Astoria Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Objective
• Game Setup
• Playing the Game
  • Drawing an Invasion Card
  • Actions
  • Glyphs
• Exiled Mages
• Siege Phase
  • The Siege
  • King's Illness
  • Powers Activation Phase
  • Two Players Games
• The Great Alchemist (5 or 6 Players Only)

Game Objective

Every player is one of the Mages. Every player receives one Objective card at the start of the game, which will indicate that the player must either:

• Save the King: every player who must save the King earns 20 Victory Points if the King of Astoria recovers all his Health.
• Kill the King: The three "Kill the King" cards also display one of the three following factions: The Dragon, Barbarians, The Revolt.

The King will die:

• If one of the three factions comes to its maximum Strength: this faction takes the city, and the player who has this Objective wins 20 Victory Points.
• If the King is slain by an Exiled Mage: if the slayer had one of the "Kill the King" Objective cards, he wins 20 Victory Points, whatever the situation is, and no one else completes his Objective.
• If the King dies of his illness and comes to 0 health, and no faction has come to its maximum Strength yet: the faction with the highest Strength wins, and the player with this Objective card wins 20 Victory Points. If multiple factions have the highest Strength, no one completes his Objective. Dragon Strength isn't written but is of one point per step.

So every player is awarded the following Victory Points:

• 20 for completing his Objective.
• +2 per gem in his own Flask at the end of the game. These gems are earned by completing Artefacts.
• +5 per War Chief he killed during the game.
• +1 per Power Point he has at the end of the game. This Power is earned by a clever management of the Magic Flows, and can range from 0 to 20 Power Points.

Achieving a victory with 100 Victory Points is a formidable challenge. A player achieving 50 Victory Points would already have shown an excellent skill and mastery.

Game Setup

Give an Objective Card and a Mage Card to each player and place the non played Mages on one side of the game board. Give three Artefact cards to each player. The remaining Artefact cards will be referred to as "the Deck".

Setting things up: Place all cubes on numbers "1", the red disc on the Dragon Rage first step, and the purple disc on the King's Health slot located right under the "g" of "King".

Give one Flask and ten gems to each player; those gems must be of the same color that his Mage Card. Nine of the gems must be placed in front of the player himself; this will be his starting Gem Stock. The last gem will be referred to as his "Power Indicator"; when the player will earn Power, he will place this gem on the Power Track displayed on the center of the board, and move this indicator every time his Power increases or decreases. Right now, the player has no Power: his Power Indicator must be put on his Mage Card to be reminded as being not part of his Gem Stock.

Put on the non played Mage Cards the gems of their own color (ten each); this area of the game will be referred to as "The Reserve". They will act as available resources for the other players.

Put the six special indicators (included in a zip bag) on the game board, using the picture above to set them up.

To decide who will be the First Player, shuffle the Artefact Deck: the back of the card on the top of the deck will show one color among six. The First Player will be the player owning the Mage Card of the shown color. If this Mage Card is among the non played Mage Cards (Reserve area), look the back of the following card of the Artefact Deck. Continue until you find who will be the First Player.

Split the Artefact Deck in three different stacks, following the indications on the table to the right. These cards will be the Discoveries that players may uncover during the game, magic items that they may be able to create.

You may now take some time to picture out the different areas of the game board:

• The Revolt and its Strength and Agitation indicators
• The Dragon and his Rage indicator
• The Barbarians and their Strength and Siege indicators
• The King's Health, which may decrease or increase, leading the game to two different endings
• And, eventually, the center area which is called the Guard Room, which is empty for now
• The Guard Room is surrounded by the Power Track, where the Power Indicators of every player will be put if they come to earn Power during the game.

5 to 6 players game: Please use the Great Alchemist special rules on the other side of this flyer.

3 players or less: With 3 players you must discard one of the "Save the King" Objective cards and the "Barbarian Victory" Objective card before giving Objective cards to the players; with 2 players you discard one more "Save the King" card and use special rules explained on the other side of this flyer.

