Fief: France 1429 – Crusades

Fief: France 1429 – Crusades Rulebook

Table of Contents

Crusades Expansion
Crusade Expansion Setup
- Included in this Expansion
Victory Conditions
New Crusade Phase
C1.0 Invasion of the Outremer - First Round of a Crusade
C2.0 Saladin's Revenge - Second Round of a Crusade
Q&A
Lord's Hierarchy Quick Reference (C 1.3.1)

Crusades Expansion

With the Crusades Expansion, a Player's family members will leave France on Crusades to the Outremer (The 'overseas' Crusade States and Holy Land of the Near East). Once they arrive, they will fight the Saracens for the Outremer Titles, cities and riches of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Kingdom of Cyprus (Chypre), County of Tripoli, Principality of Antioch and County of Edessa.

Crusade Expansion Setup

Place the Outremers Map next to the game board. Outremer counters are placed on the Outremers Map as shown below.

The setup diagram on the sheet is labelled:

(1) Place the 5 Outremer Titles here.
(2) Place the Call to Crusade marker here (No Crusade side up).
(3) Place the 5 Renegade and the 12 On Crusader markers here.
(4) Stack the 12 Outremer Objective counters, shuffled and face-down, here.
(5) Place the 6 Hierarchy markers next to the Outremers Map.
(6) Place the 20 Saracen Fighters here.
(7) Place the Saladin counter and his 4 Saracen Knights here.

The diagram also marks the First Track space, the Crusader Leader spaces and the Saladin Prison Area.

Included in this Expansion

1x Outremers Map, 1x Call to Crusade marker, 12x Outremer Objectives counters, 1x Saladin counter (Famous Saracen leader and the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria), 4x Saracen Knights counters, 20x Saracen Fighters counters, 5x Renegade markers, 12x On Crusade markers, 6x Hierarchy markers.

Victory Conditions

With the Crusades Expansion, victory conditions are similar to those of the base game. The only difference is that an Alliance needs 5 VPs to win rather than 4 VPs.

New Crusade Phase

When playing with the Crusades Expansion, an extra Phase is added to each round. This new Crusade Phase takes place after the Battle Phase. So a round consists of the following:

Phase 1. 'Hear Ye, Hear Ye'

A 'Call to Crusade' can be made at any time during this Phase (Crusades C1.1.1).
Announce Marriage Alliances (1.1).
Elect the Templar Grand Master (if the Templar Expansion is in play).
Elect the Teutonic Knights Grand Master (if the Teutonic Knights Expansion is in play).
Elect Bishops (1.4).
Elect the Pope (1.6).
Elect the King (1.7).

Phase 2. Draw & Play Cards

Players may discard and/or draw new Lord and Fortune cards into their hands (2.1). Instead of drawing a new Lord or Fortune card, a Player may draw and immediately place a Templar or Teutonic Knight Title counter (if the Templar and/or Teutonic Knight Expansions are in play).
Example (red on the sheet): DAVE draws a Templar Title counter and immediately places it on a Lord he has in play.
Resolve all drawn Disaster cards (2.3).
Players play Lord and Fortune cards from their hands (2.4).

Phase 3. Collect Income

Phase 4. Purchase

Phase 5. Movement

Lords and their Troops depart France for the Outremer and are placed on the Crusade Map Overlay.

Phase 6. Battles in France

Phase 7. Crusade (NEW!)

The Crusade phase occurs only if a 'Call to Crusade' has been made (C 1.2.1) and at least one Lord has joined the Crusade. A Crusade lasts for two rounds. The round in which a 'Call to Crusade' has been made is called The Invasion of the Outremer.

The round following the Invasion of the Outremer round is called Saladin's Revenge.

The Invasion of the Outremer Round (C 1.0) and Saladin's Revenge Round (C 2.0) are played differently!

In the Invasion of the Outremer round, the Crusaders invade the Holy Land and attempt to take control of Outremer Objectives. In Saladin's Revenge round, Saladin and his Saracen Fighters attempt to drive out the Crusaders and take back the Outremer Objectives. There can only be one Crusade active at any one time.

Phase 8. End Round

C1.0 Invasion of the Outremer - First Round of a Crusade

(Only played in rounds in which a Crusade has been called.)

A few extra actions are taken when a Crusade has been called. These new actions are described below.

C1.1 Phase 1. Hear Ye, Hear Ye

C1.1.1 Call to Crusade

[Image: 'No Crusade side' — the Call to Crusade marker shown with its 'No Crusade' face.]

