Charlemagne, Master of Europe Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Mapsheet
  • Counters
  • Marker Overview
  • Key Terms
• Set-Up
• Sequence of Play
• Levy Phase
  • Recruiting New Units
  • Promoting Veterans
• Campaign Phase
• Actions
  • Suppress Action
  • Battle Action
  • Forced March Action
  • Siege Action
  • Raid Action
  • Marquis Action
  • Forced Conversion Action
• Hostile Reactions
  • Enemy Units and Leaders
  • The Moors
  • The Vikings
  • Byzantium
  • Intrigue
  • Turn End Markers
• Battles
  • Enemy Deployment
  • Your Deployment
  • Attack Round
  • Defense Round
  • Post-Battle Procedure
  • Ambush
• Build Phase
  • Bridges & Roads
  • Church Construction (Finish)
  • Church Construction (Start)
• Diplomacy Phase
  • The Vikings
  • Al-Andalus
  • The Byzantine Empire
  • England
  • The Vatican
• Turn End Phase
  • De-Escalation
  • Resolve the Dead Pool
  • Collect Taxes
  • Upkeep
  • Earn Victory Points
  • Minimum Army Strength
  • Progress to Next Game Turn
  • Endgame Scoring
• The Iron Crown
• Holy Roman Emperor
• Winning and Losing
• Easy Mode
• Example of Play

Components

The game is played with one mapsheet (including battle and track displays), 176 counters, a four-page Player Aid, and one eight-sided die. You will also need four opaque containers, such as coffee cups.

Mapsheet

The map represents the Frankish domains and its neighbors. It is home to several Boxes which represent, abstractly, local centers of political, economic, and military power. These Boxes are connected by Movement Lines; Boxes thus connected are considered to be adjacent to one another.

Each Box belongs to a Region, which is indicated by a color and a symbol for easy identification. The Units in a Box within a Region may affect the other Boxes in that Region.

Regions have Church Boxes, through which you can support and ensure the dominance of the Christian faith. The presence of a Church in a Region can be beneficial in your attempts to control and subdue the Units in that Region.

The mapsheet is home to the following tracks and displays:

• Victory Point Track, used to track your current number of Victory Points (VP).
• Game Turn Record Track, used to track the current game turn and several related functions (see below).
• Treasury/Taxation Track, used to keep track of your financial resources and end of turn income.
• Diplomatic Display, used to indicate the status of your relations with Al-Andalus and the Byzantine Empire.
• Emergency VP Track, used to accumulate Emergency Victory Points (EVP).
• Battle Display, used to resolve Battles, and to arrange/build your army.

In addition to the current Game Turn, the Game Turn Record Track will indicate the VP Threshold, Wealth Threshold, and Minimum Army Strength for each turn.

Counters

Counters come in several varieties, with Map Units and Battle Units being the most prevalent.

Map Units are pieces that may be placed upon, and moved across, the Boxes on the map. The majority of these are Enemy Map Units, which represent threats to your sovereignty and hegemony.

Each Enemy Map Unit indicates the Box in which it is placed, along with its Resistance Rating. On the reverse of many Enemy Map Units is an Enemy Leader, which adversely affects your control over the Region where he is present. Enemy Leaders have a Leadership Bonus, which makes it harder for you to succeed in certain efforts.

Friendly Map Units are fewer in number.

• One of these, Charlemagne, represents your own person and your army, and it is through this Unit that you exert your will over your domains. This Unit has two sides. One side, depicting the younger Charlemagne, is used before Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor; its reverse, depicting the older Charlemagne, is used after.
• Four Marquis markers may be placed to act as your agents, wardens, and administrators in the farthest reaches of your empire. These are also double-sided. The reverse side, featuring a Crown symbol, denotes that you have built Bridges & Roads within a Region.

Battle Units are pieces that are placed on the Battle Display. Friendly Battle Units are members of your army, while Enemy Battle Units belong, you guessed it, to the enemy.

Friendly Battle Units come in two types - Infantry and Scara - and possess Defense and Attack Factors. Each Unit also possesses a Level, ranging from one to four for Infantry, and two to four for Scara. Units that survive combat are eligible to gain a Level - for example, moving from Level 1 to Level 2. Level 4 Units earn Victory Points and then Retire (removed back to your force pool), necessitating the levying of additional troops throughout the course of the game. (Historical note: The Scara were Charlemagne's elite personal bodyguard. No one's quite sure what kind of troops they were, though cavalry is the best bet, so that's what we went with here.)

Enemy Battle Units are similarly rated for Defense and Attack, but they do not have multiple Levels. Instead, each Enemy Battle Unit has two steps of strength: they deploy at full strength, are flipped to their yellow-striped side when they suffer a hit in combat, and are removed upon suffering a subsequent hit.

Marker Overview

• Church markers are placed in Church Boxes.
• Papal Approval Modifier (PAM) Markers are placed in the Home Box and used to track the disposition of the Holy See toward you and your actions.
• Emergency Victory Point (EVP) Marker, used to track the accumulation of EVP.
• Byzantium Markers may result in the loss of Victory Points when drawn.
• Viking Markers are a special kind of Map Unit which cause a pain in your neck along the coast.
• Moor Markers are a special kind of Map Unit which cause a pain in your neck in the Southwest.
• Intrigue Markers may result in your ruin if your prestige and wealth are weak as to leave you vulnerable to such skullduggery.
• Diplomatic Markers track the current relationship between the Frankish Kingdom and other major players such as Al-Andalus and the Byzantine Empire.
• VP, Treasury, Taxes, and Game Turn markers are used on the mapsheet to track Victory Points, your current wealth, your current source of income, and the passage of time.
• End Turn Markers are used to end a Game Turn.

Key Terms

The following terms are used throughout these rules, and are gathered here for ease of reference.

• Dead Pool: Where enemy Units go when they are Eliminated.
• Map Unit: A Unit that is placed on, or moves on, the mapsheet.
• Battle Unit: A Unit that is used to resolve battle.
• Papal Approval Modifier (PAM): A die roll modifier used when conducting Diplomacy.
• Pagan Regions: The Brown and Orange Map Regions.
• Pagan Units: Units belonging to the Pagan Regions.
• VP Threshold: The number of Victory Points (VPs) you must possess to progress to the next Game Turn.
• Wealth Threshold: The level of Taxation you must have secured to receive Emergency Victory Points.
• Minimum Army Strength: The sum of all levels of all Battle Units in your Army is your Army Strength; if it does not meet the Minimum Army Strength indicated for the current Game Turn, you lose VP (but not below the VP Threshold).

Set-Up

The game is set up by resolving the following steps in the following order.

Cups. Set three opaque cups near the mapsheet; from left to right these are the Friendly, Unfriendly, and Hostile Cups. Place a fourth opaque cup near the Battle Display; this is the Battle Cup. Note that the rules for Enemy Map Unit placement are not in effect during this set-up sequence; simply place the drawn Units into their Box, regardless of how many are present in the Box, and do not place any Leaders unless otherwise noted.

