Banish the Snakes: A Game of St. Patrick in Ireland Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 2. Game Contents
  • Block and disk sizes
  • Applying the Stickers from the Label Sheets
  • Card Overview
• 3. The Game Board
• 4. Game Setup
• 5. The Player Turn
  • 5.1 Resolve an Event Card
  • 5.2 Play Actions
  • 5.3 Pass the Turn Marker
  • Historical Note
• 6. Event Cards
• 7. Paganism in Great Britain
• 8. Removing/Replacing People
• 9. Removing/Replacing Leaders
• 10. Actions
  • 10.1 Prepare & Convert Actions
  • 10.2 Move Actions
  • 10.3 Build & Improve Churches
  • 10.4 Give or Take Cards
  • 10.5 Make a Relic
  • 10.6 Final Effort
• 11. Death
• 12. Game End
• 13. Results
• 14. Levels of Play
  • Beginner Level
  • Advanced Level
• 15. Solitaire Play
• 16. Credits
• Key Terms Index
• Convert Attempts Player Aid [10.1]
  • Modifiers

2. Game Contents

• 1 Banish the Snakes Rule Booklet
• 1 Banish the Snakes Play Booklet
• 1 Game Board
• 91 Playing Cards
  • 64 Event Cards
  • 12 At Start Saint Cards
  • 9 Gift of the Spirit Cards
  • 6 Player Aid Cards
• 6 Player Mats
• 6 Player Pawns
• 1 Custom Player Turn Marker
• 1 six-sided Custom Die
• 2 Block/Disk Label sheets
• 150 Wood Pieces
  • 95 Small blocks for People, Druids, Leaders, Grave/Relics
  • 4 Small blocks for tracking Paganism in Great Britain
  • 6 Medium blocks for the High King and Province Kings
  • 8 Disks for Dolmens
  • 18 Disks for Player Mats (3 per Player)
  • 8 Disks (Level 0 Church)
  • 6 Cubes (Level 1 Church)
  • 4 Small Buildings (Level 2 Church)
  • 1 Large Building (Level 3 Church "Cathedral")

Note: Some spare blocks and stickers are included.

Block and disk sizes

• 16x16x8mm blocks: People/Druids/Leaders/Grave & Relics/Markers
• 21x21x8mm blocks: Kings
• 15x4mm disks: Dolmens/Markers

Applying the Stickers from the Label Sheets

Apply the appropriate stickers to the front (and back if required) of the blocks for each group.

Note: The Leader and Paganism blocks have specific pairings (reference the arrows on the sticker sheets). Make sure to match up the correct labels together on the same block.

• Place the Pagan People and Christian Flock labels (decorative only - optional) on the small green blocks.
• Place the Druid and Holly symbol labels (decorative only - optional) on the small red blocks.
• Place the Pagan and Christian Leader labels on the small blue blocks.
• Place the Relics and Grave labels on the small light blue blocks.
• Place the High King labels on the medium purple blocks–the High King has two blocks (one side only).
• Place the Province King labels on the medium gold blocks (one side only).
• Place the Pagan and Christian status labels on the small natural blocks for each region in Great Britain.
• Place the Paganism label on the small natural block (one side only).
• Place the Dolmen labels on the yellow disks (one side only).

Card Overview

The deck includes At Start Saint Cards, Event Cards, and Gift of the Spirit Cards.

3. The Game Board

The game board shows a map of Ireland in the 5th century. There are four Provinces (the same as today) but no counties yet. Each Province is divided into two or three Areas. There are places for People (various numbers in each Area), Druids (one in each Area), Chiefs (one in each Area), Kings (one in each Province) and the High King, at Tara. There is a diagram of Great Britain, divided into Scotland, Strathclyde and England. There were many more divisions within Great Britain at this time, but they have been simplified into those three. A marker is provided to keep track of the steady decline of Roman civilization in Great Britain.

4. Game Setup

Place the Advance of Paganism indicator in Great Britain in the At Start box [A]. Then, place each of the three Paganism markers in their respective boxes (Scotland, Strathclyde and England) Christian-side up [B].

