Demonlord Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Game Components
  • The Map
  • Order of Battle
  • Unit Counters
• Sequence of Play
• Movement
  • Basic Procedure
  • Terrain and Movement
  • Stacking
  • Invisibility of Units
  • Leaders and Characters
  • Minimum Movement
  • Enemy Units
  • Capture of Characters
• Battles
  • When a Battle Occurs
  • Conducting a Battle
  • Choice of Terrain
  • Deploying Armies Before the Battle
  • Shooting and Melee
  • Morale Check
  • Reserve and Regrouping
  • Characters in Battle
  • Retreat
  • End of the Battle
  • Battle Example
• Sieges
  • When a Siege Occurs
  • Movement of the Besieger and Defender
  • Conducting a Siege
  • Reinforcing the Defender of a Fortification
  • End of the Siege
• Magic
  • Kinds of Magic Spells
  • The Process of Casting Magic Spells
  • Battle Magic
  • Siege Magic
  • Special Spells Available to Both Players
  • Special Spells Available Only to the Demon Player
  • Special Spells Available Only to the Khozar Player
  • Summoning
  • Alliances with Neutrals
• Neutrals and Prisoners
  • The State of Neutrality
  • Movement Peculiarities of the Neutrals
  • Prisoners
• Setup, End of the Game, Victory
  • Initial Placement
  • First Turn
  • Reinforcements
  • End of the Game
  • Victory
• Scenario Variants
  • Strategic Game
  • Extended Game
  • First-Turn Variant
  • Tournament Version with Reduced Randomness
• Player Aid Tables
  • Table 1 (player aid sheet)
  • Table 2: Siege Resolution Table
  • Terrain Table
  • Victory Point Track

Introduction

"Demonlord" is a game of strategy and conquest. One player plays the Demonlord and the other plays the Khozar Alliance. In their "phases" the players move characters and regiments across the map, cast spells, and take part in battles and/or sieges. The goal is to destroy the opponent's characters and regiments and to capture his fortifications.

In trying to gain an advantage in strength for success in a battle or siege, during your phase you move characters and regiments across the map, which is divided into hexagons (areas). Battles between regiments outside fortifications take place separately from the map, using a special system of rules for deployment, ranged and melee attacks and morale checks. When regiments try to seize enemy fortifications, a siege begins. A siege may last several phases or several turns, until one of the sides surrenders or withdraws its regiments. Some characters are endowed with magical power, which can be used within a certain magical "range" (in areas) to help with movement, in battle, in a siege, or in other special cases.

One area on the map equals one league (3 to 4 miles (5 to 6 km, translator's note)), one turn in time equals about half a week, and one counter represents either a character (with his bodyguards/assistants) or about 500 warriors (including commanders, etc.).

Game Components

The "Demonlord" set contains: one colour map 11½ x 14 inches (292 x 356 mm, translator's note), a sheet of cardboard with 154 die-cut colour counters, a "war preparation sheet", a booklet with these rules and two dice (ordinary six-sided dice).

The Map

The colour map shows the province of the demon kingdom of Nisshar and the neighbouring settlements that joined the Khozar Alliance, as well as neutral ones. For convenience in placing and moving units, a hexagonal grid is printed on the map. Unit counters are placed inside the hexagons (areas), like chess pieces on the squares of a chessboard. Incomplete areas along the map edges can be occupied by counters and are otherwise exactly the same as complete ones.

The "terrain sheet" contains a list of all the main terrain types on the map. Different terrain types on the map are separated by a black outline. The meadows dominating the west and north are marked light green, and the steppes in the south-east by brown-green waves. Forests are dark green, hills brown, mountains white-brown, and cliffs are white areas along area borders. On both sides of the river near Barzek (0218) lies swamp, and in the middle of the steppes the yellow area is desert. Rivers are drawn in blue, bridges and roads across them in brown, and fords in white.

The map also shows fortified cities such as Nisshar and Timur, small castles (such as Lyuung or Midazu), temples (such as the temple of Ninkhiz or the temple of Khozar) and, in the west, small settlements (such as Khorkan or Kimat).

Note that several different terrain types may occur in one area, while some terrain types, such as rivers and cliffs, run only along the borders of areas.

Order of Battle

This sheet shows all the main regiments and characters in the game, their initial placement on the map, and notes on the various reinforcements, summoned creatures, etc. The sheet conveniently shows the "initial positions" and can serve as an additional check during initial setup.

Unit Counters

"Units" are represented in the game by counters. Some of them are "characters" (with large numbers along the right side) and others are "regiments" (with large numbers along the bottom side). Colour shows which side the counters belong to. Additional markers for special magic spells and for tracking victory point values are also provided as counters.

Example of a regiment counter (the labelled elements): Movement type; Home location (where it lives); Armour type; Troop type; Movement Points; Morale; Melee effectiveness; Missile (shooting) effectiveness.

Example of a character counter (the labelled elements): Movement type; Home location; Magic power - Magic range; Leader (commander) ability; Movement Points; Portrait; Name.

Counter colours: the Demon's units are purple, Khozar's are gold. The Barbarians of the Great Forest are green, Lyuung's troops are blue, the Highlanders of Altu-khan are light turquoise, the Ancients are brown, and Ul's miners are light lilac. Magic spell markers are black, with lettering in the colour of the corresponding owner.

Movement type: "П" denotes foot (infantry) units (marked P below), "К" denotes cavalry (mounted) (marked K below), "В" denotes flying (winged) units (marked V below).

Home location: a two-letter abbreviation indicates the place where the unit starts the game (i.e. where it normally lives or is located). This marking simplifies initial setup.

Troop type: a graphic image shows the troop type. A unit with a shield image is usually infantry, with a horse's head image cavalry; other monsters (acting as regiments) have a unique image. The weapon indicates the unit's main type of arms, and units with good shooting ability are marked with a bow or crossbow.

Armour type: the shade of the troop-type image indicates the unit's main armour type. Fully black denotes heavy armour. A symbol in the counter's own colour outlined in black denotes medium armour. A white symbol denotes no armour.

Portrait: a visual image of the character's appearance. A character's armour type is irrelevant.

Movement Points (MP): the unit's basic movement range. Usually, when moving from area to area on the map, a unit spends one (1) MP.

Morale: a number reflecting the spirit and "staying power" of the fighters. The higher the value, the better the morale. A morale value cannot exceed six (6).

Melee effectiveness: a number reflecting the unit's effectiveness in melee combat. The higher the number, the higher the effectiveness. The effectiveness value has no upper limit.

Missile effectiveness: a number reflecting the unit's shooting effectiveness. The higher the number, the higher the effectiveness. The value has no upper limit.

Leader ability: possessed only by characters. A character can be a leader if his ability is any number starting from +0. Characters with no leader ability ("none") cannot be leaders. This ability increases the movement range of other warriors and their ratings in battle and in a siege.

Magic range: the range, in areas, of strategic magic.

Magic power: a character's ability to cast spells. Any character with magic power 1 or more is able to cast spells; the higher the power, the more varied the spells and the greater the character's effectiveness in battle or in a siege.

Example of a spell counter (the labelled elements): Magic power (difficulty of casting); Spell name; Name of the player to whom the spell is available.

Spell counters are used at the start of the game to determine which special spells are available to the players. Players may choose one spell and take three at random, or take five spells at random (see the magic rules for details).

