Kingslocke Rules: Third Revised Edition

Welcome once again, trainers, to what I think I can confidently say is the dumbest and most convoluted Pokémon challenge run on the internet. And that’s a Pokémaniacal guarantee: if you think you can find one that’s worse, show it to me and I’ll think of a way to make this one even stupider. This thing is already based on a tarot deck and the rules to a complicated drinking game; do you think I’m afraid to somehow blend it with strip poker, Japanese chess and Mornington Crescent? Try me, I fµ¢£ing dare you.

Welcome… to the Kingslocke.

This is the Third Revised Edition of the rules, which incorporates changes inspired by my recent run of Black 2 and the simultaneous runs of Black 2 and White 2 by Josh and Tanner of the EXP. Share podcast. The changes in this edition are mostly aimed at making the rules smoother, more consistent and easier to understand: I’ve tried to present the most important information first, use more keywords with consistent meanings, and make the whole package less intimidating and easier to navigate using collapsible sections and clickable links. However, there are also some “balance” changes and several new rulings for corner cases. Design notes and commentary on the changes will be available soon; if you’re interested in the Kingslocke’s history and design, you can also look at the First and Second Revised Editions, the Ur-Rules and my fully documented runs of Pearl and Black 2. If you just want to play this ridiculous thing… read on.

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Kingslocke Rules: Second Revised Edition

[June 3, 2022: These rules are now superseded by the Third Revised Edition. If you’re looking to start a new Kingslocke, you should probably go there; I’ve put a lot of work into making it more consistent and hopefully easier to work with. If you’re on this page because you’re continuing a run in progress, it’s probably safest to keep using this version.]

Tremble, mortals, and despair, for the Second Revised Edition of the Kingslocke Rules has come to this world.

For those wishing to know the history of this most bat$#!t of all Pokémon challenge runs, see the intro to the First Revised Edition, which remains available here. You can see those rules in action in my recently-completed run of Pearl, which inspired the changes in this edition; you can also read the Ur-Rules here. If you want to know more about the Second Revised Edition and my thought process behind some of the changes, scroll down to the second half of this post. If you just want to try playing a Kingslocke, read on…

You will need:

A Pokémon game
A deck of tarot cards (or a simulation thereof)
An observer to the game, willing to occasionally provide custom rules (optional, but recommended)
Sanity and a willingness to sacrifice it

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Revisiting Pokémon Pearl: The Kingslocke

As we all know, Timey Diamond and Spacey Pearl are coming out in a little over a month, with Legends: Arceus following early next year. I feel like revisiting Sinnoh, so I want to do a playthrough of the original Pearl version – but not just any playthrough. I think it’s time to revisit the dumbest Pokémon challenge run ever devised: the Kingslocke.

This is a challenge run I created with basically two aims in mind:

That it be more forgiving than a Nuzlocke, with mostly temporary penalties and consequences, as well as fewer unwinnable scenarios, but also…
That it be absolutely bat-fµ¢£ insane and require the player to rethink their party and strategy constantly.

In pursuit of these goals, Jim the Editor and I developed a challenge ruleset where the player would regularly draw from a normal deck of playing cards, with each card changing the rules. The effects of the different cards are very loosely based on a popular drinking game that we call “Circle of Death” in New Zealand (because, at least in our version, the cards are arranged in a big circle around a vessel in the middle of the table), but which is more commonly known in America as “Kings” or “King’s Cup,” hence the name “Kingslocke.” You don’t have to drink to play with these rules, but to be honest you probably should.

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Tired of Nuzlockes? Try this bull$#!t

Jim the Editor and I created a convoluted rule system loosely based on the drinking game Circle of Death (more commonly known as “Kings” in America) for a Pokémon challenge that is more forgiving than a traditional Nuzlocke but nonetheless causes all kinds of random fμ¢&ery. You need a deck of cards (or a simulation thereof) and draw one every time you enter an area where you expect to see a reasonable amount of fighting (i.e. not just routes with wild Pokémon, but also gyms, Team Evil bases, etc – some judgement calls on what counts will be necessary). Each different card instructs you to do something, as follows: Continue reading “Tired of Nuzlockes? Try this bull$#!t” →