Champions of Midgard: Valhalla
Champions of Midgard: Valhalla Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 10 Berserker Dice
- 5 Leader Dice
- 10 Shieldwarrior Dice
- 1 Valhalla Board
- 2 Leader Boards
- 5 Destiny Cards
- 110 Sacrifice Tokens (20 Swordsmen, 20 Spearmen, 20 Axemen, 20 Bowmen, 15 Shieldwarriors, 15 Berserkers)
- 9 Leader Ability Boards
- 5 Burial Ground Tiles
- 27 Valkyrie Blessing Cards
- 9 Epic Monster Cards
- 2 Rune Cards
- 1 Market Stall Tile (1 Military, Trainer)
Setup
Champions of Midgard: Valhalla requires some additional setup from the base game version of Champions of Midgard. The setup instructions which follow are in addition to the normal setup instructions for Champions of Midgard, which should still be followed precisely unless noted otherwise. Additionally, if you are playing with both the Dark Mountains and the Valhalla expansions, you should follow both sets of setup instructions in their entirety. Step 1 in each rulebook tells you to mix expansion components with base game components. These steps can be combined to save you additional work.
Some of the components in Champions of Midgard: Valhalla are designed to be mixed in with the components from your Champions of Midgard base game. The Valhalla expansion components are marked with the Valhalla icon for easy removal, should you wish to separate them. Additionally, some components are also marked with the Dark Mountains icon. These components must be removed if you are playing without the Champions of Midgard: Dark Mountains expansion.
- Before setting up your game for the first time using this expansion, make sure to shuffle your new Destiny cards, rune cards, and market tile in with those from the base game.
- Place the Berserker dice and Shieldwarrior dice beside the board near the other Viking Warrior dice.
- Place the Sacrifice tokens beside the board near the other tokens.
- Place the Valhalla Board next to the main game board.
- Shuffle the Valkyrie Blessing cards and place the deck face-down on the indicated space. Then, add 1 card face-up to each of the 4 empty spaces.
- Shuffle the Epic Monster Cards and reveal 2 of them (3 in a 4-5 player game), placing them on the indicated spaces on the Valhalla board. Return the unused cards to the box.
- Give each player the Leader Ability board that corresponds to their chosen leader, to be placed beneath their Leader board and a Burial Ground tile to be placed beside it.
- Finally, give each player 1 Leader die in addition to their normal starting resources.
You are now ready to begin playing.
Gameplay
New Icons & Rules
You will notice a new icon for "a Viking Warrior die of your choice" on many of the new components. This icon is necessary to include the new Shieldwarrior and Berserker dice. The "any die" icon and the "a warrior die of your choice" icon mean the same thing and should be read interchangeably.
Additionally, you will sometimes see the "any resource" icon. This icon indicates you may take a resource of your choice (food, wood, or gold). This icon will have a number in the center showing how many resources you are entitled to. You may take any combination of the same or different resources.
Finally, shield results on dice rolled in combat are always optional. In this expansion, you will find times when you want certain warriors to be lost. Each shield result you roll may negate a loss, but you may also choose to ignore it and take the loss as though you did not roll a shield.
Leader Abilities & Leader Dice
Viking leaders bring benefits to their clans by inspiring them to be better workers, better traders, and better warriors. A leader can lead in many ways, but some things may only be attained on the battlefield.
Every Viking Leader now has a secondary ability which can only be activated as a result of an act of strong leadership on the field of battle. New Leader Ability tiles placed beneath your leader board show each Leader's new secondary ability and have a space for your leader die.
This space holds your leader die. Other warriors do not reside in the leaders' quarters and their dice cannot occupy this space.
Leader dice may be used (and lost) in combat like any other dice. Leader dice show the following results:
- 2 faces: Leader ability (horned helmet)
- 1 face: 2-hit
- 2 faces: 1-hit
- 1 face: blank
When you roll the Leader ability result while using your leader in combat, immediately activate the ability on your leader ability board.
