Tetrarchia
Tetrarchia Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview & Goal
TETRARCHIA (Latin of Tetrarchy, "rule of four") is a cooperative game in which 1 to 4 players take the role of the 4 Emperors, fighting the revolts within the Empire and the Barbarian armies that try to bring it down. With simple rules, the core engine leads to very different games, offering several difficulty challenges and many interesting choices. The players win if they secure the borders of the Empire before the majority of provinces revolt or Rome falls.
Contents
A TETRARCHIA set includes:
- 4 Roman Emperors:
- Maximian — Augustus of the West
- Constantius — Caesar of the West
- Diocletian — Augustus of the East
- Galerius — Caesar of the East
- 3 Roman fleets.
- 3 Barbarian armies.
- 21 gray Unrest tokens.
- 21 black Revolt tokens.
- 5 Emperor tokens in each color.
- 2 dice, with normal 1-6 and Roman numeral I-VI numerals.
- 1 board.
Board
The board depicts the Roman Empire at the end of the III century (the geography and some names have been adapted for gameplay's sake). The circles represent 42 Roman provinces, regrouped in 7 regions of 6 provinces each. The central region is ITALIA, and the 6 outer regions are marked with Roman numerals clockwise: I = HISPANIA, II = GALLIA, III = ILLYRICVM, IV = GRAECIA, V = ASIA MINOR, VI = AFRICA.
Provinces are connected by links (in the latest version, arrow heads on some links show the Barbarian paths). Some of them are interrupted to show that moving through them will be more costly. They represent difficult terrain, like mountains, rivers or straits, and will be called broken links.
Provinces
Each Roman province, with its name at the bottom, is characterized by the roman numeral of the region it belongs to and its number within that region, at the top. For example, the coordinates of BELGICA are II-1: in region number II, GALLIA, province number 1.
The outer regions have an associated 7th province beyond the Empire border, not Roman, that represents the Barbarian threat. They are marked with the number of their corresponding region, and if a Barbarian army is triggered in that region it will enter the board in that province.
The provinces that contain the Tetrarchic capitals are marked with the corresponding Emperor token, and the one including the nominal capital of the Empire, Rome, with a multicolored token.
Sea Zones
Two dot-dashed lines divide the sea in 3 zones: the western MARE ATLANTICVM, the central MARE INTERNVM, and the eastern MARE AEGAEVM.
A Roman fleet placed in the circle of a given sea zone allows Emperors to move between any two coastal provinces (that contain some sea within its circle) of that zone.
Number of Players
The game can be played by 1 to 4 players, but the rules are the same for any number. They will always use the 4 Emperors:
- 1 player: control the 4 Emperors.
- 2 players: control 1 couple Augustus/Caesar each.
- 3 players: all of them share the control of 1 Caesar. In case of disagreement, though, the player controlling his corresponding Augustus has the last word!
- 4 players: control 1 Emperor each.
Each round consists of 4 turns following the sequence Diocletian-Galerius-Constantius-Maximian. As a reminder, follow the ROMA icon in clockwise order.
Setup
You must first randomly distribute some initial threats:
- For each outer region, roll the normal die until you get more than 1 and place 1 Revolt token in that province.
- Once those 6 Revolt tokens placed, you may roll several times (see table below): the Roman die and normal die together to add 1 extra Revolt token in that province; the Roman die alone to place a Barbarian army in the province outside that region.
If you obtain a province already rolled, roll again.
Then, choose the number of Emperor tokens, from 3 to 5, and the number of Roman fleets, from 1 to 3, and put the ones not used back in the box. The number of Emperor tokens, fleets, extra Revolt tokens, and Barbarian armies, will combine to make the challenge more or less difficult:
| Difficulty level | low | high | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokens per Emperor | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Number of Fleets | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Roman+normal die: Extra Revolt Tokens | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Roman die: Initial Barbarian Armies | 0 | 1 | 2 |
You can refer to each level by those four values. The central column, [4211], would be the 'normal' level, but you should better start with an easier one, like [4200]. Each of the 81 combinations leads to a different challenge: for example, the level [5100] gives more power to each Emperor while hindering their mobility through the sea.
