A Mighty Fortress
A Mighty Fortress Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- 1.0 Introduction
- 2.0 How to Play the Basic Game
- 3.0 Game Equipment
- 4.0 Sequence of Play
- 5.0 Movement
- 6.0 Stacking
- 7.0 Zones of Control
- 8.0 Combat
- 9.0 Sieges
- 10.0 Missionaries and Conversion
- 11.0 Replacements and Reinforcements
- 12.0 Occupation (Political Control) of Area/Countries
- 13.0 Diplomacy
- 14.0 Victory
- 15.0 The Advanced Game
- 16.0 Finances
- 17.0 Excommunication
- 18.0 Henry VIII and the "Divorce" Question
- 19.0 Variable Victory Conditions
- 20.0 The Cast of Characters
- Historical Notes
- Errata (as of March 1978)
- 21.0 Armies of Neutrals (Optional Rule)
- Tables
- Map Charts
- Player Cards
1.0 Introduction
A Mighty Fortress simulates the conditions which made possible the spread of the Lutheran Reformation and the subsequent Catholic reaction (the Counter-Reformation) in the years 1532-1555. The game recreates the actual historical objectives of the major countries in Europe in the Sixteenth Century as well as their military strength and resources. There are six players in the game, representing the six major countries, England, France, the Ottoman Empire, the Hapsburgs, the Pope, and the collection of German states we will call The Lutherans. The Hapsburgs have, by far, the largest number of combat forces. Unhindered by other problems, they could easily suppress Lutheranism. However, other players have objectives that can usually be achieved only at the expense of the mighty Hapsburgs. Therefore, depending on the rapidly shifting political situation, there will probably be several alliances against Hapsburg influence. Because of this convoluted political situation, the players will often find themselves at cross-purposes with other players whom they were aiding the Game-Turn before. Thus, the possibilities for political and military interaction are extensive.
The game covers all actions from the year 1532 — right after the formation of the Schmalkaldic League — until 1555 and the Peace of Augsburg, which guaranteed Lutheranism as a religion and allowed the German estates to choose between that and Catholicism.
The Rules for A Mighty Fortress are divided into several sections, which together comprise two main parts. The first of these, the "Basic Game," includes rules for the movement and interaction of Armies, Navies, and Missionaries, negotiations between the Players, and a set of victory conditions for each of the six Players based on the actual policies and objectives as perceived by the rulers of the European Great Powers in the mid-Sixteenth Century. The second part, the "Advanced Game" (Sections 15.0 through 19.0) includes additional rules covering economic considerations that tend to constrain the actions of the Players, rules covering the attempt by Henry VIII of England to obtain an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, rules for Excommunication, and variable Victory Conditions based on historically feasible possibilities.
2.0 How to Play the Basic Game
A Mighty Fortress is properly played by six Players. The Players must decide among themselves which country each shall control. (If they have difficulty agreeing, the countries can be assigned randomly, each Player in turn selecting a face-down Army counter to indicate which country he shall play.)
Each Player takes the Player Card that corresponds to the country he shall play (see Case 3.3, The Player Cards). This lists what units that Player controls at the beginning of the game, and where on the map these are deployed. Each Player should set up his units.
The Papal States Player places the Game-Turn Indication Marker on 1532 (the first year) on the Game-Turn Track (see map). This indicates that the game is set to begin. Players then proceed to play the 1532 Game-Turn (see Section 4.0, Sequence of Play.) First the Players execute the Campaign Phase. The Ottoman Empire Player moves any of his Armies and Navies. On the first Game-Turn, there can be no combat (see Case 8.43). Therefore, the Ottoman Empire may not conduct any attacks, and after he has completed moving, the Papal States Player moves his units. After he has finished, in order, the Hapsburg Empire, French, English, and Lutheran Players move their units. In addition to moving his combat units, the Lutheran Player may move his Missionary units. After the Lutheran Player has completed his movement, the Campaign Phase is over.
Next, the Players proceed to the Diplomacy Phase. The 1532 Diplomacy Phase (the very first of the game) should be timed to last fifteen minutes. Thereafter, Players should allow five to six minutes per Game-Turn for the Diplomacy Phase, enforcing the limit fairly strictly, or else the game will be lengthened considerably. During the Diplomacy Phase, the Players negotiate with one another and conclude agreements in any combinations and to any ends deemed mutually desirable. Players may leave the game-map in order to (attempt to) gain a degree of privacy. Any agreements must be written, and, unless otherwise specified in the rules, made public at the conclusion of the Diplomacy Phase in which it is written and signed (see Section 13.0).
After the Diplomacy Phase, each Player determines what (if any) reinforcements and/or replacements are due and places them on the map during the Reinforcement and Replacement Phase. The Papal States Player marks the passage of a Game-Turn by moving the Game-Turn Indication Marker ahead to 1533. The Players then proceed to the 1533 Campaign Phase, starting with the movement by the Ottoman Empire units and the resolution of any attacks by them (assuming the Ottoman Empire Player declared war on someone or had war declared against him during the 1532 Diplomacy Phase). After the Campaign Phase is completed, the Diplomacy Phase and Reinforcement and Replacement Phase are executed and play proceeds through to the next Game-Turn.
3.0 Game Equipment
Cases:
3.1 The Game Map
The map represents the European continent as of 1532 A.D. There is no terrain differentiation (aside from that between land and water) on the map. However, the political borders that existed between the various polities (including many of the tinier "patchwork" states in what is now Germany and Italy) are demarcated. These are very important to the play of A Mighty Fortress, as it is important in terms of the game who is in control of an area, politically and religiously. Players should keep in mind that the political control of areas may shift; and they should take special care not to be confused between the terms area and country. An area is a geographical space, locatable on the map. A country is a political grouping of areas, as controlled by a particular Player at any point in the game. The areas that comprise a country may therefore not be constant. Players should keep in mind the following technicalities.
3.11 At the start of the game, the country England consists of the following areas: England, Calais, Ireland.
3.12 At the start of the game, the country France consists of the following areas: France and Scotland.
3.13 At the start of the game, the country Hapsburg Empire consists of the following areas: Spain, Austria, Bohemia, Tyrol, Hungary, The Netherlands, Franche Comte, Navarre, The Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia.
3.14 At the start of the game, Germany is not a country, and will not be one for over 300 years. In part, this is due to the number of areas that comprise the territory that will become Germany, which for the purposes of clarity, are listed here: Brunswick, Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Cleve, Muenster, Mark, Cologne (a one hex city/area), Mainz (a one hex city/area), Nassau, Trier (a one hex city/area), Metz (a one hex city/area), The Palatinate, Wurttemburg, Augsburg (a one hex city/area), Bavaria, Ansbach, Nuremburg (a one hex city/area), Saxony (includes Wittenburg), Hesse, Mansfield, Anhalt, Bremen (a one hex city/area).
Note that Wittenburg is the only city in "Germany" that is not its own area.
3.2 The Playing Pieces
Six contrastingly colored sets of die-cut counters — representing the six different Players' units — are supplied as playing pieces, commonly called units. They represent the various armies, navies and (for certain Players) missionaries involved in the game.
The sample units below show how to interpret the numbers and symbols on the counters. Army and Navy counters have no numerical value for combat strength on the counter; each Army or Navy counter is worth one strength point.
3.21 Summary of Unit Types
- Army Unit: City of Origin (e.g. Bremen (Lutheran)); Unit Type; Movement Allowance (e.g. 6).
- Navy Unit: Unit Type; Movement Allowance (e.g. 6).
- Jesuit Missionary: Front: Unit Type, Conversion Rating (printed "?"), Movement Allowance (8). Back: Unit Type, Conversion Rating (2), Movement Allowance (8).
- Lutheran Missionary: Front: Unit Type, Conversion Rating (printed "?"), Movement Allowance (8). Back: Unit Type, Conversion Rating (3), Movement Allowance (8).
3.3 The Player Cards
There are six Player Cards — one for each country/Player. Each card contains the following information:
- Initial Deployment for that Country. (What units go in which hexes.)
- Reinforcements, if any, and when and where they arrive.
- Victory Point Schedules for that Country in terms of geographical and/or religious objectives and either points gained or points lost.
- A brief commentary on objectives and background.
In the Basic Game, Players should use the Historical Victory Conditions; the others are used in the Advanced Game. Players do not have to show their cards to the other Players.
3.4 Inventory of Game Parts
A complete set of A Mighty Fortress should contain the following items:
- One 22" by 34" game map
- Six Player Cards
- One Rules Booklet
- One set of die-cut counters (200)
- One die
- One Cover Sheet/Box Assembly
3.5 Games Questions
Questions concerning the rules that are phrased in such a way that they can be answered with a simple, one-word reply will be responded to if they are sent to the publisher (SPI) at the address printed in the original booklet (address omitted here) together with a stamped self-addressed envelope. Mark your inquiry, "A Mighty Fortress Questions."
4.0 Sequence of Play
General Rule: A Mighty Fortress is played in structured turns called Game-Turns. Each Game-Turn represents a full year of "real" time. During the course of each Game-Turn, each Player may move his units, conduct combat, and conclude agreements with the other Players as he sees fit.
4.1 Outline of the Sequence of Play
Each Game-Turn consists of four Phases (six in the Advanced Game). The Players must execute these Phases in the following order:
- A. Campaign Phase: Each Player in turn moves his units and conducts any combat or "theological debates" (see Case 4.2 for a full outline of the Campaign Phase).
- B. Taxation Phase: (Advanced Game Only): Each Player calculates what income he is due to collect and records it as an addition to his treasury (see Case 16.1).
- C. Diplomacy Phase: During the Diplomacy Phase, Players may get together and make any agreements that they wish (see Section 13.0, Diplomacy). All agreements must be written down, as per Section 13.0. All agreements, declarations, and so forth take effect simultaneously at the end of the Diplomacy Phase.
- D. Expenditures Phase: (Advanced Game only): Each Player expends funds from his treasury as desired and/or required by the Advanced Game rules on movement and combat (see Case 16.3).
- E. Reinforcement and Replacement Phase: Each Player places on the map any reinforcements and/or replacements to which he is entitled in that Game-Turn (see Section 11.0). Note that in the Advanced Game, Players must expend funds to raise replacements.
- F. Game-Turn Indication Phase: At the conclusion of the Reinforcement and Replacement Phase, the Papal States Player moves the Game-Turn Indication Marker one year forward on the Game-Turn Track printed on the map to mark the passage of the Game-Turn. The Players then begin the next Game-Turn with the Campaign Phase, and continue to follow the same Sequence of Play for each Game-Turn thereafter, until the end of the game.
4.2 The Campaign Phase
Each Campaign Phase is subdivided into six Player-Turns, one for each Player in the game. During his Campaign Phase Player Turn, each Player moves his units and/or Missionaries and then conducts combat and/or theological debates as appropriate.
4.41 Campaign Phase Order of Play
During each Campaign Phase, the Player-Turns occur in the following order:
- Ottoman Empire
- Papal States
- Hapsburg Empire
- France
- England
- Lutherans
4.21 Campaign Phase Order of Play
A Player-Turn consists of three segments. Each individual Player, in turn, must complete the entire sequence of segments as outlined below before the next Player may begin his Player-Turn. After the Lutheran Player (whose Player-Turn is last) has completed any combat/theological debate resolutions, the Campaign Phase is over, and the Players proceed to the Diplomacy Phase (or, in the Advanced Game, to the Taxation Phase) as per the Sequence of Play outline (4.1). Each Player-Turn proceeds according to the following order:
- A. Player Movement Segment: The Player whose turn it is may move as many of his units as he wishes, subject to the restrictions of the Movement Rules (see Section 5.0).
- B. Player Combat Segment: The Player whose turn it is must attack any hostile combat units that are adjacent to his own combat units, resolving combat in accordance with the rules for such (see Sections 8.0 and 9.0).
- C. Theological Debate Segment: If the phasing Player is either the Papal Player or the Lutheran Player, he must engage all of his Missionaries that are in the same hex as any number of opposing Missionaries in a Theological Debate(s) in accordance with the appropriate rules (see Case 10.3).
5.0 Movement
General Rule: During the Movement Segment of his Player-Turn, each Player may move as many of his units as he wishes. Each unit — Army, Navy, or Missionary — may move as many hexes as the Player desires, as long as each unit is not moved more than its Movement Allowance in any given Movement Segment.
Procedure: Each unit or stack of units is moved individually, its path traced hex-by-hex on the map. Once a Player's hand is removed from a unit or stack, that unit's/stack's movement is considered completed. After a Player has completed moving all of his units that he wishes to move, his Movement Segment is considered completed and the game proceeds to that Player's Combat Segment. No combat ever occurs during any Movement Segment.
Cases:
5.1 How to Move Units
5.11 During his Movement Segment, a Player may move all, some, or none of his units. No other units may be moved.
5.12 Movement is calculated in terms of Movement Points. Each unit in the game is considered to have a certain number of Movement Points which can be expended in a given turn; this is called the unit's Movement Allowance. Normally, the Movement Allowance of an Army (Exception: Case 5.24) or a Navy (Exceptions: Cases 5.4 and 16.5) is six Movement Points. The Movement Allowance of a Missionary is normally eight (Exception: Case 5.66). Movement Points unused by a unit during a Movement Segment cannot be accumulated for use in a later Game-Turn or transferred to another unit.
5.13 One Movement Point is expended for each hex into which a unit is moved. An Army unit could, therefore, not be moved more than six hexes in any one Movement Segment.
5.14 When being moved, a unit is moved by its Player through consecutive, adjacent hexes. A unit being moved may not skip or jump hexes.
5.15 There is no terrain differentiation on the A Mighty Fortress map. Thus, each hex on the map always costs one Movement Point to enter. However, there are certain restrictions on the movement of Armies and Missionaries in Sea hexes (see Cases 5.22 and 5.25) and on the movement of Navies in Land hexes (see Case 5.32).
5.2 Restrictions on the Movement of Armies
5.21 An Army may never be moved into a hex occupied by any combat unit (Army or Navy) belonging to another Player.
5.22 An Army may not be moved into an all-sea hex nor moved through an all-sea hexside unless it is transported by a Navy (see Case 5.5, Naval Transport).
5.23 Movement of an Army is inhibited by the presence of the Zone of Control of an Army unit belonging to another Player (see Section 7.0, Zones of Control).
5.24 An Army that begins the Movement Segment in a hex which is in an area not under the control of the owning Player has its Movement Allowance halved for that Game-Turn (see Case 12.12 for the definition of area "control").
Example: If an Army belonging to the French Player starts his Movement Segment in hex 1427 (Spain), and Spain is not controlled by the French Player, then that Army may be moved only three hexes (maximum) that Game-Turn. (Exception: see Case 13.34).
5.25 No Army may enter any hex in Poland.
5.26 The Movement of a Player's Army into or through a hex is not impeded by the presence of another Army belonging to that Player in the same hex, so long as the stacking restrictions are observed (see Section 6.0).
5.27 The Movement of a Player's Army into or through a hex is never impeded by the presence of a Missionary unit in that hex. If the Missionary unit belongs to another Player, it may be eliminated (see Case 8.19).
