Hexcalibur Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The Book of War
  • This Rulebook
  • Components
• Territories
• Regiment Hexes
  • Shields and Special Damage
  • Attributes
• Leaders
• Enchanted Items
• Game Setup
• Game Sequence
  • Enchanted Items Quest Phase
  • Taking Positions Phase
• Battle!
  • Damage and Morale
  • Winning a Battle
  • Retreat
• Victory Check
• Faction Benefits
  • Logres
  • Cumbria
  • Pagans
• The Book of Heroes and Wonders
  • Leaders of Logres
  • Leaders of Cumbria
  • Leaders of the Pagans
• Description of the Enchanted Items
  • Minor Enchanted Items
  • Unique Enchanted Items
• Summary
  • Game Sequence
  • Enchanted Items Quest Phase
  • Taking Positions Phase
  • Battle
  • Remember
  • Faction Benefits

The Book of War

This Rulebook

Hexcalibur is a strategic board game for 2 players, with an average duration of 40 minutes per game. The action takes place in the early disturbing years of the reign of Arthur Pendragon.

In this Rulebook you will find the basic rules of the game. Once you finish reading them, you can open The Book of Heroes and Wonders.

Components

The game has the following elements:

• 28 "Cumbria" hexes
• 28 "Logres" hexes
• 28 "Pagans" hexes
• 6 "Cumbria" leaders cards
• 6 "Logres" leaders cards
• 6 "Pagans" leaders cards
• 18 "Enchanted items" cards
• 10 "Territory" tiles
• 10 "Morale" tokens
• 15 "Shield" tokens
• 20 "Damage" tokens
• 1 "Initiative" token
• 14 6-sided dice

Territories

During the game there are always 3 territories in the middle of the table. To win the game you must conquer those territories in combat.

In the centre there's the name of the territory and its illustration. These elements have value simply as ambiance.

The number on the left indicates the territory's population limit. That's the maximum of hexes this territory supports before the war breaks out (see TAKING POSITIONS for more information).

The number on the right indicates the VP (Victory Points) this territory provides when conquered.

In addition, some territories have special rules associated with battles. The special rules of the territories are:

• Fortress: The player who has won the initiative can place the first two damage they suffered on the fortress (instead of placing them on their hexes or losing morale).
• Difficult Terrain: None of the players can use the speed attribute in this battle. That means the player who places the last hex on the territory wins the initiative.
• Poor visibility: None of the players can use the shot attribute in this battle. That means shot hexes use their normal combat value, without the bonus of an extra die.
• Mysterious place: The player who has lost the initiative starts with 1 morale point less.

Remember that these special rules only apply during the battle for the territory. Once a territory is conquered, it only has value as a trophy.

Regiment Hexes

Also, it is important that you are familiar with your soldiers. For example, these valiant knights of Logres: each hex shows its Banners, Combat Round & Value, Shield/Special Damage, and Attributes.

You will have noticed that all the troops of the game are hexes, so that they fit with each other and with the territories.

Banners: Each hex has a series of banners that help you win the morale. The army that wins the morale has more morale points for the battle. See "DAMAGE AND MORALE" for more information.

Combat Value: All troops have one or more letters. The hexes A attack before the hexes B, and these attack before the hexes C. They also have a numerical value between 1 and 6. See "BATTLE!" for more information.

Shields / Special damage: Some hexes have special defensive or offensive capabilities, such as shields, claw damage, or critical damage. See "SHIELDS AND SPECIAL DAMAGE" for more information.

Shields and Special Damage

Some troops have shields, critical damage or claw damage.

Each time a hex enters a territory, place on top of it as many shields as the number of shield icons it has. While in the reinforcements, a hex has no shields.

Shields are used to absorb damage. When a player is attacked, they can discard 1 shield from a hex of that territory instead of placing 1 damage token or losing morale.

However, surviving combat won't be that easy, as some units count with critical damage.

Each time a hex with critical damage enters a territory, it removes as many opponent's shields as critical damage icons that hex has. Of course, you can only remove shields from hexes in that same territory. Critical damage is not taken into account while the hex is in your reinforcements.

