Saga (1980) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Game Components
• Object of Play and Winning the Game
• Glory and Luck
• Set Up
• Sequence of Play
• Movement
• Combat
  • Combat Results Table
• Modifiers to Combat
  • Spells
• Options After Combat
• Jarls
• Kingdoms and Taxes
• Mark Turn
• Other Information
  • Gods
  • Magic Treasures
  • Runes
• Sample Record Sheet

Introduction

SAGA minigame recreates a mythical time period occurring sometime after the fall of Rome — the age of heroes and Vikings! Each player takes a heroic figure and attempts to perform deeds that will generate enough glory to ensure that the hero's memory will live in the sagas composed after his or her death.

To gain glory, the heroes slay monsters, accumulate treasure hoards, recruit lesser heroes ("jarls", or earls) as their companions, and establish kingdoms. The hero who gains the most glory is the one whose fame will live on in the sagas, while the others are doomed to be forgotten by posterity. Each player must be decisive and alert to grasp chances and avoid having other heroes gain glory at his or her expense.

SAGA minigame is an invitation to relive the epic ancient days when men and women could be heroes and dragons walked the earth.

Game Components

Counters. Printed on all counters used in this game are two numbers, a name, and a type. For example: a counter showing 5 (left, combat factor), 4 (right, movement factor), and the name Siegfried.

The first number (reading left to right) is the combat factor of the counter. It is used when determining the outcome of a battle. The second number is the movement factor of the counter. It is the number of areas on the map through which the counter may move in one turn.

The name on the counter specifies who or what the counter represents. It serves to personalize the game and allows one to keep precise records of one's magical items and jarls.

The type of counter lets the player know what sort of beast, person, or object the counter represents. There are counters for heroes, jarls, magic weapons, magic treasures, trolls, ghosts, drow, giants, witches, and dragons.

Map. The map is in several shades of color. The colors distinguish the various areas from each other and from the sea.

Each area has a number, a name, and a taxation factor. For example:

1:1 Finmark (3)

The number is used for randomly locating counters. (see SET UP) This name is the name of that area, and the taxation factor indicates how rich the area will be as part of a kingdom. Taxation factors are more fully explained in the rules section on KINGDOMS AND TAXES.

Object of Play and Winning the Game

The objective of each SAGA player is to amass as much glory as possible by the end of the game. The hero with the most glory at the end of the 20th turn of play (whether alive or dead) is the winner, and will be remembered the longest in the sagas of the Norsemen. The others will be forgotten soon after their lifetimes. However, all heroes who gain 15 or more points of glory will be accepted into Valhalla to fight for Odin at Ragnarok — the ultimate goal of any Norse hero!

Glory and Luck

Glory is the reputation of the hero. It determines who wins the game.

Luck represents the good fortune of the hero. A hero gains luck as the result of success in combat. Luck may be used to alter combat results (see Luck In Combat) or to recruit jarls (see JARLS).

The following things will affect glory and luck totals during the game:

Slaying Monsters. Each time a hero or the jarls of a hero slay a monster, the hero gets either a certain number of glory points or a certain number of luck points, according to the following table:

Monster	Glory	Luck
Dragon	6	5
Drow	3	2
Ghost	2	2
Giant	4	3
Troll	3	3
Witch	5	4

Slaying Other Heroes or Jarls. When a hero and his or her jarls (or either alone) slay another hero or jarl, the hero receives glory or luck equal to one-half the combat factor of the hero or jarl(s) slain rounding down. For example, if Siegfried (5-4) slays Ivar (4-2), Siegfried has the option of taking 2 points of Luck or 2 points of Glory. He may not take 1 of each.

Wounding Monsters, Jarls, or Heroes. One-half of the luck or glory points (rounded down) that would be gained for slaying these counters are gained for wounding them. For example, if Siegfried only wounded Ivar, he would be able to gain only 1 point of luck or one point of glory. Someone wounding a dragon would be able to choose between 3 points of glory and 2 points of luck.

Fleeing Battle. Every time a hero is forced to flee a battle (by combat result or magical spell), that hero loses 2 points of glory.

Recruiting Jarls. Each jarl recruited by the hero is worth (at the time of recruitment) one half his combat factor (rounding down) in either luck or glory. For example, if the jarl Bjarki (3-3) is recruited by a hero, that hero may select from 1 point of luck or 1 point of glory. Each jarl that is slain while in the service of the hero removes from that hero either luck or glory equal to one half the jarl's combat factor (player's choice — does not have to be what was gained when the jarl was recruited). At the end of the game, each jarl is worth, in glory, an additional one half (rounding down) of his combat factor to the hero he is serving. Thus if Bjarki is one of Beowulf's jarls at the end of the game, he is worth 1 point of glory to Beowulf.

