Je remy Stoltzfus
Credits Designed by Jeremy Stoltzfus w/ Graham Weaver Developed and Produced by Josh Neiman Graphic Design by Michelle Ball Art by Brett Mitchell Inspired by Trivium Oak Pedro Miranda, Hector Borrero & Martin Calderon Playtesters Jason Stoltzfus Mike Thrall Joseph Bering Graham Weaver Barry Pike III Arthur Mead Sam Castree David Guenther Philippe Landry Deon Carrico Proofreaders Leigh Toms Ian Wakeham Karen Wolterman
The longship s prow cuts into the sea after each swell, splashing salt water into my face as the crew rows hard towards this new land. I grip the railing hard to keep my feet, dreading the day because of the völur s prophecy. The shore approaches fast and I have no way of knowing if raiding the town or trading with its people will bring the doom I fear... Ingvar the Far-Travelled A Viking s Mission Your goal in Villainous Vikings is to amass as many Valhalla Points as possible so that after Ragnarök occurs your Captain has the best seat in Valhalla to tell his tales of battle and drink his mead. You will gain Valhalla Points by raiding, trading, and battling the other Captains who are also vying for Odin s favor. Table of Contents Components List 2 Setup 2 Captain Abilities 4 Ability Clarifications 5 Player Turn 6 Use a Map Card 6 Interact with the Gods via an Asgard Card 9 Regrouping in the Northlands 9 Heroes 10 Battle 12 Ragnrök (Game End) 16 Entry to Valhalla (Scoring and Victory) 17 2014 Jeremy Stoltzfus and Victory Point Games 1
Components List 1 game board 13 counters 4 Shield markers 1 Trade Network token 3 Draugr tokens 1 Conquest Legacy token 4 Longship standees 103 cards 6 Combat dice 9 Asgard cards 2 White 1 Ragnarök card 2 Gray 50 Map cards 2 Red 23 Hero cards 12 Longship Crew Section cards 8 Viking Captain sheets 1. Prepare the Journey Deck Setup a. Set aside the Ragnarök card. b. Flip all of the Map and Asgard cards so they are facedown, then separate them into three decks based on their Age; shuffle each Age deck. c. Now that the three Age decks have been randomized, create the Journey Deck as follows; do not shuffle these together: Top 8 Age 1 cards Mid 8 Age 2 cards Bottom 10 Age 3 cards The remaining Map and Asgard cards will not be used in this game, so set them aside. 2 d. Take the bottom five cards from the Journey Deck and shuffle the Ragnarök card into them, placing them back on the bottom of the Journey Deck. Developed by Josh Neiman
V i l la i n o u s V i ki n g s e. Place the Journey Deck in an easy to reach spot and reveal the top five cards; these form the initial Journey Card Pool of Map and/or Asgard cards for players to choose from. If one or more of the Map cards has a Hero listed on it, place the corresponding Hero card next to the Map card. 2. Prepping the Longship a. Assigning Viking Captains Players can either select which Captain they want to use during the game or they can be randomly assigned. Note: When a player is using Glamr as his or her Viking Captain, the three Draugr tokens should be set near the Glamr sheet. b. Longship Assembly Each player creates their Longship by placing one of each Longship Crew Section cards (White, Gray, and Red) face-up as shown; they will also choose one of the four Longship standees and the corresponding Shield marker, placing the standee on the Northlands Region and the Shield on the zero space of the Gold track. Glamr Captain sheet & Draugr tokens Longship Crew Section cards 3. Ready to Launch a. Once setup is complete, determine who will be the first player; this can be done randomly, by measuring beard length, or in any other manner. Play will proceed clockwise from the first player. b. Players will start with the following gold: 1st player 0 gold Longship standee & corresponding Shield marker 0 2nd player 2 gold 3rd player 4 gold 4th player 6 gold 5 2014 Jeremy Stoltzfus and Victory Point Games 3
Captain Abilities Each Captain has four different abilities that will influence how you play Villainous Vikings: A Static Ability that is always available for use as long as the player can meet the requirements. Three Heathen Hammer Abilities that become available for the player to use when she rolls a Hammer symbol on the corresponding Combat die. Portrait Title Character Flavor Static Ability Heathen Hammer Abilities 4 Developed by Josh Neiman
Ability Clarifications Villainous Vikings Bjorn Ironside: Bjorn s Static Ability is against Explored Regions, giving him a permanent 2 Sword bonus when Raiding a Location (see Use a Map Card: Raid or Trade section below) that is in the same Region as a Location he has in his Player Area. Erik the Red: Erik s Static Ability is against Unexplored Regions, giving him a permanent 2 Sword bonus when Raiding a Location (see Use a Map Card: Raid or Trade section below) that is not in the same Region as any Location he has in his Player Area. Glamr: Glamr s Heathen Hammer Abilities allow him to add special Hero-like minions to his Longship; see the Heroes section below for more details. Bjorn Ironside Viking Captain Sheet Erik the Red Viking Captain Sheet Glamr Viking Captain Sheet 2014 Jeremy Stoltzfus and Victory Point Games 5
