Archmage Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• The Six-Fold Nature of Magic
• The Mythic Races
• The Hybrid Races
• The Land and Its Relics
• Game Setup
  • Components
  • I. The Lands
  • II. The Mages
  • III. Planets and Starting Relics
  • IV. The Supply
• The Art of Spellcasting
  • Casting Spells
  • Casting Costs
  • Spell Durations and Limits
• The Player Turn
  • Game Timing
  • I. Preparation
  • II. Journey
  • III. Journey's End
• Endgame
  • Final Scoring
  • Dominion over the Spheres
  • Dominion over the Land
  • Declaring the Archmage
• Spell Clarifications
  • Fundamental Spells
  • Advanced Spells
  • Master Spells
• Solo Play
  • Objectives
  • Setup
  • Sequence of Play
  • Warlord's Turn
  • Player's Turn
  • Check for Victory Conditions
  • Option: Solo Game Scoring
  • Spell Clarifications (Solo Game)
• Credits

Overview

In Archmage, players take on the roles of talented but inexperienced magic-users drawn towards an epic destiny, a destiny that only one of them will fulfill. A great conjunction of planets is approaching! When the six planets are aligned (and the set number of rounds are completed), a new Archmage will be hailed across the land.

The timing of the game's end is a key consideration, and with the clock ticking, optimizing the efficiency of each journey will be crucial.

The aspiring mages will have numerous goals to achieve, including: exploring and controlling locations, recovering lost relics, recruiting followers, building their own tower, training apprentices, and casting mighty spells.

The one who builds the most powerful Order of mages (as defined by the breadth and power of the spells known to the mages and their apprentices) and has the most influence over the land (earned by exerting control over the majority of key locations) will be victorious.

The Six-Fold Nature of Magic

Magic is divided into six Fundamental spheres. Each sphere promises mastery over a different aspect of existence: Time, Will, Death, Blood, Nature, and Matter.

But the six individual spheres also overlap. They can be blended together according to the Wheel of Magic.

For a price, the Mythic races will help to initiate a mage's followers to become Fundamental apprentices. These apprentices will be placed in the corresponding Fundamental level spell area in the Wheel of Magic emblazoned on the floor of each player's tower board. Each of these apprentices will possess the knowledge of a specific Fundamental level spell.

Once a mage has gained apprentices in two adjacent spheres of magic, they can start to blend these magics and promote apprentices to higher ranks. For example, two Fundamental apprentices from adjacent spheres can duel, with one being promoted to the rank of Advanced apprentice. Similarly, two Advanced apprentices from adjacent spheres can duel for promotion to the rank of Master apprentice. After any duel, one of the dueling apprentices is promoted, and the other is returned to the Company of the mage – perhaps to ponder their failure...

Within each sphere of the wheel, there are three levels of magic spells. The Fundamental level spells are part of the lore which is jealously guarded by the six Mythic races. However, Advanced and Master level spells can only be created by human mages, who are able to weave together Fundamental magics in new and powerful ways.

In this progression of magic, for each apprentice that is promoted, working knowledge of a new spell may be gained by the mage and their Order. However, when all apprentices vacate an area on the Wheel of Magic, the ability to cast that spell fades. Thus, the knowledge and focus of an Order's magic will change dynamically over the course of the game, unlocking new and different powers while potentially losing others.

The repertoire of spells currently known by a mage and their Order is documented on spell cards that are kept to the right of the tower board, in the mage's spell book. Each card contains key information, including the level of the spell, effect of the spell, duration of its effect, and the cost to cast it.

The Mythic Races

The mythic races of Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, Demons, Dryads, and Gnomes have lived in the land for longer than anyone can recall. They were likely there in the beginning, as each race embodies one of the Fundamental spheres of magic from which the world is formed. Whenever human mages have arisen, they have sought to learn from the mythic races, and so it continues. Each race can initiate apprentices in their unique sphere of magic, but will only do so if the aspiring mage brings them the sacred relics they lost.

Elves. Obsessed with the discovery of truth, these long-lived scholars have constantly searched for rare books, histories, and Scrolls to add to their already impressive Libraries. They have a unique knowledge of Time, and the magic that can bend it. They will teach those who can bring them lost texts.

Dwarves. The diamond-hard Will of the Dwarves has preserved them through the darkest and wildest of times. Dwarven magic focuses on protection, preservation, and fortitude. Their magic is embodied in and channeled through precious Gems that are formed in the depths of the unchanging earth.

Goblins. Trouble follows these mischievous creatures wherever they go. Their somewhat malicious nature, coupled with a love of chaos and mayhem, causes most humans to shy away from their Company. However, their Death magic – driven by the Bones of the ancient mages – can be useful in disrupting the plans of competing rivals.

Demons. Known for their unquenchable thirst for violence, these malevolent wraiths care nothing for material objects. They will teach spells of Blood and destruction to those vicious enough to delve into dark magic by bringing them the Blood of fallen mages and their kin.

Dryads. Inhabiting the woods and forests of the realm, these elusive fae long to regrow the Sacred Trees. To those who can bring them the lost Seeds from the ancient Groves, they will teach spells that call upon the elemental and living forces of nature to alter the earth itself.

Gnomes. Once a great race of machinists and mechanics, their once great magical machines have been stripped of key parts by thieves and scavengers. Only the return of their precious lost Widgets, and the return of the magic of an Archmage, will allow their mighty machines to function again. Thus, the reluctant gnomes will be willing to share their knowledge of the magical manipulation of Matter in exchange for the return of such prized relics.

The Hybrid Races

Long ago, before the coming of the original Archmage, the mythic races sought to combine their magics and create something greater. But unlike the accomplishments of the human mages that would follow, for the mythic races this experiment did not yield greater types of magic. Instead, new breeds of creatures were born with only a small measure of each of their ancestors' powers. Then, when the human mages rose to rule, they structured their great city around the six unbroken spheres of magic, and the hybrid races could find no peace within its walls. They fled and were pushed to the very edges of the habitable world. In time, they were forgotten.

