HORRIBLE HORDES
INTRODUCTION
Fantasy Board game for 1-6 Players.
GAME END
The game ends after 20 Rounds.
VICTORY
At the end of the game, the player with the most
Units (Settlements, Armies, and Castles) plus Victory Tokens wins.
Players share a common set of Victory Tokens.
COOPERATIVE PLAY
You cannot attack your opponents units.
TURNS & ROUNDS
A round is complete when each player has had 1 turn.
THE BOARD
The Board is a 10 x 10 Grid of squares (Also called Spaces).
TERRAIN TILES
There are 50 Terrain Tiles.
There are 10 Tiles for each of the 5 Types:
Mountain (Stone)
Forest (Wood)
Farms (Food)
Hills (Metal)
Swamp (Magic)
BOARD SETUP
At the beginning of the game place the Tiles on to the map
randomly in a checkerboard pattern.
HORDE & HIT COUNTERS
There is a pool of Horde Counters.
Each is unique. The list is at the end of the ruleset.
Each Counter has the name of the Horde plus 4 Traits:
1. Type (Humanoid, Undead, or Monster)
2. Attack (Target roll this Horde needs to get or higher to hit)
3. Defense (Subtracted from player attack rolls vs this Horde)
4. Hits (Number of Hit Counters placed under this Horde)
When a Horde is first placed on the map the indicated number of
Hit Counters are stacked underneath it.
The Horde Counter is discarded back to the pool when it has no
more Hit Counters left.
PLAYER SETTLEMENTS AND ARMIES
Each player has a set of Army Tokens and
Settlement Markers of a Unique color.
CASTLES
Players share a common set of Castle Markers.
DICE
Six and Ten Sided Dice are Needed.
TIME TRACK
There should be a Time Track of 20 Spaces and a
Time Marker to keep track of what round it is.
RESOURCE CHITS
Players share a common set of Resource Chits:
Stone (Grey)
Wood (Brown)
Food (White)
Metal (Blue)
Magic (Red)
Gold (Yellow)
PLAYER SHEETS
Each player gets a Player Sheet.
The Sheet should include:
--- The Kingdom List
--- The Ability List
Players should mark off what Kingdom they are and
what Abilities they have when they get them.
ADJACENCY RULES
Spaces that share a line (orthogonal) are Adjacent.
Spaces connected by a point (diagonal) are not Adjacent.
SETUP LOCATIONS
Players roll high on 1D10 to see who goes first.
Each player rolls 1D10 x 1D10 (X & Y Coordinates) to
see where they put their first Settlement.
If playing solo put your settlement in the middle of the board.
Settlements cannot be within 2 spaces of each other.
If so Reroll (and if necessary select an available spot).
In reverse order players pick which Kingdom they are and
mark it on their player Sheets.
For each player place 1 Horde:
First Draw 1 Horde Counter from the Horde Pool.
Second Roll for coordinates.
Third place the Horde counter there with the indicated number of
Hit Counters stacked under it.
These starting Hordes cannot be placed on or adjacent to a
Settlement and not on another Horde. Reroll coordinates if it would.
SETUP RESOURCES
Shuffle the Event Deck.
Players pick their Colors (Army & Settlement Sets).
Each player gets 1 Chit for each of the 5 Resource Types.
Each player gets a Castle and 2 Armies. These are placed
in the same space as his first Settlement.
TURN SEQUENCE
Players take turns.
Each turn has 11 Phases:
--- Event Phase
--- Resource Phase
--- Trade Phase
--- Settle Phase
--- Fortify Phase
--- Train Phase
--- Move Phase
--- Attack Phase
--- Research Phase
--- Spawn Phase
--- End Phase
At the end of a Round (all Players have taken 1 turn) there will be a
Horde Segment and a Raid Segment.
EVENT PHASE
Roll once (1D10) on the Event Table.
RESOURCE PHASE
First, Gain 3 Free Resources of any type.
For each Terrain occupied by one of your settlements gain
1 extra Resource of the type produced by that terrain.
For instance if you occupied 2 Swamps and a Mountain, you
would get a 1 extra Stone and 2 Magic Resource Chits.
If a Settlement is in a Clear Space it gains 1 Gold as its resource.
