Unicornus Knights
Unicornus Knights Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Story
- Game Overview
- Components
- Card Anatomy
- Map Tiles
- Setup
- Tutorial Mode: The Escape!
- Flow of the Game
- Game End
- A Player's Turn
- Battle
- Character Death and Allies
- Movement and Battle Example
- Characters at a Glance
- Princess Cornelia (16-year-old female)
- Donia, the Sand Maiden (19-year-old female)
- Godfried, the Temple Knight (32-year-old male)
- Madam Josephine, the Wealthy Merchant (47-year-old female)
- Annelie, the New Strategist (17-year-old female)
- Gato, the Half Dragon (43-year-old dragonkin male)
- Magnus, the Hermit (57-year-old male)
- Havok, the Old Knight (61-year-old male)
- Ilsahati, King of the Wind (484-year-old elven male)
- Mirza, the Royal Guard (22-year-old female)
- Mountain Cat Band — Fara (26-year-old female), Anthony (18-year-old male), Norrick (37-year-old male)
- Urgan, the Fortress King (132-year-old dwarven male)
- Zyne, the Shrewd General (25-year-old male)
- Emperor Lionel VIII (58-year-old male)
- Princess Amina (15-year-old female)
- The Black Knight (?-year-old / gender unknown)
- Dahaka, the Black Drake (175-year-old dragon male)
- Demian, the Dark Noble (387-year-old vampire male)
- Dorgas, the Steel Hurricane (37-year-old male)
- Exhar, the Ice Lord (31-year-old male)
- Gregorio, the Priest (43-year-old male)
- Irvin & Marianne, the Twin Stars (21-year-old twins)
- Chancellor Kostov (51-year-old male)
- King of the Abyss (lacks age and gender)
- Lyla, the Arcane General (28-year-old female)
- Ravinith, the Necromancer (?-year-old female)
- Rozie, the Ancient Weapon (0-year-old female type android)
- Card Clarifications
- Credits
Story
In the year 243 of the royal calendar, the kingdom of Astoria was suddenly thrust into war. The Legania Empire, located to the west of Astoria, announced that due to an obscure marriage connection, it would annex Astoria. The empire began the campaign to take Astoria's fertile lands for their own. The military strength of the empire was overwhelming, not just with skilled warriors, but dragons and other dark creatures. They obliterated the royal army of Astoria, and in a mere two months the capital of Astoria fell. With the king slain defending of the capital, the population cowered in fear as enemies and evil beasts walked the land.
Despite the crushing assault of the empire, one member of the royal family survived: Cornelia, the third daughter of the king. She slipped through the attacking armies and fled the capital while there was still time. She and her retinue shook off their pursuers, retreating to an abandoned fortress by the sea, in the far eastern outskirts of Astoria.
Cornelia was only sixteen, a young child with no knowledge of politics or military tactics, yet she did not hesitate a second to devote her life to her youthful ideal of vengeance.
"I will fight to the bitter end for my people. This fight may be nigh hopeless. Nonetheless, I call upon all of you who refuse to abandon hope! Gather! Gather around our Unicorn flag!"
The news spread like wildfire throughout lands that had yet to be fully subjugated by the empire. One came, then another. And another. Retired knights, loyal generals, great merchants, people from all races, young and old…
In the year 244 of the royal calendar, the young princess Cornelia took her assembled army and marched on the capital, ignoring the pessimistic words of some of her advisors. Between her and the capital stood the Imperial army, easily a hundredfold larger than her sparse numbers. Thus began the March of the Unicornus Knights.
Game Overview
There are two sides in Unicornus Knights: the kingdom side, which includes kingdom characters and associated tiles, controlled by you, the players; and the empire side which includes empire characters and associated tiles, which act automatically.
You must assist Princess Cornelia in her return to the capital. Gather soldiers and resources, defeat enemy generals, pave the way for the princess, and finally help her reclaim her throne.
The princess marches automatically, relentlessly ignoring the advice of her allies. Unless you tactically help her and sometimes stop her impulsive attacks, she will surely fall in battle. But the princess is right about one thing; time is short. The longer you wait, the stronger the empire becomes, and soon they will take note of this small rebellion.
Guide the princess and her army, and reach the capital in time. It requires a miracle—but it must be done for the good of all!
Components
Your game of Unicornus Knights should contain the following. If it doesn't, please contact [email protected].
- 27 Location Tiles
- 28 Character Standees
- 4 Princess Character Cards
- 15 Empire Character Cards
- 12 Kingdom Character Cards
- 24 Event Cards
- 60 Support Cards
- 24 Fate Cards
- 12 Battle Dice
- 100 Military Power Tokens
- 20 Damage Tokens
- 50 Resource Tokens
Game Terms
Each tile is called an area, which comprises seven spaces. If a game effect refers to an area, it means all seven spaces on a given tile.
A unit refers to a character and all its military power tokens, or a character with no tokens, or a stack of military power tokens with no character leading them.
The game takes place over ten rounds. Each round is divided into six steps, during one of these steps, each player takes a turn.
Card Anatomy
Princess Character Cards
Cards representing the princess and her personality for the current game.
- Picture — the character's artwork.
- Name — the princess's name (e.g. Princess Cornelia).
- Command — how many military power tokens this character can control.
- Life — amount of damage that the princess can take. If reduced to zero, the princess dies.
- Personality — the princess's personality for this game (e.g. Lucky Girl).
- Special Power — the effect granted by the princess's personality.
Kingdom Character Cards
Characters that the players will control, and that will help the princess.
- Picture — the character's artwork.
- Name — the character's name and title (e.g. Zyne, the Shrewd General).
- Command — how many military power tokens this character can control.
- Life — amount of damage that this character can take. If reduced to zero, the character dies.
- Attacking Diagram — to use when attacking.
- Defending Diagram — to use when defending.
- Special Power — the character's special power.
Empire Character Cards
The various imperial enemies that stand between the players and victory.
- Picture — the character's artwork.
- Name — the character's name and title (e.g. Ravinith, the Necromancer).
- Combat Power — the strength of this character. During battle, it is the character's military power.
- Life — amount of damage that this character can take. If reduced to zero, the character dies.
- Character Power — the special power of the character.
- Ally Power — the power that the ally of this character can use, should this character become a player ally.
Support Cards
Cards that represent the actions, effects and items that the players can use and be affected by. Players will have these in their hands, and will play them for benefits.
Each support card has a Name (e.g. Help from the People) and an Effect (e.g. Gain 3 resource tokens).
Fate Cards
Cards representing the fate that is bound when a kingdom character encounters an empire character. This card will determine their relationship, and may be beneficial to the players.
Each fate card has a Name (e.g. Persuasion) and an Effect (e.g. When this character is defeated, they become the ally of the character who defeated them).
Event Cards
Cards representing various unexpected events that will happen regularly during the game. The players should work to minimize the effects of Event cards, because most of them cause heavy disadvantage to the players.