Region Symbol Location Title Region Map Location's Attack Dice Loyalty Cost (if any) Player Turn 1. At the beginning of the Current Player s turn, she may choose to permanently expand the Journey Card Pool by one card if it is not at the maximum of eight cards; the cost of expanding is as follows: 6th Card......... 1 gold 7th Card........ 2 gold 8th Card (Max).... 3 gold 2. Take one of the following actions: a. Use a Map card Raid or Trade b. Interact with the Gods via an Asgard card c. Regroup in the Northlands 3. Replenish the Journey Card Pool. After the Current Player completes these steps, play moves clockwise to the next player. 6 Raid Loot Valhalla Points Accompanying Hero (if any) Sacrifice Ability Move your Longship to the Region Use a Map Card If you want to visit one of the Locations listed on a Map card in the Journey Card Pool, take the following steps: 1. Move your Longship to the Region: Place your Longship standee on the Region that corresponds to the Location you want to visit. For example, if the London card is in the Journey Card Pool, you may move your ship to England to try to visit the city. 2. Check for Enemy Captains in the Region: If another player has her Longship in the Region you just entered, she may choose to Intercept your Longship. If your opponent elects not to Intercept your Longship, she moves her Longship to the Northlands and you continue on to step 3 below. Otherwise, the two of you enter Battle (see Battle section below); whoever loses the Battle is forced back to the Northlands, but if you lose it is also immediately the end of your turn. Developed by Josh Neiman
3. Raid or Trade: You can elect to either Raid the Location or Trade with its inhabitants: a. Raid When Raiding a Location, you engage in Battle against the locals (see Battle section below). If your Raid fails your turn ends immediately, but if you are successful, you: Collect the amount of gold listed on the Map card. Deal with Heroes in the Location (refer to Heroes section): Collect the amount of gold listed on the Map card ũũ ũũ ũũ Add any Convert Heroes to your Viking crew Discard any Mercenary Heroes (they may only be Hired during a Trade action) Place any Boss Heroes into your Player Area; they are worth Valhalla Points at the end of the game Place the Map card for this Location in your Player Area. or Raze the Location by discarding the Map card, collect gold equal to the amount listed a second time, and then Take Captives (turn one Empty Crew Section of your Longship face up, with Gray being replenished before Red). Deal with Heroes in the Location b. Trade You may Trade with the locals to replenish your crew, hire mercenaries if present, Bribe the guards, or outright buy the Loyalty of the Location; you may perform any or all of these actions as many times as you are able on a turn in which you decide to Trade. Replenish Your Crew You may spend two gold per Empty Longship Crew Section card to replenish your crew; all Longship Crew Section cards must be replenished in order (i.e., you must have a crewed Gray Section of your ship before you can replenish the crew in your Red Section). Deal with Heroes in the Location Hire a Mercenary If a Mercenary is present in your Location you can hire him for the gold value listed on his Hero card. Bribe the Guards You may pay two gold to permanently reduce the number of Combat dice the Location rolls in Battle by one; each Location may only be Bribed Bribe the Guards 2014 Jeremy Stoltzfus and Victory Point Games 7
once; rotate the Map card so it faces sideways to keep track of this. When reducing Combat dice, always select the Red die if able, followed by the Gray die. Note: A Location will always roll a minimum of one Combat dice, so you may not Bribe the guards at a Location that only rolls a single die. Ragnar Trades at Seville to replenish his crew and Bribe the guards, making it so the Location only rolls the White and Gray Combat dice during Battle; he just needs to fight off any other Viking Captains that try to enter his Region so that on his next turn he can Raid Seville and defeat the Sultan of Cordoba. Buying Loyalty You may purchase the Loyalty of the Location by paying the Loyalty gold value listed on the Map card and then adding the card to your Player Area; if no Loyalty cost is listed on the Map card the Location s leaders are not for sale. Buying Loyalty 4. Determine Trade Network or Conquest Legacy Holders These honors go to players who have the strongest standing in each area and are worth Valhalla Points at the end of the game. a. Trade Network This goes to the player with the most unique Regions among the