TRADE PHASE
You may convert 2 Gold into 1 Resource of any other type.
You may Trade/Gift Resources with other players who have
settlements adjacent to yours.
SETTLEMENT PHASE
You may build 1 Settlement.
The settlement must be in a space adjacent to one of your
other settlements.
The space may not be occupied by any Hordes or Units
controlled by your opponents.
Max 1 settlement per space.
The cost to build the Settlement is 2 Food and 3 Wood.
FORTIFY PHASE
You may build 1 Castle.
It must be on one of your settlements.
Max of 1 Castle per space.
The cost to build the Castle is 4 Stone.
TRAIN PHASE
You may build Armies.
Armies start on one of your Castles.
Each castle can train a max of 1 Army per turn.
The cost to train an Army is 1 Food, 2 Metal, and 1 Wood.
MOVE PHASE
You may move your Armies.
It costs 1 Food to move all the Armies in 1 Stack.
An Army can move to an Adjacent space.
An Army can be moved only once per turn.
Stacking Limit: You may stack a max of 4 Armies in 1 Space.
You cannot move into a space occupied by units of another player.
You may move into a space occupied by a Horde.
ATTACK PHASE
If your armies and a Horde occupy the same space, there will
be a Battle: Roll 1D10 for each Army Token and each Hit Counter the Horde has.
On a roll of 6+ an Army will kill 1 opposing Hit Counter of the Horde.
Subtract the Monsters Defense Rating from your roll.
Hordes will kill an Army on a roll of X+ where X is the
Hordes Attack Rating as Listed on the counter.
If after all rolls are made, units from both sides remain, all
survivors roll to attack again.
Gain a Victory Token every time you destroy a Horde Stack.
RESEARCH PHASE
Pick one Ability from the Research List.
You may gain an extra Ability for the cost of 10 Resources.
A player cannot have multiple copies of an ability.
SPAWN PHASE
A New Horde Appears on the Map:
First- Draw 1 Horde Counter from the Horde Pool.
Second- Roll for coordinates.
Third- place the Horde counter there with the indicated number of
Hit Counters stacked under it.
The Horde cannot be placed on a Space occupied by a Player unit or Horde.
If it would, no Horde is placed.
After turn 10 two Hordes appear on the map!
END PHASE
Max Resource Chits you can hold is 7.
Discard excess Chits.
HORDE SEGMENT
This takes place at the end of a Round.
Each Horde will Move under the following rules:
Check for each Horde in turn starting with the one with the fewest
Hit Counters and so on. If there are ties roll high on 1D10 to resolve.
Hordes will not move into spaces containing other Hordes.
A Horde will first try move into an adjacent space containing an
undefended Settlement.
Next the Horde will pick a Space containing a Settlement & Armies.
Next the Horde will pick a Space containing just Armies.
Next the Horde will pick a Space containing a Castle with no Armies.
Next the Horde will pick a Space containing a Castle & Armies.
If no Player Units are available, it will go for a space that is adjacent to
as many player occupied spaces as possible.
Hordes will move once, except for Monster Hordes who will move a second time if
they don't immediately encounter a player unit.
RAID SEGMENT
Played immediately after Horde Segment.
This is Handled exactly like Attack Phase except that now Castles and
Settlements are involved in the Battles. They function similar to Armies
except that Settlements hit on a roll of 8+ and Castles hit on a roll of 7+.
Hordes must attack Castles first, Armies second, and Settlements third.
Castles must be Hit twice before they are destroyed.
Gain a Victory Token every time you destroy a Horde Stack.
UNDEAD HORDE SPECIAL RULES
If an Undead Horde fights in a battle and is not destroyed completely, it
will gain a number of Hit Counters equal to the number of player units it destroyed.
HUMANOID HORDE SPECIAL RULES
Humanoids in Swamps or Hills get +1 to Attack rolls and +1 to their Defense.
WIPED OUT
If your last settlement gets wiped out, you may start over in any
unoccupied space with a new Kingdom.
Lose any remaining units you may have.
Lose any Abilities you had previously gained.
Start with units and resources as if it was the beginning of the game.
ABILITY USAGE LIMITS
Some Abilities like "Mythic Saga" give a one time Benefit only.
