviceswith members of Juntocorrespondingopposing slaverywith fellow masonswith the American Philosophical

Societycultivating a good imagewith illegitimate son Williamflying a kitewomanizing

…At the Shot Heard Round the World against illegitimate son William

refrigerating tinkeringsuffering from gout

…In the Fires of Adversityin Pariswith Europeansspeaking foreign tongues

StancesAnti-Elitism, Pro-France, Pro-Religion,

Anti-Slavery, Pro-Women

–––––––

––––––––

––––

–

–––

–––



20

Sons of Liberty

John Hancock politician and smuggler

“There’s only so many priorities that you can fund. What you

choose to target, you need to win.”

Profile

John Hancockis the wealthiest

man in New Eng-

land – a title that heinherited from his

uncle along with hismassive shipping em-pire. Today Hancock

maintains the fortuneby smuggling prohibited

goods and funnels thecash into the coffers of the

Sons of Liberty, the rebel-lious Massachusetts Con-gress, the Continental Army,

and anybody else who needsfunds to fight for Hancock’s

causes. He considers himself

a man of the people, and maintains strong bonds of trust and

camaraderie with every segment of society, evenpoor Scots immigrants and blacks. In recognition of his broad support, he has been elected the President of the Continental Congress. Notcontent to simply sign the checks and pound the gavel, however, Hancock insists on taking the field – often to deliver much-needed sup-plies smuggled into the colonies on his smug-gling sloop Liberty.

2

2



21

Patriots


Circumstances under the Intolerable Actsin Massachusetts tradingsmugglingon the Libertyrabble rousingspending moneywith Sam Adams

organizing boycottsspeaking in publicwith fellow masonswith blackswith Scots

…At the Shot Heard Round the World on the run

with Paul Reverepissing off the Britishagainst General Gaugepresidingin Congresssigning his namecriticizing the British in public

…In the Fires of Adversitywith minutemenwith George Washingtonmoderating others’ discussions

Stances

Anti-Censorship, Pro-Elitism, Pro-Federal-ism, Anti-France, Pro-Navy, Anti-Women, Anti-Slavery

–––––––

–––––

–

–––––––

–––



22

Sons of Liberty

Alexander Hamilton soldier and diplomat

“A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger isprepared for a master — and deserves one!”

ProfileWell-known,

well-liked, accom-plished, and thor-

oughly connected,Alexander Hamilton

does very well for abastard from the WestIndies. This is simply

because he works twiceas hard and four times

as smart as anyone else.At the center of a vast

network of friends andpatrons, Hamilton knows the best way to accomplishwhatever ends are set before

him, whether that entails anight on the town, expert sol-diering, or scathing pamphle-

teering, and knows who can do

it for him – or how to do it himself.

Specialty Suits

Clever (C) and Patriotic (H)


(in West Indies until 1773)

…At the Shot Heard Round the World womanizingduellingforwarding his own ambitionin a business

––––

K

K



23

Patriots

in a factoryusing technologyhiding his bastard heritage

at seain the West Indieswith John Laurensmaking enemiesraising cashorganizing Patriotsnetworkingusing newspapers

readingdealing with moneyopposing slaverywith Francis Barberwith King’s College menwritingdebating

with the Hearts of Oak menusing light cannon

…In the Fires of Adversityon the battlefieldin command of troopsagainst Jeffersonwith the Marquis de Lafayettewith George Washington

with General Greenestorming fortificationsdefending Torieswith Aaron Burrin a citydispatching ordersexecuting tactics

StancesPro-Censorship, Pro-Elitism, Pro-Federal-

ism, Anti-France, Pro-Navy, Pro-Urban, Anti-Veterans, Anti-Women

–––

––––––––

–––––––

––

–––––

–––––––



24

Sons of Liberty

Thomas Jefferson idealist and renaissance man

“All men are created equal.”

ProfileMany of the

ideas behind theRevolution find their

best expressions through Thomas Jef-ferson... and their

greatest contradictions.Jefferson is a man of

high ideals – higher, certainly, than he is able tofollow, himself. A certifi-able genius and Rennais-

sance Man who is adept in

nearly every art and scienceknown to his time, Jefferson

still cannot reach the heightsof his own imagination. He as-

pires to build a nation of peace,and has built a vast network of

mirrors and light channels thatkeep his home, Monticello, bril-

liantly lit... and can convert in aheartbeat to light cannon, making the man-sion on the hill a certifiable fortress. He is aslave owner who opposes slavery, and enjoys afortune based on slave labor. He is cripplinglyshy, but maintains vital connections with theintellectual and social elites of colonial society.

Because really: what use are ideals if they areeasy to attain?

7



25

Patriots


Circumstances under the Intolerable Actswritingespousing Republicanismon a farm or plantationbuilding tinkeringin Virginiaspeaking thoughtfully

looming taller than everyone elsespeaking foreign tonguesreadingusing his classical educationwith William and Mary menplaying the violinwith the Flat Hat Club

…At the Shot Heard Round the World lawyeringin Congresswith the American Philosophical

Societywith Martha Waykes Skelton Jeffersonat Monticellowith or against John Adams

with Ben Franklin …In the Fires of Adversity

divorcing church from stateexcavatingbeing a gourmandopposing slaverykeeping slaves

StancesAnti-Federalism, Anti-Urban, Anti-Reli-

gion, Anti-Slavery

–––––––

–––––––

–––

–––

–

–––––



26

Sons of Liberty

The Marquis de Lafayette(Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert

Du Motier) french badass

“When the governmentviolates the people’s

rights, insurrection is, forthe people and for each

portion of the people, themost sacred of the rights

and the most indispensible

of duties. ”

Profile

The Marquis de Lafay-ette is not supposed to be in

America. Recruited in Pariswith the support of Louis XIV,

Lafayette outfitted a ship and

recruited eleven trusted com-panions. The king withdrew hisapproval at the last minute and

had Lafayette arrested; Lafayetteescaped dressed as a woman and

set sail. Here in the United States,he has quickly become a celebrity,

serving as General Washington’sadvisor and taking command of asmall force of Continental soldiers. His aristo-cratic charm and foreign flair have made him very popular – as has his aristocratic pocket-book and foreign connections. He serves with-out pay for the freedom of a country not hisown, and looks damn good doing it.

A



27

Patriots



(not in the U.S. until 1777)

…At the Shot Heard Round the World

(not in the U.S. until 1777)

…In the Fires of Adversitybeing Frenchliving up to his father’s example

leading soldiersdisguised as a womanevading pursuitat seawith George Washingtonwith Alexander Hamiltondisplaying courage

impressing colonials because he’sFrench aristocracy

being discreetspending moneywith Europeansdefending Virginia tolerating other religionswriting

laughing in the face of dangershowing off

Stances

Pro-Elitism, Pro-France, Anti-Slavery, Anti-Veterans, Anti-Women

––

–––––––

–

––––––

––



28

Sons of Liberty

Francis Marion The Swamp Fox

“Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, tail on his hat, nobodyknows where the Swamp Fox’s at!

Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox,hiding in the glen,

he’ll run away to fight again.”

marchingchant of Marion’s

Men

ProfileOne would not

guess by looking atFrances Marion that

he is a gentleman. Toomany marches through

the swamps, too many

nights hiding in mud-dy holes, and too many

days balancing time between fighting the Britishand hunting for food havestripped any semblence of

polite civilization from his

appearance. The fire of a justcause burns bright in his eyes,however, and the cunning of

a swamp fox guides his hand.Marion and his band of volunteer irregularsare the last line of defense for the southern col-onies — their hit-and-run tactics and their baseof operations deep in the treacherous swamps

keeps the British on their toes. If they can justhold out, they might even win.

—

J

J



29

Patriots



(not active)

…At the Shot Heard Round the World evading capturegathering intelligencein the swampsdisrupting enemy communications

capturing suppliesfreeing prisonersusing a decoywith indiansbeing polite

…In the Fires of Adversityignoring injuriesscouting

outnumberedretreatingissuing receiptsambushingin Congressin a fortin South Carolina

StancesAnti-Federalism, Anti-Navy, Pro-Religion,

Anti-Urban, Pro-Slavery, Anti-Women

––––

–––––

––

–––––––



30

Sons of Liberty

Rachel and Grace Martin The Martin Women

“I dare do anything that you cando, Rachel.”

ProfileTo all outside

observers, Racheland Grace are the

picture of properSouthern wives.

Grace is WilliamMartin’s lively young

bride and Rachel hisbrother Barkley’s,

both well-received ad-ditions to the respected

Martin family. Behind

closed doors, however, the Martin Women aresome of the most active es-pionage agents in the colo-

nies. Their exploits rangeup and down the coastline,

using disguise, subterfuge,and humor to strike where the

Tories least expect.

Their best-known exploit involves a trio ofBritish couriers traveling past their home late atnight. The two young women disguised them-selves as men and ambushed the couriers. Ra-chel and Grace confiscated the documents theywere carrying and paroled them, then rushed

back home. Shortly thereafter, the couriers ar-rived on their doorstop, pleading hospitality,as they had just been ambushed by two rebels.The Martin Women graciously fed and housed

2

2



31

Patriots

the couriers as they pumped them for furtherinformation, and then saw them off the nextmorning.

Specialty SuitsClever (C) and Unorthodox (S)

Circumstances under the Intolerable Actswaylayingacquiring documentsdisguised as menarmed with bayonets

disarming the Britishparoling the Britishwith General Greenehosting Britishembarrassing British

…At the Shot Heard Round the World in South Carolina

talking about their husbandsin the back countrygoading each other on

…In the Fires of Adversityavenging William

Stances

Anti-Federalism, Pro-Religion, Pro-Slavery,

Anti-Urban, Anti-Veterans, Anti-Women (Ra-chel), Pro-Women (Grace)

Special Note: The Martin Women can be playedby one or two players, depending on your pref-erences. One player with one sheet and onehand of cards can play both ladies, or two play-ers can each take one, filling out their own

sheet and playing their own hand.

––––

–––––

–

–––

–



32

Sons of Liberty

Thomas Paine author and inventor

“These are the times that try men’s souls.”

ProfileKnown as much

for his aeri-al acrobatics

as his stirringprose, the figure

of Thomas Paineis well-loved by

colonists of everyclass. Not content

to hear of a revolution across an ocean,Paine left his comfort-

able home in England

to fly for days straightacross the Atlantic and

come participate him-self. Traveling by orni-

thopter to every cornerof the colonies, Paine

reports on the progressof the revolution in lucid,

electrifying pamphlets thatbring the cause of liberty to

the common man. His accentmarks him as an Englishman from across thesea, an advantage which he exploits to get thereal story... and then publish it for everyone toread. His immediate celebrity surprised no one

more than Paine himself, but he lost no time inusing it to galvanize the people to the patriotcause.

5

5



33

Patriots

Specialty SuitsClever (C) and Patriotic (H)


(not in America until 1774)

…At the Shot Heard Round the World quotingreadingwritingpublishing

using pamphletswitnessing and reportingat seaimpersonating an officerpreachingwith Ben Franklinbeing British tinkering

working with steam powerpresenting complex ideas in plain forminspiring colonists to persevereflying his ornithopter, Spirit of Boston

…In the Fires of Adversityon a battlefieldwith John Laurens

with George Washingtonin or on an ornithopter

StancesAnti-Censorship, Anti-Federalist, Pro-

France, Anti-Religion, Anti-Slavery, Pro-Wom-en

––––

––––––––

––––

––

––



34

Sons of Liberty

Salem Poor distinguished soldier

“in the Person of this Negro Centers a Brave& gallant Soldier.”

report to the GeneralCourt of

Massachusetts

ProfileThe Brit-

ish promised

freedom for anyblacks who fought

under their banner.Poor, a freedman

already, knew all too well how muchLord Dunmore and

the younger Franklincould be trusted. In-stead, he answered thecall of Revere’s express

and fought at BunkerHill. Stories immediately

began to spread about theindefatigable soldier. The

Sons of Liberty recognizeda compatriot when theysaw one and wasted no time

in recruiting him into the organization. NowPoor’s growing celebrity as an unstoppable sol-dier helps show the colonies which side of thestruggle is the true cause of liberty.

— 3

3



35

Patriots

Specialty SuitsPatriotic (H) and Unorthodox (S)


(not active until 1775)

…At the Shot Heard Round the World in battlewith infantrymenagainst Lt. Col. James Abercrombiein Massachusetts

woundedinspiring by examplewith blacksreturning to battleimpressing officerswith wife Nancy

…In the Fires of Adversityconvincing others

representing his racebeing a military celebrity

Stances

Anti-Elitism, Anti-Federalist, Anti-Religion,Anti-Slavery, Anti-Women

––––

––––––

–

––



36

Sons of Liberty

Paul Revere Face of the Revolution

“The Regulars are Coming!”

ProfilePaul Revere

is not known forhis midnight ride

– Paul Revere isknown as the face

of the revolution throughout New Eng-land. A “gentleman

craftsman” from Bos- ton, he uses that cityas the hub of a wide-

spread network of fel-low craftsmen, preachers,

interlocking families, andbrother masons. An as-

piring industrialist, his sil- vering techniques and cop-per plating technology are

essential to maintaining themirrors and clockworks of the

Continental Army’s light can-non. His many skills and agile

mind make him a Renaissanceman as capable of constructing alarm systemsas he is in hoodwinking British officers. When the time comes, he’s quick to put those skills touse at the front of the fight.

J

J



37

Patriots


Circumstances under the Intolerable Actswith his fellow masonsworking with silverin Boston tinkeringengravingwith Sam Adamspromoting Republicanism

conducting civil disorderwith the North End Mechanicsacting as a Boston Grand Jurorusing codesraising the alarmnetworkingasking others to trust himusing black powderworking with his hands

…At the Shot Heard Round the World delivering messagesout at nightridingin commandusing light cannon

in a fort …In the Fires of Adversity

in a factorymass-producingwith son Paul Jrwith son Joseph Warrencopper plating

StancesAnti-Censorship, Anti-Elitism, Pro-Feder-

alism, Anti-France, Pro-Religion, Pro-Urban,Pro-Women

–––––––

–––––––––

–––––

–

–––––



38

Sons of Liberty

Deborah Sampson female soldier masquerading as a man

“There is no thing that a patriotic man may do thatcannot be mirrored by a woman with the

fires of liberty in her heart.”

Profile

D e b o r a hSampson wasn’t

satisfied withwatching the men

fight for her liberty. Determined tostrike her own blow

for freedom, she dis-guised herself as a

man and enlisted in the Continental Army.

She has served withdistinction as a front-line soldier, as a confi-

dential courier betweenand behind enemy lines,

and any other duty thatliberty has required of her.

Her commanding officer has

identified her as one of thebest men in the Fourth Mas-

sachusetts Regiment, and theregiment’s doctor keeps her se-

cret hidden. Despite his best efforts, however,Deborah must frequently go to great lengths tomaintain her cover so she can keep fighting. Of

course, this only earns her more renown.

7

7



39

Patriots



(enlisted in 1778)

…At the Shot Heard Round the World

(enlisted in 1778)

…In the Fires of Adversitydisguised as a mansoldiering

in combatin Massachusettsmaking dolifting and carryingweavingusing aliases and misdirectionwith the Fourth Massachusetts

Regimentwhile wounded tending to her own woundswith Dr. Barnabas Binneyspeaking in publicwith Paul Revere

Stances

Anti-France, Anti-Navy, Pro-Religion, Pro-Veterans, Pro-Women

––

–––––––

–––––



40

Sons of Liberty

George Washington general and politician

“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts ofhis countrymen.”

ProfileAstride his me-

chanical horse andoutfitted in power-

ful clockwork armor,George Washington

is a striking picture ofcommand and natural

nobility, but it is his keensense of judgment thathas won him victories

against the British and inhis own Congress. He is

the general that Americaneeds – patient enough tohold out against overwhelm-

ing odds and wily enough toknow when to strike swiftly

and bring the British behe-moth toppling down.


