Fantasy Battles: The 9th Age Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • Rules representation
  • Rules Documents
• The Flow of the Game
  • Your First Game
• Battle Preparations
  • 1 Pre-game Planning
    • 1.A Decide Army Size
    • 1.B Build an Army
      • 1.B.a Spell Selection
    • 1.C Community Tools
  • 2 Initial Preparations
    • 2.A Share Army Lists
    • 2.B Build the Battlefield
    • 2.C Determine Victory Conditions
    • 2.D Determine Deployment Type
  • 3 Battle Setup
• Charge Phase
  • 1 Declaring Charges
    • 1.A Charge Reactions
    • 1.B Charge Redirections
  • 2 Charge Moves
    • 2.A Charge Range
    • 2.B Charge Move
    • 2.C Combined Charges
  • 3 Failed Charge Move
  • 4 Engaged in Combat
• Movement Phase
  • 1 Manoeuvres Types
    • 1.A Pivot
    • 1.B Snaking Forward Move
  • 2 Move Manoeuvres
    • 2.A Advance Move
    • 2.B March Move
    • 2.C Reform Move
• Magic Phase
  • 1 Magic Dice and Flux Cards
  • 2 Siphon the Veil
  • 3 Storing Magic
  • 4 Excess Magic
  • 5 Spells
    • 5.A Casting and Dispelling Spells
    • 5.B Casting Multiple Instances of the Same Spell
    • 5.C Bound Spells
  • 6 Miscast Table
• Shooting Phase
  • 1 Choose a unit and a target
  • 2 Who can shoot?
  • 3 Shots and Aim
    • 3.A To-Hit Modifiers
    • 3.B Cover
• Rally Phase
  • 1 Rally Test
• Melee Phase
  • Enemy Wiped
  • Combat
  • 1 Preparations for Combat
    • 1.A Remove Shaken units
    • 1.B Freeze Unit Boundaries
  • 2 Combat Set-Up
    • 2.A Check Combat Formations
    • 2.B Calculate Static Combat Score
    • 2.C Choose Equipment and Abilities
  • 3 Perform Melee Attacks
    • 3.A Determine Agility Order
• After the Game
  • 1 Battle Points
• Definitions and Terminology
  • 1 Measuring Distances
  • 2 Dice
  • 3 Models and Units
  • 4 Unit Spacing
  • 5 Characteristic Profiles
  • 6 Model Height
  • 7 Line of Sight
  • 8 Properties
  • 9 Duration of Effects
• Attacks
  • 1 Attacks
  • 2 Attack Sequence
    • 2.A Allocating Attacks
    • 2.B Determining the Number of Hits
    • 2.C To-Wound Rolls
  • 3 Saves
    • 3.A Armour Saves
    • 3.B Special Saves
  • 4 Losing Health Points and Casualties
    • 4.A Health Pools
    • 4.B Casualties
• Psychology
  • 1 Command Tests
  • 2 Courage Tests
    • 2.A Panic Tests
  • 3 Psychology States
    • 3.A Decimated
    • 3.B Shaken
  • 4 Flee Move
• Magical Effects
  • 1 Magical Move
  • 2 Recover Health Points
  • 3 Raise Health Points
  • 4 Summoned Units
• Characters
  • 1 Make Way
  • 2 General
  • 3 Battle Standard Bearer
  • 4 Character Mounts
• Attachable Models
  • 1 Lone Attachable Models
  • 2 Combined Units
    • 2.A Joining other units
    • 2.B Moving Combined Units
    • 2.C Placement within a Combined Unit
      • 2.C.a Matching Bases
      • 2.C.b Mismatching Bases
    • 2.D Leaving a Combined Unit
      • 2.D.a Move Manoeuvres out of a Unit
      • 2.D.b Charging out of a Unit
• Terrain
  • 1 Terrain Rules
    • 1.A Open Terrain
    • 1.B Covering Terrain (X, Height Y)
    • 1.C Dangerous Terrain (X+, Y)
    • 1.D Disruptive Terrain
    • 1.E Opaque Terrain
  • 2 Terrain Features
    • 2.A Fields
    • 2.B Forest
    • 2.C Hills
    • 2.D Impassable Terrain
    • 2.E Ruins

Introduction

Welcome to the tabletop wargame known as The 9th Age: Fantasy Battles, or "T9A" for short. This is a community crafted miniatures wargame, where grand armies collide in monumental conflicts for supremacy and survival. The game is played on a tabletop with terrain features and miniatures to represent the battlefield and the clashing armies, and it uses six-sided dice and measuring devices to move miniatures and resolve actions such as charging into battle, letting arrows loose, and casting spells.

The rules presented in this book are considered the Core Rules of T9A and are used in all T9A games.

Rules representation

In order to keep rules clear and tidy, the following text formatting is used:

• Designer notes: Text in a grey box denotes designer notes. In these are the designers giving some insights into intent behind rules, alternate ways to play the game, or shortcuts to speed things up.
• CAPITALIZATION is used for words/phrases that are defined in this book, such as "Round of Combat", unless they are common words with no elaborate game definition like "model" or "unit", but "Combat" is since it is not used like the common British term.
• Bold font or text is used to highlight specific words. It is also used in Army Books to emphasise Model Rules specified in the same unit entry.
• Italic font marks reminders, examples, clarifications, and other content that are not direct rules.
• Grey-coloured text is used for figure and table captions, item restrictions, repetitive content, and Properties, which is a special type of keyword that doesn't transfer any direct rules.
• Hyperlinks can be found in the electronic version of this document, and the page footer includes hyperlinks to key sections.
• Pink text is unique to the Reference Handbook. This Handbook covers corner-cases and specific circumstances that are not expected to be relevant in the majority of games. The Handbook is a copy of the Illustrated Rulebook with additional sections added to cover these corner-cases.

Rules Documents

Appendices. Appendices are an integral component of the core rules, and are used in most games. There are two appendices to the Illustrated Rulebook:

• Illustrated Rulebook – Appendix I: Model Rules – Additional and unique rules that specific models possess.
• Illustrated Rulebook – Appendix II: Arcane Compendium – The compendium contains spells from the ten different Paths of Magic, along with the common Magic Items and special Leadership Skills.

Season Pack. This document includes additional Deployment Types, maps, Primary and Secondary Objectives, catering towards more advanced games.

This document is the Illustrated Rulebook, containing a streamlined version of the main rules needed for playing the game alongside art, miniature images and lore. In addition to this, you will need a few more documents to play a full game of T9A.

Army Books. The rules for the different armies are found in Army Books. Within these, you will find army composition rules, unit and model rules, characteristics, and so on.

Supplements. Supplements are optional add-ons to the game that require an agreement with the opponent before using.

The Flow of the Game

This game is divided into three main sections, performed in order.

1. Battle Preparations. Before a game, certain preparations are needed. The players need to put together their armies, prepare the battlefield, agree on Victory Conditions and Deploy their armies.
2. Game Turns. The 9th Age is a turn-based game played over six Game Turns. Each Game Turn consists of two Player Turns. These are made up of a series of Phases: a. Charge Phase b. Movement Phase c. Magic Phase d. Shooting Phase e. Rally Phase f. Melee Phase
3. After the Game. After both players have played their six Player Turns, it is time to tally up the Victory Points and check who managed to complete the Primary and Secondary Objectives to determine who is the winner of the game.

Your First Game

Is this your first game? Let's get you started. First, prepare your battlefield: a large flat surface with model terrain on – a pile of books can be a hill, a mug can be a rock, a mouse pad can be a lake, and so on. Then, challenge a friend to a game where you both command your own miniature army.

For a trial run without the commitment of time and resources, we offer downloadable paper cutouts on the T9A website (Essence of War).

Battle Preparations

Before battle can be joined, you must establish the nature of the battlefield, the armies that will fight upon it, and their reason for being there. This is a natural part of setting up the game, but it can also represent a commander reviewing their troops and scouting the land in preparation for an important battle.

When preparing to play a game of The 9th Age: Fantasy Battles, players follow a series of steps:

1. Pre-game Planning (usually done before players arrive to the gaming table)

• 1.1 Decide Army Size, which determines the scale of the game. This can be done by the players agreeing on an Army Size, or an outside source such as campaign rules or a tournament organiser dictating this.
• 1.2 Build an Army. Each player creates an Army List from one of the Army Books.

2. Initial Preparations (these are sometimes done before arrival, typical in a tournament setting)

• 2.1 Build the Battlefield by setting up terrain and scenery to create an engaging and challenging environment for the battle.
• 2.2 Share Army Lists with your opponent, revealing the units and options you will be using during the game.
• 2.3 Determine Victory Conditions – normally this means picking Primary- and Secondary Objectives, which define the goals for the battle.
• 2.4 Determine Deployment Type – this defines where on the Battlefield the armies can start.

Designer notes: The Season Pack is an annually updated supplement that can provide support in building a battlefield and add several variations on Deployment Types, Primary Objectives and Secondary Objectives. If you are looking for a fast and simple game, or if this is one of your first games, we recommend you use the rules below and leave the Season Pack until next time.

3. Battle Setup (these actions are done at the gaming table by both players together)

• 3.1 Roll-off for Attacker and Defender: the players each roll a dice, the winner decides which player is going to be the Defender; the other will be the Attacker.
• 3.2 Defender Chooses a Deployment Zone, by deciding on which side of the table his army will start the game.
• 3.3 Pre-game Selections: these are choices made before Deployment. Common choices include targets for Secondary Objectives and Spell Swaps.
• 3.4 Deploy units: both players place their units, starting with the Attacker, within their designated Deployment Zones.
• 3.5 Defender's Advantage: the Defender gives Vanguard (3″) to one of their units.
• 3.6 Move Vanguarding units: starting with the unit chosen as part of "Defender's Advantage", units that can do so perform their Vanguard Moves.

1 Pre-game Planning

1.A Decide Army Size

Before building an army, players need to agree on the scale of the battle, which corresponds to the chosen "Army Size". Armies are then built so that the combined point costs of all their units does not exceed the designated Army Size, and is no less than 50 points below that limit.

Army Size also determines the rules for army composition.

Points Cost. The Points Cost, often shortened "pts", is a measure of the power of a unit or upgrade. We use points to ensure that two armies with a similar total Points Cost facing each other provide for a fair, balanced game experience. Every unit has a Points Cost, which is determined by adding its base cost with the cost of additional models added to it, as well as the cost of every additional option selected for that unit.

1.B Build an Army

As the player, it is your duty to command your army on the battlefield, but first you will have to pick one of the different factions available to you. Each Army Book contains a description of the different units that are available to its faction, as well as their Characteristics and special rules.

To build your army, you must write an "Army List", which details the selection of units, spells and options you want to use, along with their Points Cost. Every unit, weapon, upgrade, and Magic Item has a specific Points Cost, which is used to balance the game and ensure fair play between the players.

Army Books. The rules for playing the various factions are detailed in the Army Books and supplement Army Books (remember that using a supplement requires the agreement of your opponent or event organiser).

Unit Entries. Each entry in an Army Book belongs to a specific "Army Category", represented by one or several specific icons in the Army Book. Each Army Category has its own Points Cost limit, as defined in the Army Book, determining how many Army Points a player can allocate to that particular category. This allows players to create a balanced and strategic army composition for their games.

Characters. An army can typically spend up to 40% of its Army Points on characters. All entries in this Category follow the rules for both Characters and Attachable Models.

Designer notes: Characters are the leaders and exceptional individuals in the army, wielding various skills such as brute force, tactical acumen, spellcasting ability, or engineering knowledge. They play a crucial role in influencing the outcome of battles, and one of them usually serves as the army's General, responsible for leading and inspiring your forces.

Core. An army must spend a minimum number of Army Points on this category, generally 25%.

Designer notes: Core units represent the most readily available warriors in the faction, serving as essential rank-and-file troops under the command of the Characters. They are always present in some combination as part of your fighting force.

Special. This Army Category has no maximum limit. An army can spend any amount of Army Points on units in this Category.

Designer notes: The Special Army Category represents less common and more unique forces that are found in some but not all of your faction's armies. While they might make up the largest portion of your host, the availability of each unit is still limited. They usually fill a range of useful and impactful roles.

Army-Specific. An Army-Specific Category always has a maximum percentage of Army Points that can be spent on it; the limit is defined in the individual Army Books.

Designer notes: Army-Specific Categories introduce additional options and limitations in army building, reflecting the nature of the faction. Army-Specific Categories can include thematic groupings of units, limitations based on specific functions, and the faction's most rare and powerful forces.

Rarity – Restrictions for Units and Items. All units and some options in the army have a limit on the number of times that they can be included in the army.

• Maximum Points Cost: unless mentioned otherwise a unit can cost no more than 600 Army Points.
• Max. X items per army: some items have an amount of "Max. X" allowed per army. E.g. "Max. 20 bows", "Max. 4 models". This means you can choose to include a maximum of X instances of each of these items in your army.
• Regular: these Unit Entries are limited to a maximum of one per 500 Army Points (rounding fractions up). For example, at 4000 Army Points, Regular Unit Entries are restricted to "Max. 8/army". Generally units taken from the "Core" Army Category are Regular.
• Common: these items are limited to a maximum of one per 1000 Army Points (rounding fractions up). For example, at 4000 Army Points, Common items are restricted to "Max. 4/army". This is the default limit for all Unit Entries.
• Uncommon: these items are limited to a maximum of one per 1500 Army Points (rounding fractions up). For example, at 4000 Army Points, Uncommon items are restricted to "Max. 3/army". This is the least restrictive limit generally used on magical items and unusual mounts.
• Rare: these items are limited to a maximum of one per 2500 Army Points (rounding fractions up). For example, at 4000 Army Points, Rare items are restricted to "Max. 2/army". Monsters, elite knights and powerful war machines usually follow this limit.
• Extraordinary: these items are limited to a maximum of one per 5000 Army Points (rounding fractions up). For example, at 4000 Army Points, Extraordinary items are restricted to "Max. 1/army". Army defining entries generally follow this limit, such as magical alters, faction unique upgrades and the most ancient of dragons.
• Legendary: these items can only ever be taken once per army. Most magic items, the Battle Standard Bearer and the general follow this limit.