Each event card has a Name (e.g. Hopelessness), a Level (the event's influence, from 1 to 3 — these will be referenced when you create the deck of the Event cards), and an Effect (e.g. Ongoing: At the end of the round, unless at least 1 empire character was defeated this round, all kingdom units suffer 2 damage).
Map Tiles
The tiles that form the map of the kingdom. Each tile corresponds to a character (Empire, kingdom, or princess).
- Type — the geographical type of the space (city, desert, forest, fort, lake, mountain, plains, road, and village).
- Defense Value — how Battle dice are affected during battle on this space. The number of dice is decreased by this number when you are attacking an empire character on this space and the number of Battle dice is increased by this number when you are attacked on this space.
- Starting Location — each tile has a character that lives there. The character's portrait shows where that character starts the game.
- Resource Value — indicates how many resources you will gain when Collecting resources on this space (see "Collect" on p. 18). You can get resources even if there is not a resource value icon on the land, but the amount will be very low.
- Empire Power — the amount of empire military power tokens on this space when the game starts.
- Recruiting Value — whether you can or cannot Recruit soldiers here, and how many. If there is not a Recruiting value icon on the land, you cannot Recruit.
- Impassable Area — no one may enter spaces with this symbol.
- Movement Difficulty — how many resources are needed for movement on this area. The more difficult the land is to move through, the higher the cost.
- Location Title — note also that kingdom tiles have a brown back, while empire tiles have a black back.
Setup
This is the standard setup.
1. Gather the Kingdom Characters
Each player chooses a character and takes the associated character card and standee. Players also collectively choose which princess they wish to use. All kingdom characters (including the princess) get military power tokens equal to half of that character's command (rounded up) and 10 resource tokens.
Set the princess and her tokens aside for now.
Choosing a Princess. There are four different princess character cards available. Each provides a different game experience.
- Tactician — This is the easiest version for most players to use, because you can guide her path to keep her out of trouble. However, be sure not to spend too much time!
- Warrior — This version is very tough, so even if the players make a mistake or have some bad luck, she'll probably weather the damage.
- Lucky Girl — With fewer hit points and a smaller army, this is a vulnerable princess. However, having more cards is a great benefit, especially when you have five or six players!
- Social — This may be the hardest version to use. While her special ability is useful, be aware that it helps her to march across the map faster. She may outrun the players and get herself into real trouble. Don't; be afraid to use support cards to force her to retreat!
2-Player Game. When you play the game with two players, each player selects 2 characters to control. Each of those two characters has a separate hand of support cards.
2. Build the Map
Find the tile named The Capital, then add 11 more empire tiles chosen at random, arranging them as shown.
Find the tile named The Ancestral Castle, and place it in the location and orientation shown.
Find the tiles that correspond to each of the characters. Add random kingdom tiles so that you end up with 6. Shuffle those tiles and place them per the diagram below to complete the map. The orientation of The Capital and The Ancestral Castle must match that shown. Place all tiles so that all text faces that same direction.
Return the remaining tiles to the box; they will not be used in the game.
3. Gather the Empire Characters
Take the character cards and standees that correspond to the empire tiles on the board. Games therefore feature 12 empire characters (emperor included), or 13 if Forts of the Twin Stars is on the map. Place the empire character cards so that each player can look at them easily.
4. Place Tokens and Standees
Place the appropriate number of military power tokens on spaces that have the empire power icon. Then place all participating character standees on their starting location (you can see the character illustrations on the tiles). Leave all other character standees in the box.
5. Fate Cards
Shuffle the fate cards to create a face-down fate deck.
6. Event Cards
Separate the event cards by level and shuffle each level separately.
Select three level 1 cards, three level 2 cards, and four level 3 cards. Create the event deck (face-down) with the 1s on top of the deck and the 3s on the bottom. Since the game is only ten rounds long, there are only 10 event cards.
7. Support Cards
Shuffle the support cards to create the support deck. Each player draws one card.
Do not to show your support cards to other players. You are not allowed to reveal information regarding your hand to other players.
Two-Player Games: Each player draws a separate hand for each of their characters.
8. Tokens
Place the various tokens within easy reach.
9. Starting Player
Choose the starting player. The starting player manages the actions of the princess for this round. Give the starting player the princess character card, and her resource and military power tokens.
You are now ready to protect the princess!
How to Build the Map (Four Player Setup)
- The Capital tile. 2–12. Random empire tiles. 13–18. Kingdom tiles (player character tiles plus random kingdom tiles).
- Princess tile.
Return the remaining tiles to the box; they will not be used in the game.
Custom Layouts. Once you've mastered the normal game, try building the map to reflect a new story. You may try having the princess surrounded at the start, or have the way to The Capital blocked by powerful enemies.
Adjusting the Difficulty. If you feel the game is too difficult or too easy, there are several options. Change the time limit by making an event deck that equals the number of rounds. Adjust the event deck by shifting the balance of level-1 events and level-3 events. Or simply continue the game once the event deck runs out, until either you win or the princess dies.
Tutorial Mode: The Escape!
For your first game, we suggest you play a light version to get a feel for the rules. This little scenario covers the princess' escape from the capital, before the events of the main game.
Set up this tutorial like a normal game, with the following changes:
Step 1. Use Princess Cornelia, Warrior.
Step 2. Find the tiles named Ancestral Castle, The Capital, Black Drake Mountain, Forward Encampment, and Ancient Ruins, then take three random kingdom tiles. Create the map by arranging the eight tiles as shown here.
Step 3. Place military power tokens on the Forward Encampment and Ancient Ruins tiles. Do not place any on The Capital.
Place the princess on The Capital's starting space, and give her 3 damage tokens. Place the empire characters Dahaka, Dorgas, and Rozie on their respective starting positions. Place the Black Knight and 6 military power tokens on the starting position of Ancestral Castle. Players' kingdom characters start on their tile if it is in play. Otherwise, they may start on any space on any of the three random kingdom tiles. No more than 2 players can start on the same tile.
Step 4. Do not use Event cards in the tutorial.
Rule Changes. The tutorial game differs from the normal game in the following ways:
- There is no Event phase.
- The princess moves towards her starting position in the Ancestral Castle.
Otherwise, play the game as normal, paying attention to aggressive units, defensive units, and their special powers. You win if the princess gets to the Ancestral Castle alive. There is no time limit.
Flow of the Game
This game is divided into rounds, and the goal of the game is to win within 10 rounds. Each round has the following steps, in order:
- Start of Round
- Event Step
- Player Step
- Princess Step
- Enemy Step
- End of Round
1. Start of Round
Some characters have a 'start of round' effect. Those take place now. If several characters have a 'start of round' effect, players choose the order in which they occur.
2. Event Step
Draw one event card from the deck and resolve its effects. Place the card face up beside the event deck for ease of reference. An event card normally lasts until the end of the round. However, some event cards have ONGOING effects. These effects last for the rest of the game once. Keep ongoing events face up to the side of the event deck, so that everyone can see them.
