Mythic Battles: Pantheon – Oedipus vs The Sphinx
Mythic Battles: Pantheon – Oedipus vs The Sphinx Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Mini-Campaign: Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex is a 3-scenario mini-campaign for 2 players. It isn't perhaps the fairest way to treat a hero who has already been through so much, but the gods can be harsh.
Prologue
Among the many souls that the cataclysmic wars have freed from the torment of the Underworld, there is an unhappy hero. Oedipus has returned to the land of the living, and sees his rebirth as the chance to free himself from his terrible curse. The former King of Thebes seeks out Apollo and implores the god to free him from the ills that have destroyed his family.
He weeps for the soul of Antigone, his daughter, whose sole crime was trying to provide a decent burial for her brother Polynices. This was denied by her uncle Creon, who saw Polynices as nothing more than a traitor who wanted to claim the throne of Thebes from his own brother, Eteocles. Antigone committed suicide.
Oedipus also weeps for the soul of his mother, Jocasta, with whom he unknowingly committed the crime of incest. Stricken with shame and dishonour, she also committed suicide. Could the gods not grant her redemption and peaceful eternal rest?
Finally, Oedipus weeps for his father, Laius. He brought down the wrath of Apollo on himself by raping Chrysippus. This act was the origin of the curse from the vengeful god that Pelops – father of Chrysippus – called upon Laius and his descendants.
Apollo listens to the supplications of the hero and, while touched by his words, he is not inclined to give in so easily. However, as Oedipus isn't responsible for the curse weighing on his family, the god decides to set him a test and grant him a rare opportunity to earn his redemption. To prove himself, Oedipus will have to face the Sphinx again, in a series of three challenges imposed by the monster.
Campaign Special Rules
Players choose either Oedipus or the Sphinx's army to lead, and stick with the same choice for the whole campaign. Whilst Oedipus himself is always present, the Sphinx herself only appears in the final battle.
Miniatures, dashboards, and associated cards for the units used in this campaign can be found in the Mythic Battles: Pantheon core box, among the Kickstarter stretch goals, and in this Oedipus & Sphinx set.
Scenarios
Not included in the source. The photographed insert names the mini-campaign's three challenges ("a series of three challenges imposed by the monster") but the scenario text itself is not in the photographs. Transcribe the three scenarios from the physical insert or a complete rules document before publishing this section.
Oedipus and Sphinx Unit Cards
The set's unit cards are reproduced below as they appear in the photographs. Each unit has a card with its name and stars, and a dashboard with its ability text and a dial table. Only the text that is legible in the photographs is transcribed.
Oedipus
Card name: OEDIPUS. Unit type: Leader. Card badges: 2 (top left), 3 stars and 1 and 2 star pips (bottom left) on the face.
Repentance (icon: hand)
At the start of Oedipus' activation, he may choose to reduce his vitality by 1. If he does this, then his owner is counted as having discarded an art of war card, which may be used as full or part payment for any manoeuvre during this activation.
The Answer (icon: hourglass)
If an enemy unit with a strategic value of 0 attacks Oedipus, that attack will cause no wounds unless they discard 2 art of war cards. Other effects apply as normal.
The attacker may wait until after the damage has been calculated to decide whether or not to pay for it to happen.
Dashboard dial (rows read top to bottom, strategic value markers 5 to 1)
| Marker | Col 1 | Col 2 | Col 3 | Col 4 | Icons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | hand, hourglass |
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | hand, hourglass |
| 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | hand, hourglass |
| 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | hand, hourglass |
| 1 |
The photographs do not show the column headings for the dial table, and the meaning of the icons is not printed in the legible text. The table is transcribed as read; the column headings are not supplied here.
Sphinx
Card name: SPHINX. Unit type: Block. Card badges: 3 (top left), 4 stars and 2 and 2 star pips (bottom left) on the face.
Riddle of the Sphinx (icon: hourglass)
When the Sphinx attacks or is attacked, reduce its offence and defence by the strategic value of the opposing unit.
Dashboard dial (rows read top to bottom, strategic value markers 7 to 1)
| Marker | Col 1 | Col 2 | Col 3 | Col 4 | Icon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 2 | hourglass |
| 6 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 2 | hourglass |
| 5 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 2 | hourglass |
| 4 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 1 | hourglass |
| 3 |
As with the Oedipus dial, the column headings are not visible in the photographs and are not supplied. The diamond symbol in Col 3 is transcribed as printed (a 0 value icon).
Source discrepancies
- The card face of the Oedipus unit card reads "OEDIPE" (the French spelling) on its label and vertical edge text, while the dashboard reads "OEDIPUS". This transcription uses the dashboard spelling and does not correct the card face. The photographs do not show whether the card face is a French-language print.
- The French-side mini-campaign and card scans were not used for this transcription.
Not Transcribed
- The three mini-campaign scenarios (see Scenarios above).
- The rules for the Sphinx's full ability set beyond the Riddle of the Sphinx, if the expansion has them; none are visible in the photographs.
- Column headings and icon meanings for both dial tables.
- The base Mythic Battles: Pantheon rules, which are in the base game entry (
data/rulebooks/mythic-battles-pantheon-rulebook.md).