If a hex has a claw damage icon, that hex adds 1 to its combat value if the opposing player has run out of shields. As long as a player retains a single shield in the territory, he or she is immune to claw damage.

Attributes

Some hexes also count with an attribute, such as speed, shot or stamina.

• Speed: Before the battle begins, the player who has the most hexes with speed wins the initiative. This attribute is only taken into account if the hex is in "vanguard".
• Shot: This hex adds 1 to its combat value. This attribute is only taken into account if the hex is in "rearguard". A blinded hex could not add up the extra die by shot.
• Stamina: This hex withstands additional damage before being destroyed.
• Lifeless: Before rolling dice of the combat round in which this hex participates, the opponent automatically loses 1 point of morale. They will only lose 1 point of morale, even if you have several hexes with the lifeless attribute. As long as you keep one or more hexes with the lifeless attribute in your army, you cannot use morale to repeat failed dice. In addition, a lifeless hex cannot be cured of damage received during the rest round.

Leaders

Each faction has six leader cards with unique abilities. During the game, each player only has four of these leaders available.

During a battle, the players can use the abilities of their leaders to gain certain benefits. To do so, you must fulfil the requirement stated in the card (you must be in the corresponding combat round) and declare that you will use the leader.

In their natural state leaders are considered "ready". A leader who uses his ability is rotated 90 degrees to the right. In that state, the leader is considered "exhausted".

In this example, if the Logres player wishes to use the ability of Arthur Pendragon, he should wait for the Rest Round and rotate the card 90º to the right.

An exhausted leader may use their ability for a second time, but after doing so he or she is considered destroyed and leaves the game permanently.

Players can re-use their leader's ability without having to destroy them if they discard 2 minor enchanted items or 1 unique enchanted item instead. If you discard an enchanted item you will not be able to use its benefits. A leader can use their ability twice in a row in the same combat round.

The only way for leaders to stop being exhausted is to start a new battle. Each time a battle takes place both players rotate two of their exhausted leaders 90 degrees to the left, so that they become ready again.

In case the abilities of two rival leaders are conflicting, remember that the player who has the initiative must always act first.

At the end of this Rulebook you will find the description of the abilities of all the LEADERS from different factions – in THE BOOK OF HEROES AND WONDERS.

Enchanted Items

At the beginning of the game randomly deal two enchanted items to each player. These cards must be kept in secret in players' hands.

At the end of this Rulebook you will find the description of the abilities of all the ITEMS from different factions - in THE BOOK OF HEROES AND WONDERS.

Game Setup

Each player must choose one of the three available factions: Logres, Cumbria or Pagans.

Each player secretly shuffles their hexes and places them face down on the table in front of them, forming a stack. From now on this stack will be called the "reserve".

Each player must lift the first hex from their reserve and put it in front of them. These are the initial "reinforcements" of each army.

Shuffle the territories face down, take three territories at random and place them face up in the centre of the table.

Each player takes the leader's cards from their faction, discards two of them at random and places the four remaining leaders cards face-up in front of them.

Each player takes two enchanted items cards at random.

First roll a die. The player that obtains the higher result can decide whether to go first or second.

The second player takes a second hex from the reserve and places it in front of them, as a second reinforcement.

Game Sequence

• Enchanted Items Quest Phase
• Taking Positions Phase
• Battles (When the population limit in a territory is reached)
• Victory Check (If a player manages to reach 7 Victory Points, they win).

The first player plays the full game sequence and then so does the second player. Repeat the complete sequence of play until a battle is declared or a player meets the winning conditions.

Enchanted Items Quest Phase

In this phase players can do one of two actions:

• Take a new enchanted item card from the enchanted item deck.
• Play an enchanted item from their hand.

If you decide to take a new enchanted item card, it is kept secret in your hand. You cannot have more than 4 enchanted item cards in your hand.

If you decide to play an enchanted object from your hand: to play a minor enchanted item, you must exhaust one of your leaders. To play a unique enchanted item, you must exhaust two of your leaders. Unique enchanted items are distinguished by a golden goblet icon.

