Allegiance: War of Factions

Allegiance: War of Factions Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Layout

Each player has three rows of cards.

Private Holdings Row: Structures and citizens in play reside here.
Defensive Holdings Row: Troops and walls in play reside here.
Wanderer Row: Wanderers in play reside here.

Each player also has three draw piles:

Structure Draw Pile: Undrawn structures are found here.
Personality Draw Pile: Undrawn personalities, items, events, and invocations are found here.
Wanderer Draw Pile: Undrawn wanderers are found here.

Each draw pile has its own discard pile. Players also need a spot for their personal influence tokens and a place for dead/destroyed unique cards.

Tokens and Counters

Influence tokens are used to bring cards into play, use some abilities, and so on. You may take less influence tokens than required by an ability. Influence tokens may not be traded or given away to prevent their loss from your personal influence pool.

Counters are used to track the effects of certain cards and abilities. The colors for tokens and counters are:

Blue: religious influence token
Black: political influence token
Yellow: economic influence token
Red: wound counter
Clear: general counter

City's Influence Pool

The city's influence pool is the measure of resources the city has to offer. If a card requires a player to draw from the city's influence pool and no tokens remain in it they simply are not able to do so. All influence token costs are paid to the city's influence pool unless otherwise directed in the card text. Since all players share this pool it is generally placed in the middle of the play area. Influence tokens without an owner return to the city's influence pool.

Personal Influence Pool

Each player has his own personal influence pool from which he purchases new structures, pays for his personalities' abilities and so on. Keep wound and general counters available here as well.

Important Concepts

Wheeling and Dealing

Allegiance promotes wheeling and dealing. Need more tokens? Trade for them, beg for them, make promises. The only rule regarding this is that all communication is public and only tokens may be traded. Need someone to leave you alone? Pay them off. It's all part of the game... just remember, words and promises are not binding. Just because a player has made an action doesn't mean it has to occur. You are free to wheel-and-deal to get them to change their decision. Negotiations, however, must begin immediately after the action is declared.

As an optional rule, if all players agree before the game begins, cards in play (except for wanderers) may be traded between players during the City Maintenance Phase after you check for victory.

Deck Building Rules

Allegiance allows players to build their own customized card decks from their own collection. The following are the rules for building your own deck:

After purchasing initial holdings each player must have at least fifteen cards in each of their structure and personality draw piles.
Each wanderer draw pile must consist of no less than three wanderers multiplied by the number of players.
No more than two of a single card can be used in a deck.

Draw Pile Recycling

If the last card of a draw pile has been drawn the discard pile may be recycled for a cost of 5 influence tokens. Reshuffle it and have another player cut it. Wanderer piles recycle for free.

Exhaustion

Some abilities cause a card to exhaust which is shown by turning the card about 45 degrees. Exhausted cards may only use abilities which do not require them to exhaust.

Factions

Each personality in the city belongs to a specific faction and each faction has a primary influence type. The three factions are:

The Glory of Kalim (religious influence)
House Mosfin (political influence)
The Veteran's Guild (economic influence)

I Forgot!

Forgetting to use a card or ability or modify something is part of the game. Once your turn to act passes you may no longer go back and change the past. Breaking the rules by forgetting is not allowed.

Moving Cards

During the City Maintenance phase items and personalities may be moved freely between your private and defensive holdings. Only troops may be placed in the defensive holdings row. Outside of this phase pay 3 influence tokens to move a personality.

Playing and Removing Cards

To play a card simply pay all of its costs. All cards are brought into play un-exhausted and may only be played to your own play area. A player may at any time release any card of his in play, except for wanderers, by placing it in the appropriate discard pile. A player may not release a card during combat or to prevent it from being killed/destroyed.

Timing

Once an action has begun it must be resolved before another action begins. Actions include everything but trading tokens, releasing cards from play, and wheeling and dealing.

Unique Cards

There are several types of unique cards in Allegiance. All uniques are marked with the unique symbol (#17) and only one of each unique may be in play at a time. If a unique card is played which is already in play, the previous copy along with any attached cards is immediately placed into its owner's discard pile. Any tokens and counters on a unique card are transferred with the ownership. In the case of a unique wanderer a replacement must be drawn for the discarded wanderer. If a unique card is killed or destroyed it is placed in its owner's dead pile and may no longer be brought into play by any player so long as it remains in the dead pile.