Randomly place one People marker in each of the People boxes on the board, Pagan side up [C]. After placing, arrange them in each Area in number order, lowest on the left to highest on the right. Place the remaining People to the side, Pagan side down [C1].

Place all of the Leader markers in an opaque container. Randomly place a Leader in all of the Chief boxes on the board, and on the King and High King seats, all Pagan side up (without looking at the other side) [D].

Randomly place a Druid marker—with its numbered side down—in each of the Druid/Church boxes on the board [E]. Place the remaining Druids to the side, with their numbered sides face down [F].

Place the Churches [G], Dolmens [H], and Grave/Relics (Relic side down) [I] in piles to the side, ready to enter the game. Place the Gift of the Spirit cards [J] to the side, ready to enter the game. These can be examined by the players at any time.

Remove the Event Cards that say "from Scotland", "from Strathclyde" and "from England" in their titles, and place them in three separate decks on their respective locations at the Great Britain diagram [K]. They will be shuffled into the Draw Deck when their respective regions turn Pagan.

Place the "Arthur, King of the Britons" card in the Key Card location on the board [L]. This card will be used to determine the first Event, and then is placed with the Scotland cards to be shuffled into the deck at a later time.

Set aside the twelve "Deck" Saint Cards (see below). Place the remaining Event Cards on the Draw Deck location on the game board [M].

Each player takes a Player Aid Card and Player Mat with matching colored pawn and marker disks [N]. Players then receive one of the At Start Saint Cards. This can either be one of the historically correct saints that joined Patrick in his mission to Ireland, or one of the Saints that showed up later. These can be chosen by the players, or drawn randomly. It is recommended that you play your first game with the historic Saints. Place your Saint card on your player mat in your "Place active Saint card here" box [O]. Return the other At Start Saints back to the box—they will not be used this game.

Choose six Saint cards for the Draw Deck. These must be Deck cards, not At Start Saint Cards. Any Saint that is starting the game can not also be added to the Draw Deck! All players should come to a consensus as to which cards will be added, or (if all of the At Start Saints are Historic) simply add the six Historic Deck cards. Return the other Deck Saints back to the box—they will not be used this game. Shuffle the six chosen deck Saint cards with the other Event cards, and place them face-down on the Draw Deck location on the map.

Place your Zeal marker disk in the far left box of your Zeal track (except Patrick and Palladius), and your Action Points marker on the 4 square (except Auxilius). Each player picks an Area in Ireland to place their pawn (except Palladius, who begins in Eoganacht).

If Patrick starts in the game, his Zeal marker begins one square to the right. If Palladius starts in the game, his Zeal marker begins two squares to the right; also flip the leftmost People marker in Eoganacht to its Flock side. Palladius has been busy!

Play is ready to begin. Palladius goes first, unless he is not in the game, and then Patrick goes first. If neither is in the game, players can roll the die to see which Player's Saint goes first. Give the Turn Marker [P] to that player; play will proceed clockwise from there.

5. The Player Turn

Each player's turn consists of resolving an Event Card and taking Actions:

5.1 Resolve an Event Card

Draw the top Event Card from the Draw Deck, read the card's title, and resolve any directives written under the card's title. Most Event Cards have multiple Events. The Event that will be played depends on how the Event Card matches the arrow, bars and colors in the Current Card location. Place the card in the Current Card location. The arrow on the Key Card will align with the bars on the newly drawn Event Card. The colors will match, too. Resolve the Event indicated. After resolving the Event, place the Key Card on top of the Discard Pile.

(Except on the first turn, when the "Arthur, King of the Britons" card is used to determine the first Event and then placed with the Scotland Cards.) Then move the Current Card to the Key Card location. It will be used to determine the next card's Event.

Figure 1 shows the layout: Discard Pile and Draw Deck are on the board; each Event Card carries a Color Bar, a Color Arrow, a Card No., Card Title, Card Directive, and Event(s); the currently active pairing is the Key Card and the Current Card.