Green Enemy Set-Up. Place all Green Enemy Map Units (except the Lombardy +4 Leader) into the Hostile Cup. Draw Units one at a time, placing them in the matching Box, until you have drawn at least three Lombardy Units. Note that this may result in drawing more than the minimum number of Units. Then,

• Place the Lombardy +4 Leader on top of the Lombardy stack.
• Place the PAM "-1" marker in Rome.

Yellow Enemy Set-Up. Place all Yellow Enemy Map Units into the Unfriendly Cup. Draw Units one at a time, placing them in the matching Box, until you have drawn at least four Units.

Purple Enemy Set-Up. Place all Purple Enemy Map Units into the Friendly Cup. Draw Units one at a time, placing them in the matching Box, until you have drawn four Units. Then, transfer the contents of the Friendly Cup into the Unfriendly Cup.

Now, place a Marquis in either Breton (Purple Region) or the Spanish March (Yellow Region).

Orange Enemy Set-Up. Place all Orange Enemy Map Units into the Friendly Cup. Draw Units one at a time, placing them in the matching Box, until you have drawn at least two Units.

Brown Enemy Set-Up. Place all Brown Enemy Map Units into the Friendly Cup. Draw Units one at a time, placing them in the matching Box, until you have drawn at least two Brown Units. Note that this may result in additional Orange Units coming out; that's your tough luck.

Then, transfer the contents of the Friendly Cup into the Hostile Cup.

Home Region Set-Up. Place the Blue Intrigue Markers and Enemy Map Units in the Friendly Cup. Place Charlemagne in Aachen on his younger side.

Diplomatic Status Set-Up. Place the Moor, Viking, and Byzantine chits (just the Diplomacy Markers) into the Friendly Cup. Place two End Turn Markers into the Hostile Cup.

Place the PAM Marker in the "0" box on the EVP Track. Place the Diplomatic Markers for Al-Andalus and the Byzantine Empire on their Peace sides in their respective boxes on the Diplomatic Display.

Battle Cup. Place all 16 Enemy Battle Units into the Battle Cup.

Your Army. You begin the game with the following Battle Units; place them in your Reserve:

• 4x LVL 1 Infantry
• 4x LVL 2 Infantry
• 4x LVL 3 Infantry
• 4x LVL 2 Scara
• 4x LVL 3 Scara

Place your other Battle Unit counters in the Force Pool.

Tracks Set-Up.

• Place the Game Turn Marker on Turn 1.
• Place the Treasury Marker on "5".
• Place the Taxes Marker on "4".
• Place the VP Marker on "0".
• Place the two remaining End Turn markers on the Game Turn Track, one on Turn 6, and one on Turn 8.

Word of Warning. There should be at least eighteen Enemy Map Units, and quite possibly more. You've got your work cut out for you!

Sequence of Play

The game is played over the course of 16 Game Turns. Each Game Turn consists of the following phases, performed in the following order:

• Levy Phase: In which you add new troops to your army. This step is skipped in the first Game Turn.
• Campaign Phase: The bulk of the Game Turn, in which you perform Actions. Each Action will prompt a Cup Adjustment and a Hostile Reaction. This phase will end when a second End Turn chit is drawn during an Enemy Reaction.
• Build Phase: in which you pay for public works, abstracted here as the construction and maintenance of Churches, Bridges and Roads.
• Diplomacy Phase: in which you contend with the demands of the Moors in Al-Andalus, the Emperor (or Empress) in Constantinople, the various kingdoms of England, and the Viking raiders on your coasts.
• Turn End Phase: in which you either lose the game or progress to the next turn, until you have reached the final turn.

Levy Phase

During the Levy Phase, you bolster your army by "buying" new Battle Units. You are also able to Promote one Unit for free, but not a Unit that you just bought. This step is skipped in the first Game Turn.

Recruiting New Units

To purchase a new Battle Unit, you must pay from your Treasury as follows:

• 3 Coins to purchase a Level 1 Infantry
• 4 Coins to purchase a Level 2 Scara

Note that you cannot buy Level 3-4 Infantry or Level 3-4 Scara.

The total number of Battle Units you can purchase each Turn is limited to one, plus the number of Marquis pieces you have in play, plus one each for possession of The Iron Crown of Lombardy and the title Holy Roman Emperor.

Place any purchased Units within your existing Army in your Reserve.

Promoting Veterans

You must now choose any one Level 1 or Level 2 Infantry Unit and Promote it to Level 2 or 3, respectively.

• You may not Promote a Unit that you just bought.
• You may not Promote a Scara.
• You may not Promote a Level 3 Unit to a Level 4.

Just another reminder: skip this phase during the first Turn.

Note that starting with Turn 4, at the end of the Game Turn, you are required to meet a Minimum Army Strength Threshold for that turn, or you will lose VP.

Campaign Phase

During the Campaign Phase, you will move on the map and take Actions. Each Action you take will result in a Cup Adjustment and one or more Hostile Reactions.

A Cup Adjustment consists of blindly drawing a certain number of chits from a specific cup and, without looking at its contents, moving the chits to another specified cup. These follow the format of # Cup>Cup. For example,

• 4 Friendly>Unfriendly: Move 4 chits from the Friendly Cup to the Unfriendly Cup.
• 1 Unfriendly>Friendly: Move 1 chit from the Unfriendly Cup to the Friendly Cup.

What happens if a Cup is Empty?

• If the Friendly Cup is ever empty when you reach into it to resolve a Friendly>Unfriendly Cup Adjustment, perform an Unfriendly>Hostile Cup Adjustment instead. This is likely to happen at least a few times during the game, depending on how you're doing.
• If the Unfriendly Cup is ever empty when you reach into it to resolve an Unfriendly>Friendly or Unfriendly>Hostile Cup Adjustment, the Cup Adjustment is skipped. We haven't seen this happen yet, but there's a first time for everything.

A Hostile Reaction consists of blindly drawing and revealing an indicated number of chits from the Hostile Cup, one at a time, placing it in a box and resolving it according to certain rules detailed under Hostile Reactions below.

The End of the Campaign Phase. This process - an Action, resulting in a Cup Adjustment, then followed by a certain number of Hostile Reactions, followed by another Action, etc. - continues until one of the following two events occurs, triggering the end of the Campaign Phase:

• A second Turn End Marker is drawn when resolving a Hostile Reaction. Finish drawing any remaining Hostile Reactions, then the Campaign Phase is over.
• You choose to end your campaigning early. If ending early, resolve 3 Hostile Reactions in a row, then end the Phase. It may be that after resolving these 3 Reactions you wish you hadn't ended the Campaign Phase after all, but tough luck. If a second Turn End Marker is drawn at this time, the Phase will end after resolving any remaining Reactions as you would in the above case.

Actions

You have several Actions available to you. Choosing the right Actions at the right time in the right place is integral to your successful reign.

Actions target or affect a Box occupied by your Charlemagne piece, or by one of your Marquis pieces.

Before taking any Action, you may (but are not required to) move the acting piece (i.e., Charlemagne or a Marquis) from its current Box to an adjacent Box; it is the Box occupied by the acting piece after any move that is the target of the Action. In order to move to a Box, you must be able to take an Action there; some Actions are not permitted in Boxes containing a certain number of Enemy Units.