Card Types

There are six types of cards: Structures, Personalities, Wanderers, Items, Invocations, and Events. The following chart shows the location of each part of the card.

Card Anatomy

Card Name: the name of the card.
Abilities: the card's abilities.
Quotation: flavor text for the card.
Race and Gender, or Type: the card's race and gender, or type.
Profession: the profession of the card.
Offense: the offensive ability of the card (#6).
Defense: the defensive ability of the card (#7).
Faction: the faction the card belongs to (#8, the faction shield).
Economic Cost: economic influence cost to bring the card into play (#9).
Religious Cost: religious influence cost to bring the card into play (#10).
Political Cost: political influence cost to bring the card into play (#11).
Faction Influence: the card's faction influence.
Vitality: the number of wounds the card can take before dying (#13).
Economic/Military Strength: the economic/military strength or strength requirement of this card (#14).

Stone Border Cards

All stone border cards are structures. They fall into three categories:

General Structures

Identify by: Stone column border.
When playable: Initial Holdings, Action and Development Phase.
Where played: Your Private Holdings.
Cost to play: Generic cost (#20).

The residency icon shows how many citizens may live in this structure (#19).

Walls

Identify by: #19 is a shield, not a house.
When playable: Initial Holdings, Action and Development Phase.
Where played: Your Defensive Holdings.
Cost to play: Generic cost (#20).

Walls are only used when your holdings are attacked. Walls do not have residencies, but rather the shield icon shows the number of enemy attackers which must be assigned to the wall during combat before any other assignments are made. Only one wall may be in play per player.

Strongholds

Identify by: Only structure with a vitality (#13).
When playable: Initial Holdings.
Where played: Your Private Holdings.
Cost to play: Generic cost (#20).

The stronghold is the home of the player--if it is destroyed the player loses. A player must have one and only one stronghold which is part of their initial holdings. Strongholds are the only structure with a vitality (#13) and may not be healed.

Metallic Border Cards

Metallic border cards fall into four categories:

Personalities

Personalities are easily identified by the faction shield (#8). There are two types of personalities. They are:

Citizens

Identify by: Have an offense and defense of 0 (#6, #7).
When playable: Action and Development Phase.
Where played: Must be played on a structure of yours with an open residence (#19).
Cost to play: Economic, religious and political cost (#9, #10, #11).

If a citizen loses his residence he must immediately be placed on an empty residence at no cost or into the discard pile. If no open residence remains the citizen can replace another citizen who will go to the discard pile instead. A citizen may never gain offense or defense nor participate in battle.

Troops

Identify by: Have an offense and defense greater than 0 (#6, #7).
When playable: Action and Development Phase.
Where played: Your Defensive Holdings or on a structure of yours as a guard (see Guards).
Cost to play: Economic, religious and political cost (#9, #10, #11).

May be used in combat to attack or defend.

Items

Identify by: No gem icons on top right side of card.
When playable: Action and Development Phase.
Where played: Items must be attached beneath another card of yours when brought into play. Generally an item is attached to personality unless otherwise directed in their text. Items may not be played on machines unless otherwise directed by the card.
Cost to play: Economic, religious and political cost (#9, #10, #11).

During combat, a troop may only use one weapon, one armor, and one shield. The effects of an item last for the phase in which it is used unless otherwise noted on the card. Items may be transferred among your own holdings during the City Maintenance Phase. If the card the item is attached to leaves play the item is discarded.

Invocations

Identify by: Blue strength requirement gem (#15) is only gem icon on top right side.
When playable: Action and Development Phase.
Where played: Invocations must be attached beneath a personality of yours with a religious strength equal to or greater than the invocation's religious strength requirement.
Cost to play: Economic, religious and political cost (#9, #10, #11).

Invocations are permanent additions to a personality and may not be moved. Invocations fall into two categories: general, and Kalim. General invocations may be used by any personality which meets the religious strength requirement. Kalim invocations may only be used by Glory of Kalim faction members. To use an invocation already attached to a personality, pay the costs listed in the text. Exhausted personalities may not use invocations.