[Image: 'On Crusade side' — the Call to Crusade marker shown with its 'On Crusade' face.]

If a Crusade is not already in progress, the Pope (or a Cardinal, if there is no elected Pope) can initiate a 'Call to Crusade' at any time in Phase 1. The Call to Crusade marker is flipped from its 'No Crusade' to its 'On Crusade' side.

Note: If a Call to Crusade was not joined by any Lord during the Movement Phase, then the Call to Crusade marker is flipped back to its 'No Crusade' side. A new Crusade can again be called for during next round's Phase 1.

C1.2 Phase 5. Movement

C1.2.1 Joining the Crusade

Lords that wish to join the Crusade may only do so during this round's Movement Phase (Exception: Templar Lords and Teutonic Lords - C 2.2).

Untitled Ladies and the Pope may not join the Crusade.
Lords located in a Heavy Rain Bishopric (2.3.1) may not join the Crusade, except by playing a Secret Passage card (10.2).
Besieged and Captive Lords need their besieger's or captor's permission to join the Crusade, or may play a Secret Passage card to join the Crusade.

Lords may join a Crusade even after they have moved. A Lord may take any of his Troops located with him when he leaves on the Crusade. To join the Crusade, the Lord's token and Troop counters are removed from the map and are placed on the Player's Family Board.

An On Crusade marker is placed on the Lord's card to designate that he is on a Crusade. On Crusade markers are also placed on the Strongholds and Fortified Cities belonging to this Lord.

Example: Alienor, the Titled Lady of Mazille, joins the Crusade. Place an On Crusade marker on her Lord card and another on the Stronghold on the Village of Mazille.

A maximum of 6 Lords (from ALL Players) and an unlimited number of Troops may join a Crusade.

C1.2.2 Consequences of a Crusading Lord's Absence

A Crusading Lord may not participate in elections (1.3), either as a Candidate or as a Voter. He does collect all of his Fief incomes (3.0), may get married (1.1), and can levy taxes (2.4.4).

C1.2.3 Renegades

All Strongholds and Fortified Cities marked with an 'On Crusade' marker (C 1.2.1) are under the protection of the Church. Any Lord that besieges or attacks any of these Church protected Strongholds or Fortified Cities is declared a Renegade.

A Renegade Lord's card is marked with a Renegade marker.

Renegade Lords suffer the same consequences as being excommunicated (1.7.1). Renegade Lords cannot vote or be candidates for elections, and lose all Ecclesiastical Titles. A Renegade marker remains with a Lord until his death, unless withdrawn by the Pope.

C1.3 Phase 7. Crusades: Invasion of the Outremers

This phase consists of several steps:

C1.3.1 Determine Hierarchy

Each crusading Lord has a Hierarchy marker (numbered 1 to 6) placed on his Lord card. The order of Hierarchy is determined as follows:

King (or Queen Regent) > Queen > Templar Grand Master > Teutonic Knights Grand Master > Crusade State Titles (Jerusalem > other Crusade State Titles) > Titled Fief Lord (Duchy: 4 Villages > County: 3 Villages > Barony: 2 Villages) > Lord with no Fief Title, including Bishops, Cardinals and d'Arc.

In case of a tie, the Lord with the highest SP Army (6.2) takes Hierarchy. If there is still no Hierarchy, it is the Lord with a family member that has the highest Title.

Example: 4 Lords have joined the Crusade: Eleanor - the Duchess of Blaye (4 Villages), Arthur - Teutonic Knights Grand Master, François - Bishop of Sigy and Jeanne d'Arc - the sister of King Philippe.

Hierarchy is as follows: Marker 1 is placed on Teutonic Knights Grand Master Arthur's card and marker 2 on Duchess Eleanor's card. François and Jeanne d'Arc have no Fief Titles, so the one with the strongest SP Army has hierarchy. François brought three Knights with him, giving him 10 SP. Jeanne d'Arc brought two Knights, two Archers, and a Man at Arms, giving her 10 SP. Since Strength Points do not determine the hierarchy, Jeanne's brother King Philippe gives her the hierarchy. Marker 3 is placed on Jeanne d'Arc, and finally marker 4 is placed on Bishop François.

C1.3.2 Place Outremer Objectives

A number of Outremer Objective counters are drawn, equal to the number of Crusading Lords that joined the Crusade. (Since only up to 6 Lords may join a Crusade, there will only be up to 6 Objectives drawn (C 1.2.1).)

