Game Setup

The Prince’s Gambit requires six to eight players. These

players will belong to one of two sects: the Camarilla,
which styles itself as the aristocracy of the night, or the
Sabbat, a death cult steeped in fire and blood.

I. Loyalty Cards
As indicated below, add a number of Camarilla and
Sabbat Loyalty cards and shuffle them.

Number of Camarilla Sabbat Camarilla

Players Loyalties Loyalties Praxis
6 4 2 10
7 4 3 8
8 5 3 10
Deal Loyalty cards, one per player, from the shuffled
deck.
A player may claim and talk about her sect all she likes,
but players may not show each other their Loyalty cards to
prove their sect allegiance until the game is over.
Next, all players close their eyes and one player counts
to three. On the three-count, only the Sabbat players open
their eyes and confirm each other’s identities. Thereafter,
count to three again, after which all players open their
eyes at once, so the Camarilla players do not know each
other’s true Loyalty.

II. Clan Cards

Deal Clan cards, one per player, from a shuffled deck
of all fourteen Clan cards. Players place their Clan cards
face-up in front of them.
Set aside the remaining Clan cards; they won’t be used.

III. Traits
Shuffle the Trait cards into three stacks by type, and
set these draw piles face-down on top of the appropriate
Trait type card. For example, Physical cards are shuffled
and placed face-down on the card designating the Physical
draw pile.
Each player chooses four Trait cards, one of each type
(Physical, Mental, Social), plus one of the player’s choice.
Keep the Trait draw piles conveniently available to all
players. Trait cards have values of 2, 3, or 5.
A player may not show her hand of Trait cards to
another player to prove their types or values. She can claim

2 PRINCE’S GAMBIT RULES

and talk about the values of her Trait cards all she likes,
however, whether or not those claims are true. When
V. Initial Intrigues
discussing Trait values in this way, players may not claim Shuffle the Intrigue cards and place three, face-up, in
specific numbers, but may use descriptive phrases such the center of the table, visible to all players.
as “I will be minimally able to contribute this time” or
“I’m very well suited to helping this Intrigue.” VI. Prince’s Favor and Seats
A player’s maximum hand size is four Trait cards, Determine randomly which player will begin the game
unless otherwise stipulated. Players may not trade or gift with the Prince’s Favor card. This player is “Seat one”
Trait cards among each other for the purposes of awarding Prestige (see below) and
other players increase the Seat numbers clockwise. Give
IV. Prestige each player their corresponding Seat card, which should
remain visible to all players.
Give every player three Prestige counters (or you
can use pennies, glass beads, or any other convenient
token).
Prestige Cost: 3 Prestige Cost: 1
fit among players other than yourself. deck.
of players and redistribute it as you see play and which to return to the Intrigue
Collect 7 Prestige from any combination Intrigues and choose which one to put in
PRESENCE After an Intrigue is resolved, draw two
OBFUSCATE

MENTAL 2

After an Intrigue is chosen, but before

players contribute any Trait cards, you
may increase or decrease that Intrigue’s

Prestige Cost: 1
DEMENTATION
M2

difficulty by 3.
refreshes her exhausted Clan Discipline.
Choose any other player. That player
THAUMATURGY
Prestige Cost: 2

SOCIAL 3
S3

Placate the Harpies Noddist Heresy Blood Hunt

PHYSICAL 2

SOCIAL 5 SOCIAL 13 MENTAL 13

1 3 3 4 3 4
Praxis Players Praxis Players Praxis Players
P2

The voice of Elysium There’s no such thing as Caine, Let’s find out who you drag screaming to
loves to hear itself sing. you superstitious whelps. hell with you, shall we?

