Stilicho: Last of the Romans Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 2.0 Components
  • 2.1 Mapsheet
  • 2.2 Counters
  • 2.3 Cards
  • 2.4 Card Display Sheet
• 3.0 Set-Up
  • 3.1 Roman Set-Up
  • 3.2 Enemy Set-Up
• 4.0 Sequence of Play
  • • Late War Shift
• 5.0 Deployment
• 6.0 Enemy Phase
  • 6.1 Enemy Activation Cards
  • 6.2 Special Effects of Enemy Activations
  • 6.3 Enemy Collisions
    • Collisions Triggered by Retreating Enemy
  • 6.4 Siege Spaces
  • 6.5 Attacking Garrisons
  • 6.6 Surges
  • 6.7 Oathbreaker Check
  • 6.8 Olympius
  • 6.9 Events
• 7.0 Roman Phase
  • 7.1 Playing Cards
  • 7.2 Reserve Action
  • 7.3 Attack an Enemy
  • 7.4 Enlist The Goths or Constantine III
  • 7.5 Counter Olympius
  • 7.6 Transfer a Leader and/or Comitatenses
  • 7.7 Place Garrisons
  • 7.8 Suppress Unrest/Revolt
  • 7.9 End a Mutiny
  • 7.10 Prevent a Surge
• 8.0 End of Round
• 9.0 Housekeeping
  • 9.1 Check for Olympius
  • 9.2 Check for Defeat
  • 9.3 Remove Special Counters
  • 9.4 Discard Excess Cards
  • 9.5 Advance Game Turn
• 10.0 Winning & Losing
  • 10.1 Scoring
  • 10.2 Alternate Scoring

2.0 Components

The game is played with one mapsheet, two decks of fifty cards each, a half-sheet of ¾" counters, two dice, one card display sheet, and these rules.

2.1 Mapsheet

The map represents the European territories nominally controlled by the Western Roman Empire during the early 5th century.

The map is divided into seven dioceses: Hispania, Septum Provinciae, Gallia, Britannia, Italia Annonaria, Italia Suburbicaria, and Illyricum. Germania Magna, outside Roman control, is also represented on the map.

Superimposed on the map are a series of spaces connected by arrows.

1. Home Space
2. Region
3. Siege Space
4. Walled City
5. Defence Value

Enemies advance from space to space following the arrows. They retreat in the opposite direction, towards their Home Space. Enemies cannot retreat past their Home Space. Instructions that would move them back further are ignored.

Example: The Vandals begin in their Home Space in Germania Magna and advance following the arrows towards the region of Galatia in the diocese of Hispania.

The entirety of an Enemy's movement path is called a Front. There are three Enemies and thus three Fronts: Constantine III, the Vandals, and the Goths. Each Front has a corresponding Army Box and Leader Box which holds the Comitatenses (troops) and Leader assigned to that Front.

There is also a Recovery Box. Leaders, Comitatenses, and Garrisons lost due to attacks or card effects are placed here. Arriving Leaders and Comitatenses are also placed in the Recovery Box.

On the map you will also find the Olympius Track. This represents Olympius's attempts to undermine Stilicho in the Imperial Court. An Advocate Box holds a Leader assigned to oppose these machinations. The map also has places to keep track of game Turns and Rounds. Other features of the map will be explained throughout these rules as we go along.

2.2 Counters

Counters are used to represent the position of Enemies, the disposition of your Comitatenses and Leaders, and various important strategic conditions such as Unrest, Revolts and Mutinies.

Some counters have numbers on them:

• Enemy counters have two different numbers which represent their Attack Value. The higher number is on the counter's Bold side. The lower number is on its Demoralized side. When these rules indicate that you should Embolden an Enemy, flip it to its Bold side (ignore if already Bold). Similarly, when the rules instruct you to Demoralize an Enemy, say something hurtful to it and then flip it to its Demoralized side (ignore if already Demoralized).
• Your Leaders also have Attack Values written on them. Higher numbers represent more capable Leaders. For example, your most capable Leader Stilicho has an Attack Value of 2. This gives you an advantage when attacking Enemies.
• Constantius (Leader) has two Attack Values on his counter: 2/1. He has an Attack Value/Pacification Value of 2 against Constantine III and of 1 against the Goths and the Vandals. This represents his historical effectiveness against the usurper Constantine III.
• Comitatenses and Garrisons always have an Attack Value of 1 each - and so this number is not printed.