Outremer Objective card anatomy (as labelled on the sheet, with the example card Antioch):

Outremer Objective's Defense (either no defense, a Stronghold defense or a Fortified City defense). Example: Antioch is a Fortified City.
Saracen Defenders: Number of Saracen Fighters that will defend this Objective. Example: 6 Saracen Fighters.
Riches Gained if Conquered: Caravan Plunder Deniers, City Pillage Deniers, Crusader State Fief Titles worth 1 VP, or the Arab Physician. Example: The Principality of Antioch Title is worth 1VP.
Outremer Objective Order Number (1 to 12). Example: 5.
Saracen Reinforcements: Saladin receives this number of added Saracen Fighters when he attacks this Objective during Saladin's Revenge round (C2.4). Example: 4 Saracen Fighters.

Outremer Objectives represent Caravans worth Plunder Deniers, Cities worth Pillage Deniers, Crusade States worth a Title and 1VP, or the Arab Physician (C 1.4.2). Each Outremer Objective displays the following information:

Plunder card (example): Defenders 1 Saracen Fighter, reinforcements 5 Saracen Fighters, Order Number 4. Red text on the sheet: Plunder up to 2 times for 6 Deniers, once during each Crusade Battle Phase.
Jaffa (example): Defenders 5 Saracen Fighters, reinforcements 3 Saracen Fighters, Order Number 11, and a Stronghold defense. Red text on the sheet: Pillage JAFFA for 16 Deniers if conquered.
Chypre (example): Defenders 5 Saracen Fighters, reinforcements 2 Saracen Fighters, Order Number 10, and a Stronghold defense. Red text on the sheet: CHYPRE Title is worth 1 VP.

The drawn Outremer Objectives are placed on the Outremers Map's track. The Objective with the lowest Order Number is placed on the first track space (numbered 1). The Objective with the second lowest Order Number is placed on the second track space (numbered 2), and so on, until all Objectives have been placed.

C1.3.3 Choosing Objectives

The Lord with the #1 Hierarchy marker chooses which Outremer Objective he and his Troops are placed on. Then the Lord with the #2 Hierarchy marker chooses his Outremer Objective, and so on, until all Lords and their Troops have been placed on Outremer Objectives.

A Lord may choose an Objective already chosen by another Lord. The new Lord and his Troops are placed below the first Lord. Some Outremer Objectives may therefore remain unoccupied by Crusaders.

If several Lords occupy the same Objective, then the Lord with hierarchy is the Crusade Leader. He will make all decisions on this Outremer Objective (deciding whether to Battle or Siege, how to distribute Deniers and Titles, who takes hits in Battle, etc.).

C1.4 Crusade Battles

Crusade Battles are resolved one Outremer Objective at a time, starting with the Objective on the first track space, then on to the Objective on the second track space, and so on. (Battles on the main map board were resolved in Phase 6 Battles in France.)

The Leader on an Objective decides if the Crusaders will attack the Objective or besiege it. An Objective can only be besieged if it has either a Stronghold or Fortified City icon on the Objective. If the Crusaders decide to besiege the Objective, each Player places a Siege Engine counter with his Troops (6.4.2).

A Battle is resolved between the Crusader Troops and Saracen Defenders listed on the Objective Counter. Standard Battle rules apply (6.0). The Crusader Leader may end a Battle at the end of any Battle Roll (6.1) to initiate a Siege. In case of a Crusader victory, the Crusaders now receive any Stronghold or Fortified City defense this Objective may offer. The Crusaders take advantage of its defenses if Saladin arrives there the next round. If the Objective remains under siege, Saladin's Reinforcements will strengthen its defenses if he reaches this Objective.

C1.4.1 Objective Gains

If the Crusaders win the Battle and conquer the Outremer Objective, the Leader distributes the Objective Gains among the surviving Lords in any manner he sees fit. There are 3 types of Outremer Objective Gains:

Caravan Plunder Deniers
City Pillage Deniers
Crusade State Titles worth 1VP

Caravan Plunder Deniers are immediately distributed to all the Lords that participated in the conquest of an Outremer Caravan Objective. Caravan Objectives may be attacked a second time, for a second gain, during the Saladin's Revenge round. The Caravan again defends itself with the Saracen Defenders listed on the Objective.

City Pillage Deniers are immediately distributed to all the Lords that participated in the conquest of a City Objective.

A Crusade State Title is worth 1 VP and can be given to any Lord at the end of the Crusade (Saladin's Revenge round), even Lords in France that did not participate in the crusade. If a Crusade State is not retaken by Saladin's Troops, the Objective's corresponding Title Counter is placed next to the Lord of the Crusader Leader's choice. This Lord's family gains 1VP.

Example: Quentin, Count of Tripoli.