5.3 Restrictions on the Movement of Navies
5.31 A Navy may never be moved into a hex occupied by any combat unit belonging to another Player.
5.32 A Navy may not be moved into an all-land hex nor moved across a hexside that is completely land. A Navy may be moved into and/or through coastal hexes, as long as the preceding restrictions are observed.
5.33 Movement of a Navy is impeded by the presence of the Zones of Control of a Navy unit belonging to another Player (see Section 7.0, Zones of Control).
5.34 No Navy may enter any Polish coastal hex.
5.35 The movement of a Player's Navy into or through a hex is not impeded by the presence of another Navy belonging to that Player in the same hex, so long as the stacking restrictions are observed (see Section 6.0).
5.36 The movement of a Player's Navy into or through a hex is never impeded by the presence of a Missionary unit. If the Missionary unit belongs to another Player, it may be eliminated (see Case 8.19).
5.4 Extended Naval Movement
Players have the option to attempt to increase the Movement Allowance of their Navy units, at the risk of rendering them immobile for the entire Movement Segment. (This rule may be superceded in the Advanced Game by Case 16.5).
5.41 A Navy may normally be moved up to six hexes. During his Movement Segment, a Player may elect to attempt to increase the Movement Allowance of all, some, or none of his Navies to either twelve or eighteen hexes for that Movement Segment. The success of any such attempt is determined by a die roll: if the Player wishes to increase the Movement Allowance of a Navy to twelve, he must roll a number between 1 and 4 inclusively; if the Player wishes to increase a Navy's Movement Allowance to eighteen, he must roll a 1 or 2.
5.42 Attempts to increase the Movement Allowance of Navy units are resolved separately on a unit-by-unit basis. A Player must announce such an attempt and roll for it before moving the Navy in question any distance at all. Before he rolls the die, he must state which Navy he is rolling for, and whether he is attempting to increase that unit's Movement Allowance to twelve or eighteen.
5.43 If a Player rolls successfully, the Movement Allowance of the Navy rolled for is increased for that Game-Turn (only). The Player must then immediately move that Navy. He may not move any other unit, nor may he roll to increase the Movement Allowance of any other unit, until he has completed moving that Navy. He does not have to move the Navy the full number of Movement Points allowed — i.e., if the unit's Movement Allowance had been increased to twelve, it could be moved ten hexes — but he does have to complete his move of that Navy before moving any other unit.
5.44 If a Player attempting to increase the Movement Allowance of a Navy rolls unsuccessfully, then that Navy (as well as any units it is carrying) may not be moved at all during that Movement Segment.
5.45 If a Player has two or more Navies for which he wishes to increase Movement Allowance stacked in a single hex, he may use one die roll to determine whether he is successful for all at once.
5.5 Naval Transport
Navy units may transport (carry) land units — Armies or Missionaries — under certain conditions.
5.51 Land units — Armies or Missionaries — may embark (go on board) on a Navy unit only in a Port Hex. Any city that has a Port Symbol is a Port. Cities without a Port symbol are not Ports regardless of their location. In addition, hex 2701 (in Norway) is considered to be a Port, even though it is not a city.
5.52 Units being transported by Navy units may debark — get off the ship — at any coastal hex (Exception: see Case 5.25) or island. They may debark into an enemy ZOC.
5.53 There is no cost in Movement Points to embark or debark.
5.54 A Navy unit carrying an Army or Missionary unit is considered to have expended any Movement Points that that Army or Missionary expended prior to embarking on to the Navy unit during that Game-Turn.
Example: An Army unit moves three hexes to a Port where it embarks on a friendly Navy unit. That Navy unit may now move only three more hexes, unless it uses Extended Naval Movement (see Case 5.4) that game turn. If the land unit had moved six or more hexes (remember, Missionaries may move eight hexes on land) that turn, the Navy unit could not move at all unless it used Extended Naval Movement. The reverse of this is also true: hexes used by the Navy unit during movement at sea are attributed to the land units that Navy unit is carrying. Thus an Army that has moved six or more hexes at sea may not move on land that Game-Turn (it may debark, however).
5.55 Land units in the same hex with Navy units must be either on the ship or off the ship. If they are embarked on the ship they are placed under the Navy counter; if they are not on the ships they are placed on top of it.
5.56 Each Navy unit may carry up to two Armies and two Missionaries. Thus it may carry two of each simultaneously, but never more than two of either kind.
5.57 An Army embarked on a Navy unit may not participate in Combat (see Section 8.0). If the Navy is destroyed as a result of combat, any units being transported are lost as well.
5.58 Land units may be embarked or debarked only during the owning Player's Movement Segment.
5.6 Restrictions on the Movement of Missionaries
5.61 Missionary units may be moved eight hexes on land. They may always be moved eight hexes on land; they are never inhibited by starting the Movement Segment in a hex of an area not controlled by the owning Player.
5.62 Missionary units may be moved through all Zones of Control. They are never affected by the Zones of Control of units belonging to any Player (see Case 7.11).
5.63 A Player may not move a Missionary unit into a hex occupied solely by combat units belonging to another Player (Exception: see Case 13.36).
5.64 Either Player owning Missionary units (the Papal Player and the Lutheran Player) may freely move them into any hex(es) occupied by one or more Missionary units belonging to the other Player. This may be done even if the hex contains combat units belonging to someone other than the moving Player.
5.65 Missionary units may be moved freely through all-sea hexes and/or hexsides. (They are considered to be using local merchant vessels.) Missionary units being moved independently of Navy units by sea may embark and/or debark in any coastal hex whether or not it contains a Port. Land and Sea movement may be freely combined in the same Movement Segment.
5.66 Missionary units that are moved through one or more sea hex or sea hex-sides (without being transported by Navy units) during the course of a Movement Segment have a Movement Allowance of six for that Game-Turn. This Movement Allowance can not be increased by Extended Naval Movement.
5.67 A Player may utilize Naval Transport (Case 5.5) to move Missionary units, as long as the restrictions on such movement are observed. Naval Transport has nothing to do with the capacity of Missionary units to be moved by sea independently. The two forms of movement may be freely combined.
5.68 A Player's Missionary unit may be eliminated if another Player moves a combat unit into the hex it occupies (see Case 8.19).
6.0 Stacking
General Rule: Stacking refers to the number of units a Player may place in any one hex. Normally, there may never be more than two Army, two Navy units, and/or three Missionary units belonging to any one Player in a given hex. However, this is modified by certain rules below.
Cases:
6.1 Stacking Allowances
6.11 A Player's combat units — Armies and/or Navies — may never occupy the same hex as combat units belonging to any other Player. Under certain circumstances, one Player's Missionary unit may co-exist in the same hex with another Player's Missionary and/or combat units (see Cases 5.27, 5.36, and 5.64).
6.12 A Player may never have more than two of his Armies and two of his Navies in any non-city hex. Exception: Armies embarked on ships do not count towards the stacking limitation. Thus, in a given non-city coastal hex, there may be up to two Armies and two Navies (plus transports) belonging to one Player.
6.13 The number of Army units and (for Ports) Navy units which a Player may stack in each city hex is printed on the map next to the name of the city. The first number listed is the number of Armies that may be stacked in that hex; the second number (if any) is the number of Navies that may be stacked in that city. Thus, a Player may stack up to two of his Armies in Paris, and up to eight of his Armies and four of his Navies in London (which is considered a Port).
6.14 A Player may stack up to three of his Missionary units in any one hex. This is in addition to any combat units in that hex.
6.2 Effect of Stacking Restrictions
Stacking limitations apply at all times — during movement, combat, and retreats. Thus, a stack of two Armies could not be moved into or through a hex containing an Army belonging to any Player (even his own) because that would violate the stacking restrictions. Likewise, a stack of two Armies (or Navies) could not be retreated into a hex containing an Army (or Navy) because of stacking restrictions. (An Army could be retreated into a hex containing only two Navies, so long as all three units belonged to the same Player, of course).
7.0 Zones of Control
General Rule: The six hexagons surrounding a hex constitute the Zone of Control (ZOC) of any combat unit in that hex. Hexes upon which a unit exerts a Zone of Control are called controlled hexes. The Zone of Control of a Player's unit inhibits the movement of other Players' combat units.
Cases:
7.1 When Zones of Control Are Operative
7.11 Only combat units — Armies and Navies — exert ZOC's. Missionary units do not exert ZOC's.
7.12 All combat units exert a Zone of Control at all times during the game, regardless of whether they are in a city or non-city hex. Exception: Embarked Armies do not exert ZOC's.
7.13 During a Player's Combat Segment, the presence of one of his combat units in a hex negates the effect of all Zones of Control on that hex for any of that Player's units (only). Thus, a unit belonging to a Player may retreat through any hex occupied by another combat unit belonging to that Player, regardless of the presence of any Zones of Control (but remember the stacking limitations, Case 6.15). [Editor's note: the printed reference is "Case 6.15"; the stacking rules as printed run only through Case 6.14.]
7.14 During the Movement Segment, Zones of Control are never negated.
7.15 Zones of Control generally extend into all hexes. However, the Zone of Control of an Army does not extend through all-sea hexsides; nor does the Zone of Control of an Army ever affect the movement of a Navy. Likewise, the Zone of Control of a Navy does not extend through all-land hexsides; nor does the Zone of Control of a Navy ever affect the movement of an Army. Political boundaries may also delimit Zones of Control (see Case 8.48).
7.16 If a combat unit belonging to one Player is in the ZOC of a unit belonging to a second Player, the second Player's unit is also in the ZOC of the first Player's unit. The two units are in each other's Zone of Control.
7.17 The ZOC of a non-hostile unit (see Case 7.22) does not extend across the borders of its area into another (non-hostile) area.
7.2 Effects of Zones of Control
7.21 Only combat units are affected by Zones of Control. A Missionary unit is never affected by a Zone of Control in any fashion.
7.22 Generally speaking, a Player may not move any of his combat units into the Zone of Control of any other Player's units. There are two exceptions to this: a) A Player may gain permission to move a combat unit into or through the Zone of Control of a unit owned by a second Player with whom he is allied; b) A Player may move a combat unit into the Zone of Control of a unit owned by a second Player with whom he is in a State of War (see Case 8.4). In this case, the units are said to be hostile.
7.23 A Player may move a combat unit into or through the Zone of Control of a unit owned by a second Player with whom he is allied as long as the terms of the Alliance state in writing that this can be done. The first Player must obtain spoken assent (as he is moving the unit) from the second Player for each controlled hex of a unit or units belonging to the second Player he wishes to enter. If the second Player denies this permission at any point, then the first Player may not move his unit into the hex in question. The movement may occur either during the First Player's Movement Segment (regular movement), or during anyone's Combat Segment (retreat; see Case 8.6).
7.24 A Player may move a combat unit into the Zone of Control of a unit belonging to a second Player with whom he is in a State of War. However, once he has done so, the first Player must cease moving his unit; it may be moved no further during that Game-Turn.
7.25 A Player may move a combat unit that begins a Movement Phase in the ZOC of a hostile (see Case 7.22) unit out of that ZOC by moving it directly into a hex which is not in the ZOC of any hostile unit. This is the only manner in which a combat unit may be moved out of a hostile unit's ZOC during the Movement Segment.
7.26 If a Player successfully moves one of his units out of a hostile unit's ZOC (as per Case 7.25), he may then proceed to move that unit normally. That unit may eventually be moved into another hex controlled by a hostile unit (in which event, it could not be moved any further that Game-Turn.)
7.27 There is never any extra cost (in Movement Points) for a combat unit to enter or exit any ZOC, so long as that movement is allowed by Case 7.22.
7.28 A Player may not retreat any of his combat units into a hex in the ZOC of a hostile unit (Exception: see Case 7.13). A combat unit in the ZOC of a hostile unit must attack during its Combat Segment (see Section 8.0).
7.29 There is no additional effect from having more than one unit exerting a Zone of Control into a given hex. However, any hex that a hostile unit is exerting a ZOC into is treated as a hostile controlled hex, regardless of any other units' ZOC's which may be present.
8.0 Combat
General Rule: Combat between adjacent hostile units is mandatory, providing that a ZOC is being exerted by the hostile units. A unit is hostile to a second unit if the Player owning the first unit is in a State of War with the Player owning the second unit. Thus, if a combat unit belonging to one Player is found in the Zone of Control of a second Player's combat unit during the first Player's Combat Segment, and if the Players are in a State of War, then the first unit must attack the second unit. The Player whose Combat Segment is current is termed the Attacker; the other Player is the Defender, regardless of the overall strategic situation. Note that combat wherein the defending unit(s) is in a city hex is called a Siege, and is covered in Section 9.0.
For the purposes of this Section, all of the Attacker's units are termed Friendly, all hostile units on the map are termed Enemy. Note that as per Case 8.4, only units belonging to Players in a State of War with the Player whose Combat Segment is current are considered hostile and may be attacked.
Procedure: Each Combat unit in the game is worth one point; thus, each combat unit has a Combat Strength of one. The Attacker totals the Combat Strengths of all the units attacking a given hex and compares the total to the total Combat Strength of the defending units in such hex. The comparison is expressed as a ratio between the attacking and defending Strength Points and is simplified by rounding down (in favor of the Defender) to one of the ratios on the Combat Results Table.
Example: If 9 strength points were attacking 2, the 9-2 would round down to 4-1.
Having determined the actual combat ratio, the Attacker rolls a die. The die roll is cross-referenced with the determined ratio on the Combat Results Table to yield a specific combat result. This result is applied immediately to the units involved before proceeding to any further combats in that phase. Separate combats may be resolved in any order that the Attacker wishes so long as all combats are resolved during that Combat Phase. There is no terrain in A Mighty Fortress so there are no terrain effects on combat.
Cases:
8.1 Which Units May Attack
8.11 All Enemy units that have Friendly units in their Zones of Control must be attacked by the Attacker in the latter's Combat Segment. He may resolve these attacks in any fashion desired so long as all adjacent/ZOC units are attacked within the requirements of Case 8.2 (see also Cases 8.12 and 8.13).
8.12 Units in a city do not have to attack Enemy units outside the city. However, if they do attack any units outside the city, they must attack all Enemy units to which they are adjacent. Units outside and adjacent to an occupied (Enemy) city must attack that city; however, such combat is considered a Siege and is resolved according to the rules for such (see Section 9.0).
8.13 Armies may not attack an adjacent unit if the intervening hexside is an all-sea hexside. Example: An Army in 3321 may not attack a unit in 3420 even though they are adjacent; the intervening hexside is all-sea. Likewise, a Navy may not attack an adjacent Navy through an all-land hexside. Example: Navy units in 1712 may not be used to attack London (1711) because the intervening hexside is all-land.
8.14 All of the Attacker's units which end the Movement Segment in an Enemy-controlled hex must attack some Enemy unit during the ensuing Combat Segment (Exception: see Case 8.12). The Attacker may choose which attacking units will attack each defending unit, as long as all adjacent Friendly units participate in some attack.