Note that a hero must always expend a point of luck to recruit a jarl.

Gaining Gold and Luck. At the end of the game, gold and luck are converted to glory points. Every 10 gold marks in the hero's hoard is worth 1 point of glory, and every 3 points of luck remaining to the hero are worth 1 point of glory.

Set Up

Divide the counters into four piles, keeping the heroes separate. The four piles, all face down, should be: monsters of all sorts, jarls, magic weapons, and magic treasures.

Each player picks a hero counter to represent him or her in the game. Players roll dice if two or more people want the same counter, and high roll chooses first. Each player then picks a magic sword at random from the face-down pile. Magic swords will not be given out again in the game and so all of the left-over magic swords are put aside until the next game.

A number of monster counters equal to the number of players in the game is picked at random from the face-down pile of monsters. For each monster roll two dice, one after another, and place that monster in the area indicated (for example, if the dice rolled came up 3 and 5, the monster would be put in the area numbered 3:5, which is Rhineland). Monsters are placed on the board face up.

A number of jarl counters equal to the number of players in the game is picked at random from the pile of jarls and placed face down in random countries by rolling two dice for each jarl counter in the same manner that the monsters were placed. More than one jarl and/or monster may be placed in the same area.

Heroes begin the game in a randomly determined area (found in the same manner as monsters are placed). This area should be noted on the record sheet, as it is sometimes necessary to know a hero's home country.

Each player should have a record sheet similar to that included in the rules. Permission to photocopy the sample record sheet for personal use in playing this game is granted by TSR. On this sheet the player keeps track of the hero's wealth, glory, and luck. Each player begins the game with three points of luck but no glory or wealth. All of these amounts will change as the game progresses, but none may ever go below zero.

Sequence of Play

1. Movement. All heroes and jarls move. The hero with the most glory and his or her jarls move first. In cases of ties the heroes roll dice to see who goes first, with the highest roll going first.

2. Combat and Jarls. Combat occurs in the same sequence as movement; jarls are recruited after combat.

3. Kingdoms and Taxes. Heroes and jarls collect taxes from the areas in the heroes' kingdom (if any).

4. Place Monsters. A number of monsters equal to the number of heroes in play are randomly placed face up by rolling two dice and placing the monster in the area indicated. (This is done every turn until all counters are used. "Dead" monsters may not be reused.)

5. Place Jarls. A number of jarls equal to the number of heroes in play are randomly placed face down by rolling two dice and placing the jarl in the area indicated. (This is done every turn until all counters are used. "Dead" jarls may not be reused.)

6. Mark Turn. One turn is marked off. At the end of the 20th turn the game is over and players total their glory to determine who has won.

Movement

A counter may move as many areas as its movement factor. Each area is defined by color or, in the case of sea areas, by dividing lines. Counters may move and remain in sea areas just as if they were on land. There is no difference between land movement and sea movement.

Movement is always voluntary, except for certain combat results. Counters do not have to move their full movement rate, and may thus choose to move any amount from zero to their total movement. All or none of a player's counters (hero and jarls) may move.

As long as a counter is moving it may ignore all other counters. Thus a counter representing a hero could pass through areas containing other heroes, monsters, and jarls without having to fight or otherwise interact with any of them. When a counter chooses to fight it ends its movement for the turn.

Counters may move from one area to any adjacent area, even if the second area is adjacent only by a corner.

A counter's movement may be affected by magical treasure or the gods.

Combat

Combat may only be conducted between counters in the same area. Combat is resolved using the following procedure:

I. Determine the attacker and defender. II. Roll for drow, witch, or ghost magic spells (if applicable). III. Modify the die roll with Luck. IV. Total all modifiers to combat (runes, gods, spells, magic items, and luck). V. Roll one die and check the COMBAT RESULTS TABLE to determine the outcome of the battle after adding all modifiers to the die roll. VI. Apply the combat result. VII. Check to see if a god noticed the battle (optional).

A more complete explanation of each step is given below.

I. Determine the attacker and defender. Combat occurs in the same order as movement (descending order of glory points as totalled at the beginning of each turn). The person whose turn it is is automatically considered the attacker, while those being attacked are considered the defenders. Combat must be handled one area at a time. The order of areas, however, is at the discretion of the attacker.

