Fate of Venterra Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Overview
• The Factions
  • The Children of the Bear
  • The Legion of the Dragon
  • The Pack
  • The Order
  • The Northern Watch
• Main Set-up
• Pre-Built Maps
• Each Round
• Game Concepts
• Units
• Leader Cards
• Marching
• Exploring
• Battling
• Terrain Cards
• Landmark Tiles
• Faction Abilities and Powers
• Unique Components Explained

Components

Global Components

• 2 Mastery Boards
• 3 Terrain Cards: Venterra, Power of Venterra, Land of Paradise
• 39 Quest Cards, numbered bottom left 1-39
• 25 Power of the Gods cards: 2 of each card, plus 3 "Power of Quin" cards
• 2 Landmark Tiles: Forgotten Kingdom, Corrupted Court
• 10 Map Tiles, side A and side B, numbered 1-10
• 1 Round Marker
• 45 Wealth Tokens, in denominations of 10, 15 and 20
• 5 Reference Cards: Each Round / Marching
• 5 Unit Cards: Basic units and Forge units
• 62 Explore Tokens

The Explore Tokens are split by defense value:

Defense of Token	Defense Quantity
0	16
1	32
2	14

The reward on each Explore Token is listed under Exploring in the Game Concepts section. The Explore Token table on the components page also gives a reward quantity for each of its six reward pictograms (8, 8, 10, 10, 12 and 14, left to right).

Transcriber note: the reward pictograms on the component table are icons that do not extract as text, so the reward types are not matched to those counts here.

Overview

The Gameplay: Fate of Venterra is played over the course of 6 rounds. Each round consists of 6 phases, with a 7th phase being added in between certain rounds. Over the course of these 6 rounds, players will gain income, march units, complete Quests, build & upgrade buildings, explore, discover Power of the Gods, and upgrade their faction.

The main goal of the game is to gain influence points, which are gained through almost every action a player can take. At the end of the final round, players will tally up influence points from multiple areas and declare a winner.

The Factions

Each faction has a starting resource set, a unit count, and a rating for Complexity, Aggression and Economy. Unit counts and starting resources are shown in pictograms on the faction block; the counts that could be read are given below.

The Children of the Bear

The many tribes of the Eastern Highlands live in constant conflict, with war-lords fighting for control of the now ruined City of Gold, Kishla'. Long ago the city was the center of commerce under the rule of King Ka'jer, "The Bear of the East", until he was turned to gold through his endless greed. Jur'en Keshta, knowing the futility of this infighting, has assembled many like minded tribes to join him on a crusade, to use the magic of Venterra to free Ka'jer from his prison and unite his people.

• Complexity: 4/5
• Aggression: 4/5
• Economy: 3/5
• Starting Resources: any number of Leader cards equal to 3 Wealth (the starting hand and pieces are pictured on the faction block)

The Legion of the Dragon

Conquering much of the known world, the vastly expansive reach of the Daelic empire is now slowly crumbling. With the shadow of their former glory still dissipating, the Ashborn Kai Da Rasa, has decided to lead her imperial militant force to the shores of Venterra. She is sure that the power and secrets that are rumored to exist there will enable imperial forces to fight back the invading barbarians that threaten the integrity of the Mainland.

• Complexity: 1/5
• Aggression: 3/5
• Economy: 4/5
• Starting Resources: any number of Leader cards equal to 3 Wealth (the starting hand and pieces are pictured on the faction block)

The Pack

The nomadic tribes of The Wilds live much like the roaming packs of wolves they believe to be their ancestors. Among the separate tribes peace is not common, except for one day each year, when the tribes meet to listen to their godly ordained spiritual leader, the Eldapriest. This year, their Eldapreist has communed with the moon goddess Des'adar, who asked the tribes to protect Venterra from the invaders of the Mainland. Several tribes have pledged their support, putting aside their differences for their goddess, while others retreated back to their homelands. Among the loyal chieftains, Hisk Draknii has been selected to be the main militant leader of this undertaking.

• Complexity: 5/5
• Aggression: 5/5
• Economy: 2/5
• Starting Resources: any number of Leader cards equal to 3 Wealth (the starting hand and pieces are pictured on the faction block)

The Order

Self-proclaimed prophets, The Order operates in much of the known world as mortal enforcers of the will of the gods. Reckoner Laelith Quinn has been sent by the Minister of War, to lay the ground work for their holy order to operate within Venterra. She has been provided with a vast amount of resources to accomplish this goal. In the end, The Order hopes to petition the gods for the good of humanity.

• Complexity: 3/5
• Aggression: 2/5
• Economy: 5/5
• Starting Resources: any number of Leader cards equal to 3 Wealth (the starting hand and pieces are pictured on the faction block)

The Northern Watch

Hailing from the frigid coasts of the iron straits, The Northern Watch was formed long ago by King Devic to protect the north from supernatural and destructive powers. Over time they have come to see magic as the true source of destruction and an evil that must be locked up. When the news of Venterra reached their shores, the Northern Watch felt it necessary to send one of their own council members to assess the situation developing. Council member, Derr Malkin, is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the powerful magic that exists in Venterra out of the hands of mortals.

• Complexity: 2/5
• Aggression: 1/5
• Economy: 4/5
• Starting Resources: any number of Leader cards equal to 3 Wealth (the starting hand and pieces are pictured on the faction block)

Transcriber note: the Starting Resources and Unit Count of each faction block are pictograms (the starting hand cards, the starting buildings and the unit counts). They are not reproduced as text here; the starting order and setup rules are in the Main Set-up section, and the per-faction starting buildings and units are on the back of each player board.