Circumstances under the Intolerable Actsarbitratingin Ohio countryambushingusing stealth

surprise is on his sideshot atcool under firewith Martha Washingtonexpressing civic virtue

––––

–––––

8



41

Patriots

in Virginiausing terrain to his advantageusing his enormous charisma

in Congressdisplaying confidence

…At the Shot Heard Round the World convening Congresscalling on his veteran experienceworking with Congressin commandspending money

using the Good Ole Boy systemreorganizing the armyusing light cannonagainst Hessianswith mechanized infantryin Valley Forgewith Baron von Steuben

training soldierskeeping things togetheravoiding battleexploiting enemy mistakes

…In the Fires of Adversitywith Alexander Hamiltonmounted judging charactersoliciting opinionswith John Adamswith Thomas Jeffersonrelying on his personal integrityrefraining from taking more power than

he is due

Stances

Pro-Censorship, Pro-Federalism, Anti-Navy,Pro-Slavery, Anti-Urban, Anti-Women

–––

––

–––––

–––––––

––––

––––––––



42

Sons of Liberty



43

Tories“Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to theaccidental opinion of a day; but a series ofoppressions, begun at a distinguished period andpursued unalterably through every change ofministers, too plainly prove a deliberate, systematicplan of reducing a people to slavery.”

Thomas Jefferson

The rogues’ gal-lery of “Tories” who

side opposite Amer-ica’s Patriots is evenmore varied than the wide-rangingPatriots themselves.There are British sol-diers and generals,certainly, but alsolocal newspaper-men, colonial governors, indian chiefs, traitors,politicians, and vicious young women. Theircommon goal: the destruction of the Americanidentity in favor of the maintenance of theirpersonal fortunes.

Their tools included outright warfare, eco-nomic pressure, legal action, bloody atrocities,social snubbing, technological advances, andeverything else they could think of. With fewexceptions, they were not motivated by ideals,but by greed, ambition, envy, and as the warground on, mounting desperation.

The Tory figures listed in the followingpages are not meant to be used as fleshed-outcharacters. They exist to give Tory oppressioncharacter. They will not be challenged by mor-al questions: their answers are set. Their choic-es are not between what cause to support, but

—



44

Sons of Liberty

how to support it. They are meant to be usedas the treasonous spy in the midst of camp, thebureaucratic obstacle interfering with every ac-

tion, and the figurehead at the crest of a waveof soldiers.

Each Tory figure is de-scribed in a short profile andlisted with two signatureactions: their Abuse andUsurpation. When the Tory

player describes a figureperforming an Abuse orUsurpation, they get tomonkeywrench the Pa- triot’s delicate plans.(There is no differencebetween Abuses andUsurpations; they’re

just clever names.)

Some Tory figures are only available incertain stages of Campaign Mode. These stagesare listed with the figures’ descriptions. If youare playing in Battle Mode, you can ignore thisentirely and pick whichever figures you like.

Major John André British Secret IntelligenceAvailable In: Shot Heard Round the World,Fires of Adversity

André is the picture of what the Britishwish their officers to be. He is handsome, witty,

patriotic — and totally dependent on militaryservice to maintain his way of life. Born to themiddle class, his French Huguenot parents senthim to Geneva for a continental education. Hereturned to England and promptly fell in love,

7 4

S o n s o f L i b e

r t y

W i l l i a m T r y

o n “ t h e W o l

f ”

B u t c h e r o f

F a i r fi e l d

A v a i l a b l e

I n : A l l S t a

g e s

W h i l e g o v e r n o r o

f N o r t h C a r o l i n a, W i l l i a m

T r y o n s e t h i

s i m a g e i n t h e c o l o n i a l m

i n d b y u s -

i n g c o l o n i a l t a

x e s t o b u i l d h i m s e l f a

f a n t a s t i c

m a n s i o n. T h e

p l a c e q u i c k

l y b e c a m e k n o w

n a s

T r y o n ’ s P a l

a c e, a n d T r y o n

h i m s e l f e a r n e d

a n i g -

n o b l e p l a c e

i n t h e c o l o n i a l m

e m o r y. H i s r e p u -

t a t i o n w a s s o l a s t i n

g t h a t y e a r s

l a t e r, n o w

a s

G o v e r n o r

o f N e w Y o r k, h e l i v e s

i n a m e r c h a n t

s h i p, D u c h e s s o f G o r d o n

, i n t h e N e w Y o r k h a r -

b o r f o r f e a r

o f a n a r c h i s t s a

t t a c k i n g h i m.

T r y o n a l t e r n

a t e s

b e t w e e n

b e i n g a n

i n c o m p e t e n

t o f fi c i a l

a n d a n i n c o m p e t e n

t

o f fi c e r. A s g o v e r

n o r

o f N e w Y o r k, h e c r e -

a t e d a c o n s p

i r a c y

t o k i d n a p G e o r g e

W a s h i n g t o n ;

i t f a i l e d.

W h e n C l i n t o n

g a v e

h i m a m i l i t a r y c o m -

m a n d a n d t h e r e l a t i v e l y

s i m p l e t a s k o f i n v

a d -

i n g u n d e f e n d e

d C o n n e c t i c u

t, T r y o n b u r n

e d t h e

c i t i e s o f F a

i r fi e l d a n d N o r f o l

k t o t h e g r o u n d.

T h i s e a r n e

d h i m h i s n i c k n a m e “ t h e W o l f ” a

n d

l o s t h i m h i s i n

d e p e n d e n t

c o m m i s s i o n.

A b u s e : W

h e n e v e r T r y o n

d e s t r o y s

a v i l l a g e,

t o w n, o r c i t y, t h e T o r y

p l a y e r m a y s p e n d

o n e

T y r a n n y t o l o c k

a n y s e t o f 3 s.

U s u r p a t i o

n : W h e n e v e r T r y o n

u s e s h i s i l l - g o

t -

t e n t a x e s t o b e n e fi

t h i m s e l f, t

h e T o r y p l a y e

r m a y

s p e n d o n e T

y r a n n y t o l o c k a n y s e t o f

7 s.



45

Tories

but no amount of toil in the counting house gar-nered him the wealth he needed to appease theyoung lady’s guardian. When it became clear

he would never win her, André purchased thebest commission he could afford — a lieutenan-cy in the Royal English Fusiliers — and sailedfor America.

André ingratiated himself to General Clin- ton by being urbane and clever, and was short-ly thereafter promoted to Major and placed in

charge of British Intelligence throughout thecolonies. Wherever he goes, Major André is apopular figure with the colonists, accorded re-spect and confidence by way of his charmingdisposition, “common” upbringing, and practiced manners. This disarmingdemeanor is his best weapon.Even as he is entertaining a

passel of women by cutting their silhouettes from paper,he is watching, waiting, andplotting. André has no plans to leave this war and return tohis former life.

Abuse: Whenever André se-

duces a colonist, the Tory play-er may spend one Tyranny tolock any set of 4s.

Usurpation: Whenever Andréintercepts secret Patriot mes-sages, the Tory player mayspend one Tyranny to block any

straight ending in a Spade.



46

Sons of Liberty

Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot Lt Governor of Nova ScotiaAvailable In: All Stages

Mariot Arbuthnot is the sadreality of the British military.Despite having spent the bulk ofhis life on the ships of the RoyalNavy, he is at 60 almost entirelyignorant of how sailing shipswork. His tactics are inelegant and coarse, rely-ing on brute force and overwhelming numbers to accomplish his ends. Used to commandingsailors pressed into service, his personal relations on land are characterized by overbearingbluster and optimistic gullibility. From his seatat the naval yards of Nova Scotia, he is in com-mand of all British naval affairs in the Western

Hemisphere.

Abuse: Whenever Arbuthnot uses overwhelm-ing naval force, the Tory player may spend a Tyr-anny to Block any straight ending in a Heart.

Usurpation: Whenever Arbuthnot presses col-onists into service, the Tory player may spend aTyranny to lock any set of 10s.

Benedict Arnold American TraitorAvailable In: Fires of Adversity

Benedict Arnold began as an ambitious patriot fighting for the cause of American liberty

and prosperity. As a captain in the Connecti-cut militia, in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga,in the siege of Quebec, and in the second siegeof Ticonderoga, Arnold served with verve anddaring. He did not, however, receive any credit



47

Tories

for any of it. He was brash and demanding,and no effort by the Sons of Liberty could gainhim the recognition that their brother deserved.

Repeatedly spurned by the Congress and hissuperior officers, Arnold grew bitter and para-noid.

After havingbeen wounded four times in the courseof the war, Arnold

was made the military commander ofPhiladelphia. Heimmersed himselfin the social life of the busy city, fallingdeeply into debt. In the whirl of parties and entertaining dignitar-

ies, he met Peggy Shippen, a girl of 18 years,Loyalist allegiance, and British connections.They married a month after meeting, and Ar-nold was shortly in contact with Major JohnAndré, head of British Intelligence in the col-onies. If the Continental Congress would notgive Arnold the recognition that he deserved,

then perhaps the British would.Abuse: Whenever Arnold uses Sons of Libertysecrets, the Tory player may spend one Tyranny to steal a Jack from the end of a straight.

Usurpation: At any time during the game, theTory player may take control of Benedict Ar-nold and betray the Sons of Liberty, regardless

of his prior actions and even if he has not yetappeared in the game. Whenever Arnold be- trays the Sons of Liberty, the Tory player mayspend one Tyranny to draw an entirely newhand and discard his current hand.



48

Sons of Liberty

Buckongahelas Lenni-Lenape British AllyAvailable In: All Stages

This indian chieftain instigated hostilitiesagainst the fledgling United States from hisown tribe as well as many others by spreadingrumors and making promises that the Britishwere never going to honor. He also, as it turnsout, bore an uncanny resemblence to BenjaminFranklin. The mind just boggles at the possi-bilities, doesn’t it?

Abuse: Whenever Buckongahelas dissolves the goodwill of an alliance or potential alliancefrom the inside out, the Tory player may spendone Tyranny to lock any set of Aces.

Usurpation: Whenever Buckon-

gahelas impersonates BenjaminFranklin, the Tory player mayspend one Tyranny to Block astraight ending in a Diamond.

“Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne

Available In: Shot Heard Round the World,Fires of Adversity

His moniker is not a compliment, but amockery of this army officer’s high-handed andaristocratic manner. Even while in the field,Burgoyne’s elaborate demands burden supplylines with needless luxuries and fripperies. Healso fancies himself a playwright and word-smith, and misses no opportunity to subjectcolonial captives with his “wit” – often in an attempt to sway their loyalties back to proper de- votion to the hallowed crown of England. De-



49

Tories

spite all that, Burgoyne is a talented tactician,especially in deploying the new mechanizedcavalry units.

Abuse: Whenever Burgoyne inflicts high-mind-ed and pompous exposition on the Patriots, theTory player may spend one Tyranny to steal aClub from the end of a straight. He must imme-diately discard another card from his hand.

Usurpation: Whenever Burgoyneleads a charge of mechanized cav-

alry, the Tory player may spendone Tyranny to lock any set of 9s.

Captain Joseph “theMonster” Brant

or Thayendenegea, Iroquois leader

Available In: All StagesJoseph Brant is an Iroquois, an ally of the

British, and known throughout the colonies asa heartless savage. He leads a mixed unit ofIroquois and British soldiers, and wherever heserves, atrocities seem to follow.

Abuse: Whenever Thayandene-

gea or his men take part in bloodthirsty or savage tactics, the Toryplayer may spend one Tyranny tosteal a Diamond from the end ofa straight.

Usurpation: Whenever Thayandenegea useshis bloody reputation to get his way, the Toryplayer may spend one Tyranny to lock any setof 8s.



50

Sons of Liberty

Dr. Benjamin Church British SympathizerAvailable In: All Stages

A trusted ally of the Sons of Liberty, Benja-min Church is in fact a noted Bostonian politi-cian — right up until his duplicitous dealingswith the British are exposed. The good doctorpales at the thought of a war that the colonies“could never win” and attempts to wave the ol-ive branch, effecting a happy and permanentreconciliation with the British tyrant.

Abuse: Whenever Church gathers intelligencefor the British, the Tory player may steal a 4from the end of a straight. He must immedi-ately discard another card from his hand.

Usurpation: Whenever Church turns over in-

telligence for the British, the Tory player maylock any set of 4s.

General Henry ClintonAvailable In: Shot Heard Round the World,Fires of Adversity

The third man in the Revolution to hold the position of Commander in Chief, Clintonreplaces Howe, who replaces Gauge. Takingleadership late in the war, Clinton insists that the loyalists among the colonies are the key towinning the war. Unfortunately, he’s right.

Abuse: Whenever Clinton uses connectionswith Tory colonists, the Tory player may spendone Tyranny to steal a Queen from the end of astraight. He must immediately discard anothercard from his hand.



51

Tories

Usurpation: Whenever Clinton arrives on thescene and takes command of British and Toryforces, the Tory player may spend one Tyranny

to draw an entirely new hand.

Colonel Charles Cornwallis savvy tacticianAvailable In: Fires of Adversity

Clinton’s second-in-com-mand, Cornwallis is emblematic

of the rising tide of petty noblesusing Britain’s armies to advance their own fortunes. Havingfought in the Seven Years’ War,Cornwallis has become a member of Parlia-ment and, like his father before him, increasedhis family’s titles and lands.

Cornwallis is a shrewd and savvy tacticianboth on the battlefield and off it. He knows well the lessons of attrition, and regularly sends his troops out of their garrisons in the city to patrolfor hunters from the Continental Army — afterall, if they can’t eat, the colonials can’t fight,either. He exerts just the right amount of lever-

age to force his enemies out of safety, whether they be forts of timber or networks of socialconnections.

Abuse: Whenever Cornwallis forces colonistsout of a position of safety, the Tory player mayspend one Tyranny to draw a new hand. TheTyranny token should be placed beside the dis-

card pile.Usurpation: Whenever Cornwallis deprivescolonists of needed food and supplies, the Toryplayer may spend one Tyranny to lock any setof Jacks.



52

Sons of Liberty

Lord Dunmore Royal Governor of VirginiaAvailable In: Intolerable Acts, Shot HeardRound the World

Dunmore saw the revolution coming. As the Royal Governor of Virginia and a faith-ful servant of the crown, he then engineered awar with the Shawnee indians for the expresspurpose of depleting the Virginia militia before they could rebel. Now that the fighting has be-gun in earnest, he has issued a landmark pro-climation: any slave who joins his loyalist mi-litia will be freed at the close of the war. Thisgives Dunmore a fantastic asset — when he

Five of Diamonds — Ethan Allen incites mohawks inPennsylvania.



53

Tories

needs military force, he has a fanatical militiawaiting; when he needs funds, he can sell offa unit or two to Jamaica and tell the rest they

were lost in battle.Abuse: Whenever Dunmore is backed by hismilitia of ex-slaves, the Tory player may spendone Tyranny to steal a spade from the end ofany straight. He must immediately discard an-other card from his hand.

Usurpation: Whenever Dunmore colludes with

indians, the Tory player may spend one Tyranny to lock any set of 5s.

John Enys RangerAvailable In: ShotHeard Round the

World, Fires of Ad- versity

This young of-ficer is a keen tacti-cian with a streakof luck a mile wide.Beginning the war as an ensign, Enys progress-

es up the ranks to Captain by war’s end. Hiswinning strategy: hit-and-run tactics, ruthlessefficiency, and staying the hell away from politics.

Abuse: Whenever Enys wipes out the liveli-hoods of the Patriots’ friends and associates, the Tory player may spend one Tyranny to blockany straight ending in a Diamond.

Usurpation: Whenever Enys and his men comeout of the trees, the Tory player may spend oneTyranny to lock any set of 3s.



54

Sons of Liberty

Major Patrick Ferguson Inventive OfficerAvailable In: Fires of Adversity

Born to an ambitious middle-class Scotsfamily, Ferguson purchased a commission toincrease the fortunes and status of his parentsand siblings. He has served in the Holy RomanEmpire against the French, in the West Indiesagainst pirates, and finally in the American col-onies against the cause of liberty. As a result ofhis efforts, Ferguson’s father has been elevated to a Lordship.

Ferguson travels with his mistress VirginiaSal – if they married, it might interfere with hisbrother’s ascent in society – and commands adivision of sharpshooters. He is a competentofficer and a capable tinkerer, holding patentsfor a number of military inventions, mostlysniper scopes and rifling techniques. His menare equipped with his designs, which they use to deadly effect.