8.15 An Enemy-occupied hex may be attacked by as many units as can be brought to bear in the six adjacent hexes (remember stacking restrictions Case 6.12).
8.16 No unit may attack more than once per Combat Segment, and no Enemy unit may be attacked more than once by a given Player per Combat Segment. (Such units may be attacked more than once in a single Game-Turn if it is attacked by different Players).
8.17 Units may attack only when adjacent to the defending unit.
8.18 No unit may attack an Enemy unit unless a State of War exists between both countries (see Case 8.4).
8.19 Armies and Navies never engage in combat with Missionary units. A Missionary unit may be eliminated at any point during the course of the Game-Turn at which an Enemy combat unit enters the hex it is in, at the option of the Player owning the combat unit and providing it is the only type of unit in the hex. Exception: a Missionary unit in a city hex can never be eliminated by a combat unit (see Case 10.15).
8.2 Multiple Unit and Multi-Hex Combat
8.21 All units defending a given hex must be attacked as a single strength (adding together the combat strength points in that hex). The Defender may not withhold a unit in a hex under attack — even in a Siege. The Attacker must attack all the units in such a stack together; different units in the same hex may not be attacked separately.
8.22 If more than one attacking unit is in a given hex, these units must be used as an integral Combat Strength. They may not be used in separate attacks. This is so even if they are Armies and Navies (unless forbidden by terrain).
8.23 If an Attacker's unit is in the ZOC of more than one Enemy unit, it must attack all those adjacent Enemy units which are not engaged by some other attacking unit.
8.24 Units in two or more hexes may combine their Combat Strengths and attack a single hex, if all the attacking units are adjacent to the Enemy-occupied hex.
8.25 Attacks may involve any number of attacking and defending units in different hexes. For the attacks to be resolved as a single combat, however, all the attacking units must be adjacent to all the defending units.
8.26 Armies may attack Enemy Navies only when the latter units are in a Port hex and vice versa. In any other instance, Navies and Armies ignore each other's presence with the exception that, even in a non-port hex, a Friendly Navy may never enter a hex (coastal) occupied by an Enemy Army, and vice versa (see Cases 5.21 and 5.31). They may attack each other only when the defender is in a Port.
8.3 Diversionary Attacks
A unit may attack at poor odds in order that adjacent attacks against other Defenders may be made at better (higher) ratios (by allotting most of the attacking force against the major objective). These attacks are known as Diversionary Attacks. Diversionary Attacks may not be made at a ratio of lower than 1-5, at which ratio the attacker is automatically eliminated.
8.4 State of War
One Player may not attack another until a State of War exists between the two. Furthermore, units of one country may never enter a territory controlled by another Player without a State of War existing, unless a Formal Alliance allows such entry. States of War come into existence through a Declaration of War made by one of the parties involved.
8.41 Neither Army nor Navy units may move into territory (land) controlled by another Player until a State of War exists between the two Players' countries (unless there is a Formal Alliance allowing such movement; Case 13.3). All-sea hexes are never held (for the purposes of this section) by any Player, and Navy units may freely enter any all-sea hex without a Declaration of War. Navy units may not enter coastal hexes controlled by other Players without a State of War or Alliance existing between the two. Of course, neither Armies nor Navies may attack Enemy units without such a State of War existing.
8.42 A State of War does not exist until one country, during a Diplomacy Period, formally issues a Declaration of War against another country (or countries). Declarations of War must be written, and they must specify the parties to the Declaration (and a reason for the declaration as well, if so desired). Example: "The Hapsburgs declare war on France because of France's failure to support the Hapsburg campaign in Southern Germany." If a formal Declaration of War has not been issued, then no State of War exists.
8.43 Once a Declaration of War has been issued, a State of War exists between the two (or more) parties named in the declaration (see Case 8.49). Once such a State exists, either side may enter the other's territory and attack the other's units, regardless of who issued the Declaration. Players should note that since the game does not begin with a Diplomacy Period there can be no belligerent movement or attacks in the first turn.
8.44 Combat units may move into neutral territories (e.g., Savoy, Portugal, etc.) without a Declaration of War. Missionaries may move freely into Enemy territories with or without Declarations of War. Such movement by Missionaries does not, in and of itself, constitute an act of War.
8.45 An important diversion from the general combat rules should be noted here. No Lutheran combat unit may enter a German area unless and until that area has first been converted by Lutheran Missionaries. Thus, the Lutherans could not move a combat unit into Brandenburg on the opening turn of the game because they have not yet converted it to Lutheranism. They may move a Missionary in in 1532 and then, in 1533 follow this with troops. This rule does not apply to Lutheran movement into countries and areas other than Germany.
8.46 A second important diversion should be noted here. No country (with the exception of the Lutheran player) may enter any area of Germany, regardless of whether or not it is controlled by the Lutherans, without either a formal Alliance with the Lutherans or a formal Declaration of War against them. Thus, at the beginning of the game, while areas such as Bavaria are not literally controlled by the Lutherans, they are not neutral in the sense of Case 8.44.
8.47 A State of War continues to exist between two countries until a Formal Alliance, Peace Treaty, or Truce has been negotiated and announced (however, see Case 16.37).
8.48 Zones of Control of combat units of one country do not extend over the border into the hexes of another country unless and until a State of War exists between two such countries. Thus, with France and the Hapsburg Empire non-hostile vis a vis each other, a French unit in 1724 would not extend a ZOC into hex 1725. Note also that a Player may not move a combat unit into the Zone of Control of another Player's unit unless a State of War (or an Alliance permitting such movement) exists between them.
8.49 Only one Player has to make a Declaration of War to engender a State of War; however, the resultant State of War applies to both Players involved in the Declaration (i.e., either may now make attacks). A Player may declare War against more than one other Player.
8.5 Combat Results Table
(see map) — The Combat Results Table is printed on the game map and is transcribed in the table section below.
8.6 Retreating and Advancing as a Result of Combat
8.61 When the Combat Results Table (CRT) requires that a Player's Combat units be retreated, the Owning Player must immediately move those units the number of hexes required by the result. The Owning Player may decide the direction that each of his retreating units takes (however, see Case 8.66). Two units in the same hex may retreat in different directions.
8.62 A retreating combat unit may never enter an Enemy Zone of Control. (Exception: see Section 9.1, Honors of War). Land units may never retreat across an all-sea hexside and naval units may never retreat across an all-land hexside. If there is no hex available for retreat, or the units cannot retreat the required number of hexes, they are eliminated instead. Remember, friendly units negate the presence of Enemy ZOC's for purposes of retreat.
8.63 Units may not retreat onto or through Friendly units in violation of stacking restrictions. If they are blocked by such restrictions as well as those listed in Case 8.62, then they are eliminated instead.
8.64 Whenever a hex is vacated as a result of Combat, the victorious combat units (Attacker or Defender) may advance into that hex (up to the stacking limits for that hex). This advance may be made regardless of Enemy ZOC's. The option to advance must be exercised immediately, before any other combat resolution. A unit is never forced to advance. A unit may never advance more than one hex as a result of combat. Advancing Friendly units may eliminate Enemy Missionary units that remain in a non-city hex by advancing after combat. (Missionaries in cities may be eliminated only by Theological Debate; see Case 8.19.) Missionary units may never be advanced or retreated as a result of combat.
8.65 After advancing, units may neither attack nor be attacked in that Combat Segment, even if their advance places them adjacent to Enemy units whose battles are yet to be resolved or who were not involved in combat. However, advances are useful in cutting off the retreats of Enemy units whose combat has not yet been resolved.
8.66 Combat units forced to retreat must be retreated toward their home country if such a line of retreat is open. Otherwise, they may retreat into any other hex(es) into which such units may normally move. A unit may never retreat into the territory of a country with which it does not have a Treaty of Alliance or a State of War. Such a country is considered to consist of impassable terrain, and if it constitutes the only line of retreat open, the unit is eliminated instead. Example: The French besiege Lutherans at Nuremberg and the Lutherans must retreat as a result. The only line of retreat is into Hapsburg territory. The Lutherans are not at War with Hapsburgs nor do they have an Alliance or Treaty. Thus they may not retreat into Hapsburg territory and are eliminated instead.
9.0 Sieges
General Rule: Sieges use the same principles as standard combat (Section 8.0) with the exception that a different Combat Results Table is used to resolve the Siege. Any attack on a unit inside a city is a Siege. No Siege may be conducted at less than 1-1 odds/ratio. Siege Combat is resolved on the Siege Combat Results Table.
Cases:
9.1 The Honors of War
In Siege warfare during this and other eras, a victorious commander might grant the losing, but brave, defenders the Honors of War. This enabled the besieged army to leave the city with full equipment, etc., in recognition of their courageous defense. (Another good idea that seems to have gone the way of chivalry in this age of modern technology.) If a defending Player receives a result on the Siege CRT that indicates that the Honors of War are possible, he may retreat his units through Enemy units and/or Enemy Zones of Control. He may even end his retreat in a hex which is in an Enemy unit's Zone of Control, so long as that Enemy unit was one that was involved in the Siege.
9.2 Siege Combat Results Table
(see map)
10.0 Missionaries and Conversion
General Rule: The Lutheran and Papal Players receive Victory Points for the religious conversion of certain areas on the map. Obviously, the Lutheran Player is trying to convert Europe to Protestantism (which, for the purposes of A Mighty Fortress, includes the other Protestant sects besides Lutheranism — e.g., Calvinism — that arose at this time) while the Papal Player is trying to reverse this tide and bring Europe back into the Catholic fold. Countries and other areas are converted by the presence of Missionaries. An area is converted from one religion to the other when, during a given Diplomacy Phase, there are no Missionaries of one religion present in the area, and at least one Missionary of the other religion is present. The presence of combat units does not affect the conversion status of an area. Missionaries "attack" opposing Missionaries through Theological Debate, which is resolved on the Theological Debate Results Table.
Cases:
10.1 How Missionaries Function
10.11 Missionary unit counters are printed on both sides. On their "front" is simply an indication that the unit is a Missionary (as opposed to a Navy or Army). On the reverse side of the counter is the Debate Capability of that Missionary. All Missionary units enter the game with their "untried" side face up. It is only when the Missionary enters into Theological Debate for the first time that the Missionary counter is turned over to reveal its actual Debate Capability (either 1, 2, 3, or 4). Players are not permitted to look at the true capability of their Missionaries until they actually engage in debate, and Players should pick and place their Missionaries with this in mind.
10.12 Only the Lutheran and Papal players receive Missionaries.
10.13 Missionary units have a variety of movement capabilities and restrictions covered in the rules on Movement (see Case 5.5).
10.14 Missionary units never engage in standard combat. They have no ZOC, and they may ignore the ZOC's of combat units. They may be eliminated by combat units at the option of the Player owning the combat units in two ways:
- If they are alone in a non-city hex and the combat unit enters that hex (see Case 8.19).
- A Missionary unit is stacked with Friendly combat units in a non-city hex and the Friendly combat units are eliminated or forced to retreat by Enemy combat units. If the Enemy units then advance into that hex, the Missionary may be eliminated.
10.15 Missionary units are inviolate in cities. They may be eliminated or removed from cities only by Theological Debate with Enemy Missionaries.
10.16 A Player may move a Missionary unit into a city hex controlled by another player under three circumstances:
- It is unoccupied; or
- It is occupied solely by Missionaries; or
- It is occupied by Missionaries and Combat units. A Player may not move a Missionary unit into a city occupied solely by combat units belonging to another Player (Exception: see Case 13.3).
10.17 Combat units may enter a city occupied solely by Missionaries. The Missionaries are not affected by this and they may remain in the city if they so choose. Remember, Missionaries in cities are never affected by combat units.
10.2 Religious Conversion
The object of both the Lutheran and Papal Players is to gain religious control of the various areas on the map by converting them. An area is considered converted to a Player's religion if there are no opposing Missionaries present and there is at least one of that Player's Missionaries in one of the hexes of that area or city.
10.21 At the start of the game, all areas are considered to be Catholic (i.e., religiously controlled by the Pope) except for the Ottoman Empire and those areas in Germany with Lutheran Missionaries.
10.22 Only Missionary units can "convert" areas; combat units may control areas for political purposes, but they do not give the owning Player religious control. Thus, although the Lutheran player may send an Army into the Netherlands to seize that country, the Netherlands does not become Lutheran unless the Lutheran Player sends a Missionary unit into the country. Likewise, the elimination of a Missionary (by a combat unit) in an area does not reconvert that area; it remains converted to that Missionary's religion until an opposing Missionary enters that area.
10.23 Conversion of an area from the prevailing religion to the opposing religion occurs, basically, when a Missionary unit of the opposing religion is in the area and no Missionary unit of the prevailing religion is in the area. The religious status of an area is adjudged during the Diplomacy Phase of the Game-Turn.
Example: A Missionary belonging to the Lutheran Player is moved into a Catholic area in which no Jesuit Missionaries are present. The Missionary survives the Lutheran Player's Combat Segment, and thus is the only Missionary unit present in the area in the Diplomacy Phase. The area is therefore converted to Lutheranism.
Example: Both the Papal and Lutheran Players have a Missionary unit in a Lutheran area in the same hex. During the Papal Player's Theological Debate Segment, his Missionary decisively wins and the Lutheran Missionary is burned at the stake. If, by the time of the Diplomacy Phase, the Papal Player's Jesuit Missionary unit has not been eliminated by a combat unit (see Cases 10.14 and 10.15), then the area is converted to Catholicism.
10.24 Once an area has been converted to a given religion, it remains under that religion unless and until a Missionary unit of the opposing religion satisfies the requirements of Case 10.23. Thus, if, in the first Game-Turn, the Lutheran Player places a Missionary in France, and that Missionary remains in France at the end of the First Game-Turn, France becomes Lutheran. Even if the Lutheran Missionary were to be eliminated, France would remain Lutheran until 1540 at least, because Jesuit Missionaries do not appear until then. Players should bear this important rule in mind — especially given the unique movement proclivities of the Missionaries — throughout the early turns of the game and at the very end!
10.25 Players should note that, for a Player to gain credit — in terms of Victory Points at the end of the game — for converting an area (or reconverting), he must have at least one Missionary in the area at the end of the game. If there are opposing Missionaries in the same area at the end of the game, the Player whose religion prevails at the end of the game garners the points. Note that at all times an area has one and only one religion.
10.26 There are several special facets to Conversion that should be noted:
- Ottoman Territory may never be converted.
- Poland may be converted (it starts Catholic); as a matter of fact, only Missionaries may enter Poland.
- The Lutheran areas/cities of Brunswick, Saxony, Anhalt, Mansfield, and Hesse (as well as Mecklenburg, Wurttemburg, Augsburg and Brandenburg, if and when they are converted to Lutheranism) may be reconverted to Catholicism only upon elimination of all Lutheran combat units (as well as any Lutheran Missionaries) in that area or city. If this occurs, combat units belonging to these areas may not reenter the game as replacements (see Case 11.15) until that area is converted back to Lutheranism. Missionaries may always remain in play, regardless of place of origin, although if eliminated they may not reenter the game in an area not controlled (converted) by them.