• Drow – Hybrid of Elves and Demons
• Trolls – Hybrid of Dryads and Dwarves
• Gremlins – Hybrid of Gnomes and Goblins

The Land and Its Relics

At the start of the game, the Cursed Tower and its ruined city dominate the landscape. Several small Towns are well-known, but the rest of the world is still shrouded in mystery. These unexplored lands hide much, and one of the first things that must be done is to rediscover the locations that were lost when The Ending plunged the world into decline. Primarily, the mages will be rediscovering and controlling locations that were built by the mythic races who once served the old Archmage. There are five types of Wilderness locations: Groves, Ruins, Libraries, Mines, and Crypts.

Controlling these wilderness locations will prove of value in the final scoring, for they are the key to magical power. Within these lost Libraries, Mines, Crypts, Groves, and Ruins, specific relics are sought — objects known to be imbued with large amounts of magical energy. By combining these physical components (whether reading from a Scroll, planting a Seed, or crumbling a Bone) with the right wisdom, the magic within can be channeled towards the casting of spells (See The Art of Spellcasting).

The five types of magical relics that can be found in wilderness locations are: Scrolls, Gems, Bones, Seeds, and Widgets.

The sixth type of "relic" is found in the Blood of the descendants of the ancient mages and can only be obtained through combat.

Each type of relic is uniquely tied to one of the six spheres of magic.

Game Setup

Components

• 1 Ruined City Tile, 42 Location Tiles (6 x Town, Grove, Crypt, Mine, Ruins, Library; 3 x Camp, 1 x Drow, Gremlins, Trolls)
• 4 Mages, 4 Mage Towers, and 100 Followers
• 4 Tower Boards
• 24 Planet Tokens
• 24 Relic Cubes
• 4 Player References
• 4 Spell Decks (18 cards each)
• 4 Spell Mantles
• 78 Spell Tokens: 24 Vines/Upheaval Spell Tokens, 30 Wellspring/Chasm Spell Tokens, 24 Corruption/Shadow Spell Tokens
• 48 Ward of Protection Tokens
• Solo Game Components: 1 Warlord, 1 Warlord Die, 4 Solo Spell Cards, 5 Inflame Tokens, 1 Movement Aid

I. The Lands

a. Place the ruined city tile (depicting the Cursed Tower and the enclaves of the mythic races) in the center of the table.

b. Take a number of sets of wilderness locations (one set = 5 wilderness locations, each corresponding to a different type of relic) according to the number of players:

• 2 players: 3 sets
• 3 players: 5 sets
• 4 players: 6 sets

Shuffle the selected locations together into one face-down stack.

c. Take the 6 outpost locations (3 hybrid race enclaves, 3 Camps) and shuffle them into a face-down stack.

d. Take Town tiles according to the number of players:

• 2 players: 3 Towns
• 3 players: 4 Towns
• 4 players: 6 Towns

e. Create a map of the land according to the illustrations in the rulebook. Town locations go on the table face-up. Wilderness locations and outpost locations go on the table face-down. Care should be taken to leave a small gap between all of the locations to allow for the manipulation of tiles as game play progresses.

II. The Mages

Each player receives:

• A mage figure in their chosen color, placed at the Cursed Tower location on the central ruined city tile
• A tower board
• A spell book mantle, placed to the right of their tower board
• A set of 18 spell cards in their color. These cards can be placed face-down to the left of their tower board, as they represent inactive spells not yet known to the aspiring mage. They may be viewed by the player at any time.
• 25 followers in their color. Place 15 of these followers to the left of their tower board to represent the Company that will travel the land with their mage. These followers are immediately available for deployment during the game. Place the remaining 10 followers into a common Supply area. These followers must be recruited during gameplay before they are available to be used.
• 1 mage tower in their color
• 1 player aid tile, placed to the left of their tower board
• 6 relic cubes (one in each of 6 colors)
• 6 planet tokens (one in each of 6 colors)

Playing with varying skill levels. If playing with a mix of new and experienced players, players may choose a differing number of starting followers in their Company in order to have players compete on more even footing. However, the total number of followers in the game for each player should always be 25.

III. Planets and Starting Relics

At the top of each tower board, players will find a series of blue oval-shaped spaces. This is the planet track, where players record the current positions of the six planets as they progress towards conjunction. During setup, players leave the central space empty and randomly place one of their planets into each of the other six spaces.

Then, if playing with fewer than 4 players, the planetary positions should be adjusted as follows:

• In a 3-player game, each player moves one planet of their choice one space away from the central space.
• In a 2-player game, each player moves two planets of their choice one space away from the central space.

Beneath each space of a player's planet conjunction track, there is a number within a square that is only used during the set-up of the game. The color of the planet occupying the space above matches the color of a specific relic tracking cube. The player places this specific relic cube on the matching shelf of their tower board, in the slot matching the number shown in the box.

Example: Tim is playing in a 4-player game of Archmage. He randomly places his planet tokens in the six outer spaces on his planet track. On his tower board, he places his relic cubes to show that he starts with 1 Gem, 2 Scrolls, 3 Bones, 3 Blood, 2 Seeds, and 1 Widget.

IV. The Supply

The Supply is a designated place on the table where tokens and pieces not currently active in the game are stored. At the start of the game the Supply will contain:

a. The various spell tokens in piles according to their type

b. 10 followers of each mage color participating in the game

c. 42 ward tokens

Return all other remaining components to the game box.

The Art of Spellcasting

Casting Spells

Any time during the Journey and Journey's End Phases of a player's turn, that player may cast spells that are in their spell book. During their Journey Phase it is quite acceptable for a player to Travel/Explore/Attack; then cast a spell or multiple spells; then continue to Travel/Explore/Attack; then cast a spell or multiple spells. Even after a Journey's End action, spells may be cast up until the player ends their turn.

Spells have a number of different effects on the game as listed on their card. Detailed descriptions and clarifications can be found in Spell Clarifications.

Casting Costs

Once a mage learns a spell, the innate power of relics can be released to cast it. The casting cost depends on the spell's level:

• Fundamental – 1 relic from the spell's sphere of magic.
• Advanced – 2 relics from either contributing sphere of magic (2 of one type or 1 of each type).
• Master – 3 relics from any contributing sphere of magic (3 of one type, or 2 of one type and 1 of another type, or one of each of the three different types).