5.2 Play Actions

The player then takes their Actions [10.0]. At first, everyone (except Auxilius) has 4 Actions. This will be reduced as your Saint loses Zeal (due to failed Actions and Events).

The Player Aid Card lists the Actions that can be taken by a player. These include moving, building churches, giving or taking cards from other players, creating Relics, and a Final Effort. But the most important Actions are the Convert Action and the Prepare (or Evangelize) Action.

Players may use the Action Points track on their Player Mat to keep track of their Actions. Simply start their turn with the marker on the numbered box corresponding to the number of Actions they will have this turn—as indicated on their Zeal track. Move the marker down one box each time an Action is taken, until you are down to zero Actions (see Figure 2).

5.3 Pass the Turn Marker

When a player has completed their Actions, pass the Turn Marker to the next player (clockwise) for their turn.

Historical Note

Historical Notes appear throughout the booklet to give background on the events and figures represented by the cards.

6. Event Cards

When resolving a card, use the Event on the card that lines up with the arrow from the Key Card. Other Events are ignored. Note that for some cards, there is only one Event, so it doesn't matter where the arrow on the Key Card is located. Resolve the Event before continuing the player's turn.

There are specific kinds of Event Cards that can be saved for future use by a player. Keeper cards include: Saint cards, cards that say "save this card" or Gift of the Spirit cards. They are the only cards with no colored arrow on the right-hand side of the card. Instead of playing an event, tuck the Card partially under your Player Mat in the designated places.

Note: it is especially important to tuck Saint cards with the top of the card hidden, since their abilities can not be used until they become your Active Saint (except the Deck version of Columba) (see Figure 3, Keeper Card Examples).

When playing with four to six players, only two Keeper cards can be saved by each player. Solitaire, two and three player games allow three Keeper cards to be saved. If you have already saved the maximum number of cards and you draw another, you must discard one of the cards—either one of the cards you have already saved, or the card you have just drawn.

7. Paganism in Great Britain

Great Britain begins the game entirely Christian. When an Event Card that advances Paganism in Great Britain is drawn, advance the Paganism marker one (or two) box(es). The first such card will advance the marker to the "Scotland Pagan" square. Flip the Scotland marker to its Pagan side, and shuffle the Scotland Event cards into the Draw Deck (see Figure 4).

When the Paganism marker advances to the "Strathclyde Pagan" box, do the same with the Strathclyde marker and the Strathclyde Event cards. When the marker reaches the "England Pagan" box, do the same with England's marker and cards.

The "Arthur: King of the Britons" Event Card will move the Paganism marker back one box. If the marker happens to move back across a boundary, don't remove the Event Cards recently added to the deck, and no cards are added later, when the Paganism marker re-crosses the boundary.

Note: the game ends the instant that the Advance of Paganism indicator reaches the Game Ends box. See the Game End section [12.0].

8. Removing/Replacing People

Pagan People will be converted to Christian Flock during the course of the game. When an Event calls for you to Replace a People marker in an Area, remove Flock first. Remove the Flock furthest to the right if there is more than one. If there are no Flock to remove, then remove Pagan People. Always remove the lowest-numbered (furthest to the left) Pagan People in the Area. Replace the removed People with randomly drawn Pagan People, and place them in numerical order in the Area. When a card calls for People and Leaders to be removed and replaced, always replace the People first.

9. Removing/Replacing Leaders

Certain Event Cards require the removal of Leaders: Chiefs, Kings and the High King. When this occurs, all removed Leaders must be replaced according to the following sequence:

• First, remove all of the Leaders called for to be removed by the Event Card and set them aside.
• Then replace all missing Chiefs by randomly drawing a new Leader for each Area with a missing Chief. Place the Chief Christian side up if more than half of the People in the Area are Christian Flock. If there are more Pagans in the Area, or if they are equal, then place the Chief Pagan side up.
• Next replace any missing Kings by selecting one of the Chiefs in their Province: roll the die and compare the result to the numbers listed next to the Chiefs in the Area. Promote the indicated Chief to King.
• Then replace the High King if he was removed by the Event. Roll the die and compare the result to the numbers adjacent to each of the Kings in Ireland. Promote the indicated King to High King.