PROTEAN
CELERITY Choose one player. That player may not
participate in the next Intrigue. (You may
You may draw two additional Traits. You choose a player who has been named
keep these Traits until they are used in an to an Intrigue before that Intrigue is
Intrigue. resolved.)
Prestige Cost: 1 Prestige Cost: 2

PRINCE’S GAMBIT RULES 3

Turn Sequence
I. Choosing Intrigues
The player with the Prince’s Favor selects an Intrigue
and chooses an appropriate number of players to conduct
it. The number of players who must be assigned to an
Intrigue is indicated on each card. The player need not
include herself among the Intrigue participants.
The Difficulty of each Intrigue is also indicated on
the card. Intrigues have Difficulties of 5, 8, or 13.
Repel the Crusade
PHYSICAL 13
3 4
Praxis Players
Smash those shovelheads back
into their mass graves before
they know what hit them.
II. Resolving Intrigues
A. Collect
The players named to participate in the Intrigue submit
a number of Trait cards face down to the player with
the Prince’s Favor. The player with the Prince’s Favor
dictates the order in which participating players submit
their face-down cards. Each player participating in the
Intrigue may submit none, any, or all of his Trait cards.
Players not participating in the Intrigue turn in no
cards.
B. Reveal
The player with the Prince’s Favor shuffles the cards
collected from the players and reveals them. Trait cards
4 PRINCE’S GAMBIT RULES
of the same Trait type as the Intrigue contribute their
value to the Difficulty total required to succeed at the
Intrigue. Trait cards of other Trait types subtract their
value from the Difficulty total required to succeed at
the Intrigue.
If the sum of the Trait equals or exceeds the Difficulty
for the Intrigue, it succeeds and the Camarilla gains the
number of Praxis points listed on the Intrigue.
If the sum of the Trait is less than the Difficulty for
the Intrigue, it fails and the Sabbat takes the Intrigue.
Ex.: Resolving an Intrigue, Player Two reveals Trait
cards totaling 9 Physical and 3 Mental. The Difficulty
of the Intrigue is Physical 5. Nine Physical minus the 3
Mental equals 6 Physical, so the Intrigue is successful, and
scored for the Camarilla. But now the players know there’s
probably Sabbat member among these particular Intrigue
participants….
Resolved Intrigues are moved to the appropriate
scoring area for the sect that claimed them (see below).
Discard the Trait cards used for this Intrigue face-up
below their appropriate draw piles. If a Trait draw pile
runs out of cards, simply shuffle the discarded Trait
cards of that type and create a new draw pile.
C. Prestige Award
After the Intrigue is resolved, each player (not just the
players conducting the Intrigue) simultaneously chooses
another player, indicating that player’s Seat number by
a show of fingers.
Table talk is permitted — indeed, encouraged! — before
the simultaneous reveal of who’s granting Prestige to
whom. Players don’t have to honor any promises they
make, but they do have to reveal their recipient at the
same time all other players do.
Once all players have simultaneously indicated another
player, each player receives one Prestige for every other
player who has shown their Seat number. This Prestige
award is taken from the pool of available Prestige tokens,
not the Prestige of the player who indicated her.
Ex.: After an Intrigue, Player Two and Player Three
indicate Player Five with a show of fingers. Player Five
receives two Prestige from the pool.
A player may not choose himself for this reward. He
must choose one of the other players.
D. Upkeep
Take another Intrigue from the shuffled deck of
Intrigue cards and place it in the center with the others.
 There should always be three Intrigues from which to
select when a new turn begins.
Pass the Prince’s Favor to the player with the most
Prestige. (This may be the player who already has it.)
In case of a tie, pass the Prince’s Favor to the player
with the most Prestige closest to the previous Prince’s
Favor holder’s left.

E. Replenish Traits
All players (not just those who participated in the
Intrigue) may redraw a single Trait card, of the type of their
choice. Players who are already at their maximum hand size
of four may not draw an additional Trait card, however.

III. Scoring Intrigues

and Victory
Each Intrigue has a Praxis point value.
The Camarilla gains the Praxis value for each Intrigue
that is successfully resolved. The Sabbat doesn’t care
about Praxis value; it merely wants Intrigues to fail.
If the Camarilla gains the total Praxis value as
determined by the number of players (see above), the
Camarilla has consolidated its influence over the city
and is declared the winner. If the Sabbat claims three
Intrigues, regardless of their Praxis value, it has
destabilized the domain, sent the Prince into exile, and
is declared the winner. The game ends when one sect
or the other has achieved its victory condition.
Once the game has ended, players may reveal their
Loyalty cards.

Usurping the
Prince’s Favor
After an Intrigue is resolved, and once the Prince’s
Favor has passed to the player with the most Prestige, a
player may attempt to steal the Prince’s Favor for herself.
The player initiates this by bidding one or more Prestige.
Any other players may respond and attempt to seize
the favor for themselves by bidding at least one more
Prestige than the previous player — including the player
who already has the Prince’s Favor. Bids happen one at
a time, to the left of the player who currently possesses
the Prince’s Favor; two players cannot bid the same
amount and both be in contention to usurp.