To arms! Once you choose the level and set up the rolled threats on the board, place the fleets on the sea zones of your choice and start the game with Diocletian's (green) turn. The subsequent turn order follows the ROMA icon in clockwise order. Each Emperor starts his first turn in ROMA or, if he wishes, his own capital as long as it is free of tokens or Barbarian armies.
Turn Sequence
Every Emperor's turn has 2 phases:
- Roman: spend Imperivm Points (IP).
- Barbarian: propagate threats.
The Emperors on the board must be on a province space. They can spend their IP in the following actions: Move to another province, order a Roman fleet to Sail to an adjacent sea zone, Secure the province by placing one of their tokens, Subdue the province by removing the Unrest/Revolt token, or Attack a Barbarian army in a linked province.
During the Barbarian phase, the player rolls the 2 dice. He places an Unrest token in the province corresponding to the dice coordinates, and checks if it triggers revolts, uprisings, or the invasion of Barbarian armies.
I. Roman Phase
The Emperor can spend up to 6 IP in any of the following actions, in the order he wishes, and even perform a given action several times as long as he has IP left.
1. Move
The Emperor can move to another province through:
- A normal link: 1 IP.
- A broken link (difficult terrain): 2 IP.
- A fleet if both provinces are on the coast of the corresponding sea zone: 1 IP.
If the destination has a Revolt token, add +1 IP. For example, moving through difficult terrain into a province in revolt costs 2+1=3 IP.
Each province space can only hold 1 figure (Emperor or Barbarian army) and 1 token. However, Emperors may pass through a province occupied by another Emperor if they move away immediately with their next action.
2. Sail
The Emperor can, from any province, order a Roman fleet to sail to an adjacent sea zone for 1 IP. As soon as the fleet arrives, normal movement between coastal provinces in the zone is allowed.
3. Secure
The Emperor can place 1 of his tokens on his province, if there are no other tokens, for 1 IP. This will protect the province against Unrest tokens, and may provide support to that Emperor when he fights a Barbarian army.
Secure the border Placing Emperor tokens on the provinces outside the Empire is the goal of the game. The Secure action can be used in those provinces as in any Roman province, but at a cost of 2 IP and only when the corresponding region is free of Revolt tokens.
4. Subdue
On a province with Unrest/Revolt token, the Emperor can:
- Remove Unrest token: 1 IP.
- Remove Revolt token: 2 IP.
- Change Revolt token to Unrest: 1 IP.
5. Attack
The Emperor can attack a Barbarian army through a link spending the number of IP he would need to move through that link. Roll the Roman die and normal die:
- The Emperor adds to the Roman die the number of his tokens linked to him in one continuous chain.
- The Barbarian adds to the normal die the number of Revolt tokens linked to him in one continuous chain.
In the case of these four provinces: a green token, an empty province, a green token, and a green token in a row.
Diocletian adds +1 on the leftmost one, and +2 on any of the others (other Emperors would add nothing). If for example he attacks from the leftmost province a Barbarian army linked to a chain of 3 Revolt tokens and rolls Roman die 3, normal die 2:
- Roman III + green token = 4
- normal 2 + 3 Revolt tokens = 5
The stronger Barbarian support leads to a defeat 4-5!
Capitals The provinces that contain the Tetrarchic capitals have the corresponding Emperor token printed on them. If they are not covered by another token, they count as a token of that Emperor (protect against Unrest and may provide support in battle). Rome, the capital of the Empire, has a joker token that counts as any of the colors.
Combined attack The combat values (die+support) obtained can be modified by the presence of other Emperors or Barbarian armies in the area:
- Each additional Emperor linked to the targeted Barbarian multiplies the Emperor's combat value x2.
- Each additional Barbarian linked to the attacking Emperor multiplies the Barbarian's combat value x2.
In the example above, if Maximian would have been linked to the targeted Barbarian army, he would have tilted the result to 8-5 in favor of Diocletian!
Outcome Finally, resolve the effects of the attack:
- Victory: remove the Barbarian army, and any token, from the province and place the Emperor on it.
- Defeat: remove the Emperor, and any Emperor token, from his province. He will re-enter the board at the start of his next turn in ROMA or, if he wishes, in his own capital as long as it is free of tokens or Barbarian armies.