2.3 Cards

There are two decks of cards. The Enemy Deck is used to resolve actions beyond your control. The Roman Deck provides the opportunities and resources you need to triumph.

Some cards are marked Late War and will begin the game outside the deck.

Some cards in both decks are marked with laurels. These are History Cards. When this card is used for its event, it is not discarded normally but removed from the game, forming a History Pile.

Some cards in the Roman Deck are marked with crossed swords. These are Battle Cards. This simply indicates that the card's event is used to modify the results of an Attack you make against enemy forces.

2.4 Card Display Sheet

The Card Display Sheet is used to facilitate use of the Enemy Deck.

3.0 Set-Up

Place the red Turn marker on the first space of the Turn Track, and the red Round marker on the first space of the Round Track.

3.1 Roman Set-Up

• Deploy 12 Comitatenses, assigning them to Army Boxes (to a maximum of 6 per Army Box) or as Garrisons (7.7) in map spaces (to a maximum of 1 per diocese), divvying them up as you see fit.
• Assign Stilicho to command one of the armies by placing him in a Leader Box, and Sarus to a different army's Leader Box (one Leader per Box). (In both cases, those armies must have at least 1 Comitatenses.)
• Place Symmachus in the Advocate Box next to the Olympius track. Symmachus can only be placed in the Advocate Box: he can never be placed in a Leader Box.
• Place 2 Comitatenses and Constantius in the Unactivated Comitatenses and Leaders box.
• Remove any Late War cards from the Roman Deck, setting them aside. Shuffle the deck face-down, leaving space in the play area for a Roman Discard Pile.

Tip: When first learning the game, consider placing Garrisons in Arelate, Roma, and Ravenna.

3.2 Enemy Set-Up

• Place Constantine III (bold side) in Bononia, and affix him with the purple Cannot Attack counter. (This counter will be removed the first time he activates. You cannot attack him while the marker is in place.)
• Place the 4/3 Vandals counter (bold side) in Durocortorum. Set aside the 5/4 counter for now.
• Place the 5/4 Goths counter (bold side) in Pollentia. Set aside the 6/5 counter for now.
• Place Olympius on the bottom space of his track, on his "1" side.
• Remove any Late War cards from the Enemy Deck, setting them aside. Shuffle the deck face-down and place it on the Enemy Draw Deck space of the card display.

4.0 Sequence of Play

Each Game Turn represents one year of campaigning, and consists of the following steps, performed in the following order:

• Deployment (5.0) - Skip during first Game Turn
• Early Campaign Round
  • Enemy Phase (6.0)
  • Roman Phase (7.0) - draw 5 cards
• Mid Campaign Round
  • Enemy Phase
  • Roman Phase - draw 3 cards
• Late Campaign Round
  • Enemy Phase
  • Roman Phase - draw 1 card
• Housekeeping (9.0)
  • Check for Olympius
  • Check for defeat
  • Remove special counters
  • Discard excess cards
  • Advance Game Turn

Late War Shift

When the Game Turn marker is advanced to Turn 6 (411), the game shifts to Late War:

• Late War cards are shuffled into their respective decks along with all discards (not the History Pile).
• Olympius is flipped to his improved "2" side.

5.0 Deployment

Skip this step on the first turn.

During this step, you may reassign your Leaders, Comitatenses, and Garrisons to prepare for the next year's campaigning, at no cost in cards:

• You may move your Comitatenses from the Recovery Box to any Army Boxes you choose, or between Army Boxes (to a maximum of 6 per Army Box). You can leave an Army Box empty if you like.
• You can place or remove Comitatenses on the map as Garrisons (but see exceptions below).
• Leaders can also be moved from the Recovery Box, between Leader Boxes, or placed as your Advocate (exception: Symmachus can never be Leader of an Army). Only one Leader may occupy each Leader Box.