Abuse: Whenever Ferguson subverts Patriot technology, the Tory player may spend oneTyranny to steal a club from the end of anystraight. He must immediately discard anothercard from his hand.

Usurpation: Whenever Ferguson or his compa-ny employ sharpshooting, the Tory player mayspend one Tyranny to lock any set of 9s.

William Franklin Royal Governor of New JerseyAvailable In: All Stages

For an illegitimate son born to BenjaminFranklin and a “low woman,” William Franklin



55

Tories

has done rather well for himself. Applying thehonest skills of his father to dishonest ends, hehas flattered his way to wealth and prosperity,

ascending to the governorship of New Jerseyand reaching beyond. No colonial uprising isgoing to deprive him of what he’s spent his lifetime building. If he’s lucky, it will give him theopportunity of a lifetime.

After the Continental Armyremoves him from office in New

Jersey, he finds himself at homein British-occupied New York,filled with Tory refugees. Undera royal charter, Franklin orga-nizes the Board of Associated Loyalists. Thisbody bands together the disenfranchised colo-nists under a paramilitary jurisdiction separatefrom Clinton’s military forces. The Board is en-

joined to harass, loot, and spoil the property ofrebels throughout the colonies. They sponsorprivateers and raiders whose depredations areso atrocious that American forces are ordered to execute them without trial. Franklin plans,after this uprising has been properly put down,for the Board to be granted administrative con-

trol over all thirteen colonies — with him at itshead.

Abuse: Whenever William opposes his fatherBenjamin Franklin, either directly and face- to-face or indirectly through Franklin’s gad-gets and writings, the Tory player may spendone Tyranny to block any straight ending in a

Heart.Usurpation: Whenever William organizes oth-er Tories, the Tory player may spend one Tyran-ny to lock any set of 6s.



56

Sons of Liberty

General Thomas Gauge the Mechanical ManAvailable In: Intolerable Acts, Shot HeardRound the World

No one on theplanet envies theposition of Gener-al Thomas Gauge, the Commander-in-Chief of Britishforces and Gover-nor-General of theMassachusetts BayColony. To the col-onists, Gauge is a

monstrous tyrant made all the more threaten-ing by the half of his body replaced by clock-

work prosthetics. To his superiors in Britain,he is a military man of purely adequate abil-ity charged with a very simple task: pacify thecolonies in America, using a handful of soldiersand a pittance of a budget. Just keep the taxesflowing back across the Atlantic. Ironically, theonly people who understand the impossibilityof that task are Gauge’s enemies, the Sons ofLiberty.

General Gauge is one of the few Britishofficers who has seen glimpses of the Sons ofLiberty’s conspiracy, although all his evidenceseems to disappear and his missives to Londonnever arrive. Now, powered by high-tensionsprings and bitter rage, General Gauge intends to root out these “Sons of Liberty,” sever theirconnections to the people, and crush the re-bellion that has robbed him of so much. Noone believes Gauge’s claims of a conspiracy,but he continues undeterred, dedicated to the



57

Tories

eradication of anything outside of loyalty to theCrown.

Abuse: Whenever Gauge uses his clockwork

prosthetics to interfere with Patriot actions, theTory player may spend one Tyranny to Lockany set of 2s on the table.

Usurpation: Whenver Gauge finds evidenceof the Sons of Liberty, the Tory player mayspend one Tyranny to steal a 2 from the end ofa straight. He must then discard another card

from his hand. (Said evidence never convincesanybody, of course.)

John Howe NewspapermanAvailable In: All Stages

Howe is the owner and chiefeditor of both the MassachusettsGazette and the Boston WeeklyNews Letter. This position af-fords him great influence, andhe wastes no time whatsoeverin bartering that influence for every privilegehe can wring out of the British Commander-in-

Chief. Much of that privilege comes in the formof coin – which Howe turns around and investsin buying out competing newspapers.

Abuse: Whenever John Howe deflates publicopinion through his newspapers, the Tory play-er may spend one Tyranny to steal a Heart from the end of a straight. He must immediately dis-card another card from his hand.

Usurpation: Whenever John Howe buys out orotherwise silences a rival press, the Tory playermay spend one Tyranny to lock any set of aces.



58

Sons of Liberty

Thomas Hutchinson Last Civilian Governor of MassachusettsAvailable In: Intolerable Acts, Shot HeardRound the World

Hutchinson is known for being a nobody.The last civilian to occupy the office of Gov-ernor of Massachusetts, Hutchinson is a limpmilque-toast of a man more intent on writinghis masterpiece history of Massachusetts thanactually administering the colony.

Abuse: Whenever Hutchinson relies on litigation or the threat of litigation to seek his ends, the Tory player may spend one Tyranny to lockany set of 7s.

Usurpation: Whenever Hutchinson avoids aproblem and lets it get worse rather than deal-

ing with it directly, the Tory player may spendone Tyranny steal a Heart from the end of anystraight. He must immediately discard anothercard from his hand.

Samuel SeaburyMinister, Pamphleteer, and Chaplain

Available In: All stages

From his pulpit and through his pen, SamuelSeabury is one of the mostarticulate defenders of theright of the British King tocrush the American colo-

nies under his heel. As anEpiscopal minister, Sea-bury has sworn an oath ofallegience to the King of England – and will ex-ercise every power he has to fulfill it.



59

Tories

Abuse: Whenever Seabury condemns “rebel-lion” from the pulpit or in print, the Tory playermay spend one Tyranny to lock a set of Aces.

Usurpation: Whenever Seabury uses his position as a minister to cause allies to defect, theTory player may spend one Tyranny to steal aDiamond from the end of a straight. The Toryplayer must immediately discard another cardfrom his hand.

Peggy Shippen-Arnold wife of Benedict Arnold and Tory spyAvailable In: All

Peggy Shippen loves the RevolutionaryWar. Her father, a moderate Tory and Phila-delphia judge, makes a killing supplying bothsides of the war. He’s also incredibly busy, and

in the absence of his wife, Peggy is often leftalone, dressed in her finest dresses, and in thecompany of perfectly charming officers of theBritish army and navy. Of particular interest isMajor John André, who has taught her a greatmany things about the world. In exchange shehelps him in all many of highly exciting esca-

pades: eavesdropping on rebel scum, passingmessages to clever British spies, and seduc-ing that silly Benedict Arnold. Who knew warcould be such fun!

Abuse: Whenever Shippen backstabs or so-cially attacks associates of the patriots, theTory player may spend one Tyranny to block

any straight ending in a diamond.Usurpation: Whenever Shippen seduces anycolonist, the Tory player may spend one Tyran-ny to lock any set of 10s.



60

Sons of Liberty

Colonel Mary Stuart Baroness Mont Stuart, Commander of the23rd Royal Welch FusiliersAvailable In: All

Despite the grandiose titles, the colonists inAmerica more commonly know this figure asBloody Mary, and her regiment as the fearedMorrigan Corbie. She is the only child of JohnStuart, Earl of Bute, a disgraced former prime

minister, and the granddaughter of Lady MaryWortley Montagu, a grand dame of Londonsociety still fondly remembered. Mary Stuartgrew up immersed in the movements Britain’sruling elite, yet she was always prevented from taking a place within it due to one circumstancebeyond her control – her sex. Due to an oddityof British succession laws, however, she stands

to inherit her father’s lands and titles – or atleast, inherit them until she marries.

To avoid that fate, Mary sold her silk dressesand purchased a commission in the 23rd RoyalWelch Fusiliers, one of the few all-female regi-ments in the British army. In an army domi-nated by men, the women of the 23rd have to

be perfectly poised, flawlessly competent, andsavagely ruthless to earn the least measure ofrespect. It was the application of these three traits in Ireland that earned them the nicknameof the Morrigan Corbie, after the terrible phan- tom queen of Irish legend. Mary found the strictorganization and admiration of excellence to

her liking and made herself at home, quicklybecoming a skilled officer. Despite their brutaleffectiveness, however, the army’s institution-alized disdain for the Corbie’s sex means that they are often put on the front lines, ordered far



61

Tories

afield, and poorly provisioned. The posting to the colonies in America is no different.

Abuse: Whenever Bloody Mary dashes patri-

ot plans with simple, violent action, the Toryplayer may spend one Tyranny to steal a Queenfrom the end of any straight. The Tory player then discards any other card.

Usurpation: Whenever Bloody Mary uses herreputation to intimidate colonists, the Toryplayer may lock any set of 3s.

Major Banastre “Bloody Ban” Tarleton psychopathAvailable In: Fires of Adversity

Tarleton is, without a shadow of a doubt, as

bad as they come. The brigade major leads amixed force of light infantry, mechanized cav-alry, and armored infantry known as Tarleton’sRaiders. Wherever they go, they leave a wakeof blood: terrorizing the populace, slaughteringcontinental troops after they have surrendered,and burning civilian homes. Tarleton himself

is infamous for forcing the widow of a patriotofficer exhume his body so that Tarleton coulddine with him — with the wife attending themboth. On the battlefield, the cry of “Tarleton’sQuarter!” is synonymous with no quarter at all.

Abuse: Whenever Tarleton crushes oppositionwith excessive force, the Tory player may spend

one Tyranny to block any straight ending in aspade.

Usurpation: Whenever Tarleton slaughtersnon-combatants, the Tory player may spendone Tyranny to lock any set of 8s.



62

Sons of Liberty

Major Benjamin Thompson heat scientist Available In: Shot Heard Round the World,Fires of Adversity

Benjamin Thompson is destined for a life offame and success… if he can just figure out how to get there. Born to mediocre circumstances,Thompson applied his prodigious intellect to the trade of merchant, operating a Boston shopand trading with anyone he could safely swin-dle. He dabbled in science, mostly because itwas fashionable at the time, but to his surprisefound himself rather talented at it. As his fortunes grew, he was well on his way to establish-ing himself as a Boston gentleman.

Eight of Diamonds — Benjamin Franklin blackmails amistress at Yale.



63

Tories

When he met the beautiful and incred-ibly rich Sarah Rolfe, however, plans changed.Thompson did his utmost to woo the lady, gladly

switching his politics to Tory to suit her father.The Rolfes were friendly with the New Hamp-shire governor, and shortly after he marriedSarah, he moved to Portsmouth and becamea major in the New Hampshire militia – withno military train-ing whatsoever. Hehardly got to enjoy

his rank and all theprivileges that camewith it before he wasrun out of town by amob. Fleeing for hislife, he abandonedhis wife without a

second thought.Once behind the Tory lines, Thompson

makes a beeline to General Clinton, ingratiat-ing himself to the man with the only thing hehas left – his curious talent for science. Focus-ing on the destructive power of heat, Thompsonoptimizes British gunpowder and magnifies the

reflective power of their light cannon. In shortorder, Thompson has found his feet again, andis burning his way up the chain of command.Nothing is going to keep him down.

Abuse: Whenever Thompson employs techno-logical countermeasures against the patriots, the Tory player may spend one Tyranny to block

any straight ending in a club.Usurpation: Whenever Thompson uses his heatscience, the Tory player may spend one Tyranny to draw a new hand.



64

Sons of Liberty

William Tryon “the Wolf” Butcher of Fairfield Available In: All Stages

While governor of North Carolina, WilliamTryon set his image in the colonial mind by us-ing colonial taxes to build himself a fantasticmansion. The place quickly became known asTryon’s Palace, and Tryon himself earned an ig-noble place in the colonial memory. His reputation was so lasting that years later, now asGovernor of New York, he lives in a merchantship, Duchess of Gordon, in the New York har-bor for fear of anarchists attacking him.

Tryon alternatesbetween being anincompetent officialand an incompetentofficer. As governorof New York, he cre-ated a conspiracy to kidnap GeorgeWashington; it failed.When Clinton gavehim a military com-

mand and the relatively simple task of invad-ing undefended Connecticut, Tryon burned thecities of Fairfield and Norfolk to the ground.This earned him his nickname “the Wolf” andlost him his independent commission.

Abuse: Whenever Tryon destroys a village, town, or city, the Tory player may spend one

Tyranny to lock any set of 3s.

Usurpation: Whenever Tryon uses his ill-got- ten taxes to benefit himself, the Tory player mayspend one Tyranny to lock any set of 7s.



65

Tories

Colonel Tye guerilla leader of the Black BrigadeAvailable In: All Stages

One of many who answered Lord Dun-more’s call for slaves to abandon their mastersand join the Tory cause, the man named Titusquickly earned himself a new name: the fearedColonel Tye. Tye served briefly in Dunmore’sEthiopian Regiment, then returned to his homecolony of New Jersey where he took up leader-ship of the Black Brigade.

Working with William Franklin and Wil-liam Tryon, Colonel Tye’s Brigade is a grab bagof Tory guerrillas: some white, some black;some soldier, some civilian; all of them rabidloyalists. Tye keeps the men in line with harshdiscipline and incisive tactics, and has alreadyearned a reputation among both Patriot andTory circles.

It is a testament to his ability that the Brit-ish Army does not make black men officers…but they religiously call him Colonel Tye.

Abuse: Whenever Colonel Tye whips confused

or scattered Tories into shape, refocusing themand providing leadership, the Tory player mayspend one Tyranny to lock any set of 3s.

Usurpation: Whenever Colonel Tye frees slaves, the Tory player may spend one Tyranny to steala 3 from the end of a straight. The Tory player then discards any other card.



66

Sons of Liberty



67

Battle Mode“Human progress is our cause, liberty of thoughtour supreme wish, freedom of conscience ourmission, and the guarantee of equal rights to allpeople everywhere our ultimate goal.”

The Scottish Rite Creed

The core of Sonsof Liberty is the Bat- tle. In each Battleyou play a different

group of Patriotsdiving headlong into the chaotic worldof RevolutionaryAmerica. Your mis-sion: to foster lib-erty and beat down

tyranny. One Battle takes about two to threehours to play. Multiple Battles can be linked together in Campaign Mode (see page 107).

Battles are defined by their Objectives: the things you’ve gotta do if the American Dream isever to be dreamt. Each battle has one PrimaryObjective and three Opportune Objectives. The

Primary Objective is your main goal in the Bat- tle; Opportune Objectives are situations andcontacts that may help you reach that goal.

Each battle begins at the Grand Lodge of the Americas, where you play the Grandmas- ters of the Sons of Liberty discussing new intelligence reports delivered through the Com-

mittees of Correspondence. You interpret thecoded messages to decipher the battle’s objectives, and then reveal your identities and vol-unteer to take on the mission. One player does

—



68

Sons of Liberty

not reveal his identity and instead takes on therole of Tory player.

The meat of the game takes place in three

to five hands. The first hand gets the Patriots to where they need to be. Each subsequenthand concerns a different Opportune Objectivewhich the Patriots either complete or fail. Be- tween each hand one player directs a cut scenewhich describes what happens between thebouts of high action. Said action culminates in

the climactic final hand as the Primary Objec- tive is attempted, and the Sons of Liberty eitherwalk away victorious heroes or desperate fugitives.

Sequence of Play

At the Grand Lodge of the Americas

Decipher the Whist Code

Reveal IdentitiesPlay the Travel Hand

Tory PlaysPatriot PlaysCall the Question

Direct Cut Scenes

Exploit Opportune ObjectivesAbuse and Usurp — Tory TacticsBreak the Rules — Patriot TacticsCall the Question

Attempt the Primary Objective

–

–

–––

–––



69

Battle Mode

At theGrand Lodge of the Americas

Every game of Sons of Liberty begins at theGrand Lodge of the Americas, where the Grand-masters meet to receive reports from the Com-mittees of Correspondence spread through-out the colonies. The Grand Lodge is alwaysmoving to avoid capture by the British, and theGrandmasters attend cloaked and cowled tohide their identities if they are infiltrated. So

right now, imagine you’re in a circle of facelessshapes gathering to discuss an important com-munication from the field.

Five of Hearts — Thomas Jefferson mentors a fellow mason,Thomas Paine, in New York.