A previously exhausted leader cannot help using enchanted items in any way (even if you intended to destroy them in the process). In addition, you can only play one enchanted item card per turn, even if you have plenty of leaders.

The enchanted item that has been selected to play must be placed face up next to the leader cards in front of the player.

In the following example, the Logres player wants to play Excalibur from their hand. Since it is a unique enchanted item, they must exhaust two leaders.

Taking Positions Phase

During a considerable part of the game peace reigns in the lands of Britannia... Yet it is a tense peace, for the armies are advancing, awaiting the right moment to attack.

In their turn, the active player takes the first hex of their reserve and places it among their reinforcements. After this, he or she chooses a hex from the reinforcements and places it in one of the three available territories.

Next, that same player takes a second hex and places it among their reinforcements. Again, chooses a hex and places it in a different territory.

To place a hex, you have to "connect" it to the chosen territory or to another hex that is already there.

You will notice that the territories are symmetrical, that is, their upper and lower sides are equal. You can only place hexes on YOUR side of the territory. None of your hexes can EVER be in contact with a rival hex.

A player cannot have more than three hexes connected directly to a territory. These three hexes are considered the "vanguard" of the army, while all the others are "rearguard."

As soon as both players place a number of hexes equal to the territory's population limit, the war breaks out in that territory.

It can happen that only one of the players has hexes in a territory. In that case, by equalling the population limit, the player will be considered automatically the winner of the battle and they can take that territory as a trophy.

In the unlikely event of a player's reserve being empty when taking positions, that player must play with the available reinforcements. If they do not possess any reinforcements either, the situation is clear: their army has been destroyed and, consequently, they have lost the game.

Battle!

When the war breaks out in a territory, the usual order of the game stops and a battle takes place.

First of all, each player counts the number of banners of all the hexes they have in that territory. The player with the most banners gets 6 morale points for the battle. The player with the fewest banners gets 4 morale points for the battle.

The player who has placed the hex that caused the war gets the initiative, unless the other player has more speed (see ATTRIBUTES for more information). The player with the initiative will attack first throughout all the rounds.

Each battle has four rounds that repeat consecutively until one of the players loses either all of their hexes or all their morale.

The combat rounds are as follows:

Combat Round A: The player who has the initiative rolls as many dice as the best chain of hexes with the letter A. That is, add up all the numbers of your hexes A, as long as they are connected to each other. After this, the opponent does the same.

Combat Round B: The player who has the initiative rolls as many dice as the best chain of hexes with the letter B. After this, the opponent does the same.

Combat Round C: The player who has the initiative rolls as many dice as the best chain of hexes with the letter C. After this, the opponent does the same.

Both players can use their LEADERS and ENCHANTED ITEMS if the Round or ability allows it.

To add up the combat value of different hexes these must be adjacent to each other. This is called "forming a chain". For example, a chain of hexes with the letter C would be broken if there was a hex with the letter B.

Hexes with more than one letter can attack in several rounds and they are considered to have all the letters when forming a chain.

In the following example, the Knights are part of the same chain of Lancers, which would provide a total of 5 dice for round B.

When a hex has four or more sides surrounded (by the territory or other hexes), it is considered blinded, and therefore its combat value becomes 0. However, its letters are not ignored and the chain is not broken.

In this other example, both Knights and Archers are considered "blinded," since four of their sides are covered by the territory or by other hexes.

Rest Round: Each player can choose between healing or reinforcing. If you decide to heal, remove up to two damage suffered in the rearguard (Pagans can also cure damage in the vanguard). If you decide to reinforce, add a hex of your reinforcements to this territory. You must connect the hex following the usual rules. If it has speed, that attribute is ignored, but stamina or shot would still be useful. A player is not obliged to heal or reinforce, but it is usually a convenient option.

After this, the day of battle is considered complete. Start a new day of battle from the first step. Battles usually do not last more than three or four days.

Damage and Morale

When you roll the dice, you will only count as "damage" the results of 5 or 6. The Cumbria army causes damage with 4, 5 or 6. Any other results are considered "failed".