Playing the Game

The First Player plays, then the next player, changing players clockwise. When the First Player plays, he draws a new Invasion Card (or shuffle the used cards first, excluding War Chiefs cards who remain in play whether they are killed or active). Effects of the Invasion Card must be resolved immediately. Then the First Player resumes the game with his actions. When the last player has played his or her last action, the Siege Phase is resolved; if the city of Astoria is still here after the Siege Phase, a new turn will begin. The First Player of this new turn will be the player on the left of the former First Player.

Drawing an Invasion Card

The card displays a circle of values. Those values are called the Magic Flows. Each Flow is connected to the color near it, and indicates the value of gems of this color for the current turn. The card may also display the following:

• Barbarian Hammer: The barbarian hammer indicates a breach in the walls of the city, and a progression of the besieging forces. Increase the "Breaches" value by one point, unless it has already reached its maximum value of four.
• Dragon Rage: The Dragon Rage has an even more sudden effect. Increase his Rage value by one or two points, according to the displayed value on the Invasion Card. If the Rage indicator comes to its very last step (the one showing a Dragon head) his rage is complete and he razes the city, thus ending the game immediately. (Dragon Faction wins).
• War Chief: This Invasion card must be placed near the other active War Chiefs, aside from the other Invasion Cards. The Warlord leads his troops but is also a dangerous tribal sorcerer. As long as this barbarian is alive, the King may be the target of curses and hex spells that may affect his Health very badly.

After drawing the Invasion card and having applied all its effects, the First Player resumes the game with his actions. Every player has a number of actions; a player must play all his actions before the next player can play. The exact number of actions every player has is shown below.

Number of players	2	3	4	5	6
Number of Actions	2 x 4*	5	4	3	3
Artefact - Number of cards per Stack	8	7	6	5	4

* In two player games, player A performs his 4 actions, then player B, then player A resumes with his 4 next actions, then player B does the same.

Actions

An Action can be spent in ten different ways:

1. Draw a Discovery: If you have less than five cards in your hand, you may draw a new card from one of the available Artefact stacks.
2. Reinforce: Increases your Power by one point; move your Power Indicator accordingly on the Power Track.
3. Spend a gem (to earn Power): By moving one gem from your Gem Stock to the Reserve (place it anywhere within), you may earn as much Power as the current value of the gem (Magic Flow displayed on the current Invasion Card).
4. Create a gem (by spending Power): Reverse procedure: by spending as much Power as the current value of a gem (Magic Flow displayed on the current Invasion card), you may take one gem from the Reserve and add it to your Gem Stock.
5. Create an Artefact (by spending gems):
   • You may begin a new Artefact, that you put in play in front of you, face up from your hand, by putting one gem taken from your Gem Stock on the Artefact card you place. The gem must have the same color as one of those displayed on the Artefact card (you place the gem on the "gem picture" of the same color on the Artefact card, to show this slot is now occupied and this gem no longer required).
   • OR you may continue an Artefact that you begun previously, by using the same procedure to add a gem (taken from your Gem Stock) to one of your unfinished Artefacts.

If thanks to your action all gem slots displayed on your Artefact card are occupied by gems of the corresponding color, the item is complete! Take the gems on the card and place them inside your Flask. The item becomes usable. The usable items are those who are face up in play but without any gems placed on their cards. Completing items always require several actions and gems.

When completing an item, part of the acquired knowledge improves the cure that the Mages are trying to create. Every time an item is completed, the King's Health is immediately increased by one point. Special rule: Tomes of Magic are extremely powerful and their powers are difficult to master. You are allowed to complete a Tome (by placing the last required gem on its Artefact card) if you are able and willing to spend 5 Power Points when you perform this action. Tomes are Artefacts which require all kind of gems and display six Glyphs (and a book) on their picture. 6. Use an Artefact, or Use a Skill (by rotating this card): Rotate an Artefact or a Talent card by 90 degrees to the right, to show it would no longer be available. You cannot use an Artefact or Skill that is already rotated. The card you use generates as many "glyphs" as the number of glyph symbols displayed on its card. There are six different Glyphs in the game, and each kind has effects described on the board game and in the flyer you are reading. You may use the generated Glyphs immediately, as part of your current action, to apply the said effects; effects may be distributed, you may for instance generate two Fire Glyphs and use one to reduce Barbarian Strength and another to reduce Revolt Strength OR you may spend the two Glyphs to reduce Barbarian Strength by two points.

