Mythic Battles: Ragnarök
Mythic Battles: Ragnarök Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
I · Introduction
Ragnarök is upon you, Gods and mortals go to war against the mighty giants and the undead, kingdoms collapse, the end approaches, and only the valiant will be remembered in the saga. Will the Aesir and Vanir save the Nine Worlds from destruction, or will the powers of chaos shatter these realms before reducing Yggdrasil to ashes?
In Mythic Battles: Ragnarök, 2 to 4 players each form an army around a divinity from the Norse pantheon, and then battle it out, individually or as a team, in a scripted adventure or a pure head-to-head skirmish.
Each player or team of players represents a side. A player's army consists of all the units he controls.
II · Game Terms
There are many game terms in Mythic Battles: Ragnarök, some of which are also words in common use. For the full list, see the index at the end of this rulebook. To avoid confusion, the following conventions are used: stats are written in italics, for example: offense or range; Powers and talents are capitalized, for example: Block, Dragon's Blood or Leader.
III · Rules Hierarchy
Some rules are designed to overwrite others, such as when a power bends or breaks the rules described in this rulebook.
During a game, when two rules contradict one another, the rule with the higher priority takes precedence.
From highest priority to lowest, the order is:
- SCENARIO RULES
- POWERS
- TALENTS
- CLASS
- GAME RULES
IMPORTANT: some of the rules dealing with the resolution of effects override this hierarchy and take precedence over all other rules and/or effects. These rules are preceded by an exclamation-mark icon (!).
! Ignored effects — When an effect is ignored, it is not applied and in terms of the priority hierarchy, has no effect.
! Simultaneous effects — If two or more effects happen at the same time, the active player decides the effect resolution order. The selected effect must be fully resolved before the next effect begins.
! Triggered effects — A triggered effect is always fully resolved before any other effect is resolved. An effect is not cancelled if its trigger conditions are no longer fulfilled during its resolution.
Example: an effect that moves a terrestrial unit into an Aquatic area is completely resolved even if the effect cannot be triggered in this type of area.
IV · Winning the Game
Mythic Battles: Ragnarök can be played in two ways: skirmish mode or adventure mode.
In skirmish mode, there are two ways to win, irrespective of the number of players. The game ends immediately when:
- One side manages to slay an opponent's divinity.
OR
- The divinity or divinities of a side or team absorb a total of four divine stones.
The player or team that kills one divinity OR has absorbed a total of four Divine stones wins the game.
In adventure mode, players select a scenario. Each scenario states its own victory conditions. These conditions are not always the same for each player.
V · Overview
Mythic Battles: Ragnarök uses different types of game components such as boards, miniatures, dashboards, and cards.
A · Game Boards
The game boards define the battlefield where the game is played. They are divided into areas, which are defined by boundaries. In the center of each area is an icon. These icons are used to determine line of sight. The icon shape denotes the area's terrain type. It also contains a number that indicates the area's capacity. When the number of units (not miniatures) in the area equals its capacity, the area is "full", meaning it cannot contain any additional units.
Two areas are considered adjacent if they share a common boundary.
A unit's "surroundings" are the area in which the unit is located and all areas adjacent to that area.
! Effects in surrounding areas — An effect that affects the surrounding area of a unit must target an area that is visible to the unit responsible for generating the effect.
The terrain-type icons used on the boards are: Building, Burning, Cliff, Divine Source, Forest, Open Ground, Polar, Rock, Ruins, Stairs, Structure, and Water (Aquatic). See section XII · Battlefield for the full description of each terrain type.
B · Units
Each player's army is comprised of units.
Unit allegiance: A unit is allied to another if they are both controlled by the same player OR if the two players that control them are on the same side. A unit considers itself as an ally. A unit controlled by an opponent is an enemy unit.
These units are represented by miniatures on the board, and represented by dashboards or troop cards off the board.
There are 5 different types of units: GODS and TITANS (divinities), HEROES, MONSTERS and TROOPS.
1 · The Hero, Monster, God and Titan Units
Each of these units is represented by 1 unique miniature on the board and represented by a dashboard which lists and tracks their various game values:
A dashboard shows, among other things:
- Type of unit: Blue: Titans, Yellow: Gods, Green: Monsters, Gray: Heroes.
- Stat slide: this slide sits in the slots cut into the dashboard. The unit's current stats are visible through the stat slide's central window. The symbols for the different stats are embossed on the stat slide and are defined below. A unit starts the game with its slide on the topmost row.
- Stats table: each row of the table corresponds to a vitality point of the unit. As a unit is wounded, the stats change.
- Activation card: the number of activation cards available to the unit. Each icon represents one activation card.
- Strategic value: each icon represents one Art of War card (AoW card).
- Recruitment points: the unit's cost in recruitment points (RP).
- Unit's name.
- Talents.
- Powers: the unit's powers can be found on the right side of the dashboard. Each power is described in a box as follows: 9.1 Type of power, 9.2 Cost, 9.3 Name, 9.4 Number of tokens associated with the power (if required), 9.5 A detailed description.
- Product indicator: indicates the product that the unit came from —
corfor the core game, or the first 3 letters of the expansion. - Class: a unit can be aquatic, fireproof, flying, boreal, huge or terrestrial. If none of these icons is present, then it is a terrestrial unit.
Stats
- OFFENSE: the number of dice the unit rolls for its first assault in an attack.
- DEFENSE: a value that denotes how difficult it is to wound the unit.
- RANGE: the maximum distance in number of areas at which the unit may make an attack. Range 0 is the area the unit occupies.
- MOVEMENT: the number of areas the unit travels when they walk.
- AVAILABLE POWER: the number of dice used for offensive power attacks (number) or the availability of a power (symbol). If this entry is a dash, then that power can no longer be used.
- VITALITY: number of remaining vitality points.
! A unit's vitality cannot be increased beyond the maximum value indicated on its dashboard or troop card.
! Modifiers (powers, talents, terrain, etc.) can neither decrease the values of offense, defense, range and movement below 0, nor increase them above 10.
2a · Troop Units
Unless stated otherwise, a troop unit always costs 1 RP to recruit and can always benefit from the effects of an attachment (see Jarls below).