3. Player Step
Beginning with the starting player, and proceeding clockwise around the table, each player takes their turn. If your character has a power that activates "at the start of your turn," that power resolves when your individual turn begins (see "A Player's Turn" on p. 15 for a full explanation).
2-Player Game: When you play the game with two players, players alternate turns, each using one of their characters. The player can use their characters in either order each turn.
4. Princess Step
After all players finish their turns, the princess acts. The starting player manages the princess; if players cannot agree on what should be done, the starting player decides.
The princess has 3 actions, regardless of the number of players. She acts according to these rules.
The princess' preferred action is to Move to an adjacent space that is closer to Emperor Lionel's starting space in The Capital.
If the princess can move to either of two spaces, she always chooses the one with the lower movement cost. If the costs are the same, the players choose which route she takes.
She cannot move onto a space containing another kingdom character.
She can move into a space with an empire character. The princess does not avoid a fight, even one that she will clearly lose (see "Princess Battles" on p. 17).
If the princess cannot move to a space that is closer to her goal, she tries to go around her obstacle and find a new route. The princess only seeks a new route is she can move to a space that is the same distance from her goal. The princess can never move to a space that is farther away.
If the princess doesn't have enough resources to Move, or is blocked by obstacles, then she Collects instead.
Example: There are two spaces adjacent to the princess, both 4 spaces away from Emperor Lionel's starting space. Moving on the road is cheaper, so the princess moves to the road space, as shown by the solid arrow. She moves there even if a strong empire unit is waiting to destroy her.
Once the princess has done her three actions, proceed to the enemy step.
5. Enemy Step
Here the enemies react to the princess' rebellion. Enemies act according to these rules:
All enemies are considered to act at the same time. Resolve all movement first, and then resolve all combats and other effects. All empire units move simultaneously, so, to avoid confusion, it's best to move empire units starting with those closest to kingdom characters. In cases where two empire characters both want to enter the same space, players choose which one enters; the other must move elsewhere.
Characters and military power tokens in an empire unit never separate; they always move together.
Empire units act according with their character's personality: defensive, normal, or aggressive.
Defensive Units: An empire unit led by a defensive character never moves, except when forced to by card effects.
Normal Units: These are units that have no character leading them, or that have a character that is neither defensive or aggressive. If there is a kingdom unit on an adjacent space, a normal empire unit moves onto that space and starts a battle. If more than one kingdom unit is adjacent to a normal empire unit, the players choose which one the empire unit attacks.
Aggressive Units: An empire unit led by an aggressive character seeks out combat. If kingdom units are on the same area as or an area adjacent to an aggressive unit, the unit moves one space toward the closest kingdom unit. If several are the same distance, the aggressive unit moves toward a unit that is on the same area. If two kingdom units are on the same area and the same distance away, the players choose which character the aggressive unit moves toward.
Empire characters can't move onto a space with another empire character. If the route to the closest kingdom unit is barred by another empire character, they move towards the next closest kingdom unit.
See also "Fate" on p. 16.
Retreat Before Combat
If a powerful enemy moves onto your character's space, you may immediately retreat before engaging in combat. Move the unit to any empty adjacent space except those spaces that an enemy unit came from. This out-of-turn move costs +2 extra resources. If you cannot pay this cost, your unit cannot retreat.
Merging Enemy Units
After moving but before resolving battles, if two or more enemy units occupy a single space, they immediately merge and become a single unit. Similarly, if some card effect moves one enemy unit onto another, those units immediately merge.
There is no limit to the number of military power tokens a single empire character can have.
Two units with empire characters can never merge, because two empire characters cannot move into the same space.
6. End of Round
Once all enemies have acted and all battles have been resolved, the round ends. If this was the last (10th) round, proceed to game end, below. Otherwise, pass the princess character card, her military power, and her resource tokens one player to the left. That player becomes the starting player for the next round.
Game End
The game ends if any of the following conditions is met:
-
The princess is in Emperor Lionel's starting space at the end of the Princess Step.
The princess frees the capital. The rest of the imperial army begins to retreat, and the people welcome her forces heartily. There are still many difficulties to overcome, but regaining freedom is a crucial step toward rebuilding the country. The players win.
-
The 10th round ends, without the above happening
Too much time passes. The empire sends reinforcements, and Emperor Lionel's stranglehold on the kingdom becomes insurmountable. The heroes fight valiantly, but the situation worsens by the day. The players lose.
-
The princess dies
If the princess is killed, the resistance disperses in despair and the players lose.
A Player's Turn
When it's your turn, you take a number of actions based on the total number of players in the game.
| Players | Actions/Turn |
|---|---|
| 2* | 4 |
| 3 | 5 |
| 4 | 4 |
| 5 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 |
*Since each player has two characters, each character gets 4 actions per turn.
There are five different actions you can choose, and you may choose to use most actions several times during a turn. The actions are:
- Recruit (gather soldiers)
- Collect (gather resources)
- Move (use resources to move)
- Send (transfer soldiers or resources to another player)
- Destiny (draw a card, limit once per turn)
In addition to the above, you may play support cards and use special powers as many times as you like. These do not count as actions, except in special cases that are clearly noted on the card.
You cannot use support cards and special powers on other players' turns. During the Enemy Step, you can only use card to affect your character's battles.
When your turn is finished, you must discard down to 7 support cards. Then the player to your left takes a turn. When all players have finished their turns, the Princess Phase starts.
Recruit
This action increases your army by recruiting soldiers. Collect military power tokens equal to the recruiting value of the space occupied by your standee. You cannot use this action on a space that has no recruiting value.
Villages, cities, and forts are the only spaces that have recruiting value.
A character cannot ever have more military power tokens than that character's command rating. Discard any extra military power tokens gained.
If you run out of military power tokens, use makeshift tokens.
Collect
This action gathers material necessary for the army. Collect resource tokens equal to the resource value of the space occupied by your standee. If that space has no resource value, you gain 1 resource token.
Villages, cities, and forts are the only spaces that have resource value.
There is no maximum amount of resource tokens you can have. If you run out, use makeshift tokens.
Move
Move your character's unit to an adjacent space. This costs at least 1 resource.
The full cost of moving is equal to the number of military power tokens in your unit, modified by the movement difficulty icon in the space to which you are moving. There is a minimum cost of 1 to make any move. If you don't have enough resources to pay the full cost of moving, you cannot move.
Example 1: Your character has 4 military power tokens and wants to move into a forest. The forest has a movement difficulty of 1. Moving into the forest costs 5 resources: 4 (for military power) + 1 (for movement difficulty).
Example 2: Your character has no military power tokens and wants to move into a forest. The forest has a movement difficulty of 1. Moving into the forest costs 1 resources: 0 (for military power) + 1 (for movement difficulty).