70

Sons of Liberty

As you each arrive to the traveling GrandLodge, give each other the secret handclasp of the Sons of Liberty, and exchange the sign and

countersign to prove your membership. Extendyour right hand as in a normal handshake, butplace your two first fingers on the inside of theother Son’s wrist. You should be able to feel their pulse. Give the sign: “If we do not hang to-gether…” and wait for your fellow Sons to giveyou the countersign: “...we shall surely hangseparately.” Once everyone at the table has giv-

en the sign and countersign, you can know thatyou are in trusted company.

Table of LocationsHearts Spades Diamonds Clubs

A Yorktown swamps South Carolina Massachusetts

Bay2 Saratoga Maryland North Carolina New

Hampshire

3 New Jersey Ohio Valley William & Mary’s

QuakerCommunity

4 Lexington &Concord

Long Island Braintree Hudson mills

5 New York East Indies Pennsylvania Harvard

6 backwoods London Connecticut Salem, Mass

7 Delaware Ticonderoga plantations Great Lakes

8 Bunker Hill ChesapeakeBay

Yale Baltimore

9 Valley Forge Georgia Albany Rhode Island

10 NewBrunswick

Baton Rouge Boston Town Savannah

J Massachusetts Open Sea Virginia MaineTerritory

Q New EnglandFarms

Republic ofVermont

Canada Princeton

K Charleston Boston Harbor New York City Philadelphia



71

Battle Mode

Grab two decks of playing cards and anObjectives Sheet to fill out. Remove the jokersand shuffle. To start, draw two cards: the first

for where the Grand Lodge is presently beingheld, and the second for the location of the Cor-respondent. Look up what each card stands foron the table on the opposite page and write thelocations in the slots on the Objectives Sheet.

Decipher the Whist CodeThe correspondence comes

in a code developed by Revere,often referred to as the WhistCode. Correspondents describe ahand of Whist, highlighting fourhands of five cards. To potentialTory spies, this seems innocuous enough, buteach card has an assigned meaning among theSons. In this way, the correspondents are able

to communicate information about vital priorities which the Sons of Liberty must act upon.

Now draw five cards from the deck and lookup their meanings on the following tables. Fillin their meanings in the first Objective. Read the completed Objectives aloud and discusswhat it might mean. Since you are all playing

faceless council members, you can be expertsat any relevant topic, or call on each other’sexperience. You might say, “Since I grew up inBoston, I can tell you that he’s referring to theWharf Rats, a notorious smuggling ring.” Oryou might say, “Brother, I understand you’veworked with light cannon before; what might

this mean?” As you discuss the objective, youwill come to an interpretation of the situation the Sons of Liberty will be facing. Due to yourexpertise and networks, your interpretation on this first objective will be more or less correct.



72

Sons of Liberty

Don’t worry about who you are—what you sayat this stage does not restrict which Patriot youwill play later in the game.

Then draw five more cards for the first Op-portune Objective. However, whereas the Pri-mary Objective was clear, Opportune Objec- tives are less so. The Grandmasters may onlyspeculate briefly on what these codes mightmean, reserving judgment. An overconfidenterror could spell disaster for the entire affair.

Repeat this process to sketch out all three Op-portune Objectives.

Table of ObjectsHearts Spades Diamonds Clubs

A colonists a fence corres-pondence

a fleet

2 a soldier tax records an informant a heliograph

station

3 Hessians slaves supporters a tinkerer

4 an arms cache a street gang Quakers spring boxes

5 a brothermason

a spy Mohawks an author

6 horses Tories a court a horselesscarriage

7 a Liberty Tree tea a manuscript an ornithopter 8 the

Liberty Bellan apprentice a mistress a sailing ship

9 minutemen duty stamps a cityalderman

an orator

10 a militia a customshouse

a preacher clockworkarmor

J a lawyer pirates a mole a spring mill

Q a good wife a double agent a judge aprinting house

K a ship captain a BritishGeneral

aCongressman

a battery oflight cannon



73

Battle Mode

You can all take turns drawing cards, or as-sign one person as the secretary, or whateverworks for you. Alternately, you can use the on-line Objectives generator at the Kallisti Press

website:

http://kallistipress.com/SoL/objectives.html

Example: Objectives

Seth, Chris, Dain, and Jason are about to start a newbattle. At the Grand Lodge of the Americas, theydraw two cards to see where they are and where they’re going. They draw the ace of clubs and the

ten of diamonds. The Table of Locations translates this into Massachusetts Bay and Boston Town. Thefour of them quickly agree that the Grand Lodge iscurrently afloat, meeting below decks of a ship in the Bay. The correspondence they are reading hascome from Boston Town.

Table of ActionsHearts Spades Diamonds Clubs

A instill hope in hide contact supply2 arm remove buy jury-rig

3 destroy bribe introduce forge

4 test spy on cut off fund

5 mentor deliver incite teach

6 rescue replace coordinate build

7 defend plant embarrass improve

8 pin down “acquire” blackmail equip9 train smuggle misinform disassemble

10 charge frame inform reinvent

J rally sabotage recruit monkeywrench

Q unite coopt impress establish

K inspire trick convince install

Table of PrioritiesHearts Spades Diamonds Clubs

All before after while lest





74

Sons of LibertyThen they draw five cards for each objective. Oneof these sets of cards is four of hearts, six of clubs, ten of clubs, eight of diamonds, and Jack of spades.They find the associated meanings on the tables: a

four of hearts is “destroy” while a six of clubs is“a horseless carriage,” and so on. In the end, theydiscover their objective is “The Sons of Liberty candestroy a horseless carriage lest the Tories black-mail pirates.”

Seth has no idea what that might mean, sohe points at Chris.“Brother, you consortwith that sort of peo-ple; what might pi-rates be blackmailedover?”

Chris, refusing tobe stumped, replies,“Well, brother, pirateslive and die by their

reputation. If theBritish have some evidence that somebody’s notliving up to their bluster, it could cost us some ofour privateers. But this horseless carriage bit I’mnot sure of.” Chris points at Dain. “You know moreabout such things, don’t you?”

Now Dain is on the spot, and stammers, “Um... per-haps they’re keeping the blackmail evidence mo-

bile so the pirates can’t steal it from them.”Jason nods, and sums up: “So the Tories have gotevidence of some pirate captain not being as bloodthirsty as they claim to be, and they’re keeping it ina horseless carriage. That could be a useful thingfor us to liberate, now wouldn’t it?”



75

Battle Mode

Reveal IdentitiesOnce you have

deciphered the ob-

jectives, the playerwho fills in the lastblank should read the whole Objec- tives sheet aloud, then ask, “But whoshall we send to see

to this matter?” Dealeveryone a singlecard, face up.

Starting with the player with the highestcard, reveal yourselves as one of the seventeenPatriot figures and volunteer for the mission.Something like, “I step out into the light at the

center of the Lodge; my spectacles wink withreflected light. ‘I, Benjamin Franklin, will go.’”Players take turns by card rank; break ties bydrawing another card. For obvious reasons,only one person may play each figure, the ex-ception being the Martin Women.

Any player may, instead of selecting a Pa-

triot figure, elect to become the Tory player. Ifno one else volunteers to play the Tories, theplayer with the lowest card must do so. Beforeyou become the Tory player, narrate one of thegrandmasters voicing his concern over yourfirst Tory figure. Something like, “I understandBurgoyne is in the field with his mechanizedcavalry; take great care to remain undetected.”

If you’re playing the Tories, grab a Tory Sheet. You will beable to select up to five Tory fig-ures to use in the upcoming battle, but you do not need to choose



77

Battle Mode

little more than random whim. The important thing is that you pick the four circumstanceswhich you want to highlight in the battle.

Example: Revealing Identities

Seth has the high card, so he starts: “’Reporting...reporting for duty!’ the Martin Women step for-ward in unison, throwing back their hoods. Theygive each other a sly, sidelong look and wait to seewho’s brave enough to join them.”

Seth grabs a Patriot sheet and writes “The Mar- tin Women” across the top line. He has four cir-

cumstance slots to fill, so he turns to the MartinWomen write up and picks the four that appeal tohim most. He writes them into slots as he finds them, paying little attention to what goes where.He likes “waylaying,” “disguised as men,” “disarm-ing the British,” and “embarrassing the British.” Hefills out his sheet: “I have a hand of five cards whenwaylaying. I can draw a new hand when disguisedas men. I can claim a joker when disarming the

British. I can, when embarrassing the British, callfor...” Now he’s come to a suit slot. The MartinWomen are Clever and Unorthodox, so he putsClever in the first slot (imagining that embarrass-ing the British will usually be witty one-liners).That leaves Unorthodox for the other slot, whichmakes it “I can always play Unorthodox cards.”

Dain has the next-highest card, so he goes next.

“First there’s silence,” he tells the other players,“and then, off in the distance, there’s the sound ofgalloping hooves. Then the doors of the chamberburst open, and Paul Revere rides his horse into the chamber and declares, ‘I hear the Tories areacting in Boston!’” Jason points out that they areon a ship; Dain nods, and informs Jason, “Paul Re- vere can ride so fast he skims over the water.”

Dain now pulls out a Patriot sheet and writes “PaulRevere” across the top line. He decides he’ll placehis circumstances carefully. For his five-card hand,he selects “riding,” as this is a circumstance he ex-pects to lose and regain often. For his new hand,he selects “in a factory,” so stepping into a factorywill give him a host of new options. For his joker,



78

Sons of Libertyhe selects “with Sam Adams” so that Sam Adamscan literally be his wild card. Lastly, for his callfor cards, he selects “in Boston” and slots in “Con-nected” so that he can get a slew of Connection

cards when he calls on his fellow Bostonians. Thatleaves Clever for his single card, which means hecan tinker with silver and light cannon and what-ever else he feels like all through the game anddrop clubs as he does so.

Jason goes next, and declares that he will play theTory. “I would advise caution, brothers,” he says inhis role as one of the hooded Grandmasters. “Bos- ton Town is General Gauge’s base of operations.Boston is crawling with his men.” Jason pulls out aTory sheet and circles General Gauge.

Chris has the lowest card, and was half-expecting to play Tory. He flips through the book and finally

declares, “’Well then,I’m not going to let thelot of you muck aboutin my town without

some competent su-pervision!’ And JohnAdams tosses backhis hood. ‘The Colos-sus of Independenceis coming home toBoston!’”

Chris grabs his own

Patriot sheet and fillsit out: five cards when“in Boston,” a newhand when “in court,”a joker when “usingextending clockwork

limbs,” when “with Sam Adams” he calls for Pa- triotic cards, and he can always play Connectedcards. He points out his Sam Adams circumstance

to Dain; between the two of them, they’ll be mak-ing Sam Adams a recurring figure throughout thebattle.



79

Battle Mode

Play the Travel Hand Once you have revealed your identities and

volunteered to take on the mission, you must

travel to where the action is. This is done in arather short Travel Hand that allows you to getinto character and familiarize yourselves with the rules for playing cards. Think of it as the tutorial level.

Remove all four jokers and shuffle the twodecks together again. Deal four cards to each

Patriot player. The Tory player gets a numberof cards equal to the number of Patriot players.The Tory player should discard any face cardsand draw replacement cards.

Jack of Hearts — Paul Revere rallies a lawyer in Boston inMassachusetts.



80

Sons of Liberty

Start the Travel Hand If you are the Tory player, you select what

kind of level this will be. It is your job to get the

ball rolling by combining the route, the adver-sity, and a “spark” into a rollicking action scene.It’s not as hard as it sounds.

Start with the route. The location of theGrand Lodge and the operating theater are bothdefined on the Objectives Sheet. The distancebetween the two may be long or short, but the

travel hand need not cover the whole trip. Itcan just as easily describe one difficult leg of the journey. Determine if they be traveling byland or sea, whether they will be in rugged wil-derness or in a bustling city. This should giveyou some ideas of where they’re at.

Six of Hearts — Ethan Allen rescues horses in thebackwoods.



82

Sons of Liberty

Pick one of these “sparks” and start describ-ing how it happens along the route. You canstart in however you like, up to and including

describing the Patriots galloping on horsebackwith bullets whizzing over their heads. This isyour last chance to hesitate. This game punish-es hesitation, and that goes double for you—soget over it, quick!

Your goal as you narrate is to get to a pointwhere you can play your first card. Once you

do, the others can play their cards and narrate the actions of the Patriots. In the Travel Hand,go around the table taking turns describing theactions of the characters and playing corre-sponding cards.

Tory Plays

As Tory player,

you control and de-scribe the actionsof Tories — this in-cludes British sol-diers, colonial loy-alists, most indian tribes, and any oth-ers working for the

crown. Chief among the Tories are yourTory figures: the leaders and signature characters who will put a severe crimp in the Patriot’sstyle. Your goal as a Tory player is to oppress the colonists, squeezing the revolutionary spiritout of them until all that is left is docile subjects

of the crown. You’re a rat bastard, and you willwin by being as big a rat bastard as humanlypossible.

As you describe the abuses of the Tories,you can play cards out of your hand onto the



83

Battle Mode

table in front of you. Keep them somewhatseparate from the Patriots’ plays. Then draw anew card from the deck to replace the card you

just played. Continually playing low cards andkeeping high cards increases your score. Youmay only play a card when it matches what theTories are doing to the colonists — so make theTories do what’s in your hand!

Play an ace to break up groupsof colonists or shut downcommunications.

Play a deuce to disarm colonists of anyweapons they are in possession of.

Play a trey to bring in the troops andinvade colonists’ homes, businesses,and property.

Play a four to discover colonists’ dirtylittle treasonous secrets.

Play a five to make an on-the-spot judgment that divests colonists of their rights or property.

Play a six to convict colonists ofany crime and sentence them toimprisonment, hard labor, or death.

Play a seven to assess arbitrary fines oncolonists.

Play an eight to enact a cruel andunusual punishment on a colonist.

Play a nine to trample on colonists’rights in some new and clever way.

Play a ten to assume the rights of acolonist - to his home, his property,his wife, and so on.

Whenever you play a card, draw anotherfrom the deck. If you get a hand full of happyroyals — three or more face cards — you maycall the question and crush the Patriots’ hopesand dreams.

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–



84

Sons of Liberty

You do not have to play a card in order todescribe what the Tories do, and you can de-scribe what the Tories do or say when it is not

your turn. It just won’t affect the cards on the table or help you very much. That’s alright— the Tories are good with empty rhetoric andbombastic posturing, after all.

Example: Tory Plays

Jason’s opening handis a three, a four, anda seven. He opens the Travel Hand bynarrating how thePatriots are using the Boston Tea Partyas cover for gettinginto Boston. There’swhooping and holler-ing down on the nextpier over, the shipsare exploding cratesof tea off the sides,and the three Patriot figures are quietly rowingup to a deserted pier. That’s when General Gauge,leading a column of redcoats, tromps down thecobblestone lane, heading towards the tea party.Jason throws down a three to “bring in the troops.”Thus the Travel Hand begins.

He draws a card to replace the three, and comes upwith a Jack. Smiling to himself, he allows the Pa- triot players to make a few plays of trying to sneakpast the column of redcoats, and then he plays hisfour to “discover colonists’ dirty little treasonoussecrets.” He narrates how Gauge halts the column,listens for a moment, and then smashes his me-chanical arm through the stack of barrels behindwhich the Patriots are hiding. Now the fight is on.

Jason draws another card, this time another seven.He’ll have to figure out a way to work fines into abrawl at the docks—and does so, in his next play,by having Gauge fling crates of duty stamps at thePatriots.



85

QQ6Q8

56 3

Q

Q

7 7 7

2

2

K A 2

3

6 7

8 9

9

4

Q

T

Diagram of Battle Mode

Tory Playsgo in front of the Tory.

Patriot Playsgo between thePatriot players.

Tyranny Pool keeps the Tory’s currentpool of available chips.

Tyranny Wagerlays out what the Tory

risks this level.

Spent Tyrannyis placed on affected

plays.

Single Cardsgo in front of the Patriotplayers who play them.

Draw & Discard



86

Sons of Liberty

Patriot PlaysAs a Patriot player, you control and de-

scribe the actions of Patriots — colonists filled

with the revolutionary spirit, pirates eager toembarrass the British, the few indians throw-ing in with the colonists, and foreign sympa- thizers. The great shining lights of the Patriotsare the Sons of Liberty, whose fervor and patriotism allow them to perform heroic feats in the name of liberty.