You may want to wait before using those Glyphs, in order to add them to others you will generate with your next Actions this turn. Beware: in order to do this you must spend your next action to "Use an Artefact" or "Use a Skill" in order to generate Glyphs. If you do not generate any Glyph with your next action, you will lose all previously generated Glyphs. You also cannot keep Glyphs generated during a previous turn.

Skills: the Mage Card is also a Skill Card. It allows, by rotating it to use it, to generate one Glyph (and only one) of the type displayed on the Mage Card. It is used just like a completed Artefact card able to produce one and only one Glyph. The other Skill Cards (Great Alchemist, Attender, Deceiver) are in play only with 5 or 6 players and are described in another section.

Glyphs

Glyphs have the following effects:

• Fire (Red): Attack spells.
  • One Glyph decreases Barbarian Strength by one point.
  • 3 Glyphs may be used to kill a Guard of any color. This action immediately exiles your Mage.
  • One Glyph decreases Revolt Strength by one point; as a side effect, this also immediately increases Agitation value by one, but only one time per complete turn of all players (Agitation cannot be increased by more than one point every turn).
• Sulfur (Yellow): Alchemy. Each Glyph allows you to take one gem from your Flask and put it back to your Gem Stock. Deceivers cannot use this effect.
• Nature (Green): Charming and alleviating powers.
  • One Glyph decreases Barbarian Strength by one point.
  • Two Glyphs decreases Revolt Strength by one point (this doesn't increase Agitation).
• Solar (Orange): Power spells. You cannot generate Solar Glyphs if you have already used Solar Glyphs this turn. The generated Solar Glyphs increase your Power by one point plus the number of Glyphs being used. Using 1 Glyph increases your Power by 2, using 2 Glyphs increases your Power by 3.
• Darkness (Purple): Dark powers.
  • 2 Glyphs may be used to steal an Artefact card from the hand of another player; you choose the card but only from the back of the Artefacts in the hand of the targeted player.
  • 3 Glyphs may be used to hurt the King and reduce his health by one point. Doing so immediately exiles your Mage.
  • 3 Glyphs may be used to kill a Guard of any color. This action doesn't exile your Mage.

All Glyphs may also be used to:

• Fight an Exiled Mage who attacks the Royal Keep.
• Engage a War Chief.
• Protect the King from curses and dark powers. This is done by using Artefacts "as a response" (this isn't done with your own actions) during the Siege Phase only. Keep in mind that in order to do this, some Artefacts and Skills must not be rotated when the Siege Phase itself begins.

7. Pay Tribute to the Dragon: Take one Red Gem OR one Yellow Gem from your own Gem Stock, and place it back in the Reserve area. The Dragon Rage decreases by one point (move its indicator one rank away from its maximum value).
8. Engage a War Chief: Choose one of the active War Chiefs, then:
   • Rotate as many Artefacts and Skills as you want to generate Glyphs. Those Glyphs will only be available for the current fight. You must generate at least one Glyph to continue.
   • Draw one Invasion card. Effects of the Invasion Card are not applied. This card must be discarded after the fight and placed under the used Invasion Cards stack.
   • The Magic Flow values displayed on the Invasion Card will give the Attack Strength of every Glyph, according to its kind. You must add the value of every Glyph you generated previously. This final number will be the Player Attack Strength.
   • The War Chief Strength is the number displayed on the Invasion Card of the targeted War Chief.

If the Player Attack Strength is superior or equal to the War Chief Strength, the warlord is defeated. Take his Invasion Card and keep it with you; it will count as 5 Victory Points when the game will end. If you do not defeat the War Chief, he remains active, and this defeat ends your turn even if there were actions you did not perform.

