WarQuest Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• II. Object
• III. The Map
• IV. Components
• V. Setup and Starting
• VI. Turns
• VII. Actions
• VIII. Conquest
• IX. Troops
• X. Combat
• XI. Power Cards
• XII. Winning the Game
• XIII. Solo and 2-Player Variants
• Appendix A. The Event Deck
• Appendix B. Quest Cards
• Appendix C. Conquest Cards
• Appendix D. Power Cards

II. Object

In WarQuest each player takes the role of a Warlord in the world of Myrathia. They must raise armies of goblins, orcs, dwarves, satyrs, bugbears, elves, and other fantastical creatures to conquer the kingdoms of Myrathia, seek out legendary magical items, and defeat other warlords. The first warlord to complete all four of their sacred quests is crowned Emperor of Myrathia.

III. The Map

[Diagram: map of Myrathia]

The map is divided into various regions. Each region counts as one ‘space’ for movement.

A Kingdom is a group of regions outlined in a particular color.

[Diagram: a Kingdom]

The map also contains cities.

[Diagram: a city]

As well as ‘Special Locations’. There may be Towers, Tunnels, Tombs, Monuments, Dungeons, Caves, etc. During the game Warlords may need to go to a Special Location to fulfill a Quest.

[Diagram: a Special Location]

IV. Components

1. 115 highly detailed miniatures
   • 15 Goblin infantry
   • 10 Goblin archers
   • 15 Wood elf infantry
   • 10 wood elf archers
   • 10 dwarf infantry
   • 5 dwarf crossbowmen
   • 10 satyr infantry
   • 5 satyr archers
   • 10 orc infantry
   • 5 orc archers
   • 5 warlords
   • 15 lieutenants
2. Huge 36"x42" map of Myrathia/ Gameboard
3. 10 special combat dice and two regular six-sided dice
4. Four card decks (quest 30 cards, conquest 40 cards, event 30 cards and power 51 cards)
5. 80 coins (two denominations)
6. 25 banner stickers (we may move to plastics boots)
7. Control markers - 120 tokens
8. Victory point markers - 60 tokens
9. Damage markers - 20 tokens
10. Five player reference boards - 4” x 10” each
11. Rulebook

V. Setup and Starting

Place the game board in the middle of the table.

Place all of the troops and the Lieutenant figures off of the game board, but nearby in The Recruitment Pool. Troops and Lieutenants that are purchased are taken from here, and troops and Lieutenants that are eliminated in Battle are returned to here.

Place the Ownership Tokens for each player off of the game board, but nearby.

Shuffle the Power Cards. Turn five of them up so that all players may see them. The remaining card deck is placed next to them as a draw pile.

Shuffle the Event Deck and remove 25 cards and place them near the board and remove the rest from play. This will be the active Event Deck for this game.

Shuffle the Quest Cards and deal 2 to each player.

Shuffle the Conquest Cards and deal 2 to each player.

Each player gets 30 gold.

Each player gets their Warlord and one of their Lieutenants.

Randomly choose the Starting Player.

Each player takes a turn (starting with the player to the right of the starting player and going counter-clockwise) placing their Warlord and their Lieutenant on any single region that they choose. Immediately after placing their leaders in the starting region, each player may buy their starting army. They may purchase any Basic units from the Recruitment Pool (They may not purchase any Advanced Units – units that require the ownership of a Power Card or the play of an Event Card prior to recruiting – for example: Wizards, Trolls, Dragons, Elite units, etc.)

After all players have finished placing their two Leaders and buying their starting troops, the Starting Player will take his turn first, followed by the person to his left (clockwise) and so on. So the ‘Starting Player’ is last to place, but first to move.

VI. Turns

At the beginning of each Turn the starting player will perform 3 Actions (see below) of his or her choice. They may be any combination of Actions, with the exception that each Army may only be moved once on a player’s turn, and no City may be Taxed twice on the same turn. Once the starting player has completed his actions, then the player to his left (clockwise) will take their turn. This is repeated until each player has taken their turn.

After all players have taken their turn, a new Event Card is turned up and executed.

VII. Actions

During a player’s turn, they may perform 3 actions. The possible actions are:

1. Move/ Fight Battles – The player may move any single Army: (the Troops and a ‘Leader’ of their faction in a single region) from the region where they started to another region up to three regions away. (A Leader is the Warlord or any of his Lieutenants).