Main Set-up

Start set-up by choosing from 1 of the 5 factions included in the game and collect all of their pieces.

Mastery Boards: Place the Mastery Boards to the side of the play area. Place the Round Counter on the 1st round spot (A). Place each player's Faction Token on the initiative track in the correct initiative order (B). When playing with less than five players, move the tokens to the left to fill in the gaps.

Starting Initiative Order: the initiative track is numbered 1 to 5.

Terrain Card: Choose a terrain card and place it on the terrain card outline on the Mastery Board. For your first game, use the territory card named "Venterra" and place it on the Mastery Board as shown.

Power of the Gods Cards: Shuffle the Power of the Gods cards and place the deck face down on the "draw" area outlined on the Mastery Board. Draw 3 cards and lay them face-up in the 3 adjacent outlined spaces.

Quest Cards: Shuffle the Quest cards and place the deck face down on the "draw" area outlined on the Mastery Board. Draw 3 cards and lay them face-up in the 3 adjacent outlined spaces.

Wealth: Place the Wealth within reach of all players.

Battle & Development Tracks: Place a Faction Token for each player on the first spot on the battle track and the development track.

Bidding Reward Tokens: Place a token for each player to the right of the bidding reward area marked with a symbol.

Build the Map: Each player will take part in building the map. If this is your first game, you can refer to the pre-built maps on the next page, this will also skip the rest of this step. If you are not using a pre-built map, continue on.

To build the map, choose a Landmark Tile and place it in the middle of the play area with the territory side face up. If this is your first game, we recommend using the "Sacred Kingdom" Landmark Tile, otherwise you are able to choose from any Landmark Tile you would like to play with instead.

Starting with the first player, they must choose 2 Map Tiles and place them touching the starting Landmark Tile. All tiles placed must touch the Landmark Tile, if possible, but may be placed in any orientation. After the first player has placed their tiles, proceed to the next player, following the initiative order outlined earlier. In this way, all players will have a chance to place 2 tiles down and build the map.

(The example in the center of the page is set up for a 2-player game.)

Place Starting Buildings & Units: After all players have finished building the map, they will place their starting buildings and units. All players' starting buildings and units are determined on the back of their player board. Keep in mind, not all players will start with the same number or type of buildings. When looking at the back of the player boards, there will be a section labeled "starting resources."

Each player must follow the steps below (I-III). Starting with the first player, they will complete all 3 steps, then the next player in initiative order will do their 3 steps, until all players have placed their buildings and units.

• I. Hex Building: Place your faction's Hex Building. Hex Buildings must be placed as follows:
  1. On any territory on the edge of the map. (The Eldapriest and Ka'jer may not be placed on water.)
  2. At least 3 spaces away from any other Hex Buildings.
  3. Cannot be placed on the Landmark Tile.
• II. Circle/Square Buildings: Place your circle/square building. Circle and square Buildings must be built/placed as follows:
  1. Adjacent to your Hex Building.
  2. Cannot be placed on water.
  3. Some terrain cards may change these placement rules. (Refer to Terrain Cards on page 7.)
• III. Starting Units: Place your starting units. When placing your starting units on the map, these units may be split between your starting buildings and territories without buildings any way you prefer.

Ka'jer will start attached to his cart. (Children of the Bear)

Explore Tokens: Take all of the Explore Tokens and place them with the number and shield facing up. Next, mix them up and place them as follows (one per territory): 2's are placed on [territories], 0's are placed on [territories] and [territories] without [buildings], and 1's are placed on [territories] and [territories] without [buildings].

Transcriber note: the territory types that receive each Explore Token value are shown as icons in the source and are not legible as text. The Forgotten Kingdom and Corrupted Court Landmark Tile text is in the Landmark Tiles section.

Player Set-Up: All players should make a hand with the following cards:

• "Treaty" Leader card
• Leader card
• Charge Maneuver
• Reinforce Plan
• Leader cards equal to 3 Wealth (for your first game select a 0, 1, and 2 cost card). The rest get placed off to the side of your player board.

Take a unit reference card and place it over the unit symbol, with the "basic units" side face up.

Place all of your extra buildings onto your player board, matching the shape on your board.

Place the 4 upgrade cards onto your board over the Faction Ability symbols. Make sure the greyed cost side is face up for the ones with a cost. The one without a cost stays on the color side; this is your starting ability.

Place your Hex Building card on the spot with the Hex Building icon.

Flex Spots: These spaces on your player board can be used to hold anything including: Completed Quests, units, your Leader card supply, or a round reference card.

Pre-Built Maps

Use these pre-set maps when playing your first game. In initiative order, instead of building the map, each player may choose their starting location. Each player places their Hex Building onto the marked spot, then their starting square or circle building on the building spot adjacent. Players may still place their units between the two buildings as they see fit.

Transcriber note: the pre-built map diagrams for 2, 3, 4 and 5 players are images in the source and are not reproduced here. The 2-player instructions above are the printed text for that page.

Each Round

A game of Fate of Venterra is played over the course of 6 rounds and each round consists of 6 phases, with a bidding phase (7th phase) taking place between specific rounds.

Each round, follow these phases:

1. Income: Collect income.
2. Declare: All players choose and reveal 2 command cards simultaneously.
3. First Command: All players resolve one of their command cards in initiative order.
4. Second Command: All players resolve their remaining command card in initiative order.
5. Quest: All players complete a Quest in initiative order.
6. Large Army: Supply over 3 costs 1 Wealth for each supply over 3 (see Phase 6).
7. Bidding: (Only between certain rounds.) Players use Wealth to bid for initiative order.