Example: In the first round of combat, Thyra rolls the results shown in the rulebook's illustration (a Leader ability result among them). First, she resolves her Leader Ability and claims one Sacrifice token of her choice from the supply. Next, she resolves combat damage, defeating the Troll and losing one die.
Like other dice, your leader can be defeated in combat. Thematically, Leader dice are wounded and not killed. Leader dice are returned to the supply until such a time as they can be healed (see Instant Valkyrie Blessings). A player may never possess more than 1 Leader die.
Sacrifice Tokens
Included in Champions of Midgard: Valhalla are sacrifice tokens which correspond to each of the various types of Viking Warrior dice in the game. These tokens represent your warriors who have died in the quest for glory and now inhabit Valhalla, gaining the approval of the Valkyries and defeating Epic Monsters at Odin's side. Specifically, these tokens are resources which may be spent to activate Valkyrie Blessings or claim Epic Monster tiles. When playing with the Valhalla expansion, each time you return one or more of your Viking Warrior dice to the supply, take the corresponding token and store it on your Burial Grounds tile.
Sacrifice tokens are earned whenever your dice are returned to the supply for any reason (defeated in combat, unfed on a journey, lost to an event, etc.). They are not gained when you attempt to collect more dice than you can hold. Dice returned to the supply in this case are not yet yours and therefore do not produce Sacrifice tokens.
After resolving any combat location, you may spend any number of your collected Sacrifice tokens to activate the effects on the Valhalla Board, to purchase 1 or more Valkyrie Blessing cards, and/or to defeat 1 or more Epic Monsters. The Sacrifice tokens you spend can be any combination of tokens just collected and those saved from previous rounds. If multiple players are resolving a single combat location (e.g. the Hunting Grounds), they should purchase cards in the order they placed their workers on that location. You may see the "Sacrifice token of your choice" icon, which means "a Sacrifice token of your choice."
When purchasing Valkyrie Blessings or defeating Epic Monsters, you may purchase multiple cards at the same time. Cards are refreshed after you have completed all your purchases, unless noted otherwise. Additionally, the following options are always available. Whenever you spend Sacrifice tokens, you may use these effects 1 or more times:
- Spend any 2 Sacrifice tokens and gain 1 Glory.
- Spend any 3 Sacrifice tokens and claim a Viking Warrior die of your choice from the supply (this does not include your Leader die).
Viking Leader dice do not have Sacrifice tokens because the Leader is never killed. Instead, they are merely wounded and the die is returned to the supply until a Valkyrie Blessing allows you to retrieve it.
Valkyrie Blessings
Valkyrie Blessings are how the Valkyries show their favor for Viking Leaders who bravely lead their warriors to battle for glory! There are 2 types of Valkyrie Blessings: Instant Valkyrie Blessings and Permanent Valkyrie Blessings (each described in detail in the following sections). Instant Valkyrie Blessings give you Resources, Glory, or Viking Warrior dice in addition to conveying a very important benefit: healing your wounded Viking Leader. Permanent Valkyrie Blessings give you an instant Glory reward and an ability which persists for the remainder of the game.
Cards of the same name will often have slightly different costs and slightly different effects. Pay attention to the details on the card when you purchase it.
Transcriber's note: card costs below are given in Sacrifice token types as shown by the card icons (red sword = Swordsman, red slashed square = Spearman, black axe = Axeman, green bow = Bowman, yellow shield = Shieldwarrior, pink crossed hammers = Berserker, grey "?" = any Sacrifice token).
Instant Valkyrie Blessings
Instant Valkyrie Blessing cards are the primary way players gain access to the new and powerful Berserker and Shieldwarrior dice. Every Instant Valkyrie Blessing has the "Retrieve your Leader Die from the Supply (if wounded)" icon, which allows you to heal your Viking Leader die (if they are wounded). When purchasing an Instant Valkyrie Blessing, immediately claim a Viking Leader die from the supply and place it in your play area, assuming you don't already have one. No player may have more than 1 Viking Leader die at any given time. Instant Valkyrie Blessings take effect immediately and are then placed face-down in your player area.
