Tug of Roar Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • 2-Go Components
• Overview
• Setup
• How to Play
  • Phase 1: Enlist
  • Phase 2: Deploy
    • Striking Fear
    • Evaluate the Roar Track
    • Reinforcements
    • End of Phase - Final Roar
  • Phase 3: Skirmish
    • Resolving a Skirmish
• End of Game
  • Tiebreakers
• Class Abilities

Components

• 10 Elkyr Captains (ranked 0-9)
• 10 Lycaran Captains (ranked 0-9)
• 30 Recruits (5 in each of the 6 classes: Barbarian, Cleric, Warlock, Bard, Rogue, Druid)
• 1 Map
• 1 Roar Marker (Top / Bottom sides)
• 4 Ambush Tokens (Top: blank; Bottoms: +2, +2, +3, +4)
• 8 Fear Tokens (double-sided: -1, -2, -3)
• 5 Bonus Tokens (double-sided: Enlist / Bolster)
• 10 Flag Tokens (double-sided: Elkyr / Lycarans)

2-Go Components

• 2 Roar Track Cards
• 5 Location Cards
• 1 2-Go Tuckbox

Skirmish on the go! All 2-Go rules stay the same—just swap the map for the 2 Roar Track cards and 5 Location cards. All cards and tokens can be conveniently stored in the tuckbox.

The Roar Marker is placed between the two Roar Track cards, and returned to this position any time a Fear Token is placed.

Overview

As the leader of either the Elkyr or Lycaran clan, your task is to stake your claim by outwitting your rival. Over three phases, you'll 1. Enlist Recruits to join your cause, 2. Deploy your Warbands to the five contested regions to strike fear into the opposition, and Bolster your side before the inevitable 3. Skirmish.

Every Captain, every Recruit, and every decision matters—the battles will be fierce, and victory might come down to your last remaining Captain! Raise more flags than your rival and claim the throne of Sylvanhart.

Setup

1. Position the Map between the two players, ensuring each player is seated on the side of the Map showing their chosen clan's emblem along the edge (Paw - Lycaran) and (Hoof - Elkyr).
2. Place the Roar Marker in the center of the Roar Track, with the -1 side facedown.
3. Place one Bonus Token in each of the 5 Skirmish locations with the Enlist side faceup.
4. Place the Fear Tokens, Ambush Tokens (facedown), and Flag Tokens within reach of both players.
5. Each player takes the 10 Captains corresponding to their clan—Elkyr or Lycarans. Tip: don't sort your cards—it might tip off your opponent!
6. Shuffle all Recruits into a single deck and place it facedown beside the Map, next to the "Recruits" label.

How to Play

The confrontation unfolds across 3 distinct phases: 1. Enlist, 2. Deploy, and 3. Skirmish.

Phase 1: Enlist

Enlistment takes place over 4 identical rounds. In each round, players assign one of their Captains in a "blind bid" to win the favour of Recruits they wish to impress to their cause. All Enlistment rounds follow these steps:

1. Reveal Recruits

Reveal the top 3 cards from the Recruits deck, placing them in a faceup group for both players to see. Repeat this process to form a second group of 3 cards.

Ensure that each Recruit's Combat Strength, Roar Value, and Unique Ability is viewable by both players.

2. Select Your Captain

Both players secretly and simultaneously choose a Captain to bid on the groups. Play your chosen Captain facedown to signal your decision has been finalized. (A Captain's rank is shown in its corner; its printed power is its tiebreaker ability.)

3. Reveal Bids

Once both players have selected their Captains, reveal them simultaneously.

4. Claim Your Recruits

The player that reveals the higher-ranked Captain gathers all 3 Recruits from one of the groups, and adds them to their personal "clan deck." The other group automatically goes to the opposing player.

Ties and Reviewing Your Recruits:

• If both players bid with Captains of the same rank, the Elkyr Captain wins the tie.
• During the enlistment phase, players may review their clan deck at any time.

5. Retire Your Captains

Players place the Captains they used for the bid in a faceup pile near the map; these Captains will not be reused for the rest of the game. However, players may look at the cards in this pile at any time.

For a greater challenge: Players may agree to place Captains in a facedown pile that neither may review.

Gather Reinforcements

This process continues for 3 more rounds, until each player has acquired 12 Recruits. Each player will end the Enlist phase with 6 remaining Captains, whose ranks remain hidden from the opposing player.

Phase 2: Deploy

In the Deployment phase, players aim to strategically position their Recruits into Warbands for the best chance at victory. Although there are 5 Skirmish locations, a player only needs to raise more total flags than their opponent—winning every location or even the majority is not necessary.