Example 3: Your character has 1 military power token and wants to move onto a road. The road has a movement difficulty of -1. Moving onto the road costs 1 resource: 1 (for military power) - 1 (for movement difficulty) equals 0, but a move always costs a minimum of 1 resource, so the final cost is 1.
You can't move your character to a space occupied by another kingdom character (which includes the princess). You also cannot move into a space with a red X for its movement difficulty icon.
When your character moves onto a space occupied by an empire unit, a battle ensues (see "Battle" on p. 16). Regardless of the battle outcome and any resulting extra movement, the battle is part of your Move action, thus if you move into a space, have a combat, lose and retreat, you've spent one only action.
Send
You can send military power or resource tokens to another player or the princess, with the following restrictions:
- You can only send to characters on the same area or an adjacent area.
- You cannot send resources alone; you also need to send military power tokens to protect the shipment. For each military power token you send, you can send up to 10 resources.
- After you send military power tokens, discard any tokens in excess of the receiving character's command.
Destiny
Draw a card from the Support deck and add it to your hand. You can only do this once per turn.
You cannot reveal information about your support cards to other players.
Play a Support Card
Play the card and resolve its effects. Discard it unless it has an ONGOING effect. Playing a card doesn't count as an action, unless the card specifically says it does.
Some support cards read, "DURING BATTLE." These can only be used during enemy step if your character is attacked. You cannot use them to help other players in their battles.
Use a Special Power
You can also use a special power on your character or one of your character's allies. All costs for the power (life, resources, actions, etc.) are noted in red. You must pay these costs in full to use the power.
Some special powers read, "DURING BATTLE." These can be used during the Enemy Step if your character is attacked. You cannot use them to help other players in their battles.
Some special powers don't have a cost. These passive powers are always in effect, even when it is not your turn. You don't have to declare that you are using these.
Fate
Fate guides the hand of mortals, and some find that their allegiance is tested by an experience that supersedes mere fealty. This is handled by the fate deck. An empire character with a fate card is considered bound; a character with no fate card is unbound.
A few empire characters have the trait "No Fate" (Emperor Lionel VIII, Rozie, King of the Abyss, The Black Knight). All other empire characters are subject to the following rules.
After each time a unit moves, whether it was a kingdom unit or an empire unit moving, check to see if anyone gets bound by fate. If an unbound empire character is in the same area as a kingdom character (including the princess), or is in an adjacent space even if it's in a different area, draw and reveal a fate card for that empire character. It represents the fate that binds the characters together, and that empire character is now considered bound by fate. Each empire character can only be bound by fate once, but kingdom characters can be bound by fate with multiple empire characters.
Place the fate card on the empire character card, and place both next to your character card to indicate they are bound. They each retain their military power tokens and allegiance (the empire character is not an ally).
With some fate cards, an empire character that is leading a unit with military power tokens can abruptly become the ally of a kingdom character. In such cases, the empire's military power tokens remain in their space, becoming a normal unit with no leader. They do not switch sides to the kingdom.
Battle
Whenever a kingdom unit and an enemy unit end up on the same space, a battle occurs. The side that moved is the attacker, and the other side is the defender. If battles occur at several places at the same time, resolve them in any order.
Player Battles
This type of battle occurs between an empire unit and a player's kingdom character. When an empire unit and the princess fight, different rules apply; see "Princess Battles" on p. 17.
A player battle has four steps:
- Roll dice
- Apply dice
- Take damage
- Withdraw
Roll Dice
In combat, you typically roll as many dice as your character has military power tokens. However, if the battle takes place in a space with a defense value, the number of dice changes (see "Defense Value" on p. 10).
If you are attacking, subtract the defense value from the number of dice you roll (making it harder to win). If the empire is attacking you, add the defense value to the number of dice you roll (making it easier to win).
Roll the dice and compare them to the relevant diagram on your character card. Use the attacking diagram if you are attacking, and the defending diagram if the empire is attacking (see "Kingdom Character Cards" on p. 8 for illustration).
Example: Your character has 4 military power tokens. If you attack a space that has a defense value of 1, you roll 3 dice: 4 (tokens) -1 (defense value).
When you refer to the combat table on your Character, the result will be a hit, a miss or a loss.
| Symbol | Result |
|---|---|
| Hit | Enemy takes 1 damage for every hit. |
| Miss | Nothing happens on a miss. |
| Loss (skull) | You take 1 damage for every loss. |
Affecting the Dice
Some special abilities or support cards affect the number of dice rolled, or the rolls or results of the dice.
Effects that increase or decrease the amount of dice you roll must be used before rolling any dice.
Example: You can't use Ambush after rolling the dice.
Effects that change dice or create a reroll can be used after rolling the dice.
Example: Rozie the Ancient Weapon can change all die results into hits. You can wait to see how well you roll before deciding to use her.
Apply Dice
Each die rolled may be applied to the enemy unit as follows:
Allocate any or all dice to military power tokens, one die per token. Once all military power tokens have a die allocated, you may apply any or all of the remaining dice to the enemy character.
You don't have to assign all dice (typically you don't assign surplus loss dice).
Next, add the empire character's combat power to the total number of military power tokens the empire unit has. This is the empire unit's total power. Each die you assigned to the unit negates one point of that power; subtract 1 from the total power for each die you assigned to the unit (tokens or character). The leftover power is the amount of damage your unit takes.
In addition, each loss result assigned to an empire unit deals 1 damage to your unit.
Example: You assign 2 hit dice to a unit with 3 military power tokens, the empire unit deals 1 damage to you, as one of the military power tokens was left free.
Take Damage
After assigning all dice, resolve the damage done to both sides. A hit on a military power token removes that token, while a hit on an enemy character deals 1 damage to that character.
For each damage done to your unit, you must either by discard one military power token or assign 1 damage to your character.
Track damage to characters with damage tokens. When the total number of tokens equals or exceeds a character's health, that character dies. Ordinarily, there is no way to heal damage, but several cards and characters have abilities that can heal damage.
You choose how to assign all damage to your unit, however you cannot assign enough damage to kill your character while there are still military power tokens in the unit.
Withdraw
If the defender is annihilated, the attacker remains on the space. However, if the defending unit has a character and/or military power tokens left, the attacker withdraws to the space from where the attack came. This withdrawal costs no resources, but any resources used for the attacking movement are not returned.
If several empire units attacked your unit from different locations, they merge before the battle (see "Merging Enemy Units" on p. 14), so they retreat together. They retreat to any of the originating spaces (that does not have a character on it), your choice. If all originating spaces are occupied by characters, the retreating unit moves to any eligible space adjacent to the battle (it is acceptable to retreat into a space that holds only military power tokens). If all adjacent spaces are occupied, then the character retreats two hexes of the player's choice, passing through intervening characters to a space that has no characters.
Princess Battles
The princess does battle by a different set of rules. The princess and those with her fight desperately, and the enemy attacks her ruthlessly and without finesse until they are slain or she is dead. Do not use dice, defense value, or empire characters' special abilities (unless noted) in princess battles.