[Phase 1] Income

During this phase, any symbol with the black upwards arrow is gained as income. Income can be gained from multiple areas including the Landmark Tile and player boards. All income can be collected in any order.

• Wealth: Wealth is gained during Income (X with the up arrow). Wealth is paid during Income (-X with the up arrow).
• Track Points: Points are gained on the Battle track or the Development track, and may be split between the two tracks.
• Battle/Development Points: These points must only be gained to the track listed.

[Phase 2] Declare

During the declare phase, all players will choose 2 of their Command cards to play during this round and reveal them simultaneously. When selecting Command cards, there are 4 unique types to select from; Plan, Reinforce, Maneuver, and Charge. Each card has listed on it numbered actions. When resolving a Command card, all actions are not mandatory, but players must perform actions in numerical order.

Plan

• Action 1: Reserve up to 2 Quest cards from the row or complete a Quest from your reserved Quests. (Pg. 13)
• Action 2: March 2 units or gain 2 Wealth. (Pg. 16)

Reinforce

• Action 1: Recruit one unit. (Pg. 14)
• Action 2: Upgrade one building. (Pg. 12)
• Action 3: Build one building. (Pg. 12)

Charge

• Action 1: March any number of units into a single territory and march one support unit. (Pg. 16)
• Action 2: Buy any number of Leader cards from your supply or gain 2 Wealth. (Pg. 15)

Maneuver

• Action 1: March any number of units from a single territory and march one support unit. (Pg. 16)
• Action 2: Buy one Faction Ability or recruit one unit. (Pg. 13, Pg. 14)

[Phase 3] 1st Command

Starting with the first player and moving in initiative order, all players will resolve all the actions of one of the two selected Command cards. After resolving, flip the Command card over to signify your turn is complete. This continues until all players have performed one Command.

[Phase 4] 2nd Command

When the turn returns back to the first player, each player will perform their second Command card, in initiative order. After all players have performed their second Command card, they collect their played Command cards back into their hand and move onto phase 5.

[Phase 5] Quest

In initiative order, each player may complete one Quest from their reserved Quest cards. First make sure that you currently have, or can pay all requirements. Once the requirements have been met, collect/perform the reward with the icon. After completing the reward, turn the card over face-down, and place the Quest card to the side of your player mat. These cards are worth the influence listed in the green wreath at the end of the game.

[Phase 6] Large Army Tax

Any amount of units in a single territory, with a supply over 3, are considered a large army. During the large army phase, if a player has more than 3 supply in a territory, they must pay 1 Wealth per additional supply over 3, in order to sustain their large army.

If the player does not have the needed Wealth or chooses not to pay, then they must lose units down to the amount they are willing to pay. If a player has multiple territories with a large army, they must pay for each individually.

Large Army Example: If the gold player has 5 soldiers on a territory, their large army tax would be 2 Wealth (each soldier is one supply). They could pay 2 Wealth to keep all of the units there, but if they only had 1 Wealth or only wanted to pay 1 Wealth, they would have to remove 1 unit (of their choice) from the territory.

[Phase 7] Bidding

Bidding for initiative order happens at the end of the 2nd, 4th, and 5th rounds.

Before starting the bid, each player must declare the amount of Wealth they currently have on hand. To bid, each player takes all of their Wealth in their hands and secretly places any amount of Wealth they wish to bid in their right hand, hiding it in a closed fist. Players keep all of their remaining Wealth not being bid hidden in their left hand. Once all players have made their selections, everyone simultaneously reveals their bid by holding out and opening their right hand for all players to see.

The player with the highest bid places their Faction Token on the 1st position on the track. The player with the second highest bid places their Faction Token on the 2nd position and so on until all players have placed their Faction Tokens in the correct order.

The outcome of all ties in bidding is decided by the player who is currently in the 1st initiative position on the track. If there is a tie for the 1st position, then the player that was previously 1st decides the outcome of that tie.

All Wealth bid by players, regardless of outcome, is spent after the bid. Remember to move the Round Counter to the next round.

Bidding Rewards: Once bidding has been completed and the track has been adjusted accordingly, players will draft the rewards listed below the initiative track in the new initiative order. Once a reward is chosen by a player, they must place their Faction Token on the reward. The next player in initiative order must choose from the remaining rewards. They may not choose a reward that has already been claimed, except for the 2 Wealth reward, which can be chosen by any number of players (this symbol means that multiple players can claim this reward). Once all players have collected a reward, clear the Faction Tokens from the reward.

For example: If the first player was blue, they would get to choose their reward first. If they chose the Power of the Gods card, then the 2nd place player would not be able to select that option this bidding phase.

Game Concepts

Ending the Game: At the end of the 6th round, after all actions and bonuses have taken effect, the game will end. Each player then adds all of their Influence Points (IP) together (any number within a green wreath). Scoring is as follows:

1. From territories you control (any territories with at least one unit and/or building), refer to the terrain card for IP values. Do not count territories that are covered by fortresses (see Pg. 12).
2. From player boards. IP may come from hex buildings you control (including any of another player's that you control), asymmetric scoring conditions (for example, the Legion of the Dragon's territory control power), purchased Faction Abilities, and buildings/upgrades out on the map.
3. From completed Quests. Any Quests not completed are discarded.
4. From the battle track and development track on the Mastery Board (totaled together).
5. From Wealth. Gain 1 IP for every 3 Wealth.

The player with the most IP is the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the most number of units on the map is the winner.

Battle/Development Tracks: Battle and Development points, when gained, are gained to their respective track. When you move up the track, follow the diagram below, increasing numerically. If you ever see the "choose" icon, this means you can choose which track to gain steps up on. It can be split or spent on one track. Additionally, you'll notice a bonus listed at the top of each track.