Flags are raised by the Warband with greater Total Strength at each location. The number of flags raised corresponds to the difference in Total Strength between the two Warbands—the bigger the gap, the more flags you'll raise. Total Strength is calculated by combining the Combat Strength of each Recruit played at the location, factoring in any bonuses (Bolster, Ambush, Character Abilities) and penalties (Fear tokens).

The Deployment phase follows these steps:

1. Strategize

Take a moment to review your entire clan deck. Tip: Look for pairs, as you'll need 2 of the same, sharing a location, to trigger most abilities.

2. Rally your Forces

Next, shuffle your clan deck and draw 3 cards to form your hand.

3. Form your Warbands

Starting with the Elkyr, players alternate placing one Recruit onto a Skirmish location of their choice.

When deploying your Recruits, you'll place them on your side of each Skirmish location to form your Warbands. Recruits can be deployed faceup or facedown—however, each player is only allowed 3 facedown Recruits total across all locations.

A few things to keep in mind:

• If a Druid is deployed faceup, resolve its ability immediately (see below). A Druid may be played facedown, but its ability will never activate.

Druid - Morph You may choose to move, replace, or retire one of your previously deployed Recruits:

• "Move" one of your Recruits (faceup or down) to any open space on your side of the Map.
• "Replace" one of your Recruits by moving one deployed Recruit to the other's position, discarding the replaced Recruit for the remainder of the game.
• "Retire" one of your Recruits (faceup or down), discarding it from play for the remainder of the game.

• Every Skirmish location has space for 2 Recruits from each player. You may not exceed this limit unless a Recruit's ability allows you to do so during phase 3 (see below).
• Each Skirmish location will award an Enlist Bonus to the first player to deploy two Recruits (faceup and/or facedown) at that location (see below).

Enlist Bonus The player who earns an Enlist Bonus draws an extra Recruit from the shared Recruits deck. This bonus permanently increases your hand size by 1 for the remainder of the deployment phase. Flip the Enlist token at this location to its Bolster side; the token will have no further effect until the Skirmish (phase 3).

• You can place Recruits (on your side of the map) at any Skirmish location with an open space—you are not required to fill both spaces before deploying Recruits to another location.
• You can play one or both Recruits facedown at a location—just remember each player is limited to 3 facedown Recruits in total. You are not required to place any Recruits facedown.

Striking Fear

Faceup Placement

Every time a Recruit is placed faceup, immediately check whether they have a Roar Value (1-3). If they do, move the Roar Marker that many spaces toward your opponent on the Roar Track; if not, the marker does not move.

Facedown Placement

When a Recruit is placed facedown, its Roar Value remains hidden and will never have an effect on the Roar Track.

Evaluate the Roar Track

(after EVERY Lycaran turn)

At the end of every Lycaran's turn, check whether the Roar Marker is on a negative, neutral, or central space on the Roar Track. Resolve as follows:

Negative Space

If the Roar Marker is on your opponent's side of the track, next to a negative number, place a Fear Token of that value on your opponent's side of any Skirmish location.

• This value cannot be split between multiple locations.
• There is no limit to the number of Fear tokens at a location.

After placing a Fear Token, return the Roar Marker to its starting position in the center of the Roar Track.

Neutral or Central Space

If the Roar Marker is on a neutral or central space, the Roar Marker remains in its current position and no Fear Tokens are placed.

Note: The Roar Marker cannot be moved past the end of the track: -3.

Example: If the Roar Marker rests on the -2 space on the Lycaran's side of the Roar Track, the Elkyr will place a -2 Fear Token on any Skirmish location on the Lycaran's side of the board.

Reinforcements

(even if you got the Recruitment Bonus)

After resolving any bonus effects and evaluating the Roar Track (when required), immediately draw a new Recruit from your clan deck to maintain your hand size.

End of Phase - Final Roar

If a player is unable to deploy a Recruit, either because their hand has been depleted, or because all deployment spaces on their side of the Map have been filled, their deployment phase ends. Their opponent continues playing, resolving the Roar Track after each turn, until their deployment phase also comes to an end.

The Final Roar

After the final recruit's Roar Value has been checked, if the Roar Marker is on a neutral space, flip it to the -1 side and assign a -1 Fear Token according to standard rules for token placement.

This concludes the Deployment phase—get ready to rumble!

Phase 3: Skirmish

Fierce Skirmishes erupt across five distinct locations, beginning in the bustling city of Velara and culminating in the shadows of Tyrian Den. In each clash, players aim to raise more flags than their opponent, marking victories with their clan's colours.

Starting from the city of Velara, each of the 5 Skirmishes will be resolved independently as follows:

Resolving a Skirmish

As each player begins the Skirmish phase with 6 Captains and there are only 5 Skirmish locations, each player will have one Captain left over. Your clan's fate may be up to them!