Designer notes: To save time and space on Army List writing, we recommend that the Wizard level of a model is followed by the Path name with the numbers of the selected spells in brackets. For example, "Wizard Adept, Alchemy (2, 3, 4)".

1.B.a Spell Selection

Models that can cast spells of any kind are "Casters". Casters able to cast Learned Spells are also "Wizards".

If a Caster has a choice between spells, or knows any Learned Spells, the chosen spells must be written on the Army List. Casters know different numbers of spells, and select them as described in their unit entries, except for Wizards, who all follow the same general rules for selecting their Learned Spells:

Each of the following Wizard types must choose a Path of Magic to select spells from. Which Paths it has access to is specified under each Wizard's unit entry. The chosen Path of Magic must be written on the Army List.

Wizards know and can choose different Learned Spells depending on their type:

• Wizard Apprentice: 1 spell, that is the Apprentice Spell (#1).
• Wizard Adept: 3 spells chosen from Apprentice Spell and Adept Spells (#1 – #4).
• Wizard Master: 5 spells chosen from Apprentice Spell, Adept Spells, and Master Spells (#1 – #6).

If it is either of the following types, then the Wizard does not select a Path of Magic:

• Wizard Conclave (X): X spells from the list of Learned Spells specified under its unit entry.
• Protean Magic (X): X Apprentice Spells, chosen from any Path of Magic it has access to.

During Pre-game Selections, Casters may Swap Spells. For details, see "3.2 Pre-game Selections".

1.C Community Tools

To help with playing The 9th Age, we have a continually updated list of "Community Tools". These are all found on the T9A Download page and are free to use.

The most popular one at the release of 3.0 (and for a long time before then) is the online army builder tool "New Recruit", developed by 'Flammy'. New Recruit is updated directly from the internal 9th Age files, so its point calculations are generally correct and updated with hardly any delay. All tournament organisers are encouraged to use New Recruit, since the data collected from it are used by our teams to balance the game.

This balancing includes (but is not limited to) determining which units are potentially too popular or remain underused.

You can find it at this address: NewRecruit.eu

All community tools are available for free here: https://community.the-ninth-age.com/wcf/downloads/#communitysupportmaterial.

2 Initial Preparations

2.A Share Army Lists

After deciding on the scale of the game and writing their Army Lists, the next step is to share Army Lists and all relevant information about the upcoming game.

Designer notes: Sharing Army Lists before the game starts allows both players to look up the rules that apply to the units to be involved in the game, so that they understand how those will function and can plan their strategy accordingly, avoiding any unpleasant surprises, and minimising the time spent reading rules while playing.

2.B Build the Battlefield

While the game is playable on a wide variety of Battlefield of all dimensions, we recommend that the following sizes are adhered to. This provides a good balance between enough room to manoeuvre your troops, without having so much room that there hardly any engagement happens.

• Battlefield Size: the game is played on a rectangular Battlefield, with two main dimensions:
  • Short Table Edge: the main direction along which the two opposing armies face each other. We recommend this to be 48″ (roughly 120 cm), regardless of Army Size.
  • Long Table Edge: in most Deployment Types, the long table edge is the side along which the units of each army is lined up. The bigger the armies are, the longer the table edge you need to fit all the units. See the table below for recommendations.
• Terrain placement: the terrain on the Battlefield is essential for adding depth and strategic elements to the game. It can represent various features, from simple objects to more significant landmarks. Players have the flexibility to determine the size, type, and number of Terrain Features, as well as their placement.

Prebuilt Battlefield maps are available in the Season Pack.

Long Table Edge	Short Table Edge	Recommended Army Size
48″	48″	0 – 3499 pts Warband
60″	48″	3500 – 3999 pts Field Army
72″	48″	4000 – 4999 pts Field Army
90″	48″	5000 – 6999 pts Field Army
120″	48″	7000 – 9999 pts Grand Army

2.C Determine Victory Conditions

The Victory Conditions for the game are divided into three parts (see chapter "After the Game" for their relative importance):

1. Victory Points, representing how much of the opponent's army has been removed as a casualty.
2. A single Primary Objective, that both players compete to win.
3. If using Secondary Objectives, one for each player, see the Season Pack; if this is your first game, we recommend playing without Secondary Objectives.

If no outside source (e.g. tournament organiser, campaign rule, Season Packs...) tells you which Primary Objective to use, use the one below.

Scoring Units. Any Rank-and-File unit that fulfils all the conditions below is a "Scoring Unit":

• It has a Standard Bearer.
• It does not have Light Troops.
• It was not Summoned during the game.
• It did not arrive on the Battlefield in Game Turn 6 (e.g. via Ambush).

A unit that is Shaken (see the "Psychology" chapter) temporarily stops being Scoring until it is no longer Shaken.

Primary Objective – Spoils of War. Whenever an enemy Scoring Unit is Destroyed in Combat, the opposing player puts one "Spoils" Token on one of their Scoring Units (provided there are any) that was just engaged with the unit Destroyed in Combat.

A unit loses all of its "Spoils" Tokens when any of the following occurs:

• The last Health Point on its Rank-and-File models is lost.
• It becomes Shaken (remember that any unit that performs a Flee Move automatically becomes Shaken).

At the end of the game, the player with the most "Spoils" Tokens on their units wins this Primary Objective.

2.D Determine Deployment Type

If no outside source tells you what Deployment Type to use, players can use the "Frontline Clash" standard Deployment Type, or choose one from the Season Pack.

Frontline Clash. The "Central Line" is the line drawn through the centre of the board and parallel to the Long Table Edges. Deployment Zones are more than 12″ away from the Central Line, towards your Long Table Edge, and more than 6″ from the Short Table Edges.

3 Battle Setup

	Attacker	Defender
Deployment Zone	–	Chooses
Pre-game Selections	–	Starts (all choices)
Deployment Phase	1st unit, 3rd unit, ...	2nd unit, 4th unit, ...
Defender's Advantage	–	Give one unit Vanguard (3″)
Vanguard	2nd unit, 4th unit, ...	Defender's Advantage choice, 3rd unit, ...

3.A Roll-off for Attacker or Defender

After determining Deployment Type and Victory Conditions, both players roll a D6 (a usual 6-sided dice, see "Dice" in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter), rolling again until one player rolls higher. The player who rolls the highest, decides which player will be the Defender; the other player will be the Attacker.

3.B Choosing the Deployment Zone

(The Defender chooses which Deployment Zone their army will use.)

3.C Pre-game Selections

The Defender now performs all their "Pre-game Selections". After this, the Attacker makes all their Pre-game Selections.

Spell Swapping. A common Pre-game Selection is for Casters to Swap Spells, using these following rules:

1. Hereditary Swap: every Wizard may replace one of its Learned Spells with the Hereditary Spell from its Army Book.
2. Universal Swap: a single Caster in your Army List may replace one of its chosen spells with another spell it could have chosen instead.

3.D Deploy Units

Starting with the Attacker, players then take turns Deploying their units fully inside their own Deployment Zone.

All units must follow the Unit Spacing rule (defined in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter).

On each of their Deployment Turns, a player can Deploy any number of units, and must Deploy at least one unit. Any Attachable Model that wishes to begin the game joined to a unit must be Deployed inside and simultaneously with that unit.

Once a player has Deployed their entire army, that player immediately chooses who has the first Player Turn.

Designer notes: Since finishing Deployment first allows you to choose which player has the first Player Turn, a common practice is to Deploy your entire army the first chance you get. Once you are more comfortable with the game, you will start weighing the strategic benefits from knowing where the opponent's troops are Deployed against the advantage of choosing who has the first Player Turn.

3.E Defender's Advantage

The Defender must choose a single of its Deployed units to gain Vanguard (3″). This unit cannot contain any Characters.

Note: a unit that already has Vanguard can still be chosen, the effects are just not cumulative.

3.F Move Vanguarding Units

Now units entirely with Vanguard have a chance to perform their pre-game moves.

Starting with the unit that the Defender chose for Defender's Advantage, the players alternate moving units one by one, until all units that can and want to make a Vanguard Move have done so.

Remember that per the Vanguard rule, no model can move further than 12″, or end within 6″ of an enemy unit. See "Model Rules" for further details.

Charge Phase

In the Charge Phase, your forces will take the initiative, breaking from their ordered manoeuvres to run headlong across the field, with the single purpose of meeting the enemy in Combat. But such Charges are not so simple as they seem; eager troops can hesitate and stumble as the reality of battle approaches, or they might find their target is too far away, allowing the opponent to draw them out of position or rake them with fire before they can reach their ranks.

The Charge Phase is an opportunity for the Active Player to move their units into Combat with enemy units by Declaring Charges. It is the primary method of engaging in Close Combat.

The Charge Phase is divided into the following steps:

1. Start of the Charge Phase (and Player Turn)
2. Declare Charges a. The Active Player chooses one of their units, and Declares a Charge towards an enemy unit. b. The Reactive Player declares and resolves the target's Charge Reaction. c. Repeat steps (a) and (b) with your units, one at a time, until all of your units that can and wish to Declare a Charge have done so.
3. Move Charges a. The Active Player chooses a unit that has Declared a Charge, and rolls its Charge Range roll. If multiple units are charging the same target, make a separate Charge Range roll for every unit Charging the same target. b. Perform the Charge Move or Failed Charge Move with the unit(s) you just rolled Charge Range for. c. Repeat step 3 for all units that have Declared a Charge this Phase.
4. End of the Charge Phase.

1 Declaring Charges

To Declare a Charge, select one of your units that has not already Declared a Charge this Phase, and that is not Engaged in Combat or Shaken.

Declare which enemy unit it will try to Charge, that fulfil all the following conditions:

• The enemy unit must be in Line of Sight* of the Charging Unit.
• It must be possible to complete the Charge towards the enemy unit. I.e. the enemy unit must be within the Charging Unit's maximum potential Charge Range, and there must be enough room to move the Charging Unit into Contact*.

*"Line of Sight" and "Contact" are both defined in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter.

1.A Charge Reactions

When a unit has a Charge declared against it, it must immediately perform a "Charge Reaction". The owner of the charged unit declares which Charge Reaction it chooses and resolve the effects immediately. There are two Charge Reactions:

• Hold! This is the default Charge Reaction. Choosing the "Hold!" Charge Reaction means the unit stands its ground and takes no further action.
• Flee! A unit can select this Charge Reaction only once per Phase, and only if not already Engaged in Combat. The unit is pivoted to face directly away from the Centre of the Charging Unit; it then performs a Flee Move (see the "Psychology" chapter).
  • Remember that Flee Moves due to the "Flee!" Charge Reaction, do not cause Panic Tests in friendly units that the Fleeing unit moves through since they are voluntary. This does not apply if forced to Flee! due to being charged by a unit containing Terror.

1.B Charge Redirections

If a charged unit has chosen the "Flee!" Charge Reaction, after its Flee Move has been completed, the unit(s) that Declared a Charge towards it may attempt to Redirect their Charge.

To do so, each unit that has Declared a Charge towards the unit that fled may take a Command Test; a "Redirect Test" (see the "Psychology" chapter). If the test is passed, the unit may immediately Declare a new Charge towards another unit (following all the usual restrictions for Declaring Charges).

Each unit may only attempt to Redirect a Charge once per Phase.

2 Charge Moves

After all Charges and Charge Reactions have been declared and resolved, Charging Units will attempt to move into Combat. Each unit that Declared a Charge in this Phase now rolls its Charge Range and, if successful, performs a Charge Move. Roll and move units one by one.

2.A Charge Range

Roll D6+4 and add the unit's Charge Speed (see "Characteristic Profiles" in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter).

• If the Charge Range is equal to or greater than the distance between the Charging Unit and its intended target (in inches), and if there is enough space to complete the Charge Move (including the Initial Align Move), then the Charge is successful and the Charging Unit performs a Charge Move.
• Otherwise, the Charge is failed: the Charging Unit performs a Failed Charge Move.

Figure 1: Front or Flank? a) The centre of Charging Unit B's Front Facing is located in enemy unit A's Front Arc. b) The Charging Unit must contact the charged unit's Front Facing.

Designer notes: Some players prefer to know their odds when Declaring Charges. Below are the probabilities for the most common cases.

Needed score to	5″	6″	7″	8″	9″	10″
D6+4	100%	83%	67%	50%	33%	17%
Maximised D6+4*	100%	97%	89%	75%	56%	31%

*Maximised rolls are explained in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter.

2.B Charge Move

A Charge Move is divided into two sub-moves: first a "Snaking Forward Move" to get into contact with the target unit, then an "Align Move".

Start with establishing in what Arc of the target unit, that the centre of the Charging Unit's Front Facing is located in (see figure above). The Facing that corresponds to this Arc is the "Target Facing". See Definitions and Terminology chapter for definitions of Arcs and Facings.

A Charge Move is performed using a single Snaking Forward Move (see Movement Phase chapter for details), with an unlimited distance. During this move, the Charging Unit must move into contact with its intended target - The Charging Unit's Front Facing against the Target Facing.

Once the Charging Unit touches its Target Facing, it performs an Align Move. This is done by picking up the Charging Unit and placing it back on the Battlefield aligned with the target unit, in a way that keeps the initial point of contact on the charged unit still in contact, while maximising the number of models in contact. See the Reference Handbook for details on how to prioritise the Initial Align Move in complex situations.