Sequence of Play

The game of "Demonlord" is played in turns. Each turn is divided into two phases: first the phase of the Khozar player, then the phase of the Demon player. During his phase a player is called the "active player" and his opponent the "waiting player". Each phase is divided into the following steps:

Khozar phase (first):

1. Unit movement: the active player moves his units across the map, including newly arrived reinforcements.
2. Summoning: the active player may attempt to magically summon new units.
3. Battles: the active player conducts all battles that have arisen, possibly using battle magic.
4. Sieges: if there are sieges, one round of siege is conducted for each of them (even if the active player is the defender).
5. Alliances: neutrals may become allies, and the status of temporary allies may change.

Demon phase (second):

1. Unit movement: as in the first phase.
2. Summoning: as in the first phase.
3. Battles: as in the first phase.
4. Sieges: as in the first phase.
5. Alliances: as in the first phase.

Magic spells may be cast by both players at any moment of any phase, at the very beginning (before movement) as well as at the end (after alliances), or during any step of the phase. However, some spells can be cast only at a certain time in the turn or in certain situations.

Movement

Basic Procedure

Movement points: each unit has a certain number of movement points (MP), shown on the unit counter. Whenever a unit moves to another area and crosses its border (line), it must spend MP. Usually the cost of crossing an area side is 1 MP. However, the cost can be affected by the unit's movement type and by terrain (see "Terrain and Movement" below).

Hex sides: whenever a unit moves into another area, it pays the appropriate number of MP for crossing the BORDER of the area. Note that terrain inside an area does not affect the unit's movement. Instead, movement is affected by the terrain through which the area BORDER passes. This is different from many games that use a hexagonal map.

General rules: as a rule, units are moved one at a time, but sometimes several units can be moved at once. It is usually more convenient to move regiments first and then characters. You may move any number of units at your discretion: all of them or none. If desired, a unit may be moved either its full MP value or less. Unused MP of a unit cannot be carried over to the next turn and cannot be used for moving other units.

Ordinary movement takes place only in the corresponding step of your phase. As a result of a battle, additional movement may occur when fleeing the battlefield. Such flight is always in addition to the basic movement and in no way limits ordinary movement on the following turn.

Terrain and Movement

Most area borders pass through two or more terrain types. The active player declares over which of the terrains lying on the area border his unit will move. Any other terrain type on that side is ignored (for movement). If only one terrain type crosses the area border, the unit moves only over it. The cost in MP of crossing an area border depends on the unit's movement type (P, K, V) and on the type of terrain crossed. To find the MP cost, look in the "terrain table" for the value at the intersection of the terrain type and the unit's movement type.

Movement example: the figure shows a unit with movement type K which first, ignoring hills, crosses a border over plain (1 MP), then crosses a border completely filled with hills (2 MP), and finally crosses another border over plain (1 MP), ignoring the forest located in that area.

Rivers: this terrain type runs along area borders, additionally hindering and delaying movement. The delay may vary and depends on the weather and on the presence of a ford. The cost of crossing a river is added directly to the cost of the terrain on the opposite bank (along the area border). For example: a foot (P) regiment crossing a river in forest spends 4 MP: 2 for the river and 2 for the forest. If on the opposite bank of the river along this area border there is plain in addition to forest, the regiment can cross the river over the plain for a total cost of 3 MP.

Cliffs and lakes: cliffs and lakes are impassable for foot (P) and cavalry (K) units. Of course, if an area border is only partly covered by cliffs and/or lake, movement is impossible only across that part of the border, and the active player may choose to move over another, passable terrain. Lakes are located at the borders: 0318-0417, 0318-0418 and 0318-0319; cliffs: 1313-1412, 1313-1413, 1313-1314, 1214-1314, 1214-1315, and 1419-1519.

Stacking

You may combine (stack on top of each other) any number of units in one area at the same time, and both friendly and hostile units may be in one area. Other units may enter an area regardless of how many units are already in the stack. If you wish, you can gather all your units into one stack. For entering areas occupied by the enemy see "Enemy Units" below.

Invisibility of Units

You may not look into an enemy stack. You can see only the unit lying on top of the stack. There are two exceptions to this rule. First, units become visible during the battle procedure, and only those units that directly take part in the battle. Second, the spell "vision" (see the magic section) can be used to view the units in an enemy stack.

Leaders and Characters

Leader ability: if at the start of the movement phase there is no character with leader ability (+0 or higher) in an area with a regiment, the regiment's MP are halved (rounded down). To use its MP in full, the regiment must be in the same area as a leader at the start of the movement phase. The regiment does not need to stay with the leader: when it leaves the leader it may go its full MP. A character whose leader-ability entry reads "none" cannot be a leader, and regiments stacked with him do not get their full MP.

Character movement: a character may travel alone for his full MP, or move together with another regiment in one stack. A character moves together with a regiment when he begins the movement phase in the same area as that regiment and stays with it throughout the whole movement phase. The character's MP are then disregarded; instead he "rides" in the regiment, moving with it. If desired, several characters may "ride" in one regiment. Characters may "ride" only in friendly regiments and not in enemy ones.

Minimum Movement

During a turn all units may move at least into an adjacent area. The only condition for this "minimum movement" is the absence of impassable terrain (P and K cannot cross lakes and cliffs). Minimum movement is possible even if the cost of that movement exceeds the unit's MP.

Enemy Units

Enemy regiments: the presence in an area of one or more enemy regiments hinders the movement of your regiments. If your regiments enter an area occupied by the enemy, they must stop and end their movement in that area. A battle or siege will take place there.

If there is an enemy in the area in which your regiments begin their movement, you may stay or leave at will (exception: see the siege rules).

Characters: note that the movement of regiments is hindered only by enemy regiments. Characters alone may enter and/or pass through areas occupied by enemy regiments or characters (though with the risk of being captured, see below). Characters cannot hinder the movement of enemy regiments.

If the enemy wants to hinder the movement of a stack of units with a character lying on top, he must make the owner show (place on top) some regiment from this stack. Otherwise it is assumed that the stack contains only characters like the one lying on top.

Capture of Characters

Possibility of capture: if a character alone enters an area in which there is at least one enemy regiment, or vice versa, the character may be captured by the regiment. A character is protected from capture if there are any regiments friendly to him in that area. Capture may be attempted only once in each area, regardless of how many enemy regiments are there. However, the possibility of capture arises anew in each new area.

Taking prisoner: when a possibility of capture arises, each player rolls a die. If the player of the character rolls the higher value, the character escapes capture in that area on this turn. If the player of the regiment rolls the higher value, he takes the character prisoner (the character counter is set aside next to the map in a "prisoners" pile). If the rolls are equal, the character escaped capture, but at this step of the phase he cannot leave that area.

Various modifiers: if a character enters an area containing a fortification controlled by the enemy, his player subtracts two (-2) from the die roll for the capture check. If characters with magical abilities are in the same area, the player with the character of greater magic power adds one (+1) to the die roll. This is not counted as casting a magic spell; this bonus is given simply by possessing the greater magic.

Several characters: if a player has more than one character in one place and a possibility of capture arises, he may "split" them and make a capture check for each character separately, or he may combine them in a group and make the capture check for all at once (the die is rolled once).