Some Abilities like "Holy Water" give a constant permanent bonus.
Some Abilities like "Green Thumb" go off only once per round.
Some Abilities like "Roads" can be used whenever needed/desired.
Conversion Abilities like "Druids" may be used up to their stated limit each round.
Spells and Abilities that have a activation cost everytime they are
used can only be used a max of once per round.
EVENT TABLE
# Name: Notes:
1 Heroes Gain 1 Army
2 Expansion Gain 1 Settlement
3 Lore Gain 1 Ability
4 Awaken Horde Spawn 1 Horde
5 Stockpile Gain 1D6 Wood
6 Harvest Gain 1D6 Food
7 Quarry Gain 1D6 Stone
8 Rich Vein Gain 1D6 Metal
9 Mana Crystals Gain 1D6 Magic
0 Treasure Trove Gain 1D6 Gold
RESEARCH LIST NOTATION
AMP = Army must be present in target space
LRA = Long Range Attack: One Attack into an adjacent space by an
Army or a Castle: Hits on a roll of 7+
DBA = During Battle in which you have an army present
TSOA = Target Stack of Armies
TSTR = Target Space this Round
MOSP = Max One Use per Stack per Phase
OPB = Once per Battle
OTO = One Time Only (Can't be used again)
XX = You still have to pay the regular build cost for them
ZZ = Instead of its programmed move
* = Spell
ABILITY RESEARCH LIST
Ability: Notes:
Green Thumb Gain 1 extra Food per Turn
Trade Routes Gain 1 extra Gold per Turn
Furnaces Gain 1 extra Metal per Turn
Sawmills Gain 1 extra Wood per Turn
Pulleys Gain 1 extra Stone Per Turn
Astrology Gain 1 extra Magic per Turn
Druids Convert up to 3 Wood into Magic per Turn
Alchemy* Convert 2 Metal into 3 Gold
Stoicism Costs no Food to train Armies
Great Bows Armies get Attack +1 but cost 1 extra Wood
Skirmishers Army Stack gets 1 extra Attack at start of Battle
Holy Water Armies Attack +1 vs. Undead
Nets Armies Attack +1 vs. Monsters
Veteran Soldiers Armies Attack +1 vs. Humanoids
Vaulted Arches Castles cost 1 less Stone
Fine Swords Armies get Attack +1 but cost 1 extra Metal
Mercenaries Buy up to 1 Army per turn for 5 Gold
Cavalry Armies can move 1 extra Space
Forced March Cost 1 Food: Stack can Move and Attack again
Fighting Withdrawal Beginning of Horde Segment you may Move 1 Army Stack
Scouts Armies can move Diagonally
Shield Wall Armies Defense +1 vs. Humanoids
Pikes Armies Defense +1 vs. Monsters
Clerics Armies Defense +1 vs. Undead
Berserkers Armies Attack +1 but Defense -1
Heavy Armor Armies get Defense +1 but cost 1 extra Metal
Roads Armies can move through settlements without stopping
Bridges Armies can move 1 extra Space
Outposts Build Castle without a underlying settlement AMP
Earthworks Castles get +1 Hits each
Decoys Cost 1 Wood: Negate 1 Hit on Army Stack OPB
Field Fortifications Cost 1 Stone: Negate 1 Hit on Army Stack OPB
Illusions* Cost 1 Magic: Negate 1 Hit on Army Stack OPB
Priests Convert up to 3 Food into Magic per Turn
Craftsmen Cost 3 Wood or Stone: Gain 1 Victory Token
Mythic Saga Gain 5 Victory Tokens OTO
Bards & Minstrels Gain 1 VT every Round you lose an Army or Castle
Militias Settlements get Attack +1
Marketplace Convert up to 1 Resource per turn into any other type
Storehouses Resource Hand Size +1
Friends Gain 1 Army, Settlement, or Castle OTO
Great Caravan Gain 10 Gold OTO
Garrisons Castles get Attack +1
