When successfully conquering enemy facilities, you get the spoils of war, including the option of what to do with the captured officers. You can imprison them, and use them in an exchange, try to employ them (although some will refuse), let them go, or execute them. Another benefit is the ability to use that facility to replenish your army in food, gold to pay the officers, and spend some time to build up their "will" (which impacts their effectiveness in battle, and decreases over time and based on performance). Another neat touch is that you can transport supplies from facility to facility, so if you're running low on gold to pay your officers, which may impact their loyalty to you, you can route gold from one of your cities that has a market to the facility housing those units. Or, you could simply sell some food for gold, and pay that way. Again, there are lots of options, but all take time, so planning and resource management are key!
Another twist to the typical turn-based strategy affair is the possibility of duels and debates. Duels can occur under certain circumstances, for example when you attack an enemy's cavalry unit with one of your cavalry units, or when trying to recruit an officer to join your cause. Basically, it's turn-based horseback combat on rails, as you choose your strategies based on your officer's strengths against the opponent, and watch the action unfold. You do have the option to turn off duels, so you don't have to participate at all. Debates can occur when recruiting officers or when using diplomacy. They are really nothing more than a turn-based card game acted out on podiums. It reminds me of Magic: The Gathering, except the monsters are replaced by conversation topics, like logic, facts, and time. Yes, it's as exciting as it sounds.
Lastly, you have the option of creating your own officers, and choosing whether or not to play with historical accuracy. In other words, you can create your own fiction within the RTK context, if you prefer. There are over 170 character models, including women, and multiple choices for attire.
I love history. I love a good story. I love a good game based on history, a good story, or both. The problem with RTK is that the scenarios take too long to complete. Even the tutorial takes a few hours. Amassing armies and resources takes an incredible amount of turns, and each turn can take several minutes as you plot the minutiae of each facility and unit in your kingdom. Expect to spend several hours with each of the scenarios (there's over twenty), as there's just no quick way to get to the battle action. Fortunately, you can save at any time during the campaign. I love resource management as well, but RTK is just overkill. It's definitely for the hardcore fans of the story, or of turn-based strategy games in general, only. Casual gamers beware; it's just not worth the investment of time.