A troop unit is represented by one or several miniatures on the board. All the miniatures in play from the same troop unit must always be in the same area. These miniatures also represent the vitality points of the unit. A complete unit is a troop unit with all its miniatures on the board.
A destroyed troop unit can return to the game using troop recall (see VII · B · Troop Recall).
This type of unit is represented by a troop card which lists and tracks their various game values:
- Number of miniatures: each symbol represents one miniature in the troop and also corresponds to its number of vitality points.
- Activation cards: the number of activation cards available to the unit. Each icon represents one activation card.
- Name.
- Class.
- Stats: a troop card displays the same stats as other types of units (offense, defense, range and movement). However, the vitality stat is not indicated, as this is represented by the number of this unit's miniatures on the board.
- Talents: if a troop unit is no longer complete and there is only one miniature left of the troop, that troop's talents can no longer be used.
- Power description: Troop unit powers are permanent powers and are always available (see V · B · Using Powers).
- Product indicator.
2b · Unit Attachments: Jarls
Mythic Battles: Ragnarök introduces the concept of unit attachments, bonuses for units, represented as a card you bind to a unit.
An attachment offers the bound unit a Power, detailed on the attachment card, which is always available and permanent. It can be a constant bonus, a circumstantial bonus, or an exceptional one-time power, that requires that the attachment be removed from the game as a result of its use.
An attachment has no stats, cannot be directly targeted, and is not represented by a miniature.
The first attachment category is Jarls. Unless otherwise stated, a jarl always costs 1 RP, and only binds to one unit of troops. A troop can only be bound to one jarl.
Example jarl card — Wiglaf: "You may remove Wiglaf from the game when this troop is destroyed. Instead, it returns to 2 full vitality." A jarl card lists: 1) the Jarl's name; 2) the Power description; 3) the Product indicator.
You can add jarl attachment cards by including them among the available units during the draft phase. By using 1 RP, a player can recruit a jarl instead of a unit.
At the end of the recruitment phase, each player — starting with the lead — attaches the jarl to one of their troops, which then gains its ability. A troop can only have one attachment.
A jarl is destroyed if the troop is destroyed, and returns to play if the troop returns to play (for example, via a troop recall), so long as using its power has not already removed it from the game.
C · Other Game Components
In addition to the boards, miniatures, dashboards, troop cards and Jarl cards, there are also a number of other game components that Mythic Battles: Ragnarök players will use.
ACTIVATION CARDS — Each unit has their own set of identical activation cards. An activation card only lists the unit's name, the associated artwork and the number of activation cards it has. These cards allow units to be activated during the game.
ART OF WAR CARDS — These cards are all identical. They allow the players to pay for additional activations, maneuvers, powers, etc.
RUNES — Runes are the divine stones in Norse Mythology. They are represented by plastic gems which represent the primordial energy of the Nine Worlds that the divinities require to increase their power. They are placed on the board as indicated by the scenario or by the board selected in skirmish mode.
RECRUITMENT CARDS — These optional cards summarise stats (with full vitality), power types and names, talents, traits, RP cost, strategic value, origins, and number of activation cards for titans, gods, heroes, and monsters. (This information is already featured on the troop cards.) These help to save space on the table during the draft phase as you only get out the game boards after selecting all units, and means you can look through the various profiles quickly and easily.
VI · Game Setup
Every game of Mythic Battles: Ragnarök is set up according to the game mode selected by the players: skirmish or adventure.
A · Skirmish Mode
If players decide to play in skirmish mode, follow the steps below:
- Board choice — Players agree on the board to be used during the game.
- Deciding the lead player — Each player rolls a die. Whoever gets the highest score is the lead player. The next player in a clockwise direction selects the side of the board on which they will deploy.
- Recruitment — Each player recruits all the units they will control during the game. These constitute their army. Refer to the description of the relevant recruitment type in chapter C · Recruiting an Army.
- Table setup — Players jointly arrange all the game components as described in chapter D · Table Setup.
- Starting the game — The lead player starts the game, then the other player or players each play their turn clockwise around the table.
B · Adventure Mode (see Scenario Book)
If players decide to play in adventure mode, follow the steps below:
- Scenario choice — Players select a scenario together, ensuring the scenario-recommended number of players is taken into account.
- Recruitment — Some scenarios don't use a normal draft. These scenarios specify some or all of the units to recruit. If they do, recruitment is a two-step process: first, you collect the units required for each side, then you perform a draft using the recruitment points indicated for each side. Unless otherwise specified, this draft contains no divinities (only heroes, monsters, troops and jarls).
- Table setup — Players jointly arrange all the game components as described in chapter D · Table Setup.
- Starting the game — The lead player starts the game then the other player or players each play their turn clockwise around the table.
C · Recruiting an Army
1 · Draft
Draft allows units to be recruited from all players' available units, or from a previously agreed upon selection of units.
In skirmish mode, the number of players determines the number of RP available to each player to spend on their army:
- 2 players — 18 RP
- 3 players — 16 RP
- 4 players — 14 RP
In adventure mode, the scenario dictates the number of recruitment points (RP) available for each player to spend on their army, and the lead player and any unit selection restrictions.
To recruit your army, follow these steps:
- Lay out the dashboards and the troop cards of ALL available units and Jarl cards on the table.
- Starting with the lead player, then proceeding clockwise, players take turns choosing a divinity, either a god or a titan. If one side chooses a titan as their divinity, the side(s) selecting just gods as their divinities are able to deploy one of their units without cost during troop deployment (D · Table Setup), any type of unit may be selected, including their God/Divinity.
- Starting with the last player to choose their divinity, and moving counter-clockwise around the table, players take turns in selecting, one by one, the remainder of their army until all their RP are spent.
The following restrictions apply to each player:
- when a player recruits a unit, the RP cost must be paid immediately,
- an army may never include more than one divinity (god or titan),
- an army may not include more than one unit, in addition to their divinity, whose cost is more than or equal to 5 RP,
- an army, or the armies of the same side in a team game, may NOT contain copies of the same unit or attachment.