If the current Box is within a Region with Bridges & Roads, or is adjacent to a Box within a Region with Bridges & Roads, you may move to any Box within, or adjacent to, the Bridges & Roads Region. If there are multiple adjacent Bridges & Roads Regions, you can move through all such Regions as if they were a single Bridges & Roads Region. It's pretty sweet.

Marquis pieces have some limitations:

• They may only be moved within their designated Region; that is, Marquis pieces can never cross from one Region to another.
• The actions taken by Marquis pieces are not as effective as Charlemagne's, and there are two actions (Battle and Marquis) which they cannot take at all.

Marquis pieces are double-sided. The obverse side represents the Marquis when he is first placed. During the game, the Marquis may be flipped to his reverse side, marked with a Crown. This indicates that Bridges & Roads have been built up in that Marquis's Region, conferring certain benefits as mentioned above and under Bridges & Roads below.

Suppress Action

The Suppress Action uses the threat of military force (with perhaps some light skirmishing) to quell minor flare-ups of rebellion and discord.

Requirements: There must be at least one, but no more than two, Enemy Units in the Box. There cannot be an Enemy Leader in the box (though there can be one in the Region).

Action: Roll one die. If the total exceeds the Resistance of the top unit in the box, all units in the box are Eliminated. If there is an Enemy Leader in the Region, add the Leader's Bonus to the Unit's Resistance. If the die roll is equal to or less than the Resistance of the top unit in the box, no units are Eliminated.

Marquis: If the die roll is successful, and there are two Enemy Units in the box, only one of these Units is Eliminated.

Cup Adjustment: 1 Friendly>Unfriendly.

Hostile Reaction: 2 (confirmed by the Example of Play, in which "Suppression results in 2 Hostile Reactions").

Battle Action

The Battle Action uses a pitched battle to decide the fate of empires.

Requirements: There must be at least two Enemy Units in the box.

Action: See Battles, below.

Marquis: Marquis pieces cannot take this action.

Cup Adjustment: 1 Friendly>Unfriendly, plus a number of Unfriendly>Hostile as indicated on the Enemy Formation Table.

Hostile Reaction: none listed separately here - resolving a Battle's post-battle Cup Adjustments is followed by two Hostile Reactions of its own (see Battles, below).

Forced March Action

The Forced March Action helps Charlemagne and his agents move more quickly.

Requirements: There must not be any Enemy Units in the box.

Action: Move to an adjacent box that does not have any Enemy Units or Moors in it. (That is, before taking this Action, Charlemagne may, but is not required to, move to an enemy-free box, where he then takes this action, which in turn allows him to move to another enemy-free box.)

Marquis: No special limitations on Marquis Forced Marching, other than the general prohibition against Marquis leaving their assigned Region.

Cup Adjustment: None.

Hostile Reaction: 1 (confirmed by the Example of Play, in which a Forced March "results in the first 'End Turn' marker being drawn" as its single Hostile Reaction).

Siege Action

The Siege Action attempts to isolate and starve out Enemy Leaders without staging a Battle. The Siege Action is special in that once you start, you are forced to continue taking Siege Actions, and only Siege Actions, without moving, until either the Siege is successful, or until the Turn is Ended.

Requirements: The box must be occupied by an Enemy Leader.

Action: Roll one die. If the total exceeds twice the Leader's Bonus, then the Leader is Eliminated, as well as the topmost Enemy Unit stacked beneath it. Additionally, you increase your Treasury by an amount equal to the Leader's Bonus. If the die roll is a natural "6", additionally eliminate all Enemy Units in the stack. If the die roll is equal to or less than twice the Leader's Bonus, the siege fails (per below).

Marquis: Marquis pieces must exceed thrice the Leader's Bonus, and the siege fails if the die roll is equal to or less than thrice the Leader's Bonus.

Cup Adjustment: Each Failure: 4 Friendly>Unfriendly. Success: 1 Unfriendly>Friendly.

Hostile Reaction: a number is printed here, but it is not reliably legible at the source resolution available for this transcription.

If a Siege Fails: you are required to take a Siege Action targeting the same box after resolving the Cup Adjustment and the Hostile Reaction. You're stuck taking Siege Actions until either you draw the second Turn End Marker while resolving the Hostile Reactions, or until the Siege is successful in removing the Enemy Leader. You cannot voluntarily end the Turn in this case; you have to keep going until the Siege is successful or the second Turn End Marker is drawn.

Raid Action

The Raid Action allows you to buy off Enemy Units.

Requirements: The box cannot have an Enemy Leader in it.

Action: Pay Coins from your Treasury equal to half the Resistance (round up) of the top Enemy Unit in the stack. That Unit (and that Unit only) is Eliminated.

Marquis: No special limitation on Marquis Raids.

Cup Adjustment: 1 Unfriendly>Friendly.

Hostile Reaction: a number is printed here, but it is not reliably legible at the source resolution available for this transcription.

Marquis Action

The Marquis Action places a new Marquis piece.

Requirements: The box must be free of Enemy Units, and the Region must be free of Enemy Leaders. You cannot place a new Marquis if it would result in your total number of Marquis pieces in play exceeding the total number of Finished Churches by more than one (e.g., if you have 3 Marquis and 1 Church, you cannot place a fourth Marquis until a second Church has been finished).

Action: Pay 6 Coins from your Treasury. Place a Marquis piece in the box. Increase your Taxation marker by 2.

Marquis: Marquis pieces cannot take this action.

Cup Adjustment: 1 Unfriendly>Friendly.

Hostile Reaction: a number is printed here, but it is not reliably legible at the source resolution available for this transcription.

Note that you have only four Marquis pieces, and once placed, they cannot be relocated to a different Region; their movement is limited to the Region in which they are originally placed. You may only have one Marquis per Region.

Forced Conversion Action

The Forced Conversion Action can only be used in the Pagan Regions (Orange and Brown), and consists of murdering everyone who does not convert to Christianity. While perhaps just on the edge of acceptable behavior for the time, today we would call that a war crime, as it should really.

Requirements: The box must have at least one Enemy Unit; again, it must be in the Orange or Brown Regions.

Action: Eliminate all Units and Leaders in the box, and all Units and Leaders in one adjacent Pagan Region box (if any). Eliminating this second box is mandatory if one exists. For each Eliminated Unit or Leader, reduce your VP by 1.

You cannot take this action if you do not have sufficient VP.

Marquis: Only Eliminate all Units in the box, not in any adjacent box.

Cup Adjustment: 1 Unfriendly>Hostile.

Hostile Reaction: a number is printed here, but it is not reliably legible at the source resolution available for this transcription.

Hostile Reactions

Each Hostile Reaction is resolved by blindly drawing one chit from the Hostile Cup. What happens depends on what type of chit is drawn and the state of the Region/Box to which the chit belongs.

• An Enemy Unit is a chit with a Resistance Rating. Some of these have an Enemy Leader on their reverse.
• Moors, Vikings, Byzantium, and Intrigue markers are each resolved in their own unique way.
• The second Turn End Marker drawn will end the turn after all remaining Hostile Reactions have been resolved.