Example: Jen has a Master Blood magic spell. Because Blood magic falls between Nature magic and Death magic on the Wheel of Magic, she may spend relics from any of these three spheres (Bones, Blood, or Seeds) to cast her spell.

If the player has enough relics to power the casting costs, multiple spells can be cast in a single turn. However, each spell in a player's spell book can only be cast once per turn.

When a spell is cast, move the card from below the spell book mantle to the corresponding position above the mantle.

Spell Durations and Limits

One of three symbols will appear on a spell card to indicate its duration:

• The spell is resolved immediately as a one-time effect.
• The effects of this spell are temporary and last until the start of the casting player's next turn.
• The effect(s) of this spell persist for the rest of the game unless removed by conditions specified on the card. The spell itself will refresh at the start of the casting player's next turn, and it can be cast again. Only the effects of the spell are persistent.

Each location can only contain one spell token. Ward tokens do not count towards this limit. If a mage casts a spell that places a token, remove the existing token and replace it with the new spell token.

Beginning with the starting player, each player will complete a full turn before play passes to the next player in clockwise order.

The Player Turn

A player turn consists of three phases, which must be done in the following order:

1. Preparation
2. Journey
3. Journey's End

Game Timing

The six planets are gradually moving towards conjunction, and when all six planets align, this will signal the final turn of the game for each player. In rounds, this equates to:

• 2 players: 15 rounds
• 3 players: 14 rounds
• 4 players: 13 rounds

I. Preparation

Important! The Preparation Phase is skipped on each player's first turn of the game.

During the Preparation Phase, a mage finishes their rest, dusts themselves off, gathers their Company to them, and prepares to set out on another journey. There are three important steps for the active player to perform:

1. Remove temporary spell tokens from locations and end temporary spell effects.
2. Update and refresh spell book.
3. Progress a planet towards conjunction.

Players may not cast spells during the Preparation Phase.

Remove Temporary Spell Tokens and Effects. Any temporary spell tokens the active player placed on locations during their previous turn are now returned to the Supply. Also, end the effect of any spells (such as Entangling Vines) that temporarily create an effect.

Update and Refresh Spell Book. The active player removes all of their temporary spell tokens (cast on their previous turn) from locations on the map, refreshes their spell book, and moves one planet on their personal tower board one space towards the center.

It is important to note that a mage only has knowledge in their spell book of a particular spell if they have at least one apprentice in the corresponding spell area. Thus, during this step of the Preparation Phase, the active player should also update their spell book by checking the position of all apprentices on their tower board. Spell cards should be added to or removed from their spell book so as to match the current position of their apprentices.

New spells are taken from the player's deck of inactive spells and placed below the mantle in their spell book according to their level (Fundamental, Advanced, or Master). Multiple apprentices in the same area do not grant multiple copies of the same spell card. Spells removed from the spell book are placed back in the player's deck of inactive spells and, if desired, are available to be re-learned later in the game.

Thus, over the course of the game, the repertoire of spells for any given mage may fluctuate as they can both gain and lose knowledge.

Progress a Planet. The six planets are gradually moving towards conjunction (although the progress of this alignment is often charted a little differently in each mage's tower). During their Preparation Phase, the active player must move one of the planets on their tower board a single space towards the central conjunction space.

• Each planet matches the color of a sphere of magic, and whenever a planet is moved, the active player gains one relic of that type.
• Planets already in the central space cannot be moved.
• Planets may occupy the same space as other planets.
• When all planets have converged on the central space, this marks the start of the active player's final turn.

Planets out of alignment? Periodically, during gameplay, players may wish to confirm that all players have an equal number of turns remaining. If there is disagreement over the number of rounds remaining, the count of the majority of players will be taken as correct. If there is still disagreement, the lower number of rounds will be taken as correct. This ruling reflects the fact that, if not diligent in performing their Preparation Phase, players may forget to Progress a Planet on turns when they are eager to begin their Journey.

If players need to adjust the number of rounds remaining by moving planets towards the center, they must select a planet that is furthest from the central alignment and move it inwards. They may still collect a relic of the appropriate type.

If players find that the Preparation Phase is being missed frequently, try the following memory aid:

1. Start the game with all spell mantles displaying the side with victory point illustrations.
2. After moving a planet, immediately before starting the Journey Phase, the active player will flip their spell mantle to its side showing the costs of casting spells.
3. At the end of a turn, once satisfied that they are finished casting all spells, the active player flips their spell mantle back to its victory point side.

Thus, if a player is performing their Journey action with the victory point illustrations showing, opposing mages can gently remind them to pause and perform their Preparation Phase properly before game play continues. Conversely, if the casting cost illustrations are showing, the active player can be confident that they already remembered to properly progress a planet this turn.

II. Journey

During the Journey Phase, a mage travels across the land exploring and securing locations, challenging their opponents' followers and casting spells.

Deploying Followers. If, at any time during the Journey Phase, the active mage figure is standing on a wilderness, Town, or Camp location that has been explored (see Exploration below) but is currently unoccupied, a single follower may be taken from their Company and placed on this location at no cost. The presence of this follower means that the owning player now has control of this location.

Followers cannot be placed on enclave locations. Neither the mythical race enclaves (on the ruined city tile) nor the hybrid race enclaves (found in some outpost locations) will tolerate the presence of a mage's follower. The other races generally resist getting involved in human politics, and remain equally accessible to any human who will bring them the relics they covet.

Control does not affect the travel or Journey's End action of other mages. If the location does not contain a mage or mage tower, it is quite acceptable for the active player to move through a location or locations controlled by their opponents. An attack may be triggered if desired, but is not automatic.

A mage may also choose not to deploy a follower. The size of their Order is limited and when their Company is small, they may choose to save followers for other purposes. It is key to note that followers cannot be voluntarily returned to your Company once placed. They will remain at their post until the end of the game, unless killed by an opponent.

A Mage and Their Followers. Followers are a precious commodity that need to be carefully managed throughout the game. They are used to both claim control of locations during the Journey Phase and to act as apprentices when learning new spells in specific Journey's End actions (Initiate Apprentices and Promote Apprentices).

However, the number of followers available to any player will fluctuate over the course of the game. Followers will frequently be lost when killed in bloody battles and are returned to the Supply (temporarily unavailable for use).

