桌游符文战争说明书

Introduction THREE YEARS BEFORE THE FOURTH GREAT STORM COVERED THE WORLD OF MENNARA, THE SCRIBES OF TAMALIR PRESERVED THIS TRANSCRIPTION OF THE KNIGHT CAPTAIN ALCARAN’S PLEA TO THE DAQAN LORDS OF TERRINOTH. Some say the dragons made them, but they lie. The so-called dragon runes are pieces of a much older history. The dragons, curse them, carved the runes, but they did not spawn the stones. Their markings are blemishes on shards of far greater artifacts. My Lords, I say we should not shun these objects as the mere baubles of dragons, nor should we fear their potency. They are eminently more useful to the realm of man than what you perceive. Our mages should study them, harness their power, so that we may add their strength to our own ‘ere it’s too late. Now, I’ve yet to hear word of my requested reinforcements to the North. In fact, I’ve yet to see ANY effect of my countless letters to you. Thus I come here in person to implore you to take action. To summon the banners of Terrinoth and STRIKE while the initiative is ours. I come here in person, though I’d rather fight the evil that encroaches on our land… before it grows beyond our control, as it has done throughout history. Thrice have great wars ruined the lands of our forefathers. Shattered continents! Destroyed entire civilizations! Will you renege on the solemn duty to, at all costs, prevent such travesties from scouring mankind again? Shame! Shame on those who would! My men. My knights. On the borderlands. They now fight with the last of their strength. They have seen, they have defeated, horrors that you cannot imagine. Barons of Daqan, I have seen horror that would curdle your loins. Let this be my testimony before you. Here. Now. The seeds of darkness are quickening, their roots taking hold. If we gather our wits, if we muster our strength, if we use the dragon runes, we may yet avert disaster. Know this. The great shards which we now call “dragon runes” were not always known by that name. A thousand years ago, pure, unblemished, they were called the “Stars of Timmorran.” This may not ring familiar to your ears, but “Timmorran” was a name once known by all. This truth has been shown to me. Timmorran Lokander! A name that should not have been forgotten. He was the greatest wizard the world has ever known. A scion of power that successfully united men, elves, and dwarves against the First Darkness. Against Llovar of the Locusts himself. After that first war, that first storm, Timmorran presided over a great communion of peace. One that embraced Mennara for more than a hundred years, from the wastes of Isheim to the jungles of Zanaga. Not just peace in Terrinoth, or in the Torue Albes. Peace everywhere. In time, the people forgot about evil and the war. Thought it history, myth. That evil had been abolished forever. But of course it had not. Though stronger and older than any man, Timmorran was not immortal. As he waned in years and felt his life ebbing to the end, he made a grave error. It was his dream, you understand, that his students retain his powers to sustain the peace. To this end, he channeled all of his powers into a crystal artifact – an orb he called the Orb of the Sky. It was his plan that after his death the orb remain within his tower, managed by a conclave of lawful wizards. It would be a shining beacon of powerful peace to last until the end of the world. Some of Timmorran’s more senior students feared the responsibility of being stewards of so powerful an object. They shuddered at the thought of what would happen if the orb should fall into the wrong hands. Timmorran dismissed their fears; flesh was fragile, he said, only an object – such as the orb – could be made to last forever. On the Night of Betrayal, Timmorran finally came to realize the folly of his creation. That fateful night, Waiqar the Betrayer… Yes, you know him as Waiqar the Damned, Waiqar the Necromancer, Waiqar of the Mists; he has many names. That night, the great general stunned the world as he revealed his true guise: as the heir of Llovar Rutonu. Without hesitation, Waiqar struck into the wizard vale with a great army to capture Timmorran’s orb. Cornered, betrayed, heart-broken, Timmorran had no choice but to destroy his creation. He hurled the orb against the steel floor where the orb splintered into thousands of fragments, each one a sliver of the wizard’s magical essence. As Waiqar’s minions breached the tower gates, Timmorran gathered the shards in a velvet bag with help from his acolytes. He entrusted the bag to his most able student, Lumii Tamar, telling the frightened youth to hide the shards across all the lands, to entrust each piece only to the wise and the noble. With the shards scattered in this way across the world, Timmorran hoped their powers would stay out of evil’s reach. As the great oaken door to his upper chambers finally began to collapse under Waiqar’s assault, Timmorran walked to a tall window at the rear of the chamber. With a whistle, he summoned aid. Soon, a vast cloud of mountain crows, stretching for miles, descended into the valley. The countryside around the tower suddenly throbbed with flickering masses of black feathers, the drone of their flapping wings was as the roar of a tempest. 