Enemy Units and Leaders

When an Enemy Unit is drawn, find the box corresponding to the name printed on the Enemy Unit side. That box determines what happens next. Check the following priorities, in order; i.e., if the first applies, stop there, and if not, move onto the second; if the second applies, stop there, and so on, continuing until you find a priority that applies.

Box Occupied by Marquis or Charlemagne. The Unit is immediately Eliminated (moved to the Dead Pool).

Box Occupied by a Region with Bridges & Roads (or similar priority). Roll one die. If the total exceeds the unmodified Resistance of the Enemy Unit, it is Eliminated. If the total is equal to or less than the Resistance, the Enemy Unit is placed in the box.

Drawn Chit is an Enemy Leader, Box Has No Leader. Flip the counter over to its Leader side and place it on top of the stack.

Drawn Chit is an Enemy Leader, Box Has a Leader. Place the Enemy Unit under the Leader, but on top of the other Enemy Units in the box.

Any Other Drawn Chit. Place the Enemy Unit in the box (on top of the stack if applicable).

The Moors

When one of the Moors is drawn, the Al-Andalus Diplomacy Marker is flipped to (or remains on) its Tension side, and then the Moors piece is placed.

The placement of the Moors pieces depends on the status of specific spaces, and the positioning of Charlemagne or a Marquis (if any). Generally speaking, the Moors begin in The Spanish March, and each subsequent Moors piece moves to the next Box, in order, that does not contain a Moors piece. That order is:

• The Spanish March
• Gascony
• Bordeaux
• Poitiers

For example, if there is a Moors piece in The Spanish March, and not in Gascony, then a newly drawn Moors piece is placed in Gascony. Any Enemy Units or Leaders in a Box where a Moors piece is placed are immediately Eliminated.

If there is a Moors piece in Poitiers and another Moors piece is drawn, even if there is a Marquis in Poitiers, you lose the game.

If Charlemagne is in a space where a Moors piece is to be placed, a Battle immediately occurs vs. Al-Andalus. It may be that the Moors piece in question is drawn immediately following the drawing of a second Turn End Marker; if this is the case, and Charlemagne wins the Battle, the Turn End Markers are returned to the cup where the Dead Pool is reached just as they would in any other Battle.

Charlemagne can target the Moors with a Battle Action to remove the pieces from a Box, provided the Al-Andalus Diplomacy Marker is not at Peace. Otherwise, the pieces must be removed via Diplomacy.

The Vikings

When one of the Vikings is drawn, it is placed in a Region, not a Box.

• If there are less than 4 Vikings in the Purple Region, place it in the Purple Region.
• If there are three or more Vikings in the Purple Region, place it in the Blue Region.

Whenever a Viking is placed in a Region:

• Examine the Dead Pool and find any Enemy Units belonging to that Region. Immediately place those Enemy Units in the Hostile Cup.

Vikings can only be removed during the Diplomacy Phase. No actions can be taken during the Build Phase for a Region with Vikings in it.

Byzantium

When one of the Byzantium markers is drawn, tensions flare up between the Frankish empire and the Byzantine Empire. This also represents the competition of the two empires for prestige.

What exactly happens depends on the following priorities, which as usual are checked in order:

Byzantine Diplomacy Marker at Peace. Flip the Byzantine Diplomacy Marker to Tension. Then, place the Byzantium chit in the Dead Pool.

Byzantine Diplomacy Marker at Tension. Place the marker in the Dead Pool, then score 3 Negative VP (subtract VP) for each of the following:

• Per Box containing a Moors marker
• Per Region containing an Enemy Leader
• Per Byzantium chit in the Dead Pool (including this one)

Your VP cannot be reduced below "0".

Intrigue

Intrigue Markers represent court intrigues, conspiracies, and plots a little closer to home, such as the attempt by Pippin the Hunchback to overthrow his father Charlemagne.

When the Intrigue Marker is drawn, compare your current number of Victory Points to the VP Threshold for the current Game Turn. If your VP meets or exceeds that threshold, you automatically succeed in overcoming the plot.

If your VP is less than that threshold, determine by how many VP you are short. If your Taxation Level is equal to or greater than this difference, you overcome the challenge (your current Treasury Level does not matter... yet).

If your VP + Taxation Level is short of the difference, you must spend Coins from your Treasury to make up the difference that remains.

If you're still short after spending all Coins from your Treasury, you must expend Emergency Victory Points to make up what difference remains, with the important caveat that the EVP spent in this manner do not get added to your VP Track.

If you're still short after spending all your Coins and all your EVP, you lose the game.

Assuming you have met the challenge, place the Intrigue Marker in the Dead Pool. It will stay there, scoring you VP, for the remainder of the game. Neat!

Turn End Markers

When the first Turn End Marker is drawn, put it in the Dead Pool. When a second Turn End Marker is drawn, put it in the Dead Pool; the Campaign Phase ends after resolving any remaining Hostile Reactions.

Important: Because the Dead Pool is emptied at the end of each Battle, the first Turn End Marker may be placed back into the Hostile Cup before a second is drawn. The end of the Campaign Phase is only triggered when there are two or more Turn End Markers in the Dead Pool.

Battles

Battles are major set-piece military engagements between your forces and those of the enemy. Your highly-trained, well-disciplined professional army and brilliant leadership give you a definite edge over many of your rivals. But a pitched battle is still a risky proposition, and can alter the fate of your empire permanently.

Battles are resolved on the Battle Display:

• First, each side's forces will be deployed. The enemy will deploy first, and you second (except in case of an Ambush, where this is reversed).
• Then, the battle will be fought in alternating Attack and Defense rounds, starting with an Attack Round.
• The battle will end when one side breaks.

Enemy Deployment

Roll one die, adding the Resistance Rating of the top Enemy Unit in the box where the Battle is taking place.

• If there is an Enemy Leader in the box, add his Leadership Bonus.
• If there isn't an Enemy Leader in the box, but there is a Leader in the Region, add the highest Leadership Bonus for that Region.

Cross-reference the modified die roll with that Region's column on the Enemy Formation Table (or the Moors column if attacking or being ambushed by Moors).

The appropriate box on the Enemy Formation Table will indicate three numbers separated by a slash. The first number indicates the number of Enemy Battle Units to be deployed on the enemy's Right (your Left), and the second the number on the Enemy's Left (your Right). The third number comes into play at the conclusion of the battle, and represents the number of Unfriendly>Hostile Cup Adjustments to be made. For example, "6/5/3" means that there will be six Enemy Units on the Right and five on the Left, and that at the end of the battle, you will make three Unfriendly>Hostile Cup Adjustments (in addition to the Friendly>Unfriendly adjustment required by the base Battle Action). (The exact digits in this worked example are at the edge of source legibility; the mechanic and its explanation are transcribed faithfully.)

To deploy Units for an Enemy Wing, draw them blindly, one at a time, from the Battle Cup, placing them at full strength in the spaces for that Wing, beginning with the "1" space and moving in sequence.