PRINCE’S GAMBIT RULES 5

 While someone is attempting to usurp the Prince’s
Favor, players may gift their own Prestige to other
players, in order to aid another’s influence. This gift
occurs immediately, and is added to the usurping player’s
Prestige bid. Players may gift Prestige in this manner
repeatedly, or in one sum, at their discretion, but only
during an attempt to usurp.
Once players choose not to increase the bid, the player
who has bid the most receives the Prince’s Favor and
may then select, choose participants for, and resolve the
next Intrigue.
Once a challenge for the Prince’s Favor has been
resolved, all Prestige bids are collected and returned to the
Prestige pool, regardless of whether the players who bid
actually won the Prince’s Favor.
Usurping the Prince’s Favor may happen only once
before another Intrigue is chosen and re- solved. That is,
players may not wait for one player to bid one Prestige
to take the Prince’s Favor, and then usurp the Prince’s
Favor again for one Prestige before that player chooses
and resolves the next Intrigue.
The Prince’s Favor may not be usurped in the first turn
of play (before any Intrigues are chosen and resolved).
Clan Disciplines
Each player represents a unique Clan, as distinguished
by the card that begins play face-up in front of her. Each
Clan has its own Discipline, which the player may invoke
once per game. To do this, the player must pay the Prestige
cost of invoking the Discipline, in circumstances specified
on the Clan card.
After using a Clan Discipline, the player turns the
Clan card upside-down (not face-down) to show that it
is exhausted, and may not be used again in play.
Clan Assamite’s Discipline is Quietus: The Assamite
player chooses two other players. Each target player returns
1 Prestige to the pool. This costs 1 Prestige to invoke.
Clan Brujah’s Discipline is Celerity: The player may
draw two additional Trait cards when it is invoked. The
player keeps these Trait cards until they are used in an
Intrigue. So long as the player has four or more Trait
cards, she may not replenish Traits after an Intrigue.
This costs 1 Prestige to invoke.
Clan Follower of Set’s Discipline is Serpentis: Before
players are chosen for an Intrigue, the Follower of Set
player chooses another player. The chosen player must
6 PRINCE’S GAMBIT RULES
participate in the next Intrigue. This costs 2 Prestige
to invoke.
Clan Gangrel’s Discipline is Protean: The Gangrel
player chooses another player, and that player may not
participate in the next Intrigue. The Gangrel player may
choose to use the Protean Discipline on a player who
has been named to an Intrigue before that Intrigue
is resolved, in which case the player with the Prince’s
Favor must name another player to replace her on the
Intrigue. This costs 2 Prestige to invoke.
Clan Malkavian’s Discipline is Dementation: After
an Intrigue is chosen but before players contribute
any Trait cards, the Malkavian player may increase or
decrease that Intrigue’s Difficulty by 3. This costs 1
Prestige to invoke.
Clan Giovanni’s Discipline is Necromancy: After an
Intrigue is resolved, the Giovanni player can take one
Trait card used in resolving the Intrigue and add it to
her hand. This is after the Traits are revealed, but before
they are discarded. This costs 1 Prestige to invoke.
Clan Lasombra’s Discipline is Obtenebration: Before
bidding for the Prince’s Favor begins, the Lasombra
player chooses one player. The chosen player cannot bid
Prestige to usurp or retain the Prince’s Favor this turn.
If the target player has already bid Prestige, it is returned
to her. This costs 2 Prestige to invoke.
Clan Nosferatu’s Discipline is Obfuscate: After an
Intrigue is resolved but before a new one is put in play,
the Nosferatu player looks at the next two Intrigues
without showing them to the other players and chooses which
one to put in play. The discarded Intrigue is placed at
the bottom of the Intrigue deck. This costs 1 Prestige
to invoke.
Clan Ravnos’ Discipline is Chimerstry: Before an
Intrigue is chosen, the Ravnos player chooses two
players and takes one Trait card at random from each
player’s hand. The Ravnos player adds those Traits to
her own hand, and returns one Trait to each player.
The Traits returned need not be the Trait the Ravnos
player originally acquired. This costs 1 Prestige to invoke.
Clan Toreador’s Discipline is Presence: The Toreador
player collects at total of 7 Prestige from any combination
of players and redistributes it as she sees fit among players
other than herself. If the chosen players don’t have 7
Prestige among them, the Toreador player simply takes
what Prestige is available among them. This Advantage
cannot be invoked during an attempt to usurp the
Prince’s Favor, but can be used before such an attempt.
This costs 3 Prestige to invoke.
 Clan Tremere’s Discipline is Thaumaturgy: The
Tremere player chooses any other player, who then
refreshes her exhausted Clan Discipline. This costs 2
Prestige to invoke.
Clan Tzimisce’s Discipline is Vicissitude: Before the
Traits are revealed to resolve an Intrigue, the Tzimisce
player can shuffle and look at all the Traits for that
Intrigue. If she so desires, the Tzimisce player can then
switch one Trait used in resolving the Intrigue for one
in her hand. This costs 2 Prestige to invoke.
Clan Ventrue’s Discipline is Dominate: The Ventrue
player may reclaim his Prestige bid after attempting to
usurp or retain the Prince’s Favor. The Ventrue player
PRINCE’S GAMBIT RULES
reclaims only his own Prestige, not any Prestige gifted by
other players (keep these distinct during the bid), which
return to the pool as normal. This costs 3 Prestige to
invoke, and cannot be paid from Prestige that would
be reclaimed.
The Caitiff are not a true Clan, but have the Discipline
of Mysterious Lineage: A Caitiff player may use any of the
Disciplines that any Clan at the table possesses, whether
or not that Clan Discipline has been exhausted. Invoking
Mysterious Lineage costs +1 Prestige as the Discipline
being invoked. For example, if a Caitiff player chose to
invoke the Gangrel’s Protean Discipline, she would pay
3 Prestige.
7
 Prestige Cost: 3 Prestige Cost: 1
fit among players other than yourself. deck.
of players and redistribute it as you see play and which to return to the Intrigue
Collect 7 Prestige from any combination Intrigues and choose which one to put in
PRESENCE After an Intrigue is resolved, draw two
OBFUSCATE

