Royal Advisor Guide
A young, intelligent woman who serves as the King/Queen's loyal advisor from the very beginning of their reign. She introduces the monarch to kingdom management and remains a constant presence throughout the game, handling administrative matters, population reports, economic decisions, and crisis management.
💡 Quick Tip: Ignoring infrastructure / crisis spending to save gold short-term (it usually costs more later)
Quick Verdict
If other characters tempt you into risk, the Royal Advisor is the tool that keeps your run alive.
- Risk profile: Low risk, high consistency — most choices are positive EV
- Newbie friendly: Yes
- Best value: Say YES to growth and prevention; use debt tools early to avoid forced tax penalties
- Biggest trap: Ignoring infrastructure / crisis spending to save gold short-term (it usually costs more later)
Strategic Mastery
The Golden Rule
"The Royal Advisor represents the most CONSISTENTLY VALUABLE NPC in Sort the Court. Unlike investment NPCs (Scientist, Jester) or specialized characters (Mason), the Advisor provides steady, reliable positive events throughout the entire game. Her requests almost always offer excellent value—especially refugees (+15 population free), circus (massive all-around gains), and open borders (+30 population, +10 happiness, +50 gold). Trust her judgment: when she expresses disappointment or sarcasm at a player choice (refusing granary repair, refusing refugees), you've made a strategic mistake."
Early Game
Say YES to almost all Royal Advisor requests in early game. Her house construction proposal (RA-H1) for 100 gold is one of the best investments (+7 population, unlocks two follow-up events with +10 more population and +7 happiness total). Accept refugees (RA-R2) every time for free population (+15) and happiness (+3). Prioritize opening borders (RA-B1) for massive gains (+30 population, +10 happiness, +50 gold). Accept the garbage cleanup (RA-A1) and Cabbage Street well (RA-A5)—refusing the well kills 3 citizens.
Mid Game
Continue accepting circus (RA-C1) every time it appears—it's one of the best repeatable events (+10 population, +10 happiness, +100 gold). When debt crisis events appear (RA-D1, RA-D2), carefully evaluate: if gold is -50 to -100, sell goods; if below -150, raise taxes. Avoid letting debt reach -250 or forced tax increase (RA-D3) triggers automatically with devastating -20 happiness penalty. For border merchant tax (RA-B3), choose based on needs: tax if you need gold, decline if happiness is low. Prison repairs (RA-A6) are expensive but refusing causes -10 happiness—pay if you can afford 250 gold.
Late Game
At high population, accept tour guides (RA-L1) and road maintenance (RA-L2) to maintain infrastructure. For granary infection (RA-G1), ALWAYS pay the 70 gold—refusing kills 3 citizens and the Advisor's sarcastic response ('at least you still have your precious coin...') indicates moral failure. Continue accepting refugees and circus for sustained growth.
Mental Model
The Advisor is not about winning fast — she's about never losing.
# Decision Priority
- 1 Prevent population loss
- 2 Prevent large happiness shocks
- 3 Avoid forced debt penalties
- 4 Only then optimize gold
❌ Newbie Traps
- Staying in debt too long and triggering forced tax penalties
- Refusing infrastructure spending because it 'doesn't give gold now'
- Over-taxing repeatedly and then wondering why happiness collapses
Decision Matrix — What You Should Actually Choose
The Royal Advisor is the game's stability anchor. Her options are rarely exciting, but they are almost always correct. When in doubt, the Advisor is the safest YES in the entire game — and the best alternative to demon deals or RNG gambles.
✅ Recommended Choices
Initial House Construction
Recommended""Builders wish to construct more houses in the town. They request gold, with which they could build much faster!""
✅ Why This Is Worth Taking
One of the strongest early population accelerators; YES also unlocks additional follow-ups
YES
- gold -100
- population +7
- happiness 0
- narrative Unlocks HOUSES follow-up events
NO
- gold 0
- population +3
- happiness 0
Cabbage Street Fire Prevention
Recommended""Fires have been breaking out frequently on Cabbage Street." "Shall we install a well to make water more accessible there?""
✅ Why This Is Worth Taking
YES prevents deaths and stabilizes happiness — an easy long-term win
YES
- gold -150
- population 0
- happiness +5
NO
- gold 0
- population -3
- happiness -3
Open Borders Petition
Recommended""There's a petition going around to open our borders to the neighbouring town. What do you say?""
✅ Why This Is Worth Taking
Massive immediate gains and unlocks strong follow-ups; one of the best YES clicks in the game
YES
- gold +50
- population +30
- happiness +10
- narrative Unlocks BORDERS follow-up events (RA-B2, RA-B3)
NO
- gold 0
- population -5
- happiness 0
Sell Goods to Cover Debt
Recommended""Without any gold, we're a bit stuck. We could sell off some of our goods, but that might make people sad. Should we do it?""
✅ Why This Is Worth Taking
Often the best debt tool — prevents spiraling into forced tax disasters
YES
- gold +250
- population 0
- happiness -15
NO
- gold 0
- population 0
- happiness 0
Welcome Refugees
Recommended""Some refugees have arrived in town. Should we welcome them?""
✅ Why This Is Worth Taking
One of the best repeatable YES decisions: free people and happiness
YES
- gold 0
- population +15
- happiness +3
- advisor_response "Very good!"
NO
- gold 0
- population 0
- happiness -2
- advisor_response "But... why? Well, as you wish..."
Bring Circus to Town
Recommended""A petition to bring the circus to town is circulating. Could attract tourists, are you interested?""
✅ Why This Is Worth Taking
Top-tier repeatable event: gold + people + happiness
YES
- gold +100
- population +10
- happiness +10
- narrative Triggers multi-day circus event with additional interactions
NO
- gold 0
- population 0
- happiness -5
Granary Infection
Recommended""Our granary stock has been infected. It'll cost us to replace it, but if we don't people could get sick. Should we do it?""
✅ Why This Is Worth Taking
Always pay — it's a textbook 'small cost avoids large harm' choice
YES
- gold -70
- population 0
- happiness +1
- advisor_response "Yes, our people's health is worth the cost."
NO
- gold 0
- population -3
- happiness -1
- advisor_response "Many people are bound to get sick from this, but at least you still have your precious coin..."
⚠ Situational Choices
Prison Repairs
Situational""The prison is in need of repairs. Might there be room in the budget to devote a few hundred gold to it?""
⚠ When This Makes Sense
250 gold feels huge, but the -10 happiness from NO is often harder to recover than gold
Tax Border Merchants
Situational""Since we opened our borders, trade from our caravans has increased dramatically. Do you wish to tax the merchants?""
⚠ When This Makes Sense
Players default to taxing for gold even when happiness is the real bottleneck
Raise Taxes (Debt Crisis)
Situational""The treasury is empty, my lord/lady. We could raise taxes a bit further, but the people won't like it much. Should we try?""
⚠ When This Makes Sense
It 'fixes' gold but silently damages long-term population/happiness stability
Related Characters
Georgie
The Advisor is the legitimate alternative to demon deals: smaller pain now to avoid long-term collapse.
View guide →Wizard
Stability vs variance: the Advisor keeps you steady, the Wizard adds volatility.
View guide →Witch
Both can be 'utility' characters, but the Advisor is consistent while the Witch has optional moral/trap choices.
View guide →Mason
Advisor events often reference infrastructure created by the Mason (tavern, granary), reinforcing long-term investment play.
View guide →