Your Deployment

When deploying your own forces, you must divide them between your Left, your Right, and your Reserve. Once one of your Battle Units has been assigned to the Left or Right Wing, it must remain as part of that Wing for the remainder of the battle (your Scara are an exception to this rule). Space in your Left and Right Wings is limited by the number of spaces for that Wing, while your Reserve contains all other Units. The Reserve does not actively take part in the battle, but can be used to plug holes in your other two Wings as the battle progresses.

The Battle Display is composed of staggered squares, so that squares on your Left Wing are adjacent to one or two squares of the Enemy Right Wing. You must place the Units for your Wing adjacent to an Enemy Unit (or adjacent to a space that will contain one in the case of an Ambush).

You cannot place a Battle Unit in a space that is not/would not be adjacent. You cannot leave Units in your Reserve if there are eligible enemy-adjacent spaces available for your Wing.

Attack Round

During an Attack Round, each of your Battle Units may make one Attack against one adjacent Enemy Battle Unit. When there are two such Units adjacent, you choose which to Attack. Resolve each Battle Unit's Attack in strict order from Left to Right.

To resolve the Attack, roll one die and add your Unit's Attack Factor. If the total exceeds the enemy's Defense Factor, it takes a hit:

• If it is a full-strength Unit, flip it over to its reduced-strength side.
• If it is a reduced-strength Unit, remove the Unit from the Battle Display, placing it back in the Battle Cup.
• If you roll a natural "6", then the Unit is placed back in the Battle Cup, even if it was full-strength.

If the total is equal to or less than the Enemy Defense Factor, nothing happens.

First Round Bonus for Scara: During a battle's first Attack Round only, Scara Units that score a hit on a full-strength Enemy Unit Eliminate that Unit as if they had rolled a natural "6". This bonus does not apply in an Ambush.

Defense Round

During a Defense Round, each of your Battle Units must defend itself against the attacks of adjacent Enemy Battle Units. Resolve each Battle Unit's Defense in strict order from Left to Right.

To resolve the Defense, sum the Attack Factors of the Enemy Battle Unit(s) adjacent to the Defending Unit. Then, roll one die and add the Unit's Defense Factor. If the modified die roll exceeds the combined Attack Factors of the Enemy Battle Unit(s), the Defense is successful. If the die roll is less than or equal to the combined Attack Factors, the Defense fails: return the Battle Unit to your Force Pool.

If you roll a natural "6", then the Defense is successful regardless of the total combined Attack Factors. Additionally, your Defending Unit counterattacks: Eliminate one of the Enemy Units (even a full-strength Enemy Unit) against which it was Defending (your choice).

After resolving the Defense for each of your Battle Units, perform the following steps before proceeding to the next Attack Round.

Maneuvers. If one or more of your Battle Units in your Left or Right Wing are no longer adjacent to any Enemy Units, they are eligible for Maneuvers. Maneuvers takes two forms, which happen simultaneously.

Moving within the Wing: Any eligible Battle Unit may move within its Wing to an empty space that places them adjacent to an Enemy Battle Unit. This may be one of your spaces, or it may be an empty enemy space.

The latter case is called Flanking. Flanking is only allowed if:

• The empty space is adjacent to an Enemy Unit on one side, and not adjacent to an Enemy Unit on the other side.
• All of your spaces within that Wing that are adjacent to Enemy Units have already been filled.

A Flanking Unit Attacks normally, but is not required to Defend in the Defense Round. Obviously that isn't great for the enemy!

Moving from Wing to Wing: Any eligible Scara may move as above, or they may move to the opposite Wing (from Left to Right, or from Right to Left), where they may be placed in the line (not in a Flanking position).

Reserve Response. If, after performing Maneuvers, there are any Enemy Battle Units that are not adjacent to one of your Battle Units, then you must deploy a Unit from your Reserve into that space if there are Units remaining in your Reserve. If there is a vacant space in your line that is adjacent to an Enemy Battle Unit, but another of your Units is adjacent, you have the option of deploying a Unit from your Reserve into that space.

Check for Isolation. An Enemy Battle Unit is isolated if:

• It is adjacent to one or more of your Battle Units, and it is the only Enemy Battle Unit adjacent to those specific Units.
• Its Attack Factor is less than or equal to the Defense Factor for each of those individual Battle Units, OR
• Its Attack Factor is less than or equal to the Defense Factor of one of those individual Battle Units, provided that Battle Unit is a Scara.

Isolated Enemy Battle Units are removed to the Battle Cup during this step.

Check for Rout. If either side has one Wing that contains no Battle Units, that side Routs.

• If you Rout, you lose the battle, and the game.
• If both sides Rout, you lose the battle, and the game.
• If only the enemy Routs, you win the battle. Remove any remaining Enemy Battle Units back to the Battle Cup, and proceed to the post-battle procedure.

If neither side has Routed, you now proceed to a new Attack round. Note that you only Check for Rout after a Defense Round.

Post-Battle Procedure

Upon winning the battle, perform the following steps in order:

Remove Enemy Map Unit. All Enemy Units and Leaders in the box in which the Battle took place are Eliminated.

Resolve the Dead Pool. The Dead Pool is resolved, following the same procedure as under Hostile Reactions, above. Yes, this can result in one of the Turn End Markers being returned to the Battle Cup; battle can be exhilarating!

Promotions. One of your surviving Battle Units in each of your two Wings - one from your Left, and one from your Right - must be Promoted, i.e., the Unit is increased by one Level. Flip or replace the counter appropriately. You choose which Units receive the Promotion. Note that LVL 4 Units will retire at the end of the Game Turn and score VP. No Unit can be Promoted past LVL 4; if all Units for a Wing are LVL 4, then (and only then) may you forgo Promotion for that Wing.

Ransom. If there was an Enemy Leader in the box, add Coins to your Treasury (just your Taxation) equal to that Leader's Leadership Bonus.

Cup Adjustments. Each Battle will trigger one Friendly>Unfriendly Cup Adjustment, followed by a variable number of Unfriendly>Hostile Cup Adjustments, with the latter indicated on the Enemy Formation Table. Make these Cup Adjustments as you would normally, then proceed to make your two Hostile Reactions. If the Battle was an Ambush as the result of a Hostile Reaction, you still make these Cup Adjustments and resolve these additional Reactions as if you had taken a Battle Action.

Ambush

If a Moors counter is drawn, and is to be placed in the box that Charlemagne occupies, a Battle is resolved as an Ambush. It follows the general rules above but differs in the following particulars:

• You deploy your forces before the enemy does, but after rolling to determine the number of Enemy Units to be placed. You are required to place a Unit in every box that will be adjacent to an Enemy Unit.
• The order of the Rounds is flipped: Defense Rounds take place before Attack Rounds. Note that Maneuvers, Reserves, and Checks for Isolation and Rout are performed at the end of a Defense Round. The Scara Bonus does not apply in the first Attack Round.

Build Phase

During the Build Phase, you further your goals as they relate to infrastructure, culture, and public works (all abstracted by the founding and building of Churches and the maintenance of Bridges & Roads). If there is a Viking counter in a specific Region, skip all steps for that Region.