Your goal as a Patriot player is to halt Brit-ish excesses and inspire your fellow colonists to join the cause — preferably in the most outra-geous, colorful, and public way possible. More than any other war in history, this war is fought

Three of Hearts — Salem Poor destroys Hessians in Trenton,New Jersey.



87

Battle Mode

in the hearts and minds of the combatants andsupporters of both sides. You are more than amere soldier; you are a hero; you are a celeb-

rity; you are an icon. By your actions you willprove the truth of your words.

As you describe the deeds of your Patriotfigure, you can play cards to the table in setsand straights. This increases your score. Thecards you play must match the flavor of whatyou’re describing — so make your Patriot do

what’s in your hand!Play Hearts for Patriotic actions: courage,martial prowess, and making sacrifices.

Play Spades for Unorthodox actions: shadydeals, surprise, and breaking the mold.

Play Diamonds for Connected actions: net-

working, socializing, and spending money.Play Clubs for Clever actions: tinkering, law-yering, writing, and being witty.

You may only play more than one suit in asingle play if your Patriot’s actions fulfill eachsuit’s associated flavor. If you want to play aHeart and two Clubs, you’ll need to be patriotic

and clever!

Sets are collections of cards of the samerank (three 2s). Sets can start with just twocards, but they only count with three or more.

Straights are made of cards in sequentialorder (10-J-Q-K-A-2). Straights must be at least

three cards long. They need not be of the samesuit.

You may add to cards that other Patriotshave played, and you can use any single cardson the table. You can take cards out of straights



88

Sons of Liberty

and sets on the table as long as what’s left arestill legal straights and sets. You can even use the cards played by the Tory player — just be

sure to rub into his face how your Patriot iscapitalizing on Tory excesses for Patriot ends!

Example: Patriot Plays

Seth has just been informed that the Martin Wom-en have crates of duty stamps flying at their faces.He narrates how Grace grabs some cargo nettingand Rachel boosts Grace up onto one of the dock’swinches. Grace snares the flying crates of stamps,

swings out over the water, and then swings back,flinging the crates back into the ranks of redcoats.Seth plays a straight of cards: the three of heartsand the four and five of spades. Hearts are patriotic and spades are unorthodox, so he can playboth to follow the Martins’ courage and unortho-dox tactics.

Chris capitalizes on the Martins’ move by narrat-

ing how John Adams uncorks a barrel of glue andstomps on it with his clockwork armor. The gluesprays across the redcoats, sticking all the stamps together and plastering them across the soldiers.He plays a two of clubs, for his clever action, on the low end of Seth’s straight.

Now Dain slides the five of spades from the endof the straight. He can do so because he stillleaves a legal straight thanks to Chris’ play. He

pulls two fives of dia-monds from his ownhand. He describeshow Revere emergesfrom a tavern fol-lowed by six drunkenlongshoremen, whoproceed to pummel the bestamped red-

coats. He plays his two diamonds forhis connected action,along with the fiveof spades, as a set offives.



89

Battle Mode

If you cannot play, you must discard onecard per turn, narrating your figure’s cripplingdoubt, crushed hopes, and broken dreams. First

offer the card to the Tory player, who may takeit and discard one of his own cards. You may then draw a new card to replace the discard.

You cannot use your Patriot tactics in theTravel Hand. You can’t get a larger hand, claima joker, get a new hand, call for cards, or playsingle cards. Right now they’re just there for

you to salivate over.

Since the Tory Score cannot rise above 22in the Travel Hand, you should call the question once you’ve played 22 or more cards to the table.

Two of Diamonds — Sam Adams buys an informant in NorthCarolina.



90

Sons of Liberty

Call the QuestionThe scene ends when

someone calls the question.

Any Patriot player maycall the question whenever they like, although anotherPatriot player must sec-ond them. The Tory playermay only call the questionwhen he has collected at

least three face cards. You may only call thequestion on your turn, before you draw cards to end your turn.

When the question is called, the Tory playerreveals his hand of cards. The Patriot playersset their hands aside (don’t discard them) andcount up the cards on the table. In the Travel

Hand, the Tory Score is the value of the high-est two cards in the Tory hand, with face cardscounting as 11; the Patriot Score is the num-ber of cards played on the table, not countingsingles or pairs. Compare the scores; ties go to the Patriots. Whichever side has the higherscore gets the final say in how the Travel Handplays out.

Everyone takes a turn narrating part of theresolution of the scene. If the Tory player lost,he narrates first; if he won, he narrates last. Pa- triot players narrate in the order of the highestcard remaining in their hand, highest first. Ifa Patriot has no cards in his hand, he narrateslast.

The Travel scene also determines the Toryplayer’s Tyranny pool. If the Tory player won,he receives fifteen Tyranny chips. If the Patriotswon, the Tory player only receives ten Tyrannychips. Tyranny is a measure of Tory control and



91

Battle Mode

oppression. It can be spent in later hands toactivate special advantages for the Tory player,and in the final hand any remaining Tyranny is

added to the Tory player’s score when the question is called.

Example: Calling the Question

Dain has been keeping an eye on the cards on the table, and after Seth plays a new straight, he calls the question on his own turn. “We’ve got twentycards on the table. That’s got to beat Jason’s twohighest cards.” Chris seconds.

Jason reveals his hand: a jack, a nine, and a three.His score is the highest two cards added together,with face cards counting as 11. That makes hisscore also 20. Since ties go to the patriots, how-ever, Jason loses the Travel Hand. He takes 10 Tyr-anny chips from supply.

Jason, having lost, narrates first: “Gauge retreatsback onto the cobblestone street, sweeping his

flaming crate of stamps to keep you back. Then hesmirks at you, and bolts up the street towards theTea Party.”

Everyone else reveals their highest card. Seth hasa Queen, Dain has a 6, and Chris has a 7.

Seth narrates next: “Rachel and Grace are alreadyon the rooftops, so they chase after Gauge, one oneither side of the street.”

Then Chris: “Adams doesn’t chase after immedi-ately; in fact, he hangs back, crouched low... as hishigh-powered leaping springs charge up. Then helaunches up into the air, using the Martin Women to triangulate Gauge’s position, and comes downright on top of him!”

Dain narrates last: Revere rides on ahead, makes

sure that the Tea Party is over, and fishes out one of the crates from the Bay. Once Gauge is pummeledinto submission, they tie him up in the crate and lethim float out into the Bay along with the rest of theunwanted British imports.”



92

Sons of Liberty

Direct the Cut SceneBefore you go shuffling everyone’s hands

back into the deck, find out who has the lowest

card in their hand (aces are low). If you have the lowest card, you are the director for the cutscene before the next hand. Now that you knowwho’s directing, you can shuffle the deck anddeal: each Patriot player gets four, and the Toryplayer gets one card for each Patriot player.

As the director, your cut scene lets you de-

scribe a short bit of the mission without usingcards. You can involve dialogue, exposition,startling revelations, romance, explosions,whatever. You can narrate the thing wholecloth

Two of Spades — Rachel and Grace Martin remove documentsfrom Maryland.



93

Battle Mode

or have the other players describe the actionsof their figures. The important thing is that thecut scene sets up the next Objective, which you

get to select from the Objectives Sheet.Start off your cut

scene by describingwhere the figuresare and what theyare doing. Gestureor prompt the other

players to providedialogue or actionsas needed, and feelfree to correct themif need be. Steer thescene towards your selected Objective. Onceyou are satisfied that the next level is set up, youmay make the first play of the hand, or discard

your entire hand for a new one. Play begins assoon as you play or draw your new hand.

Usually the next hand will concern an Op-portune Objective. Since these objectives areonly roughly defined, this is your chance to ex-plain what that opportunity is and how it mighthelp the Sons of Liberty. You can use the specu-

lations of the Grandmasters from the first partof the game or you can introduce an entirelynew interpretation of the cards.

You may, however, decide to skip past oneor more Opportune Objectives and go straightfor the Primary Objective. Since the PrimaryObjective is always the last hand, doing so is

signaling the beginning of the end of the game.The Tory player may only select the PrimaryObjective if he is out of Tyranny chips or thereare no remaining Opportune Objectives.



94

Sons of Liberty

It’s more than possible for the Tory player to direct the cut scene. If you get this specialopportunity, you should not hesitate to use the

cut scene to do horrible things to the Patriots,like beat them up with one of your Tory figures,kidnap their love interests, or imprison the Pa-

triots themselves.Gloating is espe-cially appropriatein these situations.However, no mat-

ter what happensin a cut scene, allplayers will startin on the next Ob- jective with theirusual hand and alicense to kick ass

and take names.Example: Cut Scene

The lowest card in anybody’s hand was Chris’ two,so he directs the cut scene. He selects the Oppor- tune Objective, “The Sons of Liberty must sabotagea court while the British destroy an orator.” TheGrandmasters speculated that an orator would goon trial in Boston, and now Chris details the spe-

cifics.

“As we watch Gauge float out into the Atlantic, Ad-ams notices a broadsheet pasted to a nearby wall.‘What’s this?’ he asks, and tears it down from thewall. ‘It’s a wanted poster for the accomplices ofReverand Bradford, who is due to stand trial forsedition tomorrow!’”

Dain shakes his head. “Revere says, ‘We can’t let

that stand. Bradford is one of our key allies.’”

“’Well, he’s to be tried by Tribunal,’” Chris contin-ues as Adams. “’That’s patently illegal, he shouldbe tried by a Massachusetts court, by his peers.Legally speaking, it shouldn’t be that hard to tear this mockery of justice apart.’”



95

Battle Mode

Exploit Opportune ObjectivesOnce the Patriots are in position, the ac-

tion really takes off. The stakes are ratcheted

higher: now each hand drains or bolsters theTory player’s budget of Tyranny. The going gets tougher: the Tory Score is the total of all hiscards, not just two. And you can forget about taking turns. After all, the future of the Ameri-can people and the British Empire hangs in thebalance! All players narrate actions and play

cards willy-nilly, whenever they like.You might be won-

dering when you get tounleash your awesome if there are no turns. Re-member: just because there are no turns does

not mean that you get tohog all the spotlight. Youare playing a game. Thereare other people at the table. It might be easy to forget at times, but they are playing the game, too. If one of yourfellow Patriot players — or even the Tory player— holds up a card or three, they’ve got a little

bit of awesome to throw down. Sit back; take abreather; listen to what they toss out there. Thenwade back in with your own rejoinder, one-twopunch, or witty repartee. You never know whensomebody else is going to give you the perfectset up for rocking the colonial world.

In addition to all that madness, both sides

gain access to new options. The Tory playercan use his figures’ Abuses and Usurpations toscrew up the Patriot’s straights and sets. ThePatriot players can use their figures’ tactics,breaking the rules like the rebels they are.



96

Sons of Liberty

Abuse and Usurp — Tory TacticsAs the Tory player, you have access to the

power of Tyranny. At the start of each Oppor-

tune Objective hand, set out in front of you threeTyranny chips from your pool. Discard the facecards in your hand and add a new chip fromsupply to the line in front of you for each one.These chips do not come from your pool; theyare an opportunity for you to win more Tyrannyin this hand. Draw your hand back to full.

You must use the chips in front of you in this hand or else they will be lost. However,any chips that you do spend are wagered on thehand. If you win when the question is called,you will get back the spent chips doubled. Ifyou spend all the Tyranny that you set out, youmay continue to spend and wager more from

your pool.Each of your Tory figures has a pair of

signature tactics. These are their Abuses andUsurpations, and they give you some decidedadvantages. Whenever you narrate the figure taking one of these actions, you may spend aTyranny chip in order to activate the associated

QQ6Q8

56 3 9

T

Tory Playsgo in front of the Tory.

yranny Pool keeps the Tory’s currentpool of available chips.

Tyranny Wagerlays out what the Tory

risks this level.

Spent Tyrannyis placed on affected

plays. Draw & Discard



97

Battle Mode

advantage. When you do, be sure to describe the Tory figure’s actions in gloating detail.

There are four different kinds of Abuse and

Usurpation:

Block a Straight: These Abuses and Usurpa- tions allow you to place the spent Tyranny chipon one end of a straight. Patriots cannot playadditional cards on that end of the straight for the remainder of the hand.

Lock a Set: These Abuses and Usurpations al-low you to place the spent Tyranny chip on anyset on the table. Patriots cannot play additionalcards to that set and cannot use cards from theset for the remainder of the hand. The set will,however, count in the Patriots’ final score asnormal.

Steal a Card: Some Abuses and Usurpationsallow you to steal a certain kind of card (identi-fied by rank or suit) from the end of a straight.You may not steal from sets. When you steal acard, you must discard another card from yourhand. The Tyranny you spend this way is setnext to the discard pile.

New Hand: These Abuses and Usurpations al-low you to discard your entire hand and drawa new one of the same size. The Tyranny youspend this way is set next to the discard pile.

Additionally, you may introduce a new Toryfigure once per hand. They may arrive on thescene and immediately spend Tyranny to use

their Abuse or Usurpation. Drop ‘em in and let‘er rip! Once introduced, Tory figures may return in any following scene of the battle.



98

Sons of LibertyExample: Tory Tactics

Chris has just played a straight ending in a 2. Ja-son introduced General Gauge in the Travel Hand,and he can steal 2s when he finds evidence of theSons of Liberty. Jason takes a Tyranny chip from the three set in front of him and sets it by the dis-card pile. He narrates how Gauge presents evi-dence to the Tribunal that Reverand Bradford wasconspiring with other rebels in Boston. He takes the 2 and adds it to his hand, discarding a 9 that hewas having trouble fitting into the scene.

Seth then adds two

more cards to theother end of the samestraight, a six of dia-monds and a sevenof clubs. The Martinsare using heliographs to rally support. Ja-son introduces MajorBenjamin Thompson,

and narrates howThompson erectspanes of glass on the

rooftops of Boston, scrambling the heliograph sig-nals. Jason takes one of the chips in front of himand places it on seven of clubs on the end of thestraight.

Later, Dain plays a set of 2s. Gauge can lock sets

of 2s when using his clockwork prosthetics, so Ja-son uses the last chip set in front of him and placesit on the set. He narrates how Gauge pins bothMartin Women against the courtroom walls as hecontinues to fight Adams and Revere.

It is getting late in the level, and Jason still has noface cards. He narrates how Thompson has usedhis heat detector to track the movements of Pa- triots throughout Boston Town, identifying Brad-

ford’s church as a meeting house. He pulls a Tyr-anny chip from his pool and places it next to thediscard pile, discards his entire hand, and draws anew one.



99

Battle Mode

Break the Rules — Patriot TacticsOf course, if you’re one of the Sons of Lib-

erty, rules can’t constrict you or dictate what

you can or can’t do. You can break the rules ina number of different ways, as listed on yourPatriot sheet and described below. You may ex-ecute Patriot tactics at any time, with or with-out playing cards.

Larger Hand: Normally, Patriotshave four cards; if your figure is

currently fulfilling the favoredcircumstance in the first slot, youmay keep a hand of five cards.Whenever you play, you drawyour hand back to five. If you are forced outof your favored circumstance, you do not need to discard immediately, but when you play you

will only draw back up to four.Draw New Hand: If you fulfillyour favored circumstance in thisslot, you and any other Patriotplayer may discard your entirehand and draw a new one (four orfive cards, depending). The Tory

player may not take the cards you discard in this way. If you don’t like the hand you get, youmay not redraw another hand until your figureloses and regains the favored circumstance.

Claim a Joker: Jokers are setaside at the beginning of eachlevel. If you fulfill this favored

circumstance, you may claim oneof them and add it to your hand.If there are no jokers left, you re-ceive no benefit for this circumstance. If youexceed your hand limit, you are not obliged to



100

Sons of Liberty

discard; simply do not redraw until you need to.Jokers can be played as wild cards, standingin as a card of any suit or rank. Once played,

any Patriot player may liberate jokers from setsand straights and play them as any other card.Jokers may not be stolen by Tory Tactics.

