Hoplomachus: Victorum – Pandora's Ruin Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Faces of Evil
  • Components
  • Rules
• Dark Days
  • Components
  • Rules
• Strange Sands
  • Components
  • Rules
• The Rivals
  • Components
  • Rules
• Mercury's Boots Rules
  • Setup
    • Component Setup
    • Hero Setup
    • Rival Setup
  • Gameplay
    • The Structure of Play
    • Navigation
    • Opportunities
    • Sport Events
    • Bloodshed Events
    • Primuses
      • Primus Lineup
      • Primus Modifiers

Faces of Evil

Faces of Evil adds four new scions to your game, some from the franchise's existing mythologies and some from lands and myths previously unexplored in Hoplomachus.

Components

• The Chaos Dragon: Scion Unit Chip (Thick), Centaur Unit Chips (3), Scion Bane Chip, Scion Reference Card
• Set: 10 Scion Unit Chips (Thick), Scion Bane Chip, Scion Reference Card
• Crom Dubh: 2 Scion Unit Chips (Thick), Scion Bane Chip, Scion Reference Card
• Hundun: Scion Unit Chip (Thick), Scion Bane Chip, Scion Reference Card

Rules

Add the components for the four new scions from this expansion in with the components for the existing scions from Hoplomachus: Victorum. When choosing a scion during Rival Setup, you may choose any of the four scions from this expansion in place of a scion from the base game box. Gather all of the components for the chosen scion as listed in the Contents section. Carry out the rest of setup and the game as normal.

Dark Days

The world is changing. Evil is seeping through the cracks that separate the gods from the mortals, and that evil is working its way across the land, infecting everywhere you've ever been or might wish to go. Dark Days introduces scion-specific event cards to shuffle into your existing event decks. Your chosen scion's presence will be felt throughout your game, providing extra challenges and difficult scenarios well before you come face-to-face with your foe.

Components

• Special Unit Chips (10)
• Special Tactic Chips (7)
• Event Cards (117): 39 Sport Event Cards, 39 Bloodshed Event Cards, 39 Opportunity Event Cards
• Prowess Cards (13)

Rules

Place the new special units and tactics in any empty space available in a chip tray, and add the new special prowesses in with the existing ones. Keep the event cards from this expansion sorted by scion and separate from the rest of your event cards. The name of the scion is listed at the top of the card. After selecting the scion you will face in Rival Setup, find the nine event cards associated with the selected scion. There should be three of each event type—Sport, Opportunity, and Bloodshed. Shuffle these events into the appropriate decks. Carry out the rest of setup and the game as normal.

Strange Sands

Step into once-familiar arenas to discover new secrets in each locale. This set of arena cards adds a brand-new way to play each arena, featuring the arena's original rules on one side and its new rules on the other. The new arena rules will challenge you to diversify your tactics as you reckon with a plethora of new, diabolical forces.

Components

• Double-Sided Arena Reference Cards (8)
• 2 Arena Elite Chips (Thick)
• Arena Chips (7)

Rules

Replace the four arena references that came in Hoplomachus: Victorum with the eight from this expansion. Each time you move into a new region, take that region's arena reference and place it with side A face up. When you enter into a combat, use the side of the arena reference that is face up. At the end of each combat, flip the arena reference to its other side. Therefore, until you leave that region, your combats will alternate between side A and side B.

The Rivals

Spice up your act-ending battles against the would-be heroes of the ancient world. The Rivals adds a Primus Event deck to the game, making each primus combat more varied and unique.

Components

• Primus Event Cards (15)

Rules

Add the Primus Event deck to your game in addition to the existing event decks. During game setup, shuffle the Primus Event deck and place it face up to the right of the stadium seating. As with the other decks, the top card of the Primus Event deck is meant to be visible, and you may use that information to your advantage leading up to the primus combat. Each time you move to a capital to face a primus, draw the top card from this deck. It is the event card for the primus combat.

The following rules regarding primus combats are altered when using this deck:

• Use the lineups on the event card rather than the prescribed lineups in the Hoplomachus: Victorum rulebook.
• Use the Health printed on the primus chips rather than that shown in the rulebook.
• Act modifiers are not ignored in primus combats.

Additionally, you may now enter any region's capital, even if not initiating a primus or scion combat. If you do not initiate a combat, you must spectate. Carry out the steps of spectating as normal, with the primus deck being the deck that corresponds to capital locations. This allows you to cycle the top card and have more control over which primus combats you face.

Mercury's Boots Rules

The Mercury's Boots module for Hoplomachus: Victorum introduces an accelerated way to experience your epic, gladiatorial campaign, trimming the journey to a maximum of 24 weeks and speeding things up accordingly in a variety of ways. It is recommended that players be familiar with the rules of Hoplomachus: Victorum before attempting this way to play, as these rules build off of that understanding.