2 3 Timmorran took a single shard from Lumii’s bag. Using it, he transformed the acolyte so that he might escape. With a final blessing from his master, Lumii Tamar, now in the guise of a mountain crow, spread his newfound wings and leapt from the tower window, escaping the butchery that would follow. Unnoticed in the cacophony of brethren birds, Lumii escaped the eyes and the arrows of Waiqar’s forces. He flew across plain and mountain to do Timmorran’s final bidding, and he did not fail. His story is an interesting one, but not one for this day. Upon entering the upper chamber and discovering Timmorran’s final gambit, Waiqar’s howls of rage could be heard for miles. Later, the Betrayer wrested a single crystal shard from Timmorran’s tortured decomposing body. Clasping it, he swore a black oath; to not rest until he had recovered every shard, to allow the fires of his hate to burn until he had hunted down every last one, even if it took him to the end of time itself. And so it came to be that Waiqar Sumarion denied death. He rules now, in a deathless state, over the land of mist. He’s biding his time, waiting. He will not rest, he CANNOT rest, until Timmorran’s Stars are his. On the Night of Betrayal, evil returned again in force to the world. Under Waiqar’s wrath, the second great war, for the Stars of Timmorran, roiled the lands. To our fortune, those we know as the Elder Kings won the war. Once again, evil had been turned aside by the strength of men, elves, dwarves, and the assistance of Lumii Tamar and the council of wizards. Yet, the victory came at a terrible cost. Countless lives had been extinguished, many of Timmorran’s Stars had been lost, and half a continent had been swallowed by the sea. Many of the remaining Stars were placed under the protection of the Elder Kings, who swore to keep them safe. Of course, as you know, the Elder Kings were destroyed by the Dragons. Margath, Levirax, Baalaesh, Zir, Gehennor... The Dragonlords unleashed war without warning. They scorched the earth, flattening entire cities, seeking Timmorran’s Stars. When a star was found, the dragons would carve their runes onto the crystals. Dragon runes. Marks of power, adding their fiery energies to that of Timmorran’s magic, amplifying their power. In the expanse of those years, the dragons even split many Stars into thousands of smaller fragments. They engraved these with runes of lesser power and gave them to their human allies, such as the Black Legion, the barbarians of the wastes, and the few living lieutenants of Waiqar. These were the minor rune-stones, eagerly sought by our magic users to this day. It was Zir the Black who first learned about the shards. In them, she saw the chance to dominate the Dragon order. Zir may have thought herself quite cunning in her plans, but it was Waiqar’s scheming that truly was to blame. The Betrayer was the shadow who spoke in the Dragon’s dreams, prodding her, luring her, not only to war with Terrinoth, but into a war against her own kin. Two important events ultimately turned the tide of war against the Dragonlords. First, laying aside old hatreds, the orc nations joined swords with the dwarven, elven, and human realms. Second, in a grand turn of fate, the Dragon Rex, Shaarina, killed Zir in battle. With Zir gone, Waiqar lost his ability to lead by suggestion, and soon enmity grew rampant among the forces of evil. Rather than face the loss of yet another war, deathless Waiqar retreated to the fortress Zorgas, an unholy fog falling over the lands behind his forces. He still dwells there, deep in his land of mist. And now, here we are! I don’t claim to understand what new evil stirs in the bowels of the Ru Steppes. Demons, beasts, and vile things are crossing our borders in ever-increasing numbers. The fog of Waiqar’s lands is expanding. It has already engulfed our oldest bastion from which we have now retreated. I personally led a raid into those land of mists where I saw tell-tale signs of deathly mustering and preparations for war. My Lords, we stand here in the hall of our fathers. Will you not heed my warnings? Will you not sound the horns? I urge you to call our banners. To send riders to the Latari and the Dunwarr. Yes, their arrogance has only grown, but we may need their arrows and axes in the years to come. This… This is our chance. This is the time. Let us act before we are smitten, let us purge before we are sickened, strike before we are struck. Will you heed me, my Lords? I implore