Venerable Leaders

Each player starts with one venerable leader, the leader of his faction. A second venerable leader, the faction heir will be created sometime thereafter.

Each venerable leader is provided with a small corps of elite troops designated as a bodyguard. Battles, encounters, and other events will affect the character's Qi, Ren, and Authority.

Qi is a measure of a character's energy and vitality. A military leader's Qi affects the fighting ability of the units he commands. For each unit of Qi there is a 7% improvement.

Ren is the measure of a man's virtue, wisdom, and humanity. Ren reduces unrest in settlements where the leader is garrisoned and affects the morale of the troops he commands. For each unit of Ren there is a 10% reduction in unrest.

Authority is a measure of a man's perceived ability to govern an empire. The faction leader's authority directly impacts the number of settlements that can be controlled without generating additional unrest. The heir's authority plays no direct part this but is useful to know in that one day he may inherit the leadership.