• Battle Track Bonus: After you complete an action where you started a battle, move up one space on this track. Each new action in which you initiate a battle will allow you to use this bonus again.
• Development Track Bonus: Immediately after paying Wealth to build or upgrade a building, move up one space on this track. This bonus can also be used several times during a turn.

Track Rewards

Battle Track	Development Track
2. Gain 1 Wealth.	2. Gain 1 Wealth.
5. Gain 1 Power of the Gods card and 1 Wealth.	5. Gain 1 Faction Upgrade.
8. Gain 1 Knight unit.	8. Build 1 building.
11. Gain Leader card(s) costing up to 3 in total.	11. Upgrade 1 building.
14. Immediately march any 3 of your units.	14. Immediately complete 1 Quest card from your reserved area, or reserve a Quest card from the row.

Points start doubling at the 16 mark. If a player would ever pass 30, they gain a Wealth per movement.

When a player's marker moves up to a reward, they can gain the item listed immediately and for free. If they are unable to use the reward, it is forfeited. Additionally, if a player's token moves backwards (by losing points), past a reward, then moves back up to the reward, they would gain that reward again. If a player moves backwards directly onto a previous reward, they do not gain that reward.

Terrain Cards / Territory: Territories refer to any hex on the map, regardless of terrain type or lack of terrain type. Terrain cards, chosen at the beginning of the game, will determine territory modifiers, Explore Token values, and end-game scoring. For an example of all terrain cards, turn to Pg. 21.

There are 4 different terrain types and almost all territories will be defined by a terrain: Land, Water, Mountain, Desert, Forest. Any territories that lack a terrain type are not affected by anything listed on the terrain card. The "any terrain" icon with all terrain types pictured is used to refer to any terrain or territory, regardless if a terrain is listed on the territory.

Some territories will have a Place of Power icon. Territories may have both a terrain type and a Place of Power. In these cases, any modifiers of both the terrain type and the Place of Power will apply.

Build a Building: A building may be built on any territory with at least one of your units and no other building. Buildings cannot be built on water territories. When building, you may choose any Outpost (square buildings) or Shrine (circle buildings) that are still on your player board (they do not have to be built in order; e.g., top to bottom). Pay the cost listed at the top, on the building symbol (in most cases this cost will be 3 Wealth), then place the building you chose onto a territory you control. Gain any immediate rewards, if any, listed below the building you just built.

Example: a building can only be built in the territory marked with the green checkmark in the source example. The territory to the left already has a building, the territory at the bottom is a water territory, and the territory to the right has no units.

Upgrade a Building: An upgrade may be bought for any building already on the map. Upgrades cannot be bought for buildings still on a player's board. When upgrading, you may choose any upgrade that is still on your player board. The upgrades next to Outposts (Tower, Academy, and Forge) can only upgrade Outposts. The upgrades next to Shrines (Basilica and Temples) can only upgrade Shrines. Choose any upgrade (they do not need to be built in order; e.g., top to bottom). Pay the cost listed on the upgrade icon at the top of your player board, place the upgrade onto one of your buildings on the map, then gain any immediate rewards, if any, listed below the upgrade you just bought. You cannot swap upgrades with another from your player board once they are out on the map. When upgrading a building, place the upgrade piece into the top of the building as pictured.

Don't forget to move up on the development track when building or upgrading.

Controlling Territory: Players control territory by having at least one unit and/or building on a territory. Buildings are able to control territory for a player on their own and use their listed stats to defend, however if no units are present, that player is unable to use Leader cards (Pg. 15) during battles to defend.

Immediate Reward: Some cards and boards may feature a lightning bolt icon. This means the player should take that reward immediately and for free. If a player would gain a reward during an action, the reward will be gained after the action is completed.

Hex Buildings: Hex Buildings are placed at the beginning of the game, during set-up. Refer to Pg. 21 for details on the gold and brown faction Hex Buildings.

When a Fortress is placed, it completely covers the territory it is placed on and no longer counts as the original terrain type (do not gain IP for the terrain under the fortress). A fortress cannot be converted or destroyed, so when another player conquers it, they occupy it and gain its bonuses. If they leave, it reverts back to the original owner's control.

The Ka'jer starts the game on his cart. In this form, he is a building that can also march when units are marched. The Eldapriest is a building that can also move. If destroyed, it can be built back for 2 Wealth.

/ The slash means "or". If you see a slash between items, you choose one or the other, not both.

Power of the Gods: When you see this symbol as a reward, that means draw a Power of the Gods card. On each card is listed the effect and when to use them. When a player gains a Power of the Gods card (PotG) and selects it from the face up cards, they must show their card to the other players, then immediately draw a new card to fill in the row. If they draw from the top of the draw pile, they do not need to reveal their card to the other players.

Each card lists the power name, with the underlined text stating when it may be played, and the text below describing the immediate bonus or effect that occurs when the card is played.

Reserving Quests: When reserving Quests, cards may be selected either from the face up row or face down draw pile on the Mastery Board. Quests grant you immediate in-game rewards at the moment they are completed and are worth influence at the end of the game. There are always three face-up Quest cards available. When a Quest card is removed from the row, replace it immediately with a new one from the top of the draw pile. Reserved Quests are placed face up near a player's player board. Uncompleted reserved Quests are public knowledge for all players.

Completing Quests: All Quests are only able to be completed from your personal reserved area, unless otherwise stated. Players can complete only one Quest per Plan Command or during Phase 5, unless otherwise stated (for example, using a faction power or Power of the Gods card). When completing a Quest, look at the top of the card, it will either say "acquire" or "pay."