Replace promoted Chiefs and Kings as described above until all of the Leader spots in Ireland have been refilled. Finally, the removed Leaders that were set aside are returned to the opaque container.

10. Actions

The Actions that can be performed by a player are listed on the Player Aid card. Each action listed takes 1 Action Point to achieve. As you take your Actions, move the marker down on your Action Point Track on your Player Mat.

Actions may be taken in any combination, including doing the same Action consecutively (except see [10.3] below).

Actions may only be taken in Areas where your Saint token is located. This includes Converting People, Druids and Chiefs, Building and Improving Churches, Making Relics, and a Final Effort. Converting Kings can be attempted from any Area of the King's Province. Converting the High King must be attempted in the Southern Ui Neill Area. Prepare (or Evangelize) must occur in the same Area as the Convert attempt.

10.1 Prepare & Convert Actions

Ireland was governed by a network of relationships. The people were influenced by their Chief and Druid, while the hierarchy of leaders were influenced by their superiors and the Druids. Druids were influenced by no one but their own faith! See the Influence Diagram for a guide to these relationships.

Each Convert attempt costs 1 Action point. You may spend Action points to Prepare (or Evangelize) before your Convert attempt. Each Action point spent to Prepare provides a +1 modifier to your attempt. Remember, you must reserve at least one Action point after spending points on Preparation for the Conversion attempt!

The Influence Diagram graphically shows the various modifiers used for Conversion attempts that are generated by items on the map. Note that this diagram does not show modifiers generated by cards, like Saint abilities and Gifts of the Spirit.

The right side of the diagram shows the political hierarchy of the Leaders. The High King in Tara only has influence over the four Province Kings in Ireland. Before you try to convert a King, make sure you account for the High King's influence! Then, each King has influence over the two Chiefs in their Province (or, in the case of the King of Ulster, the three Chiefs). Finally, the Chiefs influence the People in their Area. The Kings have no direct influence over the People—they rule through the Chiefs.

The items in each Area have influence over conversion attempts in that Area. First, there is the Druid/Church box. If there is a face-down Druid in the Area, then other Conversions may not be attempted in that Area—think of his negative influence as infinite! If he is face-up in the box, then he negatively modifies the attempt. If there is a Church in the box, then there can be a positive modifier applied, based on the Level of the Church. Finally, any Relics or Graves in the Area can have positive modifiers, while any Dolmens will provide negative modifiers.

Kings are a special case. They are modified by the worst modifiers in the Areas in their Province. If there is a Druid in one Area in their Province, he will take precedence, and nullify a Church in another Area in their Province. Also, all Relic, Graves and Dolmens in the two (or three) Areas in their Province will count when trying to Convert a King.

The High King is influenced by the items that are with him in the Southern Ui Neill Area: the Druid or Church, and any Relics, Graves or Dolmens.

Unlike People and Leaders, you do not know the value of a Druid when you first try to Convert him. Consider his level of influence to be unlimited. You must commit to the Convert Action (and spend any Prepare Actions) before turning over the Druid marker to find out his value. No other Convert attempts may be made in an Area until the Druid has been removed or his value is known. Kings can not be Converted until all Druids in his Province are removed or known.

You may use the Convert Attempt Slider on your Player Mat to keep track of the modifiers on your Convert attempts. Place your marker on this track on the number of the target piece.

For example, place the marker on the "-3" box when attempting to convert a -3 Pagan People piece.

Slide the marker to the left for all negative influences. For example, if the -3 Pagan People are in an area with a -2 Pagan Chief, slide the marker two boxes to the left to the "-5" box.

Slide the marker to the right for all positive influences. Continuing the above example, if Patrick is attempting the Conversion, slide the marker one space to the right (for his Ability) to the "-4" box. If Patrick spends two Actions to Prepare (Evangelize) twice, then slide the marker two more boxes to the right to the "-2" box.