If a player cannot afford any of the remaining units, then any remaining RP are converted into AoW cards: take one AoW card for each unspent RP from the AoW card deck. These will form part of the player's starting hand. If a player has 0 RP remaining, the other players continue selecting units in the same order, skipping the player whose recruitment has ended.
2 · Limited
The scenario dictates all the units that are available to be recruited by the players.
D · Table Setup
During setup, regardless of game mode, the table is set up using the following steps:
- Place the selected board in the center of the table. Add any 3D terrain elements, divine stones, tokens, and miniatures indicated on the scenario map. If the exact location of the 3D terrain elements is not scenario-dictated, they are placed according to the description of the corresponding terrain type (see XII · Battlefield).
- Place the dice, the AoW card deck and the runes card deck next to the board.
- Each player places the miniatures, the dashboards, the troop cards, jarl cards and the tokens associated with their units in front of them.
- Starting with the lead player then, moving clockwise around the table, each player in turn places a troop unit on one of the deployment areas (see XVI · Boards). Continue until all the players have placed all their troop units on the board.
- Each player builds their deck from: all the activation cards for every unit in their army and a number of AoW cards equal to the total of all the strategic values of their units.
- Each player forms their hand with: 3 additional AoW cards, the first 3 cards from their deck, any AoW cards gained during the recruitment of their army if they were no longer able to recruit.
E · Team Play
For four-player skirmish games, we advise you to play as two teams of two players instead of a free-for-all. Players on the same team constitute a side. All units on the same side are considered allies.
The game play is identical to a player against player game with one exception.
In addition to sharing your victory with your teammate, the only rule change is about how the players are seated around the table and the impact this has on turn order.
As players in the same team deploy their miniatures on the same side of the board, it is easier for them to sit side by side. If this is the case, the round needs to be played in a "Z" pattern: Player 1 → Player 2 → Player 3 → Player 4, seated as Player 1 and Player 2 across from Player 3 and Player 4.
This order works both for turns in the recruitment of armies, and in the game itself. If the rules say clockwise, play the "Z" as described above; if it is counter-clockwise, follow the same pattern starting with player 4.
Each player has 14 RP available for their army and the setup instructions used are the same as for a two-player game.
VII · Playing the Game
Mythic Battles: Ragnarök is played in a series of rounds. During each round, each player takes a turn. The round starts with the lead player's turn, and continues clockwise around the table.
A · Turn Sequence
Each turn consists of the following phases below. The player, whose turn it currently is, is known as the active player and they must complete each step in sequence to be able to activate their units.
1 · Start of Turn Phase
- 1.a: Effects of powers that were triggered during the previous turn of the active player that only last for one round, end now.
- 1.b: The active player draws 1 card from their deck.
- 1.c: If they decide to pass this turn, they can draw another card from their deck, and then go directly to the end of turn phase (4).
2 · Activate a Unit Phase
- 2.a: The active player discards 1 activation card of the unit they wish to activate. They then declare if their unit will carry out simple actions or one complex action.
- 2.b: Any powers that have been triggered at the start of the unit's activation are resolved.
- 2.c: This unit is activated and can carry out: 0, 1 or 2 simple actions OR 0 or 1 complex action.
- 2.d: Any powers that are triggered at the end of the unit's activation are resolved.
3 · Activate Another Unit Phase
- 3.a: If the active player has activated a number of units equal to their activation limit or if they no longer wish to activate another unit, they go directly to the end of turn phase (4).
- 3.b: If the active player chooses to activate another unit, they discard 1 AoW card and return to the activate a unit phase (2).
4 · End of Turn Phase
- 4.a: The active player decides whether or not to discard 1 AoW card to perform a troop recall.
- 4.b: The next player in a clockwise direction becomes the new active player. Their turn starts at the start of turn phase (1).
B · Troop Recall
When a player recalls a troop, they choose a troop unit (either in play or destroyed) that they control. All the miniatures of the unit (in play or removed from the board) are moved to the same area as their divinity. If the recalled unit is carrying a divine stone, it is dropped in the original area the unit occupied. In addition, any tokens placed on the unit are removed from the game and their effects are cancelled.
It is impossible to carry out a troop recall if the area that the divinity is located in is full.
C · Activation Limit
A player may activate a maximum of 2 different units from their own army in each of their turns.
A unit cannot activate more than once a turn.
D · Deck
DISCARD: players discard their cards face up in a pile to form their discard pile. This pile may be looked at by any player at any time during gameplay.
DECK RUN OUT: The game pauses when a player can no longer draw a card because their deck has run out.
All players refresh their decks, using the following steps:
- Each player adds their entire remaining deck to their hand.
- Each player shuffles their discard pile to form a new deck.
- If necessary, each player draws a card (or cards) in order to have a hand of 3 cards.
- Play resumes from the point where it was paused.
- The player that triggered the pause draws any cards they were previously unable to.
VIII · Actions
The active player has a choice of 7 actions their unit can carry out, divided into two types: simple or complex.
A · Simple Actions
The simple actions are: walk, attack and claim. If a unit carries out simple actions, the following restrictions must be taken into consideration:
- the two actions must be different.
- each action must be completed before the next is begun.
- if a unit carries out an attack, they cannot walk away after the attack during the same activation.
1 · Walk
During a walk action, a unit may enter the same number of areas as its movement stat. Each new area must be adjacent to the previous one.
A unit's walk ends as soon as it enters an area containing one or more enemy units.
A unit can only enter an area whose terrain type description allows it. In addition, the unit can only cross boundaries whose boundary type description allows it.
! A unit cannot enter a full area.
2 · Attack
There are two types of attacks: a normal attack and an area attack.
The attacker is the unit declaring the attack and the defender is the unit that is the target of the attack. When the attacker or the defender is referred to, it can either mean the unit, or the player controlling the unit.
a · Normal Attack
A unit carrying out this action resolves the following steps:
- TARGET CHOICE;
- ATTACK RESOLUTION;
- RETALIATION.
1 · Target choice
The attacker can only target enemy units that fulfill at least one of the following conditions:
- the unit is both visible and at a distance that is less than or equal to the attacker's range. A unit can always target an enemy unit in the same area (range 0).