Barracks You can build Armies in Settlements without Castles
Urbanization May build 2 Settlements in a single space
Colonies May build Settlements any empty space AMP
Logistics Army Stacking Limit +1
Legions Army Stacking Limit +1
Pioneers Build 1 extra Settlement per turn*
Catapults Cost 1 Stone: LRA
Ballistae Cost 1 Wood: LRA
Bombards Cost 1 Metal: LRA
Builders Cost 1 Gold: Build 1 extra Settlement or Castle per turn XX
Migration Cost 1 Food: Move 1 Settlement to an adj unoccupied Space
Sages Second Ability Researched per turn costs 2 less
Rally Troops After a Victory a stack regains 1 Army it lost during Battle
Medicine At the end of a Round gain back 1 Army you lost that Round
Raiders Armies get Attack +1 in Attack Phase
Traps Armies get Attack +1 in Raid Phase
Mountaineers Armies get Attack +1 and Defense +1 in Mountains
Major Fortifications A space may contain 2 Castles
Rangers Armies in Forests get Attack and Defense +1
Divination* Cost 1 Magic: Reroll Target Dieroll
Twister* Cost 1 Magic: LRA
Earthquake* Cost 1 Magic: Attack 9+ vs. all Units in Target Stack LRA
Lightning Strike* Cost 1 Magic: DBA One attack of 5+
Fireball* Cost 1 Magic: DBA Two attacks of 8+
Golems* Buy 1 Army per turn for 3 Stone and 2 Magic
Battle Mages Armies get Attack +1 but cost 1 extra Magic
Blizzard* Cost 3 Magic: Target Horde cannot Move this Round
Gate* Cost 1 Magic: Move 1 Army to any Space
Haste* Cost 1 Magic: TSOA can move 2 extra Spaces this Round
Bless* Cost 1 Magic: TSOA get Attack +1 this Turn MOSP
Protection* Cost 1 Magic: TSOA get Defense +1 this Turn MOSP
Holy Ground* Cost 2 Magic: Target Settlement cannot be entered this turn
Control* Cost 4 Magic: Move Target Horde Stack in Horde Segment ZZ
Holy Word* Cost 1 Magic: LRA vs Undead only. Get +2 to Roll
Poison Cloud* Cost 1 Magic: LRA vs Humanoids only. Get +3 to Roll
Bannish* Cost 1 Magic: LRA vs Monsters only. Get +1 to Roll
Destruction* Kill 1 Target Horde Stack OTO
Oracles* Cost 1 Magic: Target Dieroll gets +1 or -1
Diplomacy Pay Opponent 3 Gold: Opponent may not move/build into TSTR
Wizardry Spells can be used twice per Round
Leadership Use Non-spell Abilities with Activation cost twice per Round
KINGDOM LIST
Kingdom: Start with these Abilities:
Dwarves Mountaineers & Furnaces
Elves Druids & Rangers
Imperial Men Roads & Logistics
Feudal Men Heavy Armor & Clerics
Legendary Men Oracles & Colonies
Northern Men Berserkers & Raiders
Tribes Men Migrations & Militias
Desert Men Trade Routes & Marketplace
Gothic Men Storehouses & Vaulted Arches
Warrior Men Fine Swords & Scouts
Eastern Men Major Fortifications & Sages
Ancient Men Green Thumb & Priests
Horse Men Cavalry & Great Bows
Women Warriors Skirmishers & Stoicism
Renaissance Men Bombards & Urbanization
HORDE COUNTER LIST NOTATION
H = Humanoid
U = Undead
M = Monster
HITS = Number of Hit Counters this Horde starts with
ATK = Horde Hits on this roll or higher
DEF = Modifier SUBTRACTED from Attack rolls against this Horde
HORDE COUNTER LIST
Horde of the: Type HITS DEF ATK
Kobold Commander H 8 -2 8
Goblin Night Raiders H 8 -1 8
Orc War Boss H 7 -2 7
Goblin Witch Doctor H 8 -2 7
Orc Shaman H 7 -1 6
Hobgoblin Warlord H 6 0 6
Ogre Magi H 4 2 5
Lizard Man Tribes H 7 1 7
Bullywug King H 8 -2 9