2.C Combined Charges

When more than one unit has Declared a Charge towards the same enemy unit, the Charging units are moved in a slightly different order.

1. Roll Charge Range for each unit Charging that same target before moving any of them.
2. Decide the order that the units will be moved, both Charge Moves and Failed Charge Moves. This must be chosen so that the number of units that successfully completes a Charge is as high as possible.

3 Failed Charge Move

A Failed Charge Move occurs when a unit cannot complete its Charge (e.g., due to an insufficient Charge Range, or due to obstacles making it impossible to complete the Charge Move).

The Failed Charge Distance is always 4″.

A Failed Charge Move is done by performing a Snaking Forward Move (see Manoeuvre Types in the Movement Phase chapter) with the following adjustments:

• Initial Forward move is always 0″. (i.e. a Failed Charge Move starts with a Wheel.)
• Wheel towards the intended target until one of the following occurs: a. The unit is facing the direction where a forward move would bring the centre of the Charging Unit straight towards the centre of the Target Facing, b. The Wheel is 90 degrees. c. The Wheeled distance is equal to the Failed Charge Distance. d. The unit is about to come into contact with another unit or Impassable Terrain. Stop just before moving into contact.
• Concluding Forward move until one of the following occurs: a. The unit has moved a total distance (Wheel + Forward Move) equal to the Failed Charge Distance (4″). b. The unit is about to come into contact with another unit or Impassable Terrain. Stop just before moving into contact.

A unit that has performed a Failed Charge Move cannot perform any Move Manoeuvres in the same Player Turn, and it cannot shoot in the next Shooting Phase.

4 Engaged in Combat

Once a unit completes a Charge Move, the Charging Unit and the target unit are Engaged in Combat, and remain Engaged in Combat as long as, at least their Unit Boundaries, are in contact with an enemy Unit Boundary.

Movement Phase

Positioning your forces well is the cornerstone of effective military strategy. The Movement Phase is a crucial opportunity to redeploy each of your units to the place where it can do the most good, setting up your attacks, bombardments, feints and cunning ploys to pay off in subsequent phases and turns. Troops in military formation must learn a range of orderly manoeuvres to accomplish such movements as efficiently as possible.

In the Movement Phase, you can move your units one by one in any order. Choose a unit and perform a Move Manoeuvre. Repeat this for all your eligible and willing units.

There are certain restrictions on which units can be moved during the Movement Phase. The following units are not allowed to move:

• Units that attempted to Charge in the current Player Turn.
• Units that are Engaged in Combat.
• Units that are Shaken.
• Units that have arrived on the Battlefield using Ambush during the current Player Turn.

1 Manoeuvres Types

Manoeuvre Types are different actions that can be made as part of other moves. For example, a "Snaking Forward Move" is used during Charge, Advance and March Moves, while "Pivots" are made during Advance Moves and Post-Combat Pivots.

1.A Pivot

When performing a Pivot, first mark the Centre of the unit. Then temporarily remove the unit from the Battlefield, and place it back facing any direction, while keeping its Centre in the same position as before. Models may be repositioned within the unit, as long as the number of files does not change.

1.B Snaking Forward Move

A "Snaking Forward Move" is broken down into three optional actions, which are carried out in this order:

1. Initial Forward Move: the unit moves straight forward.
2. Wheel: the unit is rotated forward around one of its front corners, up to 90 degrees.
3. Concluding Forward Move: the unit moves straight forward.

Most Snaking Forward Moves have a limit to the distance the unit can move. Add the distance used for each action to a total. This total cannot exceed the maximum Snaking Forward Move distance.

For Forward Moves (steps 1 and 3), the moved distance is the distance the unit moves forward. The distance used for the Wheel (step 2) is the distance the outer front corner is moving in the unit's straight forward direction (see Figure 2).

Only consider the unit's Front Facing during the entire Manoeuvre (e.g. for the Unit Spacing rule) until after the Manoeuvre is completed, where the whole Unit Boundary is again taken into account (i.e. the unit must abide by the Unit Spacing rule at its final position).

If the Snaking Forward Move is made as part of a Charge Move, the Manoeuvre also includes the Initial Align Move (i.e. only consider the Front Facing until after the Initial Align Move has been completed).

Figure 2: Snaking Forward Move. The unit first performs an Initial Forward Move by moving straight forward. The unit then Wheels by rotating forward around its right front corner. Finally, the unit performs a Concluding Forward Move, where it moves straight forward again.

Designer notes: Simplified Snaking Forward Move. When executing a Snaking Forward Move, you can quickly check possible moves by using a measuring stick that has the same length as the width of the unit. Place this stick parallel with the unit's Front Facing, then move the stick using the Snaking Forward Move rules. This stick represents the Front Facing of the unit.

• If you are not happy with the end position, put this stick back along the Front Facing of the unit and try again.
• Once you are happy with the position, leave the stick in its place and now move the unit to this position, aligning its Front Facing with the measuring stick.

2 Move Manoeuvres

There are three different Move Manoeuvres. When a unit moves in the Movement Phase, it must select which Move Manoeuvre it will perform:

• Advance Move
• March Move
• Reform Move

Remember that since you are allowed to perform any measurements at any time, it is possible to test a Move Manoeuvre, realise it was not a great idea, and then immediately backtrack and perform a different Move Manoeuvre, unless random events or decisions by the opponent have happened that could influence the decision. It is also customary to mark the starting position, so that backtracking can be done accurately.

Designer notes: Reform Moves allow units to tactically adjusts their arrangement on the field, granting them the strategic edge to adapt to new challenges during battle. This controlled shift is used to optimise positioning, formation and facing, while staying mostly in the same spot. Advance Moves provide units with the freedom to manoeuvre on the battlefield, making it a versatile choice for repositioning when preparing to engage with the enemy. March Moves are the fastest but least flexible movement option available to units. It allows them to move quickly in a forward direction.

2.A Advance Move

When performing an Advance Move, execute the following actions in the order given below:

1. Pivot: the Advance Move is initiated with a Pivot. At the end of this Pivot, the unit must follow the Unit Spacing rule. Note that since this is during a move, the unit normally just need to be outside 0.5″ of other units.
2. Snaking Forward Move (Mob): after the Pivot, the unit may do any number of Snaking Forward Moves, with a total distance up to its Mobility (in inches). While performing these Snaking Forward Moves, the direction the unit is facing must stay within 90 degrees (in either direction) from the direction it was facing after the Pivot.
3. Reorder: models may be repositioned within the unit, as long as the number of files does not change.

2.B March Move

When performing a March Move, execute the following actions in the order given below:

1. Snaking Forward Move (2×Mob): the unit may do any number of Snaking Forward Moves, with a total distance up to twice its Mobility (in inches). While performing these Snaking Forward Moves, the direction the unit is facing must stay within 90 degrees (in either direction) from the direction it was facing before the March Move.
2. Reorder: models may be repositioned within the unit, as long as the number of files does not change.

2.C Reform Move

To do a Reform Move, pick the unit up from the battlefield and put it back with the following restrictions:

• The Centre of the unit cannot travel further than half the unit's Mobility (in inches).
• The formation of the unit may change, but the number of Files cannot change by more than ±2. Remember that no unit can voluntarily have more ranks than files, unless it is wide enough to have a Proper Rank, see "Models and Units" in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter.
• Each model is considered to have moved from its starting position to its end position, around Obstructions where needed; no single model can move further than twice its Mobility.

Magic Phase

In the Magic Phase, your Wizards will summon the magic swirling across the battlefield and use it to cast spells that blast the enemy or bolster your own forces – while your opponent tries to stop you. Wizards are trained in one of the ten Paths of magic; their powers are limited by their own skill and by the availability of nearby magic, represented as Magic Dice. This store of power can be increased by channelling additional magic through the Veil – but be careful, for if you use too much magic to cast a spell, you run the risk of losing control!

The Magic Phase is divided into the following steps:

1. Draw Flux Card
2. Siphon the Veil
3. Store Magic Dice
4. Apply Excess Magic
5. Casting and Dispelling Spells: the Active Player attempts to cast a spell with one of their models; the Reactive Player may attempt to Dispel it. Repeat step 5 for each spell you want to cast, or until out of Magic Dice.

1 Magic Dice and Flux Cards

In the Magic Phase, players use Magic Dice for casting and dispelling spells. Each player receives a number of Magic Dice that can be used for the duration of this Magic Phase. Once a Magic Dice is used, it is discarded. At the end of the phase, any unused Magic Dice are discarded (except if stored, see "Storing Magic" below).

Flux Cards. Each player has a deck consisting of the 8 Flux Cards selected from the list of 16 cards below. Which cards are used depends on the Army Size. For example, when playing at "Field Armies" Army Size, use Flux Cards V–XII. Flux Cards for printing can be found in the Arcane Compendium.

During step 1 of the Magic Phase, randomly draw one of the Flux Cards from the Active Player's deck. This card determines how many starting Magic Dice both players receive in this Magic Phase. Once a Flux Card has been drawn, it is discarded from the deck.

Army Size	Card	Both Players gain
Warbands	Card I	4 Magic Dice
Warbands	Card II	4 Magic Dice
Warbands	Card III	5 Magic Dice
Warbands	Card IV	6 Magic Dice
Warbands and Field Armies	Card V	4 Magic Dice
Warbands and Field Armies	Card VI	5 Magic Dice
Warbands and Field Armies	Card VII	6 Magic Dice
Warbands and Field Armies	Card VIII	6 Magic Dice

2 Siphon the Veil

The Active Player gains additional Magic Dice from the following sources:

• One free additional Magic Dice.
• Magic Dice from models with Channel.
• Magic Dice stored from the previous phase (see "Storing Magic").

Note: each non-Shaken model with Channel (X) adds X Magic Dice. The most common source of Channel are Wizards:

• Wizard Adepts have Channel (1).
• Wizard Masters have Channel (2).
• Wizard Conclaves have Channel (1), unless it is a Wizard Conclave (1).

3 Storing Magic

After "Siphon the Veil" and before "Excess Magic", the Active Player may discard one Magic Dice. If so, they gain one Magic Dice during the "Siphon the Veil" step of their next Magic Phase.

4 Excess Magic

After both "Siphon the Veil" and "Storing Magic", if a player has more than twice the number of Magic Dice in his pool than the number gained from the Flux Card, the player must discard each Magic Dice over this limit. For example, Flux Card XI grants 6 Magic Dice: it sets the Excess Magic limit to a maximum of 12 Magic Dice.

5 Spells

Spells are divided into two broad categories:

• Learned Spells: the most common type, these are cast using the full power of the magic flowing from beyond the Veil.
• Bound Spells: "bound" into an object or creature, they are more stable than Learned spells, since their use requires only a minimum quantity of ambient magic. These are cast by all manner of creatures, as well as some Wizards.

Most spells belong to a specific Path of Magic (see the Arcane Compendium), or are a Hereditary Spell unique to each Army Book.

5.A Casting and Dispelling Spells

Each of the Active Player's models with one or more spells can attempt to cast each spell up to once per Magic Phase. (Remember that Shaken models cannot cast spells.) The sequence for casting a spell is as follows:

Casting Roll – Active Player

1. Caster and target: declare which model is casting what spell, and choose a target (or targets) for the spell (for details, see "Spell Types" in the Arcane Compendium).
2. Spend Magic Dice to cast: declare how many Magic Dice are spent on the Casting Roll (at least 2 Magic Dice must be used, and at most 5 Magic Dice can be used).
3. Roll Dice: roll the Magic Dice used for the Casting Roll, and add the results together. If the total is equal to or above the spell's Casting Value, the casting is successful. Otherwise, the Casting Roll failed: go directly to step 7.
   • Fizzle: if one or more '1' was rolled, and the Casting Roll was not successful, each dice that rolled a '1' is added back to the Magic Dice pool.
   • Miscast: if three or more Magic Dice – or two Magic Dice if using only two dice – used for the Casting Roll gave an identical result, and the Casting Roll is successful, and the spell is not dispelled, a Miscast occurs. Consult the Miscast Table for further instructions.

Dispelling Roll – Reactive Player

4. Spend Magic Dice to dispel: the Reactive Player may try to dispel the spell. If not, go directly to step 6. If the Reactive Player chooses to try to dispel, they declare how many Magic Dice are spent on the Dispelling Roll. Note: there are no limits to how many or how few Magic Dice the Reactive Player may use for this.
5. Dispelling Roll: roll the Magic Dice used for the Dispelling Roll, and add the results together. If the total is equal to or above the Casting Roll, the dispel is successful: proceed to step 7. Otherwise, the Dispelling Roll failed: proceed to step 6.
   • Fizzle: if one or more '1' was rolled, and the Dispelling Roll was not successful, each dice that rolled a '1' is added back to the Magic Dice pool.

Resolving the spell effect

6. Apply spell effects: if the Casting Roll was successful, and the spell was not dispelled, it is successfully cast. Apply the spell effects.
7. Next casting attempt: afterward, the Active Player may attempt to cast other spells, provided they have enough Magic Dice left.

5.B Casting Multiple Instances of the Same Spell

Each Caster may only try to cast each of its Learned Spells once per Magic Phase, and may try to cast a Bound Spell once for every instance of that spell it has. If multiple Casters know the same spell, all of them may try to cast their instance(s) of the spell.

When attempting to cast a Learned Spell when a casting attempt (successful or not) has already been made for another instance of the same spell (either Bound or Learned), then the Casting Roll is reduced by −3, and by another −3 for each additional attempt in the same phase. For example, if two casting attempts have already been made for different instances of the same spell, any third attempt to cast it will suffer a −6 penalty to its Casting Roll.