Map cards in her Player Area, but she must have a minimum of four unique Regions before she can take the Trade Network token; if you are the first player to four unique Regions then you may take the token and you can only lose it when another player exceeds your total. John has five unique Regions, but Sara just received a Map card giving her six unique Regions in her Player Area, so she takes the Trade Network token from John. b. Conquest Legacy - This goes to the player with the most Map cards from the same Region in her Player Area, but she must have a minimum of three Map cards from the same Region before she can take the Conquest Legacy token; if you are the first player to three Map cards from the same Region then you may take the token and you can only lose it when another player exceeds your total. 8 Sara has four Map cards from England, but John just received a fifth Map card from Francia in his Player Area, so he takes the Conquest Legacy token from Sara. Developed by Josh Neiman
Interact with the Gods via an Asgard Card If there is an Asgard card in the Journey Card Pool, you may use it to interact with the Gods; simply choose the Asgard card and follow all of the instructions listed on it. Note: Any Battles that occur because of an Asgard card are considered to be outside of the normal world, so no Location bonuses apply for either side of the Battle. After the Asgard card has been resolved, reveal a new card from the Journey Deck to refresh the Journey Card Pool. Card Title Card Category Instructions From Hand Ability Valhalla Points Regrouping in the Northlands If you begin your turn in the Northlands or decide to move there, you may replenish one of your Longship Crew Section cards (in order; White, Gray, then Red) at no charge, but to replenish an additional Longship Crew Section card you must spend five gold. This is your only action for this turn. Harald Fairhair is forced back to the Northlands when Erik the Red enters the Region he is in and Harald decides not to Intercept because he is down to just his White Longship Crew Section. On Harald s next turn there is a Viking Captain in each of the Regions shown by the available Map cards, so he cannot go to a Location and make a Trade. He decides to use his turn to replenish his Gray Longship Crew Section for free as well as spending five gold to replenish his Red Longship Crew Section so he is at full strength the next turn, giving him a better chance to make it to a Location. 2014 Jeremy Stoltzfus and Victory Point Games 9
Heroes Heroes are the prominent warriors you meet on your various travels throughout the world. There are three types of Heroes you will come across: Convert Hero card & corresponding Map card Convert: This Hero is a staunch defender of his people and will help defend his homeland against any attempt to conquer it, but once defeated he will fall in step with the new leadership. He adds his Static Ability to the Location side of any fight to acquire that Map card, but the player who receives the Map card may also add the Convert to one of the Crew Sections of his Longship. Mercenary: Warriors for hire can be found in numerous ports of call and each has his price; he will not fight alongside the locals, but he also will not fight for you unless you pay him his fee first. A Viking Captain may hire a Mercenary during a Trade action at his Location by paying his fee, at which point he is added to one of the Crew Sections of the Viking Captain s Longship. Mercenary Hero card & corresponding Map card Note: Any unhired Mercenary on a Location that is successfully Raided is placed in the Hero discard pile; you must pay the fee during a Trade action to have a Mercenary join your crew. Boss: Each city has its own leadership and in some cases they are great warriors themselves, rivaling even the best Viking Captains. Bosses will defend their homeland to the best of their ability, sometimes even calling forth Heathen Hammer Abilities from the Gods, and will never fight for anyone but themselves (meaning Boss Heroes will never join your crew). Each conquered Boss is worth Valhalla Points at the end of the game, so if you conquer a Location that includes a Boss, place the Hero card in your Player Area. Boss Hero card & corresponding Map card 10 Developed by Josh Neiman
You may only have one Mercenary or Convert per face-up Longship card. If you are forced to turn one of your Longship cards face down (refer to the Battle section) that has a Hero associated with it, you must move that Hero to another Section or discard him; if you must discard a Hero, you get to choose which Hero to discard. one Mercenary or Convert per face-up Longship card forced to turn a Longship card face down Note: The Draugr tokens that are earned via Glamr s Heathen Hammer Abilities count as Heroes; they take up the Hero position of the Longship card that matches the token s color and any Hero already on that Section must be moved or discarded if you want to use the Draugr. Draugr tokens moving the Hero card & placing the Draugr token Draugr token with Longship card of corresponding color 2014 Jeremy Stoltzfus and Victory Point Games 11