• Acquire: In order to meet the "acquire" requirements, you must have what is listed on the card (you do not pay those resources).
• Pay: In order to meet the "pay" requirements section, you must pay that amount of resources in order to complete the Quest.

If you can complete a Quest, show the other players the requirements you meet, or pay the required items. Then take the reward with the Immediate Reward icon next to it immediately and for free. Finally flip the Quest face down near or on a "flex spot" on your player board. This will be added to your points at the end of the game.

Faction Abilities: Each player should have four Faction Abilities in front of them, one starting (already active) and three available for purchase. The price of each card is displayed within the Wealth icon on the greyed out side of each card. When you purchase a Faction Ability, pay its price and flip the card over to the colored side. This card is now active for you for the remainder of the game, unless otherwise stated. Full list of all Faction Abilities: see Pg. 20 (Faction Abilities and Powers section below).

Any Unit / Recruit a Unit: This icon represents any unit that is used in the game. Additionally if you see the unit icon with the word "recruit" under it, that means you can recruit any unit available to you. You can recruit any one unit by paying the cost (shown on the top left of the unit's silhouette). Anytime you recruit, all land units must be recruited on a territory with a building you control. Ships must be recruited into a water territory adjacent to a building you control. If you "gain" units, they can go any place you control.

Support Unit: A support unit usually has a special ability that helps other units. Some buildings can also be classified as support units. These units can march with regular units and/or during a support march. This symbol means that one of your units marked with the support symbol may perform a single march. For this, you may move the support unit to any territory they can reach, according to their march value. On Charge and Maneuver Commands, you may perform this march either before the normal march or after, but you may not split the action. Support units (specifically ships) cannot offer support to enemy units during a battle and may die during a battle if no other land units can be lost (Pg. 17).

Supply: Supply is mainly used for large army (phase 6), but is also featured on other cards and tiles.

Attack, Defense, March: The attack icon is used to show an attack or, when a number is over it, the attacking value of a piece. The defense icon is used to show a defense or, when a number is over it, the defense value of a piece. The march icon is used to either signify a march action or, when a number is over it, to show the march value of a piece (refer to page 16 for the full marching section). When used as an action, a march icon will also have an icon on it of the piece(s) you are marching. Each piece uses its march value and can move that many adjacent hexes.

Units

Basic Units: All players start with these units.

• Soldier: None.
• Ship: Pay 1 Wealth to add one attack or defense to an adjacent territory (once per numbered action). This unit also acts as a bridge for units marching over water territories.
• Scout: When you recruit a scout, gain a second scout to the same territory.
• Siege: Attack is increased by 2 when attacking a territory with a building.
• Knight: None.

Forge Units: All players will have the opportunity to upgrade one of their Outposts to a Forge. This will allow a player to flip over their unit reference card and reveal the "Forge Units" side. All of their units will now have these new stats and specials.

• Brute: When one or more brutes win a battle, they kill one extra unit.
• Corsair: Support no longer has a cost, but still may only be used once per numbered action.
• Ranger: Special ability is unchanged, but they gain an extra movement.
• Golem: Special ability is unchanged, but they gain an extra attack stat.
• Paladin: Add 1 defense to a ranger; each ranger may only gain this bonus once each battle.

Leader Cards

Each player has 8 Leader cards: 1 treaty card, 1 rank 0 card, 3 rank 1 cards, 2 rank 2 cards, and 1 rank 3 card.

Each Leader card has a cost associated with it, shown on the top left of the card. The cost refers to the cost to buy the card, not the cost to play it. If you ever "gain" Leader cards, you do not have to pay any Wealth.

Leader cards may be played from the hand during any march to add to the attack or defense value of a player's units. Only one Leader card may be played for each march. If a player has no units in the territory during a battle, that player may not play any Leader cards for that battle.

After a Leader card is played, it is returned to the Leader card supply of the player that played it (this is the pile of extra Leaders that was created during set-up).

A player may buy Leader cards from their Leader supply pile when playing a Charge Command (action 2) and anytime there is a Leader icon with the word "buy" on it. To buy Leader cards, pay the cost shown on the top left of the card and then place it into your hand of cards. Any number of Leader cards may be purchased during a Charge Command since it says "buy X" (the X is used to signify any number).

When purchasing or gaining, players must reveal and declare which Leader cards they are placing into their hand. Even though cards in your hand are not public knowledge, cards in your Leader supply are considered public knowledge. This info can be used to deduce exactly what Leader cards a player has in their hand.

Note for the "Treaty" Leader: It must be played at the beginning of a phase. This means that actions that happen between phases cannot be treatied.

Rank 0 (applies to all factions): When you march, if you explore, you can use this card to ignore the defense of any number of Explore Tokens in one territory. Then collect the token(s) like normal. If you use it for battling, once the battle is finished, you may add Leader cards to your hand up to a max of 2 Wealth. Gaining Leader cards happens before discarding this card.

Faction Leader cards (the printed examples on Pg. 15):

• The Pack, Hisk Draknii (Chieftain): After the battle in which you played this card is resolved, you may march up to 3 of your units. Those units did not have to be involved in the battle. When marching units, they cannot move into currently contested territory. If your march starts any battles, you gain +2 attack, but may not play Leader cards.
• The Legion of the Dragon, Kai Da Rasa (Ash born): When played on defense, you can choose up to 3 of your units involved in the battle to gain +1 defense. Each unit can only gain +1 defense, meaning you must have 3 units involved in the battle at all times to gain the full +3 bonus.
• The Order, Laelith Quinn (Reckoner): Before you resolve the battle fully, you may remove an enemy unit involved in the battle (the unit cannot be a support unit) and gain that same type of unit to this battle. After the battle, you keep the unit. The unit that is removed is chosen by the player whose piece you are removing.
• The Northern Watch, Derr Malken (High Council): When played during a battle, completely cancel one Leader card your opponent plays. This cancels the ability and stats of that card. If your opponent plays 2 Leader cards (due to a special ability) you are only able to cancel one of those cards.
• The Children of the Bear, Jur'en Keshta (Warder): When played during a battle, if you win or tie in the battle, you can choose one of the casualties. This allows you to choose one of the units your opponent will have to lose. If you play this card and lose the battle, your opponent still takes a casualty of your choice.