Note: The Jerusalem Title adds 1 extra Denier income for each Village ALL Players control.

C1.4.2 Arab Physician Objective

There is no Battle for the Arab Physician Objective. The Physician is attached to the Lord who is the Leader and the Physician Objective counter is immediately placed next to the Leader's Lord card. The Physician can never change his attachment to another Lord.

The Player whose Lord that the Physician is attached to can choose to prevent the death of any crusading Lord that is a victim of the Plague (2.3.3), an Assassination (10.3), or death in a Crusade Battle (instead of dying, the Lord becomes Saladin's prisoner).

The Physician returns with the Lord to France once the Crusade ends. The Player whose Lord that the Physician is attached to can choose to prevent the deaths of some or all Lords and Troops due to the Plague or Assassination that are present in the same Village as his Lord is.

If the Lord that the Physician is attached to dies, the Physician Objective counter is immediately discarded from the game.

C2.0 Saladin's Revenge - Second Round of a Crusade

(Always played the round following an Invasion of the Outremer round.)

C2.1 Phase 2. Draw & Play Cards

Plague Disaster (CHANGED!)

If a 6 is rolled when resolving a Plague Disaster Card (2.3.3) during Saladin's Revenge Round, it affects the Outremer. All Crusading Lords roll 1D6 and are killed by the plague on a result of 1, 2, or 3. Each Outremer Objective is resolved like a Village in the Bishoprics, half of all Crusading Troops (rounded down) in each Objective are killed by the plague and removed from the board. Saracen Fighters are not affected by the plague.

C2.2 Phase 5. Movement

If playing with the Templar and/or Teutonic Knight Expansions, the following rules apply:

In the movement phase on the second turn of a Crusade, Templar and Teutonic Knight Lords may travel to the Outremer to bolster the Crusading troops.

Note: Templar and Teutonic Lords are the only Lords who may join the Crusades during Saladin's Revenge round.

Lords and their Troops that join a Crusade during Saladin's Revenge rounds are placed directly on the Outremer Objective of the Player's choice. These Lords and Troops may even be placed on an unoccupied Outremer Objective, becoming the Leader in this Objective!

These Lords DO NOT count towards the 6 Crusading Lord limit (C 1.2.1).

If the Plague broke out in the Outremer, Lords and their Troops now placed suffer the effects of the Plague. These Lords and Troops are safe if they were placed with, or granted access to the Arab Physician (C 1.4.2).

C2.2.1 Templar Grand Master

If the Templar Grand Master is in play, ALL Templar Lords must join the Crusade. If not, the Templar Lords may elect to join the Crusade.

No captured or besieged Templar Lord may join the Crusade.

C2.2.2 Teutonic Knights Grand Master

If the Teutonic Knight Grand Master is in play, ALL Teutonic Knight Lords must join the Crusade. If not, the Teutonic Knight Lords may elect to join the Crusade.

No captured or besieged Teutonic Knight Lord may join the Crusade.

C2.3 Phase 7. Crusades: Saladin's Revenge

During this phase, Saladin appears, ready to retake any Objectives conquered or besieged by the Crusaders!

Saladin is regarded as a Titled Lord and begins this phase accompanied by 4 Saracen Knights. (Saracen Knights have the same characteristics as the Crusader Knights.)

Saladin is placed on the rightmost (lowest number) Outremer Objective, where he will attack any occupying or besieging Crusaders (C 2.3.1). In addition to his 4 Saracen Knights, Saladin also receives any Saracen Reinforcements listed on the Objective's counter.

Saladin ignores the Arab Physician Objective (1.4.2), skipping over it and moving on to the next Objective.

C2.3.1 Crusade Battles

If an Objective was conquered by the Crusaders in the previous Invasion of the Outremers round, the Crusaders receive any Stronghold or Fortified City defenses during this round's Battles. These defenses may be negated if another Player plays a Secret Passage card (10.2.2) for Saladin!

If an Objective is being besieged by the Crusaders, then Saladin, his Knights, and his Saracen Reinforcements join the Saracen defenders remaining from the Invasion of the Outremers round. The Besieging Crusaders may now launch a Battle against the Objective or return empty-handed to France. If the Besieging Crusaders decide not to attack, Saladin and his forces continue on to the next Objective.

If Saladin is successful in occupying the first Objective:

by it being unoccupied by Crusaders,
by defeating Crusaders occupying the Objective, or
by Besieging Crusaders deciding not to attack the Objective,

he moves on to the next higher number Objective. He takes all surviving Saracen Troops from the last Objective (including its defenders and reinforcements) and adds these to any defenders remaining from the Invasion of the Outremers round in the new Objective.