When the princess is in a battle, the princess' unit takes damage equal to the empire character's current health (printed health minus wound tokens) plus the military power tokens in the enemy unit. The players decide how to allocate damage to the princess, divided between her life and military power tokens. After the princess's unit has taken damage, destroy the enemy unit completely.
Therefore, the princess' unit instantly defeats enemies, but at the same time risks her life. The players must take care that the princess does not make suicide attacks. Note also that princess battles use the empire characters' health, not combat power.
Sample Enemy Step and Princess Battle
It's the start of the Enemy Step, and the Princess (with her five military power tokens) has stirred up a lot of trouble.
Movement
First, all Empire units move
- Amina's unit does not move because she is defensive.
- The three military power tokens on the road move into the space with Princess Cornelia.
- Both Dorgas and Lyla want to move into the space with Princess Cornelia, but, since Empire characters can never merge, only one of them can do so. The players opt for Lyla to enter the space with the Princess. That way, the Princess can face Lyla (and her sinister ability) and destroy a very large Empire army, while the players get to fight a single weak unit led by Dorgas, conserving their strength to protect the Princess on later turns.
The decision made, Lyla enters the space with the Princess, and her unit immediately merges with the three military power tokens there.
Dorgas instead moves toward the next closest character.
Battle
Lyla has a printed Health of 4, although she has previously taken 2 wounds as shown on her card. This leaves her with a current health of 2. She also has 7 military power tokens in her unit, the four she already had and the three that joined her. 2 health plus 7 tokens totals 9 damage. Note that Lyla's special power is ignored in a Princess battle. Clever players!
Princess Cornelia's special ability is that she takes 2 less damage in battle. Thus her unit only takes 7 damage, not 9.
The players decide to let Cornelia take 3 damage, and her troops to take the other 4. Cornelia's life is now 3, and she has one military power token left.
Lyla and her unit are utterly wiped out.
The Princess has been severely weakened, but a large and dangerous enemy force has been defeated.
Character Death and Allies
If any character takes damage equal to or greater than that character's health, that character is defeated and its standee is removed from the board.
Kingdom Character Deaths
If your character dies, you lose the killed character's allies and resources, but you retain all cards in your hand (if any). Fate cards that linked the dead character to empire characters remain in play, even though some can no longer be fulfilled.
If your character died while leading military power tokens (for example, from the event card Hopelessness), those tokens turn to the empire's side as a normal unit.
Select one of the unused kingdom characters. You play this character from the next round on. During this round's End of Turn Step, take the character's starting values of military power and resources, and place your standee on any unoccupied starting position on any area (even an empire one!).
Former allies of a dead kingdom character are eligible to be brought back into play on the empire side by event cards.
Empire Character Deaths
When an enemy character dies, they are normally removed from the board, unless a special power or fate effect makes them become your ally (see below).
Discard any fate card from the enemy. If the character is later resurrected, draw a new fate card for it when required.
Allies
Some enemies become the allies of a kingdom character (including the princess). Remove the empire character's standee from the map.
In the case of kingdom characters, the player's character gains the empire character's ally power. Slide the empire character card partway under the kingdom character card so only the ally power is visible.
In contrast, the princess does not gain the printed special benefit of any allies she gains. Instead, each ally she has gives her the benefit of reducing the damage she takes in battle by 1.
Advice
This is a cooperative game, and the military logistics are as important the battle.
Characters with powerful abilities and a lot of military power can wipe out enemies. But such characters won't last long without the help of others who can send them resources. Players must not only fight, but share their abilities, help the princess, and so on in order to win.
The princess' erratic behavior might be confusing at first. Anticipate what the princess will do, and plan accordingly.
The princess is a powerful unit, and sometimes it's good to take advantage of her power, even if she suffers some damage. She only needs to have 1 health at the end of the game.
Sacrifice may be needed. It doesn't help to keep your character alive if the empire wins the game.
Movement and Battle Example
Zyne, with 6 military power tokens in his unit, wants to attack Lyla, who has 3 military power tokens (thanks to a Fated Enemy card). She waits in a city space with a defense value of 1. He has four actions.
Action 1
Move to the road. He pays 5 resource tokens for this move.
Action 2
Move to the city. He pays 6 resource tokens for this move.
A battle starts. With 6 military power tokens, Zyne has 6 dice to roll, but the city's defense value reduces that to 5. He wants to do damage, so he plays Ambush to gain three extra dice, bringing his total to 8.
Zyne rolls and gets: five hits, two misses, and one loss.
Comparing the results to the attacking diagram on Zyne's character card, he gets five hits, two misses, and the 1 is a loss, which results in damage to Zyne. Also, unfortunately for Zyne, Lyla's character power makes every miss count as a loss so the total is 5 hits and 3 losses.
Zyne now divides these dice between Lyla's 3 military power tokens and her combat power (value 3). Typically, assigning hits to tokens is smart, because it reduces the enemy's troops immediately, but he has a lot of hits so he decides to focus on Lyla to get rid of her dangerous ability.
Of course, he must assign dice to the 3 tokens before he can assign any to Lyla. He assigns one hit and two losses to these 3 tokens. He has 4 hits and one loss left. He assigns all 4 hits to Lyla, and discards the loss.
The empire loses one military power token, and Lyla who has taken wounds equal to her health, is defeated and discarded.
For his part, Zyne takes no damage from unassigned power (all the military power tokens as well as all three points of Lyla's combat value had dice assigned to them). However, he assigned two loss dice, so he must deal with that damage. He takes 2 damage tokens and places them on Zyne's character card.
Since Zyne's ambush did not eliminate the empire unit, his unit must withdraw to the road. Although the empire still holds the city, Lyla is dead and their forces are weakened. The city will likely fall to Zyne's next attack, and then he can gather resources to continue his march on the capital.
Zyne still has two actions left this turn. He makes his plans…
Characters at a Glance
Princess Cornelia (16-year-old female)
Cornelia is the last survivor of the Astorian royal family. When the capital fell, she alone escaped from the chaos with a small party of loyal soldiers and attendants. Following their daring escape, she managed to reach an old castle by the sea, far from the capital, and raised her own army. Pieced together from remnants of the royal army, loyal commoners, and others with their own interrests, her forces grew and began a campaign to retake her father's throne.
As a leader, she lacks experience, but her youthful enthusiasm and sincerity bring many to her banner. Should she survive this campaign, she will indeed be ready to serve as a benevolent queen.
Donia, the Sand Maiden (19-year-old female)
Donia is the young leader of the ethnic minority often referred to as the "sand people". She reads the future from the movement of the stars, and communicates with the elementals that dwell in heaven and earth. It is said that her power is one of the greatest among a long line of priestesses.