Transcriber note: the Leader card names and stat values for each faction's leaders, and the exact stat values shown on those cards, are pictured on the Leader card art and are not reproduced beyond the printed text above.

Marching

During a march action, the active player will march any number of units, based on the action type played. Units always march based on their march value to adjacent hexes. After all unit movement is complete, first resolve all battles (Pg. 17) in any order, then resolve all exploration in any order. For battles, the first battle is at full attack strength and all subsequent battles in the same action are at -2 attack strength. A battle is always started any time a player enters another player's territory.

Marching Ships: When marching, ships may move to any water territory. All water territories are considered adjacent for marching only. Ships act like bridges for other units (marching through a ship does not expend that unit's movement).

March Units From A Territory: Choose one territory you control and march any number of units from that territory. Units march the number of hexes based on their march value. See the Maneuver Command card on Pg. 9.

March Units Into A Territory: Choose one territory and march any number of units into that territory (as long as they can reach it). Units march the number of hexes based on their march value. See the Charge Command card on Pg. 9.

March Individual Pieces: Whenever you see a march icon with other icons on top of it, or listed to the right of it with a number, you can march that many of whatever icon is displayed. The Plan Command card allows you to march 2 units. If you took this action, you would choose 2 of your units from anywhere on the board that you would like to march. They can move anywhere they can reach based on their march value. Ships can move to any water space regardless of adjacency.

Exploring

When a player marches into a territory with an Explore Token, they must:

1. Declare all units exploring, including support units.
2. Check the marching units' attack value against the defense value of each Explore Token they have marched onto.

If the attacker's attack value is greater than the defending Explore Token's defense value, including any bonuses from the terrain card, the attacker defeats the Explore Token. If their attack value is lower or the same, they must lose a unit and retreat (the Explore Token stays).

When you successfully defeat an Explore Token, flip it over to reveal the reward. These rewards are always gained immediately and for free. If you are unable to collect the reward, discard the token and continue your turn (this reward is lost). After a territory is explored, the territory no longer has any passive defense to overcome during marches.

All reward types:

• Discard the token and immediately gain a scout to any territory you control.
• Discard the token and immediately choose a Power of the Gods card from the row or randomly from the draw pile. See Power of the Gods Cards on page 11.
• Discard the token and immediately gain 1 Wealth.
• Discard the token and immediately gain one battle point on the Mastery track.
• Discard the token and immediately reserve a Quest card from the row or draw pile. See page 11 for reserving Quests.

I gained a reward in the middle of an action: All rewards gained during a player's action must be gained after the action is resolved. That includes other players gaining rewards during another player's action. If a reward is gained during battle(s), then the player who would gain the reward must wait until the full action is complete.

Explore Example: In the source example, The Order (White) plays a Maneuver card. During Action 1 they choose one territory they control and march any number of those units. They move the scout, soldier and knight. After movement, the Knight and Scout attacking a Mountain token with a total strength of 3 defeat the token's defense of 2 (the mountain adds 1 defense to the token). The soldier then marches into a Forest with attack 1 against the token's defense of 1, which is a tie, so the soldier would be killed and the token would remain; instead the player plays the "Enforcer" Leader card (+1 attack), making the total 2 and defeating the token. Both explore tokens are then revealed, both rewards are gained, and both tokens are discarded out of the game. The Enforcer card goes back into the Leader card supply.

Example 2 in the source: The Legion of the Dragon (Red) plays a Reinforce card and recruits a ship into an adjacent water space. The ship costs 0 Wealth. Because an Explore Token occupies that space, the player must explore: the ship's attack of 1 against the token's defense of 0 defeats it. The player then reveals the reward on the token's reverse side and discards the token.

Battling

Follow these steps when starting a battle:

1. The attacking player declares ALL units involved in the battle, including supporting units.
2. Resolve any "when you start a battle" abilities or effects.
3. The defending player declares all supporting units.
4. Add up the attack value and defense value of each player's units on the territory. Include any effects from units, buildings, abilities, cards, and terrain card modifiers.
5. Resolve any "before resolving a battle" abilities or effects.

Resolving a Battle

6. Each player may secretly choose one Leader card or one Command card from their hand (a player must have units on the territory to participate in this step). Command cards and Leader cards have the same back. Playing Command cards has no effect on attack or defense values. As such, players may choose to bluff that they are playing a Leader card, hoping their opponent will use a Leader card without having to use any themselves.
7. Simultaneously, both players reveal their selected cards. If a player bluffed with a Command card, they can now add that back to their hand of cards.
8. Add the stats of Leader cards played to the total of each army to determine a winner. Now is the last chance to play any Power of the Gods cards or additional cards to affect the battle.

After the winner is determined, resolve any additional Leader card text, then return used Leader cards to their Leader supply.

If multiple battles were started from one single action, repeat steps 1-8 for each battle, with the attacker having -2 attack for each subsequent battle.

After all battles are resolved from one action, remember to move the attacking player one space on the battle track.