   Two or more Leaders belonging to the same player may start a turn in the same region. Two or more armies starting in the same region may not be moved with one action together. An army may only be moved once on a player’s turn: A player may not use two actions to move the same troops twice.

   When moving an army, the player may move some or all of the troops from the starting region. Some may be left in the original region, but may not be left along the path of the move (No ‘dropping off’). Any units that end a turn in a region without a Leader are removed from the board (They have gone home).

   If an army moves into a region containing an army or armies belonging to another player, movement immediately ends and a battle is fought between the two armies (see Combat below).

   If multiple armies owned by the same player occupy a single region and are attacked, all of them fight as one army in the battle.

   Armies may not move over mountain ranges. An army may move over a river using a bridge without a delay, however, if they cross a river without using a bridge, the army must stop its movement immediately after crossing the river.

2. Acquire a Power Card – The player’s Leader must be in a region with an Ancient Battlefield in it. That player may then acquire a Power Card. They choose one of the five available Power Cards, pay the printed cost on the card, and place it in front of him or her. They now own that Power and get the advantage printed on it as long as they possess the card. When a Power Card is taken from one of the five available, a new one immediately replaces it from the deck so that there are always five Power Cards available for purchase. A player may only purchase one Power Card per turn.

   The Rule of Five

   A player may only own 5 Power Cards at one time. If they purchase or gain a sixth Power Card, they must discard one. The discarded Power Card is out of play for the rest of the game. Note: ‘Event’ Power Cards do not count toward the five card limit.

VIII. Conquest

A region is conquered when a player uses an action to place one of their ownership tiles (in their color) in the region where they have an army. That region is now a part of that player’s empire and may be taxed by that player if it contains a city.

Conquest Cards

Each player will have 2 Conquest Cards at all times. When the conditions on one of their cards is completed, that card is immediately turned up and placed in front of them, claiming the Victory Points on the Card. A replacement Conquest Card is immediately drawn from the unused deck of Conquest Cards.

IX. Troops

Here is a list of troops and their information (Note: Some troops may only be available via expansions):

Troop Type	Cost	Attack Rating	Defense Rating
Goblin Foot	2	1	1
Goblin Wolf Rider	4	2	1
Goblin Archers	2	1	1
Dwarf Foot	3	1	2
Dwarf Bear Riders	4	1	2
Dwarf Crossbowmen	4	1	2
Wood Elf Foot	2

(M) = missile or ranged unit

* These types of troops may only be recruited by the owners of the correct Power Card that allows it.

** These types of troops may only be recruited by the player who controls the Wraith King. They may only be placed with the Wraith King.

Cost: The cost in Gold to recruit that troop

Attack Dice: How many dice that troop rolls when attacking

Defense Rating: How many hits that troop may take before being removed from play

[Diagram: a sample troop with arrows labeled ‘Attack Rating’, ‘Defense Rating’]

SPECIAL TROOP/ RACE POWERS

Certain unit types have special powers in combat.

Warlord and Lieutenant - HERO Rally one troop from the retreat area into the reserve at the end of each complete round of combat for each Leader (Warlord or Lieutenant) in the Reserve Area.

Goblin Wolf Rider – RELENTLESS PURSUIT Goblin Wolf Riders roll double the usual dice in pursuit (8 dice).

Dwarf Foot – SHIELD Dwarf unit must be targeted with all hits and retreats before any other unit in that rank as long as there is a Dwarf Foot unit in the rank being attacked.

Elf Foot and High Elf Foot – UNTRAINED ARCHER Add their attack dice when the rear rank is firing. This is in addition to their normal front rank attack.

Orc Foot and Great Orc – RAGE Bonus Attack dice on the first round of battle for hand-to-hand combat (not ranged fire) +1 for Orc Foot, +2 for Great Orc.

Satyr Foot and Archers – AMBUSH Roll 2 extra dice for each retreat result when at least one satyr is in the rank that is attacking (effect is cascading).

Air Wizards – MISSILE SHIELD Enemy missile attack is -3 dice. (-3 to the total attack dice for the attacking rank). Air Wizard is immune to missile attacks.