There are special rules concerning the placement of Comitatenses as Garrisons:

• There is a maximum of one Garrison per Diocese.
• Garrisons are placed in a map space, but not one that is occupied by an Enemy or "behind" its current position on its front.
• Garrisons can never be placed in Britannia, Germania Magna, Illyricum, or Bononia.
• If a Garrison is removed from a Walled City, any Enemy in an adjacent Siege Space instantly moves into the Walled City.

6.0 Enemy Phase

During the Enemy Phase of each Round, you will draw and resolve three Enemy cards one at a time - completely resolving a card before drawing the next. Enemy cards come in two flavors: Activations (6.1) and Events (6.9). If the Enemy draw deck is exhausted, simply shuffle the discards to form a new draw deck.

6.1 Enemy Activation Cards

Enemy Activation Cards are easily identifiable by their color (matching that of the Enemy in question) and the use of activation icons. The icons in the lower-left box are used when the card is first drawn; the icons in the lower-right box indicate a Surge effect (6.6).

• Activate: If the enemy is Bold, advance one space. If Demoralized, flip to Bold but do not advance.
• Embolden: If the enemy is Demoralized, Embolden it, then advance one space. If the enemy is already Bold, simply advance one space.

Note that some cards will feature two icons. Resolve the top icon completely, then resolve the second. Certain special cases might arise when resolving an Activation; see 6.2 - 6.5 for more details.

Once you have resolved the icons, move the card to the next available Surge Space on the display (but see 7.10). If the third Surge Space is filled, a Surge is resolved (6.6).

If an Enemy has surrendered and its counter is no longer on the map, ignore the activation icons; however, the card still moves into an empty Surge Space.

6.2 Special Effects of Enemy Activations

When an Activation causes an Enemy to advance along its front, it might trigger specific events depending upon the Enemy and its location.

• Constantine III: If he enters the Walled City space of Ravenna, the game ends immediately in defeat by Usurpation (10.0).
• The Goths: If activated while occupying the Walled City space of Roma, Olympius advances one space per activation, representing political pressure to recapture the Eternal City.
• The Vandals: If activated while occupying Galatia, one Unrest counter per activation is placed on the map, representing the growing loss of Roman control over the Dioceses.

Unrest counters triggered by Vandal activations are placed in the following order - if there is already an Unrest or Revolt counter in the Diocese, place the Unrest counter in the next Diocese without Unrest or Revolt:

• Hispania
• Septum Provinciae
• Gallia
• Italia Annonaria
• Italia Suburbicaria

If all Dioceses have Unrest, flip one Unrest to Revolt, following the same order. If all Dioceses have Revolt, do nothing.

6.3 Enemy Collisions

If an Enemy would advance into a space already occupied by another Enemy a Collision Attack occurs before any movement. Collision Attacks can occur at two places on the map: Durocortorum (Constantine III and the Vandals can collide) and Verona (Constantine III and the Goths).

During a Collision Attack, the advancing Enemy (attacker) attacks the stationary Enemy (defender). To resolve a Collision Attack, roll a die for each Enemy, adding it to their printed Attack Value to arrive at their Total Attack Value. The Enemy with the higher total wins; reroll in the case of a tie.

After arriving at the Total Attack Values, but before any reroll (if applicable), if either side rolled a "1" or a "6":

• 1: That side is Demoralized.
• 6: That side is Emboldened.

These effects are applied regardless of whether the side wins, loses, or ties. Speaking of:

• Attacker Victory: Defender retreats one space along its front, and the Attacker advances into the space previously occupied by the Defender.
• Defender Victory: Attacker does not advance into the Collision space (returning to its previous space), and Defender stays put.

Design Note: During the fifth century, the enemies of Rome sometimes fought each other.

Collisions Triggered by Retreating Enemy

In certain cases, your Attack (7.3) might cause an Enemy to Retreat into a space occupied by another Enemy. Resolve a Collision Attack as above, with the Enemy that Retreated taking on the Attacker role.

• Attacker Victory: Defender retreats one space along its front, and the Attacker advances into the space previously occupied by the Defender.
• Defender Victory: Attacker retreats an additional space, "leapfrogging" past the Collision space, while the Defender stays put.