Being supported in battle: Units are considered to be supporting units during a battle if they are not in the currently contested territory, but are affecting the battle in some way (e.g., using a ship's ability).

Battle Outcomes: A player wins a battle if their defense or attack is 1 or higher than the opponent's value. Ties happen if both players' values are the same.

• Attacker Wins: The attacker leaves their units on the territory and takes control of it. The defender must lose 1 unit and retreat all units to empty, unexplored, or friendly adjacent territories. The attacker may decide if any buildings on this territory are destroyed or converted to their player color. Converted buildings are free to place, but may only be placed as a base building of the same type with no upgrade, even if the enemy building had an upgrade. Regardless of whether a building is destroyed or converted, the original building and upgrade returns to the owner's player board and may later be built again. If the attacker doesn't have a building of the same type as the one they just gained control of, they must destroy the defending player's building.
• Defender Wins: The attacker must lose 1 unit and then retreat their remaining units to empty, unexplored, or friendly adjacent territories.
• Tie: Both the attacker and defender lose 1 unit, then the attacker retreats their remaining units to an empty, unexplored, or friendly territory.

Retreating: When units must retreat from a territory, they may be split up, but only have a march value of 1 regardless of their listed march value. They may:

1. Retreat into adjacent friendly territory (where the retreating player already has units).
2. Retreat into unexplored territory (look at the exploring section and follow the listed steps).
3. Retreat into empty territory (where no pieces are present).

They may not:

1. Retreat across ships (regardless of nearby friendly ship).
2. Retreat into currently contested territory (territory is considered contested if two or more player's units are occupying the same territory for the purpose of an upcoming battle).
3. Retreat into territory from which the attacking player just marched from (only applies to a defender retreating).

Important note: if there are ever no viable retreat options to a player after a battle, all of their units will be lost.

Battle Example: A battle is started anytime a player's pieces move (or are recruited) onto a territory with another player's pieces. In the source example, The Northern Watch (Blue) plays a Charge command and marches 3 units against the Children of the Bear (Gold). Blue declares their ship as supporting the battle and pays 1 Wealth to add +1 attack. Gold pays 1 Wealth for their adjacent ship to add 1 defense. The total attack value is now 4 and the total defense is now 3. Blue then plays their "Watcher" Leader card (+1 attack, making 5) while Gold plays their "Terrif" Leader card (+2 defense, making 5). No player has Power of the Gods cards they can play, so it is a tie. Blue and Gold must each lose 1 unit; Blue loses its scout and Gold also loses a scout. Blue then retreats one soldier back to its mountain and moves its remaining soldier forward to the other mountain territory. After the action, Blue moves up one space on the battle track. Outposts on Gold's board do not add any defense.

Terrain Cards

Venterra

• Modifiers: On desert territories, you may not build buildings. Buildings with movement may still march onto this terrain type.
• On mountain territories, any piece occupying it gains +1 defense when being attacked.

Land of Paradise

• Modifiers: On water territories, there can be no battles. This means all players may co-occupy water spaces peacefully.
• On deserts, any upgraded buildings at the end of the game are worth +2 IP.
• On mountains, any upgraded buildings generate +1 Wealth during phase 1.

Power of Venterra

• Modifiers: On mountain territories, any piece occupying it gains +1 defense when being attacked.
• On places of power, the bonus changes based on how many you control and adds together. For example, if you control 3 places of power, you would gain +1 Wealth in phase 1, 6 IP at end game, and 1 Power of the Gods card during phase 1.

Landmark Tiles

Forgotten Kingdom: Each territory offers its own reward to the player that controls it during income. The 2 outer mountains give +1 Wealth each and the 2 forests give +1 point each to either mastery track. At the beginning of the game, don't forget to place Explore Tokens onto this Landmark Tile.

Corrupted Court: The outer area is all one territory that multiple players may occupy. There is no large army tax, there can be no battles, and you are not allowed to build here. As a reward, each round, the player with the highest supply in this territory gains 1 Wealth and 1 development point during income. At the end of the game, the player with the highest supply gains 12 IP. The center territory may be occupied by multiple players. Each round, after phase 5, a battle occurs between all players that have moved into this territory. Unlike other battles, all players involved will gain a battle point at the end of the battle, and all units will use their attack values to determine the winner. The player with the highest attack value will win the battle and remain in the territory. Regular battle rules apply after the winner is declared, with every player that lost retreating. During income, the player that occupies the center territory will gain a Power of the Gods card and 2 Wealth. During set-up, do not place Explore Tokens onto this Landmark Tile. Both the outer and inner territory do not count as a specific territory type during gameplay or scoring. The 2 Places of Power will still award IP at the end of the game.

Faction Abilities and Powers

Below is a full list of all faction's abilities and powers for easy reference. Each faction has a starting ability (active from the start) and three abilities that can be purchased for the cost shown. The faction powers are listed to the right of each row.

The Order (white)

• Starting Ability, Loyal Patrons: Once per your command card, you may pay a player 2 Wealth. Move their marker down (Development / Battle track, as pictured) or move your marker up one on the same track.
• Convert (cost 1): Each time you recruit any unit, you may remove an enemy unit from a territory adjacent to any of your territories.
• Divine Protectorates (cost 2): When adding up defense, you may pay 1 Wealth for 1 defense. Pay 2 Wealth for each additional defense, up to a max of 5 defense.
• Enforcer of the Gods (cost 2): During phase 1, you may purchase one Leader card from your supply. During battles, you may now play two Leader cards.
• Faction Power: During Phase 5, if you complete a Quest, you may also complete an additional Quest from the public row or reserved area (once per round), or gain 2 development.

