The Porcelain Throne is a unique card with its own set of rules. It is never shuffled into the deck.

The Porcelain Throne card begins the game uncontrolled — in the center of the table, not claimed by any Character.

In the course of play, anytime a card with a story icon is played, the Throne transfers to the Character with the newest icon. That Character is now the Monarch and is worth −30 Self-Worth points. The player who controls the Monarch may play Untimely Death cards as their second action, but only on opponents’ Characters, not their own.

For example, you play Learned a Lineage on Ceriously Bannister. Ceriously is now the Monarch and she now has −60 Self-Worth points (−30 from Learned a Lineage, and −30 from the Porcelain Throne).

Place the Throne near the Monarch so everyone can see to whom it belongs. You enjoy its effects for as long as you control it.

If the Monarch is killed, return the Throne to the center of the table. If that death ends the game, however, that Character is the final Monarch and retains the Throne and the −30 Self-Worth points.

If the Monarch is still alive when the game ends, that Character scores −30 points for the Throne, even though living Characters usually can’t score any points.

Because of its transitory negative points, the Porcelain Throne can result in dead Characters with positive scores.

The Porcelain Throne card is optional: A less complicated version of Gloom of Thrones can be played by leaving it out entirely. If you do play a game without the Throne, discard and replace any card you might draw — like Played The Game, Did Not Win — whose effect refers to the Throne or Monarch.