Setup

The setup steps for Mercury's Boots are very similar to those of a standard game of Hoplomachus: Victorum. For your convenience, we have provided the setup in its entirety so you don't have to switch between this rulebook and the rules for Victorum. Setup steps that differ from Victorum's normal setup are highlighted in blue.

Note: in the printed rulebook the steps that differ from Victorum's normal setup are set in blue; that colour is not reproduced in this transcription.

Component Setup

1. Game Mat and Stadium Seating. Place the game mat in front of you and the stadium seating directly above it.
2. Opportunity Chips. Place face down in the center chip slot of the stadium seating. No randomization is needed.
3. Faction Unit Chips. Separate by color, not including the heroes, and randomize them. Stack each group face up in the remaining stadium seating chip slots. Order the factions as follows from left to right: Lamosians, Atlanteans, Pluto's Refugees, New Argonauts, Vesuvians, Amazons, Parthians, and Kunlun. This matches the order of the regions on the map of the ancient world.
4. Event Cards. Separate into three separate decks—Sport, Opportunity, and Bloodshed—and shuffle each one separately. Place the decks face up in the three deck slots in the stadium seating, with the Sport deck on the left, the Opportunity deck in the middle, and the Bloodshed deck on the right. Draw the top three cards from the Opportunity deck and place them face up in your camp.
5. Chip Trays. Place two on the game mat, one in the top left corner and one in the top right corner.
6. Tactic Chips. Place face up in one row of the left chip tray. No randomization is needed.
7. Arena Chips. Place face up in another row of the left chip tray. No randomization is needed.
8. Bane Chips. Ensure you have only the standard banes, not the scion banes with red backs. Randomize and place face down in the final row of the left chip tray.
9. Health Chips. Place all of the red and blue health chips in the right chip tray, sorted by color.

Hero Setup

Refer to "Hero Details" in the Victorum rulebook for information and stats for each of the heroes. You'll need information from that section to complete the steps below.

1. Hero. Select your troop's hero. Place your hero's chip in your camp—the empty area below the hero tracking pad—with the full art side face up. The back side of a hero chip, with stats on it, is ignored. It's used when that chip is being used as a primus rather than as a hero.
2. Difficulty Level. Choose one of the following difficulty levels:
   • Chosen: The basic difficulty level. It is recommended that players start here and only move up in difficulty when they feel ready for a new challenge.
   • Valiant: A higher level of difficulty for experienced players looking for a tougher campaign.
   • Fearless: The hardest difficulty, for expert players who want a heightened challenge.
3. Hero Prowess. If playing with a hero that has additional starting prowesses (such as Aprilis or neutral heroes from Pandora's Might), gain those prowesses now.
4. Hero Tracking Pad. Fill in the following information for your hero on your tracking pad: Name, Movement, Range, Class, Health, Leadership, and Attack. Set your hero's Opportunity Capacity to 3, and their Navigation Stat to 1. Start with a number of blessings according to your chosen difficulty level:
   • Chosen: Start with ten blessings.
   • Valiant: Start with eight blessings.
   • Fearless: Start with six blessings.

The Hero Elevation step is critical to your success on this quickened journey. Your acts are much shorter and the difficulty will rise much faster, so you'll need some amount of strength when starting the game. However, blessings still provide important protection from failure, so spending too many is a risky choice. Think carefully about your decisions during this step!

Rival Setup

1. Scion. Review all of the Scion reference cards and choose which one you will face in your campaign. Place the chip for the chosen scion in the rightmost individual chip slot in the stadium seating, and its card with your reference sheets. Return the other scion chips and cards to the box.
2. Scion Banes. Under the scion's name on the scion reference card is the name of the scion bane(s) associated with it. Place the identified scion bane chip(s) into the draw bag. Return all other scion bane chips to the box.
3. Primuses. Place all seven unused primuses in easy reach near the stadium seating with their stat sides face up. The order in which they are placed does not matter. If playing with expansions (including using Remastered heroes as primuses), use seven primuses total and include no more than one primus from each region. Return the rest of the hero chips to the box.
4. Bag Units. Place the remaining neutral units into the draw bag. Then, place the first unit from each faction stack into the draw bag.

Gameplay

The goal of Mercury's Boots remains the same as Victorum's goal: to grow strong and defeat the scion lurking atop Vesuvius before your time is up. A number of aspects of that journey, however, have changed. These changes are outlined below.

The Structure of Play

You now have a maximum of 24 weeks to complete this journey, with each act taking six weeks instead of 12.

As an additional structural change, you no longer face primuses at the end of each act, instead facing them whenever you wish. See the Primuses section for more details on this.

You must play through the full six weeks of Acts I, II, and III, and you simply move into the next act once you've finished the previous one. You can end an act on any location.

Scion influence gain is still tied to your current act, but difficulty modifiers within the game are not and are instead tied to the number of primuses you have defeated.