Battles

When a Battle Occurs

A battle occurs if both players have one or more regiments in one area. A battle does not occur if one or both players have only characters there. If the area contains a fortification controlled by one of the players, that player decides whether a battle will take place or a siege will begin, i.e. whether the fortification's garrison comes out for battle or shelters behind its walls. Depending on this decision, the opponent must either accept battle or begin a siege.

If several battles take place in one phase, the active player chooses the order in which they are conducted.

Conducting a Battle

Field: first the opponents deploy their armies for battle on any free space off the map. No tactical map is needed; any free flat surface will do.

Battle round: after deployment the players begin "battle rounds" using the procedure described below. Battle rounds continue until one of the players loses all his forces or ends the battle by retreating. Battles never extend beyond the current battle step of the current phase, however many rounds they last. Battles cannot be interrupted and continued in the next phase or turn. This is because one battle round is roughly equal to one hour, while one turn is more than half a week.

During a battle round the following takes place:

• (a) Either player may bring reserves to the front line;
• (b) Battle magic is applied simultaneously; if opposing regiments have been destroyed, regiments must be regrouped on the front line;
• (c) Shooting takes place simultaneously; if opposing regiments have been destroyed, regiments must be regrouped on the front line;
• (d) Melee takes place simultaneously;
• (e) Either player may retreat with the remnants of his army according to the retreat rules.

If neither player has retreated after the round and both still have regiments, the next round begins. The battle continues until one of the players is completely defeated or retreats.

Choice of Terrain

The area in which the battle takes place may contain one or several terrain types. If the area has only one terrain type, the battle takes place on that terrain. If the area has more than one terrain type, the waiting player chooses the terrain on which the battle will be fought. Note that the active player may enter an area over one terrain but then be forced to fight on another.

Deploying Armies Before the Battle

Front line: all of a player's units in the area where the battle takes place take part in the battle. During deployment the players take turns laying out regiments in a line on the battlefield, in pairs facing each other. The active player lays out his regiment first, and the waiting player chooses and places (opposite it) the regiment that opposes it. Then the waiting player lays down one of his regiments, and the active player places the opponent. This continues until one of the players runs out of regiments or until the "front-line length" for the terrain in which the battle takes place is reached (see the terrain table). All the opposing pairs form the front line or forward line.

Reserve: now all the regiments each player has left are placed in reserve behind the front line. If the number of opposing pairs is lower than the front-line length, the player with forces remaining in reserve may bring regiments out of it until the front-line length is reached (details below).

Characters: finally the players may place their characters. Each character must be placed on top of one of the regiments. Several characters can be placed on one regiment. Players place characters in turn, starting with the active player, until all characters are placed. Neither player may skip his turn during placement while he still has characters taking part in the battle.

Shooting and Melee

During the shooting subphase all regiments with a non-zero missile effectiveness fire simultaneously. During the melee subphase all surviving regiments fight according to their melee effectiveness. The procedures for shooting and melee are very simple, and shooting always precedes melee.

Battle limits: in one battle round each regiment may shoot (if it has non-zero missile effectiveness) only once and attack in melee only once. If several regiments are opposed to one regiment, each of them attacks only once. Which of the outnumbering regiments is shot at is chosen by the opponent, and which regiment fights in melee is chosen by the owner. Only enemy regiments directly opposite across the front can be attacked (whether by shooting or melee); regiments standing opposite other regiments cannot be attacked.

Simultaneity: all shooting takes place simultaneously and its result is determined only after all regiments have finished shooting. After that the melee takes place, and its results are also determined simultaneously for all regiments.

Making an attack: when a regiment attacks, two dice are rolled. If the sum of the results is less than or equal to the regiment's effectiveness (missile or melee respectively), the opponent takes a hit. If the sum exceeds the regiment's effectiveness, there is no hit on the opponent (a miss).

Attack effectiveness modifiers: in battle, terrain may affect missile or melee effectiveness. In addition, the following factors affect attack effectiveness:

Missile effectiveness modifiers:

• +1 the target has no armour (white symbol on the counter);
• -1 the target has heavy armour (black symbol on the counter);

Melee effectiveness modifiers:

• +? the attacking regiment contains a leader (+? is the leader ability);
• +1 the attacking regiment has armour superiority* over the opponent.

* Heavy beats medium, and medium beats no armour.

Consequences of a hit: a hit occurs on a successful attack. If a regiment has been hit by shooting or in melee, it must check its morale. If a regiment has received more than one hit, a morale check is made for each hit and the worst of the results obtained is applied (destruction is worse than flight, flight is worse than no effect).

Morale Check

A regiment hit during shooting or melee must pass a morale check. One die is rolled for a morale check. If the result is less than the regiment's morale, the hit passes without consequences. If the result equals the morale, the regiment flees. If the result exceeds the morale, the regiment is destroyed.

Morale modifiers: a character with leader ability of +1 or more may increase the regiment's morale value by that amount (see "Characters in Battle"). Magic also affects morale. A hit taken by a regiment from battle magic temporarily lowers its morale by one (-1) for the check against that (and only that) hit.

Hit without consequences: if the morale check passed without consequences, the regiment may continue the battle or the retreat. The hit has no effect.

Flight: the regiment is removed from the battlefield and placed in a separate pile of "fleeing" regiments near the battlefield. After the battle ends, one of two things happens to the fleeing regiments:

• (a) if the player won the battle (has forces and did not retreat), all his fleeing regiments return to the stack with the rest of the regiments in the area where the battle took place and, starting from the next step of the phase, act as usual.
• (b) if the player lost the battle (retreated from the battlefield or lost all his forces in the battle), all his fleeing regiments are captured by the opponent and placed in the opponent's "prisoners" pile, located next to the game map.

Destruction: the regiment is removed from the game entirely.

Reserve and Regrouping

Regrouping situations: after battle magic and after shooting, some regiments on the front line may flee or be destroyed. If a regiment has no opponent in front of it, it can be freely moved opposite another enemy on the front line. In addition, only at the start of each new battle round, new regiments from reserve may be brought to the front line, and regiments that lost their opponents after melee may be regrouped.

Basic rules: all regrouping regiments (including reserves) must, where possible, be positioned opposite the enemy's regrouping regiments. Regrouping works like the initial deployment: first the active player places his regiment, then the waiting player. If the opponent has no regiments left to regroup, you may group your regrouping regiments with friendly regiments on the front line and create a "two on one" situation. If you have additional regiments, you may at your wish create more "two on one" situations or "three (or more) on one" situations.

Gradual regrouping: once moved, a regiment keeps its new position on the front line until its opponent is defeated or the opponent gets new regiments to regroup. In the latter case, if an enemy regiment is "freed" for regrouping, you must place against it one of your regrouping regiments, if it is grouped with a regiment on the front line, or bring a regiment out of reserve (if you can use reserves at that moment of the turn). This prevents "many against many" situations around anyone on the front line, so any "two on two" situations must be broken down into "one on one" components as described above.

Front limit: the front-line length is the maximum number of regiments that can line up, including all regrouped regiments and reserves brought into the battle.

Note: the ability of regiments to be rearranged is a powerful advantage that lets you concentrate on dangerous opponents or gain superiority against one strong regiment. The typical aim of a battle is to outweigh the enemy's strength by committing all your reserves and to inflict heavy losses on him, which lets you rearrange and gain an advantage by creating "many on one" situations.