In case of a draw, nothing happens.
II. Barbarian Phase
After the Roman phase, check the Empire status and roll the Roman die and normal die to obtain the coordinates of a Roman province:
- Apply the result on that province.
- Resolve a possible Uprising and its aftermath.
- Move all Barbarian armies towards Rome.
Empire Status
At the start of this phase, any Unrest token linked* to a Revolt token is changed to Revolt: a chain of Revolt-Unrest-Unrest becomes Revolt-Revolt-Revolt.
Next, all the Emperors that are sitting on a Revolt token are removed from the board. They will return at the start of their next turn in ROMA or, if they wish, in their own capital as long as it is free of tokens or Barbarian armies.
Finally, roll the Roman die and normal die.
1. Result
Check the content of the province targeted by the dice:
- Emperor token: do nothing (it is protected).
- No token: place 1 Unrest token.
- Unrest token: replace it with 1 Revolt token.
- Revolt token: trigger Uprising.
2. Uprising
If the targeted province has already a Revolt token, an Uprising is triggered: place 1 Revolt token in all the Roman provinces linked* to it. For those that have a Revolt token already, do nothing; for those that have another token (Emperor or Unrest), change it to Revolt.
Aftermath If there is any Barbarian army left in the reserve, the instability generated by the uprising may have an echo. Only in that case, roll the Roman die:
- If the province beyond the border of that region is empty, place a Barbarian army on it.
- If, on the contrary, the latter contains any figure or token, roll the normal die and check at those coordinates the result as in the first stage of this phase. You may in this way generate a chain of uprisings!
3. Barbarian Advance
All Barbarian armies on the board move to the next linked* province, in the following sequence (in the latest version, follow the arrow heads on the links):
- If at the starting position beyond the border, move to province 1 of the corresponding region.
- If in the region, move to the next province in the sequence 1-6. In some regions (HISPANIA, ILLYRYCVM, GRAECIA and AFRICA) it will skip some provinces and go from 3 or 4 directly to 6.
- If already at province 6, follow the shortest path to Rome: from HISPANIA through NARBONENSIS, and from ASIA MINOR through THRACIA-MACEDONIA-EPIRVS.
* During this phase, broken links may hinder the propagation of threats. For each broken link, roll the normal die:
- On a 1-3, the provinces are not considered linked.
- On a 4-6, the provinces are linked.
Difficult terrain may therefore keep an Unrest token adjacent to a Revolt one, exclude a province from an uprising, or block the move of a Barbarian army. The result of the roll is temporary, the next time the broken link has to be checked you will roll the die again.
If there are several armies and their order of movement may influence the game result (close or common paths, possible supported battles, few Revolt tokens in reserve), move first the ones closer to Rome (count in number of provinces); if they are at the same distance, move first those in the region with the lowest number. If nevertheless an army's path is blocked by another one, do not move it this turn.
Devastation When the Barbarian army enters a Roman province, remove any token and place a Revolt token.
Attack If an Emperor blocks its move, the Barbarian army attacks him. Follow the same procedure described in the Roman phase, taking into account that now the Barbarian army is the attacker and the Emperor becomes the target. The Barbarian adds to the normal die the linked Revolt tokens; the Emperor adds to the Roman die his linked tokens; and the respective combat values can be multiplied x2 by other Barbarian armies linked to the targeted Emperor or by other Emperors linked to the attacking Barbarian.
In case of victory, remove the Emperor and move the Barbarian army to the targeted province; in case of defeat, remove the Barbarian army and his token from the board.
Game End
The game ends immediately if:
- The Emperors secure the 6 borders of the Empire. You won the game, Roma Victrix!
- A Barbarian army enters Rome, or you cannot place a Revolt/Unrest token (because the reserve is already empty). You lost the Empire!
If you prefer a result on a scale of 10 points:
- Count +1 for each secured border, and +4 (tetra) if ITALIA is free of Revolt tokens.
- Count -1 for each unsecured border, Barbarian army on the board, and region in revolt (that requires more than 6 IP to subdue its provinces).
The flow of each Emperor's turn is very simple:
- Spend up to 6 IP.