If the additional casting attempt is made for a Bound Spell version of the same spell, the Casting Roll is only reduced by −1, instead of by −3, for each previous casting attempt for a version of the same spell.

Remember that Replicable Spells ignore this penalty to multiple casting attempts.

5.C Bound Spells

Casting and dispelling Bound Spells follow the normal procedure for casting a Learned Spell, with the following exceptions:

• Bound Spells have their own Casting Values, defined in the brackets following "Bound Spell".
• When trying to cast a Bound Spell, one Magic Dice is a D6, the rest are D3. For example, if casting a Bound Spell using 3 Magic Dice, roll 1D6 and 2D3.
• A rolled D3 can never Fizzle.
• Bound Spells can never Miscast.

When casting a Bound Spell version of a spell for which a casting attempt was already made in the same Magic Phase, the Casting Roll is decreased only by −1 (instead of by −3).

Note: when attempting to cast a Learned Spell version of a Bound Spell for which a casting attempt was already made in the same Magic Phase, the Casting Roll is still decreased by −3, as usual. This penalty is ignored if the spell is Replicable.

Designer notes: Bound Spells are designed to offer low-resource and low-risk casting opportunities to the players. They typically require fewer dice for casting and never cause Miscasts. However, they are also easier to dispel. As a result, Bound Spells are the perfect tool when the opponent is out of Magic Dice for dispelling. When casting Bound Spells, it is important to clearly differentiate the D6s and the D3s. Announce to the opponent how you roll your dice, and either roll them separately, use differently coloured dice, or use dedicated D3-only dice.

6 Miscast Table

A Casting Roll for a Learned Spell can result in a Miscast if the following conditions are all met:

A. Three-of-a-Kind or Two-of-a-Kind: the roll includes three or more Magic Dice that rolled the same result. If the Casting Attempt was made with only two Magic Dice, then it is sufficient for both of them to roll the same result.

B. Successful: the Casting Roll is successful, and the spell is not dispelled.

The effect of the Miscast depends on the total sum of the Casting Roll (including potential modifiers). Apply the effects that correspond to the total rolled.

Casting Roll	Miscast effect
9 or less	Drained. Your opponent gains 2 Magic Dice.
10−19	Witchfire. The Caster's unit suffers 2×X hits with Str 3, AP 2, and Magical Attacks, where "X" is the number of Magic Dice used for the Casting Roll.
20−24	Amnesia. The Caster cannot cast this spell again. Duration: Permanent.
25+	Breach in the Veil. All units within 3″ of the Caster suffer the effect of Witchfire. After resolving this effect, the Caster is removed as a casualty.

Designer notes: Some players prefer to know their odds before casting spells. Below are the probabilities for the most common Casting Values in the game. Recommended target probability to optimise the number of dice used in a typical Magic Phase is around 80-90%.

Learned Spells (columns: number of Magic Dice used, 2 / 3 / 4 / 5):

Casting Value	2	3	4	5
6+	72%	95%	98%	99%
7+	58%	91%	98%	99%
8+	42%	84%	97%	99%
9+	28%	74%	94%	99%

Shooting Phase

There are many kinds of "shooting" used by the armies of the 9th Age, from bows, guns and thrown weapons to arcane devices and grand artillery machines. With the exception of magical spells, the Shooting Phase is your chance to unleash all of your ranged attacks at the foe, thinning their forces without the risks of close melee. But of course the enemy may not make it easy, taking cover behind any battlefield shelter they can find to foil your attempts at a clear shot.

The Shooting Phase consists of the following steps:

1. Choose one of your units and perform a Shooting Attack with it.
2. Select the target of the attack and which models in the unit will shoot. Each model must have Line of Sight to at least one model in the Target unit and be within its effective range.
3. Resolve the Shooting Attack.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 with a different unit that has not yet performed a Shooting Attack during this phase, if desired.

When all units that can and want to shoot have done so, the Shooting Phase ends.

Target Facing. When checking Line of Sight from a Shooting model to the target, also simultaneously check which Facing is the Target Facing. This is done by establishing in which Arc of the Target unit the centre of the Front Facing of the Shooting unit is located: the corresponding Facing is referred to as "Target Facing" (i.e. it is determined in the same way as for Charging).

1 Choose a unit and a target

During the Shooting Phase, units containing Shooting Weapons or relevant Model Rules can perform Shooting Attacks. Select a friendly unit as the Shooting unit and an enemy unit as the Target unit (for further details, see "Allocating Attacks" in the "Attacks" chapter).

• Shooting unit: to be eligible to shoot, a unit must not:
  • Be Shaken,
  • Be Engaged in Combat,
  • Have performed a Failed Charge Move this Player Turn,
  • Have made a March Move this Player Turn (unless it has March and Shoot), or
  • Already used its Shooting Attack this Player Turn.
• Target unit: to be eligible to be shot at, a unit must:
  • Be within the Shooting unit's Line of Sight, and
  • Not be Engaged in Combat.

2 Who can shoot?

Normally, only models in the first and second rank can shoot.

Determine which models in the Shooting unit can shoot:

• The model must be able to draw Line of Sight to at least one model in the Target unit.
• The model must have the target Health Pool within the Range of its Shooting Attack: measure this from each model in the unit to the closest point of the Target unit's Boundary. Models that are outside their weapon's Range cannot shoot.
• All models in the Shooting unit must shoot at the same Target unit, but may, when possible, allocate their attacks towards different Health Pools within the targeted unit (see "Allocating Attacks" for rules on when Attachable Models joined to units may be chosen as the target).

3 Shots and Aim

Once the models that will shoot are established, they each make as many shots as indicated in their weapon's profile. Roll to hit by rolling a D6 for each shot and compare its result to the weapon's Aim (written in brackets after the weapon's name). For example, a dwarf warrior has Throwing Weapons (5+) with Shots 2. When this model shoots, roll two D6: each roll of 5+ is a successful hit.

For each hit, follow the Attack Sequence to determine the damage (see the "Attacks" chapter).

3.A To-Hit Modifiers

The to-hit roll of a Shooting Attack can be modified, affecting the chance of scoring a successful hit. If the modifier brings the needed score to 7+ or beyond, the attack cannot hit, and a roll of '1' is always considered a miss. Apply the following modifiers to the to-hit roll:

• Long Range (−1): if the target is more than half the weapon's maximum Range away from the Shooting model, apply a −1 to-hit modifier.
  • Accurate: if the Shooting model part or its weapon has Accurate, ignore the modifier for "Long Range".
• Moving and Shooting (−1): if the Shooting model's unit has performed a Move Manoeuvre (Advance, March or Reform*) in this Player Turn, apply a −1 to-hit modifier.
  • Quick to Fire: if the Shooting model part or its weapon has Quick to Fire, it does not suffer the normal −1 to-hit penalty for "Moving and Shooting".
  • *Only model parts with March and Shoot (or using a weapon with that rule) can shoot after having Marched in the same Player Turn. If they do, the −1 to-hit modifier for "Moving and Shooting" applies.
  • Unwieldy (−X): if the Shooting model part or its weapon has Unwieldy and has performed a Move Manoeuvre during the same Player Turn, apply an additional −X to-hit modifier.
• Cover: the target could benefit from either Soft Cover or Hard Cover:
  • Soft Cover (−1): if the target benefits from Soft Cover, apply a −1 to-hit modifier.
  • Hard Cover (−2): if the target benefits from Hard Cover, apply a −2 to-hit modifier.
• Hard Target (X): if the Target unit has Hard Target, apply a −X to-hit modifier.

*See "Model Rules" for the full rules.

3.B Cover

For each model that is shooting, check if the target benefits from Cover by drawing three straight lines from the Shooting model to the target. These lines all start from the same point on the Shooting model's base, as was used checking Line of Sight to the target.

• One line is drawn to the right corner of the Target Facing.
• One line is drawn to the left corner of the Target Facing.
• One line is drawn to the centre of the Target Facing.

If two or more of these lines pass through Obstructions that contribute to Cover (both Soft or Hard), the target benefits from Soft Cover. If at least two of these lines pass through Obstructions that contribute to Hard Cover, apply instead the rules for Hard Cover.

Obstructions that Contribute to Cover. There are two types of Cover: Soft and Hard. The most common reason for applying Cover is the target being obscured by Terrain or other models, or the target being inside a Terrain Feature. The following Obstructions contribute to Cover:

Soft Cover	Hard Cover
Terrain that is Covering Terrain* and that contributes to Soft Cover.†	Terrain that is Opaque Terrain
Models that have equal or larger Height than either the shooter or the target.†	Terrain that is Covering Terrain* and that contributes to Hard Cover.
	Models that have equal or larger Height than both the shooter and the target.†

*See the "Terrain" chapter for details.

†Note that models that have a smaller Height than both the shooter and the target do not contribute to Cover.

Figure 3: Example of Cover in the Terrain Feature. The centre of the blue unit's Front Facing is located in the red unit's Flank Arc: the Flank Facing is the Target Facing. Two of three of the drawn lines pass through a Forest: the red unit benefits from Soft Cover.

Rally Phase

1 Rally Test

During the Rally Phase, the Active Player's Shaken units must take a Command Test, called a "Rally Test". Roll tests one by one in any order. Units Engaged in Combat cannot take Rally Tests.

• If the Rally Test is passed, the unit stops being Shaken and may immediately make a Pivot (see the "Movement Phase" chapter).
• If the Rally Test is failed, the unit Pivots to face directly away from the centre of the closest non-Shaken enemy unit, and then performs a Flee Move (see the "Psychology" chapter).

Remember that any Decimated unit that performs a Flee Move is removed as casualty.

Melee Phase

Some say that battles are won or lost by preparation or sound strategies, but ultimately every fight will come down to the clash of weapons in close quarters. The Melee Phase is the time for your forces to put their mettle to the test, once they have met the enemy in Combat, and discover whether their strength – and a touch of divine fortune – can bring them the victory. And perhaps more important, whether the defeated side can continue to fight on. This is also when your leaders and champions will meet in single Combat with their counterparts, fighting great duels that will live in legend.

During the Melee Phase, all Engaged units will attack each other: each group of interlocked units in contact with each other is called a "Combat". Each Combat goes through a Round of Combat, one Combat after another.

The Melee Phase is carried out using the following sequence:

• I. Enemy Wiped. If a unit's opponents have been removed outside the Melee Phase, the unit may perform a Post-Combat Pivot or an Overrun (if it was Charging).
• II. Round of Combat. Each Combat is resolved in an order chosen by the Active Player. For each Combat, follow this sequence:
  1. Preparations for Combat
     • (a) Remove Shaken units
     • (b) Freeze Unit Boundaries
  2. Combat Set-Up
     • (a) Check Combat Formations
     • (b) Static Combat Score
     • (c) Choose Equipment and Abilities
  3. Perform Melee Attacks
     • (a) Determine Agility Order
     • (b) Resolve Attacks
  4. Determine the Winner
     • (a) Casualty-based Combat Score
     • (b) Final Combat Score
     • (c) Take Break Tests
  5. Breaking and Pursuing
     • (a) Determine who Flees and who Pursues
     • (b) Unfreeze Unit Boundaries
     • (c) Move Fleeing Units
     • (d) Move Pursuing Units

Enemy Wiped

Sometimes a unit that was previously Engaged in Combat had all its opponents removed before the start of the next Melee Phase. Such units follow the rules for "No More Foes". If the unit has not moved since the enemy units were removed (e.g. with a Magical Move), it may perform a Post-Combat Pivot, or an Overrun if it was Charging.

Combat

Each Combat is fought between a group of units that are in contact with each other. Most often, it involves only two opposing units Facing off, but it can also include multiple units against a single enemy unit, or a series of units from both sides all linked together.

The Active Player chooses one such Combat to fight in a Round of Combat (which means all actions connected to a Round of Combat must be resolved with all Engaged units). Then the Active Player chooses a new Combat that has not been fought in this Melee Phase, to fight a Round of Combat. Continue choosing and resolving Combats until all of them has been fought.

1 Preparations for Combat

1.A Remove Shaken units

Remove all models in Engaged units that are Shaken as casualties. Remember that units Engaged in Combat do not take Panic Tests. Therefore, the most common way for a Shaken unit to find itself in Combat, is if it gets charged when it was already Shaken.

1.B Freeze Unit Boundaries

When resolving a Round of Combat, the Unit Boundaries of the Engaged units are not updated, but retain their sizes and positions. Furthermore, the placement of models in those units is also not changed (e.g. to ensure viable formation when casualties are suffered).

Unit Boundaries remain Frozen until just before Broken units perform their Flee Moves. Note that the number of Proper Ranks can still be reduced for Steady or Solid purposes if models get removed during Combat.

Designer notes: Unit Boundaries and models' positions are Frozen in place, in order to prevent the need to do any finicky movement and repositions in messy situations, at a time where players should be focusing on rolling their attacks.

2 Combat Set-Up

2.A Check Combat Formations

Steady. A unit is Steady if it has more Proper Ranks than each individual enemy unit Engaged in contact with it. If, at the end of a Round of Combat, the unit is Steady and was on the losing side, Discipline modifiers from the Combat Score difference are set to a minimum of −2 (i.e. cannot be a smaller number than −2).

Solid. A unit is Solid if its number of Proper Ranks is at least:

• 4 – for units of Height 0-1.
• 3 – for units of Height 2.
• 2 – for units of Height 3-5.

If a Height 1 unit is Solid at the start of a Round of Combat, then all Height 1 models in the unit gain Press of Ranks (+1 to wound, max. 3+) until the end of the Round of Combat.