Characters in Battle

All characters in a battle must be stacked with regiments. One or several characters may be with one regiment of warriors and stay with it throughout each round. In a battle characters play only a "supporting" role and are not full regiments.

Regrouping: at the start of each battle round characters may be moved to another regiment. This is done like the initial placement: first the active player moves a character, then the waiting player, and so on. A character can be moved even when regrouping of regiments is impossible. Characters are not affected by the front-line length limit. Also, a character must be forcibly moved if his regiment flees or is destroyed (see below).

Leader ability in battle: a character with leader ability increases by that value the melee effectiveness and morale of the regiment he is stacked with. If one regiment contains several leaders, only the ability of one of them (the largest) is added and the others are ignored. A regiment's morale value, even with the leader's bonus, can never exceed six (6).

Flight and destruction: the flight or destruction of a regiment containing a character may have unpleasant consequences for the character. One die is rolled: 1, 2 - the character is killed; 3 - the character flees; 4, 5, 6 - the character is unharmed and must be moved immediately to another regiment.

Retreat

At the end of any round either player may declare a retreat. A retreat is always possible but not compulsory. If a retreat is declared, all units must leave the battle, not just some of them.

Procedure: on retreating, the player must immediately check morale for each of his regiments. All regiments that flee as a result are taken prisoner, as are the regiments that fled earlier (during the battle). Characters do not need to take this check when retreating; they all withdraw with the regiments that retreated safely. Characters have no effect on the morale of retreating regiments even though they are in them!

Withdrawal: when the waiting player retreats, all his surviving units withdraw into an adjacent area on the map. When the active player retreats, all his surviving units withdraw using their full available MP. This movement may be made as one stack for the MP of the slowest unit. In addition, some units may continue their movement with the remainder of their MP. The retreating player determines the withdrawal movement himself.

Movement limits when withdrawing: withdrawing units cannot cross impassable terrain and cannot enter areas in which there is an enemy. Units may not enter the same area twice during a withdrawal. All withdrawing units must travel a distance not less than what the slowest of them can travel. Withdrawing units must move in the direction of the nearest friendly fortification that is not under siege, by the fastest route (for the slowest withdrawing units).

Fortifications and withdrawal: if any withdrawing unit ends up in an area with a friendly fortification (city or castle) that is not besieged, the withdrawal ends there regardless of how many MP have been spent. If a player leaves a battle that took place in an area with a friendly fortification, he may, instead of moving to withdraw, retire into that fortification regardless of whether this fortification is under siege or not (note that the only way for units to "break through" into a besieged fortification is to fight at least one battle round and then retreat into the fortification besieged in that area).

End of the Battle

When one of the players loses all his forces or retreats, the battle ends.

Retreat: if a player retreats, the retreat procedure described earlier is used. At the end of the last battle round all surviving forces and fled units of the other player return to the area in which the battle took place.

Rout: if a player loses all his regiments in a battle, all his fled units are taken prisoner by the opponent. Any surviving character remains in the area but must pass a capture check (see "Capture of Characters"). All fled units become "prisoners" of the winner.

Mutual destruction: if both players simultaneously destroy each other's last regiments, all fled units on both sides are considered scattered and lost (destroyed); only characters (if any) are saved, and they remain in the area in which the battle took place. These characters cannot be captured because there are no regiments in the area. In their next phase the characters can move freely.

Battle Example

(The original includes an illustration at the end of the following page.)

Lord Erush with an army of five regiments entered area 1004 and joined battle with the eight regiments of the Duke of DeAnsor in it. The Duke preferred to give battle in the hills rather than on the open plain, which means the front-line length is seven (7) and the terrain does not affect the units' characteristics (actually, cavalry in hills should get -1 to melee - translator's note).

Lord Erush began the deployment by putting out the heavy Erush cavalry (0855) and the Duke answered with his heavy knights (also 0855). Then the Duke put out heavy infantry (5743), and the Lord set swordsmen (4643) against it. This continued until the regiments were lined up in five pairs.

Lastly Lord Erush placed himself with his scout cavalry, while the Duke joined the knights. Note that on the Khozar side two regiments of sergeants (0745) and the Timur spearmen (0644) are not deployed and are in reserve.

At the start of the first round, the Khozar player adds from reserve the DeAnsor sergeants (0745) to the knights (0855), and the Timur sergeants (0745) to the crossbowmen (7643). Because of the front-line length limit (in hills, 7) he cannot add the spearmen (0644) remaining in reserve.

Lord Erush attacks with battle magic the Gantoz infantry (5745) standing opposite and rolls a "4". To make a hit he needs a "1" (actually 1 or 2 - translator's note), so he misses.

Now the regiments exchange shots. The Khozar DeAnsor knights (0855) have zero missile effectiveness, so they cannot shoot, nor can the sergeants combined with them. The DeAnsor infantry's missile effectiveness is 5, but 6 is rolled on the dice, which is a miss. The crossbowmen further along have missile effectiveness 7, but their opponent wears heavy armour (the Erush foot guard (0753)), so the effectiveness is reduced to 6. The Khozar player rolls 3, thereby hitting the foot guard. Shooting continued until all regiments had fired, and during it the DeAnsor infantry received a hit from the opposing Erush swordsmen (they were very lucky!). Now morale is checked, and the "4" rolled for the Erush foot guard means the hit passed without consequences, while the "4" rolled for the DeAnsor infantry means they fled.

The Erush swordsmen (4643), whose opponents were the infantry that fled after the shooting, are freed for regrouping since they have no opponent. However, they must first meet the Khozar regrouping regiments, two of which are present on the battlefield (sergeants 0745). The Demon, as the active player, must start the regrouping first and of course must place the swordsmen only opposite the Khozar regrouping regiments. The Khozar player announces that he is placing the Timur sergeants against them, which are now grouped with the crossbowmen.

During the melee part of the round, the Erush scouts (5656) take a hit and roll a "6" on the morale check. Since Lord Erush is in this regiment (his leader ability +1 raises the mounted scouts' morale to 6), the regiment flees. To determine his further fate Lord Erush rolls a die and gets a "2" - he is killed in the flight.

Now the Demon player decides he has had enough and retreats. He checks the morale of all remaining regiments. The mounted scouts (5656), who have just fled, do not have to take the check but are captured automatically. Except for the swordsmen (4643), who rolled a "3" and are destroyed, the other Erush regiments successfully pass the morale check. The remnants of the Demon army withdraw for their full MP (since the Demon player is the active player). As the winner, the Khozar player returns his fled sergeants (actually the spearmen fled - translator's note) and takes the Erush mounted scouts (5656) prisoner. The Khozar forces stay in the area of the battle until the end of the phase, but in their part of the turn they can move as usual and will try to catch up with the remnants of the Demon's army to finally defeat them.

Sieges

When a Siege Occurs

A siege occurs if, after the end of the battle phase, both players have forces in one area that contains a fortification controlled by one of them. In fact, only where there is a fortification can both players' forces be in the same area after the battle phase.

Fortifications: on the map this is any city or castle. Villages and temples are not fortifications. A fortification is owned by the player whose regiments were last in that area. A player retains control of the fortification until the enemy captures it (by bringing one or more regiments into that area). At the start of the game control belongs to the player whose regiments or characters begin the game in those fortifications.