In addition, he adds any Saracen Reinforcements listed on the new Objective counter. If Saladin moves into an unoccupied Objective, he only picks up the Objective's listed Saracen Reinforcements (not any listed Saracen Defenders) and moves on to the next higher Objective.

Saladin continues to attack his way up the Objectives, until he has reoccupied all Objectives or is killed or captured. If Saladin is killed or captured, all Saracen attacks end immediately and the Saladin counter is placed back on his start spot beside the map. Crusaders besieging Objectives or occupying Caravans that were not reached by Saladin execute their Battles now. If they defeat the Saracen defenders, they collect the Deniers or Titles associated with the Objective.

Crusade State Titles that were won by the Crusaders are now given to individual Lords by placing the Crusade State Objective counters next to each Lord's card on his Family Board. Each Crusade State Title is worth 1VP.

If Crusaders again defeat the defenders of a Caravan Objective, they again gain its Plunder Deniers.

Example: Crusaders occupy Caravan Objective 4 whose one defender they defeated during the Invasion of the Outremer phase last round, collecting 6 Deniers. During this Saladin's Revenge round, Saladin has already been defeated. Another Saracen Fighter is placed on the Caravan. If the Crusaders win the Battle, they again collect 6 Deniers.

(Minor typographical errors in the printed sheet, such as "includind" and "transfered", have been corrected in this transcription. The historical overview heading "Eigth" is printed as "Eighth" here.)

C2.4 End of a Crusade

Once all Battles have been executed, surviving Crusader Lords and their Troops are placed back on one of their Strongholds or Fortified Cities in France. All 'On Crusade' markers are removed from Lord cards, Strongholds and Fortified Cities.

Lords in Saladin's Prison remain captives of Saladin (C 3.1) if their Ransoms have not been paid. A Lord in Saladin's prison loses the Churches protection and all of his 'On Crusade' markers are removed.

The 'Call to Crusade' marker is flipped to its 'No Crusade' side.

All Objective that were conquered by the Crusaders are discarded from the game. Crusade State Titles remain with the Lord. If he dies, his Crusade State Title is immediately transferred to another Lord or Lady in his family like a Fief Title (4.3.1). All other Objectives that were not invaded by the Crusaders, that repulsed the Crusaders or that were retaken by Saladin are reshuffled into the Objective Counter stack.

C3.0 Assassinating a Crusading Lord

It is possible to assassinate (10.3) a Crusading Lord.

Historical Note: During the first Crusade there rose the Persian and Syrian Order of Nizari Ismailis, better known as the Assassins!

If a Lord is successfully assassinated before he is placed on an Objective, his Troops are placed near the edge of the Crusade Map Overlay until the end of the Crusade. These Troops are returned to France at the end of Crusade (C 2.4).

If the assassinated Lord was assigned to an Objective, his Troops remain there. They can then fight for another Lord from their family located on the same Objective. If no Lord of their family is present on the Objective, the Troops remain on the Objective and defend against any future Saladin attacks. If they survive the Crusade, they return without rewards to France and are placed on any of the Player's Strongholds or Fortified Cities.

C3.1 Captives of Saladin

Saladin can capture Lords in Battle (6.2.2). Captive Lords are placed in the Saladin's Prison area. Normal captive rules apply. Captives may escape with a Secret Passage card or may pay a Ransom (6.2.4) to the bank. These Lords are returned (in shame) to one of their Strongholds or Fortified Cities in France without rewards.

A Lord remains the captive of Saladin when a Crusade ends and his Ransom has not been paid. His Ransom may be paid in future Rounds and he is then returned to one of his family's Strongholds or Fortified Cities in France.

Q&A

Q: Can the Pope 'Call a Crusade' on the same round as he is elected?

A: Yes, he can. Same as a Cardinal can 'Call a Crusade' the round he has been promoted to Cardinal.

Q: Can you call for a new Crusade on the round immediately following the round the previous Crusade ended?

A: Yes. The only restriction is that two Crusades may not overlap on the same round.

Q: May Saladin be assassinated?

A: Yes!

Q: May Saladin be captured?

A: No. If Saladin is captured, he immediately escapes. All Saracen attacks end immediately, as if Saladin had been killed (C 2.3.1).

Lord's Hierarchy Quick Reference (C 1.3.1)

(The printed sheet's index of rule references is omitted here; the rulebook's own section numbers are kept throughout. The publisher's credits and copyright block on the last page are not transcribed.)