The defending player must deal damage between their hexes (or morale) as they wish. It is mandatory to deal all the damage received.

If your morale points equal 0, you lose the battle immediately.

When you deal damage between hexes, keep in mind that each hex can suffer a maximum of 2 damage. This means that after suffering the second damage the hex is destroyed and removed from the game immediately. Pagans' hexes withstand 1 additional damage.

To indicate damage place damage tokens on the hexes. When healing damage, simply remove these tokens from the affected hexes.

When destroying a hex, you must also destroy all hexes that are no longer connected to the territory. This is called "breaking the chain".

In this example, if the Knights were destroyed, the chain would be considered "broken", and both the Lancers and the Archers would be equally destroyed.

The morale can also be used to repeat rolls. The attacking player may repeat all the dice that have failed by spending 1 point of morale. This can be done several times, as long as there are still failed results or morale points to spend.

Being the first one to cause damage is a great advantage, since the destroyed hexes cannot counterattack.

Winning a Battle

If a player runs out of hexes or morale points, they lose the battle. That means of course their opponent has won.

The winner of the battle chooses 1 of their surviving hexes and places it among their reinforcements. The remaining hexes are destroyed and removed from the game. Be aware that some of your warriors might have been crippled and others might want to return to their homes.

After this, the winner takes the disputed territory and places it next to them as a trophy. If the game is not over, take a new territory at random and put it in the middle of the table, so that there are 3 territories again.

Once this is done, players continue taking positions until the war breaks out again. The loser of the battle is the new active player.

Retreat

A player who sees that the battle is lost may voluntarily retreat. The retreat must be announced in combat rounds A, B or C, before rolling the dice. You can retreat even if you do not have any die in that round. You CANNOT retreat during the rest round.

Retreat allows the player to choose 2 surviving hexes from that territory and add them to their reinforcements. The opponent saves 1 hex, as usual.

The player who retires is considered to have lost the battle and they must, therefore, yield the territory to the opponent, who will win the associated VPs.

Furthermore, when a retreat takes place the winner of the battle is going to be the new active player (instead of the loser).

Victory Check

At the end of a battle the victorious player adds up the value of all their conquered territories up to that point. When a player reaches 7 VP, they win the game immediately.

Note: Logres' army has 1 initial VP, so they only need 6 additional VPs to win the game.

Faction Benefits

There are three different factions to choose from: Logres, Cumbria and Pagans.

Logres

Logres is the central region of Britannia, once ruled by Uther Pendragon. Today his son Arthur is taking the crown. But the young king is very different from his father. He does not believe in the law of the strongest, but wants to build a new era of order, freedom and reason.

At the beginning of the game, the player that controls the Logres army starts with 1 VP. This means that in order to win the game they only have to conquer territories for a total value of 6 VP instead of 7.

The Logres army composition:

• 6 Peasants (C1, 2 banners)
• 6 Lancers (BC1, 1 banner)
• 6 Archers (AC1, 1 banner, shot)
• 5 War hawks (A1, speed, claw damage)
• 4 Knights (B4, speed, 1 shield)
• 1 Red Dragon (AB3, stamina, 2 critical damage)

Cumbria

A wild and dangerous land rises in the north, where only men with strong arms and women with cold hearts survive. Cumbria is the name of this kingdom ruled by Queen Morgause.

When rolling dice, the player that controls the Cumbria army can damage with results of 4, 5 and 6, instead of only 5 and 6.

The Cumbria army composition:

• 8 Saxon Warriors (C2, 1 banner)
• 6 Crossbowmen (A2, 1 banner, shot)
• 5 Saxon Riders (B2, 1 banner, speed)
• 5 Orkney Guards (C3, 2 banners, 1 shield)
• 3 Ballista (A3, shot, 1 critical damage)
• 1 White Dragon (BC4, stamina, 1 critical damage, 1 shield)

Pagans

The oldest inhabitants of Britannia are not Christians, but Picts, Druids and legendary beings. Worshipers of ancient gods and connoisseurs of mysterious traditions.