Heroes must attack at least one monster (if there is a monster) in the area they are in during the combat portion of the turn. If there is more than one monster they may choose which one they wish to fight. They may attack more than one monster in an area.

Heroes may also attack other heroes and jarls, in which case the defending hero or jarl may call for aid to any other counters in the area which are controlled by the same player. The attacker must then attack not only the first counter but all of the counters who have come to the aid of the first counter attacked as well.

Heroes may also attack areas, using the area's tax factor as a combat strength. This is detailed more fully under KINGDOMS AND TAXES.

Heroes may attack any combination of the above. Any counter may be attacked any number of times by other counters, with the limitation that each counter may attack only once in a combat turn.

II. Roll for drow, witch, or ghost magic spells (if applicable). Drow, witch, and ghost monster counters have the use of magic spells. These spells take effect before the combat die roll and may modify the results of the combat. Ghosts will only use a spell if they roll a 1, 2, or 3, in which case they will cast the spell with that number. Drow (evil dark elves) will roll a die and cast the spell having the number that is rolled. Witches will roll two dice and cast two spells, one with each of the numbers rolled. If the same spell is indicated on each die, it will be cast twice (and the effect applied twice). The spells will be explained later in the MODIFIERS TO COMBAT section.

III. Modify the die roll with luck. Before the die is rolled, heroes who are involved in the battle (or who have jarls involved in the battle) may modify the die roll up or down one with each point of luck expended before the die is rolled. If there are two or more heroes involved in the battle they should each write how much luck they are using to modify the die roll and how before revealing the amounts simultaneously.

IV. Total all modifiers to combat (runes, gods, magic items, spells and luck). Runes are learned the first time a hero slays a drow, witch, or ghost. Each hero may learn only one rune. The rune learned may have an effect upon combat. All runes are explained more fully under RUNES.

Gods sometimes notice the struggles of men and intervene in them. A god's intervention will not change the result of a magic spell. The specifics of notice and intervention are covered more fully in the section of GODS. Usually intervention occurs in the form of additions or subtractions to or from the combat strength of one side or the other in battle.

Magic items may add to either side's combat strength on either attack or defense; this is explained more fully under MAGIC ITEMS.

Spells and luck are as above.

V. Roll one die and check the COMBAT RESULTS TABLE to determine the outcome of the battle after adding all modifiers to the die roll. After all modifications to the combat strengths of both sides have been made, subtract the defender's strength from the attacker's and consult the COMBAT RESULTS TABLE below to determine the results according to a die roll and modifications due to luck.

Combat Results Table

Columns: Attacker's Strength minus Defender's Strength. Rows: Die Roll.

Die Roll	-2-	-1	0	1	2	3	4	5+
-3	k	k	k	k	k	k	k	k
-2	k	k	k	k	k	k	k	w
-1	k	k	k	k

Die rolls of less than -3 are treated as -3, those of greater than 9 are treated as 9. Differences of less than -2 are treated as -2, those of greater than 5 are treated as 5.

VI. Apply the combat result.

k ATTACKER KILLED. Remove the counter(s) representing the attacker from the board. They will not return.

w ATTACKER WOUNDED. Heroes on the attacking side are wounded. Jarls on the attacking side are removed from the board and placed, upside down, in their respective piles, from which they will reenter play normally. There is no further effect from being wounded, except that jarls that reenter play after being wounded are to be considered unrecruited jarls.

f ATTACKER FLEES. The attacker must immediately move away from the defender at maximum speed in the direction of the defender's choice. If the defender is not a player in the game, the attacker must move toward the hero's home country. If the attacker is in the hero's home country the next player to attack may move the attacker's counters in any direction he or she wishes.

n NO RESULT. The fight breaks off without definite decision. All counters remain in the area.

F DEFENDER FLEES. The defender must immediately move its maximum movement away from the attacker in the direction the attacker indicates.

W DEFENDER WOUNDED. Heroes on the defending side are wounded. Jarls and monsters on the defending side are removed from the board and placed in their respective piles. They will reenter play normally.

K DEFENDER KILLED. Remove the counter(s) representing the defender from the board. They will not return.

VII. Check to see if a god noticed the battle (Optional). Each player involved in a battle may, if they wish, roll one die to see if the battle was noticed by a god. If the player rolls a 1 (a 1 or 2 if the player's hero has the rune Amsir and was involved in the battle), the battle was noticed. Effects of the gods noticing a battle are covered fully in the section titled GODS.