As normal, you must wait until Act IV to face the scion, and you must face and defeat the scion before the end of Act IV in order to win the game!

Navigation

Your Navigation Stat determines how many map spots you can travel during each Travel Phase. This allows you to traverse the land faster. It can be upgraded to a maximum of 4.

You must move at least one spot during the Travel Phase, but you are not required to use your full Navigation. As normal, you cannot travel back along the path you most recently traveled. There is no exception to this at the start of each act, unlike in the base game. You also cannot move onto or through the same location twice in the same Travel Phase.

You may move over capital locations. Only finishing your Travel Phase on a capital location triggers a primus/scion fight. You cannot land on a capital location if there is not a primus/scion to fight there.

You must land on a harbor in order to use it; you cannot use a harbor mid-navigation.

Opportunities

When you accept an Opportunity event, draw up to three cards from the Opportunity Deck, ensuring you do not exceed your Opportunity Capacity as indicated on your hero tracking pad. Your Opportunity Capacity can be upgraded to a maximum of 5. Keep all Opportunity cards in your camp face up. Ignore all text on the face of the card with the exception of the reward text. Opportunities can be used in two different, new ways in Mercury's Boots.

First, you may discard an Opportunity card during combat directly after any die roll. This causes the entire roll to be re-rolled. You must either accept the new roll or spend another Opportunity for another re-roll. This re-roll happens before any skill or effect is triggered off of the die roll. Any die roll during combat can be re-rolled, whether on behalf of the player, the rival, or even rolls not tied to a specific troop. This includes attacks as well as die rolls as part of skill or event resolution.

The second use of Opportunity cards is that they can be spent when collecting primus rewards in order to obtain the reward on the card. See the Primus Rewards section for more details.

Sport Events

When the tribune is defeated, your hero's HP is not reduced. Instead, you immediately gain scion influence equal to the current act.

When you win a Sport event, you are granted both rewards of recruiting a rival unit and gaining tactics, rather than only one of these rewards.

Bloodshed Events

Bloodshed events are carried out as normal. When you win a Bloodshed event, increasing your Navigation Stat or Opportunity Capacity are new reward options you may choose, in addition to the already existing upgrade options. You still only get one reward in total.

Primuses

You may challenge any number of primuses, up to all seven, during your journey. Challenging a primus requires landing on a capital location containing an undefeated primus, as normal.

Defeating a primus grants massive rewards which help your hero take a big step forward. However, doing so also marks an increase in difficulty for the rest of the game. Be sure to look over the reference sheet carefully to understand the risks and rewards.

For events that require a random unused primus, if you have no unused primuses (from Hoplomachus: Remastered or expansions), use a random defeated primus. If none are defeated, use a random undefeated primus but return it with the other undefeated primuses at the end of the event.

Primus Lineup

The reference sheet dictates the lineups for each primus fight you take on. Use the lineup shown in the first circle not covered. Use the Health Stat printed on the primus chip for primuses. After defeating a primus, place their chip on the circle you referred to on the reference sheet. This acts as a reminder of how many primuses you have defeated and is an easy indication of which lineup to use for the next primus fight.

Primus Modifiers

Each time you defeat a primus, you add a modifier which applies to all combats for the remainder of the game, including primus combats, with the exception of the scion combat. Primus modifiers are cumulative.

If an event card instructs you to ignore act modifiers, ignore primus modifiers for that event instead.

Primus Rewards

When you would gain your reward for defeating a primus, see the reference sheet which outlines your reward options. These replace the normal reward. You receive four total rewards each time you defeat a primus, with several rewards offering two options. Working down the list from top to bottom, select your four rewards in order.

Hero Stat Upgrade

The stats that can be upgraded match those that can be upgraded in successful Bloodshed events: Attack (add or upgrade a die), Leadership, Health, Navigation, or Opportunity Capacity.

Opportunity Reward

To gain an opportunity reward, discard any Opportunity in your camp and collect the reward listed on it.

Recruit a Rival

You may recruit a rival unit in the same way as you would when resolving a Sport event reward, recruiting any non-elite rival unit from among the rival's defeated units or those still in the arena from that combat.

Scion Combat

In Mercury's Boots, ignore the "Pluto's Domain" section on the Vesuvians arena reference which adds banes equal to the number of Vesuvians left in the faction stack. Instead, gain one bane for each primus you have left undefeated.

Integrating Expansions

All expansions compatible with Hoplomachus: Victorum, such as Aprilis and the Fool, Pandora's Might, and the other modules from the Pandora's Ruin expansion, are also compatible with Mercury's Boots. Simply follow the expansion instructions for details on how to integrate the various modules, as the instructions are the same for Mercury's Boots as they are for the base game. You can also integrate Hoplomachus: Remastered with Mercury's Boots using the instructions found in the Integrating Hoplomachus PDF. This document can be found and printed at chiptheorygames.com/support.