- the unit is in an adjacent area that is full. In this case, the attacker can decide to attack as if they were in the target's own area (range 0).
Visible unit and obstacles. There are different kinds of obstacles; these are: an area if it contains at least one unit; or an area or a boundary that specifies in its description that it constitutes an obstacle.
To determine if a target is visible, the active player draws an imaginary line between the center icon in the attacker's area and that of their target. If this line does not encounter an obstacle, ignoring its departure and destination area, the target is considered visible.
A target that occupies the same area as the attacker is always considered visible.
Distance and range. A target is in range if the attacker's range stat is equal to, or greater than, the shortest distance to it. To calculate this distance, a player must count the minimum number of areas necessary to go from one area to the other without taking into account boundary and terrain types. The attacker's area is not taken into account in this calculation.
Where reference is made to range X (X being a number), it refers to a distance less than or equal to X. Where reference is made to range X+, it refers to a distance more than or equal to X.
Example (line of sight): A unit named SEER with range stat 2 can attack BEOWULF, LAGERTHA or the JOMSVIKING, since these units are within her range and there are no obstacles blocking her line of sight. She cannot attack the BERSERKER: the BERSERKER is within her range, but the rock area between them is considered an obstacle that blocks her line of sight. She cannot attack GULLVEIG either: GULLVEIG is within her range, but because the area in between is occupied by LAGERTHA and the JOMSVIKING unit, they are considered an obstacle and block the SEER's line of sight. She can attack the ULFHEDNAR unit located within a 2 area range, as there are no obstacles that block her line of sight. BEOWULF has a range stat of 0, but he can attack LAGERTHA or the JOMSVIKING in his adjacent area (range 1) since this area is FULL (its capacity is 2, and it contains 2 units). BEOWULF's attack is considered to be at range 0.
2 · Attack resolution
To resolve an attack, carry out the following steps in order:
- 2.a EFFECTIVE VALUE CALCULATION
- 2.b FIRST ASSAULT
- 2.c SECOND ASSAULT
- 2.d WOUNDS
2.a Effective value calculation
The attacker and the defender each calculate their effective offense and defense values. These are the values of the unit's stats after any applicable modifiers have been taken into account. If, in a scenario or in a power, it refers to attacking with a certain number of dice, this corresponds to the effective offense of the attack.
! The modifiers (powers, talents, terrains, etc.) cannot reduce offense or defense below 0, or raise them above 10.
2.b First assault
- 2.b.1: The attacker rolls a number of dice equal to their effective offense.
- 2.b.2: Any blank results are immediately removed. For each step, once a die has been removed, it is set aside and takes no further part in this attack.
- 2.b.3: Among the remaining dice, the attacker can discard as many dice as they want to get bonuses for the other dice. Each discarded die adds +1 to the result of another die. The new value of the remaining dice is equal to their result increased by the number of dice discarded to give them bonuses.
At each step, as soon as the value of a die equals or exceeds the effective defense of the target, the die is immediately placed on the attacker's dashboard or troop card to signify that they have inflicted a wound on the target (see 2.d Wounds).
2.c Second assault
If, during the first assault, the attacker rolled one or several dice with a result of 5, no matter if it was a direct result or after modification, they can carry out a second assault. To do this, carry out the following steps in order. If not, go straight to step 2.d Wounds.
- 2.c.1: The attacker rolls as many dice as they wish from those of the first assault with a result equal to 5.
- 2.c.2: Any blank results are immediately removed. Their previous result is thus lost.
- 2.c.3: The new results of the rolled dice are added to the 5 from the first assault.
- 2.c.4: Among the remaining dice (including any dice not discarded during the first assault), the attacker can discard as many dice as they want to get bonuses for the other dice. Each discarded die adds +1 to the result of another die. The new value of the remaining dice is equal to their result increased by the number of dice discarded to give them bonuses.
2.d Wounds
Each die result equaling or exceeding the effective defense of the defender unit inflicts a wound. For each die on the attacker's dashboard or troop card, the defender loses a vitality point:
- If the defender is a divinity, a hero or a monster, the player moves the dashboard's stat slide down a number of lines equal to the number of vitality points lost, in order to reveal the unit's new stats.
- If the defender is a troop unit, the player removes as many of the unit's miniatures as lost vitality points and places them on their troop card.
Destroyed unit. A unit is destroyed when its vitality reaches 0:
- divinities, heroes or monsters: this means when the player can no longer push the slide down on the dashboard. The miniature is then removed from the board and placed with its dashboard back in the box. These units cannot return to the game.
- troops: this means when the player has removed the last miniature of the troop from the board.
A destroyed unit drops any elements it may be carrying (divine stones, etc.) in the area in which it was destroyed. If it had one or several power tokens attached to it, these are replaced in the appropriate reserve pool. A destroyed unit's activation and AoW cards remain in play.
3 · Retaliation
If the defender is the target of a range 0 attack, they can retaliate against the unit who carried out the attack. The defender becomes the attacker and vice versa: the retaliator must discard 1 of their activation cards then resolve the retaliation as a normal attack (see 2 · Attack resolution).
A unit cannot retaliate against a retaliation. A unit cannot retaliate more than once per turn.
b · Area Attack
An area attack is available to some units as their attack action and cannot be retaliated against. An area attack targets all units, allies and enemies, in the area except the unit making the attack. The target area must contain at least one enemy unit. The area itself is not attacked. A unit that performs an area attack action resolves the following steps:
- Area choice: the attacker chooses the area to be attacked. The area must be within range and visible to the attacker.
- Target choice: the attacker chooses the target unit. Each unit in the area can only be targeted once.
- Attack resolution: the attacker resolves the attack against this target in the same way as a normal attack (see 2 · Attack resolution above). If an allied unit is the target, the attack is resolved by the enemy player as if they owned the attacking unit. The enemy player cannot spend AoW cards but can otherwise freely decide which of the attacking unit's talents and powers to use in the attack.
If there is at least one unit that has not been targeted in the area, the attacker returns to step 2 of this sequence to target the new unit. If not, the area attack is over.
IMPORTANT: the defender cannot retaliate during an area attack. Unlike a normal attack, an area attack does NOT allow an adjacent full area to be considered to be at range 0.