Besieger and defender: during a siege the player who owns the fortification is the defender. The player whose regiments are in the area with the fortification but who does not own it is the besieger. These roles do not change throughout the whole siege and do not depend on the phase of the turn.

Movement of the Besieger and Defender

While a fortification is under siege, its defenders cannot leave the area. This continues as long as the besiegers have at least one regiment in the area. The defender is "locked" in his fortification and cannot leave it. Nevertheless, the defender of the fortification may (in his phase) try to break the siege and go out of the fortification for battle.

Conducting a Siege

The siege procedure is used during the siege period in each phase. Note that the siege is conducted in both the defender's phase and the besieger's phase (in the siege step).

To conduct the siege, the besieger chooses whether he will assault the fortification or prolong the siege. If he decides to assault, the result is taken from the assault table; otherwise from the siege table. To find out what losses are inflicted on the enemy, each player rolls two dice and looks at the corresponding row of the corresponding table. Losses are expressed as the number of enemy regiments destroyed. Players themselves choose which of their regiments they lose. Losses occur simultaneously.

Surrender: some results in the table indicate the enemy's "surrender". This means the defender surrenders the fortification without additional casualties (although the defender may destroy besieger regiments in this turn), and all units besieged in the fortification, including characters, are taken prisoner by the besieger.

Result modifiers: in some cases the dice results in a siege may be modified. All the possible modifiers listed below are added to and/or subtracted from the dice roll:

• +1 the player successfully cast more siege spells during the siege (ignored if no magic was used; for details see the magic rules).
• +1 of all the characters in the area, the player has a character who exceeds the others in leader ability (ignored if both sides have equal ability).
• +1 siege of any castle other than Lyuung (modifies only the besieger's roll).
• +1 the siege has lasted 5 or more phases (modifies only the besieger's roll).
• -1 it is the first phase of the siege (modifies only the besieger's roll).
• -1 the siege of the castle of Lyuung is under way (modifies only the besieger's roll, if he has no flying regiments; for details see the special rules and alliances).

Reinforcing the Defender of a Fortification

If the defender brings new forces into the area where a siege is in progress, a battle must take place. At the defender's wish, the besieged forces may also take part in the battle. However, characters alone cannot take part in the battle; characters entering the area must have an escort of at least one regiment.

Note: if the defender merely wishes to bring new forces into the fortification, they must fight at least one round of battle and then retreat (into the fortification, which is the nearest). In this way the new regiments "break through" into the besieged fortification to reinforce its defenders.

End of the Siege

A siege ends when only one player's forces remain in the area. If the defender loses all his forces, he also loses control of the fortification, and all characters remaining in the castle are taken prisoner by the besieger. If the besieger loses all his regiments or leaves the area, control of the fortification stays with the defender.

The besieger may lift the siege simply by withdrawing his forces from the area during the movement subphase. If he wishes to continue the siege, he may withdraw not all of his forces.

The defender may try to lift the siege by going out to battle, in the hope of destroying the enemy forces or forcing them to retreat. In addition, after fighting one round of battle he may himself retreat toward some other fortification and leave the abandoned area to the besieger. This is the only way to break the siege and leave the besieged fortification.

Magic

A character with magic power of 1 or more can cast magic spells. Each character can cast one spell per phase. The ability to cast spells cannot be transferred and cannot be saved "for the future" to cast several spells in a phase.

Kinds of Magic Spells

Battle magic: battle magic may be used by any character if he has not yet cast a spell in the current phase. Battle magic spells have no special counters and are known to all.

Siege magic: siege magic may be used by any character with magical abilities, and there are no special counters for it either.

Summoning magic: any character with magical abilities may attempt a summoning if he has not yet cast a spell in the current phase. Summoning spells have no special counters and are known to all.

Alliance magic: any character with magical abilities may try to use it when attempting to conclude an alliance with neutrals. It too is known to all and has no special counters.

Special spells: the Demon and Khozar each have seven special spell counters. The players receive these counters in secret from each other, as described below:

Obtaining special spells: at the start of each game the players draw special spell counters. A player may choose: either he takes one counter of his choice and draws three without looking, or he draws five counters without looking. To take markers without looking, they must be shuffled face down on the table or in a closed container, and then the required number drawn.

The Process of Casting Magic Spells

Each magic spell is applied during a phase only in a particular period. To cast a spell the player simply names which character is speaking the spell, what the spell is, and where it is directed. Several spells may be cast at the same time, i.e. regardless of the order in which the players announce them, their results take effect simultaneously. Each character is limited to casting only one spell per phase, regardless of its success.

Magic power: all special spells have minimum magic power requirements. A character cannot cast a spell if his magic power is lower than the minimum required. The required minimum magic power is shown on the special spell counters. Magic power also determines the effectiveness of battle magic and summoning magic, and can give superiority when using siege magic.

Range of magic: magic spells may be cast into any area lying at a distance not exceeding the character's magic range value (the exception is battle magic and summoning magic, which have zero range and can be used only inside the current area). When counting the range, the target area is counted and the area of the caster is not.

Success and failure: there is a chance that a spell will not work. After the spell is announced, its success is determined by the roll of one die:

• Battle magic is always successful, but a hit as such does not always happen;
• Summoning is successful if the die roll is less than or equal to the magic power of the character casting the spell;
• Siege magic is successful if the die shows 1 to 5, and unsuccessful on 6;
• Special spells of power 2 or 3 are successful on a result of 1-5 and unsuccessful on 6;
• Special spells of power 4 or 5 are successful on a result of 1-4 and unsuccessful on 5-6.

Battle Magic

Use of the spell: characters use battle magic only during battles. The range of this magic is always 0, so a character using it must be in the area in which the battle is taking place, regardless of his own magic range value.

Applying battle magic: during each battle round a character with magical abilities may loose one "magic arrow" in the direction of the opposing enemy regiment, as in ordinary shooting. However, to determine a hit one die (not two) is rolled. A hit occurs if the result is less than or equal to the character's magic power. A regiment hit by a "magic arrow" must check morale, having first subtracted one (-1) from its morale value.

A character may loose one "magic arrow" in each round throughout the whole battle.

Siege Magic

Use of the spell: characters use siege magic only during sieges. The magic can be used within the character's ordinary magic range, and to succeed the die must show 1 to 5 (6 - the spell did not work).

Effect: each side totals the number of all successfully cast siege magic spells for one area. The player with the greater total adds one (+1) to the die roll when the siege is conducted on the current turn. Players may announce the use of magic in any order, but cannot withdraw spells already announced. This may lead to more and more characters announcing spells into the siege area in an attempt to exceed the opposing side in the number of spells. After all spells have been announced, a success check is made for each of them.

Special Spells Available to Both Players

"Vision" (requires power 2+): this spell can be cast before or after movement. If the opponent does not cast the spell "veil" (see below), successful casting of "vision" lets the player look at all units in the area targeted by the spell.

"Veil" (requires power 2+): this spell is spoken after the opponent's spell "vision" to prevent it. A successful "veil" spell prevents the effect of all "vision" spells in the area chosen by the caster until the end of the phase, keeping secret the units in that area.