- Divine Glory x5. Cost: 2 Swordsman Sacrifice tokens. Effect: Retrieve your Leader die from the supply. Gain the indicated Favor token(s).
- Fortune of the Gods x3. Cost: 2 Swordsman Sacrifice tokens and 1 Sacrifice token of your choice. Effect: Retrieve your Leader die from the supply. Gain 3 resources of your choice.
- Freyja's Blessing x3. Cost: 2 Swordsman Sacrifice tokens. Effect: Retrieve your Leader die from the supply. Gain a Favor or discard a Blame. Repeat if indicated.
- Odin's Feast x3. Cost: 1 Swordsman Sacrifice token, 1 Spearman Sacrifice token, and 1 Sacrifice token of your choice. Effect: Retrieve your Leader die from the supply. Gain 3 Food.
- Valhallan Fighting Band x2. Cost: 1 Swordsman, 1 Spearman, and 1 Axeman Sacrifice token. Effect: Retrieve your Leader die from the supply. Collect the indicated number of Shieldwarrior dice and Berserker dice from the supply.
- Valhallan Berserkers x4. Cost: 1 Axeman Sacrifice token and 1 Sacrifice token of your choice. Effect: Retrieve your Leader die from the supply. Collect the indicated number of Berserker dice from the supply.
- Valhallan Shieldwarriors x4. Cost: 1 Swordsman Sacrifice token and 1 Sacrifice token of your choice. Effect: Retrieve your Leader die from the supply. Collect the indicated number of Shieldwarrior dice from the supply.
Note: the number of Favor tokens, Berserker dice, and Shieldwarrior dice on these cards is shown as an indicated count on the card art. That count is not legible in the source rulebook's card images, so the effects are transcribed as the rulebook text states them ("the indicated number").
Don't forget: cards of the same name will often have slightly different costs and slightly different effects. Pay attention to the details on the card when you purchase it.
Don't forget: remove any cards showing the Dark Mountains icon if you are not also using the Champions of Midgard: Dark Mountains expansion.
Permanent Valkyrie Blessings
Permanent Valkyrie Blessings provide a variable amount of Glory when you purchase them and give you an ability which is active until the end of the game. Permanent Valkyrie Blessings have the "Score Glory equal to the current round number" icon, which means "Gain Glory equal to the current round number." They also have permanent abilities described in detail below. When you purchase a Permanent Valkyrie Blessing, gain Glory equal to the current round number immediately, then place the card face up in your play area.
- Bow of the Hunter x2. Cost: 1 Bowman Sacrifice token and 1 Sacrifice token of your choice. Gain Glory immediately (equal to the current round number). From now on, you always receive 1 resource of your choice when at least 1 die hunts. It is not required that you roll a hit to collect this reward.
- Enemy Amulets x4. Cost: 2 Swordsman Sacrifice tokens. Gain Glory immediately (equal to the current round number). From now on, gain 1 resource of your choice whenever you defeat an enemy of the indicated type. Each of these four amulets corresponds to a specific enemy type (Bergrisar Amulet, Monster Amulet, Draugr Amulet, Troll Amulet).
- Enemyslayer Shields x4. Cost: 2 Swordsman Sacrifice tokens. Gain Glory immediately (equal to the current round number). From now on, 1 shield result blocks all damage for a single round of combat (when fighting an enemy of the indicated type). You may choose to lose dice up to the enemy's attack value if you prefer. Each of these four shields corresponds to a specific enemy type (Bergrisarslayer Shield, Monsterslayer Shield, Draugrslayer Shield, Trollslayer Shield).
- Loki's Compass x2. Cost: 2 Swordsman Sacrifice tokens. Gain Glory immediately (equal to the current round number). From now on, after you encounter a Journey card, you may take 1 Blame from the supply to ignore the negative effect.
Don't forget: when purchasing Permanent Valkyrie Blessings, the amount of Glory you earn immediately is equal to the current round number (e.g. in round 6 you gain 6 Glory).