Attack Example Resolution
This worked example follows a normal attack between an OATHBREAKERS troop unit (attacker) and BEOWULF (defender), followed by BEOWULF's retaliation.
- The OATHBREAKERS unit carries out an attack action. The player controlling them (the attacker) chooses to target BEOWULF. This is feasible because BEOWULF is in the same area as the OATHBREAKERS unit. BEOWULF (the defender) decides NOT to use any of his talents or powers during this attack.
- The attacker uses their power and adds +1 to their offense value (the OATHBREAKERS' Power gives +1 if the unit contains at least 3 Oathbreakers, and a further +1 Oathbreaker bonus if the unit is not complete at the end of its activation phase). The effective offense value of the OATHBREAKERS unit is increased to 4.
- BEOWULF's effective defense value is 7 instead of 8 as a result of the OATHBREAKERS' Torment Talent, which reduces his effective defense by 1.
- The OATHBREAKERS carry out their first assault. The attacker takes 4 dice and rolls them. The results are: Blank, 3, 4 and 5.
- The attacker discards the die whose result was blank. Then, discards the die that rolled a 3 to increase the value of the die that rolled a 4 by 1. Its new result value is now 5.
- The attacker carries out their second assault. For this, they decide to roll all the dice from the first assault with a value of 5. They roll 1 on each of the two dice. This result increases their previous value by 1 each. Their new result value is now 6.
- BEOWULF's effective defense value is 7. In order to inflict a wound, the attacker must roll a value equal to or above 7 with a die. The attacker decides to discard one of their two dice to increase the value of the other by 1 so that its final result value is increased to 7.
- The attacker compares the value of his die to the effective value of BEOWULF's defense. The value of his die is equal to BEOWULF's effective defense value, so the OATHBREAKERS unit wounds BEOWULF. BEOWULF's vitality decreases to 6. The defender immediately moves the stat slide on BEOWULF's dashboard to indicate the new vitality value.
- The defender declares a retaliation against the OATHBREAKERS unit. This is feasible as BEOWULF is located in the same area; as payment for the retaliation the defender discards a BEOWULF activation card. BEOWULF decides NOT to use any of his talents or powers during this retaliation.
- BEOWULF carries out the first assault of his retaliation. He rolls 7 dice. The results are: blank, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The die with a blank result is discarded.
- BEOWULF's effective offense value is 7. The OATHBREAKERS unit has an effective defense value of 4.
- BEOWULF decides to discard a die to increase the value of the die that rolled a 3 to 4, and decides to stop as discarding one of the two remaining dice would only increase the result value of the last die to 3.
- BEOWULF compares the value of his dice to the effective value of the defending OATHBREAKERS unit. The value of three dice is equal to the effective value of the defending unit. BEOWULF inflicts three wounds. The vitality of the OATHBREAKERS unit decreases to 2. The owner of the OATHBREAKERS unit removes 3 miniatures from the game. The attack sequence is over.
3 · Claim
A unit can claim an available divine stone (on the board) in the same area if they are not already carrying one. When a unit performs this action, the controlling player places the newly claimed divine stone on the unit's base. A unit may carry divine stones multiple times during a game, as long as they are only carrying a single stone at a time.
While a unit is carrying a divine stone it can still perform actions as normal.
B · Complex Actions
The complex actions are: run, deploy, absorb and ascend.
A unit carrying out a complex action cannot use their talents or powers (active, passive or offensive) for the duration of the activation.
1 · Run
During a run action, a unit may enter the same number of areas as their movement stat +1. Each new area must be adjacent to the previous one. A unit's run ends as soon as they enter an area containing one or more enemy units.
A unit can only enter an area whose terrain type description allows it. Moreover, the unit can only cross boundaries whose boundary type description allows it.
! A unit cannot enter a full area.
2 · Deploy
This action can only be carried out by a unit entering the game for the first time. A unit already in play or one which has been destroyed can no longer deploy.
During a deploy action, a unit is placed in their armies deployment zone. Deployment zones are defined by the scenario in adventure mode or by the set up diagram in skirmish mode. When deploying a unit, the unit must be able to enter the deployment area terrain type.
A troop unit starts the game on the board (see VI · D · Table Setup).
! A unit cannot deploy into a full area.
3 · Absorb
Only divinities in the same area as an unclaimed divine stone, or one collected by an allied unit, can absorb that divine stone. When a divinity absorbs a divine stone, the divine stone token is taken from the board and placed on that divinities dashboard.
4 · Ascend
A unit that carries out an ascent action can enter a Rock terrain type area if that unit begins its movement in an area adjacent to the Rock area, and if the Rock area is not full.
Performing an ascend and the Climb talent are the only ways to enter a Rock type area.
IX · Divine Stone
There are different divine stones associated with the different mythologies of the Mythic Battles universe. The divine stone of Norse mythology is the rune. That of Greek mythology is the omphalos and the kheper for Egyptian mythology.
A divine stone is either claimed or unclaimed.
Claimed divine stone: A divine stone is claimed if it is carried by a unit on the base of one of their miniatures. A unit can only carry one claimed divine stone at a time.
Unclaimed divine stone: A divine stone is unclaimed if it is on an area of the board and not on the base of a miniature.
Dropping a divine stone: a unit can drop a claimed divine stone in their area at any moment during their activation. Dropping a divine stone is not an action. Once dropped, it is then considered unclaimed.
Some game elements are treated in the same way as runes or divine stones. Whenever a rule or effect indicates that an element is considered to be the same as a rune or a divine stone, it follows all the rules and effects relevant to divine stones, but cannot be absorbed.
Effect of a rune: The effect of a rune allows the player controlling the divinity who absorbs it to take a rune card and add it to their hand.
A rune card can be used in two ways:
- when calculating their effective offense value, a player can put one or more rune cards back into the rune deck from their hand. In this case, their divinity increases their offense by 1 per rune card thus spent. This does not remove a rune present on the dashboard of a divinity.
- A rune card can be discarded in the place of an AoW card.
X · Art of War Cards
Art of War cards are the currency with which a player can buy maneuvers and other game effects.