Call for Cards: If you fulfill thisfavored circumstance, you maycall for cards of your specialtysuit. The other Patriot players

may give you cards of that suitfrom their hands, but they are notobliged to. However, the other Patriots draw their hands up to full afterwards, so they canuse this as an opportunity to get rid of cards they don’t need. The incoming cards may ex-ceed your hand limit; you just do not redrawcards until you drop below your hand limit

again.

Play Single Cards: You may playsingle cards of the appropriatespecialty suit in front of you.These cards do not count towards the Patriot score; however, theyare available to the other Patriots

to use in creating sets and straights. Playingsingle cards also allows you to draw anothercard to replace it in your hand.

Additionally, the Tory player may force aPatriot figure out of one of their favored cir-cumstances whenever they narrate doing soand back that narration with a card play. The

Patriot player loses the associated tactic imme-diately, and may only regain it through narration attached to a Patriot card play.



101

Battle ModeExample: Patriot Tactics

When the courtroom drama is going poorly, Dainresolves to get some new witnesses. He narrateshow Revere dashes outside, leaps on his horse,and rides around Boston gathering supporters. Hedraws an additional card and keeps it in his hand.He will keep drawing his hand up to five as longas he is riding.

Seth is incredibly frustrated with his current handof cards, so he decides to get rid of them. He nar-rates how Rachel and Grace excuse themselvesfrom the Tribunal’s audience to ‘powder their

noses.’ A moment later, two young men enter thecourt room, and volunteer themselves as witnesses to Bradford’s pro-Tory sermons. Seth points at hissheet where it reads, “I can draw a new hand whendisguised as men.” He discards his current handand draws another. He may not do so again until the Martins disguise themselves again.

Dain really, really needs a 5, but there isn’t one out

on the table where he can get at it. He has the tactic, “I can claim a joker when with Sam Adams,”so he narrates contacting Sam Adams for somehelp in spiking the Tribunal judges’ drinks to make them a little more agreeable. He claims one of the jokers from next to the discard pile and gets ready to use it in his monster straight.

Chris jumps in, narrating how he goes with Revere to see Sam Adams, and how his less-reputable

cousin convinces him to ‘sample’ the fortificationintended for the judges. Chris points at his sheet,“I can, when with Sam Adams, call for patrioticcards,” and asks for any hearts that the otherswould like to donate. Notably, Dain does not givehim any — he wants to use them for that monsterstraight he got the joker for.

Towards the end of the scene, John Adams has

added a proper five-man Massachusetts jury to theTribunal, with himself, Revere, and Sam Adams onit. The last two seats need to be filled, and so Sethhas the Martins volunteer. Women on juries is un-orthodox, and he can always play single unortho-dox cards. He plays a 3 and an 8 of spades.



102

Sons of Liberty

Call the QuestionCalling the Question determines whether

or not the Patriots pull off the Opportune Ob-

jective. Now is when the plan comes together— or completely falls apart. As in the TravelHand, Patriot players may call and second atany time; the Tory player must collect threeface cards to call the question.

For Opportune Objectives, the Patriot Scoreis the total number of cards on the table, not

counting singles or pairs. The Tory Score is thesum of the value of all of the cards in his hand,with face cards counting as 11. Compare the two scores; highest score wins.

Six of Diamonds — Alexander Hamilton coordinates a courtin Connecticut



103

Battle Mode

If the Patriots win, they complete the objective and loosen the Tories’ grip on the colo-nies. The Tory player loses all the Tyranny chips

on the table.If the Tory player wins, the Patriots do not

complete the objective and the Tories are able to capitalize on the Patriot loss and tighten their stranglehold on the American spirit. TheTory player regains all of the Tyranny played to the table. In addition, he earns a number of

new Tyranny tokens equal to the chips he hadplayed to the table.

Either way, everyone takes a turn narratingpart of the resolution of the scene. If the Toryplayer lost, he narrates first; if he won, he nar-rates last. Patriot players narrate in the order of the highest card remaining in their hand, high-

est first. Whoever has the lowest card in theirhand selects the next objective and directs thecut scene to get you there.

Example: Calling the Question

Jason plays and redraws, getting his third facecard. He quickly scans the cards on the table,counting less than 33, and calls the question. Hehas a jack, a queen, and a king, but they all count

as 11 points each, for a total of 33.

Seth, Dain, and Chris audibly deflate. They pullall the singles and pairs from the table, since theydon’t count anyway, and count the remainingcards. Their score is 30.

Since Jason has won as the Tory player, he collects the five Tyranny chips he has played to the tableand returns them to his pool. He then takes fivemore from supply and adds it to his pool.

The Patriot players narrate their bits of narrationin order of their highest card. Chris describesJohn Adams’ legal prowess in court; Dain narrates the scores of Bostonians in the streets outside the



104

Sons of Libertycourthouse; Seth roleplays his expert testimony, as the Martins have disguised themselves as expertwitnesses by this point. But then Jason gets thelast word, narrating how the lot of them are held in

contempt, that Bradford is found guilty of seditionand treason, and everyone is placed under arrest.Then he gloats.

Attempt the Primary ObjectiveEverything hits the fan when the cut scene

delivers the Patriots to the Primary Objective.This is always the last hand of the battle, andeverybody around the table should be pullingout all the stops as the mission rockets towardsits climax. If Washington hasn’t backhandedsomeone with a power armor gauntlet, if Frank-

Eight of Hearts — George Washington pins down the LibertyBell at Bunker Hill.



105

Battle Mode

lin hasn’t electrified something, if Adams hasn’tbitched somebody into stupefaction, now is the time to strike. You get no more chances to be

awesome after this. (Unless, of course, you’replaying Campaign Mode, but don’t let that stopyou.)

In this hand, the Tory Score is the sum ofall the Tory’s cards plus any remaining Tyrannychips, which can be quite a lot. Chips played to the table in this level still count for the Tory

Score. The Patriot Score is, as always, the total number of cards on the table, not countingsingles or pairs.

If the Patriots win, they complete the Pri-mary Objective and strike a blow for liberty,democracy, and the American Way. After theTory player narrates his bit of the resolution,

the Patriot players should describe how the ex-ploits of this battle go down in history, how therepercussions of the battle shape the fledglingrepublic, and how the Patriots are rememberedby their descendants.

If the Tory player wins, the Sons of Liber- ty have failed to complete the Primary Objec-

tive. Instead, the British crush one more hopefor freedom, poised to rampage forward anddrape a cloak of tyranny over the Americancolonies. The Tory player should let the othersnarrate their bits of the resolution, describing their futile and hopeless efforts to turn the tideof battle, savoring their exquisite desperationbefore sweeping it all away beneath the awe-

some power of the largest empire on the plan-et. If you can make them cry, you earn bonuspoints.



AGORAh o w s h a l l w e l i v e ?

There was a War.

Then...

Coming 2009 from Kallisti Press



107

Campaign Mode“The fate of unborn millions will now depend onthe courage and conduct of this army. Our crueland unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choiceof brave resistance, or the most abject submission.We have, therfore, to resolve to conquer or die.”

George Washington

If one measlybattle here and thereisn’t doing it for you,

you can link up a se-ries of battles to playan entire campaignof Sons of Liberty.

Campaign Modeis divided into threestages, with a few

battles in each stage.You begin in the days of the Intolerable Acts as the Sons of Liberty are still forging networks,swaying sensibilities, and preparing for the in-evitable war. Then the Shot Heard Round theWorld catapults play into the portentous es-calation of hostilities as the Sons scramble to

maintain the loyalties and ideals of their allies.Finally, everything come to a head in the laststage of the Revolution, the Fires of Adversity,where the plans of the Sons of Liberty finallycome to fruition or die on the vine.

In the early stages, not all of the Patriotshave found the Sons of Liberty, and those who

count themselves members have yet to realize their full potential. Only some figures are avail-able to Patriot players, and only some of theircircumstances can be used. As their strugglesprogress, however, the Sons of Liberty find newallies in the world and new strengths within

—



108

Sons of Liberty

themselves. Each new stage you play throughearns you new figures and new circumstances,increasing your arsenal for the momentous

days ahead.

The Stages of the RevolutionThere are three stages of Campaign Mode,

and each one has a different personality andflavor. There are a few restrictions about whatcan happen in battles during that stage, and

special rules for that stage’s Tyranny. To under-score these differences, the battles in each stagebegin with a different sign and countersign.

Ace of Diamonds — Abigail Adams contacts a correspondantin South Carolina.



109

Campaign Mode

Intolerable Acts (1760-1769)Sign: “If we do not hang together…”

Countersign: “...we shall surely hang separate-ly!”

In this first stage, the very idea of inde-pendence is not even on the table. Colonistsconsider themselves British citizens and when they act against local authorities they do so topreserve their British rights. Anything else is

treason, punishable by death. If the Sons ofLiberty do not ‘hang together’ through bondsof trust and brotherhood, they will surely hang– at the gallows – separately.

Obviously, this is a problem the Sons of Liberty must ad-dress. The bulk of their actions

in this stage are to call attention to the often ludicrous excesses of the British and the fact that theBritish need the colonies more than the colo-nies need the British. The Sons of Liberty mustspread the idea that the colonies should be inde-pendent of the Empire, and take the first stepsin preparing for winning that independence.

For the most part, the Toriesare barely aware that there is aproblem. Most ascribe colonialdissent as a holdover from theFrench and Indian War, or simply the irrelevant griping of peoplewho won’t be satisfied no matter what you do.

There are a few exceptions, such as ThomasGauge, whose suspicions regarding “masonicconspiracies” are mostly dismissed as lingeringresentment over his disfigurement. Most Toriesare simply trying to maintain law and order —



110

Sons of Liberty

which is to say, they are trying to squeeze ev-ery last quid from the colonies and expect thecolonists to smile and thank them for it. Really,

they’re just paying for the war that protected the colonies against the marauding French!

It may seemstrange to our mod-ern sensibilities, butin this stage of therevolution no one is

killed on either side.The Tories are op-pressive and insen-sitive, but they don’tgo around killingpeople. They’re far

more likely to lock you away and forget aboutyou, estranging you from your family, destroy-

ing your professional reputation, and ruiningyour life. The Patriots, by contrast, are playing the subtle game of swaying public opinion andrefusing the engage the British where they arestrongest — martial might. They are far morelikely to burn you in effigy, organize a boycott to stop doing business with you, set your fam-

ily against you, and otherwise encourage you to take up the cause of liberty.

The signature action of this stage is theBoston Tea Party: no one was hurt, there wasabsolutely no fighting, and the destruction ofproperty was a more powerful symbol than a tactical victory.

This stage ends with the Boston Massacre,when tensions finally boiled over and a groupof British Regulars opened fire on heckling col-onists. In one hasty action, the Regulars wentfrom somewhat frustrating civil servants to a



111

Campaign Mode

foreign occupying force — of course, Revere’spamphlets and engravings of the Boston Mas-sacre might have helped shift public opinion,

as well.Intolerable Restrictions: During the Intoler-able Acts, nobody can be killed. This applies to Patriots, Tory figures, and innocent bystand-ers. Characters can be removed from the level through any number of other means, but in thisworld of lightning reversals, they can return in

the following scene with nearly any explana- tion (“my prisoner convoy was liberated by pi-rates!”).

Intolerable Tyranny: During this stage, the Tories are en- trenched and power-

ful. Until the BostonMassacre, they canput out less effort toget more effect due to their coordinatedinfrastructure. TheTory player needonly lay out two Tyr-

anny tokens at thestart of each level.

Patriot players may only select the follow-ing patriots: Abigail Adams, John Adams, SamAdams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock,Thomas Jefferson, the Martin Women, Paul Re- vere, and George Washington.

Patriots may only select circumstancesfrom the Intolerable Acts stage.



112

Sons of Liberty

Shot Heard Round the World (1770-1776)Sign: “Give me liberty…”

Countersign: “...or give me death.”

In this stage, the question of independenceis on the table, on every colonist’s lips, and outin the streets. This is in large part thanks toThomas Paine’s Common Sense, as well as anumber of other pamphlets, and the Commit- tees of Correspondence network. The colonies

are massively divided. Nearly everyone agrees that the British (specifically Parliament and the military) have overstepped their bounds.The first question is if their actions really jus- tify secession, a move with almost no histori-cal precedent. The second question is if that iseven possible. While a lot of breath is spenton the first question, it is the second that’s the

clincher, and the Sons of Liberty strive to prove that the colonies can not only rebel, but theycan also win.

This stage is characterizedby the Sons of Liberty exhorting their fellow colonists and sabo- taging the British. They assist

community leaders in network-ing with each other, equip theirallies, and spread the word. They make surgicalstrikes against the British in the background so that larger colonial forces can win public victo-ries. Their eyes are forward, planning for thefull brunt of the brewing war.

By contrast, the Tories in thisstage are desperately trying tostem the tide of insurgency. Acommon phrase is “No one wantsa war,” but the truth is that only



113

Campaign Mode

the Tories don’t want a war because a warwould challenge their dominance. Tory actionsattempt to quietly isolate and remove rebellious

elements, disarm the colonists, and prevent theinevitable.

The signature action of this stage is itsnamesake: the shot heard round the world atLexington and Concord. In this confrontation,British troops sought to confiscate a stockpileof colonial arms to prevent an armed uprising;

the colonists used that stockpile to stop them…with an armed uprising. The event that distin-guishes this stage from the next is the Battle ofSaratoga, where colonial soldiers finally attaina level of coordination capable of making a ma-

Ten of Hearts — John Adams (and Franklin and Chase)charge a militia in New Brunswick.



114

Sons of Liberty

jor victory — and thereby earned the backingof the French.

Restrictions Around the World: During the Shot

Heard Round the World, the world is actuallywaiting and watching. Foreigners – primarilyFrench, Dutch, and Spanish – leave the colonies to avoid being caught up in the hostilities. Theonly exception are Germans, commonly knownas Hessians, who are being imported en masse

by the German King

George. Outside ofHessian mercenar-ies, no foreignersmay be involved innarration.

Tyranny Around theWorld: The Tories

are playing a trickygame at the dawn of the armed rebellion.Expectations in Lon-

don are also rising. The Tory player must nowlay out three Tyranny tokens at the beginning ofeach level. However, whenever the Tory playerspends Tyranny, he may elect to stack more

than one on the cards they effect. If the Toryplayer loses, these additional tokens are lost,but if the Tory player wins they are doubled asany other Tyranny chip played.

Patriot players may select patriot figuresfrom the Intolerable Acts stage as well as thefollowing new figures: Ethan Allen, Fanny

Campbell, Alexander Hamilton, Francis Mari-on, Thomas Paine, and Salem Poor.

Patriots may only select circumstances from the Intolerable Acts and Shot Heard Round theWorld stages.



115

Campaign Mode

The Fires of Adversity (1777-1781)Sign: “The United States of America does notneed to win…”

Countersign: “...the Empire just has to lose.”

The final stage of the Revolution is thebloodiest, as both sides finally recognize that they are at war and act accordingly. With theFrench navy harrying British convoys across the Atlantic, the Tories in America are distress-

ingly on their own against a rising tide of colo-nial partisans. Tory loyalists get mean, organiz-ing vicious counter-insurgency squads whichquickly gain the most bloodthirsty reputationsin the war. However, the British troops have

Nine of Hearts — The Marquis de Lafayette trains minutemenin Valley Forge.



116

Sons of Liberty

taken off the kid gloves, too, and the generalsare now doing what they do best: waging war.In battle after battle, the redcoats are victori-

ous thanks to superior numbers and training,crushing and scattering colonial forces. On theopen battlefield, the British prove that they arestill the finest fighting force on the face of theplanet.

The only problem is, the rebels have a be-deviling way of turning British victories into

stories of British oppression, of surrendering the battlefield without taking heavy losses, andof thinning British numbers off of the battle-field: in midnight raids, ambushes, and endlesscounts of sabotage. Perhaps most heinous are the pamphlets being circulated within the Brit-ish regiments themselves: pamphlets encourag-ing desertion, and promising soldiers tracts of

land in the new Republic if they abandon theirposts. Behind it all, of course, are the Sons ofLiberty.