Don't forget: remove any cards showing the Dark Mountains icon if you are not also using the Champions of Midgard: Dark Mountains expansion.
Transcriber's note: the Permanent Valkyrie Blessing cost icons were read from the card art. The Bow of the Hunter cost is a green bow plus a grey "?". The Enemyslayer and Enemy Amulet costs show two red swords. The printed Valkyrie Blessing counts in the Valhalla listings total more than the 27 Valkyrie Blessing cards listed under Components. The counts are transcribed as printed.
Berserker & Shieldwarrior Dice
Berserker Dice
Berserker dice are a new and powerful Viking Warrior type with only 1 blank side and 3 double hits! However, due to their reckless nature, Berserkers are the first to die. In any combat, when wounds are assigned (dice are discarded due to the enemy's attack value in excess of shields rolled), Berserker dice must be sacrificed first. Berserker dice have the following results:
- 3 faces: 2-hit
- 2 faces: 1-hit
- 1 face: blank
Shieldwarrior Dice
Shieldwarrior dice are a new and powerful Viking Warrior type with 2 sides that block and hit simultaneously! These are great warriors for providing protection to your reckless Berserkers. Shieldwarrior dice have the following results:
- 2 faces: 1-hit and shield result (block and hit simultaneously)
- 1 face: 2-hit
- 1 face: 1-hit
- 2 faces: blank
Epic Monsters
Epic Monsters are powerful creatures, defeating them can provide big bonuses for you at the end of the game. Each of them offers a certain amount of Glory immediately upon being defeated and then an additional effect to be resolved at the end of the game, often with big scoring potential.
Each Epic Monster card shows a card name, a card cost, and a card effect. The card cost is given below as Sacrifice token types, read from the card icons (see the note under Valkyrie Blessings for the icon key).
Because there are a finite number of Epic Monsters available, if you want to be the one who defeats one, you must hurry toward that goal. In most games, not every player will be able to defeat an Epic Monster. In such a case, they will have to content themselves with having the opportunity to purchase additional Valkyrie Blessing cards.
- Fenrir. Cost: 2 Swordsman, 2 Spearman, 1 Sacrifice token of your choice, 1 Berserker Sacrifice token. Score 8 Glory immediately. At game-end, score 4 Glory for each Troll you have killed.
- Fylgja. Cost: 2 Swordsman, 1 Spearman, 2 Sacrifice tokens of your choice, 1 Shieldwarrior Sacrifice token. Score 9 Glory immediately. At game-end, each of your Destiny cards scores twice.
- Geirrod. Cost: 2 Spearman, 2 Bowman, 1 Sacrifice token of your choice, 1 Shieldwarrior Sacrifice token. Score 10 Glory immediately. At game-end, score 3 Glory for each Bergrisar you have killed.
- Haugbui. Cost: 2 Swordsman, 2 Axeman, 1 Sacrifice token of your choice, 1 Berserker Sacrifice token. Score 7 Glory immediately. At game-end, score 3 Glory for each Draugr you have killed.
- Jormungandr. Cost: 2 Axeman, 2 Spearman, 2 Berserker Sacrifice tokens. Score 9 Glory immediately. At game-end, score 4 Glory for each Monster you have killed.
- Nidhoggr. Cost: 1 Swordsman, 1 Spearman, 2 Sacrifice tokens of your choice, 1 Shieldwarrior Sacrifice token, 1 Berserker Sacrifice token. Score 12 Glory immediately. At game-end, each yellow enemy you have defeated counts twice for sets.
- Pesta. Cost: 1 Swordsman, 1 Axeman, 1 Sacrifice token of your choice, 1 Shieldwarrior Sacrifice token, 1 Berserker Sacrifice token. Score 10 Glory immediately. At game-end, score 1 Glory for each Blame token in play. (Count the Blame tokens possessed by every player including yourself.)
- Surtr. Cost: 2 Spearman, 2 Sacrifice tokens of your choice, 1 Shieldwarrior Sacrifice token, 1 Berserker Sacrifice token. Score 12 Glory immediately. At game-end, each red enemy you have defeated counts twice for sets.
