Total War: Pharaoh Royal Courts

Overview: Royal Courts

Many factions in Total War: Pharaoh can choose to participate in one of the royal courts. In the original game, there were two (Egyptian and Hittite). In Total War: Pharaoh Dynasties campaigns, there are four royal courts - Aegean, Egyptian, Hittite and Mesopotamian.

Each royal court has a supreme ruler (such as the Pharaoh of Egypt and the Great King of the Hittites) and a number of office holders. You do not need to hold an office to participate in the royal court - you can still take political actions and make requests of office holders. For example, Ramesses does not have an office in the court (at least, he doesn't start with one), but he can use the gossip action to build up Regard with office holders. Making requests can allow you to recruit a few units in special recruitment, or provide resources - for example, a 'reap the profits of the mines' request to the Viceroy of Kush provides gold.

If you have an office in a royal court, this provides advantages. For example you may be able to recruit units in special recruitment (Egypt's First Commander can recruit elite Royal units), you may get extra resources (Egypt's Viceroy of Kush has a gold income), or have extra abilities (Egypt's Vizier has the ability to assassinate). Some factions have offices in royal courts at the start of the campaign, such as Amenmesse, who starts as Viceroy of Kush in Egypt's court. However, if you have an office, you aren't guaranteed to keep it - another faction might remove your character from office using a plot.

The four royal courts

How to join a royal court

After the first few turns of the campaign, most factions are invited to either join a royal court or to forge your own path. (If your faction already participates in a royal court at the start of the campaign, such as Suppiluliuma who is the Great King of the Hittites, you may not be given this choice). To join a royal court, you need to own at least one region which is a sacred land for that court (the sacred lands are shown on the Path to Power graphic on the right).

Your faction does not have to belong to a culture to participate in their court, for example a Canaanite faction leader can participate in the Egyptian royal court, if they hold an Egyptian sacred land. When you are offered the chance to join a royal court or forge your own path, you don't have to choose immediately - you can wait until you have conquered a region which is a sacred land in the court you want to join.

How to avoid participating in a royal court

When you are invited to join a royal court or forge your own path, select the forge your own path option. Most factions only have one forge your own path option - the Path of the Marauder. However, the Sea Peoples - the Sherden and the Peleset - can also choose the Path of the Sea Peoples, which provides benefits to resources, raiding and combat (the benefits vary, depending on your choices, for example if you recruit more horde units or settled units).

How to get an office in a royal court

• Wait for a court position to become vacant and claim it.
• Use a Threaten plot to remove the current officer holder, then claim it.
• Win a civil war, and your faction leader becomes the supreme ruler. To start a civil war, you need three-quarters of the current supreme ruler's Legitimacy. To win it, you'll need a strong military (and a plan for how to use them to win).

Claiming a court position costs gold.

Some offices have additional requirements. In the Mesopotamian royal court, the court positions are kingships and you need to own specific territory to claim that position. For example, the faction leaders of Hanigalbat and Babylon are kings in the Mesopotamian court, and you need to take specific regions to claim those titles if you don't already have them.

How to keep an office in a royal court

When you have a court position, other factions may plot against you (and could remove your position if they succeed). You can counter plots against you, for example by using the gossip action on office holders to identify the plotter, and then using the 'counter intrigue' button. Countering a plot costs gold, so this is easier to manage if you have plentiful supplies of gold.