Modifiers to Combat

Spells. Spells are rolled for on the following table:

Spells

1. HAGALL--This spell brings down hail and reduces the combat factor of each counter in the area (including the caster) by one for the rest of the turn. It also prevents any of the counters from moving by sea next turn.
2. IS--This spell covers the land with ice making it impossible for any hero to found, or continue to have a kingdom in the country. The players should note this fact for the future.
3. JARA--All in the area lose their next turn.
4. NIED--This spell works if the person it is cast against rolls a 1, 2, or 3 on a die. It makes the combat result an automatic n and causes all in the area to lose one turn.
5. WYNN--This spell works only if the person whose counter(s) it is cast upon rolls a 1, 2, or 3 on a die. It forces all of the heroes and jarls to move as far as they can toward the hero's starting country. The hero and jarls may not attack anything that turn.
6. YR--This spell works if the person it is cast against rolls a 1, 2, or 3 on a die. It causes all counter in the area (except face down jarls or monster counters) to be wounded.

Luck In Combat. A hero may change any die roll which involves the hero or any of his or her jarls. This is done by expending 1 point of luck for every 1 that the hero wishes to change the number rolled. Luck must be allocated for this purpose before the die is rolled, and is lost even if the addition or subtraction made no difference.

When a player recruits a jarl, he or she must expend 1 point of luck to successfully convince the jarl to join him or her. If the point of luck is not expended, the jarl will suffer the actual combat result indicated by the attempt to recruit him (see JARLS).

Magic Swords. There are several magic swords in the game. Many heroes of the sagas got their start by obtaining a magic sword. The swords available for use in the game are:

• BALMUNG--This sword adds plus one to the user's combat factor. In any fight where its user is attacking a side using magic armor it cancels out the benefit of the magic armor. Thus, the Mail Coat and the Magic Shirt (see MAGIC TREASURES) provide no protection against Balmung.
• DRAGVENDILL--This sword adds plus 2 to the user's combat factor.
• GRAM--This sword adds plus 2 to the user's combat factor.
• HRUNTING--This sword adds plus 1 to the user's combat factor. It also gives the user's side the option of making the other side flee when the combat results table indicates that the user's side must flee.
• LOVI--This sword adds plus 1 to the user's combat factor. In any battle against a side including jarls, it adds an additional plus 2 to the combat factor.
• TYRFING--This sword adds plus 2 to the user's combat factor.

Swords may be used by the hero or lent to one of his or her jarls. If the jarl in question is wounded or slain, the sword will remain in the area where the jarl was wounded or slain until someone comes and picks it up (ends their movement in the area with the sword).

Other Modifiers. Magic Treasure, Runes, and the Gods may also affect combat. These are explained later in their own sections.

Options After Combat

If a hero is wounded or killed as a result of combat, there are several options open to him or her.

If wounded, a hero may heal the wound by spending one turn at rest in the hero's starting country. Any hero who is wounded while having an unhealed wound dies. The rune ING allows heroes to heal themselves by remaining at rest one turn in any area.

If a hero has died, the player may:

I. Withdraw from play and total up glory as if the game were over. The player then hopes that none of the other players will exceed this total in the remaining turns. The amount of glory that the hero ends the game with is the amount the hero had when he or she died.

II. Restart the hero. A restarted hero gets three points of luck and the magic weapon of the old hero, but gets none of the glory, jarls, or wealth. (This is an option for a player to begin the game again.)

III. Transfer all of the hero's luck to one of his or her jarls and play that jarl as a hero. That jarl counter is thereafter treated as a hero counter. This symbolizes the heroic tradition passing from the hero to one of his or her faithful followers. The player loses all accumulated glory but keeps luck, jarls, kingdom, and magic items (subject to the item being recovered as in Magic Swords).

Jarls

Heroes had friends and followers who aided them in the slaying of monsters, the doing of great deeds, and the ruling of their kingdoms. The men were called Jarls (the Norse equivalent of 'earl' —pronounced yarl).

A jarl is recruited by a hero who beats him in combat and then expends a point of luck. Only jarls may be recruited this way, not monsters or other heroes. Only jarls that are face-down may be recruited.