- Roll the Roman die and normal die and check the result.
The dice may give you a first impression of randomness, but you will soon realize that you need a plan to defeat the advancing Barbarian armies. Remember Diocletian, cooperate if you do not want to face overwhelming odds!
Variants
All these variants change, in a very simple way, an aspect of the game increasing variety. The first four make the game easier, and you may thus use them as a complement of the difficulty table. "The Great" makes it harder, adding a competitive aspect that will hinder cooperation.
1. Imperivm
Each Emperor has a special power, but he must remove from the game one of his tokens every time he uses it:
- Diocletian can spend some of his IP moving other Emperors during that turn.
- Galerius can add +1 to his combat roll, after the roll and even several times in the same combat.
- Constantius can block the advance of a Barbarian army before it attacks him.
- Maximian can spend 7 IP in that turn.
2. Mare Nostrvm
If you have fleets in two adjacent sea zones, you can consider them as one zone. Direct movement between any two coastal provinces of this new extended sea zone is allowed.
3. Diarchia
Each couple Augustus/Caesar can share their tokens: both blue and red provide support to Maximian/Constantius, green and yellow to Diocletian/Galerius.
4. Patres Patriae
The Augusti were considered "fathers of the homeland", above the Caesars. Every round, Diocletian can take 1 IP from Galerius, and Constantius can give 1 IP to Maximian.
5. The Great
The first Tetrarchy lasted 12 years (293-305), until the retirement of Diocletian and Maximian. However, the sudden death of Constantius and the claim of his son Constantine broke the chain of peaceful succession that Diocletian had envisaged. Constantine emerged from a series of civil wars (306-312) as Emperor of the West, and after defeating his eastern counterpart (324) he ruled as "the Great".
This variant introduces rivalries within the Tetrarchy prior to 306. An Emperor that leads a victory takes 1 gray ('glory') token from the reserve, but if he leads a defeat he must give 1 back if possible. In case of global victory, calculate in addition the individual score of each Emperor by adding the borders he has secured and his glory tokens:
- If an Emperor has at least 2 points more than all the others, he becomes the Great!
- Otherwise, if an Emperor has at least 2 points more than his Augustus/Caesar colleague, he becomes Emperor of the East or West.
In addition to global victory as a team, players have these new objectives, depending on their number:
- 2 players: make one of your Emperors the Great.
- 4 players: make your Emperor the Great, or at least the Emperor of the East or West.
- 1-4 players: you can also use this variant in full cooperation and preserve the Tetrarchy by avoiding that an Emperor rules over all or half of the Empire!
Questions & Answers
There have been few questions from players, and all the answers were found in the rulebook. However, in order to make the entry to the game even easier, here is a detailed attack example followed by some of the questions.
Attack Example
In order to better illustrate the Attack mechanic, let us have a closer look to an in-game example:
The Barbarian army in NARBONENSIS has devastated HISPANIA and marches towards Rome. Maximian (blue) decides to attack it from GERMANIA SVPERIOR:
- He must spend 2 IP (Imperivm Points), 1 because the link connecting both provinces is normal, +1 because NARBONENSIS is in revolt. The latter will always be the case since Barbarian armies devastate (place a Revolt token on) the province they enter.
- The Barbarian army is connected to a chain of 7 Revolt tokens, so it will add +7 to the normal die.
- Maximian is connected to a chain of 3 blue tokens (CISALPINA-ETRVRIA-ROMA, the latter counts as any color). He will thus add +3 to the Roman die.
- Maximian would also add +3 if he attacked from CISALPINA (he would be connected to the same chain), although the attack through the Alps would cost 3 IP (2 due to the broken link, +1 for the revolt in NARBONENSIS).
- Moreover, Constantius (red) is connected to the targeted Barbarian army, providing to Maximian's result a multiplication x2.
The outcome of the attack will come from the comparison:
(Roman die + 3) x2 versus (normal die + 7)
Let us use this example to discuss a few other aspects:
- If Constantius was the attacker, he would have a support of +1 from LVGDVNENSIS and benefit also from Maximian's connection to the Barbarian army. The Roman combat value would be (Roman die + 1) x2.