Bridges & Roads

If a Region that is free of Enemy Units (Moors count as Enemy Units for this purpose) has both a Finished Church and a Marquis, you can spend 4 Coins to build Bridges & Roads:

• Flip the Marquis marker to the side with a Crown. If he's already on that side, then you've already built Bridges & Roads for this Region and cannot do so again.
• Increase your Taxation Marker by 1.
• Immediately score VP equal to the number of Bridges & Roads Regions in play (i.e., 1 for the first, 2 for the second, 3 for the third, and 4 for the fourth). This is a one-time scoring of VP that happens the instant the building of these Bridges & Roads is finished.

Per the Actions rules, the presence of Bridges & Roads makes movement much easier: all Boxes within a Bridges & Roads Region are considered adjacent to one another, and any Boxes in other Regions that are adjacent to those Boxes are also considered adjacent. If two or more Bridges & Roads Regions are adjacent, treat them as one contiguous Bridges & Roads Region for the purposes of movement.

Bridges & Roads have another, quite major, effect on gameplay: when an Enemy Unit (but not Moors or Vikings) in a Bridges & Roads Region is Eliminated, it is not put in the Dead Pool, but rather immediately placed in the Friendly Cup.

Church Construction (Finish)

You have the option of spending 4 Coins each to flip Started Churches to their Finished side. The instant that you do so, immediately increase your Taxation by the number of Finished Churches, including the one just flipped. For example, when you flip the first Church to its Finished side, your Taxation is increased by 1. When you flip your second, it is increased by 2. Do not count Churches in Viking-occupied Regions as "Finished" when making this calculation.

You cannot Finish a Church if it would cause the total number of Finished Churches to exceed the total number of Marquis by more than one (e.g., if you have 2 Finished Churches and 1 Marquis, you cannot Finish a fourth until a second Marquis is placed).

Church Construction (Start)

You have the option of spending 2 Coins to place a Church, on its Started side, in the same Region that Charlemagne currently occupies.

Apostate's Note: In Pagan Regions (Orange and Brown), you can only Begin Construction of a Church if you have already Finished Construction of three other Churches. That is, it will always be the last Church you build.

Diplomacy Phase

During the Diplomacy Phase, you have dealings with other kingdoms and empires. The following factions are dealt with in the following order:

The Vikings

Vikings are removed from the map in the Diplomacy Phase, either through force or buying them off:

• If you have a Marquis in a Region containing one or more Vikings, you can automatically Eliminate one Viking counter from that Region for free, placing it in the Dead Pool.
• To buy off, and thus Eliminate, a Viking unit, it costs Coins equal to the number of Vikings currently in the Region at the instant at which you are buying that specific Viking off. For example, if there are two Vikings in a Region, it will cost 2 Coins to buy off the first, and 3 additional Coins to buy off the second. These Vikings are placed in the Dead Pool.

You may Eliminate as many or as few of the Vikings as you wish and are able.

Al-Andalus

If there are Moors on the map, they can be negotiated with. Roll the die, adding or subtracting the PAM, and compare this to the number of Moors counters on the map (not the number of Boxes). If the die roll exceeds the number:

• Eliminate all Moors counters from the Northernmost Box they occupy.
• Flip the Al-Andalus Diplomacy Marker to Peace (or it remains at Peace).

If the roll is equal to or less than the number of Moors counters on the map, nothing happens. You may voluntarily choose not to roll during this step.

The Byzantine Empire

If the Byzantine Diplomacy Marker is on its Tension side, the Byzantines can be negotiated with. Roll the die, adding or subtracting the PAM. If the total equals or exceeds the current Game Turn, or if you roll a natural "6":

• Move any Byzantium markers from the Dead Pool into the Friendly Cup.
• Flip the Byzantine Diplomacy Marker to Peace.

If the roll is less than the current Game Turn (or not a natural "6"), nothing happens.

England

Relations with the various kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England are more cordial than with your immediate neighbors. Their support is contingent on your current level of prestige and your status as a leader of European Christendom, measured, somewhat abstractly, by the wealth of the Frankish empire.

During this step, check the current Taxation level against the "Wealth" amount listed on the Game Turn Record Track for the current Game Turn. If your current Taxation level is equal to or greater than this Wealth threshold:

• The EVP Marker is moved one step forward on its track, scoring "emergency VP".

If your current Taxation level is less than this Wealth amount, the EVP Marker does not move.

The Vatican

The Papal Approval Modifier (PAM), ranging from "-1" to "+4", will increase during the course of the game according to your actions.

• When you obtain the Iron Crown of Lombardy, the PAM will increase by one.
• When you have Finished Construction of three Churches, the PAM will increase by one.
• Once during the game, during the Vatican Step of the Diplomacy Phase, if your current VP is already equal to the VP required by the end of the current Game Turn, the PAM will increase by one.

At each instance of the PAM improving - so, three times over the course of the game - you will score 1 VP.

Coronation: At the start of the Vatican Step of the Diplomacy Phase, if the PAM is at "+4", and Charlemagne is in Rome, he is crowned Holy Roman Emperor; flip the Charlemagne marker to its older, HRE side.

Turn End Phase

During the Turn End Phase, you De-escalate Enemy Presence, resolve the Dead Pool, collect Taxes, pay upkeep, earn Victory Points, and either lose the game or progress to the next turn, in that order.

De-Escalation

Examine each Region, and Eliminate all "+1" Leaders (if Charlemagne is Holy Roman Emperor, Eliminate all "+2" Leaders as well). Exception: Pagan Leaders are not Eliminated in this fashion.

If that Region has a Finished Church, and no Vikings or Moors,

• Eliminate the topmost Enemy Unit from each stack that does not have a Leader.
• Exception: if there is even one Leader in a Pagan Region, that Region is unaffected.

If the above case does not apply,

• Eliminate the topmost Enemy Unit from any stack with a Leader.
• Exception: if there is even one Leader in a Pagan Region, that Region is unaffected.

Further,

• Eliminate the topmost Enemy Unit in any Box occupied by Charlemagne or a Marquis without a Leader.

Resolve the Dead Pool

Examine the counters in the Dead Pool:

• Place Viking markers in the Hostile Cup.
• If Al-Andalus is on its Tension side, place the Moors in the Hostile Cup; otherwise, place them in the Friendly Cup.
• If Byzantine is on its Tension side, place the Byzantium markers in the Unfriendly Cup; otherwise, place them in the Friendly Cup.
• Intrigue Markers remain in the Dead Pool.
• Place Turn End Markers in the Hostile Cup.

For the remaining Enemy Unit counters, sort all the Units by Region. Then, look at each Region, and resolve the Dead Pool Units belonging to it according to the following priorities:

Region Contains No Enemy Units. Place all Dead Pool Units for that Region into the Friendly Cup. Viking and Moor count as Enemy Units when determining if a Region contains Enemy Units.

Region Has Enemy Units but No Friendly Presence. Place all Dead Pool Units for that Region into the Hostile Cup. Friendly Presence is defined as a Region that contains at least one of the following: Charlemagne, a Marquis, or a Finished Church, and so the absence of Friendly Presence is the absence of all three things.