Additional followers can be recruited to join the Company by:

• The exploration bonus of a Camp
• Taking a Journey's End "Recruit" action at a Camp
• Taking a Journey's End "Gather" action at a Town (if a player has control of Camps or Towns)
• The use of certain spells (e.g. Subjugate)

Some followers may also return to the Company as a result of the Promote Apprentices action or the use of certain spells (e.g. Stone Skin). Remember that once assigned to a location, followers on the map cannot return to your Company.

If the active mage enters the central ruined city tile, depicting the old mage tower, the deadly curse of this place will be triggered. They must sacrifice one follower from their Company, placing it back in the Supply. If they have no followers in their Company, they are unaffected by the curse.

Movement. During the Journey Phase, the active player may spend up to five movement points. Unused movement points cannot be spent during or after a Journey's End action and do not carry over to subsequent turns.

There are three different uses for movement points. Each of these options can be done multiple times in a turn, in any order: Travel, Explore, and Attack.

Travel. The active player's mage may progress from one location to any adjacent location at the cost of one movement point.

There are only two restrictions that prevent Travel: the active mage may not enter a location containing an opponent's mage figure or an opponent's mage tower.

If the active player enters a location containing a spell token, they must resolve the effects of this token before interacting with the location in any other manner.

Explore. If the active mage has Traveled into an unexplored (face-down) location, they may Explore the area at the cost of one movement point. Exploration is optional, not mandatory.

To Explore, the active player flips the tile to its face-up side and places it back in the same space, beneath their mage figure. Exploring a location in this manner will provide a one-time Exploration Bonus that benefits the active player.

• Wilderness locations: The active player immediately collects one relic of the depicted type. This relic acquisition is tracked by moving the appropriate relic cube up one value on its tower board storage track.
• Camp locations: The active player takes one follower in their color from the Supply and places it in their Company.
• Hybrid race enclave locations: If the active player already has in their possession one of the appropriate relic types coveted by the hybrid race, they may immediately perform a single Initiate Apprentice action. This equates to trading two relics of a single type in exchange for the training of one apprentice in the matching sphere of magic. (This concept is discussed in more detail in the Initiate Apprentice action below.)

NOTE: The generation of relics or followers through exploration is only a one-time bonus when the location is first explored. To continue to produce relics or followers from any controlled location, the mage must end their Journey on a Town location and perform a Gather action (see Gather below).

Attack. Players may choose to Attack locations controlled by opponents to increase their own area of influence (and thereby their future ability to gather relics or recruit followers). Attacking is also an expedient way to shrink the number of followers in the opposing Orders and to gather Blood relics.

Attack sequence:

1. The player may only target the location upon which their mage figure is standing.
2. If the location contains a ward token, the player may spend one movement point to unravel this ward and return it to the Supply. The opponent follower cannot be targeted without first removing the ward of protection.
3. If the location does not contain a ward (or the ward has already been unraveled), a player may spend one movement point to kill the opponent's follower. The killed follower is returned to the Supply, not to the Company of the owning player. A single Blood relic is generated for both the attacking player and for the player who was attacked and had their follower removed.
4. If the attacking player has enough movement points to clear the location of an opponent's ward and follower, they may choose whether or not to assume control of the now vacant location. If control is desired, they may immediately place one follower from their Company onto the newly conquered location. (As always, the placement of this follower does not cost a movement point.)

Spellcasting and Gathering Blood. There are certain spells that may remove followers from locations in other ways than attacking. Followers removed in these ways do not generate Blood. Unless specifically noted on the spell card, Blood is generated only through the spending of movement points to attack and kill opponent followers.

Example of the Journey Phase and Movement: Adam (the blue mage) starts his Journey Phase.

Move 1: Adam travels to an adjacent unexplored location at the cost of one movement point.

Move 2: He explores the location for one movement point, flipping the tile and receiving the exploration bonus of one Gem relic. He deploys a follower to the empty location. Deploying the follower does not cost a movement point.

Move 3: Using his third movement point he moves into an adjacent location.

Move 4: Adam may choose to move on through this location that is being controlled by Bob (the white mage), but he decides to attack. As there is a ward present, Adam must first unravel and remove the ward, which consumes a fourth movement point.

Move 5: Adam then spends his final movement point to attack and kill Bob's follower. Adam gains a Blood for the kill, as does Bob. Bob's killed follower is returned to the Supply. Adam is then free to deploy a follower to the now vacant location.

In total, Adam spent five movement points: 1 to Travel; 1 to Explore; 1 to Travel a second time; 1 to unravel the ward of protection; 1 to kill Bob's follower.

If he had the appropriate relics in his tower and cards in his spell book, he also could have chosen to cast spells at any point during this Journey.

III. Journey's End

The location upon which a mage ends their Journey is critical. The type of location will determine which action the player executes in the Journey's End Phase. There are six possibilities:

• Gather at a Town location
• Recruit at a Camp location
• Initiate an apprentice at an enclave location
• Place Wards at a wilderness location
• Build your Mage Tower at a wilderness location (NOTE: May immediately take a second Journey's End action afterwards — the Place Wards or Initiate/Promote Apprentices action)
• Initiate / Promote Apprentices at your mage tower

Ending a Journey either on the Cursed Tower location or on a wilderness location controlled by an opponent forfeits the player's Journey's End action for that turn.

Gather (Town). If the player ends their movement on any Town location, they will be able to Gather relics and/or followers. Other players do not receive any relics at this time. The amount and type of relics and followers gathered will depend on which map locations are currently controlled by that player:

a. For each wilderness location controlled by the player, including the one occupied by their mage tower, one relic of the corresponding type is gathered. Track this by moving the appropriate relic cube on the player's tower board.

b. For each Camp controlled by the player, take one follower from the Supply and add it to their Company.

c. For each Town controlled by the player, they may select one relic of their choice or move one follower from the Supply to their Company. If more than one Town is controlled, this decision is made separately for each Town.

Example: Cody controls 6 wilderness locations: 3 Groves, 2 Mines, and 1 Ruins. He also controls 1 Camp and 2 Towns. He therefore gathers 3 Seeds, 2 Gems, 1 Widget, and 1 follower. He then needs to decide what resources he wishes to gather from his Towns. He may select a relic for one Town, and a follower for another; or two different relics; or two of the same relic; or two followers. He opts to take one follower and one Blood.