- In order to get a much more favorable attack, Constantius would better Subdue TARRACONENSIS, cutting the Barbarian army from its support base and reducing its combat value to (normal die + 1).
- Maximian could also end his turn on the way of the army (CISALPINA) and let it attack him at the end of the Barbarian phase. The numbers are exactly the same! However, since the link the Barbarian army must advance through is broken, it could be that the army did not advance (50% probability) and thus the attack might not arrive this turn.
- If Diocletian (green) would be in LVGDVNENSIS, he would provide an extra x2 to the attack, making it x4. And adding Galerius (yellow) in CISALPINA would take the multiplication to x8!
- If Maximian made a different attack from PANNONIA SVPERIOR to an army in RHAETIA, he would be connected to the chain of 3 blue tokens on one side, but also to a chain of 1 token (DALMATIA) on the other. However, his support would still be +3, not +4! Only one chain counts.
Other Questions
There were several questions about support chains, but the rulebook example plus the detailed one above answer all of them! A few other questions, grouped by category.
Tokens
- Can there be multiple Emperor tokens in a province? No, it is impossible to have several tokens. Emperors only place tokens on empty provinces, and when some tokens change they are replaced.
- If you have placed all your Emperor tokens, can you remove one to place it elsewhere? No! There is no Remove action, you must be careful not placing too many! You can only recover them if they are removed by an uprising or Barbarian army.
- Can I put an Emperor token of another color (or even the same) on a Tetrarchic capital? Yes, Emperors can place their tokens on any empty province. It may be interesting if you need a chain of your color and the capital color interrupts it, but in general it is better to place it elsewhere. Note that only when a capital is not covered by a token, the printed token is considered a token and the corresponding Emperor can re-enter the board there.
- Are borders secured permanently? Yes, uprisings only spread to Roman provinces.
Emperors & Armies
- If after an Uprising an Emperor finds himself on a Revolt token, should he be removed? No! As stated in the rulebook and player aids, first you check the Empire Status, and then you resolve uprisings. So the Emperor stays on the Revolt token. He would be removed on the next turn's Empire Status if he stayed there. Only the Emperor playing right after the uprising can therefore escape the revolt.
- Can an Emperor stop while going through other Emperors in order to perform actions? No! He can enter their province, but only if he passes through (if he then leaves with his next action). The same applies when re-entering the board on Rome or his capital if it is occupied by another Emperor.
- When do Barbarian armies enter the board? Besides those that may be part of the setup (in some difficulty levels), they may enter the board every time an Uprising occurs: roll the Roman die and if the corresponding border is empty place an army. If it is not, roll the normal die and check the result in this new province: it may trigger a new uprising, a new roll of the Roman die, the arrival of another army, etc!
Links
- Can an Uprising blanket the map in Revolt tokens? No! All over the rulebook, linked means directly linked. Otherwise, all provinces would be linked! Uprising may only spread Revolt tokens to the direct neighbors of the given province.
- Does this conflict with the definition of 'linked' used for the Empire Status step? No! In Empire Status, "any Unrest token linked to a Revolt token is changed to Revolt" means that first you check those tokens linked (direct neighbors), and if as a result other tokens become linked to those, you keep doing it for the new ones (any).
Fleets
- When moving between coastal regions using a fleet, do you count the sea zone as a province (+1 IP)? No, sea zones are not provinces.
- Can a fleet be used to travel through straits (broken link between 2 coastal provinces) for just 1 IP? Of course. However, note that if you attack through a strait you must spend the 3 IP needed to cross it (2) plus reach the province in revolt (+1), since fleets cannot be used to attack, only to move.
- If I have two adjacent fleets, can an Emperor travel from any two provinces of these 'double' zone? No, fleets allow movement within their zone only. However, note that the MARE NOSTRVM variant allows you explicitly to do it.
- Can I disembark on a province in unrest or revolt? Of course. Tokens do not block movement, only Revolt tokens make it more costly (+1 IP).
- An Emperor leaves the board after a defeat, does his turn end or can he still Sail (order a fleet)? Turn ends, he must be on a province to order a fleet. You should leave (risky) battles for the end of turn!