All Other Cases. If neither of the two cases above apply, place the Units for that Region into the Unfriendly Cup, with the following two exceptions:

• Units for the Blue Region will go into the Friendly Cup.
• Units for the Orange and Brown Regions will go into the Hostile Cup.

Collect Taxes

Increase the number of Coins in your Treasury by the current Taxation level, with the following caveats:

• Subtract 1 Coin for each Box occupied by a Moors piece.
• Subtract 1 Coin for each Viking piece on the map.
• Subtract 1 Coin for each Enemy Leader on the map.
• You can never have more than 20 Coins in your Treasury; anything over that is lost.

You may end up with a negative amount. In this case, you earn no Coins, and you lose VP equal to the negative total. For example, if you subtract 5 from a Taxation level of 4, the result is -1, and you would then lose 1 VP. Your VP can never be reduced below zero.

Upkeep

Pay Coins from your Treasury for each of the following:

• 1 for each Marquis;
• 1 for each Finished Church;
• 1 for each LVL 4 Scara.

It may be you don't have enough Coins to pay your Upkeep. Pay what you can, reducing your Treasury to zero, but you do not incur any additional penalty.

Earn Victory Points

You earn 1 VP each for the following:

• Per LVL 4 Battle Unit; as you score the VP, place the Battle Unit back into the Force Pool. They're retired and gone home.
• Per Region that's free of Enemy Units, Moors, and Vikings.
• Per Intrigue Marker in the Dead Pool.
• If Charlemagne is Holy Roman Emperor.
• If Charlemagne is King of the Lombards.
• Per Marquis that you have in play.
• Per Finished Church in a Region free of Vikings.
• Per 5 Coins, rounded down, in your Treasury, as indicated on the Treasury/Taxation Track.

Note that during the game, you will also score 1 VP when the PAM is increased (three times during the course of the game), and VP at the instant a Region has Bridges & Roads built.

After scoring your VP, check the VP Threshold indicated on the Game Turn Record Track. If you have not met that Threshold, and cannot make up the difference with Emergency VP, you lose the game.

Emergency VP. The continued support of Anglo-Saxon England results in the accumulation of emergency VP (EVP) equal to the amount listed for the space the EVP Marker currently occupies, and all previous spaces, summed together. If you are short of the VP Threshold for the Game Turn, you must make up the shortfall by expending your EVP. This is expended by moving the EVP Marker backward on its track.

The EVP for each space is for that space alone and cumulative with the previous spaces. For example, when the EVP Marker is on its "4" space, you have a total of 6 EVP available: 1+2+3. However, you cannot "make change". If you are 2 VP short, and on the 4 EVP space, then you must move the EVP Marker to the "1" space, adding 4 VP to your total on the VP Track.

If after expending all your EVP you still haven't met the Threshold, you lose the game.

You may voluntarily expend EVP at the end of your Turn, even if you've already met or exceeded the Threshold, but EVP expended in this fashion are worth only half (rounding down) of the amount indicated on the space (for example, moving from "6" to "4" gains 4 VP, but moving from "4" to "2" gains only 1 VP).

If at the start of this step you've "maxed out" the track - already previously advanced to the final "6" space - you gain 1 regular VP instead of starting up additional EVP.

Minimum Army Strength

After ensuring you have reached the VP Threshold, you must now check your Army Strength: the sum of the Levels of all Units in your Reserve (not your Force Pool). That is, all LVL 1 Units contribute "1" to your Army Strength, all LVL 4 contribute "4", and so on. If the total meets or exceeds the Minimum Army Strength threshold for the current Game Turn, as indicated on the Game Turn Record Track, great! If it falls short, you lose VP equal to the difference; e.g., if you were 2 short of the threshold, you would lose 2 VP.

Note that this happens after you've checked the current VP Threshold. Losing VP in this manner will not prevent you from progressing to the next game turn.

Note also that you do not check Minimum Army Strength on Turn 1.

Progress to Next Game Turn

Make the following Cup Adjustments:

• 4 Friendly>Unfriendly
• 4 Unfriendly>Hostile

(If for some reason you are unable to make both adjustments, simply make the adjustments that you can; the Friendly/Unfriendly edge case does not apply here.)

After making the adjustments, move the Game Turn Marker to its next space.

• At the end of Turn 6, add the Third Turn End Marker to the Hostile Cup.
• At the end of Turn 8, add the Fourth Turn End Marker to the Hostile Cup.

Endgame Scoring

At the end of Game Turn 16, after performing your normal scoring, but before checking if you have reached the threshold, subtract 1 VP for each of the following:

• Each Viking counter.
• Each Box containing any Enemy Unit(s).
• Each Enemy Leader.

Then, add all EVP you have stored, and subtract any VP for not meeting the Minimum Army Threshold. If the total meets or exceeds the final VP threshold of 145, congratulations! You have conquered Europe!

The Iron Crown

At the beginning of the game, Lombardy has a "+4" Leader (Desiderius). Once this Leader counter is Eliminated, either via Siege or Battle, the counter is flipped over to its Iron Crown of Lombardy side, and Charlemagne is crowned King of the Lombards:

• You gain 1 VP each Turn for the remainder of the game for having done so.
• The Papal Approval Modifier is increased by one.
• Your Taxation Marker is increased by three spaces (and, as normal for Siege and Battle Actions, your Treasury is increased by three as well).
• The Peoples of Italy become permanently resistant to Suppress: add +1 to your die roll when Charlemagne takes a Suppress Action in the Green Regions. Use the "+1 SRM" reminder chit as a mnemonic for this.
• The number of Units you may buy per Game Turn is increased by one.

Holy Roman Emperor

If, during the Vatican Step of a Diplomacy Phase, Charlemagne is in Rome, and the PAM is at "+4", Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

• Flip the Charlemagne counter to its older, HRE side, where it will remain, and score you VP, for the remainder of the game.
• Increase your Taxation Marker by three spaces.
• Suppression actions in non-Pagan regions become permanently easier: add +1 to your die roll when Charlemagne takes a Suppress Action. This is cumulative with The Iron Crown. Use the "+1 DER/+4 DEM" reminder chit as a mnemonic for this.
• The number of Units you may buy per Game Turn is increased by one.

Winning and Losing

To win the game, at the end of the sixteenth Game Turn, you must satisfy all five of the following conditions:

• Meet the VP Threshold.
• Have no Moors counters left on the map.
• Be King of the Lombards.
• Be Holy Roman Emperor.
• Have 4 Bridges & Roads Regions.

As you've probably gathered, there are more ways to lose this thing:

• If you fail to meet the VP Threshold for any turn.
• If you fail to become King of the Lombards by the end of the game.
• If you fail to become Holy Roman Emperor by the end of the game.
• If you lose a Battle.
• If the Moors are in Poitiers and another Moors marker is drawn.
• If there are Moors counters left on the map at the end of Turn 16.
• If Intrigue gets the better of you (see Intrigue, above).

Easy Mode

Like many solitaire games, this one is meant to be difficult. If you find the game too challenging, you can make the following three changes to the rules above to implement an "Easy Mode" that maintains a fair amount of the challenge and most of the game while being somewhat more forgiving.