"Swift Steps" (requires power 3+ for Khozar and 4+ for the Demon): this spell is spoken in any phase before movement. Success gives all friendly units in the indicated area two (+2) additional MP during movement in this phase. The effect lasts until the battle subphase and does not apply to retreating.

"Failure" (requires power 4+ for Khozar and 3+ for the Demon): this spell is spoken during a phase before movement or before withdrawing from a battle. A successful spell, until the end of the phase, halves (1/2) the MP of all units in the area and, for the rest of the phase, forbids any other units from entering that area. Units of a retreating player may withdraw one area, but not into an area with the "failure" spell.

Note: if the spell is cast on an area containing a castle, city, village or temple, the caster must add two (+2) to the die roll for its success, since structures in the area increase the probability of failure.

"Gate" (requires power 4+): can be cast at any moment of a phase. Success allows the caster to transfer one unit from one area within magic range to another area within magic range. The transfer happens magically and no intermediate areas are taken into account. If the spell is cast by a character with power 5, he can move two units with one spell. However, both units must be in the same area and must be moved also into one area. "Gate" can supplement ordinary movement, which can be made before or after this spell takes effect. If desired, the character may transfer himself to any area within his magic range.

Special Spells Available Only to the Demon Player

"Darkness" (requires power 2+): spoken at the start of the battle subphase. If cast successfully, all Khozar regiments in the indicated area lower their morale by one (-1) during the battle. If "darkness" and "light" spells are in effect in one area, they neutralize each other and additional "darkness" or "light" spells have no effect until the end of the phase.

"Necromon" (requires power 5): spoken at the end of a phase. On success the Demon player may "restore" or "raise from the dead" any one destroyed unit (character or regiment). Only a unit destroyed in this or the preceding phase can be returned. The area in which the unit was destroyed must be within reach of the magic range, and the unit returns to that same area. A unit can be returned from the dead an unlimited number of times, but each time only with the help of this spell.

Special Spells Available Only to the Khozar Player

"Light" (requires power 2+): spoken at the start of the battle subphase. If cast successfully, all Demon regiments in the indicated area lower their morale by one (-1) during the battle. If "darkness" and "light" spells are in effect in one area, they neutralize each other and additional "darkness" or "light" spells have no effect until the end of the phase.

"Rains" (requires power 4+): spoken at the start of a phase. The target area must contain either a lake, mountains or cliffs, or rivers must flow along at least two of its sides. Success means that rivers, lakes and swamps in the areas within magic range overflow their banks. This means they become impassable to all units. Fords also become impassable, and bridges turn into fords. The cost of movement in hills and mountains increases by one (+1) MP. All areas with deserts, steppes and meadows that have lakes or two or more river sides turn into swamps, and former swamps become impassable.

This spell lasts two full phases: the phase in which it was cast and the following one. The spell can be cast only once per phase. The caster may reduce the radius of the spell if he wishes. If the spell is cast by a character with magic power 5, the spell may selectively affect an area or a group of areas within the magic range. In other words, the spell need not extend to all areas within its range; the caster himself may choose which areas come under the spell and which do not.

Important special property: because of the low cloud cover in the areas covered by the "rain" spell, all flying creatures must double the cost of crossing any side of areas covered by the "Rain" spell.

Summoning

Procedure: a character with magic power who has stopped in the appropriate temple may, using summoning magic, try to summon various demigods or spirits. Summoning is a magic spell that is spoken after the character's movement in your own phase and cannot be used during the opponent's phase. Summoning is impossible if there are enemy forces in the area with the temple where it takes place. A die is rolled to determine success. If the result is equal to or less than the magic power of the character performing the summoning, the spell is successful and the summoned unit(s) appear in the area with the temple. If the summoning is unsuccessful, nothing happens, but another character in that area may try to repeat it. A unit can be summoned only once, regardless of the number of successful spells. However, if a summoned unit is destroyed, it can be summoned again and, if the summoning succeeds, brought back into the game.

Demon summoning: in the Temple of Yorgash (area 2006) the Demon player may summon the subterranean horror Yorgash. In the Shaman Temple (area 2119) he may summon the Shaman. In addition, in the Temple of Ninkhiz creatures with home location "SKhN" can be summoned. A successful summoning in the Temple of Ninkhiz lets the Demon player take five of the seven creatures without looking and place them in the area with the temple. To draw the creatures without looking, their counters are first shuffled face down or put in a bag. The Demon may not look at the counters until he has taken five of them.

Khozar summoning: starting from the second turn, the Khozar player may summon in any Khozar temple the Spirit of Light (home location PR). The Spirit of Light cannot be summoned on the first turn.

When reinforcements arrive for Khozar (if they arrive), the Khozar player may summon in any Khozar temple the Western Mage (location PRP). Each summoning of this character counts as calling in reinforcements and affects victory points.

Other summonings: if a player has a permanent or temporary alliance with neutrals, he may try to summon their demigods or spirits. These include:

The Ancients: if a player is allied with the Ancients, he may try in the Temple of the Ancients (area 1702) to summon the Ancient One character.

Warriors of the Great Forest: if a player is allied with the warriors of the Great Forest, he may try in the Forest Temple (area 1113) to summon the Beast God or the Forest Spirit. If the Forest Chieftain himself makes the summoning attempt, his magic power is doubled (to 4) for this, but in all other uses of magic his power remains unchanged. If the summoning is successful, the die is rolled once more: 1, 2, 3 - the Beast God appears; 4, 5, 6 - the Forest Spirit appears. A second demigod or spirit cannot be summoned, but if it is summoned and then dies, only it can be summoned a second time.

Alliances with Neutrals

There are five small neutral settlements, described below. Each settlement occupies its own area on the map, remote from both warring sides. Thus one player may "control" some neutrals as his allies while the other controls others. Until an alliance is concluded, all neutrals stay in their home areas and are hostile to both players and to the other neutrals.

Automatic alliance: if neutrals are attacked in a battle or siege, they instantly become permanent allies of the other player. If the attack takes place in an area with a fortification, the other player, not the one who started the battle, decides whether the neutrals fight the battle or take shelter in the besieged fortification.

Attempting an alliance: once per phase, at the end of the phase, each player is given the chance to conclude an alliance. An alliance can be attempted only if the player has his forces in an area adjacent to the neutrals or can reach the neutrals' area with alliance magic. Only one spell can be spent on each neutral per turn.

Roll one die:

• 1 the neutral becomes a permanent ally of the player;
• 2, 3 the neutral becomes a temporary ally of the player;
• 4 no change; the attempt may be repeated on the next turn;
• 5 the neutral's existence turned out to be a myth; its counters are removed from the game, and the fortification (if there was one) turns out to be just a village;
• 6 the neutral is offended and becomes a temporary ally of the opponent.

When alliance magic is used, the die roll for success or failure is likewise taken from this table. No additional roll to check the spell's success is made.

Consequences of an alliance: the player controls the units of the neutral allied to him (permanently or temporarily) as his own. The characters and regiments of the ally "join" the player's forces. In addition the player gains control of the fortification occupied by the allies.