When a player must discard an AoW card, the player can discard:
- 1 AoW card, OR
- 1 RUNE card, OR
- 2 ACTIVATION cards from previously DESTROYED, non-troop units.
XI · Maneuvers
A player can carry out maneuvers at any time during a round (regardless of whose turn it currently is). Each maneuver can only be bought once per round and per player.
A player must pay the cost in AoW cards to resolve the effects of a maneuver.
A · Draw Cards
- COST: 1 AoW card
- EFFECT: the player immediately draws 2 cards from their deck.
B · Search for a Card
- COST: 1 AoW card
- EFFECT: the player immediately searches through their deck and takes 1 card of their choice to add to their hand. They then shuffle their deck.
C · Evade
- COST: 1 AoW card
- EFFECT: the player declares the use of evade with a flying non-troop unit that is the target of a range 0 attack. The attacker can choose a different target at a distance that is less than or equal to their range. If the attack is not redirected, the action is considered taken, but wasted.
XII · Battlefield
A · Boundaries
The areas on the board are separated and defined by game elements known as boundaries.
A boundary is represented by a line or artwork, for example a wall, which defines its type. Each is only one type and only separates two areas. However, two areas can be separated by several different boundaries.
When moving between two areas separated by several boundaries, the least restrictive one is taken into account.
Example: THE BERSERKER wants to move to an adjacent area. He cannot cross a wall boundary, as movement is forbidden. A normal boundary allows him to move, so he is able to move to his destination area.
Different boundary types:
- Escarpment — MOVEMENT: forbidden. EFFECT: none.
- Heights — MOVEMENT: the Heights icon does not affect unit movement actions - the boundary type on which it is placed does. EFFECT: the arrowhead points towards lower level areas. A unit standing behind the arrowhead, on the higher side, gains +1 offense and +1 range for attacks targeting a unit in any lower level area. In addition, obstacles are ignored when determining if a target in a lower area is visible or not.
- Normal — MOVEMENT: allowed. EFFECT: none.
- Wall — MOVEMENT: forbidden. EFFECT: this boundary is an obstacle. A wall boundary is represented by a wall image surrounded by a continuous red line. The image itself is not an area.
B · Terrain
Each area is a single terrain type, indicated by its area icon.
If, in the description of a type of terrain, it is indicated that the terrain uses 3D elements, like trees or steles, the effects can only be applied if at least one 3D element remains in the area.
If all 3D elements are removed, the area becomes open ground.
Different terrain types are presented with: MOVEMENT (allowed or forbidden — indicates if this type of terrain allows the movement of units to this area); OBSTACLE (yes or no); 3D ELEMENTS (number and type); and EFFECT.
- Building — MOVEMENT: allowed. OBSTACLE: yes. 3D ELEMENTS: none. EFFECT: a unit in this area gains +1 defense against any attack at range 1+.
- Burning — MOVEMENT: allowed. OBSTACLE: no. 3D ELEMENTS: none. EFFECT: a unit entering a Burning area immediately suffers 1 wound. The controlling player must then move the unit to an adjacent non-Burning area of their choice. The movement action ends immediately.
- Cliff — MOVEMENT: forbidden. OBSTACLE: yes. 3D ELEMENTS: none. EFFECT: none.
- Divine Source — MOVEMENT: allowed. OBSTACLE: no. 3D ELEMENTS: none. EFFECT: a unit entering this area must stop its movement, then roll a die and apply the result: BLANK: the unit can move 1 area; 1: draw 2 cards; 2: search through your deck and take 1 card of your choice to add to your hand, then shuffle your deck; 3: look at the first 3 cards of your deck then arrange them in the order of your choice; 4: look at the first 2 cards of your opponent's deck then arrange them in the order of your choice; 5: choose an effect from the choices above.
- Forest — MOVEMENT: allowed. OBSTACLE: yes. 3D ELEMENTS: the number of trees per area is equal to the area's capacity divided by two and rounded up. EFFECT: a unit in this area gains +1 defense against attacks of range 1+.
- Open Ground — MOVEMENT: allowed. OBSTACLE: no. 3D ELEMENTS: none. EFFECT: none.
- Polar — MOVEMENT: allowed. OBSTACLE: yes. 3D ELEMENTS: none. EFFECT: a unit that starts their activation in a polar area immediately suffers 1 wound. In addition, for the remainder of the turn, they can only carry out one simple or one complex action and cannot use active or offensive powers.
- Rock — MOVEMENT: forbidden. OBSTACLE: yes. 3D ELEMENTS: none. EFFECT: a unit in this area gains +1 range. For range 1+ attacks, they gain +1 offense. In addition, the unit ignores obstacles when determining whether a target is visible. The unit also becomes visible to all other units as long as it occupies this terrain type. A unit can enter this terrain type by a complex ascend action, or by a simple walking action using the Climb talent.
- Ruins — MOVEMENT: forbidden. OBSTACLE: yes. 3D ELEMENTS: 1 stele per area. EFFECT: a unit in this area gains +1 defense against range 0 attacks.
- Steps — MOVEMENT: allowed. OBSTACLE: no. 3D ELEMENTS: none. EFFECT: a unit in this area gains +1 range. For attacks of range 1+, they gain +1 offense. In addition, obstacles are ignored when determining whether a target is visible or not.
- Structure — MOVEMENT: forbidden. OBSTACLE: yes. 3D ELEMENTS: none. EFFECT: a unit in this area ignores obstacles for its attacks of range 1+ to another structure area.
- Water (Aquatic) — MOVEMENT: allowed. OBSTACLE: no. 3D ELEMENTS: none. EFFECT: active and offensive powers and talents of units in this area are ignored.
XIII · Class
All units have a class that is defined by an icon on their dashboard or troop card. If there is no icon present, then the unit is considered as being of the Terrestrial type.
TERRESTRIAL — EFFECT: none.
AQUATIC — EFFECT: aquatic units gain +1 movement for walk or run actions if they start in, and only enter, Aquatic areas during that action. Aquatic units ignore all Aquatic terrain effects (Water, etc.).
FIREPROOF — EFFECT: fireproof units ignore all Burning terrain effects.