TRAIT CARDS
CAMARILLA SABBAT
WON WON

PRESTIGE
POOL
INTRIGUES INTRIGUES

CLAN LOYALTY
CARD
TRAIT DISCARD STACKS BY TYPE
TRAIT DRAW STACKS BY TYPE

MENTAL 2

After an Intrigue is chosen, but before

players contribute any Trait cards, you
may increase or decrease that Intrigue’s

CARD
DRAW PILE
INTRIGUE

Prestige Cost: 1
DEMENTATION
M2

difficulty by 3.
refreshes her exhausted Clan Discipline.
Choose any other player. That player
THAUMATURGY
Prestige Cost: 2

CARD
SEAT
SOCIAL 3
S3
Placate the Harpies Noddist Heresy Blood Hunt

PHYSICAL 2
SOCIAL 5 SOCIAL 13 MENTAL 13
1 3 3 4 3 4
Praxis Players Praxis Players Praxis Players

P2
The voice of Elysium There’s no such thing as Caine, Let’s find out who you drag screaming to
loves to hear itself sing. you superstitious whelps. hell with you, shall we?

PRESTIGE
FACE UP INTRIGUE CARDS

TOKENS

PRINCE’S
FAVOR
PROTEAN
CELERITY Choose one player. That player may not
participate in the next Intrigue. (You may
You may draw two additional Traits. You choose a player who has been named
keep these Traits until they are used in an to an Intrigue before that Intrigue is
Intrigue. resolved.)
Prestige Cost: 1 Prestige Cost: 2
Camarilla Camarilla Camarilla

Camarilla Camarilla Sabbat

Sabbat Sabbat
 PROTEAN
Choose one player. That player may not
CELERITY participate in the next Intrigue. (You may
You may draw two additional Traits. You choose a player who has been named
keep these Traits until they are used in an to an Intrigue before that Intrigue is
Intrigue. resolved.)
Prestige Cost: 1 Prestige Cost: 2
DEMENTATION
After an Intrigue is chosen, but before
players contribute any Trait cards, you
may increase or decrease that Intrigue’s
difficulty by 3.
Prestige Cost: 1