Earth Wizards – WALL Enemy Hand-to-Hand attack is -3 dice. (-3 to the total attack dice for the attacking rank)

Fire Wizards – FIREBALL 6 dice attack on a single enemy troop; 12 dice vs. Trolls.

Water Wizards – ICE BLAST 4 dice attack on a single enemy troop; 12 dice vs. Fire Dragons and Fire Wizards.

Trolls – REGENERATE All hits are removed at the end of each full round of combat.

Fire Dragon – FIRE BREATH 4 dice attack on every troop in a rank. (Once per battle)

X. Combat

COMBAT DICE: These special dice have one side that is a ‘hit’ (skull or swords icon) and one side that is a ‘flee’ (flag icon)

SETUP

Each player sets up their army in two ranks: Front and Rear. The maximum that may be placed in each rank is 5 units.

Only Missile Troops may attack from the Rear Rank. They can attack either enemy rank.

All other troops may only attack from the Front Rank into the enemy Front Rank (Hand-to-Hand combat).

Any unit that is not placed in the Front or Rear Rank is placed in the Reserve Area behind the Ranks.

There is also a ‘Retreat Area’ behind the reserve area where units that Flee during battle are placed.

[Diagram: Diagram of Battle Areas]

The battle is fought by resolving attacks from one Rank at a time in the following order:

1. Defender’s Rear Rank
2. Attacker’s Rear Rank
3. Defender’s Front Rank
4. Attacker’s Front Rank

Each Round of combat includes attacks for each of the four ranks.

BATTLE PROCEDURE AND RULES

• Roll dice equal to the total of all Attack Ratings for all troops in the rank.
• Skulls = ‘Hits’ and Banners = ‘Flee’
• Acting player assigns hits and flees.
• No troop with a Defense rating of 3 or more can be forced to flee
• Troops forced to flee are placed in the Retreat Area
• Troops that have taken hits equal to their Defense Rating are eliminated.
• Hits that do not result in elimination are marked with Hit Markers.
• After all Eliminations, and Flees are executed the targeted player may fill the gaps in the line with troops from his or her Reserve Area (up to 5 max.)
• The next Rank in order becomes the next attacking rank. Repeat the above steps.
• RALLY: After all ranks have attacked, Leaders in the Reserve Area may rally one troop in the Retreat Area per Leader. These rallied troops are placed in the Reserve Area.
• If all troops in a rank are eliminated or fled during a single attack, that rank is destroyed and is gone for the remainder of the battle. If the Front Rank is destroyed, then the Rear Rank becomes the new Front Rank, and there is no Rear Rank.
• Once both ranks are destroyed, then that army has lost the battle.
• The battle may also end if one commander chooses to retreat their army (note: this may only occur at the end of a battle round.

Retreat

When one army retreats, the other army may Pursue. When pursuing, all mounted troops from the victorious army that are not in the Retreat Area roll 2X their attack rating (4x for Wolf Riders). During Pursuit, all retreats are treated as hits as well. All hits are assigned by the pursuing player.

After Pursuit, if there are any surviving troops, they are placed in a region adjacent to the battle that is NOT:

• The region where the victorious army came from
• Occupied by enemy troops (any other player)
• Blocked by mountains

Wounded

Some troops may have sustained one or more hits during the battle, but due to their high Defense Rating, they were not eliminated. When the battle ends, all of these hits are immediately healed and the troops are full strength for the next battle.

The Warlord

If the Warlord is killed during a battle, the owning player loses his or her next turn. Then, on his or her following turn may place their Warlord in any region that does not have one of their opponents’ ownership tiles on it. Thus, players are never eliminated from the game, as a ‘new’ Warlord will always arise to continue the fight.

XI. Power Cards

[Diagram: sample power card with label and arrow showing cost to buy card and cost to cast spell]

In order to acquire a Power Card, the player must first have a Leader in a region containing an Ancient Battlefield. That player may then choose one of the five available Power Cards as one of their actions, but must also be able to pay the cost (if any) shown on the card, or have accomplished the ‘Mission’ shown on the card. Some Power cards are Spells. Once purchased, the spells may be cast at the appropriate time (battle, during the player’s turn, etc. as described below) and for the cost shown. The Power Cards are listed in Appendix D.