Steadfast. If, at the end of a Round of Combat, the unit is both Steady and Solid, it is said to be Steadfast: modifiers to the unit's Discipline from the Combat Score difference are ignored when rolling Break Tests.

Surrounded. A unit is considered Surrounded when it has enemies Engaged with either its Flank and/or Rear Facing. A Surrounded unit counts as having X fewer Proper Ranks, where "X" is the combined number of Proper Ranks of all the enemy units Engaged on its Flank and/or Rear.

The primary effects of this are on the amount of Combat Score the unit will get for Proper Ranks (i.e. Rank Bonus), and whether the unit and its enemies are Steady and/or Solid. Note that a unit that has 0 Proper Ranks would be unaffected by this reduction.

2.B Calculate Static Combat Score

The goal of a Round of Combat is to annihilate or rout the enemy, the latter is done through winning the Round of Combat, by having your units accumulate a higher total "Combat Score" than the opponent's units.

The Combat Score is calculated at two different steps:

1. First in step 2 of the Round of Combat Sequence ("Combat Set-Up"), where Static Combat Score bonuses are added up and marked down.
2. After all attacks have been made, at step 4 of the Round of Combat Sequence ("Determine the Winner"), Casualty-based Combat Score bonuses are added to calculate the final Combat Score.

The Static Combat Score bonuses are:

• Charge: +1. Each side with one or more Charging units adds +1 to their Combat Score.
• Fighting on the Flanks or the Rear: +2 / each Flank or Rear. If a side has units fighting the enemy in their Flank or Rear, it adds +2 to its Combat Score for each different Flank or Rear Facing of each enemy unit it has units Engaged on.
• Rank Bonus: +1 / Proper Rank (up to +4). Each side adds to its Combat Score the number of Proper Ranks of its unit that has the most Proper Ranks, up to a maximum of +4. Note that the Rank Bonus of a unit can be reduced if it is Surrounded. See "Models and Units" in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter for the definition of "Proper Rank".
• Standard Bearer: +1 / Standard Bearer. Each side adds +1 to its Combat Score for each unit with a Standard Bearer Engaged in the Combat.
• Other Modifiers. Additional modifiers can be added to each side's Combat Score (such as +1 if the Battle Standard Bearer is Engaged in the Combat).

Designer notes: Combats can be messy and time-consuming to resolve. To simplify the process, we recommend placing special dice or markers next to the units to track the Static Combat Score.

2.C Choose Equipment and Abilities

Many models have choices that are determined in this step of the Round of Combat Sequence. Common ones: Make Way for Characters, Activate items and abilities and choose weapon. If both players have choices to do in this step, the Active Player first makes and executes all their choices, then the Reactive Player makes and executes all their own choices.

Choose Melee Weapon. Model parts armed with multiple weapons must choose which weapon to use in their First Round of Combat, with the following priority order*:

1. An Enchanted Weapon
2. Any weapon that is neither a Hand Weapon, nor an Innate Weapon
3. A Hand Weapon
4. An Innate Weapon

*A model part with Weapon Master may choose what Melee Weapon to use in each Round of Combat, and only needs to conform to the Priority #1 hereabove.

3 Perform Melee Attacks

3.A Determine Agility Order

The order in which Melee Attacks are performed is determined before any attacks take place. This order is known as the "Agility Order" and is based on the Agility of the attacking model parts. The highest Agility attacks are resolved first, followed by lower Agility attacks.

Charging Momentum. Charging models gain +1 Agility.

3.B Resolve Attacks

Resolve Melee Attacks from models in the Combat, in descending Agility Order. For each attack, follow the Attack Sequence as defined in the "Attacks" chapter. This includes models from both sides involved in the Combat.

3.B.a Which Models can Attack

During the Melee Phase, models that are in contact with an enemy Unit Boundary when their designated Agility Step is reached must attack.

Restricted Attacks. The rules for Restricted Attacks are used for Standard Melee Attacks in two circumstances:

• Supporting Attacks: models in the second rank can use Standard Melee Attacks against enemies across models in the first rank, directly in front of them (i.e. only against models Engaged with the Front Facing of their unit).
• Flank and Rear: Restricted Attacks apply when a model allocates Standard Melee Attacks towards an enemy that is Engaged with its Flank or Rear Facing.

When a model intends to allocate any of its Standard Melee Attacks as Restricted Attacks, the total Standard Melee Attacks its combined model parts can make is never greater than its Height. If the model has multiple model parts (see Models and Units in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter), its owner may decide which attacks from what model parts are used, as long as the total number of attacks for the combined model does not exceed its Height.

For example, a Height 2 model consisting of a Knight (Att 2) on a Horse (Att 1) is making Supporting Attacks. This model can only perform 2 Standard Melee Attacks, and choose to first perform 1 attack with the Knight, and then at a lower Agility Step, 1 attack with the Horse.

3.C Allocating Attacks

When allocating Melee Attacks, each attack must choose a target. All attacks of the given Agility Step must be allocated before determining the number of hits.

Viable targets are:

• Rank-and-File models in any unit whose Unit Boundary (see "Definitions and Terminology" chapter) the attacker is in contact with.
• Any Attachable Model that the attacker is in contact with.

3.C.a Standard Melee Attacks

The most common type of attack in the Melee Phase is the Standard Melee Attack, which all models can perform provided they have an Attack Value on their profile (see "Characteristic Profiles" in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter).

To resolve these attacks, roll a number of D6 equal to the Attack Value of the attacking model part. This is called a "to-hit" roll.

Compare the attacking model part's Offensive Skill with the target model's Defensive Skill and check the table below to know which result is needed on the dice roll to score a successful hit. A roll of '1' is always a failure, and a roll of '6' is always a success. Both tables present the same relation, visualised in different ways.

Offensive Skill − Defensive Skill	Result needed to hit
4 or more	2+
1 to 3	3+
−3 to 0	4+
−4 or less	5+

	Off 1	Off 2	Off 3	Off 4	Off 5	Off 6	Off 7	Off 8	Off 9	Off 10
Def 1	4+	3+	3+	3+	2+	2+	2+	2+	2+	2+
Def 2	4+	4+	3+	3+	3+	2+	2+	2+	2+

Once you have determined the number of hits, follow the Attack Sequence (described in the "Attacks" chapter), using the Strength, Armour Penetration, and on the profile of the attacking model part, potentially modified by things like weapons, spells and Model Rules.

Non-Standard Melee Attacks. Attacks that do not fall under the category of Standard Melee Attacks have their own specific rules for determining the number of hits, as well as the Strength, Armour Penetration, and additional rules to use.

4 Determine the Winner

4.A Casualty-based Combat Score

Once all Agility Steps have been resolved, i.e. all models have had a chance to attack, the Casualty-based Combat Score is calculated. The Casualty-based Combat Score bonuses are:

• Health Point losses caused on enemy units: +1 / Health Point. Add up the number of Health Points lost by your opponent's units during the Round of Combat.
• Wiped enemy unit: +1 / unit. Add +1 for each enemy unit where all the unit's models were removed as casualties (in addition to the Health Points losses incurred by those units before being wiped out). This includes Shaken units that were removed at the start of the Round of Combat; however, Shaken units only contribute with +1 for being wiped, no Health Point losses are taken into account.

4.B Calculate Final Combat Score

Determine which side won this Round of Combat. This is done by adding the Casualty-based Combat Score bonuses to the previously calculated Static Combat Score bonuses.

The side with the higher Combat Score wins, while the side with the lower Combat Score loses. In case of a tie, both sides are considered winners. A unit that is no longer in contact with any enemy units always counts as having won the Round of Combat.

4.C Take Break Tests

After a Round of Combat, each unit on the side that lost the Combat must take a Break Test, in an order chosen by the player who lost the Combat. A Break Test is a Courage Test with a negative modifier equal to the difference in Combat Scores. For example, if the Combat Score was 6 to 3, the units on the losing side take their Break Tests with a −3 modifier.

Note that rules such as Steady, Solid, Bodyguard and Stubborn can have an impact on what the Discipline modifier ends up as.

• If the Break Test is passed, the unit remains Engaged in the Combat.
• If the Break Test is failed, the unit is "Broken", and will now attempt to Flee from the Combat.

4.D Determine who Flees and who Pursues

If any unit failed its Break Test or was wiped out during the Combat, follow the steps below in order:

1. Determine Flee Direction: each Broken unit (i.e. any unit that failed its Break Test) will Flee away from an enemy unit it is in contact with. If there are more than one unit to Flee away from, the owner of those enemy units chooses which is used to establish the Flee direction.
2. Roll Flee Distance: typically, this is a roll of 2D6. Place the resulting dice next to the unit, but do not move the unit yet.
3. Determine which units will Pursue: each unit in contact with one or more Broken enemy units, and no non-Broken enemy units, may choose to Pursue. Declare which unit is Pursuing which Broken unit.
   1. A unit that was Charging in the previous Round of Combat and is now no longer in contact with any enemy unit (usually, because all of them have been wiped out) may choose to perform a special type of Pursuit called an "Overrun". An Overrun is always straight forward.
4. Roll Pursue Distance: typically, this is a roll of 2D6. Place the resulting dice next to the unit, but do not move the unit yet.
5. Remove caught Broken units: compare the Flee Distance of each Broken unit with the Pursue Distances of any unit that Declared a Pursuit towards it. If the Flee Distance is greater than all Pursue Distances, the Broken unit managed to get away. Otherwise, the unit was caught and is removed as a casualty.

4.E Unfreeze Unit Boundaries

The Unit Boundaries of any remaining units are unfrozen, and the models within the unit are rearranged to reform a valid formation. See the Reference Handbook; "Maintaining a Viable Formation" for details.

Afterwards, nudge units that are neither Breaking nor Pursuing back in contact with each other where contact was lost. See the Reference Handbook; "Nudge units to maintain contact" for details.

4.F Move Broken Units

Each Broken unit that was not caught is now Shaken and will Flee from the Combat. Move the units one by one in the order chosen by their owner.

First, Pivot the unit so that its Rear Facing is parallel with its Facing that was Engaged with the enemy unit it is Fleeing away from, by Pivoting either exactly 0, 90, or 180 degrees. Then, the Broken unit performs a Flee Move straight forward by the previously rolled Flee Distance (see the "Psychology" chapter for Flee Move rules).

4.G Move Pursuing Units

Move each unit that declared a Pursuit one by one in the order chosen by their owner. First, Pivot the unit so that it is Facing the same direction as the Broken unit it is Pursuing. Then, move the unit straight forward by a distance equal to the previously rolled Pursue Distance.

A unit that is performing an Overrun always moves straight forward without Pivoting.

If the Pursue Move would bring the Pursuing unit in contact with an obstacle, such as an enemy unit, the Table Edge or an Obstruction, specific rules apply. (For details, see "Pursue Moves" in the Reference Handbook).

5 Post Combat

5.A Post-Combat Pivots

Any unit that was Engaged during this Round of Combat, but no longer is, and that did not perform a Pursue Move, can now perform a Post-Combat Pivot using the rules for a Pivot Manoeuvre (see the "Movement Phase" chapter).

A unit that performs a Post-Combat Pivot, whatever its reason, cannot Declare any Charges in the Charge Phase of the next Player Turn. (If the next Player Turn is your opponent's, the unit can Declare Charges as normal in your next Player Turn).

5.B Combat Reforms

After all Fleeing and Pursuing units have been moved, any unit that is still Engaged in the Combat may attempt to perform a "Combat Reform", with the following restrictions:

• A unit Engaged on more than one of its Facings can never make a Combat Reform.
• Any unit on the losing side of the Combat, as well as any unit Engaged on its Flank or Rear Facing, must pass a Command Test to be able to Combat Reform.

When performing a Combat Reform, remove the unit from the Battlefield and place it back into contact with the enemy unit(s), following the rules below:

1. The unit can be placed in any viable formation, provided its number of files does not change by more than ±2.
2. At least as many models from both sides must still be in contact with opposing models as before, but they do not have to be the same models.
3. Any Attachable Model, from either side, that was in contact with an enemy before the Combat Reform must remain in contact after the Combat Reform.

After the Game

When the game ends, it is time to determine the winner. Do this by calculating Victory Points (VP) based on the following rules. You might also use custom rules for deciding a winner, if agreed upon by both players.

1 Battle Points

The winner of the game is determined by the number of Battle Points they score. Players always share a total of 20 Battle Points, making a 10-10 a draw and a 20-0 a decisive victory.

Battle Points can be scored in three ways:

• Victory Points: the primary way to score Battle Points is by defeating enemy units, which gives you Victory Points (VP) (see below for details on how many VP units give).
• Winning the Primary Objective: each player competes for the same Primary Objective, selected at the start of the game. The player who wins the Primary Objective scores 3 Battle Points, while the other player loses 3 Battle Points.
• Completing Secondary Objectives: each player usually has one Secondary Objective, selected at the start of the game. For each Secondary Objective a player completes, they score 1 Battle Point, while their opponent loses 1 Battle Point (which means that if each player completes an equal number of Secondary Objectives, the score does not change).

Designer notes: If no outside source tells you how to use Secondary Objectives (e.g. tournament organiser, campaign rules, etc.), players should establish how much they want to focus on Secondary Objectives before the game. Consider the following guidelines:

• In standard competitive games, Secondary Objectives are typically worth +1/−1 BP, as detailed in the table below.
• For games focused on learning the core rules, it is recommended to ignore Secondary Objectives entirely.
• Those seeking a more immersive, story-driven experience may opt to assign a higher value to Secondary Objectives, such as +5/−5 BP.

Players are encouraged to assign a value for Secondary Objectives corresponding to their desired level of competitive challenge and narrative engagement.

Scoring Victory Points. At the end of the game, each player earns Victory Points (VP) using the rules below.