One night, a star representing a bad omen appeared in the night sky, and she saw a vision of a dark cloud covering the land's future. This premonition turned out to be the empire attacking. Donia joined the princess as soon as she heard of her escape, and brought with her capable warriors.
Godfried, the Temple Knight (32-year-old male)
Godfried is a temple knight who serves the Eastern Church worshipping the Sun God, whose influence stretches out over the continent.
As head of the Astorian kingdom's state religion, the Church is highly powerful. When the empire invaded, the Church dispatched Godfried and the Dawn Knights, officially to deliver the faithful from the grasps of evil. Internally, the Church is concerned that should the empire solidify their rule, the Church could lose autonomy.
The empire, for its own part, wants to avoid a full-scale collision with the Church during the annexation of the Astorian kingdom, however the Church has no intention of avoiding the conflict.
For their worshippers and for the furtherance of its improved position in the future, the temple knights rallied under the princess' banner, and give their lives to this liberation front. They wear the armor of faith, and are stronger and more resilient than any other.
Madam Josephine, the Wealthy Merchant (47-year-old female)
Madam Josephine is a bold woman who controls most of the commercial ventures in the southernmost port town.
In her younger days she was married to a man who inherited a small shop that handled shipwright tools. Josephine learned the business and her knowledge served as a complement to her husband's efforts. However, her husband passed away in an epidemic, and she had to take over the business completely.
She evolved her business into a merchant ship wholesaler, and the business grew rapidly.
She has always had an eye for the inland trade, and has been waiting for an opportunity to trade with the royal family. Now, the situation has completely changed, and she has judged that it's much better to declare loyalty to the princess rather than siding with the empire. With this, she has become the main financial sponsor for raising an army to march on the capital with the princess.
Annelie, the New Strategist (17-year-old female)
When the capital was taken, Annelie was a student at the military academy in the eastern lands of the kingdom. Shortly after the capital fell, the Imperial army struck at the city that was home to the military academy. Annelie had to command the cadets, and drove the enemy back with little difficulty.
Her school record was incredible, but she was often nervous and stumbled at many opportunities, hence why her reputation among teachers and students was not the highest. But in the face of real battle, her true talent could finally bloom without hindrance. Her sharp tactics were so masterful, and her command so exact and sure, that people around her completely changed their view of this young student. Outside of battle however, she was still a clumsy city girl. People scratch their heads over her enigmatic gap in personality.
Gato, the Half Dragon (43-year-old dragonkin male)
Gato is the offspring of a human and a dragon who had taken human form. He is still quite young in dragon terms, and though he is only half-dragon, he still carries the blood of that dying species. He spent his days in ascetic practices, under the white dragon Zoroaster, in order to control the innate brutality of his dragon blood.
When the empire invaded, Gato and Zoroaster were ambushed by Imperial soldiers together wtih the black dragon Dahaka, and Zoroaster was killed. Gato was carried away in chains and, seriously wounded, was dropped into a deep crevasse.
The immense vitality and strength from his dragon blood saved his life, and he later buried Zoroaster in the hidden graveyard of dragons. Now he is on a mission of revenge against the killers of his teacher.
Magnus, the Hermit (57-year-old male)
Magnus is a veteran magician leading a reclusive life in the deep forest. Formerly in the service of the King as a court magician, he became increasingly weary of the political strife of bureaucrats who did nothing but exploit the political situations. When a close friend of his, the knight-commander Havok retired, Magnus soon followed and retreated to a secluded life.
When Havok sent word that the capital had fallen, Magnus was asked to help him raise an army. Magnus at first refused, having grown completely weary of the mundane world. However, unwilling to leave his old friend rushing out in a reckless and dangerous battle, Magnus has grudgingly agreed to join the fight.
Havok, the Old Knight (61-year-old male)
Havok was a famous knight-commander, and former pillar of the kingdom's military forces.
After his retirement, he served the princess as her personal guard, until finally leaving that position at the age of 58. Ever since, he has led a reclusive life in a small estate that was bestowed to him by the King, near the eastern frontier of the kingdom.
Because the capital fell suddenly, he was unable to join that battle. This has left Havok furiously vengeful. When word came that Princess Cornelia was alive, he led his small army to join the banner of the princess. He is a cheerful and vivacious old man despite his desire for vengeance, and of good counsel for the princess.
Ilsahati, King of the Wind (484-year-old elven male)
The king of the Elven families living in the forest area called "Maze Woods". They consist of a high civilization and have for centuries had a treaty with the kingdom, and lived self-governed within the boundaries of the Astoria.
Elves normally do not participate in the mundane fights of the humans, but Ilsahati felt the empire a threat to their autonomy, and also, the empire used soldiers of vile races that elves hate beyond all else. Thus Ilsahati has agreed to a temporary military alliance with the princess. The elven families have a distinguished technique with the bow and can fire from afar without being noticed by the enemy. Their small numbers are outweighed by their prowess.
Mirza, the Royal Guard (22-year-old female)
Mirza was the commander of the Queensguard, who served and guarded the second queen Malene. Her bodyguards consisted solely of lethal, trained women who can also blend into a crowd to hide in plain sight, yet still be at all times prepared to defend their liege. They are known for their astounding excellence in fighting that defies their stunning beauty.
The Queensguard were involved in the battle of the capital, and fought valiantly, but realizing that the battle was lost, Malene ordered her bodyguards to retreat to fight another day for the sake of the kindgom, and sent them away. They managed to escape from the capital, but were scattered by the enemy, and Mirza was finally cornered in a small village.
Her counterattack starts from this hopeless position!
Mountain Cat Band — Fara (26-year-old female), Anthony (18-year-old male), Norrick (37-year-old male)
The gang known as the "Mountain Cat Band", were originally a group of farmers and mercenaries not able to make a lawful living. While few among them were outright criminal, they simply needed to eat! They viewed themselves as chivalrous robbers, who only stole from trade carriages of wealthy merchants. They have no true duty towards the kingdom, but witnessing the empire's treatment of their own relatives and friends in the villages, has caused the Mountain Cat Band to gather people and start a guerilla war. Apparently, they don't appreciate when foreign soldiers come marching in, claiming the Mountain Cat territory as their own.
The current leader, Fara, is the daughter of the former leader. Spunky and driven, she is highly skilled in finding dubious individuals who can fight for her cause.
Urgan, the Fortress King (132-year-old dwarven male)
The King of the dwarven clans, Urgan has been a close ally of the royal family. The Dwarven society is self-governed and centered around a mine that produces high quality ore, and the mining city that he ruled gradually grew and developed into a kingdom in it's own right. The invasion of the empire was a strike to the dwarves as well, as the Astorian Kingdom had been a beneficial ally for many years. When he heard that Princess Cornelia was raising an army, Urgan immediately volunteered with his men. The dwarven soldiers are stouthearted allies and the result of hard mine labor, and are extremely resilient; normal human soldiers have a hard time catching up, at least in the dwarves' opinion.