Example: Stilicho attacks the Goths at (1) Pollentia, causing them to retreat to (2) Verona, where they collide with Constantine III. The Goths roll a "1" (plus 5, total of 6) and Constantine a "4" (plus 6, total of 10). Having rolled a "1", the Goths are Demoralized. Having lost the battle, they retreat past Verona to (3) Aquileia.

6.4 Siege Spaces

If an activation icon (including Surge activation icons) or card effect would cause an Enemy to advance into a Walled City that holds a Garrison, the Enemy moves into the adjacent Siege Space instead.

Once an Enemy enters a Siege Space, it ends its activation for that card, even if there are further icons remaining. This represents the time necessary to establish the siege. The Enemy can however be Activated by subsequent card draws or Surge effects.

When an Enemy in a Siege Space is Activated, it attacks the Garrison (6.5). If the Garrison is removed for any reason (as a result of the attack, your Deployment choices, or card effects like Garrison Overrun), the Enemy immediately advances into the Walled City space.

Enemies never retreat into a Siege Space. They retreat from a Walled City to the next non-Siege Space on their Front.

6.5 Attacking Garrisons

If an Enemy attempts to advance into a space occupied by a Garrison it must attack the Garrison. To resolve an attack against a Garrison, calculate the Total Attack Value for each side:

• Enemy: Roll a die and add to its printed Attack Value.
• Garrison: Roll a die and add to it the Garrison's Attack Value (1), as well as the Defence Value of the space it occupies (if applicable). You may take Reserve Actions (7.2) to increase the Garrison's Total Attack Value, but you cannot play any cards for their effects on behalf of the Garrison.

The higher total wins; reroll in the case of a tie. After arriving at the Total Attack Value, but before any reroll (if applicable), check to see if the Enemy rolled a "1" or a "6":

• 1: Enemy is Demoralized.
• 6: Enemy is Emboldened.

These effects are applied regardless of whether the Enemy wins, loses, or ties. If the Enemy wins, what happens next depends on whether or not the Garrison occupies a Walled City:

• Walled City: Garrison moves to Recovery. The Enemy advances into the Walled City space.
• Not a Walled City: Garrison moves to Recovery. The Enemy does not advance, but remains in their previous space. However, a subsequent activation (including on the same card) will allow them to advance.

If the Enemy loses the battle, both it and the Garrison remain in place.

Note: Garrisons are typically little more than speed bumps. However, a Garrison in a Walled City space can potentially survive several attacks by an Enemy, giving you time to mount a counter-attack. While Constantine III remains active, keep a garrison in Ravenna!

6.6 Surges

After resolving an Enemy Activation Card, add it to the next available (vacant) Surge Space (moving from left to right). Enemy Activation Cards are always added to a Surge Space, regardless of whether or not the Enemy has surrendered, or whether or not you are allowed to attack them. (However, see 7.10 for an important exception.)

The moment that the third Surge Space is filled, a Surge occurs. To resolve the Surge, begin with the Enemy Activation card on the left, resolve its Surge effects, and proceed to the next card in sequence, until all three cards have been resolved. Then, place the Surge cards into the Discard pile.

Most Surge effects are indicated by icons.

• Activate: If the enemy is Bold, advance one space. If Demoralized, flip to Bold but do not advance.
• Embolden: If the enemy is Demoralized, Embolden it, then advance one space. If the enemy is already Bold, simply advance one space.
• Olympius: Olympius advances one space on his track.
• Retreat: Enemy retreats one space.
• Reshuffle: At the conclusion of this Surge, shuffle all Enemy discards into the deck.

Sometimes, instead of icons, the Surge effect will be indicated by text that must be followed and resolved.

Ignore an Enemy's activation(s) during a Surge (but not other Surge effects) if they are affixed with one of the following markers:

• Cannot Attack
• Truce
• Attacks Vandals
• Purple Cloak

If a surrendered Enemy is to be Activated during a Surge, perform an Oathbreaker check (6.7).

Note: Because a Surge interrupts the Enemy Phase, and there might be more Enemy cards to be drawn upon its conclusion, you may wish to use as a memory aid one of the spare counters provided to indicate which of the three card draws triggered the Surge.