Recruit (Camp). If the player ends their movement on a Camp location, they will be able to Recruit up to three further followers from the Supply and add them to their Company. If there are no followers remaining in their Supply, they receive nothing.

Initiate (Enclave). If the player ends their movement on a location that depicts a race, the player may trade previously gathered relics of the type coveted by that race. Each mythic race has a single relic type they desire in trade, and each hybrid race has two relic types they desire. In exchange, the creatures of that race will initiate an apprentice into the knowledge of a specific sphere of magic (see The Mythic Races).

Initiate works as follows: Two of the required relic type are given up (move the relevant relic tracking cube to the left) in exchange for the initiation of one apprentice. This apprentice is created by taking a follower from the Company of the active player and placing him in the corresponding Fundamental spell area on the player's tower board.

On a mythic race location, this 2:1 trade may be done up to three times with a single Initiate Apprentice action (as the tower board holds a maximum of 6 relics of any one type). Thus, the active player could receive up to 3 Fundamental apprentices in the corresponding sphere of magic.

Similarly, the hybrid races can also initiate apprentices. They covet two types of relics, and have knowledge of two different spheres of magic. However, because they are not as adept in performing this magic, each Journey's End action will only allow them to initiate one apprentice in each of the two spheres. This is a strict limit. The mage cannot choose to train two apprentices in a single sphere. The hybrid races will not train more than one in each, even if the visiting mage has more of the appropriate relics to trade.

Remember that the presence of an apprentice in a new spell area also adds knowledge of the corresponding spell to the player's spell book. However, it is important to note that this spell is not available to be cast until their following turn. Thus, the appropriate spell card can be taken from the player's deck and placed face-down below their spell mantle as a memory aid. It is revealed to its face-up side in the Update Spell Book step of the player's next Preparation Phase.

Example (mythic races): Brenna has 5 Gems. She trades 4 Gems to the Dwarves to Initiate two apprentices in the sphere of Will magic. She has 1 Gem left over that cannot be traded at this time. Brenna gains a spell card for the Fundamental Will magic spell and places it face-down below her spell mantle. She will flip that card face-up during the Update and Refresh Spell Book step of her next Preparation Phase, and the spell will then be available to cast.

Example (hybrid races): Cory has 5 Gems and 6 Seeds. He trades 2 Gems and 2 Seeds to the Trolls to Initiate one apprentice in the sphere of Will magic and one apprentice in the sphere of Nature magic. He has 3 Gems and 4 Seeds left over that cannot be traded at this time. Cory gains a spell card for both the Fundamental Will magic spell and the Fundamental Nature magic spell and places both face-down below his spell mantle. He will flip both cards face-up in the Update Spell Book step during his next Preparation Phase, making them available for subsequent use.

Place Wards (Wilderness). If the player ends their movement on a wilderness location, they have two possible Journey's End options, one of which is to place wards of protection.

To perform this action, the player places a ward of protection on their current location, and any adjacent locations they control that do not currently contain a ward. Locations cannot contain more than one ward of protection, unless permitted by certain spells (e.g. Fortify).

Example: Francois wishes to place wards of protection. In addition to control of the location he currently occupies, he also controls an adjacent wilderness location and an adjacent Town. He places a total of three wards: one on the wilderness location where he is standing, one on the adjacent wilderness location that he controls, and one on the adjacent Town that he controls.

Build Your Mage Tower (Wilderness). Once during the game, if the active player ends their Journey on an explored wilderness location that is vacant or already under their control, they may construct a personal mage tower.

The tower is built on their current location, and once built, it cannot be moved or destroyed. The tower does not replace or negate the wilderness aspect of the location with regards to the Gather and Place Wards actions and does not affect calculating majority when ascertaining Dominion over the Land during endgame scoring.

Mage towers serve three purposes:

1. For the rest of the game, the tower exerts permanent control over its location. Recall that a tower imposes restrictions on Travel, making its location impassable to all opponent mages. Thus, as the tower is built, any follower present can be returned to the Company of the player, and any ward of protection can be returned to the Supply.
2. When the mage tower is built, it provides a one time construction bonus. The constructing player may immediately gather one relic from the tower's location, as well as one relic from each adjacent wilderness location that they control. Adjacent Towns and Camps do not provide any construction bonus.
3. During the turn in which it is constructed, and on any subsequent turns, the owning mage may spend their Journey's End in their tower to perform a powerful Initiate/Promote Apprentices action.

Initiate / Promote Apprentices (Mage Tower). If the player ends their movement on their personal mage tower, they may perform one or both of the following actions in order:

Initiate one apprentice. First, a player may Initiate one apprentice to a Fundamental spell area of their choosing. This personal initiation process consumes two relics of the corresponding type, making it identical to any single Initiation at a mythic race or hybrid race enclave (see Initiate above).

Promote apprentices. Once a mage has gained Fundamental apprentices skilled in a variety of spheres of magic, they may choose to elevate one or more of them to Advanced and Master level apprentices. These apprentices are capable of assisting the mage in casting more complicated Advanced and Master level spells.

In order to determine a suitable candidate for promotion, two Fundamental apprentices from adjacent spheres can be pitted against each other in a duel. One apprentice will emerge victorious and earn a promotion to the Advanced spell area overlapping the two Fundamental areas. The losing apprentice is returned to the Company of the mage. Similarly, two Advanced apprentices from adjacent spheres can duel to make a Master level apprentice.

The Initiation and Promotion of apprentices will generally require a significant update of the contents of the mage's spell book during the Preparation Phase of their next turn. Remember, spell cards can be both placed into and removed from the spell book during this process.

Example of Initiation and Promotion: Later in the game, Cory returns to his personal mage tower to Initiate and Promote Apprentices. He already has multiple apprentices on his tower board, which he has previously obtained by trading relics to the races. He also has some knowledge of higher level spells in his spell book, which he previously obtained after an earlier Journey's End action in his mage tower.

1. He performs a single Initiate Apprentice action in the sphere of his choice. He chooses to trade two Seeds to gain an apprentice in the Nature magic sphere.