Zyne, the Shrewd General (25-year-old male)
Leaving home at the age of 19, Zyne first served as a low-level guard who stood at the gate of the capital. However, he would make a name for himself in the wars against barbarians in the countryside over the next 6 years. With a small band of men, he displayed a brilliant intelligence, and captured the barbarians' camps one after the other. Not long thereafter, he finally managed to capture the barbarians' main village at the eastern border, and succeeded in expelling the barbarians from the kingdom.
However, the prime minister and others who value the old ways of advancement, were jealous of this young man moving up so fast in the kingdom. Instead of promotion, he was immediately given the rank of "Eastern General" – a command over the forces in the far eastern edge of the kingdom. There he was stationed at his new post, a fort with scarcely any soldiers – in effect, a demotion. However, this proved to be a stroke of luck; his forces were unscathed during the invasion, and now, in this national crisis, he leads his 11th army of the border guard, truly the most reliable supporter of the princess.
Emperor Lionel VIII (58-year-old male)
The sitting emperor of the Leganian Empire, and also a distant relative to the Astorian royal family. This gives him, in his mind, a reason for this brutal invasion, as he intends to merge the two kingdoms into one under his line.
As he was once known as a good king who never abused his power, even his own people are highly surprised at such sudden military action this late in his reign. However, most remain loyal.
Those retainers who voiced opposition to their lord were banished, and the peaceful neighboring kingdom of Astoria was torn by the flames of war.
Today, Lionel sits on his newly claimed throne, with what some might see as madness glinting in his eyes. Will the reason for this sudden change of character ever come to light?
Princess Amina (15-year-old female)
Amina is the youngest daughter of Emperor Lionel. Her childlike appearance and lovely way of speaking has made her an immensely popular royal figure in the empire. She has no talent for military action, but is a natural people person, and has been sent as a mediator against the chaos that succeeded the invasion. Her natural kindness and understanding has worked well even in the Astorian kingdom, and the calmness she displays equally in times of war or peace has made her soldiers brave and true.
Despite being slightly selfish because of her young age and position, she is kind at heart. She is hurt and worried at the sudden change in her father, and has often been seen praying for him at monasteries.
The Black Knight (?-year-old / gender unknown)
The person known as The Black Knight is the master of a keep built deep in a range of mountain foothills. The region has long been self-sufficient and The Black Knight and its people owe no loyalty to the kingdom or the empire.
The name of The Black Knight has been told in many war stories, and all of them tell of a tremendous might, but no one knows more than that. Many theories, including that it's a succession of warriors, or that it's a dead spirit in a suit of armor, surround this mysterious knight.
The Black Knight didn't so much as move when the empire invaded, but didn't join the Imperial forces either. Perhaps those eyes, silently glittering under the visor, are the only ones who know the terrible truth behind this war.
Dahaka, the Black Drake (175-year-old dragon male)
Dahaka is a relatively young member of what are considered the most aggressive of all dragons: the black drakes. Normally not interested in the mundane striving of humans, he lent his powers to the empire in exchange for the opportunity to fight and defeat the white dragon Zoroaster, and steal his nest and treasure. This wish was fulfilled, and Dahaka is currently residing where Zoroaster once lived.
With this goal achieved, Dahaka waits for the empire to complete its war with the Astorian kingdom. At that point Dahaka will launch his next plan, the extermination of the annoying empire from these lands, to build a kingdom of his own.
Demian, the Dark Noble (387-year-old vampire male)
The head of an imperial noble family, Demian is in truth an immortal vampire, who constantly reinvents himself as his own heirs to continue his legacy. Demian is one of the only people alive who remembers the old empire.
Given new life as a vampire by the capriciousness of another vampire ages ago, this former Imperial noble had recently begun to tire of power, glory and even his own existence. However, the sudden change in the empire, and the unexpected military action against Astoria were curious enough to ease his boredom. In the fires of the war, he built a new little realm within the Astorian kingdom and is there awaiting a new enemy that can light the fire inside him.
Dorgas, the Steel Hurricane (37-year-old male)
One of the imperial general council, Dorgas is a mystery. In times of peace, he is a gentle middle-aged man, but in times of battle he turns into a fearsome foe that the word "berserk" scarcely begins to describe. The twin axes that he wields deftly, stir up whirlwinds of gore as he lashes out, butchering any enemy that dares come close.
He is fully aware of his role, and relishes the madness and chaos of the battle, in stark contrast to the quiet family man he is when off the field. What creates such violence in a quiet soul?
Exhar, the Ice Lord (31-year-old male)
Exhar is head of the imperial general council, and is known as an unparalleled commander. He is astoundingly brave, ingenious and has emerged victorious from countless difficult battles, commanding them with a calmness that has been described as "ice itself".
He will promote and value any talented individual, paying no regard to family or status. Where others look for lineage, Exhar looks for skill. The trust he gains from his subordinates is strong and fierce.
He internally questions the reckless and confusing military action of the emperor, but outwardly regards the current situation with calm. After the capital fell, he set up his headquarters in a fortress that the Astorian kingdom built to repel barbarians in the past.
Exhar immediately commited to learning everything about Astoria, its lands, and people. Knowing that inevitably, he would have to face down some nature of rebellion.
Gregorio, the Priest (43-year-old male)
Gregorio is a priest of the Night God, the opposite of the Sun God. Death being nothing more than the other half of Life, The Night God who commands the Other Side, the nightly world and death, is not inherently an evil being, and has a substantial amount of followers. Gregorio, however, is among these priests a devout fanatic follower of the concept of Death specifically, and is constantly trying to enlarge the realm of his god. He is currently residing with the emperor and, under his protection, is regularly executing kingdom loyalists to send them to his god. As of yet, no one has managed to stop this insanity.
Irvin & Marianne, the Twin Stars (21-year-old twins)
Irvin and Marianne are two commanders that recently made a name for themselves in the empire. They hail from of one of the many noble families in the empire.
The brother, Irvin, is a careful tactician while the sister, Marianne, is a passionate ambusher. They both make up for the other's shortcomings, and have achieved great results in military expeditions together. At this point they have reached positions where they both have armies under their command.
Even separately they are skilled enough, but together they are next to invincible. Even the General Council are concerned about this pair.
Chancellor Kostov (51-year-old male)
The fourth of the Imperial general council, Kostov is a skilled politician that controls most of the empire's internal affairs. His philosophy is to constantly adapt to the surroundings, and his bribes of everyone to the left and right are indeed problematic, yet his ability to protect the core resources of the empire is unchallenged.
He's currently situated in one of the conquered merchant cities in the Astorian kingdom and is constructing a trade pipeline to the empire with tremendous speed. Of course, Kostov never neglects to fill his own coffers in the process.
King of the Abyss (lacks age and gender)
The King of the Abyss is a demon construct, summoned by an ancient ritual under the command of the emperor. This being is nothing more than an incarnation of avarice, and did not only annihilate forces of the kingdom, but blighted entire areas of the kingdom. Worse, the King brought thralls with it, lesser powerful versions of itself, though still incredibly dangerous.