10.27 Remember, Missionaries may always enter a city if it is occupied by opposing Missionaries or unoccupied. Missionaries may not enter a city occupied solely by combat units, unless the Missionaries and combat units belong to the same Player (Exception: see Case 13.3). Once inside a city, the Missionary unit(s) may be eliminated only by Theological Debate; never by Combat. This applies only to cities, and not to non-city hexes.
10.28 Note that the Lutheran or Papal Players may conclude treaties with any other Player in the game to convert any area that Player controls to Lutheranism or Catholicism, respectively. In order to successfully consummate such a treaty, the conditions of Case 10.23 must be met. Exceptions: the Lutheran, Papal, and Ottoman Players may not agree with another Player to convert areas under their (Lutheran, Papal or Ottoman) political control by treaty (see Case 13.36).
10.3 Theological Debate
Theological Debate is a type of combat using words instead of swords. It is the main method of removing opposing Missionaries, and it is the only way to eliminate them inside cities. Theological Debate is similar to standard combat (Section 8.0) with the exceptions that all units involved are in the same hex and a different CRT is used.
10.31 If, during his Theological Debate Phase (4.1C), a Player has any of his Missionary units in the same hex as an opposing Missionary, Theological Debate takes place. The Player whose turn it is is called the Challenger, the opposing player the Defender.
10.32 Both the Challenger and the Defender flip over their Missionaries to determine their Debate Capabilities. Each side then totals his Debate Capability points, and the Challenger compares his total to that of the Defender, much in the same way as regular combat ratios are determined. Example: If the Lutheran has three Missionaries in a hex — two 1's and a 3 — and there is a Jesuit Missionary that has a Debate Capability of 2, the ratio would be 5-2, or 2-1.
10.33 The Challenger then refers to the Theological Debate Table, rolling one die and cross-referencing that die roll with the predetermined ratio. That will give the Players the results of that debate (see Case 10.4).
10.34 Once a Missionary has been flipped over to reveal his Debate Capability, he remains flipped over until he is removed from the game. At that point he is reversed to his "untried" side again and placed with any other Missionaries that have not yet entered the game.
10.4 Theological Debate Results Table
(see map)
11.0 Replacements and Reinforcements
General Rule: During the Reinforcement and Replacement Phase at the end of the Game-Turn, each Player places on the map any Replacements and any Reinforcements — Armies, Navies, and/or Missionaries — to which he is entitled. Players should note that the stacking limitations apply to Replacements and Reinforcements (see Case 6.1).
Cases:
11.1 Replacements
Combat units and Missionary units eliminated from the game may be "replaced" into the game a certain number of Game-Turns later.
11.11 Combat units eliminated from the game may be returned to play after two full Game-Turns. Thus, a combat unit eliminated in the 1535 Game-Turn may be replaced in play during the Reinforcement and Replacement Phase of the 1537 Game-Turn.
11.12 Armies must be replaced in the capital city of their country of origin (Exception: see Case 11.15). Navy replacements are put onto the map in any Port controlled by the owning Player that is not under Siege.
11.13 The capital cities are indicated on the map. They are as follows:
- England: London
- Hapsburg Empire: Madrid or Vienna
- Papal States: Rome
- Ottoman Empire: Constantinople
- France: Paris
11.14 If a Player's capital city is under Siege or controlled by another Player, then he may not replace eliminated Army units until he recaptures the city or raises the Siege. For the purposes of this rule, a city is under Siege if Enemy units (see Section 8.0, General Rule) or their Zones of Control occupy every hex surrounding that city. Should a Player recapture or lift a Siege of his capital, any replacements which have accrued may be placed on the map in the following Reinforcement and Replacement Phase. (Note that being under Siege is distinct from the definition of a Siege, which is any attack on a city; see Section 9.0).
11.15 Lutheran Armies have specific designations of origin (see Section 3.0). Whenever such units are replaced, it must be into their particular area of origin. They may be placed in any hex therein that is not adjacent to a hostile combat unit. Lutheran units may not be replaced in an area that has been converted to Catholicism (see Case 10.26) or occupied (see Section 12.0) by some Player other than the Lutheran Player.
11.16 If a Player controls no Ports, or if they are all under Siege, then he may not replace eliminated Navy units until he recaptures or lifts the Siege of a Port (see Case 11.14). Any Navy replacements that accrue to a Player during a period which he cannot place them on the map may be brought into play during the next Reinforcement and Replacement Phase following his acquisition of a Port.
11.17 Missionary units removed from play may be replaced in the game after two full Game-Turns, unless they are removed by a result on the Theological Debate Table (10.4) which explicitly mandates a different time span (e.g., "imprisoned one year") or calls for Burnt at Stake. Missionaries Burnt at Stake are eliminated permanently and may not be replacements.
11.18 Lutheran Missionary unit replacements may be placed in any non-Catholic German state in any hex that is not occupied by or in the Zone of Control of a combat unit controlled by another Player. Jesuit Missionary units may be taken as replacements in Rome or, if occupied by another Player, in any hex in the Papal States that is not occupied or in the Zone of Control of a hostile combat unit controlled by another Player.
11.19 Missionary unit replacements may also be placed in any city controlled by any Player who agrees to their placement there. Such agreement (between the Lutheran or Papal Player and a second Player) must be explicitly stated in a written Treaty (see Section 13.0).
11.2 Reinforcements
Reinforcements are new units entering the game during play for the first time. Only the Lutheran and Papal Players receive reinforcements; the Lutheran Player's reinforcements are both Missionaries and Armies while the Papal Player receives Jesuits as reinforcements.
11.21 Lutheran reinforcements — both Armies and Missionaries — enter any time on or after the date specified for their entry. However, they must enter in the specified area, and that area must have been converted to Lutheranism for at least one full year prior to entry. Thus, in order for the one Army and two Missionary units to enter, in 1533, as reinforcements at Mecklenburg, a Lutheran Missionary must have entered Mecklenburg, in 1532 and the area remained Lutheran through 1533.
11.22 Jesuit Missionaries enter the game in any hex in the specified area on the date listed — or after — unless:
- The area has been converted to Lutheranism; or
- The area is occupied by Hostile Forces; or
- The city listed is under Siege.
11.23 If Jesuits cannot enter the game in Rome, they may enter from any city in the Papal States. If all cities in the Papal States are under hostile control or siege, they may enter in any capital city from any Catholic country that will allow them entry. An explicit treaty is not necessary.
11.24 Reinforcements are placed on the game map in the Replacement/Reinforcement Phase of the Game-Turn.
12.0 Occupation (Political Control) of Area/Countries
General Rule: Occupation refers to political-military control of Enemy or neutral territory by combat units. This is distinct from Religious Conversion of the same areas, which is covered in Case 10.2. A given area may be occupied by a series of different Players in turn without religious control ever being changed. Occupation is determined at the beginning of each Diplomacy Phase.
Cases:
12.1 The Mechanics of Occupation
12.1 The game map is divided into several countries, as well as a series of principalities, duchies, and petty states. Each one is defined as an area (see Section 3.0). Several countries on the map consist of more than one area; e.g., France the country consists of France proper — one area — plus Scotland — a second area. The Hapsburg Empire consists of several areas. Whenever a place that is both a country and an area is referenced in the rules or Victory Conditions, it should be read as a reference to the area — i.e., to collect Victory Points (see Section 16.0) for the Occupation of France, the Hapsburg Player would have to establish control of the area of France proper, not the areas of France plus Scotland.
12.12 An Area (or city, if the case arises) is considered Occupied for political control when, during any Diplomacy Phase, a Player has at least one of his combat units in that area (country, duchy, state, etc.) and there are combat units from no other country in that area. (Exception: see Case 12.16). Missionary units do not determine occupation for political control. Thus, for the Hapsburgs to occupy the area of France proper, the Hapsburg Player must eliminate all French units from France and have at least one Hapsburg combat unit in French territory. Occupation is determined at the beginning of the Diplomacy Period of the Game-Turn in question.
12.13 Occupation is important in determining who gains Victory Points at the end of the game. Occupation is also important for the question of States of War. Example: In the example in 12.12 (France and Hapsburgs), the English Player could not, in his Campaign Phase, enter France in the same turn as the Hapsburgs accomplished the above and dispute the Hapsburg claim unless England was at war or allied with France (remember Case 8.41). The fact that England might be at war with the Hapsburgs would still not enable England to enter the "newly conquered" France. Occupation of France would not revert to the Hapsburg Player until the Diplomacy Period at the end of the turn. For this same reason, the French Player (in his Campaign Phase immediately following that of the Hapsburgs) could move troops (if she had any left in other countries) into France because (1) there is obviously a state of war between France and the Hapsburgs; and (2) the Hapsburgs do not control France until the Diplomacy Period.
12.14 Once it has been determined (in the Diplomacy Period) that occupation/control of an area or country has been taken by another country (as in the above examples), that area or country is considered part of the territory of the conquering country until someone else takes it away by satisfying Case 12.12. Thus, in the above examples in Cases 12.12 and 12.13, France is now part of the Hapsburg Empire and will remain so until it is taken away from the Hapsburgs in the same fashion as the Hapsburg took it from the French Player (also, see Case 12.16.) Note: It is not necessary, technically, for a Player to maintain combat units in an area to retain Occupation once he has gotten it — though not to do so makes it easy to lose.
12.15 In the case of neutral areas (such as Savoy, Bavaria, etc.) the same rules apply as in Case 12.12. Thus, if at the end of the first Game-Turn, both France and the Hapsburg Player have combat units in Switzerland neither Player controls Switzerland — until one Player eliminates the other, or moves his combat units out.
12.16 Players may cede control (political) of areas they control to other Players by means of a Treaty. The Treaty must be written. In such a case, Occupation is considered to pass at the time specified by the Treaty to the Player to whom the area is ceded. He need not have combat units actually present in that area to assume control (Exception to Case 12.12). The player who is giving the control away must have had control at the time he gave it (see Case 13.6).
12.2 Record Keeping
Players might find it handy to keep track of who controls what at any given time (on a piece of paper) — especially where those myriad German and Italian states are concerned. The question of Occupation is extremely important in the context of the Advanced Game for determining Campaigning and Movement costs (see Case 16.3).
13.0 Diplomacy
General Rule: During the Diplomacy Phase each Game-Turn, the Players have an opportunity to decide among themselves what their relations will be with the other Players. Relations will either be peaceful, neutral, actively allied, or belligerent. All formal agreements — and disagreements — between countries/Players must be written and announced (unless stated otherwise) and do not come into effect unless so done. Players may agree to do anything that is not in contravention of the rules.
Cases:
13.1 States of War
This is covered in Case 8.4. Remember, a State of War may be the result of a one-sided declaration, but it affects all parties named in the Declaration of War.
13.2 Peace Treaties
Peace Treaties are applicable only when two or more Players are at war with each other. Players may decide to agree to a Peace for whatever reasons — and for whatever terms — they deem necessary. The terms of a Peace Treaty must be written out on a slip of paper and presented to the other Players at the end of the Diplomacy Period. To avoid arguments, all parties to the Treaty should sign it. Peace Treaties may simply state that a State of War no longer exists, or there may be areas that change hands and reparation payments made (in the advanced game).
Example: Treaty of Madrid, 1539 (Hypothetical). The Hapsburgs and the French are no longer at war. The Hapsburgs cede to France the territory of Navarre in return for French evacuation of Franch Comte. The French forces in Franch Comte must return to Paris.
Any movement designated in a Treaty is carried out in the ensuing individual Movement Phases. If Treaties are broken, the Players can either declare war again or gnash their teeth in frustration. (Note that there is a distinction between Treaty provisions which must be executed simultaneously with the institution of the treaty — cessions of territory, payments, and so forth — and future promises — such as troop movements. The latter are susceptible to being broken.)
13.3 Alliances
An Alliance is an agreement between two or more Players/countries that have, or appear to have, common objectives. Alliances permit Players a greater degree of co-operation than is otherwise allowed by the Rules.
13.31 Alliances must be written out in full. During the Diplomacy Phase in which it is concluded, an Alliance must be announced, but the terms of an Alliance may be kept secret until such time as one or the other of the Players party to it performs some action that would otherwise not be permitted and someone demands how he can be doing it. At that point, the Alliance (the written document) must be produced.
13.32 Alliances are temporary, and therefore must be concluded to run from a certain date to a certain date. This must be included as part of the written document. Of course, there is nothing to stop a Player from contravening the terms of an Alliance (if any) prior to its official conclusion, aside from the anger of the injured party.
13.33 An Alliance may allow one country's units to pass through another country's territory without incurring the usual movement loss. Such movement would occur without a Declaration of War, obviously (see Case 8.3).
13.34 An Alliance may allow one country's units to enter the Zones of Control of another country's units (see Cases 7.22 and 7.23).
13.35 An Alliance may allow one Player's Missionary units to enter hexes occupied solely by a second Player's combat units (see Case 5.63). This may be part of an agreement by the second Player to accept Conversion (see Case 10.28).
13.36 Example: Alliance between Lutherans and England. Lutherans agree to contribute two Armies to the English effort to capture Rouen. They also agree to declare war on France. England agrees to allow a Lutheran Missionary to visit England. Furthermore, they agree to aid the Lutherans, with two Armies, if Charles V (Hapsburg) attacks Saxony. This alliance is in effect from 1539 to the end of 1541.
In the above sample Alliance, the terms would be carried out in the immediately ensuing Game-Turn (unless specifically stated otherwise). Now the Lutherans might break the Alliance if they see that the English invasion of France isn't going too well, and the English might simply get rid of the Missionary (if they could) after receiving help from the Lutherans. Self-interest is the key word in trusting alliances.
13.37 Alliances may be renounced prior to running their natural course during the Diplomacy Phase. Of course, a Player may, by his actions during the Campaign Phase, contravene the spirit or letter of an Alliance, but he remains "formally" allied until the Alliance is renounced or expires.
13.4 Truces
A Truce is simply a formal agreement between two warring countries to end the State of War (see Case 8.4) for a stated length of time without resorting to a formal Peace Treaty. After the stated time limit is over, the State of War automatically resumes, unless a Peace Treaty has been announced. Truces may include anything that a Peace Treaty includes, and, of course, they need not be honored. Remember, a Truce is not an Alliance. Note: Although a Truce is only a temporary peace, it is a peace. A Truce cannot be broken with a belligerent act (in the sense of Case 8.4) until a new Declaration of War has been issued during a Diplomacy Phase. A Player may never go to war without a Declaration of War (Exception: see Case 16.37). If the Truce runs out and no formal Peace Treaty is signed, then the original Declaration of War which engendered the conflict is re-issued automatically. (Exception in the Advanced Game: see Case 16.37).
13.5 Ultimatums
Ultimatums are warnings, either printed or spoken, that certain actions may be taken by one side against another, etc. In the case of Excommunication (in the Advanced Game), the Pope must issue an Ultimatum (or a Papal Bull) in written form at least one full turn before he excommunicates any party.