2. He Promotes multiple apprentices. As a result, three apprentices will return to his Company as available followers.

3. In the Preparation Phase of his next turn, he will update his spell book to reflect the knowledge he has gained and lost.

Endgame

Final Scoring

During the final round, each player will take their final turn (Preparation, Journey, and Journey's End) and complete their own final scoring before play progresses to the next player. Once a player begins scoring, they can no longer cast spells.

To determine who is most deserving of the title of Archmage, the players will compare two separate factors: Dominion over the Spheres, and Dominion over the Land.

Dominion over the Spheres

First, if the active player Initiated or Promoted any apprentices in their final turn, they will update their spell book to reflect these changes. Spells already cast this turn are unaffected.

The player scores points from each spell in their spell book:

• Each Fundamental spell: 1 victory point
• Each Advanced spell: 2 victory points
• Each Master spell: 4 victory points

If any Victory Points would be lost through spell effects (e.g. Corrupt), subtract them at this time.

Dominion over the Land

Second, for each type of wilderness location – Mines, Crypts, Groves, Ruins, and Libraries (Towns and Camps are not scored) – the player checks their degree of control over that type of location versus that of their opponent(s):

• If they control more locations of that type than any opponent, they score 2 victory points.
• If there is a tie with 1 other opponent for the most control, they will score 1 victory point.
• If they control fewer locations of that type than any other single opponent, or if there are more than two players tied for the most control, they score no victory points.

To properly score land control, it is critical that scoring be done individually at the end of each player's final turn – not for all players after the last player's final turn! Thus, even if control of wilderness locations changes during the final round, preceding players' scores will not change. More than one player may be able to score victory points for a particular location type.

Example: It is the end of Cody's final turn. First, he scores each spell in his spell book, which contains 2 Fundamental spells (2 x 1) = 2 VP, 1 Advanced spell (1 x 2) = 2 VP, and 2 Master spells (2 x 4) = 8 VP, for a total of 12 VP.

Second, he looks at the map and sees the following: he controls 3 Mines, Tim 2, Dann 0 (2 VP); he controls 2 Crypts, Tim 1, Dann 2 (1 VP); he controls 1 Grove, Tim 1, Dann 2 (0 VP); he controls 0 Ruins, Tim 1, Dann 3 (0 VP); he controls 3 Libraries, Tim 1, Dann 1 (2 VP); for a total of 5 VP.

After Cody finishes scoring, Tim takes his final turn. During his Journey Phase, he takes control of 1 Mine and one Crypt from Cody. When Tim scores for location control, he scores as follows: Cody controls 2 Mines, Tim 3, Dann 0 (2 VP); Cody controls 1 Crypt, Tim 2, Dann 2 (1 VP); Cody controls 1 Grove, Tim 1, Dann 2 (0 VP); Cody controls 0 Ruins, Tim 1, Dann 3 (0 VP); Cody controls 3 Libraries, Tim 1, Dann 1 (0 VP); for a total of 3 VP. Cody's score of 5 VP remains unchanged.

Declaring the Archmage

After tallying their victory points from Dominion over the Spheres and Dominion over the Land, the player with the most total victory points is hailed as the new Archmage and wins the game!

If two or more players have an equal number of victory points, resolve the following tiebreakers in order:

1. Most Master spell cards in their spell book.
2. Most Advanced spell cards in their spell book.
3. Most Fundamental spell cards in their spell book.
4. Most total apprentices on their tower board.
5. Most total followers on the map.

Spell Clarifications

Fundamental Spells

Decay: If an opponent has a total of ten relics or less, they are unaffected by this spell.

Entangling Vines: The casting player must also pay the one additional movement if they wish to subsequently enter these locations.

Quicken: These extra movement points may be used for Travel, Exploration, or Attack. Quicken may be cast at any time during the Journey Phase, but may not be cast after taking a Journey's End action.

Stone Skin: This spell does not protect followers lost due to entering the location with the cursed mage tower, entering a location that contains a token from the Fiery Chasm spell, or the capture of your followers due to an Imprison spell.

Subjugate: Only attacks made using movement points trigger the effect of this spell. Removing an opponent's ward does not trigger the effects of this spell.

Transmute: Blood may be transmuted or created by this spell in the same fashion as any other relic. Widgets may be transmuted or created by this spell in the same fashion as any other relic, as long as the mage first pays the casting cost of one Widget.

Advanced Spells

Divination: You may not spend movement points to gather from Camps or Towns you control.

Fiery Chasm: Example: Jeremy decides to cast Fiery Chasm during his Journey Phase. He has numerous options as to which direction he wishes to launch this spell. Careful consideration may be required – as he could be negatively affected by his own spell… If an opponent currently has no followers in their Company, they are immune to the effect of this spell.

Gate: This spell may be cast before or after any other movement points are spent on Travel, Exploring, and/or Attacking, but it may not be cast after a player has taken their Journey's End action.

Master Spells

Automaton: If you do not currently own a Ruins location, you may not cast this spell.

Corrupt: Example: Philip casts Corrupt on Andrew and chooses to target an apprentice in his Will magic sphere. A Corrupt token is placed beneath the apprentice. On a subsequent turn, Andrew performs a Promote Apprentice action. Since he wishes to obtain the Advanced Will-Death spell, he duels an apprentice from each of the contributing Fundamental spell areas. The Corrupt apprentice must be selected from the Will magic area, and he wins the duel. The Corrupt token comes with him and is now present in an Advanced spell area – causing Andrew to lose 1 VP at the end of the game.

If a player uses a Promote Apprentices action to combine two adjacent Corrupt apprentices, one of the Corrupt tokens is returned to the Supply. At the end of the game, the player will now have only one Corrupt Apprentice instead of two – and therefore, lose only 1 VP instead of 2 VP.

At the end of the game, if a corrupt apprentice remains at the Fundamental level, it has no negative effect on scoring. A Fundamental sphere may contain more than one Corrupted apprentice. If an opponent has no Fundamental apprentices at the time when this spell is cast, they are immune to the effects of the spell.

Fortify: You cannot use this spell to place wards on Camps or Towns that you control.

Imprison: If you pay its casting cost, you are allowed to cast the newly acquired Fundamental spell during your current turn. There is no way to liberate imprisoned followers.

Obliterate: Your own wards and followers will also be affected by this spell.