The construct is still not satisfied, and is roaming the lands for more things to engulf. Not even the empire can control it anymore. This is little more than a walking catastrophe, bringing death wherever it goes.
Lyla, the Arcane General (28-year-old female)
Another of the imperial general council, Lyla is a fascinating woman and plays a grand part in the Imperial army.
She is not only skilled in the military arts, but she knows much about intrigues and rumors. She has stood face to face with death more than thirty times, and inspires fear in her soldiers. Lyla is known as the "Goddess of War."
She has a violent temper and a foul mouth at times, but shows loyalty to her competent subordinates and despises unfairness. She finds this invasion ended too quickly and too easily, and is thus eager to continue the fight with any remaining uprisings.
Ravinith, the Necromancer (?-year-old female)
Ravinith is a necromancer who has mastered death magic. Due to her dark arts, she has been revived from death countless times. The more foul magic she has learned throughout the years, and the more times she has returned from death, the more her humanity has been chipped away. She intends to use the spirits of those killed in this war to amass even more necromantic power. Her selfish acts of disturbing the resting places of the dead are performed with no concern for their memory, but only as a means to preserve herself and her immortality.
She participated in the war without any henchmen, but the more that were killed in battle, the more power she amassed, and she has now grown more powerful than ever.
Rozie, the Ancient Weapon (0-year-old female type android)
"Rozie" is a mechanical being found in an ancient ruin in the Astorian kingdom. Her body, constructed with an metal unknown to modern blacksmiths is harder, more resilient, stronger than any other.
This ancient construct was held in a laboratory in the Astorian kingdom after its discovery, and was captured by the empire when the capital fell. However, as she awoke without proper directions, she immediately escaped. She is currently waiting for her long-dead master in the ruins where she was found, and attacks anyone that dares come close.
Card Clarifications
Kingdom Character Cards
Princess Cornelia (Tactician). Only this version of the princess allows players to control all of her actions. She has 3 actions and can Move or Collect in any way, and Move in any direction (except that normal rules of movement are applied for movement by Event cards). She cannot Recruit, Send, or draw cards, however.
Donia, the Sand Maiden. If this character dies, the top Event card is simply flipped back over.
Please note that her special power does not count as "destiny" – you can still choose this action after using her special power.
Gato, the Half Dragon. He can have military power if an ally increases his command score, but he still will not have to pay resources for moving.
Urgan, the Fortress King. He is not affected by movement difficulty.
Even if it is bad or good for the players.
Mountain Cat Band. This character gains resources when killing enemy military power tokens in battle (not by card effects). Killing 3 tokens gains 6 resources. Dealing damage to characters gains nothing.
Empire Character Cards
Lyla, the Arcane General. Some player characters have abilities to change miss to hit. These take precedence over Lyla's ability to change miss to loss.
Amina. This character cannot take damage while she has any military power at the start of the battle. Also, she cannot be damaged by Support cards.
Rozie, the Ancient Weapon. If you get rid of Rozie as the cost for her special power, she is treated as an empire character who has been defeated. She will be subject to the effect of the 'Repentance' Support card or the 'Curse of Immortality' Event card.
Demian, the Dark Noble. This ally special power means to "remove 1 Military Power token from an adjacent space, and add it to yours." So it cannot be used on units where Emperor Lionel VIII is, or against the Black Knight's unit.
Dahaka, the Black Drake. His special power is in effect even when fighting the princess. As he has 5 combat power, the princess' unit will take 10 damage if fighting against him.
The Black Knight. This is an enemy, but not from the empire. So he is not included when calculating Emperor Lionel VIII's military power, and is not affected by the Event card Total War.
Support Cards
- Cards that do not have the term "during battle" cannot be used out of turn.
- Cards with "during battle" can be used out of turn, but you can still only use them on your own character, not on others.
Healing Potion. This card can be sent to the princess. She will automatically use it to restore 2 Life at the start of the princess step, and then discard the card.
Mock. A battle may occur during the resolution of this card (first move). If it does, perform the second move after the battle. It may result in a second battle against the same unit!
Protection. You can only block the effects of the Event card of the current round, not ongoing effects from previous rounds.
Also, it can only be used on the player's turn, and will not reverse any effects that an event has already had.
Sudden Illness. The 10 resources needed to counter this effect do not have to be sent in one action. Several Send actions can be used as long as they total up to 10.
Desperate Counterattack. Some player characters may have an effect to change miss to hit. Those abilities take precedence over this effect to change miss to loss.
Curse of Immortality. The players choose together where to place the character. If Emperor Lionel VIII is not on the map, this card has no effect.
Fate Cards
Begrudging Respect. This can only be completed by the character to whom this character is bound.
A Diabolical Trap. If the princess unit is damaged by this card, the starting player decides how damage is applied.
Friend or Foe. The kingdom unit moves immediately. If this card resolves when the character is on an adjacent space, resolve the battle right away.
Lost Family. Should read, "If kingdom character other than the one to whom this character is bound moves adjacent, this character becomes the moving character's ally".
Love at First Sight. This card relates to the gender of each character. The Mountain Cat Band counts as both genders, and can always be the target of this card.
Mercenary. To be clear, you must spend 10 expressly to hire the mercenary.
Event Cards
Oppressive Empire. This effect is valid even when you remove enemy military power by the special powers of Support card effects (like Fire Tactics). For example if you use Magnus' power to remove 2 military power tokens, you gain 4 resource tokens.
Assassins. Use a die roll to determine the random player.
Ancestral Weapon/Hopelessness. If the princess unit takes damage from this card, the starting player decides how to apply the damage.
Tiles
Forward Encampment. One of the roads on the Forward Encampments tile has +1 movement penalty printed on it. This is a misprint; it should be -1.
Credits
Game Design: Seiji Kanai and Kuro
Project Lead: Todd Rowland
Original Translation: Ziemon and Akira John Sugimoto
Editing: Edward Bolme, Nicolas Bongiu, Todd Rowland, Mark Wootton
Graphic Design: Matt Paquette
Artists: Bunta, フジオカ アデリ (Aderi Fujioka), Hachi, Iro, Kasu, You Matsumune, nisimy, sharu (シャル), Hiromi Taihei, TARO, Tokumaru (とくまる), Towa, みついしいとし (Itoshi Mitsuishi), 和狸56 (Watanuki Goro), 爪尾 (Tsumeo)
Production: David Lepore
Questions? Contact [email protected] — http://www.alderac.com/unicornus-knights
Warning: Choking Hazard! Not for use by children under 3 years of age.
© 2017 Alderac Entertainment Group. Big in Japan, Unicornus Knights and all related marks are ™ and © Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc. 555 N El Camino Real #A393, San Clemente, CA 92672 USA. All rights reserved.
Printed in China.