Temporary alliances: such alliances continue until one of two things happens: (a) the ally's units are defeated in a battle (if they end up retreating from the battlefield or lose all their regiments), or (b) the area with the home settlement is captured by the enemy. In both cases the player controlling them must at the end of the phase roll a die to check for a change in their attitude to him:

• 1 the alliance only grew stronger and became permanent;
• 2, 3, 4 no consequences, the alliance stays as it was; if events (a) or (b) are repeated, a check is required again;
• 5 the alliance is broken and the ally again becomes neutral;
• 6 the alliance is broken and the former ally concludes a temporary alliance with the opponent.

If an ally restores neutrality or goes over to the other side, all its units are removed from the map and then, at the end of the next phase, placed in its home area. The only exception is when they are already in the home area; then they are not removed but remain in that place. All demigods or spirits it summoned are removed and can enter the game only by being summoned again. If a player has units in an area with neutral fortifications, they are not under his control (control returns to the neutrals).

Neutrals and Prisoners

The State of Neutrality

There are five different neutrals in the game. Below are listed the placement areas of each and some additional nuances. All neutrals have their own settlements and conclude alliances separately.

Kingdom of Ul (home location ShU): located in the Mines of Ul (area 0902). On the first successful conclusion of an alliance with them or the first attack on them, an additional die must be rolled. On a 1, 2, 3 the kingdom is ruled by Balor, who has trolls (0962) and two units of slave miners (4533). On a 4, 5, 6 the kingdom is ruled by the Dwarf King, who has two units of dwarves (4753) and two units of slave miners (4533). The die roll determines the kingdom's units once and for all until the end of the game; units not used are not used in the game.

Duchy of Altu-Khan, a highland country of mountain men (home location AKh): located in the fortress city of Altu-Khan (1401).

The Ancients, the last of the lizardmen (home location DR): located in the Temple of the Ancients (area 1702). The Ancient One character can be summoned in this same temple by a player allied with the Ancients.

Principality of Lyuung, domain of the magical Cloud Prince (home location LYU): located in Castle Lyuung (area 1308). This fortification is considered almost impregnable to ground attacks, and during an assault in a siege the attacker must subtract one (-1) from the dice roll determining the siege result, unless he has more air units than the castle's defender.

Barbarians of the Great Forest, warlike forest tribes (home location VL): located in the village of Runa (area 0914). A player allied with them can summon the Beast God or the Forest Spirit (for details see Summoning). Also, if the Forest Chieftain makes the summoning in the Forest Temple, his magic power during this is raised to four (4).

Movement Peculiarities of the Neutrals

Altu-Khan men: foot AKh units spend only one (1) MP instead of two when crossing area borders over hills.

The Ancients: DR units spend only one (1) MP when crossing the border of any area; the usual cost is disregarded. However, mountains are impassable for the Ancients; they can neither cross them nor defend in them. They can attack an enemy defending in the mountains, but then their melee effectiveness falls by two (-2) and their morale falls by one (-1).

Barbarians of the Great Forest: VL units spend only one (1) MP when moving through forest instead of the two due to infantry and air units. This rule applies also to the Forest Spirit.

Prisoners

During movement, battles and sieges, units may be taken prisoner. Both players keep their prisoners in a separate pile next to the map. At the end of his phase a player may demand an exchange of prisoners.

How the exchange works: during the exchange, the waiting player (from whom the exchange was demanded) chooses a unit from those he has captured and offers it to the active player. In reply the active player chooses a unit from those he has captured, and the units are exchanged for each other, ceasing to be prisoners. Then the waiting player chooses the next unit, and so on. The active player may stop the exchange at any moment and thereby end the prisoner exchange for this phase. The exchange also ends if one of the players runs out of prisoners. If desired, characters may be exchanged for regiments, or regiments for regiments, or characters for characters. Prisoners cannot be executed; they are either exchanged or stay in captivity until the end of the game.

Freed prisoners are, as a rule, placed in their home area and may move, fight, etc. freely. Freed prisoners cannot be placed in the home area if there are enemy regiments in it. Instead they are placed in the nearest friendly fortification (city or castle) located in an area free of enemies.

If there are enemies in the home area of a freed character with magic power 1 or higher, then instead of a fortification he may be placed in the nearest friendly temple free of enemies.

Freed reinforcement units count as additional reinforcements and are placed in the player's next phase as when ordinary reinforcements arrive.

Freed demigods or spirits do not return to the map until they are summoned once more by means of summoning magic.

Setup, End of the Game, Victory

Initial Placement

Before starting the game the map must be unfolded and the counters punched out. The Demon player sits at the eastern edge of the map and the Khozar player at the western edge.

The War Preparation sheet contains diagrams showing all the units and the areas of their initial placement. Units are set up according to these diagrams. Note that units placed in one place or in the same way have the same placement (home location) designation.

Demon setup peculiarities: some units can be placed only after summoning (SKhN, KhN, YoR units).

Khozar setup peculiarities: the servants of Khozar (KhO) are placed two each in the four temples of Khozar. The player chooses himself whom to place in which temples.

The units of the Western Townsmen (ZG) are placed in cities. The Khozar player, in any order, chooses one ZG unit and a city, and then rolls a die. If 1, 2, 3 is rolled, the unit is placed in that city; if 4, 5, 6 is rolled, the unit cannot be placed in that city and another city must be chosen, and the die is rolled again. No more than one unit can be placed in each city, and if one unit cannot be placed in some city (due to the die roll), another one may be. If a unit cannot be placed in any of the cities (as a result of a series of unsuccessful die rolls), it does not take part in the game. The western cities are: Khorkan (0502), Darton (0206), Belbits (0806), Kimat (0113) and Fargeni (0718).

Choice of special spells: after setup, each player shuffles all seven of his special spell counters and takes five of them without looking. Instead, a player may choose one of the spells at his wish, shuffle the remaining ones and draw three more of them without looking. The spells are kept secret from the opponent until their first use.

First Turn

The Khozar player moves in the first phase on every turn.

Reinforcements

During the game, at the start of his phase, each player may "call" reinforcements. Reinforcements cannot be called until the first battle has taken place or the first siege has begun or until a unit has first been lost or captured (including loss or capture by magic). Until a player has called reinforcements, he receives additional victory points (see below).

At the start of the phase in which reinforcements were called and at the start of subsequent phases, the active player rolls a die once per phase. If 1, 2, 3 is rolled, the reinforcements arrive. Once reinforcements have been called, they cannot be recalled, even if they have not yet arrived.

The Demon's reinforcements are designated PTs (Underworld Realm). The Demon shuffles all eleven counters and takes nine of them without looking. The other two are set aside and not used. The nine counters are placed in the area or areas with a road leading off the eastern edge of the map (areas 2201, 2214, 2223). If desired, the reinforcements can be placed in different areas or all in one.

Khozar's reinforcements are designated AN (mercenary army). The Khozar player shuffles all nine counters and takes eight of them without looking. The remaining one is set aside and not used. The eight counters are placed in the area or areas with a road leading off the western edge of the map: areas 0301, 0108, 0523. If desired, the reinforcements can be placed in different areas or all in one.

The Western Mage, the embodied spirit of Khozar: this character can be summoned as soon as Khozar's reinforcements have appeared on the map or in any later phase. He can be summoned in any Khozar temple by successfully applying summoning magic.

End of the Game

Complete and unconditional victory: the game ends with a Demon victory if he has captured Timur, or with a Khozar victory if he has captured Nisshar.