Example: You decide to fight one of the active War Chiefs. The War Chief Strength displayed on his card is 27. You rotate one Tome of Fire which generates 6 Fire Glyphs, and one lesser item which generates 1 Cobalt Glyph. Then you draw an Invasion Card. Its usual effects are not applied. The card shows a value of 3 in front of the Fire Glyph picture, and a value of 2 in front of the Cobalt Glyph picture. Your Attack Strength is 20 (6 x 3 = 18 for the Fire generated, and 1 x 2 = 2 for the Cobalt). This score is inferior to the War Chief Strength: you lose the fight, and this defeat ends your turn.

9. Place Guard: To place a Guard, you must be able to spend 5 Power Points and place one gem of your own Mage color, taken from your Gem Stock, in the Guard Room area of the board. Every Guard you own there will increase your Attack Strength of 5 points if you have to defend the Royal Keep against an attacking Exiled Mage, or if you have to attack the Royal Keep yourself.

10. Accuse: Target a Player and accuse him of treachery. You must name one of the three enemies of Astoria (the Dragon, the Barbarian Hordes, or the Revolt), choosing the one you think he is supporting. The targeted Player IS NOT ALLOWED to lie: if what you say is true, he must reveal his Objective Card and his Mage will be Exiled. If what you say is wrong, he does not reveal his Objective Card, and your own Mage is Exiled! Uncovering hidden traitors can be a key to victory; if at least one traitor is revealed, his insidious poison would no longer affect the King, who will begin to recover (see "Siege Phase" below).

Exiled Mages

An Exiled Mage cannot pay Tribute to the Dragon or use his Glyphs to affect the Revolt or the Barbarians. He can no longer kill, protect, or place Guards. The only actions he can perform are actions 1 to 6, with the limitations indicated above. But another action is now available: take his revenge and attack the Royal Keep itself.

Attack the Royal Keep: an Exiled Mage may kill the King and win the game if his attack is successful.

• This Action immediately ends the player's turn.
• The Mage declares his attack and rotates as many Artefacts and Skills as he wants to generate Glyphs.
• Other Mages (all those who are not Exiled), starting with the one to the left of the attacker, may declare they want to defend the King. All defenders must rotate any number of Artefacts and Skills in order to generate Glyphs.
• Draw one Invasion card. Effects of the Invasion Card are not applied. This card must be discarded after the fight and placed under the used Invasion Cards stack.
• The Magic Flow values displayed on the Invasion Card will give the Attack Strength of each generated Glyph (see example above, "Engage a War Chief"). Players sum the Attack Strength of each Glyph they generated to have their total Attack Strength.
• Both the attacker and the defending Mages add 5 points to this value for each Guard they own in the Guard Room.
• Sum the Attack Strength of all defending Mages to have the Keep Defense Value.

If the Attack Strength of the Exiled Mage is superior to the Keep Defense Value, his attack is successful; the Keep, the defending Mages, and the King are destroyed. This ends the game and may give Victory Points to the attacker. If the Attack Strength of the Exiled Mage is inferior or equal to the Keep Defense Value, his assault is unsuccessful... for now, and the next player begins his turn.

Siege Phase

The Siege Phase is made of three different steps:

1. The Siege.
2. If the city walls hold, continue with King's Illness.
3. And eventually the Powers Activation Phase, before beginning a new turn with a new First Player.

The Siege

1. Increase the Revolt Strength of as many points as the current Agitation Value.
2. Increase the Barbarians Strength of as many points as the current Siege Value.

The maximum value of faction Strengths is 10.

If one faction has a Strength of 10, the City falls to the hands of the invaders, and most of the remaining foreign Mages are killed or cast out. The player who was supporting this faction reveals his Objective Cards and earns Victory Points: he will rule the new realm of Astoria. If both factions come to a Strength of 10, a new war begins and no one wins.

King's Illness

• If no traitor has been revealed, the King's Health is reduced by one point.
• If War Chiefs are active, their curses and hex spells add to the illness of the King. Their Invasion Cards display one of the six different Glyphs on the Chief's picture: to protect the King from those spells, a Player must rotate an Artefact or Skill Card able to generate one Glyph of the same kind. If no player is able or is willing to do this, the King's Health is reduced by one point. You must proceed with the active War Chiefs one by one, beginning with the newest, reducing the King's Health of one point for each not countered spell.

