INTRODUCTION Wargame for 2-8+ players Europe Early 6th Century after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire. VICTORY The player to conquer the most other nations by the end of the Game is the winner. TIME SCALE Each turn is 5 years. The game starts in 500 AD and ends in 600 AD. DICE Six sided dice are needed. TOKENS Tokens are used to keep track of Armies. MAP The Map is composed of Nations as described in the Nations List. Important Note: Nations are not further subdivided. NATIONS LIST Nations: Adjacent Nations: Notes: Fr = Frankish Kingdom SxVgOgBuBqBv Vg = Visigoth Kingdom VaOgFrBuBqSu Og = Ostrogoth Kingdom ESlBuFrVaVgBvLbGp Va = Vandal Kingdom VgOgEBb Sx = Saxons FrSl Bu = Burgundians FrOgVg E = Eastern Roman Empire OgSlPWhVaKiAlAbGp Byzantium P = Persian Empire EWhKiAlAb Sassinids Wh = White Huns PSlEAlFi Avars Sl = Slavs OgEWhSxBvLbGp Su = Suevic Kingdom VgBq Al = Alans WhPKiE Lb = Lombards GpSlOgBv Gp = Gepids LbSlOgE Bv = Bavarians FrSlOgLb Bq = Basques SuVgFr Fi = Finns SlAlWh Ki = Kingdom of Iberia EPAl Bb = Berbers VgVa Ab = Arabs PE NEUTRAL NATIONS Neutral Nations (NN) are still in the game, even if no one is Playing them. A NN will not attack or gain cards or take turns. A NN will always have armies = to their Territory Stat. NN can be conquered by other Nations. STATS Each Nation is described by a set of 4 Stats: 1. Territory 2. Population 3. Vitality 4. Stability TERRITORY A very abstract representation of land & sea areas controlled. POPULATION Population = Number of Armies the player gains each turn. VITALITY This is a measure of national energy and aggressiveness. Vitality = Number of cards the player may draw each turn. STABILITY This is a measure of organization and/or resiliency. It is a factor in the Defense of a Nation. NATIONAL STAT TABLE Nation Trr Pop Vit Stb Fr 2 2 3 3 Vg 2 2 2 2 Og 2 2 3 1 Va 1 1 3 1 Sx 1 1 3 2 Bu 1 2 2 2 E 3 3 2 3 P 3 3 1 3 Wh 2 2 2 1 Sl 3 3 1 1 Su 1 1 1 3 Al 1 1 1 3 Bv 1 1 1 3 Bq 1 1 1 3 Lb 1 1 1 3 Gp 1 1 1 3 Fi 3 1 1 1 Ki 1 1 1 1 Bb 2 1 1 3 Ab 2 1 1 3 GLOSSARY Imperial Power = Primary Nation controlled by a player; it is the identity of that player. Neutral Nation = Nation not controlled by any player. Province = Nation conquered by an Imperial Power. SETUP Each player picks one Nation to be its Imperial Power. Each Nation starts with Armies = its Population Score. Each player starts with a hand of 3 cards. TURN SEQUENCE Players take turns. Each turn has 6 Phases: 1. Event Phase 2. Draw Phase 3. Internal Strife Phase 4. Growth Phase 5. Invasion Phase 6. End Phase 1. EVENT PHASE Roll once on the Event Table: 2D6: Result: Notes: 2-3 Death of Leader Stability –1 4-5 Disease & Turmoil Population –1 6 Stagnation Vitality –1 7 Rebellion Any Target Province becomes Neutral 8 Great Leader Vitality +1 9-10 Population Explosion Population +1 11-12 Law & Religion Stability +1 These Events have a Permanent Effect. A Stat can never go below 1 or above 4. 2. DRAW PHASE The current player draws cards equal to his Vitality Stat. 3. INTERNAL STRIFE PHASE The current player rolls a number of dice equal to his Stability Stat. If he rolls only numbers less than 5, his nation is undergoing a period of Political Turmoil (Civil War) and he must skip his Invasion and Growth Phases this turn. 4. GROWTH PHASE The current player gains Armies (Army Tokens) equal to his Population Stat plus 1 Army for each Province (nation) it has conquered. 5. INVASION PHASE The current player may attack one Adjacent Nation. (limit one attack per turn unless an Invasion card is played) He declares how many armies he is commiting to the attack. The defender declares how many of his armies are defending. ----------------------- The Attacking Nation rolls Dice = The number of attacking Armies + Extra dice as allowed by cards played. ----------------------- The Defending Nation rolls Dice = Stability Stat + Territory Stat + The number of defending Armies + Extra dice as allowed by cards played ----------------------- For every roll of 5+ one enemy army is destroyed. ----------------------- If the Defending Nation is reduced to zero Armies, it is conquered. The conquered player is out of the game or continues playing by taking control of a Neutral Nation. The conquered Nation becomes part of the Empire of the Conqueror. A Conquered Nation is known as a Province. If the Attacker loses all his Armies, the defender wins. If all armies on both sides are destroyed, the defender wins. ATTACKING EMPIRES If you attack a Province, the controller of that Province May commit less than his full number of armies to its defense. If you conquer a Province, you gain control of that Province, not The entire Empire it was part of. If the Home country (The Imperial Power) of an Empire is Conquered, all of its Provinces resort to Neutrality. ALLY RULE Nations adjacent to an Attacker or Defender may lend armies. Allied armies are always the first to be lost in battle. INVASIONS A player may play an invasion card and conduct an additional attack (war) on his turn (vs same or different nation). 6. END PHASE Max hand size is 3 cards + the Nations Stability Stat. Discard excess cards. CARD LIST Card Name: # Notes: Invasion 4 Get an extra Invasion Phase Peace Treaty 4 Target opponent cannot attack your Empire this turn Raise Armies 4 Gain 2 Armies in Growth Phase Decisive Battle 4 Attacker may use 5 extra dice Logistics Strategy 4 Defender may use 5 extra dice Surprise 4 Use 3 extra dice in Invasion Phase Slow to Move 4 Target Army may not Attack or Defend Pray to God 4 Reroll target Dieroll