6.7 Oathbreaker Check

If an Enemy has surrendered and it is activated during a Surge, it does not move. Instead, perform an Oathbreaker check to see if it "unsurrenders" and is placed back on the map.

To resolve the Oathbreaker check, first calculate the Pacification Value of the Front by adding the Attack Values of all Comitatenses and any Leader assigned to the surrendered Enemy's Front. (Note that Constantius contributes 2 to Pacification against Constantine III, and 1 against the Goths or Vandals.)

Roll one die. If the roll is greater than this Pacification Value, place the Enemy in its Home Space on its Bold side. Otherwise, it remains surrendered.

Note: A Pacification Value of 6 will keep Enemies from breaking their oath except when certain Enemy Card effects take place.

6.8 Olympius

Olympius can be activated in several ways:

• by a Surge effect
• by certain Events
• by a Roman combat roll of "1" if Stilicho is the leader

When Olympius is activated, he advances one space up his track. If he is made to retreat via player actions, he is moved one space down his track (but never below the bottom space). The instant that he moves into the Stilicho Executed space at the top of the track, the game ends in defeat (10.0); it's somewhat difficult to continue without one's head.

6.9 Events

Enemies advancing on multiple fronts weren't the only problem faced by Stilicho or his armies. If you draw an Event Card, simply follow the instructions on it. If the Event bears the History Card symbol (laurels), it is removed from the game after resolution, placed in the History Pile. Otherwise, it is simply discarded (not added to a Surge Space). Please see the Appendix for clarifications on certain Events.

7.0 Roman Phase

At the start of each Roman Phase, draw cards from the Roman Deck depending on the current Round:

• Round 1: 5 cards
• Round 2: 3 cards
• Round 3: 1 card

Design note: The decreasing number of cards represents diminishing resources and opportunities for the Romans as the campaign season wears on.

Note that certain Enemy Events can reduce the number of cards you draw (but never below one card), and certain Roman Events can temporarily increase the number of cards you draw.

If the Roman Deck is exhausted, simply shuffle the discards to form a new deck.

During the Roman Phase of a Round, you will play as many (or as few) cards as you like and/or are able. At the end of a Round, you may hold a maximum of five cards (discarding any excess). At the end of the Game Turn, you must discard down to a single card. Exception: If you play Imperial Wedding for its event, you may hold two cards at the end of a Turn for the rest of the game.

7.1 Playing Cards

Roman cards are played either as Events or Actions:

• Event: Follow the instructions on the card. If the Event bears the History Card symbol (laurels), it is removed from the game after resolution, placed in the History Pile. Otherwise, it is simply discarded.
• Action: Discard the card to perform one of the nine actions. Note that all Event text is ignored, and that History Cards used for Actions are discarded normally, not removed to the History Pile. Note also that some of your cards are merely "Action Cards", with no associated Event.

The actions available are as follows:

• Reserve Action (7.2)
• Attack an Enemy (7.3)
• Enlist the Goths or Constantine III (7.4)
• Counter Olympius (7.5)
• Transfer a Leader and/or Comitatenses (7.6)
• Place Garrisons (7.7)
• Suppress Unrest or Revolt (7.8)
• End a Mutiny (7.9)
• Prevent a Surge (7.10)

7.2 Reserve Action

The Reserve Action is used after rolling a die to determine the success of certain other actions. For each card discarded as a Reserve Action, "1" is added to the die roll. You may discard as many cards as you like, adding "1" to the die roll for each.

Reserve Actions may be used to boost the following Actions:

• Attack an Enemy (7.3)
• Counter Olympius (7.5)
• Suppress Unrest or Revolt (7.8)

Additionally, you may use Reserve Actions during the Enemy Phase to aid a Garrison attacked by an Enemy (6.6).

Design note: The Reserve Action represents the commitment of extra troops, money, or political capital to swing the outcome of certain events in your favor.

7.3 Attack an Enemy

This Action allows one of your Armies to Attack the Enemy associated with that Army Box.