- Is the Black Sea part of the MARE AEGAEVM? Yes, there are only 3 sea zones, from west to east.
- Why is BRITANNIA not a coastal province? It represents the whole Britannia, not just the southern coast. And as a border it is difficult to access.
Variants
- DIARCHIA: can you place your partner tokens? No! The variant says that you gain support from your partner tokens, not that you can place them.
- THE GREAT: if all Emperors are not equal in power at the end of the game, is it a loss? No, you either win the game or not, globally, and then you check the rivalry conditions. You may all lose or win, and then one may become in addition Eastern/Western Emperor or The Great! And the 'supremacy' condition is "at least 2 points more". The 1-player case gives you the additional challenge of sharing glory among all Emperors by allowing at most a 1-point difference. If you don't succeed, you may still claim victory, but a bitter one!
Player Aids
Each Emperor has a quick-reference card summarizing his Roman phase, Barbarian phase, and Setup options. Own-color tokens are written out below in place of the card's colored icons.
Maximian
Roman Phase — Spend 6 IP [Imperivm: remove a Maximian token to spend 7 IP instead].
- Move = 1 (broken link = 2 / into a Revolt token = +1)
- Sail = 1
- Secure: Maximian token = 1 (border = 2 & no Revolt token)
- Subdue: Unrest = 1 / Revolt = 2 / Revolt to Unrest = 1
- Attack = 2 or 3: (Roman die + Maximian tokens) x2? / (normal die + Revolt tokens) x2?
Barbarian Phase — Check for a Revolt token linked to an Unrest token (mark broken links this phase); check for an Emperor token on the target. Roll both dice: empty to Unrest / Unrest to Revolt / Revolt to Uprising. On an Uprising, roll the Roman die (if Barbarian armies remain) and the normal die (if that outer province is occupied). Barbarian advance: does it Attack?
Setup — 1) For each region, roll the normal die until greater than 1 and place a Revolt token. 2) Add some Revolt tokens and Barbarian armies. 3) Choose the number of Maximian tokens and Fleets:
| low | high | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokens per Emperor | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Number of Fleets | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Extra Revolt Tokens | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Initial Barbarian Armies | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Diocletian
Roman Phase — Spend 6 IP [Imperivm: remove a Diocletian token to move other Emperors].
- Move = 1 (broken link = 2 / into a Revolt token = +1)
- Sail = 1
- Secure: Diocletian token = 1 (border = 2 & no Revolt token)
- Subdue: Unrest = 1 / Revolt = 2 / Revolt to Unrest = 1
- Attack = 2 or 3: (Roman die + Diocletian tokens) x2? / (normal die + Revolt tokens) x2?
Barbarian Phase — Same procedure as Maximian's card above.
Setup — Same procedure as Maximian's card above, choosing the number of Diocletian tokens and Fleets from the same difficulty table.
Constantius
Roman Phase — Spend 6 IP [Imperivm: remove a Constantius token to block an army's advance].
- Move = 1 (broken link = 2 / into a Revolt token = +1)
- Sail = 1
- Secure: Constantius token = 1 (border = 2 & no Revolt token)
- Subdue: Unrest = 1 / Revolt = 2 / Revolt to Unrest = 1
- Attack = 2 or 3: (Roman die + Constantius tokens) x2? / (normal die + Revolt tokens) x2?
Barbarian Phase — Same procedure as Maximian's card above.
Setup — Same procedure as Maximian's card above, choosing the number of Constantius tokens and Fleets from the same difficulty table.
Galerius
Roman Phase — Spend 6 IP [Imperivm: remove a Galerius token to add +1 to the normal die].
- Move = 1 (broken link = 2 / into a Revolt token = +1)
- Sail = 1
- Secure: Galerius token = 1 (border = 2 & no Revolt token)
- Subdue: Unrest = 1 / Revolt = 2 / Revolt to Unrest = 1
- Attack = 2 or 3: (Roman die + Galerius tokens) x2? / (normal die + Revolt tokens) x2?
Barbarian Phase — Same procedure as Maximian's card above.
Setup — Same procedure as Maximian's card above, choosing the number of Galerius tokens and Fleets from the same difficulty table.