• Destroyed Units: you gain a number of VP equal to the full Points Cost (as stated on the Army List) of each enemy unit that has been removed as a casualty.
• Shaken Units: you gain a number of VP equal to half the Points Cost (as stated on the Army List, and rounding fractions up) of each enemy Unit that is Shaken at the end of the game.
• Decimated Units: you gain a number of VP equal to half the Points Cost (as stated on the Army List, and rounding fractions up) of each enemy unit that is Decimated at the end of the game (so that each enemy unit that is both Shaken and Decimated at the end of the game gives you its full Points Cost in VP).

When calculating VP, Attachable Models are considered separately from the units they are joined to at the end of the game.

After summing all Victory Points for both players, calculate the difference between the amount gained by each player. Compare that difference to the Army Size, and check the table below to convert Victory Points to Battle Points. The player who scored the most Battle Points is the winner.

VP difference	BP winner	BP defeated
0 – 5%	10	10
>5 – 10%	11	9
>10 – 20%	12	8
>20 – 30%	13	7
>30 – 40%	14	6
>40 – 50%	15	5
>50% or more	16	4
Primary Objective	+3	−3
Each Completed Secondary Objective

For example, at the end of a game with a 3000 points Army Size, player A scored 2054 VP and player B scored 1004 VP.

• The difference is 1050, which is 35% of 3000. This means that player A receives 14 Battle Points, and player B, 6 Battle Points.
• Player A won the Primary Objective, which modifies the result into 17-3.
• Both players completed their Secondary Objective: the result is thus not further modified.

Designer notes: *If it was decided to increase the value of Secondary Objectives before the game, modify these values accordingly.

Definitions and Terminology

1 Measuring Distances

Distances in The 9th Age: Fantasy Battles are measured in inches, 1 inch being equal to 2.54 cm.

Designer notes: The game is normally played using 28 mm miniatures. At this scale, you may envision an inch representing roughly 1.5 metres in real life. In this case, a longbow's 30″ range translates to 45 metres. You can also draw inspiration from history, seeing 1″ as 10 metres instead. This gives the longbow a range of 300 metres: a standard battlefield of 72×48″ table would then represent a real life area of 720×480 m, or roughly 50 football pitches. In medieval times, this would represent a battlefield where two forces with soldiers numbering from a few hundred to several thousand could meet.

The rules often refer to things being "within" a certain distance. When measuring distances, the closest points between objects are used, even if there are intervening elements. Models or units are considered "within range" if the distance between their closest points is less than or equal to the given range.

Measurements are taken from and to the Unit Boundary of a unit (i.e. not necessarily the actual models). Players are free to measure any distance at any time.

Range. Some effects, such as spells or shooting weapons, have a Range value ("X″"). This means that the effect can target things up to X inches away on the battlefield. Models or units are considered to be "within range" if the distance between their closest points is less than or equal to the given Range.

Long Range. For shooting weapons, we define targets as being in "Long Range" if they are further away than half of the weapon's Range (but still within the maximum Range).

Designer notes: Playing The 9th Age at different scales. This game is designed to be compatible with changes in scale. The most common way to use this alternative mode of play is to play it at half-scale, where all distances are halved. This opens up possibilities for gameplay in more confined spaces, such as on ordinary kitchen tables, and entire armies can be neatly stored away in shoe boxes.

• Distances: halve all measurements. This includes, but is not limited to, the battlefield dimensions, weapon and spell ranges, Mobility and Charge values, base sizes, area of effects, and more. Alternatively, you could decide to replace inches by centimetres (so that any distance of 10″ becomes 10 cm instead).
• Models: use smaller models, designed to fit on the half base size. Typically, models suitable for this scale are in the 10 mm range.
• Custom Measuring Devices: it is recommended that custom-made measuring devices are used, where all measurements are pre-halved. Such tools simplify rule referencing, eliminating the need for mental recalibration. Alternatively, if you have decided to replace inches by centimetres, you can measure all distances with a normal ruler, measuring centimetres instead of inches.

2 Dice

This game uses six-sided dice for determining random outcomes. These dice are referred to as a "D6". The following different types dice rolls are used in the game:

• Specific Value: when the result depends on whether the rolled value meets a specific value, this is noted with single quotation marks around the value, such as '1'.
• Higher or Equal to: when the result depends on rolling equal to or higher than a specific target, this is written with a "plus" sign, such as 3+, meaning "3 or higher".
• Multiple Dice: sometimes multiple dice are rolled together and, unless stated otherwise, their results are added together. This is indicated by a number preceding the dice type, such as 3D6, meaning "roll three dice and add their results together" (for an end result of 3 to 18).
• Modified Dice Rolls: dice rolls can be modified in the following ways:
  • Adding a number, e.g. D6+2
  • Subtracting a number, e.g. D6-2
  • Multiplying with a number, e.g. D6×2
• Maximised and Minimised Roll: for each instance of Maximised or Minimised, roll an additional dice, and discard the lowest or highest rolled dice before applying modifiers or adding any results.
  • Maximised: for each instance of Maximised, add a dice to the roll, and discard the dice that rolled the lowest result.
  • Minimised: for each instance of Minimised, add a dice to the roll, and discard the dice that rolled the highest result.
• Rerolling Dice: certain effects allow for rerolling specific dice once. This means picking up the dice that meet the reroll criteria and rolling them again, with the second result being final (i.e. a rerolled dice can never be rerolled again).

3 Models and Units

In The 9th Age: Fantasy Battles, miniatures embody epic warriors, fierce monsters, and powerful spellcasters. Most warriors combine to form disciplined regiments called units, and several such units form the foundation of your army.

Model. A single gaming piece, placed on a base. Each model has its own profile, which consists of various characteristics values, model rules, and equipment. The profile reflects the capabilities of the model.

Rank-and-File model. Normal models in a unit. All models, except Attachable Models (such as all Characters), are referred to as Rank-and-File models.

Base. The platform on which a model rests. Bases are square or rectangular, and represent the area of the battlefield occupied by the model. In the game rules, the base is the only physical aspect of the model that matters. Bases are measured in [front-width × side-length], e.g., 25×50 mm for most horse riders.

Unit. A group of one or more models that operate as a single entity, arranged in a rectangular formation. Models in a unit move and fight together, coordinating their actions on the battlefield.

When forming a unit of multiple models, the following conditions must be met to form a viable formation:

• The models are placed in a tight rectangular (or square) formation, facing the same direction.
• The unit cannot voluntarily have more ranks than files, unless the unit is wide enough to have a Proper Rank.

When a rule, ability, spell, or any other effect affects a unit, all models of the unit are affected, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Unit Boundary. The Unit Boundary is an imaginary rectangle encompassing the outer edges of a unit. A unit can never be inside the Boundary of another unit, unless they are explicitly allowed to temporarily be overlapping. (Unit Boundaries can be represented by using unit trays of the right dimensions.)

Facings. A unit or a model has four Facings, that correspond to the edges of the Unit Boundary or the model's base: a Front, a Rear, and two Flanks.

Arcs. A unit's Arcs correspond to the area in front of the four Facings, divided by a straight line extending from the corners of the Unit Boundary at a 135° angle from the unit's Facings.

Figure 4: Unit Arcs, Unit Facings, and Unit Boundaries. a) This unit has 3 ranks and 5 files. The rear rank is incomplete and only contains 4 models. The Front, Flank, and Rear Arcs are defined by drawing lines from the corners of the Unit Boundary at a 135° angle from the unit's Facings. b) The Unit Boundary is the area drawn around the outer edges of the unit (shaded red lines). The Centre of the unit is the centre of the Unit Boundary. c) A Unit Boundary cannot be inside another Unit Boundary, not even with parts that are not occupied by any models.

Proper Ranks. The number of models required to form a Proper Rank depends on the unit's Height:

• 5 models for Height 0-2.
• 3 models for Height 3-4.
• 1 model for Height 5.

Model Parts. Some models have multiple lines of Offensive Profiles. Each line represents a different "model part". For example, a cavalry model consists of two model parts: a rider and its mount. If a rule, ability, spell, or effect affects a model, then all its model parts are affected, unless stated otherwise. During attacks or shooting, each model part uses its own characteristics and weapons.

4 Unit Spacing

Normally, units must maintain a distance of more than 1″ from Impassable Terrain and other units both friends and enemies.

During ongoing moves, the Unit Spacing requirement is lowered to outside 0.5″. At the end a move a unit must be outside 1″ again. This means that units are allowed to come within 1″, but still outside 0.5″ of other units and Impassable Terrain during their moves.

A unit can still not come into contact, overlap with their bases, or voluntarily end a move within 1″ of either Impassable Terrain or other units.

The following moves are an exception to this:

Uncontrolled Move: Charge Moves, Failed Charge Moves, Flee Moves, Pursue Moves, Reform Moves, and when explicitly stated otherwise.

During an Uncontrolled Move a unit is allowed to move, and end within 0.5″ of other units and Impassable Terrain, but cannot overlap with their bases, unless explicitly stated otherwise, such as it is in Pivot at the beginning of a Pursuit.

5 Characteristic Profiles

Each unit entry contains three Characteristic Profiles: Global, Defensive, and Offensive. A higher value of a given Characteristic indicates that a model is more accomplished in that Characteristic. These values are used for various game mechanics like moving units and attacking with models.

Global Characteristics. Each model has three Global Characteristics. These Characteristics are common for all model parts on the same base (i.e. the whole model) and, in most situations, also shared for combined units.

Abbreviation	Characteristic name	Description
Cha	Charge Speed	The higher the Charge Speed, the further the model can charge.
Mob	Mobility	Determines the distance that the model can move when doing a Move Manoeuvre.
Dis	Discipline	How reliably the model follows orders.

Defensive Characteristics. Each model has four Defensive Characteristics. These Characteristics are common for all model parts on the same model.

Abbreviation	Characteristic name	Description
HP	Health Points	A model is removed as a casualty when it loses this many Health Points.
Def	Defensive Skill	How well the model avoids being hit in melee.
Res	Resilience	How easily the model withstands blows.
Arm	Armour	A high Armour value means the model is able to deflect wounds that should have put it out of Combat.

Offensive Characteristics. If a model has more than one model part, each model part has its own set of Offensive Characteristics. Each model part has five Offensive Characteristics:

Abbreviation	Characteristic name	Description
Agi	Agility	Model parts with a higher Agility strike first in melee.
Att	Attack Value	The number of times the model part can strike in a Round of Combat.
Off	Offensive Skill	How good the model part is at scoring hits in melee.
Str	Strength	How easily the model part can wound enemy models.
AP	Armour Penetration	How well the model part can penetrate the Armour of enemy models.

6 Model Height

In the game, each model is assigned a "Height", which is represented by a number ranging from 0 to 5. The higher the number, the larger the model's vertical size is. This is important for Line of Sight purposes, but also affects the model's ability to form Proper Ranks, how many Restricted Attacks it can perform, and how many dice it rolls for its Dangerous Terrain Tests.

Height	0	1	2	3	4	5
Required width to form a Proper Rank	5 models	5 models	5 models	3 models	3 models	1 model
Number of Proper Ranks needed to be Solid	4	4	3	2	2	2
Number of Standard Melee Attacks that can be done as Restricted Attacks	0 attack	1 attack	2 attacks	3 attacks	4 attacks	5 attacks
Number of D6 rolled for Dangerous Terrain Tests

Figure 5: Size comparison between models. From upper right to lower left: Great Green Idol, Height 5; Giant, Height 5; Iron Orc Chariot, Height 4; Troll, Height 3; Feral Orc Marauder, Height 2; Veteran Orc, Height 1; Goblin Rabble, Height 1; Grotlings, Height 0.

7 Line of Sight

A model can draw Line of Sight to its target (a point, a model, or a Unit Boundary) if you can draw a line from the model to its target in the model's Front Arc and without crossing Line of Sight-blocking Obstructions, such as:

• Opaque Terrain (see the "Terrain" chapter).
• Models in another unit whose Height is equal or greater than to both the model's and its target's.

A model that is not in the front rank of a unit, instead draws its Line of Sight from a point on the Front Facing of its unit that is directly in front of it (typically from the Front Facing from a model directly in front of it).

Figure 6: Drawing Line of Sight. The area within which the single model unit D can draw Line of Sight is marked.

• Unit B is within Line of Sight.
• Unit A is within Line of Sight, as unit D can draw Line of Sight to the Boundary of unit A, even though that part of A's Unit Boundary is not occupied by any models.
• Unit C is not within Line of Sight, as the Impassable Terrain Feature is an Opaque Terrain, therefore blocking Line of Sight from unit D to unit C.

8 Properties

Units, attacks and spells can have key words called "Properties" attached to them. Properties describe the unit's origin, allegiance, elemental effects, equipment, or other defining attributes. Properties can always be identified by their names being displayed in grey and italics.

Properties are rules that do not possess any innate or direct effects. Instead, Properties are only used as triggers for other rules. For example, a rule might restrict Characters from joining a unit unless it possesses the right "Clan" Property.

9 Duration of Effects

Certain abilities may provide time-limited additional effects to models. The following key-words are used to denote the durations of such effects.

• Instant: the effects are applied once, then immediately end.
• Round of Combat: the effects last until the end of the Round of Combat in which they were applied.
• One Phase: the effects last until the end of the Phase in which they were applied.
• End of Combat: the effects last until the model is Unengaged.
• End of Turn: the effects last until the end of the Player Turn in which they were applied.
• One Turn: the effects last until the start of the next same Phase as when the effects were applied, of the same player (e.g. if the effects were applied during the Magic Phase of Player A, then they end at the start of the next Magic Phase of Player A).
• Permanent: the effects last until the end of the game, or until a specific condition is met as described in the effect.