BOREAL — EFFECT: boreal units ignore all Polar terrain effects.
FLYING — EFFECT: flying units can deploy on a Cliff or Rock area of their deployment zone. A flying unit is not constantly in the air and moves on the ground. However, they can take flight to land elsewhere or swoop down on an enemy.
To represent this, a player who activates a flying unit has access to 2 additional complex actions:
- FAST FLIGHT: a unit that carries out a fast flight can enter as many areas as their movement stat +1 and ignores all terrain effects. During this action, the unit can enter Cliff and Rock areas. In addition, they can cross wall and escarpment boundaries. They cannot enter full areas but are not affected by units with the Block talent. During this action, the unit cannot drop a divine stone. Note: units carrying out a fast flight action are not stopped by enemy units that occupy the areas they fly over. The unit must respect other boundary effects.
- AERIAL ATTACK: a unit that carries out an aerial attack follows the same sequence as a normal attack with the following exceptions: they ignore any terrain effects of the area they occupy; they gain a bonus of +1 range; when this unit determines if its target is visible or not, any obstacles are ignored.
HUGE — EFFECT: a huge unit can never enter an area with an area capacity lower than 3 except during the unit's deployment. The area this unit occupies is always considered full, regardless of its area capacity. In addition, the talents and powers that could move a unit are ignored.
XIV · Talents
Some units have talents. Using a talent is optional and at the player's discretion.
A unit affected by the effect of a talent is the target of the talent. Multiple talents of the same name cannot target the same unit.
If a troop unit is no longer complete and there is only one miniature left of the troop, that troop's talents can no longer be used.
Archery — EFFECT: during the calculation of the effective offense value of a range 1+ normal attack, the unit with the Archery talent gains +1 offense.
Berserk — EFFECT: the unit can use its 2 simple turn actions to perform 2 normal attack actions of range 0, unmodifiable by any power or any talent. At the end of the second attack action, the unit suffers 1 automatic wound.
Block — EFFECT: an enemy unit that is in the area of a blocker unit cannot carry out a walk, run, or ascend action. An enemy unit cannot claim a divine stone that is in the area of a unit with the Block talent, but may still absorb a divine stone if that blocked unit is a divinity. A unit with the Block talent ignores these effects.
Bolster — EFFECT: during the calculation of the effective offense and defense values of a normal or area attack, the allied troop units in the same area as the unit with the Bolster talent gain +1 offense and +1 defense.
Climb — EFFECT: a unit with the Climb talent can walk into Rock or Cliff areas. The unit may cross escarpment boundaries. In a Rock area, the unit gains +1 defense against units who do not have the Climb talent.
Close Combat — EFFECT: during the calculation of the effective offense value of a range 0 normal attack, the unit with the Close Combat talent gains +1 offense until the end of their current activation.
Close Protection — EFFECT: during the calculation of the effective defense value of a normal or area attack, if another allied unit is in the same area, the unit with the Close Protection talent gains +1 defense.
Force of Nature — EFFECT: before selecting the target of a normal or an area attack, if the unit with the Force of Nature talent is in an area with at least one 3D element, they can remove one of these elements from the board to gain +1 offense and +1 range until the end of their current activation.
Gem Collector — EFFECT: during its activation, the unit can carry out a claim action from any visible area in their surroundings.
Guard — EFFECT: after the choice of the target of a normal or an area attack by an enemy, if the unit with the Guard talent is in the same area as the targeted allied unit, they become the new target. This talent cannot be used against a retaliation or against terrain effects.
Initiative — EFFECT: after the choice of the target of a range 0 normal attack, if the target is the unit with the Initiative talent, they can retaliate before the original attack is resolved. After the retaliation, if the attacker is further away from the target than their range, the action ends. If not, the attacker carries out the attack without the target retaliating again. If both the attacker and the target have this talent, the effect is ignored.
Leader — EFFECT: at the end of their activation phase, the active player can activate a visible allied troop unit in their surroundings without spending an AoW card. If the active player or their teammate doesn't have the activation card in their hand, they can take it from the unit owner's deck, show it, play it, discard it in the unit owner's discard pile, and reshuffle the deck. If the unit chosen for this new activation does not belong to the active player, the player whose unit is using the Leader talent takes control of that unit until the end of their current turn. This activation counts in the activation number limitation.
Mighty Throw — EFFECT: Before the second assault of a normal or area attack, a unit with the Mighty Throw talent can move the attack targeted unit one area, if there are enough blank results generated during the first assault die roll to discard: 1 to throw a troop or a hero unit, 2 to throw a monster or a god unit, 3 to throw a titan unit. The unit is thrown IF it is able to enter a destination area, if the area is not full, and doesn't cross a boundary the unit is unable to cross, or enter a terrain type the unit cannot enter. If thrown, the targeted unit immediately drops any claimed divine stone. After having been thrown, the attack is then resolved as normal even if the targeted unit is no longer at a distance less than or equal to the attacker's range. If the defender is no longer at range 0 from the attacker, they cannot retaliate.
Mobility — EFFECT: a unit with the Mobility talent can walk even after having carried out an attack.
Scout — EFFECT: the unit can deploy without cost during the table setup step, as if it were a troop unit.
Slayer — EFFECT: Slayer is always linked to a unit type, such as "Monster Slayer". During the first assault, before discarding blank results, the unit may re-roll up to 2 dice against a target of the unit type corresponding to its Slayer talent.
Sneak Attack — EFFECT: during the calculation of the effective offense value of a range 0 normal attack, if another allied unit is in the same area, the unit with Sneak Attack gains +1 offense until the end of their current activation.
Terror — EFFECT: an attacking unit performing a range 0 attack against a unit with the Terror talent suffers -1 offense.
Torment — EFFECT: during the calculation of the effective defense value of a range 0 normal attack carried out by a unit with the Torment talent, the targeted unit suffers -1 defense until the end of the attack.
XV · Powers
Powers allow the units that possess them to benefit from specific effects. There are 4 types of powers: permanent, passive, active and offensive.
A · Troop Powers
Troop unit powers are all permanent and are presented as follows: 1) a detailed description of the power; 2) a Bonus, indicating if the power adds a bonus to an indicated stat.