1. Select Your Captain

Both players secretly choose one of their remaining Captains to lead their Warband. Play your chosen Captain facedown to signal your decision has been finalized.

2. Reveal Recruits

Once both players are ready, simultaneously flip any facedown Recruits faceup. If one player controls two Recruits of the same class, their class ability triggers and resolves now (see the back of the rules for an explanation of each ability).

3. Reveal Your Captain

Players simultaneously reveal their chosen Captain. The player that reveals the higher-ranked Captain (after taking into account any Bard abilities) claims the location's +2 Bolster token, reinforcing their Warband's Total Strength in that Skirmish.

If the Captains' ranks are the same, the Lycarans win the tie.

4. Determine Total Strength and Raise Flags

Determine which Warband wins a Skirmish by calculating each clan's Total Strength as follows:

• ADD the Combat Strength of their Recruits at this location.
• ADD Ambush Token value, if present.
• ADD Bolster Token value, if present.
• SUBTRACT all Fear Token penalties, if present.

The Captain's rank is not part of the Total Strength calculation.

Award Victory Flags based on the difference in Total Strength:

• Tied Strength — Place 1 Flag in the center of this Skirmish area (either side faceup), leaving the location unclaimed by either clan. For now...
• Difference of 1-2 — The player with the higher Total Strength claims 1 Flag, placed on their side of the map with their clan's flag faceup.
• Difference of 3 or more — The player with the higher Total Strength claims 2 Flags, placed on their side of the map with their clan's flag faceup.

Repeat this process by returning to Step 1 of this Phase. This continues until Victory Flags have been awarded at all 5 Skirmish Locations.

Resolve Unclaimed Regions

If one or more Skirmish locations are unclaimed, their fate hangs in the balance. It's up to each clan's last remaining Captain.

Simultaneously, both players will reveal their final Captain. The player with the higher-ranked Captain conquers all unclaimed regions, moving the Victory Flag to their side of the map.

If the Captains are tied for rank, these regions remain unclaimed.

End of Game

The clan that raised the most flags is declared the winner!

Tiebreakers

1. The player whose final Captain is higher-ranked. If still tied,
2. The player who conquered the most locations. If still tied,
3. The player with the lowest total Fear value (add up all penalties from Fear Tokens).

If a tie persists, fate demands a rematch to crown the true ruler.

As the dust settles across Sylvanhart and inhabitants peek nervously out of cover, the people cast their eyes skyward. They've seen many rulers come and go, but today, one clan's flag snaps in the wind—a symbol of their dominance over the land.

Class Abilities

Raw strength alone won't always secure victory—timing and skill can turn the tide of battle. Master your Recruits' unique abilities to outmaneuver your opponent and win the day.

The Barbarian is the only class without an ability.

Barbarian (Combat Strength distribution: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

While they do not have a special ability, their Roar Value and Combat Strength are higher on average.

The Druid is the only class whose ability takes effect during Phase 2: Deployment, and does not need a pair to activate.

Druid - Morph (Combat Strength distribution: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Adapt to the Battlefield. You may choose to move, replace, or retire one of your previously deployed Recruits:

• "Move" one of your Recruits (faceup or down) to any open space on your side of the Map.
• "Replace" one of your Recruits by moving one deployed Recruit to the other's position, discarding the replaced Recruit for the remainder of the game.
• "Retire" one of your Recruits (faceup or down), discarding it from play for the remainder of the game.

All other class abilities take effect during Phase 3: Skirmish, and need a pair at their location to activate.

A player will only activate these class abilities at a Skirmish Location if both of their Recruits at that location are from the same class. Opposing abilities are resolved simultaneously, unless stated otherwise.

Bard - Sing (Combat Strength distribution: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Your Captains resolve soars. Add 2 to the Captain's rank at this location.

Cleric - Bless (Combat Strength distribution: 2, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Reinforce the front lines. Add a third Recruit to this location from your hand, but only if its Combat Strength matches one of the two Clerics already stationed here.

Warlock - Duel (Combat Strength distribution: 1, 2, 3, 4, 4)

Settle the score. Resolve this location as a Duel by choosing one of your Recruits and one of your opponent's. All tokens still apply (Fear, Ambush, and Bolster).

If both players are using the Duel ability, both clans select only one of their own Recruits for the Duel.

Rogue - Sneak (Combat Strength distribution: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Strike from the shadows. Draw an Ambush Token at random, adding its value to your Total Strength. (Ambush Tokens range in value: 2, 2, 3, 4.)

If both players are using the Sneak ability, the clan with the Rogue possessing the higher Combat Strength draws their Ambush token first.