Attacks

Each attempt to kill an enemy first requires you to land a blow, and second, for the blow to prove harmful. And of course, it must not be blocked by armour or other defences.

1 Attacks

Attacks in the game can be performed using Melee Weapons, Shooting Weapons, spells, or unique abilities. This section explains the general process of performing attacks and determining their success in causing damage to their targets.

Most sources of damage are categorised as attacks, which are divided into:

• Melee Attacks: attacks made in the Melee Phase, from models towards a unit it is Engaged in Combat with.
  • Standard Melee Attacks: the most common type of Melee Attack, where model parts perform a number of attacks primarily based on their Attack Value, are called "Standard Melee Attacks".
• Ranged Attacks: all attacks that are not Melee Attacks are considered Ranged Attacks.
  • Shooting Attacks: the rules sometimes refer to Shooting Attacks or "attacks made by Shooting Weapons". Shooting Attacks are a type of Ranged Attacks.

2 Attack Sequence

When conducting an attack, follow this sequence:

1. The attacker allocates its attacks to a target.
2. Determine the number of hits. If at least one hit is caused, proceed.
3. The attacker rolls to wound. If successful, proceed.
4. The defender rolls Armour Saves. If failed, proceed.
5. The defender rolls Special Saves. If failed, proceed.
6. The defender suffers unsaved wounds, loses Health Points and removes casualties.
7. The defender takes Panic Tests if necessary.

Complete each step for all simultaneous attacks, such as all Shooting Attacks from a single unit or all Melee Attacks at a specific Agility Step, before proceeding to the next step.

2.A Allocating Attacks

In the Attack Sequence, the first step is to determine the target: select a unit to attack, and which models in the unit to target. This works slightly different for Ranged Attacks than for Melee Attacks.

For Melee Attacks, if several attacks (such as from model parts in the same unit) attack simultaneously, each attack may be allocated towards a different target:

1. The attacker can always allocate its attacks to any Rank-and-File models in an enemy unit in contact.
2. Melee Attacks can be allocated to Attachable Models joined to an enemy unit if they are in contact with the attacker's model (or, in the case of Supporting Attacks, in contact with a model directly in front of the attacker in the same unit). See the "Melee Phase" chapter for details.
3. If there are no Rank-and-File models in an enemy unit in contact with the attacker, then any model in that unit may be chosen as the target.

For Ranged Attacks, all simultaneous attacks from the same unit must select the same unit as their target, but may be allocated towards different Health Pools within the unit, if possible:

1. Attacks can always be allocated to Rank-and-File models in the target unit. If there are no Rank-and-File models in the unit, then any model in the unit may be chosen as the target.
2. Attacks can be allocated to Attachable Models joined to the target unit if they are either or both:
   • Of a different Height than the Rank-and-File models in the unit.
   • In a unit with fewer than 5 Rank-and-File models (or fewer than 3 if they are of Height 3–5).

2.B Determining the Number of Hits

Some attacks require a to-hit roll, while other attacks hit automatically, inflicting a fixed or random number of hits. The rules for how attacks hit are described for each attack. The most common type of to-hit rolls can be found in the "Shooting Phase" and "Melee Phase" chapters.

2.C To-Wound Rolls

Once you have hit your target, you must wound it in order to potentially cause harm.

To determine if a hit successfully wounds the target, roll a D6 for each hit. The required roll to wound depends on the difference between the attack's Strength and the defender's Resilience, as indicated in the table below. A roll of '6' always succeeds, while a roll of '1' always fails. The attacker rolls for each hit to determine if it wounds the target. A successful to-wound roll results in a wound.

If the attack does not have a Strength, refer to the specific rules provided for that particular attack.

Difference Str − Res	Required roll to wound
2 or more	2+
1	3+
0	4+
−1	5+
−2 or less	6+

3 Saves

When wounds are inflicted on a unit, there are two types of saves that the defender can make to potentially negate the damage: Armour Saves and Special Saves.

When taking saves, the owner of the attacked model rolls a D6 and compares it with the needed score to pass the save. See the details below for how to pass Armour Saves and Special Saves.

If successful, the wound is ignored. First roll Armour Save, and then, if this is not passed, roll the Special Save (provided the model has one). If the Special Save is failed, or the model does not have a Special Save, a wound is inflicted. Proceed to "Losing Health Points and Casualties".

3.A Armour Saves

The defender rolls Armour Saves by rolling a D6 for each wound, and comparing the result with the model's Armour Value, reduced by the Attack's Armour Penetration. The modified Armour value describes the number of sides on a D6, counting down from the highest value, that will result in a successful roll, see the table below. If the Armour Save is successful, the wound is ignored. A roll of '1' is always a failure.

Arm − AP	Armour Save Roll
5 or above	2+
4	3+
3	4+
2	5+
1	6+
0	Cannot be passed

For example, "Armour 3", means that '6', '5', and '4' would be successful Armour Save rolls. If the model is attacked by Armour Penetration 1, its Armour is reduced to Armour 2, which now means that '6' and '5' are successful Armour Save rolls.

Combined Armour. Each model has a base Armour value in its profile, and some models may have additional equipment, rules, or be under the effect of spells that modify their Armour values. Different sources of Armour can be combined, adding up to the total combined Armour.

For example, a model with a base Armour of 3 that is under the effect of a spell that grants +1 Armour, has a combined Armour of 4. When wounded by an attack with Armour Penetration 1, the needed Armour Save roll would be '4', '5', or '6' (or 4+).

3.B Special Saves

If a wound is not saved by the Armour Save, the defender may negate the attack, even an Unmodifiable one, with its Special Save, if it has one. Special Saves work like Armour Saves, except they are unaffected by Armour Penetration. A natural roll of '1' or '2' is always a failure.

There are two types of Special Saves: Aegis and Regeneration, each explained in detail in the "Model Rules" section.

A model is only allowed to roll one Special Save roll for each attack.

4 Losing Health Points and Casualties

When a model suffers an unsaved wound, it immediately loses a Health Point, which can result in models being removed as casualties.

4.A Health Pools

Health Points are organised into Health Pools. A unit's Rank-and-File models form a collective Health Pool, while any other models joined to the unit each have their own separate Health Pool.

4.B Casualties

Each unsaved wound reduces the Health Pool by 1 Health Point.

• If the models in the attacked Health Pool have 1 Health Point each, remove one model for each Health Point lost.
• If the models have more than 1 Health Point each, remove entire models whenever possible. Keep track of any lost Health Points that are not enough to remove a whole model, as they will be taken into account for future attacks. For example, a unit of 10 Trolls (3 Health Points each) loses 7 Health Points: remove two whole models (6 Health Points), leaving 1 lost Health Point, which is kept track of. Later, this unit loses 2 Health Points, which is enough to remove a single Troll, since 1 Health Point was lost from the previous attack.

When enough Health Points are lost to remove models, do so from as far back in the unit as possible. If the removal of casualties would lead to a non-viable unit formation, such as gaps being created in ranks other than the last, follow the procedure described in the Reference Handbook under "Maintaining a Viable Formation", in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter.

Psychology

Every commander must face the reality that their troops might not always obey their orders. Soldiers who lack proper military training and discipline may not be able to execute more complex field operations satisfactorily. And when you ask even the hardiest warrior to face monstrous terrors, or stand firm when their comrades perish and flee, you should be prepared for the eventuality that their resolve may falter.

In The 9th Age: Fantasy Battles, there are two types of Psychology Tests that represent a warrior's mental state and ability to follow orders: "Command" and "Courage".

When a unit must perform a Command or Courage Test, roll 2D6 and compare the result with the unit's Discipline (see "Characteristic Profiles" in the "Definitions and Terminology" chapter). If the result is equal to or lower than the Discipline value, the test is passed. Otherwise, it is failed.

1 Command Tests

Command Tests represent a warrior's ability to perform orderly battlefield manoeuvres and rally after a rout has begun.

Common situations where Command Tests are taken are:

• When attempting to Redirect a Charge. Remember that this can only be attempted once per Phase per unit.
• When attempting to perform a Combat Reform while on the losing side, and/or when Engaged on the Flank or Rear.
• When taking a Rally Test. See the "Rally Phase" chapter for details.

Common Model Rules that affect Command Tests are: Commanding Presence, Disciplined, Mindless, Unruly (see "Model Rules" for details).

2 Courage Tests

Courage Tests represent a warrior's ability to hold their position in the face of adversity. There are two primary types of Courage Tests:

• Panic Tests: those tests are taken immediately when triggered by some circumstances. A unit that fails a Panic Test becomes Shaken.
• Break Tests: taken by units on the losing side of a Combat (see the "Melee Phase" chapter for details).

Common Model Rules that affect Courage Tests are: Commanding Presence, Rally Around the Flag (see "Model Rules" for details).

2.A Panic Tests

A Panic test is a type of Courage Test taken in certain situations, such as:

• A friendly Shaken unit performs a Flee Move through the unit.

  • A Flee Move that is the direct consequence of a voluntary decision does not cause a Panic Test to friendly units. This includes Flee Moves following a Flee! Charge Reaction (unless that reaction was caused by a failed Panic Test due to being Charged by a model with Terror, in which case it was not voluntary), and voluntary Breaking from Combat with a unit entirely with Feigned Flight. Note that a Flee Move due to a failed Rally Test is not a voluntary Flee Move, even if it initially was.

• The unit suffered enough Health Point losses in a single phase from Ranged Attacks originating from enemy models to fulfil both the following criteria:

  • The unit suffered at least 3 Health Points losses, and
  • The unit suffered an amount of Health Points losses at least equal to 25% of the number of HP the unit had at the start of the Phase.

  Take the Panic Test immediately after possible casualties have been removed. Ignore Health Point losses suffered while Engaged in Combat.

• An enemy unit containing Terror declares a Charge against the unit in the Charge Phase.

Units do not take Panic Tests if:

• They are Engaged in Combat, or
• They are already Shaken, or
• They already passed a Panic Test during the same phase.

If a unit fails a Panic test, it immediately becomes Shaken. Note: this does not mean that the unit performs a Flee Move.

3 Psychology States

Units may suffer from various psychological states, which can limit their actions. It is recommended to use markers to indicate the current state of each unit.

3.A Decimated

A model is "Decimated" when its original* unit's current Health Points is 25% or less of its starting Health Points, as listed in the Army List. Decimated models are removed as casualties just before they would perform a Flee Move.

*By "original unit", it is meant the unit as listed on the Army List. This means that the Rank-and-File part of a Combined Unit might be considered Decimated while an Attachable Model joined to the unit is not, or vice versa. In this case, remove only Decimated models from the unit before performing a Flee Move, and leave models that are not Decimated on the Battlefield.

3.B Shaken

When a unit fails a Panic Test, a Break Test, or chooses the Flee! Charge Reaction, it becomes Shaken.

A Shaken unit is unable to perform voluntary actions. This includes declaring Charges, moving in any way other than a Flee Move, shooting, generating Magic Dice, casting spells, or activating Magic Items that require a voluntary activation. There is one exception: the unit may still choose to Flee! or Hold! as a Charge Reaction.

Remember that if unit is Shaken, it temporarily stops being Scoring. This lasts until it is no longer Shaken.

A Shaken unit that finds itself Engaged in Combat is removed as casualty at step 1 of the Round of Combat Sequence.

Designer notes: In order to remember which units are Shaken, we recommend that Shaken units are clearly marked. This can either be done with specific markers or tokens to indicate a unit is Shaken, or if you do not have such markers, a commonly used method for marking Shaken units is to take one model from the front rank of the Shaken unit, and put it lying face down next to the unit.

4 Flee Move

A Flee Move is a specific type of move performed in certain situations. Common instances are: failing a Rally Test, choosing to Flee! as a Charge Reaction or failing a Break Test (without being caught by any Pursuing enemy unit). When making a Flee Move, follow these steps:

1. Roll the Flee Distance (normally this is 2D6″).
2. Each Flee Move starts by Pivoting the unit to face a certain direction, determined as such: a. Failed Rally Test: Pivot the unit to face directly away from the closest non-Shaken enemy unit. b. Flee! Charge Reaction and failed Terror Tests: Pivot the unit to face directly away from the Charging enemy unit. c. Failed Break Test: Pivot the Shaken unit so that its Rear Facing is parallel with the Facing of the enemy it was Engaged with.
3. Move the Shaken unit straight forward by the distance rolled.
4. A Flee Move, including the initial Pivot, ignores the Unit Spacing rule, and can move through any Obstructions. The move still cannot end with the Fleeing unit overlapping any other unit or Impassable Terrain: continue the move in a straight line until the unit can be placed on the battlefield without overlapping any Obstructions. Remember that the unit ignores the Unit Spacing rule, which means it can be placed within 1″ of other units or Impassable Terrain. a. If the Fleeing unit moves through any friendly unit, this unit must take a Panic Test. b. If the Fleeing unit moves through any enemy unit or Impassable Terrain, treat these as Dangerous Terrain (4+).
5. If the Flee Move brings the unit into contact with the Table Edge, or with an enemy unit that has declared a Charge against it during the same phase, the unit is removed as a casualty.

Magical Effects

1 Magical Move

Some spells or abilities allow a unit to perform a Magical Move. This move is performed as if it were the Movement Phase, following the same rules and restrictions: the unit can perform a Move Manoeuvre. Characters and other Attachable Models can join or leave units. Restrictions that apply during the Movement Phase (e.g. units that are Shaken or Engaged in Combat cannot perform a Move Manoeuvre) still apply.

The distance that the Magical Move can be performed is specified in the spell or ability. The target's Mobility is changed to always equal to the distance of the Magical Move, for the duration of the move.