The Rule of Five

A player may only have 5 Power Cards at one time. If they purchase or gain a sixth Power Card, they must discard one. The discarded Power Card is out of play for the rest of the game. Note: ‘Event’ Power Cards do not count toward the five card limit.

XII. Winning the Game

The game ends after the 25th turn (when the Event Card deck runs out), the game will end. The player with the highest Victory Point total wins the game. (Note: There are alternate victory conditions if using The Wraith King Expansion Rules, or if using Solo, or 2-Player Rules – See Below)

XIII. Solo and 2-Player Variants

Solo Game:

At the beginning of the game, each kingdom is occupied by a particular army led by a unique Warlord. (Troops and locations are laid out in the setup documentation). At the beginning of the game, the player will draw 6 Conquest cards (certain cards will not be in the solo deck) and must achieve these five goals by the end of the game (25 turns) (shorter game = 1 fewer Conquest card and 5 fewer turns)

Wraith King Variant:

25 turn game.

On turn 13, the Wraith king goes on the rampage and starts trying to destroy every city on the map. The order of this is set out by drawing a random kingdom from the Conquest deck. When the cities in that kingdom are destroyed, then moving on to the next card drawn.

The game ends on turn 25. The player wins if they have achieved all of their goals and none of their cities have been destroyed.

Two Player Game:

Each player starts with 2 large armies and 2 conquest cards (no Quest cards)

Treasure Quest

• 5 Quest cards are laid out left to right. These are available for both players. Only the left-most Quest is available. When it is accomplished, refill the offering on the extreme right. When a Quest is accomplished, that Warlord gets a random Power Card treasure and 1 - 6 gold.

City Plunder

• When a city is first captured, that Warlord gains 2 - 12 gold.
• Whenever a Warlord captures a city owned by the other Warlord, he plunders 2 - 12 gold from him or her. If they cannot pay, they lose a random Power Card instead.

This will strongly incentivize attacks on the other Warlord's lands...as well as defending them. It will also lead to strong competition for Quests (as well as planning ahead).

Appendix A. The Event Deck

At the end of every turn, a card is turned up from the deck.

The Event Cards are:

• Event: Plague in Ruhm: Roll two combat dice per troop in Ruhm. If a hit is rolled, the troop is eliminated.
• Event: Plague in Perz: Roll two combat dice per troop in Perz. If a hit is rolled, the troop is eliminated.
• Event: Plague in Noret: Roll two combat dice per troop in Noret. If a hit is rolled, the troop is eliminated.
• Event: Plague in Volmer Keep: Roll two combat dice per troop in Volmer Keep. If a hit is rolled, the troop is eliminated.
• Event: Warlords Pay Tribute!: The warlord with the largest number of troops in a single army collects 5 gold from each other warlord.
• Event: Royal Dwarvish Gemstone: The warlord with the largest number of Dwarvish troops gains 10 gold.
• Event: Monsters: All VP’s and difficulty on all Quest Cards is increased by 1 for the remainder of the game.
• Event: Pirates of the Black Coast: Pirates raid the city of Port Landing. The player who owns that city loses 5 gold.
• Event: Rebellion in Salton: The city of Salton rebels and becomes independent. If there is an ownership token on the region, it is removed.
• Event: Barbarians of the East: The Holdfast is taken by a Barbarian Horde and looted. The player who owns that city loses 4 gold and the ownership token is removed.
• Event: Unite Vandaria: The first player to own all regions of Vandaria simultaneously gains 15 gold.