OBFUSCATE
After an Intrigue is resolved, draw two
Intrigues and choose which one to put in
play and which to return to the Intrigue
deck.
Prestige Cost: 1
PRESENCE
Collect 7 Prestige from any combination
of players and redistribute it as you see
fit among players other than yourself.
Prestige Cost: 3
THAUMATURGY
Choose any other player. That player
refreshes her exhausted Clan Discipline.
Prestige Cost: 2

DOMINATE
MYSTERIOUS LINEAGE
You may reclaim your Prestige bid after
attempting to usurp or retain the Prince’s You may use any Clan Discipline from
Favor. any Clan in play.
Prestige Cost: 3 Prestige Cost: +1
Autarkis Grudge Blood Hunt Diablerist Purge

PHYSICAL 8 MENTAL 13 SOCIAL 5

2 3 3 4 1 3
Praxis Players Praxis Players Praxis Players
The nail that stands up must Let’s find out who you drag screaming to They have nothing to fear if
be hammered down. hell with you, shall we? they have nothing to hide.

Domain Dispute Gehenna Cult Ghoul Uprising

PHYSICAL 5 PHYSICAL 5
MENTAL 5
1 3
1 3 1 3
Praxis Players
Praxis Players Praxis Players
Every Kindred, no matter how young,
may make a claim upon the Second It doesn’t matter if it’s true; it matters that Remind the thralls exactly
Tradition. certain Kindred believe in it. why they’re the thralls.

Noddist Heresy Placate the Harpies Repel the Crusade

PHYSICAL 13
SOCIAL 13 SOCIAL 5 3 4
3 4 1 3 Praxis Players
Praxis Players Praxis Players
Smash those shovelheads back
There’s no such thing as Caine, The voice of Elysium into their mass graves before
you superstitious whelps. loves to hear itself sing. they know what hit them.
 Black Hand Spies Thin-Blooded Charlatan
Strange Artifact

MENTAL 5 MENTAL 8
1 3 SOCIAL 8 2 3
Praxis Players 2 3 Praxis Players
Praxis Players
Doesn’t matter if it belonged to a Sometimes convincing a vampire to
Lupine or the Devil himself; Every infiltrator has a guilty disappear herself is better than making
get rid of it. conscience that needs scourging. a martyr of her.