To resolve the Attack, first calculate the Total Roman Attack Value by adding the following in the order given:

• Number of Comitatenses in the Army Box
• Attached Leader's Attack Value
• Attack Value of Enlisted allies (7.4)
• Attack Value of any Battle Events (crossed swords icon; resolve text)
• Roll of one die

Then, calculate the Total Enemy Attack value by adding the following in the order given:

• Enemy's printed Attack Value
• Roll of one die
• Defence Value of the space occupied by the enemy
• If no Defence Value, the Unrest/Revolt value of the Diocese if applicable
• Exception: if the Goths are in the Walled City of Roma, ignore the Defence Value of the space but include the Unrest/Revolt Value of Italia Suburbicaria (if any)

Then, you may modify your own Total Attack Value through the play of Reserve Actions (7.2) and/or the Scholae Palatinae Event Card (this card may also be played before your die roll, if you so choose).

The side with the higher Total Attack Value wins. If there is a tie, roll again, rolling as many times as necessary to resolve the combat. When calculating the Total Roman Attack Value during a tie-breaker roll, include the Attack Value of any cards played for Events (including Scholae Palatinae) but not of cards used for Reserve Actions. You can take new Reserve Actions after each tie-breaker roll if you want.

After arriving at the Total Attack Values, but before any reroll (if applicable), check to see if either side rolled a "1" or a "6":

• Enemy rolled 1: Enemy is Demoralized.
• Enemy rolled 6: Enemy is Emboldened.

If Stilicho led the Attacking Army,

• and rolled 1: Olympius advances one space.
• and rolled 6: Olympius retreats one space.

Design note: Yes, it's possible for the Romans to win the attack but for Olympius to advance. This suggests misgivings among the troops over Stilicho's leadership that Olympius takes advantage of. Likewise, an Enemy can lose but still be emboldened, suggesting they are really angry and spoiling for a rematch.

If you win the battle, the Enemy retreats one space. If they are already in their Home Space, that Enemy immediately Surrenders:

• Move the Enemy to the Surrendered Box.
• Retreat Olympius one space. This is an easy rule to overlook, so we're going to say it again: When an Enemy surrenders, retreat Olympius one space on his track.

If all three Enemies have surrendered, the game ends immediately in your victory! Congratulations! Calculate your score (10.1).

If the Enemy wins the battle, move one Comitatenses from the Attacking Army to the Recovery Box.

Example: Stilicho launches an attack against the Demoralized Vandals. Stilicho's value of 2 plus two Comitatenses gives the Romans an Attack Value of 4. Stilicho rolls a "4" for a Total Roman Attack Value of 8.

The Vandals have a printed Attack Value of 3, plus the Defence Value of Pyrenaei Montes (2) for a total of 5. Note that the Revolt counter is ignored because Pyrenaei Montes has a Defence Value. They roll a "6" for a total of 11. Oh no! Have the Vandals won?

Well, they shouldn't count their gallinarius before they're hatched. To even the odds, Rome plays Scholae Palatinae as an Event, increasing their Attack Value by 2. They discard another card to take a Reserve Action. This brings the Roman Attack Value to 11. They tied it up! This means a reroll. But because the Vandals rolled a "6", they are now Emboldened, and have a higher printed Attack Value.

The Romans once again get 2 for Stilicho, 2 for their Comitatenses, and now 2 for their play of Scholae Palatinae. They get lucky and roll their own "6" for a total of 12. The Vandals get 4 for their printed Attack Value, 2 for the Defence Value, plus a die roll of "2" for a total of 8. The Vandals lose and Retreat to Aquitania. Plus, because the Roman army led by Stilicho rolled a "6", Olympius retreats one space.

7.4 Enlist The Goths or Constantine III

Once the Goths or Constantine III have Surrendered, you can Enlist them to aid you in your fight against your remaining Enemies. In fact, you'll probably find you need to do this to win tough fights such as in Enemy Home Spaces. Here's how it works:

• To Enlist the Goths and add +4 to your Attack Value against Constantine III or the Vandals, discard one card to take the action, and advance Olympius one space.
• To Enlist Constantine III and add +5 to your Attack Value against the Goths or the Vandals, discard one card to take the action, and advance Olympius one space.