Jarls are recruited during the combat phase. To recruit a jarl a hero must first attack the jarl. All jarls are kept face down on the board until they are attacked. Once a jarl is turned face up, the hero must attack. To recruit the jarl the hero must obtain a F, W, or K result in combat against the jarl and then expend one point of luck. The hero must be present in the combat, but may have the help of other jarls. Combat effects will affect the hero, but not the jarl unless the hero declines to expend a point of luck, in which case all effects will be normal.

Jarls who are wounded and removed from the board are considered to be unrecruited, unwounded jarls when they are returned to play.

Jarls are used by heroes to increase their combat strengths in battle and to collect taxes for them (see KINGDOMS AND TAXES). If a recruited jarl kills a monster or a hero by himself the luck or glory goes to his master. Recruited jarls may add countries to their hero's kingdom.

No hero may have more than 4 jarls recruited at any one time.

Kingdoms and Taxes

A hero may do other things besides fighting with monsters, jarls, and other heroes. One of the things he or she may do is start a kingdom. Many famous heroes (such as Beowulf) did so. To start a kingdom the hero moves himself or herself and/or any controlled jarls into any country that has not had a IS spell cast upon it. The player must then successfully attack the country, using the area's tax factor as a combat factor. Note that a hero may want to, or have to, attack other counters in the area at the same time that he or she attacks the country. A successful attack is an attack that yields a result of F, W, or K. If the hero fails he or she will suffer the adverse result indicated by the combat results table. The roll represents the necessity of clearing out bandits, wild beasts, claimants to the throne, and so forth.

After the hero has set the country in order (the attack is carried out in the combat portion of the turn and counts as an attack), taxes may be collected from the country every turn the hero or one of his or her jarls spends in the country.

If a country is left for a turn without the hero or one of his or her jarls in it, the country is overrun by bandits, wild animals, and other evil creatures and men, and must be subdued again by a successful attack on the combat results table.

The hero adds the taxes to his or her hoard immediately if the hero is in the area when they are paid. The hero also adds the taxes to his or her hoard if the hero's counter moves through the country after the taxes have been paid to his or her jarl. A jarl may leave an area and travel to the hero with the taxes he has collected.

If a jarl is killed after collecting taxes but before the hero has placed the taxes in his or her hoard, the killer gets the taxes. If the killer is a jarl the taxes are not added to his hero's hoard until the hero and the jarl are in the same area at the same time. Taxes are transferred merely by placing the counters in the same area at some point during movement.

A hero with taxes who is slain yields no treasure to the slayer.

All taxes are collected in golden marks. The number of gold marks raised each turn is a number equal to the country's tax factor. Thus Frankland (8) yields eight gold marks a turn.

Mark Turn

The turn should be marked off on each player's record sheet.

Other Information

Gods

The gods may notice the actions of men. Any time a hero has fought a battle he or she may check to see if the gods have noticed him or her. This check is entirely at the player's option. On a roll of 1 (1 or 2 if the player has the rune Amsir) the gods have noticed the battle. The following tables tell which god notices and what the god does. First roll one die to determine which god has noticed:

1. Frey, god of fertility and life.
2. Loki, god of luck and of trouble.
3. Njord, god of wealth and of the sea.
4. Odin, god of battles and of death.
5. Thor, god of thunder.
6. Tyr, god of war and of the sword.

Now roll a second die and check the result with the appropriate god to determine the result:

FREY--this god's attention results in his sending magical maidens to heal the hero's wounds.

• 1-4 Frey will send a maiden to heal the hero's next wound. This results in the next wound being healed without the hero spending any time resting.
• 5-6 Frey will send a maiden to heal the hero's next two wounds. The first wound is healed as the above. The second wound requires the hero to spend two turns with the maiden worshipping Frey (and thus the hero spends two turns not moving to heal the second wound). Frey will kill a hero who refuses his gift or does not join the maiden to worship him.

LOKI--this god's intervention immediately affects the hero's luck.

• 1-3 Loki steals a point of luck from the hero.
• 4-6 Loki grants the hero a point of luck for his or her daring.

NJORD--this god's notice affects things other than combat. Roll immediately upon gaining Njord's attention.

• 1-2 Next time the hero moves by sea Njord aids him or her and the entire sea counts as only 1 area for movement purposes.
• 3-4 Njord gives 1-6 marks to the hero as a gift.
• 5 Njord takes 1-6 marks from the hero's hoard as due tribute.
• 6 Njord will kill the hero with sinister sea serpents if he or she travels by sea the next turn (the hero cannot be forced to flee by sea as an adverse combat result).

ODIN--this god's notice affects the hero the next time he or she fights a battle. Roll then to see what Odin does.

