Chess King

The King is the figurehead of the chessmen army. He is the ruler of the army but he takes much advice from the queen and bishops. The king is also a coward he will surrender to save his own skin. This flaw can so far not be changed by any wizards.

Each chessmen army has a huge playing board from which it operates. (Usually next to the wizard's living quarters that it is supposed to be defending). The King is nearly always on the board as well as 1 or 2 rooks that guard him. The chessmen are very familiar with the board granting them complete dark vision and a few special moves when they are on the board.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 14 (losing initiative ties), the King takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the King can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:

• The King can initiate castling in which a rook within 40 feet of the King teleports to his side and they both have resistance to slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning to all non-magical attacks but have only 1/2 movement next round.
• The King can sacrifice a rook or queen in which they have vulnerable to all damage types and 1/2 their hit points until the next round, but, an enemy who attacks them takes 1D12 +2 damage.

Regional Effects

The region containing a Chessmen army’s lair is highly familiar ground to any chessmen army, which creates one or more of the following effects:

• Any white chessman in the lair gets +3 initiative.
• Any Chess Pon promoted in the lair is promoted to a chessman that is the choice of the King.
• Any Animated chessmen on the board get complete dark vision.

If the King dies, these effects fade over the course of 2d6 days.