M2 M2 M2

MENTAL 2 MENTAL 2 MENTAL 2

M2 M2 M2

MENTAL 2 MENTAL 2 MENTAL 2

M2 M2 M2

MENTAL 2 MENTAL 2 MENTAL 2

M3 M3 M3

MENTAL 3 MENTAL 3 MENTAL 3

M3 M3 M3

MENTAL 3 MENTAL 3 MENTAL 3

M3 M3 M3

MENTAL 3 MENTAL 3 MENTAL 3

M5 M5 M5

MENTAL 5 MENTAL 5 MENTAL 5

M5 M5 M5

MENTAL 5 MENTAL 5 MENTAL 5

S2 S2 S2

SOCIAL 2 SOCIAL 2 SOCIAL 2

S2 S2 S2

SOCIAL 2 SOCIAL 2 SOCIAL 2

S2 S2 S2

SOCIAL 2 SOCIAL 2 SOCIAL 2

S3 S3 S3

SOCIAL 3 SOCIAL 3 SOCIAL 3

S3 S3 S3

SOCIAL 3 SOCIAL 3 SOCIAL 3

S3 S3 S3

SOCIAL 3 SOCIAL 3 SOCIAL 3

S5 S5 S5

SOCIAL 5 SOCIAL 5 SOCIAL 5

S5 S5 S5

SOCIAL 5 SOCIAL 5 SOCIAL 5

P2 P2 P2

PHYSICAL 2 PHYSICAL 2 PHYSICAL 2

P2 P2 P2

PHYSICAL 2 PHYSICAL 2 PHYSICAL 2

P2 P2 P2

PHYSICAL 2 PHYSICAL 2 PHYSICAL 2

P3 P3 P3

PHYSICAL 3 PHYSICAL 3 PHYSICAL 3

P3 P3 P3

PHYSICAL 3 PHYSICAL 3 PHYSICAL 3

P3 P3 P3

PHYSICAL 3 PHYSICAL 3 PHYSICAL 3

P5 P5 P5

PHYSICAL 5 PHYSICAL 5 PHYSICAL 5

P5 P5 P5

PHYSICAL 5 PHYSICAL 5 PHYSICAL 5

Game Setup
The Prince’s Gambit requires six to eight players. These
players will belong to one of two sects: the Camarilla, which
styles itself as the aristocracy of the night, or the Sabbat, a
death cult steeped in fire and blood.
I. Loyalty Cards
As indicated below, add a number of Camarilla and
Sabbat LoyaLty cards and shuffle them.
Number of Camarilla Sabbat Camarilla
Players Loyalties Loyalties Praxis
6 4 2 10
7 4 3 8
8 5 3 10
Deal LoyaLty cards, one per player, from the shuffled deck.
A player may claim and talk about her sect all she likes,
but players may not show each other their LoyaLty cards to prove
their sect allegiance until the game is over.
Next, all players close their eyes and one player counts to
three. On the three-count, only the Sabbat players open their eyes and
confirm each other’s identities. Thereafter, count to three
again, after which all players open their eyes at once, so the
Camarilla players do not know each other’s true LoyaLty.
1 3
promises they make, but they do have to reveal their recipient
at the same time all other players do.
Once all players have simultaneously indicated another
player, each player receives one Prestige for every other
player who has shown their seat number. This Prestige
award is taken from the pool of available Prestige tokens,
not the Prestige of the player who indicated her.
Ex.: After an IntrIgue, Player Two and Player Three
indicate Player Five with a show of fingers. Player Five receives
two PrestIge from the pool.
A player may not choose himself for this reward. He must
choose one of the other players.
D. Upkeep
Take another intrigue from the shuffled deck of intrigue
cards and place it in the center with the others. There should
always be three intrigues from which to select when a new
turn begins.
Pass the PrinCe’s Favor to the player with the most
Prestige. (This may be the player who already has it.) In case
of a tie, pass the PrinCe’s Favor to the player with the most
Prestige closest to the previous PrinCe’s Favor holder’s left.
E. Replenish Traits
All players (not just those who participated in the intrigue)
may redraw a single trait card, of the type of their choice.
Players who are already at their maximum hand size of
four may not draw an additional trait card, however. 7 9
IV. Prestige Turn Sequence
Give every player three Prestige counters (or you can
I. Choosing Intrigues
use pennies, glass beads, or any other convenient token).
V. Initial Intrigues The player with the PrinCe’s Favor selects an intrigue
and chooses an appropriate number of players to conduct it.
Shuffle the intrigue cards and place three, face-up, in The number of players who must be assigned to an intrigue
the center of the table, visible to all players. is indicated on each card. The player need not include herself
VI. Prince’s Favor and Seats among the intrigue participants.
The DiFFiCuLty of each intrigue is also indicated on the
Determine randomly which player will begin the game
card. intrigues have DiFFiCuLties of 5,8, or 13.
with the Prince’s Favor card. This player is “seat one” for
the purposes of awarding Prestige (see below) and other II. Resolving Intrigues
players increase the seat numbers counter-clockwise. Give A. Collect
each player their corresponding seat card, which should
The players named to participate in the intrigue submit
remain visible to all players.
a number of trait cards face down to the player with the
PrinCe’s Favor. The player with the PrinCe’s Favor dictates
the order in which participating players submit their face-
down cards. Each player participating in the intrigue may
submit none, any, or all of his trait cards.
Players not participating in the intrigue turn in no cards.
B. Reveal
The player with the PrinCe’s Favor shuffles the cards
collected from the players and reveals them. trait cards of
the same trait type as the intrigue contribute their
value to the DiFFiCuLty total required to succeed at
the intrigue. trait cards of other trait types subtract
5
Usurping the Prince’s Favor
After an IntrIgue is resolved, and once the PrInce’s Favor has
passed to the player with the most PrestIge, a player may attempt
to steal the PrInce’s Favor for herself. The player initiates this by