Troglodyte Mother H 5 2 8
King Crab of the Crab Men H 5 1 8
Gnoll Chieftain H 7 0 7
Bugbear King H 6 1 6
Barbarian War Chief H 6 0 8
Amazon Queen H 6 0 7
Nomad Khan H 7 0 6
Troll King H 4 2 5
Gythanki Witch King H 5 1 5
Drow Sorceress H 5 1 6
Rat King H 7 -2 9
Skeleton King U 6 -2 9
Zombie Master U 6 1 9
Ghoul General U 5 -1 8
Lich King U 4 0 5
Necromancer U 5 -2 8
Vampire Lord U 3 2 6
Wraith Lord U 2 2 7
Werewolf Pack Leader U 3 1 6
Pit Fiend Demons U 2 0 5
Barbed Devils U 4 -1 7
Winged Ape Army M 4 1 6
Red Dragons M 2 2 5
Blue Dragons M 3 0 7
Gremlin Mob M 5 -1 8
Emperor Penguin M 6 -2 9
Giant Spider Swarm M 6 -2 6
Clockwork Legion M 5 -1 9
Stone Giant Clan M 4 2 8
Frost Giant Family M 3 0 7
Fire Giant Chief M 2 1 5
OPTIONAL ROTATION HORDE COUNTER LIST
Horde of the: Type HITS DEF ATK
Gryphon Lord M 3 0 6
Efreeti Fire Sultan M 2 2 5
Pokemon Master M 6 -1 8
Centaur Herd Master M 4 0 7
Master of the Wild Hunt U 3 2 6
Giant Killer Queen Bee M 6 -1 9
Naga Queen M 3 1 5
Dinosaur Lord M 3 1 7
Gargoyle Lord M 4 2 8
Mushroom Men M 6 -2 8
Grandmaster Ninja H 5 2 5
Storm Giant Lord M 1 3 4
Hill Giant Chief M 3 0 7
Cloud Giant Lord M 1 1 6
Harpy Queen M 4 -1 8
Death Knight U 4 1 7
Caveman Chief H 7 -1 8
Mummy Pharaoh U 5 1 6
Treant Elder M 2 2 6
Creeping Kudzu M 6 -2 9
Beastmen War Chief H 7 0 8
Tarasque M 1 4 4
Scorpion Men M 5 0 7
Minotaur Head Bull M 4 1 6
Chaos Cultists U 6 -1 9
Harbinger of Doom U 1 3 3
Death Priestess Fanatics U 4 -2 7
Deathknell Warlock U 2 1 6
Dark Acolyte U 5 0 8
Skull Lord U 3 2 7
Apocalypse Horsemen U 1 4 5
OPTIONAL RULE -- PLAYERS AT WAR
Players may attack each other in their Attack Phases.
You may move your Armies into spaces occupied by other Players units.
OPTIONAL RULE -- HORDE MASTER
One Player controls the Hordes instead of a Kingdom.
He rolls for them and determines how they move in Horde Segment instead
of following the programmed movement rules.
When drawing a new Horde draw 3, pick 1 and discard the other 2.
OPTIONAL EXTRA TERRAIN TILES
Aside from the basic 50 Tiles there is room for 50 more.
This list includes 10 new types.
Use 5 of each and distribute these randomly after the
Basic Tiles have been placed.
Settlements built in these new types produce 1 Gold in
Resource phase as per the regular rules.
Tile -- Notes:
Friendly Village -- First player to build a Settlement here gets 1 Free Army
Natural Defensive Position -- Player units here get Defense +1
Chasm -- No Units or Hordes may enter or be in this Space
Barrens -- Settlements here produce nothing
Trade Route -- Settlements here produce 1 extra Gold in Resource Phase
Heath -- No Special Rules
Ancient Ruins -- First player to build a Settlement here gets 1 Free Ability
Desolate Moor -- Any Horde that spawns here gets 1 extra Hit Counter
Desert -- Any Army that enters this space must end its move here
Plains -- Any Army or Horde that starts or moves into this space gets
to move 1 extra space this round
OPTIONAL WIZARD TOWER RULE
Instead of building a Castle in a Space, you may build a Wizards Tower.
This requires a new common Wizard Tower unit Counter.
The Tower costs 5 Stone.
The Tower produces 1 extra Magic in Resource Phase.
You cannot build Towers in Adjacent Spaces.