Each hex of the Pagan army can withstand 1 additional damage before being destroyed. This means that most hexes withstand 3 damage before being destroyed, while a hex with stamina attribute withstands 4 damage. In addition, Pagans can heal vanguard hexes during the rest round.

The Pagan army composition:

• 6 Impetuous Picts (B1, 2 banners)
• 6 Hill Riders (A1, 1 banner, speed)
• 6 Wolf Packs (B3, claw damage)
• 5 Hunters (A1, 1 banner, shot)
• 4 Griffins (ABC2, speed, claw damage)
• 1 Giant (C6, stamina, 2 shields)

The Book of Heroes and Wonders

Having regained his courage, Arthur managed to escape the embrace of the beast and struck it here and there with his sword, not ceasing until he embedded Excalibur's blade in his skull. Wounded to death, the evil creature uttered a last cry and fell to the ground with a great crash, like an oak ripped from the roots by the fury of the winds. — Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae

In this section of the rulebook you will find a detailed description of all the leaders and enchanted items. Before you read it, you should be familiar with the rules outlined in The Book of War.

Leaders of Logres

Arthur Pendragon: Although he is barely sixteen years old, Arthur is already an admirable monarch, trained for tasks of ruling and unrivalled on the battlefield. Arthur's ability must be used during the rest round of a battle. It allows you to recover immediately 2 lost morale points. You can never exceed the amount of morale you had initially in this battle.

Merlin: A mysterious druid with powers beyond comprehension. He has decided to help young Arthur against his own people, for reasons known only to him. Merlin's ability must be used during the combat round C of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to heal 1 damage from one of your hexes and cause 1 damage to any hex of your opponent. If your troops have not received any damage, the first part of the ability is useless, but you can still perform the second one.

Princess Guinevere: The most beautiful lady of Britannia, Arthur's fiancée. The people love her enormously. You can only use the ability of Guinevere when your morale has dropped to 0. Remember that you cannot reduce your morale below 0 and you are forced to assign all the damage received. Instead of losing the battle, use the ability of Guinevere to make your morale become 1. After this, the battle continues as usual.

King Leodegrance: Guinevere's Father and King of Cameliard. One of the few monarchs of the island who has decided to help Arthur in his crusade, seeing in him the seed of a new world. Leodegrance's ability must be used during the rest round of a battle and only if you choose to reinforce. It allows you to add 1 additional hex of your reinforcements to this territory. You must connect the new hex according to the usual rules.

Sir Ector: Arthur's adoptive father. A knight who has seen too many winters and survived too many battles. Ector's ability must be used during combat round A of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to exchange 1 of your hexes in this territory with 1 hex of your reinforcements. This movement does not break the chain, no matter where the hex is. If the outgoing hex had some damages, it loses them all. If the incoming hex has shields or critical damage, apply the usual rules for shields and critical damage.

Sir Kay: The only son of Sir Ector and Arthur's oldest friend. Kay is not a learned man, but he compensates his lack of ingenuity with his brave heart. Kay's ability must be used during combat round B of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to add 3 dice to your combat roll.

Leaders of Cumbria

Queen Morgause of Orkney: Arthur's stepsister and Queen of Cumbria. A mature and intelligent woman who behind her beautiful green eyes hides the most cruel thoughts. Morgause's ability must be used at the end of a battle, only if you lose it. It can only be used once per battle. It allows you to choose 1 enemy leader who is exhausted and destroy him (the opponent cannot discard enchanted items instead). You can use this ability if you decide to retreat.

King Lot of Lothian: Morgause's husband and lord of the northern lands. An impulsive warrior who longs to regain the glory of bygone days. Lot's ability must be used at the end of a battle, only if you have won it. It can only be used once per battle. It allows you to put all of your surviving hexes into your reinforcements (instead of having to pick only one). You can use this ability if the enemy retreats.

King Uriens: Lot's brother and King of Gore. He battled with Uther Pendragon in the past and he will not allow his son to snatch his lands. Uriens' ability must be used during the rest round of a battle. It allows you to choose 1 enemy hex in this territory and, as long as this does not break the chain, put it on top of the opponent's reserve.

