When I first started designing Nobles & Glory, I intentionally kept religion at arm’s length. Not because it wasn’t important historically – quite the opposite – but because, as someone who doesn’t personally believe, I wasn’t sure I could do it justice. I leaned toward artistic and philosophical expression through the Heart suit, and let the Church remain a kind of implied presence.
That worked fine for a while – until it didn’t.
The more the game developed, the more obvious it became that something was missing. In the real medieval world, faith wasn’t an optional ideology. It was infrastructure. And if Nobles & Glory was going to be honest about how kingdoms functioned, it needed to acknowledge the role of religion – not just as flavour text, but as strategy. That’s how the Chancellor, the Monastic Order, Pilgrimage, and Inquisition mechanics were born.
They’re not just there to check a historical box. They change how the game plays.
For a long time, I resisted putting too much religious content into Nobles & Glory. I’m an atheist myself, and I’ve always felt more comfortable exploring the poetic, philosophical, and artistic threads of history than diving into the intricacies of medieval spirituality. In fact, the Heart suit – one of the four foundational pillars of the game – was designed to represent nobles and guilds driven by intellectual growth, artistic achievement, and humanistic values.
But as Nobles & Glory has grown into something larger and more historically ambitious, I’ve come to a slow but undeniable realisation: to ignore the influence of the medieval Church is to misunderstand the period entirely. Religion wasn’t just a belief system in those times – it was infrastructure. It shaped law, land, legitimacy, and war. It was the invisible scaffolding behind every castle, contract, and crown.
So, I’ve swallowed my pride. I’ve leaned into the uncomfortable. And it turns out – it’s one of the best things I’ve done for the game.
Introducing the Theistic Update
This latest iteration of Nobles & Glory brings the theistic reality of medieval Europe fully into the fold – not just as flavour text, but as a living, breathing set of systems that influence strategy, balance, and narrative.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s been added:
🕍 The Chancellor Role
Replacing the underused Herald role, the Chancellor (♥♣) is a spiritual and political powerhouse – a royal advisor drawn from the clergy, capable of calling for Inquisitions and shielding nobles from dishonour. Inspired by historical figures like Thomas Becket, the Chancellor blurs the line between confession and control.
🔥 The Inquisition (Intrigue Action)
If your opponent has no Hearts in play and you control a Chancellor, you can discard a Heart to trigger an Inquisition – forcing your rival to discard a Magnate, a Court Card, or a Heart from hand. It’s a surgical tool of spiritual pressure, and a great counter for players who ignore the Church’s presence at their peril.
🚶♂️ Pilgrimage Action
A brand-new Action. Send one of your Court Cards into spiritual exile by flipping it face down. While on Pilgrimage, the card is untouchable – safe from Duels, Assassination, and Betrayal. But the journey is a double-edged sword: either player can end it by performing another Pilgrimage Action.
When the card returns, its suit determines the reward based on it’s suit. Each bonus reflects a spiritual “lesson” from the road—rooted in real medieval motivations.
🏛️ Monastic Order (♥♦ Guild)
Replacing the Sages’ Assembly, this new Guild draws on the vast power of religious orders like the Benedictines and Cistercians. Once per round, it lets you prevent a Court Card from being discarded -preserving it like the monasteries preserved manuscripts and souls.
⛪ Holy Site (Accord)
The old “Sacred Grove” has been replaced with a Holy Site – a cathedral, shrine, or abbey. Its construction boosts Clerical Power and offers protection or rewards during the Peasant Phase. This is how piety becomes policy.
⚖️ A Better Game for Being Honest
Adding all this wasn’t just about mechanics. It was about finally accepting that the medieval world wasn’t just about knights and castles – it was about Church and Crown. Power was rarely secular, and players in Nobles & Glory shouldn’t be either. The game is now stronger, more immersive, and more historically accurate because I stopped trying to soften or sidestep this truth.
These additions didn’t just slot neatly into the existing system – they gave the game new dimensions. Faith now sits alongside politics, war, and commerce as a real force in shaping a kingdom’s fate. It opens up fresh strategies, deeper thematic choices, and new ways to pursue Glory. More importantly, it brings the game one step closer to the world it’s meant to reflect – not a fantasy, but a history.
– Jonathan