First, ignore the Minimum Army Strength requirement entirely.

Second, if the game would end early because of a bad die roll, re-roll it. Nobody's looking.

Third, if you win the game, record the win with an asterisk. When you celebrate your victory online and with your friends, you are obligated to report that you won using the Easy Mode rules. You have to do this; it's in the rules, buddy.

Example of Play

It's the beginning of the game! The first choice that the player has to make is whether to put his starting Marquis in the Spanish March, or in Breton. He takes a look at the board situation. The yellow region has two "5" Resistance units in Gascony, and a "4" and a "2" (on top) in Bordeaux. The purple region, on the other hand, has a "2" and a "6" (on top) in Breton, and a "4" in Paris. Since he has slightly better chances of clearing out the purple region than the yellow, he assigns the Marquis to Breton.

First Action. He decides to start the first Game Turn with a Suppress action in Paris using his Marquis. The Marquis is moved from Breton to Paris.

The Marquis needs to roll a 5 or better to Eliminate the enemy unit in Paris. It's a fifty-fifty chance. He rolls the die and pulls it off with a "6" - an auspicious start.

Cup Adjustment: One chit is moved from the Friendly cup into the Unfriendly cup.

Hostile Reactions: Suppression results in 2 Hostile Reactions. The player pulls two chits from the Hostile Cup one at a time and resolves them. The first is a "4" in Carinthia, bringing that stack up to two enemy map units. The second is a "3" in Bavaria. There are two other units in Bavaria, a "6" and a "4", so this third one goes on top.

Second Action. The player wants to take the Iron Crown before the end of his first turn, which is usually a pretty good idea.

To get the ball moving in that direction, he takes a Forced March action ending in Burgundy with Charlemagne.

Cup Adjustments: There's no adjustment for a Forced March action.

Hostile Reaction: There is, however, a Hostile Reaction. This one actually results in the first "End Turn" marker being drawn.

Third Action. It doesn't make sense to hesitate, so the next action is a Battle in Burgundy with Charlemagne.

The player rolls the die on the Enemy Formation Table and adds "2" for the Leader and "6" for the Resistance of the top enemy unit. He rolls a one, modified to an eight, resulting in "5/6/2". That means there will be 5 Enemy Battle Units on the Right, 6 on the Left, and two Unfriendly>Hostile cup adjustments.

Chits are drawn one at a time from the Battle Cup and placed on the appropriate squares of the battle display. Then, the player deploys his forces as he thinks will be advantageous.

First Attack Round. The player resolves his attacks, hoping that the Scara First Round Bonus will see him through a tricky situation.

On the player's left, his Level 3 Scara rolls against the enemy 3-6 unit. He needs a modified "7" or "6" and gets to add 4 to his die roll. A roll of 3 (+4 = 7) is enough to do the trick. Because of the Scara First Round Bonus, the enemy unit is Eliminated.

His Level 2 Infantry must now attack the enemy 6-6 unit, adding 2 to his die roll. This time a roll of 4 (+2 = 6) isn't sufficient.

The Level 2 Scara is adjacent to two units and can choose to attack either the 6-6 or the 3-6. He decides to go after the 6-6 so as to protect the Infantry unit on his left. But a roll of 2 (+2 = 4) fails. If the two adjacent enemy units are able to combine their attack factors in the upcoming defense round, the Scara will be unlikely to survive.

The Level 1 Infantry unit is stuck between going after the 3-6 or the 4-3. If he goes after the 3-6 (which threatens that Level 2 Scara), unless he can roll a natural "6" he'll only be inflicting a step loss. That would still leave the unit in place to attack the Scara. The player figures that if he attacks the 4-3 unit on his right and manages to inflict a loss, there's a possibility that the Level 1 Infantry to the right of him will manage to clear the deal. So, with a roll of 3 (+2 = 5) he manages to inflict a step loss. The Level 1 Infantry then attempts to Eliminate the reduced unit, but a 2 (+2 = 4) isn't enough to do it. The upcoming Defense Round is going to hurt. But first, we need to see how things are going on the player's right.

On the player's right, the Level 4 Infantry can choose between the 4-4 (an easy target) and the 6-6 (a harder one). He decides to take another risk in going after the 6-6. His rationale is that between his first two units, he might be able to Eliminate it, and if the 4-4 is left alone, then his Level 4 Infantry is only going to be Eliminated on a roll of "1" thanks to the Infantry's Defense Factor of 4. He rolls a 6 (+4 = 10), which is enough to flip the 6-6 over.

The Level 3 Infantry closes the deal with a 5 (+2 = 7). His two remaining Scara units each go after a 3-6 unit, and each manage to Eliminate it thanks to a good roll and the First Round Scara Bonus.

First Defense Round. Now it's time for the player to take his lumps.

On his left, his Level 2 Infantry is first. There is one Enemy Unit adjacent, with an Attack Factor of 6. An unlucky roll of 2 (+2 = 4) means that the Infantry is Eliminated. Now his Level 3 Scara must face a combined Attack Factor of 11; his Defense Factor of 4 means he can only succeed on a natural roll of "6". He doesn't. The Level 1 Infantry, facing a combined Attack Factor of 8, doesn't have better odds with a pathetic roll of 1 (+2 = 3). Finally, his Level 4 Infantry needs to deal with a combined Attack Factor of 6. A roll of 7 (+2 = 10) is enough to keep this from being a total disaster.

The only attack on the right is made by the 4-4 against the Level 4 Infantry. If he rolls anything but a "1", he's safe. He does even better than that, rolling a natural "6". This Eliminates the 4-4 altogether, even though it has both steps remaining. This also means that the Enemy Left has been Routed, ending the battle in a victory for Charlemagne.

Post-Battle Procedure.

Eliminate the Enemy Units: The Enemy Map Units are Eliminated (placed in the dead pool).

Resolving the Dead Pool: The Iron Crown remains in the Dead Pool permanently. The given region has Enemy Units but does have a Frankish Presence (i.e., Charlemagne himself), so those enemy units go into the Unfriendly Cup. Same story for the purple region. The Turn End marker goes back in the Hostile Cup.

Promotions: The player now gets to promote one unit in each Wing. He promotes the Level 3 Scara on his left, and the Level 3 Infantry on his right, to Level 4.

Ransom: Because an Enemy Leader was involved, the player earns 6 coins for his Treasury.

Because this particular battle also wins him the Iron Crown of Lombardy, his Taxation marker is also increased by 3. The PAM is increased by one, which earns him 1 VP. He now has a favorable DRM for Suppression attempts in Italy, and so he puts out the DRM counter as a reminder.

Cup Adjustments: 1 Friendly>Unfriendly Cup Adjustment is made for taking the action. Then, because of the result rolled earlier on the Enemy Formation Table, two Unfriendly>Hostile Cup Adjustments are made.

Hostile Reactions: There are 4 Hostile Reactions. The first places a Viking in the purple Region. The second is a "6" in Bavaria. Since there are already three Enemy Map Units in that box, it is flipped over to its "+1" Leader side.