All players may follow along during this process, using the Convert Attempt Slider on their own Player Mats.

The picture of the die shown below the box where the marker ends during this Conversion attempt is the Minimum Result Needed (MRN). Roll the die:

If the result is equal to the MRN, then there is no effect.

If it is greater than the MRN, then your conversion attempt is successful: flip People and Leaders to their Christian side, and remove Druid markers.

If the result is less than the MRN, then your conversion attempt has failed and you lose one Zeal: move the marker on your Saint's Zeal track (on your Player Mat) one box to the right. Also, if you have failed in your attempt to Convert a Druid, then place one active Dolmen marker in the Area: the Druid's success has revived the power of one of these ancient stone monuments!

If you roll a "6" in any Conversion attempt in an Area containing one (or more) active Dolmens, you can remove one of them.

10.2 Move Actions

You may spend 1 Action to Move your Saint. You may move the Saint's pawn into any adjacent Area. Some Saints have special abilities that allow them to move into non-adjacent Areas for 1 Action.

10.3 Build & Improve Churches

You may spend 1 Action to Build or Improve a Church. You may only Build a new Church in an Area where the Druid has been removed: the same Druid/Church boxes are used for holding Druids and for Churches. When you Build a Church, place a level 0 Church in the Druid/Church box in the Area. (Since there are only eight Level 0 Churches, in order to place a Church in every Area, at least one Church must be Improved somewhere in Ireland.)

When you Improve a Church, remove the Church marker in your Area, and replace it with the next higher level of Church (level 0 with level 1, level 1 with level 2, and level 2 with level 3). Note that there can be no more than six level 1 Churches in Ireland, four level 2 Churches, and only one Cathedral in Ireland: a level 3 Church.

You may Build or Improve a Church in an Area only one level in your turn. You may move to another Area and Build or Improve a Church one level in that Area in the same turn.

Churches provide a positive modifier to all Convert attempts in their Area, equal to the level (0-3) of the Church marker. When attempting a Convert Action on a King, the one largest Church in the King's Province is added to the attempt (unless there is also a Druid in his Province, in which case the Druid's negative modifier is applied). A Convert attempt on the High King is influenced by any church with him in the Southern Ui Neill Area.

10.4 Give or Take Cards

You may spend 1 Action to take one Keeper card from another Saint (with that player's permission!) or give one Keeper card to another Saint who is in the same Area with you. The card must be in the Saint's Keeper Card section of their Player Mat. The receiving Saint must have an empty Keeper Card spot on their player mat to accommodate the Keeper card or discard a card at this time.

10.5 Make a Relic

When a Saint dies, select a random Grave marker and place it in the Area where he or she died. This provides a +1 modifier for future Convert attempts in that Area.

A Saint may spend 1 Action to convert a Grave into a Relic. Flip the Grave marker to its Relic side. The value of the Relic can vary between 0 and +3, as indicated on the Relic. Relics are placed under the Saint's pawn on the map board. Relics may be moved with any Saint—at no cost—from one Area to another. Relics provide a positive modifier (equal to the Relic's value) to all Convert attempts in the Area it is in.

10.6 Final Effort

If your Saint's Zeal is in the box labeled "May Make Final Effort", then you may spend 1 Action to make one Final Effort. This is similar to the Prepare (Evangelize) Action, except that the Convert Attempt Slider is moved two boxes to the right (instead of just one). Also, your Saint will lose one Zeal in the effort and therefore your Saint will die.

11. Death

When your Saint's Zeal reaches the last box on the Zeal track—marked with a Celtic cross and no number—your Saint has died. They are martyrs to the cause! Remove the Saint card from the game, and place a randomly selected Grave marker in the Area where your Saint's pawn is located. If your Saint died while you were taking Actions your turn is now over. (If your Saint died because of an Event that removed multiple Zeal points, any Zeal lost in addition to what causes their death is ignored.)