13.6 Ceding Territory
13.61 Players may freely cede (give) territory to each other for whatever arrangements they agree upon. There is no restriction as to what one Player may give another in that vein.
13.62 If Player A cedes an area to Player B during a Diplomacy Phase, and Player A has combat units in that area, A may move those units (only) in and through that area without creating any "belligerent" situation (see Case 16.34).
13.63 In Case 13.62, it should be noted that unless B agrees otherwise in the Treaty ceding the area, the units of Player A must leave that area in his ensuing Movement Segment. To stay in such an area in abrogation of a Treaty is an official act of War. Players should thus be careful to spell out the terms of such a Treaty vis a vis this section. (Note that unless A had issued a Declaration of War in a previous Diplomacy Phase against B, he must remove his troops according to the Rules of the game, as it is not permitted to go to war without a Declaration of War).
14.0 Victory
Cases:
14.1 Schedule of Victory Points
Each country receives Victory Points for holding certain objectives at the end of the game. It is also possible for a country to lose points for not having certain objectives at the end of the game. To gain an objective politically, you must be the last person to have a combat unit in the area (see Section 12.0). To gain religious control, you must have a Missionary in the area and the area must have been converted to a given religion (or kept its original status without ever being converted to another status). Victory Points are listed on the Player Cards. Players should note that there is an Historical Victory Schedule plus additional schedules for some of the countries. In the Basic Game, Players should pay attention only to the Historic Conditions.
14.2 Who Wins?
The Player with the greatest number of Victory Points (plus, not minus) is the winner. Only one player can win — unless more than one Player has the highest total. Players who come in second can feel better in that they finished ahead of four others, and so on down the line.
15.0 The Advanced Game
The Advanced Game takes into account a variety of factors that have been left out of the Basic Game for the purposes of simplicity. Players will find that the rules for the Advanced Game add a greater depth to the game — and with it a greater degree of subtlety in play. However, there is a certain amount of bookkeeping that must be done in the Advanced Game, as finances are involved. There is also a set of variable Victory Points for several of the countries, so that Players are never quite sure what the objectives of the other Players are. Gamers not familiar with this type of game should play the Basic Game at least once before tackling the advanced version. Veteran gamers shouldn't find too many problems with the advanced rules.
16.0 Finances
General Rule: Each country in the game has a certain amount of income. In order to make certain moves, Players must pay for their machinations from their Treasury. Furthermore, Players may purchase mercenaries and make loans (sometimes). They also must pay to bring in replacements; they do not return automatically. Players must keep individual track of their earnings and expenditures; this can become somewhat convoluted at times, so be sure to remain on top of the situation. Players may examine each other's financial records at any time. In order to settle finances and raise taxes two phases are added to each Game-Turn: The Taxation Phase (after the Campaign Phase and before the Diplomacy Phase) and the Expenditure Phase (after the Diplomacy Phase). All players perform all financial arrangements and raising of revenues at the same time.
Cases:
16.1 Taxation and the Treasury
During the Taxation Phase of each Game-Turn, each Player collects revenues due him from his territories. These earnings are then placed in each Player's Treasury, which reflects the total "wealth" of that Player at any given moment. Players should note that the Taxation and Expenditure aspects of A Mighty Fortress are quite abstract; they do not indicate literal income. Most countries at this period of time (as they do today) functioned at a deficit, especially when involved in wars. The fact that a country may have a Treasury surplus in the game does not mean he is making money in the historical sense. However, the financial aspect of the game accurately reflects the problems besetting a country attempting to maintain military and diplomatic activity.
16.11 Each Player has a "Treasury" which he uses to keep track of his total worth at any given time. Since there are many calculations that will occur as revenues come and expenditures are made, Players should use a pad of paper to keep track of their Treasury Level. Players may use any means of identification for their money: pounds, florins, guilders, even zlotys. We will use guilders for clarity's sake.
16.12 Players receive revenue from their cities in the Taxation Phase, after each Campaign Turn. Revenue is received after all players have moved and fought in their individual Campaign Turns. Revenue (or taxes) is immediately placed in the Treasury for use during the Expenditure Phase.
16.13 Each Player starts the game with a certain amount of money in his Treasury. The amounts are as follows:
- Ottomans: 9
- Papacy: 6
- France: 10
- England: 7
- Hapsburgs: 18
- Lutherans: 4
16.14 During the Taxation Phase the Players receive revenue for each city that they control or occupy (see Section 12.0). Each city has a different income level, listed in 16.2. The Player who controls that city receives that amount of income during the Taxation Phase. However, some of the cities on the list are italicized. These are cities that start the game in control of one of the Players. These cities can supply full income only to the original controller. If they are held by any other Player they only provide one-half the income (rounded up; i.e., one-half of 1 = 1).
16.15 Players do not receive any money for controlling areas: they receive money only for cities.
16.16 The controlling Player receives income from a city actually occupied (physically) no matter what the military situation may be, as long as he has a combat unit in that city during the Taxation Phase. However, a city a Player controls (as opposed to occupies) by having been the last Player to have a combat unit in it will provide income to a Player only if a line of hexes (land or sea) may be traced from the city hex back to any hex in that Player's country. This line may not pass through an Enemy combat unit nor an Enemy Zone of Control. For purposes of this section, Friendly units negate an enemy ZOC.
16.17 Players will note that income will change from turn to turn as the cities change hands. They should remember this when computing income in the Taxation Phase.
16.18 Players may never spend more than they have in their Treasury; there is no "deficit spending."
16.2 City Income Schedule
(see map)
16.3 Expenditures
In the Advanced Game there is very little that you can do without paying for it. Players who are constantly campaigning will find themselves broke in short order. As money from a Treasury is expended, Players should subtract it from the present level, so as they have a running account of their Treasury. All expenditures are made in the Expenditure Phase.
16.31 Replacements: Replacements (Case 11.1) do not return to the game automatically. For each combat unit that a Player wishes to return as a Replacement he must pay two guilders. The Replacements return on the turn after the turn in which the Player has expended the money to pay for them. Thus a unit eliminated in 1535 is placed aside. In the 1536 turn Expenditure Phase the Player pays two guilders for its return. It is placed on the game map in the Reinforcement and Replacement Phase of the 1537 turn and may move in the 1538 turn. There is no cost for Missionaries, nor do the Lutherans pay for the Reinforcements they are scheduled to receive (Case 11.2).
16.32 Mercenaries: Each Player has a specific number of Army units labelled either Swiss Mercenary or, in the case of the Ottoman, Janissary. These units are not part of that Player's initial force; they must be raised by spending money. It costs a Player five guilders to raise a Mercenary unit, and it costs five guilders to bring a mercenary unit back if it is eliminated (as a replacement). Mercenaries are treated exactly as replacements for the purposes of bringing them into the game; i.e., there is a full two-turn hiatus (see Case 16.31 for the sequence).
16.33 General Movement: If a Player moves any of his combat units any number of hexes he must expend an amount equal to one-third of his income for that Game-Turn (rounded up). This literally means what it says; if you move even one combat unit one hex you expend one-third of your income received for that turn during the Expenditures Phase. This does not apply to Missionary Movement. Furthermore, this expenditure is superseded by Case 16.34 if the Player engages in active, belligerent campaigning.
16.34 War: If a Player engages in any active, belligerent activity, as listed below, he expends an amount equal to his full income received for that Game-Turn. This supersedes Case 16.33; i.e., a Player who moves a unit to attack an enemy unit does not pay one-third his income for moving and then his full income for attacking. He pays "only" his full income.
Example: France has a Treasury of 30 guilders; she receives 25 guilders income in the Taxation Phase of 1545. In the Diplomacy Phase of 1545 she declares war on England; in the subsequent Expenditures Phase she expends 25 guilders. The following are belligerent acts under this section:
- a. Any Declaration of War; or
- b. Any movement of combat units into or within any area not under your control; (withdrawing units from hostile ZOC into your own territory is not a belligerent act); or
- c. Any attack on a hostile combat unit, whether in your area or not.
16.35 Use of Combat Units: For each combat unit used in either an attack or defense, the Player must expend one guilder from his Treasury. This means that a Player who is attacked is forced to expend guilders even though he may not wish to. The only exception to this is that guilders expended for defense may never bring the Treasury to a level lower than zero (0). In such a case the defending Player would defend free of cost for any units that would drop his level below 0. No attacks may be made for which Treasury funds are lacking. Note: these costs are in addition to any incurred for Case 16.34.
16.36 The Papal Player is exempt from paying any costs usually incurred in Case 16.34 (War). He must pay any costs for Replacements, Movement, and Use of Combat Units; but he need never pay per se, for any belligerent action. (If players feel that the Papal Player is an exceptionally strong one they may, by unanimous consent, waive this rule; however to do so does restrict the Pope considerably). However, the Pope may never increase his income above the six limit he originally receives, regardless of how many cities he controls.
16.37 Declarations of War cannot be ended unilaterally; both sides must agree — in either a Truce or a Peace Treaty — to end the State of War and thus bring an end to the Declaration. Thus the country that has made the Declaration must pay (his full income) for each turn the Declaration is in effect, regardless of whether or not he does anything about it. However, if a country making a Declaration of War makes no belligerent act (Case 16.34 b or c) for two consecutive years, the Declaration of War (and with it the State of War) automatically lapses and is no longer in effect.
16.38 As stated in Case 8.49, a Player may make a Declaration of War against more than one country at a time. However, he still pays the costs (his full income) as if he had declared war against only one; there is no extra cost per country. However, remember Case 16.37!
16.39 Friendly combat units occupying Enemy cities in countries they do not wholly control do not incur full income costs under Case 16.34b. These are considered garrison units, and as long as they neither attack nor move in a turn they are not considered to be moving into or within an area not under control.
16.4 Borrowing
Players may borrow money from each other under certain restrictions. Players may have certain powers over other Players in respect to this arrangement. There is no limit to the amount of money that may be borrowed, nor is there any limit to the number and type of financial arrangements that the parties to the loan may require, with some exceptions.
16.41 Generally, any country may lend money to another country. A loan must be announced in the form of a formal written statement. It may be part of a Treaty or Alliance, but all terms of the loan must be announced and written.
16.42 Loans may be for any length of time and for any terms mutually agreed on by the Players.
16.43 There are several exceptions to the above two sections. No Catholic country may ever lend money to another Catholic country, with the exception of the Papal States. A Catholic country is one that is neither Lutheran (in terms of conversion) nor under the sway of the Turk (Ottoman). In essence, then, the Pope is the "banker" for the Catholic countries.
16.44 The Pope may never charge "interest" — that is, a percentage of the loan in terms of money — on any loan to any Catholic country. He may demand other terms, in the form of military aid or transfer of territory. But he may never require additional money for a loan.
16.45 Catholic and non-Catholic countries may freely arrange loans — on any terms — among themselves. However, Catholic countries dealing with non-Catholic countries may find themselves in danger of being Excommunicated (see Case 17.21c).
16.46 If a Player fails to repay a loan, the only sanctions the lender may seek against the defaulting borrower are those he can bring about militarily or diplomatically. There is no other penalty for default, in terms of game rules.
16.5 Augmenting Naval Movement
In the Advanced Game the Players may, if they so wish, choose to not use the Extended Naval Movement (Case 5.4) and instead purchase additional movement capability for their naval units. The method is simple: for each ship that wishes to move up to an additional six hexes it costs one "guilder;" for each ship that wishes to move seven to twelve additional hexes it costs three guilders. Players may use either this rule or Case 5.4, but they must choose either one or the other (for everybody) for the whole game. Players may not mix the two during the game.
17.0 Excommunication
General Rule and Commentary: Excommunication is, generally (very), a religious sanction imposed upon an individual or state by the Church (i.e., the Pope) in response to certain actions taken by that individual or state that are contrary to the Church's teachings (e.g., heresy) or its quasi-political/religious leanings. Excommunication forbade an individual certain rites and sacraments of the Church and, in essence, threw him out of the Church. Excommunication for an entire country (technically termed "interdiction") had the same effect on its subjects, but, in addition, it placed the excommunicated country in a precarious political position, as other Catholic countries were forbidden from dealing with an excommunicate country. The powers of the Church in this respect had diminished considerably by the time of the Reformation, but they could still have a definite economic and political effect on such a sanctioned country. Therefore, under certain circumstances the Papal Player may excommunicate Catholic countries/players (only). The sanctions are in the form of lost Victory Points and then diminished income.
Cases:
17.1 Who May Be Excommunicated
The Pope (Papal Player) may excommunicate only those Players who represent Catholic countries. That automatically eliminates the Lutheran and Ottoman Players. The other three countries are considered to be Catholic if they have not converted to Lutheranism — either voluntarily or involuntarily (in addition, see Section 18.0).
17.2 The Mechanics of Excommunication
17.21 The Pope may excommunicate a country for the following reasons — and only the following reasons:
- a. A belligerent action against a territory controlled by the Pope. This means any action covered in Case 16.34.
- b. Any Catholic country making a formal Alliance (not Peace Treaty or Truce) with the Lutheran Player.
- c. Any Catholic country lending money to a non-Catholic country. (Catholic countries may borrow from non-Catholic countries without the threat of Excommunication).
- d. Voluntarily allowing a Lutheran Missionary to enter and remain within the country's territory; including voluntary conversion by Alliance, Treaty or whatever. In such a case the Pope must initiate the Excommunication process immediately. Failure to do so for even one turn stops the Pope from excommunicating a Catholic country for this reason. (This is the exception to Case 17.1).
- e. The Divorce Question. (see Section 18.0).
17.22 The formal process of Excommunication always takes place in the Diplomacy Phase.
17.23 In order for the Pope to excommunicate a country for the reasons in Case 17.21, he must first issue a Papal Bull, (or an Ultimatum; see Case 13.5). If the player fails to heed the Papal Bull, on any succeeding turn following the issuance of the Bull the Pope may excommunicate the Player by a formal, written proclamation. The Excommunication must state the reason for such.
17.24 Unless specifically stated in the Proclamation of Excommunication, Excommunication lasts for the remainder of the game or until the excommunicate country is converted to Lutheranism. Thus the Papal Player should use his power of Excommunication wisely, lest he thrust a country into the camp of the enemy.
17.3 The Effects of Excommunication
17.31 The effects of Excommunication take place immediately. That is, the first sanction applies in the Diplomacy Phase that the Excommunication is announced.
17.32 For the first two years that a country remains excommunicate it loses one Victory Point per year. Thus a player excommunicated in the Diplomacy phase of 1540 would lose one V.P. for 1540 and one V.P. for 1541, unless he can get the Pope to rescind the Excommunication.
17.33 Starting with the third year of Excommunication — in the Expenditure Phase of the third year — the Player loses one-half his income for that year. He does not lose any more Victory Points. He will continue to lose one-half of his income until Excommunication is withdrawn or the country becomes Lutheran.
17.34 The effects of Excommunication differ slightly from the above in the case of England if she is excommunicated over the Divorce Question (see Case 18.34).