Battle Any time a player needs to engage in Battle with a Location or another Viking Captain, the following steps will determine the outcome: 1. Battle Prowess: Each player s Battle Prowess is tracked by which Longship Crew Section cards are still face up, indicating they are fully manned. The face-up side of each card shows a cube corresponding to one of the Combat dice, instructing you which dice you will roll during the Battle. Map cards have a similar display in the upper right, with one to three cubes that show the Combat dice your opponent will roll. John has the White and Gray Crew Sections of his Longship fully manned, so he will roll the White and Gray Combat dice; since he is attacking Lisbon, the Location will be rolling the Gray and Red Combat dice, as shown on the Map card. Combat dice displayed on a Map card John's setup 2. Roll Combat dice: Each player participating in the Battle rolls the appropriate Combat dice per their Battle Prowess. a. Captain vs. Captain: When Battling another Viking Captain, each player rolls the Combat dice for his or her Longship. b. Captain vs. Location: When Battling a Location, the Current player rolls the Combat dice for his Longship and chooses another player to roll the Combat dice for the Location. 12 Developed by Josh Neiman
3. Heathen Hammer Abilities: Viking Captains and Bosses have Heathen Hammer Abilities that activate when a Hammer is rolled on one or more of the Combat dice; if you have a Hammer showing on one of your Combat dice, look at your Viking Captain sheet (or Boss card if you are rolling for a Location) to see what ability is activated. If the ability has special functionality besides giving you bonus Swords or Shields, follow the instructions before proceeding; otherwise, move on to step 4. Note: If a Hammer is rolled for a Location that does not have a Boss, treat that Hammer as a Sword for the Location. 4. Total Attack Strength and Defense: Attack Strength is the total number of Swords for your side, while Defense is the total number of Shields; each side will total their Attack Strength and Defense in the following order: Combat dice result a. Swords and Shields from Combat dice: Separately add together the number of Swords and Shields displayed on the Combat dice rolled for your side. b. Swords and Shields from Static Abilities: Both Viking Captains and Heroes have Static Abilities that can modify the total number of Swords and Shields you have; this can be as simple as adding a Sword to the total in every Battle, but some Static Abilities allow for more strategic use. When rolling Combat dice for a Location, only Converts and Bosses add their Static Abilities to the Battle; Mercenaries will only fight for a Viking Captain who has previously hired them. Swords from Static Abilities Note: All checks for Explored/Unexplored Region bonuses happen during this step, meaning players may not Sacrifice cards to gain this bonus during a Battle (see the Swords and Shields from Sacrificing Cards section below). c. Swords and Shields from Heathen Hammer Abilities: If any Viking Captain or Boss Heathen Hammer Abilities display Sword and/or Shield icons, add them to the Attack Strength and/or Defense total. Some Heathen Hammer Abilities are situational, so be sure to take that into account. Shields from Heathen Hammer Abilities 2014 Jeremy Stoltzfus and Victory Point Games 13
Swords from Sacrificing a Map card d. Swords and Shields from Sacrificing Cards: You may Sacrifice one Journey Deck card (Map or Asgard card) held in your Player Area and one Hero from your crew for a bonus during Battle; any cards Sacrificed in this way are placed in a discard pile. Creating one discard pile for Journey Deck cards and another for Hero cards will help with end of game clean-up. You may only Sacrifice cards if your Viking Captain is involved in the Battle, unless otherwise noted on the card. In a Captain vs. Captain Battle, it does not matter who Sacrifices cards first, but each player involved must have an opportunity to Sacrifice. Note: Any Heroes Sacrificed in this manner still add their Static Ability to this Battle. 