Shadow: Example: Mandy decides to target Druv with a Shadow spell. She takes a follower of her color from the Supply and places it on his tower board in the doorway between his Matter and Time spheres. Druv must now pay a Widget or a Scroll relic to Mandy before he is able to use these relics to cast any spells. The Shadow is immediately removed once he pays her with either relic.

• To cast Transmute, Druv would pay Mandy one Widget and then pay the casting cost of one Widget.
• To cast Quicken, Druv would pay Mandy one Scroll and then pay the casting cost of one Scroll.
• To cast Divination, Druv could pay Mandy a Scroll or a Widget and then pay the casting cost using Scrolls or Widgets.
• To cast Time Stop, Druv could avoid the Shadow token and pay the casting cost using 3 Gems. Or he could pay Mandy a Scroll or Widget and then pay the casting cost using Widgets, Scrolls, or Gems.

"Unoccupied doorway" means that no follower is present – whether yours or an opponent's.

Shadow only affects the use of relics for paying the casting costs of spells. A player may trade relics to the races, or Transmute to or from the affected shelves, without any need to pay a penalty.

If the casting player does not have any followers remaining in their Supply, they may choose to use followers from their Company instead. However, once an opponent pays the penalty cost, the follower will return to the Supply (not back to the Company of the casting player).

Time Stop: Example: Dann casts Time Stop at the start of his Journey Phase. He is out of followers in his Company, so he starts his Journey by spending 2 movement points to travel to a Camp. He pauses to perform a Recruit action at this location and gains three followers to his Company from the Supply. He then continues his Journey, using his remaining 3 movement points to arrive at a Dwarven enclave. Now that he has spent all of his movement points, he proceeds to the Journey's End Phase and takes the Initiate Apprentices action. He trades 4 Gems to the dwarves, and in exchange can Initiate 2 of his newly recruited followers to be apprentices in the Fundamental Will area of his tower board.

If combined with Quicken or Gate, the sequence of events does not change. All that changes is the duration of the Journey.

Upheaval: Only one of the two adjacent locations must have an edge at the border of the map. It is forbidden to select two tiles for movement if, by their movement, it would create an isolated tile that is separated from the rest of the map. It is forbidden for tiles to be placed such that the only way to access them is through a mage tower. The marked locations are inaccessible to other players because they cannot travel through the mage tower. An Upheaval token can be removed by the placement of a different spell token into the location.

Wellspring: The effect of this spell is not activated when your mage enters a location containing a Wellspring token that you control.

Solo Play

The Rise of the Warlord

Lord Gideon was once a well-respected man. He was known throughout the land as a trustworthy noble, generous to give aid and quick to protect the interests of those less fortunate.

However, like many others before him, pride became his downfall. He believed the curse of the ancient Mage tower to be a hoax. He dismissed the prophecy predicting the return of an Archmage as nothing more than a child's fairytale. He decided that he would be the one to unite the land and return it to its former glory.

Seeing the ancient tower as a powerful symbol which kept the people from claiming a better future, he decided to move into the tower and set up residence there as proof to the people of their folly.

But the tower changed him. His behavior grew erratic, and he aimlessly wandered the land. He spoke of conspiracies against him and his household, and became possessive of his wealth and holdings. He began to violently lash out at any he perceived to be a threat. And always, despite the urging of men he once called friends, he would return to his tower...

This once generous protector of the people became known as an unstable warlord with malice in his heart.

Fear and despair permeated the land.

But now there are rumors. Rumors of a young mage who has sworn to oppose the Warlord. Rumors of a mage recruiting apprentices and teaching them new magics... The people are almost too afraid to hope. But the prophecy is once again being whispered in the streets...

Objectives

Become the Archmage and defeat the evil Warlord. To do so, before the end of their 15th turn, the player must have both:

1. Master apprentices in four different spheres of magic.
2. The majority of tiles in at least 3 of the 5 different wilderness location types (Mines, Libraries, Crypts, Groves, and Ruins). A tie with the Warlord for the number of wilderness locations in a specific color is acceptable to claim majority.

Setup

1. The map is set up as illustrated in the rulebook.
2. The player sets up their player board and followers the same way as in the multiplayer game. Two planets are each moved one space outwards so that the game takes a total of 15 rounds.
3. The player takes a set of Fundamental and Advanced spell cards, specifically selecting cards that include a Warlord icon in the upper left corner. This equates to replacing four specific multiplayer cards with the following solo play variant cards: Torment replaces Decay, Befuddle replaces Shadow, Corrosion replaces Imprison, Inflame replaces Fiery Chasm.
4. Master level spells are not used in the solo play variant. All Master level spell cards can be returned to the game box.

Sequence of Play

A round of play consists of the Warlord taking a turn, followed by the player taking a turn. This sequence of alternating turns is repeated until all 15 rounds of play are completed. However, if the player succeeds in achieving both victory conditions prior to round 15, the game will end immediately.

In general, the Warlord functions a little differently than an opposing mage. His main interest is territory control and fortification. He does not gather relics or cast spells, and he always has an army at his disposal – that is, full access to all 25 of his followers.

Warlord's Turn

1. Warlord's Journey Phase. The Warlord is quite mad. His movement is erratic and only minimally predictable. The player must determine his movement in each round using the following sequence:

a. Take note of whether the Warlord ended his last turn on the inner ring of locations or outer ring of locations. He will travel the opposite ring in his current turn, and in the first round of the game he will travel the inner ring.

b. Move the Warlord back to the Cursed Tower.

c. He will then move outward in a random direction which is determined via the roll of a D6 – the number shown corresponds to a specific direction of movement. He will move outwards from the central Cursed Tower in a straight line: a distance of two spaces to reach the inner ring (if he travelled the outer ring last round), or a distance of three spaces to reach the outer ring (if he travelled the inner ring last round).

d. He will then have 5 movement points to travel, explore, and attack within the ring of locations in which he finds himself. Roll the D6 a second time. If the D6 shows an odd number, he will move counter clockwise. If it rolls to an even number, he will move clockwise.