- Ymir. Cost: 1 Swordsman, 1 Axeman, 2 Sacrifice tokens of your choice, 1 Shieldwarrior Sacrifice token, 1 Berserker Sacrifice token. Score 12 Glory immediately. At game-end, each blue enemy you have defeated counts twice for sets.
Don't forget: remove any cards showing the Dark Mountains icon if you are not also using the Champions of Midgard: Dark Mountains expansion.
Transcriber's note: the Epic Monster cost icons were read from the card art. The end-of-game icons on the Epic Monster cards are small and only partly legible in the source, so the game-end effects are transcribed from the rulebook's printed text.
Example of Sacrifice Token Use
Asmundr sends 2 Swordsmen and 2 Spearmen to fight the Troll. He rolls 1 blank, 1 shield, and 2 single hits. He defeats the Troll and collects 6 Glory and 1 Wood as a reward. Then, he discards 1 Blame and tells Gylfir to take one from the supply.
He then sends his 2 Swordsman dice to the supply as a result of the Troll's attack and claims 2 Swordsman Sacrifice tokens.
At the conclusion of this combat, Asmundr can spend these tokens (and any others he has collected) to purchase Valkyrie Blessing cards or to defeat Epic Monsters.
This time he chooses to spend just the 2 Swordsman Sacrifice tokens he just collected to claim the Divine Glory Blessing. He immediately resurrects his leader die and gains 1 Favor from the supply. (Asmundr could have chosen not to purchase anything in order to save his Sacrifice tokens to defeat Fenrir later for instant Glory and an end game bonus!)
Appendix
I. Viking Leaders
- Hemming the Changer. Hemming is as good a craftsman as he is a fighter, and perhaps better, because of his ability to transmute materials from one type into another. Once per round, Hemming may trade a resource in his possession into the supply to gain any other resource.
- Thyra Valkyrie-Born. Thyra has always felt a connection to the spirit realm, as though the blood of Valhalla flows through her veins. When exchanging Sacrifice tokens for dice, she may exchange any 2 tokens for a die of her choice from the supply (instead of the 3 normally required).
II. Viking Leader Powers
- Asmundr's Battle Prayer. Gain a Favor token. Immediately, collect 1 Favor token from the supply.
- Dagrun's Prophetic Vision. Take a Sage's Hut action. Resolve a complete Sage's Hut action when you resolve this die. Choose and look at a Journey Card (Land or Sea), then take another Destiny card (using Dagrun's ability to draw two and choose which one to keep).
- Gylfir's Supply Lines. Claim any 1 reward currently shown on the merchant ship card. Collect just 1 item indicated on the card, not the whole reward.
- Hemming's Rune Carver. Activate the effect of 1 of the runes face-up in the supply, or gain 1 Wood from the supply. It is your choice which effect to resolve.
- Jorunn's Tell the Tale. Gain 1 Glory for each Viking Warrior die lost in this round of combat. If you suffer no losses, gain a Favor token. You may not choose the Favor token if dice have been lost.
- Ragnhild's Field Training. You may exchange any other Viking Warrior die in this combat with another die from the supply and immediately roll the new die and execute the result. You may not execute the result of the die you removed. You may not exchange your leader die. You do not receive a Sacrifice token for the die you return to the supply.
- Svanhildr's Legendary Leadership. Choose the result of a Swordsman die in this battle and set it to a result of your choice. If there are no Swordsman dice in this battle, there is no effect.
- Thyra's Chooser of the Slain. Gain any 1 Sacrifice token from the supply. This is in addition to the Sacrifice tokens you collect from losing dice in this combat.
- Ullr's Berserker Cry. Add 1 Berserker die from the supply to this combat and roll it immediately.
New Icons
- Shieldwarrior Die
- Berserker Die
- Any Die
- Any resource (number indicates how many)
- Any Sacrifice token
- Retrieve your Leader Die from the Supply (if wounded)
- Valhalla Expansion
- Dark Mountains Expansion
- Score Glory equal to the current round number