Example: Two War Chiefs are active. One has the water symbol (Cobalt Glyph) and the other, most recently drawn, shows the purple symbol (the Darkness Glyph). The King will be attacked two times. We begin with the Darkness spell. To counter it one Player must rotate an Artefact or a Skill able to generate one Darkness Glyph. Players may declare themselves with the turn sequence if they want to, beginning with the First Player and continuing clockwise. If no player wants to, the King immediately loses 1 Health (move his Health indicator one rank to the right, toward the "Death" status). Then we do the same with the second War Chief.

Powers Activation Phase

If the King of Astoria is still alive, each player can reactivate two rotated Artefact or Skill Cards of their choosing (among their own), by merely rotating them 90 degrees to the left to put them straight up again. Then a new turn begins! How long will Astoria hold?

Two Players Games

• Only three Objective Cards are available: Save the King (one card only), Dragon Victory and Revolt Victory. Barbarian Victory is no longer a valid Objective.
• If the King dies, "Dragon Victory" and "Revolt Victory" Objectives are no longer completed, whatever their Strength.
• It is no longer possible to "Accuse" or to be Exiled.
• The King's Health is no longer reduced by one point every turn. It is only reduced by Darkness Powers ("hurt the king" action) and War Chiefs attacks.

The Great Alchemist (5 or 6 Players Only)

Special Skill Cards come into play (Great Alchemist, Attender and Deceiver cards). When setting up the game every player must choose one card. You may also decide to distribute them randomly, if you want, or use the First Player sequence). The card must be chosen BEFORE any player knows what his secret Objective is. The following rules are applied, adding or modifying current rules:

• When performing his actions a player may now support another player. The active player may use one action (and only one) to do one of the following:

  • "Create Artefact" (the active player completes or continues Artefacts of another player)
  • "Give a card" (the active player gives one card from his hand to the target player; this is possible if the target player has 5 cards or less in his own hand)
  • "Give one or two gems" (the active player takes the gems from his Gem Stock and add them to the target player Gem Stock)
  • "Give an Artefact" (if the Artefact was rotated, it will be still rotated when the target player takes it)

  An Exiled Mage cannot support other players or be supported by other players.

• The King's Health is no longer increased by one point every time an Artefact is completed. His Health is increased by one point only when Artefacts showing at least 3 Glyphs on their cards are completed. Completing Artefacts able to generate 1 or 2 Glyphs no longer increases the King's Health.

• Game Setup: Only Great Alchemists and Attenders receive a Flask during setup. They are the only ones able to score Victory Points when completing Artefacts. Deceivers cannot do so, but the gems they use to complete Artefacts are immediately restored to their Gem Stock: they may use them again to create other items. Deceivers use Sulfur Glyph effect as if they were Solar Glyphs.

• The Attender cannot store Power. His Power comes back to zero when he has performed all his actions. He has no Power Indicator: the gem being used as a Power Indicator is part of his starting Gem Stock.

• The Attender is a formidable builder, who may with a single Create Artefact action do as if he had two Create Artefact actions. He may use those to add two gems to a single Artefact, or add one gem to two different Artefacts.

By rotating his Special Skill Card ("Use Skill" action):

• The Great Alchemist may generate three Glyphs of his Player's Mage color or one Glyph of any color.
• The Attender may create a gem without spending any Power: he merely chooses a gem from the Reserve and adds it to his Gem Stock.
• The Deceiver may either: reverse-engineer an unfinished Artefact of his choosing (owned an enemy player), by removing one gem from its card and putting it back to its owner's Gem Stock. If the Artefact has no more gems on it because of this action, it must be taken back to its owner's hand. OR he may rotate a completed Artefact of an enemy player, in order to make it unusable until it is reactivated. This Artefact generates no Glyph as it is rotated. The Deceiver loses this ability if Exiled.