Appendix B. Quest Cards

• Go to the Shipyards of Light and banish the Sea Hag that has been terrorizing the High Elf shipwrights. (6 VPs)
• Go to the Power Stone and expunge Avanduir, the Elven Death Mage before he can discover the terrible secret of the Power Stone. (8 VPs)
• Go to the Towers of Magic and exorcise the Fire Demon that has been summoned and broke free from the wizard’s control. (9 VPs)
• Go to the Dungeon of Dread and stamp out the great infestation of Giant Centipedes that have been breeding there. (5 VPs)
• Go to the Red Fortress and defeat the Red Knight and free Margaretta, princess of the Azure Kingdom. (7 VPs)
• Go to The Caves and slay the fierce Hobgoblin Chief and his bodyguards who are trying to unite the goblin tribes. (8 VPs)
• Go to the Ruins of the Lost Men and dispel the Wights who are haunting the ruins. (6 VPs)
• Go to the Tower of the Wraith King and crush Azgog the Wraith, chief lieutenant of the Wraith King. (9 VPs)
• Go to the Dead Mines and slay The Great Worm that emerged from the depths of the mines and drove out the Dwarves. (8 VPs)
• Go to the Crater of the Sun and neutralize the mysterious source of the withering that has plagued the area around it. (5 VPs)
• Go to the Great Stone Circle and slaughter the Goatman Druid that has been sacrificing virgins from the nearby village. (6 VPs)
• Go to The Maze and slaughter the Giant Minotaur that has been sacrificing virgins from a nearby village. (9 VPs)
• Go to the City of the Ancients and eliminate the Cult of Yor who have been sacrificing virgins from a nearby village. (7 VPs)
• Go to the Haunted Forest and chop down the Evil Treemen who have been terrorizing travelers. (7 VPs)
• Go to The Pit and annihilate the imp demons that have been breeding there. (5 VPs)

Appendix C. Conquest Cards

• Reunite The Spear Point Barony (x2) – Turn over Conquest Card as soon as you own all regions in this Kingdom. (10 VPs)
• Reunite Lu’uxetic (x2) – Turn over Conquest Card as soon as you own all regions in this Kingdom. (10 VPs)
• Reunite the Kingdom of Rycke and Metruh – Turn over Conquest Card as soon as you own all regions in these two Kingdoms. (15 VPs)
• Reunite the Kingdom of Rycke (x2) – Turn over Conquest Card as soon as you own all regions in this Kingdom. (10 VPs)
• Reunite The Azure Kingdom (x2) – Turn over Conquest Card as soon as you own all regions in this Kingdom. (10 VPs)
• Reunite Vandaria (x2) – Turn over Conquest Card as soon as you own all regions in this Kingdom. (15 VPs)
• Reunite Enhydros (x2) – Turn over Conquest Card as soon as you own all regions in this Kingdom. (10 VPs)
• Reunite Lu’uxetic and Metruh – Turn over Conquest Card as soon as you own all regions in these two Kingdoms. (15 VPs)
• The New King – Conquer any three Kingdoms (25 VP’s)
• Defeat another Player in Battle (x 6 cards) – Turn over Conquest Card as soon as the battle ends if you are victorious. (2 VP/ Enemy Troop Eliminated)
• Conquer Volmer Keep (x2 cards) – Conquer this city and hold it until one of your Quests is accomplished. (7 VP’s)

Appendix D. Power Cards

• Goblin Whip (cost: 4) Gives owning player 2 free Goblin Foot troops when recruiting at least 2 Goblins
• Fang of the Bugbear (cost: 4) Gives owning player 1 free Bugbear Foot troop when recruiting at least 2 Bugbears
• Sacred Book of the Kwendirii (cost: 5) Gives owning player 1 free Wood Elf Archer troop when recruiting at least 2 Wood Elves
• Hammer of Thorn (cost: 4) Gives owning player 1 free Dwarf Foot troop when recruiting at least 2 Dwarves
• Goblet of Everfill (cost: 4) Gives owning player 1 free Satyr Foot troop when recruiting at least 2 Beastmen
• Mailed Fist of Kriznak (cost: 4) Gives owning player 1 free Orc Foot troop when recruiting at least 2 Orcs
• Mask of Troll Speak (cost: 5) Allows owning player to recruit Troll troops in the Troll Hills
• Spell: Rabid Wolf (cost: 4) Goblin Wolf Riders commanded by the owning player get +1 Attack Dice in Combat. The spell costs 1 gold to cast during battle.
• Spell: Bugbear Berserk (cost: 4) Bugbear Foot commanded by the owning player get +1 Attack Dice in Combat. The spell costs 1 gold to cast during battle.
• Spell: Enchant Bow (cost: 5) Wood Elf Archers commanded by the owning player get +1 Attack Dice in Combat. The spell costs 1 gold to cast during battle.
• Spell: Fire Axe (cost: 4) Dwarf Foot commanded by the owning player get +1 Attack Dice in Combat. The spell costs 1 gold to cast during battle.