Example — Oathbreakers' troop card power "Torment": "+1 if this unit contains at least 3 Oathbreakers. + 1 Oathbreaker if this unit is not complete at the end of its activation phase."
B · Dashboard Powers
A dashboard power is presented with: 1) Power type — indicates if the power is permanent, passive, active or offensive. If a unit has two powers, one of them will have a symbol with a white background and another with a black background. This color corresponds to the symbol or number shown on the power column of the stat rows. 2) Cost — the total number of symbols indicates the power's cost in AoW cards. 3) Name. 4) Power token — indicates if the power uses tokens and how many. 5) Detailed description — indicates the effect of the power when it is used. 6) Available power icon — indicates if the corresponding power can be used. If the power is not represented by a number, the icon corresponds to the power whose icon is identical (in shape and color). If the power is represented by a number, it corresponds to the power whose description includes an icon of value X of the same color. 7) Value X — indicates that the power replaces a stat by a value X. This value is the effective value of the stat and cannot be modified.
Example — Hrym's dashboard power "Ice Lord": "When recruited, take Hrym's tokens. At the end of his activation, you may place a Hrym token in his area. That area is now considered Polar terrain and loses any of its 3D elements. These tokens remain in play until the end of the game." His other power, "Sweep" (offensive, cost X): "Make an X dice area attack in Hrym's area and one adjacent area."
C · Using Powers
A power can only be used by a unit if it is available; that is, if its icon (or a number on a background of the same color) appears in the window of the dashboard's stat slide. Troop unit powers are always permanent and available.
A player must pay the cost of the power in AoW cards in order to apply its effects. If nothing is indicated on the dashboard or on the troop card, the power does not require AoW cards to be used.
When a stat symbol associated with an X value on a background of black or white is shown in the description of the power, it means that the effective value of the stat is the one in the window of the stat slide. Powers triggered by an effect must be resolved.
Permanent — The unit can use this power whenever its conditions of use are fulfilled, even if they carry out a complex action or if they are not on the board.
Passive — The unit can use this power whenever its conditions of use are fulfilled, except if they carry out a complex action or if they are not on the board.
Active — The unit can only use this power once per turn during its activation, but cannot use it if they carry out a complex action.
Offensive — The unit can use this power during its activation but cannot use it if they carry out a complex action. Its use replaces a simple attack action and therefore counts in the limit of the two simple actions that the unit can carry out in a turn.
If nothing is specified in the power description, the attack follows the normal attack sequence.
Example: Hrym activates and decides to carry out two simple actions. The first action he carries out is his offensive power: Sweep. So he cannot perform an attack or walk as his second action.
D · Power Tokens
Some powers require the use of tokens.
During setup, each player must take as many tokens of the units that require them as indicated on their dashboard. These form the power token reserve pool.
Unless otherwise stated, when a token is removed from the game, it is replaced in this pool. A token retains its effect as long as it is in play, regardless of whether the corresponding power is active, passive, permanent or offensive, even if the unit whose power created the token is destroyed. Some tokens have a defense and vitality stat; they can therefore be targeted for attacks as if they were a unit. However, the attacker's talents are ignored. When a token no longer has any vitality points, it is removed from the game.
Named power tokens include Freyja's Token, Skadi's token, Gullveig's Token, and Jotunn's token, among others belonging to individual units.
XVI · Boards
We advise you to play a few games in skirmish mode before trying out the adventures. Skirmish mode is designed to be played almost infinitely and is easily adaptable. It can be played with any combination of divinities leading countless units across a range of boards, with players either working in teams or as each person for themselves.
The skirmish scenarios can be played on any board. The core box contains setups for 2-4 players on four boards: Naglfar, Raid on Hedeby, Vigrid, and Mimir's Well.
The divine stones are placed as indicated on the setup diagrams. The deployment zones are indicated on the setup diagrams depending on the number of players.
Important: during 4 player team play, use the game setup for 2 players.
Each board's setup diagrams show skirmish setup A (2 players), setup B (3 players), and a 4-player setup, along with the board's special features:
Naglfar
Special features use the following boundary and terrain types: Boundary escarpment, Boundary height, Boundary normal, Forest, Open Ground, Polar, Ruins, Structure.
Raid on Hedeby
Special features use the following boundary and terrain types: Boundary normal, Building, Forest, Open Ground, Ruins, Water (Aquatic).
Vigrid
Special features use the following boundary and terrain types: Boundary normal, Burning, Forest, Open Ground, Polar, Rock, Ruins.
Mimir's Well
Special features use the following boundary and terrain types: Boundary normal, Boundary wall, Divine Source, Open Ground.
Yggdrasil Branch: At the beginning of the scenario, each side places two 3-D tree elements in an Open Ground area of their choice, starting with the lead player. This area is transformed into a Forest type area, and maintains its current area capacity.
Credits
Artworks: Pascal Quidault, Aleksi Briclot, Antonio Manzanedo, Kekai Kotaki, Pierre Raveneau, Guillaume Menuel, "Grosnez", David Demaret, Georges Clarenko, Benjamin Goupil
Sculptors: Arnaud Boudoiron, Aragorn Marks, Irek Zielinski, Edgar Ramos, Grégory Clavillier
Production manager: Synergy games, Benjamin Maillet
Developer & Art Director: Gilles Plantin, Erwan Hascoët
Graphic Art Direction: Benjamin Goupil
Rules editing: Manu Crochet, Chaz Elliott, Gilles Plantin
Translators & proofreaders: Alexander Uff & Adriana Anderson, Laetitia Thirion, Ken Meyri, and many others
Scenario & Campaign Writers: Manu Crochet, Ken Meyri, Dan Mauric, Matthew John, Eric Bourlett, Eric Gehres
Flavor Texts: Justine Niogret, Nicolas Texier, Matthew John
Many thanks to: All our playtesters, Forgistic/Eric, Nicolas Dekaise, Gael Taché, Flavien, Raph, Tit, Sushi, Korg, The Overlord Team, Valar Bruxellis, Leo, Benoît and all the MBP team.
A big thank you to all our fans over the world too!