Events

Identify by: Yellow economic/military strength requirement gem (#14) is only gem icon on top right side.
When playable: Depends on type. General--any phase except City Maintenance; battle--during combat; interrupt--in response to another player's event.
Where played: Events generally are discarded after use.
Cost to play: Economic, religious and political cost (#9, #10, #11).

There are three types of events: general, battle, and interrupt. Battle events require a troop with sufficient economic/military strength to be on the battlefield in order to be used (#14).

Wood Border Cards

Wood border cards are always wanderers.

Wanderers

Identify by: Wood border.
When playable: Wanderer Phase.
Where played: Your Wanderer Row.
Cost to play: None.

Wanderers are beings who are not fully controlled by any player including monsters, bandits, and other creatures. If a wanderer has any abilities the player currently controlling it may use them. When a player kills a wanderer he receives a bounty (#24) from the city's influence pool. The bounty can be made of any token type. Wanderers cannot be given any items or invocations, but any player may bolster them during battle by using abilities, events, and/or invocations.

Setup

Each player begins with 4 each of economic, religious, and political tokens in their personal influence pool which can be used to purchase their initial holdings.

Initial Holdings

Before beginning play each player must purchase initial holdings (using their 12 starting influence tokens) from their structure draw deck including: a stronghold, two or less zero cost structures, as may other non-unique structures desired. After selecting initial holdings re-shuffle your remaining structures to use as your structure draw pile.

All players simultaneously reveal their initial holdings, pay the costs from their starting influence, and cut the decks of the player to the left. Keep your remaining influence tokens in your personal influence pool.

Victory

To gain victory one of the following criteria must be met:

You have enough faction influence (25 points) to claim dominance. Add the faction influence of all your personalities together. In addition, if you have five or more members from the same faction in your play area you may also add the tokens from your personal pool which match their primary influence type (see Factions) to your total. Players may ask you at any time what your influence victory total is. For a shorter game or if this is your first game of Allegiance you may want to play to a total of 15 or 20.
All other players' strongholds are destroyed.

Losing the Game

A player loses the game when another player has the required amount of influence at the beginning of a new round or when his stronghold is destroyed. All players lose immediately if the number of wanderers in play is greater than three times the player count. A player may surrender at any time. All cards of a player whose stronghold has been destroyed go to the discard piles and are removed from play while their influence tokens and counters remain in play.

Order of Play

The player with the most influence tokens in his personal pool at the beginning of each round is called the lead player. If a tie exists resolve it by rolling a die--highest die roll is the lead player. The five phases in each round are:

City Maintenance Phase
Action and Development Phase
Military Phase
Wanderer Phase
Discard Phase

City Maintenance Phase

Check to see if you have achieved victory before performing the steps below. If no player has won then all players simultaneously perform the remaining steps of this phase.

Un-exhaust all cards.
Move any personalities (both citizens and troops) in your holdings freely.
Transfer items among your holdings.
If using the optional trading cards rule, trade cards already in play with another player.
Draw one card at a time from your structure and or personality draw pile, viewing the new card in between draws, until you hold seven cards in your hand.

Action and Development Phase

Starting with the lead player and rotating left each player performs one of the following actions:

Use one ability of a card in your play area.
Bring one card into play from your hand paying any required costs.
Pass: make no action.

A player may, if appropriate, use an ability marked as a reaction to interrupt another player's action--this does not count as their action. Following this the cycle continues where it left off as normal. This cycle continues until all players pass in sequence, ending the phase.

Military Phase

Starting with the lead player and rotating left each player has three options during the Military Phase:

Declare an attack against another player's holdings.
Declare a hunt against a single wanderer row (including his own). The hunting player selects which wanderers from a single wanderer row he wishes to engage in combat.
Pass: make no combat engagement.

If a player elects to make an attack use the rules under the Combat section. After each player has performed one of these three options, this phase ends.

Wanderer Phase

The lead player begins by performing ALL three steps of the wanderer phase. After he is finished the player to his left performs them and so on until every player has had a wanderer phase.