you… AS CAPTAIN OF THE NORTHERN BASTIONS, ALCARAN WAS KNOWN BOTH AS “THE WISE KNIGHT” OR “ALCARAN THE GLOOMY,” DEPENDING ON WHO YOU ASKED. IN HIS YOUTH, IT WAS SAID HE FOUND THE LEGENDARY ORACLE OF THE HILLS, AND WHAT HE LEARNED FROM THE ORACLE UTTERLY CHANGED HIM. WHAT IS CERTAIN, IS THAT ALCARAN DEDICATED MOST OF HIS LIFE TO FIGHTING THE ENEMIES OF TERRINOTH, HIS ZEAL WINNING HIM MILITARY COMMAND OF THE BORDERLAND REGIONS ALONG TERRINOTH’S NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN BORDERS. THERE, HE FOUGHT BOTH THE WALKING DEAD AND THE ABOMINATIONS THAT HAD BEGUN EMERGING FROM THE RU, PRESAGING THE SECOND COMING OF THE UTHUK Y’LLAN. TO HIS DEATH, ALCARAN SOUGHT TO WARN HIS FELLOW MEN OF IMPENDING DANGER AND SOUGHT TO CONVINCE THE DAQAN LORDS TO ENGAGE THE ENEMY WITH FORCE. HE WAS UNSUCCESSFUL IN HIS PLEAS. CAPTAIN ALCARAN DIED FIGHTING A VAST MOLLUSK-WORM THAT HAD BEEN FEEDING ON BOTH LIVESTOCK AND POPULATION OF NORTHWESTERN ROUGHWARRI. HE HAD NO LAST WORDS. HIS ACTIONS SPOKE FOR HIM. 4 Game Overview In Runewars, two to four players control factions of fantasy armies in the land of Terrinoth. Each player starts with control over his home realm and must spread his fledgling empire through the land, conquer territory, recruit heroes, and ultimately acquire enough dragon runes to dominate Terrinoth and win the game. Component List 36 Beige Plastic Neutral Units consisting of:• 8 Beastmen - 4 Dragons - 4 Giants - 4 Hell Hounds - 8 Razorwings - 8 Sorcerers - 36 Blue Plastic Human Units consisting of:• 8 Bowmen - 16 Footmen - 8 Knights - 4 Siege Engines - 36 Green Plastic Elf units consisting of:• 16 Archers - 4 Pegasus Riders - 8 Sorceresses - 8 Warriors - 36 Purple Plastic Undead Units consisting of:• 4 Dark Knights - 8 Necromancers - 16 Reanimates - 8 Skeleton Archers - 36 Red Plastic Uthuk Units consisting of:• 16 Berserkers - 4 Chaos Lords - 8 Flesh Rippers - 8 Warlocks - 12 Grey Plastic Heroes• 5 Sheets of Punchboard consisting of:• 16 Activation Tokens (4 per faction) - 1 Battle Marker - 7 City Tokens - 26 Damage Tokens - 8 Defeated Hero Markers - 20 Development Tokens (5 per faction) - 35 Exploration Tokens - 4 Faction Sheets - 4 Home Realm Setup Markers - 40 Influence Tokens - 13 Map Tiles (each ranging from 2 hexes to 4 hexes) - 12 Resource Arrows (3 per faction) - 38 Rune Tokens (21 dragon runes, 17 false runes) - 16 Stronghold Tokens (4 per faction) - 24 Training Tokens - 4 Reference Sheets• 56 Bridge-sized Cards consisting of:• 32 Order Cards (8 per faction) - 24 Quest Cards - 168 Small Cards consisting of:• 30 Fate Cards - 12 Hero Cards - 8 Evil Objective Cards - 8 Good Objective Cards - 25 Reward Cards - 8 Spring Season Cards - 8 Summer Season Cards - 8 Fall Season Cards - 8 Winter Season Cards - 50 Tactics Cards - 3 Title Cards - 12 Plastic Dial Connectors• 10 3D Plastic Mountains• Component Breakdown Plastic Units These plastic figures represent military units, which are used to conquer territory and start battles against enemy units. The figures come in five colors, one color for each of the four different factions and a fifth color (beige) for neutral units. Plastic Heroes These grey plastic figures represent the different heroes that players can command. Heroes can duel opposing heroes, complete Quests, and examine enemy rune tokens. Plastic Mountains These plastic pieces are inserted nsns into various map tiles before playing the game (see page 7). They add a three-dimensional element to the game board and mark which hex borders of the game board are impassible. Activation Tokens These tokens mark areas of the game board that a player’s units have moved into during the game’s current year. Units may not usually move out of an area containing a friendly activation token. 5 Battle Marker This marker is placed in an area when a battle is started. Its purpose is to remind players where the battle is taking place and where to place any surviving units. City Tokens These tokens represent neutral settlements and are placed on specific areas of the game board during setup. By controlling these areas, players can rally support to acquire influence, Tactics cards, neutral units, or Quest cards as listed on the city token. Damage Tokens These tokens are placed on Hero cards, or adjacent to units, to mark the amount of damage that a hero or unit has been dealt. Defeated Hero Markers These markers are placed in areas where a hero was defeated and dropped his Reward cards. Any hero who enters an area with a defeated hero marker may take the Reward cards that belonged to the defeated hero. Development Tokens These tokens represent improvements to areas containing friendly strongholds. Each development provides a special benefit, including additional resources, influence, or Tactics cards or a defensive bonus during battle. Exploration Tokens These tokens are used when playing with the “Exploration Tokens” optional rule and provide random effects and narrative for heroes as they explore the land of Terrinoth. Home Realm Setup Markers These markers are used during MMMM setup to indicate where players are allowed to place their home realms. The first player decides where to place each of these markers. Starting with the player to the left of the first player, each player then chooses one of these setup markers to replace with his home realm (see “Map Setup” on pages 8–9). Influence Tokens These tokens are acquired from a number of sources and are used by players to attempt diplomacy with neutral units, acquire Title cards, and bid for certain game effects. Map Tiles These large cardboard pieces are used during setup to create the game board. Each map tile contains from two to four hex areas. Each faction has one home realm map tile (marked with the faction’s color and symbol) where the faction’s starting units and stronghold begin the game. Resource Arrows Three of these arrows are attached to each faction sheet and are used to mark the player’s current level of food, wood, and ore, which are the three basic resources in Runewars. Instructions for attaching these arrows can be found on page 7. Rune Tokens These tokens have a common back and either a dragon rune (blue gem) or false rune symbol (blank) on their face. A player wins the game if he controls six areas that contain dragon rune tokens. Stronghold Tokens These tokens represent fortresses that can be built in friendly areas of the game board. They allow their controller to recruit units and build a development in the area, as well as provide their controller with a defensive bonus during battle. 6 Training Tokens These tokens are used to mark when a hero’s strength, agility, or wisdom has been increased. Faction Sheets These sheets list important information about the four factions, such as their unit details, alignment, and starting Tactics cards and influence. The dials on these sheets are used to keep track of the players’ current resources (food, wood, and ore). Reference Sheets These sheets list important information about the neutral units and provide a summary of how to perform diplomacy. On the back of each sheet is a summary of all exploration token abilities. Fate Cards These cards are used as a randomizer for resolving combat, diplomacy, and Quest cards. Hero Cards These cards list the attributes, alignment, and special abilities of each hero. Objective Cards One of these cards is given to each player at the start of the game. These cards match the factions’ alignments (either good or evil) and provide dragon runes if their criteria are fulfilled. Order Cards Players use these cards to secretly choose what action they will perform during the current season. Each faction has an identical hand of eight Order cards, one of which is used each season. Quest Cards These cards represent the different tasks that heroes can undertake to receive Reward cards. They often require heroes to travel to specific areas and then test one of their attributes. Reward Cards These cards are usually acquired by heroes who complete Quests. They can provide dragon runes or other special bonuses. Season Cards These cards represent what special events are happening in the land of Terrinoth during each game round. They are divided into four decks: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. At the start of each season, one Season card is drawn from the corresponding deck and is immediately resolved. These cards not only provide unique events that the players must adapt to, but each card’s secondary ability triggers special steps each season (such as retrieving activation tokens). Tactics Cards These cards represent powerful and unexpected abilities that any player can acquire and use. These cards are provided by a number of sources and are discarded after use. Title Cards These cards assist players in gaining more dragon runes. These cards are never shuffled and can be obtained by players who use “Acquire Power” Order cards. 7 Object of the Game The first player to control six areas containing dragon runes immediately wins the game. Each player begins the game with two dragon runes and can acquire more by conquering opponents’ areas, obtaining Reward cards, fulfilling criteria on Objective cards, and as prompted by Season and Title cards. Pre-game Setup Some assembly is required before playing your first game of Runewars. Each faction sheet has three resource dials that need to be assembled. Each of the four factions has unique arrows that need to be attached to their faction sheets as follows: First, push one side of a plastic connector through the back of 1. one of the holes in the faction sheet. Then, attach one of the faction’s resource arrows onto this 2. connector (on the front of the faction sheet). Lastly, attach the othe