Sir Agravaine: The eldest son of Morgause and Lot. He was made a knight too young and, in consequence, he has become reckless and violent. Agravaine's ability must be used during combat round A of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to add 2 dice to your combat roll.

Gaheris: The youngest son of Morgause and Lot and Sir Agravaine's squire. Behind his innocent boy appearance there's a dangerous warrior hiding. Gaheris's ability must be used during combat round B of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to destroy 1 shield of the enemy and, in addition, place 1 shield in a hex of your choice.

Morganore: A mercenary who has served many kings so far. He is much coveted for his knowledge of intimidation and strategy. Morganore's ability must be used during the combat round C of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to make the opponent lose immediately 1 point of morale. In addition, you can inflict 1 damage to 1 enemy hex in the rearguard.

Leaders of the Pagans

Addanc: A colossal snake that lurks in marshes and swamps. Not only does it possess great strength and size, but also a prodigious intellect. Addanc's ability must be used during the combat round C of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to add 4 dice to your combat roll.

Bercilak: Also known as the green knight, due to the colour of his skin and his hair. He likes to judge the worth of anyone who calls themselves a hero. Bercilak's ability must be used during combat round A of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to choose 1 ready enemy leader and rotate him 90 degrees to the right to indicate that he is exhausted.

Esclados: Guardian of the magic fountain of Brocéliande. An inhuman knight of enormous physical strength and terrible magical powers. Esclados's ability must be used during the combat round B of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to force your opponent to have all the damage of this round subtracted from their morale. Since a player's morale cannot be less than 0, all excess damage would be ignored.

Nine Witches of Caer Loyw: A mysterious group of women who speak and walk as if they were one. It is said that the magic of these witches can wipe out entire armies. The nine witches' ability must be used during combat round A of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to destroy up to two hexes from the enemy's reinforcement.

King Rience: The king of the Picts that inhabit the islands of Britannia. An unscrupulous savage who pulls out the hair of his enemies and uses them as a cloak. Rience's ability must be used during combat round B of a battle, before rolling the dice. It allows you to choose 1 enemy hex that has suffered 1 or more damage and destroy it.

Viviana: One of the ladies of the Lake. Queen of fairies and goblins, and maker of great enchantments. She hates Merlin with the force of storms. Viviana's ability must be used during the rest round of a battle and only if you choose to heal. It allows you to heal all damage received both in the vanguard and the rearguard.

Description of the Enchanted Items

Minor Enchanted Items

Protection ring: You can use the protection ring during a battle, in combat round A, B or C, before rolling the dice. It allows you to gain 1 shield in a hex of your choice. Each time you use a protection ring you should rotate the card 90 degrees to the right. If you wish to reuse an already rotated protection ring, you must destroy it. You cannot use more than a single protection ring per combat round.

Silver lyre: When the war breaks out in a territory, before starting the battle, add the silver lyres that you own to the number of banners of your army.

Straight arrow: You can use the straight arrow during a battle, in combat round A, B or C, before rolling the dice. It allows you to destroy 1 opponent's shield of your choice. Each time you use a straight arrow, you must rotate the card 90 degrees to the right. If you wish to reuse an already rotated straight arrow, you must destroy it. You cannot use more than a single straight arrow per round of combat.

Olifant: You can use the olifant when you are taking positions. When lifting a hex from the reserve, lift two hexes instead of just one and put them in your reinforcements. Each time you use an olifant you must rotate the card 90 degrees to the right. If you wish to reuse an already rotated olifant, you must destroy it. Having more olifants gives you additional uses, but does not allow you to lift more hexes.

Unique Enchanted Items

The black cauldron: When you begin a battle, add 2 special not-dead warrior hexes to your reinforcements. Also, if you lose a battle, add 2 additional hexes of not-dead warriors to your reinforcements. The maximum of not-dead warriors you can have is always 6. If there were already 6 hexes of not-dead warriors within the territories and your reinforcements, you would not gain any.