17.4 Withdrawing Excommunication
Only the Pope may rescind the order of Excommunication. He may do it for any reason — or agreement — he sees fit. However, if, at any time, the excommunicate Player satisfies the requirements of the Ultimatum (Papal Bull) issued for that Excommunication, the Pope must withdraw the Excommunication. Countries may be excommunicated more than once during the game, but an excommunicated country may not be excommunicated again (while it is still excommunicate). Withdrawals of Excommunication need not be in writing.
18.0 Henry VIII and the "Divorce" Question
Commentary: By 1531, Henry VIII, King of England, had decided to get rid of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (aunt of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and head of the Hapsburg Dynasty) in favor of Anne Boleyn. He asked the Church for a Papal Annulment of his marriage to Catherine, among his reasons being the failure of Catherine to provide a son. The Pope refused, and Henry broke with the Church. Now Henry was still, in his own mind, Catholic; he had no desire to become Lutheran and had less interest or sympathy for the Reformation. However, his failure to recognize the Pope as supreme authority on such matters as he, Henry, felt the Church had no right to interfere with placed him in a sort of religious "limbo." That his actions did not exactly earn him the friendship of Charles V goes without saying, and his position vis a vis the other Catholic countries became quite precarious. This rule attempts to simulate the cause and effect of this great, seminal religious and political dispute. Because of its very nature it demands a complexity somewhat greater than the rest of the game, the complexity being in the variety of things that may happen.
Cases:
18.1 The English Options
18.11 Starting with the first turn of the Game — 1532 — the English Player has three years within which he must ask the Church (Papal Player) for an Annulment.
18.12 If, by the end of the Diplomacy Phase of the 1534 Game-Turn, the English Player has not requested Papal Dispensation for an Annulment, the English player loses ten Victory Points. (This is a sanction against the Player for not assuming a political stance that would be in the best interests of England as a country).
18.13 Once a Dispensation is requested, the options — and the penalties and results of such options — are all the Pope's.
18.14 If the Pope denies the request for Dispensation, the English Player must decide whether to go ahead with Divorce or discard the idea. He must make this decision in the same turn that the Pope denies the request for Dispensation. If the English Player does not go through with the Divorce he loses ten Victory Points, just as in Case 18.12.
18.2 The Papal Options
18.21 Once the English Player has requested a Dispensation for an Annulment, the Papal Player has two years within which to either deny the request or grant it. Thus, if the English Player formally requests a Dispensation in the Diplomacy Phase of the 1533 Game-Turn, the Pope must reply by the Diplomacy Phase of the 1535 Game-Turn. He may, of course, reply immediately to such a request, or wait one or two years.
18.22 If the Pope decides to deny the request for Dispensation, he must formally announce such in the Diplomacy Phase to the English Player. If the English Player then insists on going through with a Divorce, the Papal Player has the option to allow the Annulment to take place, or to Excommunicate the English Player, using the standard procedures for such.
18.23 The denial of the request (18.22), the English insistence on an Annulment, and the issuance of the Papal Bull for Excommunication must occur in the same Diplomacy Phase. Failure of the Papal Player to issue the Papal Bull (Ultimatum) is the same as allowing the Annulment to proceed.
18.24 In the case of the Papal Bull of Case 18.23, the Order of Excommunication must follow in the very next turn, unless the English do not go through with the Annulment.
18.3 The Consequences of Papal Actions
18.31 If the Papal Player specifically grants an Annulment to the English Player, he loses twelve Victory Points. However, in such a case England remains an actively Catholic country, subject to all restrictions placed on Catholic countries vis a vis the Pope and non-Catholics. She may, of course, be converted to Lutheranism at any time.
18.32 If the Papal Player allows the English Player to obtain an Annulment (as opposed to specifically granting an Annulment as in 18.31) he loses ten Victory Points. England remains Catholic.
18.33 If the Pope succeeds in blocking the Annulment/Divorce without Excommunicating the English Player, he gains five Victory Points. In such a case, England would, as above, remain Catholic.
18.34 The only other option remaining to the Pope is Excommunication. If England is excommunicated several things happen:
- a. The English Player loses two V.P.'s for each year he is excommunicated, with a maximum of four points being lost (two years).
- b. After the two years mentioned in (a), above, there are no further specific penalties. (England does not lose income as per Case 17.33 if excommunicated under this section). However England is no longer a Catholic country; she is not, though, a Lutheran country, and she will lose Victory Points if she has a Lutheran Missionary in her territory at the end of the game! She is, for all intents and purposes, in a state of religious limbo.
- c. While England may not be Lutheran, for the purposes of Case 17.21b and 17.21c, the other Catholic countries must treat her as such. To deal with England is to bring about possible excommunication for the "dealing" country.
18.35 Once England is excommunicated under this section the Annulment and resultant marriage to Anne Boleyn are considered to have taken place. Thus, the Pope may not rescind the excommunication and the consequences of such option stand for the rest of the game. Of course, Henry is free to marry again now — an option which he exercised several times, to the detriment of his former wives.
18.36 This is not an optional rule in the advanced game. It must be used by the players. Players should also note that if England becomes excommunicated (or interdicted, to be accurate) the two remaining Catholic countries (France and Hapsburgs) gain extra Victory Points for taking English objectives (as long as France and the Hapsburg territories themselves remain at least partially Catholic).
19.0 Variable Victory Conditions
Certain Players have several sets of Victory conditions. As a Player's victory objectives should remain secret from the other Players, Players will find that after three or four games they will know each other's objectives, thus rendering play somewhat stale and predictable. To solve that problem the Players may use the variable objectives — if they have them. To use Variable Victory Conditions each Player who has variable objectives makes up a counter or piece of paper, each such item containing a number for each set of different objectives that he has. Each Player then places these pieces of paper in a separate cup or holder and draws one of the pieces of paper from it at the beginning of the game. He looks at the paper (secretly) and places the paper aside, where it can be revealed at the end of the game. The additional papers are also set aside, and no one may look at them. Thus each Player will know what his objectives are without the other Players knowing. Players may thus use these variable objectives to bluff other players — or any other diplomatic wile they can think of.
Example: France has four different sets of objectives. The first set (#1) is Historical and is always used in the Basic Game. The French Player makes up four pieces of paper with the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 separately on each paper. He then draws blindly from a receptacle; the number he receives is the set of Victory Objectives he uses.
Players should note that variable objectives never apply to points lost; only to points gained.
20.0 The Cast of Characters
For those players interested in total role immersion, the following is a list of rulers for all countries (except the Lutherans) during the period covered by the game.
- Pope: Clement VII (to 1534); Paul III (1534-1549); Julius III (1550-1555)
- Holy Roman Emperor: Charles V
- England: Henry VIII (to 1547); Edward VI (1547-1553); Mary (to 1555)
- France: Francis I (to 1547); Henry II (1547-1555)
- Ottoman Empire: Suleiman I (The Magnificent)
Historical Notes
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a German monk who taught at the University of Wittenburg in Saxony, issued a challenge to academic debate in the form of 95 theses attacking abuses in the sale of papal indulgences. On June 28, 1519, the electors of the Holy Roman Empire unanimously chose the logical candidate, Charles of Hapsburg, the most powerful prince in Europe, as Emperor Charles V. These two seemingly common-place events, separated in time by slightly over a year-and-a-half, set the stage for one of the most significant periods of European history which brought an end to an era and prepared the way for the modern age.
For over one thousand years Europe had been united by a common Christian faith. During this period, known as the Middle Ages, a single ecclesiastical organization dominated European society, and a universal state, the Holy Roman Empire provided the secular counterpart to Europe's religious unity (at least in theory). Luther's 95 Theses shook the foundations of the medieval world and began the Protestant Reformation. Before Luther's death in 1546, most of Germany and large areas of the rest of Europe had abandoned the medieval faith and adopted the teachings of Martin Luther or other Protestant reformers. Less than a decade after Luther's death an official treaty, The Peace of Augsburg, gave legal recognition to Lutheranism in the Empire. The following year Charles V, exhausted and discouraged by his long struggle to maintain religious unity and strengthen imperial rule, abdicated his throne and retired into a monastery. Within half a century the religious unity of Europe had been shattered and the medieval empire had been fragmented into a system of competing secular states.
These radical changes in the structure of European society were extremely surprising results in view of the situation in 1517. Luther's initial attack was on a manifest abuse. He had no intention of creating a schism in the church or beginning a new church. But when the ecclesiastical authorities failed to respond to his demands for reform, he expanded his concerns. Between 1517 and 1521 he began to articulate clearly his belief in justification by faith alone and the authority of scripture as the sole norm for doctrine in the Christian church. In a series of pamphlets written in 1520, he rejected some of the well-defined doctrines of the medieval church and appealed to the German nobility to reform the church. Although he was excommunicated by the Pope, he was not condemned by the Emperor until 1521, when he was called to appear before Charles at the Diet of Worms and ordered to recant his teachings. When he refused to do so, Charles issued the Edict of Worms which accused Luther of heresy and disobedience to imperial authority. His books were ordered burned and he was placed under the imperial ban.
This should have ended both Luther's career as a reformer and the Lutheran Reformation. Earlier heretics, such as John Hus in the fifteenth century, had been burnt at the stake when they refused to recant their teachings despite strong popular support. Furthermore, Charles V was clearly the most powerful European ruler since Charlemagne and should have had little trouble in enforcing his edict. Charles had become the ruler of a vast empire as the result of a very fortunate inheritance. His maternal grandparents were Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Through them he became heir to Spain, its possessions in Italy, and its rich empire in the New World. His father was Philip of Burgundy, the son of Maximilian of Hapsburg. His inheritance from his father included the Hapsburg lands in eastern Europe and the Burgundian territories to the North and East of France. Finally, his election as Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 made him the nominal ruler of Germany.
However, Charles' immense power posed a threat both to the papacy and the other princes of Europe. During the Middle Ages the papacy had fought a long struggle with a series of Emperors, first for freedom from imperial control and then for the dominant position in that society. When Pope Leo X first heard of Luther's challenge, he considered it a monkish quarrel in Germany which would easily be resolved. But he was seriously concerned about the potential election of Charles of Hapsburg to the imperial throne, because he feared Hapsburg power would dominate Italy and with it the papacy. Consequently, Leo spent vast sums of money to secure the election of Francis I, the King of France, rather than Charles.
During the crucial early period of the Reformation, when Lutheranism could easily have been suppressed, Charles and Leo focused their attention on the impending election rather than on the nascent heresy in the center of Europe. One of the seven electors who voted in the imperial election was Luther's prince, Frederick the Wise of Saxony. Although Frederick had never met Luther and certainly did not support Luther's ideas initially, he had a strong commitment to justice. Luther was one of his subjects, and he was determined to assure him a fair trial. As a result the Pope was reluctant to take any action against Luther which might offend one of the electors. When, after the Diet of Worms, both Charles and Leo were prepared to move against Luther, an entirely different situation existed. Luther had become a national hero, and even the Emperor could not enforce the Edict of Worms without the cooperation of the German Diet.
The Empire which Charles ruled was actually a loose organization of a large number of semi-independent jurisdictions. Real power was in the hands of the fifty ecclesiastical and thirty secular princes of the Empire as well as some eighty imperial free cities. The most important princes were the seven electors made up of four secular princes — the Elector of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg, the King of Bohemia and the Count Palatine of the Rhine — and three ecclesiastical princes — the Archbishops of Mainz, Cologne and Trier. They had the sole right to elect the Emperor and formed the first estate of the Imperial Diet. In addition, the other princes and the free cities were represented in the Diet. Between 1521 and 1531, Charles was unable to enforce the Edict of Worms, because the Diet refused to cooperate and he was constantly distracted by attacks from France and the Ottoman Turks.
Between 1521 and 1530 Charles was continuously at war. These wars were initiated by the King of France, Francis I, and the Turkish ruler, Suleiman I, the Magnificent. France, which had been the most powerful country in Europe, was totally surrounded by Hapsburg territory. Consequently, Francis felt threatened by Hapsburg power and desperately sought to break the Hapsburg ring encircling him. The Ottoman Turks were the only non-Christian power in Europe. In 1453 they had captured the city of Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and the stronghold guarding Christian Europe from the Moslem Near East. During the next century the Turks penetrated deep into Europe, initiating a new phase in the struggle between the Islamic and Christian worlds which had been going on throughout much of the Middle Ages. The Turks posed their most serious threat during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-66). In 1521 he seized the city of Belgrade, the gateway to Hungary and the Hapsburg lands. In 1526 the Turks won an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Mohacs and overran much of Hungary. In 1529 they laid siege to the city of Vienna in the heartland of Charles' empire.
In order to deal with the Turkish and French threats Charles needed the financial and military support of the German Diet. But the German rulers were reluctant to support Charles even against the Moslem Turks unless they could be assured that he would not infringe on their independence by enforcing the Edict of Worms. As a result Lutheranism was allowed to grow relatively unmolested until 1530. In that year Charles made another effort to resolve the religious problem and to create a united front against the Turks. Having concluded a peace treaty with Francis and repulsed the Turks at Vienna, Charles was finally able to return to Germany for the first time since 1521. A Diet was held at Augsburg in 1530. The Lutheran rulers submitted a document known as the Augsburg Confession which stated their beliefs in as conciliatory a way as possible. But the differences were still too great to be breached and the Diet ended without agreement. In November of 1530 Charles, convinced that strong measures were the only way to deal with Lutheranism, ordered the Lutherans to return to the Catholic church by April 1531. The Lutheran rulers, fearful that the Emperor was about to restore Catholicism through the use of force, met together at Schmalkalden and formed a defensive league. It originally included the rulers of Saxony, Hesse, Brunswick-Luneburg, Anhalt, and Mansfeld as well as the cities of Magdeburg and Bremen.
The formation of the Schmalkaldic League is the starting point for the game. By this time Lutheranism was firmly established in Germany and the initial penetration of the Scandinavian countries had been achieved. But Lutheranism was still extremely vulnerable to suppression by Charles V. The Schmalkaldic League was relatively weak when compared to the combined strength of the Catholic powers in Germany and the Emperor. If the Emperor had not been plagued by other problems, he might have been able to act decisively against the Lutherans. But within two years after the Diet of Augsburg the lull in the fighting ended. In 1532 the Turks were on the march again, and Charles needed the help of the Lutherans to meet the attack. In June 1532 he agreed to leave the Lutherans in peace until a Church council could assemble to deal with the religious issue in return for assistance against the Turks.
For the next fourteen years Charles was unable to concentrate on the Lutheran problem because his other enemies continued to demand his full attention. Although Suleiman's attack on Vienna was abandoned when he was confronted by an imperial force of 80,000 troops, Francis and the new Pope, Clement VII, united against Charles in a new alliance. The Pope was concerned about Charles' power in Italy and his demands for a church council, while Francis was determined to reacquire Genoa and Milan. Francis, in fact, shocked Christian Europe by also allying himself with the Turkish Sultan against the Christian Emperor. In 1534 the Turkish fleet under the command of Kheireddin Barbarossa entered the western Mediterranean and captured the North African city of Tunis. From there they were able to harass Spanish commerce and pose a threat to Sicily, Southern Italy and the coastal cities of Spain. Francis, who had assisted Barbarossa, now launched an attack on Milan and overran Savoy. But Charles, who was inevitably more successful on the battlefield than he was in diplomacy, recaptured Tunis and destroyed the Turkish fleet. He then invaded the south of France and forced Francis to abandon his Italian campaign. The war between France and the Hapsburgs was brought to a temporary halt when the two powers agreed to a ten year truce in June 1538. Francis agreed to abandon his Turkish alliance and the two rulers announced their intention to unite against the Turks and the Protestants.
