The Lords of Rock Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• What Is in the Box
• Types of Cards
  • Band Leader Cards
  • Band God Cards
  • Set List Cards
  • Pantheon Power Cards
  • Venue Cards
  • The Icons
• The Tokens
• The Venues
• The Set List Cards
• Sound Check (Game Set-Up)
  • Prepare the Cards
  • Getting Ready
• Battle of the Bands (Playing)
• Winning
• Breaking Ties
  • Breaking Venue Ties
  • Breaking Game Ties
• Game Notes

Object of the Game

When you are playing The Lords of Rock the goal of the game is to win the battle of the bands at the various venues and gain the most number of fan souls (points). Whoever has the most souls at the end of the game controls the universe.

For three to five players (ages 8 and up).

What Is in the Box

• 12 Band Leader God Cards
• 60 Band God Cards
• 78 Set List Cards
• 37 Venue Cards
• 12 Pantheon Power Cards
• 20 Large Soul Stones
• 50 Small Soul Stones
• 1 Game Manual

Types of Cards

Band Leader Cards

Each Pantheon has two (2) Band Leader cards. These cards show the name, pantheon, image, primary skill and secondary skill point values for the god. The star symbol under the pantheon symbol indicates the band member is a lead god.

Band God Cards

Each Pantheon has ten (10) Band God cards. These cards show the name, pantheon, image, primary skill and secondary skill values for the god.

Set List Cards

The Set List cards are held in your hand and can be played on your turn or during another player's turn to affect the outcome of a concert. The cards display a name, an image and how they affect the game.

There is a special Set List card called "Roadie." This special Set List card can be played on your Set List pile, face down, and it cancels one negative card of your choice, when the Set List cards are resolved at the end of that Venue play.

Pantheon Power Cards

The Pantheon Power cards are special cards that are given to their corresponding pantheon. Each Pantheon Power card has a special ability described on it that each pantheon can use one time per game. The special power can be used when the players are resolving the Set List cards, prior to scoring. Once the ability is used and resolved, the card is flipped face down and cannot be used again this game.

Pantheon Power cards are optional and can be left out of a game if the players choose.

Venue Cards

The Venue cards are the locations where the bands hold their concerts, competing to win the souls of the fans. The Venue cards list the venue, skill(s) needed and the number of fan souls (points) awarded based on the band's finishing place during that venue's competition. It also denotes venue size as either (S)mall, (M)edium, (L)arge, or (XL) extra large, which can affect some Set List cards.

The Icons

The skill icons are: Fan, Guitar, Bass, Drums and Vocals. The pantheon icons are: Greek, Norse, Egyptian and Aztec.

The Tokens

The Lords of Rock comes with fifty (50) small acrylic tokens and twenty (20) large acrylic tokens. The tokens represent soul stones. The stones are formed as the bands collect fan's souls at the various venues at which they are performing.

The smaller tokens represent one million souls, worth one (1) point. The larger tokens represent five (5) million souls, worth five (5) points.

The Venues

In The Lords of Rock, the ultimate goal is to gain the largest amount of fan's souls by being the best band in a series of concerts played at various venues.

At the beginning of the game, each player has four (4) venue cards. During a player's turn they will pick one of those venues and lay it in the center of the play area. The venue provides information about what kind of concert in which the bands will be competing. The venue card designates the size of the venue, what skills need to be used to compete and generate skill points, and how many millions of fan's souls you will collect; depending on what position your band finishes in (1st through 5th place).

When you are playing a venue, look at your God card to see what skills are needed for the concert. This is indicated by yellow highlighted skill icons. These are the active skills. You will look at your god cards and engage (use) all the gods whose primary skill matches the highlighted skills (yellow) on the venue card.

You then look at the gods that are not engaged at that point and check their secondary skills: you are looking to see if any of their secondary skills match the highlighted skills (yellow) on the venue. If any of them match, you can then engage that god in the concert with their secondary skill. The value of all the skills on the engaged gods that match the highlighted venue skill(s) is the starting skill value of your band for this venue.

Once all the players have determined their starting skill value for the venue they start "playing" the concert.

The Set List Cards

To "play" during a concert, the players take turns laying down Set List cards from their hand. Each player starts the game with seven (7) Set List cards. A player can play as many Set List cards as they would like during each venue concert, but are only allowed to draw up to a limit of three (3) new Set List cards before the next venue. A player may only have a maximum of ten (10) Set List cards in their hand. If a player has over ten (10) cards after drawing they must then discard down to ten (10).

There are certain venues where if you were the winner in the previous turn, you can draw up to four (4) Set List cards before the next venue. Some venue cards, if won on the previous turn, will allow a player to exceed the ten (10) card hand limit as well for one turn.

The Set List cards have various positive and negative effects on the player's concert. The cards show the name of the card and what possible effects they have on the band.

Positive cards are only played face down in front your band, while negative cards are only played face up in front of other player's bands. No more than two (2) negative cards can be played on each band during each venue.