If the Saint has a Keeper Card Saint, move it up to the "Place active Saint Card here" box. (If you have two Keeper Card Saints, choose one to promote to active Saint.) This is your new active Saint. Other Keeper Cards are left in place (except some Gift of the Spirit cards, which are removed when a Saint dies). Move your Zeal marker to the square all the way on the left (even if your starting Saint's Zeal marker didn't start there). Place your Action Points marker on the 4 square. Your new active Saint will have different special Abilities from your previous Saint! Note that while Keeper Card Saints are tucked under your Player Mat, they are considered merely followers of the active Saint. They may not use their Abilities until they become an active Saint! (Columba is the only exception to this rule.)

If you do not have a Keeper Card Saint when your active Saint dies, flip your Player Mat over; your pawn now represents an Acolyte of your original Saint. Place your Zeal marker on the square all the way on the left and your Action Points marker on the 4 square. Note that Acolytes have no special abilities and a shorter Zeal track. If you acquire a Keeper Card Saint, then immediately flip over your Player Mat, and place the new Saint card in the "Place active Saint Card here" box, and set up your new Saint as described above. (This will end your Turn if done during your Turn by Taking a Saint card from another player.) If an Acolyte's Zeal track reaches the box marked with a Celtic cross, the game ends immediately.

12. Game End

The game can end in four ways:

1. The instant that every People marker in Ireland is on its Christian Flock side. When this occurs, the game ends immediately: you and your team have achieved a Full Victory! (There may still be some Pagan Leaders or even Druids remaining in Ireland.)
2. The instant that the Paganism in Great Britain marker reaches the Game Ends box.
3. When the Draw Deck runs out of cards—stop the game when there is no Event card for a player to draw to begin their turn.
4. The instant that any Acolyte's Zeal track reaches the box marked with a Celtic cross.

If the game ends in any of the last three ways, then count up the total points that have been earned:

• +2 for every Area with all Christian Flock.
• +1 for every other Area with more than half of the people Christian Flock.
• +1 for a Christian High King.
• +½ for each Christian King.
• +1 if there is a Cathedral (a level 3 Church) anywhere in Ireland.
• -1 for each active Dolmen in Ireland.
• -1 for each Druid in Ireland.

13. Results

0 through 6 ½ points: Total Defeat. Christianity is snuffed out in Ireland, and along with it goes literacy and written history. The Dark Ages will continue for hundreds of more years in Europe. Christianity might eventually return to Ireland, but it might be the Eastern Orthodox version of the religion.

7 through 12 ½ points: Partial Defeat. Christianity is a struggling and persecuted minority in Ireland. Literacy is maintained only in small pockets, in the forgotten corners of Ireland. The Irish Christian community is never strong enough to send missionaries back into the rest of the world, so the Dark Ages continue in Europe.

13 through 18 ½ points: Partial Victory. Christianity eventually becomes the ascendant culture in Ireland, but it takes many hundreds of years. By the time Irish missionaries set out into the world, they find a Europe that has recovered from the Dark Ages on its own. They are met with suspicion and condemnation, regarded as heretics by the Christians that finally civilized Europe.

19 through 21 points: Full Victory. Christianity thrives in Ireland, while paganism overruns Western Europe. The arts, writing, literature and history flourish on the Emerald Isle! Soon, Irish missionaries will bring these civilizing attributes back to Great Britain and mainland Europe—Columba has already begun this process in Scotland from his great center of learning at Iona. This is the historic result—see How the Irish Saved Civilization, by Thomas Cahill, a book that describes what happened next.

14. Levels of Play

The Game Set Up described at the beginning of these rules are for the Standard Level of play. You may wish to try the Beginner level for your first game. Experienced players may wish to try the Advanced level of play.

Beginner Level

Remove the two -6 Druids, and do not use the Dolmen rules. Remove two of the three 0 Relics. Remove the "Major Invasion from England" card (#53). These items are placed back in the box, and not used in the game.

Advanced Level

Remove the +3 Relic. Pick your favorite 3 Gift of the Spirit cards, and remove them from the game. Begin the game with the Paganism in Great Britain already advanced one space, at the "Scotland Pagan" square; shuffle the Scotland and Arthur cards into the deck at the start of the game. The first Event card is played at the blue level.