The Legion of the Dragon (red)

• Starting Ability, Imperial Conscripts: When you play Reinforce, perform action 1 twice.
• Noble Benefactors (cost 1): During Phase 1, choose 3: gain a unit, gain 1 Wealth, or gain 1 track point.
• Surplus Supply (cost 3): For each supply over 4, pay 1 less (as pictured on the card).
• Press the Attack (cost 1): When performing a Charge action 1, you may march from more than one territory instead of one. The 2nd battle started in the same action is reduced by 1 attack instead of 2.
• Faction Power: Control 4 territories (not including your fortress) at the end of the game for 6 IP, scaling up to 18 IP for 10 territories (6 territories 10 IP, 8 territories 14 IP, 10 territories 18 IP).

The Children of the Bear (gold)

• Starting Ability, Skilled Tacticians: Between Phases 1 and 2, you may perform a Maneuver action 1 without starting a battle.
• Ambush (cost 1): When you start a land battle, you may pay 1 Wealth to kill one defending unit immediately (defender's choice).
• Warders of the King (cost 2): Your units gain 1 defense (as pictured on the card).
• Tribal Nomads (cost 2): When you recruit units, you may place them into any territory you control. If it's a territory without a building, gain a Soldier to it.
• Faction Power: Gain 1 battle point for each unit you kill in battle and gain 1 Power of the Gods card for each building you destroy.

The Pack (brown)

• Starting Ability, Seasoned Hunters: Gain 1 battle point when marching your units into territories with no defending unit.
• Hidden Support (cost 2): Your land territories gain +1 defense for each adjacent land territory you have a unit in.
• Battle Sworn (cost 1): After you recruit a unit, immediately gain a Soldier or Knight.
• Divination (cost 1): When you declare command cards, you may set aside a 3rd command. Resolve after phase 4. During this command only perform action 2.
• Faction Power: 4 IP per Place of Power you control at the end of the game.

The Northern Watch (blue)

• Starting Ability, Siphon Magic: Once each phase, when another player plays a Leader card, you may gain one unit for a printed cost of 0, or pay 2 Wealth to gain one Leader card (max 1).
• Rally the Watch (cost 2): Between phases 5 and 6, you may move any number of your units between all territories you control.
• Might of the Watch (cost 3): Gain +1 defense / +1 attack when being supported. Also, gain 1 defense on the marked unit.
• Nullify Magic (cost 2): Pay 2 defense to cancel a Power of the Gods card played against you. Pay 3 defense to cancel a Power of the Gods card not played against you.
• Faction Power: Gain 1 point per Place of Power you control, during phase 1.

Transcriber note: the faction ability cards are pictograms; the card text above is read from the card art, with icons rendered as words. Where an icon was not clearly legible (the unit icons in Convert, Battle Sworn and Warders of the King, the Surplus Supply formula, and the marked unit on Might of the Watch), the closest word form is used. The Faction Power column is assigned to factions by the colour of the row it sits beside.

Unique Components Explained

Forge Upgrade (All Factions): The forge building upgrade, once purchased, allows a player to flip over their unit reference card from the "basic units" side to the "forge units" side. While they have this upgrade out on the map, all of their units are considered forge units. Most forge upgrades will require the player to lose resources during the income phase (phase 1).

Academy Upgrade (Blue, Red, Brown Only): This academy building upgrade, once purchased, allows a player to discount the cost of all of their units by 1 Wealth. Units can only be discounted to a minimum of 0. If this upgrade is ever removed from the map, units return to their regular cost.

Academy Upgrade (White Only): This academy building upgrade, once purchased, allows the white faction to buy Leader cards from their Leader supply at 1 less each to a minimum of 0. This upgrade also removes 1 defense from the outpost it is attached to.

Outpost (Brown Only): The brown faction's outposts have a unique icon, a defense icon with buildings flanking it. This means this outpost can gain 1 defense from each adjacent friendly building up to a max of 2 additional defense.

Top-most Outpost (Gold): During set-up, do not place an outpost on top of this image on your player board. This outpost can never be destroyed, it provides 2 Wealth income every phase 1, and it counts as 1 square building for Quests.

Top-most Shrine (Gold): During set-up, do not place a shrine building on top of this image. This shrine can never be destroyed, it counts as one circle building for Quests, and during income, you may lose 2 spaces total on the mastery tracks to gain 2 Wealth or a Power of the Gods card.

Outposts (Gold): Gold has 2 Outposts that can go out on the board. Unlike most other outposts, they lack defense, however they are able to move. Their march value is 1 and they march just like a unit. That means when a march action is used, they can move with other units or independently.

Academy Upgrade (Gold): The gold academy upgrade adds +1 attack to all of gold's soldier/brute units. It also makes it so that if they ever need to lose a unit, they must first lose their soldiers/brutes before being able to lose other units. This icon means that the outpost this upgrade is placed onto may no longer march.

Statue of Ka'jer (Gold): The statue of Ka'jer is a building that marches like a unit and is considered a support unit. If he is captured, he is destroyed and removed from the game. He cannot be built back. When retreating, he must be accompanied by a unit (he cannot retreat on his own). At any point, you can discard 4 Power of the Gods cards to cure him.

Ka'jer (Cured): Once Ka'jer is cured, he is no longer a building and is fully a support unit. He still offers income, but it is now on the development track. If you use the "Ambush" Faction Ability while he is in the battle, it now costs 0. His supply is zero and if he was in a battle you started, you gain +1 battle point.

The Eldapriest: The Eldapriest is a building that marches like a unit and is considered a support unit. If she is captured, she is removed and can be built back during a building action for 2 Wealth.