Sound Check (Game Set-Up)

Prepare the Cards

1. Separate the 12 Band Leader God cards: 2 for each pantheon.

2. Shuffle the 37 Venue cards and set them aside.

3. Shuffle the 78 Set List cards and set them aside.

4. Separate the 60 Band God cards and set them aside: 10 per pantheon.

5. Separate the 12 Pantheon Power cards and set them aside: 2 per pantheon.

Getting Ready

1. The person who most recently attended a concert goes first, or your choice.

2. This person in most games would be 1st player but in Lords of Rock that player becomes the "Anchor Band" and will be the last player to play a venue for each round of concerts.

3. Clockwise from the Anchor Band player – each player is dealt four (4) venue cards.

   a. The players can choose to use the optional Venue drafting method at this point. If they decide to draft: Each player keeps one Venue card and passes the left over cards to the player on their left. This is repeated until there are no cards left to pass.

4. Clockwise from the Anchor Band player – each player chooses a pantheon they would like to play for this game. Each player has to choose a unique pantheon.

5. Each player then recruits their band members simultaneously.

   a. The player chooses one of the Lead Gods for their pantheon. (Gods with the star symbol)

   b. The player determines what primary skill their Band Leader God has (vocals, guitar, bass or drums).

   c. The player then looks at all the other gods available from their pantheon that have the remaining skills they need (the three not represented by their Lead God's primary skill).

   d. The player then chooses a god to fill each of the empty band slots. The band must consist of four (4) band members and they all must have different primary skills, and cannot be the other Lead God.

   e. Players place the gods in front of themselves facedown.

   f. Once all players are finished selecting their band, they all turn their band members face up.

6. Each player then draws seven (7) Set List cards.

7. ROCK!

Battle of the Bands (Playing)

1. The player to the left of the Anchor Band player picks one of their venue cards and plays it face up, revealing the venue and what target skills are needed to perform at that venue.

2. The next player can choose to play one of their Set List cards, or to pass their turn.

   a. Playing a Set List card: Positive set list cards are laid face down in front of their own band, while Negative Set List cards are laid face up in front of other player's bands. No band can have more than two (2) negative cards played on them during each venue they play.

   b. Passing: If the player passes, they can no longer lay down Set List cards at this venue. EXCEPTION: A passed player may play a single positive Set List card on their own band in response to another player playing a negative card on them.

3. The turn proceeds to the next player and they repeat Step 2. Play continues until all players have passed.

4. Once all players have passed, the players flip their Set List cards over and determine the value of the skills used to compete at the Venue card. Only the skill values that apply to the current venue are counted.

5. Determine the order in which the players finished the performance by calculating the relevant Skill Points.

   a. Add all the active primary skill points of your gods that apply to the Venue.

   b. Add any secondary skills that apply to the Venue. A god's secondary skill may ONLY be counted if their primary skill is NOT used in that venue, but their secondary skill IS used.

   c. Each player takes one (1) soul stone for each point awarded for where they finished in that venue competition. In the case of a tie, refer to "Breaking Ties."

6. Was the player who just played the venue card the Anchor Band?

   a. No - all players draw three (3) new Set List cards, and discard down to the hand limit of ten (10) (Note that some venue cards can increase the amount of cards drawn or temporarily increase the hand limit). Then the next player lays down their Venue card.

   Once the new Venue card is laid down, each player has the choice to discard up to two (2) of their Set List cards. Each player can draw a replacement Set List card for every card they discard. Once all players have discarded and drawn, if they choose to do so, go to Step 2.

Winning

The player with the most soul stones (points) after all the venues are completed wins control of the Universe.

Breaking Ties

Breaking Venue Ties

Tie Breaker 1: When the battle for a Venue is tied the first tie breaker is done by comparing the tie player's primary skill point totals. The players add up their engaged primary skill (no secondary skills) points and compare. The player with the higher point total finishes above the player with the lesser point total. If the players are still tied, proceed to Tie Breaker 2.

Tie Breaker 2: Points for ties are awarded by totaling the points available to the tied positions, and dividing them equally between tied players, rounding up.

Example: The Gods have just finished playing Circus Maximus. Player 1 has 14 points, Players 2 and 3 have 12 points each, and Player 4 has 10 points.

• Player 1 would be awarded 1st place (5 souls).
• Players 2 and 3 would be awarded the points for 2nd and 3rd place combined, divided by 2, and rounded up (4 + 3 = 7. Divided by 2 equals 3.5. Rounded up to 4 souls each).
• Player 4 would be awarded 4th place (2 souls).

Breaking Game Ties

If there is a tie after all venues are played, tied players discard all remaining cards. They each then draw four (4) Set List cards. Draw and play one random venue card from the deck, and the tied players compete for this final venue. Repeat as necessary until there is a winner.

Game Notes

The symbol of the fist-raised figure (Fan icon) on a Set List card indicates a card that affects soul stone count. When the Set List cards are resolved a card with this symbol will increase or decrease a player's soul stone count directly by the amount indicated.

There are a few Set List cards in the game where the bottom of the card looks like this four (4) piece pie. This indicates that card provides the indicated bonus value for each skill required by the Venue card. For example, for a Small (S) Venue the card is worth a +1 or -1 or, for an Extra Large (XL) Venue, the card would be worth +4 or -4 depending on if the Set List card's bonus is plus (+) or minus (-).