5. Taking Losses: Your crew takes losses according to the following: Opponent Attack Strength Your Defense = Total Losses If your Total Losses is one or less, you have come out of the Battle unscathed; if you have taken two or more Total Losses, you may not have enough crew to fully man your Longship. Starting with the Red Section, count off the Viking Helm icons on your Longship Crew Section cards until you reach your total number of losses; each time you have counted off all of the Viking Helms on a Crew Section card, flip it to its Empty side and continue counting on the next card if you still have losses to take (i.e., Red, then Gray, then White). If you stop counting in the middle of a Crew Section card, there were not enough losses taken to Empty out that Section and it remains face up; these remaining losses do not carry over to future Battles, instead being shrugged off by your Longship crew. Keep in mind your Hero limit is set by the number of fully manned Crew Sections, so if you have to flip a Crew Section card to its Empty side you may also have to discard one of your Heroes. total Attack Strength and Defense Note: You must survive the Battle in order to be the victor. If you have to flip your White Crew Section card to its Empty side, you are completely wiped out and you must discard one Map card (if able) and half of your gold, 14 Developed by Josh Neiman
rounded up. If you were engaged in a Captain vs. Captain Battle, the Map card and gold go to the victor. Your Longship is returned to the Northlands, the White Crew Section card of your Longship is turned face up, and, if it was your turn, play immediately moves to the next player. If both players in a Captain vs. Captain Battle are wiped out at the same time, neither is considered the victor and both suffer the aforementioned consequences, discarding the Map cards and losing the gold. taking a loss of one Crew Section 6. Determining the Victor: The victor is determined by comparing Attack Strength; whoever has the higher Attack Strength is the victor, regardless of Total Losses. It is therefore possible for a player to be the victor of a Battle despite taking significantly greater losses than her opponent. If both sides are tied for Attack Strength, Viking Captains have an opportunity to retreat to the Northlands (players rolling for Locations may not choose to retreat), with the Current Player deciding first; retreating is considered a forfeit, so the opposing player is declared the victor. If neither player decides to retreat, a new Battle is immediately begun, starting with step 1 of the Battle sequence. Note: If you do not retreat after tying with a Location, the Location rolls one less Combat die in the next Battle. Remove the Red Combat die first, followed by the Gray Combat die, but keep in mind the Location must always roll a minimum of one die. 7. Taking Captives: In a Captain vs. Captain Battle, the victor replenishes one of their Longship Crew Section cards. 2014 Jeremy Stoltzfus and Victory Point Games 15
Ragnarök (Game End) As soon as the Ragnarök card is in the Journey Card Pool, the game ends and the players are summoned to their final showdown in front of Odin the All-Father. Each player has an opportunity to replenish their crew as if trading (two gold per Crew Section to be replenished) before all of the Viking Captains enter a free-for-all Battle against each other. Ragnarök will consist of a number of Battles equal to one less than the total number of players (two players will lead to one Battle, three to two Battles, and four to three Battles); the final victor receives the Ragnarök card, worth six Valhalla Points. Follow the standard Battle Sequence with these exceptions: All remaining players roll in each Battle; player order is not important unless otherwise stated on a Captain card. Players skip the Taking Losses section. All Viking Captain and Hero abilities apply as usual; if any directly affect an opponent, you choose which opponent is targeted. Like the Battles related to Asgard cards, this does not take place on the normal world, meaning there are no Region or Location bonuses. In each Battle, the player with the lowest Attack Strength is knocked out of Ragnarök, with the other players continuing on to the next Battle (or if only one remains, she is declared the victor). In the case of a tie for the lowest Attack Strength, the two (or more) tied players reroll all of their Combat dice as if entered in a new Battle (meaning they do not receive the benefit of any Sacrificed cards previously played). 16 Developed by Josh Neiman
Entry to Valhalla (Scoring and Victory) After one of the players has been declared the victor of Ragnarök, each player will tally up their Valhalla Points to determine their overall standing with Odin the All-Father and the other Gods. Whichever Captain has the most Valhalla Points is considered the greatest Viking in history, with ties broken by number of cards remaining! Total your Valhalla Points as follows: Asgard cards Boss cards Map cards Bonuses + Trade Network + Conquest Legacy + Gold - One Valhalla Point for every three gold you have at the end of the game. - Gold Hoarder: If you have the most gold at the end of the game, you receive an additional six Valhalla Points; no one receives the points in the case of a tie. Final Scoring 24 2014 Jeremy Stoltzfus and Victory Point Games 17