Roll for each un-exhausted wanderer in your Wanderer Row. On a roll equal to or less than the wanderer's aggression rating it has become aggressive and is moved to the battlefield. If one or more of your wanderers are aggressive all players roll a die. The player rolling the highest score is attacked by the wanderer(s) as if the wanderer(s) had just declared an attack. Wanderers CAN attack their owner.

If your wanderers attack another player then you control all wanderers during the combat. If they attack you then the player to your left controls all wanderers. Resolve the wanderer combat using the rules under the Combat section.
Following step 1, for each unexhausted wanderer in your Wanderer Row pay a fine of one influence token to the city's influence pool or place one card from your play area--excluding wanderers--in the discard pile.
Draw a new wanderer card from your wanderer pile and place it face up and unexhausted on your wanderers row.

Discard Phase

All players simultaneously perform these steps:

Check for any counters affecting your cards in play. Resolve the effects of these counters.
Up to 3 cards may be discarded from your hand.
Whether or not a player discards he must then state that he is done. Start the next round.

Combat

A combat not involving wanderers may be ended at any time if both players agree to cease combat. Once a combat has been declared players may no longer use any abilities until the combat modification step.

Important Combat Concepts

Assignments. During combat cards are given assignments (see diagram A). Once assigned a card cannot change its assignment. If a card is assigned to an unassigned card these cards are considered to be assigned to each other. Both cards will attack and defend against one another. If a card is attacked by more than one grouping it will defend itself against all attacks but will still only attack its first assignment. There are two types of assignments: separate and joint.

Separate Attacks. Separate attacks allow for more than one wound to be scored against a target. To make a separate attack simply place an unassigned attacker facing its target. See diagram B for a normal separate attack and see diagram C for a separate attack being made against a joint attacker. Separate attacks can be strengthened by a joint attacker. Any number of separate attacks may occur against a target.

Joint Attacks. Adding another troop or wanderer to a separate attack creates a joint attack. Doing this increases the chance of scoring a wound. Joint attackers are placed behind the lead troop/wanderer/structure and their offenses are added together against the target (see diagram C). Each troop still defends individually and must be individually targeted. If a troop capable of attacking or defending multiple targets is aided by another troop, the aiding troop can only assist in the combat to which it was assigned. The group as a whole makes one combat die roll--a bonus to offense is added to the group's total offense while a bonus to defense is added to each card individually. A joint attack may include any number of attackers.

Death and Destruction

If a personality, wanderer, or stronghold's wounds are equal to or greater than its vitality then it is killed/destroyed. If a structure (other than a stronghold) is wounded it is destroyed. If the card is unique it is placed on the dead pile; otherwise the card is discarded to the appropriate pile.

Exhaustion at the Battle

Each troop exhausted before combat is declared may only be sent to the battlefield after paying three influence tokens. After a combat has been declared if a troop or structure becomes exhausted it may still move as normal to the battlefield and be assigned to a combat. If an exhausted troop, structure, or wanderer is involved in a battle its offense is 0 and may not be increased.

Guards

Troops residing on a structure are considered guards and add their offense and defense to the structure in battle, even if the structure is exhausted. Guards do not use up a residency. If their structure is destroyed in combat they take a wound and return to the defensive holdings. If it is otherwise removed from play they simply return to the defensive holdings. Guards may not assign during combat but may be targeted.

Valor Influence Gains

If a troop of yours kills another lord's troop, take influence tokens from that lord equal to the defeated troop's faction influence.

Order of Attack

Declaration
Movement
Assignments
Modification
Combat Resolution
End battle

Declaration. Declare an attack against a target player or wanderer row.

Movement. There are two types of movement:

Player vs. Player and Wanderer Attack Movement:
- Attacker moves all desired troops of his (or the attacking wanderers) to the battlefield.
- Defender moves his wall (if in play) and all desired troops of his to the battlefield.
- Move any support troops joining other troops to the battlefield.
Player vs. Wanderer ("The Hunt") Movement:
- Attacker moves all desired troops of his to the battlefield.
- Defender moves his hunted wanderers to the battlefield.
- Move any support troops joining other troops to the battlefield.