The White Deer: At the end of the battle, you can take up to two exhausted leaders of your choice and rotate them 90 degrees to the left, making them ready. In any case, you cannot reuse the ability of these leaders until a new battle takes place.

Shield of Evalach: Place the first two damage you receive in a battle on top of this card, as if it was a fortress. When the battle is over, discard these damages. If the battle is fought in a fortress, the Shield of Evalach will be useless.

Gwenn: Gain 2 additional speed icons to the total provided by your troops. In case of a tie of speed icons, the player who has placed the last hex in the territory, as usual, wins the initiative. If the battle takes place in a territory with "difficult terrain/ground", you gain the initiative, no matter who has placed the last hex.

Prydwen: When the war breaks out in a territory, before starting the battle, you can add 1 hex from another territory to your army (without breaking the chain). Connect the hex according to the usual rules. You must ignore its speed (if it has one) and its banners. The hex retains the shields it already had. If it had lost one it does not recover it.

Excalibur: Gain an extra die in each of the combat rounds (A, B and C). This means that if you do not have any die in one of the rounds of combat, you will have 1 die.

Summary

Game Sequence

• Enchanted Items Quest Phase
• Taking Positions Phase
• Battles (When the population limit in a territory is reached)
• Victory Check (If a player manages to reach 7 Victory Points, they win)

Enchanted Items Quest Phase

The players can:

• Take an enchanted item at random and add it to their hand. (They cannot have more than 4 enchanted items in their hand.)
• Play an enchanted item from their hand.

If you play an enchanted item:

• To play a minor enchanted item you must exhaust a leader.
• To play a unique enchanted item you must exhaust two leaders.

(Enchanted items provide benefits automatically.)

Taking Positions Phase

• Place one hex from the reserve in your reinforcements.
• Pick a hex from your reinforcements and place it in a territory of your choice.
• Repeat this operation. (You must choose a different territory.)
• If the "population limit" of a territory is reached a battle begins.

Battle

Before starting a battle:

• The player who has more speed icons in their vanguard has the initiative. In case of a tie, the player who has placed the last hex has it. (The player with the initiative rolls the damage dice first in each round.)
• Count the banners of each army. The player that has more earns 6 morale points, the player that has fewer - 4.
• Two exhausted leaders are ready again.

Battles are divided into "combat rounds" A, B and C, and a rest round. In each combat round, players take turns to inflict damage, which the defender can deal as they prefer. In the rest round, armies can be healed or reinforced.

• Combat rounds A, B and C. (You can only use dice from the hexes that form a chain.) (Damage is achieved with results of 5 or 6.) (A hex is destroyed by 2 of damage.)
• To use the leader's ability, you must rotate it in the corresponding combat round to indicate that it is exhausted.
• An exhausted leader who performs their ability again will be discarded. (Instead of discarding the leader you may discard two minor enchanted items or a unique enchanted item.)
• Rest round. (Choose either to heal 2 of damage in the rearguard or to place a troop from the reinforcements.)

When a player loses all their troops or all their morale, they lose the battle.

The winner of the battle takes the territory, winning the corresponding VP. (They can place 1 surviving hex in their reinforcements.)

The loser of the battle returns to the taking positions phase.

If a player retreats, they can place up to 2 surviving hexes in their reinforcements. (Yield the territory to the opponent.) (The player who has not retreated returns to the taking positions phase.)

The first player to reach 7 VP wins the game.

Remember

• Shot allows you to use 1 extra die if the hex is in the rearguard.
• Claws allow you to use 1 extra die if the enemy has no shields.
• Stamina allows the regiment to take 1 more damage before being destroyed.
• When entering a territory, a hex gains as many shields as shield icons it possesses.
• When entering a territory, a hex destroys as many rival's shields as critical damage icons it possesses.
• When the "lifeless" regiment plays with the Pagan faction, this regiment does NOT have the ability to withstand 1 more damage from the Pagan faction.

Faction Benefits

• Logres starts with 1 VP.
• Cumbria inflicts damage with results of 4, 5 or 6.
• Pagans need 1 additional damage to be destroyed. In addition, they can heal the hexes in the vanguard.