Truce: at the end of any turn after the second, either player may try to start "truce negotiations" by rolling a die. Negotiations begin on a roll of "6". Both players may try to start negotiations; in that case both must roll dice and if one succeeds, negotiations begin. At the moment negotiations start and on each following turn, a player who still wishes to reach peace rolls two dice and adds the current turn number to the result. If the sum (dice roll + turn number) is 20 or more, the next turn becomes the last turn of the game. If the sum is from 15 to 19, a die is rolled again, and it shows after how many turns the game will end. If the sum is 14 or less, the negotiations were fruitless and the game continues as usual. Note that during the negotiations the players may, as usual, move forces, enter battles, besiege fortifications and cast spells. Peace negotiations impose no restrictions, but simply bring the end of the war as near as possible.

Victory

If at the end of the game neither the Demon nor Khozar has become the clear winner (see "End of the Game" above), the winner is determined by the sum of the victory points accumulated during the game.

Victory points: at the end of each turn each player uses the victory point table to count the sum of points earned from the current game situation. Victory points are counted every turn and accumulate. Thus the players can keep the tally of their games. Victory points are awarded for:

• 1 a greater number of fortifications than the opponent;
• 1 a greater number of alliances with neutrals than the opponent;
• 1 the player has not requested reinforcements;
• 1 for each enemy city* under the player's control.

* Khozar gets victory points as for a city if the Temple of Ninkhiz is under his control; the Demon does not.

Victory points are earned on every turn, by the state of the game at the end of the turn.

Tie: if the victory point totals at the end of the game are equal, Khozar wins. The Demon, to win, must have a superiority in victory points.

Scenario Variants

Strategic Game

The usual game end and the victory point counting rules are not used. Instead, the game can end only through peace negotiations. Negotiations begin as usual, from the moment a "6" is rolled on a die. However, to find out the result of the negotiations, two dice are rolled and the result is doubled, then the current turn number is added. If the sum is 36 or more, the number of turns remaining until the end of the game is found by rolling one die.

Victory points are counted differently and only once, at the end of the game. They do not accumulate during the game. The player who scores more points wins (Khozar also wins on a tie).

• 1 no reinforcements were called by the player during the game;
• 1 on this turn you killed and captured more enemy units than he did of yours;
• 2 the Temple of Ninkhiz is under Khozar's control (counted only for Khozar);
• 1 for each alliance of neutrals with the opponent;
• 1 for each enemy character killed or captured;
• 1 you managed to kill and capture more enemy regiments than he did of yours.

Extended Game

The game continues until one of the opponents simultaneously gains control of all three of the opponent's cities (Timur, DeAnsor and Barzek are to be captured by the Demon, or Nisshar, Erush and Taegul by Khozar). As soon as this happens the game ends and the capturing player wins.

Characters and regiments killed during the game can be returned as reinforcements. At the start of his phase a player may try to put out one character and one regiment. A die is rolled for the arrival of each. If the die roll shows success, the unit is placed as a freed prisoner. If the roll fails, the attempt may be repeated on another turn.

• For a character, a "6" means success;
• For a regiment, a "5" or "6" means success.

A player cannot make attempts to obtain reinforcements if his capital is occupied by the enemy. The capital of Khozar is Timur, of the Demon, Nisshar.

First-Turn Variant

The game begins not with the Khozar phase; instead both players roll dice. Whoever rolls higher moves in the first phase of every turn until the end of the game. If the result is equal, the dice are rerolled.

This variant is recommended for scenario variants that last longer than the ordinary game.

Tournament Version with Reduced Randomness

Experienced players who wish to reduce the element of chance in the game may use the following changes: both players take four of the seven spells of their choice. Both players get one additional unit in reinforcements, which means Khozar receives all nine units and the Demon ten of eleven. However, the selection of creatures from Ninkhiz and the Demon's reinforcements takes place at random, leaving a small share of randomness in the game.

Player Aid Tables

Table 1 (player aid sheet)

Actions in a phase (Khozar begins): (1) Unit movement; (2) Summoning magic; (3) Battles; (4) Sieges; (5) Alliances.

Battle order: (a) Bring in reserves; (b) Battle magic; (c) Shooting; (d) Melee; (e) Possible retreat.

Shooting: for a hit the roll of two dice must not exceed the effectiveness. Shooting modifiers: +1 enemy without armour; -1 enemy in heavy armour.

Melee: for a hit the roll of two dice must not exceed the effectiveness. Melee modifiers: +1 attacker has superior armour; +? leader bonus.

Morale check (at each hit): for success the roll of one die must not exceed the morale value. Morale can never be greater than 6. +? leader bonus; -1 battle magic hit.

Characters (when a unit is destroyed / flees): one die is rolled: 1, 2 - character killed; 3 - character flees; 4, 5, 6 - character unharmed and regroups.

Capture of characters: if the enemy's roll (one die each) is higher - captured; if the rolls are equal - stopped; -2 to the character's die roll in an area with an enemy fortification; +1 to the roll of the character with the strongest magic power in the area.

Concluding an alliance: 1 - becomes a permanent ally; 2, 3 - becomes a temporary ally; 4 - nothing happens; 5 - the neutral turned out to be a myth; 6 - becomes a temporary ally of the opponent.

Temporary alliance check: 1 - becomes a permanent ally; 2, 3, 4 - no change, temporary alliance continues; 5 - becomes neutral; 6 - becomes a temporary ally of the opponent.

Success and failure of magic: battle magic is always successful, the magic power value is used to make a hit; summoning succeeds if the roll does not exceed the magic power; siege magic succeeds on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on the die; special spells (power 2-3) succeed on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on the die; special spells (power 4-5) succeed on 1, 2, 3, 4 on the die.

Siege dice roll modifiers: +1 superiority in successful siege magic; +1 superiority in leader ability; +1 * castle besieged (other than Lyuung); +1 * siege lasts 5 or more phases; -1 * first phase of the siege; -1 siege of Lyuung without air units. (* applies only to the besieger's roll.)

Table 2: Siege Resolution Table

Roll two dice (with modifiers) and read the row. "Units" are regiments destroyed. Columns as printed: for Assault, losses inflicted by the defender / losses inflicted by the assaulters; for Siege, losses inflicted by the defender / losses inflicted by the besieger.

Roll of two dice	Assault: inflicted by defender	Assault: inflicted by assaulters	Siege: inflicted by defender	Siege: inflicted by besieger
2	none	none	none	none
3	none	none	none	none
4	1 unit	none	none	none
5	1 unit	none	none	none
6	1 unit	none	none	none

Terrain Table

Movement type: P (foot), K (cavalry), V (flying). "Front" is the front-line length. "n/a" means no effect; "x" means movement impossible.

Terrain type	P	K	V	Front	Effect on battle
Plain (green)	1	1	1	8	no effect
Steppe (green-brown)	1	1	1	12	P melee (-1)
Desert (yellow)	2	2	1	11	P melee (-1)
Hills (red-brown)	2	2	1	7	K melee (-1)

* The first unit placed on the battlefield by the active player who crossed the river by a ford or by a bridge does not receive the heavy-armour penalty during the battle.

** If the front-line length is 6 or less, a road increases the front-line length by one (+1); if the front-line length is 7 or more, the road has no effect.

Victory Point Track

Each player uses his own marker to track victory points on the track numbered 1 to 50.