bidding one or more PrestIge.
Any other players may respond and attempt to seize the
favor for themselves by bidding at least one more PrestIge than
the previous player — including the player who already has the
PrInce’s Favor. Bids happen one at a time, to the left of the
player who currently possesses the PrInce’s Favor; two players
cannot bid the same amount and both be in contention to usurp.
While someone is attempting to usurp the PrInce’s Favor,
players may gift their own PrestIge to other players, in order
to aid another’s influence. This gift occurs immediately, and is
added to the usurping player’s PrestIge bid. Players may gift
PrestIge in this manner repeatedly, or in one sum, at their
discretion, but only during an attempt to usurp.
Once players choose not to increase the bid, the player who
has bid the most receives the PrInce’s Favor and may then
select, choose participants for, and resolve the next IntrIgue.
Once a challenge for the PrInce’s Favor has been resolved,
all PrestIge bids are collected and returned to the PrestIge pool,
regardless of whether the players who bid actually won the
PrInce’s Favor.
their value from the DiFFiCuLty total required to succeed at
the intrigue.
If the sum of the trait equals or exceeds the DiFFiCuLty
for the intrigue, it succeeds and the Camarilla gains the
number of Praxis points listed on the intrigue.
If the sum of the trait is less than the DiFFiCuLty for
the intrigue, it fails and the Sabbat takes the intrigue.
Ex.: Resolving an IntrIgue, Player Two reveals Trait
cards totaling 9 Physical and 3 Mental. The DIffIculty of the
IntrIgue is Physical 5. Nine Physical minus the 3 Mental
equals 6 Physical, so the IntrIgue is successful, and scored for
the Camarilla. But now the players know there’s probably Sabbat
member among these particular IntrIgue participants….
Resolved intrigues are moved to the appropriate scoring
area for the sect that claimed them (see below).
Discard the trait cards used for this intrigue face-up
below their appropriate draw piles. If a trait draw pile runs
out of cards, simply shuffle the discarded trait cards of that
type and create a new draw pile.
C. Prestige Award
After the IntrIgue is resolved, each player (not just the
players conducting the IntrIgue) simultaneously chooses another
player, indicating that player’s seat number by a show of fingers.
Table talk is permitted — indeed, encouraged!
— before the simultaneous reveal of who’s granting
Prestige to whom. Players don’t have to honor any
Prince’s Gambit
Play Area Sample Layout
6 2
Usurping the Prince’s Favor may happen only once before
another intrigue is chosen and re- solved. That is, players
may not wait for one player to bid one Prestige to take the
Prince’s Favor, and then usurp the Prince’s Favor again
for one Prestige before that player chooses and resolves
the next intrigue.
The Prince’s Favor may not be usurped in the first turn
of play (before any intrigues are chosen and resolved).
Scan the QR Codes to download the digital versions
of the Prince’s Gambit Rulebook
Scan for the epub version Scan for the mobi version
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II. Clan Cards
Deal CLan cards, one per player, from a shuffled deck of
all eight CLan cards. Players place their CLan cards face-up
in front of them.
Set aside the remaining CLan cards; they won’t be used.
III. Traits
Shuffle the trait cards into three stacks by type, and set
these draw piles face-down on top of the appropriate trait
type card. For example, Physical cards are shuffled and placed
face-down on the card designating the Physical draw pile.
Each player chooses four trait cards, one of each type
(Physical, Mental, Social), plus one of the player’s choice.
Keep the trait draw piles conveniently available to all
players. trait cards have values of 2, 3, or 5.
A player may not show her hand of trait cards to another
player to prove their types or values. She can claim and talk
about the values of her trait cards all she likes, however,
whether or not those claims are true. When discussing trait
values in this way, players may not claim specific numbers,
but may use descriptive phrases such as “I will be minimally
able to contribute this time” or “I’m very well suited to
helping this intrigue.”
A player’s maximum hand size is four trait cards,
unless otherwise stipulated. Players may not trade or
gift trait cards among each other.
III. Scoring Intrigues and Victory
Each intrigue has a Praxis point value.
The Camarilla gains the Praxis value for each intrigue
that is successfully resolved. The Sabbat doesn’t care about
Praxis value; it merely wants intrigues to fail.
If the Camarilla gains the total Praxis value as determined
by the number of players (see above), the Camarilla has
consolidated its influence over the city and is declared the
winner. If the Sabbat claims three intrigues, regardless of
their Praxis value, it has destabilized the domain, sent the
Prince into exile, and is declared the winner. The game ends
when one sect or the other has achieved its victory condition.
Once the game has ended, players may reveal their
LoyaLty cards.
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