The following rules apply in spending his 5 movement points:

• Anytime the Warlord enters an unexplored location, he will flip the location over to its explored side and immediately claim it with a follower.
• Anytime the Warlord enters a location controlled by the player, he will attack and remove a ward (if present) and then the follower. Any followers removed in such a way are placed back into the Supply. The player receives one Blood relic for each follower killed.
• The Warlord may move through (but not end his movement within) a location occupied by the player's mage or mage tower. He simply passes through the location in a daze (spending one movement point to enter and one movement point to leave) without attacking or exploring.
• The Warlord will always spend all five of his movement points, even if it takes him past the optimal location in which to end his Journey. The only exception to this rule is the rare situation where using the fifth movement point would cause the Warlord to end his Journey in a location occupied by the player's mage or his mage tower. In this situation, he will forfeit his final movement point.

2. Warlord's Journey's End Phase. If the Warlord ends on a wilderness location he controls, he will take the Place Wards action (in the same manner as the multiplayer game). Since he cannot use magic, it is recommended to place the Wards on the side depicting a shield. These tokens represent additional troops and fortifications the Warlord has left behind to increase a location's defense.

On any other type of location (or unexplored location), he performs no Journey's End action.

Example: 1. The Warlord ended his previous turn on the inner ring of locations. The player makes a mental note of this before returning the Warlord to the Cursed Tower.

2. The player now rolls a D6 to determine which direction the Warlord will move. He rolls a "2" and, as a result, he moves in a northeast direction. Because he traveled the inner ring of locations last turn, he proceeds to the outer ring of locations this turn.

3. The third D6 roll is a "3" (an odd number). The Warlord will, therefore, move counter clockwise to spend his 5 movement points. He spends his first movement point to explore the location upon which he is standing. He places a follower to take control of this location.

4. The Warlord then spends his second movement point to travel one location counter clockwise. Because the player's mage is present, the Warlord can do nothing to any follower or Ward present at this location. He spends a third movement point to move counter clockwise again. His fourth movement point is used to remove the ward of protection. His fifth movement point is used to remove the follower. Finally, because the location is now vacant, he places a follower to gain control of this location.

5. The Warlord has now spent all five of his movement points. He finds himself standing on a wilderness location that he controls, and will, therefore, take a Place Wards action. He can fortify his current location and any adjacent locations that he controls.

Player's Turn

The player's turn plays in the same manner and sequence as the multiplayer game, with only a few changes.

1. Preparation Phase. The Preparation Phase is skipped during the first turn of the game.

Remove temporary spell tokens and effects (unchanged from multiplayer mode).

Update and refresh spellbook. Master level spells are not used in the solo game. If the player is able to create a Master apprentice in any sphere of magic, that apprentice will instead possess knowledge of all of the Advanced spells and the Fundamental spell in that sphere – even if no apprentice remains on the player board in these areas. This can be important strategically, as a player will use only one apprentice on their player board instead of three to achieve the same degree of magical knowledge. However, on subsequent turns, the player may still choose to Initiate or Promote apprentices into the lower levels of a sphere to allow for the creation of higher level spells in other adjacent spheres.

Example: Tim gains a Master apprentice in the sphere of Will Magic. He will not gain any Master spell card, but will instead have knowledge of Stone Skin, Befuddle, and Gate. Later in the game, he chooses to again trade with the dwarves and Initiate another apprentice in the Fundamental Will spell area. This gains him no additional spell cards. On a subsequent turn, he Promotes this apprentice (via the usual duel mechanic) to learn Gate and then Time Stop.

2. Journey Phase.

• The player may not enter the location where the Warlord is standing.
• If the player attacks and kills a follower belonging to the Warlord, this follower simply returns to the army of the Warlord. The Warlord conscripts a new follower to fill the ranks and replace the one that was lost.

3. Journey's End Phase. All actions are unchanged from multiplayer mode.

Check for Victory Conditions

At the end of each round, it is important to check for victory conditions. The player must have both:

1. Master apprentices in four different spheres of magic.
2. The majority of tiles in at least 3 of the 5 different wilderness location types (Mines, Libraries, Crypts, Groves, and Ruins). A tie with the Warlord for the number of wilderness locations in a specific color is acceptable to claim majority.

If both conditions are satisfied, the game ends immediately and the player is crowned as the next Archmage!

If victory conditions are not met, the game proceeds to the next round. At the end of the player's final turn (marked by complete alignment of all six planets), if he/she has not satisfied the victory conditions, the Warlord wins – crushing the hopes and dreams of the upstart mage and the people of the land.

Option: Solo Game Scoring

Optionally, the player may choose whether or not they wish to record their score to compare their success with other future plays of the solo variant.

• 5 VP for each turn unused below the allowed 15 turn limit
• 1 VP for each unique Fundamental spell known
• 2 VP for each unique Advanced spell known
• 4 VP for each unique sphere of magic that contains a Master apprentice
• 2 VP for each wilderness location color in which the majority of locations are controlled (1 VP if tied for control with the Warlord)

Spell Clarifications (Solo Game)

Befuddle: Cast on the Warlord's turn after he rolls the D6. Add or subtract one pip from the value shown on the D6. This spell can be used after the Warlord's first die roll (to determine in which direction he will set out) or after the second die roll (to determine whether he will travel clockwise or counter-clockwise).

Corrosion: Remove the ward token from the location your mage currently occupies as well as any adjacent locations. Followers are unaffected by this spell. The player may cast this spell if standing on a location that does not currently have a ward token. The wards on adjacent locations will still be removed. The player's own wards of protection are also removed by the effect of this spell.

Inflame: Place an Inflame token onto a mythic race enclave of your choice (other than the Demons). Every time the Warlord enters this location, choose a single wilderness location of the same color and remove his ward (if present) or follower (if no ward is present). If the Warlord does not control any wilderness location of the corresponding color, this spell has no effect when he encounters the token. This spell token is not removed when its effect is triggered. This spell does not affect the Warlord's movement in any way.

Torment: Cast on the Warlord's turn after he rolls the D6. Re-roll the die. Similar to Befuddle, this spell can be used after the Warlord's first or second die roll.

Credits

• Game Design: Tim Heerema
• Game Development: Dann May
• Art: Enggar Adirasa
• Art Direction, Graphic Design, Additional Art: Dann May
• Additional Graphic Design and Project Management: Cody Jones
• Reference Sheet: Peter Gifford