Experienced players may also modify the level of play by choosing At Start and Deck Saints with good combinations of abilities. Or, for a challenge, you might pick particularly weak combinations!

15. Solitaire Play

Banish the Snakes scales seamlessly with any number of players. We stopped at six players, because more than this becomes unwieldy.

For solitaire play, you can choose to play with just one Saint. Some Saints work better than others by themselves, and of course playing Ciaran at start would be completely inappropriate! So pick your At-Start Saint wisely. However, playing with just one Saint reduces your options, and does not reflect the teamwork featured in the standard game: different Saints' abilities working best in various situations.

Alternatively, you can play with any number of At Start Saints. Simply move from Saint to Saint as the game progresses. This does not require the "schizophrenic play" required to play a competitive game this way: all of the Saints that you are playing are working towards a common goal. Just think of yourself as a particularly pushy team player, making all of the decisions for everyone! Note that if you play solitaire with four or more Saints, each can only hold two Keeper cards.

16. Credits

Designed by: Kevin McPartland and Jerry Shiles

Developed by: Kurt Hoffman and Paul Brenner

Rules editing: Jim McFetridge

Graphics: Terry Leeds

The mountain illustrations on the game board were created using Fantasy Map Builder by Map Effects (mapeffects.co).

Playtesters: Stanley Buck, Ben Butler, Holly Butler, Father Todd Carter, Craig Cromwell, Dave Dentel, Linda Ettinger, Brian Goodwin, Ed Hoffman, Eric Hoffman, Rex Lehman, Kari McPartland, Karlyn McPartland, Tyler Meneely, Tommy Sampson, David Sampson, Will Sampson, Father Eric Tolentino. And many others too numerous to mention—my thanks to all!

Key Terms Index

Actions [5.0, 10.0] Includes; Prepare/Convert, Moving, Building/Improving churches, giving/taking cards, creating Relics, and Final Effort.

Action Points Track [5.0, 10.0] Located on each Player's Mat. Total available Action Points each turn are determined by the Zeal track and if player holds the Auxilius card. Each Action costs 1 Action Point.

Area [3.0, 4.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, 10.1-10.5, 11.0, 12.0] Each province on the board is divided into 2 or 3 Areas. Each Area contains holding boxes for People, Chiefs, and Druids/Churches.

At Start Saint Card [2.0, 4.0] At the beginning of the game, each Player receives one of these cards (chosen or drawn randomly) and places it on their Mat's Active Saint Card box.

Chief [3.0, 4.0, 9.0, 10.0, 10.1] An Area Leader (blue block) with two sides (Christian or Pagan). All start the game on their Pagan side.

Church [2.0, 4.0, 5.0, 10.0, 10.3, 12.0] Gray wood pieces used to denote different levels of Churches in 5th century Ireland (Levels 0-3). Churches provide a positive modifier to all Convert attempts in their Area and affect Game End victory points.

Convert Attempt Slider [10.1, 10.6] Located on each Player's Mat. Used to keep track of the modifiers for Convert attempts.

Current Card [5.0] The Event card currently in play. Drawn by each Player during their turn from the top of the Draw Deck and placed in its holding box on the game board adjacent to the Key Card. Once played, this card moves to the left and becomes the next Key Card.

Discard Pile [5.0] Located on the game board. After resolving the Event, the Key Card is placed on top of the Discard Pile (except on the first turn, when "Arthur: King of the Britons" is placed with the Scotland Cards).

Dolmen [2.0, 4.0, 10.1, 12.0, 14.0] Yellow disks. Ancient stone monuments with burial/ceremonial significance—Druids can revive their power during the course of the game. Dolmens provide a negative modifier to all Convert attempts in their Area and affect Game End victory points.

Draw Deck [4.0, 5.0, 7.0, 12.0] Event cards that are shuffled and placed on the game board in their holding box. Game ends when the Draw Deck runs out of cards.