For example, an effect could be: "The target may perform a 6″ Magical Move". This means the target can perform any normal Move Manoeuvre as if its Mobility was 6″, including marching 12″.

A unit can only perform a single Magical Move per Phase.

2 Recover Health Points

Some spells or abilities allow units and models to Recover Health Points lost during the battle. The amount of Health Points that can be Recovered is specified in the ability.

Recovering Health Points cannot bring back models that have been removed as casualties, and cannot increase a model's Health Points above its starting value (any excess Health Points are lost).

3 Raise Health Points

Raising Health Points is similar to Recovering, with the exception that it can bring back models that have been removed as casualties.

4 Summoned Units

Summoned units are units that are created during the game. Once summoned, the newly created unit operates as a normal unit controlled by the side that Summoned it. Summoned units do not award Victory Points to the opponent when they are removed as a casualty.

Characters

A Character is a significant and unique individual in the army, often possessing special abilities, skills, or powers that set them apart from regular troops. Characters are a special type of models that are recruited from the "Characters" Army Category of an Army Book.

Unless stated otherwise, Characters follow the rules for Attachable Models, which means they can join other units.

1 Make Way

It can happen that a Character's unit is Engaged in Combat, while that Character is not itself in contact with any enemy model. When this happens, the Character may be eligible for a Make Way move.

To be able to perform a Make Way move, the Character:

• Must be in the first rank of its unit.
• Must not be in contact with any enemy models.
• Must not have a Mismatching Base.

Make Way moves are performed when Choosing Equipment and Abilities. The Character switches positions with a Rank-and-File model (or models) in its unit that is in contact with an enemy. The Character must end up in a valid position. Normally this means that the Character can only swap positions with models in the Front rank.

2 General

An army may include a General. This upgrade is Legendary. The General gains Commanding Presence (see "Model Rules").

3 Battle Standard Bearer

An army may include a Battle Standard Bearer. This upgrade is Legendary.

A Battle Standard Bearer gives +1 Combat Resolution to its side in combat, and gains Rally Around the Flag (see "Model Rules"). If the model has the option to buy Magic Items, it is allowed to buy a Banner Enchantment.

4 Character Mounts

When a Character selects a mount from the options available to it, the following rules apply to the combined model of a rider and its mount:

• Height and Base: use the Mount's Height and base.
• Offence Characteristics: the rider and the mount each use their own Offensive Characteristics, Weapons and Attack Attributes.
• Defence and Global Characteristics: the combined model has a single set of Global and Defensive Characteristics and Model Rules.
  • Generally, the values from the mount's profile are used. Modifiers to the rider's Characteristics have no impact on the Global and Defence Characteristics of the mount, unless specifically mentioned otherwise, or in of the following:
    • If a value in the mount's profile is indicated as "C", the corresponding value from the Character's profile is used instead, including any modifiers to it.
    • If a value is written as "C+X", increase the Character's value by X, and use that value as the whole model's.
    • If a value is written as "C–X", decrease the Character's value by X, and use that value as the whole model's.
  • For example, a Character with "Arm 2" is using a Shield (+1 Arm) while mounted on a Dragon with "Arm 4": the combined model's Armour value is still only 4 (the Dragon's). If the same Character is instead mounted on a Warhorse with "Arm C+2", the model's Armour value is 5 (2+1+2).
• Model Rules: Model Rules also follow the principles described above, with the following specifications:
  • Attack Attributes and Weapons are applied only to the specific model part that has those rules.
  • Other Model Rules are applied to the combined model as a whole.
  • For example, a Character with Distracting, Lethal Strike is mounted on a Warhorse. The horse cannot benefit from Lethal Strike: since it is an Attack Attribute, it applies only to attacks from a single model part, the Character itself. However, Distracting is neither an Attack Attribute nor a Weapon, and is therefore applied to the entire combined model.

Attachable Models

Attachable Models are models that have the flexibility to "join" other units as well as to operate by themselves. The most common type of Attachable Models are Characters. All Characters are Attachable Models, unless mentioned otherwise. In addition to Characters, a few other models may be defined as Attachable, such as those with the Model Rule War Platform.

1 Lone Attachable Models

Attachable Models can operate as a unit consisting of just themselves - a single model unit. In this case, the normal rules for units apply to them.

2 Combined Units

Attachable Models that join other units form a "Combined Unit". Once an Attachable Model has joined a unit, they are considered part of the unit for all rules purposes, unless specified otherwise.

2.A Joining other units

Attachable Models can join other units either by Deploying inside and simultaneously with the unit, or by moving into contact with the unit through a Move Manoeuvre. Upon joining a unit, the unit that was joined cannot move further in the same Phase.

An Attachable Model ignores the Unit Spacing rule with regards to the unit it is about to join, and must have enough movement to reach its final and valid position within the unit, which normally means it must be able to reach its Front rank.

Units that are Shaken or Engaged in Combat cannot be joined by an Attachable Model.

2.B Moving Combined Units

Combined Units are moved as a group, following the normal rules for moving units. An Attachable Model can move within its unit's formation by swapping places with other models, as long as the resulting position is still a valid one (generally in the Front rank). This can be done as part of the following moves:

• Move Manoeuvres (Advance, March, and Reform Moves)
• Pivots, including Post-combat Pivots and Post-Rally Pivots. Note: this does not include Pivots occurring as part of a Flee or Pursue Move (including Overruns).
• Combat Reforms

Remember that additional restrictions apply to which positions are valid – see the "Melee Phase" chapter.

Attachable Models are not allowed to move within their unit's formation under any other circumstances, such as when Charging, Aligning, Pursuing or performing a Flee Move.

2.C Placement within a Combined Unit

Unless stated otherwise, Attachable Models must be placed in the front rank of the unit they are joined to. If this is not possible (e.g. due to the Front rank already being filled with other Attachable Models), they must instead be placed as far forward as possible in the unit.

2.C.a Matching Bases

In Combined Units with both Attachable Models and Rank-and-File models, an Attachable Model is considered to have a Matching Base if the size of its base is the same as that of the Rank-and-File models in the unit, or if the size of its base is a multiple of the size of the Rank-and-File models' bases in the unit. E.g. a 40×40 mm base in a unit where every model has a 20x20 mm base. Models on Matching Bases are placed inside the formation of the unit they join, normally displacing another model or models. If the model has a larger base than the Rank-and-File models, it counts as occupying all ranks its base covers for Proper Ranks calculations.

2.C.b Mismatching Bases

Any base that is not a Matching Base is considered a "Mismatching Base", such as an Attachable Model on a 40×40 mm base in a unit where Rank-and-File models have 25×50 mm bases. A model with a Mismatching Base is always placed in contact to the side of the unit, aligned with its Front.

Each unit can only include two models with Mismatching Bases, one on each side. These models are considered to be only in the Front rank, and are not counted when determining the number of models in each rank for Proper Ranks. They form a separate file of one model each.

Figure 7: Matching and Mismatching Bases. a) A Character on a Mismatching Base is placed next to the unit. Characters on Matching Bases are placed inside the unit, as far forwards as possible. This unit is considered to have 6 files and 4 ranks. b) When an Attachable Model joins the unit, the small Attachable Model in the second rank must be moved to the side in order to have all Attachable Models as far forwards as possible.

2.D Leaving a Combined Unit

Attachable Models can leave a combined unit with a Move Manoeuvre, or by Charging out of it, assuming they are able to move freely. This means Attachable Models can not leave units while Engaged in Combat, if their unit has already moved, or if they are Shaken.

2.D.a Move Manoeuvres out of a Unit

To leave a unit, move the Attachable Model out of the unit using a Move Manoeuvre. Attachable Models ignore the Unit Spacing rule with regards to the unit they are leaving. The unit that is left behind is not considered to have moved, and is free to perform its own move later in the Phase.

2.D.b Charging out of a Unit

An Attachable Model in a Combined Unit may Declare a Charge on its own during the Charge Phase, i.e. Charging out of the unit and leaving the unit behind. When doing this, apply the following rules:

• Use the position of the Combined Unit for determining which Facing of the enemy unit the Charge is Declared towards, and for determining the Flee direction if the Charged unit performs a Flee! Charge Reaction.
• Use the Attachable Model for determining Line of Sight and distance to the enemy unit.
• Attachable Models ignore the Unit Spacing rule with regards to the unit they are leaving.
• The unit itself (including other Attachable Models in the unit) cannot Declare Charges in the same Player Turn.
• If the Charge is successful, move the Attachable Model out of the unit by Charging as normal.
• If the Charge is not successful, the Attachable Model makes a Failed Charge Move out of the unit.

Terrain

Each battlefield is unique, with opportunities and challenges presented by the lie of the land. The ability to use both geographical features and man-made structures to your advantage can make all the difference. Some landscapes can be so treacherous that your forces may even perish if they lack sufficient caution.

1 Terrain Rules

Terrain represents distinct areas on the battlefield that introduce additional rules that affect models within or interacting with it. These areas are typically represented by modelled terrain that are placed on the board. The most common Terrain Features in the game are explained below. In addition, rules for more Terrain Features can be found in the Season Pack.

1.A Open Terrain

Open Terrain normally does not have any effect on Line of Sight, Cover, or movement. All parts of the board that are not covered by any kind of Terrain Features are Open Terrain.

1.B Covering Terrain (X, Height Y)

Covering Terrain contributes to Cover when drawing Line of Sight through it. The bracket (X) indicates whether the terrain contributes to Soft Cover or Hard Cover.

Certain Terrain Features (such as Fields, Ruins) only count as Covering Terrain for units in contact with them. Ignore any Terrain Feature the shooter itself is located in for Cover purposes.

Covering Terrain always has a bracket (Height Y) associated with it that corresponds to the largest Height where this Terrain Feature can contribute to Cover. For example, Fields are Covering Terrain (Height 3), which means that anything with Height 4-5 cannot claim Soft Cover from Line of Sight drawn through a Field they are in contact with.

1.C Dangerous Terrain (X+, Y)

A unit must take a Dangerous Terrain Test at the end of its move if it has been in contact with a Dangerous Terrain during one the following moves: Charge Move, Failed Charge Move, March Move, Flee Move, or Pursue Move.

Dangerous Terrain Tests are performed by rolling a number of D6. For each roll of X+, the unit suffers a hit that wounds automatically with always AP 10. (Note: Special Saves can still be taken, and this is not an attack).

The number of dice the unit must roll is equal to half the number of models in it (rounding fractions up), multiplied by the models' Height. If a value is given for "Y", only models fulfilling these criteria take the Dangerous Terrain Test.

For example, a unit of 19 Height 1 Dwarven Warriors would roll 10 dice (19÷2 → 10, ×1), while a unit of a single Height 5 Dragon would roll 5 dice (1÷2 → 1, ×5).

1.D Disruptive Terrain

Units in contact with a Disruptive Terrain cannot claim Combat Score bonus from their number of Proper Ranks (i.e. "Rank Bonus").

1.E Opaque Terrain

Line of Sight cannot be drawn through Opaque Terrain, but can be drawn into or out of it; note that this means the Terrain Feature contributes to Hard Cover. Models always ignore Opaque Terrain they are inside for drawing Line of Sight.

2 Terrain Features

A Terrain Feature is a topographical area on the Battlefield that may be a mixture of Dangerous, Opaque, or Covering Terrain and may possess its own set of additional rules. Most Terrain Features follow the corresponding rules:

2.A Fields

Fields can be represented in the game for example by meadows of tall grass, or agricultural enclosures.

Fields have the following rules:

• Covering Terrain (Soft Cover, Height 3) for units in contact.
• Flammable: units in contact gain Weakness (Flaming Attacks).

2.B Forest

Forests can be represented for example by jungles, brushwoods, or small groves of trees.

Forests have the following rules:

• Covering Terrain (Soft Cover, Height 5).
• Dangerous Terrain (6+, Mount).
• Disruptive Terrain.

2.C Hills

Hills can be represented for example by elevated plateaus or burial mounds.

Hills have the following rules:

• Elevated Position: a model is considered to have an Elevated Position if it is fully on a Hill. For the purposes of determining Cover and for drawing Line of Sight to or from a model with Elevated Position, ignore intervening models that do not have an Elevated Position.
• Opaque Terrain. Remember that Line of Sight can still be drawn into and out of the Terrain Feature.

2.D Impassable Terrain

Impassable Terrain can be represented for example by monoliths, cliffs, massive boulders, or buildings.

Impassable Terrain has the following rules:

• Dangerous Terrain (4+) for units making Flee Moves through it.
• Impassable: models cannot move into or through an Impassable Terrain Feature (except as part of a Flee Move).
• Opaque Terrain.

2.E Ruins

Ruins can be represented for example by rubble, abandoned farmsteads or ancient sites of symbolic or arcane power.

Ruins have the following rules:

• Covering Terrain (Hard Cover, Height 3) for units in contact.
• Dangerous Terrain (6+).

2.F Walls

Walls can be represented for example by stone, wood, or makeshift structures.

Walls have the following rules:

• Covering Terrain (Hard Cover, Height 3) for units in contact.
• Dangerous Terrain (6+, Construct).
• Fortified Position Attack Attribute: Melee Attacks from Charging models that are in contact with a Wall suffer a −1 to hit penalty. This also applies to Supporting Attacks made by Charging models over models in contact with a Wall, and to attacks across gaps where the model's virtual extended base would be in contact with a Wall.

2.G Water Terrain

Water Terrain can be represented in the game for example by ponds, swamps, or rivers.

Water Terrain has the following rules:

• Dangerous Terrain (6+, Metal Armour).
• Disruptive Terrain.
• Soaked: units in contact gain Immune (Flaming Attacks).
• Unsure Footing: models in contact cannot use Impact Hits, Stomp Attack.