Assignments. Perform these steps in order:

If a wall is present the attacking lord or wanderer group must assign troops/wanderers to the wall until the wall's block capacity is filled or he has no further troops/wanderers on the battlefield to assign.
Starting with the attacking player each side takes turns making one assignment. For your turn select one of your unassigned troops/wanderers and make one of the following assignments:
- If you are the attacker:
  - Make separate attack.
  - Make joint attack.
  - Target structure (in a separate or joint attack) if no defending troops remain unassigned.
- If you are the defender:
  - Make separate attack.
  - Make joint attack.

When no further troops/wanderers are without assignment this step is finished.

Modification. Starting with the attacking player and rotating left each player can use one ability or event which immediately modifies the combat until no player wishes to further modify the combat. An immediate modification is something which affects a troop, wanderer, or structure's ability to attack, defend, or participate in combat. Reaction abilities may also be used.

Combat Resolution. To resolve a combat players make one die roll for each separate and joint attack. The die roll has these benefits:

Die Roll	1	2	3	4	5	6
Effect	+1 offense	+2 offense	no change	no change	+1 defense	+2 defense

This die roll affects the troop, wanderer, or structure for all the engagements it participates in during this combat.

If the offense of the separate or joint attack is greater than the defense of the target then the target takes a wound. Place a wound counter on the target and exhaust it.

There are three phases to the combat resolution. Resolve the combat phases in this order:

Ranged attacks.
Fleetfoot attacks.
All other attacks.

A wounded troop/wanderer/structure will still strike back if it was wounded during its own attack phase.

End Combat. Place any dead/destroyed cards in their appropriate pile. All remaining troops (except guards) return to the defensive holdings; wanderers return to the wanderer row. Be sure to return troops, wanderers, and strongholds which took a wound as exhausted. The combat is now over.

Abilities

Many cards have abilities which may be used during any phase. Abilities are limited by the following ability rules:

Ability Cycle

Players may use abilities during any phase. Any time an ability is used outside of the Action and Development phase a cycle begins. If two or more players wish to use an ability at the same time, all players will vote to determine which ability happens first. In the case of a tie, high die roll wins. After a player uses an ability the player to his left has the next "right" to use an ability and so on until no player wishes to use another ability.

Exhausting Abilities

Many abilities require their card to exhaust. These are marked by the letter "E" preceding the ability. Abilities which do not have an "E" before them can be used even if the card is exhausted. Exhausting abilities may require other cards to exhaust as well.

Faction Abilities

Some personalities have abilities which are only available when their faction has enough members in play among all players' cards. These abilities are marked by an "F" in parenthesis followed by the number of faction members which need to be in play to use this ability.

Common Abilities Defined

All common abilities fall into one of four categories. They are: political (P), religious (R), military (M) and general (G).

Armor (M): The fierce ability does not affect this troop or wanderer.
Berserk (G): Characters which have the berserk ability are able to initiate a second round of combat with a different target. If bearer's first combat was on the battlefield the new target must also be on the battlefield. If the first combat was against a target in the private holdings the new target must also be from the private holdings. Treat this new round as a completely new combat in which only troops with berserk can make assignments.
Bribery (G): Bearer returns home immediately from the combat. Bribes should be paid before assignments are made. Bribes remain on bearer and are collected in addition to any normal bounty when the card is killed. The influence cost to bribe a wanderer is its bounty, while a troop's cost is his faction influence (or one token, if he has no faction influence).
Campaign (P): Collect political influence from the city's influence pool up to bearer's political strength.
Charge (M): Reduce the defense of bearer by 1 to increase the offense by 1. This may be done once for each point of economic/military strength bearer has.
Climb (G): If a troop with climb is assigned to a wall he may elect, after all wall assignments have been made, to climb past the wall and make a new assignment with another troop or structure.
Crusade (R): Exhaust target troop.
Debate (P, Reaction): Negate a political ability just played. Bearer must have a political strength equal to or greater than the personality who used the political ability. Debate may be debated. A single personality may only be involved in a particular debate once.
Defender (G): Bearer may fight two enemies. Bearer may choose two unassigned troops or wanderers if not yet assigned or one additional troop/wanderer if already assigned to a single assignment. A defender can wound both of his assignments.