The card you discard to take the Enlist action is in addition to the card you discarded to take the original Attack action.

Note: You can Enlist both the Goths and Constantine against the Vandals if you want. In this case, you must discard a total of three cards (one for the attack, and one for each Enlist action) and advance Olympius two spaces.

Design note: The cost of the card represents the resources you must pay the Goths or Constantine III's former soldiers to fight for you. The penalty of Olympius advancing represents the political capital you expend by employing Rome's former enemies.

7.5 Counter Olympius

This Action allows you to counter Olympius's plot against you.

Roll one die and add it to the Attack Value of the Leader in the Advocate Box. If this total is greater than the sum of Olympius's printed value (1 or 2) plus the Difficulty Value of the space he occupies on his track (0, 1, or 2), Olympius retreats one space. Reroll any ties; "1" and "6" have no effect.

Note that you can take Reserve Actions to modify your total.

7.6 Transfer a Leader and/or Comitatenses

This Action allows you to move Leaders and/or Comitatenses as follows:

• Move one Leader and/or up to 6 Comitatenses from one Army Box to another. If there is already a Leader present in the destination Army Box, he can either switch places with the new Leader, or move to the Recovery Box.
• Move one Leader from a Leader box to the Advocate Box. If there is already a Leader present in the Advocate Box, he can either switch places with the new Leader, or move to the Recovery Box (Symmachus, as usual, cannot be assigned to an Army).

Note that these two options are distinct; to do both things in a single Round would require two Transfer Actions.

Example: It is the Late War. The Goths have surrendered, and Stilicho is keeping watch over them with four Comitatenses (total Pacification Value of 6). During the Enemy Phase, you draw Death of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, leaving you without anyone to watch your back in Ravenna. A Surge later that turn then advances Olympius (on his "2" side), and now he is only one space from the Stilicho Executed space. You hate being executed - it's the absolute worst. You discard a card for a Transfer action, sending Stilicho racing back to the Court so he can take some Counter actions against Olympius. But this reduces the Pacification Value of the Gothic Front to 4. And so you discard another card to Transfer two Comitatenses from the Vandal Army Box to the Goths Army Box, ensuring those pesky Goths don't get any ideas about breaking their oaths while you're off dealing with court intrigues.

7.7 Place Garrisons

This Action allows you take as many Comitatenses as you like from a single Army Box, placing them as Garrisons per the placement rules in 5.0. Note that if you want to place Garrisons from more than one Army Box, you will need to take multiple actions (one for each such Army Box), discarding a new card for each.

7.8 Suppress Unrest/Revolt

This Action allows you to attempt to Suppress Unrest or Revolt in a Diocese. Roll a die; if the result is higher than the number on the Unrest (1) or Revolt (2) counter, remove the counter from the map. Remember, you can take Reserve Actions to boost the value of your die roll. Ties are not rerolled.

Alternatively, you can take this Action to remove a Garrison from the map to the Recovery Box. When you do so, remove the Unrest/Revolt counter from the Garrison's former Diocese.

7.9 End a Mutiny

As the result of Enemy Events, one of your Armies might Mutiny. Place a Mutiny marker on that Army Box, or on the associated Enemy (whichever is easier for you to remember). As long as the Mutiny is in place, this Army cannot Attack.

When you discard a card to take this Action, the Mutiny marker is removed, and Olympius is advanced one space.

7.10 Prevent a Surge

This Action, taken during the Enemy Phase, allows you to prevent an Enemy Activation Card from being added to a Surge Space. That Enemy Activation Card is placed in the Enemy Discard Pile instead.

8.0 End of Round

At the end of each Round (not Turn):

• Remove any Truce Ends counters, then flip any Truce Begins counters to Truce Ends.
• Remove the Attacks Vandals Ends counter, or flip the Attacks Vandals Begins counter to its Ends side.

Note again that at the end of the first and second Rounds of each Turn, you must have no more than five cards in hand.

9.0 Housekeeping

During the Housekeeping step, perform the following in order:

• Check for Olympius
• Check for defeat
• Remove special counters
• Discard excess cards
• Advance Game Turn

9.1 Check for Olympius

If there is a Revolt counter in Italia Annonaria during the Housekeeping Step, advance Olympius's counter one space on the Olympius Track.