The truce between Charles and Francis made another ruler in Europe very uncomfortable. By 1538, the King of England, Henry VIII, had also rejected the authority of Rome, although the English Reformation did not initially involve a doctrinal dispute. Rather, Henry had reluctantly broken with Rome because the Pope would not grant him an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. Henry began to seek the annulment in 1527 when it became clear that Catherine would not be able to bear him a male heir. In addition, he had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn, one of the ladies of the court. Henry had good political reasons for seeking the annulment, because he needed a male heir to assure a peaceful succession to the throne after his death. He also had every reason to expect that the Pope would not deny his request. Under normal circumstances Pope Clement VII[sic: printed as "Clement VIII"] would have been happy to comply with the King's wishes. But Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, and in 1527 the Pope could not risk offending the Emperor, because imperial troops had sacked the city of Rome in the same year and the Pope was practically a prisoner of Charles V. Consequently, he sought to delay a decision until he was in a better political position. Henry, who became more and more impatient with the Pope's delaying tactics, tried to pressure the papacy by attacking the position of the church in England. Clement was now faced with an impossible decision. If he granted Henry's request, he would offend the powerful Emperor. If he failed to do so, Henry might introduce the Reformation to England. The Pope's delaying tactics were reasonably successful for a while. But in January 1533 Henry learned that Anne Boleyn was pregnant. In order to assure the legitimacy of the expected male heir, Henry secretly married Anne. Parliament then passed a series of acts which virtually abolished papal authority in England. With the route of appeal to Rome closed, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leading authority in the English church, was able to pronounce the marriage to Catherine of Aragon invalid without fear of having his decision reversed. Henry now made his marriage to Anne public. In June 1533, Anne was crowned Queen of England. The Pope responded by excommunicating Henry VIII. In 1534, Parliament broke the remaining ties to Rome and declared Henry the Supreme Head of the Church in England.
Although the Reformation in England did not initially involve any doctrinal changes, Henry still feared a possible attack from the Catholic powers in Europe; therefore, he began negotiations for an alliance with the Schmalkaldic League. However, the negotiations failed because Henry, who remained loyal to the theology of the Catholic church, refused to accept the Augsburg Confession and become a Lutheran. Thus the truce between Charles and Francis in 1538 placed the King of England in a very precarious position. Fortunately for him the differences between France and the Hapsburgs were too great to enable them to cooperate for long. In 1542 the Hapsburg-Valois wars were renewed when Francis again attacked Charles. A year earlier Suleiman had also renewed his attack when the Turks seized the city of Buda and again threatened Austria.
Charles, in desperation, had to turn to the non-Catholic powers for aid. He signed an alliance with Henry VIII against France in 1542 and appealed for the aid of the Lutherans against the Turks. The imperial armies, led by the Lutheran prince, Joachim of Brandenburg, however, failed to retake Buda and returned to Germany without having stemmed the Turkish tide. In France, Charles was more successful. When his armies began to threaten Paris, Francis was again forced to agree to terms. In September 1544 he signed the Peace of Crespy and promised Charles his aid against both the Turks and the Lutherans. England, deserted by its ally, made a separate peace with France and received a financial indemnity. In 1545, Charles finally concluded an armistice with the Turks. After a decade and a half of almost continuous war, he was at last free to deal with Lutheranism in Germany.
Charles received both money and troops from the new Pope, Paul III. In the autumn of 1546 he launched an attack on the Schmalkaldic League. By this time the papacy had also begun another counterattack. Utilizing the Jesuit Order, which was founded in 1537, the Pope had initiated a campaign to win Germany back to Catholicism. Consequently, the Lutherans were faced with both a military attack and a missionary effort to reconvert Germany. Initially both were successful. Charles defeated the forces of the Elector of Saxony at the Battle of Muhlberg in 1547. Jesuit missionaries were sent into Germany in the 1540's and had significant success in the south of Germany and in Austria. In June 1548, Charles imposed the Augsburg Interim on Germany, which attempted to restore Catholicism with only minor concessions to the Lutherans.
Just as the Lutheran fortunes were at their lowest ebb, Charles' other enemies came to their rescue. The Pope began to view Charles' military successes with alarm, because he feared that Charles would attempt to dictate his own terms to the church council which began to meet in 1545. Consequently, he withdrew his troops from the Schmalkaldic War and made overtures to the French King. In the East the Turks renewed their attacks in the Mediterranean Sea and prepared to attack again in Hungary. The new King of France, Henry II, was also concerned about Charles' successes in Germany. In 1552 he concluded an alliance with the Lutheran princes. In return for financial assistance, they agreed to give Henry the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. Overwhelmed by the forces arrayed against him, Charles was finally forced to make peace with the Lutherans. He made one more effort to defeat the French, but when he failed to take the city of Metz, he retired to Spain and gave his brother Ferdinand complete authority to settle German affairs. In September 1555, after long negotiations, Ferdinand agreed to the terms of the Peace of Augsburg which guaranteed the security of Lutheranism and allowed each German area to decide between Lutheranism and Catholicism.
In many ways the Peace of Augsburg can be considered the epitaph of medieval Europe. It recognized the formal disintegration of the unity of the Christian church by conceding the legitimacy of another religious faith. It also spelled the end of any hope for a strong unified Empire. One of the major characteristics of medieval Europe had been its concept of the unity symbolized in the religious realm by the unity of the faith and in the secular by the concept of the Holy Roman Empire. Charles V desperately tried to regain both. His defeat and abdication in 1556 are poignant testimony to his utter failure. It would take almost another century and a good deal of additional bloodshed to put the final seal on the tomb of medieval Europe, but the Peace of Augsburg was clearly the major turning point.
This game attempts to simulate these vitally significant events in European history. It uses a series of unique rules to provide an opportunity for the players to actually experience the problems and the difficult decisions confronting the major characters involved in these struggles. Because players acquire victory points by achieving the actual historical objectives of the countries involved, the possibility of players acting in a non-historical way are greatly diminished. The player taking the role of Charles V has an overwhelming advantage in terms of territorial control and combat units. If he is not attacked by France or the Ottoman Turks he can easily dominate the game and destroy Lutheranism. But if the game is played correctly, he will soon understand the frustrations that Charles experienced in the events described above. France, the Ottoman Turks, and even the Papacy can achieve their objectives only at the expense of the Hapsburgs. Consequently, they can be expected to ally against Charles and distract him from his goal of destroying Lutheranism. Another unique feature of the game is the use of Lutheran and Jesuit missionaries to simulate the way in which the Lutheran Reformation was spread and the methods used by the Catholics to reconvert the areas lost to Lutheranism.
The basic game has been designed so that it can be effectively utilized by teachers in a classroom situation as a teaching aid. Although the rules are simple to master, the game accurately simulates the actual historical situation during the second quarter of the sixteenth century. Its primary objective is to graphically demonstrate that Charles V's political problems were a vitally significant factor in explaining the success of the Lutheran Reformation. If the players play their roles correctly, it is likely that the final results will closely approximate the historical events described above.
A more complex campaign game has been designed for more experienced players. It introduces other factors which also affected sixteenth century diplomacy and war. It attempts to simulate the financial problems that influenced both diplomatic decisions and military potential. In addition, it provides the Pope with the opportunity to use spiritual sanctions in the form of the power of excommunication to strengthen his hand in diplomacy. Another interesting feature is the introduction of Henry VIII's conflict with the papacy over his effort to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. The rules are so constructed as to confront the players taking the roles of the Pope and Henry VIII with the dilemmas faced by the historical characters in attempting to deal with this problem.
[Design and production credits from the printed booklet are omitted.]
Errata (as of March 1978)
The following errata sheet was printed with the rules by the publisher and is reproduced here in full as part of the rules.
The following changes and corrections are the result of several letters (OK, more than several) questioning certain aspects of the game. One major change has been effected — that referring to the process of conversion. The former conversion method was much too easy for the Lutherans and resulted in some rather ludicrous situations (and even more ridiculous schemes). That has, hopefully, been somewhat remedied here. Other corrections refer to Order of Battle, map misprints, and general problem areas. However, the game is diplomatic in nature and the number of problems is virtually unforeseeable. Rather than correct and detail every single possibility we will trust that the players will undertake the game in the spirit of the era.
Another, and final note. AMF was designed to be a simple game. The few complexities that it does contain were added with some reluctance. Therefore, A Mighty Fortress is not a definitive picture of the political-military-economic situation in the 16th century. The idea was to present the European picture in basic, strategic terms. Much has been purposely omitted; even more has been abstracted in. Then again, how accurate is Diplomacy?
Corrections to the Game-Map
- Marseilles (2223) should be a port.
- There should be no border between 3012 and 3112; 3012 is part of Saxony.
- The phrase "to Genoa" or "to Venice" is purely for historical purposes. You do not have to take Crete to take Venice, nor does possession of Crete give you Venice (or vice versa).
Corrections to the Turn Record Track
- 1538 should not have an "L."
- 1539 should have an "L" instead of "P."
Corrections to 16.2, City Income Schedule
- Calais should be italicized (i.e., it starts the game under the control of one of the players). (Same for the Tables card.)
- Metz provides 2 "guilders" income. (Same for the Tables card.)
Corrections to the Player Cards
- The Ottomans start with 1 Navy in Athens.
- Whenever the city of Basel appears on a Player Card, treat it as Geneva (2418).
- In any discrepancy between the Player Cards and the rules or game-map, the Player Cards control.
Corrections to the Rules
[3.12] (clarification) Scotland and France are separate areas, even though they are allied to each other. For purposes of defining that alliance, Scotland is considered part of France, with no insult to the Scots intended. This also means you do not have to take Scotland to take France.
[3.15] (addition) The country of Sweden is Lutheran in religion only. It is not controlled by the Lutheran player in the sense of 12.0.
[8.45] (clarification) There has been some trouble with this rule vis a vis the Papal-occupied cities of Cologne, Mainz and Trier. Although, technically, these cities are in Germany, for the purposes of this rule they are considered part of the Papal States. Thus they may be attacked and entered by Lutherans without having first been converted. The Papal armies in those cities are, of course, immune from 8.46 — as long as they stay in the cities.
[10.23] (major change) Conversion of an area from one religion to another may take place in either of the two following ways:
- A Missionary of the opposing religion is in the area in a city and no Missionary of the prevailing religion is in the area; or
- A Missionary unit of the opposing religion is in the area (not in a city) and no Missionary of the prevailing religion is in the area. The player wishing to convert then rolls one die; if the total is higher than the number of Army units (not Navies) belonging to the player who controls (12.0) that area (including mercenaries and any rented armies) then that area is converted.
Example: A Lutheran missionary enters France in 1536. There are four French armies in France. The Lutheran Player must roll a 5 or 6 (or enter a city with his Missionary) to convert France. Were there six or more armies, conversion might not be possible. Obviously, neutral areas can be converted easily. (However, see new Optional Rule, 21.0.)
[10.26] (addition) 4. The Papal States may not be converted. This applies only to the area in Italy.
[14.1] (clarification) No matter what it says anywhere else, to gain points for conversion of an area other than one you held at the beginning of the game you must have a Missionary in that area.
[16.47] (addition) As part of the terms to a loan, a player may "lend" one of his armies to the other player. A Player may not "loan" more than one army at any given time.
[17.2,d] (clarification) This rule covers voluntary conversion to Lutheranism simply by stating you are converting. A Catholic player who states, "I am converting to Lutheranism" may still be excommunicated by the Pope. Note further that the Pope must initiate the Excommunication process immediately; this means in the immediately ensuing Diplomacy Phase (or in the Diplomacy Phase they are now in if that is when conversion occurs). Simply serving a Papal Bull is enough to initiate the process.
[17.24] (change) Excommunication does not stop immediately upon a country becoming Lutheran. It continues for three years after the year the country becomes Lutheran.
21.0 Armies of Neutrals (Optional Rule)
General Rule: In the Basic Game all the Neutrals are not only Neutral, they are unprotected. This was done for the purposes of simplicity. The following rules add a little flavor to the game — and a lot of problems — in the form of neutral armies.
21.1 Who Is Neutral. For the purposes of this rule all Bright Yellow areas are Neutral, with the exception of Poland. (No military units may enter Poland). Furthermore, Sweden is also considered a Neutral for this purpose.
21.2 Neutral Armies
21.21 Each city in a neutral area has a garrison/army equivalent to its army capacity for that city. Thus, Venice has an "Army" of four points while Lisbon has an Army of six points. The Naval points are ignored for this rule.
21.22 No counters are used — or needed. Players keep track of any change in the status of a neutral city on a piece of paper.
21.23 In order to occupy/control a neutral area, a Player must eliminate the garrison of all cities in that area. Any retreat result is treated as an elimination (for the defending neutral army).
21.24 Once eliminated, a neutral army may not be reformed.
21.25 Neutral armies may never be controlled by another player. They may only be eliminated.
21.26 All rules that apply to religious conversion (i.e., the new 10.23) apply to neutrals.
Tables
The following tables are reproduced from the "A Mighty Fortress Tables" card. Where a table is printed on the game map, the same values apply.
8.5 Combat Results Table
Ratio of Attacker's Strength to Defender's Strength:
| Die | 1-4 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 3-1 | 4-1 | 5-1 | 6-1+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A2 | A2 | D2 | De | De | De | De | De | De |
| 2 | Ae | A2 | Ex | Ex | Ex | D1 | Ex | D2 | D2 |
| 3 | A2 |
Key:
- A = Attacker
- D = Defender
- Ex = Exchange (all defending units eliminated; equal number of attacking units eliminated; only units participating in the attack may be eliminated)
- e = Affected force Eliminated
-
= Affected force must retreat indicated number of hexes (e.g., A2 or D2 = Attacker or Defender retreats two hexes)
Note: Combat results never apply to Missionaries, even if they occupy the same hex as a combat unit involved in an attack. Exception: A Missionary unit being transported by a Navy which is eliminated is also eliminated (see Case 5.57).
Attacks at less than 1-4 are allowed (automatic Ae; see Case 8.3).
9.2 Siege Combat Results Table
Ratio of Attacker's Strength to Defender's Strength:
| Die | 1-1 | 2-1 | 3-1 | 4-1 | 5-1 | 6-1+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D2h | D2h | D2 | D½e | De | De |
| 2 | Ex | D2h | D2h | D2 | D½e | De |
| 3 | A2 | Ex | D2h | D2h | D2h | D½e |
| 4 | A2 | A2 | Ex |
Key:
- A = Attacker
- D = Defender
- Ex = Exchange (all defending units eliminated; equal number of attacking units eliminated)
- e = Affected force Eliminated
- ½e = At least half of affected force Eliminated; remainder of force retreats two hexes (Honors of War possible)
- h = Honors of War possible (see Case 9.3 as printed; the Honors of War rule is Case 9.1)
- A2 (or D2) = Attacker (or Defender) retreats two hexes
Attacks at less than 1-1 are not allowed.