The Sons of Lib-erty understand onesimple truth: Amer-ica doesn’t have to

win, the British justhave to lose. SinceSaratoga, Francehas declared war onBritain, pulling re-sources and attention away from the

colonies. All the Americans need to do is holdout and wait until Britain can no longer sustaina war on two fronts, on two continents, and in two hemispheres. Still, the Sons of Liberty arescrambling behind the scenes to ensure that



118

Sons of Liberty

the end of the day, Cornwallis is forced to sur-render – and not to the French admiral, but toGeneral Washington, leader of the rebel scum.

Restrictions of Adversity: It is the peak of thewar. All bets, the kid gloves, and the chain areoff. There are no restrictions on either side, out-side of killing figures, all of whom will make it to the end of the war. You won’t die, but youcan certainly lose.

The Tyranny of Adversity: Now that the Tories

are not holding back, they bring the full forceof the British Empire to bear on the colonies.Each Tyranny invested in a level returns threeTyranny if the Tory player wins. One false stepcan easily spell disaster for the cause.

Two of Hearts — John Hancock arms a soldier at Saratoga.



119

Campaign Mode

Players may select any Patriot figures andselect from the full complement of their cir-cumstances. New figures available include the

Marquis de Lafayette and Deborah Sampson. The New Republic (1782-1800)

This stage is the setting of Versus Mode, therules for which appear in the next chapter.

The Secret ObjectiveA war is a gruel-

ing affair of constantfrustration and un-countable setbacks.This holds true for the struggles of theSons of Liberty. It isoften hard to see the

way forward from the trenches, andimpossible for theGrandmasters at the lodge to plan absolutelyeverything. That’s where the Secret Objectivecomes into play.

A Campaign only progresses with the com-

pletion of Secret Objectives. Every battle has aSecret Objective which the Tory player createson his own. The Grandmasters do not predict the Secret Objective, and the Patriots who vol-unteer for the mission will only discover theSecret Objective while in the field. The Sonsof Liberty are often faced with the difficult de-cision between completing the short-term pri-orities of the battle or forwarding the long-termagenda of American liberty. Those difficultchoices are revealed as Secret Objectives.



120

Sons of Liberty

Creating the Secret ObjectiveAfter the Tory player selects his starting

figures, he should create the Secret Objective.

He draws five cards and consults the tables onpages 72-73, filling in the blanks on the TorySheet. The Tory player should not reveal the re-sults to the Patriot players.

Example: Secret Objective

Seth is playing the Tories in the third battle of Cam-paign Mode. He draws five cards to determine the

Secret Objective: a five of diamonds, a six of clubs,a seven of hearts, the queen of hearts, and a two ofclubs. He finds their meanings on the Tables of Ac- tions, Objects, and Priorities: “The Sons of Libertycan incite a horseless carriage before the Britishunite a heliograph station.” Seth decides that therewill be a finicky but souped-up horseless carriagein the battle, and that the British will need to sendan important message via heliograph. He doesn’t

need much more detail to start.

Embedding the Secret Objective

The Tory player should inject elements of the Secret Objective in every level he can. Forevery level he includes one of the objective’sactions or objects, he increases the value of theSecret Objective. If only one level included one

of the objective’s actions or objects, the SecretObjective is worth three Tyranny. If two levels

featured actions orobjects, it is worthfour Tyranny. If hemanaged to threadelements of the Se-

cret Objective into three different levelsand reveals it in thelast Opportune level,it is worth five Tyr-anny. Of course, the



121

Campaign Mode

Patriots may choose to skip the last OpportuneObjective and proceed directly to the PrimaryObjective, which makes holding out for that

last Opportune Objective a dicey proposition,at best.

The Tory playermay reveal the Se-cret Objective inany Opportune levelby simply reading

the objective aloud.Once it is revealed,Patriots may select the Secret Objectivewhen directing cutscenes. No matterhow much the Secret Objective is worth, theTory player only gains the Tyranny payoff if the

Patriot players accept the challenge.

Example: Embedding Actions and Objects

In the first Opportune Objective, Seth introduces aring of horseless carriage street racers who havehad their carriages impounded. In the second Op-portune Objective, he has Gauge and Clinton, twoof his Tory figures, bicker with each other overwho is in command. In the third Opportune Objec- tive, Seth introduces the heliograph station and itsstaff, who is divided between Gauge and Clintonsupporters.

In his narration at the end of the third OpportuneObjective, he explains that the British can signalNew York for reinforcements, if only they canunite the staff of the heliograph station. Of course, the Sons of Liberty could always race to the next

heliograph station and intercept the message... if they can make it there in time.

The Secret Objective is worth a full five Tyrannychips, as Seth embedded actions and objects in all three Opportune levels.



122

Sons of Liberty

Accepting the Secret ObjectiveOnce it has been revealed, any Patriot play-

er may select the Secret Objective while direct-

ing a cut scene. The Tory player sets in frontof him three, four, or five new Tyranny tokensfrom supply (not from his pool), and the SecretLevel begins.

All the normalbattle rules applyin the Secret Level.

When any playercalls the question, the scores determineif the patriots com-plete the Secret Ob- jective. Players nar-rate the resolution

as normal, with thewinner last and the Patriots in order of highestcard. Additionally, the Secret Level has one of the following consequences:

If the Patriots complete the Secret Ob- jective, the next stage of the revolution is un-locked. The next battle will take place during

the next stage. Figures from that stage becomeavailable, and all figures have access to the cir-cumstances of the unlocked stage. If all threestages have already been unlocked, the Prima-ry Objective may become the Final Battle.

If the Patriots fail, the next stage of therevolution remains locked. The next battle will

take place in the current stage.However, win or lose, the Tory player re-

ceives two Tyranny for every single token spenton the Secret level.



123

Campaign Mode

The Final BattleDuring the Fires of Adversity, completing

the Secret Objective increases the importance

of the Primary Objective. No longer is this aneveryday Tory scheme that should be stoppedor a Patriot gambit that can ease the difficultiesof war. Now the Primary Objective becomes amake-or-break affair that can end the war entirely. Everything else was just warming up;now it’s on.

If you are the player directing the CutScene after the Secret Level, you will add thespecial import to the Primary Objective. Draw two cards from the top of the deck and look up

King of Hearts — Fanny Campbell inspires a ship captainoutside of Charleston.



124

Sons of Liberty

their meanings as an action and object. Add these to the Primary Objective, either as an ad-ditional thing that the Patriots must do, or as

an additional Tory plot. Use your cut scene toexplain how the new objective finally puts victory within reach of the Patriots.

There may still be an Opportune Objectiveavailable to the Patriots, and they may elect to take advantage of it before proceeding to thenew Primary Objective.

When the patriots do address the PrimaryObjective, a few new rules apply. The Tory play-er immediately doubles his pool of Tyranny. If the Tory player is out of tokens, he may draw two from supply instead. The Tory player mayalso activate an additional Tory figure in the Fi-nal Battle, although it must be a figure who has

appeared in earlier battles.Example: Final Battle

It is the Fires of Adversity, and the players havecompleted the Secret Objective. The Primary Ob- jective of this Battle has become the Final Battle.Dain is the director of the cut scene following theSecret Level, so he draws two new cards: a six ofhearts and a queen of clubs. These cards corre-

spond to rescue and a printing house. Dain de-cides to add these as additional objectives for theSons of Liberty, turning it into “The Sons of Lib-erty must bribe an author and rescue a printinghouse before the British supply a fort.” Not only do the Sons need a book written, Dain explains, theyneed it published, too.

Chris, who is playing the Tories, has managed tohold on to five Tyranny chips. He doubles this to ten chips before the Final Battle begins. He alsolooks over the Tory figures on his sheet and plans to drop John Enys into the battle, who hasn’t beenseen since the third battle.



125

Campaign Mode

Then it’s time to deal the cards and find outhow final the Final Battle is.

If the Patriots complete the augmented Pri-

mary Objective, they pave the way for the Rev-olution’s end. In their closing narration, Patriotplayers should explain how their actions in thisand prior battles are the decisive resources thatearn the American victory.

If the Tory player wins the Final Battle…well, it’s no big loss. The Patriots can return

to fight another day, because as they tell eachother at the beginning of each round, they don’thave to win so much as the British have to lose.Of course, that doesn’t mean the Tory playercan’t gloat a little first.

Jack of Diamonds — Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox,recruits a mole in Virginia.



126

Sons of Liberty



127

Versus Mode“Jefferson still lives!”

John Adams, on his death bed

You were going to play the next in-stallment of Cam-paign Mode. Thismight have been thenight that you finally

unlocked the Fires ofAdversity and got toplay Lafayette. Butoh no, Alex had tocancel because hisdaughter has scarlet fever or something, and that apparently trumps Game Night.

So now it’s just you and Meghann, sittingacross the table looking at each other. You re-ally wanted to get some of that high-flying, patriotic action goin on, but there’s just the two ofyou. Whatever are you to do?

Answer: Versus Mode.

Jump a few years ahead to the fledgling

days of the New Republic, where the old com-rades among the Sons of Liberty become eachother’s greatest and most frustrating rivals. Orin looser terms, you both pick a Patriot figureand you go at it.

Choosing Patriot FiguresBoth players draw a single card and com-

pare values. Break ties with a second card. Theplayer with the highest card selects a Patriotfigure first; then the second player selects from the remaining Patriot figures.

—



128

Sons of Liberty

Don’t assign your circumstances and suitsyet; first it’s time to kick up some trouble atCongress.

Support DecksEach player needs their own

deck of cards to play in VersusMode. They should have differentbacks so you can tell them apart.These decks represent their al-lies, networks, and connections.

For some radicals like Hamilton or Jefferson, itmay even represent their political party. Scan-dalous!

Set your support deck half-way betweenyou and your opponent. Your deck should be to the right of your opponent’s.

At theCongress of the Confederation

Play begins at the Congress of the Con-federation, a toothless legislative body createdunder the Articles of Confederation, America’soriginal and quickly forgotten system of gover-ment. This body is the titular government of

the United States. Its resolutions must be rati-fied by all the state legislatures. It cannot raise taxes to pay the army and navy it is supposed to maintain. It can’t even require attendance ofits delegates, who are often absent. As such, itis a nexus of frustrated plotting and bitter snip-ing. This is where you go to find out what’s act-

ing.Describe your figure’s entrance to the Con-

gress of the Confederation as an introductionof who you are playing in your bout.



129

Versus Mode

The Issue at Hand The Patriot figures were idealists and activ-

ists possessed of opinions strong enough they

changed history. After history was changed, they retained their strong opinions – and found that they held some very different beliefs andaspirations regarding the Republic’s future.

There are ten hotly contested issues de-bated in the New Republic. The various Patriotfigures fall on one side or another of each of

these. Some figures find themselves rather am-bivalent about some issues. However, any giv-en pair of Patriot figures has at least one issue that sets them against each other.

The issues are:

Alliance to France or Britain.

Many support France because of their assistance during the Revo-lution. However, others preferre-establishing relations withBritain, this time as equals.

Censorship is a looming question haunting the new govern-

ment of the United States. Longused to sharpening their kniveson the abuses of the war, thenewspapers and pamphleteers

alike are quick to criticize. Are they too harsh,strangling the dream of America in its crib? Oris criticism the best medicine for the strugglingrepublic?

Elitism is the belief that there are“elites” who are better equipped to participate in the government than the rest of the populace.Proponents of elitism support



130

Sons of Liberty

laws that restrict the vote to men of propertyand good community standing. Detractors be-lieve that all men should have the vote, regard-

less of property ownership.Federalism is perhaps the issueof the day, as the two greatest fac- tions in the Confederation faceoff on the future structure of theUnited States of America. Somecriticize the weak government

under the Articles of Confederation and believea stronger, more centralized government mustbe established. Others like things just fine theway they are – with the power securely in thehands of the individual states.

Navy matters are a recurringsource of argument. The United

States has no actual navy, just a volunteer merchant marine andprivateers with letters of marque.Certainly, some argue, the nationshould build itself a navy. Certainly, the otherscontest, that would cost a fortune that nobodyhas.

Religion has long held a place inBritish politics, and now the newAmerican derivative is no dif-ferent. Still smarting from cruelrepressions and recalling theirbackground as religious dissi-

dents, many colonists desire a strong separationof Church and State; others point to the strong

communities that surround their churches andask how any victory would have been possiblewithout Divine assistance.



131

Versus Mode

Slavery is a contentious issuenow that the abolitionists and the slaveholders aren’t fighting

a common enemy in the British.In broad strokes, this issue splitsNorth-South… with the exception of the actual slaves in the South, most ofwhom think slavery is a rather bad idea.

Urbanization is a question of thefuture character of the nation.

Will the United States be a nationof cities or a nation of farms andfields? Many fear cities as hot-beds of sin and corruption; others

laud cities as centers of commerce, trade, andindustry. Generally speaking, the city dwellerswant bigger cities and the farmers want morefarms.

Veterans and their reimburse-ment and pensions are a hot topic in the post-revolutionaryconfederation. The United Statesis strapped for cash – especiallysince the Congress can’t raise taxes. Many veterans were promised pensions

for serving; others want what others werepromised in the spirit of fairness. This is espe-cially true of the privateers who were essentialin the war. Paying those pensions means notpaying for other things.

Women did their part in theRevolution, often fighting side-

by-side with the men. However,many in the former colonies be-lieve that, now that the emergen-cy has passed, it is time for the

women to return to their kitchens just as the



132

Sons of Liberty

men are returning to their fields. The women,for some reason, aren’t buying this.

Review your figures’ stance on the issues.

Find the one that you disagree on. That issue is the issue at hand. Write it into the space pro- vided on the Versus Bout sheet.

The New Whist Code

Old partisans of the Revolu- tion have taken up sides on the various issues of the day. Draw-

ing from their old exploits, theyhave found that Revere’s oldWhist Code continues to serve them well.

Draw six cards and find their meaningson the tables on pages 70-73 and add the key-words to the Versus Bout sheet. Fill out both

sides with the same keywords.

Challenge your opponent to explain the actions of his faction. Be sure to sneer, mock, de-ride, and so forth. Suggest they’ve taken leaveof their senses. You know: post-Revolutionarysmack talk.

Now that you know what’s happening, as-sign your favored circumstances and specialtysuits on your Patriot sheet. Then get ready torumble.

Example: The New Whist Code

Chris and Rachel are playing a versus bout. Chrisis playing Alexander Hamilton, while Rachel is

playing Ben Franklin. The issue they disagreeon is elitism. Chris draws six cards while Rachellooks up their meanings under the Whist Code.They fill out the Versus sheet like so: “In Saratoga, the People consider Elitism. Supporters defend aCongressman after Detractors improve a SailingShip.”



133

Versus Mode

Chris mocks Rachel: “Oh please, a sailing ship?Really, Ben, is that supposed to be impressive?”

Rachel retorts: “Hamilton, you come from the West

Indies; certainly your lily-white hands wouldn’thave manned the ship that brought you here.When will you recognize that these men have justas much a right to govern as you and your drunkencongressman do?”

Chris makes a show of looking offended. “You willnot speak of Congressman Morris like that! Hisinitiative for refining the electorate is a work of

genius.”Rachel rolls her eyes. “And it will mean nothingif the common men down at the docks prove that they can deliver Paine’s broadsheets to the all theport towns before they even hear about Morris’silly resolution.”

King of Diamonds — Alexander Hamilton convinces acongressmen in New York City.



134

Sons of Liberty

Ready? Fight! Both of you should draw your regular hand

of four cards from your support deck. The play-

er who chose their figure last gets first play. Af- ter that, it’s no holds barred action as you try to sway the opinion of the new republic to yourside.

Use Patriot playsand Patriot tactics asdescribed on pages

86 and 99. Play setsand straights fromyour hand to yourside of the table.Draw your handback up from yoursupport deck.

If you get to apoint where you have no plays, you get to watchyour opponent hand you your ass.

If both of you get to a point where you haveno plays, you may need some help from yoursupport deck. Both of you should narrate howyou turn to your friends and acquaintances to

see what they think of the issue at hand. Then turn over cards from your support decks simul- taneously and set them to the right of the deck.If there is already a card there, place the newcard to the right of that card, one ‘step’ further.As you go, you will build a line-up of cards. Youmay use the cards from your own support line

at any time, but not your opponent’s.Your opponent may force you out of your

favored circumstances as long as they play astraight or set to accompany that narration. If



135

Versus Mode

you are so forced, you lose your five-card handor other associated tactic.