Druids [2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 10.0, 10.1, 10.3, 12.0, 14.0] Red blocks. Key to Convert attempts. Each Area on the game board starts with one Druid (number side down).

Event Card [2.0, 4.0, 5.0, 7.0, 9.0, 12.0, 14.0] Shuffled Event cards that make up the Draw Deck. Includes Saint, event, and "Save This Card" cards.

Gift of the Spirit Card [2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 11.0, 14.0] Keeper cards that endow players with bonus modifiers and/or special abilities.

Graves [2.0, 4.0, 10.5, 11.0] Light blue blocks. Grave marker is randomly selected and placed in area where Saint died. Provides positive modifier to all Convert attempts in area located.

High King [2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 9.0, 10.0, 10.1, 10.3, 12.0] The supreme Leader (blue block) in Ireland. The High King starts the game on its Pagan side and is assigned two purple blocks to help him stand out.

Influence [10.1, 10.3] Ireland was governed by a network of relationships. See the Influence Diagram for guidance.

Keeper Card [6.0, 10.4, 11.0, 15.0] Cards that can be saved by the player: Saint cards, cards that say "save this card" or Gift of the Spirit cards.

Key Card [4.0, 5.0, 6.0] The color arrow on the Key card determines which Event(s) occur on the Current card.

Leaders [2.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.1, 12.0] Two-sided (Pagan and Christian) blue blocks; Chiefs, Province Kings, and the High King.

Minimum Result Needed (MRN) [10.1] Used on the Convert Attempt Slider. DR = MRN (No Effect), DR < MRN (Failure), DR > MRN (Success!)

Paganism in Great Britain [2.0, 4.0, 7.0, 12.0, 13.0, 14.0] Great Britain begins the game entirely Christian. Markers are used to track the advance of Paganism in Scotland, Strathclyde, and England. Game ends the instant the Advance of Paganism indicator reaches the Game Ends box.

People (Christian Flock) [2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, 10.1, 12.0] Green blocks. Flipped to this side once converted.

People (Pagan) [2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0, 10.1, 12.0] Green blocks. Begin Pagan side up until converted to Christian Flock side during course of the game.

Player Aid Card [2.0, 4.0, 5.0, 10.1] Lists available Player actions and diagrams network of relationships in Ireland (Influence).

Player Mat [2.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 10.0, 10.1, 10.4, 11.0] Used by each player to track Zeal, Action Points, and Convert Attempts and to manage Saint/Keeper Cards.

Province [3.0, 9.0, 10.0, 10.1, 10.3] 5th century Ireland was divided into four Provinces (each with 2 or 3 Areas). Each Province has its own King.

Province King (or "King") [2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 9.0, 10.0, 10.1, 10.3, 12.0] A Province Leader (blue block) with two sides (Christian or Pagan). Each King is assigned a gold block to help him stand out. All Kings start the game on their Pagan side.

Relics [2.0, 4.0, 5.0, 10.0, 10.5, 14.0] Light blue blocks. A Saint may spend 1 Action point to convert a Grave by flipping it to its Relic side. Relics provide a positive modifier (equal to the Relic's value) to all Convert attempts in the Area it's located—or they can turn out to be worthless.

Zeal [4.0, 5.0, 10.1, 10.6, 11.0, 12.0] Tracked on the Player Mat. Determines total Action points player has for their turn. Your Saint loses Zeal during the course of the game (due to failed Actions and Events) and becomes less effective. Your Saint dies when Zeal reaches the last box on the track.

Convert Attempts Player Aid [10.1]

DR = 6 removes 1 Dolmen from Area (if present).

Modifiers

• Prepare (Evangelize): +1 per Action spent
• Pagan Leader: - value on block
• Christian Leader: + value on block
• Church: + Church Level
• Druid: - value on block
• Saint's Ability: as indicated on their card
• Gift of the Spirit: as indicated on its card
• Final Effort: +2
• Grave: +1
• Relic: + value on block
• Dolmen: -1

Compare the roll to the Minimum Result Needed (MRN) on the Convert Attempt Slider.