10.4 Theological Debate Results Table
Ratio of Challenger's Strength to Defender's Strength:
| Die | 1-4 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 3-1 | 4-1 | 5-1 | 6-1+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cp1 | Cp2 | Cp1 | Db | Db | Db | Db | Db | Db |
| 2 | Cb | Cp1 | S | S | S | Dp1 | S | Dp1 | Dp2 |
| 3 | Cp1 |
Key:
- C = Challenger
- D = Defender
- b = Burned at Stake (affected unit eliminated; see Case 11.17)
- x = Exiled to Home Country. Missionary must be placed in any city in his home country other than the one he may be in. Such city may not be occupied by enemy combat units. If such a city does not exist, the Missionary is considered imprisoned for two years.
- p1 (p2) = Imprisoned for 1 (2) year(s). Unit is removed from map to be returned 1 or 2 full turns after removal. Thus, a Missionary imprisoned for one year in the 1540 Game-Turn is returned in 1542.
- S = Stalemate (Defender must, in the next Movement Phase, either leave hex or challenge other Player to a new debate)
Attacks at less than 1-4 are treated as 1-4.
16.2 City Income Schedule
Cities in italic start the game in control of one of the Players. They can supply full income only to the original controller. If they are held by any other Player, they provide only one-half the indicated income (round fractions up).
Corrections to this schedule are listed in the Errata above (Calais should be italic; Metz provides 2 guilders).
| City | Income | City | Income | City | Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | 6 | Corunna | 5 | Palermo | 2 |
| Athens | 3 | Dijon | 2 | Paris | 2 |
| Augsburg | 4 | Dublin | 1 | Plymouth | 1 |
| Barcelona | 4 | Edinburgh | 1 | Prague |
Note: the printed schedule lists Calais as non-italic and does not list Metz; the Errata corrects both. City names and spellings are as printed.
Map Charts
Abbreviated Sequence of Play
(Printed on the game map.)
- A. Campaign Phase
- B. Taxation Phase (Advanced Game Only)
- C. Diplomacy Phase
- D. Expenditure Phase (Advanced Game Only)
- E. Reinforcement and Replacement Phase
- F. Game-Turn Indication Phase
Turn Record / Reinforcement Track
KEY: L = Lutheran reinforcements; P = Papacy reinforcements. See Player Cards for appropriate units and placement.
| Year | Marker | Year | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1532 | — | 1544 | P |
| 1533 | L | 1545 | P |
| 1534 | L (Annulment Deadline, see 18.12) | 1546 | P |
| 1535 | — | 1547 | P |
| 1536 | — | 1548 | P |
| 1537 | L | 1549 | P |
| 1538 | L |
Note: the Errata above lists corrections to this track (1538 should not have an "L"; 1539 should have an "L" instead of "P"). The markers are transcribed as printed; the Errata corrections are not applied here.
Map Key
Area boundary; coastline; Port; City. (Symbols are shown on the printed map.)
Player Cards
Each Player Card lists the Initial Deployment of Forces and the Victory Conditions for that country. The historical commentary printed on each card is background text and is omitted here. Portrait captions are omitted. The Errata above applies to the cards where noted.
England
Initial Deployment of Forces
| Hex (Location) | Unit(s) |
|---|---|
| 1107 (Dublin) | 1 Army |
| 1312 (Plymouth) | 2 Armies, 2 Navies |
| 1708 (York) | 1 Army, 2 Navies |
| 1711 (London) | 2 Armies, 2 Navies |
| 1912 (Calais) | 2 Armies |
Victory Conditions (England)
Note: the four sets of objectives listed under Points Gained are mutually exclusive; only one set is used for a particular game, and that set is then used in its entirety. The objectives listed under Points Lost are always the same, regardless of which variable Victory Conditions are in use (see Section 19.0 for procedure).
Set 1: Historical (use in Basic Game) — Gain Points for Controlling: Antwerp (10); Bordeaux (8); Brest (6); Edinburgh (8); Paris (10); Rouen (8).
Set 2: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Bordeaux (8); Brest (8); Corunna (4); Edinburgh (6); Lisbon (4); Madrid (2); Paris (10); Rouen (8).
Set 3: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Antwerp (8); Brest (8); Copenhagen (4); Edinburgh (8); Norway (4); Paris (8); Rouen (10).
Set 4: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Antwerp (8); Bordeaux (4); Brest (4); Copenhagen (6); Edinburgh (8); Lisbon (4); Paris (10); Rouen (6).
Lose Points for Failure to Control: Calais (7); Dublin (4); London (15); Plymouth (7); York (7).
Lose Points if Hapsburgs Control: Hesse (4); Saxony (4).
Lose Points if Lutheran Missionary in England: (2).
Hapsburgs
Initial Deployment of Forces
| Hex (Location) | Unit(s) |
|---|---|
| 0422 (Corunna) | 2 Armies, 6 Navies |
| 0927 (Madrid) | 2 Armies |
| 1424 (Navarre) | 2 Armies |
| 1926 (Barcelona) | 2 Armies, 3 Navies |
| 2211 (Antwerp) | 3 Armies |
| 2317 (Franche Comte) | 1 Army |
| 2318 (Franche Comte) | 1 Army |
| 2417 (Franche Comte) | 1 Army |
| 3331 (Palermo) | 1 Army, 1 Navy |
| 3417 (Prague) | 2 Armies |
| 3427 (Naples) | 2 Armies, 1 Navy |
| 3614 (Vienna) |
Victory Conditions (Hapsburgs)
Set 1: Historical (use in Basic Game) — Gain Points for Controlling: Belgrade (4); Brandenburg (4); Bucharest (4); Buda (7); Dijon (5); Dublin (3); Hesse (5); London (4)*; Marseilles (4); Milan (6); Saxony (5); Wurttemburg (3). *Control of London yields the Hapsburg Player 8 Victory Points if England has been excommunicated; see Section 18.0.
Set 2: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Basel (2); Belgrade (2); Brandenburg (5); Buda (8); Dijon (4); Hesse (5); Marseilles (4); Milan (6); Saxony (5); Venice (6); Wurttemburg (5); Zurich (2).
Set 3: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Athens (3); Augsburg (3); Belgrade (3); Bordeaux (5); Brandenburg (3); Buda (7); Corsica (3); Crete (3); Dublin (3); Genoa (4); Hesse (5); Saxony (5); Venice (4); Wurttemburg (3).
Set 4: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Antwerp (3); Basel (4); Bavaria (4); Bordeaux (3); Brandenburg (4); Buda (8); Dublin (3); Hesse (5); Lisbon (2); Milan (6); Saxony (5); Turin (4); Wurttemburg (3).
Lose Points for Failure to Control: Antwerp (4); Barcelona (4); Corunna (4); Franche Comte (3); Hungary (4); Madrid (8); Naples (3); Navarre (4); Palermo (2); Prague (4); Sardinia (2); Vienna (6).
Lose Points if Lutheran Controls: Cologne (2); Mainz (2); Trier (2).
France
Initial Deployment of Forces
| Hex (Location) | Unit(s) |
|---|---|
| 1504 (Edinburgh) | 2 Armies |
| 1520 (Bordeaux) | 2 Armies, 2 Navies |
| 1714 (Rouen) | 2 Armies, 2 Navies |
| 1815 (Paris) | 2 Armies |
| 2117 (Dijon) | 2 Armies |
| 2223 (Marseilles) | 4 Armies, 2 Navies |
Victory Conditions (France)
Set 1: Historical (use in Basic Game) — Gain Points for Controlling: Antwerp (5); Calais (4); Edinburgh (4); Florence (2); Genoa (4); London (2); Metz (3); Milan (6); Naples (5); Navarre (6); Plymouth (2); Sienna (2); Turin (3); York (2)*. *Control of London, Plymouth, and/or York yields the French Player 4 Victory Points each if England has been excommunicated; see Section 18.0.
Set 2: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Antwerp (5); Barcelona (3); Calais (4); Corunna (3); Florence (3); Genoa (5); Madrid (3); Metz (3); Milan (7); Navarre (5); Plymouth (4)*; Sienna (2); Turin (3). *Control of Plymouth yields the French Player 8 Victory Points if England has been excommunicated; see Section 18.0.
Set 3: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Calais (6); Corsica (4); Dublin (3); Edinburgh (5); Franche Comte (3); Genoa (2); London (3); Metz (2); Milan (5); Naples (5); Navarre (5); Plymouth (2); Sardinia (3); Turin (2). *Control of London yields the French Player 6 Victory Points, and control of Plymouth yields the French Player 4 Victory Points, if England has been excommunicated; see Section 18.0.
Set 4: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Antwerp (5); Barcelona (3); Basel (2); Calais (4); Corsica (3); Dublin (3); Edinburgh (3); Franche Comte (3); Genoa (4); Metz (3); Milan (5); Naples (4); Navarre (5); Turin (3).
Lose Points for Failure to Control: Bordeaux (6); Brest (6); Dijon (6); Marseilles (6); Paris (20); Rouen (6).
Ottomans
Initial Deployment of Forces
| Hex (Location) | Unit(s) |
|---|---|
| 3917 (Buda) | 4 Armies |
| 4021 (Belgrade) | 2 Armies |
| 4620 (Bucharest) | 2 Armies |
| 4829 (Athens) | 2 Armies, 4 Navies |
| 5323 (Constantinople) | 2 Armies, 4 Navies |
Errata: the Ottomans start with 1 Navy in Athens (see the Errata above). The printed card shows 4 Navies there.
Victory Conditions (Ottomans)
Set 1: Historical (use in Basic Game) — Gain Points for Controlling: Augsburg (3); Barcelona (4); Hungary (6); Nuremburg (3); Prague (8); Sardinia (4); Sicily (6); Venice (6); Vienna (10).
Set 2: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Crete (2); Dalmatia (2); Hungary (8); Milan (4); Naples (6); Prague (6); Sicily (6); Venice (6); Vienna (10).
Set 3: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Augsburg (2); Bologna (2); Hungary (8); Milan (4); Naples (4); Nuremburg (2); Prague (6); Sicily (4); Venice (8); Vienna (10).
Set 4: Variable — Gain Points for Controlling: Barcelona (4); Hungary (8); Naples (6); Prague (2); Rome (6); Sardinia (4); Sicily (6); Venice (2); Vienna (12).
Lose Points for Failure to Control: Athens (10); Belgrade (5); Bucharest (10); Buda (5); Constantinople (20).
Lutherans
Initial Deployment of Forces
| Hex (Location) | Unit(s) |
|---|---|
| 2608 (Bremen) | 1 Army, 1 Missionary |
| 2712 (Hesse) | 2 Armies |
| 2807 (Brunswick) | 1 Army, 1 Missionary |
| 2811 (Hesse) | 2 Missionaries |
| 2812 (Hesse) | 2 Missionaries |
| 2909 (Magdeburg) | 1 Army, 1 Missionary |
| 2911 (Anhalt) | 1 Army, 1 Missionary |
| 2912 (Mansfield) | 1 Army, 1 Missionary |
| 3012 (Saxony) | 2 Armies |
| 3112 (Saxony) | 2 Missionaries |
| 3211 (Saxony) | 2 Missionaries |
| 3401 (Stockholm) |
Reinforcements (Lutherans)
| Turn | Hex (Location) | Unit(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1533 | Mecklenburg (any hex) | 1 Army, 2 Missionaries |
| 1534 | Wurttemburg (any hex) | 2 Armies, 4 Missionaries |
| 1537 | Augsburg (2814) | 1 Army, 2 Missionaries |
| 1539 | Brandenburg (any hex) | 3 Armies, 4 Missionaries |
Note: Lutherans receive these reinforcements only if they have converted the areas listed for the reinforcements.
Victory Conditions (Lutherans)
Gain Points for Conversion of: Ansbach (3); Augsburg (1); Basel (1); Bavaria (3); Bohemia (1); Cleve (2); Cologne (3); Copenhagen (1); Cracow (1); Danzig (1); England (3); France (2); Konigsburg (1); Mainz (3); Mark (2); Munster (2); Nassau (3); Netherlands (1); Norway (1); Nuremburg (3); Palatinate (3); Posen (1); Riga (1); Trier (3); Tyrol (2); Warsaw (1); Zurich (1).
Lose Points for Catholic Conversion of: Anhalt (4); Basel (1); Bremen (3); Brunswick (4); Hesse (7); Magdeburg (5); Mansfield (4); Norway (1); Saxony (9); Sweden (2); Zurich (1).
Lose Points for Ottoman Control of: Prague (5); Vienna (6).
Papacy
Initial Deployment of Forces
| Hex (Location) | Unit(s) |
|---|---|
| 2411 (Cologne) | 1 Army |
| 2413 (Trier) | 1 Army |
| 2612 (Mainz) | 1 Army |
| 3021 (Bologna) | 1 Army |
| 3122 (Ravenna) | 1 Army |
| 3226 (Rome) | 2 Armies |
Reinforcements (Papacy)
| Turn | Hex (Location) | Unit(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1540 | Rome (3226) | 1 Jesuit |
| 1541 | Rome (3226) | 2 Jesuits |
| 1542 | Rome (3226) | 2 Jesuits |
| 1543 | Bavaria (any hex) | 2 Jesuits |
| 1544 | Cologne (2411) | 2 Jesuits |
| 1545 | Vienna (3614) | 2 Jesuits |
| 1546 | Rome (3226) | 2 Jesuits |
| 1547 | Bavaria (any hex) | 2 Jesuits |
| 1548 |
Victory Conditions (Papacy)
Gain Points for Conversion of: Bavaria (2); Brandenburg (4); Hesse (4); Palatinate (2); Saxony (5); Wurttemburg (2); any other German area (1).
Gain Points for Having Jesuit in: Basel (3); Norway (2); Stockholm (2); Zurich (3).
Gain Points for: Any Non-German City or Area won back from Lutherans and held at end of game (1 each); Combat Unit or Missionary in England (4); Each Italian State (excluding Papal States) controlled (3 each).
Lose Points for Foreign Control of: Bologna (3); Ravenna (3); Rome (10).
Lose Points for Ottoman Control of: Prague (3); Venice (5); Vienna (4).
Lose Points for Hapsburg Control of: Marseilles (3); Milan (6).
Lose Points for Lutheran Control of: Cologne (3); Mainz (3); Trier (3).
Lose Points for French Control of: Any four Italian States (4 total); Any 3 Italian States (3 total); Any 2 Italian States (2 total).
Note: The Papal Player receives points simply for converting a German area whether or not the Lutherans had ever converted it. Papal Player gains points for non-German areas only if Lutherans first converted the area and then the Jesuits re-convert the same area and hold it at the end of the game.