You may not work off of the sets and

straights of your opponent. However, you mayuse a card from either support line to displacea joker on your opponent’s side of the table and then use the joker yourself.

When you call for cards using your Patriot tactic, you may take any cards of the appropri-ate suit from the support lines. If you use a card

from your opponent’s line, be sure to rub it inhis face by narrating how you’re recruiting hissupporters to your cause!

QQ6QJ Q Q 6 Q 8 5 6 3

Q

7 7 7 2 2

K A 2 3 6 7 8 9

8 8 8

6 6

3 4 5 6

9 8A 5

4 Q

Diagram of Versus Mode

Patriot Playsgo in front of whoplays them. Support Decks

start in the centerand are dealt

outwards.

Discard

Discard



136

Sons of Liberty

The VictorPlay proceeds until the first support deck is

gone. Your score is the number of cards played

to your side of the table – not counting singlesand pairs, of course. However, cards taken fromyour opponent’s support line count double.

Find the winnerof the bout. The losermay take a moment to narrate their fig-

ure’s final, frustratedgambits. Then the victor may narrate their stunning victo-ry and how it molds the shape of the re-public to come.



137

Options ScreenFollowing the

rules presented sofar will give you a very specific, andsomewhat peculiar,game experience. Ifyou’re not really intopunching redcoats in the face with clock-

work gauntlets, ormore specificallyshouting about it while throwing cards at yourfriends, there are a few little things that you cando to switch things up a bit. These little thingsare listed below as different options.

Some of the following options may also be

applied to Versus Mode. In general, anything that doesn’t affect the Tory player is fair game to add to your PvP bouts.

The default game’s difficulty is relativelybalanced between Patriot and Tory players.Many of these options increase or decrease thedifficulty for certain players, and this is noted

at the end of each entry.

Replace Awesome with Clever Play in Turns

Rather than abandon taking turns after theTravel Hand, you may play through the entiregame in turns. This results in a much slower-

paced, more thoughtful game. The rampaging,pulse-pounding torrent of awesome in the de-fault game (“...and so I ride the moose through the stained glass and onto the dirigible!”) is re-placed with careful card plays and clever nar-



138

Sons of Liberty

ration (“I tell Clinton, ‘And that’s why Americahas no need of British port, sir.’”).

As in the Travel Hand, play rotates around

the table and each Patriot player must make aplay or discard. The Tory player may pass onhis turn. Importantly, you may always role playand describe your figure’s actions and dialogueoutside of your turn. You just can’t play cards.

Because this option constrains how oftenyou may play, the Tory player may fall behind as

he waits for everybody to take their turn. Espe-cially in large groups, the Tory player should begiven an opportunity to play after every otherPatriot player (Patriot 1, Patriot 2, Tory, Patriot3, Patriot 1, Tory, Patriot 2, Patriot 3, Tory, andso on). Alternately, you might employ multipleTory players (see Largest Army on the Planet,

below).Also note that it is very possible to enact

this option for only part of your game. The di-rector of the cut scene might declare that thenext level will be played with or without turns.

Effect: This option does not alter the mechani-cal difficulty of the game, although it may favor

clever players over awesome players. If you’reall right with that, have at.

Tory Three-Card Handicap Tory Hand of Three versus Two Patriots

Playing against two Patriot players, theTory player may find a hand of two cards veryconstraining; the Patriot players may find thelevel ends too soon as two face cards are easy to come by. In this option, the Tory player play-ing against two Patriot players has a hand of three cards. He must collect three face cards to



139

Options Screen

call the question, but the Tory Score is the sumof the two highest cards, not all three.

Effect: This option is actually relatively bal-

anced mechanically. The additional card thatcan be played is offset by the need to collectanother face card. The Tory Score is not great-ly affected. This option primarily makes for amore fluid fiction and less frustration for theTory player.

Seed the Field Single Cards for Patriot Plays

Games with two Patriot players can sufferfrom a bottleneck at the beginning of each lev-el. To mitigate this, this option begins each levelby dealing out four cards and placing them faceup on the table. Patriots may use these cards in

their plays as if they were single cards playedby other Patriots. They do not count toward thePatriot score until they are incorporated into aPatriot play.

Effect: Technically, this option decreases thedifficulty for Patriot players; however, whenused in games with two Patriot players, it de-

creases the difficulty from “heinous” to “pleas-antly challenging.”

Patriot Tag Teams Playing Two Patriots At Once

Instead of each Patriot player selecting onePatriot figure, each Patriot selects two figures

and creates a “tag team.” Patriot players onlyever play one of their selected figures at a time;however, at any point during a level, and as often as they like, they may “tag out” and switch to the other figure. Describe the first figure’s



140

Sons of Liberty

exit and the second figure’s entrance. Patriotplayers keep only one hand of cards and use the same hand for both figures.

Patriot figures with circumstances that refer to each other, such as John Adams’ “with Abi-gail Adams,” may not be used when the secondPatriot figure is the second member of the tag team. In other words, if you play John and Abi-gail Adams, you may not slot “with spouse” in their five-card tactics and play the entire game

with a larger hand. Because you only ever playone figure at a time, they are never “with” theother figure. Furthermore, if another playerhas a favored circumstance referring to oneof your figures, they gain the associated tacticonly when that figure is your active figure.

This option is es-

pecially appropriatefor games with twoPatriot players, andcan be used insteadof Seed the Field.

Effect: This optiondecreases the dif-

ficulty for Patriotplayers slightly.

Finish Him!... Fatality! Patriot Combos

Whenever a Patriot player makes a play in-corporating all four suits from his hand, he has

made a “combo.” Alternately, two or more Pa- triot players perform a combo when they makean unbroken series of plays on a single set orstraight that incorporates all four suits from their hands. The cards must come from Patriot



141

Options Screen

hands, not prior plays, and there may not beany other plays interrupting the combo. Play-ers should be sure to describe especially mem-

orable deeds whenever they perform a combo.When a combo is performed, play immedi-

ately stops. The player or players may removeone Tyranny token from the table, unlockinga set or unblocking a straight. If a card wasstolen from the table, the Patriots may steal itback. The Tyranny token is placed by the dis-

card deck, and doubles as normal if the Toryplayer still wins the level.

In Versus Mode, a combo allows you to dis-card your opponent’s entire support line.

Effect: This slightly decreases the difficultyfor the Patriot players (combos are not easy tocome by).

Tory Oppression Points Tory Plays Add to Tory Score

This option gives the Tory player a simpleadvantage. This is especially useful if you arefinding the Tory player is being overwhelmedby your Patriot players, either through num-

bers or volume.

In short, at the end of every level, the ToryScore is calculated as the total value of the To-ry’s hand plus the number of single cards thatremain in front of the Tory player. Tory playshave have been exploited by the Patriots andused in Patriot plays do not add to the ToryScore.

Effect: This option increases the difficulty forPatriot players.



142

Sons of Liberty

Largest Army on the Planet Multiple Tory Players

You may elect to play with more than oneTory player. This is especially appropriate forlarge groups, and vastly increases the senseof oppression and difficulty for the Patriots.In general, there should not be more than oneTory figure for every two Patriots.

Each Tory player has his own budget of Tyr-anny tokens, which should be of different col-ors to distinguish them. Each Tory player mayintroduce one new Tory figure each level, and they may not share these figures. Either Torymay call the question upon collecting threeface cards; they do not need the seconding of the other Tory players. The Tory Score is thehighest hand among the Tory players.

Effect: This option increases the difficulty for the Patriot players, but not as much as it mayseem. It may also slightly increase the difficulty for the Tory players if they are not careful toselect new figures that complement each oth-er—it is quite possible to step on each other’s toes.

The Benefits of TyrannyEarning Tyranny during Levels

Whenever the Tory player removes a Patriotfigure from a favored circumstance by playinga card, the Tory player earns one Tyranny fromsupply. Tyranny earned in this way is not added

to the Tory player’s pool. Instead, it is placed infront of the Tory player and must be wagered in that level or else it is lost.

Effect: This option increases the difficulty for the Patriot players.



143

Appendices IndexAbuse and

Usurpation 44,96-98

Adams, Abigail8, 11

Adams, John 8,10, 13, 25, 41

Adams, Sam 11,12, 21, 37

Allen, Ethan 14

AmericanPhilosophicalSociety 18, 25

André, MajorJohn 44, 47, 59

Arbuthnot,Admiral Mariot46

Arnold, Benedict15, 46, 59

Articles ofConfederation128

back country 31Battle Mode 3,

67-105

blacks 20, 34, 52,65

Block a Straight97

Bloody Mary 60

Board ofAssociatedLoyalists 55

Boston 1, 12, 36,50, 62, 110

Braintree 8

Brant, Joseph“the Monster”49

Buckongahelas48

Bunker Hill 34

Burgoyne,

“GentlemanJohnny” 48

Burr, Aaron 23

call for cards 100

Call theQuestion 90,102-104, 138

Campaign Mode

3, 44, 107-125Campbell, Fanny

3, 16

Canada 46

cannon see lightcannon

Chesapeake Bay117

circumstancessee favoredcircumstances

city 23, 47, 131

Clinton, GeneralHenry 45, 50,55

Clinton, General

Henry 64clockwork

power armor10, 41

clockworks 57

combos 140

Committeesof Corres-pondence 2, 8,12, 67, 69, 112

Congress 11,13, 25, 29,41, see alsoContinentalCongress

Congress of theConfederation128

Connecticut 46,64

ContinentalArmy 1, 20, 26,

36, 38, 51, 55Continental

Congress 10,16, 20

Cornwallis,GeneralCharles 51, 117

corres-pondence

see committeesof corres-pondence

courier 30, 38

cross-dressing16, 26, 30, 38

Cuba 16

cut scene 92-94,

123discard 89

Dunmore, Lord34, 52, 65

electricity 19

factory 23, 37



144

Sons of Liberty

favoredcircumstances6, 76, 140, 99-

101, forcing outof 100, 134-135

Ferguson, MajorPatrick 54, 117

Final Battle 123

Fires ofAdversity 115-119

fort 15, 29, 37France 26, 114,

115, 129

Franklin,Benjamin 3, 11,18, 25, 33, 48,54

Franklin,William 19, 34,54, 65

freemasonry 11,21, 36

Gauge, GeneralThomas 21, 56,109

Grand Lodge of the Americas

67, 69Greene, General

Nathanael 23,31

Hamilton,Alexander 22,27, 41

Hancock, John

13, 20handclasp 70

Harvard 11, 13

Hessians 41, 114

horselesscarriage 8

Howe, John 57

Hutchinson,Thomas 58

indians 29, 43,48, 49, 52, 82,86

Intolerable Acts109-111

Iroquois 49

Issue at Hand129-132

Jefferson,Thomas 23, 24,41

jokers 71, 79, 99

Lafayette 23, 26

Larger Hand 99

Laurens, John23, 33

Lexington andConcord 1, 113

light cannon 15,23, 24, 36, 41,63

Lock a Set 97

loyalists seeTories

Map 81

Marion, Francis28

Martin, Racheland Grace 30,75

masons see freemasonry

Massachusetts8, 11, 13, 17, 20,31, 35, 56, 58

mechanizedcavalry 40, 49,61

militia 52

Monticello 24

moose 14

Morrigan Corbie60

networking 8, 22,24, 36

New England 20

New Hampshire63

New Hand 97, 99

New Jersey 55,65

New York 55, 64

newspapers 2,23, 43, 57

North Carolina64

Objectives 67,71, 93, alsosee SecretObjective

Objectives Sheet71

Ohio 40

OpportuneObjectives 67,

95-104

Options Screen4, 137-142

ornithopter 32

Paine, Thomas32, 112

pamphlets 2, 22,32, 58

Paris 19, 26

Patriot player 75,76, 90, 103, 105,122, 125, 86-89



145

Sons of Liberty

Patriot Score 90,102

Patriot Tactics

99-101Pennsylvania 19

Philadelphia 47,59

pirates 16, 54,55, 86

Poor, Salem 3, 34

power armor

see clockworkpower armor

preacher 36, 58

PrimaryObjective 67,104-105, 123

Quebec 46

Revere, Paul 3,

21, 34, 36, 39,71, 111, 132

sailing ship 16,20, 46, 130

Sampson,Deborah 38

Saratoga 113

Scots 20, 54

Seabury, Samuel58

Secret Objective119-122

sets 87

Shippen, Peggy47, 59

Shot Heard

Round theWorld 112-114

single cards 90,100, 102, 139

slavery 23, 24,52, 65, 131

smuggling 16, 20

soldier 22, 26, 30,43, 44, 53, 60,

63, 131Sons of Liberty

2, 12, 20, 34, 47,50, 56, 67, 86,107, 109, 112,116

South Carolina29, 31, 117

specialty suits6, 76

Stages 107-119

stances 7

Steal a Card 97

steam power 33

Steuben, Baron von 41

straights 87Stuart, Colonel

Mary 60

suits 87, also seespecialty suits

Support Deck128, 134-136

Swamp Fox see

Marion, Francisswamps 28

Tarleton, “BloodyBan” 61

Thompson,Benjamin 62

Ticonderoga 46

Tories 23, 50

Tory figure 75,81, 97, 68, 75,80-84, 90, 96-98,103, 105, 119-121, 125

Tory Score 90,102, 105, 141

Tory Tactics 96-

98Tryon, William

“the Wolf” 64,65

turns 95, 137

Tye, Colonel 65

Tyranny 90, 96-98, 105, 108,

111, 114, 118,120, 122, 124,141, 142

Usurpation see Abuse andUsurpation

Valley Forge 41

Vermont,

IndependentRepublic of, 14

Versus Mode 4,127-136

Virginia 1, 24,41, 52

Washington,George 3, 5, 11,21, 23, 26, 40,

64, 118

West Indies 22,54

Whist Code 71,132

William andMary 25

Yorktown 117



(Correspondent’s Location)(Grand Lodge)

Objectives Sheet

(action) (object)

(action) (object)(priority)

The Sons of Liberty can

the British !

(action) (object)



the British !

(action) (object)



the British !

Opportune Objectives

Travel Hand

(action) (object)


The Sons of Liberty must

the British !

Primary Objective

to

Sons of Liberty: a Roleplaying Game of Freedom and Badassery

Download at: http://sol.kallistipress.com/downloads/objectives-sheet.pdf

Objectives Sheet Photocopy at 150% to fill Letter-sized paper.



I a m p l a y i n g

I n o r m a

l l y h a v e a h a n d o f

f o u r c a r d s .

I p l a y H

e a r t s f o r P a t r i o t i c a c

t i o n s : c o u r a g e , m a r t i a l p r o w e s s , a n d m a k

i n g s a c r i fi c e s .

I p l a y S p a d e s f o r U n o r t h o d o

x a c t i o n s : s h a d y d e a

l s , s u r p r i s e , a n d b r e a

k i n g t h e m o l d .

I p l a y D

i a m o n d s f o r C o n n e c

t e d a c t i o n s : n e t w o r k

i n g , s o c i a l i z i n g , a n d

s p e n d i n g m o n e y .

I p l a y C l u b s f o r C l e v e r a c t i o n s : t i n k e r i n g , l a w y e r

i n g , w r i t i n g , a n d b e i n g w i t t y .

I h a v e a

h a n d o f fi v e c a r d s

w h e n

I c a n d r a w a n e w h a n d w h

e n

I c a n c l a i m a j o k e r w h e n

I c a n , w

h e n

,

c a l l f o r

c a r d s .

I c a n a l

w a y s p l a y s i n g l e

c a r d s .

( c i r c u m s t a n c e

)


)


)

( c i r c u m s t a n c e )

( s u i t )

( s u i t )

P a t r

i o t S h e e t

S o n s o f L i b e r t y : a R o l e p l a y i n g G a m e o f F r e e d o m

a n d B a d a s s e r y

D o w n l o a d a t : h t t p : / / s o l . k a l l i s t i p r e s s

. c o m / d o w n l o a d s / p a t r i o t - s h e e t . p d f

sons of liberty - a roleplaying game

Documents