Remember, the game ends in a loss the moment Olympius moves into the Stilicho Executed space.

9.2 Check for Defeat

If there are 5 Revolt counters on the map during this step, the game ends immediately in a loss due to Anarchy.

If the Army or Armies opposing the Enemy or Enemies remaining on the map are all in Mutiny during this step, the game ends immediately in a loss due to General Mutiny.

If this is the last Housekeeping round of the game (i.e., Turn 10), and any Enemies have not Surrendered, the game ends in an Out of Time loss.

See 10.0 for more details and to calculate your score.

9.3 Remove Special Counters

If the game doesn't end, do each of the following (as applicable):

• Remove any Truce counters
• Remove the Constantine III Attacks the Vandals counters
• Remove the Purple Cloak counter

Truces and treaties don't last into the new year! Make sure you play the related cards during Campaign Rounds 1 and 2 for maximum efficiency.

9.4 Discard Excess Cards

Discard any cards that remain in your hand except for one (two if Imperial Wedding has been played).

9.5 Advance Game Turn

Advance the Turn counter, reset the Round counter to Early-Campaign, and return to the Deployment (5.0) step. Note that when the game advances to Turn 6 (411), it shifts into the Late War period:

• Late War cards are shuffled into their respective decks along with all discards (but not cards in the History Pile).
• Olympius is flipped to his improved "2" side.

10.0 Winning & Losing

You win the game the moment all three Enemies have surrendered. Take satisfaction knowing you have left the Western Empire in an exceptionally strong position, with its borders intact, its provinces under firm Roman control and no threats to the throne. While the West is doomed to fall eventually due to a host of financial, administrative, and social issues, you've done your part. Nice going!

You can lose in one of five ways:

• Execution: the game ends immediately the moment Olympius' counter enters the Stilicho Executed space. Olympius springs his trap and has you arrested and beheaded. Then your family gets murdered, which isn't great. This is what happened to the real Stilicho in 408.
• Usurpation: The game ends immediately the moment Constantine III enters the Ravenna Walled City space. Honorius is usurped and your head ends up on a spike alongside his.
• Anarchy: If there are 5 Revolt counters on the board during a Defeat Check the game ends. The Western Empire has become an ungovernable mess torn apart by revolt and you are to blame. Probably your head gets cut off here, too. I am sensing a theme.
• General Mutiny: If the Army or Armies opposing the Enemy or Enemies remaining on the map are all in Mutiny during a Defeat Check, the game ends. You have lost the trust of the army and your junior officers have their knives out. Run!
• Out of Time: If there are unsurrendered armies during the Housekeeping round of Turn 10, you lose the game. Honorius' court has lost patience with you and you are replaced as magister militum. But you can take satisfaction in having kept your head on your shoulders even as your accomplishments are forgotten, and you shrink to the status of historical footnote.

10.1 Scoring

If you lose, count the number of Turns you have played including the Turn the game ended on. Add to this 5 points for any Enemy that has surrendered. This will give you a score in the range of 1 to 20.

If you win, give yourself a base score of 25. Add to this the number of turns left on the Turn Track (i.e., to the right of the Turn counter). This will give you a score in the 25 to 30+ range.

The real Stilicho died on game turn 3 with only the Goths forced into submission, giving him a score of 8. This seems low for his actual accomplishments. If we consider that Stilicho actually ruled as magister militum from 395-408, we can use the rubric above to give him a score of 19 (14 years survival and 5 points for the Goths). That seems like a better benchmark to aim for! So, a score higher than 19 means you beat History, even if you still lost the game.

10.2 Alternate Scoring

This can be a very punishing game, particularly until you get a feel for the strategy and cards. If you're feeling a little demoralized by your defeats, here's an alternate way of interpreting your results:

• 1 surrendered Enemy = Good (Historical)
• 2 surrendered Enemies = Great (you'll probably get made co-emperor)
• 3 surrendered Enemies = Wow, you saved the Roman Empire! For now, anyway.