• 1 Odin decides that the hero is ready for Valhalla and aids the hero's enemies by adding 3 to their combat strength.
• 2 Odin aids the hero's enemies by sending a wolf, adding 1 to their combat factor.
• 3 Odin's ravens are sent by him to observe the battle, but Odin does nothing.
• 4 Odin sends a wolf to aid the hero, adding 1 to his or her side's combat factor.
• 5 Odin aids the hero by adding 3 to his or her side's combat strength.
• 6 Odin intervenes personally, and adds 5 to the combat strength of the hero. The hero also gains 3 points of glory.

THOR--this god's notice takes effect after the result of the hero's next battle. Roll then to see what Thor does.

• 1-3 Thor decides that the hero deserves no reward.
• 4-5 Thor rewards the hero by speaking to him or her, thus giving 1 point of glory.
• 6 Thor honors the hero by eating with him or her, thus granting 2 points of glory.

TYR--this god's notice affects the hero's next battle. Roll then to see what Tyr does.

• 1 Tyr aids the hero's enemies by adding 1 to their combat strength.
• 2-3 Tyr decides that the fight is balanced fairly, and does not intervene.
• 4 Tyr aids the hero by adding 1 to his side's combat strength.
• 5 Tyr aids the hero by adding 2 to his side's combat strength.
• 6 Tyr aids the hero by adding 1 to the combat strength of each person on the hero's side.

Magic Treasures

Magic treasures are found with dragons. Each of the first four dragons to be placed on the board will have a magic treasure. When the dragon appears, place one of the magic treasure counters under it. The last two dragons have 20 marks of treasure instead of a magic treasure.

The four magic treasures are:

• BROSUNG NECKLACE--This treasure is worth 20 marks. It may be traded for any item in a dragon's hoard. The wearer of the Brosung Necklace moves into the area adjacent to that of the dragon, turns the Necklace upside down, and places it under the dragon while taking what the dragon had. The wearer may then see what he or she had traded for. One cannot change one's mind when dealing with dragons, so there is no altering the exchange once it is made.
• FREY FAXI--This treasure is a magic horse that can be ridden only 3 times. It doubles the rider's movement factor and will carry any number of riders. After the third use remove the treasure from the board.
• THE MAGIC SHIRT--This treasure is from Ireland. It adds 1 to the combat strength of the wearer when he or she is on the side being attacked. The magic shirt also adds 1 to the movement factor of the person wearing it.
• THE MAIL COAT--This treasure adds 2 to the combat strength of its wearer's side, but only when the wearer is defending.

All magic treasures are kept face down on the board underneath whoever has them at the moment. One counter may have any number of magic treasures.

Runes

When a hero kills a drow, ghost, or witch for the first time he or she learns a magic rune. A rune is a poem or song that, when recited, produces some magical effect. Each hero may learn one, and only one, rune during the game. To find out which rune the hero has learned the player should roll on the table below. More than one hero may have the same rune, but no hero may have more than one rune.

1. AMSIR--This is the rune of the gods. A hero with this rune has twice the chance of having the gods notice him or her (the gods notice on a roll of 1 or 2 instead of just a roll of 1).
2. EON--This is the rune of time. A hero with this rune has a movement factor one greater than the factor printed on his or her counter.
3. GEOFU--This is the rune of gifts and property. The hero with this rune will have all the areas in his or her kingdom yield one additional mark over and above the tax factor each turn.
4. ING--This is the rune of healing and fertility. A hero who has this rune can heal his or her wounds by spending one turn anywhere at rest instead of having to return to his or her starting country.
5. OGAL--This rune is the rune of beserk fury. A hero who has this rune has a combat factor one greater than the factor printed on his or her counter.
6. SYGIL--This rune is the rune of the sun. It is useful against evil magic spells. Every time a spell is cast at the hero who has this rune, the hero rolls a die. If the hero rolls a 1, 2, or 3 the spell does not affect the hero (although it may affect those in the same area with him or her).

Runes are assumed to be in effect at all times unless the player specifically states otherwise.

Sample Record Sheet

Below is a sample record sheet for SAGA minigame. Permission to photocopy this sheet for personal use in playing the game only is hereby granted by TSR Hobbies, Inc.

Character Record Sheet fields: Hero's Name; Starting Country; Magic Sword; Glory; Rune; Luck; Jarls; Wealth (Hoard); Countries Controlled; Countries Under IS (spell); Turns 1-20 (to be marked off).