LORE WAR A Fantasy Strategy Game

LORE WAR A Fantasy Strategy Game

TABLE OF CONTENTS: OVERVIEW....3 SUPPLIES......3 SETUP........3 RULES OF PLAY......3 WINNING CONDITIONS. 6 THE LORE BOOK....6 https://loregamescom.wordpress.com/ 2

OVERVIEW: Lore War is a more in-depth war game. Players will control an army of fantastical units that include creatures like ogres, angels, dragons, catapults, and many more. The goal is to defeat the other player (or players) by defeating all of their units. SUPPLIES: Your selected unit cards from the Retinue Book Two six sided dice A bag of stones SETUP: From the Retinue Book each player chooses, prints out, and cuts out up to 9 unit cards. It is recommended to print out only those sheets that you will be using. No need to waste paper and ink! When selecting your units remember that you must only pick those of a single faction. You may not mix and match. You may also only pick one card per unit. You may not, for example, have two Minotaur Chargers. You may only have 1 Myth type unit in your deck. The factions change each chapter but may include the Kingdom, who are very defense heavy; the Collective, who rely on numbers; the Coalition, who are very aggressive; and the Outcasts, who rely on abilities; and many more! Read the Lore Book if you are interested in the back story of the various factions (see LORE BOOK section at the end of this book for more). Decide who goes first. Then each player picks a unit to be on the battlefield (in play). Keep this unit secret by placing it face down. Just place the unit card in front of you. This first unit may not be a Myth unit. Then play begins and everyone flips their first units right-side up! RULES OF PLAY: THE FIRST PLAYER S FIRST TURN On the first player s first turn they may not attack, however most abilities may still activate. The only exceptions are abilities which deal damage and allow units to attack as soon as they are played. Players may have only a maximum of 3 units in play at a time. On a turn a player may attack (again, not on the first player s first), play another unit (assuming they have room), or simply skip their turn. https://loregamescom.wordpress.com/ 3

ABILITIES Player s should notice that each unit card has an ability on them in italic text at the bottom. Do what the text says, and remember if the ability text disagrees with the rules, the card overrides the rules. The only exception are the rules which govern the first player s first turn. No attacking (even if the card says it may on the turn it enters play) or dealing damage from abilities on that particular turn no matter what! PLAYING NEW UNITS AND RETURNING THEM When you play a new unit you may not attack with them that turn but may still attack with units who are already in play. Their abilities still activate as the ability text dictates. On a players first turn they cannot play a Myth unit. Also, you may not return a unit back into your deck. Once they are in play, the stay in play (unless a unit has an ability that says otherwise). In the event that an ability causes a unit to be returned to their deck the returned unit retains all of the damage that it has taken but any changes to its attack and defense are reverted to normal. A monster that gains 1 attack per turn that is returned loses that bonus and will have to regain it when he is back in play, for example. ATTACKING When you attack, you select a target enemy unit. Your unit s attack number is then subtracted from the target s defense. The remainder is the actual damage. The target puts that many stones on or near their card to keep track of health (HP). 2 stones on a card means that card has taken 2 damage. If they had 4 max HP (Health Points), they would then have 2 after being damaged by such an attack. A unit with 0 attack cannot attack. Make sure you have something in play at all times or you lose. You could have 5 cards still waiting in your deck but if you run out of units on the battlefield, you lose immediately. CRITICAL HITS The dice are used to determine critical hits. Every time a unit attacks another, the attacking player rolls both dice. If the dice are doubles then the attacks initial damage is multiplied by 2. This damage is then subtracted by the target s defense. This also applies to abilities that amplify damage ( this unit deals double damage to..., etc.) When dealing with damage amplifying abilities, calculate the amplified damage then the critical damage. https://loregamescom.wordpress.com/ 4

DAMAGE DEALING ABILITIES Damage done by abilities ignores target s defense. An example is Minotaur Charger s whose ability deals 4 damage when they are sent into play. This 4 damage is not subtracted by defense but rather goes straight to the target s health. Direct damage abilities like the one just described also do not activate on the first player s first turn. Play them wisely! Abilities which deal damage over time, that is per turn, will do so on the effected unit s turn every turn they have including the first one after they have been afflicted. Finally abilities which deal damage when an opponent enters play do not apply for creatures who have such an ability if they sent out on the first player s first turn until that player s next turn. REVIVING AND COPYING ABILITIES If an ability involves reviving a defeated unit, the revived unit is restored to full health and any long-term bonuses are removed, as if it had just been played. Reviving also triggers when this unit comes into play abilities since technically the unit being revived is returning to play. When a unit is revived it is put into play unless the field is full in which case it is simply returned to its owner s deck. Copy abilities work a lot like reviving abilities. When a unit becomes a copy of another it is as if they were just played, they are at full and lose all long-term effects. The difference is that they do not trigger when this unit enters play effects, since copying usually happens to units who are already in play, though there are some exceptions such as when a unit is revived then becomes a copy, which would then trigger when this unit enters play effects. UNIT MAX INCREASING ABILITIES AND GAME FLOW If a unit has an ability that increases the maximum number of playable units and that (or those) units are defeated, thereby reducing the maximum or returning it to normal, the owner of those units must choose which extra units to discard to their graveyard. One more thing, always remember if a number is not whole, then round up to the nearest whole number! For the most part the game goes on with each player taking turns attacking, playing monsters, scoring critical hits, and so on until a player has nothing in play, whoever still has units in play is then the winner (see WINNING CONDITIONS below for more). https://loregamescom.wordpress.com/ 5

WINNING CONDITIONS: You win when your opponent(s) have nothing in play and you do. THE LORE BOOK: This is an optional book that fleshes out the backstory of the game. The game is designed in a way so that players uninterested in any kind of flavor can easily ignore it while still being open to players who enjoy the world-building. The Lore Book has no impact on gameplay and is totally optional. It is just for fun! The story of the various factions is covered in a fairly casual manner (don t expect Tolkien level work here!). It also covers the Myth units, and even includes a section describing the end of the current Chapter. Chapters are the name for the various releases or versions of the game. Each Chapter continues the story of the world and will have a new setup of units and factions. Sometimes factions or units are reused but it all depends. Feel free to pit factions from one chapter against those of another or mix and match units from one faction across different chapters that they have been featured in. Don t be afraid to critique the game and play around with the rules and content. Enjoy! https://loregamescom.wordpress.com/ 6